What was praemunire in early modern England?

In early modern England, praemunire was a serious legal offense against the Crown and its government, punishable primarily by forfeiture of property.12

Originally, the term referred to the assertion of papal legal supremacy within England, specifically prohibiting the operation of the pope's legal and financial jurisdiction without royal consent. During the English Reformation, the threat of praemunire became a powerful political tool; for instance, Henry VIII used it to intimidate the clergy into acknowledging him as the supreme head of the Church of England.13

By the time of the jurist Sir Edward Coke in the 17th century, the concept was also invoked in jurisdictional disputes between courts. Coke was notably involved in an attempt to subject suitors to the penalties of praemunire if they sought assistance from the Court of Chancery to defy a decree issued by the Court of King’s Bench.2