1. A safe place, esp. where legal process cannot be executed; asylum.
“Every consecrated church was a sanctuary. If a malefactor took refuge therein, he could not be extracted; but it was the duty of the four neighbouring vills to beset the holy place, prevent his escape and send for a coroner…. [A]fter he had enjoyed the right of asylum for forty days, he was to be starved into submission; but the clergy resented this interference with the peace of Holy Church.” 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic William Maitland, History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I 590–91 (2d ed. 1899).
“In medieval England, as elsewhere in Europe, there were a number of ecclesiastical places where the king’s writ did not run. The underlying theory was that consecrated places should not be profaned by the use of force, but the result in practice was that thieves and murderers could take refuge and thereby gain immunity even against the operation of criminal justice. This was the privilege called ‘sanctuary.’ In the case of parochial churches, the sanctuary lasted for forty days only. Before the expiration of this period, the fugitive had to choose whether to stand trial or ‘abjure’ the realm …. This was only permitted if he made a written confession to the coroner, which resulted in the forfeiture of his property as on conviction; his life only was spared ….” J.H. Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History 585 (3d ed. 1990).
2. A holy area of a religious building; esp., the area in a church where the main altar is located.
