Definition
Clerici de secunda forma (Latin: "clerks of the second form") is a historical term designating a class of clerical officers in the English Court of Chancery ranked at the second grade or form. These clerks were responsible for drafting and issuing common writs — writs of course (de cursu) — which were standardized, routine writs issued as a matter of right rather than requiring judicial discretion. In later usage, clerks of this description were known as cursitors (cursitores), a term that became the standard designation for this office. The equivalent officers at the first and third ranks were styled clerici de prima forma and clerici de tertia forma, respectively, reflecting a hierarchical internal structure borrowed from civilian (Roman law) administrative practice.
Why It Matters in Research
This term will appear almost exclusively in medieval and early modern English legal sources, particularly in connection with the Statute of Westminster II (1285) and in histories of the Court of Chancery's internal organization. Researchers encountering this phrase in primary sources should recognize it as equivalent to "cursitor" for most practical purposes — the two terms describe the same functional office at different points in the nomenclature's development.
The key navigational trap is terminological layering: the same officer is described as clericus de cursu in the Statute of Westminster II, clericus de secunda forma in civil-law-influenced administrative usage, and cursitor in later common usage. Sources from different periods will use different labels for functionally identical officers, and conflating or failing to connect these terms across a document set will produce an incomplete picture of Chancery's clerical structure.
The writs these clerks issued — writs of course — are distinct from prerogative writs or writs requiring judicial intervention. Understanding that clerici de secunda forma handled only routine, formulaic process is essential to understanding what fell outside their competence and why extraordinary writs required different officers and procedures. Cross-referencing with materials on cursitors and writs of course will fill out this picture.
The civil law origin of the prima/secunda/tertia forma grading system is also worth flagging for researchers studying the civilian influence on early English equity practice. The terminology itself is evidence of Roman administrative models being absorbed into Chancery's structure during the medieval period.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary is the primary source available for this term and provides a concise, reliable account. Burrill identifies these clerks with the "clerks of course" named in the Statute of Westminster II, traces their later designation as cursitors, and notes their function as drafters of common writs. He also flags the civil law derivation of the prima/secunda/tertia forma terminology, citing Crabb's History of English Law at page 547.
Burrill's entry is useful but brief. It does not elaborate on the internal hierarchy beyond the naming convention, does not describe the number of clerks at each grade, and does not trace the eventual abolition of cursitors as an office (which occurred in the nineteenth century as part of broader Chancery reform). Researchers needing more than the identifying definition should consult Crabb directly, as well as Holdsworth's History of English Law for the institutional development of Chancery's clerical staff.
No other historical dictionary sources were available for comparison. The term is sufficiently obscure that its absence from general legal dictionaries like Black's is expected — it belongs to the specialist literature on English legal history rather than to the working vocabulary of practicing lawyers.
Jurisdictional Note
This term is specific to the English Court of Chancery and has no equivalent in American legal institutions. It is relevant exclusively in the context of English legal history, medieval and early modern primary sources, and comparative studies of equity court administration.