The official career of Sir Christopher Hales, attorney general and master of the rolls under Henry VIII.

This article provides the first comprehensive study of Sir Christopher Hales’s official career, illuminating the workload and responsibilities of an early Tudor lawyer-administrator at the highest levels of government. It traces Hales’s progression through key offices—undersheriff of Kent (1507–8), solicitor general (1525–9), attorney general (1529–36), and master of the rolls (1536–41)—with a particular focus on his role as attorney general. The study details Hales’s diverse legal duties, including prosecuting cases on the king’s behalf in various courts, managing informations and indictments related to royal rights and political matters such as praemunire and quo warranto proceedings, and his involvement in significant events like the downfalls of Cardinal Wolsey and Sir Thomas More. It also highlights Hales’s local administrative experience and his contributions to Tudor legal and governmental processes during Henry VIII’s reign.