It has been attributed to John le Breton, bishop of Hereford, on the authority of a passage found in some manuscripts of the history of Matthew of Westminster; there are difficulties, however, involved in this theory, inasmuch as the bishop of Hereford died in 1275, whereas allusions are made in Britton to several statutes passed after that time, and more particularly to the well-known statute Quia emptores, which was passed in 1290. It was the opinion of John Selden that the book derived its title from Henry de Bracton, the last of the chief justiciaries, whose name is sometimes spelled in the fine rolls "Bratton" and "Bretton", and that it was a royal abridgment of Bracton's great work on the customs and laws of England, with the addition of certain subsequent statutes.
It has been attributed to John le Breton, bishop of Hereford, based on Matthew of Westminster’s history; however, this attribution is problematic because the bishop died in 1275, while references to later statutes like Quia emptores (passed in 1290) appear. John Selden suggested that the book took its title from Henry de Bracton, who was the last chief justiciar and whose name is sometimes spelled "Bratton" or "Bretton," with the work being a royal abridgment of Bracton's extensive treatise on English law, supplemented by additional statutes.