Henry de Bracton (Henry of Bracton) was a long-serving British judge who wrote the seminal work on medieval English common law. Bracton's treatise, On the Laws and Customs of England, remained the main interpretation of British law until the mid-1700s. He also served as a clergyman and ended his career as chancellor of Exeter Cathedral.

Bracton was born in Devon, and his family name is alternately Bratton or Bradtone. He studied law at Oxford and became a judge under Henry III. By the time he entered the legal profession, the curia regis, or king's court, had evolved into a distinct legal forum. By 1245, Bracton had become a justice in Devon. He served on the court that became known as the King's Bench from 1247-50 and from 1253-57. During his tenure, he gained renown for his legal acumen and received a number of royal favors. In spite of the struggles between the monarchy and the nobility, Bracton emerged as a nonpartisan jurist who was respected by both sides. He served as an early model for the nonbiased judiciary. He collected some 2,000 decisions in a casebook, or law report, that pioneered the use of precedents and stare decis ("let the decision stand" of lower courts). Bracton's casebook would be emulated from 1291 to 1535 in the publication of an annual legal yearbook. After his retirement from the court, Bracton continued to serve on judicial commissions and as a legal advisor to the monarchy.

Bracton's opus On the Laws and Customs of England was the first systemic attempt to codify the common law of Great Britain. Although it is now accepted that much of the work was done previously and that Bracton's main contribution was to edit these early pieces, many of the later sections were authored by the jurist. Bracton sought to provide guidance for lesser judges because English common law was not codified or written down; instead, common law was based on accepted customs and traditions. Judges needed guidance because customs and traditions varied from locality to locality. In addition, Bracton understood that justices often misapplied the law as a result of their own ignorance or inexperience or applied the law according to their own purposes.

The work contends that justice comes from God and that laws are accepted restraints on offenses against the community or individuals. Bracton asserted that the English legal system was a combination of accepted traditional law and church law, thereby merging justice and law. Nonetheless, Bracton argues for the existence of both judges and the church. Judges or magistrates are needed to interpret and administer the law, and priests to interpret and administer the will of God. On the Customs and Laws of England further reaffirms the supremacy of the monarch but maintains that the monarch must be subject to God and law. Without the supremacy of law, Bracton proclaims that the monarch's rule would be based solely on personal will. Leaders of the anti-Royalist faction in the English civil war used Bracton's arguments on the supremacy of law to support their rebellion against Charles I.

In 1264, Bracton was appointed to be the archdeacon of Barnestable. This appointment was followed within the year by his selection as chancellor of Exeter Cathedral. The bishop of Exeter also named Bracton to honorary posts at both Exeter and Bosham. He died in 1264 and was buried in Exeter Cathedral.

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