UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA . G-IFT OF THE 'Cj^ss OF 1883. tflartnton f ms SELECT CHARTERS STUBBS ILonfoon HENRY FROWDE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE 7 PATERNOSTER ROW SELECT CHARTERS AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS OF ENGLISH CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES ARRANGED AND EDITED BY WILLIAM STUBBS, D.D. IL:/jius Professor of Modern History, Oxford Fourth Editi AT THE CLARENDON PRESS M.DCCC.LXXXI [All rights reserved.] PREFACE. THIS book is intended to be primarily a treasury of reference ; an easily handled repertory of the Origines of English Consti- tutional History ; and, secondarily, a manual for teachers and scholars. With a view to the first purpose, I have tried to collect in it every constitutional document of importance during the period that it covers. With a view to the second, I have attempted by way of illustration to point out the bearings of the several documents on one another and on the national polity ; supplying in the Introductory Sketch a string of connexion and some sort of continuous theory of the development of the system. The study of Constitutional History is essentially a tracing of causes and consequences j the examination of a distinct growth from a well-defined germ to full maturity : a growth, the parti- cular direction and shaping of which are due to a diversity of causes, but whose life and developing power lies deep in the very nature of the people. It is not then the collection of a multitude of facts and views, but the piecing of the links of a perfect chain. And in this comparatively complete and intel- ligible connexion of cause and consequence, it has a certain charm that makes up for the default of everything depending on the play of personal character, the unlooked-for and the picturesque. It is of the greatest importance that this study should become a recognised part of a regular English education. No know- ledge of English history can be really sound without it : it is not creditable to us as an educated people that while our students are well acquainted with the state machinery of Athens and Komej they should be ignorant of the corresponding institutions of our own forefathers : institutions that possess a living interest for every nation that realises its identity, and have exercised on the wellbeing of the civilised world an influence not inferior certainly to that of the Classical nations. b vi Preface. I have pointed out in the introductory chapter my reasons for not going further than the reign of Edward I. The later history is rather a history of politics than of polity, and has to be illustrated by a very different sort of documents. A more consistent supplement or companion to this volume would be a comparative assortment of corresponding Origines of the other constitutions of Europe. This is a branch of study without which the student cannot fully realise either the peculiar characteristics of his own national polity, or the deep and wide basis which it has in common with those of the modern nations of the Continent. To have furnished however in this volume, even the bare texts of the chief constitutional monuments of France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Scandinavia, would have obliged me to alter the plan altogether ; nor could the comparative Constitutional History of Europe be illustrated at all thoroughly on the same scale. For the present, I commend this little book to the good offices of teachers, and to the tender mercies of pupils, in the firm conviction that the subject it illustrates is of the first educational importance, and in the hope that the plan and line of study which it suggests will be found well calculated to draw out the mind, and to extend the area of sound teaching. OXFOKD, October 7, 1870. In the Second Edition a few additions have been made to the Excerpts, and five or six documents of interest have been added, amongst which the Habeas Corpus Act and the Act of Settle- ment are the most important. An interesting charter of Canute will be found inserted at p. 75. OXFORD, January 14, 1874. CONTENTS. PART I. PAGE A SKETCH OP THE CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OP THE ENGLISH NATION DOWN TO THE REIGN OP EDWARD I 1-51 PART II. EXTRACTS ILLUSTRATIVE or THE EARLY POLITY OP THE ENGLISH 52 Extracts from Caesar .. .. .. .. .. .. ..52 Extracts from Tacitus .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 54 Extracts from the Early Laws of the English . . . . . . .. 60 Ethelbert 61 Hlothaere and Eadric .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 1 Wihtred .. .. 61 Ini 61 Pontificale Egbert! 62 Cone. Legatin. A.D. 787 62 Alfred 62 Edward . . .. . . .. . . . , . . . . 64 Oath of Fealty 64 People's Ranks and Law .. .. .. .. .. . 65 OfWergilds .. .. ... .. 65 Athelstan .. .. .. ... .. .. .. ..66 Edmund .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 67 Edgar .. 68 Ordinance of the Hundred .. .. .. .. .. .. 68 Ethelred .. 72 Canute .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 73 Edward the Confessor .. .. .. ., .. .. 76 PART III. SELECT CHARTERS AND EXCERPTS; NORMAN PERIOD. WILLIAM I 79 Excerpts .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 80 Charter to the City of London .. .. .. .. .. 82 Statutes .. .. 83 b2 viii Contents. PAOK Ordinance separating the Spiritual and Temporal Courts . . 85 Extracts from Domesday Book .. .. .. ... .. 85 Title of the Ely Domesday 86 Customs of Chester 87 Customs of Lincoln . . . . . . . . , . . . 89 Customs of Oxford and Oxfordshire . . . . . . . . 90 Customs of Berkshire .. .. .. .. .. .. 91 WILLIAM II 91 Excerpts .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 92 HENRY I -93 Excerpts .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 96 Charter of Liberties .. .. .. .. .. .. 99 Letter of Henry I to Anselm .. . . . . .. .. 102 Order for holding the Courts of the Hundred and the Shire .. 103 Extracts from the Leges Henrici I .. .. .. .. 104 Charter to the Citizens of London .. .. .. .. 107 Charter of Thurstan to Beverley .. .. .. .'. .. 109 Customs of Newcastle-upon-Tyne .. .. .. .. .. no STEPHEN .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..113 Excerpts .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 114 First Charter 119 Second Charter .. .. .. .. .. .. ..119 PART IV. SELECT CHARTERS AND EXCERPTS; HENRY II. HENRY H 122 Excerpts 127 Charter of Liberties 134 Constitutions of Clarendon .. - . 135 Assize of Clarendon . . . . . . . . . . 1 40 Liability to Scutage .. .. .. .. ..146 Inquest of Sheriffs ..147 Assize of Northampton .. .. 15 Assize of Arms .. .. .. .. 153 Assize of the Forest I5 6 Ordinance of the Saladin Tithe 159 Extracts from Glanvill .. .. .. ' *6o Charters of Boroughs ..164 Winchester -165 Winchester ..165 Lincoln .... 166 Nottingham l66 Oxford ., 167 Contents. ix PACK Dialogus de Scaccario .. .. .. .. .. .. 168 Praefatio 168 Liber Primus .. .. .. .. .. .. 17 Liber Secundus .. .. .. .. 209 PART V. SELECT CHARTERS AND EXCERPTS; RICHARD AND JOHN. RICHARD I 249 Excerpts .. .. .. .. .. 251 Form of proceeding on the Judicial Visitation .. .. .. 258 Proclamation for the Preservation of Peace .. .. .. 263 Charters of Towns 264 Winchester 265 Lincoln.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 266 JOHN ' 268 Excerpts 270 "Writ for levying a defensive force .. .. . . . . 281 Summons to a Great Council .. .. .. .. .. 282 Writ for the Assessment of the Thirteenth 283 Concession of the Kingdom to the Pope .. .. .. .. 284 Summons to a Great Council .. .. .. .. .. 286 Grant of Freedom of Election to Churches 287 Articles of the Barons .. .. .. .. .. .. 289 Great Charter of Liberties .. .. .. .. .. .. 296 Order for Inquiry into Evil Customs .. .. .. .. 306 Charters of Cities and Boroughs .. .. .. .. 307 (1) Nottingham .. .. .. .. .. .. 308 (2) Northampton .. .. .. .. .. .. 310 (3) Dunwich 311 (4) Lincoln .. .. .. .. .. .. ..312 (5) York 312 (6) Hartlepool 313 (7) Niort 313 (8) Helstone 313 (9) Helstone .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 314 (10) London .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 314 PART VI. SELECT CHARTERS AND EXCERPTS ; HENRY III. HENRY III .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 316 Excerpts .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..320 Announcement of the Reissue of the Charter .. .. .. 337 Contents. First Charter of Henry III 33*9 Summons of the Sheriff to bring up the County in Arms .. 343 Second Charter of Henry III . . . . . . . . . . 344 Charter of the Forest .. .. .. .. .. .. 347 Writ for the Collection of a Carucage .. .. .. .. 351 Third Charter of Henry III 353 Writ for the Collection of the Fifteenth 355 Writ for the summoning of Four Knights of the Shire . . .. 357 Writ for assembling the County Court before the Judges Itinerant .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 358 Writ for assembling the ' Jurati ad Arma ' .. .. .. 350 Writ for the Collection of the Fortieth 360 Writ for the Conservation of the Peace .. .. .. .. 362 Writ for the Collection of Scutage 3^4 Confirmation of the Charters .... .. .. .. 365 Writ for the Collection, of the Thirtieth 366 Record of a debate in the Council of the Nation .. .. 368 Writ for enforcing Watch and Ward and the Assize of Arms .. 370 Sentence of Excommunication against Transgressors of the Charters .. .. > .. .. .. .. .. 373 Writ for carrying out the Watch and Ward and Assize of Arms 374 Writ summoning two Knights of the Shire to grant an Aid . . 375 Charter of Henry III to Oxford .. .. .. .. .. 377 Documents relating to the Provisions of Oxford .. .. .. 378 I. The King's consent to a Project of Reform . . . . 380 II. The King's consent to the Election of the Twenty- four ..;""" 381 III. Petition of the Barons, at Oxford 382 IV. Provisions of Oxford .. .. .. .. .. 387 Translation .. .. .. .. .. .. 303 V. Proclamation of the King's adhesion to the Pro- visions .. .. .. .. .. .. 396 VI. Provisions ,of the Barons . . . . . . . . 400 VII. Writ summoning three Knights of the Shire to Parliament . .. .. .. .. .. 405 VIII. Award of S. Lewis .. .. ..... 406 Documents connected with Simon de Montfort's Administration 409 I. Writ for Conservation of the Peace and Summons to Parliament .. .. .. .. ..411 II. Form of Peace determined on in the Parliament .. 412 III. Summons to the Parliament of 1265 .. .. .. 415 IV. Confirmation of the Charters .. .. .. .. 416 V. Summons to Parliament at Winchester . . . . 418 VI. Dictum de Kenil worth .. .. .. .. 419 Contents. xi PAKT VII. SELECT CHARTERS AND EXCERPTS; EDWARD I. PACK EDWARD I .. .. .. .... .. .. .. 426 Excerpts .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 429 Order for the Proclamation of the King's Peace . . .. 447 First Parliament of Edward I .. .. .. . . .. 448 I. Statute of Westminster I (Extract) 450 II. Grant of Custom on Wool 451 Summons to Ecclesiastical Councils .. .. .. .. 452 I. Summons to a Council of Bishops .. .. .. 453 II. Summons to a Convocation of Prelates, Archdeacons, and Collegiate and Monastic Clergy .. .. 453 III. Summons to a Convocation in which the Archdeacons act as Proctors for the Parochial Clergy . . . . 454 IV. Summons to a Convocation in which the Diocesan Clergy are represented by Episcopal Nominees . . 455 V. Summons to a Convocation in which the Diocesan Clergy are represented by their Proctors .. .. 455 Writ for Distraint of Knighthood 456 Statute of Mortmain .. .. .. .. .. .. 457 Writs for Parliament and Councils in 1282 and 1283 . . . . 460 I. Letter of Credence for a Royal Commissioner to raise an Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . 464 II. Letter of Thanks for the Aid negotiated .. .. 464 III. Writ of Summons of Knights of the Shire . . . . 465 IV. Writ of Summons to the Archbishops and Clergy . . 466 V. Writ of the Archbishop summoning Convocation .. 466 VI a. Summons of Borough Members to a National Council 467 VI 6. Statute of Merchants 469 VII. Writ for the Collection of a Thirtieth . . . . 469 Statute of Winchester 469 Translation .. .. .. .. .. .. ,. 472 Transactions in Parliament in 1290 .. .. .. .. 475 I. Grant of Aid pur file marier .. .. .. ... 477 II. Summons of Knights of the Shire .. .. ..477 III. Statute Quiet Emptores .. .. .. .. .. 478 Parliament of 1294 .. .. .. .. .. .. 479 I. Summons of the Clergy .. .. .. .. 480 II. Summons of the Knights of the Shire . . . . 48 1 Great Council and Parliament of 1295 .. .. .. ..482 I. Summons of the Archbishop to a Great Council .. 484 II. Summons of the Archbishop and Clergy to Parliament 484 xii Contents. PACK III. Summons of an Earl to Parliament .. .. .. 485 IV. Summons of the Representatives of Shires and Towns to Parliament . . . . . . . . . . 486 V. Writ for the Collection of an Aid 486 Confirmation of the Charters .. .. .. .. .. 487 De Tallagio non Concedendo .. .. .. .. ..497 Summons to the Parliament of Lincoln .. .. .. .. 499 Summons to a Colloquium of Merchants . . . . . . . . 500 Writ for the Collection of Talliage 501 Modus Tenendi Parliamentum .. .. .. .. .. 502 APPENDIX. Petition of Right 515 Habeas Corpus Act .. .. .. .. .. .. 517 Bill of Rights t . 523 Act of Settlement . <;28 GLOSSARY P A R T I. A SKETCH OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL HISTOEY OF THE ENGLISH NATION DOWN TO THE EEIGN OF EDWAED I. J[ HE English nation is of distinctly Teutonic or German origin. The Angles, Jutes, and Saxons, who, according to Bede, furnished the mass of immigrants in the fifth century, were amongst those tribes of Lower Germany which had been the least affected by Eoman influences. They entered upon a land whose defenders had forsaken it, and had carried away with them most of the adventitious civilisation which they had main- tained for four hundred years ; whose inhabitants were enervated and demoralised by long dependence, wasted by successive pesti- lences, worn out by the attacks of half-savage neighbours and by their own suicidal wars ; whose vast forests and unreclaimed marsh-lands afforded to the new-comers a comparatively easy conquest, and the means of reproducing at liberty on new ground the institutions under which they had lived at home. This new race was the main stock of our forefathers : sharing the primeval German pride of purity of extraction ; still regard- ing the family tie as the basis of social organisation ; migrating in groups of allied and kindred character, and commemorating the tribal identity in the names they gave to their new settle- inents; honouring the women of their nation, and strictly careful of the distinction between themselves and the tolerated remnant 2 Introductory Sketch. [PART of their predecessors. The variations of physical and mental characteristics which in the progress of fourteen hundred years have been developed between the English and North German types, may be amply accounted for by natural and political causes : the natural ones, the air, food, water, and other almost imperceptibly efficient workings of the land on its inhabitants ; the political ones, the total difference of history, and of mental and moral discipline. It is unnecessary to suppose that any general intermixture either of Roman or of British blood has affected this national identity. Doubtless there were early intermarriages between the invaders and the natiyes, and probably in the west of England a large and continuous infusion of Celtic blood. But though it may have been locally or relatively great, it could only be in very small proportion to the whole. The language, the personal and local nanies, the character of the customs and common law of the English, are persistent during historic times. Every infusion of new blood since the first migration has been Teutonic ; the Dane, the Norseman, and even the French-speaking Norman of the Conquest, serve to add intensity to the distinctness of the national identity. It is true that, as civilisation has advanced, the language and the legal system have absorbed new elements, some of them peculiar, some of them common to all civilisation. The language, continuous in its perfect identity from the earliest date, unchanged in structure and tenacious in vocabulary, has drawn in from the Latin services of the Church, and from the French of the Courts, new riches of expression ; as it has become the literary language of a free people, it 'nas received from the common sources of all literature new forms, which, as the nation has educated itself, have been thoroughly incorporated with the older ones. It is true, in the same way, that from the scientific study of law, somewhat of Roman forms, and somewhat more of Roman principles, have entered into a combination with the elder and more purely developed institutions of the race ; but neither the growth of modern English as a literary language, nor that of English law in its composite form, can be made to I.] Ancient German Polity. 3 synchronise in any stage with any possible infusion of foreign blood. They bear the marks of a rapid civilisation assimilating new elements, not of a much mixed race retaining fragments of earlier and shattered systems. But were the evidences of intermixture of race much stronger and more general than they are, to the student of constitutional history they are without significance. From the Briton and the Roman of the fifth century we have received nothing. Our whole internal history testifies unmistakably to our inheritance of Teutonic institutions from the first immigrants. The Teu- tonic element is the paternal element in our system, natural and political. The first traces, then, of our national history must be sought not in Britain but in Germany : in the reports given by Caesar and Tacitus of the tribes which they knew. In these reports we have, it is true, a somewhat indistinct picture : so indistinct that it has been interpreted in many and even in contradictory ways ; but one which is certainly capable of being interpreted by the clearer history of the later stages of the institutions which are common to the race ; and which so interpreted does give a probable and consistent representation. "We have in the Germans of the first century a family of tribes whose common political characteristics are these : They have in the time of Tacitus ceased to be pastoral and unsettled races : they occupy fixed seats instead of annually changing their pastures and hunting-grounds, as they were said to do when Caesar wrote ; but they are not so far settled as to have divided the land amongst individuals. The several com- munities allot annually their arable lands among the freemen : these have their own several homesteads ; but the pasture lands are not only held but used in common, and the whole land of the settlement belongs to the community. The community, the vicus of Tacitus, is joined with others of the same tribe, and the aggregate is the pagus : an aggregation of pagi is a civitas or populus. The vici and pagi are governed by principes appointed by the nation in its popular assembly. These principes administer justice, but with the aid of a B 2 4 Introductory Sketch. [PART hundred companions or assessors in each district. Out of them probably are chosen the duces or leaders of the host in war, to whose force each district contributes its hundred fighting men, but whose authority over the allied chieftains is based on personal prowess, not on delegated or otherwise vested right. These principes have the privilege of being attended by a train of co mites, who fight for them in battle, wait on them in peace, and regard the honour of association with them as more than a compensation for such diminution of freedom as the relation of patron and dependent involves. Some of the tribes are led by their principes only: others have adopted royalty : possibly in imitation of neighbouring polities ; possibly as a relic of a patriarchal stage, in which the family tie was not merely the chief but the only bond of organisation, and the head of the race possessed a priestly character or represented a semi-divine descent ; possibly as a centre and symbol of unity among confederated tribes, desiring to embody their own iden- tity in a common hereditary monarchy. In connexion with this royalty we read of nobiles, in blood more dignified, but with no rights other than those enjoyed by all the freemen of the tribe. The king is chosen on the ground of noble descent ; but his royalty does not, if we take the simple words of Tacitus, imply much authority : the communities are governed by their principes chosen in the national assembly; and in war they are led by the duces whose prowess exacts their respect : the whole business of the nation is transacted by the Councils of the nation. In these Councils, held at stated times and attended by all the freemen of the tribe, who by admission to the use of arms have added to their character of members of the family that of full membership of the ci vitas, the principes form a separate body which has authority to determine minor business and to prepare agenda for the larger gathering. The whole people meet in that larger gathering, and treat of and decide on mea- sures of higher import. In the several administrations the rule of the magistrate is limited by the advice of his assessors : the dux cannot punish without the assistance of the priests : the I.] Ancient German Polity. 5 king is unable to act without the national council ; by it the principes are elected, lawsuits terminated, offenders against the tribe condemned. Nor is the relation of the king to the principes parallel with that of the princeps to his comites. The princeps fights not for the king but for his own glory; the comes fights not for glory, but for the princeps. The king then represents but the unity of the tribe, the princeps the authority of the community, the dux the influence of personal pre-eminence. There are at the bottom of the scale unfree cultivators of the soil, not slaves, but tenants paying rent and holding land under the free ; slaves proper, such as captives in war, or gamblers who have staked and lost all ; and lastly, freedmen. Tacitus does not mention the Jutes or Saxons at all, and the Angles only as one of a list of North German tribes whose places he does not fix. To Ptolemy we owe the identification of the seats of the two last, between the Elbe, the Eyder and the "Warnow, in the modern duchies of Holstein, Lauenburg and Mecklenburg. We can discern nothing distinctive about them, except that in the second century they were recognised but insignificant tribes. Between the age of Tacitus and Ptolemy and that of Bede we have very few distinct data : we know, however, that during the period the name of Saxon was extended to a great aggregation of North German tribes, which retained their independence of Rome, their ancient religion and seats, and very much of their ancient barbarism. To what extent they had developed the germs of a political system common to them with the rest of the Germans, before they took possession of their new home, can only be conjectured. We may, however, safely argue that their progress had not been rapid : it is certain that whatever pro- gress was made was free from Roman elements : it is probable that the Saxons were behind the rest of the Germans in the distinctness of polity which belongs to the tribes with which the Romans were better acquainted. The importance attached to the tie of kindred, even in the eighth century, in England, marks a more primitive or more purely developed system than 6 Introductory Sketch. [[PART that described by Tacitus, whilst Bede's account of the govern- ment of the Old Saxons, the Saxons of Germany of his own day, bears evidence of a state of things little removed from that described by Caesar. In the midst of the obscurity, two points stand out with clearness, (i) that the Teutonic occupation of Britain was a migration and not a mere conquest ; and (2) that the nations so migrating came from a settled country, and must be credited with the same amount of organisation here which they had possessed at home. We are thus freed from the necessity of supposing that our forefathers had after their migration to begin with the first elements of settled civilisa- tion ; but we are also prepared to see changes in the primeval system under which they had lived at home, originated, neces- sitated, and shaped by the fact that they had made so great and general a movement. In the first place, a nation moving in mass has not to learn the first lessons of colonial life. It has the names, the offices, the functions of the system in which its corporate organisation is inherent. The tie of kindred is strong, but it does not super- sede, nay, it carries with it the organism of the vicus and the pagus, probably also that of the ci vitas. The new-comers have but to divide the land, and then for peace or war, justice or politics, simply to reproduce their own old condition. The vicus, mark, or township, will even retain its old proportionate numbers : the superior divisions will have that indefiniteness which even in the age of Tacitus belonged to the hundreds, the centeni of the Germans. The system, such as it is, is transported whole, at the point of development which it has reached at home. But, in the second place, it will be modified and advanced by the very process of migration : the necessity of order and mutual reliance will have strengthened the cohesion of the mass. The successful dux or princeps who has brought his people over the sea, although at home he was no king, and perhaps owned no king, has, now that he has reached the new land, won. for himself a rank beyond that of an elective magistrate; he has shown himself a son of Woden, the great leader of the i.] Effects of Migration and Conquest. 7 migrations, and founds a new royalty and nobility in His own person. He unites the hereditary character of royalty with the prestige of the successful leader and the authority of the elective magistrate. The king of the new land is much stronger than the king, the dux, or the princeps of the old. These processes are, of course, not peculiar to the occupiers of Britain : they are of the necessities of all the migrations : the Franks and the Goths, as they move, are affected in the same way. Yet out of the Frank and Gothic systems arises, under the influences of Roman intermixture, a new one so rapidly and so greatly advanced, that it is in some respect an antithesis to that of the English. The civilising power of Rome and the necessities of conquest have, in the sixth century, in France and Spain, forced the process into a maturity which it has not reached in England or in un- Romanised Germany four centuries later. We must add to the two conditions already specified, that the Teutonic system transplanted with the race into Britain grows up more purely and is developed more freely, with less of imitation, and with slower, steadier, stronger growth. The progress towards political union in England does not begin with the aggregation of units. There is no reason to doubt the substantial truth of the traditions which ascribe the origin of the kingdoms of Kent, Sussex, East Anglia, Deira and Ber- nicia, to the conquests of single chieftains ; or that the kingdom of Wessex was the result of a long series of aggressions led by a single line of princes with their dependent under-kings ; or that Mercia was an accretion, under one great organiser, of a considerable number of little states, created by late migrations under more insignificant chiefs into a country the dangers of which were now known, and the organisation of the immigrants consequently less close. We thus arrive at the point of time at which the conversion of the people to Christianity introduces a new bond of union, the influences of a higher civilisation, and a greater realisation of the place of the English in the commonwealth of nations. The reduction of the whole of the Church organisation of the 8 Introductory Sketch. [PART seven kingdoms into the National Church, was the work of Theodore of Tarsus : the introduction of the forms and decencies of ecclesiastical councils into the meetings of the nations gives its peculiar character to the English Witenagemot; and the union of ecclesiastical and civil organisation throughout the land impresses a perpetuity on the divisions and subdivisions which before had been determined by the occupancy of the family or tribe. The mark, vie us, or township, becomes the sphere of duty of a single priest, and later is called his parish ; the kingdom becomes the diocese of a bishop ; the whole land the province of the metropolitan : the rival archbishops head rival nationalities ; the greater dioceses are subdivided on the lines of the earlier under-kingdoms in six of the seven states, and when Wessex late in the day begins to subdivide, she follows the same idea. The organisms of Church and State advance side by side; the shires become the archdeaconries, and the hun- dreds the deaneries of a later age. The archdeacon or bishop presides with the ealdorman and sheriff in the shiremoot ; the parish priest leads his people to the hundredmoot, or even to the fyrd ; the witenagemot has its most distinct and permanent constituent in the clergy, bishops, and abbots. There are in the Anglo-Saxon system, as we find it in the laws and charters of the kings, certain distinct steps of growth in political insight ; but as the development during five centuries was very gradual, there are many features of the system which remain almost in permanence during the whole period, and run on in different combinations still later. The system is developed purely and slowly, and we are at no loss to trace the continuity of its growth from the earlier germs. From the seventh to the eleventh century the national organism may be generally described thus : The people occupy settled seats; the land is appropriated to separate townships, and in these certain portions belong in entire possession to alodial owners, whilst others are the common property of the community ; and there are large unappropriated estates at the disposal of the nation. Each of these townships has an organisation of its own ; for certain purposes the in- i.] Anglo- Saxon System. 9 habitants are united by the mutual responsibility of the kin- dred; for others they are under the authority of their reeve, who settles their petty disputes, collects their contributions to the national revenue, leads the effective men to the fyrd, and with his four companions represents the township in the court of the hundred or in the folkmoot. The townships are not always independent; sometimes they are the property of a lord, who is a noble follower, comes, gesith, thegn, of the king, with jurisdiction over the men of the township, and many of the rights which we associate with feudalism. Where, however, this is the case, the organisation is of the same sort; the reeve is the lord's nominee, the moot is the lord's court, the status of the inhabitants is scarcely less than free, and their duties to the state are as imperative as if they were free. A cluster of townships is the hundred or wapentake; its presiding officer is the hundred-man : he calls the hundred- moot together, and leads the men of the hundred to the host, or to the hue and cry, or to the shiremoot. He is generally elected, although sometimes the feudal element is all powerful here also, and he is nominated by the noble or prelate to whom the hundred belongs. He has no undivided authority; he is helped by a body of freemen, twelve or a multiple of twelve, who declare the report of the hundred, and are capable of declaring the law. Nearly all the work of judicature is con- tained in this, for questions of fact are determined by compur gation and ordeal. The shiremoot is a ready court of appeal, and the royal audience is accessible only when both hundred- moot and folkmoot have failed to do justice. A cluster of hundreds makes the shire ; its officers are the ealdorman, the sheriff, and the bishop ; its councillors are the thegns, who declare the report of the shire ; its judges are the folk assembled in the shiremoot, the people, the lords of land with their stewards, and from the townships the reeve and four men and the parish priest. The shiremoot is the most complete organisation under the system: it is the FOLKMOOT; not the witenagemot of the io Introductory Sketch. [PART shire, but the assembly of the people ; in it all freemen in person or by representation appear. Its ealdorman is appointed by the witan of the whole nation, like the princeps of Tacitus ; its reeve once, perhaps, elected from below and authorised from above, like the king or bishop himself. The ealdorman leads the whole shire to the host, the sheriff commands the freemen, the lords their comites and vassals, the bishop's reeve or abbot's reeve the tenants of the churches ; all under the ealdorman as the national leader. The ealdorman and bishop attend the witenagemot ; the sheriff executes justice and secures the rights of the king or nation in the shire. The union of shires is the kingdom ; whether there be two or three as in any of the seven kingdoms, or all together in the kingdom of Athelstan or Edgar. But the kingdom is merely an aggregation of shires, which in many cases have themselves been kingdoms of earlier formation, with the minimum of necessary administration. The king is at the head : the national council is the witenagemot. Under the Heptarchic arrangement there was no organised unity but the ecclesiastical. The Church in this aspect is older than the State. The Church councils were the only national councils, the metropolitan the only person whose word had the same force everywhere : it was through the Church that the nation first learned to realise its unity. Yet the unity of the race, though not available for organised government, was not for- gotten. There was no period within historic times when one of the seven kingdoms had not an honorary and more or less real precedence. Whether or no this precedence was expressed by the title of Bretwalda, it involved no inherent authority, nor does it imply any unity of administration. Each kingdom has its own witenagemot, and the deliberations of the kings are rather consultations of plenipotentiaries than national councils. Only when Wessex has finally annexed the other kingdoms, is the nation counselled for by one witenagemot. Neither in its earlier nor in its later form, neither in the seven nor in the one, is the witenagemot formed on the model of the lower courts. It is not a folkmoot ; although it repre- I.] King and Witenagemot. n sents the people, it is not a collection of representatives : its members are the principes, the sapientes, the comites and counsellors of royalty, the bishops, the ealdormen, and the king's thegns. The witenagemot can never have been a large as- sembly; seventeen bishops, a variable number of ealdormen, according as the shires were distributed singly or in clusters, never perhaps more than twenty; of vassal members also a variable number, gradually increasing as the power of the crown became greater and the number of jurisdictions multiplied under the leaven of feudalism. The process of time and change of circumstances have now reversed the dictum of Tacitus. On greater matters the princes consult, on smaller matters all; the plebs, the folk, rises no higher than the shiremoot. But the whole claims of the people as against the king are vested in the witenagemot, and as the character of the king varies, those claims are more or less actively exercised. The witan, where they are able, have the right of electing and deposing kings ; in conjunction with the king, of nominating ealdormen and bishops, of regulating the transfer of public lands, of imposing taxes, of voting sup- plies and so deciding war and peace, of authorising the en- forcement of ecclesiastical decrees, of joining in the making of laws, of sitting as a high court of justice over all persons and causes. But under a strong king many of these claims are futile ; the whole public land seems, by the eleventh century, to have been regarded as at the king's disposal really if not in name : the sheriffs, ealdormen, and bishops are named by the king; . if he be a pious one, the bishops are chosen by him with respect to the consent of the diocesan clergy; if he be a peremptory one, they are appointed by his determined will. But the powers of legislation and taxation are never lost, nor does the king execute judgment without a court which is in name, and in reality perhaps, a portion of the witenagemot. Neither taxation nor legislation is very onerous work : the trinoda necessitas and the rents of the public lands supply for a long time all the necessary expenses of government. Ex- 12 Introductory Sketch. [PART traordinary taxation is imposed by the witenagemot, as the Dane- geld or the shipgeld; a regular tax of two shillings on every hide of land furnishes a bribe to the Danes, or a contribution of a ship and its equipments is levied on the shires in due proportions, to enable the king to resist them. The laws are mostly concerned with minute adjustments and modifications of usages, the great body of the common law being yet trans- mitted orally or by custom, not reduced to writing until it is in danger of being forgotten. The fabric is crowned by the king; not the supreme law- giver of Roman ideas, nor the fountain of justice, nor the irresponsible leader, nor the sole and supreme politician, nor the one primary landowner; but the head of the race, the chosen representative of its identity, the successful leader of its enterprises, the guardian of its peace, the president of its assem- blies; created by it, and, although empowered with a higher sanction in crowning and anointing, answerable to his people. He is the national representative; the national officers are his officers ; he leads the army of the nation as the ealdorman that of the shire ; he is supreme judge, as the sheriff is in the shire- moot ; in each capacity his power is limited by a council of free advisers ; and he is bound by oaths to his people to govern well, to maintain religion, peace, and justice, they being bound to him in turn by a general oath of fidelity. It would be rash to affirm that the system thus characterised ever existed in integrity, much more so that it existed in any- thing like this integrity for the whole four centuries that pre- ceded the Conquest. Yet that every single portion of it existed at some period during those centuries, and when it ceased to exist was superseded by some other arrangement of the same kind, is capable of proof. Varieties of practice may have pre- vailed in different ages and districts, as to the names of the inferior courts, as to the number and functions of the assessors of the shiremoot, as to the law of compurgation, wergild and ordeal, as to the responsibility of the kindred, the hundred or the township for the production of culprits ; but the general machinery was permanent, and during the greater part of I.] Later Development. 13 the time little affected by Frank, Eoman, or Celtic laws or politics. From the end of the tenth century a change sets in which might ultimately by a slow and steady series of causes and con- sequences have produced something like continental feudalism. The great position taken by Edgar and Canute, to whom the princes of the other kingdoms of the island submitted as vas- sals, had the effect of centralising the government and in- creasing the power of the king. Early in the eleventh century he seems to have entered on the right of disposing of the public land without reference to the witan, and of calling up to his own court by writ suits which had not yet exhausted the powers of the lower tribunals. The number of royal vassals was thus greatly increased, and with it the power of royal and noble jurisdictions. Canute proceeded so far in the direction of imperial feudalism as to rearrange the kingdom under a very small number of great earls, who were strong enough in some cases to transmit their authority to their children, though not without new investiture, and who, had time been given for the system to work, would have no doubt developed the same sort of feudality as prevailed abroad. Already by subinfeuclation or by commendation great portions of the land of the country were being held by a feudal tenure, and the alodial tenure which had once been universal, was becoming the privilege of a few great nobles too strong to be unseated, or a local usage in a class of landowners too humble to be dangerous. The Norman Conquest in one aspect stopped this natural growth of feudalism : .in another, it may be said to have introduced the feudal system. Had this system been developed naturally, it would have doubtless become, as it did abroad, the framework of government. The Conqueror saw the evils of this exemplified in France. He, from the beginning of his reign, attempted to rule as the national sovereign, not as the feudal lord. The great confiscations resulting from the rebellions of the native earls threw, however, enormous territories into his hands, and these i>eing distributed among his followers on the feudal conditions, constituted him at once the supreme landowner. To these 14 Introductory Sketch. [PART conditions all other tenures were gradually but rapidly assimi- lated; they were not, perhaps, entirely so assimilated when Domesday-book was drawn up, but before the accession of Henry I they seem to have become uniformly feudal. On the Continent, the feudal system had, under the necessities of conquest and by the influence of Roman principles of law, worked itself into the very machinery of government. The origin of vassalage has been traced to the relation of the comes to the princeps in the German, or to that of the client to his patron in the Roman system ; and the double title to the land, either to the emphyteutic tenure of the latter, or to the beneficium of the Merovingian conquerors. But so far it was a tenure only. "When the beneficium began to be here- ditary, and the provincial governors to be the great beneficiary proprietors in the province, often also by marriage or descent great alodial owners, then the powers of jurisdiction and military command became feudal also. The royal power was eclipsed by that of its own officers, and the king became primus inter pares, or often enough the servant of his own servants. This was the condition of things with which William the Conqueror had been conversant in France, and in a lower degree in Normandy itself, where the greater vassals were always try- ing to reduce the duke's authority to a shadow, to maintain the immunity of their lands from his higher jurisdiction, and to get rid of his ancient right to garrison their castles. It was not without a long struggle that he had established his position against the predecessors of the nobles who formed the strength of the confederation by which he had to secure his conquest. To avoid the renewal of the struggle upon the new soil, "William from the beginning of his reign took strong and de- cided measures. At the earliest opportunity he abolished the great earldoms which Canute had created, and placed the govern- ment of the shires, through the office of sheriff, in direct depend- ence on himself. For the vassals who demanded and had a right to demand a share in the fruits of their victory, he provided by liberal gifts of land ; but these were scattered throughout .the I.] Results of the Norman Conquest. 15 country in a way that made united organisation of great estates impossible. In the cases in which he is said to have created or continued palatine counties, those of Chester and Shrewsbury on the "Welsh march, that of Durham on the Scottish border, and that of Kent as a guard against aggression from Picardy, two were entrusted to ecclesiastics who could not found families ; and generally not even his most faithful servants were trusted with either large connected estates or great hereditary jurisdic- tions. He further maintained in full efficiency all the lower or- ganisation of the earlier system, adding definiteness and distinct- ness where it was wanted : he enforced the frankpledge, and upheld the courts of the hundred and the shire, although in so doing he had to suffer the continuance of the private jurisdictions or fran- chises of the nobles, and even the extension of the principle on a small scale to the new estates of his vassals. But in order to preclude any hope of creating an independent jurisdiction to the exclusion of his own, he renewed the old custom by which every freeholder took an oath of fealty to the king ; nor did he, whilst trying to strengthen the national institutions, at all relax the hold which his feudal position gave him on the Normans, in the exaction of all customary rights and dues. In all the organisation of the state, however, great changes did follow the Conquest. The officers of the government were Normans ; their offices received Norman names ; and the assi- milation of all tenures to the feudal introduced the feudal principle into every department. Hence, although not perhaps all at once, the national council, instead of being the assembly of the wise men of the nation, became the king's court of feudal vassals : the royal revenue began to consist largely of feudal aids and other incidents : as the feudal lord, the king became the head and source of all jurisdiction, and the administration of his court and household a centralisation of all lower organi- sation, national or imported. In both respects, then, in the maintenance of the inferior organisation and in the creation of a ministerial body in the feudal court itself, "William imposed a check on the feudatories already crippled by the dispersion of their estates and the limitation of 1 5 Introductory SkelcJi. [PART their jurisdictions j and the restriction of their power was the security of the people at large : but to work the composite sys- tem he was compelled to use the feudatories; and they naturally worked it to their own purposes, thus gaining a vantage-ground for their struggle against the royal power which lasted for nearly a century, and ended in the humiliation or extinction of all the great families of the Conquest. Throughout this struggle it may fairly be said that, although in the way of pecu- niary exaction the kings pressed their hold on the great vassals to an undue extent, the interests of the crown and the people were one. At the head of the administrative system, now, stands the king, the feudal lord of all the land, the source of all jurisdic- tion, the supreme arbiter of war and peace. His court, whose counsel and consent are the only restriction on his power, is composed of his own vassals, even the prelates being compelled to do homage in token of their secular dependence on him. But he is also the king of the nation, his council is the witenagemot of the nation, and the laws by which he rules are the laws which his people have claimed from him as their own. Inde- pendently of the whole feudal machinery, the people are bound to him by oath, and he to them by his coronation promises and charter of liberties. The enormous amount of business entailed on the king by this complication of new and old relations, compels the appoint- ment of a minister who shall stand to him in the whole king- dom in the same relation in which the sheriff does in each shire. This is the justiciar, or lieutenant-general of the king, who is the king's representative in all matters ; regent of the kingdom in his absence ; and, whether the king is absent or present, the supreme administrator of law and finance. Under him the king's clerks or chaplains are formed into a body of secretaries, the chief of whom bears the title of Chancellor. The Conqueror himself executed in person a great part of the business of the state ; it is under William Rufus that the jus- ticiar becomes the prime minister : in this great office the Con- queror was strong enough to employ a great baron ; "William i.J The Norman Kings. 17 Rufus employed a safer official, a lawyer or a chaplain after his own heart. The organisation of the justiciar's administration dates from the .reign of Henry I, the chief systematiser of it being Roger, bishop of Salisbury, whose family retained the direction of the machinery for nearly a century. The staff of the justiciar is a selection from the barons or vassals of the crown who are more nearly connected with the royal household, or qualified by their knowledge of the law for the position of judges. These are formed into a siipreme court attendant on the king, the Curia Regis, which when employed upon finance sits in the chamber and is known by the name of the Exchequer. The several members are called, in the Curia, justices, their head being the capitalis justiciarius, or chief justice; in the Exchequer, bar ones or baron es scaccarii, a title which continues to belong to them after they have ceased to be chosen from the ranks of the great vassals. This staff of officers, which may be regarded as standing to the justiciar in the relation in which the twelve thegns stand to the sheriff in the folkmoot, as a judicial committee repre- senting the whole court of vassals, is the germ of the entire administrative machinery of the constitution. By it all appeals are decided, and to it all suits may be called up on application of the suitors : to it belongs the assessment and collection of all revenue. As the royal council, it shares in the revision and registration of the laws and charters which it attests. Below it the only judicial machinery is the old one of the shires, the hundreds, and the local franchises. But in the decreeing of taxation and the authorising of laws it has no direct influence ; these powers are still vested in the king and the witan, the king and the national assembly now composed of his vassals. The legislative functions of the national council are under the Norman kings rather nominal than real. But the form of participation is retained : it is still with the counsel and consent of his faithful that Henry I amends, as his father had done, the old laws. This immemorial counsel and consent descends c 1 8 Introductory Sketch. [PART from the earliest Teutonic legislation, and is preserved to our own day, a standing and perpetual protest against the imperial doctrine favoured by the lawyers and founded on the devolution of all legislative power on the king, 'Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem/ The taxation of the country involves little trouble to the supreme council. It depends partly on the ancient national system, partly on the new feudal one. A tax based on the former requires no new authorisation : a grant from the latter merely the vote, and a statement of the amount wanted, where a special gift over and above the prescriptive feudal dues is demanded. Under the Norman kings, there is no instance in which such grant is debated, much less refused. It is no small limitation of autocratic tyranny that it should have been thought necessary to ask it. The assessment and collection of the revenue is the work of the Exchequer : there on two fixed days in the year every sheriff appears and accounts for the sums due from his shire : the ferm of the shire, that is, the rent formerly paid in kind or in maintenance, now commuted for fixed sums, from old public lands and royal demesnes : the Danegeld, also probably com- pounded for : the proceeds of the fines of the local courts : the feudal aids, and other incidents. It is only in these latter heads that any variation occurs that requires adjustment. The others are all fixed by law, and the proportions payable by each estate are determined by Domesday-book. But as the lands have changed hands, and immunities and franchises are constantly altered by royal charter, some debate between the payers and receivers is needed. The sheriff, who is often a local magnate, cannot be trusted to arrange this ; so a detachment of the staff of the justiciar makes the circuit of the shires : these officers debate with the landowners the number of hides for which they owe Danegeld, or the number of knights' fees from which aids and reliefs are due ; they likewise assess the towns, which are now becoming important contributors to the revenue. These fiscal visitations of the barons lead to judicial visitations also, and so to a union for both purposes with the local organisations. i.] The Roman Kings. 19 which, as time advances, is a long step towards the consolida- tion of constitutional government. In this way the Norman administration worked ; in many cases with great hardship to individuals, but rather depressing than crushing the old national organism. It is gradually de- veloped. William the Conqueror was, so far as any king of the English could be, an irresponsible ruler; he was not a great organiser, but a powerful and laborious man. His hand was in everything, and his wisdom kept him from being a tyrant. William Rums was a tyrant of the worst sort ; but he was with- out the business powers of his father, and the work of govern- ment in the hands of Ranulf Flambard was full of irresponsible and wanton oppression. Henry I, as able a man as his father, and as despotic as his brother, by the employment of organised administration, set a limit on his own caprice. Routine is the only safeguard of a people under a perfect autocracy, and by routine Henry I helped to bring on the reign of law. It is only in the struggles of the clergy that the idea of liberty finds any expression. The attitude of the people to the crown during these reigns is constant : the whole national system is safe in their support of one another. The great vassals are the common enemies of both. Hence William Rufus and Henry I in their emergencies found it easy to purchase the effectual aid of the country by promises ; and the people were sustained in their ancient cus- toms by the king's fear of increasing the jurisdictions of the barons. The words by which Henry I in his Charter provides for the maintenance of the rights of the lower landowners, are a significant proof of this, and of the way in which matters have to change before it is necessary for the barons to force the same provisions on John ; in little more than a century the attitudes of the king and barons are reversed. In one important way, however, Henry I connected the local courts with the Curia Regis, by uniting several sheriffdoms under one of his justices. The justices were among the novi homines of the baronage, and, like all ministerial bodies, were jealously watched by both nobles and people. C 2 2O Introductory Sketch. [PART The twenty years that follow the death of Henry T, and are called the reign of Stephen, are a period without example in our history. The feudal baronage take advantage of the struggle for the crown, to throw off every sort of restraint ; and by dividing between the two parties in a way that prevents either from gaining a decided advantage, to destroy the new admini- strative machinery, and exercise irresponsible powers on their own estates. They now exemplify all the mischievous charac- teristics of continental feudalism : private wars ; countless for- tified castles ; the cruel exercise of summary jurisdictions ; the striking of private coinage. Each baron is a king in his own castle. That it is only for their own immunities that they fight, appears clearly from their desertions and tergiversations during the continuance of the war. To this disorganisation and the irreconcilable opposition of the Empress, Stephen had nothing of his own to oppose. He was a brave man, but without re- sources, without administrative power, and devoid of political tact. By one act of policy, intemperate rather than unjustifi- able, he broke with the clergy, to whom he owed his throne, and with the administrative corps, at the head of which Bishop Roger of Salisbury still was, without whose aid lie had not a chance of maintaining it. His weakness had suffered the power of both to become overweening ; his impolicy set bpth in array against him, and by one act he alienated every element in the state, and cut off his own sources of revenue. The attempt which he had made to create for himself a strong party and a rival nobility, by erecting new earldoms to be provided for out of the Exchequer and by the demesne lands of the crown, pro- voking the jealousy of the barons and impoverishing the royal revenue, threw him for support on taxation which he had no means of enforcing. The natural result was war, and anarchy succeeding war, in which all central administration, except the ecclesiastical, collapsed. When all parties were exhausted, the bishops obtained the place of mediators, at which they had long aimed ; and the succession of Henry II was the result of the compromise. Amongst the terms of the pacification which were intended to bind both Stephen and Henry, was a regular pro- I.] Policy of Henry II. 31 gramme of administrative reform, for the abolishing of the evils of the late anarchy, and the restoration of national pros- perity. The castles were to be rased, the coinage reformed, the sheriffs to be replaced, the crown lands to be resumed, the new earldoms to be extinguished, foreigners to be banished, the administration of justice to be provided for, the Golden Age to return. The reign of Henry II initiates the rule of law. The ad- ministrative machinery, which had been regulated by routine under Henry I, is now made a part of the constitution, enun- ciated in laws, and perfected by a steady series of reforms. The mind of Henry II was that of a lawyer and man of business. He set to work from the very beginning of the reign to place order on a permanent basis, and, recurring to the men and mea- sures of his grandfather, to complete an organisation which should make a return to feudalism impossible. To destroy the ' adulterine' castles, to abolish the ' fiscal' earldoms, to resume the alienated crown lands, was the first, the destructive part of his work; to restore the machinery of the Exchequer and Curia Regis, to extend their powers and to bring them into the closest contact with the provincial organisation, was the next step. The greatest obstacles to the carrying out of this policy were the barons, and, unfortunately, the clergy also ; the former must be compelled to agree to the restriction of their hereditary jurisdictions within the smallest compass, and the latter to allow themselves to be, in all matters not purely spiritual, subject to the ordinary process of the law. Hence arose the two great struggles of the reign : in that with the barons Henry was successful ; in that with the clergy, although worsted and humi- liated, he carried off the fruits of victory. These matters ought not to be regarded separately ; the Constitutions of Clarendon were but a part of a scheme which was to reduce all men to equality before the same system of law. In his first years, Henry renewed the provincial visitations of the justices for both fiscal and judicial purposes ; at a later period he largely increased the staff of judges for this very end, and at the same time greatly expanded the system of inquest by 23 Introductory SJcetcfi. [PART jury, which superseded the old processes of trial by battle and compurgation, and led by no indistinct steps to the incorpora- tion of the machinery of the shire and of the borough in the national council or parliament. The instructions given to the visiting judges are precise enough, they are to enter the fran- chises of the barons, and to take cognisance of castle guard and every relic of old immunities. A second measure of reform less directly aimed at the feuda- tories, was no less effectual to the diminution of their strength. The commutation of military service for a money payment, or scutage, placed the military training of the people and the disposal of their forces in the king's hands. It enabled him to hire mercenaries for his foreign wars, to dispense with the hated Dan eg eld, and to bring the ecclesiastical baronage under contribution. The revival of the ancient militia system, or fyrd, by the Assize of Arms, enabled him to dispense with the military services of the barons for the maintenance of order at home. This ancient force had been called out under William Rufus and Stephen ; it was now reorganised and ordered to furnish itself with modern weapons. Henry trusted the people more than the barons. A third symptom of his decided policy was the bestowal of the office of sheriff on lawyers and soldiers rather than on the great barons, who had already succeeded, in some cases, in making it hereditary ; during the whole of Henry's later years, these very important functionaries were drawn from the class which furnished the barons of the Exchequer and itinerant justices ; and their powers were easily limited and regulated by the Curia Kegis. All these measures have a greater significance, viewed as parts of an extended scheme of administration ; the reforms which they betoken run into every region of public business. Henry II made the national council a different thing from what Henry I had left it ; he summoned it at regular intervals, twice or thrice every year of his stay in England. Its composition was that of a perfect feudal court ; archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, knights and freeholders. The business i.J Judicial System under Henry II. 23 transacted in it was political, fiscal, legislative and judicial. In every public matter the nation was, in theory, consulted ; the laws were issued ' cum consensu et consilio ; ' even taxation, as we may infer from the questions raised by Becket in the council of Woodstock, was suffered to come into debate ; the king sat in person to hear the complaints of his people, and decided them by the advice of his bishops and judges. It was in a great council th'at he determined on the resumption of the alienated demesne; in another he arranged the great quarrel between Castille and Navarre ; in another he issued the assize of Cla- rendon ; in another he discussed the marriage of his daughter. That towards the end of the reign he found it necessary to limit the numbers of lower freeholders who attended the councils, is very probable ; the use of summonses which prevailed from the first years of the reign gave him the power of doing this. The Curia Regis and Exchequer continue to be united, but undergo a large modification by the increase and diminution of the number of judges. It is probable that Henry, as Edward I afterwards did, found the chances of corruption and oppression too tempting for the sort of men that he was educating, the lawyers and clerks of the court. He found it necessary in 1178 to restrict the number of those who exercised their functions in the Curia to five, and to reserve for his own hearing in council the causes in which this court, which until now had been a final court of appeal, failed to do justice. This limited tribunal is the lineal predecessor of the existing Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas ; whilst the upper court of appeal, the king in his ordinary council, is the body from which at later dates the judicial functions of the Privy Council and the equitable jurisdiction of the Chancellor emerged. It is this council which, in conjunction with the elements of parliament, summoned to meet, but not under the proper parliamentary .style, constitutes the great councils of the next century. And further still, this ordinary council, in union with the barons and bishops, containing all who received a special summons to .parliament, formed in the fourteenth century the Magnum .Concilium, or great council of the king. It was from the 24 Introductory Sketch. [PART mixture of the powers of the two bodies that the House of Lords received its judicial character as a court of appeal, and the Privy Council derived its legislative character, which it attempted to carry out in the form of ordinances. The original tribunal, the king's ordinary council, retained its undiminished powers throughout, changing at various times and throwing off new offshoots, such as the Court of Star Chamber, until it has reached our own time in the form of the Judicial Com- mittee of Privy Council. The limited tribunal of the Curia Regis continues, with varying numbers, until the reign of John, when the Common Pleas are separated from the other business and fixed at Westminster. Soon after the date of Magna Carta it divides and arranges its business into that of three courts, retaining the same staff of judges for all, and the chief justiciar at the head. Towards the end of the reign of Henry III the three courts receive each a distinct staff, and the extinction of the old pre-eminence of the great justiciar results in the com- plete separation of the three for all purposes. In the Ex- chequer Chamber, however, they still retain a trace of their ancient unity of organisation. The visits made to the shires by the itinerant judges and barons form a very important part of the training of the people for self-government ; not only in the judicial, but in the fiscal business also. Henry II, if not the inventor, was the great improver of the system of recognitions by jury. The machinery which had been occasionally used before, and which may be traced to Karolingian usage, he applied to every description of business. By the ordinance of the grand assize, the person whose possession of land was impugned was empowered to make choice between trial by battle, and the examination of his right by a body of twelve sworn recognitors, who were selected by four sworn knights summoned for the purpose by the sheriff acting under a royal writ. In the other recog- nitions, as of Mortdancester and Novel disseisin, the twelve recognitors were simply summoned by the sheriff, acting in this case also under a special precept from the king. Out of these- recognitions arose the system of trial by jury j the jurors are ^ I.] Recognition by Jury. 25 first witnesses of the fact ; as business increases they are, under Edward I, afforced by the addition of persons better acquainted with the matter ; a further step separates these afforcing jurors from the original twelve, and the former then engross the cha- racter of witnesses, the jury becoming the judges of fact after hearing evidence. The sworn knights who nominate the re- cognitors of the grand assize are, further, the first germ of a county representation. By the assize of Clarendon, a like prin- ciple is applied to criminal jurisdiction. Twelve lawful men of each hundred, with four lawful men from each township, are sworn to present criminals or reputed criminals of their district, in each county court ; the prisoners so presented being sent at once to the ordeal. In this case, Henry simply utilised the machinery that had existed probably since the' time of Edgar, but he adapted it to the principle of recognition ; the twelve lawful men are witnesses, as they were under the older system, but the process is an inquest under oath, as in the case of the great assize. From this double character of judge and witness the grand jury system historically descends ; the permission to tra- verse the verdict of the grand jury by a new inquest is of later introduction, and was adopted as a consequence of the abolition of ordeal in the reign of Henry III. But the principle of recognition by jury is found applicable to other matters than judicature. As early as the year 1070, William the Conqueror had used it to obtain from the native population an enunciation of the laws under which they claimed to live. In the preparation of the Domesday survey it had been applied, moreover, to fiscal business. The inquest then was made by the oath of the sheriff, the barons arid freeholders of the shire and the hundred, the priest, the reeve, and six villeins of each township ; and it was used to ascertain the extent and liability of every estate in the kingdom. It was not, however, applied generally to the purpose of taxation until the reign of Richard I. The steps by which so important a stage towards self-taxation and representation was gained are of curious importance. An aid having been decreed by the national council, the collection of it becomes the work of the 26 Introductory Sketch. [PAET sheriffs and of the officers of the Exchequer. The classes from which it is to be demanded are, roughly speaking, the knights, the towns, and the socage tenants ; the barons, greater and lesser, the boroughs, and the lower freeholders. The military tenants are allowed to certify by their own cartel the number of knights' fees for which they are liable. The towns, through their burgage holders, make their agreement with the barons itinerant ; but the lower freeholders are assessed by the sheriff and his officers, and have no check upon their exactions unless their hardships can be made known to the king. When taxa- tion descends to personal property, the sheriff has no basis of calculation ; it is in this, then, that the necessity of some ma- chinery of assessment first introduces the jury system. Under the assize of arms in 1181, Henry II directs the liability of each man, either in rent or in chattels, to be estimated by a sworn body of knights or lawful men of the venue ; and the same plan is used for the levying of the Saladin tithe, also on personal as well as real property, in 1188. When Richard I, in 1198, exacted a carucage or aid of five shillings on the hide, he applied the principle of jury assessment in the most elaborate way to the whole land of the country. How important were these developments of the idea of representation will be seen by-and-by. These are but a few of the measures by which Henry II and his ministers provided for the security of his people, through which he earned their confidence, and trained them, both by the enjoyment of legal security and by the responsible part laid on them in judicial and fiscal matters, for a time when their co-operation would be required in the higher departments of government, in the decreeing, not the executing only, of legis- lation and taxation. In these the king had the help of the financial family founded by Bishop Roger, and of the great legist Ranulf Glanvill. He lived long enough to see the success of his policy in making England rich and contented, and a race of nobles springing out of the administrative houses, which was to strengthen the law and make common cause with the people. Richard's reign is in constitutional matters the supplement of I.] Principle of Election. 27 his father's ; the administrative progress which may be traced in it is to be credited not to himself but to his ministers. Eichard FitzNeal, the treasurer, continues the management of the Exchequer ; Hubert Walter, the justiciar, develops the ma- chinery which may have originated in the genius of his master, Henry II, or his uncle, Kanulf Glanvill. The pecuniary neces- sities of Richard, and his long absences from England, threw the whole responsibility on the ministers, and after the anarchy of his first two years, owing to the jealousy of the barons and the faction fights arising from the quarrels of John, Geoffrey, and William Longchamp, this devolved altogether on Hubert Walter. He united in his own person the whole secular and spiritual authority. From the transactions of the earlier part of the reign we gather little that is constitutionally important. The attack on the chancellor was not a constitutional attempt to assert the responsibility of a minister, but a struggle of factions; the encouragement of the town element is not a deliberate act of policy, but the result of an occasional expedient for raising money. One or two apparently minor points, however, are of importance. We have seen that Richard's ministers were the first who applied the representative system to the assessment of real property in general for the purpose of national taxation. A step which is scarcely less important is the introduction of the system of election to county functions and offices. This is applied in the first instance to the choice of coroners, who, according to the assize of 1194, are to be chosen in every county, three knights and a clerk, to keep the pleas of the crown. The measure was doubtless intended to be a check on the power of the sheriffs, who were forbidden by the same assize to act as justices in their own counties : a proof that the baronial party still required to be restrained from attempting to strengthen their hold on the local jurisdictions. This assize prescribes also the way of selecting the grand jury : four knights are to be chosen in every shire, who in turn are to choose two out of each hundred ; these two are to co-opt ten more out of their own hundred, and the twelve are to form the jury for the hundred. The plan partly resembles 28 Introductory Sketch. [PART that used for the nomination of recognitors for the grand assize, and was likewise a check on the power of the sheriff, to whom the nomination seems to have before belonged. It is possible that the knights electors are henceforth chosen by the suitors, and that the article of Magna Carta which orders them to be elected, for the recognitions of novel disseisin, mort-dancester, and darrein presentment, by the county court, is an explanation of earlier custom. But in the case of the coroner there is no such question; the existing immemorial usage, as well as the words of the assize, proves that the election was by the whole body of freeholders. It is the first attempt at popular election in England within the historic period, unless we regard as such the privileges granted to certain of the boroughs to elect their magistrates. This had been attained by some towns, by payment of a fine, under Henry II ; in the reign of John it becomes a general privilege conferred by charter. The steps taken in the direction of freedom and security under these administrators were doubtless of importance in themselves. They were an extension of the rule of law into regions where the rule of force had been far too general. But it must not be thought that they were a pure concession to the desire of free- dom and good government. Henry II and Hubert Walter recognised the fact, which Henry I had seen before them, that a people able to count on personal and commercial safety is much more profitable to the Exchequer than one over-taxed and un- constitutionally oppressed. The reign of Richard is not only a period of reform in law, but of unparalleled exactions in money. The various plans of taxation adopted by the earlier kings are all resuscitated and amplified. The scutage of Henry II is applied to the raising of funds for the king's ransom, and in- creased in amount. The carucage of Richard is but the Danegeld under a new name, and of larger and more profitable assessment. The feudal dues are all exacted ; the wool of the Cistercians is seized ; the plate of the churches is borrowed ; the moveables as well as the land are rated. These plans are maintained after the original call for them has been answered. Nor is the opposition to this systematic oppression so marked as might be expected. I.] Reign of John. 29 There are murmurs against the justiciar; the regular clergy are compelled by virtual outlawry to pay the carucage ; the mob of London rises against the burghers, because of the unfair- ness of the assessment ; but the only formal resistance to the king in the national council proceeds from Saint Hugh of Lin- coln and Bishop Herbert of Salisbury, who refuse to consent to grant him an aid in knights and money for his foreign warfare. This, which is done not on ecclesiastical but on con- stitutional grounds, is an act which stands out prominently by the side of Saint Thomas's protest against Henry's proposal to appropriate the sheriff's share of Danegeld. The peculiar circumstances with which the reign of John begins a questionable title, perfected by the election of the nation might have seemed for a time to necessitate the ob- servance of legal forms. But although from time to time he summoned his vassals and demanded an aid in constitutional form, he more frequently exacted the taxes without a formal grant, and by imposing fines and levying ransoms on the barons who offended him, without a legal process or sentence, went in oppressiveness far beyond anything done by Richard's ministers. From the beginning of his reign he took both caru- cage and scutage as a matter of course, and raised the rate of the latter from twenty shillings to two marks on the knight's fee. In 1201 and 1205 he exacted from the army which he had collected at Portsmouth a payment in commutation of ser- vice, much as William Rufus had done when he plundered the national militia of the viaticum provided by their counties. In 1204 he levied from the tenants in chief enormous 'auxilia mili- taria,' and raised the rate of scutage to two marks and a half. In 1207 he demanded and received a thirteenth of all chattels throughout the country. The ingenuity with which he deve- loped the system of fines is a fertile theme of historians. After the death of Hubert Walter in 1205, relieved from the incon- venient admonitions of a counsellor to whom he owed so much rid also of his competitor, Arthur having lost his French dominions, and endangered his hold on England by his quarrel with the clergy he took advantage of the general 30 Introductory Sketch. disorganisation to play the tyrant without restraint. The funds arising from the confiscated estates of the Norman nobles and the exiled bishops enabled him to spend lavishly, to hoard also largely, and to collect an army and fleet for resistance to Philip II, and even for the invasion of France. But the universal disaffec- tion brought all his preparations to nothing. After offending every portion of his people, he had to yield to the papal claims ; and when he had yielded, the desertion of his vassals left him powerless even for revenge. It was the resistance of the northern barons to his command that they should join his expedition to Poictou, that provoked him to the vindictive pro- ceeding which ended in his complete surrender. The barons found a counsellor in Archbishop Langton, and a programme for the redress of grievances in the charter of Henry I. This they compelled John to renew, with large additions, at Runny- mede, and in securing their constitutional rights to themselves bound him to observe the same rules towards all free men. Thenceforth no tax over and above the customary feudal aids is to be taken without consent of the national council, the common council of the realm, the assembly of the barons, the greater of whom are to be summoned by special writ, the lesser by a general one through the sheriffs. The privileges secured by the great charter of John become in their turn the basis or programme of new claims which are the subject of struggles that run through the whole reign of Henry III, and in those struggles are made good. The next reign sees them accepted by the good faith, and defined by the administrative genius, of Edward I. The agreement between the king and his people for Magna Carta, although in form a charter, is in substance a treaty of peace that no tax shall be exacted without a grant from the common council of the kingdom, and that that common council shall be summoned in a definite and satisfactory way, may seem to be but a small instalment of constitutional reform, and not to go beyond what was already the theory of government in Eng- land. But the words of the charter, to be carried out at all, in- volved much more than they expressed. The old state of things that had followed the Conquest was quite worn out. The legal I.] Politics of the Thirteenth Century. 31 reforms and general policy of Henry II had created a new nobility, whose interests were entirely English, and had restored the ancient county organisation ; whilst the privileges procured by fine from the same king, and bought in the shape of charters from his sons by the towns, had created a new element of poli- tical life. The new baronage compelled the king to grant the charter : the counties and the boroughs had to work their way into the full participation of its provisions by slow degrees. The history of these steps has an interest partly political and partly constitutional, and deserves examination in separate detail. The political situation may be generally stated thus : Since the Conquest, the political constituents of the nation had been divided between two parties, which may be called the national and the feudal. The former comprised the king, the ministerial nobility which was created by Henry I and Henry II, and which, if less richly endowed than that of the Conquest, was more widely spread, and had more English sympathies ; the other contained the great nobles of the Conquest, and the always large but vaiying body of lower vassals, who were intent on pursuing the policy of foreign feudalism. The na- tional party was also generally in close alliance with the clergy, whose zeal for their own privileges extended to the defence of the classes from which they chiefly sprang, and whose vindi- cation of class liberties maintained in the general recollection the possibility of resisting oppression. The clergy may be roughly divided into three schools, the secular or statesman school, the ecclesiastical or professional, and the devotional or spiritual. Of these, the representative men are Roger of Salisbury, Henry of "Winchester, and Anselm of Canterbury. Thomas the Martyr more or less combines the characters of the three throughout his life. The three stages through which he passed, that of chancellor, that of primate, and that of candidate for martyrdom, answer well to the three schools of the clergy. Throughout the whole period, the first of these schools was consistently on the side of the king, the last as consistently on the side of the nation. The second, when its own privileges were not in danger, was, from the 3 Z Introductory Sketch. [PART peace of the Church in 1107 to the Becket quarrel, and after the conclusion of that quarrel, continuously on the same side. No division of the clergy ever sympathised with the feudal party. The strength of the parties was locally divided. The national party was strongest in the north, where the successive forfeiture of English and Normans had put it in the royal power to provide amply for its supporters ; where the national spirit and insti- tutions lingered the longest, and only required the assurance of good government to place themselves on the king's side. The domains of the great earls lay more in the middle of England, which was therefore the seat of disaffection and uneasiness generally, the towns taking the royal or national side against the nobles. The southern shires were more de- cidedly royalist, the great domains and strong castles of the kings and their kinsmen in the neighbourhood of the seats of government, and the diffusion of episcopal influence, giving them a very considerable advantage. The feudal party made up for its want of strength in other classes of society and other parts of England, by foreign alliances, and the extent and wealth of great foreign domains. The intense dislike of the English to foreigners, which was wisely humoured by Henry II, and as foolishly disregarded by Stephen, John, and Henry III, contributed an ingredient of personal partisanship. Henry II had broken the feudal party by war, and disarmed it by policy : he had succeeded so well, that the very men who had been his opponents accepted their position, and became the most faithful adherents of his sons. At his death, and during the reign of Richard, there seemed to be every chance that the national party would soon comprise every element of political life ; the party quarrels of the period arising from mere personal causes, and the great body of the baronage, as well as the rising municipalities, being faithful. And these chances might have been made a certainty, when the loss of their Norman estates had robbed the feudalists of their vantage- ground. But the growth and consolidation of the national party had I.] Politics of the Thirteenth Century. 33 ' contributed largely to the increase of the power of the king. The constitution gained in strength and consistency, and the king was the strongest element in the constitution. Henry II's measures, double in their intention, and double in their success, had created a strong royal power and a strong national spirit in conjunction. John's despotic conduct set the two forces which his father had laboured to strengthen and consolidate, in array against each other. From the beginning of the thir- teenth century the struggle is between the barons, clergy, and people on the one side, and the king and his personal par- tisans, English and foreign, on the other. The barons and prelates who drew up the Articles of the Charter were the sons of the ministerial nobles of Henry II, the imitators of Saint Anselm and Saint Hugh, of Henry of Winchester, and Thomas of Canterbury. In the history that follows we trace new elements as well as old complications. The national party of 1213 was itself divided between those who, like Robert Fitz Walter, would bring in French aid, and those who stood merely by the national rights. The king's party contained two, or even three sections : his own personal friends and ministers, his foreign allies, and the small but powerful mediating party acting under papal in- fluence. Of these, the first may be regarded as represented by Hubert de Burgh and Peter des Roches ; the second by Falkes de Breaute', and the third by the legate Gualo. John's death removed the great obstacle to the union between the elements which were capable of uniting : the French detachment of the national party collapsed, and the position of the foreign allies of John was made untenable. The national baronage under "William Marshall and the king's friends under Hubert de Burgh united, and the papal agents were gradually but effect- ually edged out. The early struggles of Henry Ill's reign were for the expulsion of the foreign element. But the happy omens which the clearance seemed to promise were rendered futile by the folly, the falseness, and the foreign proclivities of the young king himself, who as soon as he grasped the sub- stance of power brought back into the political arena every D 34 Introductory Sketch. [PART single element of discord. Refusing to be bound by his father's engagements, treating his most faithful servant with personal ignominy, and in that act reviving the rivalry between the friends of the king and the friends of good government ; throw- ing himself into the closest alliance with Rome, and crushing the spirit of the national Church ; rivalling his father in the multiplicity of his exactions, now contrary to the letter of his own obligations ; and bringing in hosts of foreigners hateful to the people, and the cause of unparalleled extravagance and oppres- sion he let loose every element of misery, and roused every political constituent to resistance. Strangely enough the head of the disaffection was the man who perhaps had least of all in common with the nation, except the sense of justice. Simon de Montfort was a foreign adven- turer ; by descent representing on one side the purest feudalism of Normandy, and on the other the great feudal party of the Conquest; brother-in-law of the king, and by the hereditary ambition which marked his paternal house, fitted rather for a usurper than for a defender of other men's rights. Yet there is no reason to doubt either his political wisdom or his sincerity and honesty. His strength, however, was in the false position of the king. Neither the ability of the versatile, experienced, and travelled statesman, nor the confidence of the Church, nor the wealth of his English earldom, nor his own brilliant nature, could have won for him the reputation of a hero and martyr- saint, much less the substance of power. At the head of the barons, trusted by the clergy and worshipped by the people, be forced on the king the new programme of good government ; a programme which contained indeed little more than was already binding, but which owed its importance, as its advo- cate owed his strength, to Henry's falseness. Strong in resist- ance, and victorious in battle, Simon de Montfort undertook to administer, and attempted to unite under a premature political organisation, all the possessors of power in the land. But the force which had been so great against the king in arms, was inefficient in supremacy : again it became clear that Simon's chief strength was in his rival's folly and weakness. The escape i.] Edward L 35 of Edward from captivity renewed the strife, this time with a different result. The death of Simon restored Henry III to the throne, and left the party which Simon had united broken, and ready for new combinations. % The long struggle of the constitution for existence ends with the reign of Edward I. This great monarch, whose command- ing spirit, defining and organising power, and thorough honesty of character, place him in strong contrast not merely with his father, but with all the rest of our long line of kings, was not likely to surrender without a struggle the position which he had inherited. For more than twenty years he reigned as Henry II had done, showing proper respect for constitutional forms, but exercising the reality of despotic power. He loved his people, and therefore did not oppress them : they knew and loved him, and endured the pressure of taxation, which would not have been imposed if it had not been necessary. He admits them to a share, a large share, in the process of government : he develops and defines the constitution in its mechanical character in a way which Simon de Montfort had never contemplated. The organisation of parliament, of convocation, of the courts of law, of provincial jurisdiction, is elaborated and completed until it 'seems to be as perfect as it is at the present day; and the legislation is so full that the laws of the next three cen- turies are little more than a necessary expansion of it. But until he is compelled by the action of the barons, he retains the substance of royal power, the right to the purse-strings, the right to talliage the towns and the demesnes of the crown without a grant from the parliament. Edward I would not have been nearly so great a king as he was if he had not thought this right worth a struggle ; nor if, when that struggle was going against him, he had not seen that it was time to yield; nor if, when he had yielded, he had not determined honestly to abide by his concessions. The political party that forced him to the concession was not to be compared with the earlier combinations of the century : Bohun and Bigod had doubtless personal claims at heart, and not political ones : but they took advantage of a state of things which Edward saw D 2 36 Introductory Sketch. [PART could not be resisted. The confirmation of the Charters com- pletes the present survey of political history. The idea of constitutional government, defined by the mea- sures of Edward I, and summed up in the legal meaning of the word parliament, implies four principles : first, the existence of a central or national assembly, a ' commune consilium regni ;' second, the representation in that assembly of all classes of the people, regularly summoned; third, the reality of the repre- sentation of the whole people, secured either by its presence in the council, or by the free election of the persons who are to represent it or any portion of it ; and fourth, the assembly so summoned and elected must possess definite powers of taxation, legislation, and general political deliberation. We will now trace very briefly the origin, growth, and combination of these. First. The Commune Concilium had existed from the earliest times, first as the witenagemot, and afterwards as the court of the king's vassals, or, in a manner, as combining the characters of both. It had in neither stage been representative, in the modern meaning of the word. The witenagemot acted for the nation, but was not delegated or elected by it : the Great Council of the Norman kings included, in theory all tenants in chief of the crown, but had no special provision for these to represent their under-tenants, or for the securing of the rights of any not personally present. The witenagemot possessed and exercised all the powers of a free council ; the Norman court or parlia- ment, claiming the character of a witenagemot, if it possessed these rights in theory, did not exercise them. At no period, however, of our early history was the assembling of the national council dispensed with. Second. The representation of all classes of the people is necessary for the complete organisation of a national council, and that complete organisation is. legally constituted by sum- mons to parliament. In this three principles are involved : the idea of representation, the idea of exhaustive representation, and the definite summons. I. The idea of representation was familiar to the English in the minor courts, the hundredmoot and the shiremoot. The I.] National Representation. 37 reeve and four men represented the township in these assem- blies j the twelve assessors of the sheriff represented the judicial opinion, sometimes the collective legal knowledge of the shire. At a later period the inquest by sworn recognitors, in civil' suits, in the presentment of criminals, and in the assessment of real and personal property, represented the country, that is the shire or hundred or borough, for whose business they were sworn to answer. II. The political constituents of the nation (exclusive of the king), the three estates of the realm, are the clergy, the baronage, and the commons. A perfect national council must include all these : the baronage by personal attendance, the clergy and people by representation. The bishops, although their right to appear personally in the Commune Concilium is older than the introduction of the feudal system on which this division of the estates is based, have, by the definition of lawyers, been made to sink their character of witan in that of barons, amongst whom they may for our present purpose be included. The representation of the estates then implies the union in parliament of (i) the baronage lay and clerical, (2) the lower clergy, and (3) the commons. 1. The baronage, in its verbal meaning, includes all barones, that is all homagers, holding directly of the crown ; but by suc- cessive changes, the progress of which is far from easy to fix chronologically, it has been limited, first, to all who possess a united ' corpus ' or collection of knights' fees held under one title : secondly, to those who, possessing such a barony, are summoned by special writ : thirdly, to those who, whether entitled by such tenure or not, have received a special sum- mons : and finally, to those who have become by creation or prescription entitled hereditarily to receive such a summons. The variations of dignity among the persons so summoned, represented by the names duke, marquis, earl, and viscount, are 'of no constitutional significance. The baronial title of the bishops and mitred abbots originates in the second and third of the principles thus stated. 2. The inferior clergy had immemorially their diocesan as- 38 Introductory Sketch. [PART semblies and their share in the provincial councils of the Church, a share which would be as difficult to define as is that of the plebs or populus in the ' commune consilium regni ' but which does not much affect constitutional history until the period of Magna Carta. At the beginning of the thirteenth century the doctrine was gaining ground that the taxpayer should have a voice in the bestowal of the tax ; the legal position of the bene- ficed clergy had been long definitely settled ; and the changes in the character of taxation took from them the immunities which they had earlier possessed and still persistently claimed. The aids which John condescended to ask of the inferior clergy were not granted by assemblies, but collected by separate negotiation through the archdeacons, in the same way that the sheriffs or itinerant judges negotiated the aids of the towns and counties. In a council held by John in 1207 the regular clergy were re- presented by the abbots; in another in 1213 the cathedral clergy were represented by the deans ; the rest of the clergy not at all. In both of these cases there are analogies with the deal- ings of the lay estates that might be traced at length. Passing over the anomalous councils of the next forty years, we find in 1254 a writ directing the archbishops and bishops to assemble all the clergy for the purpose of granting an aid ; in 1255 the proctors of the clergy appeared in parliament at Westminster and presented their gravamina. In 1283, Edward I summoned them by their proctors to great councils at Northampton and York; in 1294 they were summoned by their proctors to the parliament at Westminster; and in 1295, by the clause praemu- nientes in the writ summoning the bishops to parliament, the clergy were summoned to appear there ; the deans and priors of the cathedrals and the archdeacons in person, the chapters by one proctor, and the clergy of each diocese by two, having full and sufficient power from the chapters and the clergy. This clause has been inserted, with a few exceptions, ever since ; the constant usage dating, as stated by Hody, from the 28th of Edward III ; but it has not been acted upon since the fourteenth century. We may trace in this the defining hand of Edward I, who doubtless intended by this means to introduce a complete I.] County Representation. 39 and symmetrical system of representation into the lower depart- ment of his parliament. It was defeated by the clergy them- selves, who preferred to vote their aids in convocation, their own especial assembly or provincial council ; which, also during the reign of Edward I, was a few years earlier reconstituted on the representative basis, in two divisions, one meeting at London and the other at York. The convocations, which were summoned by the archbishops and were divided according to the provinces, the measure of representation differing in the two, must be care- fully distinguished from the parliamentary representation of the clergy, which was summoned by the king's writ directed to the archbishops and bishops, and was intended to be an estate of parliament. 3. The commons must be regarded as composed, for political purposes, of the population of the shires, the ancient divisions on the administration of which the early political system of the country was based ; and that of the towns or boroughs, which had been erected by successive grants of privileges into the status of substantive political bodies. (a) Enough has been said already of the origin and growth of representation in the former. It would not appear that there was any provision for the incorporation of the representatives of the shires in the Commune Concilium before the reign of John ; and when the principle is adopted, it is questionable whether they owed their privilege to their constitutional posi- tion as the most prominent portion of an estate of the realm, or to their being the most ready machinery for the representation of the minor barons, the lower tenants of the crown. The I4th Article of Magna Carta promises that these shall be summoned by a general writ, and through the sheriffs. The only constitu- tional mode of the sheriff's action was in the county court. Hence the minor barons, to be consulted at all, must be consulted in the county court. But that court was already constituted of all the freeholders, and the machinery of repre- sentation and election was already familiar to them. It would then appear certain that from the time at which the represen- tatives of the shires were first summoned, they were held to 4O Introductory Sketch. [PART represent the whole body of freeholders ; and although there was at a later period a question whether the wages of the knights of the shire should be paid by the whole body of freeholders, or only by the tenants in knight service, it was never peremp- torily determined ; nor has there ever been a doubt but that the representation was that of the whole shire, and the election made, theoretically at least, in pleno comitatu, down to the Act of Henry VI, which restricted the electoral franchise to the forty shillings freeholders. The first occasion on which the representatives of the shires were summoned to consult with the king and other estates is in the i5th of John, 1213 : when the king by writ, addressed to the sheriffs, directs that four discreet men of each shire shall be sent to him, ' ad loquendum nobiscuro de negotiis regni nostri.' These 'four discreet men' must be regarded in con- nexion with the custom of electing four knights in the county court to nominate the recognitors and grand jury; and the 1 4th Clause of the Charter, directing the summons of the minor barons by the sheriff, must be interpreted or illustrated by this writ. The next case in which it is clear that representatives of the shire were called to parliament is that of 1254, when two knights represent each county. In 1261 the barons, and after them Henry III in opposition, summoned three knights from each shire. In 1264, Simon de Montfort summoned four; to the famous assembly of 1265 he summoned two. In the great assembly which swore allegiance to Edward I in 1273, four knights represented each shire. The mention of the common- alty in the early writs and statutes of Edward I seems to show that the practice was pursued with some approach to continuity, and certainly in some cases, as in the councils of 1283 and in the parliament of Shrewsbury, it was fully carried out. But the character of these assemblies is a matter of debate, and it cannot certainly be said that the knights of the shire were formally summoned to proper parliaments until the year 1290, or that they were regarded as a necessary ingredient of parlia- ment until 1294. Their regular and continuous summons dates from 1295. I.] Growth of Boroughs. 41 (b) The boroughs of England, like the counties, stood in a double relation to the king. In very many cases they were in his demesne, and had received their privileges as a gift or pur- chase from him ; and in all cases they were a very important;, element in taxation. Either then on the feudal principle as demesne lands, or on the political ground as an influential part of the nation, they stood on a basis, not indeed so old as that of the county organisation, but in all other respects scarcely less important. Their history tells its own tale : beginning as demesne of a king or of a bishop, abbot or secular lord, they had by the time of the Conquest obtained recognition, as indi- vidualities apart from the body of the counties to which locally they belonged. They were indeed generally subject to the jurisdiction of the king as his demesne, and not included in the corpus comitatus. But the towns so situated at the time of the Domesday survey were few, and, even for a century after, they increased in number and importance slowly. Their internal condition was but that of any manor in the country ; the reeve and his companions, the leet jury as it was afterwards called, being the magistracy, and the constitution being further strengthened only by the voluntary association of the local guild, whose members would naturally furnish the counsellors of the leet. The towns so administered were liable to be called on for talliage at the will of the lord, and the townsmen were in every respect, except wealth and closeness of organisation, in the same condition as the villeins of an ordinary demesne. The first step taken in the direction of emancipation was the purchase, by the tenants, of the firma burgi, that is, the ferm of the dues payable to the lord, or the king, within the borough : instead of being collected severally by the reeve or the sheriff, these were compounded for by a fixed sum, which was paid by the burghers and reapportioned amongst themselves. The grant of the ferm was accompanied by, or implied, an act of emancipation from villein services ; and the recipients of the grant were the burghers, as members of the leet or of the guild, or in both capacities. The burgage rent was apportioned among the houses or tenements of the burghers, who thus became 42 Introductory SketcJi. [PART tenants in burgage and on an equality with tenants on free and common socage. The possessors of these burgages were, until a further organisation was provided, the political constituents of the borough. The privileges of the boroughs had not got much beyond this at the death of Henry I ; the burghers of Beverley, who were chartered during his reign by their lord the archbishop of York, with the same privileges as those enjoyed by the citizens of York, are empowered by their charter to have their hanshus, and there to make their by-laws, and to enjoy certain immu- nities from tolls within the shire. It is impossible to argue from the privileges of the city of London to those of the pro- vincial towns ; and in the scarcity and uncertainty of the early charters there are many serious hindrances to any generalisa- tion. Amongst the rights claimed by London at this date, are those of electing their own sheriff, of exemption from external judicature, freedom from several specified imposts, and protec- tion for corporate estates. London, however, can never have been regarded as a town in demesne ; and its privileges, vested in the powerful burghers of the free city, served as a model for those which were gradually emancipated. Under Henry II we trace an increase in the privileges recognised or granted by charter : the king confirms the liberties enjoyed during the reigns of Edward, William, and Henry I ; by special privilege the villein who has stayed a year and a day in a chartered town unclaimed is freed in perpetuity, or the towns are exempted from the jurisdiction of the sheriff or king's officer. It is only by fine that they obtain now and then the right to elect their own officers. This and other rights scarcely less important are occasionally granted in the charters of Richard, and commonly in those of John, which seem to recognise in the borough a modified corporate character but little short of the later idea of incorporation. The charter of John to Dunwich is especially full ; bestowing the character of a free borough, enumerating the rights, such as Sac and Soc, in which the burghers enter into the possession of the status before belonging to the lord of the franchise ; the ferm of their town ; immunity from all juris- i.] Borough Representation. 43 diction except that of the king's justices ; the right to appear before the justices, if summoned, by representation of twelve lawful men, and of being assessed in case of an amercement by a mixed jury, half named out of their own body. The privileges of the towns advanced very little further than this during the thirteenth century : but at the beginning of it the principle of representation and election was thus applied to them. No idea of summoning the towns to appear before the king by their representatives can be traced higher than the reign of John. Before and after this the richer tenants in burgage may have occasionally attended the royal councils with the other freeholders. They would, however, have no representative cha- racter whatever; nor "is there any trace of their magistrates, to whom such a character would belong, being summoned to Parliament, as they were to the States General in France by Philip the Fair. The first notice of a united representation occurs in 1213, when John summoned the representatives of the demesne lands of the crown to estimate the compensation to be paid to the plundered bishops. By a writ to the sheriffs, they are directed to send to S. Albans four men and the reeve from every township in demesne. In this may be distinctly traced a connexion with the county court representation of earlier and later times. The assembly so constituted met, and is dignified by Matthew Paris with the title of a council ; the archbishop, bishops, and magnates being present at it. It is indeed the assembly to which, through the justiciar, John proposed the restoration of the laws of Henry I. From this date, however, to the parliament of Simon de Hontfort, we find no further traces : nor can this case be taken as more than pointing the way to the later system. The taxation was still a matter of arrangement with the officers of the exchequer, and for no other purpose were the towns likely to be consulted. The summons of Simon de Montfort was directed through the sheriffs, who were to send two representatives from every town within their jurisdiction. After the year 1265 there is again a long blank ; for although in several places the burghers are spoken of as joining in grants of money at the king's request, it cannot 44 Introductory Sketch. [PART be shown that their representatives were convoked for the pur- pose before the year 1295. The national councils of 1273 and 1283, and the parliament of Shrewsbury, contained represen- tatives of the towns, but they are not allowed by constitutional lawyers the full name of parliaments ; nor is it certain whether the representatives attended as representing an estate or a part of one, or merely for the purpose of informing the king and magnates. In 1294 the towns were asked for their contri- butions by distinct commissions ; in 1295 they were summoned regularly to parliament; and although the series of writs is not so complete in the case of the towns as in that of the counties, their right was then recognised, their presence was seen to be indispensable, and the representation has been con- tinuous, or nearly continuous, ever since. The great difference between the representation of the coun- ties and that of the boroughs is this, that it was in the power of the crown or its advisers to increase or diminish the number of boroughs represented a power based on the doctrine that their privilege was the gift of the crown, and their status historically that of royal demesne. But their association with the knights of the shire, whose numbers could not be altered, and whose possession of their right sprang from the more ancient part of the constitution, prevented the third estate from falling into the condition into which the corresponding body fell in Spain, where the custom of summoning towns was adopted earlier ; and in France, where it was possibly imitated by Philip the Fair from the practice of Edward I. III. The status of the parliament was constituted by the writs of summons, addressed to the barons individually, and to the sheriffs for the representation of the third estate. In the latter case both towns and counties chose their representatives in the shiremoot. Where the particular form of writ was not observed, and both for military levies of the vassals and for great councils a distinct form was in use, the assembly, although it might contain every element of a parliament, was not regarded as one. The obscurity of our knowledge on this point, caused by the loss of the ancient writs, occasions the I.] Great Councils. 45 difficulty that exists about the assemblies of the reign of Henry III and of the early years of Edward I, during which many councils were held which contained certainly knights of the shire, and possibly deputies from the towns, but which are called Great Councils rather than parliaments, for this technical reason either they contained other ingredients besides the regular ones of parliament ; or they did not contain all the ingredients of parliament ; or the towns were summoned other- wise than through the sheriffs ; or the number of representatives varied ; or the selection of the boroughs was irregular ; or the purpose specified in the writ was other than parliamentary. Such councils were occasionally held in the succeeding reigns, and exercised many of the powers of parliament, but taxes imposed by them, and laws enacted by their authority, were .regarded as of questionable validity, and sometimes had to be formally re-enacted. These councils were, however, a part of the process by which the institution of parliaments ripendd. The regular tribunal of later date, to which the same name of Great Council is given, contained the lords spiritual and temporal, the judges of the courts and the other members of the king's ordinary council. For judicial purposes it exercised a right which parliament as such had not, and which has descended from it to the House of Lords only. It also advised the crown in all matters of government, although any attempt at legisla- tion was watched very jealously by the Commons. Third. The combination of the principle of election with that of representation has been illustrated by what precedes. The idea of election was very ancient in the nation, and had been theoretically maintained in both the highest and the lowest regions of the polity : the kings and prelates were supposed to be elected ; the magistrates of towns, the judicial officers of the counties and forests, were really so from the beginning of the thirteenth century, if not before. In this, as in every other constitutional point, the freedom claimed and often secured by the clergy served to maintain the recollection or idea of a right. In the reign of Edward I the lawyers represented it as an ancient Teutonic right that the ealdorman, the heretoga, and 46 Introductory Sketch. [PART the sheriff were elected officers. The election of sheriff was claimed for the counties during the parliamentary struggle which produced the Provisions of Oxford, and was secured to the freeholders by the Articuli super Cartas in 1300; but the privilege was withdrawn early in the next reign. The two principles of election and representation have never been divided in England since the reign of Edward I, although the variety of franchises and disputes on the right of voting for members of parliament are for many centuries bewildering in the ex- treme. The towns, however close the elective franchise, have never been, as in France, represented by their magistrates as such. Fourth. Of the four normal powers of a national assembly, the judicial has never been exercised by the parliament as a parliament. The House of Commons is not, either by itself or in conjunction with the House of Lords, a court of justice : tKe House of Lords has inherited its jurisdiction from the Great Council. Another power, the political, or right of general deliberation on all national matters, is too vague in its extent to be capable of being chronologically defined ; nor was it really vindicated by the parliament until a much later period than that on which we are now employed. The two most important remain, the legislative and the taxative, the tracing of whose history must complete our present survey. i. The ancient theory that the laws were made by the king and witan co-ordinately, if it be an ancient theory, has within historic times been modified by the doctrine that the king enacted the laws with the counsel and consent of the witan. This is the most ancient form existing in enactments, and is common to the early laws of all the Teutonic races : it has of course always been still more modified in usage by the varying power of the king and his counsellors, and by the share that each was strong enough to vindicate in the process. Until the reign of John the varieties of practice may be traced chiefly in the form taken by the law on its enactment. The ancient laws are either drawn up as codes, like Alfred's, or as amendments of customs : often we have only the bare abstract i.] Counsel and Consent. 47 of them, the substance that was orally transmitted from one generation of witan to another ; where we have them in in- tegrity the counsel and consent of the witan are specified. The laws of the Norman kings are put in the form of charters ; the king in his sovereign capacity grants and confirms liberties and free customs to his people, but with the counsel and con- sent of his barons and faithful. Henry II issued most of his enactments as edicts or assizes, with a full rehearsal of the counsel and consent of his archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, knights, and freeholders. The compact of John with the barons has the form of a charter, but, as already stated, is really a treaty based on articles proposed to him, and containing additional articles to secure execution. From the time of John the forms vary, and the reign of Henry III con- tains statutes of every shape the charter, the assize, the articles proposed and accepted, and the special form of provisions, which are analogous to the canons of ecclesiastical councils. From the reign of Edward I the forms are those of statutes and ordinances, differing in some ascertained respects, the former formally accepted in the parliament as laws of perpetual obliga- tion, and enrolled : the latter proceeding from the king and his council rather than from the king and parliament, being more temporary in character, and not enrolled among the statutes. All alike express the counsel and consent with which the king fortifies his own enacting power : but several of the early statutes of Edward are worded as if that enacting power resided in the king and his ordinary council , and it is not clear whether this assumption is based on the doctrine of the scientific jurists who were addicted to the civil law, or on imitation of the practice of the French kings, just then made illustrious by the Establishments of Saint Lewis. The actual force of the expression ' counsel and consent,' which is preserved during so long a period and under such various developments of the royal power, can only be estimated approxi- mately, according to the occasion or the needs or the character of the sovereign who acknowledges it. It stands, for at least a century after the Conquest, as the record of a right rather than 48 Introductory SJcetcJt. [PART the expression of a fact. Under Henry II and his descendants, by whom a large share of power was actually vested in the ministers and judges, the facility of consultation was much increased, but it remains an obscure point, whether consent could be withheld as well as bestowed, and whether it was not generally taken for granted. From the reign of Henry III it was probably a reality ; and from that of Edward I downwards the form has a typical force, and the variations later introduced into it have a great deal of meaning. After the permanent in- corporation of the commons, from 1318 downwards, the form is, by tJie assent of the prelates, earls, barons, and the commonalty of the realm. From the first year of Edward III the share of the commons is frequently expressed as petition ; by the assent of the prelates, earls, and barons, and at the request of the commons : under Kichard II the assent is occasionally expressed as simply that of the lords and commons. Henry IV enacts with the advice and assent of the lords at the request of the commons. In the 23rd of Henry VI the addition by authority of parliament first occurs ; and from the ist of Henry VII the mention of petition is dropped, and the regular form becomes, the advice and assent, or consent, of the lords spiritual and temporal and commons in parliament assembled, and by authority of the same. These forms certainly are not uniformly observed, but the origin of the changes may be exactly traced, and will be found to synchronise with the later changes in the balance of power between the several estates and the sovereign. The further question, Were the estates on an equality in respect of legislation 1 ? may be thus briefly answered. The claim of the clergy and commons to a voice was not admitted so early in legislation as in the case of taxation : once admitted, the power of the commons very quickly eliminated all direct interference on the part of the clergy. Down to the end of the reign of Edward I it can hardly be said that the right of counsel was extended to the commons at all; it is in the next reign that their power of initiation by way of petition is first recog- nised. As late as the i8th of Edward I, the statute Quia Emptores was passed by the king and barons, before the i.J Taxation. 49 day for which the commons were summoned. As to the clergy, there is no doubt either that they exercised the right of petition or that the king occasionally made a statute at their request, with the counsel of the lords, and without reference to the commons; but acts so sanctioned were not regarded by the lawyers as of full authority, and are relegated, perhaps rightly, to the class of ordinances. Possibly the royal theory was that the right of petition belonged to both clergy and commons, whilst the counsel and consent of the lords only was indispen- sable. It was not until the i$th of Edward II that the voice of parliament, when revoking the acts of the ordainers, distinctly enunciated the principle that all matters to be esta- blished for the estate of the king and people ' shall be treated, accorded, and established in Parliaments by the king and by the assent of the prelates, earls, barons, and commonalty of the realm, according as it hath been hitherto accustomed.' The growth of the right of the commons may be traced in the forms of the writs : in those of John, the knights of the shire are summoned simply ' ad loquendum ;' those of Simon de Montfort describe them as ' tractaturi et consilium impensuri ;' ad tractandum as well as ad consulendum et consentiendum being the form of summons usual in the case of a Great Council. Edward I, in 1283, summons the representatives of the towns ad audiendum et faciendum; in 1294, he summons the knights of the shire ad consulendum et consentiendum, pro se et commu- nitate ilia, Us quae comites, barones, et proceres praedicti ordi- naverint ; with which agrees the fact, that in 1290 they were not assembled until the legislative part of the work of the par- liament had been transacted. From the year 1295, however, the form is ' ad faciendum / under Edward II it becomes ' ad consentiendum et faciendum, 1 to assent and enact. From this time, then, the commons were admitted to a share of the cha- racter of the Sapientes which in this respect the bishops and barons had engrossed since the Conquest, and the king was enabled to state with truth, as Edward I did to the pope, that the custom of England was, that in business affecting the state of the kingdom the counsel of all whom the matter touched 50 Introductory Sketch. [PART should be required. The corresponding variations in the praemunientes clause summoning the clergy are : in 1295, 'ad tractandum, ordinandum, et faciendum ;' in 1299,' ad faciendum et consentiendum ;' from 1381, only 'ad consentiendum,' a function adequately discharged by absence. 2. The share of the commons in taxation takes precedence of their share in legislation. The power of voting money was more necessary than that of giving counsel. Of this power, as it existed up to the date of Magna Carta, enough has been said. The witenagemot, and its successor the royal council of barons, could impose the old national taxes ; the ordinary feudal exactions were matters of common law and custom, and the amount of them was limited by usage. But the extraordinary aids which Henry II and his sons substituted for the Danegeld, and the taxes on the demesne lands of the crown, were arbitrary in amount and incidence ; the former clearly requiring, and the latter, on all moral grounds, not less demanding, an act of consent on the part of the payers. This right was early recognised; even John, as we have seen, asked his barons some- times for grants, and treated with the demesne lands and towns through the Exchequer, with the clergy through the bishops and archdeacons. Magna Carta enunciates the principle that the payers shall be called to the common council to vote the aids which had been previously negotiated separately ; but the clause was never confirmed by Henry III, nor was it applicable to the talliaging of demesne. It is as the towns begin to increase, and at the same time taxation ceases to be based solely on land and begins to affect personal as well as real property, that the difficulties of the king and the hardships of the estates liable to talliage become important. The steps by which the king was compelled to give up the right of taking money without a parliamentary grant, are the same as those which led to the confirmation of the charters by Edward I. It was virtually surrendered in the clause then conceded in addition to the charter, which is commonly known under the form of the articles, De Tallagio non concedendo. And this completed the taxative powers of parliament. The further steps of develop- I.] Edward I. 51 ment, the determination of the different proportions in which the various branches of the three estates voted their supplies, and the final engrossing of the taxing power by the House of Commons, the struggles by which the grants were made to depend on the redress of grievances, and the determination of the disposal of supplies assumed by the parliament, belong to later history. We have thus brought our sketch of Constitutional History to the point of time at which the nation may be regarded as reaching its full stature. It has not yet learned its strength, nor accustomed itself to economise its power. Its first vagaries are those of a people grown up, but not disciplined. To trace the process by which it learned the full strength of its organism by which it learned to use its powers and forces with dis- crimination and effect to act easily, effectually, and economi- cally, or, to use another metaphor, to trace the gradual wear of the various parts of the machinery, until all roughnesses were smoothed, and all that was superfluous, entangling, and confusing was got rid of, and the balance of forces adjusted, and action made manageable and intelligible, and the power of adaptation to change of circumstances fully realised, is the story of later politics, of a process that is still going on, and must go on as the age advances, and men are educated into wider views of government, national unity, and political re- sponsibility. We stop, however, with Edward I, because the machinery is now completed, the people are at full growth. The system is raw and untrained and awkward, but it is complete. The attaining of this point is to be attributed to the defining genius, the political wisdom, and the honesty of Edward I, building on the immemorial foundation of national custom; fitting together all that Henry I had planned, Henry II organ- ised, and the heroes of the thirteenth century had inspired with fresh life and energy. E 2 PART II. EXTRACTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE EARLY POLITY OF THE ENGLISH. EXTRACTS FROM CAESAR. A HE account of the Germans given by Caesar, and drawn by him more from the reports of their neighbours than from his own knowledge of them, must not be regarded as more than a partial glimpse of a small portion of the great family under special circumstances. It would, then, be wrong to look on it as a picture of an earlier phase of the life of the people who are a century later described in detail by Tacitus, or to infer from the difference of the pictures that the intervening period wit- nessed the transition from one condition to the other. The features remarked on by Caesar the perpetual state of war, the neglect of agriculture for pastoral pursuits and hunting, the annual migrations of tribes are, it is true, commonly viewed as characteristic of the first steps out of barbarism into civilisation ; but the first two are extremely liable to exaggeration by rumour, and the prominence of the whole three in this description is owing to the generally unsettled state of all tribes bordering on the Roman conquests. It would be unsafe to regard any point in which the report of Caesar is not confirmed by Tacitus as certainly characteristic of the life of the Germans at home. Its interest depends chiefly on the fact, that it is the first attempt at an account of the life of our forefathers, and that it comes from the pen of one of the greatest statesmen that ever lived. C. JUL. CAESARIS, Comm. de Bello Gallico, VI. 21. Germani multum ab hac (sc. Gallorum) consuetudine differunt, nam Caesar. 53 neque Druides habent, qui rebus divinis praesint, neque sacri- ficiis student. Deorum numero eos solos ducunt, quos cernunt et quorum aperte opibus juvantur, Solem et Vulcanum et Lu- nam ; reliquos ne fama quidem acceperunt. Vita omnis in venationibus atque in studiis rei militaris consistit ; ab parvulis labori ac duritiei student Ib. c. 22. Agriculturae non student; majorque pars eorum victus in lacte, caseo, carne consistit; neque quisquam agri modum certum aut fines habet proprios ; sed magistrate ac principes in annos singulos gentibus cogna.tionibusque homi- num qui una coierunt, quantum et quo loco visurn est agri attribuunt atque anno post alio transire cogunt. Ejus rei multas afferunt causas, ne assidua consuetudine capti studium belli gerendi agricultura commutent ; ne latos fines parare studeant, potentioresque humiliores possessionibus expellant, ne accuratius ad frigora atque aestus vitandos aedificent; ne qua oriatur pecuniae cupiditas, qua ex re factiones dissensionesque nascuntur : ut animi aequitate plebem contineant, cum suas quisque opes cum potentissimis aequari videat. Ib. c. ^23. Givitatibus maxima laus est, quam latissime circum se vastatis finibus solitudines habere. Hoc proprium virtutis existimant, expulsos agris finitimos cedere, neque quern - quam prope audere consistere: simul hoc se fore tutiores arbitrantur, repentinae incursionis timore sublato. Cum bellum civitas aut illatum defendit aut infert, magistratus qui ei bello praesint, 'ut vitae necisque habeant potestatem, deliguntur. In pace nullus est communis magistratus, sed principes regionum atque pagorum inter suos jus dicunt, controversiasque minuunt. Latrociuia nullam habent infamiam, quae extra fines cujusque civitatis fiunt : atque ea juventutis exercendae ac desidiae minu- endae causa fieri praedicant. Atque ubi quis ex principibus in concilio se dixit ducem fore, qui sequi velint, profiteantur, con- surgunt ii qui et causam et hominem probant, suumque auxilium pollicentur, atque ab multitudine collaudantur ; qui ex his secuti non sunt in desertorum ac proditorum numero ducuntur ; omniumque his rerum postea fides derogatur. Hos- pites violare fas non putant ; qui quaque de causa ad eos vene- runt, ab injuria prohibent, sanctosque habent : hisque omnium domus patent, victusque communicatur. Lib. IV. c. i. Sueborum gens est longe maxima et bellico- sissima Germanorum omnium : hi centum pagos habere dicuntur ex quibus quotannis singula milia armatorum, bellandi causa, ex finibus educunt ; reliqui qui domi manserunt se atque illos alunt. Hi rursus invicem anno post in armis sunt, illi domi 54 Illustrative Extracts. [PART remanent. Sic neque agricultura, nee ratio atque usus belli intermittitur. Sed privati ac separati agri apud eos nihil est ; neque longius anno remanere uno in loco incolendi causa licet ; neque multum frumento sed maximam partem lacte atque pecore vivunt, multumque sunt in venationibus ; quae res et cibi genere et cotidiana exercitatione, et libertate vitae, cum a pueris nullo officio aut disciplina assuefacti nihil omnino contra volun- tatem faciant, et vires alit et immani corporum magnitudine homines efficit Ib. c. 3. Publice maximam putant esse laudem quam latis- sime a suis finibus vacare agros; hac re significari magnum nuinerum civitatum suam vim sustinere non potuisse. Itaque una ex parte a Suebis circiter milia passuum sexcenta agri vacare dicuntur. Ad alteram partem succedunt Ubii, quorum fuit civitas ampla atque florens, ut est captus Germanorum, et paulo sunt ejusdem generis ceteris humaniores, propterea quod Ilhenum attingunt, multique ad eos mercatores ventitant, et ipsi propter propinquitatem Gallicis sunt moribus assuefacti. Hos cum Suebi, multis saepe bellis experti, propter amplitudinem gravitatemque civitatis, finibus expellere non potuissent, tamen vectigales sibi fecerunt, ac multo humiliores infirniioresque redegerunt EXTBACTS FROM 'TACITUS. The following extracts contain nearly everything in the * Germania ' which touches on matters of government and law. The picture thus drawn must be regarded as a very general outline of the Teutonic system, as it was known to the Romans, in those parts of Germany which came more closely under their view; and it gives thus an impression of greater political solidity in the institutions of the Germans at the time than would probably be warranted by fact. Of its substantial truth there can be no doubt; its very generality is a proof of the careful honesty of the writer, and of the great historical insight which enabled him to catch at a glance the common charac- teristics of a large family of tribes each of which had customs peculiarly its own. It must however be remembered that Tacitus was likely to remark with particular force the points in which primitive German institutions contrasted with the ii.] Tacitus. 55 adventitious and artificial civilisation of Rome ; and although it would be absurd to regard the general view as drawn intentionally for the purpose of contrast, such an influence would necessarily affect the exactness and proportion of the drawing. In particular it may be remarked that the force of the tie of kindred appears in our own early English laws more prominently than in this picture ; but this is a mark of a state of society less artificially organised than that of the ' Gerinania.' As it is not to be supposed that the Germans were in a retro- grade state from the second century to the sixth, we are left to infer that the completeness of Tacitus's outline applies only to the most advanced tribes, or owes something to the defining genius of the historian. It might moreover be difficult to blend into a single picture all that Tacitus tells us of the use of royalty and nobility with the conciliar structure of the tribal polity, or with what we know of the condition of the Saxons in these respects some centuries later : it is possible that he has combined into one sketch features characteristic of different tribes or of different stages of development. But if this be so, it only renders the outline more readily applicable, and places it in closer connexion with later history. That is, we have in it a general view of the ideal of the Teutonic system ; in which it may be all parts thus described did not exist contempora- neously in this exact proportion, but which is approximately applicable to it at every stage of its early development. CORN. TACITI, De Situ, Moribus et Populis Germaniae, c. 2. Ipsos Germanos indigenas crediderim, minimeque aliaruin gentium adventibus et hospitiis mixtos. . . . Ib. c. 3. Celebrant carminibus antiquis quod unum apud illos memoriae et annalium genus est, Tuisconem deum terra editum, et filium Mannum, originem gentis conditoresque. Manno tres filios assignant, e quorum nominibus proximi Oceano Ingae- vones, meclii Herminones, ceteri Iscaevones vocentur. . . . Germaniae vocabulum recens et nuper additum. . . . Ib. c. 4. Ipse eorum opinionibus accedo qui Germaniae populos nullis aliarum nationum connubiis infectos propriam et sinceram et tantum sui similem gentem exstitisse arbitrantur. Unde habitus quoque corporum quanquam in tanto hominum 56 Illustrative Extracts. [PART numero idem omnibus, truces et caerulei oculi, rutilae comae, magna corpora et tantum ad impetum valida. Ib. c. 5. Terra . . . satis ferax, frugiferarumque arborum impatiens, pecorum fecunda sed plerumque improcera. Ne armentis quidem suus honor aut gloria frontis : numero gaudent, eaeque solae et gratissimae opes sunt. . . . Ib. c. 6. ... In universum aestimanti plus penes peditem roboris; eoque mixti praeliantur, apta et congruente ad equestrem pugnam velocitate peditum, quos ex omni juventute delectos ante aciem locant. Definitur et numerus : centeni ex singulis pagis sunt; idque ipsum inter suos vocantur, et quod primo numerus fuit, jam nomen et honor est. . . . Ib. c. 7. Reges ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute sumunt. Nee regibus infinita aut libera potestas ; et duces exemplo potius quam imperio, si prompti, si conspicui, si ante aciem agunt, admiratione praesunt. Ceterum neque animadvertere, neque vineire, ne verberare quidem nisi sacerdotibus permissum, non quasi in poenam, nee ducis jussu, sed velut deo imperante quern adesse bellantibus credunt ; effigiesque et signa quaedam detracta lucis in praelium ferunt. Quodque praecipuum forti- tudinis incitamentum est, non casus nee fortuita conglobatio turmam aut cuneum facit, sed familiae et propinquitates. . . . Ib. c. 8. Inesse (feminis) quinetiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant, nee aut consilia earum aspernantur aut responsa negligunt. . . . Ib. c. 9. Deorum maxime Mercurium colunt, cui certis diebus humanis quoque hostiis litare fas habent. Herculem ac Martem concessis animalibus placant. Pars Suevorum et Isidi sacrificat ; uncle causa et origo peregrino sacro parum comperi, nisi quod signum ipsum in modum liburnae figuratum docet advectam religionem. Ceterum nee cohibere parietibus deos neque in ullam human! oris speciem assimulare ex magnitudine caelestium arbitrantur. Lucos ac nemora consecrant, deorum- que nominibus appellant secretum illud quod sola reverentia vident. . . . Ib. c. ii. De minoribus rebus principes consultant, de majoribus omnes ; ita tamen ut ea quoque quorum penes plebem arbitrium est apud principes pertractentur. Coeunt, nisi quid fortuitum et subitum inciderit, certis diebus, cum aut inchoatur luna aut impletur ; nam agendis rebus hoc auspicatissimum initium credunt. Nee dierum numerum, ut nos, sed noctium computant. Sic constituunt, sic condicunt. Nox ducere diem videtur. Illud ex libertate vitium, quod non simul nee ut jussi conveniunt, sed et alter et tertius dies cunctatione coeuntium ii.] Tacitus. 57 absumitur. Ut turba placuit, considunt armati. Silentium per sacerdotes, quibus turn et coercendi jus est, imperatur. Mox rex vel princeps, prout aetas euique, prout nobilitas, prout decus bel- lorum, prout facundia est, audiuntur, auctoritate suadendi magis quara jubendi potestate. Si displicuit sententia, fremitu asper- nantur; sin placuit, frameas concutiunt. Honoratissimum assensus genus est armis laudare. Ib. c. 12. Licet apud concilium accusare quoque et discrimen capitis intendere. Distinctio poenarum ex delicto. Proditores et transfugas arboribus suspendunt; ignavos et imbelles et corpore infames coeno ac palude, injecta insuper crate, mergunt. Diversitas supplicii illuc respicit, tanquam scelera ostendi oporteat, dum puniuntur, flagitia abscondi. Sed et levioribus delictis pro modo poena ; equorum pecorumque numero convicti multantur. Pars multae regi vel civitati, pars ipsi qui vindicatur vel propinquis ejus exsolvitur. Eliguntur in iisdem conciliis et principes, qui jura per pagos vicosque reddunt. Centeni singulis ex plebe comites, consilium simul et auctoritas adsunt. Ib. c. 13. Nihil autem neque publicae neque privatae rei nisi armati agunt. Sed arma sumere non ante cuiquam moris quam civitas suffecturum probaverit. Turn in ipso concilio vel principum aliquis vel pater vel propinquus scuto frameaque juvenem ornant. Haec apud illos toga, hie primus juventae honos ; ante hoc domus pars videntur, mox reipublicae. Insignis nobilitas aiit magna patrum merita principis dignationem etiam adolescentulis assignant ; ceteris robustioribus ac jam pridem probatis adgregantur. Nee rubor inter comites aspici. Gradus quin etiam et ipse comitatus habet, judicio ejus quern sectantur ; magnaque et comitum aemulatio, quibus primus apud principem suum locus, et principum, cui plurimi et acerrimi comites. Haec dignitas, hae vires, magno semper electorum juvenum globo cir- cumdari ; in pace decus, in bello praesidium. Nee solum in sua gente cuique, sed apud finitimas quoque civitates id nomen, ea gloria est, si numero ac virtute comitatus emineat : expetuntur etiam legationibus et muneribus ornantur, et ipsa plerumque fama bellum profligant. Ib. c. 14. Cum ventum in aciem, turpe principi virtute vinci, turpe comit'atui virtutem principis non adaequare. Jam vero infame in omnem vitam ac probrosum superstitem principi suo ex acie recessisse. Ilium defendere, tueri, sua quoque fortia facta gloriae ejus assignare praecipuum sacramentum est. Prin- cipes pro victoria pugnant, comites pro principe. Si civitas in qua orti sunt longa pace et otio torpeat, plerique nobilium 5$ Illustrative Extracts. [PART adolescentium petunt ultro eas nationes quae turn bellum aliquod gerunt, quia et ingrata genti quies, et facilius inter ancipitia clarescunt, magnumque comitatum non nisi vi belloque tueare. Exigunt enim principis sui liberalitate ilium bellatorem equum, illam cruentam victricemque frameam. Nam epulae et, quanquam incompti, largi tamen, apparatus pro stipendio cedunt. . . . Ib. c. 15. Mos est civitatibus ultro ac viritim conferre principibus vel armentorum vel frugum, quod pro honore ac- ceptum etiam necessitatibus subvenit. . . . Ib. c. 1 6. Nullas Grermanorum populis urbes habitari satis notum est : ne pati quidem inter se junctas sedes. Colunt dis- creti ac diversi, ut fons, ut campu's, ut nemus placuit. Vicos locant non in nostrum morem connexis et cohaerentibus aedi- ficiis : suam quisque domum spatio circumdat, sive ad versus casus ignis remedium, sive inscitia aedificandi. . . . Ib. c. 1 8. ... Prope soli barbarorum singulis uxoribus con- tenti sunt, exceptis admodum paucis, qui non libidine sed ob nobilitatem plurimis nuptiis ambiuntur. Dotem non uxor marito, sed uxori maritus offert. . . . Ne se mulier extra vir- tutum cogitationes extraque bellorum casus putet, ipsis inci- pientibus matrimonii auspiciis admonetur venire se laborum periculorumque sociam, idem in pace, idem in praelio passuram ausuramque. . . . Ib. c. 19 plusque ibi boni mores valent, quam alibi bonae leges. . . . Ib. c. 20. Heredes . . . successoresque sui cuique liberi, et nullum testamentum. Si liberi non sunt, proximus gradus in possessione fratres, patrui, avunculi. Quanto plus propinquorum, quo major amnium numerus, tanto gratiosior senectus, nee ulla orbitatis pretia. Ib. c. 21. Suscipere tarn inimicitias seu patris seu propinqui quam amicitias necesse est. Nee implacabiles durant : luitur enim etiam homicidium certo armentorum ac pecorum numero, recipitque satisfactionem universa domus, utiliter in publicum, quia periculosiores sunt inimicitiae juxta libertatem. . . . Ib. c. 22. Sed et de reconciliandis invicem inimicis et jun- gendis affinitatibus et adsciscendis principibus, de pace denique ac bello plerumque in conviviis consultant, tanquam nullo magis tempore aut ad simplices cogitationes pateat animus aut ad magnas incalescat. Gens non astuta nee callida aperit adhuc secreta pectoris licentia joci. Ergo detecta et nuda omnium mens postera die retractatur, et salva utriusque temporis ratio est. Deliberant dum fingere nesciunt; constituunt dum errare non possunt. . . ii.] Tacitus. 59 Ib. c. 24. Aleam, quod mirere, sobrii inter seria exercent, tanta lucrandi perdendive temeritate ut, cum omnia defecerunt, extreme ac novissimo jactu de libertate et de corpore conten- dant. Victus voluntariam servitutem adit: quamvis juvenior, quamvis robustior, adligari se ac venire patitur. Ea est in re prava pervicacia, ipsi fidem vocant. Servos conditionis hujus per commercia tradunt, ut se quoque pudore victoriae ex- solvant. Ib. c. 25. Ceteris servis non in nostrum morem, descriptis per familiam ministeriis, utuntur. Suam quisque sedem, suos penates regit. Frumenti modum dominus aut pecoris aut vestis, ut colono, injungit. et servus hactenus paret. Cetera domus officia uxor ac liberi exsequuntur. Verberare servum ac vinculis et opere coercere rarum. Occidere solent, non dis- ciplina et severitate, sed impetu et ira, ut inimicum, nisi quod impune. Liberti non multurn supra servos sunt, raro aliquod momentum in domo, nunquam in civitate, exceptis duntaxat iis gentibus quae regnantur. Ibi enim et super ingenuos et super nobiles ascendunt ; apud ceteros impares libertini libertatis ar- gumentum sunt. Ib. c. 26. Fenus agitare, et in usuras extendere ignotum ; ideoque magis servatur quam si vetitum esset. Agri pro mi- mero cultoruni ab universis vicis \al. in vices] occupantur, quos mox inter se secundum dignationem [al. dignitatem] partiuntur. Facilitatem partiendi camporum spatia praestant. Arva per annos mutant, et superest ager. Nee enim cum ubertate et amplitudine soli labore contendunt ut pomaria conserant, et prata separent, et hortos rigent; sola terrae seges impera- tur. . . . Ib. c. 39. Vetustissimos se nobilissimosque Suevorum Sem- nones memorant. Fides antiquitatis religione firmatur. Stato tempore in silvam auguriis patrum et prisca formidine sacram omnes ejusdem sanguinis populi legationibus coeunt, caesoque publice nomine celebrant barbari ritus horrenda primordia. . . . BAED. Hist. Eccl. v. 10. Non enim habent regem iidem antiqui Saxones, sed satrapas plurimos suae genti praepositos, qui ingruente belli articulo mittunt aequaliter sortes, et quenicunque sors ostenderit, hunc tempore belli ducem omnes sequuntur, huic obtemperant ; peracto autem bello rursum aequalis potentiae omnes fiunt satrapae. 60 Illustrative Extracts. [PART EXTKACTS FROM THE EARLY LAWS OF THE ENGLISH. The laws of all nations which have developed steadily and in their own seats, with little or no intermixture of foreign ele- ments, are generally perpetuated by custom and oral tradition. Hence the earliest written laws contain amendments of older unwritten customs, or codifications of those customs when they are gradually wearing out of popular recollection. Such docu- ments are then generally obscure, requiring for their elucidation a knowledge of the customs they were intended to amend, which is not easily attainable ; and where they are clear, they will be found frequently to contain little more than assessments of fines for offences and injuries, with very scanty indications of the process by which the laws are made or the fines exacted. Nor is the case much better where codification is attempted ; for the diversity of customs being very great, and the code not intended to supersede but to perpetuate them, the lawgiver is apt to become didactic, and to enunciate principles drawn from religion or morality, rather than legal definitions. The following ex- tracts from the Anglo-Saxon Laws and Institutes may seem a very small residuum, after the winnowing of a very bulky * Corpus Juris.' But they will be found to contain nearly every mention that occurs in the Collection of our Laws of such matters as public assemblies, courts of law, taxation, or the legal machinery on the carrying out of which the discipline of self-government is based. The great bulk of the laws concern chiefly such questions as the practice of compurgation, ordeal, wergild, sanctity of holy places, persons, or things; the immu- nity of estates belonging to churches ; and the Bibles of penalties for crimes, in their several aspects as offences against the peace, the family, and the individual. These, as touching Constitu- tional History in a very indirect way, are here excluded. Of the existing Anglo-Saxon laws, those of Ethelbert, Hlo- there and Eadric, "Wihtred, Ine, Edward the Elder, Athelstan, Edmund, and Edgar, are mainly of the nature of amendments of custom. Those of Alfred, Ethelred, Canute, and those de- ii.] Laws of Wessex. 61 scribed as Edward the Confessor's, aspire to the character of codes ; but English law, from its first to its latest phase, has never possessed an authoritative, constructive, systematic, or approximately exhaustive statement, such as was attempted by the great compilers of the civil and canon laws, by Alfonso the Wise or Napoleon Buonaparte. The translation of the following extracts is that of Mr. Benjamin Thorpe, in the Ancient Laws and Institutes oftJie Anglo-Saxons. AD. 600. Kent. ETHELBERT ; cap. 2. If the king call his ' leod ' to him and any one there do them evil, let him compen- sate with a twofold ' bot ' and fifty shillings to the king. A.D. dr. 680. Kent. HLOTHAERE AND EADRIC ; cap. 8. If one man make plaint against another in a suit, and he cite the man to a ' methel ' or to a * thing,' let the man always give 'borh* to the other, and do him such right as the Kentish judges prescribe to them. A.D. dr. 700. Kent. WIHTRED ; Council of Baccanceld. Illius personae, (sc. regis) et principes, praefectos seu duces ('eorlas and ealdormen, scirerevan and dom.esmeiiii ) 'A.-S.Chron.) statuere. A.D. dr. 690. Wessex. INI; Preamble to Laws. I, Ini, by God's grace king of the West Saxons, with the counsel and with the teaching of Cenred my father, and of Hedde my bishop, and of Eorcenwold my bishop, with all my ealdormen and the most distinguished ' witan ' of my people, and also with a large assembly of God's servants, have been considering of the health of our souls and of the stability of our realm ; so that just law and just kingly dooms might be settled and established through- out our folk, so that none of the ealdormen nor of our subjects should hereafter pervert these our dooms. Cap. 8. If any one demand justice before a ' scirman' or other judge and cannot obtain it, and a man (the defendant) will not give him \ wedd,' let him make ' bot ' with xxx. shillings, and within vii. days do him justice. Cap. ii. If any one sell his own countryman, bond or free, though he be guilty, over sea, let him pay for him according to his r wer/ Cap. 36. Let him who takes a thief, or to whom one taken is given, and he then lets him go, or conceals the theft, pay for the thief according to his ' wer.' If he be an ealdorman, let him 62 Illustrative Extracts. [PART forfeit his shire, unless the king is willing to be merciful to him. Cap. 39, If any one go from his lord without leave, or steal himself away into another shire, and he be discovered, let him go where he was before, and pay to his lord Ix. shillings. Cap. 45. ' Bot ' shall be made for the king's ( burg-bryce' and a bishop's, where his jurisdiction is, with cxx. shillings ; for an ealdorman's, with Ixxx. shillings ; for a king's thegn's, with Ix. shillings ; for a ' gesithcund ' man's, having land, with xxxv. shil- lings, and according to this make the legal denial. Cap. 51. If a ' gesithcund' man owning land neglect the * fyrd,' let him pay cxx. shillings and forfeit his land ; one not owning land, Ix. shillings; a ceorlish man, xxx. shillings, as 4 fyrdwite.' A.D. dr. 760. PONTIFICALS EGBERTI ARCH. EBOR. Bene- dictio super regem noviter electum. Primum mandatum regis ad populum hie videre potes. Rectitudo regis est noviter ordinati et in solium sublimati, haec tria praecepta populo Christiano sibi subdito praecipere ; in primis ut ecclesia Dei et omnis populus Christianus veram pacem servent in omni tempore. Amen. Aliud est, ut rapacitates et omnes iniquitates omnibus gradi- bus interdicat. Amen. Tertium est ut in omnibus judiciis aequitatem et misericor- cliam praecipiat, ut per hoc nobis indulgeat misericordiam Suam clemens et misericors Deus. Amen. A.D. 787. Coxc. LEGATIN.; cap. XII. Duodecimo sermone sanximus, ut in ordinati one regum nullus permittat pravorum praevalere assensum, sed. legitime reges a sacerdotibus et senio- ribus populi eligantur, et non de adulterio vel incestu pro- creati. . . . A.D. cir. 890. Wessex. ALFRED; Preamble. ... They then ordained. . . . that secular lords, with their (the bishops and witan) leave might without sin take for almost every misdeed, for the first offence the money ' bot ' which they then ordained ; except in cases of treason against a lord ; to which they dared not assign any mercy. ... I, then, Alfred, king, gathered these (laws) together, and commanded many of those to be written which our forefathers held, those which to me seemed good ; and many of those which seemed to me not good I rejected them, by the counsel of my ' witan.' .... I, then, Alfred, king of the West Saxons, shewed these to all my 'witan,' and they then said that it seemed good to them all to be holden. Cap. 4. If any one plot against the king's life, of himself, or ii.] Alfred and Edward. 63 by harbouring of exiles, or of his men ; let him be liable in his 1 f life and in all that he has. ... He who plots against his lord's 1 \ life, let him be liable in his life to him, and in all that he has. . . \| Cap. 22. If any one at the folkmote make declaration of a debt, and afterwards wish to withdraw it, let him charge it on a lighter person, if he can ; if he cannot, let him forfeit his ' an- gylde,' and [let the reeve] take possession of the ' wite.' Cap. 27. If a man, kinless of paternal relatives, fight and slay a man, and then if he have maternal relatives, let them pay a third of the ' wer ;' his guild-brethren a third part ; for a third let him flee. If he have no maternal relatives, let his guild- brethren pay half, for half let him flee. Cap. 28. If a man kill a man thus circumstanced, if he have no relatives, let half be paid to the king, half to his guild- brethren. Cap. 38. If a man fight before a king's ealdorman in the 'gemot,' let him make 'bot' with 'wer' and 'wite,' as it maybe right ; and before this, cxx. shillings to the ealdorman as ' wite.' If he disturb the folkmote by drawing his weapon, cxx. shillings to the ealdorman as * wite.' If aught of this happen before a king's ealdorman's junior, or a king's priest, xxx. shillings as 1 wite.' Cap. 41. The man who has l boc-land,' and which his kindred left him, then ordain we that he must not give it from his ' maeg-burg,' if there be writing or witness that it was forbidden by those men who at first acquired it, and by those who gave it to him, that he should do so ; and then let that be declared in the presence of the king and of the bishop before his kinsmen. A.D. 879. ALFBED AND GUTHRUM'S PEACE. This is the peace that King Alfred and King Guthrum, and the ' witan' of 11 the English nation, and all the people that are in East mglia, have all ordained and with oaths confirmed, for them- slves and for their descendants, as well for born as for unborn, o reck of God's mercy or of ours. 1. Concerning our land boundaries ; Up on the Thames, and en up on the Lea, and along the Lea unto its source, then right Bedford, then up on the Ouse unto Watling Street. 2. Then is this: If a man be slain, we estimate all equally lear, English and Danish, at viii. half marks of pure gold ; ex- jpt the ' ceorl' who resides on 'gafol' land and their 'liesings ;' they also are equally dear, either at cc. shillings. 3. And if a king's thegn be accused of man-slaying, if he dare to clear himself, let him do that with xii. king's thegns. If any 64 Illustrative Extracts. [PART one accuse that man who is of less degree than the king's thegn, let him clear himself with xi. of his equals and with one king's thegn. And so in every suit which may be for more than iv. mancuses. And if he dare not, let him pay for it threefold, as it may be valued. 4. And that every man know his warrantor for men, and for horses, and for oxen. 5. And we all ordained on that day that the oaths were sworn, that neither bond nor free might go to the host without leave, no more than any of them to us. But if it happen that from necessity any of them will have traffic with us or we with them, with cattle and with goods, that is to be allowed in this wise : that hostages be given in pledge of peace, and as evidence whereby it may be known that the party has a clean back. A.D. dr. 920. Wessex. EDWABD; cap. 4. King Edward exhorted his witan, when they were at Exeter, that they should all search out how their 'frith' might be better than it had previously been ; for it seemed to him that it was more in. differently observed than it should be, what he had formerly commanded. He then asked them who would apply to its amendment, and be in that fellowship that he was, and love that which he loved, and shun that which he shunned, both on sea and on land. That is, then, that no man deny justice to another ; if any one so do, let him make ' bot' as it before is written : for the first offence, with xxx. shillings ; and for the second offence, the like ; and for the third, with cxx. shillings to the king. Cap. n. I will that each reeve have a ' gemot' always once in four weeks, and so do that every man be worthy of folk-right ; and that every suit have an end, and a term when it shall be brought forward. If that any one disregard, let him make ' bot' as we before ordained. Of Oaths. Thus shall a man swear fealty oaths. By the Lord before whom this relic is holy, I will be to N. faithful and true, and love all that he loves, and shun all that he shuns, according to God's law, and according to the world's principles ; and never, by will nor by force, by word nor by work, do aught of what is loathful to him; on condition that he me keep as I am willing to deserve, and all that fulfil that our agreement was, when I to him sub- mitted and chose his will. ii.] i Athelslan. 65 Of Peoples Ranks and Law. 1. It was whilom, in the laws of the English, that people and law went by ranks, and then were the counsellors of the nation of worship worthy, each according to his condition, eorl and ceorl, thegen and theoden. 2. And if a ceorl throve, so that he had fully five hides of his own land, church and kitchen, bell-house and burh-gate-seat, and special duty in the king's hall, then was he thenceforth of thegn-right worthy. 3. And if a thegn throve, so that he served the king, and on his summons rode among his household ; if he then had a thegn who him followed, who to the king's ' utware' five hides had, and in the king's hall served his lord, and thrice with his errand went to the king, he might thenceforth with his 'foreoath' his lord represent at various needs, and his plaint lawfully conduct, wheresoever he ought. 4. And he who so prosperous a vicegerent had not, swore for himself according to his right, or it forfeited. 5. And if a thegn throve so that he became an eorl, then was he thenceforth of eorl-right worthy. 6. And if a merchant throve, so that he fared thrice over the wide sea by his own means, then was he thenceforth of thegn- right worthy. Y. And if there a scholar were, who "through learning throve, so that he had holy orders, and served Christ, then was he thence- forth of rank and power so much worthy, as then to those orders rightfully belonged, if he himself conducted so as he should; unless he should misdo, so that he those orders' ministry might not minister. 8. And if it happened that any one a man in orders, or a stranger, anywhere injured, by word or work, then pertained it to king and to bishop, that they that should make good as they soonest might. Of WergiUs. 1. The north people's king's gild is 30,000 thrymsas ;' 15,000 are for the wergild, and 15,000 for the cynedom. The wer belongs to the kindred and the cynebot to the people. 2. An archbishop's and an aetheling's wergild is 15,000 thrymsas. 3. A bishop's and ealdorman's, 8000 thrymsas. 4. A hold's and a king's high reeve's, 4000 thrymsas. 66 Illustrative Extracts. [PART 5. A mass thegn's and a secular thegn's, 2000 thrymsas. 6. A ceorl's wergild is 266 thrymsas, that is 200 shillings by Mercian law. . . . A.D. dr. 930. ATHELSTAN. Cone. Greatarilea. 2. Oflordless men. And we have ordained, respecting those lordless men of whom no law can be got, that the kindred be commanded that they domicile him to folk-right, and find him a lord in the folk-mote ; and if they then will not or cannot pro- duce him at the term, then be he thenceforth a ' flyma,' and let him slay him for a thief who can come at him ; and whoever after that shall harbour him, let him pay for him according to his 'wer/ or by it clear himself. 1 2 . And we have ordained, that no man buy any property out of port over xx. pence ; but let him buy there within, on the witness of the port-reeve, or of another unlying man ; or further, on the witness of the reeves at the folk-mote. 20. If any one [when summoned] fail to attend the gemot thrice, let him pay the king's 'oferhyrnes/ and let it be an- nounced seven days before the gemot is to be. But if he will not do right, nor pay the ' oferhyrnes,' then let all the chief men belonging to the ' burh' ride to him, and take all that he has, and put him in ' borh.' But if any one will not ride with his fellows, let him pay the king's ' oferhyrnes.' . . . ATHELSTAN. Cone. Cant. ; cap. 4. Quartum, ne aliquis recipiat alterius hominem sine licentia ejus cui ante folgavit, nee intra mercam nee extra. Et etiam ne dominus libero homini hlafordsoknam interdicat si eum recte custodierit. Cap. 7. Septimum, ut omnis homo teneat homines suos in fidejussione sua contra omne furtum. Si tune sit aliquis qui tot homines habeat quod non sufficiat omnes custodire, praeponat sibi singulis villis praepositum unum, qui credibilis sit ei, et qui concredat hominibus. Et si praepositus alicui eorum hominum concredere non audeat, inveniat xii. plegios cognation is suae qui ei stent in fidejussione. Et si dominus vel praepositus vel ali- quis homo hoc infringat vel abhinc exeat, sit dignus eorum quae apud Greateleyam dicta sunt, nisi regi magis placeat alia justitia. ATHELSTAN. Cone. Exon. ; cap. i. And let there be named in every reeve's 'manung' as many men as are known to be unlying, that they may be for witness in every suit. And be the oaths of these unlying men according to the worth of the property, without election. ii.] Athelstan and Edmund. 67 ATHELSTAN. Judicia Civitatis Lundoniae ; Preamble. This is the ordinance which the bishops and reeves belonging to London have ordained and with ' weds' confirmed, among our ' frith-gegildas' as well eorlish as ceorlish, in addition to the dooms which were fixed at Greatanlea and at Exeter and at Thunresfeld. Cap. iii. That we count always x. men together, and the chief should direct the nine in each of those duties which we have all ordained ; and [count] afterwards their * hyndens' together, and one ' hynden man' who shall admonish the x. for our common benefit ; and let these xi. hold the money of the ' hynden/ and decide what they shall disburse when aught is to pay, and what they shall receive, if money should arise to us at our common suit ; and let them also know that every contribution be forth- coming which we have all ordained for our common benefit, after the rate of xxx. pence or one ox ; so that all be fulfilled which we have ordained in our ordinances and which stands in our agreement. Cap. viii. i. That we gather to us once in every month, if we can and have leisure, the ' hynden-men' and those who direct the tithings, as well with ' bytt-fylling' as else it may concensus, and know what of our agreement has been executed : and let these xii. men have their refection together, and feed themselves according as they may deem themselves worthy, and deal the remains of the meat for love of God. 2. And if it then should happen that any kin be so strong and so great, within land or without land, whether xii. ' hynde' or Hwy-hynde;' that they refuse us our right, and stand up in defence of a thief ; that we all of us ride thereto with the reeve within whose ' manung' it may be. ... A.D. dr. 943. EDMUND. Cone. Culinton. Haec est Institutio quam Edmundus rex et episcopi sui, cum sapientibus suis, in- stituerunt apud Culintonam, de pace et juramento faciendo. i. De Sacramento Fidelitatis JKegi Edmundo faciendo. In primis ut omnes jurent in nomine Domini, pro quo sanctum illud sanctum est, fidelitatem Edmundo regi, sicut homo debet esse fidelis domino suo, sine omni controversia et seditione, in manifesto, in occulto, in amando quod amabit, nolendo quod nolet ; et antequam juramentum hoc dabitur, ut nemo concelet hoc in fratre vel proximo suo plus quam in extraneo. 7. Ut quisque homines suos faciat credibiles, et de infamatis et Jiaec praecepta negligentibus. Et omnis homo credibiles faciat homines suos et omnes qui in pace et terra sua sunt. Et omnes infamati et accusationibus ingravati sub plegio redigantur. Et F 2 68 Illustrative Extracts. [PART praeposltus vel thaynus, comes vel villanus, qui hoc facere nolit, aut disperdet, emendet cxx. s. et sit dignus eorum quae supra dicta sunt. A. D. 959-975. EDGAR. Ordinance of the Hundred. It cannot be determined without question what is the his- torical connexion between the system of the Hundred, as exemplified in the hundred warriors and the hundred counsellors of the Germania, and the later institution of police organisation and territorial division known under this name in England. The existence of a territorial subdivision intermediate between the vicus or township and the shire or under-kingdom, such as is known in various parts of England in the present day as the hundred, the wapontake, the lathe, or the rape, may be regarded as proved by numerous passages in Bede and the Chronicles; and this subdivision may be regarded as answering roughly to the pagus of Tacitus or the gait, of Germany. But it is not equally clear when, how, or why the name of 'hundred' was first applied in the majority of the counties to this subdivision. It is some- times stated that the hundred is a primitive subdivision consist- ing of a hundred hides of land, or apportioned to a hundred families : the great objection to which theory is the impossi- bility of reconciling the historical hundreds with any such computation. Another theory regards the use of the term as much more modern, and as arising from the police arrange- ment exemplified in the following document, and in two much earlier ones of Childebert and Clothaire, of the year 595, which exist among the Capitularies of the Frank kings. Upon this theory the * hundred ' was originally the association of a hundred persons for the conservation of peace and execution of law, parallel with the later institution of the tithing or asso- ciation of ten freemen for a similar purpose. In process of time, the name of ' hundred ' would naturally extend to the territory protected by this association, as the tithing itself became, in later times and in certain districts, a local division. This theory is ii.] Edgar. 69 more probable than the former, but requires to be adjusted in point of date and locality. We are not to regard the ordinances of Childebert and Clothaire, or this of Edgar, as the institution of an entirely new organisation, and as creating the district as well as the police system from which it took its name. It would be as difficult to prove any historical connexion between the decrees of 595 and the ordinance of Edgar, as it would to trace either directly to the ' centeni ' of the Germania. But it is extremely probable that both legislators utilised an existing machinery which was originally and closely allied to the centeni of Tacitus. There are thus threejpjoints : the existence of the subdivision of the shire, which is unquestionable ; the existence of the machinery of the hundred for police purposes, which emerges in these ordinances, but which may fairly be presumed to be traceable to the analogy of the primitive usage, and which may have been customary for ages, during which there is no direct record of it ; and, thirdly, the application of the personal name and organisation of the hundred to the already existing territorial division, which occurs in Germany as well as in England. " "The last thus viewed becomes of minor importance ; as the special names applied to the particular hundreds must in most cases have existed previous to the application. The hundred-court was the ordinary court of justice among the Franks and bore the name of mallus. The law of Childebert and Clothaire recognises the existence of the territorial hundred even whilst instituting a new measure of police. The law of Edgar has a very much wider operation, regulating the practice of the hundred-court in other respects. The coincidence in the wording of the two documents is remarkable, rather as ex- hibiting .the traces of ancient common institutions than as proving any direct connexion. Decretio CTiildeberti regis ; (Baluz. i. 14"). Cap. IX. Si quis centenarium ant quemlibet judicem noluerit super malefactorem ad prindendum adju- vare, Ix. solidis omnino condemnetur. X. Et quicunque servum criminosum habuerit et ei judex rogaverit ipsum praesentare, et noluerit, suum widrigildum omnino componat. XI. Similiter convenit ut si furtum factum fuerit, capitale de praesenti itena restituat, et causator centenarium cum centena requirat. * 70 Illustrative Extracts. [PART XII. Pari conditione convenit ut si una centena in alia centena vesti- gium secuta fuerit et invenerit vel in quibuscunque fidelium nostrorum terminis vestigium miseiit, et ipsum in aliam centenam minime expellere potuerit, aut convictus reddat latronem, aut capitale de praesenti restituat, et cum duodecim personis se ex hoc Sacramento exuat. Decretio Clotharii II, A.D. 595. I. Decretum est ut quia in vigilias constitutas nocturnes fiires non caperent, eo quod per diversas intercedente conludio scelera praetermissa custodias exercerent, centenas fieri. In qua centena aliquid deperierit, capitale qui perdiderat recipiat et latro insequa- tur. Vel si in alterius centena appareat et adhuc admoniti si neglexerint, quinos solidos condemnentur. Capitale tamen qui perdiderit a centena ilia accipiat absque dubio, hoc est de secunda vel tertia custodia. . . . A.D. 959-975. EDGAR. This is tJie ordinance how the Hundred shall be held. 1. First, that they meet always within four weeks; and that every man do justice to another. 2. That a thief shall be pursued. ... If there be present need, let it be made known to the hundredman, and let him make it known to the tithingmen ; and let all go forth to where God may direct them to go. Let them do justice on the thief, as it was formerly the enactment of Edmund. And let the 'ceap- gild' be paid to him who owns the cattle, and the rest be divided into two ; half to the hundred, half to the lord, ex- cepting men, and let the lord take possession of the men. 3. And the man who neglects this, and denies the doom of the hundred, and the same be afterwards proved against him, let him pay to the hundred xxx. pence; and for the second time Ix. pence, half to the hundred, half to the lord. If he do so a third time, let him pay half a pound ; for the fourth time, let him forfeit all that he owns, and be an outlaw, unless the king allow him to remain in the country. 4. And we have ordained, concerning unknown cattle, that no one should possess it without the testimonies of the men of the hundred, or of the tithingman ; and that he be a well trusty man; and unless he have either of these, let no vouching to warranty (team) be allowed him. 5. We have also ordained, if the hundred pursue a track into another hundred, that notice be given to the hundredman, and that he then go with them. If he neglect this, let him pay xxx. shillings to the king. 6. If any one flinch from justice and escape, let him who held him to answer for the offence pay the ' angylde.' And if any one accuse him of having sent him away, let him clear himself, as it is established in the country. 7. In the hundred, as in any other ' gemot,' we ordain that ii.] Edgar. 71 folk-right be pronounced in every suit, and that a term be fixed when it shall be fulfilled. And he who shall break that term, unless it be by his lord's decree, let him make ' bot ' with xxx. shillings, and on the day fixed fulfil that -which he ought to have done before. 8. An ox's bell, and a dog's collar, and a blast-horn either of these three shall be worth a shilling, and each is reckoned an informer. . 9. Let the iron that is for the threefold ordeal weigh iii. I pounds ; and for the single, one pound. A.D. 959-975. EDGAE. Ordinance. This is the ordinance that King Edgar, with the counsel of his witan, ordained, in praise of God, and in honour to himself, and for the behoof of all his people. i. These, then, are first : That God's churches be entitled to every right ; and that every tithe be rendered to the old minster to which the district belongs ; and that be then so paid, both from a thegn's ' in-land ' and from ' geneat ' land, so as the plough traverses it. ... Secular Ordinance ; cap. i. Now this is the secular ordinance which I will that it be held. This, then, is first what I will : I that every man be worthy of folk-right, as well poor as rich ; | and that righteous dooms be judged to him ; and let there be such remission in the ' bot ' as may be becoming before God and tolerable before the world. Cap. 2'. And let no one apply to the king in any suit, unless he at home may not be worthy of law, or cannot obtain law. If the law be too heavy, let him seek a mitigation of it from the king ; and for any ' bot '-worthy crime let no man forfeit more than his ' wer/ Cap. 5. And let the hundred gemot be attended sis it was before fixed ; and thrice in the year let a burh-gemot be held ; and twice, a shire-gemot ; and let there be present the bishop of the shire and the ealdorman, and there both expound as well the law of God as the secular law. Cap. 6. And let every man so order that he have a ' borh ;' and let the 'borh' then bring and hold him to every justice ; and if any one then do wrong and run away, let the ' borh' bear that which he ought to bear. But if it be a thief, and if he can get hold of him within twelve months, let him deliver him up to justice, and let be rendered unto him what he before had paid. Cap. 8. And let one money pass throughout the king's dominion ; and that let no man refuse j and let one measure 72 Illustrative Extracts. [PART and one weight pass, such as is observed at London and at Winchester Supplement ; cap. 3. This, then, is what I will : that every man be under ' borh/ both within the ' burns' and without the 'burns;' and let witness be appointed to every * burn' and to every hundred. Cap. 4. To every ' burn' let there be chosen xxxiii. as witness. Cap. 5. To small ' burhs' and in every hundred xii. unless ye desire more. Cap. 6. And let every man, with their witness, buy and sell every of the chattels that he may buy or sell, either in a burh or in a wapontake ; and let every of them, when he is first chosen as witness, give the oath that he never, neither for money, nor for love, nor for fear, will deny any of those things of which he was witness, nor declare any other thing in witness save that alone which he saw or heard ; and of such sworn men let there be at every bargain two or three as witness. A.D. 978-1016. ETHELRED. I. This is the ordinance which King Ethelred and his witan ordained as ' frith-bot' for the whole nation, at Woodstock, in the land of the Mercians, according to the law of the English. Cap. i. Of'Borhs.' That is, that every freeman have a true ' borh,' that the ' borh' may present him to every justice, if he should be accused. But if he be ' tyhtbysig,' let him go to the threefold ordeal. If his lord say that he has failed neither in oath nor ordeal since the gemot was at Bromdun, let the lord take with him two true thegns within the hundred, and swear that never hath oath failed him, nor had he paid ' theof-gyld ; ' unless he have the reeve who is competent to do that. If then the oath succeed, let the man then who is there accused choose whichever he will, either single ordeal, or a pound-worth oath, within the three hundreds, for above thirty pence. If they dare not take the astth, let him go to the triple ordeal And let every lord liJfe his household in his own ' borh/ II. cap. 6. If the frith-breach be committed within a ' burh, 1 let the inhabitants of the ' burh' themselves go and get the mur- derers, living or dead, or their nearest kindred, head for head. If they will not, let the ealdorman go ; if he will not, let the king go ; if he will not, let the ealdordom lie in l tinfrith.' III. cap. 3 And that a gemot be held in every wapontake ; and the xii. senior tliegns go out, and the reeve with them, and swear on the relic that is given them in hand, that they will accuse no innocent man, nor conceal any guilty one ii.] Ethelred and Canute. 73 Cap. n. And let no man have any soken over a king's thegn I except the king himself. V. cap. 2. And the ordinance of our lord and of his witan is, that Christian men and uncondemned be not sold out of the country, especially into a heathen nation ; and be it jealously guarded against, that those souls perish not that Christ bought with his own life. Cap. 3. And the ordinance of our lord and of his witan is, that Christian men for all too little be not condemned to death ; but in general let mild punishments be decreed, for the people's need ; and let not, for a little, God's handywork and His own purchase be destroyed, which He dearly bought. Cap. 26. But let God's law be henceforth zealously loved, by word and deed, then will God soon be merciful to this nation : and let ' frithes-bot' and ' feos-bot' everywhere in the country, and ( burh-bot ' on every side, and ' bric-bot/ and the armaments (fyrdung) also be diligently attended to, according to what is always prescribed when there is need. Cap. 28. And if any one without leave return from the 'fyrd* in which the king himself is, let it be at the peril of himself and all his estate ; and he who else returns from the ' fyrd/ let him be liable in cxx. shillings. A.D. 1016-1035. CANUTE. Secular Dooms ; cap. 17. And let no one apply to the king unless he may not be entitled to any justice within his hundred ; and let the hundred gemot be applied to under penalty of the ' wite,' so as it is right to apply to it. Cap. 1 8. And thrice a-year let there be a ' burh-gemot/ and twice a ' shire-gemot'; under penalty of the ' wite,' as is right, unless there be need oftener. And let there be present the bishop of the shire and the ealdorman, and there let both ex- pound as well the law of God as the secular law. ^ Cap. 19. And let no man take any distress Jpier in the shire or out of the shire, before he has twice demanded his right in the hundred. If at the third time he have no justice, then let him go at the fourth time to the ' shire-gemot/ and let the shire appoint him a fourth term. If that then fail, let him take leave either from hence or thence, that he may seize his own. Cap. 20. And we will that every free man be brought into a hundred and into a tithing. . . . And that every one be brought into a hundred and in 'borh ;' and let the 'borh' hold and lead him to every plea. . , . 74 Illustrative Extracts. [PART Cap. 21. And we will that every man above xii. years make oath that he will neither be a thief nor cognisant of theft. Cap. 70. This then is the alleviation which it is my will to secure to all the people of that which they before this were too much oppressed with. That then is first ; that I command all my reeves that they justlv,_provide on my^own, and maintain mejbherev^th ; and that no man need give them anything as ' feorm-fultum' unless he himself be willing. And if any one after that demand a ' wite,' let him be liable in his ' wer' to the king. Cap. 71. And if any one depart this life intestate, be it through his neglect, be it through sudden death ; then let not the lord draw more from his property than his lawful heriot. And according to his direction, let the property be distributed very justly to the wife and children and relations, to every one according to the degree that belongs to him. Cap. 72. And let the heriots be as it is fitting to the degree. An eorl's such as thereto belongs, that is, eight horses, four saddled and four unsaddled, and four helmets and four coats of mail, and eight spears and as many shields, and four swords and 200 mancuses of gold. And after that, a king's thegn's, of those who are nearest to him ; four horses, two saddled and two un- saddled, and two swords and four spears and as many shields, and a helmet and a coat of mail and fifty mancuses of gold. And of the medial thegns, a horse and his trappings and his arms ; or his ' healsfang' in Wessex ; and in Mercia two pounds ; and in East Anglia two pounds. And the heriot of a king's thegn among the Danes, who has his soken, four pounds. And if he have further relation to the king, two horses, one saddled and the other unsaddled, and one sword and two spears and two shields and fifty mancuses of gold ; and he who is of less means, two pounds. Cap. 8 1. And I will that every man be entitled to his hunting in wood and-in field, on his own possession. And let every one forego my hunting : take notice where I will have it untres- passed on, under penalty of the full ' wite.' Cap. 83. And I will that every man be entitled to ' grith' to the gemot and from the gemot, except he be a notorious thief. ii.] Canute. 75 CHAETER OF CANUTE. THE following Charter affords a most important illustration of the policy of Canute with regard to his English subjects, and of the general spirit of his legislation after his rule was univer- sally admitted. It probably belongs to the year 1020, in which the king returned from Denmark, as the earl Thurcyl, to whom it is addressed, was outlawed the following year. The laws of Edgar had been chosen by the Danes and English at Oxford in 1018. The document is published for the first time. Canute, the king, greets his archbishops and his suffragan bishops, and Thurcyl the earl, and all his earls and all his people, twelfhynde and twyhynde, clerk and lay, in England, friendly ; and I do you to wit that I will be kind lord and unfailing to God's rights and to right secular law. I took to my remembrance the writing and the word that archbishop Lyfing brought me from Rome from the pope, that I should everywhere maintain the glory of God and put down wrong, and work full peace by the might that God would give me. Now I shrank not from my cost whilst hostility was in hand among you ; now I with God's help took away at my cost that of which men told me that it threatened us with more harm than well pleased us; and then went I myself into Denmark, with the men that went with me, from whence most harm came to you ; and that have I with God's help taken precautions for that never henceforth should enmity come to you from thence whilst ye men rightly hold, and my life lasteth. Now I thank God Almighty for his help and mercy, that I have so allayed the great harms that threatened us, that we need expect from thence no harm, but to full peace and to deliverance if need be. Now I will that we all reverently thank God Almighty for the mercy that he has done for our help. Now I beseech my archbishops and all my suffragan bishops that they all be attentive about God's right, every one in his district which is committed to him , and also my ealdormen I command that they help the bishops to God's right and to my royal authority and to the behoof of all the people. If any be so bold, clerk or lay, Dane or English, as to go against God's law and against my royal authority, or against secular law, and be unwilling to make amends, and to alter according to my bishops' teaching, then I pray Thurcyl my earl, and also command him, that he 76 Illustrative Extracts. [PART bend that unrighteous one to right if he can if he cannot, then will I with the strength of us both that he destroy him in the land or drive him out of the land, be he better, be he worse ; and also I command all my reeves, by my friendship and by all that they own, and by their own life, that they everywhere hold my people rightly and judge right judgments by the shire bishops' witness, and do such mercy therein as the shire bishop thinks right, as a man may attain to ; and if any harbour a thief, or neglect the pursuit, be he answerable to me as the thief should, unless he can clear himself towards me with full purgation. And I will that all people, clerk and lay, hold fast Edgar's law, which all men have chosen and sworn to at Oxford, for that all the bishops say that it right deeply offends God, that a man break oaths or pledges ; and likewise they further teach us that we should with all might and main, alike seek, love, and worship the eternal merciful God, and eschew all unrighteous- ness ; that is, slaying of kinsmen, and murder, and perjury, and witchcraft and enchantment, and adultery, and incest ; and also they charge in the name of God Almighty, and of all his saints, that no man be so bold as to marry a hallowed nun or myncheii ; and if any have done so, be he outlaw towards God, and excom- municated from all Christendom, and answerable to the king in all he has, unless he quickly alter and deeply make amends to God ; and further still, we admonish that men keep Sunday's festival with all their might, and observe it from Saturday's noon to Monday's dawning; and no man be so bold that he either go to market or seek any court on that holy day ; and all men, poor and rich, seek their church, and ask forgiveness for their sins, and keep earnestly every ordained fast, and earnestly honour the saints that the mass priests shall bid us, that we may altogether through the mercy of the everlasting God and the intercession of his saints come to the joy of the kingdom of heaven, and dwell with Him who liveth and reigneth for ever without end. Amen. [York Gospel Book, MS.] A.D. 1043-1066. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR (as recorded by the wise men of the shires under William, and edited by Glanvill in the next century, with the legal language adapted to the later period). IX. De illis qui judicium faciunt aquae velferri calidi. Adsit ad judicium minister episcopi cum clericis suis, et Justitia regis ii.] Edward the Confessor. 77 cum legalibus hominibus provinciae illius, ut videant et audiant quod omnia aeque fiant ; et quos salvaverit Dominus per miseri- cordiam Suam et justitia eorum, quieti sint et liberi abscedant ; et quos iniquitas et injustitia sua condemnaverit, Justitia regis de ipsis fieri faciat justitiam. Barones autem qui curias suas habent de hominibus suis, videant ut ita agant de eis quatenus erga Deum reatum non incurratit, et regem non offendant. Et si placitum de hominibus aliorum baronum oritur in curiis suis, adsit ad placitum Justitia regis, quoniam absque eo fieri non debet. Et si barones sint qui judicia non habeant, in hundredo ubi placitum habitum fuerit, ad propinquiorem ecclesiam ubi judicium regis erit, determinandum est, salvis rectitudinibus baronum ipsorum. XIII. Divisiones schirarum et hundredorum. Divisiones scirarum regis proprie cum judicio iiii. chiminorum regalium sunt. Divisiones hundredorum et wapentagiorum, comitibus et vicecomitibus, cum judicio comitatus. XX. De Frithborgis. Alia pax maxima est, per quam omnes firmiori statu sustentantur : scilicet fidejussionis stabilitate, quam Angli vocant frithborgas, praeter Eboracenses qui vocant earn tenmanne tale, hoc est, numerum x. hominum. Et hoc est, quod de omnibus villis totius regni sub decennali fidejussione debeant omnes esse, ita quod si unus ex decem forisfecerit, novem eum haberent ad rectum. Quod si aufugeret, et dicerent quod non possent eum habere ad rectum, daretur eis ad minus a Justitia regis spatium xx. dierum et unius diei ; et si possent eum invenire, adducerent eum ad Justitiam. Ipse quidem de suo restauret damnum quod fecerat, et de corpore suo nat justitia, si ad hoc forisfecerit. Si autem infra supradictum ter- minum inveniri non poterit, quia in omni frithborge unus erat capitalis quern ipsi vocabant frithborge heved, ipse capitalis acciperet duos de melioribus in suo frithborge, et de tribus frithborgis propinquioribus vicinis suis accipiat de unoquoque capitalem ; et similiter duos de melioribus, si poterit eos habere, et se duodecimo expurget se et frithborgum suum si facere poterit, de forisfacto et fuga supradicti malefactoris. Quod si facere non poterit, restauraret damnum quod ipse fecerat de proprio foris- factoris quantum duraverit, et de suo ; et erga Justitiam emen- dent secundum quod legaliter judicatum fuerit eis. Et tamen sacramentum quod non potuerunt complere per vicinos, per se ipsos novem jurent se esse immunes. Et si aliquem potuerint recuperare, adducent eum ad Justitiam, si potuerint, aut dicent Justitiae ubi sit. 78 Illustrative Extracts. XXI. Descriptio libertatum diversarum. Archiepiscopi, epi- scopi, comites, barones et milites suos et proprios servientes suos, scilicet dapiferos, pincernas, camerarios, coquos, pistores, sub suo frithborgo habebant ; et ipsi suos armigeros vel alios servientes suos sub suo frithborgo; quod si ipsi forisfacerent, et clamor vicinorum insurgeret de eis, ipsi haberent eos ad rectum in curia sua, si haberent sacham et socham, tol et theam, et infangenethef . XXII. Quid sit SocJie, et Sache, et Tol, et Theam, et Infan- genthef. SOCHE est, quod si aliquis quaerit aliquid in terra sua, etiam furtum, sua est justitia si inventum fuerit an non. SACHA, quod si aliquis aliquem nominatim de aliquo calumni- atus fuerit, et ipse negaverit, forisfactura probationis vel nega- tionis, si evenerit, sua erit. TOL, quod nos vocamus theloneum, scilicet libertatem emendi et vendendi in terra sua. THEAM, quod si aliquis aliquid interciebatur super aliquem, et ipse non poterat warantum suum habere, erit forisfactura, et justitia similiter de calumniatore si deficiebat, sua erit. DE INFANG-ENE- THEP : Justitia cognoscentis latronis sua est de homine suo, si captus fuerit super terram suam. Et illi qui non habent con- suetudines quas supradiximus, ante Justitiam regis faciant rectum etiam in hundredo, vel in wapentagiis, vel in schiris. XXVIII. Quare FritJiborgi constituti sunt. Cum autem viderunt quod aliqui stulti libenter forisfaciebant erga vicinos suos, sapientiores ceperunt consilium inter se, quomodo eos reprimerent, et sic imposuerunt justitiarios super quosque x. frithborgos, quos decanos possumus dicere, Anglice autem tyenthe-heved vocati sunt; hoc est caput x. Isti autem inter villas, inter vicinos tractabant causas, et secundum quod foris- facturae erant, emendationes et ordinationes faciebant, videlicet de pascuis, de pratis, de messibus, de certationibus inter vicinos, et de multis hujusmodi quae frequenter insurgunt. XXIX. Cum autem majores causae insurgebant, referebant eas ad alios majores justitiarios quos sapientes supradicti super eos constituerant, scilicet, super x. decanos, quos possumus vocare centenaries quia super centum frithborgos judicabant. PART III. SELECT CHARTERS AND EXCERPTS ; Norman Period. A.D. 1066-1087. WILLIAM I. Archbishops of Canterbury. Stigand, 1052-1070; Lanfranc, 1070- 1089. Justices. Odo of Bayeux and William Fitz-Osbern, 1067 ; William de Warenne and Richard Fitz-Gilbert, 1073 ; Lanfranc of Canterbury, Geoffrey Bishop of Coutances, and Robert Count of Mortain, 1078. Chancellors. Herfast, afterwards Bishop of Elmham, 1068 ; Osbern, afterwards Bishop of Exeter, 1070-1074 ; Osmund, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury, 1074-1078 ; Maurice, afterwards Bishop of London, 1078-1083 ; William de Beaufeu, afterwards Bishop of Thetford, 1083- 1085 ; William Giffard, 1086-1087. WlLLIAM the Conqueror having, at the battle of Hastings, wrested the kingdom of England from Harold, was elected by the witan, and crowned after making the usual compact with the nation. He showed himself prepared to rule as the West Saxon line of kings before him had done, and found the forfeited demesnes and jurisdictions of the family of Godwin sufficient to satisfy for the moment the demands of his servants and allies. But the tyranny of Odo of Bayeux and William Fitz-Osbern, who were left behind as justices regent on the occasion of his first visit to Normandy, produced a resistance which was not extinguished until a very large portion of the native landowners had suffered forfeiture, and a very large substitution of Norman nobles in both lands and jurisdictions followed. This substitu- tion had the twofold effect of producing a gradual change in the institutions of the country, from the highest to the lowest, towards the Norman or properly feudal type, and of thus 80 Illustrative Extracts. [PART raising up a nobility covetous of extensive estates and hereditary jurisdictions, which must in the long run cripple the ancient power of the king and the system of self-government which still subsisted among the people. The struggles of the English against their conquerors were after a short interval succeeded by a series of struggles between the Crown and the Barons, which began in the conspiracy of Ralph Guader and Roger son of William Fitz-Osbern, and continued until the nobility of the Conquest was nearly extinct. The reign of the Conqueror witnessed only the opening of this long contest, which had the effect in its turn of compelling the kings to foster every remnant of local independence amongst the English as a check on the rebellious and tyrannical policy of the great feudatories. But this did not prevent the rapid assimilation of the government, in its highest range, to the feudal model ; which was the most pro- minent result of the Conquest, regarded in its constitutional aspect. EXCERPTS. A.D. 1066. WILL. PICTAV., Gesta Willdmi, ed. Maseres, p. 145. Die ordinationi decreto, elocutus ad Anglos condecenti sermone Eboracensis archiepiscopus, aequitatem valde amans, aevo maturus, sapiens, bonus, eloquens, an consentirent eum (Willelmum) sibi dominum coronari, inquisivit. Protestati sunt hilarem consensum universi minime haesitantes, ac si coelitus una mente data unaque voce. Anglorum voluntati quam facil- lime Normanni consonuerunt ; sermocinato ad eos ac sententiam percunctato Constantini praesule. . . . Sic electum consecravit idem, archiepiscopus, aeque sancta vita carus et inviolata fama, imposuit ei regium diadema ipsumque regio solio favente mul- torum praesentia praesulum et abbatum. . . . FLOR. WIGORN. Consecratus est honorifice, prius, ut idem archipraesul ab eo exigebat, ante altare Sancti Petri Apostoli, coram clero et populo jurejurando promittens se velle sanctas Dei ecclesias ac rectores illarum defendere, necnon et cunctum populum sibi subjectum juste et regali providentia regere, rectam legem statuere et tenere, rapinas injustaque judicia penitus interdicere. in.] "Excerpts. 8 1 CHEON. SAX. And he came to Westminster and Archbishop Ealdred consecrated him king, and men paid him tribute, and delivered him hostages, and afterwards bought their land. WILL. MALMESB., Gesta Eegum, lib. iii. 279. Convivia in praecipuis festivitatibus sumptuosa et magnifica inibat ; Natale Domini apud Gloecestram, Pascha apud "Wintoniam, Pentecosten apud Westmonasterium agens quotannis quibus in Anglia morari liceret : omnes eo cujuscunque professionis magnates regium edictum accersiebat, ut exterarum gentium legati specieni multitudinis apparatumque deliciarum mirarentur. . . . Quern morem convivandi primus successor obstinate tenuit, secundus omisit. CHEON. SAX., A.D. 1087. Thrice he wore his crown every year, as often as he was in England ; at Easter he wore it at Winchester; at Whitsuntide at Westminster; at Midwinter at Gloucester ; and then were with him all the rich men over all England, archbishops and suffragan bishops, abbots and earls, thegns and knights. R. HOVEDEN, Chronica, ii. 218. A.D. 1070. Willelmus rex, quarto anno regni sui, consilio baronum suorum, fecit summoneri per universes consulatus Angliae Anglos nobiles et sapientes et sua lege eruditos, ut eorum et jura et consuetudines ab ipsis audiret. Electi igitur de singulis totius patriae comitatibus viri duodecim jurejurando confirmaverunt primo ut quoad possent recto tramite, neque ad dextram neque ad sinistram partem deveftentes, legum suarum consuetudinem et sancita patefacerent, nil praetermittentes, nil addentes, nil praevaricando mutantes. FLOE. WIGOEN., A.D. 1084. Bex Anglorum Willelmus de unaquaque hida per Angliam sex solidos accepit. FLOE. WIGOEN., A.D. 1086. Willelmus rex fecit describi omnem Angliam, quantum terrae quisque baronum suorum pos- sidebat, quot feudatos milites, quot carrucas, quot villanos, quot animalia, immo quantum vivae pecuniae quisque possidebat in omni regno suo, a maximo usque ad minimum ; et quantum redditus quaeque possessio reddere poterat : et vexata est terra multis cladibus inde procedentibus. Et in hebdomada Pente- costes suum filium Heinricum apud Westmonasterium, ubi cu- riam suam tenuit, armis militaribus honoravit. Nee multo post mandavit ut archiepiscopi, episcopi, abbates, comites, barones, vicecomites, cum suis militibus, die Kalendarum Augustarum G 8s William I. [PART sibi occurrerent Searesbyriae : quo cum venissent, milites illorum sibi fidelitatem contra omnes homines jurare coegit. CHROK. SAX., A.D. 1086. After that he went about so that he came at Lammas to Salisbury, and there came to him his witan, and all the landowning men of property there were over all England, whose soever men they were, and all bowed down to him and became his men, and swore oaths of fealty to him that they would be faithful to him against all other men. ORDERIC. VITAL., lib. iv. c. 7. Ipsi vero regi, ut fertur, mille et sexaginta librae sterilensis monetae, solidique triginta et tres oboli, ex justis redditibus Angliae per singulos dies redduntur : exceptis muneribus regiis et reatuum redemption- ibus, aliisque multiplicibus negotiis quae regis aerarium quotidie adaugent ; rex Willelmus omne regnum suura diligeuter investi- gavit, et omnes fiscos ejus, sicut teinpore Edwardi regis fuerunt, veraciter describi fecit. Terras autem militibus ita distribuit, et eorum ordines ita disposuit, ut Angliae regnum LX. millia rnili- tum indesinenter haberet, ac ad imperium regis, prout ratio poposcerit, celeriter exhiberet. EADMER, Hist. Nov., i. p. 6. Quaedam de eis quae nova per Angliam servari [Willelmus] constituit ponam . . . 1. Non ergo pati volebat quenquam in omni dominatione 3ua constitutum Romanae urbis pontificem pro apostolico, nisi se jubente, recipere, aut ejus litteras si priniitus sibi ostensae non fuissent ullo pacto suscipere. 2. Primatem quoque regni sui, archiepiscopum dico Cantuari- ensem seu Dorobernensem, si coacto generali episcoporum con- cilio praesideret, non sinebat quicquam statuere aut prohi- bere nisi quae suae voluntati accommoda et a se primo essent ordinata. 3. Nulli nihilo minus episcopomm suorum concessum iri per- mittebat, ut aliquem de baronibus suis seu ministris, sive incesto sive adulterio sive aliquo capitali crimine denotatum, publice nisi ejus praecepto implacitaret, aut excommunicaret aut ulla ecclesiastici rigoris poena constringeret. CHARTER OF WILLIAM I TO THE CITY OP LONDON. Will'm kyng gret Will'm bisceop and Gosfregft portirefan and ealle J?a burhwaru binnan Londone Frencisce and Englisce freondlice. and ic kyde eow J>at ic wylle J>at get beon eallra J?0era in.] Statutes. 83 laga weorSe ]>e gyt waeran on Eadwerdes dsege kynges. and ic wylle J>set selc cyld beo his fseder yrfnume. sefter his fsederdsege. and ic nelle ge]>olian j?at senig man eow senig wrang beode. God eow gehealde. Translation. William, king, greets William, bishop, and Gosfrith, port- reeve, and all the burghers within London, French and English, friendly ; and I do you to wit that I will that ye two be worthy of all the laws that ye were worthy of in King Edward's day. And I will that every child be his father's heir, after his father's day. And I will not endure that any man offer any wrong to you. God keep you. (Liber Custumarum.) STATUTES OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEEOB. The following short record, which is found in this, its earliest form, in the ' Textus Roffensis/ a manuscript written during the reign of Henry I, contains what is probably the sum and substance of all the legal enactments actually made by the Con- queror, independent of his confirmations of the earlier laws ; they are probably the alterations or emendations referred to by Henry I in his charter, as made by his father in the laws of King Edward. The charter which follows is the important Act by which William divided the ecclesiastical from the secular jurisdiction over the clergy, in matters not strictly spiritual, which had of course always been treated, as they continued to be, by the bishops, in their own courts and councils. Hie intimatur quid Willelmus Rex Anglorum cum principibus suis constituit post Conquisitionem Angliae. 1. In primis quod super omnia unum vellet Deum per totum regnum suum venerari, unam fidem Christi semper inviolatam custodiri, pacem et securitatem inter Anglos et Normannos :vari. 2 . Statuimus etiam ut omnis liber homo foedere et sacramento affirmet, quod infra et extra Angliam Willelmo regi fideles G 2 84 William I. [PART esse volunt, terras et honorem illius omni fidelitate cum eo ser- vare, et ante eum contra inimicos defendere. 3. Volo autem ut omnes homines quos mecum adduxi aut post me venerunt sint in pace mea et quiete. Et si quis de illis occisus fuerit, dominus ejus habeat infra quinque dies homicidam ejus si potuerit ; sin autem, incipiat persolvere mihi xlvi. marcas argenti quamdiu substantia illius domini perduraverit. Ubi vero substantia defecerit, totus hundredus in quo occisio facta est communiter persolvat quod remanet. 4. Et omnis Francigena qui tempore regis Edwardi propinqui mei fuit in Anglia particeps consuetudinum Anglorum, quod ipsi dicunt onhlote et anscote, persolvatur secundum legem Anglorum. Hoc decretum sancitum est in civitate Claudia. 5. Interdicimus etiam ut nulla viva pecunia vendatur aut ematur nisi infra civitates, et hoc ante tres fideles testes ; nee aliquam rem vetustam sine fidejussore et waranto. Quod si aliter fecerit, solvat et persolvat, et postea forisfacturam. 6. Decretum est etiam ibi, ut, si Francigena appellav-erit Anglum de perjurio aut murdro, furto, homicidio, ran, quod Angli dicunt apertam rapinam quae negari non potest, Anglus se defendat per quod melius voluerit, aut judicio ferri aut duello. Si autem Anglus infirmus fuerit, inveniat alium qui pro eo faciat. Si quis eorum victus fuerit, emendet xl. solidos regi. Si Anglus Francigenam appellaverit et probare noluerit judicio aut duello, volo tamen Francigenam purgare se sacra- inento non fracto. 7. Hoc quoque praecipio et volo, ut omnes habeant et teneant legem Edwardi regis in terris et in omnibus rebus, adauctis iis quae constitui ad utilitatem populi Aiiglorum. 8. Omnis homo qui voluerit se teneri pro libero sit in plegio, ut plegius teneat et habeat ilium ad justitiam si quid offenderit. Et si quisquam talium evaserit, videant plegii ut simpliciter solvant quod calumniatum est, et purgent se quia in evaso nullam fraudem noverint. Requiratur hundredus et comitatus, sicut antecessores nostri statuerunt. Et qui juste venire deberent et venire noluerint, semel summoneantur ; et si secundo venire noluerint, accipiatur unus bos, et summoneantur tertio. Et si non tertio venerint, accipiatur alius bos : quarta autem vice si non venerint, reddatur de rebus hominis illius qui venire nolu- erit quod calumniatum est, quod dicitur ceapgeld ; et insuper forisfactura regis. 9. Ego prohibeo ut nullus vendat hominem extra patriam super plenam forisfacturam meam. 10. Interdico etiam ne quis occidatur aut suspendatur pro in.] Customs from Domesday. 85 aliqua culpa, sed eruantur oculi, et testiculi abscidantur. Et hoc praeceptum non sit violatum super forisfacturam meam plenam. (MS. BodL Rawlinson, C. 641.) ORDINANCE OF WILLIAM I, SEPARATING THE SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL COURTS. Willelmus gratia Dei Hex Anglorum, R. Bainardo et G. de Magnavilla, et P. de Valoines, ceterisque meis fidelibus de Essex et de Hertfordshire et de Middelsex, salutem. Sciatis vos omnes et ceteri mei fideles qui in Anglia manent, quod episco- pales leges, quae non bene nee secundum sanctorum canonum praecepta usque ad mea tempora in regno Anglorum fuerunt, communi concilio et consilio archiepiscoporum et episcoporum et abbatum et omnium principum regni mei emendandas judicavi. Propterea mando et regia auctoritate praecipio, ut nullus episco- pus vel archidiaconus de legibus episcopalibus amplius in hundret placita teneant, nee causam quae ad regimen animarum pertinet ad judicium secularium hominum adducant, sed quicunque se- cundum episcopales leges, de quacunque causa vel culpa iuter- pellatus fuerit, ad locum quern ad hoc episcopus elegerit vel nominaverit veniat, ibique de causa vel culpa sua respondeat, et non secundum hundret, sed secundum canones et episcopales leges, rectum Deo et episcopo suo faciat. Si vero aliquis per superbiam elatus ad justitiam episcopalem venire contempserit vel noluerit, vocetur semel, secundo et tertio ; quod si nee sic ad emendatiouem venerit, exconimunicetur, et si opus fuerit ad hoc vindicandum, fortitude et justitia regis vel vicecomitis adhibe- atur. Ille autem qui vocatus ad justitiam episcopi venire nolu- erit pro unaquaque vocatione legem episcopalem emendabit. Hoc etiam defendo, et mea auctoritate interdico, ne ullus vice- comes aut praepositus seu minister regis, nee aliquis laicus homo, de legibus quae ad episcopum pertinent se intromittat, nee aliquis laicus homo alium hominem sine justitia episcopi ad judicium adducat. Judicium vero in nullo loco portetur, nisi in episcopali sede aut in illo loco quern ad hoc episcopus constitu- ent. (Ancient Laws and Institutes, p. 213.) A.D. 1086. EXTRACTS FBOM DOMESDAY BOOK. Next to the laws and charters of the early kings, the record of local customs in Domesday-book is the source of the most 86 William I. [PART certain information as to the common law of England before the Conquest. It is probable that everything in the so-called laws of Edward the Confessor (above, p. 76), which has any sort of authenticity, is derived from these memoranda. The following extracts are given here as illustrating i . The aristocratic character of the municipal government in the towns which contained the germs of an organisation of their own ; 2. The financial system of the counties previous to its organisation under the Court of Exchequer, and whilst still administered by ealdormen or earls, superior to the sheriffs who take their place under the Norman system, although the earl retains ' the third penny 7 of the county ; 3. The ' consuetudines' or financial and legal customary settlement which it was the object of the municipal charters of the next century to conserve or amend ; 4. The method of raising and supporting the customary military force of the fyrd or expeditio ; and 5. The early application of the method of inquest by jury for the ascertaining of these legal and financial c consuetudines,' exemplified in the heading of the Ely Survey. TITLE OF THE DOMESDAY INQUEST FOR ELY. Hie subscribitur Inquisitio Terrarum quomodo baron es regis inquirunt, videlicet, per sacramentum Vicecomitis scirae et om- nium baronum et eorum Francigenarum et totius centuriatus, presbiteri, praepositi, vi. villanorum uniuscujusque villae. De- inde quomodo vocatur mansio, quis tenuit earn tempore Regis Eadwardi ; quis modo tenet ; quot hidae ; quot carrucae in dominio, quot hominum ; quot villani ; quot cotarii ; quot servi ; quot liberi homines \ quot sochemaui ; quantum silvae ; quantum prati ; quot pascuorum ; quot molendina ; quot pis- cinae } quantum est additum vel ablatum ; quantum valebat totum simul ; et quantum modo ; quantum ibi quisque liber homo, vel sochemannus habuit vel habet. Hoc totum tripliciter ; scilicet tempore Regis Aeduardi, et quando Rex Willelmus dedit ; et quomodo sit modo; et si potest plus haberi quam habeatur. (Inquisitio Eliensis, Domesday, iii. 497.) in.] Customs from Domesday. 87 CUSTOMS OF CHESTER. Civitas de Cestre tempore Kegis Edwardi geldabat pro 1. hidis. Tres hidae et dimidia quae sunt extra civitatem. Hoc est, una hida et dimidia ultra pontem, et ii. hidae in Neutone et Redeclive et in burgo episcopi ; hae geldabant cum civitate. Tempore Regis Edwardi erant in ipsa civitate cccc. et xxxi. domus geldantes. Et praeter has habebat episcopus Ivi. domus geldantes. Tune reddebat haec civitas x. markas argenti et dimidiam. Duae partes erant regis et tertia comitis ; et hae leges erant ibi; Pax data manu regis vel suo brevi vel per suum legatum, si b aliquo fuisset infracta, inde rex c. solidos habebat. Quod si psa pax regis jussu ejus a comite data fuisset infracta, de centum solidis qui pro hoc dabantur tertium denarium comes habebat. Si vero a praeposito regis aut ministro comitis eadem pax data infringeretur, per xl. solidos emendabatur, et comitis erat tertius denarius. Si quis liber homo regis pacem datam infringens in domo hominem occidisset, terra ejus et pecunia tota regis erat, et ipse utlagh fiebat. Hoc idem habebat comes de suo tantum homine hanc forisfacturam faciente. Cuilibet autem utlagh nullus poterat reddere pacem nisi per regem. Qui sanguinem faciebat a mane secundae feriae usque ad nonam sabbati, x. solidis emendabat. A nona vero sabbati usque ad mane secundae feriae sanguis effusus xx. solidis emendabatur. Similiter xx. solidos solvebat qui hoc faciebat in xii. 'diebus Nativitatis, et in die Purificationis Sanctae Mariae, et primo ie Paschae, et primo die Pentecostes, et die Ascensionis, et Assumptione vel Nativitate Sanctae Mariae, et in die festo Omnium Sanctorum. Qui in istis sanctis diebus hominem interficiebat iiii. libris emendabat ; in aliis autem diebus xl. solidis. Similiter Heim- faram vel forestel in his festis diebus et die Dominico qui faciebat, iiii. libras exsolvebat. In aliis diebus xl. solidos. Hangewitham faciens in civitate x. solidos dabat. Praepositus autem regis vel comitis hanc forisfacturam faciens xx. solidis emendabat. Qui revelach faciebat vel latroctnium vel violentiam feminae in domo inferebat, unumquodque horum xl. solidis emenda- batur. f Vidua si alicui se non legitime commiscebat xx. solidis emen- dabat ; puella vero x. solidis pro simili causa.' 88 William L [PART Qui in civitate terram alterius saisibat et non poterat dira- tiocinare suam esse, xl. solidis emendabat. Similiter et ille qui clamorem inde faciebat, si suam esse debere non posset diratiocinare. Qui terram suam vel propinqui sui relevare volebat x. solidos dabat. Quod si non poterat vel nolebat, terrain ejus in manu regis praepositus accipiebat. Qui ad terminum quod debebat gablum non reddebat, x. solidis emendabat. Si ignis civitatem comburebat, de cjujus domo exibat emen- dabat per iii. oras denariorum, et suo propinquiori vicino dabat ii. solidos. Omnium harum forisfacturarum ii. partes erant regis et tertia comitis. Si sine licentia regis ad portum civitatis naves venirent vel a portu recederent, de unoquoque nomine qui navibus esset ; xl. solidos habebat rex et comes. Si contra pacem regis et super ejus prohibitionem navis adveniret, tarn ipsam quam homines cum omnibus qui ibi erant habebat rex et comes. Si vero cum pace et licentia regis venisset, qui in ea erant quiete vendebant quae habebant : sed cum discederet, iiii. dena- rios de unoquoque lesth habebat rex et comes. Si habentibus martrinas pelles juberet praepositus regis ut nulli venderent donee sibi prius ostensas compararet, qui hoc non observabafc xl. solidis emendabat. Vir sive mulier falsam mensuram in civitate faciens, depre- hensus, iiii. solidis emendabat. Similiter malam cervisiam faciens, aut in cathedra ponebatur stercoris, aut iiii. solidos dabat praepositis. Hanc forisfacturam accipiebat minister regis et comitis in civitate, in cujuscunque terra fuisset, sive episcopi sive alterius hominis. Similiter et theloneum, si quis illud detinebat ultra tres noctes, xl. solidis emendabat. Tempore regis Edwardi erant in civitate hac vii. monetarii, qui dabant vii. libras regi et comiti extra firmam quandg moneta verfcebatur. Tune erant xii. judices civitatis, et hi erant de hominibus regis et episcopi et comitis : horum si quis de hundret remane- bat die quo sedebat, sine excusatione manifesta, x. solidis emen- dabat inter regem et comitem. Ad murum civitatis et pontem reaedificandum de unaquaque hida comitatus unum hominem venire praepositus edicebat. Cujus homo non veniebat, dominus ejus xl. solidis emendabat regi et comiti. Haec forisfactura extra firmam erat. Haec civitas tune reddebat de firma xlv. libras et iii. timbres pellium martrinium. Tertia pars erat comitis et duae regis. in.] Customs from Domesday. 89 Quando Hugo comes recepit non valebat nisi xxx. libris : valde enim erat vastata : ducentae et v. domus minus ibi erant quam tempore regis Edwardi fuerant. Modo totidem sunt ibi quot invenit. Hanc civitatem Mundret tenuit de comite pro Ixx. libris et una marka auri. Ipse habuit ad firmam pro 1. libris et i. marka auri, omnia placita comitis in comitatu et hundretis praeter Inglefeld. Terra in qua est templum Sancti Petri. quam Robertus de Rodelend clamabat ad teinland, sicut diratiocinavit comitatus, nunquam pertinuit ad manerium extra civitatem sed ad burgum pertinet ; et semper fuit in consuetudine regis et comitis sicut aliorum burgensium. (Domesday, i. 262, b.) CUSTOMS OF LINCOLN. In civitate Lincolia erant tempore regis Edwardi novies cen- tum et Ixx. mansiones hospitatae. Hie numerus Anglice com- putatur i. centum pro cxx. In ipsa civitate erant xii. lageman, id est haberites sacam et socam ; Hardecnut, Suartin filius Grimboldi, Ulf filius Suertebrand, qui habuit thol et theim, Walraven, Alwold, Britric, Guret, Ulbert, Godric filius Eddevae, Sivvard presbyter, Lewine presbyter, Aldene presbyter. Modo sunt ibi totidem habentes similiter sacam et socam : (i) Suar- dinc loco- Hardecnut patris sui; (2) Suartinc ; (3) Sortebrand TJlf patris sui ; (4) Agemund loco Walraven patris sui ; (5) Alwold; (6) Goduinus filius Brictric; (7) Normannus crassus loco Guret; (8) Ulbert frater Ulf adhuc vivit ; (9) Petrus de Valonges loco Godric filii Eddevae ; (10) Ulnodus presbyter loco Siward presbyteri ; (n) Buruolt loco patris sui Lewine qui modo est monachus ; (12) Ledwinus filius Revene loco Jdene presbyteri. . . . Tempore regis Edwardi reddebat civitas Lincolia regi xx. libras, et comiti x. libras. Modo reddit c. libras ad numerum inter regem et comitem. Moneta vero reddit Ixxv. libras. Consuetudines regis et comitis in Sudlincolia reddunt xxviii. libras. In Norttreding consuetudines regis et comitis reddunt xxiv. libras. In "Westreding consuetudines regis et comitis reddunt xii. libras. In Sudtreding consuetudines regis et comitis reddunt xv. libras. 90 William I. [PART Pax maim regis vel sigillo ejus data, si fuerit infracta emen- clatur per xviii. hundrez. TJnumquodque hundredum solvit viii. libras. Duodecim hundreda emendant regi et vi. cpmiti. Si quis pro aliquo reatu exulatus fuerit a rege et a comite et ab hominibus vicecomitatus, nullus nisi rex sibi dare pacem poterit, (Domesday, i. 336.) CUSTOMS OF OXFORD AND OXFORDSHIRE. OXENEFORDSCIRE. Tempore regis Edwardi reddebat Oxene- ford pro theloneo et gablo et omnibus aliis consuetudinibus per annum regi quidem xx. libras et vi. sextarios mellis ; comiti vero Algaro x. libras, adjuncto molino quern infra civitatem habebat. Quando rex ibat in expeditionem, burgenses xx. ibant cum eo pro omnibus aliis, vel xx. libras dabant regi ut onines essent liberi. Modo reddit Oxeneford Ix. libras ad numerum de xx ti in ora. In ipsa villa tarn intra murum quam extra sunt cc. et xliii. domus reddentes geldum, et exceptis his sunt ibi quingentae domus xxii. minus ita vastae et destructae quod geldum non possunt reddere. (After the names of the tenants.) Hi omues praescripti tenent has praedictas mansiones liberas propter reparationem muri. Omnes mansiones quae vocantur murales tempore regis Edwardi liberae erant ab omni consuetu- dine excepta expeditione et muri reparatione. . . . Omnes burgenses Oxeneford habent communiter extra murum pasturam reddentem vi. solidos et viii. denarios. . . . COMITATUS OXENEFORD reddit firmam triurn noctium hoc est cl. libras : de augmento xxv. libras ad pondus : de burgo xx. libras ad pondus : de moneta xx. libras denariorum de xx*i in ora : ad arma iiii. solidos : de gersumna reginae c. solidos ad numerum : pro accipitre, x. libras : pro summario, xx. solidos : pro canibus, xxiii. libras denariorum de xx^ in ora, et vi. sextarios mellis et xv. denarios de consuetudine. . . . Pax regis manu vel sigillo data si quis infregerit ita ut homi- nern cui pax ipsa data fuerit occidat, et membra et vita ejus in arbitrio regis erunt si captus fuerit. Et, si capi non potuerit, ab omnibus exul habebitur, et si quis eum occidere praevaluerit spolia ejus licenter habebit. Si quis extraneus in Oxeneford manere deligens et domum habens sine parentibus ibi vitam finierit, rex habebit quicquid reliquerit. Hi.] William II. 91 Si quis alicujus curiam vel domum violenter effregerit vel intraverit, ut hominem occidat, vel vulneret, vel assaliat, c. solidis regi emendat. Similiter qui monitus ire in expeditionem non vadit, c. solidos regi dabit. Si quis aliquem interfecerit intra curiam vel domum suam, corpus ejus et omnis substantia sunt in potestate regis praeter dotem uxoris ejus si dotatam habuerit. (Domesday, i. 154.) CUSTOMS OP BERKSHIRE. Quando geldum dabatur tempore regis Edwardi communiter per totam Bercheschiram dabat hida iii. denarios et obolum ante Natale Domini et tantundem ad Pentecosten. Si rex mittebat alicubi exercitum, de quinque hidis tantum unus miles ibat et ad ejus victum vel stipendium de unaquaque hida dabantur ei iiii. solidi ad duos menses. Hos vero denarios regi non mittebantur sed militibus dabantur. Si quis in expe- ditionem summonitus non ibat, totam terram suam erga regem forisfaciebat. Quod si quis remanendi habens alium pro se mittere promitteret, et tamen qui mittendus erat remaneret, pro 1. solidis quietus erat dominus ejus. Tainus vel miles regis domiiiicus moriens pro relevamento dimittebat regi omnia arma sua et equum unum cum sella, alium sine sella. Quod si essent ei canes vel accipitres praesentaban- tur reg5, ut, si vellet, acciperet. Si quis- occicleret hominem pacem regis habentem, et corpus suum et omnem substantiam forisfaciebat erga regem. Qui per noctem effringebat civitatem c. solidis emendabat regi non vicecomiti. . Qui monitus ad stabilitionem venationis non ibat, 1. solidis regi emendabat. (Domesday, i. 56.) A.D. 1087-1100. WILLIAM II. Archbishops of Canterbury. Lanfranc, 1070-1089; Anselm, 1093- 1109. Justices. Odo of Bayeux, 1087-1088 ; William de S. Carilepho, 1088 ; Eanulf Flambard, 1094-1100. Chancellors. William Gtffard, 1087-1090; Kobert Bloett, 1090; Waldric, 1093 ; William Giffard, 1094-1100. The reign of William Rufus contains no great constitutional landmark, but it witnessed the ripening of the causes which 9 2 William II. [PART were producing the death-struggle of the royal and feudal powers, and affords a few slight indications of the continuity of the national institutions, which were enabled by that contest to take breath between the successive strokes of their tyrants, or were even occasionally utilised by the king, as possessing in- terests for the moment in unison with his own. On three occasions William found it necessary or advisable to issue con- stitutional manifestoes or promises, but the text of none of these is extant ; and none of them was observed. The rest of the history of the reign is a picture of profligate exaction and extra- vagant expenditure, lying outside the sphere of constitutional history. A.D. 1087. EADMER, Hist, Novorum, lib. i. p. 13. Defuncto itaque Rege Willelmo, successit ei in regnum Willelmus filius ejus, qui cum regni fastigia fratri suo Roberto praeripere ges- tiret, et Lanfrancum, sine cujus assensu in regnum ascisci nulla- tenus poterat, sibi in hoc ad expletionem desiderii sui non omnino consentaneum inveniret; verens ne dilatio suae conse- crationis inferret ei dispendium cupiti honoris, coepit tarn per se, quam per omnes quos poterat, fide sacramentoque Lanfranco promittere, justitiam, aequitatem et misericordiam se per totum regnum, si rex foret, in omni negotio servaturum ; pacem, liber- tatem, securitatem ecclesiarum contra omnes defensurum, nec- non praeceptis atque consiliis' ejiis per omnia et in omnibus obtemperaturum. A.D. 1088. WILL. HALMESB., Gesta Regum, lib. iv. 306. [Rex] videns Normannos pene omnes in una rabie conspiratos, Anglos probos et fortes viros, qui adhuc residui erant, invitatoriis scrip tis accersiit; quibus super injuriis suis querimoniam faciens, bonasque leges, et tributorum levamen, liberasque venationes pollicens, fidelitati suae obligavit Anglos suos appellat, jubet ut compatriotas advocent ad obsidionein (Rovecestrae) venire, nisi si qui "velint sub nomine Nithing, quod nequam sonat, remanere. Angli qui nihil miserius putarent quam hujusce vocabuli dedecore aduri, catervatim ad regem confluunt et invincibilem exercitum faciunt. A.D. 1093. EADMER, Hist. Nov. i. p. 16. . . . Valida in- firmitas corripuit [regem]. . . . Adquiescit ipse [rex] et corde compunctus, cuncta quae viri [Anselmi] sententia tulit se factu- rum, necnon totam vitam suam in mansuetudine et justitia am- in.] Henry I. 93 plius servaturum pollicetur. Spondet in hoc fidem suam, et vades inter se et Deum facit episcopos suos, mittens qui hoc votum suum Deo super altare sua vice promittant. Scribitur edictum regioque sigillo firmatur, quatenus captivi quicunque sunt in omni dominatione sua relaxentur, omnia debita irrevoca- biliter remittantur, omnes offensiones antehaec perpetratae, indulta remissione perpetuae oblivioni tradantur. Promittuntur insuper omni populo bonae et sanctae leges, inviolabilis obser- vatio juris, injuriarum gravis et quae terreat ceteros exami- natio. . . . FLOE. WIGORN., A.D. 1094. Quod cum regi innotuerit (sc. obsessio castelli de Holm), nuntiis in Angliam missis, xx millia pedonum in Normanniam jussit sibi in auxilium mitti. Quibus ut mare transirent Heastingae congregatis, pecuniam quae data fuerat eis ad victum, Rannulfus Passeflambardus praecepto regis abstulit, scilicet unicuique decem solidos, et eos domum repedare mandavit ; pecuniam vero regi transmisit. WILL. MALMESB., Gesta fiegum, lib. iv. 319. Nihilo secius in homines grassabantur [curiales] primo pecuniam deinde terras auferentes. Non pauperem tenuitas, non opulentum copia tue- batur : venationes quas rex primo indulserat, adeo prohibuit, ut capitale esset supplicium prendisse cervum. ' A.D. 1100-1135. HENRY I. Archbishops of Canterbury. Anselm, 1093-1109; Kalph of Escures, 1114-1122; William of Corbeil, 1123-1135. Justices. Kobert Bloett, 1 100-1107 > Roger le Poor, Bishop of Salisbury, 1107-1135. Chancellors. William Giffard, noo-noi; Roger le Poor, 1101-1103; William Giffard, 1103-1104; Waldric, 1104; Eanulf, 1108-1123; Geoffrey Eufus , 1124-1135. Although the reign of Henry I was a period of irresponsible despotism on the king's part, and of great suffering, from several causes, on the part of the English, it is to it that we trace back the exact lines of the process by which the reviving liberties of the nation were to assert themselves. This is due, first, to the fact of the necessary alliance between the king and the people, which resulted from his questionable title to the throne, the com- petition of his brother Kobert, the existence of the powerful 94 'Henry I. [PART baronage under Robert of Belesme, which was anxious to take advantage of the weakness of the king to secure its own prac- tical independence, and the unity of the interest of the king and people against their common enemy. This alliance was osten- sibly secured by the careful legality of Henry's election and coronation, by his charter of liberties, and by his marriage with an English lady who inherited a share of the claims of the "West Saxon Kings ; and the practical results appeared in the steady support given by the native population to Henry against his competitors and assailants, and in the promises of good govern- ment by which that support was requited. But not less important, constitutionally, is the result of Henry's complete triumph ; which not only made him one of the most influential princes in Europe, but placed in his hands, by the forfeiture and degradation of his most powerful vassals, an amount of territory and completeness of jurisdiction in England greater than had fallen to the lot of his father. Thus strength- ened, and this is especially apparent after the fall of Robert of Belesme, Henry followed out his father's principles of avoid- ing the redistribution of territory and jurisdiction on a large scale, and attempted, by centralisation and systematic machinery. to unite the kingdom under a strong royal administration. Whilst, with this intention, he organised the financial system of the Exchequer and facilitated access to the Curia Regis, on the one hand, on the other he restored or strengthened the county courts, granted charters to the boroughs, and authorised the foundation of trade guilds in the towns. By judicial journeys of the Justiciar and Barons of the Exchequer he brought the supreme jurisdiction into contact with the provincial organisa- tion, and reduced the hereditary franchises of the nobles to com- parative harmlessness. In these measures he led the way for the great reforms of his grandson. But we are not to suppose that under Henry I the security of life and property which resulted from these measures was based on anything more per- manent than royal will or routine. Henry I was not a lawgiver, nor did he entrust the national council with any freedom of legislative action. His relation with the barons, the clergy, and in.] Restoration of Order. 95 the people rendered this impossible. His charter of liberties, then, remains the sole legislative act of his reign, for the Custumal known as ' The Laws of Henry I ' is a compilation of later date. But there are considerable evidences of judicial and administrative activity in the numerous charters of the reign, and in the valuable record of Exchequer proceedings known as the Pipe Roll of the 3 1 st of Henry I. A third influential characteristic of the period was the stand, mainly successful, made by S. Anselm on behalf of ecclesiastical liberties, which, although it had no immediate bearing on the framework of the constitution, secured the existence of a limit on royal irresponsibility in one direction at least, taught the nation the possibility of vindicating freedom, and created a class of politicians springing from the people, trusted by the sovereign, and sincerely interested in the maintenance of law and peace. How largely this was the case appears from the fact, that it is from the clergy only that any real check upon the royal power proceeds for more than a century. They only resist arbitrary taxation ; and, whether struggling for the national good, or, as in some instances, for their class privileges, maintain the recollec- tion and idea of freedom. Notwithstanding the existence of these influences, which were now only germinating, the condition of England under Henry I was very unhappy. Although he kept good peace, and by his strong administrative system secured justice between man and man, class and class, his foreign wars and domestic expenses necessitated frequent taxation, against which no class of his sub- jects could even remonstrate, and the pressure of which, owing to a singularly long succession of bad seasons, was especially heavy on the country. It is no small praise to Henry, as a ruler, that while the Chronicles are full of lamentations over the miseries of the reign, he is recognised as the Lion of Justice or Righteousness of Merlin's prophecy, and looked upon more or less as a national or English king, whose laws, or rather customs, like those of Edward the Confessor, become the text of the liber- ties which, when the nation has become strong and thoroughly consolidated, are to be vindicated against his successors. 9 6 Henry I. [[PART EXCEEPTS. A.D. 1 100. WILL. HALMESB., Gesta Eegum, v. 393. Occiso vero rege Willelmo, . . . (Henricus) in regem electus est, aliquantis tamen ante controversiis inter proceres agitatis atque sopitis ; annitente maxime comite "Warwicensi Henrico, viro integro et sancto, cujus familiari jamdudum usus fuerat contubernio. Itaque edicto statim per Angliam misso, injustitias a fratre et Kannulfo institutas prohibuit, pensionum et vinculorum gratiam fecit ; effeminates curia propellens, lucernarum usum noctibus in curia restituit qui fuerat tempore fratris intermissus ; antiquarum moderationem legum revocavit in solidum, sacramento suo et omnium procerum, ne luderentur corroborans. EADMEB, Hist. Nov. iii. p. 55. Henricus qui tune noviter fratri defuncto in regnum successerat, in ipso suae consecrationis die bonas et sanctas omni populo leges se servaturum et omnes oppressiones et iniquitates, quae sub fratre suo emerserant in omni sua dominaticne, tarn in ecclesiis quam in saecularibus negotiis, prohibiturum et subversurum spoponderat ; et haec omnia jurisjurandi interjectione firmata, sub monimento litte- rarum sigilli sui testimonio roboratarum, per totum regnum divulgatum iri praeceperat. FLOE. WIG., A.D. noo. Legem regis Eadwardi omnibus in commune reddidit, cum illis emendationibus quibus pater suus ill am emend avit ; sed forestas quas ille constituit et habuit in manu sua retinuit. WILL. MALMESB., Gesta Regum, v. 394. Robertus interea, Normanniam veniens comitatum suum obsistente nullo recepit j quo audito omnes pene hujus terrae optimates fidei regi juratae transfugae fuere ; quidam null is exstantibus causis, quidam levibus occasiunculis emendicatis, quod nollet iis terras quas vellent ultro pro libito eorum impertiri. Soli Robertus Filius Hamonis, et Ricardus de Retvers, et Rogerius Bigot, et Robertus Comes de Mellento, cum fratre Henrico, justas partes fovebant. Ceterum omnes vel clam pro Roberto ut rex fieret mittere, vel palam contumeliis dominum inurere ; Godricurn eum et com- parem Godgivam appellantes. A.D. noi. IB. 395. Licet principibus deficientibus partes ejus solidae manebant, quas Anselmi archiepiscopi, cum episcopis suis, simul et omnium Anglorum tutabatur favor. Quapropter ipse provincialium fidei gratus et saluti providus, plerumque in.] Excerpts. 97 cuneos circuiens docebat quomodo militum ferociam eludentes, clypeos objectarent et ictus remitterent, quo effecit ut ultroneis votis pugnam deposcerent in nullo Normannos metuentes. A.D. 1104. FLOR. WIG. ad ann. Willelmus comes de More- teon exhaeredatus est de tota terra sua quam habuit in Anglia. Non facile potest narrari miseria quam sustinuit isto tempore terra Anglorum propter exactiones regias. A.D. 1107. FLOR. WIG. ad ann. Annuit rex et statuit, ut ab eo tempore in reliquum, nunquam per dationem baculi pastoralis vel annuli quisquam de episcopatu aut abbatia per regem vel quamlibet laicam manum in Anglia investiretur ; concedente quoque Anselmo ut nullus in praelationem electus, pro hominio quod regi faceret, consecratione suscepti honoris privaretur. A.D. 1108. FLOR. WIG. ad ann. Rex Anglorum Henricus pacem firmam legemque talem constituit, ut si quis in furto vel latrocinio deprehensus fuisset suspenderetur. Monetam quoque corruptam et falsam sub tanta animadversione corrigi statuit, ut nullus qui posset deprehendi falsos denarios facere, aliqua re- dernptione quin oculos et inferiores corporis partes perderet juvari valeret. Et quoniam saepissime dum denarii eligebantur, flectebantur, rumpebantur, respuebantur, statuit ut nullus denarius vel obolus, quos et rotundos esse instituit, aut etiam quadrans, [si] integer esset, [respueretur]. Ex quo facto mag- num bonum toti regno creatum est, quia ipse rex haec in saecularibus. ad relevandas terrae aerumnas agebat. WILL. MALMESB., Gesta Regum, v. 408. Habebat .... Rex Henricus episcopum Salesbiriensem Rogerium a secretis, cujus maxime nitebatur consilio, nam et ante regnum omnibus suis praefecerat rex ; primum cancellarium, mox episcopum constitu- erat, prudentiam viri expertus. Sollerter administrati episco- patus officium spem infudit, quod majori dignus haberetur munere, itaque totius regni moderamen illius delegavit justitiae, sive ipse adesset Angliae sive moraretur Normanniae. Refugit episcopus tantis se curis involvere nisi tres Archiepiscopi Cantua- rienses, Anselmus, Radulfus, Willelmus, et postremo papa injunxissent ei munus obedientiae. ORD. VIT., Eccl. Hist. lib. xi. c. 2. . . . Plerosque illustres pro temeritate sua de sublimi potestatis culmine praecipitavit, et haereditario jure irrecuperabiliter spoliates condemnavit. Alios contra favorabiliter illi obsequentes de ignobili stirpe illustravit, de pulvere, ut ita dicam, extulit, dataque multiplici facultate super consules et illustres oppidatios exaltavit. Inde Goiffredua de Clintona, Radulfus Basset, et Hugo de Bocalanda, Guillegrip, H 98 Henry I. [PART et Rainerius de Bada, Guillelmus Trossebot, et Haimon de Falesia, Guigan Algazo, et Rodbertus de Bostare, aliique plures, mihi testes sunt, opibus aggregatis et aedibus constructis, super omnia quae patres eorum habuerunt ; ipsi quoque, qui ab eisdem saepe falsis vel injustis occasionibus oppress! sunt. Illos nimi- rum aliosque plures quos singillatim nominare taedio est, rex cum de infimo genere essent nobilitavit, regali auctoritate de imo erexit, in fastigio potestatum constituit, ipsis etiam spectabilibus regni principibus formidabiles effecit. . . . Lib. xi. c. 3. Rex itaque totum honorem Rodberti (de- Belismo) et hominum ejus, qui cum illo in rebellione persti- terant, possedit, ipsumque cum equis et armis incolumem abire permisit, salvumque per Angliam usque ad mare conductum por- rexit. Omnis Anglia, exulante crudeli tyranno, exultavit, mul- torumque congratulatio regi Henrico tune adulando dixit, ' Gaude rex Henrice, Dominoque Deo gratias age quia tu libere coepisti regnare ex quo Rodbertum de Belismo vicisti et de finibus regni tui expulisti.' Fugato itaque Rodberto regnum Albionis in pace siluit et rex Henricus xxxiii. annis prospere regnavit, quibus in Anglia nullus postea rebellare contra eum ausus fuit, nee munitionem aliquam contra eum tenuit. HENR. HUNTINGD., Hist. lib. vii. Anno igitur sequenti (A.D. 1109) data est filia regls imperatori, ut breviter dicam, sicut decuit ; Rex itaque cepit de unaquaque hida Angliae tres solidos. CHRON. ANG. S., ad ann. 1124. . . . Between Christmas and Candlemas the acre seed of wheat, that is two seedlips, was sold for six shillings, and the acre seed of oats, that is four seedlips, for four shillings. ... In the same year, after S. Andrew's mass, before Christmas, Ralph Basset and the king's thegns held a ' geVitenernot ' at Hundehoge in Leicestershire, and there hanged so many thieves as never were before, that was in that little while, altogether four-and-forty men; and six men were deprived of their eyes and emasculated. CHRON. ANG. S., ad ann. 1135. The king died on the follow- ing day after S. Andrew's mass day, in Normandy : then there was tribulation soon in the land, for every man that could forth- with robbed another. Then his son and his friends took his body and brought it to England and buried it at Reading. A good man he was, and there was great awe of him. No man durst misdo against another in his time. He made peace for man and beast. Whoso bare his burden of gold and silver, no man durst say to him aught but good. . . . ii.] Charter of Liberties. 99 A.D. 1 100. CHARTER OF LIBERTIES ISSUED BY HENRY I. This charter was published by Henry I at his coronation, and probably reissued from time to time as he found it necessary to appeal to the sympathies of his people against their common enemies. It is in form an amplification of his Coronation Oath, the exact words of which are still preserved, and agree with the ancient form used at the coronation of Ethelred : * In Christi nomine promitto haec tria populo Christiano mihi subdito. In primis me praecepturum et opem pro viribus im- pensurum ut ecclesia Dei et omnis populus Christianus veram pacem nostro arbitrio in omni tempore servet \ aliud ut rapaci- tates et omnes iniquitates omnibus gradibus interdicam ; tertium ut in omnibus judiciis aequitatem et misericordiam praecipiam, ut mihi et vobis indulgeat Suam misericordiam clemens et misericors Deus.' * It is thus a deliberate expression of the articles of the covenant made by the king with his people, in consideration of which he receives the tnreefold sanction of election by the nation, unction and coronation by the Church, and homage from the feudal vassals. Further, it is a deliberate limitation of the power which had been exercised by "William the Con- queror and William Rufus, a renunciation of the evil customs introduced by the latter, and a restoration of the ancient customs of the nation ; and in this aspect, it is a recognition of the lawful freedom of the nation, which those evil customs had infringed, and which was regarded as symbolised by the laws of Edward the Confessor. Further, it is an exemplification of the evil customs themselves ; and historically marks the amount of departure from free and national government which had pre- vailed in the late reign. These are the oppressions of the Church by the exaction of the regale in the case of vacancies, and the consequent delay of elections ; and those of the feudal baronage and their tenants, by the excessive exactions in the way of reliefs, marriages, and wardships, debts to the crown and forfeiture. In 1 Maskell, Mon. Hit. iii. 5, 6. H 2 ioo Henry I. [PART the place of unlimited demands on these heads the charter pro- mises not indeed fixed amercements, but a return to ancient equitable custom. The forests are retained in the king's hands. But the claims of the body of the people are recognised in the proclamation of peace, in the restoration of the national laws, and in the provision that the promises made by the crown to its vassals shall be regarded as regulating the proceedings of those vassals with their feudal dependents : a most important article, securing the rights of the lower landowners, on the same basis as those of the higher, and binding the latter to do justice as they would have justice done to them. In every point, either by likeness or by contrast, this charter has important bearings on the constitutional programme drawn out of it by the barons in their demands on John. Anno Incarnationis Dominicae MCI. HENRICUS FILIUS WILLELMI REGIS post obitum fratris sui Willelmi, Dei gratia rex Anglorum, omnibus fidelibus salutem. 1. Sciatis me Dei misericordia et communi consilio baronum totius regni Angliae ejusdem regni regem coronatum esse ; et quia regnum oppressum erat injustis exactionibus, ego, Dei respectu et amore quern erga vos habeo, sanctam Dei ecclesiam imprimis liberam facio, ita quod nee vendam nee ad nrmam. ponam, nee mortuo archiepiscopo sive episcopo sive abbate aliquid accipiam de dominico ecclesiae vel de hominibus ejus donee successor in earn ingrediatur. Et omnes malas consuetu- dines quibus regnum Angliae injuste opprimebatur inde aufero ; quas malas consuetudines ex parte hie pono : 2. Si quis baronum, comitum meorum sive aliorum qui de me tenent, mortuus fuerit, haeres suus non , redimet terrain suam sicut faciebat tempore fratris mei, sed justa et legitima relevatione relevabit earn. Similiter et homines baronum meorum justa et legitima relevatione relevabunt terras suas de dominis suis. 3. Et si quis baronum vel aliorum hominum meorum filiam suam nuptum tradere voluerit sive sororem sive neptim sive cognatam, mecum inde loquatur ; sed neque ego aliquid de suo pro hac licentia accipiam neque defendant! ei quin earn det, ex- cepto si earn vellet jungere inimico meo. Et si mortuo barone sive alio homine meo filia haeres remanserit, illam dabo consilio baronum meorum cuni terra sua. Et si mortuo viro uxor ejus in.] Charter of Liberties. 101 remanserit et sine liberis fuerit, dotem suam et maritationem habebit, et earn non dabo marito nisi secuudum velle suum. 4. Si vero uxor cum liberis remanserit, dotem quidem et maritationem habebit, dum corpus suum legitime servaverit, et earn non dabo nisi secundum velle suum. Et terrae et liberorum custos erit sive uxor sive alius propinquorum qui justius esse debebit. Et praecipio quod barones mei similiter se contineant erga filios vel filias vel uxores hominum suorum. 5. Monetagium commune quod capiebatur per civitates et comitatus quod non fuit tempore regis Edwardi, hoc ne amodo fiat omnino defendo. Si quis captus fuerit sive monetarius sive alius cum falsa moneta, justitia recta inde fiat. 6. Omnia placita et omnia debita quae fratri meo debebantur condono, exceptis rectis firmis meis et exceptis illfs quae pacta erant pro afliorum haereditatibus vel pro eis rebus quae justius aliis contingebant. Et si quis pro haereditate sua aliquid pepigerat, illud condono, et omnes relevationes quae pro rectis haereditatibus pactae fuerant. 7. Et si quis baronum vel hominum meorum infirmabitur, sicut ipse dabit vel dare disponet pecuniam suam, ita datam esse concede. Quod si ipse praeventus armis vel infirmitate, pecuniam suam non dederit vel dare disposuerit, uxor sua sive liberi aut parentes, et legitimi homines ejus, earn pro anima ejus dividant, sicut eis melius visum fuerit. 8. Si quis baronum sive hominum meorum forisfecerit, non dabit vadium in misericordia pecuniae suae, sicut faciebat tem- pore patris mei vel fratris mei, sed secundum modum forisfacti, ita emendabit sicut emendasset retro a tempore patris mei, in tempore aliorum antecessorum meorum. Quod si perfidiae vel sceleris convictus fuerit, sicut justum fuerit, sic emendet. 9. Murdra etiam retro ab ilia die qua in regem coronatus fui omnia condono : et ea quae amodo facta fuerint, juste emendentur secundum lagam regis Edwardi. 10. Forestas communi consensu baronum meorum in manu mea retinui, sicut pater meus eas habuit. 11. Militibus qui per loricas terras suas defendunt, terras dominicarum carrucarum suarum quietas ab omnibus gildis, et omni opere, proprio dono meo concede, ut sicut tarn magno allevamine alleviati sint, ita se equis et armis bene instruant ad servitium meum et ad defensionem regni mei. 12. Pacem firmam in toto regno meo pono et teneri amodo praecipio. 13. Lagam Edwardi regis vobis reddo eum illis emenda- tionibus quibus pater meus earn emendavit consilio baronum suorum. 103 Henry I. [PART 14. Si quis aliquid de rebus meis vel de rebus alicujus post obitum Willelmi regis fratris mei ceperit, totum cito sine emen- datione reddatur, et si quis inde aliquid retinuerit, ille super quern inventurn fuerit mihi graviter emendabit. Testibus Mauricio Lundoniae episcopo et Gundulfo episcopo et Willelmo electo episcopo et Henrico comite et Simone comite et Waltero Giffardo et Rodberto de Monfort et Rogero Bigoto et Henrico de Portu, apud Lundoniam quando fui coronatus. (Ancient Laws and Institutes, p. 215.) A. D. 1 1 oo. LETTER OF HENRY I TO ANSELM. V ANSELM was absent from England at the time of the death of William Rufus, and Henry I wrote the following letter by way of an apology for having hurried on the coronation without waiting for him. The letter is of extreme interest, as showing the importance which Henry attached to his formal election, and as illustrating the constitutional position of the archbishop as the first adviser of the crown. It illustrates further the operation of the principle that the king's peace died with him, so that law was in abeyance until the peace of the new king was proclaimed at his coronation. HENRICUS, Dei gratia rex Anglorum, piissimo patri suo spiritual! Ansel mo, Cantuariensi episcopo, salutem et omnis amicitiae exhibitionem. Scias, pater carissime, quod frater meus rex Willelmus mor- tuus est, et ego nutu Dei, a clero et a populo Angliae electus, et quamvis invitus propter absentiam tui rex jam consecratus, requiro te sicut patrem cum omni populo Angliae, quatenus mihi filio tuo et eidem populo cujus tibi animarum cura commissa est, quam citius poteris, venias ad consulendum. Heipsum quidem ac totius regni Angliae populum tuo eorumque consilio qui tecum mihi consulere debent committo ; et precor ne tibi displiceat quod regiam benedictionem absque te suscepi ; de quo si fieri posset libentius earn susciperem quam de alio aliquo. Sed necessitas fuit talis quia inimici insurgere volebant contra me et populum quern habeo ad gubernandum, et ideo barones mei et idem populus noluerunt ampiius earn protelari ; hac itaque occasione a tuis vicariis illam suscepi. Misissem quidem ad te a meo latere aliquos per quos tibi etiam de mea pecunia in.] County Courts. 103 destinassem, seel pro morte fratris mei circa regnum Angliae ita totus orbis concussus est, ut nullatenus ad te salubriter per- venire potuissent. Laudo ergo et mando ne per Northmanniam venias sed per Witsand, et ego Doveram obviam habebo tibi baron es meos, et pecuniam ad te recipiendum ; et invenies, Deo juvante, unde bene persolvere poteris quidquid mutuo accepisti. Festina igitur, pater, venire, ne mater nostra Cantuariensis ecclesia diu fluctuans et desolata causa tui amplius sustineat animarum desolationem. Teste Girardo episcopo, et "Willelmo Wintoniensi electo episcopo, et Willelmo Warelwast, et comite Henrico, et Roberto filio Haimonis, et Haimone dapifero et aliis tarn episcopis quam baronibus meis. Vale. (Epist. Anselmi, III. xli.) ORDER FOR THE HOLDING OF THE COURTS OF THE HUNDRED AND THE SHIRE. This charter was issued between A. D. noS and 1112 : it is addressed, in the ancient form, to the bishop of the diocese and the sheriff of the county, and is a remarkable relic of Henry's national policy. Whether the feudal barons had attempted to get rid of the national courts of the shire and hundred, as might be inferred from the reference to King Edward's days, or had introduced novelties of process into them, as might seem likely from the fact that Bishop Sampson was a Norman baron, and that Urso d'Abitot was hereditary sheriff of Worcestershire, does not appear; nor is it clear that this is not an isolated case. It would seem certain that the shire administration existed in full order under William the Conqueror, and for some purposes undoubtedly under William Rufus ; but it may have been perverted to oppression, or even disregarded altogether by a perpetual or hereditary sheriff. It would appear, from the words of the writ, not improbable that the sheriff had in the king's name used these courts for the purpose of extraordinary exactions, such as the chroniclers loudly complain of at this period : for the future, when the king has need of such, he will summon the courts specially for the purpose : a promise which seems to throw no small amount of light on the way in which national taxation was negotiated. IO4 Henry I. [PART HENRICUS REX ANGLORUM Samsoni episcopo et XJrsoni de Abetot et omnibus baronibus suis Fraucis et Anglis, de Wirecestrescira salutem. Sciatis quod concedo et praecipio ut amodo comitatus mei et liundreda in illis locis et eisdem terminis sedeant, sicut sederunt in tempore regis Eadwardi et non aliter. Ego enim, quando voluero, faciam ea satis summonere propter mea dominica ne- cessaria ad voluritatem meara. Et si amodo exsurgat placitum de divisione ten-arum, 1 si est inter barones meos dominicos trac- tetur placitum in curia mea : et si est inter vavassores duorum dominorum tractetur in comitatu. Et hoc duello fiat, nisi in eis remanserit. Et volo et praecipio ut omnes de comitatu eant ad comitatus et liundreda sicut fecerunt in tempore regis Eadwardi, nee remorent propter aliquam causam pacem meam vel quietu- dinem, qui non sequuntur placita mea et judicia mea, sicut tune temporis fecissent. Teste R. episcopo Lundoniae et Rogero episcopo et "Ranulfo cancellario et R. comite de Mellent ; apud Riding. (Foedera, i. 12.) EXTRACTS FROM THE ' LEGES HENRICI PBIMI/ The compilation from which the following extracts are taken, is a collection of legal memoranda and records of custom, illus- trated by reference to the civil and canon laws, but containing very many vestiges of ancient English jurisprudence. The date of the compilation has been a matter of much question, but, after a most careful analysis of the sources made by Dr. Liebermann, it is now definitely referred to the period intervening between 1108 and 1118. It would appear to give probable but not authoritative illustrations of the amount of national custom existing in the country in the first half of the twelfth century, but cannot be appealed to with any confidence, except where it is borne out by other testimony. Among the known sources of information, the laws of Canute and the customs declared ia Domesday Book are the most valuable. VI. i. Regnum Angliae trifariam dividitur in regno Britan- niae, in Westsexiam et Mircenos et Danorum provinciam. in.] Ancient Customs. 105 Habet archiepiscopatus duos, episcopatus xv. comitatus xxxii. Ipsi vero comitatus in centurias et sij>essocna distinguuntur. Centuriae vel hundreta in decanias vel decimas et dominorum plegios. 2. Legis etiam Anglicae trina est partitio, ad supe- riorem modum, alia enim Westsexiae, alia Mircena, alia Dene- laga est. . . . VII. I. Sicut antiqua fuerat institutione formatum, salutari regis imperio, vera nuper est recordatione firmatum, generalia comitatuum placita certis locis et vicibus et diffinito tempore, per singulas Angliae provincias convenire debere, nee ullis ultra fatigationibus agitari, nisi propria regis necessitas vel commune regni commodum saepius adjiciat. 2. Intersint autem episcopi, comites, vicedomini, vicarii, centenarii, aldermanni, praefecti, praepositi, barones, vavasores, tungrevii et ceteri terrarum domini, diligenter intendentes ne malorum impunitas aut gra- viorum pravitas vel judicum subversio solita miseros laceratione conficiant. 3. Agantur itaque primo debita verae Christianitatis jura : secundo regis placita ; postremo causae singulorum dignis satisfactionibus expleantur ; et quoscunque scyresmot discor- dantes inveniet, vel amore congreget vel sequestret judicio. 4. Debet autem scyresmot et burgemot bis, hundreta vel wapentagia duodecies in anno congregari, et sex diebus antea submoniri, nisi publicum commodum vel regis dominica neces- sitas terminum praeveniat. 5. Et si aliquid in hundretis agendorum penuria judicum vel casu aliquo transferendum sit in duas vel tres vel amplius hundretas, respectetur justo fine claudendum. 6. Et si quisquam violenta recti destitutione vel detentione, in hundretis vel congruis agendorum locis causam suam ita turbaverit, ut ad comitatus audientiam pertrahatur, perdat earn, et de cetero componat sicut rectum sit. 7. Si quis baronum regis vel aliorum comitatui secundum legem interfu- erit, totam terram quam illic in dominio suo habet, acquietare poterit. Eodem modo est si dapifer ejus legitime fuerit. Si uterque necessario desit, praepositus et sacerdos et quatuor de melioribus villae assint pro omnibus qui nominatim non erunt ad placitum submoniti. 8. Idem in hundreto decrevimus ob- servandum de locis et vicibus et judicum observantiis, de causis singulorum justis examinationibus audiendis, de domini et dapiferi, vel sacerdotis et praepositi et meliorum hominum praesentia. VIII. i. Speciali tamen plenitudine, si opus est, bis in anno conveniant in hundretum suum quicunque liberi, tarn heorthfest quam folgarii, ad dinoscendum scilicet inter cetera si decaniae io6 Henry /. [PART plenae sint vel qui quomodo qua ratione recesserint vel super- accreverint. Praesit autem singulis hominum novenis decimus, et toti simul hundreto unus de melioribus et vocetur aldremannus, qui Dei leges et hominum jura vigilanti studeat observantia pro- movere. 2. Communis quippe commodi provida dispensatione statutum est, ut a duodecimo aetatis suae anno et in hundreto sit et decima, vel plegio liberali, quisquis were, vel wite, vel jure liberi, dignus curat aestimari. Conductitii, vel solidarii, vel stipendiarii dominorum plegio teneantur. 3. Et omnis dominus secum tales habeat qui ei justitiabiles sint, tanquam eos si peccaverint ad rectum habiturus, vel pro eis forsitan rationem redditurus. 4. Dictum est de illis qui terrain non habent, si in alio comitatu serviant et cognationem suam visitent, qui eos inter agendum firmabit, eos ad publicum rectum ducat, si ibi forisfaciant, vel propter eos emendet. . . . IX. 4. Et omnis causa terminetur vel hundreto vel comitatu vel halimoto socam habentium, vel dominorum curiis, vel divisis parium, vel certis agendorum locis adjacentibus. . . . XV. Denagildum quod aliquando thingemannis dabatur, id est xii. denarii de unaquaque hyda per annum, si ad terminos non reddatur, wita emendetur. XXIX. Regis judices sunt barones comitatus qui liberas in eis terras habent, per quos debent causae singulorum alterna prosecutione tractari : villani vero vel cotseti, vel ferdingi, vel qui sunt viles vel inopes personae, non sunt inter legum judices numerandi. XXXI. 3. Interesse comitatui debent episcopi, comites, et ceterae potestates, quae Dei leges et saeculi negotia justa con- sideratione diffiniant 7. Unusquisque per pares suos judicandus est, et ejusdem provinciae. . . . LV. i. Omni domino licet submonire hominem suum, ut ei sit ad rectum in curia sua : et si residens est ad remotius manerium ejusdem honoris unde tenet, ibit ad placitum, si dominus suus submoneat eum. Si dominus ejus diversos feodos teneat, non cogitur per legem homo unius honoris in alium ire placitum, nisi de alterius causa sit, ad quern dominus suus sub- in onuerit eum. 2. Si homo de pluribus dominis et honoribus teneat, quantumcunque de aliis habeat, ei plus debet et ejus residens per judicium erit, cujus homo ligius erit. 3. Omnis homo fidem debet domino suo de vita et membris suis et terreno honore et observatione consilii sui, per honestum et utile, fide Dei et terrae principis salva. Furtum vero et proditio et mur- in.] Charter of London. 107 drum et quae contra Dominum sunt et fidem catholicam, nulli praecipienda vel peragenda sunt ; sed fides habeatur dominis omnibus, salva fide praecedentium, et magis ei cujus ligius est : et ejus licentia sit, si quis hominum ejus alium sibi dominum faciat. LXVI. 6. Si quis burcbotam vel brigbotam vel fierdfare supersederit, emendet hoc erga regem cxx. solidis in Anglorum laga : in Denelaga sicut stetit antea, vel ita se allegiet, noniinen- tur ei xiiii. et acquirat ex eis xi. (Ancient Laws and Institutes, pp. 216-266.) CHARTEE OF HENEY I TO THE CITIZENS OF LONDON. The privileges of the citizens of London are not to be re- garded as a fair specimen of the liberties of ordinary towns ; but as a sort of type and standard of the amount of municipal independence and self-government at which the other towns of the country might be expected to aim. At a period at which the other towns were just struggling out of the condition of demesne, the Londoners were put in possession of the ferm or farm of Middlesex, with the right of appointing the sheriff: they were 'freed from the immediate jurisdiction of any tribunal except of their own appointment, from several universal imposts, from the obligation to accept trial by battle, from liability to misericordia or entire forfeiture, as well as from tolls and local exactions such as ordinary charters specify. They have also their separate franchises secured, and their weekly courts. But they have not yet the character of a perpetual corporation or communa, and thus, although possessing by virtue of their associations in guilds, of their several franchises, of their feudal courts, and of their shire organisation under the sheriff, many elements of strength, consolidation, and independence, they have not a compact organisation as a municipal body. The city is an accumulation of distinct and different corporate bodies, but not yet a perfect municipality, nor, although it was recognised in the reign of Stephen as a communio, did it gain the legal status before the reign of Richard I. io8 Henry I. [PART Carta Civibus Londoniarum. HENRICUS Dei gratia rex Angliae, archiepiscopo Cantuariae et episcopis et abbatibus, et comitibus et baronibus et justitiariis et vicecornitibus et omnibus fidelibus suis, Francis et Anglicis, totius Angliae, salutem. Sciatis me concessisse civibus meis Londoniarum, teuendum Middlesex ad firmam pro ecc. libris ad compotum, ipsis et haeredibus suis, de me et haeredibus meis, ita quod ipsi cives ponent vicecomitem qualem voluerint de se ipsis, et justitiarium qualem voluerint de seipsis, ad custodiendum placita coronae meae et eadem placitanda ; et nullus alius erit justitiarius super ipsos homines Londoniarum. Et cives non placitabunt extra muros civitatis pro ullo placito ; et sint quieti de schot et de loth, de Danegildo et de murdro, et nullus eorum faciat bellum. Et si quis civium de plac'itis coronae implacitatus fuerit, per sacramentum quod judicatum fuerit in civitate, se disrationet homo Londoniarum. Et infra muros civitatis nullus hospitetur, neque de mea familia neque de alia, nisi alicui hos- pitium liberetur. Et omnes homines Londoniarum sint quieti et liberi, et omnes res eorum, et per totam Angliam et per portus maris, de theolonio et passagio et lestagio et omnibus aliis consuetudinibus. Et ecclesiae et barories et cives teneant et habeant bene et in pace socnas suas cum omnibus consuetu- dinibus, ita quod hospites qui in soccis suis hospitantur nulli dent consuetudines suas, nisi illi cujus socca fuerit, vel ministro suo quern ibi posuerit. Et homo Londoniarum non judicetur in misericordia pecuniae, nisi ad suam were, scilicet ad c. solidos; dico de placito quod ad pecuniam pertineat. Et amplius non sit miskenninga in hustenge neque in folkesmote neque in aliis placitis infra civitatem. Et busting sedeat semel in hebdomada, videlicet die Lunae. Et terras suas et wardemotum et debita civibus meis habere faciam infra civitatem et extra. Et de terris de quibus ad me clamaverint rectum eis tenebo lege civitatis. Et si quis thelonium vel consuetudinem a civibus Londoniarum ceperit, cives Londoniarum capiant de burgo vel de villa ubi thelonium vel consuetude capta fuit, quantum homo Londoni- arum pro thelonio dedit, et proinde de damno ceperit. Et omnes debitores qui civibus debita debent eis reddant, vel in Londoniis se disrationent quod non debent. Quod si reddere noluerint neque ad disrationandum venire, tune cives quibus debita sua debent capiant intra civitatem namia sua, vel de comitatu in quo manet qui debitum debet. Et cives habeant fugationes suas ad fugandum sicut melius et plenius habuerunt antecessores eorum, scilicet Ciltre et Middlesex et Sureie. Testibus episcopo in.] Charter of Beverley. 109 Winton., Roberto filio Richer., et Hugone Bigot, et Aluredo de Toteneis, et Willelmo Albini, et Huberto regis Camerario, et "VVillelmo de Montfichet, et Hagulfo de Tani, et Johanne Belet, et Rob. fil. Siwardi. Datum apud Westmonasterium. , i. n.) THE CHAKTER GRANTED BY AKCHBISHOP THUESTAN TO BEVERLEY. The scarcity of original charters granted to towns by Henry I, or during his reign, is probably to be accounted for by the fact that such early grants of privileges were regarded as superseded by the later and larger ones, and were less carefully preserved. Those of Beverley perhaps owe their preservation to the fact that the adjustment of the rights of the archbishop, the canons, and the burghers, necessitated a constant reference to them. The following charter is of great value, as illustrating the privileges which had been conferred by the king upon York. The Hans-hus of the north is the Guildhall of the south j the statuta are the by-laws or written customs of the borough. The archbishop, by virtue no doubt of the king's authority, frees the burghers from toll not only in his own demesnes, but throughout the shire. The ferm rent is fixed at eighteen marks per annum. Further than this the charter does not go ; nor perhaps did the charter of York, upon the model of which it was drawn up. The number of towns and cities which were in the demesne of the bishops and barons at this time was very large ; and it is not to be supposed that even when the lord was prevailed upon to grant a charter, he had either the power or the will to confer so large privileges as the king, or a great prince, like the archbishop of York, with the king's authorisa- tion, could bestow. TURSTINUS, Dei gratia Eboracensis Archiepiscopus, cunctis Christi fidelibus tarn praesentibus quam futuris, salutem et Dei benedictionem et suam. Notum sit vobis me dedisse et concessisse, et consilio capituli Eboracensis et Beverlacensis et consilio meorum baronum mea no Henry I. [PART carta confirmasse, hominibus de Beverlaco omnes libertates eis- dem legibus quibus illi de Eboraco habent in sua civitate. Prae- terea non lateat vos quod dominus Henricus rex noster nobis concessit potestatem faciendi hoc de bona voluntate sua, et sua carta confirmavit statuta nostra et leges nostras juxta formam legum burgensium de Eboraco, salva dignitate et honore Dei et Sancti Johannis et nostri et canonicorum, ut ita scilicet honorem eleemosynarum praedecessorum suorum exaltaret et promoveret cum omnibus his liberis consuetudinibus. Volo ut burgenses mei de Beverlaco habeant suam hans-hus, quam eis do, et concede ut ibi sua statuta pertractent ad honorem Dei et Sancti Johannis et canonicorum et ad totius vil- latus emendationem, eadem liberatam lege sicut illi de Eboraco habent in sua hans-hus. Concedo etiam eis thelonium in per- petuum pro xviii. marcis annuatim ; praeterquam in iis festis in quibus theloneum ad nos et ad canonicos spectat, in festo scilicet Sancti Johannis Confessoris in Maio, et in festo Translationis Sancti Johannis, et in Nativitate Sancti Johannis Baptistae ; in his vero tribus festis omnes burgenses de Beverlaco ab omni teloneo liberos et quietos dimisi. Hujus etiam cartae testimonio eisdem burgensibus liberos introitus et exitus concessi in villa et extra villam, in piano et bosco et marisco, in viis et in semi- tis, et ceteris convenientiis, excepto in pratis et bladis, sicut unquam melius liberius et largius aliquis possit concedere et confirmare ; et sciatis quod sint liberi et quieti ab omni telonio per totam schiram Eboraci sicut illi de Eboraco. Et volo ut quicunque hoc disfecerit, anathema sit, sicut ipsius ecclesiae Sancti Johannis asserit consuetude et sicut statutum est in ecclesia Sancti Johannis. Hii sunt testes ; Galfridus Murdac, Nigellus Fossard, Alanus de Perci, Walterus Es-pec, Eustachius films Johannis, Tomas praepositus, Turstinus archidiaconus, Herebertus camerarius, Willelmus filius Tole, Willelmus Baiocensis ; coram tota familia archiepiscopi, clericis et laicis, in Eboraco. (Foedera i. 10.) THE CUSTOMS OP NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE. The consuetudines mentioned so constantly in the charters of boroughs were the common or customary laws which had existed in them immemorially, and were amended from time to time, as by-laws. These are not rehearsed in the charters, perhaps in.] Customs of Newcastle. 1 1 1 because of the difficulty of enumerating them perfectly, and the danger of creating a spirit of rivalry amongst similar bodies ; nor would it be well, whilst giving power to alter and amend them, to place them in solemn record in a charter, which might be regarded as infringed by any such attempt at alteration. The perpetuation of such customs by oral tradition only would involve no risk, at a period at which the whole law of the land was customary ; nor is it at all clear that the customary law had not a position in the constitution strong enough to resist, and even, as in the case of weights and measures, successfully to defy, statutory enactments. The customs of Newcastle-upon- Tyne are taken from a report, drawn up in the reign of Henry II, as to their character under Henry I. It will be seen that they chiefly concern internal arrangements, and show very little ten- dency towards independent organisation. They are, in fact, the statuta which the burghers were empowered to deal with in their own assemblies ; and the body which treated them was doubt- less of the nature of the homage of a manor under its reeve or praepositus assisted by the leet jury such a body as continues to make and enforce such regulations, with a very much diminished sphere of action, to the present day. Hae sunt leges et consuetudines quas Burgenses Novi Castelli super Tinam habuerunt tempore Henrici Regis Angliae et habere debent. Burgenses possunt namiare foris habitantes infra suum forum et extra, et infra suam domum et extra, et infra suum burgum et extra, sine licentia praepositi, nisi comitia teneantur in burgo, et nisi in exercitu sint vel custodia castelli. Super burgensem non potest burgensis namum capere sine licentia praepositi. Si burgensis foris habitantibus aliquid accommodaverit in Wgo, ipse debitor si concedat reddat debitum, vel in burgo faciat rectum. Placita quae in burgo surgunt ibidem teneantur et finiantur, )raeter ilia quae sunt coronae regis. Si aliquis burgensis de aliqua loquela appelletur, non placitabit :tra burgum nisi ex defectu curiae. Nee debet respondere sine Henry I. [PART die et termino, nisi prius in stultam responsionem incident, nisi de rebus quae ad coronam pertinent. Si navis apud Tinemue applicuerit quae velit discedere, licet burgensibus emere quod voluerint. Inter burgensem et mercatorem si placitum oriatur, finiatur ante tertiam refluxionem maris. Quicquid mercaturae navis per mare advexerit ad terram debet ferri praeter sal, et allec debet vendi in navim. Si quis terram in burgagio uno anno et una die juste et sine calumnia tenuerit, non respondeat calumnianti, nisi calumnians extra regnum Angliae fuerit, vel ubi sit puer non habens potes- tatem loquendi. Si burgensis habeat filium in domo sua ad mensam suam, films ejus eandem habeat libertatem quam et pater suus. Si rusticus in burgo veniat manere, et ibi per annum unum et diem sicut burgensis maneat in burgo, ex toto remaneat, nisi prius ab ipso vel domino suo praelocutum sit ad terminum remanere. Si quis burgensis de re aliqua appellaverit, non potest super burgensem pugnare, sed per legem se defendat burgensis, nisi sit de proditione, unde debeat se defendere bello. Nee burgensis contra villanum poterit pugnare nisi prius de burgagio exierit. Mercator aliquis, nisi burgensis, non potest extra villain emere nee lanam nee coria nee mercatoria alia nee infra burgum nisi burgensibus. Si forisfactum contigerit burgensi, dabit vi. oras praeposito. In burgo non est merchet, nee heriet, nee blodwit, nee stengesdint. Unusquisque burgensis potest habere suum furnum et molam manualem si velit, salvo jure furni regis. Si femina sit in suo forisfacto de pane vel de cervisia, nullus debet intrornittere nisi praepositus. Si bis forisfecerit, castigetur per . . . forisfactum. Si tertio forisfecerit justitia de ea fiat. Nullus nisi burgensis poterit emere telas ad tingendas nee facere nee secare. Burgensis potest dare terram suam et vendere et ire quo voluerit libere et quiete, nisi sit in calumnia. (Acts of Par- liament of Scotland, i. 33, 34.) in.] Stephen- 113 A. D. 1135-1154. STEPHEN. Archbishops of Canterbury. William of Corbeuil, 1123-1136; Theo- bald, 1139-1161. Chief Justice. Roger Bishop of Salisbury, 1135-1139. Chancellors. Eoger le Poor, 1135-1139 5 Philip, 1139. The aversion of the Normans to an Angevin ruler, the unpopularity of the Empress, and the uncertainty about Henry's final determination as to a successor, facilitated the accession of Stephen, although he had no strong party nor any claim to the throne. The opportunity was seized by his promptness ; and the election, grudgingly and informally transacted, was con- firmed by the body of the barons and bishops in spite of their oaths, and subsequently approved by the pope. But the con- tinuance of the support at first afforded had to be purchased by large gifts and larger promises, which Stephen, who was facile rather than false, too readily bestowed. The charters which he issued went indeed no further than was just and fair, but the weakness of his hold on the royal authority was shown con- spicuously by his extravagant grants of the crown lands and by his inability to secure the execution of the laws. As soon as his power of purchasing support was exhausted, he was defied by the barons, and a general paralysis of government followed. Those barons and bishops who had not already formed uncon- stitutional designs, were compelled, in self-defence, to fortify their castles and prepare for civil war. Stephen, conscious of the weakness of his position, attempted, by the arrest of bishops Eoger and Alexander, to strike terror into the feudalists. Instead of doing this, the measure had the effect of throwing the whole administration of the country into the utmost disorder, and alienating the clergy at the same time. Nor could the struggle with the Empress have lasted so long as it did, or have had such an issue, if the baronage as a body had been deter- mined to put an end to it in her favour. Neither she nor Stephen had any real hold on the country: the feudal party fought rather for its own advantage than for theirs; and the I U4 Stephen. [PAP.T stoppage of the administrative machinery deprived the nation at large of any chance of united action. Both parties fought with mercenary forces, and the people suffered. After a long struggle, the bishops negotiated a peace which gave the crown to Stephen for the remainder of his life, and the succession to Henry of Anjou : and advantage was taken of this compromise to force on both parties the reforms and restoration of good government, the carrying out of which marks so strongly and clearly the reign of Henry II. After the arrest of the bishops by Stephen in 1139, the constitutional history of the reign is in abeyance until the treaty of Wallingford in 1153. EXCERPTS. WILL. MALMESB., Hist. Nov. i. u. Ille (sc. Stephanus) ubi a Londoniensibus et Wintoniensibus in regem exceptus est, etiam Rogerum Salesberiensem episcopum et "Willelmum de Ponte arcus, custodes thesaurorum regalium, ad se transduxit. Ne tamen veritas celetur posteris, omnes ejus conatus irriti fuissent nisi Henricus frater ejus Wintoniensis episcopus, qui modo Apostolicae sedis legatus est in Anglia, placidum ei commo- dasset assensum : spe scilicet captus amplissima, quod Stephanus avi sui Willelmi in regni moderamine mores servaret praecipue- que in Ecclesiastici vigoris disciplina. Quapropter districto Sacramento quod a Stephano Willelmus Cantuariensis Archiepis- copus exegit de libertate reddenda Ecclesiae et conservanda, Episcopus Wintoniensis se mediatorem et vadem apposuit. . . . Coronatus est ergo in regem Angliae Stephanus XI kalendas Januarii, Dominica, XX a II a die post excessum avunculi, anno Dominicae Incarnationis MCXXX<>V tribus episcopis prae- sentibus, archiepiscopo, Wintoniensi, Salesberiensi, nullis abbat- ibus, paucissimis optimatibus. CONT. FL. WIG., App. Volente igitur Gaufrido comite cum uxore sua, quae haeres erat, in regnum succedere, primores terrae, juramenti sui male recordantes, regem eum suscipere noluerunt, dicentes ' Alienigena non regnabit super nos :' initoque consilio, Stephano comiti . . . coronam regni imposuerunt. GESTA STEPHANI, p. 3. Cumque . . . cum paucissimo comitatu applicuisset, ad ipsam totius regionis reginam metropolim, ma- turato itinere, Londonias devenit. Concussa protenus in ad- ventu viri civitas ilia cum laeto strepitu obviam ei occurrit. . . . in.] Excerpts. 115 Majores igitur natu, consultuque quique provectiores, concilium coegere, deque regni statu pr6 arbitrio suo utilia in commune providentes, ad regem eligendum unanimiter conspiravere. Dicebant enim omne regnum sinistrae fortunae casibus sub- jacere, ubi ipsa totius regiminis praesentia, justitiaeque caput, defuerit. Idcirco operae pretium eis esse regem quam mature constituere, qui ad communis utilitatis pacem reformandam et rebellibus regni armatus occurreret et legum instituta juste dis- poneret. Id quoque sui esse juris, suique specialiter privilegii, ut si rex ipsorum quoquo modo obiret, alius suo provisu in regno substituendus e vestigio succederet. . . . His igitur auditis et ab omnibus gratiose, nulloque aperte contradicente, receptis, de regno suscipiendo eum in commune consultum conscivere, regem- que, omnium ad hoc concordante favore, constituere : firmata prius utrimque pactione, peractoque, ut vulgus asserebat, mutuo juramento, ut eum cives quoad viveret opibus sustentarent, viribus tutarentur, ipse autem ad regnum pacificandum ad omnium eorundem sunragium toto sese conatu accingeret. WILL. NEWB. i. 4. Cum . . . rex Henricus obiisset, idem Stephanus sacramenti quod filiae ejus de conservanda fidelitate praestiterat praevaricator, regnum arripuit, annitentibus prae- sulibus atque principibus eodem sacramento astrictis. . . . Stephanus ergo ut contra jus humanum pariter et Divinum ; humanum scilicet quia legitimus haeres non erat ; et Divinum, id est violata jurisjurandi religione; sublimaretur in regnum, pactus est' quaecunque praesules et proceres exigere voluerunt, quae postea per ejus perfidiam in irritum cuncta cesserunt. HEN. HUNT. lib. viii. Tnde perrexit rex Stephanus apud Oxineforde, ubi recordatus est et confirmavit pacta quae Deo et populo et sanctae Ecclesiae concesserat in die coronationis suae ; quae sunt haec ; primo vovit quod defunctis episcopis nunquam retineret ecclesias in manu sua, sed statim electioni canonicae consentiens episcopis eas investiret. Secundo vovit quod nullius clerici vel laici silvas in manu sua retineret, sicut rex Henricus fecerat, qui singulis annis implacitaverat eos, si vel venationem cepissent in silvis propriis, vel si eas ad necessitates suas exstir- parent vel diminuerent. . . . Tertio vovit quod Danegeldum, id est, duos solidos ad hidam, quos antecessores sui accipere sole- bant singulis annis, in aeternum condonaret. Haec principaliter Deo vovit et alia, sed nihil horum tenuit. WILL. MALMESB., Hist. Nov. i. 18. Anno Incarnationis Dominicae MOXXX VIIIo, intestinis dissidiis Anglia quati- ebatur ; multi siquidem quos nobilitas generis vel magnitude I 2 n6 Stephen. [PART animi vel potius viridioris aetatis audacia ad illicita praecipita- bat, a rege hi praedia, hi castella, postremo quaecunque semel collibuisset, petere non verebantur ; quae cum ille dare differ- ret . . . illi continue ira commoti castella contra eum obfirma- bant. . . . Denique multos etiam comites, qui ante non fuerant, instituit, applicitis possessionibus et redditibus quae proprio jure regi competebant. . . . IB. ii. 34. Sub Stephano plures ex Flandria et Britannia, rapto vivere assueti, spe magnarum praedarum Angliam in- volabant. HUNT. lib. viii. Quinto anno regni sui fugavit rex Stephanus Nigellum episcopum Elyensem. . . . Ubi autem ad natale vel ad Pascha fuerit dicere non attinet. Jam quippe curiae solera nes et ornatus regii schematis ab antiqua serie descendens prorsus evanuerant. Ingens thesauri copia jam deperierat, pax in regno nulla, caedibus, incendiis, rapiuis omnia exterminabantur. WILL. NEWB., Hist. Angl. i. 22. Anglia intestinis ma]is ex- sanguis et saucia tabescebat. Et quidem de quodam tempore plebis antiquae scriptum est, 'in diebus illis non erat rex in Israel, sed unusquisque quod rectum sibi videbatur faciebat.' At in Anglia sub rege Stephano pejus fiebat. Nam quia tune impotens erat rex, et per regis impotentiam languida lex, qui- busdam quod rectum sibi videbatur agentibus, multi quod in- sita ratione malum esse sciebant, sublato regis et legis metu proclivius faciebant. Et primo quidem videbatur regnum Angliae scissum esse in duo; quibusdam regi, quibusdam im- peratrici faventibus. Non quod vel rex vel imperatrix suae parti potenter imperaret, sed quod suorum bellicis quisque studiis pro tempore niteretur. Neuter enim in suos imperiose agere et disciplinae vigorem exercere poterat, sed uterque suos, ne a se deficerent, nihil negando mulcebant. Sane inter par- tes, . . . diu multumque certatum est, alternante fortuna. Processu vero temporis inter eas jam saepius fortunae infideli- tatem expertas, remissiores motus esse coepere ; quod tamen Angliae non cessit in bonum. Illis quippe diutinae concerta- tionis pertaesis, et mollius agentibus, provinciales discordantium procerum motus efFerbuere. Castella quoque per singulas pro- vincias studio partium crebra surrexerant, erantque in Anglia quodammodo tot reges vel potius tyranni, quot domini castel- lorum, habentes singuli percussuram proprii numismatis, et potestatem subditis regio more dicendi juris. Cumque ita singuli excellere quaererent ut quidam superiorem, quidam in.] Excerpts. 117 vel parem sustinere non possent, feralibus inter se odiis dis- ceptantes, rapinis atque incendiis regiones clarissimas corru- perunt, et, in fertilissima olim patria, fere omne robur panis absumpserunt. Aquilonalis vero regio quae in potestatem David regis Scottorum usque ad flumen Tesiam cesserat, per ejusdem regis industriam in pace agebat. WILL. MALMESB., Hist. Nov. iii. 43. A.D. 1141. Feria secunda post octavas Paschae concilium arcliiepiscopi Cantuariae Theobaldi et omnium episcoporurn Angliae multorumque ab- batum, legato praesidente, Wintoniae ingenti apparatu inceptum. .... Ipsa die post recitata scripta excusatoria quibus absentiam suam quidam tutati sunt sevocavit in partem legatus episcopos habuitque cum eis arcanum consilii sui ; post mox abbates, post- remo arcbidiaconi convocati. Ex consilio nihil processit in publicum, volutabatur tamen per omnium mentes et ora quid foret agendum. 44. Feria tertia hoc fere sensu legati cucurrit oratio; '. . . . Itaque quia Deus judicium Suum de fratre meo exercuit, ut eum me nesciente in potestatem potentium incidere permitteret \ ne regnum vacillet si regnante careat, omnes vos pro jure legationis meae buc convenire invitavi. Ventilata est besterno die causa secreto coram majori parte cleri Angliae, ad cujus jus potissimum spectat principem eligere simulque ordinare. Invocata itaque primo, ut par est, in auxilium Divinitate, filiam pacifici regis, gloriosi regis, divitis regis, boni regis, et nostro tempore in- comparabilis, in Angliae JSTormanniaeque dominam eligimus, et ei fidem et manutenementum promittimus.' 45. Cumque omnes praesentes vel modeste acclamassent sententiae vel silentes non contradixissent, subjecit legatus, ' Londonienses, qui sunt quasi optimates, pro magnitudine civi- tatis, in Anglia, nunciis nostris convenimus, et conductum ut tuto veniant misimus, eosque confido non ultra hunc diem moraturos ; bona venia usque eras sustineamus.' 46. Feria quarta venerunt Londonienses et in concilium introducti, catisam suam eatenus egerunt ut dicerent missos se a communione quam vocant Londoniarum, non certamina sed preces offerre ut doininus suus rex de captione liberaretur. . . . 47 Feria quinta solutum est concilium excommunr- catis ante multis qui regiarum erant partium. . . . HENE. HUNTINGD. lib. viii. Anno decimo septimo rex Ste- pbanus filium suum Eustacbium regio diademate voluit insignire. Postulans igitur ab archiepiscopo Cantuariensi Tbeobaldo, et 1 1 8 Stephen. [PART caeteris episcopis quos ibidem congregaverat, ut eum in regem ungerent et benedictione sua confirmarent, repulsam passus est. Papa siquidem litteris suis Archiepiscopo prohibuerat ne filium regis in regem sublimarent, videlicet quia rex Stephanus regnum contra jusjurandum praeripuisse videbatur. MATT. PARIS, Hist.Angl. (ed. Wats), p. 86. A.D. 1153. ^ us ~ titia de caelo prospiciente et diligentia Theobaldi Cantuariensis archiepiscopi et episcoporum regni intercedente, rex Anglorum Stephanus et dux Normannorum Henricus, apud "Walingeford in talem concordiam convenerunt. Rex Stephanus omni haerede viduatus praeter solummodo ducem Henricum, recognovit in conventu episcoporum et aliorum regni optimatum, quod jus haereditarium dux Henricus in regnum Angliae habebat ; et dux benigne concessit, ut Rex Stephanus tota vita sua, si vellet, regnum pacifice possideret. Ita tamen confirmata est pax, quod ipse rex et episcopi tune praesentes cum ceteris optimatibus regni jurarent, quod dux post mortem regis, si ilium super- viveret, regnum sine contradictione aliqua obtineret. Et si illud propheticum Merlini attendatur, quod dicit, 'Nocebit possidenti ex impiis pietas, donee sese genitore induerit ;' manifestum est regem Stepharmm Henricum instituisse hae- redem, quern non genuit, dum ipsum adoptavit in filium et regni participem et postmodum successorem. In rege quoque ducem et in duce omnes venerabuntur regem. Regalia passim a proceribus usurpata, rex in sua recipiet. Possessiones quae ab invasoribus direptae erant, ad legitimos possessores, quorum fuerant regis Henrici tempore, revertentur. Castella adulterina quae tempore regis a quocunque constructa sint, diruentur ; quorum numerus ad undecies centum et quindecim excrevit. Hex colonos praediis assignabit, aedificda combusta renovabit, replebit pascua armentis, decorabit ovibus montana. Clericus debitam tranquillitatem se habere gaudebit, exactionibus in- debitis non gravabitur. Vicecomites in locis ponentur consuetis, et neminem ex odio persequentur ; non gratificabuntur amicis, non indulgentiis crimina sublevabunt, suum cuique ex integro reservabunt : metu poenarum afficient nocentes. Fures et prae- dones terrebuntur in furca et sententia capitali. Milites, juxta Isaiam, gladios convertent in vomeres, et lanceas in ligones ; a castris ad aratra, a tentoriis ad ergasteria redibunt, clientes * * K. de Diceto, who relates these matters in nearly the same words, has here, ' a tentoriis ad ergasteria Flandrensium plurirai revocabuntur, et, quas nostratibus operas indixerunt, dominis suis ex necessitate pei-solvent.' c. 528. in.] Charter of Liberties. 119 ab excubiis fatigati, in communi laetitia respirabunt. Releva- bitur rusticitas otio innocens et quieta : negotiatores commer- cium ditabit celebrius ; et publica moneta una et eadem erit in regno ex argento percussa. "Werra igitur quae septemdecim annis saevierat, hoc fine quievit. THE FIRST CHARTER OP STEPHEN. This is probably the charter issued by Stephen at his corona- tion, and is of the most formal description, specifying nothing ; and although of great import had it been the act of a strong or resolutely just sovereign, meaning very little under the hand of one too weak to enforce it. STEPHANUS Dei gratia rex Anglorum, Justitiis, Vicecomiti- bus, Baronibus et omnibus ministris et fidelibus suis Francis et Anglicis salutem. Sciatis me concessisse et praesenti carta mea confirmasse om- nibus baronibus et hominibus meis de Anglia omnes libertates et bonas leges quas Henricus rex Anglorum avunculus meus eis dedit et concessit, et omnes bonas leges et bonas consuetudines eis concedo quas habuerunt tempore Kegis Edwardi. Quare volo et firmiter praecipio quod habeant et teneant omnes illas bonas leges et libertates de me et haeredibus meis ipsi et haeredes sui libere quiete et plenarie, et prohibeo ne quis eis super hiis molestiam vel impedimentum, vel diininutionem faciat super forisfacturam meam. Teste Willelmo Mart el apud Londonias. (Statutes of the Realm Charters of Liberties, p. 4.) THE SECOND CHARTER OF STEPHEN. This document, which is of a character far more definite and more binding than the preceding, was issued by Stephen at the first great council of his reign, at the moment when all parties seemed to acquiesce in his accession. His rehearsal of his title is curious and important ; it is worth while to compare it with that of Henry I, but it need not necessarily be interpreted as 1 20 Stephen. [PART showing a consciousness of weakness. The provisions are based on those of Henry's charter. Neither of the charters of Stephen will be found to agree with the account given by Henry of Huntingdon of his promises to the people of the abolition of Danegeld, or to the clergy of entire freedom of election. Carta Stephani Regis de libertatibus Ecclesiae Anglicanae et regni. Ego Stephanus Dei gratia assensu cleri et populi in regem Anglorum electus, et a Willelmo Cantuariensi archiepiscopo et sanctae Romanae ecclesiae legato consecratus, et ab Innocentio sanctae Romanae sedis pontifice. confirmatus, respectu et amore Dei sanctam ecclesiam liberam esse concedo et debitam reveren- tiam illi confirmo. Nihil me in ecclesia vel rebus ecclesiasticis Simoniace acturum vel permissurum esse promitto. Ecclesiasticarum personarum et omnium clericorum et rerum eorum justitiam et potestatem et distributionem bonorum ecclesiasticorum in manu episco- porum esse perhibeo et confirmo. Dignitates ecclesiarum pri- vilegiis earum confirmatas, et consuetudines earum antique tenore habitas, inviolate manere statuo et concedo. Omnes ecclesiarum possessiones et tenuras quas die ilia habuerunt qua Willelmus rex avus meus fuit vivus et mortuus, sine omni calumniantium reclamatione, eis liberas et absolutas esse con- cedo. Si quid vero de habitis vel possessis ante mortem ejus- dem regis, quibus modo careat ecclesia, deinceps repetierit, in- dulgentiae et dispensation! meae, vel restituendi vel discutiendi, reservo. Quaecunque vero post mortem ipsius regis liberalitate regum vel largitione principum, oblatione vel comparatione, vel qualibet transmutatione fidelium eis collata sunt, confirmo. Pacem et justitiam me in omnibus facturum, et pro posse meo conservaturum eis promitto. Forestas quas Willelmus avus meus et Willelmus avunculus meus instituerunt et habuerunt, mihi reservo. Ceteras omnes quas rex Henricus superaddidit ecclesiis et regno quietas reddo et concedo. Si quis episcopus vel abbas vel alia ecclesiastica persona ante mortem suam rationabiliter sua distribuerit vel distribuenda statuerit, firmum manere concedo. Si vero morte praeoccupatus fuerit, pro salute animae ejus ecclesiae consilio eadem fiat dis- tributio. Dum vero sedes propriis pastoribus vacuae fuerint, in.] Charier of Liberties. 1 21 ipsas et earum possessiones omnes in manu et custodia clerico- rum vel proborum hominum ejusdem ecclesiae committam, donee pastor canonice substituatur. Omnes exactiones et injustitias et mesclieningas, sive per vicecomites vel per alios quoslibet male inductas, funditus exstirpo. Bonas leges et antiquas et justas consuetudines, in murdris et placitis et aliis causis, observabo, et observari praecipio, et constitiio. Haec omnia concede et confirmo salva regia et justa dignitate mea. Testibus W. Cantuariensi archiepiscopo, et Hugone Rotho- magensi archiepiscopo, et Henrico Wintoniensi episcopo, et Rogero Sarisbiriensi episcopo, et A. Lincolniensi episcopo, et Nigello Eliensi episcopo, et Evrardo Norwicensi episcopo, et Simone Wigornensi episcopo, et Bernardo episcopo de Sancto David, et Audoeno Ebroicensi episcopo, et Kicardo Abrincensi episcopo, et Roberto Herefordensi episcopo, et Johanne Roue- cestrensi episcopo, et Athelulfo Carlolensi episcopo ; et Rogero cancellario ; et Henrico* nepote regis ; et Roberto comite Gloe- cestriae, et Willelmo comite de Warenna, et Rannulfo comite Cestriae, et Roberto comite de Warewic ; et Roberto de Ver, et Milone de Gloecestria, et Brientio filio Comitis, et Roberto de Oilli, conestabulis ; et Willelmo Martel, et Hugone Bigot, et Hunfrido de Buhun, et Simone de Belcamp, dapiferls ; et Wil- lelmo de Albiniaco, et Eudone Martel pincernis ; et Roberto de Ferreriis, et Willelmo Peverel de Notingeham ; et Simone de Saintliz; et Willelmo de Albamarla, et Pagano filio Joliannis, et Hamone de Sancto Olaro, et Ilberto de Laceio. Apud Oxeneforde, anno ab Incarnatione Domini MC- XXX VI, sed regni mei primo. (Statutes of the Realm Charters of Liberties, p. 3. Will. Malmesb., Hist. Nov. i.) PART IV. SELECT CHARTERS AND EXCERPTS; Henry II. A.D. 1154-1189. Archbishops of Canterbury. Theobald, 1139-1161 ; Thomas Becket, 1162-1170; Richard, 1174-1184; Baldwin, 1185-1190. Chief Justices. Robert, Earl of Leicester, 1 154-1167 ; Richard de Lucy, 1154-1179; Ranulf Glanvill, 1180-1189. Chancellors. Thomas Becket, 1154-1162; Ralph de Warneville, 1173- 1181 ; Geoffrey, the king's son, 1181-1189. JL HE reign of Henry II was the period of amalgamation of the English and Normans so far as concerned their legal and con- stitutional status. All vestiges of distinction between the two races before the law disappear, and although further changes are required before a perfect union of interest and ideas is com- pleted by a perfect fusion of blood, they are now on an equality, and even the nominal distinction is sunk in the common name of English. Henry himself ascended the throne without any shadow of opposition to his title, and free from any obligations to the factions which had struggled for their own ends under the pretence of supporting Stephen and Matilda. He was fitted for the position of a national sovereign, not only by this freedom from party connexion, but by the training of his earlier years, which had been so changeful and unsettled as to prevent him, although he was heir of Normandy and Anjou, and by his mar- riage lord of all the south-west of France, from being moulded into the prevalent type of any of the races which he represented. He was not a Norman nor an Angevin nor a Poitevin by policy any more than by character, and came to England unfettered Eeign of Henry II. 123 by any prepossessions that would make him anti-English. His position in this respect was strengthened by the development of his personal character, which, although in many points excep- tionable, was singularly well suited to the condition and age of the nation that received him. His great sagacity enabled him to see the true interest of England, and his ability for business to keep in hand the strings of an intricate policy without falling under the sway of any minister whose designs might be more warped by national or party inclinations than his own ; even that clearsighted selfishness, which kept him during the whole of his life free from complicity in the struggles of foreign na- tions, and intent on the security and completeness of his own dominion, was a characteristic which brought much good to the reviving spirit of England. His policy was to govern England as an English king, to utilise and train all the elements of life by new organisation, and, by asserting his royal rights and those of his people, to keep the feudal system in its proper subordina- tion to the national interests. His reign falls naturally into four epochs : the first, extend- ing from his accession to his quarrel with Thomas Becket ; the second, from that point to the death of the archbishop ; the third, until the death of the younger Henry in 1183; and the fourth, to his own death in 1189. I. The first ten years of the reign were singularly happy and prosperous. Henry's first ministers were the men whose ex- ertions had secured his succession : Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury; Thomas, the Chancellor; and the Earl of Leicester, whose support he had obtained whilst he was Duke of Nor- mandy. With their co-operation he proceeded at once to carry out the plan of reform dictated by the Peace of Wallingford, recalled the Bishop of Ely to the Exchequer, and resumed, after consultation with his assembled barons, the estates of the Crown, which had been alienated by Stephen and Matilda. He then ordered the demolition of the illegal castles which had been the strongholds of baronial tyranny, and enforced by arms the entire submission of the few who, like Roger of Gloucester, Hugh Mortimer, William of Aumale, and Hugh Bigot, attempted to 124 Henry II. [PART defeat the measure. In all this he seems to have acted on the plan of his grandfather, whose magnificence he rivalled in his court, and whose customs he as well as his subjects, regarding them through the hazy atmosphere of the intervening reign, looked on as the ideal of good government. The war of this epoch is that of Toulouse, which affects English history only as the occasion of the great Scutage. The restoration of the northern counties by the Scots, the reformation of the coinage, the careful securing of the title to the crown to his eldest son, and the formation of the design of Irish conquest, fill up the list of English transactions of the period. In default of more distinct and elaborate history, the writings of John of Salisbury and the letters of Gilbert Foliot are the best sources of information for the time. In them we can see how many other influences, besides the break-up of feudal government throughout Europe, were at work towards the improvement of society. The revived study of the Roman law which had reached Oxford in Stephen's time, although it never had the effect of Romanising the English common law, had, as an instrument of education, a great bearing on the spread of orderly and equitable ideas of jurisprudence ; the rapid growth of the universities of Paris and Oxford, which were the outward expression of the life of early scholasticism, conduced to the maintenance in the educated class of an ideal of free government, drawn from ancient Greek and Roman history, which, although never likely to be realised in detail, tended to make tyranny such as that of "William Rufus impossible ; and the result of this was to give to the court of Henry II during these years a show of refinement as well as of magnificence which promised well for the future. All such omens were unfortunately belied by the outbreak of the great quarrel. II. "Whatever may have been the positive influence of Thomas Becket as the king's confidant and chancellor and there is nothing to show that it was ever strong enough to control or guide the purposes of his master the removal of it, which followed shortly after his consecration as archbishop, coincides in time with the origin of Henry's legal reforms. In the eccle- siastical portion of these reforms there is no reason to suppose iv.] Sketch of the Reign. 125 that Henry was actuated by any motives of hostility to the clergy, or even by a desire to increase the royal power ; the abuses against which they were aimed were glaring, and the mechanism by which they might be carried out was easy, and likely to be effective. The lines on which the project of reform was drawn were the ' avitae consuetudines,' the state of Church law which had prevailed under Henry I, and the ministers by whom it was to be carried out were men of pure and religious character. But, on the other hand, there were certain difficulties of detail caused by the jealousies which had already arisen between the archbishop and the court; and there was a strong party amongst the clergy, especially the monastic body, which was conscious of the great reformation begun by Hildebrand and carried out by S. Bernard, and saw in the future a further improvement, working in the same groove, and not to be, as men like the king and even such partisans as John of Salisbury saw, a re- sultant from other forces of progress besides their own. The struggle with Becket had the worst effect on Henry's character, making him reckless of religious and moral obligation, fierce and irritable. But it did not entirely stop his designs for the reformation of the law. Although he was absent from England during the larger part of the period, it is marked certainly by the expansion of the provincial judicature, in the mission of itinerant justices, and by the Assize of Clarendon. Possibly it witnessed several of the other reforms, the effect of which we see in the work of Eanulf Glanvill, and which form a step in constitutional progress the importance of which cannot be exaggerated. The Becket struggle itself only indirectly affects the constitution, and that in ways which belong chiefly to other principles now being worked out. III. The coronation of the younger Henry is the link which connects the second and third epochs of the political history of the reign. It was the most important of the series of events which led to the archbishop's death, and also of those which led to that unhappy estrangement between the king and his sons in which the age saw Becket's death avenged. The design of securing the succession of England for his family appears to 125 Henry IT. [PART have had in Henry's mind a greater importance than is easily realised, seeing that practically there was no competitor. It is probable that, like Canute and William the Conqueror, he saw the hopelessness of attempting to found an empire on the union of his territories, and had an early purpose of dividing them. The practice of securing for the heir-apparent the confirmation of his title by the homage of the barons was natural enough, although the effect of it was, as he had seen in his own case, very uncertain. This was, however, very early negotiated, and both the child William and the child Henry received the recognition. But the history of France suggested a stronger and safer expedient : in that country, since the accession of the reigning dynasty, it had become a custom for the son to be crowned before his father's death, in accordance with many, and those calamitous, precedents in the Empires East and "West. This plan was adopted by Henry II in the case of his eldest surviving son : after being contemplated for some years, it was carried out under the most unfortunate circumstances, and had /""the most unfortunate results. The young king became a centre S. of disaffection among the barons whom the great quarrel be- j tween his father and the archbishop had unsettled and roused / to an attempt to regain their power : he himself found that his I coronation involved the burdens without the powers or plea- / sures of royalty, and was unable to see in his father's design of I separating his estates, the most certain pledge of a secure title V to the English kingdom and a happy reign. Under the malignant influence of Eleanor and Lewis VII, the sons rose against the father, the great earls whose territories covered the middle of England took advantage of the distraction, and the Scots moved down upon the north. Henry's great ability was tasked to the utmost, but the English people stood by him, and he was victorious ; the northern people and barons, with the single exception of the Howbrays, were faithful, and by them the Scottish invasion was repelled ; the rebellion of the midland earls collapsed at the appearance of the king, and the towns received him as a deliverer. The continental struggle outlasted the English one but a short time ; the undutiful sons iv.] Excerpts. 127 submitted, and Henry personally was stronger than ever. But his character again declines, the children for whom he has been working remain undutiful, his wife is a prisoner, and his own life sadly changed from its first promise. Notwithstanding this, he laboured hard for England, and after the submission of the rebels took measures of the most effective sort, constructive rather than destructive, for security against a reaction. It is to this period that the Assize of Northampton and the completion of the organisation of both the Curia Regis and the itinerant tribunals belong ; as well as the Assize of Arms, and other minor but significant reforms, which owe their origination perhaps to the great justiciar Eanulf Glanvill. The death of the young king, whom his father had never ceased attempting to draw to his side by the gift of as much power as could be safely in- trusted to him, but who had never stopped in his course of treachery and ingratitude, closes this eventful epoch. IV. The remaining years of the reign were occupied with the accidental results of the events that had gone before : there were a few reforms at home, such as the Assize of the Forest, and there were considerable preparations for a crusade, but the chief work was the maintenance of peace in France against the machinations of Philip, and against the rebellion of the re- maining children of Eleanor. By this last the king's power and prestige in Europe were seriously impaired and his heart broken. EXCEKPTS. WILL. NEWB. ii. c. i. Anno a partu Virginis MCLIV. Henricus Henrici niajoris ex filia olim irnperatrice nepos, post mortem regis Stephani a Normannia in Angliam veniens, haere- ditarium regnum suscepit, conclamatus ab omnibus ; et con- secratus mystiea unctione in regem, concrepantibus per Angliam turbis, Vivat Eex. Prioris quippe regni, sub quo tot mala pullulaverant, infelicitatem expert], de novo principe meliora sperabant, praesertim cum praeclara illi prudentia atque con- stantia cum zelo justitiae inesse viderentur, et magni principis jam in ipsis suis primordiis praeferret imaginem. Denique edicto praecepit ut illi qui ex gentibus exteris in Angliam sub rege Stephano praedarum gratia tanquam ad militandum con- 128 Henry II. [PART fluxerant, et maxime Flandrenses, quorum magna tune Angliae iiicubabat multitude, propriis regionibus redderentur, fatalem eis diem constituens, quern in Anglia sustinere certi foret discri- minis. Quo edicto pavefacti, ita in brevi dilapsi sunt ut quasi phantasmata in momento disparuisse viderentur, stupentibus plurimis quomodo repente evanuissent. Mox castella nova quae in diebus avi sui nequaquam exstiterant, complanari praecepit, praeter pauca in locis opportunis sita quae vel ipse retinere vel a pacificis ad regni munimen retineri voluit. Publicae quoque disciplinae in primis sollicitudinem habuit ; et ut legum vigor in Anglia revivisceret qui sub Rege Stephano extinctus sepultus- que videbatur, cura propensiore sategit. Ordinatisque in cunctis regni finibus juris et legum ministris qui vel improborum auda- ciam coercerent, vel interpellantibus secundum causarum merita justitiam exhiberent, ipse vel in deliciis erat, vel majoribus negotiis regiam operam impendebat. Quoties autem judicibus mollius indigniusve agentibus, provincialium querimoniis pulsa- batur, provisionis regiae remedium adhibebat : illorum compe- tenter corrigens vel negligentiam vel excessum. Talia novi prineipis initia fuere, gratulantibus quidem et laudantibus pacificis, mussitantibus vero et contreiniscentibus improbis. Fugiebant lupi rapaces vel mutabantur in oves ; aut, si non vere mutabantur, metu tamen legum innoxii cum ovibus morabantur. Conflabantur gladii in vomeres et lauceae in falces, nullusque jam exercebatur ad praelium, sed omnes olim optatae et nunc Deo pro- pitio iridultae pacis, vel fovebantur otiis vel intendebant negotiis. c. 2. Considerans autem rex, quod regii redditus breves essent, qui avito tempore uberes fuerant, eo quod regia dominica per mol- litiem regis Stepharii ad alios multosque dominos majori ex parte migrassent, praecepit ea cum omni integritate a quibuscunque detentoribus resignari, et in jus statumque pristinum revocari. A.D. 1154. GERVAS. c. 1377. In Nativitate Domini tenuit rex curiam suam apud Beremundeseiam, ubi cum principibus suis de statu regni et pace reformanda tractans, proposuit animo alienigenas gentes de regno propellere et munitiunculas pessimas per totam Angliam solo tenus dissipare. A.D. 1155. ROB. DE MONTE. Rex Henricus coepit revocare in jus proprium urbes, castella, villas, quae ad coronam regni pertinebant, castella noviter facta destruendo, et expellendo de regno maxime Flandrenses, et deponendo quosdam imaginarios et pseudocomites qui bus rex Stephanus omniu pene ad nscum pertinentia minus caute distribuerat. iv.] Excerpts. 129 CHRON. DE BELLO, p. 72. (Mense Martio) ; tenuit generale concilium apud Londoniam et renovavit pacem et leges et con- suetudines per Angliam ab antiquis temporibus constitutas. A.D. 1159. ROB. DE MONTE. Rex igitur Henricus, iturus in expeditionem praedictam et considerans longitudinem et diffi- cultatem viae, nolens vexare agrarios milites nee burgensem nee rusticorum multitudinem, sumptis Ix. solidis Andegavensibus in Normannia de feudo uniuscujusque loricae, et de reliquis omni- bus tarn in Normannia quam in Anglia, sive etiam aliis terris suis, secundum hoc quod ei visum fuit, capitales barones suos cum paucis secum duxit, solidarios vero milites innumeros. GERVAS. c. 1381. Hoc anno rex Henricus scotagium sive scutagium de Anglia accepit, cujus summa fuit centum millia et quater viginti millia librarum argenti. A.D. 1163. RAD. DE DICETO, c. 536. Malcolmus rex Scot- torum, Resus Australium princeps Walensium, Audoenus Aqui- lonarium, et quique majores de Cambria, fecerunt homagium regi Anglorum et Henrico filio suo kalendis Julii apud Wdestoke. V. S. THOMAE, auct. GRIM, pp. 21, 22. Commorante rege in ledio suo apud Wodestoke, praesente archiepiscopo et primis itriae, inter alia movetur quaestio de consuetudine quadam quae Anglia tenebatur. Dabantur de hida bini solidi ministris egis qui vicecomitum loco comitatus servabant, quos voluit rex >nscribere fisco et reditibus propriis associare. Cui archiepi- >pus in faciem restitit, dicens non debere eos exigi pro redi- tibus, ' nee pro reditu,' inquit, ' dabimus eos, domine rex, salvo jneplacito vestro : sed si digne nobis servierint vicecomites, et servientes vel ministri provinciarum, et homines nostros manu- tenuerint, nequaquam eis deerimus in auxilium.' Rex autem aegre ferens archiepiscopi responsionem, 'Per oculos Dei' ait 'dabuntur pro reditu, et in scriptura regis scribentur; nee dignum est ut contradicas, cum nemo tuos contra voluntatem tuam gravare velit/ Praevidens archiepiscopus et praecavens ne per ipsius patientiam consuetude induceretur unde posteri gravarentur, ' per reverentiam oculorum quos jurasti, domine mi rex, non dabuntur de tota terra mea, et de jure ecclesiae ne unius quidem denarius.' GERVAS. c. 1384 [Mense Octobri]. Convocatis episcopis apud Westmonasterium simul cum archiepiscopo, de criminosis clericis contra canonum libertatem male tractandis, usque in vesperam sermo pertinacior est protractus. 130 Henry II. [PART A.D. 1164. RAD. DE DICETO, c. 536. Ex mandate regis concurrentibus episcopis et, proceribus apud Clarendune, VIII. kalendas Februarii post immensos tractatus rex tandem ad hoc animos praelatorum inflexit, ut regni consuetudines archiepisco- porum et episcoporum auctoritate firmarentur et scriptis. . . . Apud Norhamtunam III. idus Octobris: convenerunt illuc epi- scopi, comites, barones totius regni mandate regis urgente. (Omnes qui cle rege tenerent in capite. GRIM, V. S. Thomae, p. 39.) W. F. STEPH., V. S. Thomae, p. 220. Et aliam diem ... rex . . . praefixit ; litteris suis ad vicecomitem Cantiae de archiepi- scopo citando emissis . . . nee aliam per litteras sibi directas solemnem et primam, ut antiqui moris erat, habuerat archi- episcopus ad concilium citationem. A.D. 1170. BENED. ABB. i. 4. Peracta igitur sollemnitate Paschali, perrexit inde Lundonias, et ibi magnum celebravit con- cilium de coronatione Henrici filii sui majoris, et cle statutis regni sui, et ibidem deposuit fere omnes vicecomites Angliae et ballivos eorum, pro eo quod male tractaverant homines regni sui. A.D. 1176. BEN. ABB. i. 107. . . . Circa festum Conversionis Sancti Pauli, venit dominus rex usque Norhamtoniam, et mag- num ibi celebravit concilium de statutis regni sui, coram epi- scopis et comitibus et baronibus terrae suae, et coram eis per consilium regis Henrici filii sui, et per consilium comitum et baronum et militum et hominum suorum, hanc subscriptam assisam fecit, et earn teneri praecepit; scilicet quod regnum suum divisit in sex partes per quarum singulas tres Justitias constituit. . . . Ib. p. 1 1 6. (Legati regis Siciliae) . . . invento domino rege apud Lundonias petierunt ab eo Johannam filiam suam donari in uxorem domino suo Willelmo regi Siciliae. Ipse vero con- gregatis in urbe Lundoniarum archipraesulibus et episcopis et comitibus et sapientioribus regni sui, consuluit eos quid tarn magni regis nunciis responderet. Et accepto ab eis consilio misit eos Wintoniam ut praefatam puellam viderent, si eis placeret. A.D.H77. Ib. pp. 143-151. (Mense Martio.) Et cum dominus rex audisset istud chirographum (sc. regum Castellae et Navarrae) et nunciorum utri usque regis allegationes hinc inde audisset et intellexisset, praecepit eis coram episcopis, comitibus et baronibus suis, ut omui occasione remota, essent ad eum apud Lundonias Dominica proxima sequenti, recepturi ibidem judicium suum. . . . Ibidem ad eum venerunt sicut mandaverat [omnes fere episcopi regni]. Venerunt etiain illuc tot abbates, tot decani, tot archi- iv.] Excerpts. 131 diaconi quot sub numero non cadebant: venemnt etiam illuc comites et barones regni quorum non est numerus. . . . Tune arcliiepiscopus Cantuariensis et episcopi Angliae qui aderant et comites et barones regni plenariam utrique parti supradictorum quae in jure petita erant fieri restitutionem adjudicaverunt. Ib. p. 1 60. (Mense Maio) . . transtulit se rex usque Windes- hoveres et Rogerus Eboracensis archiepiscopus et praenomi- nati episcopi cum eo. Yenerunt autem ibi ad eum fere omnes comites et barones et milites regni, parati equis et armis ad eundum quo rex praeciperet. Cumque ibidem diu de pace et stabilitate regni tractassent, per consilium episcoporum et comi- tuin et baronum suorum removit custodes castellorum Angliae, et tradidit ea ad custodiendum militibus qui erant de privata familia sua. A.D. 1178. BEN. ABB. i. 207. Itaque dominus rex moram faciens in Anglia quaesivit de Justitiis quos in Anglia constitu- erat, si bene et modeste tractaverunt homines regni ; et cum didicisset quod terra et homines terrae nimis gravati essent ex tanta Justitiarum multitudine, quia octodecim erant numero ; per consilium sapientium regni sui quinque tantum elegit, duos scilicet clericos et tres laicos, et erant omnes de privata familia sua. Et statuit quod illi quinque audirent omnes clamores regni, et rectum facerent, et quod a curia regis non recederent, sed ibi ad audiendum clamores hominum remanerent ; ita ut si aliqua quaestio inter eos veniret, quae per eos ad finem duci non posset', auditui regio praesentaretur, et sicut ei et sapien- tioribus regni placeret terminaretur. A.D. 1179. BEN. ABB. i. 238. Tune rex congregatis epi- scopis et comitibus et proceribus regni apud Wiudesovers, communi eorum consilio, coram rege filio suo, divisit in quatuor partes Angliam et unicuique parti praefecit viros sapientes de regno ; et postea misit eos per partes regni eis assign atas, ut justitiam exercerent in populo. B. DE DICETO, c. 605. Rex pater Anglorum his plurimum quaerens prodesse qui minimum possunt, vicecomites publicis functionibus et ratiociniis involutes commodis propriis invigi- lantes invenit. Quare de communi salute magis et magis sol- licitus, certis in locis jurisdictiones aliis fidelibus suis in regno commisit, ut cognitus per provincias publicae potestatis ad- ventus terrorem incuteret delinquentibus ; fiscalia supprimentes, et quae principis laederent majestatem, regiam iudignationem incurrerent ; ferarum cubilia temerariis ausibus incursantes, vel rnulcta reprimeret vel carceralis custodia maceraret diutius; K 2 132 Henry II. [PART metus poenae profugos absterreret, animadversio gravis per- celleret interceptos ; homicidae suspendio punirentur, proditores damnarentur exilio, levioribus in flagitiis deprehensi truncatione membrorum notabiles redderentur; invasores locorum vigor compesceret judiciarius, enormitatem damni satisfactio maturata sarciret. Rursus aliquot temporum labente curriculo, rex in- tentissimus ad justitiam singulis exhibendam, nt arctius subditis provideret, fidem voluit experiri multorum. In variis namque professionibus amatores justitiae sollicitius investigans, quern munera non corrumperent inter hominum millia requirebat, et sic animum a proposito non immutans, circa personas mutabiles immutabilem semper saepe mutavit sententiam. Quantum itaque claustralis professio querelas pauperum relevaverit, quan- tum cinguli militaris auctoritas restiterit potentioribus et vivere jure communi coegerit, novit calamitas oppressorum. Nam abbates modo, comites modo, capitaneos modo, domesticos modo, familiarissimos modo, causis audiendis et examinandis prae- posuit. Rex denique cum tot fideles suos conditionibus tarn diversis obnoxios publicis utilitatibus praefecisset, nee alicujus publice retractasset sententiam, suffragium aliud commodis pri- vatorum utiiius non inveniens, oculos erexit ad caelum, et de terrestribus cogitans et aliquid mutuans a caelestibus, sic homi- nibus providere curavit, ut homines ab hominum generalitate secerneret, qui licet viverent inter homines superintendentes hominibus, aliquid haberent, aliquid sentirent, aliquid auderent plus homine. Transcensis igitur omnibus quae mutabilitati poterant subjacere de facili, rex ad sanctuarium Dei recurrens, Wintoniensem, Elyensem, Norwicensem episcopos archijusti- tiarios regni, sed certis in locis, ea forsan consideratione consti- tuit, ut si ceteri quos longe prius praemiserat ipsum regnantem in terra minus reveriti fuerint, isti saltern Deum Regem regum, hominum Creatorem, Judicem conscientiarum, operum Re- tributorem, revererentur attentius et ardentius, ut nee ad sinis- tram declinantes vel ad dexteram, nee opprimerent in judicio pauperem, nee causam divitis ob acceptionem muneris colorare praesumerent. Itaque si se negotiis saecularibus contra cano- num instituta praesules immiscuerint et ob hoc trahantur in causam, regis instantiam, regis intentionem piam, suam ac- tionem Deo placendam, plurimis profuturara, ab hominibus collaudandam, rigori canonum instanter opponant; sic reatum culpae fraternae caritatis intuitus poterit mitigare. Consilium tamen est ut ad Rogeri bonae memoriae quondam episcopi Saresberiensis opus laudabile frequenter recurrant, qui simili devotione constrictus non se prius professus est regni justi- TV.] Excerpts. 133 tiarium, quam ab ecclesia Romana, quam ab Anselmo, Radulfo, Willelmo Cantuariensibus archiepiscopis, juxta temporum suc- cessionem cum obedientiae virtute sibi fuerit hoc onus imposi- tum. Ab episcopis igitur supradietis et a conjudicibus eorundem querelis justitia mediante decisis, reservatis quibusdam ad prin- cipis audientiam, regi ratio redditur administrations, VI. kalen- das Septembris, apud "Westraonasterium. . . . Gratia caelestis hoc anno terrenas potestates in earn erga subditos affectionem induxit, ut singulis querelas habentibus tarn in foro civili quam ecclesiastico sancta consideratione prospectum esse non dubites. Eo namque decursum est, ut in comitiis sicut supradiximus rege procurante praesideant praesules et disceptationibus quaestionum forensium quae sanguinis poenam non irrogant, audientiam suam accommodent. Rursus ad consistorium archiepiscopi Cantua- riensis, si veritas tibi comes fuerit, cum animi tranquillitate potes securus accedere pro merito causae calculum reportaturus. Ne sui siquidem assessores, quos in dandis consiliis et litibus dirimendis habet assiduos, a via veritatis exorbitent, et in pecuniae corruptelam partium studia litigantium universi negotii spem universam reponant, cur et quando terribiles in medium proponi scripturas civi liter introductum sit memoriter tenuerunt. Nam omnes communi sponsione devincti tactis sacrosanctis evan- geliis publice juraverunt, nemine deferente, se conservaturos in posterum modis omnibus suas manus immunes a munere. Promisit illud idem archiepiscopus in verbo veritatis apud Pageham. A.D. 1180. BEN. ABB. i. 263. Henricus rex Angliae fecit in Anglia novam monetam fieri, et praecepit quod a festo Sancti Martini non caperetur alia moneta in Anglia quam ilia nova : vetus namque moneta corrupta fiiit, et rex monetarios suos redemit, id est, ad redemptionem coegit. A. D. 1 1 8 1. BEN. ABB. i. 2 78. Rex Angliae fecit. . . . assisam de armis habendis in Anglia. A.D. 1184. BEN. ABB. i. 311. Interim papa Lucius misit nuncios suos ad regem Angliae postulans ab eo et ab clericatu Angliae auxilium ad defensionem patrimonii Beati Petri contra Romanos. Rex vero in Angliam misit nuncium suum ad epi- scopos Angliae ut per eorum consilium providentius responderet nunciis domini papae. Illi vero congregati Lundoniis coram Ranulfo de Glanvil, justitiario regis, de communi eorum consilio mandaverunt domino regi, quod in consuetudinem verti posset ad detrimentum regni si permitteret nuncios domini papae in Angliam venire ad collectam faciendam ; et ideo de eorum con- J34 Henry II. [PAHT silio erat, ut dominus rex secundum voluntatem suam et hono- rem, auxilium faceret domino papae. Dicebant enim quod tolerabilius esset et plus eis placeret, quod dominus rex de eis acciperet si vellet recompensationem auxilii quod ipse faceret domino papae. Quorum consilio dominus rex adquievit. Ib. p. 323. Eodem anno post obitum Thomae filii Bernardi, qui, post discessum Alani de Novil, fuit magister forestarius et justitiarius per totam Angliam, dominus rex divisit forestas suas in Anglia in plures partes et unicuique parti praefecit quatuor justitiarios, scilicet duos clericos et duos milites : et constituit in unaquaque parte duos servientes de domo et familia ipsius, custodes venationis et viridis super omnes forestarios alios tarn regis quam baronum et inilitum ; et postea fecit praedictos jus- titiarios et servientes jurare, tactis sacrosanctis evangeliis, quod . . . assisas de foresta servarent. A.D. 1188. BEN. ABB. ii. 33. Eex consilio fidelium suorum elegit clericos et laicos de quorum prudentia confidebat, et misit eos per singulos comitatus ad decimas colligendas secundum praedictam praeordinationem in terris suis transmarinis consti- tutam. Sed de singulis urbibus totius Angliae fecit eligere omnes ditiores, scilicet de Lundonia cc. et de Eboraco c. et de aliis urbibus secundum numerum et quantitatem eorum, et fecit omnes sibi praesentari diebus et locis statutis. De quibus cepit decimam reddituum et mobilium suorum secundum aestima- tionem virorum fidelium qui redditus et mobilia eorum noverant. Si quos autem invenisset rebelles, statim fecit eos incarcerari et in vinculis teneri donee ultimuin quadrantem persolverent. Similiter fecit de Judaeis terrae suae, unde inaestimabilem sibi adquisivit pecuniain. CHARTER OF LIBERTIES ISSUED BY HENRY II. This charter of Henry II, which, like the similar one of Stephen, was issued probably at the coronation, is simply a confirmation of that of his grandfather, but would naturally be construed to cover any reforms carried out on the principles set forth in that charter, such as the fixing a reasonable sum for reliefs, and the administration of justice in the country at large through visitations of the Curia Regis. The meaning of con- suetudo, like our word custom, must often be understood with reference to pecuniary exactions, especially when qualified by the iv.] Constitutions of Clarendon. 135 word mdlae. Richard de Luci, who attests the charter, is the Great Justiciar, and the fact that it is attested by him points to the date of the charter as being probably earlier than the ap- pointment of Thomas as Chancellor. Carta Regis Henrici Secundi. HENEICTJS Dei gratia Rex Angliae, dux Normanniae et Aqui- tanniae, et comes Andegaviae, omnibus comitibus, baronibus et fidelibus suis Francis et Anglicis salutem. Sciatis me ad hono- rem Dei et sanctae ecclesiae et pro communi emendatione totius regni mei, concessisse et reddidisse et praesenti carta mea con- firmasse Deo et sanctae ecclesiae et omnibus comitibus et baronibus et omnibus hominibus meis omnes concessiones et donationes et libertates et liberas consuetudines quas rex Henricus avus meus eis dedit et concessit. Similiter etiam omnes malas consuetudines quas ipse delevit et remisit, ego remitto et deleri concede pro me et haeredibus meis. Quare volo et firmiter praecipio quod sancta ecclesia et omnes comites et barones et omnes mei homines, omnes illas consuetudines et donationes et libertates et liberas consuetudines habeant et teneant, libere et quiete, bene et in pace et integre, de me et haeredibus meis, sibi et haeredibus suis, adeo libere et quiete et plenarie in omnibus sicut Rex Henricus avus meus eis dedit et concessit et carta sua confirmavit. Teste Ricardo de Luci apud Westmonasterium. (Statutes of the Realm Charters of Liberties, p. 4.) A.D. 1164. CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON. The following copy of the Constitutions of Clarendon is prob- ably the exact form in which they were reported to the king and confirmed by the bishops and barons. The list of the barons is especially valuable as showing the composition of the * Commune Concilium regni' at the period, and may be com- pared with the corresponding lists attached to the confirmations of the great Charter of John. Besides the importance of the Constitutions themselves in their bearing on the relations of Church and State in England, the following points of con- sequence, more immediately touching Constitutional History and the growth of our legal system, are worthy of attention. ^ i. The reservation to the Curia Regis of questions of Presentation and 136 Henry II. [PAUT Advowson for the decision of which the Assize of Darrein pre- sentment was issued, the only vestiges of which are preserved in Glanvill. 2. The maintenance of the distinction of the eccle- siastical and civil jurisdictions which had been introduced into England by "William the Conqueror. Under the Anglo-Saxon system, in which the bishop and archdeacon sat in the shire- moot and hundred-moot, all offences touching the clergy, except those of a purely spiritual character, which were treated of in special courts and councils, were decided according to the law of the land, which provided abundantly for such cases : nor until the canon law began to be studied, which was after the publica- tion of the Collection of Ivo of Chartres, was much incon- venience found to result from conflicting jurisdictions. The Decretum of Gratian appeared towards the end of Stephen's reign, and appeals to Rome multiplied as the influence of the Italian lawyers increased. The necessity for the restrictive action of the Constitutions of Clarendon will be learned from the events which led up to them : although these events are to be ascribed no doubt largely to the exaggerated influence of the canon law, it ought not to be forgotten that the source of the evil was in the Conqueror's measure of division. 3. The notice of the use of a jury (Art. 6), and of the principle of recognition by twelve lawful men in case of a dispute as to the tenure of an estate alleged to be in franc-almoign (Art. 9), is the earliest case of such mention in anything like statute law. It is not, how- ever, to be supposed that this is the act of the institution of such recognitions, of which probably many earlier instances might be found. 4. The direction that elections to ih& bishoprics and abbacies shall take place in the royal chapel, subject to the approval of the king and his council, is in conformity with the usage of Henry I, and with the practice of the "West-Saxon kings of England. But the right of election had long been claimed for the clergy of the church whose vacancy was to be sup- plied. As early as the eighth century the letters of Alcuin give proof that such liberty was possessed by the clergy of York, and the subsequent restriction was probably owing to the example set by the emperors in France and Germany. Generally the IT.] Constitutions of Clarendon. 137 Anglo-Saxon bishops were appointed by the king and witan, but there are traces, from the date of Theodore to the Con- quest, of free elections occasionally allowed, and constantly claimed. It was the Peace of Anselm and Henry I that gave the king an absolute and legal influence in this matter. 5. The restriction of the liberty of 'rustics' or 'natives' to take holy orders, is not to be understood as intended to depress a class of people whom in other matters the king was anxious to raise, but as a security to the landowners that they should not lose the services of their villeins. The villeins were in fact labourers whose wages were paid in land, the tenure of which, having become settled to villenage, could not be altered or readjusted so as to idemnify the lord for the loss of the labour consequent on the ordination of his villein. It is possible also, considering the similar article of the Assize of Clarendon (below, p. 145), that orders or religious vows were sometimes used by villeins as an expedient for escaping from the jurisdiction of their lords, and thus increased the number of disreputable clerks whose miscon- duct necessitated Henry's measure of reform. Anno ab Incarnatione Domini MoCLXIV<>, papatus Alex- andri anno IV to , illustrissimi regis Anglorum Henrici secundi anno decimo, in praesentia ejusdem regis, facta est ista recor- datio vel recognitio cujusdam partis consuetudinum et libertatum et dignitatum antecessorum suorum, videlicet regis Henrici avi sui, et aliorum quae observari et teneri ctebent in regno. VEt propter dissensiones et discordias quae emerserant inter clerum et Justitias domini regis et barones regni de consuetudinibus et dignitatibus, facta est ista recognitio coram archiepiscopis et efciscopis et clero et comitibus et baronibus et proceribus regni. /Et easdem consuetudines recognitas per archiepiscopos et epi- scopos et comites et barones et per nobiliores et antiquiores regni, Thomas Cantuariensis archiepiscopus, et Kogerus Ebora- censis archiepiscopus, et Gillebertus Londoniensis episcopus, et Henricus Wiutoniensis episcopus, et Nigellus Eliensis episcopus, et "Willelmus Norwicensis episcopus, et Robertus Lincolniensis episcopus, et Hilarius Cicestrensis episcopus, et Jocelinus Saris- beriensis episcopus, et Eicardus Cestrensis episcopus, et Bartholo- maeus Exoniensis episcopus, et Robertus Herefordensis episcopus, et David Menevensis episcopus, et Rogerus Wigornensis electus, concesserunt, et in Verbo Veritatis viva voce firiniter promiserunt 138 Henry II. . [PART tenendas et observandas, domino regi et haeredibus suis, bona fide et absque malo ingenio, praesentibus istis : Roberto comite Leghestriae, Reginaldo comite Cornubiae, Conano comite Bri- tanniae, Johanne comite de Augo, Rogero comite de Clara, comite Gaufredo de Mandevilla, Hugone comite Cestriae, Willelmo comite de Arundel, comite Patricio, Willelmo comite de Fer- rariis, Ricardo de Luci, Reginaldo de Sancto Walerico, Rogero Bigot, Reginaldo de Warennia, Richero de Aquila, Willelmo de Braiosa, Ricardo de Camvilla, Nigello de Moubrai, Simone de Bello Campo, Humfrido de Boun, Matthaeo de Herefordia, Waltero de Meduana, Manasserp Biseth dapifero, Willelmo Malet, "Willelmo de Curci, Roberto de Dunestan villa, Jocelino de Baillolio, Willelmo de Lanvalis, Willelmo de Caisneto, Gaufrido de Ver, Willelmo de Hastinges, Hugone de Morevilla, Alano de ISTevilla, Simone filio Petri, Willelmo Malduit camerario, Johanne Malduit, Johanne Mariscallo, Petro de Mara, et multis aliis proceribus et nobilibus regni, tarn clericis quam laicis. Consuetudinum vero et dignitatum regni recognitarum quae- dam pars praesenti scripto continetur. Cujus partis capitula haec sunt ; * Cap. i. De advocatione et praesentatione ecclesiarum si con- troversia emerserit inter laicos, vel inter laicos et clericos, vel inter clericos, in curia domini regis tractetur vel terminetur. Cap. ii. Ecclesiae de feudo domini regis non possunt in per- petuum dari absque assensu et concessione ipsius. Cap. iii. Clerici rectati et accusati de quacunque re, summoniti a Justitia regis venient in curiam ipsius, responsuri ibidem de hoc unde videbitur curiae regis quod ibidem sit respondendum ; et in curia ecclesiastica, unde videbitur quod ibidem sit respon- dendum ; ita quod Justitia regis mittet in curiam sanctae eccle- siae ad videndum qua ratione res ibi tractabitur. Et si clericus convictus vel confessus fuerit, non debet de cetero eum ecclesia tueri. Cap. iv. Archiepiscopis, episcopis, et personis regni, non licet exire de regno absque licentia domini regis. Et si exierint, si domino regi placuerit, assecurabunt, quod nee in eundo, nee in moram faciendo, nee in redeundo, perquirent malum vel darnnuni regi vel regno. Cap. v. Excommunicati non debent dare vadium ad remanens, nee praestare juramentum, sed tantum vadium et plegium standi judicio ecclesiae ut absolvantur. Cap. vi. Laici non debent accusari nisi per certos et legales accusatores et testes in praesentia episcopi, ita quod archidia- conus non perdat jus suum, nee quicquam quod inde hubere iv.] Constitutions of Clarendon. 139 debeat. Et si tales fuerint qui culpantur, quod non velit vel non audeat aliquis eos accusare, vicecomes requisitus ab episcopo faciet jurare duodecim legales homines de vicineto, seu de villa, coram episcopo, quod inde veritatem secundum conscientiam suam manifestabunt. Cap. vii. Nullus qui de rege tenet in capite, nee aliquis dominicorum ministrorum ejus, excommunicetur, nee terrae alicujus illorum sub interdicto ponantur, ni& prius dominus rex, si in terra fuerit, conveniatur, vel Justitia ejus, si fuerit extra regnum, ut rectum de ipso faciat : et ita ut quod pertinebit ad curiam regiam ibidem terminetur, et de eo quod spectabit ad ecclesiasticam curiam, ad eandem mittatur ut ibidem tractetur. Cap. viii. De appellationibus si emerserint, ab archidiacono debent procedere ad episcopum, ab episcopo ad archiepiscopum. Et si archiepiscopus defecerit in justitia exhibenda, ad dominum regem perveniendum est postremo, ut praecepto ipsius in curia archiepiscopi controversia terminetur, ita quod non debet ulterius procedere absque assensu domini regis. Cap. ix. Si calumnia emerserit inter clericum et laicum, vel inter laicum et clericum, de ullo tenemento quod clericus ad eleemosinam velit attrahere, laicus vero ad laicum feudum, recog- nitione duodecim legalium hominum, per capitalis Justitiae regis considerationem terminabitur, utrum tenementum sit pertinens ad eleemosinam sive ad laicum feudum, coram ipso Justitia regis. Et si re.cognitum fuerit ad eleemosinam pertinere, placitum erit in curia ecclesiastica, si vero ad laicum feudum, nisi ambo de eodem episcopo vel barone advocaverint, erit placitum in curia regia. Sed si uterque advocaverit de feudo illo ante eundem episcopum vel baronem, erit placitum in curia ipsius ; ita quod propter factam recognitionem seisinam non amittat, qui prior seisitus fuerat, donee per placitum dirationatum fuerit. Cap. x. Qui de civitate, vel castello, vel burgo, vel dominico manerio domini regis fuerit, si ab archidiacono vel episcopo super aliquo delicto citatus fuerit, unde debeat eisdem respondere et ad citationes eorum satisfacere noluerit, bene licet eum sub interdicto ponere, sed non debet excommunicari priusquam capitalis minister domini regis villae illius conveniatur, ut justi- ciet eum ad satisfactionem venire. Et si minister regis inde defecerit, ipse erit in misericordia domini regis, et exinde poterit episcopus ipsum accusatum ecclesiastica justitia cohibere. Cap. xi. Archiepiscopi, episcopi, et universae personae regni, qui de rege tenent in capite, habent possession es suas de domino rege sicut baroniam, et inde respondent Justitiis et ministris regis, et sequuntur et faciunt omnes rectitudines et consue- 14 Henry II. [PART tudines regias, et sicut barones ceteri, debent interesse judiciis curiae domini regis cum baronibus, usque dum perveniatur in judicio ad diminutionem membrorum vel mortem. Cap. xii. Cum vacaverit archiepiscopatus, vel episcopatus, vel abbatia, vel prioratus de dominio regis, debet esse in manu ipsius, et inde percipiet omnes reditus et exitus sicut dominicos. Et cum ventum fuerit ad consuleridum ecclesiae, debet dominus rex mandare potiores pef-sonas ecclesiae. et in capella ipsius domini regis debet fieri electio assensu cfomini regis et consilio per- sonarum regni, quas ad hoc faciendum vocaverit. Et ibidem faciet electus homagium et fidelitatem domino regi sicut ligio domino, de vita sua et de membris et de honore suo terrene, salvo ordine suo, priusquam sit consecratus. Cap. xiii. Si quisquam de proceribus regni defortiaverit archiepiscopo, vel episcopo, vel archidiacono, de se vel de suis justitiam exhibere, dominus rex debet eos justiciare. Et si forte aliquis defortiaverit domino regi rectitudinem suam, archiepi- scopi et episcopi et archidiaconi debent eum justiciare ut domino regi satisfaciat. Cap. xiv. Catalla eorum qui sunt in forisfacto regis non detineat ecclesia vel cimiterium contra justitiam regis, quia ipsius regis sunt, sive in ecclesiis sive extra fuerint inventa. Cap. xv. Placita de debitis, quae fide interposita debentur, vel absque interpositione fidei, sint in justitia regis. Cap. xvi. Filii rusticorum non debent ordinari absque assensu domini de cujus terra nati dignoscuntur. Facta est autem praedictarum consuetudinum et dignitatum recordatio regi arum a praefatis arcbiepiscopis et episcopis et comitibus et baronibus, et nobilioribus, et antiquioribus regni, apud Clarendonam quarto die ante Purificationem Beatae Mariae perpetuae Virginis, domino Henrico cum patre suo domino rege ibidem praesente. Sunt autem et aliae multae et magnae con- suetudines et dignitates sanctae matris ecclesiae et domini regis et baronum regni, quae in hoc scripto non continentur. Quae salvae sint sanctae ecclesiae et domino regi et haeredibus suis et baronibus regni, et in perpetuum in violabi liter observentur. (Littleton's Life of Henry II, vol. iv. pp, 182-185, from MS. Cotton, Claudius B. 2.) A.D. 1 1 66. ASSIZE OF CLARENDON. This Assize was issued by the king early in 1166, after the Council of Oxford, in which the heretics mentioned in the iv.] Assize of Clarendon. 141 2ist Article were condemned. It is a document of the greatest importance to our legal history, and must be regarded as in- troducing changes into the administration of justice which were to lead the way to self-government at no distant time. (I.) It is clear from the first article that a commission of itinerant justices was to visit the shires, and that to them and the sheriffs the several juries of the shire and the hundred were to present notorious or reputed offenders. Henry II has been regarded as the inventor of the system of itinerant judges, but the examination of the Great Roll of the Pipe of 31 Henry I shows that during his reign the practice was observed both for financial and judicial purposes. These journeys were the substitute under the Norman kings for the progresses of the earlier sovereigns, who, whilst moving from one of their estates to another, heard the complaints of defect of justice in the lower courts. The annual courts of William the Conqueror, who wore his crown aiid heard causes at Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, at Gloucester, "Winchester, and Westminster, a custom occasionally observed by William Rufus and Henry I, only partially answered the same purpose; and for these towards the end of Henry's reign a visitation of the Curia Regis itself seems to have been substituted. Everything of the kind ceased under Stephen : and in the earlier years of Henry II the visitation was ap- parently made only by either the Great Justiciar or some other great officer of the royal household, as the Constable or the Chancellor. On this particular occasion the visitation was carried out by the Great Justiciar Richard de Luci, and Geoffrey Mandeville Earl of Essex; but in 1168 a deputation of four barons of the Exchequer traversed the country as itinerant judges and collectors of revenue, and in 1173 the country was divided for financial purposes into six circuits. Several modi- fications of the numbers and circuits were introduced during Henry's reign, and the plan was followed up under Richard and John, until the anarchy which followed the interdict. By Magna Carta the king undertook to send itinerant commissions four times a year (Art. 18), to take assizes of Mort-dancester, Novel Disseisin, and Darrein Presentment ; but this was altered in 142 Henry II. [PART 1217 to one annual visitation for this purpose. Whether the judges so commissioned were competent to transact other busi- ness is not clear, but it seems that from this period the Iter of the justices for general business was septennial, and not annual. And these septennial iters were continued until the reign of Edward I ; nor even then entirely extinguished by the appointment of justices of assize. The subject is an intricate one, and only in its earlier stages connected with constitutional law ; but it may be observed, that much of the confusion that prevails concerning it is to be traced to the fact, that attention has not been paid to the variety of commissions under which such provincial justice was executed. From the first we have to distinguish between financial and judicial iters, then between commissions for taking the assize and for trying criminals, and so on until we come to the state of things described by Black- stone, under which the judges at assizes sit in five capacities ; as justices : (i) of the Peace, (2) of Oyer and Terminer, (3) of Gaol Delivery, (4) of Assize, (5) of Nisi Prius. (II.) The adoption of presentment and ordeal had the effect of abolishing the practice of compurgation in the shire-moots, which continued to be used in the boroughs whose charters exempted them from the jurisdiction of these courts. The ordeal in these circum- stances being a resource following the verdict of a jury ac- quainted with the fact, could only be applied to those who were to all intents and purposes proved to be guilty. The abolition of the ordeal by the Lateran Council in 1216, and the impossi- bility of securing perfect justice by the machinery of the grand jury, led the way to the usage of a second or petty jury, to traverse the decisions of the former. (III.) The directions that all qualified persons shall attend the county court to serve on these juries, and that no franchise is to exclude the sheriffs from preparing for these visitations and enforcing the frank- pledges, are an important attempt to limit the exercise of feudal courts of justice and feudal privilege. (IV). The traces of Anglo-Saxon custom in the treatment of strangers, waifs and wanderers, and the responsibility of their entertainers, may be regarded as a proof that the country was still in an unsettled iv.] Assize of Clarendon. 143 state, and that the old ends had to be secured by the old means. (V.) The 2oth article has relation to the subject of the last article^of the Constitutions of Clarendon: and the 2ist is of great importance touching the treatment of heresy under Henry II, which was certainly not so severe as that of offences against the forest laws. Incipit Assisa de Clarenduna facia a rege Henrico, scilicet secundo, de assensu archiepiscoporum, episcoporum, ahbatum, comitum, baronum, totius Angliae. 1. Inprimis statuit praedictus rex Henricus de consilio omnium baronum suorum, pro pace servanda et justitia tenenda, quod per singulos comitatus inquiratur, et per singulos hundredos, per xii. legaliores homines de hundredo, et per iv. legaliores homines de qualibet villata, per sacramentum quod illi verum dicent : si in hundredo suo vel villata sua sit aliquis homo qui sit rettatus vel publicatus quod ipse sit robator vel murdrator vel latro vel aliquis qui sit receptor robatorum vel murdratorum vel latronum, postquam dominus rex fuit rex. Et hoc iriquirant Justitiae coram se, et vicecomites coram se. 2. Et qui invenietur per sacramentum praedictorum rettatus vel publicatus quod fuerit robator vel murdrator vel latro vel receptor eorum, postquam dominus rex fuit rex, capiatur et eat ad juisam aquae, et juret quod ipse non fuit robator vel mur- drator vel latro vel receptor eorum peitquam dominus rex fuit rex, de valentia v. solidorum quod sciat. 3. Et si dominus ejus qui captus fuerit vel dapifer ejus vel homines ejus requisierint eum per plegium infra tertium diem postquam captus fuerit, replegiatur ipse et catalla ejus donee ipse faciat legem suam. 4. Et quando robator vel murdrator vel latro vel receptores eorum capti fuerint per praedictum sacramentum, si Justitiae non fuerint tarn cito venturae in ilium comitatum ubi capti fuerint, vicecomites mandent propinquiori Justitiae per aliquem intelligentem homin^m, quod tales homines ceperint ; et Jus- titiae remandabunt vicecomitibus ubi voluerint quod illi ducantur ante illos : et vicecomites illos ducant ante Justitias ; et cum illis ducant de hundredo et de villata ubi capti fuerint, duos legales homines ad portandum recordationem comitatus et hundredi, quare capti fuerint, et ibi ante Justitiam facient legem suam. 5. Et de illis qui capti fuerint per praedictum sacramentum hujus Assisae, nullus habeat curiam vel justitiam nee catalla, 144 Henry IL [PART nisi dominus rex in curia sua coram Justitiis ejus, et dominus rex habebit omnia catalla eorum. De illis vero qui capti fuerint aliter quam per hoc sacramentum, sit sicut esse solet et debet. O 6. Et vicecomites qui eos ceperint ducant eos ante Justitiam sine alia summonitione quam inde habeant. Et cum robatores vel murdratores vel latrones et receptores eorum, qui capti fuerint per sacramentum vel aliter, tradantur vicecomitibus, et ipsi recipiant eos statim sine dilatione. 7. Et in singulis comitatibus ubi non sunt gaiolae, fiant in burgo vel aliquo castello regis de denariis regis et bosco ejus si prope fuerit, vel de alio bosco propinquo, per visum servientium regis, ad hoc ut vicecomites in illis possint illos qui capti fuerint per ministros qui hoc facere solent et per servientes suos, custodire. 8. Vult etiam dominus rex quod omnes veniant ad comitatus ad hoc sacramentum faciendum, ita quod nullus remaneat pro libertate aliqua quam habeat, vel curia vel soca quam habuerit, quin veniant ad hoc sacramentum faciendum. 9. Et non sit aliquis infra castellum vel extra castellum, nee etiam in honore de Walingeford, qui vetet vicecomites intrare in curiam vel terrain suam ad videndos francos plegios, et quod omnes sint sub plegiis : et ante vicecomites mittantur sub libero plegio, 10. Et in civitatibus vel burgis nullus habeat homines vel recipiat in domo sua vel terra sua vel soca sua, quos non in manu capiat quod eos habebit coram Justitia si requisiti fuerint, vel sint sub francoplegio. 1 1 . Et nulli siut in civitate vel burgo vel castello vel extra, nee in honore etiam de Walingeford, qui vetent vicecomites intrare in terrain suam vel socam suam, ad capiendum illos qui rettati fuerint vel publicati quod sint robatores vel murdratores vel latrones vel receptores eorum, vel utlagati vel rettati de- foresta ; sed praecipit quod juvent illos ad capiendum eos. 12. Et si aliquis fuerit captus qui fuerit saisiatus de roberia vel latrocinio, si ipse fuerit diffamatus et habeat malum testi- monium de publicamento, et non habeat warantum, non habeat legem. Et si non fuerit publicatus, pro saisina quam habet, eat ad aquam. 13. Et si aliquis fuerit recognoscens coram legalibus homini- bus vel hundredis de roberia vel murdro vel latrocinio vel de receptione eorum, et postea negare voluerit, non habeat legem. 14. Vult etiam dominus rex quod ipsi qui facient legem suam iv.] Assize of Clarendon. 145 et mundi erunt per legem, si ipsi fuerint de pessimo testimonio, et publice et turpiter diffamati testimonio multorum et legalium hominum, foras jurent terras regis, ita quod infra viii. dies mare transibunt, nisi aura eos detinuerit; et cum prima aura quam habebunt postea mare transibunt, et ultra in Angliam non revertentur nisi per misericordiam domini regis: et ibi sint utlagati et si redierint; et si redierint capiantur sicut utlagati. 15. Et prohibet dominus rex ne aliquis vaivus, id est vagus vel ignotus, hospitetur alicubi nisi in burgo, et ibi non hospitetur nisi una nocte, nisi ibi infirmetur, vel equus ejus, ita quod rnonstrare possit monstrabile essonium. 1 6. Et si ibi fuerit plusquam una nocte, capiatur ille et teneatur donee dominus ejus venerit ad eum plegiandum, vel donee ipse habeat salvos plegios; et ille similiter capiatur qui hospitatus fuerit. 17. Et si aliquis vicecomes mandaverit alii vicecomiti quod homines fugerint de cornitatu suo in alium comitatum pro roberia vel pro murdro vel latrocinio vel receptione eorum, vel pro utlagia vel pro retta forestae regis, ille capiat eos : et etiam si per se vel per alios ciat quod tales homines fugerint in comitatum suuni, capiat eos et custodiat donee de eis habeat salvos plegios. t 1 8. Et omnes vicecomites faciant inbreviari omnes fugitives, qui fugerint de suis comitatibus ; et hoc faciant coram comita- tibus, et illorum noniina scripta portabunt ante Justitias cum primo ad illos venerint, ut illi quaerantur per totam Angliam, et eorum catalla capiantur ad opus regis. 19. Et vult dominus rex quod ex quo vicecomites susceperint summonitiones Justitiarum errantium, ut ipsi cum comitatibus suis sint ante illos, ipsi congregabunt comitatus suos et in- quirent omnes qui de novo venerint in suos comitatus post hanc assisam ; et illos mittent per plegios, quod erunt coram Justitias, vel illos custodient, donee Justitiae ad eos venerint, et tune habebunt coram Justitias. 20. Prohibet etiam dominus rex ne monachi vel canonici vel aliqua domus religionum recipiant aliquem de populo minuto in monachum vel canonicum vel fratrem, donee sciatur de quali testimonio ipse fuerit, nisi ipse fuerit infirmus ad mortem. 21. Prohibet etiam dominus rex, quod nullus in tota Anglia receptet in terra sua vel soca sua vel domo sub se, aliquem de secta illorum renegatorum qui excommunicati et signati fuerunt apud Oxeneforde. Et si quis eos receperit, ipse erit in miseri- cordia domini regis ; et domus, in qua illi fuerint, portetur L 146 Henry II. [PART extra villam et comburatur. Et hoc jurabit unusquisque vice- comes quod hoc tenebit, et hoc jurare faciet omnes ministros suos, et dapiferos baronum, et omnes milites et franco-teuentes de comitatibus. 22. Et vult dominus rex quod haec assisa teneatur in regno suo quamdiu ei placuerit. (MS. Bodl. Rawlinson, C. 641.) A.D. 1 1 66. CAETEL DECLARATORY OF LIABILITY TO SCUTAGE. The following letter is one of a large number of answers to an inquiry made by Henry II in or about the year 1166, as to the number of knights fees held of his tenants in chief. The measure was necessitated by the financial policy of the king who required some guide for the assessment of Scutage in aid pur file marier; the earlier aids having been raised on the hidage of the country simply, as recorded in Domesday. It shows the way in which the barons declared their liability and that of their tenants at this' time. The letter probably preserves the exact words of the royal writ which it is intended to answer. Karissimo domino suo ligio Henrico Regi Anglorum &c. suus homo ligius Robertas de Brinton salutem et fidele servitium. Mini et aliis comparibus meis per litteras vestras innotuit, ut per fidern et ligantiam quam vobis debemus, vobis per breve nostrum pendens extra sigillum, mandaremus quot milites habemus de veteri feodamento de tempore Henrici regis avi vestri, et quot milites habeamus de novo feodamento post tempus regis Henrici avi vestri, et quot milites habeamus super dorninium nostrum. Inde est quod vobis, ut domino meo karissimo, mando quod de veteri feodamento nullum militem habeo, praeter feodum unius quern mihi cum quadam liberali muliere, nomine Eva, quae modo est haeres, per servitium unius milites dedistis, faciendo servitium ad custum vestrum. De novo autem feodamento nullum habeo militem vel super dominium meum. Et vobis quidem et filio vestro hominium et ligantiam feci. [Liber Niger Scaccarii, ed. Hearne, i. 148, 149.] Inquest of Sheriffs. 147 A.D. 1170. INQUEST OF SHERIFFS. When Henry II returned from the Continent in the spring of 1170, after an absence of four years, he was received with loud complaints of the exactions of the sheriffs and bailiffs, and of the oppressiveness of their jurisdiction. The country had been scarcely prepared for the severe way in which the Assize of Clarendon was carried out, and the payment of the aid on the marriage of the king's eldest daughter had been felt as a heavy tax ; but it is probable that there had been some misconduct among the royal officers themselves. For Henry, who was at this moment anxiously contriving the recognition and coronation of his eldest son, it was very important to keep the people contented. Accordingly, shortly after Easter, in a great council at London, he issued the following commission to a body of barons errant, and removed the sheriffs of nearly all the counties from their places. I. He seems to have taken advantage of the opportunity afforded by the complaints of the people to enter upon a general investigation of the provincial administration of jus- tice, not merely in the county and hundred courts and royal demesne, but in the franchises of the barons, lay and eccle- siastical : and further to have inquired narrowly into the con- fiscations of goods of the persons who had fled from justice under the Assize v of Clarendon, showing some suspicion as to the honesty "of the sheriffs both in the examination of charges and in the disposition of the forfeitures. He seems to have thought that the aid for the marriage of his daughter, which we learn from the Pipe Rolls was a very large one, afforded too great a temptation to the sheriffs. The further inquiry whether these officers had restored anything, as hush- money, to those who had complained to the king, with a view of stifling their complaints, is very significant. The examina- tion into the administration of the forests completed the survey of the whole system of jurisdiction existing in the country; and the report, if it ever was made, must have been a record L 2 148 Henry II. [PART of the most interesting kind conceivable. It is probable that the result was on the whole satisfactory, as the historian tells us that no further proceedings were taken against the sheriffs. II. The sheriffs removed on this occasion from their offices were most of them local magnates, whose chances of oppression and whose inclination towards a feudal administration of justice were too great. In their place Henry instituted officers of the Exchequer, less closely connected with the counties by property, and more amenable to royal influence as well as more skilled administrators another step towards the concentration of the provincial jurisdiction under the Curia Regis. In primis exigent baron es vadium et plegium ab omnibus vicecomitibus qui fuerunt vicecomites postquam dominus rex uovissime transfretavit in Normanniam, et ab omnibus qui fuerunt post terminum ilium baillivi vel ministri eorum qui- cunque baillivam de eis habuerunt ; et ab omnibus illis qui post terminum ilium tenuerunt hundred os baronum quos ipsi habent in comitatu, sive eos tenuerint ad firmam, sive in custodia ; quod erunt coram domino rege die quern ipsi eis constituerint ad faciendum rectum et adreciandum ei et homi- nibus suis quod adreciare debuerint. Et si vicecomites ante eos propter innrmitatem venire non possunt, mittant loco suo qui pro eis respondeant, et dent vadium et plegium sufficientem pro vicecomitibus et pro se ipsis, quod coram domino rege facient hoc quod vicecomites facere debent ad diem constitutum. Postea capient sacramentum ab omnibus baronibus et mili- tibus et liberis hominibus de comitatu, quod verum dicent de hoc [quod] ab eis inquiretur ex parte domini regis ; et quod non celabunt veritatem pro amore alicujus vel odio vel pretio vel praeinio vel timore vel promissione vel pro ulla re. Hie est modus inquisitionis : (I.) Inquiratur de vicecomiti- bus, inprimis, et baillivis eorum, quid vel quantum acceperint de singulis hundredis et de singulis villatis, et de singulis hominibus, postquam dominus rex transfretavit, unde terra vel homines gravati sint ; et quid acceperint per judicium comitatus vel hundredi, et quid sine judicio, et quid iuquisierint captum esse per judicium scribatur separatim, et quid sine judicio scribatur separatim ; et de omnibus prisis inquirent causam et testimonium. II. Similiter inquiratur de archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbati- bus, comitibus, baronibus et eorum senescallis et miuistris, quid iv.] Inquest of Sheriffs. 149 vel quantum acceperlnt per terras suas post terminum praedic- tum, de singulis hundredis suis et de singulis villatis suis, et de singulis hominibus suis, per judicium vel sine judicio ; et omnes prisas illas scribant separatim et causas et occasiones earum. III. Et sirniliter inquirant de hominibus illis qui post termi- num ilium habuerunt alias baillivas de domino rege in custodia, sive de episcopatu, sive de abbatia, sive de baronia, sive de honore aliquo vel eschaeta. IV. Et similiter inquiratur de baillivis regis qui per terram suam erraverunt pro negotiis regis faciendis, quid eis datum sit ; et quid inde inquisierint, scribant. V. Item de catallis fugitivorum pro Assisa de Clarendune, et de catallis eorum qui per assisam illam perierunt, inquiratur quid actum sit, et quid -inde exierit de singulis hundredis et singulis villatis, et diligenter et intente scribatur. Et similiter inquiratur si aliquis in assisa ilia injuste retatus fuerit, pro praemio vel promissione vel odio vel alio injusto modo ; et an aliquis retatus relaxatus fuerit vel reus pro praemio vel promis- sione vel amore, et quis inde praemium acceperit, et hoc similiter scribatur. VI. Et inquiratur de auxiliis ad maritandam filiam regis, quid inde exierit de singulis 'hundredis et singulis villatis, sive in redditis sive in perdonis, et cui illud traditum fuerit et libera- tum. VII. Et inquiratur quid vel quantum acceperint forestarii vel baillivi vel ministri eorum, post terminum praedictum, in baillivis suis, quocunque modo illud ceperint vel quacunque occasione ; et si quid perdonaverint de rectis regis pro praemio vel promissione vel pro amicitia aliqua. Et de forisfactis forest- arum; de hiis qui forestis suis forisfecerunt, et cervis et bisiis et aliis bestiis salvagiis ; et quod inde inquisierint, scribant diligenter ; et si forestarii vel baillivi eorum aliquem ceperint vel attachiaverint per vadium et plegium, vel retaverint, et postea sine judicio per se relaxaverint, qui haec fecerint inqui- rantur et inbrevientur. VIII. Et omnes qui retati fuerint de aliquo reto ponantur per vadium et plegium quod sint coram domino rege die quern eis ponent, et quod rectum facient, et quod adresciabunt ei et homi- nibus suis quod adresciare debuerint, et quibus plegii desunt, custodiantur. IX. Et inquiretur si vicecomites vel quicunque baillivi aliquid reddiderint de hiis quae ceperint, vel si pacem aliquam fecerint cum hominibus postquam audierunt adventum domini regis, pro disturbare ne querimonia inde ad dominum regem veniret. 150 Henry II. [PART X. Et de admerciatis inquiratur, si aliquis relaxatus fuerit pro praemio vel amore de hoc quod fuerit priinum admerciatus, et per quern hoc factum fuerit. XI. Inquiratur qui sunt qui debent domino regi homagium et non fecerunt, neque illi neque filio suo, et inbrevientur. XII. De dominiis domini regis inquiratur si curiae sint clausae de fossatis et hais, et si sint ibi grangiae et bovariae et bercheriae, et aliae domus et instauramenta sicut dominus rex praecepit antequam transfretaret. XIII. Et postquara inquisiti fuerint, vicecomites mei et mi- nistri adhibeantur ad cetera negotia mea et jurent quod legaliter intendent inquisitioni faciendae per terras baronum. (MS. Bodl. Rawlinson, C. 641.) A.D. 1176. ASSIZE OP NOKTHAMPTON. The Assize of Northampton is a re-issue and expansion of the Assize of Clarendon issued in 1166, drawn up in the form of instructions to the six committees of judges who were to visit the circuits now marked out. The earlier articles of this Assize correspond with those of Clarendon, but are more severe in the punishment prescribed, and place less power in the hands of the sheriffs. The later articles, which are new and are to be care- fully compared with the great Charter of John, are of leading importance as touching the tenure of lands, reliefs, dower, and similar points. The Assize has considerable significance as a political measure also ; for it is the first judicial act of import- ance since the quelling of the rebellion of 1173: and in this aspect deserves examination in such points as the exaction of the oaths of fealty from all classes, freeholders and villeins alike ; the complete destruction of the castles which had been held against the king ; the present custody of all the castles ; and the registration of all fugitives and outlaws. Hae sunt Assisaefactae apud Clarendune, et postea recordatae apud Northamtoniam. I. Si quis retatus fuerit coram justitiariis domini regis de murdro vel latrocinio, vel roberia, vel receptatione hominum iv.] Assize of Northampton. 151 talia facientium, vel cle falsoneria vel iniqua combustione, per sacramentum duodecira militum de hundredo, et si milites non adfuerint, per sacramentum duodecim liberorum legalium homi- num, et per sacramentum quatuor hominum de unaquaque villa hundred!, eat ad judicium aquae, et si perierit alter um pedem amittat. Et apud Northamtoniam additum est pro rigore jus- titiae quod dexterum similiter pugnum cum pede amittat, et regnum abjuret, et infra quadraginta dies a regno exulet. Et si ad aquam mundus fuerit, inveniat plegios et remaneat in regno, nisi retatus fuerit de murdro vel alia turpi felonia per commune comitatus et legalium militum patriae, de quo si praedicto modo retatus fuerit, quamvis ad aquam salvus fuerit, nihilo- minus infra quadraginta dies a regno exeat, et catalla sua secum asportet, salvo jure dominorum suorum, et regnum ab- juret in misericordia domini regis. Haec autem assisa atenebit a tempore quo assisa facta fuit apud Clarendonam, continue usque ad hoc tempus ; et amodo quamdiu domino regi placuerit, in murdro, et proditione, et iniqua combustione, et in omnibus praedictis capitulis nisi in minutis furtis et roberiis, quae facta fuerunt tempore guerrae, sicut de equis et bobus et miuoribus rebus. 2. Item nulli liceat neque in burgo neque in villa hospitari aliquem extraneum, ultra unam noctem, in domo sua, quern ad rectum habere noluerit, nisi hospitatus ille essonium rationabile habuerit, quod hospes domus moustret vicinis suis. Et cum recessefit, coram vicinis recedat et per diem. 3. Si quis saisitus fuerit de murdro vel latrocinio vel roberia vel falsoneria, et inde sit cognoscens, vel de aliqua alia felonia quam fecerit, coram praeposito hundredi vel burgi, et coram legalibus hominibus ; id postea coram Justitiis negare non poterit. Et si idem sine saisina coram eis aliquid liujusmodi recognoverit, hoc similiter coram Justitiis negare non poterit. 4. Item si quis obierit francus-tenens, haeredes ipsius rema- neant in tali saisina qualem pater suus habuit die qua fuit vivus et mortuus, de feodo suo ; et catalla sua habeant unde faciant divisam defuncti : et dominum suum postea requirant, et ei faciant de relevio et aliis quae ei facere debent de feodo suo. Et si haeres fuerit infra aetatem, dominus feodi recipiat homa- gium suum et habeat in custodia ilium quamdiu debuerit. Alii domini, si plures fuerint, homagium ejus recipiant, et ipse faciat eis quod facere debuerit. Et uxor defuncti habeat dotem suam et partem de catallis ejus quae earn contingit. Et si dominus feodi negat haeredibus defuncti saisinam ejusdem defuncti quam exigunt, Justitiae domini regis faciant inde fieri percognitionem 1 52 Henry II. [PART per duodecim legales homines, qualem saisinam defunctus inde habuit die qua fuit vivus et mortuus : et sicut recognitum fuerit, ita haeredibus ejus restituant. Et si quis contra hoc fecerit et inde attaintus fuerit, remaneat in misericordia regis. 5. Item Justitiae domini regis faciant fieri recognitionem de dissaisinis factis super Assisam, a tempore quo dominus rex venit in Angliam proximo post pacem factam inter ipsum et regern filium suum. 6. Item Justitiae capiant domini regis fidelitates infra clausum Pascha, et ad ultimum infra clausum Pentecosten, ab omnibus, scilicet comitibus, baronibus, militibus et libere tenentibus, et etiam rusticis, qui in regno manere voluerint. Et qui facere noluerit fidelitatem, tanquam inimicus domini regis capiatur. Habent etiam Justitiae praecipere, quod omnes illi qui nondum fecerunt homagium et ligantiam domino regi, quod ad terminum quern eis nominabunt veniant et faciant regi homagium et ligan- tiam sicut ligio domino. 7. Item Justitiae faciant omnes justitias et rectitudines spec- tantes ad dominum regem et ad coronam suam, per breve do- mini regis, vel illorum qui in loco ejus erunt, de feodo dimidii militis et infra, nisi tarn grandis sit querela quod non possit deduci sine domino rege, vel talis quam Justitiae ei reportent pro dubitatione sua, vel ad illos qui in loco ejus erunt. Inten- dant tamen pro posse suo ad commodum domini regis faciendum. Faciant etiam assisam de latronibus iniquis et malefactoribus terrae ; quae assisa est per consilium regis filii sui et hominum suorum, per quos ituri sunt comitatus. 8. Item Justitiae provideant quod castella diruta prorsus diruantur et diruenda bene prosternantur. Et nisi hoc fecerint, dominus rex juclicium curiae suae de eis habere voluerit sic.ut de contemptoribus praecepti sui. 9. Item Justitiae inquirant de excaetis, de ecclesiis, de terris, de feminis quae sunt de donatione domini regis. 10. Item baillivi domini regis respondeant ad scaccarium, tarn de assiso redditu, quam de omnibus perquisitionibus suis, quas faciunt in bailliis suis j exceptis illis quae pertinent ad vicecomitatum. 11. Item Justitiae inquirant de custody's castellorum, et qui, et quantum, et ubi eas debeant, et postea mandent domino regi. 12. Item latro, ex quo capitur, vicecomiti tradatur ad cus- todiendum. Et si vicecomes absens fuerit, ducatur ad proxi- mum castellanum, et ipse ilium custodiat donee ilium liberet vicecomiti. 1 3. Item Justitiae faciant quaerere per consuetudinem terrae iv.] Assize of Arms. 153 illos qui a regno recesserunt ; et nisi redire voluerint infra ter- minum nominatum, et stare ad rectum in curia domini regis, postea utlagentur ; et nomina utlagorum afferant ad Pascha, et ad festum Sancti Michaelis, ad scaccarium, et exinde mittantur domino regi. (Benedictus Abbas, i. 108.) A.D. 1181. ASSIZE OF ARMS. The trinoda necessitas, the threefold obligation on all free men possessing land alodially, implied the duty of expeditio or fyrd, in addition to the maintenance of bridges and local defences (brig-bot and burh-bot). And this obligation to military service in defence of the country or of the peace survived the alodial system, and was not merged in the military machinery of feudalism. It was by the means of a general levy of the whole population of the shire under its ealdorman that the early wars against the Danes were fought, and to the want of a general centre, probably, their failure is to be ascribed. The huscarls of Canute, on the other hand, were the germ of a standing army, and an anticipation of the system of fighting by mercenaries which was adopted by William the Conqueror and the Norman kings on account of the insufficiency of the feudal levies. The hatred of the English towards mercenaries reached a climax in the time of Stephen, and Henry II only ventured on one occasion to introduce his Brabanons into the country, after the expulsion of the Flemings. Neither the feudal levies which were unmanageable and pre- carious, nor the mercenaries who were intolerable to the people, were available for the purposes served by the ancient national militia ; and that body, which was the armed English people, had subsisted side by side with the county court and hundred court through the Norman period. It was this force which "William Rufus had brought to the seaside for compulsory ser- vice, and had there released on the payment of the sum given to each man by his shire to provide him with necessaries during the campaign ; and which, fighting under the banner of Arch- bishop Thurstan, who had called up every parish priest at the head of his parishioners, had won the battle of the Standard : 154 Henry II. [PART the same force in 1173 had been out in Yorkshire in conjunc- tion with the loyal barons, and had successfully resisted the Scottish invasion. - The Assize of Arms was a measure not peculiar to England, but its effect in England was to re-create and re-arm this ancient force. The effect of the scutages in commutation of personal service was to diminish the military force under the influence of the barons, providing the king with mercenaries for his foreign wars : the Assize of Arms was intended to create a force for national defence, safer and more trustworthy than the feudal levies. And this purpose it seems to have answered; it was renewed or re-issued by Henry III in an expanded form and in conjunction with the system of Watch and Ward : and subse- quent legislation by Edward I in the statute of Winchester, by Henry IV, Philip and Mary, and James I, has brought it down, in principle, to our own times as the militia. The importance of the Assize as illustrating the constitutional point of recog- nition by jury for the purpose of taxation, and the growing tendency to connect local and central administration, depends chiefly on Article 9. The use of the words communa liberorum hominum, in Article 3, is also interesting, and gives a sort of clue to the political tendency of the whole Act. Assisa de Armis habendis in Anglia. 1. Quicunque habet feodum unius militis habeat loricam et cassidem, clypeum et lanceam ; et omnis miles habeat tot loricas et cassides, et clypeos et lanceas quot habuerit feoda militum in dominico suo. 2. Quicunque vero liber laicus habuerit in catallo vel in redditu ad valentiam de xvi. marcis, habeat loricam et cassidem et clypeum et lanceam ; quicunque vero liber laicus habuerit in catallo vel redditu x. marcas habeat aubergel, et capellet ferri et lanceam. 3. Item omnes burgenses et tota communa liberorum homi- num habeant wambais et capellet ferri et lanceam. 4. Unusquisque autem illorum juret, quod infra festum Sancti Hilarii haec anna habebit, et domino regi Henrico scilicet filio Matildis imperatricis fidem portabit, et haec arma in suo servitio tenebit secundum praeceptum suum et ad fidem iv.] Assize of Arms. 155 domini regis et regni sui. Et nullus ex quo arma haec habuerit, ea vendat, nee invadiet nee praestet, nee aliquo alio modo a se alienet; nee dominus suus ea aliquo modo ab horaine suo alienet, nee per forisfactum, nee per donum, nee per vadium, nee aliquo alio modo. 5. Si quis haec arma habens obierit, arma sua remaneant haeredi suo. Si vero haeres de tali aetate non sit, quod armis uti possit, si opus fuerit, ille qui eum habebit in custodia habeat simi liter custodiam armorum, et hominem inveniat qui armis uti possit in servitio domini regis, donee haeres de tali aetate sit quod arma portare possit, et tune habeat. 6. Quicunque burgensis plura arma habuerit, quam habere oportuerit secundum hanc assisam, ea vendat vel det vel sic a se alienet tali homini qui ea in servitio domini regis Angliae retineat. Et nullus eorum plura arma retineat quam eum se- cundum hanc assisam habere oportuerit. 7. Item nullus Judaeus loricam vel aubergellum penes se retineat, sed ea vendat, vel det, vel alio modo a se removeat, ita quod remaneant iii servitio regis. 8. Item nullus portet arma extra Angliam nisi per prae- ceptum domini regis ; nee aliquis vendat arma alicui, qui ea portet ab Anglia* 9. Item Justitiae faciant jurare per legales milites vel alios liberos et legales homines de hundredis et de burgis, quot viderint expedire, qui habebunt valentiam catalli secundum quod eum habere oportuerit loricam et galeam et lanceam et clypeum secundum quod dictum est; scilicet quod separatim nominabunt eis onines de hundredis suis et de visnetis et de burgis, qui habebunt xvi. marcas vel in catallo vel in redditu, similiter et qui habebit x. marcas. Et Justitiae postea omnes illos juratores et alios faciant inbreviari, qui quantum catalli vel redditus habuerint, et qui secundum valentiam catalli vel red- ditus, quae arma habere debuerint ; et postea coram eis in com- muni audientia illorum faciant legere hanc assisam de armis habendis, et eos jurare quod ea arma habebunt secundum valen- tiam praedictam catallorum vel redditus, et ea tenebunt in ser- vitio domini regis secundum hanc praedictam assisam in prae- cepto et fide domini regis Henrici et regni sui. Si vero conti- gerit quod aliquis illorum qui habere debuerint haec arma, non sint in comitatu ad terminum quando Justitiae in comitatu illo erunt, Justitiae ponant ei terminum in alio comitatu coram eis. Et si in nullo comitatu per quos iturae sunt, ad eos venerit, et non fuerit in terra ista, ponatur ei terminus apud Westmuster ad octavas Sancti Michaelis, quod sit ibi ad faciendum sacramentum 156 Henry II. [PAKT suum, slcut se et omnia sua diligit. Et ei praecipiatur quod infra festum praedictum Sancti Hilarii habeat arma secundum quod ad eum pertinet habendum. 10. Item Justitiae faciant dici per omnes comitatus per quos iturae sunt, quod qui haec arma non habuerint secundum quod praedictum est, dominus rex capiet se ad eorum membra et nullo modo capiet ab eis terram vel catallum. n. Item nullus juret super legales et liberos homines, qui non habeat xvi. marcas, vel x. marcas in catallo. 12. Item Justitiae praecipiant per omnes comitatus, quod nullus sicut se ipsum et omnia sua diligit, emat vel vendat aliquam navem ad ducendum ab Anglia, nee aliquis deferat vel deferre faciat maironiam extra Angliam. Et praecepit rex quod nullus reciperetur ad sacramentum armorum nisi liber homo. (Ben. Abb. i. 278; Hoveden, ii. 261.) A.D. 1184. ASSIZE OF THE FOREST. The forests of England were regarded, at least from the time of the Conquest, as the peculiar and personal property of the king, subject to his uncontrolled jurisdiction, and out of the scope of the common law of the realm. In origin, they were probably the remaining unenclosed woodlands which had been national property, and became royal demesne in the eleventh century. There exists a series of directions for the management of these forests, stated to be enacted by Canute, with the con- sent of the witan. But their authenticity is too uncertain to allow any argument to be based upon them. His genuine legis- lation on the point is very simple : ' I will that every man be worthy of his hunting in wood and field on his own estate. And let every man abstain from my hunting : look, wherever I will that it should be freed, under full penalty.' (Canute, Saec. 80.) The ancient woodlands had been enclosed, with very extensive additions, as hunting grounds, by the Conqueror and his sons ; a set of forest customs, cruel to man and beast, were brought into use by Henry I ; and the supreme jurisdiction of the king over all woods and forests, whether on his own soil or not, was now asserted. This prerogative was odious both to the barons, whose pleasures and rights it interfered with, and to the people, iv.] Assize of the Forest. 157 on whom fell the cruelty of the executive administration. And the charter of Henry I failed to provide any remedy for the evil ; the article that touches the forests amounting to a refusal of any limitation of the existing custom. Stephen, in his weak- ness, was compelled to resign all the forests that Henry I had created, but retained those that subsisted at the death of William Rufus. The jurisdiction had been resuscitated by Henry II early in his reign, by the appointment of justices who visited the forests at the time that the Justices Itinerant ' went the counties' or * circuits.' But this, the Assize of Woodstock, is his first formal act concerning them, that is now in existence. The eleventh article of Henry's Assize is repealed by the great Charter of John ; and a parallel may be drawn between the county juris- diction and the forest jurisdiction in several of the other articles, especially that requiring an oath from every person of twelve years old and upwards. The punishments prescribed by the assize are milder than those usual under Henry I, but the rigour with which the law was enforced was a great ground of com- plaint against Henry II ; and this is altogether the part of his administration that savours most strongly of tyranny. Henry was an ardent and indefatigable hunter, and some of his most important councils were held, and acts performed, at his hunting palaces, such as Clarendon, Woodstock, and Marlborough. Incijpit Assisa Domini Henrici regis de Foresta. Haec est assisa domini Henrici regis filii Matildis, in Anglia, de foresta et venatione sua, per consilium et assensum archi- episcoporum, episcoporum, et baronum, comitum et nobilium Angliae, apud Wudestoke. 1. Primum defendit quod nullus ei forisfaciat de venatione sua nee de forestis suis in ulla re : et non vult quod confident in hoc quod habuerit misericordiain de illis propter eorum catalla hue usque qui ei forisfecerunt de venatione sua et de forestis suis. Nam si quis ei amodo forisfecerit et inde convictus fuerit, plenariam vult de illo habere justitiam qualis fait facta tempore regis Henrici avi sui. 2. Item defendit quod nullus habeat arcus, nee sagittas, nee canes, nee leporarios in forestis suis, nisi habeat warrantum regem vel aliquem alium qui ei warantizare poterit. 158 Henry II. [PART 3. Item defendit quod nullus donet vel vendat aliquid ad destructionem vel vastum bosci sui, qui sunt infra forestam regis Henrici : concetlit bene quod capiant de boscis eorum quod necesse eis fuerit (sc. estoveria), sine vasto, et haec per visum forestarii regis. 4. Item praecepit quod omnes illi qui habent boscos infra metas forestae regis, ponant idoiieos forestarios in boscis eorum, de quibus forestariis ipsi quorum bosci fuerint sint plegii, vel tales inveniant plegios idoneos qui emendare poterunt si forestarii in aliquo forisfecerint quod domino regi pertineat. Et illi qui extra metas reguardi boscos habeant in quibus venatio domini regis pacem habet, nullum forestarium habeant, nisi assisam domini regis juraverint et pacem venationis suae, et custodem aliquem ad boscum ejus custodiendum. 5. Item praecipit dominus rex quod forestarii sui capiant curam super forestara militum et aliorum qui habent boscos infra metas forestae regis, quod bosci non destruantur ; nam si super hoc fuerint destructi bosci, sciant bene illi quorum bosci fuerint destructi, quod de ipsismet vel de eorum terris capietur emendatio et non de alio. 6. Item dominus rex praecepit quod omnes forestam sui jurent quod secundum posse suum tenebunt assisam ejus qualem earn fecit de forestis suis ; et quod non vexabunt milites neque alios probos homines de hoc quod dominus rex concedit illis de boscis eorum. 7. Item rex praecepit quod in quolibet comitatu in quo habet venationem, ponantur xii. milites ad custodiendum venationem suam et viridem cum foresta ; et iv. milites ponantur ad agistandum boscos suos, et ad recipiendum panagium suum et custodiendum ; et defendit rex quod nullus agistet boscos suos infra metas forestae antequam bosci regis agistentur ; et incipit agistamentum domini regis quindecim dies ante festum Sancti Michaelis, et durat quindecim dies post festum Sancti Michaelis. 8. Et rex praecepit quod si forestarius ejus habeat boscos dominicos domini regis in custodia sua, et illi bosci fuerint destructi, et non possit nee sciat justam causam monstrare quare bosci destruantur, nihil aliud capiatur a forestario nisi proprium corpus. 9. Item rex defendit quod nullus clericus ei forisfaciat de venatione sua nee de forestis suis : praecepit bene forestariis suis quod si invenerint eos forisfacientes, non dubitent in eos manum ponere, ad eos retinendum et attachiandum, et ipse eos bene warantizabit. IV. J Saladin Tithe. 159 10. Item rex praecepit quod sua essarta videantur [in quo- libet tertio anno] nova et vetera ; et purpresturae suae, et vasta forestae, et quod inbreviantur quaelibet per se. 11. Item rex praecepit quod [archiepiscopi, episcopi] comites et barones et milites et libere tenentes et omnes homines veniant ad summonitionem magistri forestarii sui, sicut se defendi volunt ne incidant in misericordiam domini regis, ad placitandum placita domini regis de forestis suis, et alia negotia sua facienda in comitatu. 12. Apud Wdestoke rex praecepit, quicunque forisfecerit de foresta sua semel, de ipso salvi plegii capiantur ; et si iterum forisfecerit, similiter : si autem tertio forisfecerit, pro tertio forisfacto nulli alii plegii capiantur de illo, nee aliquid aliud nisi proprium corpus forisfacientis. [13. Item praecipit quod omnis homo habens aetatem xii. annorum, manens infra pacem venationis, juret ejus pacem, et clerici laicum feodum tenentes. 14. Item praecipit quod expeditatio mastivorum fiat ubi- cunque ferae suae pacem habent et habere consueverunt. 15. Item praecipit quod nullus tannator vel dealbator cori- orum maneat in forestis suis extra burgum. 1 6. Item rex praecipit quod nullus de cetero chaceat ullo modo ad capiendas feras per noctem infra forestam neque extra, ubicunque ferae suae frequentant vel pacem habent aut habere consueverunt, sub poena imprisonamenti unius anni et faciendo finem et redemptionem ad voluntatem suam, et quod nullus sub eadem poena faciat aliquam forstallationem feris suis vivam vel mortuam inter forestam suam et boscos vel alia loca per ipsum vel progeuitores suos deafforestatos.] (Ben. Abb. ii. clxi.) A.D. 1 1 88. ORDINANCE OF THE SALADIN TITHE. The importance of this Act, constitutionally, consists in its being an early attempt to bring taxation to bear on personal property ; and in the fact of the employment of local jurors to determine the liability of individuals, as had been done in 1 1 8 1 in the Assize of Arms. In these points it should be compared with the corresponding Act of Philip Augustus. A similar but less complete plan had been tried in 1184. (Lib. Gust. p. 653.) 160 Henry II. [PART Ordinance of the Saladin Tithe. 1. Unusquisque decimam reddituum et mobilium suorum in eleemosynam dabit hoc anno, exceptis armis et equis et vestibus militum, exceptis similiter equis et libris et vestibus et vesti- mentis et omnimoda capella clericorum, et lapidibus pretiosis tarn clericorum quam laicorum. 2. Colligatur autem pecunia ista in singulis parochiis, prae- sente presbytero parochiae et archipresbytero, et uno Templario et uno Hospitalario, et serviente domini regis et clerico regis, serviente baronis et clerico ejus, et clerico episcopi ; facta prius excommunicatione ab archiepiscopis, episcopis, archipresbyteris singulis in siugulis parochiis, super unumquemque qui decimam praetaxatam legitime non dederit, sub praesentia et conscientia illorum qui debent, sicut dictum est, interesse. Et si aliquis juxta conscientiam illorum minus dederit quam debuerit, eli- gentur de parochia quatuor vel sex viri legitimi, qui jurati dicant quantitatem illam quam ille debuisset dixisse j et tune oportebit ilium superaddere quod minus dedit. 3. Clerici autem et milites qui crucem acceperunt, nihil de decima ista dabunt, sed de proprio suo et dominico : et quicquid homines illorum debuerint ad opus illorum colligetur per supra- dictos, et eis totum reddetur. 4. Episcopi autem per litteras suas In singfulis parochiis episcopatuum suorum facient nunciari, et in die Natalis, et Sancti Stephani, et Sancti Johannis, ut unusquisque decimam praetaxatam infra purificationem Beatae Virginis penes se colli- gat, et sequenti die et deinceps, illis praesentibus qui dicti sunt, ad locum quo vocatus fuerit, unusquisque persolvat. (Benedictus Albas, ii. 31.) EXTRACTS FROM GLANVILL. The following extracts contain only such illustrations of the system of recognition by jury as throw light on the principles of representation and election existing in the legal system, before they began to be applied to self-government and to the consti- tution of the Common National Council ; with a few casual no- tices of the condition of villeins and the privileges of boroughs and franchises. iv.] Extracts from. GlanmlL 161 GLANVILL, De Legibus Angliae, lib. ii. c. 7. Est autem magna assisa regale quoddam beneficium, dementia principis de consilio procerum populis indultum, quo vitae hominum et status integritati tarn salubriter consulitur, ut in jure quod quis in libero soli tenemento possidet retinendo duelli casura declinare possint homines ambiguum. Ac per hoc contingit insperatae et praematurae mortis ultimum evadere supplicium, vel saltern perennis infamiae obprobriuni illius infesti et inverecundi verbi quod in ore victi turpiter sonat consecutivum. Ex aequitate autem maxima prodita est legalis ista institutio ; jus enim quod post multas et longas dilationes vix evincitur per duellum, per beneficium istius constitutionis commodius et acceleratius expe- ditur. Assisa enim ipsa tot non expectat essonia quot duellum, ut ex sequentibus liquebit, Ac per hoc et laboribus hominum parcitur et sumptibus pauperum. Praeterea quanto magis pon- derat in judiciis plurium idoneorum testium fides quam unius tantum, tanto maj6re aequitate nititur ista constitutio quam duellum. Cum enim ex unius jurati testimonio procedat duel- lum, duodecim ad minus legalium hominum exigit ista constitutio juramenta. Pervenitur autem ad assisam ipsam hoc ordine. Quare is qui se in assisam posuit ab initio, perquiret breve de pace habenda, ne de cetero ab adversario ponatur in placitum per breve, quo prius inter eos placitum fuit de tenemento uride tenens posuit se in assisam. . . . c. 10. Per talia autem brevia pacem perquirit is qui tenet, et in assisam se ponit, donee adversarius ad curiam veniens aliud breve perquirat, ut per quatuor legales milites de comitatu et de visineto eligantur duodecirn milites legales de eodem visineto, qui super sacramentum suum dicant uter litigantium majus jus habeat in terra petita. . . . c. 12. Sed nota quod apparentibus in curia quatuor militibus die sibi praefixa, paratis duodecim alios eligere, de hoc ex aequo prodita est quaedam constitutio, juxta quam de consilio curiae ita solet res expediri, quod sive venerit sive non is qui tenet, nihilominus per illos quatuor milites, et super eorum sacra- mentum fiet electio duodecim. . . . c. 14. Facta electione duodecim militum, summonendi sunt illi ut ad curiam veniant parati super sacramentum suum dicere quis eorum, scilicet an tenens an petens, majus jus habeat in sua demand a. . . . c. 1 6. Die autem duodecim militibus prae'fixa ad recogni* tionem faciendam, sive venerit is qui tenet sive non, sine dila- tione recognitio ipsa procedat. . . . 162 Henry II. [PART c. 17. Procedente autem assisa ad faciendam recognitionem ipsam, aut bene notum est jus ipsum ipsis juratoribus, aut quidam sciunt et quidam nesciunt, aut omnes ignoraut. Si nulli eorum rei veritatem inde sciverint, et hoc in curia super sacramentum eorum testati sint sive fuerint, ad alios decur- rendum est donee tales iiiveniantur qui rei veritatem inde scierint. Sin autem quidam eorum rei veritatem sciant, quidam non, rejectis ignorantibus, alii quidem vpcandi sunt ad curiam donee duodecim ad minus reperiantur inde Concordes. Item si quidam eorum dixerint pro uno, quidam pro alio litigantium, adjiciendi sunt alii donee duodecim ad minus in alterutram partena concorditer acquieverint. Jurare autem quilibet eorum debet, qui ad hoc vocati sunt, quod non falsum inde dicent nee veritatem tacebunt scienter; ad scientiam autem eorum qui super hoc jurant inde habendam, exigitur quod per proprium visum suum et auditum illius rei habuerint notitiam, vel per verba patrum suorum et per talia quibus fidem teneantur habere ut propriis. . . . Lib. v. c. 5. Pluribus autem modis potest ad libertatem aliquis in villenagio positus deduci, veluti si dominus ejus volens eum ad libertatem perduci et a se et haeredibus suis quietum clama- verit ; vel si eum ad liberandum alicui donaverit vel vendiderit. Illud tamen notandum est quod non potest aliquis in villenagio positus libertatem suam propriis denariis suis quaerere. Posset enim tune a domino suo secundum jus et consuetudinem regui ad villenagium revocari, quia omnia catallu cujuslibet nativi ita intelliguntur esse in potestate domini sui, quod propriis denariis suis versus dominum suum a villenagio se redimere non poterit. Si quis vero extraneus eum ad liberandum erneret suis nummis, posset quidem perpetuo versus dominum suum qui eum vendi- derat, se in statu libertatis tueri. . . . Notandum etiam quod potest quis nativum suum quantum ad sui ipsius vel haeredum suorum personas liberum facere, non quantum ad alios. Quia si quis prius nativus, hoc modo ad libertatem perductus, contra extraneum aliquem ad diratiocimi- tionem faciendam produceretur in curia, vel ad aliquam legem terrae faciendam, posset inde juste amoveri, si nativitas sua ad villenagium suum in curia objecta fuerit et probata, etiamsi in. tali statu miles factus esset a villenagio liberatus. Item si quis nativus quiete per unum annum et unum diem in aliqua villa privilegiata manserit, ita quod in eorum com- munam, scilicet gildam tanquam civis receptus fuerit, eo ipso a villenagio liberabitur. . . . Lib. ix, c. i. . . . Episcopi vero consecrati homagium facere iv.] Extracts from Glanvill. 163 non solent domino regi etiam de baroniis suis, sed fidelitatem cum juramentis interpositis ipsi praestare solent. Elect! vero in episcopos ante consecrationem suam homagia sua facere solent. c. 4. . . . Dicitur autem rationabile relevium alicujus juxta consuetuclinem regni, de feodo unius militis centum solidos ;, de socagio vero quantum valet census illius socagii per unum annum ; de baroniis vero nihil certum statutum est, quia juxta volun- tatem et misericordiam domini regis solent baroniae capitales de suis releviis domino regi satisfacere. c. 8. Postquam vero convenerit inter dominum et haeredem tenentis sui de rationabili relevio dando et recipiendo, poterit idem haeres rationabilia auxilia de hominibus suis inde exigere ; ita tamen moderate secundum quantitatem feodorum suorum, et secundum facultates, ne nimis gravari inde videantur vel suum contenementum amittere. Nihil autem certum statutum est de hujusmodi auxiliis dandis vel exigendis nisi ut praedicta forma inviolabiliter observetur. Sunt praeterea alii casus in quibus licet dominis auxilia similia, sed sub forma praescripta, exigere ab hominibus suis, veluti si filius et haeres suus miles fiat, vel si primogenitam filiam suam maritaverit ; utrum vero ad guerram suam manute- nendam possint domini hujusmodi auxilia exigere quaero. Obti- net autem quod non possunt ad id tenentes distringere de jure nisi quatenus facere velint. Possunt autem domini tenentes suos ad hujusmodi rationabilia auxilia reddenda, etiam suo jure, sine praecepto domini regis vel ejus capitalis Justitiae, per judi- cium curiae suae distringere per catalla quae in ipsis feodis invenerint, vel per ipsa feoda si opus fuerit ; ita tamen quod ipsi tenentes inde deducantur juste secundum consideration em curiae suae et consuetudinem rationabilem : si ergo ad hujusmodi auxilia rationabilia reddenda posset aliquis dominus tenentes suos ita distringere, multo fortius districtionem eo modo licite poterit facere pro ipso relevio suo vel pro necessario servitio suo de feodo suo sibi debito. Lib. xii. c. 6. Solent autem placita ista (sc. de servitio) in curiis dominorum vel eorum qui loco dominorum habentur deduci, secundum rationabiles consuetudines ipsarum curiarum, quae tot et tarn variae sunt, ut in scriptum de facili reduci non possunt. c. 9. Ad vicecomitem autem provinciarum pertinent praedicta placita de recto ubi curiae dominorum probantur de recto defecisse. . . c. 23. Praedicta vero placita sive alia, qualiter vel quo jure deduci sive terminari habeant in diversis comitatibus, omitto, M 2 164 Henry II. [PART cum propter ipsorum comitatuum consuetudines diversas, quas quidem singuli comitatus singulas observant, turn quia propositi mei brevitas illud non exigit, cum non attendam nisi ad ea quae in capitali curia regis fieri soleant et debeant. Lib. xiii. c. i. . . Nunc vero ea quae super seisinis soluni- modo usitata sunt restant prosequenda. Quae quia, ex beneficio constitutions regni quae Assisa nominatur, in major! parte transigi solent per recognitionem, de diversis recognitionibus restat tractandum. c. 2. Est autein quaedam recognitio quae vocatur de morte antecessoris ; quaedam autem de ultiinis praesentationibus personarum in ecclesiis. . . quaedam autem recognitio est quae dicitur nova disseisina . . . c. 3. Accepto itaque brevi de morte antecessoris ab ipso vicecomite, et in comitatu data securitate ab ipso petente de clam ore suo prosequendo, tune hoc ordine pervenitur ad assisam. Ab initio eligendi sunt duodecim liberi et legales homines de visineto secundum formam in brevi expressam. . . . Nomina etiam illorum duodecim electorum faciet vicecomes imbreviari. Deinde summonere faciet ipse vicecomes ipsum tenentem. . . . Et si juratores ipsi dixerint pro petente, adjudicabitur ei hide seisina et praecipietur vicecomiti quod ei seisinam illam habere faciat. . . CHARTERS OF BOROUGHS GRANTED BY HENKY II. The following are specimens of the charters issued by Henry II in the earlier part of his reign. Towards the end of it he seems to have avoided granting such permanent liberties, and to have generally preferred taking fines for the continuance of privileges or customs from year to year. The grants of these charters are not much in advance of those of Henry I. The following list of liberties acquired by fine during the intervening period is abridged from Madox's History of the Exchequer, chap. xi. : In the thirty-first of Henry I the citizens of London pay 100 marks to have sheriffs of their own choosing : those of Lincoln pay 200 marks of silver, and four of gold, that they may hold their city in chief of the king : the weavers of Oxford pay two marks of gold for their guild ; those of Lincoln, one ; those of Huntingdon, forty shillings. Thomas of York, son of iv.] Char ten of Towns. 165 Ulviet, gives a coursing dog that he may be alderman of the Guild of Merchants at York. In the third of Henry II the citizens of York pay forty marks for respite that they may not plead outside of the county until the king's return : in the thirteenth, the burghers of Bedford pay forty marks to have the same liberties that those of Oxford have : in the sixteenth, those of Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth pay a fine to have their town at ferm : in the twenty-second, the men of Aiidover pay to have the same liberties in their guild that those of Wilton and Salisbury have : and in the twenty-sixth, the men of Preston pay to have the same liberties as those of Newcastle. In the thirty- first, the burghers of Cambridge pay three hundred marks of silver, and one mark of gold, to have their town at ferm, and be exempt from the intermeddling of the sheriff. In the fourteenth of Henry IT, the men of Horncastle paid 29 135. 4^. for the aid to marry the king's daughter, ' quod ipsi assederunt inter se concessu Justitiarum aliter quam Justitiae.' Charter of Henry II to WincJiester. Henricus rex Angliae, dux Normanniae et Aquitanniae, comes Andegaviae, archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, comiti- bus, vicecomitibus et omnibus fidelibus suis Francis et Anglis, et ministris totius Angliae et omnium portuum maris salutem. Praecipio quod cives mei Wintonienses de gilda mercatorum cum omnibus rebus suis sint quieti de omni thelonio, passagio et consuetudine ; et nullus super eos disturbet neque injuriam neque contumeliam eis faciat super forisfacturam meam. His testibus, Tho. Cancell. ; Com. Reg.; Com. Gloec.; Ric. de Humet, Constabulario ; Gar. fil. Giroldi, Camerario : "Will. fil. Ham. ; Joe. Baillol. (Milner's Winchester, ii. 300 ; Woodward's Hamp- shire) i. 271.) Charter of Henry II to Winchester. H. Rex Anglorum, &c. Sciatis me concessisse civibus meis Wyntoniae omnes libertates et consuetudines quas ipsi habu- erunt in tempore regis Henrici avi mei. Et praecipio quod habeant et teneant omnia acata et vadia sua et tenementa Bua secundum consuetudines civitatis, ita libere et quiete 1 66 Henry II. [PART et pacifice, sicut unquam melius tenuerunfc tempore regis Henrici; et si aliquae consuetudines injuste levatae sunt in guerra, cassatae sint ; et quicunque petierint civitatem illam cum mercatu suo, de quocunque loco sint, sive extranei, sive alii, veniant, morentur et recedant in salva pace mea, reddendo rectas consuetudines, et nemo eas injuste disturbet super hanc cartam meam. Et yolo et praecipio quod praedicti cives mei firmam pacem juste habeant. T. Cancellario, etc. Apud Sarum. (Woodward's Hampshire, i. 271.) Charter of Henry II to Lincoln. Henricus Dei gratia &c. episcopo Lincolniensi, justitiariis, vice- comitibus, baronibus, ministris et omnibus fidelibus suis, Francis et Anglis Lincolniae salutem. Sciatis me concessisse civibus meis Lincolniae omnes libertates et consuetudines et leges suas quas habuerunt tempore Eadwardi et Willelmi et Henrici regum Angliae, et gildam suam mercatoriam de hominibus civitatis et de aliis mercatoribus comitatus, sicut illam habuerunt tempore praedictorum antecessorum nostrorurn regum Angliae melius et liberius. Et omnes homines qui infra quatuor divisas civitatis manent et mercatum deducunt, sint ad gildas et consuetudines et assisas civitatis sicut melius fuerunt tempore Edwardi Wil- lelmi et Henrici regum Angliae, Concedo etiam eis quod si aliquis emerit aliquam terram infra civitatem de burgagio Lin- colniae, et earn tenuerit per annum et unum diem sine calumnia, et ille qui earn emerit, possit monstrare quod calumniator exstit- erit in regione Angliae infra annum et non calumniatus est earn, extunc ut in antea bene et in pace teneat earn et sine placito. Confirmo etiam eis quod si aliquis manserit in civitate Lincolniae per annum et unum diem sine calumnia alicujus calumniatoris, et dederit consuetudines, et poterit monstrare per leges et con- suetudines civitatis quod calumniator exstiterit in regione Angliae et non calumniatus est eum, extunc ut in antea re- maneat in pace, in civitate mea Lincolnia, sicut civis meus. Testibus, E. episcopo Lexoviensi ; Thoma Cancellario ; H. Con- stabulario ; Henrico de Essex, Constabulario. Apud Nottinge- ham. (Foedera, i. 40.) Charter of Henry II to Nottingham. Henricus, Eex Angliae, &c. Sciatis me concessisse et hac carta mea confirmasse burgensibus de Notingeham omnes illas liberas consuetudines quas habuerunt tempore Henrici avi nostri ; scilicet tol et theam et infangenethef et telonia a Turinotestona iv.] Charters of Toiuns. 167 usque ad Newerc, de omnibus Trentam transeuntibus, ita ple- narie ut in burgo de Notingeham, et ex alia parte a Duito ultra Rempeston usque ad aquam de Hadeford in Norhantesire. Homines etiam de Notingehamsire et de Derbescire venire debent ad burgum de Notingeham die Veneris et Sabbati cum quadrigis et summagiis suis : nee aliquis infra decem leucas de Notingeham tinctos pannos operari debet, nisi in burgo de Notingeham. Et si aliquis undecunque sit in burgo de Not- ingeham manserit anno uno et die uno tempore pacis absque calumnia, nullus postea nisi rex [in eum] jus habebit. Et qui- cunque burgensium terram vicini sui emerit et possederit per annum integrum et diem unum absque calumnia parentum ven- dentis, si in Anglia fuerint, postea earn quiete possidebit ; neque praeposito burgi de Notingeham aliquem burgensium calumnianti respondeatur nisi alius fuerit accusator in causa. Et quicunque in burgo manserit, cujuscunque feodi sit, recldere debet simul cum burgensibus talliagia et defectus burgi adimplere. Omnes etiam qui ad forum de ISTotingeham venerint, a vespere diei Veneris usque ad vesperam Sabbati, non namientur nisi pro firma regis. Et iter de Trenta liberum esse debet navigantibus quan- tum pertica una obtinebit ex utraque parte fili aquae. Quare volo et praecipio quod praedicti burgenses praedictas consuetu- dines habeant et teneant bene et in pace, libere et quiete, et honorifice et plenarie et integre, sicut habuerunt tempore regis Henrici. avi mei. Teste, &c. (Foedera, i. 41.) Charter of Henry II to Oxford. Henricus rex Angliae, dux Normanniae et Aquitanniae &c. Sciatis me concessisse et confirmasse civibus meis in Oxenforde omnes libertates et consuetudines et leges et quietantias quas habuerunt tempore regis Henrici avi mei, nominatim gildam suam Mercatoriam cum omnibus libertatibus et consuetudinibus in terris et in silvis, pasturis et aliis pertinentiis, ita quod aliquis qui non sit de gildhalla aliquam mercaturam non faciet in civitate vel suburbiis, nisi sicut solebat tempore regis Henrici avi inei. Praeterea concessi eis quod sint quieti a theloneo et passagio et omni consuetudine per totam Angliam et Norman- mam, per terram, per aquam, per ripam maris, 6?y land and by strand. Et habeant omnes alias consuetudines et libertates et leges suas quas habeant communes cum civibus meis Londonia- rum. Et quod ad festum meum mihi serviant cum illis de botteleria mea, et facient cum eis mercaturam suam infra Lon- donias et extra et in omnibus locis. Et si dubitaverint vel 1 68 Henry II. [PART contenderint de judicio aliquo quod facere debeant, de hoc Londonias mittant nuncios suos, et quod Londonienses inde judicabunt firmum et ratum habeant. Et extra civitatem Oxenforde non placitent de aliquo unde calumniati sunt, sed de quocunque in placito ponentur se disrationabunt secundum leges et consuetudines civium Londoniarum et non aliter ; quia ipsi et cives Londoniarura sunt de una et eadem consuetudine et lege et libertate. Quare volo &c. quod habeant praedictas libertates et leges et consuetudines et tenuras suas ita bene et in pace &c. cum Saca et Soca et Tol et Team et Infangtheof, et cum omnibus aliis libertatibus et consuetudinibus et quietantiis suis sicut eas unquam melius habuere tempore regis Henrici avi mei ; et sicut cives mei Londoniarum eas habent. Testibus Toma Can- cellario, Keginaldo Comite Cornubiae, H.Comite Norfolkiae &c. (Peshall's Oxford, %>. 339, from an inspeximus of Queen Eliza- beth.) DlALOGUS DE SCACCAEIO. This very important treatise is the work of Richard, Bishop of London, Treasurer of the Exchequer, son of Nigel, Bishop of Ely, his predecessor in the office, and great nephew of Bishop Roger of Salisbury, the original organiser of the administration of that Court. It is given here in its integrity, as contributing an extraordinary mass of information on every important point in the development of constitutional principles before the great Charter. Even those portions of it which bear more directly on archaeological and legal questions are worthy of scrutiny, as indications of the spirit of the time that was preparing for the great struggle for law against despotic misrule. It is taken from Madox's edition, as drawn by him from the Red Book of the Exchequer, a MS. of the thirteenth century; and for the first time printed in his invaluable History of the Exchequer. PRAEFATIO. Ordinatis a Deo potestatibus in omni timore sublci similiter et obsequi necesse est. Omnis enim potestas a Domino Deo est. Non ergo videtur absurdum vel a viris ecclesiasticis alienum, regibus quasi praecellentibus et ceteris potestatibus serviendo, iv.] Dlalogus de Scaccario. I. 169 sua jura servare ; praesertim in hiis quae veritati vel honestati non obviant. Oportet autem hiis servire, non in conservandis tantum dignitatibus, per quas gloria regiae potestatis elucet, verum in mimdanarum facultatum copiis, quae eos sui status ratione contingunt : ilia enim illustrant, heae subveniunt. Porro mobilium copia, vel defectus, principum potestates humiliat vel exaltat. Quibus enim haec desunt, liostibus praeda erunt : quibus autem haec suppetunt, hiis hostes in praedam cedunt. Sane licet haec regibus, plerunque jure non prorsus examinato, seel patriis quandoque legibus, quandoque cordium suorum con- siliis occultis, vel solius interdum suae voluntatis arbitrio, pro- venire contingat, eorum tamen facta ab inferioribus discutienda vel condempnanda non sunt. Quorum enim corda et motus cordium in manu Dei sunt, et quibus ab Ipso Deo singulariter est credita cura subditorum, eorum causa Divino tantum non humano judicio stat aut cadit. Nemo tamen quantumlibet dives, si secus egerit, de impunitate sibi blandiatur, cum de hujusmodi scriptum sit, ' potentes potenter tormenta patientur.' Igitur qualiscunque sit vel videatur acquirendi causa vel modus, iis qui ad eorum custodiam ex officio deputantur, cura remissior esse non debet. Sed in eisdein congregandis, conservandis, vel distribuendis, sollieitam decet esse diligentiam quasi rationem reddituris de regni statu, qui per hos incolumis perseverat. Novimus quidem prudentia, fortitudine, temperantia, sive justitia, ceterisque virtutibus principaliter regna regi juraque subsistere ; unde et hiis mundi rectoribus totis est viribus insistendum. Sed fit interdum ut quod sano consilio vel excellent! mente concipi- tur, per hanc quasi per quandam negotiorum methodum facilem consequatur effectum. Non solum autem hostilitatis, sed et pacis tempore necessaria videtur : illo enim in municipiis fir- mandis, in stipendiis ministrandis, et in aliis plerisque locis pro qualitate personarum ad conservandum regni statum effun- ditur : hoc vero licet arma quiescant, a devotis principibus cbn- struuntur basilicae, Christus alitur et vestitur in paupere, et ceteris operibus rnisericordiae insistendo, in misericordia distri- buitur : in utriusque vero temporis strenuis actibus gloria prin- cipum est ; sed excellit in hiis ubi pro temporalibus impensis felici mercimonio mansura succedunt. Ea propter, rex illustris, mundanorum principum maxime, quia saepe te vidimus utro- que tempore gloriosum, non parcentem quidem pecuniae the- sauris, sed pro loco, pro tempore, pro personis, legitimis sumptibus insistentem, modicum opus excellentiae tuae de- vovimus, non de rebus quidem magnis vel luculento sermone cornpositum, sed agresti stylo de scaccarii tui necessariis ob- 170 Henry II. [PART servantiis. Porro super hiis te vidimus quandoque sollicitum, adeo ut missis a latere tuo viris discretis, de eodem dominum tune Eliensem conveneris. Nee fuit absurdum tarn exeellentis ingenii virum, tarn singularis potentiae principem, inter cetera majora haec etiam curasse. Sane scaccarium suis legibus non temere, sed magnorum consideratione subsistit ; cujus ratio si servetur in omnibus, poterunt singulis sua jura servari, et tibi plane provenient quae fisco debentur ; quae possit opportune nobilissimae mentis tuae ministra manus efFundere. LIBER PRIMUS. Anno xxiii. regni regis Henrici secundi, cum sederem ad fenestram speculae quae est juxta fluvium Tamensem, factum est verbum hominis in impetu loquentis ad me, dicens, 'magister, non legisti, quod in scientia vel thesauro abscondito nulla sit uti- litas V Cui cum respondissem, ' legi ;' statim intulit, ' cur ergo scientiam de scaccario quae penes te plurima esse dicitur alios non doces, et ne tibi commoriatur scripto commendas?' Turn ego ; ' ecce, frater, ad scaccarium jam per multa tempora rese- disti, et nihil te latet, cum scrupulosus sis ; sic et de ceteris qui assident probabile est/ At ille, ' sicut qui in tenebris ambulant et manibus palpant, frequenter ofFendunt : sic illic multi resi- dent, qui videntes non vident, et audientes non intelligunt.' Turn ego ; * irreverenter loqueris ; nee enim scientia tanta est vel de tantis ; sed forte sunt illis qui [circa] magna occupantur corda, ut pedes aquilae, qui parva non retinent, et quos magna non effu- giunt.' Et ille, ' esto : sed licet aquilae Celsius volant, tamen in humilibus quiescunt et reficiuntur ; et ob hoc humilia vobis exponi petimus ipsis aquilis profutura/ Turn ego ; 'veritus sum de hiis rebus opus contexere, quia corporeis sensibus subject a sunt, et cotidianis usibus vilescunt ; nee est vel esse potest in eis subtilium rerum descriptio, vel jocunda novitatis inventio. Et ille; 'qui novitatibus gaudent, qui subtilium rerum fugam appetunt, habent Aristotelem et libros Plato nicos, audiant illos, Tu scribe non subtilia, sed utilia.' Turn ego ; 'de hiis rebus quas petis impossible est nisi rusticano sermone et communibus loqui verbis/ At ille, velut succensus in iram, desideranti enim animo nihil satis festinatur, ait : ' artium scriptores ne multa parum scisse viderentur, et ut ars difficilior cognita fieret, multa conquisierunt, et verbis incognitis palliarunt : tu vero scri- bendam artem non suscipis, sed quasdam consuetudines et jura scaccarii ; quae quia communia debent esse, communibus neces- sario utendum est verbis; ut sint cognati sermones rebus de iv.j Dialogm de Scaccario. I. 171 quibus loquimur. Praeterea, quamvis plerunque nova liceat nomina fingere, rogo tamen, si placet, ut usitatis rerum ipsarum vocabulis quae ad placitum sunt uti non pudeat, nee nova diffi- cultas ex insolitis verbis oborta amplius perturbet/ Turn ego ; ' sensi te iratum ; sed animo aequior esto ; faciam quod hortaris. Surgens ergo, sede ex adverse ; et de hiis quae te ofFendunt interroga. Quod si quid inauditum proposueris, non erubesco dicere, nescio. Sed conveniamus ambo discretiores.' Et ille ; 'ad vota respondes. Licet autem turpis et ridicula res sit ele- mentarius senex, ab ipsis tamen elementis incipiam.' I. Quid sit Scaccarium, et quae ratio hujus nominis. Discipulus. Quid est scaccarium 1 Magister. Scaccarium tabula est quadrangula quae longitu- dinis quasi decem pedum, latitudinis quinque, ad modum mensae circumsedentibus apposita, undique habet limbum altitudinis quasi quatuor digitorum, ne quid appositum excidat. Super- ponitur autem scaccario superior! pannus in terniino Paschae emptus, non quilibet, sed niger virgis distinctus, distantibus a se virgis vel pedis vel palmae extentae spatio. In spatiis autem calculi sunt juxta ordines suos de quibus alias dicetur. Licet autem tabula talis scaccarium dicatur, transmutatur tamen hoc nom'en ut ipsa quoque curia quae consedente scaccario est scaccarium dicatur ; adeo ut si quandoque per sententiam aliquid de comnmni consilio fuerit constitutum, dicatur factum ad scaccarium illius vel illius anni. Quod autem hodie dicitur ad scaccarium, olim dicebatur ad taleas. D. Quae est ratio hujus nominis 1 M. Nulla mihi verier ad praesens occurrit, quam quod scac- carii lusilis similem habet formam. D. Nunquid antiquorum prudentia pro sola forma sic nomi- navit, cum et simili ratione possit tabularium appellari 1 M. Merito te scrupulosum dixi. Est et alia, sed occultior. Sicut enim in scaccario lusili quidam ordines sunt pugnatorum, et certis legibus vel limitibus procedunt vel subsistunt, praesi- dentibus aliis et aliis procedentibus : sic in hoc quidam praesi- dent, quidam assident ex officio ; et non est cuiquam liberum leges constitutas excedere ; quod erit ex consequentibus mani- festum. Item sicut in lusili, pugna committitur inter reges : sic in hoc inter duos principaliter conflictus est et pugna committitur, thesaurarium scilicet et vicecomitem qui assidet ad compotum ; residentibus aliis tanquam judicibus ut videaut et judicent. 172 Henry II. [PART D. Nunquid a tliesaurario compotus suscipitur, cum illic multi sunt qui ratione potestatis majores videantur 1 M. Quod thesaurarius a vicecomite compotum suscipiat, liinc manifestum est, quod idem ab eo cum regi placuerit requiritur : nee enim ab ipso requireretur quod non suscepisset. Sunt tamen qui dicunt thesaurarium et camerarios obnoxios tantum liiis quae scribuntur in rotulis in thesauro, ut de hiis compotus ab eis exu;atur. Sed verius creditur ut de tota scriptura rotuli respondeant ; quod ex consequentibus constare poterit. II. Quod aliud est inferius, aliud superius ; una> tamen origo utriusque. D. Nunquid solum illud scaccariuin est in quo est tails con- fl ictus 1 M. Non. Est enim inferius scaccarium, quod et recepta dicitur, ubi pecunia numeranda traditur, et scriptis et talliis committitur, ut de eisdem postmodum in superiori compotus reddatur ; una tamen est utriusque origo ; quia quicquid sol- vendum esse in majori deprehenditur, hie solvitur ; et quod Lie solutum fuerit, ibi computatur. III. Quae sit ratio vel institutio inferioris per singula officia. D. Quae est ratio vel institutio inferioris scaccarii ? M. Ut video, nullius horum ignorantiam sustines. Noveris autem quod inferius illud scaccarium suas habet personas, ratione quidem officiorum a se distinctas, sed in regis utili- tatem, salva tamen aequitate, pari intentione devotas ; omnes quidem dominorum suorum nominibus non propriis militantes, exceptis duobus militibus scilicet qui prae est examinibus, et fusore. Horum officia de regis nostri pendent arbitrio ; unde magis ad superius quam ad inferius pertinere videntur, sicut infra dicetur. Illic est clericus tliesaurarii cum sigillo ejus. Sunt et duo milites camerariorum. Est et miles quidam qui argen- tarius dici potest ; quia ex officio argento examinando praeest. Est et fusor qui argentum examinat. Sunt et quatuor compu- tatores ad numerandam pecuniam. Est et ostiarius thesauri, et vigil. Horum autem haec sunt officia. Clericus tliesaurarii, cum fuerit numerata pecunia, et in fprulos missa per centenas libras, apponit sigillum, et deputat scripto, quantum, vel a quo, vel ob quam causam receperit ; taleas quoque de eadem recepta a camerariis factas inbreviat ; non solum autem pecuniae saccis sed et archis et singulis forulis in quibus rotuli vel talliae collo- cantur, si libet, apponit sigillum; et ad omnia subjecta officia iv.] Dlalogus de Scaccario. I. 173 diligenter prospicit, et nihil eum latet. Militum, qui et came- rarii dicuntur quod pro camerariis miuistrant, hoc est officium : hi claves archarum bajulant ; archae enim cuilibet duae serae sunt diversi generis, hoc est, cujus neutri clavis alterius possit aptari ; et hii claves earum deferunt ; circumcingitur autem quaelibet area corrigia quadam immobili, in qua desuper firmatis seris thesaurarii sigillum apponitur ; ut nulli eorum nisi de communi assensu accessus pateat. Item officium horum est, numeratam pecuniam et in vasis ligneis per centenos solidos compositam ponderare, ne sit error in numero, tune demum in forulos mittere per centenas, ut dictum est, libras. Quod si vas aliquod inventum est minus habens, non quidem per aestima- tionem quod deesse putatur apponitur, sed statim de quo dubi- tatur in acervum numerandorum projicitur. Et nota quosdam comitatus a tempore regis Henrici primi et in tempore regis Henrici secundi licite potuisse cujuscunque monetae denarios solution! offerre, dummodo argentei essent et ponderi legitimo non obstarent ; quia scilicet monetarios ex antiqua institutione non habentes, undecunque sibi denarios perquirebant ; quales sunt Norhumberland et Cumberland ; sic autem suscepti denarii, licet de firm a essent, seorsum tamen ab aliis cum quibus- dam signis appositis mittebantur. Eeliqui vero comitatus solos usuales et instantis monetae legitimos denarios tain de firmis quam de placitis afferebant. At postquam rex illustris, cujus laus est in rebus magnis exceUentior, sub monarchia sua per universum regiium unum pondus et unam monetam instituit, omnis comitatus una legis necessitate teneri et generalis com- mercii solutione coepit obligari. Omnes itaque idem monetae genus quomodocunque teneantur solvunt; sed tamen exami- nationis quae de combustione provenit jacturam omnes non sustinent. Item hii taleas faciunt de receptis, et commune est eis cum clerico thesaurarii, ut per brevia regis vel praecepto baronum, thesaurum susceptum expendant; non tamen incon- sultis dominis suis. Hii tres simul omnes vel vicissim cum thesauro mittuntur cum oportuerit. His tribus praecipua cura est in omnibus hiis quae in inferior! scaccario fiunt. D. Ergo, ut video, licet his per breve regis, vel praecepto eorum qui praesident, thesaurum susceptum consultis tamen dominis suis expendere. M. Licet, inquam ; hoc modo de liberationibus servientum in- ferioris scaccarii, et de minutis necessariis scaccarii emendis, qualia sunt vasa ilia lignea, et alia, de quibus infra dicetur, eorum fidei committitur ; alias autem non. Qui vero breve regis vel cartam detulerit pro pecunia, praecipientibus dominis suis, hac 174 Henry II. [PART ei lege solvatur id quod expresse nominator in brevi, ut ante- quam exeat, susceptam pecuniam numeret; quod si quid de- fuerit, redeat ad scaccarium is qui suscepit, et fidei religionem praestet sub hac forma : quod quantum suscepit reportavit, hoc apposito, secundum conscientiam suam, ut fit in aliis ; et hoc facto, solvatur ei quod restat ; numerata prius eadem coram omnibus a constitutis computatoribus. Si vero lege sibi pro- posita ostium thesauri egressus fuerit j quaecunque fuerit per- sona, vel quantacunque jactura, non ei respondeatur. Militis argentarii et fusoris officia sibi videntur annexa, et ad superius scaccarium magis pertinentia ; et ob hoc ibidem cum ceteris officiis explananda. Quatuor coniputatorum officium hoc est. Cum in scaccarium numeranda pecunia mittitur, unus eorum diligenter totam commiscet, ut non seorsum meliores et seorsum deteriores sint, sed mixti, ut ponderi respondeant ; quo facto, camerarius ad libram scaccarii ponderat quantum oportet in trutina. Quod si numerus xx. solidos plus quam vi. nummis excreverit respectu librae, indigna recipi dicitur : si vero vel ad vi. denarios vel infra se cohibet, suscipitur ; et a computatoribus diligenter per ceutenos solidos, ut praedictum est, numeratur. Si vero de firma sint denarii et sint examinandi, facta commixtiorie xliiii. solidorum de acervo, in loculum seorsum mittuntur, et huic vice- comes signum apponit ; ut ex hiis postmodum examen, quod vulgo essayum dicitur, fiat, sicut ex eonsequentibus liquebit. Erit autem curae eorum qui praesunt receptae gratia dominorum suorum, hoc est, clerici thesaurarii et camerariorum, ut recepta pecunia seorsum mittant examinati argenti pondera et denarics de firma, appositis quibusdam signis saccis eorum, ut si rex vasa argentea ad cultum domus Dei, vel ad domus propriae obsequium, vel forte monetas transmarinas fieri voluerit, ex hiis fiant. D. Est aliquid in praedictis quod me pulsat. M. Die ergo. D. Dixisti, si bene memini, quod ad scaccarium quandoque differ tur solvenda pecunia, quae judicatur indigna recipi, si scilicet pensata cum libra ponderis de scaccario, inventa est minus habens ultra vi. denarios. Cum ergo quaelibet moneta regni hujus impressam habere debeat regis imaginem, et ad idem pondus omnes monetarii teneantur operari, qualiter fieri poterit ut non omne eorum opus ejusdem ponderis sit ? M. Magnum est quod quaeris, et alterius egens inquisitionis, attamen fieri potest per falsarios et nummorum decurtatores vel detonsores. Noveris autem monetam Angliae in tribus falsam deprehendi, in falso scilicet pondere, in falsa lege, in falsa iv.] Dialogue de Scaccario. I. 175 imagine. His tamen falsitatibus par poena non debetur. Sed de hiis alias. D. Si placet, prosequere de officiis, ut coepisti. M. Ad ostiarii curam spectat, ut excludat vel admittat quod oportet, et diligens sit in custodia omnium quae ostio con- cluduntur ; unde et ratione ostii de singulis brevibus exitus duos liabet denarios. Hie ministrat forulos ad pecuniam re- ponendam et rotulos, et taleas, et cetera necessaria per annum, et pro singulis forulis duos habet denarios. Hie in omnem receptam ligna opportuna ministrat ad taleas receptae, et com- potorum, et semel, hoc est, in termino Sancti Michaelis, v. solidos pro lignis talearum percipit. Hie vascula lignea, cnipulos, loculos, et corrigias, et cetera minuta necessaria de fisco invenit. In termino eodem pro incausto totius anni ad utrumque scac- carium ii. solidi debentur, quos sibi de antique jure vendicat sacrista majoris Ecclesiae Westmonasterii. Vigilis officium idem est ibi quod alibi ; diligentissima scilicet de nocte custodia, thesauri principaliter, et omnium eorum quae in domo thesauri reponuntur. Sic habes omnium officia distincta, qui inferius ministrant. Sunt et hiis liberationes constitutae dum scaccarium est, hoc est a die qua convocantur, usque ad diem qua generalis est secessio. ..Clericus thesaurarii qui infra est, quinque denarios habet in die. Scriptor ejusdem thesaurarii in superior! scac- cario similiter v. Scriptor cancellarii v. Duo milites bajuli clavium, quisque in die viii., ratione militiae. Asserunt enim, quod equis necessariis et armis instructi fore teneantur, ut cum thesauro missi, quod sui officii fuerit opportunius sic exequantur. Miles argentarius xii. denarios in die. Fusor v. Ostiarius majoris scaccarii v. Quatuor computatores, quisque iii. denarios ; si Londoniae fuerint; si Wintoniae, quia inde solent assumi, duos quisque habet. Vigil unum denarium. Ad lumen cujusque noctis circa thesaurum, obolum. D. Ostiarius thesauri, qua ratione liberationem solus non percipit ? - M. Non. satis novi. Sed tamen quia videtur aliquid percipere ratione ostii, et pro forulorum et talearum ministerio, libera- tionem forte non recipit; vel forte quia non regi, sed magis thesaurario et camerariis servire videtur in custodia ostii domus eorum. Hac lege minoris scaccarii vel receptae ratio subsisfcit. D. Sic mini satisfaction est in hac parte ut nihil deesse yideatur. Nunc ergo, si placet, prosequere de majore. 176 Henry II. [PART IV. Quae sit auctoritas superioris, et unde sumpsit originem ? M. Licet eorum qui ad scaccarium majus resident, officia quibusdam videantur proprietatibus esse distincta ; unum tamen omnium officium est et intentio ; ut regis utilitati pro- spiciant; salva tamen aequitate secundum constitutas leges scaccarii. Ejus autem ratio vel institutio cum ipsa temporis antiquitate, cum magnorum qui assident auctoritate, roborata subsistit. Ab ipsa namque regni conquisitione per regem Willelmum facta coepisse dicitur, sumpta tamen ipsius ratione a scaccario transmarine : verum in plurimis et pene majoribus dissident. Sunt etiam qui credunt usum ejus sub regibus Anglicis exstitisse ; hinc sumentes rei hujus argumentum, quod coloni et jam decrepit! senes fundorum illorum qui coronae annominantur, quorum in biis cana memoria est, optime nove- rint a patribus suis edocti, quantum de albo firmae pro singulis libris solvere teneantur. Sed haec ratio cognitionis est de firmae solutione, non de scaccarii sessione. Yidetur autem eis obviare, qui dicunt album firmae a temporibus Anglicorum coepisse, quod in libro judiciario in quo totius regni descriptio diligens continetur, et tarn de tempore regis Edwardi, quam de tempore regis Willelmi sub quo factus est, singulorum fundorum valentia exprimitur, nulla prorsus de albo firmae fit mentio : unde probabile videtur, quod, facta ilia descriptione tempore jam dicti regis, de albo firmarum fuerit a studiosis ejus consti- tutum propter causas, quae inferius annotantur. Quocunque vero tempore coeperit usus ejus, certum est quod magnorum auctoritate roboratur ; adeo ut nulli liceat statuta scaccarii infringere, vel eis quavis temeritate resistere. Habet enim hoc commune cum ipsa domini Kegis Curia, in qua ipse in propria persona jura decernit, quod nee recordationi, nee sententiae in eo latae licet alicui contradicere. Huic autem curiae tarn insignis auctoritas est, turn propter regiae imaginis excellentiam quae in sigillo ejus de thesauro individua lege servatur ; turn propter eos qui assident, ut dictum est, quorum solertia totius regni status indemnis servatur. Illic enim residet capitalis domini regis Justicia, primus post regem in regno ratione fori, et majores quique de regno, qui familiarius regiis secretis assistunt ; ut quod fuerit sub tantorum praesentia constitutum vel termi- natum, inviolabili jure subsistat. Verum quidam ex officio, quidam ex sola jussione principis resident. Ex officio principa- liter residet, immo et praesidet, primus in regno, capitalis scilicet Justicia. Huic autem assident ex sola jussione principis, momen- tanea scilicet et mobili auctoritate quidam, qui majores et dis- rv.] Dialogs de Scaccario. I. 177 cretiores videntur in regno, sive de clero sint sive de curia. Assident inquam ad discernenda jura et dubia determinanda quae frequenter ex incidentibus quaestionibus oriuntur. Non enim in ratiociniis sed in multiplicibus judiciis excellens scac- carii scientia consistit. Facile enim est, proposita summa quae exigitur, et suppositis ad collationem ejus hiis quae soluta sunt, per subtractionem discernere, si satisfactum est, vel si quid restat. At cum coeperit multiplex inquisitio fieri de hiis rebus, quae varie fisco proveriiunt et diversis modis requiruntur, et a vicecomitibus non eodem modo perquiruntur, discernere si secus egerint, quibusdam grave est, et ob hoc circa haec scientia scac- carii major esse dicitur. Dubiorum vero vel dubitalium judicia, quae frequenter emergunt, sub una tractatus serie comprehend! non valent ; quia necdum omnia dubiorum genera in lucem prodierunt. Quaedam tamen ex hiis quae proposita vel deter- minata cognovimus, suis locis inferius annotabimus. V. Quid sit officium Praesidentis, et omnium illic ex officio residentium ; et quae dispositio sedium. D. Quid est hujus tarn excellentis sessoris officium 1 M. Aliud verius attribui sibi non valet, nisi quod omnibus, quae inferiore vel superiore scaccario fuerint, hie prospicit et ad nutum ipsius quaelibet officia subjecta disponuntur ; sic tamen ut ad domini regis utilitatem juste proveniant. Hoc tamen inter cetera videtur excellens, quod potest hie sub testimonio suo breve domini regis facere fieri, ut de tbesauro quaelibet summa liberetur, vel ut computetur alicui quod sibi ex domini regis mandate praenoverit computandum ; vel si maluerit, breve suum faciet sub aliorum testimonio de his rebus. D. Magnus est hie, cujus fidei totius regni cura, immo et cor regis committitur. Scriptum quippe est; quod episcopi multi et abbates qui vocati erant, non fuerunt prae- sentes, et sic petierunt inducias quousque ad diem certum possent omnes pariter con venire Rex . . . coepit a vice- comitibus et ballivis aliisque ministris suis de redditibus et rebus omnibus ad fisci commodum spectantibus ratiocinium exigere. . . . Ib. p. 376. Per idem tempus rex, per consilium Petri Win- toniensis episcopi, Hubertum de Burgo protojustitiarium regni ab officio suo . . . amovit ; et Stephanum de Segrave solo nomine militem subrogavit, IIII. kalendas Augusti. Ib. p. 377. Convenerunt . . . apud Lamheiam ad colloquium, in Exaltatione Sanctae Crucis, coram rege episcopi et alii eccle- siarum praelati cum proceribus regni ; ubi concessa est regi, pro debitis quibus comiti Britanniae tenebatur astrictus, qua- dragesima pars rerum mobilium ab episcopis, abbatibus, priori- bus, clericis et laicis. A.D. 1233. MATT. PARIS, pp. 384, 386. Rex . . . tenuit curiam suam ad Natale apud Vigorniam, ubi, ut dicitur, de consilio Petri Wintoniensis episcopi, omnes naturales curiae suae ministros a suis removit officiis et Pictavenses extraneos in eorum ministeriis subrogavit . . . Tune rex missis litteris suis vocavit omnes de regno comites et barones ad colloquium, ut venirent apud Oxoniam ad festum Sancti Johannis ; sed ipsi noluerunt ad ejus mandatum venire. . . . Cum audissent magnates praefati quod paulatim applicuerunt in regno praedones multi cum equis et arniis, a rege invitati ; cum nullum pacis vidissent vesti- gium, supersederunt ad diem sibi statutum venire, 326 Henry III. [PART denunciantes regi per nuncios solemnes, quatenus omni dilatione remota ejiceret Petrum Wintoniensem episcopum et ceteros Pictavienses de curia sua; sin autem nollet, ipsi omnes de communi consilio totius regni ipsum cuni iniquis consiliariis suis a regno depellerent, et de novo rege creando contractarent. A.D. 1234. MATT. PARIS, p. 403. Tune rex, qui ut pax fieret modis omnibus suspirabat, fecit convocare per litteras suas pro- scriptos omnes ut venirent Gloverniam, Dominica proxima ante Ascensionem Domini, IV* scilicet kalendas Junii, ad collo- quium, plenam gratiam ipsius cum suis haereditatibus recep- turi. T. WYKES, Chron. (ed. Luard), p. 77. Eex Henricus fecit talliari omnes civitates et burgos et maneria sua propria per totam Angliam. A.D. 1235. MATT. PARIS, p. 417. Eodem tempore cepit rex carucagium, scilicet duas marcas de caruca, ad maritagium sororis suae Isabellae. A.D. 1236. ANN. BURTON, p. 249. Anno regni regis Henrici filii regis Johannis vicesimo, die Mercurii in crastino Sancti Vincentii, in curia domini regis apud Mertone coram domino rege Henrico et coram venerabili patre domino Edmundo Can- tuariensi archiepiscopo et coepiscopis suis, et coram majori parte comitum et baronum nostrorum Angliae pro coronatione domini regis et reginae, et pro communi utilitate totius Angliae provi- sum fuit tarn a praedictis archiepiscopo, episcopis, comitibus et baronibus quam a nobis, et concessum quod de cetero isti arti- culi [sc. Assisa de Merton] teneantur in regno Angliae. MATT. PARIS, p. 429. Eodem quoque anno IV. kalendas Maii, congregati sunt magnates Angliae Londini ad colloquium, de negotiis regni tractaturi. . . . Ubi cum de multis tractaretur, unum laudabiliter consummavit, scilicet quod amotis omnibus vicecomitibus substituerentur alii, eo quod nimis a tramite veri- tatis et justitiae corrupti muneribus exorbitarunt. . . . Sigillum quoque suum ab episcopo Cicestrensi cancellario suo . . . exegit rex instantissime. Sed idem cancellarius hoc facere renuit, videns impetum regis modestiae fines excedentem ; dixitque se nulla ratione hoc posse facere, cum illud communi consilio regni suscepisset, quapropter nee illud similiter sine communi assensu regni alicui resignaret. A.D. 1237. MATT. PARIS, p. 435. Misit . . . [rex] contintio per omnes fines Angliae scripta regalia, praecipiens omnibus ad regnum Angliae spectantibus, videlicet, archiepiscopis, episcopis, vi.] Excerpts. 327 abbatibus et prioribus installatis, comitibus et baronibus, ut omnes sine omissione in octavis Epiphaniae Londoniis conveni- rent, regia negotia tractaturi totum regnum contingentia. . . . Promisit . . . libertates Magnae Cartae suis fidelibus regni sui ex tune inviolabiliter observare. . . . Concessa est igitur be- nigne tali conditione regi ea vice tricesima regni pars, omnium scilicet mobilium. A.D. 1240. MATT. PARIS, p. 523. In octavis vero Epi- phaniae congregati sunt Londini archiepiscopi et episcopi cum multis aliis magnatibus, praesente etiam legato, reponentes que- rimoniam gravissimam coram rege in curia sua, super variis injuriis et oppressionibus et quotidianis desolationibus illatis ecclesiae per iniquum regis consilium . . . Et erant contra regem in querimoniis episcoporum capitula circiter xxx. Et eo tenus processum est quod lata sit iterum sententia terribiliter nimis in omnes regis consiliarios qui ejus animum ad praedicta enormia conabantur inclinare. A.D. 1242. MATT. PARIS, p. 580. Imminente vero purifi- catione beatae Virgin is, totius Angliae nobilitas, tarn praelatorum quam comitum et baronum, secundum regium praeceptum est Londini congregata. . . Contradixerunt igitur regi in faciem, nolentes amplius sic pecunia sua frustratorie spoliari. Ib. p. 595. Scutagium per totam Angliam rex Angliae sibi fecit extorqueri. A.D. 1243. MATT. PARIS, p. 600. Gives Londinenses ad gravissimam compulsi sunt redemptionem quae tallagium dicitur, sub hac forma ; venerunt exactores et regales aeditui ad ilium vel ilium civem dicentes, * Tantam et tantam oportet te pecuniam domino regi in longinquis partibus pro commoditate regni militanti et nimis indigenti, donee in regno suo restauretur, commodare/ Et secundum voluntatem et aestimationem ex- tortorum, pecuniam civium mutilarunt. A.D. 1244. MATT. PARIS, p. 639. Convenerant regia sub- monitione convocati Londinum magnates totius regni, archi- episcopi, episcopi, abbates, priores, comites et barones. In quo concilio petiit rex ore proprio in praesentia magnatum in refec- torio Westmonasteriensi auxilium sibi fieri pecuniare. . . . Cui fuit responsum quod super hoc tractarent. Hecedentesque magnates de refectorio, convenerunt archiepiscopi et episcopi, abbates et priores, seorsum per se super hoc diligenter tractaturi. Tandem requisiti fuerunt ex parte eorum comites et barones si vellent suis consiliis unanimiter consentire in responsione et 328 Henry III. [PART provisione super his facienda. Qui responderunt quod sine communi universitate nihil facerent. Tune de communi assensu elect! fuerunt ex parte cleri, electus Cantuariensis, Wintoniensis, Jjincolniensis et Wigorniensis episcopi ; ex parte laicorum Ricardus comes frater domini regis, comes Bigot, comes Lege- cestriae Simon de Monteforti, et comes Marescallus ; ex parte vero baronum Ricardus de Muntfichet, et Johannes de Bailloil, et de Sancto Edmundo et de Rameseia abbates; ut quod isti duodecim providerent in communi recitaretur ; nee aliqua forma domino regi ostenderetur auctoritate duodecim, nisi omnium communis assensus interveniret. Et quia carta libertatum quas dominus rex olim concesserat et pro cujus conservatione archi- episcopus Cantuariensis Edmundus juraverat, fidejusserat et certissime pro rege promiserat, nondum exstitit observata, et auxilia quae toties concessa fuerant domino regi ad nullum pro- fectum regis vel regni devenerant ; et per defectum cancellarii brevia contra justitiam pluries fuerant concessa ; petitum fuit ut secundum quod elegerant, justitiarius et cancellarius fierent per quos status regni solidaretur, ut solebat. Et ne per compul- sionem concilii aliquid novum statuere videretur, noluit petition! magnatum consentire, sed promisit se emendaturum quae ex eorum parte audierat. Unde datus fuit terminus eis usque in tres septimanas a Purificatione Beatae Virginis ut ibidem iterum tune convenirent. Ib. p. 643. Convenientibus autem iterum magnatibus cum praelatis generaliter Londini .... renovata fuit petitio regis super auxilio pecuniari sibi faciendo. Circa quod de die in diem convenit eos dominus rex. turn in propria persona, turn per inter- nuncios solemnes per quos promisit se libertates quas juraverat in coronatione sua, super quibus cartam confecerat, integer-rime servaturum . . . Tandem unanimiter . . . concesserunt domino regi ad maritandam filiam suam primogenitam, de omnibus qui tenent de domino rege in capite, de singulis scutis viginti solidos solvendos. Ib. p. 650. In crastino autem omnium Sanctorum convenientes magnates Angliae, Rex cum instantissime, ne dicam impuden- tissime, auxilium pecuniare ab eis iterum postularet, toties laesi et illusi contradixerunt ei unanimiter et uno ore in facie. A.D. 1246. MATT. PARIS, p. 696. Medio vero quadragesimae . . . edicto regio convocata convenit ad PABLAMENTUM gene- ralissimum totius regni Anglicani nobilitas Londini, videlicet praelatorum tarn abbatum et priorum quam epiccoporum, comi- tum quoque et baronum, ut de statu regni jam vacillantis effica- vi.] Excerpts. 329 citer promt exegit urgens necessitas contrectarent. Angebat enim eos gravamen intolerabile a curia Romana incessanter illatum. . . Ib. p. 709. Die vero translations beati Thomae Martyris habitum est magnum concilium inter regem et regni magnates apud Wintoniam. A.D. 1247. T. WYKES, p. 96. Facta est generalis congre- gatio omnium magnatum Angliae episcoporum, comitum, baro- num, coram domino rege apud Oxoniam, quindena Paschae ; quorum consilio et assensu dominus rex mutavit monetam suam, quia vetus sic fuit retonsa quod quasi nullius fuit valoris. - A. D. 1248. MATT. PARIS, p. 743. In octavis . . . Purifica- tionis edicto regio convocata totius regni Augliae nobilitas con- venit Londini, ut de regni negotiis nimis perturbati et depauperati et temporibus nostris enormiter mutilati diligenter et efficaciter simul cum domino rege contrectaret. Advenerunt igitur illuc, excepta baronum, militum, nobilium, necnon et abbatum, priorum, et clericorum multitudine copiosa, novem episcopi cum totidem comitibus. . . . Et cum proposuisset dominus rex . . . pecuniare auxilium postulare, redargutus est graviter super hoc quod non erubescebat tune tale juvamen exigere, praesertim quia quando in ultima tali exactione, cui riobiles Angliae vix consenserunt, confecit cartarn suam, quod amplius talem non faceret magnatibus suis injuriam et gravamen. . . . Calumniatur itaque dominus rex graviter . . . eo quod sicut magninci reges praedecessores sui habuerunt, justitiarium nee cancellarium habet nee thesau- rarium per commune consilium regni prout deceret et expediret, sed tales qui suam qualemcunque dummodo sibi quaestuosam sequuntur voluntatem . . . Dilata sunt igitur omnia . . . usque ad quindenam Nativitatis Sancti Johannis Baptistae. Ib. p. 748. Adveniente autem quindena Sancti Johannis Baptistae .... responderunt omnes quasi uno spiritu praecise, nullo modo se amplius inutiliter velle depauperare. . . - A.D. 1249. MATT. PARIS, p. 765. Ad clausum vero Pascha convenerunt magnates Angliae, prout condictum inter eos prius fuerat Londini, ut quod rex saepe promiserat eisdem saltern tune adimpleret, videlicet de cancellario, justitiario et thesaurario per consilium eorum constituendis. Sed cum omnia se certissime crederent recepturos, comitis Ricardi, qui eorum omnium summus esse videtur, absentia progressum negotii penitus impedivit. / A.D. 1250. MATT. PARIS, p. 778. Rex . . . curiae suae ex- pensas et solitae dapsilitatis facetias . . . jussit minorari. 330 Henry III. [PART A.D. 1251. MATT. PARIS, p. 814. Xllltio kalendas Hartii habitum est Parlamentuin magnum Londini. A.D. 1252. MATT. PAKIS, pp. 849, 850. Festo autem beati Ed- wardi imminente .... convenerunt veluti ex edicto regio convocati totius Angliae praelati fere universi. . . . Protulit igitur in medium dominus rex . . . papale mandatum . . . quod videlicet contulerat dominus papa totam regni decimam, videlicet pro- ventuum totius ecclesiae Anglicanae, . . . per triennium ad regia viatica peregrinationis. . . . Dixerunt se non posse plenum aut perfectum consilium inire absque domini Cantuariensis archi- episcopi . . . praesentia et asseusu, et domini archiepiscopi Eboracensis . . . consensu et providentia. Ib. p. 853. Convocatis . . . denuo dominus rex optimatibus suis . . . convenit eos de negotio Grasconiae quid agendum. . . . Responderunt . . . ' de statu suo moderno minime certificamur . . . nee de incertis certe possumus respondere.' . . . Solutum est igitur concilium. . . A.D. 1253. MATT. WESTM. p. 352. In quindena Paschae adu- nato magno parliamento petierunt praelati fere omnes, in simul congregati, ut dominus rex, cartas conservans et libertates quas saepius promiserat, sanctam insuper ecclesiam permitteret suis gaudere libertatibus, maxime de electionibus praelatorum tain cathedralium ecclesiarum quarn conventualium. Quae omnia rex se indemniter observaturum protestans, eorundem una cum aliis magnatibus, ad suae praecipue peregrinationis subsidium postu- latum de contributione reportavit assensum. Concessa est igitur regi decima pars proventuum ecclesiasticorum per triennium, a militibus vero scutagium illo anno, scilicet ad scutum tres marcae. Hex autem bona fide promisit se omnia inviolabiliter observatu- rum, quae et alias multoties juraverat et pater suus Johannes primo affirmabat, et, ut certiores fierent de promisso, praecepit super hoc in praesentia sua sententiam proferri in publicurn. A.D. 1254. MATT. PARIS, p. 881. Cum VI to kalendas Februarii . . convenissent universi fere Angliae magnates . . . solutum est concilium cassuin et inane. ANN. DUNSTAPL. p. 190. In quindena Paschae convenerunt magnates Angliae apud Westmonasterium. A.D. 1255. ANN. BURTON, p. 336. Henricus rex Angliae in quindena a Pascha tenuit parliamentum suurn apud Westmonas- terium: convocatis ibidem . . . totius regni episcopis, abba- tibus, comitibus et baronibus universis ibi praesentibus . . . exigebat sibi auxilium exhiberi, et ut quidarn qui ibidem af- vi.] Excerpts. 331 fuerunt asserebant, disposuit rex habere taylagium quod dicltur horngelth. Magnates autem e contra petebant, ut secundum consuetudinem regni tres personas possent per electionem in regno habere, videlicet capitalem justitiarium, cancellarium et thesaurarium . . . neutro concesso, datus est dies ad deliberan- dum super his, usque in quindenam a festo Sancti Michaelis. Ib. p. 360. Post festum Sancti Michaelis . . tenuit rex parliamentum suum apud Westmonasterium, convocatis ibidem episcopis, abbatibus et prioribus, comitibus et baronibus et totius regni majoribus, in quo petebat a clero de laicis feodis suis sibi suffragium exhiberi ad negotium stulte et incircumspecte pro regno inchoatum Siciliae prosequendum ; disponens de suo consilio iniquo boc prius a clero, et postmodum a populo % majori et minori extorquere. Episcopi vero, abbates, priores et pro- curatores qui ibidem pro universitate affuerunt, . . . gravamina summo pontifici . . . destinarunt. . . . ' Procuratores clericorum beneficiatorum archidiaconatus Lincolniae pro tota communitate proponunt quod gravati sunt quod decima beneficiorum suorum domino regi fuit concessa ipsis non vocatis.' . . . A.D. 1256. MATT. PARIS, p. 920. In festo . . sancti Hilarii congregati sunt Londini episcopi Augliae et arehidiaconi, undique vehementer angustiati ut darent responsum magistro Kustando, papae et regis clerico, papae nuncio, regis procuratori. . . . Provisumque est salubriter ut Magnae Cartae regis Johannis . . . sub poena horribilis anathematis conserventur. A.D. 1257. MATT. PAEIS, p. 946. In media Quadragesima factunx est magnum parliamentum. ... In parliamento autem . . . rex in audientia totius populi, adducto monstratoque omnibus Edmundo quern protulerat in medium vestitum indumento Apuliensi, ait, 'Videte fideles mei filium meum Edmundum quern Dominus ad regalis excellentiae dignitatem gratuita gratia vocavit.' . . . . Et addidit asserens quod de consilio et benigno favore papae et ecclesiae Anglican ae, ad regnum Siciliae ac- quirendum, se obligavit sub poena regni sui amittendi ad solutionem centum millium marcarum et quadraginta millia marcarum exceptis usuris Item decimas totius cleri impetravit generales per quinquennium continuandas . . . item fructus omnium ecclesiasticorum beneficiorum vacatorum primi anni usque ad quinquennium. His auditis, omnium aures tinniebant et corda vehementer obstupuerunt Promise- runt regi ad suas instantes necessitates et tamen conditione addita ut Magnam Cartam . . . observaret quinquaginta duo millia marcarum, in irrestaurabile damnum ecclesiae Anglicanae. 332 Henry III. [PART ANN. BURTON, p. 391. Rationes episcoporum et cleri contra petitionem domini regis. . . . ( Item, cum ad solutionem istius pecuniae ab initio non essemus requisiti nee aliquo modo obli- gati, nee contraxit dominus rex consentientibus tacite nee ex- presse, immo penitus nobis ignorantibus, ad consummationem propositi negotii nullatenus urgeri volumus nee debemus.' A.D. 1258. MATT. PARIS, p. 963. Post diem Martis, quae vulgariter Hokedaie appellatur, factum est Par] amentum Lon- dini. Rex namque multis et arduis negotiis sollicitabatur, sci- licet de negotio regni Apuliae. . . . Exegit . . pecuniam infi- nitam de qua persolvenda se obligavit papa mercatoribus pro ipso rege Ib. p. 968. Duravit adhuc praelibati Parliament! altercatio videlicet inter regem et regni magnates, usque diem Dominicam proximam post Ascensionem .... dilatum est parlamentum usque ad festum Sancti Barnabae apud Oxoniam diligenter celebrandum. ANN. DUNSTAPL. p. 208. Eodem anno in festo Sancti Bar- nabae apostoli fecit dominus rex convocari omnes magnates suos Angliae, scilicet clericos et laicos. ANN. BURTON, p. 438. Ad provisionem et regni in melius reformationem et ordinationem faciendam, sub fidei sacramento prolati sunt ibidem articuli qui indigerent in regno correctione. Ib. p. 445. Fuerunt etiam in eodem parliament apud Oxoniam xxiv. electi, videlicet xii. ex parte domini regis et totidem ex parte communitatis, quorum ordinationibus et pro- visionibus dominus rex et dominus Edwardus filius ejus . . . se supposuerunt super status eorundem et totius Angliae correc- tione et in melius reformatione. A.D. 1259. ANN. BURTON, p. 471. Festivitate Sancti Ed- wardi . . in quindena Sancti Michaelis apud Westmonas- terium per dominum regem regaliter celebrata, communitas baclieleriae Angliae signincavit domino Edwardo filio regis, comiti Gloverniae, et aliis juratis de consilio apud Oxoniam, quod dominus rex totaliter fecerat et adimplevit omnia et sin- gula quae providerant barones et sibi imposuerant facienda ; et quod ipsi barones ninil ad utilitatem reipublicae sicut pro- miserant fecerunt, nisi commodum proprium et damnum regis ubique, et quod nisi inde fieret emendatio, alia ratio pactum reformaret. Dominus Edwardus statim pro se respondit quod juramentum quoddam fecerat apud Oxoniam etiam invitus, sed non propter hoc quin foret paratus ad praestandum sponte vi.] Excerpts. dictum juramentum, et ad exponendum se morti pro communi- tate Angliae et pro utilitate reipublicae secundum quod juratum exstitit apud Oxoniam : et mandavit praecise baronibus de con- silio juratis quod nisi juramentum suum praedictum adimple- rent, ipse usque ad mortem staret cum communitate et promissa faceret adimpleri. Tandem videntes barones magis expedire promissa sua per seipsos adimpleri quam per alios, publice fece- runt provisiones suas promulgari. . . . A.D. 1260. CHRON. T. WYKES, p. 125. Post Pascha factum est parliamentum baronum apud Londoniam. Rex itaque per- pendens barones grandia moliri et aliquid velle machinari contra eum, ingressus est civitatem Londoniae, et fecit custodiri portas civitatis, resumpsitque turrim Londoniae, expellens Hugonem Dispensarium qui factus fuit justitiarius per ordinationem baronum ; et fecit venire scaccarium suum de Westmonasterio ad Sanctum Paulum in domibus Episcopi Londoniae in quibus hospitabatur : et coepit proponere plures articulos contra barones, et rationes prout sibi videbatur satis efficaces, quod non tene- batur observare promissiones Oxoniae. Unde ortum est schisma inter ipsum et proceres ; tandem post multas altercationes com- promiserunt in arbitros. ANN. DUNSTAPL. p. 217. Post Natale dominus rex turrim Londoniaruni ingressus est et earn multum affortiavit ; portas civitatis obseravit, mandans magnatibus quod ad turrim ad parliamentum venirent : et renuerunt mandantes quod, si placeret ei, apud Westmonasterium venirent, ubi parliamentum tenere consueverunt et non alibi, propter quod inter eos orta est dissensio. A.D. 1261. CHRON. T. WYKES, p. 128. Rex Angliae in festo Pentecostes apud Wintoniam detulit litteras domini papae, et publice ostendit eas baronibus, quod absolutus fuit a jura- mento quod praestiterat de providentiis baronum observandis. . . . Et deposuit dominum Hugonem Dispensarium de officio justitiarii. . . . A.D. 1262. If ATT. WESTM. p. 381. Henricus rex absolutio- nem impetraverat a papa Urbano de suae concessionis obser- vatione quam fecerat Oxoniae. CHRON. T, WYKES, p. 130. Circa Purification em beatae Virginis factum est parliamentum apud Londoniam, et posu- erunt se rex et barones supra dictum regis Franciae et regis Alemanniae. ... In quindena Paschae convenerunt barones apud Londoniam tractaturi cum rege, et post multos tractatus conces- 334 Henry III. [PART sennit quod a pluribus articulis contends in providentia Oxoniae resilirent, si quosdam eorum eis confirmaret. . . . Circa gulam Augusti transfretavit rex Angliae. A.D. 1263. ANN. OSNEY, p. 131. Provisiones Oxoniae circa Conversionem Sancti Pauli [rex] confirmavit et ratificavit. CHRON. T. WYKES, p. 133. In ipsa congregatione magnatum quae facta est Londoniae in festo Pentecostes, comes Leycestriae et multi alii murmuraverunt adversus regem Angliae, dominam reginam, et dominum Edwardum, dicentes eos perjurium incur- risse nisi providentias Oxoniae observarent. Ib. p. 138. Habitis . . . frequenter tractatibus inter partes, circa festum Nativitatis Dominicae, rex et universi complices sui et fautores, comes cum universis sibi cohaerentibus, rex Romanorum, dominus Edwardus, comites, barones, milites, archi- episcopi, episcopi, universi ecclesiarum praelati, immo generaliter clerus et populus unanimi assensu compromittebant in regem Franciae super omnibus contentionibus ortis inter regem et proceres suos occasione provisionum Oxoniae. A.D. 1264. CHRON. T. WYKES, p. 139. RexFrancorum . . . vicesimo die Natalis .. . suum praecipitavit arbitrium, ipsumque auctoritate apostolica roboravit, regemque Angliae judicialiter pristinae potestati restituit, provisiones Oxoniae seu statuta abrogavit penitus et cassavit, decernens quod rex justitiarium, cancellarium, thesaurarium, vicecomites, ballivos, consiliarios et ministros sibi eligeret quoscunque vellet. ANN. DUNSTAPL. p. 232. Pridie idus Maii . . apud Lewes . . . dictus comes et qui cum eo erant ceperunt regem Angliae, et regem Alemanniae, et Edwardum filium regis. . . . CHRON. RISHANGER. p. 37. Compositio pads post bellum de Lewes. Capitulum primum, super reformatione pacis regni Angliae et reconciliatione discordiarum in eodem regno motarum vel renovatarum, compromittitur in archiepiscopum Rotoma- gensem, episcopum Londoniensem, Petrum le Chaumberleyn, et H. Justitiarium Angliae, et Sabinensem episcopum apostolicae tune sedis legatum, in arbitros seu arbitratores ; data eis in omnibus plena potestate, salvo quod circa captivos vel modum liberationis eorum se nullatenus intromittant. Secundum articulum, quod illud quod quatuor vel tres de personis praescriptis super praemissis in unam concordaverunt sententiam, stabitur eorum diffinitioui, quinto minime requi- rendo ; quod si duo Concordes fuerint tantuin, non utrum eorum vi.] Excerpts. 335 stabitur donee a quinto fuerit approbata, alioquin expirabit arbitrium. Et tune stabitur illi formae quam nuper Magister de Templo paulo ante detulit regi Franciae, donee aliqua forma pacis fuerit provisa. Tertium ; quod isti arbitri jurabunt quod eligent consiliarios indigenas tantum, quos ipsi regi et regno noverunt utiliores. Quartum ; quod rex credat consiliariis suis sine personarum acceptiorie, in justitia exhibenda et in ministris officialibus vel ballivis suis de Anglicis tantummodo et indigenis creandis, constituendis. Item antiquas cartas tarn de libertatibus quam foresta, et articulos quos contra oppressiones justitiariorum, vicecomitum et aliorum ballivorum, faciat rex in perpetuum observare. Consiliarii etiam pi ovideant quod rex faciat mode- ratas expensas, nee inmensas liber tates exerceat, donee debitum antiquum fuerit relevatum et de suo vivere possit, absque mer- catorum et pauperum gravamine, et in hiis provisionibus rex consiliatorum suorum adquiescet. Quintum ; quod arbitrium bona securitate valletur, et eo vallato vel bene firmato et plene, obsides pacis dominus Ed- wardus, H. de Almannia, liberentur, ita quod ante liberationem eorum caveant idonee de pace observanda, et quod novam guerram aut discordiam non suscitabunt in regno, sed volen- tibus guerram vel discordiam suscitare, una cum aliis comi- tibus et baronibus pacem et arbitrium observare volentibus, totis viribus resistere erunt, quod comitibus Leycestriae et Gloverniae et aliis eis adhaerentibus plena paretur securitas, ne occasione aliqua prius factorum quoquomodo gravetur in futurum. Septimum; quod compromissum istud in regno Angliae tractetur, et infra festum Paschae proximum ad ultimum ter- minetur. LIBEE DE ANTIQUIS LEGIBUS, p. 65. Tune episcopi et barones tenuerunt parlamentum, in quo ordinatum fuit, sicut patet in litteris domini regis. A.D. 1265. ANN. WAVEBL. p. 358. In crastino Sancti Hilarii factum est parliamentum magnum Londoniae. CHRON. T. WYKES, pp. 163, 174. Die Jovis in septimana Pentecostes dominus Edwardus . . . collegis suis mirantibus quo pergeret valedixit. . . . Gestum est ... proelium extra oppidum Eveshamiae die Martis proxima post festum Sancti Petri ad Vincula, quarto die mensis Augusti. . . . ANN. WAVERL. p. 366. Ad festum Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis factum est parliamentum magnum apud Wintoniam . . . 33^ Henry III. [PART prolongatum fuit . . . usque ad festum Sancti Edwardi apud Westmonasterium. A.D. 1266. MATT. WESTM. p. 397. Henricus rex Angliae Natale suum tenuit apud Westmonasterium, ubi regionis nobiles convenerunt in unum de pace regni more solito tractaturi. ANN. WAVERL. p. 371. Ad festum Sancti Bartholomaei apo- stoli factum est parliamentum magnum apud Kenilworthe ubi dominus rex Henricus concessit baronibus suis antiquam cartam, et requisivit decimam per triennium totius ecclesiae Anglicanae ; responsumque fuit communiter et legatus assensum praebuit, quod primo formarent pacem, si qua posset fieri, et postea super his responsum domino regi facerent, quod dominus rex bene concessit. Provisum igitur ibidem est per assensum regis, Ed- wardi, legati, episcoporum, abbatum, baronum omnium ibidem existentium, ut eligerentur sex viri, tres episcopi et tres barones indigenae, ipsique sex alios sex eligerent episcopos et barones indigenas . . . qui ordinarent de statu regni. A.D. 1267. MATT. "WESTM. p. 398. Eex Henricus tenuit Natale suum Coventriae. Postmodum veniens ad Westmonaste- rium, parliamentum tenuit cum potentioribus terrae suae, spe- rans pacem in cunctis finibus Angliae confirmare. CHEON. T. WYKES, p. 210. Obtento quidem circa festum Sancti Jacobi apostoli tarn felici triumph o (sc. de provincia Eliensi) ... in cunctis regni nnibus successit optata tran- quillitas. STAT. MARLB. A.D. 1267, regni autem domini Henrici filii regis Johannis LII, in octavis Sancti Martini, providente ipso domino rege ad regni sui meliorationem et ad exhibitionem justitiae prout regalis officii exposcit utilitas pleniorem, con- vocatis discretioribus ejusdem regni tarn de majoribus quam de minoribus, ita provisum est et statutum et concorditer ordinatum. A.D. 1268. ANN. "WAVERL. p. 375. Item XIX. kalendas Maii celebravit dominus legatus concilium suum Londoniae . . . inde profectus versus Norhamtone, ubi dominus rex et alii magnates regni magnum parliamentum tenuerunt . . ubi dominus Edwardus et Edmundus frater ejus et multi magnates regni sunt ab eo crucesignati. A. D. 1269. CHRON. T. WYKES, p. 221. Convocata Lon- doniae in quindena Paschae magnatum Angliae multitudine copiosa, rex . . . vix aliquid memorabile gessit in opere. vi.] Eeissue of the Charter. 337 Ib. pp. 226, 227. Tertio idus Octobris . . . convocatis uni- versis Angliae praelatis et magnatibus necnon cunctarum regm sui civitatum pariter et burgorum potentioribus . . . veneranclas illas reliquias (sc. Sancti Edwardi), de veteri scrinio transferens ... in loco supereminenti cum ea qua decuit reverentia col- locavit. . . . Celebrate tandem tantae translationis solemnio, coe- perunt nobiles, ut assolent, parliamentationis genere de regis et regni negotiis pertractare ; in quo . . . annuentibus regni majo- ribus vel contradicere non audentibus, concessum est quod de universis laicorum mobilibus per regnum Angliae . . . vicesima solveretur. A.D. 1270. ANN. WINTON. p. 108. Item parliamentum omnium magnatum Angliae in quindena Pascbae, ad tractan- dum de vicesima. . . . Post octavas Sancti Jobannis convene- runt fere omnes magnates apud Londoniam ad tractandum de praemissis. A.D. 1271. ANN. WINTON. p. no. Post octavas Epiphaniae magnates regni parliamentum suum tenuerunt Londoniae, ubi per communem assensum domini Ricardi regis Alemanniae, Gilberti comitis Gloverniae, Philippi Basset et aliorum, exhae- redatis concessae sunt eorum terrae. A.D. 1216. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE REISSUE OF THE CHARTER. REX, G. de Marisco justitiario suo Hiberniae, salutem. Mul- tiplices vobis referimus gratiarum actiones de bono et ficleli servitio vestro, felicis memoriae Johanni quondam regi Angliae, patri nostro, exhibito, nobisque exhibendb, et de hiis quae per lidelem nostrum Radulfum de Norwico clericum nobis signi- ficastis. Cum igitur jubente Ipso Cujus famulantur imperio mors et vita, dominus et pater noster ex hac luce feliciter migraverit, cujus anima in caelestibus collocetur, vos scire volumus quod celebratis solemniter ex more debito regalibus exsequiis in ecclesia Beatae Mariae Wygorniae, convenerunt apud Gloucestriam plures regni nostri magnates, episcopi, abbates, comites et barones, qui patri nostro viventi semper astiterunt fideliter et devote, et alii quamplurimi ; ubi in festo apostolorum Simonis et Judae, in ecclesia Beati Petri Glou- cestriae, applaudentibus clero et populo, per manus domini 33 8 Henry III. [PART Gualonis titulo Sancti Martini presbyter! cardinalis et aposto- licae sedis legati in Anglia, et episcoporum tune praesentium, invocata Spiritus Sancti gratia, publice fuimus in regem Angliae inuncti et coronati, fidelitate et homagio omnium illorum nobis exhibitis ; quod vobis ut fideli nostro duximus intimandum, ut de honore et successu nostro felici gloriemini. Sane cum audierimus indignationem quondam inter memoratum dominum patrem nostrum et quosdam nobiles regni nostri exortam, utrum cum causa vel sine causa nos nescimus, sic agitatam exstitisse, et illam volumus in perpetuum aboleri et oblivisci, quod nun- quam menti nostrae adhaereat, et ut, cessante causa, cesset effectus ; quicquid exstiterit erga ipsum conceptae indignationis parati sumus et volumus pro viribus nostris expiare, singulis praebendo quod ratio dictaverit cum subditorum consilio, et deletis de regno pravis consuetudinibus, in libertatum et libera- rum consuetudinum innovatione dies nobilium patrum nostrorum reformare gratiosos, unicuique tribuendo quod sibi debebit cum ratione competere. Ad hoc sciatis quod celebrate nuper concilio apud Bristollum ubi convenerunt universi Angliae praelati tam episcopi et abbates, quain priores, et ruulti tam comites quam barones, qui etiam universaliter fidelitatem nobis publice faci- entes, concessis eis libertatibus et liberis consuetudinibus ab eis prius postulatis, et ipsis approbatis, prompti et proni ad man- datum nostrum in partes suas cum gaudio sunt reversi. Spera- mus quidem et in Domino confidimus quod regni nostri status, Divina favente dementia, in melius commutabitur. De domina regina matre nostra vel fratre nostro mittendis in Hiberniam vobis respondemus, quod habito consilio fidelium nostrorum et assensu, quod nobis et commodo nostro et regni nostri expedire viderimus, faciemus. Rogamus igitur dilectionem vestram qua- tenus, etsi bonae memoriae Johanni patri nostro fideles exsti- teritis et devoti, tanto nobis fideliores existere curetis, quanto scitis nos auxilio et consilio vestro in hac teneritate nostra plurimum indigere ; capientes fidelitatem de singulis Hiberniae magnatibus, et aliis qui nobis ipsam facere tenentur. Retinui- mus adhuc nobiscum Radulfum de Norwico, ut de hiis et aliis per ipsum voluntatem nostram plenius vobis significemus, vo- lentes ut eisdem vos et ceteri fideles nostri Hiberniae gaudeatis libertatibus, quas fidelibus nostris de regno Angliae concessimus, et illas vobis concedemus et confirmamus. Teste, etc. (Foedera, i. 145-) vi.] Reissue of tie Charter. 339 AD. 1216. FIKST CHARTER OF HENRY III. This first reissue of the Great Charter took place in the council at which, under the influence of the legate, the mass of the prelates and the barons who were not committed to the French party swore fealty to the king. The omissions and additions in this edition are very significant. All the merely temporary provisions of the Great Charter of John are left out as a matter of course, as well as the clauses which were intended to secure the execution of them. The most important omissions are those of the articles which restricted the king's power of increasing his revenue, such as those touching the ferm of the counties, the debts of the Jews, and the alterations in the forest law ; and most especially that which forbids the levying of an aid over and above the three ordinary ones, without the consent of the 'Commune Consilium regni.' The ministers seem to have felt that in the present state of affairs it would be foolish to bind the young king by the terms which were necessary to bind his father, and that as they themselves were likely to have the administration of the country for some years, it would be imprudent to tie their own hands. It must be considered also that some of the most determined opponents of the royal power were in arms against the king, and that thus one element of the compromise was wanting. The archbishop, whose poli- tical foresight would have discerned the danger of omitting the 1 2th and I4th clauses, was at Rome. It is curious to mark the papal sanction given by Gualo to the Charter, the original enactment of which had subjected the barons to the sentence of excommunication. The minor alterations are cha- racterised by the increased authority allowed to feudal lords over their vassals, and the relaxation of the terms defining the royal appointment of judges. Whilst the taxative power of the Crown is thus unfettered, its judicial control over the feudatories seems to be weakened ; and this denotes perhaps the spirit of the compromise. In the 42nd article, however, the ministers guard against the suspicion of dishonest dealing with the Z2 34 Henry III. Charter : the omitted clauses are merely respited, and a pro- mise is made of full consideration and ready completion of all that shall conduce to the wellbeing of the body politic. HEXRICUS Dei gratia rex Angliae, dominus Hyberniae, dux Normanniae et Aquitanniae, et comes Andegaviae, archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, comitibus, baronibus, justitiariis, forestariis, vicecomitibus, praepositis, ministris, ballivis et omnibus fidelibus suis, salutem. Sciatis nos intuitu Dei et pro salute animae nostrae et omnium antecessorurn et successorum nostrorum, ad honorern Dei et exaltationem sanctae ecclesiae et emendationem regni nostri, per consilium venerabilium patrum nostrorum do- mini Gualonis tituli Sancti Martini presbiteri cardinalis aposto- licae sedis legati, Petri Wintoniensis, R. de Sancto Asapho, J. Bathoniensis et Glastoniensis, S. Exoniensis, R. Cicestrensis, W. Coventrensis, B. Roffensis, H. Landavensis, Menevensis, Bangorensis et S. Wygornensis, episcoporum ; et nobilium viro- rum Willelmi Mariscalli comitis Penbrociae, Ranulfi comitis Cestriae, Willelmi de Ferrariis comitis Derebiae, Willelmi comitis Albemarlae, Huberti de Burgo Justitiarii nostri, Savarici de Maloleone, Willelmi Brigwerre patris, Willelmi Brigwerre filii, Roberti de Curtenay, Falkesii de Breaute, Reginaldi de Vautort, Walteri de Lascy, Hugonis de Mortuo Mari, Johannis de Mone- mute, Walteri de Bello campo, Walteri de Clifford, Roger! de Clifford, Roberti de Mortuo Mari, "Willelmi de Cantilupe, Mathaei filii Hereberti, Johannis Mariscalli, Alani Basset, Philippi de Albiniaco, Johannis Extranei et aliorum fidelium nostrorum : 1 . Imprimis illaesas. Concessimus nostris ; as in the charter of John, the intermediate clause on freedom of election being omitted. 2. Si quis feodorum; as' in the charter of John, art. 2. 3. Si autem haeres alicujus talium fuerit infra aetatem, domi- nus ejus non habeat custodiam ejus nee terrae suae, antequam homagium ejus ceperit ; et postquam talis haeres fuerit in custodia, cum ad aetatem pervenerit, scilicet viginti unius anni, habeat haereditatem suam sine relevio et sine fine, ita tamen quod si ipse dum infra aetatem fuerit, fiat miles, nihilominus terra remaneat in custodia domini sui usque ad terminuni praedictum. 4. Custos praedictum est. M. C. Joh. art. 4. 5. Custos carucis; M. 0. Joh. art, 5, ending thus : et om- nibus aliis rebus ad minus secundum quod illam recepit. Haec omnia observentur de custodiis archiepiscopatuum, episcopatuum, vi.] Reissue of the Charter. 341 abbatiarum, prioratuum, ecclesiarum et dignitatum vacantium, excepto quod custodiae hujusmodi vendi non debent. 6. Haeredes disparagatione. M. C. Joh. art. 6, omitting the concluding words. 7. Vidua dos sua, M. C. Joh. art. 7, adding, nisi prius ei fuerit assignata, vel nisi domus ilia sit castrum ] et si de castro recesserit, statim provideatur ei domus competens in qua possit honeste morari quousque dos sua ei assignetur secundum quod praedictum est. 8. Nulla tenuerit. M. C. Joh. art. 8. 9. Nos vero vel ballivi reddendum, M. C. Joh. art. 9 ; et ipse debitor paratus sit inde satisfacere, nee plegii non habens, M. C. Joh. art. 9 ; unde reddat, aut reddere nolit cum possit, plegii plegios. M. G. Joh. art. 9. The loth, nth, and I2th articles of tlie charter of John are omitted. TO. Civitas Londoniarum habeat omnes antiquas libertates et liberas consuetudines suas. Praeterea volumus et concedi- mus quod omnes aliae civitates et burgi et villae et barones de quinque portubus et omnes portus habeant omnes libertates et liberas consuetudines suas. M. C. Joh. art. 13. The 1 4th and i$th articles of the charter of John are omitted. 11. Nullus debetur. M. C. Joh. art. 16. 12. Comrnunia certo. M. C. Joh. art. 17. 13. K-ecognitiones praedictas. M. C. Joh. art. io. 14. Et si minus. M. C. Joh. art. 19. 15; Liber homo visneto. M. C. Joh. art. 20, ending pro- borum et legalium liominum de visneto. 1 6. Comites delicti. M. C. Joh. art. 21. 17. Nullus clericus ecclesiastiei, M. C. Joh. art.22, omitting de laico tenemento suo. 1 8. Nee villa debent. M. C. Joh. art. 23. 19. Nullus vicecomes nostrae. M. C. Joh. art. 24. The 2%th article oftJie charter of John is omitted. 20. Si aliquis partibus suis. M. 0. Joh. art. 26. The 2jth article of the charter of John is omitted. 21. Nullus constabularius vel ejus ballivus capiat blada vel alia catalla alicujus qui non sit de villa ubi castrum situm est, nisi statim inde reddat denarios aut respectum inde habere possit de voluntate venditoris ; si autem de villa fuerit, teneatur infra tres septimanas pretium reddere. H. C. Joh. art. 28. 342 Henry III. [PART 22. Nullus exercitu. M. G. Joh. art. 29. 23. Nullus vicecomes vel ballivus noster vel alius capiat equos vel carettas alicujus pro cariagio faciendo, nisi reddat liberatio- nem antiquitus statutam, scilicet pro caretta ad duos equos decera denarios per diem, et pro caretta ad tres equos quatuor- decim denarios per diem. M. C. Joh. art. 30. 24. Nee nos fuerit. M. C. Joh. art. 31. 25. M. G. Joh. art. 32. 26. M. G. Joh. art. 33. 27. M. G. Joh. art. 34. 28. M. G: Joh. art. 35. 29. M. G. Joh. art. 36. 30. M. G. Joh. art. 37. 31. M. G.Joh. art. 38. 32. M. G. Joh. art. 39. 33. M. G. Joh. art. 40. 34. Omnes mercatores, nisi publice ante prohibit! fuerint, habeant terra nostra. M. G. Joh. art. 41. The 42nd article of the charter of John is omitted. 35. M. G. Joh. art. 43. 36. M. G. Joh. art. 44. The 45th article of tJie charter of John is omitted. 37. H. G. Joh. art. 46, adding, et sicut supra declaratum est. 38. Omnes forestae quae afforestatae sunt tempore regis Johannis patris nostri statim deafforestentur, et ita fiat de ripariis quae per eundem Johannem tempore suo positae sunt in defense. M. C. Joh. art. 47. The articles 48 to 53, inclusive, of the charter of John are omitted. 39. M. G. Joh. art. 54. The 55^ article of the charter of John is omitted. 40. Et si rex Johannes pater noster dissaisierit vel elongaverit Wallenses nostris ; as in M. G. Joh. art. 56. The 57^A, 58^, and 59^ articles of the charter of John are omitted. 41. M. G. Joh. art. 60. The remaining articles of the charter of John are omitted. 42. Quia vero quaedam capitula in priore carta continebantur quae gravia et dubitabilia videbantur, scilicet de scutagiis et auxiliis assidendis, de debitis Judaeorum et aliorum, et de liber- tate exeundi de regno nostro vel redeundi in regnum, et de vi.] Reissue of the Charter. 343 forestis et forestariis, warennis et warennariis, et de consuetudi- nibus comitatuum et de ripariis et earum custodibus, placuit supradictis praelatis et magnatibus ea esse in respectu quousque plenius consilium habuerimus, et tune faciemus plenissime tarn de hiis quara de aliisquae occurrerint emendanda, quae ad communem omnium utilitatem pertinuerint et pacem et statum nostrum et regni nostri. Quia vero sigillum nondum habuimus, praesentem cartam sigillis venerabilis patris nostri doniini Gualonis tituli Sancti Martini presbyteri cardinalis, apostolicae sedis legati, et Willelmi Mariscalli comitis Penbrokiae, rectoris nostri et regni nostri fecimus sigillari. Testibus omnibus praenominatis et aliis multis. Datum per manus praedictorum domini legati efc Willelmi Mariscalli comitis Penbrokiae apud Bristollum duo- decimo die Novembris anno regni nostri primo. (Statutes of the Realm Charters of Liberties, 14-16.) A.D. 1217. SUMMONS OF THE SHERIFF TO BEING UP THE COUNTY IN ARMS. The following writ directs the sheriff to collect the whole force of his county in arms : ( i ) the feudal levy in the proportion determined by the extent of the holdings of the tenants in chief ; and (2) the force armed under the Assize of Arms on the non- feudal principle. It was probably issued in preparation for the march of the Earl Marshall on London, whither Lewis had be- taken himself after the battle of Lincoln. The writ bears the same relation to the summons of the barons to military service, as the summons to the county court bears to the summons to Parliament. (See below, A.D. 1231.) REX vicecomiti Berkescirae, salutem. Praecipimus tibi quod venire facias usque Oxoniam die Dominica proxima post festum Sancti Petri ad Yincula totum servitium quod archiepiscopi, episcopi, abbates et viri religiosi, comites et barones et omnes alii de ballia tua, quicunque fuerint, nobis debent ; et venire facias illuc ad diern ilium similiter omnes illos de ballia tua qui non sunt homines praedictorum et per catalla eorum et alia jurat! sunt, promptos et paratos ad eundum in servitium nos- trum quo eis praeceperimus. Quia etc. T. apud Oxoniam, XXII die Julii. (Report on the Dignity of a Peer, App. p. 2.) 344 Henry III. [PART A.D. 1217. SECOND CHARTER OF HEXRY III. The second reissue of the Great Charter took place after the treaty of peace and Lewis's resignation of his claims to the crown. It is undated ; but was probably put forth either on the occasion of the council at Merton on the 23rd of September, when a large part of Lewis's supporters gave in their adhesion to Henry; or six weeks later at London, when the Charter of the Forest was granted. The differences between this edition and that of the preceding year are numerous, important, and minute. The clauses touching the forest administration are omitted, to be embodied in a new charter. The respiting clause (art. 42) is also omitted, although the introduction of a new provision (art. 46), saving all existing privileges, may be regarded as serving the same purpose. Besides the 46th article, the 42nd, 43rd, 44th, and 47th are new : the former three, which arrange for the holding of the sheriff's court and view of frankpledge, forbid the fraudulent bestowal of estates on religious houses, and assert the king's rights to scutages ; and the 47th, which directs the destruction of the adulterine castles, are most interesting. They show how great a reaction had set in since the days of John, and that the condition of the country, having fallen back into the evils of the last century, required the same measures of restoration. The minute legal changes in the earlier articles indicate the same state of things : the reduction of the assizes of the itinerant justices from four to one annually ; and the disuse of the plan of election of knights to take the recognitions (art. 13), look like a concession to the feudal spirit which long continued hostile to the king's provincial judicature. It would be dangerous to infer too much of a political meaning in these : but the old feudal party, which it was necessary for the moment to reconcile, was the only one which could gain by the limitation of the powers of either the royal or the local tribunals which was involved in these changes. HENRICTJS Dei gratia rex Angliae, dominus Hiberniae, dux Normanniae, Aquitanniae, et comes Andegaviae, archiepiscopis, vi.] Second Reissue of the Charter. 345 episcopis, abbatibus, prioribus, comitibus, baronibus, vicecomi- tibus, praepositis, ministris, et omnibus baillivis et fidelibus suis praesentem cartam inspecturis, salutem. Sciatis quod intuitu Dei et pro salute animae nostrae et animarum antecessorum et successorum nostrorum, ad exaltationem sanctae ecclesiae et emendationem regni nostri, concessimus et hac praesenti carta confirmavimus pro nobis et haereclibus nostris in perpetuum, de consilio venerabilis patris nostri domini Gualonis tituli Sancti Martini presbiteri cardinalis et apostolicae sedis legati, domini Walteri Eboracensis archiepiscopi, Willelmi Londoniensis episcopi, et aliorum episcoporum Angliae et Willelmi Mariscalli comitis Pembrokiae rectoris nostri et regni nostri, et aliorum fidelium comitum et baronum nostrorum Angliae, has libertates subscriptas tenendas in regno nostro Angliae in perpetuum : Art. 1-6. M. C. 1216, art. 1-6. 7. Vidua maneat (M. C. 1216, art. 7), in capitali mesuagio mariti sui per xl. dies post obitum ipsius mariti sui, infra quos assignetur ei dos sua nisi prius fuerit ei assignata, vel nisi domus ilia sit castrum, et si de castro praedictum est ; (M. C. 1216, art. 7) et habeat rationabile estuverium suurn interim de com- muni. Assignetur autem ei pro dote sua tertia pars totius terrae mariti sui quae sua fuit in vita sua, nisi de minori dotata fuerit ad ostium ecclesiae. Art. 8-12. M. C. 1216, art. 8-12. 13. Recognitions per unumquemque comitatum semel in anno qui cum militibus comitatuum capiant in comitatibus assisas praedictas. 14. Et ea quae in illo adventu suo in comitatu per justiti- arios praedictos ad dictas assisas capiendas missos terminari non possunt, per eosdem terminentur alibi in itinere suo, et ea quae per eosdem, propter difficultatem aliquorum articulorum, termi- nari non possunt, referantur ad justitiarios nostros de banco et ibi terminentur. 1 5. Assisae de ultima praesentatione semper capiantur coram justitiariis de banco et ibi terminentur. 1 6. Liber homo villanus alterius quam noster visneto. M. C. 1216, art. 15. 17. M. C. 1216, art. 16. 1 8. Nulla ecclesiastica persona amercietur secundum quan- titatem beneficii sui ecclesiastici, sed secundum laicum contene- mentum suum et secundum quantitatem delicti. M. C. 1216, art. 17. 19. M. C. 1216, art. 18. 20. Nulla riparia de cetero defendatur nisi illae quae fuerunt 346 Henry III. [PART in defense tempore Henrici regis avi nostri per eadem loca et eosdem terminos, sicut esse consueverunt tempore suo. 21. M. C. 1216, art. 19. 22. M. C. 1216, art. 20 : omitting et pueris. 23. Nullus constabularius de villa ipsa fuerit infra xl. dies pretium reddat. M. C. 1216, art. 2 1 . 24. M. C. 1216, art. 22. 25. M. C. 1216, art. 23. 26. Nulla caretta dominica alicujus ecclesiasticae personae vel inilitis vel alicujus dominae capiatur per baillivos prae- dictos. 27. M. C. 1216, art. 24. 28. M. C. 1216, art. 25. 29. M. C. 1216, art. 26. 30. M. C. 1216, art. 27. 31. M. C. 1216, art. 28. 32. M. C. 1216, art. 29. 33. M. C. 1216, art. 30. 34. Nullus ballivus ponat de cetero aliquem ad legem mani- festam nee ad juramentum simplici loquela inductis. M. C. 1216, art. 31. 35. Nullus liber homo capiatur vel imprisonetur, aut dissai- sietur de libero tenemento suo vel libertatibus vel liberis con- suetudinibus suis, aut utlagetur . . . terrae. M. 0. 1216, art. 32. 36. M. C. 1216, art. 33. 37. M. C. 1216, art. 34. 38. Si quis baro earn tenuit (M. C. 1216, art. 35). Nee nos occasione talis baroniae vel excaetae habebimus aliquam excae- tam vel custodiam aliquorum hominum nostrorum nisi alibi tenuerit de nobis in capite ille qui tenuit baron iam vel excaetam. 39. Nullus liber homo de cetero det amplius alicui vel vendat de terra sua quam ut de residue terrae suae possit sufficienter fieri domino feodi servitium ei debitum quod pertinet ad feodum illud. 40. Omnes patroni abbatiarum, qui habent cartas regum Angliae de advocatione vel antiquam tenuram vel possessionem, habeant earum custodiam declaratum est. M. C. 1216, art. 37. 41. M. C. 1216, art. 39. 42. Nullus comitatus de cetero teneatur nisi de mense in mensem, et ubi major terminus esse solebat, major sit. Nee aliquis vicecomes vel baillivus suus faciat turnum suum per hundretum nisi bis in anno, et non nisi in loco debito et con- sueto, videlicet semel post Pascha et iterum post festum Sancti Michaelis. Et visus de franco plegio tune fiat ad ilium termi- vi.'J Charter of the Forest. 347 num Sancti Michaelis sine occasione, ita scilicet quod quilibet habeat libertates suas quas habuit et habere consuevit tempore Henrici regis avi nostri, vel quas postea perquisivit. Fiat autem visus de franco plegio sic, videlicet, quod pax nostra teneatur et quod tetbinga integra sit sicut esse consuevit, et quod vice- comes non quaerat occasiones, et quod contentus sit de eo quod vicecomes habere consuevit de visu suo faciendo tempore Hen- rici regis avi nostri. 43. Non liceat alicui de cetero dare terram suam alicui domui religiosae ita quod illam resumat tenendam de eadem domo, nee liceat alicui domui religiosae terram alicujus sic acci- pere quod tradat earn illi a quo earn receperit tenendam. Si quis autem de cetero terrain suam alicui domui religiosae sic dederit et super hoc convincatur, donum suum penitus cassetur et terra ilia domino suo illius feodi incurratur. 44. Scutagium capiatur de cetero sicut capi consuevit tem- pore Henrici regis avi nostri. 45. M. C. 1216, art. 41. 46. Sal vis archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, prioribus, Tem- plariis, Hospitalariis, comitibus, baronibus et omnibus aliis tarn ecclesiasticis personis quam saecularibus, libertatibus et liberis consuetudinibus quas prius habuerunt. 47. Statuimus etiam de communi consilio totius regni nostri quod omnia castra adulterina, videlicet ea quae a principio guerrae motae inter dominum Johannem patrem nostrum et barones suos Angliae constructa fuerint vel reaedificata, statim diruantur. Quia vero nondum habuimus sigillum hanc [cartam] sigillis domini legati praedicti et comitis Willelmi Mariscalli rectoris nostri et regni nostri fecimus sigillari. (Statutes of the Eealm Charters of Liberties) 17-19.) A.D. 1217. CHARTER OF THE FOREST. The notion that John issued a Forest Charter distinct from the forest clauses of the Great Charter, although very ancient, is erroneous ; the document given in Matthew Paris under that name being merely the Forest Charter of Henry III with an altered salutation. The following document is the first Forest Charter, and was issued by the Earl Marshall in Henry's name on the 6th of November, 1217. As an important piece of legis- lation it must be compared with the Forest Assize of 1184, and 348 Henry 111. [PART with the 44th, 47th, and 48th clauses of the Charter of John. It is observable that most of the abuses which are remedied by it are regarded as having sprung up since the accession of Henry II, but the most offensive afforestations have been made under Richard and John. These latter are at once disafforested ; but those of Henry II only so far as they had been carried out to the injury of the landowners, and outside of the royal demesne. The heavy burden of attending the forest courts is remitted, as it had been in 'the Great Charter, and thus the exact analogy established by Henry II between the courts of the shire and those of the forest is abolished. The gth and following articles repeal the most offensive clauses of the Assize of Woodstock. HENRICUS Dei gratia rex Angliae, dominus Hiberniae, dux Normanniae, Aquitanniae, et comes Andegaviae, archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, prioribus, comitibus, baronibus, justitiariis, forestariis, vicecomitibus, praepositis, ministris, et omnibus ballivis et fidelibus suis, salutem. Sciatis quod intuitu Dei et pro salute animae nostrae et animarum antecessorum et succes- sorum nostrorum, ad exaltationem Sanctae Ecclesiae et emen- clationem regni nostri, concessimus et hac praesenti carta connrmavimus pro nobis et haeredibus nostris in perpetuum, de consilio venerabilis patris nostri Grualonis tituli sancti Martini presbiteri cardirialis et apostolicae sedis legati, domini Walteri Eboracensis archiepiscopi, Willelmi Londoniensis episcopi, et aliorum episcoporum Angliae, et Willelmi Marescalli comitis Penbrociae, rectoris nostri et regni nostri, et aliorum fidelium comitum et baronum nostrorum Angliae, has libertates sub- scriptas tenendas in regno nostro Angliae, in perpetuum : 1. In primis omnes forestae quas Henricus rex avus noster afforestavit videantur per bonos et legales homines, et, si boscum aliquem alium quam suum dominicum afforestaverit ad damp- num illius cujus boscus fuerit, deafforestentur. Et si boscum suum proprium afforestaverit, remaneat foresta, salva communa de herbagio et aliis in eadem foresta illis qui earn prius habere consueverunt. 2. Homines qui manent extra forestam non veniant de cetero coram justitiariis nostris de foresta per communes summonitiones, nisi sint in placito, vel plegii alicujus vel aliquorum qui attachiati Bunt propter forestam. vi.] Charier of the Forest. 349 3. Omnes autem bosci qui fuerunt afforestati per regem Bicardum avunculum nostrum, vel per regem Johannem patrem nostrum usque ad primam coronationem uostram, statim de- afforestentur, nisi fuerit dominicus boscus noster. 4. Archiepiseopi, episcopi, abbates, priores, comites et barones et milites et libere tenentes, qui boscos suos habent in forestis, habeant boscos suos sicut eos habuerunt tempore primae coro- nationis praedicti regis Henrici avi nostri, ita quod quieti sint in perpetuum de omnibus purpresturis, vastis et assartis, factis in illis boscis, post illud tempus usque ad principium secundi anni coronationis nostrae. Et qui de cetero vastum, purpres- turam, vel assartum sine licentia nostra in illis fecerint, de vastis et assartis respondeant. 5. E/eguardores nostri eant per forestas ad faciendum reguar- dum sicut fieri consuevit tempore primae coronationis praedicti regis Henrici avi nostri, et non aliter. 6. Inquisitio, vel visus de expeditatione canum existentium in foresta, de cetero fiat quando debet fieri reguardum, scilicet de tertio anno in tertium annum ; et tune fiat per visum et testi- monium legalium nominum et non aliter. Et ille cujus canis inventus fuerit tune non expeditatus det pro misericordia tres solidos, et de cetero nullus bos capiatur pro expeditatione. Talis autem sit expeditatio per assisam communiter quod tres ortilli abscidantur sine pelota de pede anteriori ; nee expedi- tentur canes de cetero nisi in locis ubi consueverunt expeditari tempore primae coronationis regis Henrici avi nostri. 7. Nullus forestarius vel bedellus de cetero faciat scotale, vel colligat garbas vel avenam vel bladum aliud vel agnos vel porc.ellos, nee aliquam collectam faciant ; et per visum et sacra- mentum duodecim reguardorum quando facient reguardum, tot forestarii ponantur ad forestas custodiendas, quod ad illas custo- diendas rationabiiiter viderint sumcere. 8. Nullum suanimotum de cetero teneatur in regno nostro nisi ter in anno ; videlicet in principio quindecim dierum ante festum Sancti Michaelis quando agistatores conveniunt ad agis- tandum dominicos boscos nostros ; et circa festum Sancti Martini quando agistatores nostri debent recipere pannagium nostrum ; et ad ista duo suanimota conveniant forestarii, viridarii et agis- tatores, et nullus alius per districtionem ; et tertium suanimotum teneatur in initio quindecim dierum ante festum Sancti Johannis Baptistae, pro feonatione bestiarum nostrarum, et ad istud sua- nimotum tenendum conveniant forestarii et viridarii et nulli alii per districtionem. Et praeterea singulis quadraginta diebus per totum annum conveniant viridarii et forestarii ad videndum 350 Henry III. [PART attachiamenta de foresta, tarn de viridi, quam de venatione, per praesentationem ipsorum forestariorum, et coram ipsis attachiatis. Praedicta autem suanimota non teneantur nisi in comitatibus in quibus teneri consueverunt. 9. Unusquisque liber homo agistet boscum suum in foresta pro voluntate sua et habeat pannagium suum. Concedimus etiam quod unusquisque liber homo possit ducere porcos suos per dominicum boscum nostrum, libere et sine impedimento, ad agistandum eos in boscis suis propriis vel alibi ubi voluerit. Et si porci alicujus liberi hominis una nocte pernoctaverint in foresta nostra, non inde occasionetur ita quod aliquid de suo perdat. 10. Nullus de cetero amittat vitam vel membra pro venatione nostra, sed si aliquis captus fuerit et convictus de captione vena- tionis, graviter redimatur, si habeat unde redimi possit ; et si non habeat unde redimi possit, jaceat in prisona nostra per unum annum et unum diem; et, si post unum annum et unum diem plegios inveiiire possit, exeat a prisona; sin autem, abjuret regnum Angliae. 11. Quicunque archiepiscopus, episcopus, comes vel baro transient per forestam nostram, liceat ei capere unam vel duas- bestias per visum forestarii, si praesens fuerit ; sin autem, faciat cornari, ne videatur furtive hoc facere. 12. Unusquisque liber homo de cetero sine occasione faciat in bosco suo, vel in terra sua quam habeat in foresta, molendi- num, vivarium, stagnum, marleram, fossatum, vel terram ara- bilem extra cooperatum in terra arabili, ita quod non sit ad nocumentum alicujus vicini. 13. Unusquisque liber homo habeat in boscis suis aereas accipitrum et speruariorum et falconum, aquilarum, et de heyri- nis, et habeant similiter mel quod inventum fuerit in boscis suis. 14. Nullus forestarius de cetero, qui non sit forestarius de feudo reddens nobis firm am pro balliva sua, capiat chiminagium aliquod in balliva sua ; forestarius autem de feudo firmam nobis reddens pro balliva sua capiat chiminagium ; videlicet pro careta per dimidium annum duos denarios, et per alium dimidium annum duos denarios, et pro equo qui portat sumagium per dimidium annum unum obolum, et per alium dimidium an- num obolum, et non nisi de illis qui extra ballivam suam, tan quam mercatores, veniunt per licentiam suam in ballivam suam ad buscam, meremum, corticem vel carbonem emendum, et alias ducendum ad vendendum ubi voluerint : et de nulla alia careta vel sumagio aliquod chiminagium capiatur : et uon vi.] Collection of Carueage. 351 capiatur chiminagium nisi in locis ubi antiquitus capi sole- bat et debuit. Illi autem qui portant super dorsum suum buscam, corticem, vel carbonem, ad vendendum, quamvis inde vivant, nullum de cetero dent chiminagium. De boscis autem aliorum nullum detur chiminagium forestariis nostris, praeter- quam de dominicis boscis nostris. 15. Omnes utlagati pro foresta tantum, a tempore regis Henrici avi nostri usque ad primam coronationem nostram, veniant ad pacem nostram sine impediment, et salvos plegios inveniant quod de cetero non forisfaciant nobis de foresta nostra. 1 6. Nullus castellanus vel alius teneat placita de foresta sive de viridi sive de venatione, sed quilibet forestarius de feudo attachiet placita de foresta tarn de viridi quam de venatione, et ea praesentet viridariis provinciarum, et cum irrotulata fuerint et sub sigillis viridariorum inclusa, praesententur capitali forest- ario cum in partes illas venerit ad tenendum placita forestae, et coram eo terminentur. 17. Has autem libertates de forestis concessimus omnibus, salvis archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, prioribus, comitibus, baronibus, militibus et aliis tarn personis ecclesiasticis quam saecularibus, Templariis et Hospitalariis, libertatibus et liberis consuetudinibus in forestis et extra, in warenniis et aliis, quas prius habuerunt. Omnes autem istas consuetudines praedictas et libertates, quas concessimus in regno nostro tenendas quantum ad nos pertinet erga nostros, omnes de regno nostro tarn clerici quam laici observent quantum ad se pertinet erga suos. Quia vero sigillum nondum habuimus, praesentem cartam sigillis venerabilis patris nostri domini Gualonis tituli Saucti Martini presbyteri cardinalis, apostolicae sedis legati, et Willelmi Mares- calli comitis Penbrokiae, rectoris nostri et regni nostri, fecimus sigillari. Testibus praenominatis et aliis multis. Datum per manus praedictorum domini legati et Willelmi Marescalli apud Sanctum Paulum, Londoniis, sexto die Novembris, anno regni nostri secundo. (Statutes of the Realm Charters of Liberties, 20, 21.) A.D. 1220. WRIT FOB THE COLLECTION OF A CAKUCAGE. The method of assessing and collecting taxes varied very much and very rapidly. John, as we have seen, allowed the more elaborate expedients of his father and brother to be set aside, and the 'thirteenth' granted him in 1207 to be assessed 353 Henry III. [PART by the sworn statement of the payers. The following writ sub- stitutes the action of two knights chosen in the full assembly and by the ' will and counsel ' of the county court. It is im- portant, then, as illustrating the increased use of the representa- tive principle in financial matters, and the connexion of election with representation which becomes henceforth unmistakeable. But we must not suppose that this method was a final one ; or that, in itself, the action of two chosen knights would be more effectual, just, or acceptable than the jury assessments which had been used in the reigns of Henry II and Richard. The present plan also was very quickly superseded. REX Vicecomiti Norhamton., salutem. Scias quod pro magna necessitate nostra et urgentissima debitorum nostrorum instantia, necnon et pro conservatione terrae nostrae Pictaviae, concesserunt nobis sui gratia communiter omnes magnates et fideles totius regni nostri donum nobis faciendum, scilicet de qualibet caruca sicut juncta fuit in crastino Beati Johannis Baptistae proximo praeterito, anno regni nostri quarto, duos solidos, per manum tuam et duorum de legalioribus militibus comitatus tui colligendos, qui de voluntate et consilio omnium de comitatu in pleno comitatu eligentur ad hoc faciendum. Et ideo tibi praecipimus, firmiter et districte injungentes quatenus, convocato comitatu tuo pleno, de voluntate et consilio eorum de comitatu, eligi facias duos de legalioribus militibus totius comi- tatus qui melius sciant velint et possint huic negotio ad com- modum nostrum intendere, et illis tecum assumptis statim donum illud per totam bailliam tuam facias assideri et colligi de singulis carucis, sicut praedictum est, exceptis dominicis archiepiscoporum, episcoporum et rusticorum suorum, et ex- ceptis dominicis ordinis Cisterciensis et de Premustre. Et videas quod districte et aperte scias nobis respondere, in cras- tino Sancti Michaelis proximo instantis apud Londonias, quot fuerint in baillia tua carucae de quibus donum illud habere debeamus ; et denarios inde provenientes per manus praedic- torum duorum militum et tuam salvo colligi facias, et illos facias venire usque Londonias praedicto die sub sigillo tuo et sigillis praedictorum duorum militum, et in domo Novi Templi salvo reponi donee provisum fuerit quid inde fieri debeat ; et tu, sicut te ipsum et omnia tua diligis, sic inde te intromittas, ne, occa- sione maleficae inquisitionis et collectionis per te et praedictos milites factae, oporteat nos postea districtam facere inquisitionem vi.] Third Reissue of the Great Charter. 353 per fideles a curia nostra missos, ad gravem confusionem tuam et illorum qui tecum interfuerint praedictae inquisition! et collec- tion! faciendae. Teste, etc. apud Oxoniam, IX. die Augusti. (Close Rolls, i. 437.) A.D. 1225. THIRD CHARTER OF HENRY III. The peace of the country was restored in 1224; Hubert de Burgh having at length succeeded in expelling the last remnant of John's unprincipled mercenary followers. Henry (who was now pronounced to be of age) and his advisers began to con- template the recovery of the continental inheritance ; for this purpose he asked of his national council at Westminster in February, 1225, an aid of a 'fifteenth.' It was granted in consideration of the reissue of the charters, which were accord- ingly repromulgated, with two alterations : (i) the substitution of the ' spontanea et bona voluntate nostra ' for the ( consilio ' of the former charters ; and (2) the insertion of the final clause, which specifies the granting of the aid as the price of the present concession. The wisdom of the latter change is ob- vious. The reason of the former is not so clear; nor are we sufficiently well acquainted with the circumstances of the case to say whether it was regarded as binding the young king more certainly, and expressing his sense of independent and free action in the matter ; or as the assertion on his part of his right to grant such a charter on his own prerogative, irre- spective of the ' counsel ' which had previously been required for a statutory enactment such as the charter was intended to be. The same changes are made in the Charter of the Forest, which was reissued at the same time. A.D. 1225. HENRICUS Dei gratia . . . et emendationem regni nostri (as in M. C. 1217); spontanea et bona voluntate nostra dedimus et concessimus archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbati- bus, prioribus, comitibus, baronibus et omnibus de regno nostro, has libertates subscriptas tenendas in regno nostro Angliae in perpetuum. 1-17. Correspond with M. C. 1217, artt. 1-21. A a 354 Henry III. [PART 1 8. Si aliquis tenens . . . uxori ipsius et pueris suis rationa- bilibus partibus suis. M. C. 1217, art. 22. 19-37. Correspond with M. C. 1217, artt. 23-45. The re- maining article is as follows : Pro hac autem concessione et donatione libertatum istarum et aliarum libertatum contentarum in carta nostra de libertatibus forestae, arclriepiscopi, episcopi, abbates, priores, comites, barones, milites, libere tenentes et omnes de regno nostro, dederunt nobis quintam decimam partem omnium mobilium suorum. Concessimus etiam eisdem pro nobis et haeredibus nostris quod nee nos nee haeredes nostri aliquid perquiremus per quod libertates in hac carta contentae infringantur vel infirrnentur, et si ab aliquo aliquid contra hoc perquisitum fuerit, nihil valeat, et pro nullo habeatur. . Hiis testibus j domino S. Cantuar. archiepiscopo, E. London., J. Ba- thon., P. Winton., H. Line., K. Sarr., B. Boffen., W. Wigornen., J. Elien., H. Hereford., K. Cicestr., W. Exon., episcopis ; abbate Sancti Edmundi, abbate Sancti Albani, abbate de Bello, abbate Sancti Augustini Cant., abbate de Evesham, abbate de West- mon., abbate de Burgo Sancti Petri, abbate de Hading., abbate de Abendon., abbate de Maumebir., abbate de Winchecumb., abbate de Hida, abbate de Certes., abbate de Sireburn., abbate de Cern., abbate de Abotebir., abbate de Midelton., abbate de Seleby, abbate de "Wyteby, abbate de Cirenc. ; H. de Burgo, justiciario; K. comite Cestr. et Line., W. comite Sarr., W. comite Warenn., G. de Clare comite Glouc. et Hertford., W. de Ferrar. comite de Derb., W. de Mandeville comite Essex., H. le Bigod comite Norff., W. comite Aubemarl., H. comite Hereford., Johanne constabulario Cestr., Roberto de Eos, Koberto filio Walteri, Koberto de Veteri Ponte, Willelmo Brigwerr., Eicardo de Munfich., Petro filio Herberti, Mathaeo filio Herberti, Willelmo de Albiniaco, Koberto GresL, Keginaldo de Brahus, Johanne de Munem., Johanne filio Alani, Hugone de Mortuo Mari, Waltero de Bello Campo, Willelmo de Sancto Johanne, Petro de Malo lacu, Briano de Insula, Thoma de Mulct on, Eicardo de Argentein, Gaufrido de Nevill., Willelmo Mauduit, Johanne de Baalun. Datum apud Westmonasterium undecimo die Februarii anno regni nostri nono. (Statutes of the Realm Charters of Liberties, 22-25.) VI.] Collection of the Fifteenth. 355 A.D. 1225. WHIT FOB THE COLLECTION OF THE FIFTEENTH. The aid which was granted by the council of the nation as the price of the reissue of the charters, was a tax of a fifteenth on ' mobilia/ or personal property of certain specified descrip- tions. The mode of assessing and collecting this impost is prescribed in the following writ, which also limits the incidence of the tax. The method seems to be devised so as to unite all the expedients of the former precedents. The assessment is to be made by the oath of the owner of taxable property : disputes are to be settled by reference to juries ; the proceeds are to be collected by the reeve and four men of each township ; and to be paid to four elected knights of the hundreds, and these are to hand over the money to the persons assigned by the king, and to whom the writ is addressed. Another ex- pedient will be found further on, devised for the collection of the 'fortieth* in 1232. REX Willelmo Basset, Radulfo de Crumbwell, Willelmo de Vernun, Henrico de Derlegh canonico Suwellae, et Roberto de Lee clerico, salutem. Assignavimus vos justitiarios nostros ad quintam decimam omnium mobilium assidendam et colligendam ad opus nostrum in comitatibus Notingeham et Dereby, in hac forma. Vicecomes noster Notingeham et Dereby coram vobis venire faciet omnes milites comitatuum suorum die Dominica proxima ante mediam Quadragesimam apu/1 Notingeham, ad quern diem eligi facietis quatuor legales milites de singulis hundredis vel wapentaccis, vel plures vel pauciores, secundum magnitudinem hundredorurn vel wapentaccorum, ituros per sin- gulos hundredos vel wapentaccos ad assidendum et colligendum quintam decimam omnium mobilium praedictorum. Exceptis tamen ab hac quinta decima quantum ad archiepiscopos, epi- scopos, abbates, priores et ceteros viros religionis, comites, barones, milites et liberos homines qui non sunt mercatores, omnimodis libris suis, et ornamentis ecclesiarum et capellarum, et equis ad equitandum, et equis carectariis et summariis et armis omnimodis; jocalibus, vasis, utensilibus, lardariis, cellariis et foenis ; et exceptis bladis ad warnisturam castrorum emptis. Exceptis etiam ab hac quinta decima quantum ad mercatores A a 2 356 Henry IIL [PART qui de omnibus mercanclisis et mobilibus suis quintam decimam dabunt, armis ad quae jurati sunt, et equis suis ad equitaudum, et utensilibus domorum suarum, cellariis et lardariis ad victum suum. Exceptis etiam quantum ad villanos armis ad quae jurati sunt, et utensilibus suis, carne et pisce et potu suo quae non sunt ad vendendum, et foenis suis et furragio suo quae non sunt ad vendendum. Milites autem illi non ibunt in hundredos vel wapentaccos in quibus sunt residentes, sed in hundredos vel wapentaccos vicinos alios. Jurabit autem unusquisque exceptis comitibus, baronibus et militibus, propriorum mobilium suorum, et similiter mobilium duorum vicinorum suorum propinquorum, numerum, quantitatem et valorem. Et si forte inter ipsum cujus mobilia sunt et vicinos suos juratos de eisdem mobilibus dis- sensio ex hoc orta fuerit, milites ipsi per sacramentum duodecim proborum et legalium hominum vicinorum, vel totidem quot sufficere viderint ad veritatem inde inquirendam, veritatem inquirant et secundum illam veritatem quintam decimam capiant. Servientes vero et praepositi de terris comitum, baronum et militurn, vel praepositi tantum si servientes ibi non fuerint, idem et eodem modo jurabunt de mobilibus dominorum, suorum in singulis villis. Medietas autem hujusmodi quintae decimae perpacabitur ad festum Sanctae Trinitatis anno nono, et alia medietas ad festum Sancti Michaelis proxirne sequens. Quam quidem quintam decimam milites illi recipient per manus qua- tuor legalium hominum et praepositorum singularum villarum, per tallias inter eos inde factas, et sic receptam ferent ad vos, et vos earn reponetis in loco tuto, sive in ecclesia cathedrali, sive in abbatia, sive in prioratu ejusdem comitatus, sub sigillis vestris et sigillis militum, donee provisum fuerit quo mitti debeat. Reddent autem vobis milites illi, statim ex quo quinta decima fuerit assisa, scripta et rotulos suos inde factos, reservatis sibi eorum transcriptis : vos vero reservabitis vobis aliquas partes comitatuum praedictorum in quibus haec exsequamini in pro- priis personis vestris, quamdiu opus fuerit. Milites illi vel plures vel pauciores electi, coram vobis, sicut praedictum est, jurabunt, tactis sacrosanct is coram vobis quod haec omnia ex- sequentur fideliter et diligenter ; et quod nee pro amore vel odio, vel pro aliqua re in inundo hoc facere omittent; vos autem jurabitis coram vicecomite et militibus congregatis ad diem ilium, quod hanc formam per omnia perficietis per vos et alios, sicut praedictum est, fideliter et diligenter pro posse vestro. Si quis vero ex vobis, sive sit clericus sive sit laicus, his interesse non possit propter causam manifestam rationabilem et necessa- riam, residui vestrum potestatem habeatis adhibendi vobis loco vi.] Writ for the County Court. 357 ejus alium ad hoc utilem, qui idem juramentum faciet quod vos feceritis, de his fideliter una vobiscum exsequendis. Idem autem faciatis de feodis archiepiscoporum, episcoporum, abbatum, pri- orum et alioram virorum religionis, exceptis eorum dominicis et villanis suis propriis, de quibus archiepiscopi et episcopi quintam decimam assideri et colligi facient in forma praedicta, et per manum suam nobis inde respondebunt ad eosdem ter- minos. Et ideo vobis mandamus firmiter injungentes in fide qua nobis tenemini, quatenus ad haec fideliter exsequenda, sicut superius scriptum est, curam et operam apponatis. Teste rege apud "Westmonasterium, XV. die Februarii. (Foedera, i. 177.) WHIT FOB THE SUMMONING OF FOUR KNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE. The following writ is an interesting illustration of the extend- ing use of the election of representatives to act for the shire, in matters neither judicial nor exclusively financial. The business on which they are called together, the disputed interpretation of some articles of the Great Charter, although not distinctly declared, is more of the character of political deliberation than anything that has hitherto been laid before them. It is not however, in this aspect, of any great significance. REX" vicecomiti Gloucestrescirae, salutem. Scias quod, ad petitionem magnatum nostrorum qui ad mandatum nostrum nuper convenerant apud Wintoniam, diem statuimus, videlicet in crastino Sancti Matthaei Apostoli anno regni nostro X mo , apud Lincolniam ad terminandum. contentiones ortas inter quosdam vicecomites nostros et homines comitatuum suorum super qui- busdam articulis contentis in carta libertatis eis concessae ; et ideo tibi praecipimus quod si qua hujusmodi contentio inter te et homines bailliae tuae orta fuerit pro qua averia sua ceperis, averia ilia eis replegiari facias usque ad diem praedictum, et in proximo comitatu tuo dicas militibus et probis hominibus bailliae tuae quod quatuor de legalioribus et discretioribus militibus ex se ipsis eligant, qui ad diem ilium sint apud Lincolniam pro toto comitatu, ad ostendendum ibi querelam quam habent versus te super articulis praedictis. Et tu ipse ibidem sis ad ostenden- dum rationem de demanda quam inde facies versus illos. Et 358 Henry III. [PART habeas ibi nomina militum et hoc breve. Teste me ipso apud Wintoniain, XXII. die Junii, anno etc. X mo . Eodem modo scribitur vicecomitibus Dorset, et Sumerset. ; Bedeford. et Bukingeham. ; Westmerilande ; Norhamt. ; Line. (Report on the Dignity of a Peer, App. i. p. 4.) A.D. 1231. WRIT FOR ASSEMBLING THE COUNTY COURT BEFORE THE JUDGES ITINERANT. From the following document we gather what was the exact composition of the shiremoot at this period. No change seems to have taken place in it since the reign of Henry I. It con- tains all the elements that were united in the ' Commune Con- silium regni' at the time, ' archiepiscopos, episcopos, abbates, priores, comites, barones, milites, et omnes libere tenentes,' the very words in which the national councils of Henry II's reign are described ; but it contains farther the representative bodies ; the ancient English townships each represented by the reeve and four men; the new municipalities represented by the twelve legal men from each borough. We begin to see more clearly the process by which the national council becomes the repre- sentative parliament. It will, when it is completed, be the con- centration of all the constituents of the shiremoots in a central assembly ; the permanence of the ancient popular elements, and the assimilation to them of the new municipal ones, make a perfect parliament possible. And these elements, which are the peculiar feature of the English parliament, are distinctly Teu- tonic in origin, and not a creation of feudalism. REX vicecomiti Eboracensi, salutem. Summone per bonos summonitores omnes archiepiscopos, episcopos, abbates, priores, comites, barones, milites et omnes libere tenentes, de tota ballia tua, et de qualibet villa quatuor legales homines et praepositum, et de quolibet burgo duodecim legales burgenses per totam balliam tuam, et omnes alios qui coram justitiariis itinerantibus venire solent et debent, quod sint apud Eboracum in octavis Sanctae Trinitatis anno regni nostri decimo quinto, coram dilecto et fideli nostro S. de Segrave, Raudulfo Filio Robert!, Briano vi.] Writ for the Assize of Arms. 359 Filio Alani, Willelmo de Insula, Koberto de Lexinton, Magistro Roberto de Schardelawe, et Willelmo de Londonia, quos justitia- rios nostros constituimus, audituri et facturi praeceptum nostrum. Facias etiam tune venire coram iisdem omnia placita coronae quae placitata non sunt, et quae emerserunt postquam justitiarii nostri ultimo itineraverunt in partibus illis, ad omnia placita et omnia attachiamenta ad placita ilia pertinentia, et omnes assisas et omnia placita quae posita sunt coram justitiariis ad primam assisam, cum brevibus assisarum et placitorum; ita quod assisae illae et placita pro defectu tui vel summonitionis tuae non rema- neant. Faciatis etiam clamari et sciri per totam balliam tuam quod omnes assisae et omnia placita quae fuerunt atterminata et non fmita coram justitiariis nostris apud Westmonasterium, vel coram justitiariis nostris qui ultimo itineraverunt in comitatu tuo de omnibus placitis, vel coram justitiariis illuc missis ad assisas novae disseisinae capiendas et gaiolas deliberandas, tune sint coram praedictis justitiariis nostris apud Eboracum, in eodem statu in quo remanserunt per praeceptum nostrum vel per praeceptum praedictorum justitiariorum nostrorum itine- rantium vel per justitiarios nostros de banco. Summone etiam omnes illos qui vicecomites fuerunt post ultimam itinerationem praedictorum justitiariorum in partibus illis, quod tune sint ibidem coram praedictis justitiariis nostris, cum brevibus de assisis et placitis quae tempore suo receperunt, ad responden- dum de tempore suo, sicut responderi debet coram justitiariis itinerantibus. Et habeas ibi summonitores et hoc breve. Teste H. de Burgo etc. apud Westmonasterium XX die Aprilis. (Shirley, Royal Letters, i. 395.) WHIT FOR ASSEMBLING THE ' JUBATI AD ARMA/ This is a writ which helps us to realise very clearly the practical identity of the jurati ad arma, the local force armed by the Assize of Arms, with the ancient militia of the fyrd. The plan of commuting personal attendance for a contribution towards the equipment of a portion of the force, which had been applied to the feudal levy in 1205 (see p. 281), is here applied to the 'jurati.' Mandatum est vicecomiti Gloucestriae quod, non obstante mandate regis ei facto de hominibus juratis ad arma et securibus veniendis ad exercitum regis, venire faciat tamen homines juratos 360 Henry III. [PART ad ferrum, videlicet loricas et haubiones et purpunctos ; faciat revenire ad eundem exercitum ducentos homines cum ducentis securibus et cum victualibus suis quadraginta dierum, quae eis vicecomes faciat inveniri per homines comitatus sui juratos ad alia minuta anna, quos rex vult remanere in partibus suis. Venire etiam faciat omnes carpentarios comitatus sui ad denarios regis, quibus etiam vicecomes praestitum faciat veniendi ad regem, qui hoc ei faciet allocari, et omnes operationes carpen- tariorum in balliva sua iterum remaneant ; nee permittat aliquo modo quod aliquod mercatum vel feria teneatur in comitatu suo, nee quod vina aliqua in eo vendantur, sed omnia vina sequi faciat exercitum regis. Mittat autem vicecomes ad regem, cum praedictis viris ad arma et carpentariis, aliquem discretum de suis de quo confidat, qui de numero praedictorum juratorum ad arma et carpenta- riorum et de omnibus praedictis sufficienter respondere possit. Teste Kege apud Hereford, XVI. Julii. (Foedera, i. p. 200.) A.D. 1232. WRIT FOR THE COLLECTION OF THE 'FORTIETH.' The assessment in this case is to be made by four men and the reeve in each township on oath : and the four men are to be fixed on by election ; an important indication of the usual pro- cess in such selections. The grant of the ' fortieth' is said to be made by the ' archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, clergy, earls, barons, freeholders, and villeins.' If these words are to be understood literally, the freeholders and villeins must have been consulted in the shiremoots, or else the lords must have been supposed to represent their own villein-tenants in the ' Com- mune Consilium,' as is the case in 1237 (see below, p. 365). HENRICUS, Dei gratia, Rex Anglorum, Petro de Thaneo, Willelmo de Culewurthe et Adae filio "Willelmi collectoribus quadragesimae, salutem. Sciatis quod archiepiscopi, episcopi, abbates, priores, et clerici terras habentes quae ad ecclesias suas non pertinent, comites, barones, milites, liberi homines, et villani de regno nostro, concesserunt nobis in auxilium quadra- gesimam partem omnium mobilium suorum apparentium, sicut ea habuerunt in crastino Sancti Matthaei, anno regni nostri XVI , videlicet de bladis, carrucis, ovibus, vaccis, porcis, hara- ciis, equis carettariis et deputatis ad wainnagium in maneriis, vi.] Collection of the Fortieth. 361 exceptis bonis quae praedicti archiepiscopi, episcopi et aliae personae ecclesiasticae habent de ecclesiis parochial ibus, et de ecclesiis praebendalibus et praebendis, et terris ad praebendas pertinentibus, et ecclesias parochiales spectantibus. Provisum est generaliter a praedictis fidelibus nostris, quod praedicta quadragesima hoc modo assideatur et colligatur ; quod videlicet de qualibet villa Integra eligantur quatuor de melioribus et legalioribus hominibus una cum praepositis singularum villarum, per quorum sacramentum quadragesima pars omnium mobilium praedictorum taxetur et assideatur super singulos, in praesentia militum assessorum ad hoc assignatorum ; et postea per sacra- mentum duorum legalium hominum earundem villarum inqui- ratur et assideatur quadragesima omnium mobilium quae prae- dicti quatuor homines et praepositi habent, et districte imbrevietur et aperte de cujus vel de quorum baronia quaelibet villa fuerit in parte vel in toto. Et postquam quadragesima fuerit assisa et in scrip turn redacta, rotulus omnium parti cularum de singulis villis et singulis comitatibus liberetur senescallo singulorum baronum, vel attomato ipsius senescalli, vel baillivo libertatis, ubi aliquis libertatem habuerit, scilicet, quod baro vel dominus libertatis velit et possit praedictam quadragesimam colligere, et pro ea habenda distringere ; si vero non velit vel non possit, vicecomites districtionem faciant praedictam, ita quod nil inde recipiant, sed tota quadragesima praedicta praedictis militibus assessoribus liberetur, in majori et securiori villa singulorum comitatuum ', et de qualibet villa fiat summa tallia inter senes- callum baronis vel ejus attornatum, vel senescallos domini liber- tatis et praedictos assessores. Et deponatur pecunia per eosdem assessores in aliquo loco tutiori ejus villae, ita quod assessores habeant sigilla sua et seras et claves suas, super pecuniam prae- dictam, et vicecomites similiter sigilla sua, et seras et claves suas. Et assessores, statim ex quo quadragesima assisa fuerit per ipsos, mittant rotulos suos ad scaccarium de toto itinere suo: et similiter ex quo dicta pecunia ab eis collecta fuerit, mittant rotulos suos ad scaccarium de recepta sua, et praedicta pecunia reservetur in locis ubi deposita fuerit, donee ad man- datum nostrum deferatur usque ad Novum Templum Londoniis. Nihil autem capietur ab aliquo nomine nomine quadragesimae, qui non habuerit de hujusmodi bonis mobilibus ad valentiam quadraginta denariorum ad minus. Ad praedictam siquidem quadragesimam assidendam in comitatu Hertfordiae assigna- vimus vos, et mandavimus vicecomiti de Hertford, quod singulas villatas comitatus sui certis diebus et locis, quos ei scire facietis, ad mandatum nostrum coram vobis venire faciat, et in omnibus 363 Henry III. [PART quae ad dictum negotium pertinent vobis intendant et obediant. Vale. (M. Paris, p. 380.) A.D. 1233. WEIT FOR THE CONSERVATION OF THE PEACE. This is a valuable illustration of the permanence of the old English regulations for the security of peace in the country, which may be traced from the laws of Edgar and Canute, and through the statutory injunctions of William the Conqueror, Henry II, and Richard (above, pp. 144, 264). The principle thus expanded is here developed into a complete system of watch and ward, which a few years later is brought into con- junction with the Assize of Arms, and completed by Edward I in the Statute of Winchester, and by the assignment of justices of the peace under Edward III. De forma pacis conservanda. REX vicecomiti Kantiae, salutem. Scias quod ad pacem et tranquillitatem terrae nostrae observandam et malefactores re- primendos provisum fuit, coram nobis et magnatibus nostris, de communi consilio eorum, quod vigiliae in singulis villis de nocte teneantur usque ad festum Sancti Michaelis, anno XVII , secundum quod villae fuerint magnae vel parvae ; ita tamen quod quatuor homines ad minus faciant vigiliam illam si villa fuerit parva, et si magna fuerit, plures earn faciant secundum quantitatem villae. Ita etiam quod nullus extraneus transeat per aliquam villam de nocte, quin arestetur usque mane ; et si vigilatores ilium non possint arestare, tune levent clamorem et uthesium super eum. Et si aliquis defectus fuit in vigiliis vel sectis ad uthesium faciendis, nullus propter hoc a vicecomitis ballivis occasionetur, sed omnes hujusmodi emendae integre reserventur usque ad adventum Justitiarum proximo itineran- tium, per atachiamenta vicecomitis in comitatu coram coro- natoribus. Item nullus hospitetnr aliquem extraneum ultra unam noctem nisi possit invenire plegios de fidelitate et quod nullum damnum eveniet per eum, et respondeat pro eo sicut pro uno de familia sua, et hoc coram Justitiis itinerantibus. Item si aliqui habeant libertatem et homines eorum noluerint facere vigiliam, nee venire ad clamorem et uthesium, sicut vi.] Watch and Ward. 363 praedictum est, bene licebit vicecomiti atachiare eos qui nee vigilias facere voluerint, nee ad clamorem venire, quod sint coram Justitiis proximo itinerantibus, inde responsuri absque quod aliquid ab eis capiat occasione ilia. Et si aliquid fuerit trans- gressum infra tales libertates pro defectu vigiliarum vel secta- rum cum uthesio, illi quorum libertates sunt satisfaciant illis quibus clamnum fuerit illatum, et respondeant nobis de hoc quod pacem nostram non observaverunt. Item singuli vice- coniites nostri et ballivi eorum, forestarii et eorum servientes. de eisdem balliis in comitatibus suis, omnem quam poterunt dili- gentiam apponant ad pacem nostram secundum formam prae- dictain custodiendam, et si audierint quod aliqui malefactores exerceant in aliquo bosco, vel alibi receptentur, propinquae villae et aliae quae ad hoc fuerint necessariae sequentur cum eis ad dictos malefactores capiendos. Et si quis miles vel alius, quicunque fuerit, aliquem hujusmodi malefactorem ceperit, vice- comites vel eorum ballivi recipiant ilium sine dilatione et diffi- cultate, ita quod nihil capiant ab eo qui ipsum cepit pro eo recipiendo. Si quis etiam ignotus inventus fuerit itinerans armatus, statim capiatur et liberetur vicecomiti vel ejus bal- livo, vel alicui villae propinquiori quae habeat potestatem custo- dieudi eum, et in prisona custodiatur donee salvos plegios invenerit, quod erit ad pacem nostram et stabit recto, si quis versus eum loqui voluerit ; et si plegios invenire non possit et postea in curia nostra convincatur de roberia vel hujusmodi transgressione, per judicium ejusdem curiae deducatur; et nos respiciemus eos qui tales ceperint de hutesio eorum vel alio modo, sicut nobis placuerit. Ceterum si aliquis malefactor captus fuerit in parcis vel in vivariis cum manuopere vel pro suspicione, vel per indicta- mentum patriae, et inde in curia nostra convincatur, tune liberetur prisonae nostrae et ibi custodiatur per unum annum et unum diem ; et tune si habeat unde redimi possit, rationa- biliter redimatur, et inveniat plegios de ndelitate, et quod de cetero talem transgressionem non faciet. Si vero nihil habeat unde redimi possit, nee plegios possit invenire, tune regnum nostrum abjuret. Praecipimus igitur quod, sicut te ipsum et omnia tua diligis, haec omnia praeclicta in pleno comitatu tuo et per totum comi- tatum tuum, tarn in mercatis quam in hundredis et nundinis clamari facias et firmiter observari, sicut praedictum est, ne pro defectu tui in hac parte ad te nos graviter capere debeamus. Teste meipso apud Fecham, primo die Junii. (Foedera, i. 209.) 364 Henry III. [PAUT A.D. 1235. WRIT FOR THE COLLECTION OF SCUTAGE. Although this tax is levied with the consent of the military tenants on whom it exclusively falls, the method of collection bears witness to the feudal character of the tax, and should be compared with the corresponding documents in the case of carucage, and of the aids of a ' fifteenth/ a ' thirtieth/ and a ' fortieth/ which were more distinctly the result of a national vote. According to the text of the charter of liberties recently confirmed, the scutages were to be taken in the way in which they had been taken in Henry II's time (above, p. 347) ; and in that case, the scutage being simply a payment in commutation of legal service, it might have been levied without a special grant. But the form of a grant seems to have been gone through, and thus the spirit of the Great Charter of John was maintained, although the clause under which such proceedings should have taken place was expunged. REX vicecomiti Somerset., salutem. Scias quod comites et barones et omnes alii de toto regno nostro Angliae, spontanea voluntate sua et sine consuetudine, concesserunt nobis efficax auxilium ad magna negotia nostra expedienda. Unde provisum est de consilio illorum quod habeamus de singulis feodis jnili- tum qui de nobis tenent in capite et de wardis, tarn de novo feoffamento quam de veteri, duas marcas ad auxilium praedic- tum nobis faciendum, unde providerunt reddere nobis unam medietatem ad festum Sancti Michaelis anno XIX no et aliam medietatem ad Pascha anno XX. Providerunt etiam quod praedictum scutagium colligatur per manus ballivorum suorum in singulis comitatibus et tradatur per manus eorundem duobus militibus quos ad hoc assignavimus in singulis comitatibus deferendum ad scaccarium nostrum Londoniis, ad liberandum ibidem thesaurario et camerariis nostris ; et ideo tibi praeci- pimus quod ad mandatum omnium comitum et baronum et omnium aliorum qui de nobis tenent in capite, in balliva prae- dicta, modo praedicto sine dilatione distringas omnes milites et libere tenentes qui de eis tenent per servitium inilitare in balliva tua, ad reddendum ballivis suis de singulis feodis et wardis duas marcas ad praedictum auxilium nobis faciendum in terminis vi.J Confirmation of the Charters. 365 praedictis, et liberandum Johanni de Aure, et Henrico de Me- riet, quos ad hoc assignavimus in comitatu tuo sicut praedictum est, etc. Teste meipso apud Westmonasterium XVII. Julii, anno etc. XIX . (Brady, Introd. Hist. Engl., App. p. 43.) A.D. 1237. CONFIRMATION OF THE CHARTEES. This is the confirmation in consideration of which the ' Com- mune Consilium' made the grant of a thirtieth. The charters are not rehearsed in the Act, nor was any further alteration made in the text of them after that of the year 1225. HENRICUS Dei gratia rex Angliae, dominus Hiberniae, dux Normanniae et Aquitanniae, comes Andegaviae, omnibus Christi fidelibua praesentem cartam inspecturis, salutem. Sciatis quod intuitu Dei et pro salute animae nostrae et animarum antecesso- rum et haeredum nostrorum, ad exaltationem Sanctae Ecclesiae, et emendationem regni nostri, concessimus et hac carta nostra confirmavimus archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, prioribus, comitibus, baronibus, militibus, liberis hominibus et omnibus de regno nostro Angliae, omnes libertates et liberas consuetudines contentas in cartis nostris quas eisdem fidelibus nostri s fieri fecimus cum minoris essemus aetatis, scilicet tarn in magna carta nostra quam in carta nostra de foresta. Et volumus et prae- cipimus, pro nobis et haeredibus nostris, quod praefati fideles nostri et successores et haeredes eorum habeant et teneant in perpetuum omnes libertates et liberas consuetudines praedictas, non obstante eo quod praedictae cartae confectae fuerunt cum minoris essemus aetatis, ut praedictum est. Hiis testibus vene- rabilibus patribus E. archiepiscopo Cantuar., P. Winton., J. Bathon., R. Dunolm., R. London., W. Karl., "W. Exon., R. Sarr., H. Elyen., R. Line., R. Hereford., A. Coventr. et Lychefeld., episcopis, W. Yalenc. et W. Wygorn. electis, R. comite Cornub. et Pictav., J. comite Cestr. et Huntedon., J. comite Line, con- stabulario Cestr., G. Marescallo comite Pembr., W. comite de Ferrar., W. comite Warenn., H. comite Kane., H. comite Essex. et Hereford., Sim one de Monteforti, Willelmo Lungesp., Will- elmo de Ferrar., Willelmo de Vescy, Ricardo de Percy, Ricardo de Munfichet, Willelmo de Ros, Johanne Byset, Gilberto de Umframvill., Willelmo de Lancastr., Willelmo de Cantilupo, Waltero de Clifford, Johanne Monem., Radulfo de Mortuo Mari, 366 Henry III. [PART Willelmo Mauduit, Rogero la Zuch., Olivero de Vallibus, Gil- berto Basset, et aliis. Dat. per manum veuerabilis patris R. Cycestr. episcopi cancellarii nostri apud Westmonaster., XXVIII die Januarii, anno regni nostri vicesimo primo. (Blackstone 's Charters, pp. 68, 69.) A.D. 1237. WRIT FOR THE COLLECTION OF THE THIRTIETH. The appointment of four knights and a clerk to receive the assessment made on oath by the four men and reeve for their own township, is a new variety of expedient, to be compared with those given above (pp. 257, 283, 351, 355, 360, 364). The other points of importance in the writ are the direction for the election of the assessors of the township, the statement that the freeholders represented their villeins in their consent to the tax, and the provision for sparing the poor. The distinction between the villeins who, according to the lawyers, had no property of their own, and the poor, who had less than forty pence 'in bonis,' is worth remark. REX vicecomiti Kantiae salutem. Scias quod cum in octavis Sancti Hilarii anno regni nostri vicesimo primo, ad mandatum nostrum convenient apud Westmonasterium archiepiscopi, episcopi, abbates, priores, comites et barones totius regni nostri, et tractatum haberent nobiscum de statu nostro et regni nostri, iidem archiepiscopi, episcopi, abbates, priores et clerici terras habentes quae ad ecclesias suas non pertinent, comites, barones, milites et liberi homines, pro se et suis villanis, nobis concesse- runt in aux ilium tricesimam partem omnium mobilium suorum apparentium, sicut ea habebunt in autumno in crastino Exalta- tionis Sanctae Crucis, anno regni nostri vicesimo primo, quando blada sua fuerint coadunata ; videlicet de bladis, carucis, ovibus, vaccis, porcis, haraciis, equis caretariis assignatis ad waignagia, et aliis pecoribus et bonis. Exceptis bonis quae praedicti archi- episcopi, episcopi et aliae personae ecclesiasticae habent in ecclesiis parochialibus sive praebendis, et terris ad praebendas et ecclesias parochiales spectantibus ; exceptis argento et auro, palefridis, suminariis, dextrariis, runcinis, armis, utensilibus et vasis. Colligendam per manus dilectorum fidelium nostrorum Rogeri de Leburn, Simonis de Crape, Johannis de Adlington, per litteras Huward de Bichely et Ricardi de "Wokundon, qui jurabunt coram vi.] Assessment of the Thirtieth. 367 te, quod negotium nostrum de auxilio nostro colligendo et assi- dendo pro posse suo bene et fideliter exsequentur per omnia, secundum suam conscientiam. Et ipsi quatuor milites et cleri- cus praedictus eligi facient quatuor de legalioribus hominibus de. singulis villis, quos statutis hundredis in comitatu tuo, certis die et loco coram eisdem ad mandatum eorum coram eis venire facies, qui jurabunt coram eisdem in praesentia ballivorum de singulis villis si interesse voluerint, quod auxilium illud fideliter assidebunt et ration abile pretium apponent omnibus rebus quae appretiandae fuerint, secundum communem et justam aestima- tionem et valorem, amore, gratia vel odio, vel alia occasione non impediente. Et postea particulas catallorum omnium et pretium ostendent quatuor militibus praedictis et clerico, et juxta pro- visionem dictorum militum et clerici pecuniam colligent, et eisdem militibus et clerico deferent et liberabunt per taillias et rotulos particulas continentes, reponendam in prioratu Sanctae Trinitatis Cantuariae ; et si indiguerint auxilio tuo circa dis- trictionem faciendam in collectione dictae pecuniae, tu eis auxi- lium parabis. Archiepiscopi vero, episcopi, abbates, priores in terris suis et libertatibus in comitatu tuo, per quatuor legales milites suos vel liberos et legales homines si milites non habue- rint, simili modo circa praedictam tricesimam assidendam et colligendain et liberandam quatuor praedictis militibus ad hoc attornatis, procedent. Et scias quod praedicti quatuor homines de singulis villis non jurabunt de propriis catallis suis, nee eisdem pretium apponent, sed alii quatuor homines de singulis villis ad hoc electi per milites praedictos jurabunt de catallis praedictorum priorum quatuor hominum, secundum formam praedictam. Nullus autem pauper homo vel mulier aliquid ad hoc conferet, nisi habeat in bpnis plus quam quadraginta dena- rios. Debet autem reddi pecunia praedicta ad duos terminos, videlicet, medietas in crastino Sancti Andreae anno regni nostri vicesimo secundo, et altera medietas in crastino Sanetae Trinitatis anno eodem. Tu autem ita efficax auxilium et utile cousilium praedictis militibus praebeas in praedictis exsequendis, quod negotium praedictum ad commodum nostrum et utilitatem galubriter procedat. Nos autem concessimus praedictis archi- episcopis, episcopis, abbatibus, prioribus, comitibus, baronibus et aliis magnatibus regni nostri, quod tarn carta nostra de foresta quam alia de libertatibus, quas prius eis fieri fecimus., de cetero in omnibus teneantur. Nolumus etiam quod occasione hujus- modi auxilii sumatur deinceps occasio, vel trahatur ad consuetu- dinem petendi alias consimile auxilium. Incipient autem iter praedictum in crastino Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis, quibus die 368 Henry III. [PART et loco eis occurras ad sacramentum ab eis recipiendum et auxi- lium eis impendendum, sicut tibi dixerint ex parte nostra. Teste B,ege apud Westmonasterium, II. die Julii anno regni nostri vicesimo primo. (Foedera, i. 232.) A.D. 1242. RECORD OF A DEBATE IN THE COUNCIL OF THE NATION. The following record was drawn up, as is stated by Matthew Paris, who inserts it in his History, that the answer of the barons to the king's demand for money might never be for- gotten. We have in it the first detailed account of a dispute in the National Council as to the expediency of a war, or the granting of an aid. No doubt many discussions on the latter point had taken place during the previous years of the reign, and had preceded the grants that purchased the reissue of the charters. On some former occasions, too, it would seem that the barons made it a condition of granting the tax, that it should be assessed and collected in a particular way. This appears, however, to be an early and very important instance of an aid being absolutely refused. Towards the end of the year the king exacted a scutage, ' fecit extorqueri;' possibly in accordance with the article of the charter of 1225 in which he asserted the right. Cum dominus Eboracensis archiepiscopus et omnes episcopi Angliae, abbates, et priores per se vel per procuratores suos, nec- non et omnes comites et fere omnes barones Angliae ad manda- tum domini regis convenissent apud Westmonasterium die Mart is proxima ante Purificationem beatae Mariae, A.D. 1242, regni Henrici regis 26 to , audituri domini regis vohmtatem et negotium pro quo ipsos mandaverat ; et idem dominus rex transmittens ad eosdem dictum dominum Eboracensem et nobilem virum dominum comitem Eicardum et dominum Willelmum de Eboraco praepositum de Beverlaco, super voluntate domini regis et negotiis suis, scilicet eisdem expositis per eosdem solemn es nuncios, omnes magnates de regno suo rogasset de consilio ei dando et auxilio faciendo ad haereditatem suam et jura sua perquirenda in partibus transrnarinis quae spectabant ad regnum vi.] Debate in the National Council. 369 suum Angliae ; tandem dicti episcopi, abbates et priores, comites et barones, magno inter eos tractatu praehabito, in primis domino regi per praedictos magnates dederunt consilium, videlicet, quod domimis ipse rex exspectaret finem treugarum inter eum et regem Franciae initarum : et si forte dictus rex Franciae contra formam earundem treugarum aliquas fecisset interprisas, tune dictus rex Angliae mitteret ad eum solemnes nuncios ad rogandum, monendum et inducendum ipsum regem Franciae, ut treugas initas teneret et interprisas emendaret, si quae per ipsum vel per suos factae essent. Quod si rex Franciae facere contradiceret, libenter ad hoc consilium apponerent pro posse suo de auxilio ei dando. Omnes ita unanimiter respon- derunt. Similiter postquam fuerat dominus eorum, multoties ad instantiam suam ei auxilium dederunt, videlicet tertiam decimam mobilium suorum, et postea quintam decimam et sextam decimam et quadragesimam, carucagium, hydagium et plura scutagia, et postea unum magnum scutagium ad sororem suam Imperatricem maritandam. Postea vero nondum quatuor annis elapsis vel circiter, petiit ab eis iterum auxilium, et tandem cum magna precum instantia obtinuit tricesimam, quam ei con- cesserunt, tali scilicet conditione, quod ilia exactio vel aliae praecedentes amplius non traherentur in consequentiam. Et hide fecit eis cartam suam. Et praeterea concessit eis tune quod omnes libertates contentae in Magria Carta extunc in antea plenius tenerentur per totum regnum suum, et inde fecit eis quandam parvam cartam suam quam adhuc habent, in qua eaedem continentur. Praeterea dominus rex concessit eis de voluntate sua, et de consilio totius baronagii sui, quod tota pecunia ex dicta tricesima proveniens salvo deponeretur in castris dbmini regis sub custodia quatuor magnatum Angliae, scilicet comitis Warenniae et aliorum, per quorum visum et consilium pecunia ilia expenderetur ad dicti regis et regni utilitatem, cum necesse esset. Et quia baronagium nescit nee audivit quod de dicta pecunia per visum vel consilium alicujus quatuor magnatum praedictorum aliquid expendatur, credunt firmiter et bene intelligunt quod dominus rex adhuc totam habet illam pecuniam integram, de qua nunc potest habere magnum auxilium. Praeterea bene sciunt quod post tempus illud tot habuit escaetas, archiepiscopatum Cantuariensem, et plures episcopatus Angliae ditiores, et terras comitum et baronum et militum de eo tenentium defunctorum, quod solummodo de illis escaetis debet ipse habere grandem pecuniae summam si bene custodiatur. Praeterea a tempore dictae tricesimae datae, non cessaverunt justitiarii itinerantes itinerare per omnes partes Bb 37 Henry III. [PAUT Angliae tarn de placitis forestae quam de omnibus aliis placitis, ita quod omnes comitatus Angliae et omnia hundreda, civitates et burgi, et fere omnes villae graviter amerciantur ; unde solum- modo de illo itinere habet dominus rex vel habere debet maxi- mam summam pecuniae, si persolvatur et bene colligatur. Unde bene dicunt quod per ilia amerciamenta et per alia auxilia prius data, omnes de regno ita gravantur et depauperantur quod parum aut nihil habent in bonis. Et quia dominus rex nun- quam, post tricesimam datam, cartam suam de Hbertatibus tenuit, immo plus solito postea gravavit, et per aliam cartam eis concesserat quod exactiones hujusmodi non traherentur in consequential^ responderunt eidem domino regi praecise, quod nullum ad praesens ei facerent auxilium. Verumtamen quia dominus eorum est, sic se gerere poterit erga eos usque ad finem dictarum treugarum, quod tune bonum apponent consilium pro posse suo. Et cum dicti magnates mmcii istud domino regi nunciassent responsum, redeuntes ad baronagium dixerunt, quod in parte sufficiens dederunt domino regi responsum ; sed dominus rex voluit scire ab eis quid facerent si rex Franciae ante finem praedictarum treugarum rumperet easdem treugas. Promise- runt etiam ex parte domini regis quod si ipse alicui magnatum Angliae injuriam fecisset, ipse illud emendaret per considera- tionem domini Petri de Sabaudia et aliorum de consilio suo. Ad quae magnates sic responderunt, videlicet, si rex Franciae rumperet treugas et nollet interprisas emendare, tune apponent consilium sicut prius dixerant se apposituros in fine treugarum, dummodo constaret eis de veritate facti regis Franciae. Ad hoc quod ipsi promiserunt emendas ex parte domini regis super injuriis eis illatis, responderunt quod noluerunt ad praesens cum domino rege placitare; et in concessione tricesimae adeo bene et fideliter promiserat eis dominus Willelmus de Rale ex parte domini regis, sicut modo ipsi faciunt : qualiter dominus rex tenuerit promissa sua videat ipse. Postea vero dominus rex examinavit plures singulariter ; quid ipsi concesserint universi- tas ignorat. (Matt. Paris, pp. 581, 582.) A.D. 1252. "WniT FOR ENFORCING WATCH AND WARD THE ASSIZE OF ARMS. In this document the king brings together the two very ancient methods of ensuring peace and defence, of which several illustrations have been given already. Their connexion with vi.] Assize of Arms. 371 constitutional history is now becoming less close, but it is im- portant to observe the permanence of their character, and the antiquity as well as the elasticity of the machinery by which they are worked. Although not an essential part of the Con- stitution, they are ancient buttresses of the fabric, and their very permanence attests as well as sustains the corporate identity of the English nationality, which feudalism has dis- guised but has not been able to mutilate. HENRICUS Dei gratia rex, etc. vicecomiti . . salutem. Sciatis quod ad pacem nostram firmiter observandam, provisum est de consilio nostro, quod vigiliae fiant in singulis civitatibus, burgis, et omnibus aliis villis comitatus tui, a die Ascensionis Domini usque ad festum Sancti Michaelis, scilicet in singulis civita- tibus ad singulas portas per sex homines armis munitos, et in singulis burgis per duodecim homines ; et in singulis villis integris per sex homines vel quatuor ad minus similiter armis munitos secundum numerum inhabitantium : et vigilent con- tinue per totam noctem ab occasu solis usque ad ortum, ita quod, si aliquis extraneus transitum per ipsos faciat, arrestent usque mane ; et tune, si fidelis sit, dimittatur, et si suspectus sit, vicecomiti liberetur, qui ipsum sine omni difficultate et dila- tione recipiat et salvo custodiat; si vero hujusmodi extranei, transitum facientes, se non permiserint arrestari, tune praedicti vigiles hutesium levent super eos undique, et eum insequautur cum tota villata et vicinis villatis, cum clamore et hutesio de villa in villam, donee capiantur ; et tune liberentur vicecomiti sicut praedictum est, ita quod nullus occasione hujusmodi arrestationis vel captionis extraneorum per vicecomitem, vel per ballivos suos occasionetur ; et singulae civitates, burgi et villae, praemuniantur ad singulas praedictas vigilias et sectas ita diligenter faciendum, ne defectum illorum graviter punire debeamus. Provisum est etiam quod singuli vicecomites una cum duobus militibus ad hoc specialiter assignatis, circumeant comitatus suos de hundredo in hundredum, et civitates et burgos, et convenire faciant coram eis in singulis hundredis, civitatibus et burgis, cives, burgenses, libere tenentes, vi llanos et alios aetatis quin- decim annorum usque ad aetatem sexaginta annorum, et eosdem faciant omnes jurare ad arma, secundum quantitatem terrarum et catallorum suorum ; scilicet, ad quindecim libratas terrae, unam loricam, capellum ferreum, gladium, cultellum et equum ; ad decem libratas terrae unum habergetum, capellum ferreum, Bb 2 372 Henry III. [PART gladium et cultellum; ad centum solidatas terrae unum pur- punctum, capellum ferreum, gladium, lanceam et cultellum ; ad quadraginta solidatas terrae, et eo amplius ad centum solidatas terrae, gladium, arcum, sagittas et cultellum. Qui minus habent quam quadraginta solidatas terrae, jurati sint ad falces, gisarmas, cultellos et alia arma minuta. Ad catalla sexaginta marcarum, unam loricam, capellum ferreum, gladium, cultellum et equum : ad catalla quadraginta marcarum, unum haubercum, capellum ferreum, gladium et cultellum ; ad catalla viginti marcarum, unum purpunctum, capellum ferreum, gladium et cultellum ; ad catalla novem marcarum, gladium, cultellum, arcum et sagittas ; ad catalla quadraginta solidorum et eo amplius usque ad decem marcas, falces, gisarmas et alia arma minuta. Omnes etiam illi qui possuiit habere arcus et sagittas extra forestam, habeant; qui vero in foresta, habeant arcus et pilatos. In singulis civitatibus et burgis jurati ad arma sint coram majoribus civitatis, et praepositis et ballivis burgorum ubi non sunt majores ; in singulis vero villatis aliis constituatur unus constabularius vel duo secundum numerum inhabitantium et provisionem praedictorum ; in singulis vero hundredis constitua- tur unus capitalis constabularius, ad cujus mandatum omnes jurati ad arma de hundredis suis conveniant, et ei sint intendentes ad faciendum ea quae spectant ad conservationem pacis nostrae. Clamare etiam faciant singuli vicecomites per civitates et burgos et omnia mercata ballivorum suorum quod nulli conveniant ad turniandum vel burdandum, nee ad alias quascunque aventuras, nee etiam aliqui incedant armati nisi specialiter fuerunt ad cus- todiam pacis nostrae deputati ; et si aliqui fuerint inventi sive incedentes armati contra hanc provisionem nostram, arrestentur et vicecomiti liberentur : et si se non permiserint arrestari, tune constabularii singulorum hundredorum et villatarum, et alii qui- cunque sint, hutesium levent super eos undique, et cum vicinis villis, et de villa in villam ipsos insequantur donee capiantur et vicecomiti liberentur, sicut praedictum est; quoties autem contigerit hutesium levari super quoscunque perturbatores pacis nostrae, praedones et malefactores in parcis vel vivariis, statim propter eos fiat hutesium, et ipsos insequantur donee capiantur, et vicecomiti liberentur, sicut de aliis praedictum est : et omnes vicecomites et eorum ballivi, constabularii, jurati ad arma, bur- genses, libere tenentes et villani, talem sectam faciant propter praedictos malefactores, ne ipsi malefactores evadant, et ne, si pro eorum defectu evadant, hii in quibus defectus inventus fuerit graviter puniri debeant, et sic per consilium nostrum puniantur, quod poena illorum aliis metum incutiat, et auferat materiam vi.] Sentence of Excommunication. 373 delinquendi ; suspectos autem de die per quascunque arrestationes recipiant arrestatos, vicecomites sine dilatione et difticultate salvo custodiant, donee per legem terrae deliberentur. Et ideo tibi praecipimus, quod sicut corpus tuum et omnia tua diligis, una cum dilectis et fidelibus nostris Henrico filio Bernardi, Petro de Goldintuna, quos tibi ad hoc assign avimus, omnia praedicta sub forma praescripta cum diligentia exsequaris, ne pro defectu tui inde et praedictorum Henrici et Petri ad te et ad ipsos nos graviter capere debeamus. Teste archiepiscopo Eboracensi apud "Westmonasterium XX mo die Mail, anno regni nostri tricesinio sexto. (Foedera, i. 281.) A.D. 1253. SENTENCE OF EXCOMMUNICATION AGAINST TRANSGRESSORS OF THE CHARTERS. Anno Domini MCCLIII. iii idus Haii, in magna aula regis apud Westmonasterium, sub praesentia et assensu domini Henrici, Dei gratia, illustris regis Angliae, et dominorum H. comitis Cornub., fratris sui, R. comitis Norff. et Suff., marescalli Angliae, H. comitis Heref., H. comitis Oxon., J. comitis War. et aliorum optimatum regni Angliae. Nos B., Divina miseratione, Cant, archi- episcopus totius Angliae primas, F. London., H. Elyens., R. Line., W. Wygorn., W. Norwic., P. Hereford., W. Sarr., W. Dunolm., R Exon., S. Karl., W. Batlion., L. Roffens., Thorn. Menevens., episcopi, pontificalibus induti, candelis accensis, in transgres- sores libertatum ecclesiasticarum et libertatum seu liberarum consuetudinum regni Angliae, et praecipue earum quae conti- nentur in carta communium libertatum regni et carta de foresta, excommunicationis sententiam solempniter tulimus sub hac forma. Auctoritate Dei omnipotentis Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, et gloriosae Dei genitricis semperque virginis Mariae, beatorum apostolorum, Petri et Pauli omniumque apostolorum, beati Thomae archiepiscopi et martyris omniumque martyrum Dei, beati Edwardi regis Angliae omniumque confessorum atque virginum, omniumque sanctorum Dei, excommunicamus, anathe- inatizamus et a liminibus sanctae matris ecclesiae sequestramus, omnes illos, qui amodo scienter et malitiose ecclesias privaverint vel spoliaverint suo jure ; item omnes illos, qui ecclesiasticas libertates vel antiquas regni consuetudines approbatas, et prae- cipue libertates et liberas consuetudines quae in cartis commu- nium libertatum et de foresta continentur concessis a domino rege archiepiscopis, episcopis et ceteris Angliae praelatis, corni- 374 Henry III. [PART tibus, baronibus, militibus efc libere tenentibus, quacunque arte vel ingenio violaverint, infregerint, diminuerint, seu immuta- verint, clam vel palam, facto, verbo, vel consilio, contra illas vel earum aliquam in quocunque articulo temere venienclo ; item omnes illos, qui contra illas vel earum aliquam -statuta aliqua ediderint vel edita servaverint, et consuetudines introduxerint vel servaverint introductas, scriptores statutorum necnon consili- atores et executores, et qui secundum ea praesumpserint judicare, qui omnes et singuli superius memorati hanc sententiam incur- suros se noverint ipso facto, qui scienter aliquid commiserint de praedictis ; qui vero ignoranter, nisi commoniti infra quindenam a tempore commonitionis se correxerint et arbitrio ordinariorum satisfecerint de commissis, extunc sint hac seutentia involuti. Eadem etiam sententia innodamus illos qui pacem regis et regni praesumpserint perturbare. In cujus rei memoriam sempiternam nos signa nostra duximus apponenda. (Blackstones Charters, pp. 70-72; Foedera, i. 289.) A.D. 1253. WEIT FOR CARRYING OUT THE WATCH AND WARD AND ASSIZE OF ARMS. The minute directions given in the following writ help to supplement the Act given above, p. 370. The articles annexed are, no doubt, the instructions which the sheriff was to receive from the special commissioner, Henry Colville. HENRICUS Dei gratia Rex, etc., vicecomiti Essexiae et Hert- ford., salutem. Summone per bonos summonitores omnes milites et omnes libere tenentes de comitatibus praedictis, et de qualibet villa quatuor homines et praepositum, et de quolibet burgo duodecim legales burgenses, quod sint coram dilecto et fideli nostro Henrico de Colevilla ad dies et loca quos tibi scire faciet, ad audiendum et faciendum praeceptum nostrum. Venire etiam facias coram eo ad eosdem dies et loca omnes illos qui jurati sunt ad arma et jurari debent, cum armis suis ad quae jurati sunt et esse debent, audituri et facturi praeceptum nostrum. Et interim diligenter inquiras qui fecerunt ultimo scrutinium de armis in comitatibus praedictis, et qui ultimo inde sacramentum ceperunt ; et ubi rotuli de scrutinio illo et Sacramento fuerunt. Et rotulos illos habeas coram praefato Henrico praedictis diebus et locis ; et tu ipse tune ibi sis in propria persona tua ad exse- quendum ea quae idem Henricus tibi ex parte nostra praecipiet. vi.] Summons for Knights of the Shire. 375 Et si ballivi libertatum qui returnum habent brevium nostrorum istud mandatum nostrum exsecuti non fuerint, non omittas quin libertates illas ingrediaris ad idem mandatum exsequen- dum. Teste me ipso apud Portesmuthe, XVIII. die Julii, anno regni nostri XXXVII . Articuli. 1. Quod vigiliae fiant per singulas villas sicut fieri consue- verunt, et per viros probos et validos. 2. Quod sectae de utesiis fiant secundum antiquum debitum modum, ita quod negligentes et utesium sequi nolentes, capiantur tanquam consentientes malefactoribus et liberentur vicecomiti. Et insuper in qualibet villa provideantur quatuor homines .vel sex secundum quantitatem villae, ad utesia prompte et instanter >prosequenda et ad malefactores prosequendos si supervenerint et necesse fuerit, cum arcubus et sagittis et aliis levibus armis, quae debent provideri ad custum totius villae et quae semper remaneant ad opus praedictae villae. Et super illos provideatur de quolibet hundredo duo liberi et legales homines potentiores, qui sint superiores, et videant quod vigiliae recte fiant et prose- cutiones praedictae. 3. Quod nullus extraneus hospitetur nisi de die, et de clara discedat. 4. Quod nullus extraneus receptetur in villis campestribus ultra unum diem vel duos ad plus extra tempus messium, nisi hospes pro illo velit respondere. 5. Quod si aliquis malefactor, vel aliquis de quo mala suspicio habeatur, capiatur per vigilatores vel alios domini regis fideles, vicecomes vel ballivus de hundredo ipsum sine dilatione vel mercede aliqua recipiet. 6. Quod praecipiatur majori et ballivis singularum civitatum et burgorum, quod si aliquis mercator vel extraneus deferens pecuniam et illam eis ostendat et conductum petat, quod faciant ei conductum per malos passus et loca ambigua : quod si aliquid amiserit pro defectu conductus vel in eorum conductu, de villata burgi illius vel civitatis ei restituatur. (Foedera, i. 291, 292.) A.D. 1254. WRIT OF SUMMONS FOB TWO KNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE TO GRANT AN AID. This is an important landmark in the parliamentary history of England ; it is a distinct summons to the counties, through the sheriffs, to return two knights each, for the purpose of grant- Henry III. [PART ing an aid. The king combines with this a direction to the sheriffs to compel all tenants in chief, who hold lands worth twenty pounds a year, to present themselves in person for military service. It -is to be observed that, in the order to return the two knights, they are said to be chosen by the counties, that is the county courts, no restriction of the power of choice to tenants in chief, or to knights, being specified. This writ is sufficient to show that no such restriction even at this early period existed. The aid asked for is a national and not a feudal grant ; and although the force spoken of in the early part of the writ is levied on the feudal principle, the assembly summoned in the latter part of it is of a different character altogether. Forma directa magnatibus et vicecomitibus Angliae. REX Vicecomiti Bedeford. et Bukingeham., salutem. Cum comites et barones et ceteri magnates regni nostri nobis firmiter promiserint, quod erunt Londoniis a die Paschae proximo future in tres septimanas cum equis et armis parati et bene muniti ad tendendum sine ulla dilatione versus Portesmuth, ad transfre- tandum ad nos in Vasconiam contra regem Castellae qui terrain nostram Yasconiae in manu forti in aestate proximo futura hostiliter est ingressurus, et tibi mandaverimus quod omnes illos de ballia tua qui tenent xx. libratas terrae de nobis in capite, vel de aliis qui sunt infra aetatem et in custodia nostra, ad idem distringes; tibi districte praecipimus, quod praeter omnes praedictos venire facias coram consilio nostro apud West- monasterium in quindena Paschae proximo futuri, quatuor le- gales et discretes milites de comitatibus praedictis quos iidem comitatus ad hoc elegerint, vice omnium et singulorum eorundem comitatuum, videlicet duos de uno comitatu et duos de alio, ad providendum, una cum militibus aliorum comitatuum quos ad eundem diem vocari fecimus, quale auxilium nobis in tanta necessitate impendere voluerint. Et tu ipse militibus et aliis de comitatibus praedictis necessitatem nostram et tarn urgens negotium nostrum diligenter exponas, et eos ad competens auxilium nobis ad praesens impendendum efficaciter inducas; ita quod praedicti quatuor milites praefato consilio nostro ad praedictum terminum praecise respondere possint super prae- dicto auxilio pro singulis comitatuum praedictorum. Firmiter etiam-tibi praecipimus quod omnia debita quae nobis a retro vi.] Charter of Oxford. 377 sunt in baillia tua et solvi debuerunt ad scaccarium nostrum ante Pascha jam instans, vel solvi debent ad scaccarium ejusdem Paschae, habeas ad idem scaccarium in quindena praedicti Pas- chae, sciturus quod nisi praedicta debita tune ibidem habueris non solum corpus tuum arrestari faciemus, sed debita ilia de terris et tenementis tuis levari faciemus ad damnum tuum non modicum. T. A. Kegina et B. comite Cornubiae apud Wincllesoram XI. die Februarii. (Report on the Dignity of a Peer, App. i. p. 13.) A.D. 1255. CHARTER OF HENRY III TO OXFORD. This charter is not given as a specimen of the ordinary borough charters granted by Henry III : on the contrary, it is distinguished from them by the provisions touching the Uni- versity. It may however be regarded as exhibiting the increased minuteness and distinctness of detail that was now being intro- duced into municipal institutions. REX omnibus, etc., salutem. Sciatis quod ad pacem et tran- quillitatem necnon et utilitatem universitatis scholarium Oxoniae pro vidimus et concessimus quod quatuor aldermanni fiant in Oxonia, et octo de discretioribus et legalioribus burgensibus ejusdem villae associentur ipsis aldermannis, qui omnes jurent nobis fidelitatem, et sint assidentes et consulentes majori et ballivis nostris Oxoniae ad pacem nostram conservandam, ad assisas praedictae villae custodiendas, et ad investigandunr male- factores et perturbatores pacis nostrae, et vagabundos de nocte, et receptatores latronum et malefactorum, et corporale praestent sacramentum quod omnia praedicta fideliter observabunt. In qualibet autem parochia villae Oxoniae sint duo homines electi de legalioribus parochianis et jurati quod in qualibet quindena inquirent diligenter, ne quis suspectus hospitetur in parochia, et si aliquis receptaverit aliquem per tres noctes in domo sua, respondeat pro eo. Nullus etiam regratarius emat victualia in villa Oxoniae, vel extra versus villam venientia, nee aliquid emat nee iterum vendat ante horam nonam, et si fecerit amercietur, et rem emptam amittat. Si laicus inferat clerico gravem vel enormem laesionem, statim capiatur, et si magna sit laesio, incarceretur in castro Oxoniae, et ibi detineatur quousque clerico satisfiat, et hoc arbitrio cancellarii et universitatis Oxoniae; si clericus protervus fuerit, si minor vel levis sit injuria, incarceretur in villa. Si clericus inferat gravem vel 378 'Henry III. [PART enormem laesionem laico, incarceretur in praedicto castro quousque cancellarius praedictae universitatis ipsum postula- verit; si minor vel levis sit injuria, incarceretur in carcere villae quousque liberetur per cancellarium. Pistores et bracia- tores Oxoniae in primo transgressu suo non puniantur, sed in secundo amittant panem, et in tertio transgressu habeant judi- cium de pillorio. Quilibet pistor habeat sigillum suum et signet panem suum, per quod possit cognosci cujus panis sit. Quicunque de villa Oxoniae braciaverit ad vendendum, exponat signum suum, alioquin amittat cervisiam. Vina Oxoniae com- muniter vendantur et indifferenter tarn clericis quam laicis ex quo inbrochiata fuerint. Temptatio panis fiat bis in anno, vide- licet in quindena post festum Sancti Michaelis, et circa festum Sanctae Mariae in Martio, et assisa cervisiae fiat eisdem ter- minis, secundum valorem bladii et brasii. Et quotiescunque debeat fieri temptatio panis et cervisiae, intersit cancellarius praedictae universitatis vel aliqui ex parte sua ad hoc deputati, si super hoc requisiti interesse voluerint. Quod si non inter- sint nee super hoc requisiti fuerint, nihil valeat temptatio prae- dicta. In cujus etc. T. R. apud Wodestok, XVIII. die Julii. (Foedera, i. 323.) A.D. 1258. DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE PROVISIONS OF OXFORD. The particular train of events which led to the crisis marked in English history by the Provisions of Oxford, and which helped, in conjunction with other causes of disturbance, to pro- duce the War of the Barons, began as early as 1252. In that year Innocent IV was treating with the king for the bestowal of the kingdom of Sicily on Richard Earl of Cornwall, and sent Albert the papal notary to the king with full powers to conclude the business. After a long negotiation, Edmund, the second son of Henry, received the cession of the kingdom from Albert, at Vendome, March 6th, 1254 \ and this was confirmed by the pope at Assisi, on May 2nd. After the death of Inno- cent, the settlement was renewed by Alexander IV at Naples, April pth, 1255. Henry seems to have hung back at first from accepting the offer, and to have pleaded a vow of crusade, from which he was however absolved under papal orders ; but vi.] Provisions of Oxford. 379 on the 1 8th of October, 1255, he directed John Maunsell to affix his seal to the formal act of acceptance. Immediately after this the pecuniary difficulties of the king in connexion with Sicily begin : the pope waged war with his own treasures, but bound Henry to himself as debtor in respect of the expenditure, and the king allowed the Bishop of Hereford, his envoy, to make him responsible for the outlay. In November, 1256, Alex- ander IV commissioned the Archbishop of Messina as his ambas- sador to Henry ; and on Midlent Sunday, 1257, in the chapter- house at Westminster the Archbishop stated the case to the great council of the nation. At this time the debt to the pope reached 135,000 marks sterling. The demand of an aid was met with indignant remonstrances ; but under united papal and royal pressure, 52,000 marks were wrung from the clergy. The next year the like demand was met more resolutely. The Parliament met at London after Hoke-tide, April pth ; and sat until the sth of May, in angry debate on all the many existing causes of discontent. The result was an agreement on the part of the king to place the execution of the necessary reforms in the hands of a body of twenty-four counsellors, to be chosen in a parliament at Oxford on the feast of S. Barnabas, June i ith, half by himself and half by the barons. To the determinations of this body he bound himself to submit. (Nos. I. and II.) The parliament of Oxford met, and the barons presented a long petition stating the reforms they desired. (No. III.) The council of twenty-four was elected, and drew up a body of preliminary articles, which are commonly known as the Pro- visions of Oxford. (No. IV.) Under this constitution a council of fifteen was chosen, by four out of the twenty-four, to advise the king on all points ; another body of twenty-four was ap- pointed to treat especially of aids ; and a third, of twelve members, was chosen by the barons to represent the community in three annual parliaments. Further reforms were to be re- ported before the following Christmas. In the meantime the king took all the oaths that were required of him, and published in Latin, French, and English his adhesion to the Provisions, on the 1 8th of October. (No. V.) The year ended, and the coun- 380 Henry III. [PART sellers had not completed their labours or published the further reforms, to which it seems certain that the king had sworn implicitly beforehand. In October, 1259, however, under the urgent threats of Edward and others of the barons, they produced at Westminster a second series of provisions, based upon the petition of the barons, but by no means answering their expecta- tions. A quarrel between the Earls of Leicester and Gloucester, the former of whom was supported by Edward, and the latter by Henry, occupied great part of 1260, the king spending some time in France, and being to all intents and purposes superseded by the council. The next year Henry, having obtained absolu- tion from his oath, repudiated the Provisions, and war seemed imminent. Henry's policy varied between stubborn resistance and false submission. The year 1263 was one of civil war. At last both parties agreed to accept the arbitration of S. Lewis, Dec. 1 6th, 1263. S. Lewis gave sentence in favour of Henry, on the 23rd of January, 1264; and the Provisions of Oxford were annulled. The barons, as soon as they learned that the award was unfavourable, renewed hostilities ; and in the battle of Lewes, May 1 3th, the king and Edward were captured, the government falling at once into the hands of Simon de Montfort. No. I. The King's consent to a project of Reform. HEX omnibus, etc. Cum pro negotiis nostris arduis nos et regnum nostrum contingentibus, proceres et fideles regni nostri ad nos Londonias in quindena Paschae proximo praeteritae faceremus convocari ; et cum de negotiis supradictis et maxime de prosecutione negotii Siciliae diligenter cum eisdem tractare- mus ; ac ipsi nobis responderint quod si statum regni nostri per consilium ndelium nostrorum rectificandum duxerimus, et domi- nus papa conditiones circa factum Siciliae appositas meliora- verit, per quod negotium illud prosequi possemus cum effectii ; ipsi diligentiam fideliter apponent erga communitatem regni nostri quod nobis commune auxilium ad hoc praestetur ; nos eis coiicessimus quod infra festum Natalis Domini proximo futurum per consilium proborum et ndelium hominum nostrorum regni Angliae, una cum consilio legati domini papae, si in Anglia medio tempore venerit, statum regni nostri ordinabimus et ordi- nationem illam firmiter observabimus : et ad hoc fideliter obser- vi.] Election of the Twenty -four. 381 vandum, supponimus nos cohercioni domini papae, ut nos ad hoc per censuram ecclesiasticam, prout expedire viderit, valeat arc- tare : protestamur etiam quod Edwardus filius noster primo- genitus, praestito sacramento corporali, per litteras suas concessit quod omnia superius expressa, quantum in ipso est, fideliter et inviolabiliter observabit et in perpetuum observari procurabit. In cujus etc. Hiis testibus, Edwardo filio nostro primogenito ; Galfrido de Lezignan, Willelmo de Valenti'a, fratribus nostris; Petro de Sabaudia, Jobanne de Plessetis comite Warrewici, Jo- hanne Maunsell tliesaurario Eboracensi, Henrico de Wingeham decano Sancti Martini, London. ; Petro de Rivallis, Guidone de Rocheford, Roberto Walerand, praesehtibus et multis aliis comi- tibus, baronibus regni nostri. Datum apud Westmonasterium, secundo die Mali. (Foedera, i. 370.) No. II. The King's consent to the Election of the Twenty-four. REX omnibus, etc. Noveritis nos concessisse proceribus et magnatibus regni nostri, juramento in animam nostram per Robertum Walerand praestito, quod per xii. fideles de concilio nostro jam electos et per alios xii. fideles nostros, electos ex parte procerum ipsorum, qui apud Oxoniam a festo Pentecostes proximo future in unum mensem convenient, ordinetur, rectifi- cetur et reformetur status regni nostri secundum quod melius viderint expedire ad honorem Dei et ad fidem nostram ac regni nostri utilitatem. Et si forte aliqui electorum ex parte nostra absentes fuerint, liceat illis qui praesentes fuerint alios substi- tuere loco absentium ; et similiter fiat ex parte praedictorum procerum et fidelium nostrorum. Et quicquid per viginti qua- tuor utrimque electos et super hoc juratos, vel majorem parteni eorum, circa hoc ordinatum fuerit inviolabiliter observabimus ; volentes et firmiter ex nunc praecipientes quod ab omnibus inviolabiliter observetur eorum ordinatio. Et securitatem omrii- modam quam ipsi vel major pars eorum ad hujus rei observa- tionem providerint, vel providerit, eis sine qualibet contradic- tione, plene faciemus et fieri procurabimus. Protestamur etiam quod Edwardus filius noster primogenitus, praestito sacramento corporali, per litteras suas concessit quod omnia superius ex- pressa et concessa quantum in ipso est fideliter et inviolabiliter observabit et procurabit in perpetuum observari. Promiserunt etiam comites et barones memorati quod, expletis negotiis supe- rius tactis, bona fide laborabunt ad hoc quod auxilium nobis commune praestetur a communitate regni nostri. In cujus etc. Hiis testibus, ut supra. Datum ut supra. (Foedera, i. 371.) 382 Henry III. [PAUT No. III. Petition of the Barons at the Parliament of Oxford. This important schedule of grievances is an exemplification of the way in which the provisions of the Great Charter were kept, and also of the progress of the views of men on internal reform since the date of the Charter. Few of the details are in them- selves of material importance in relation to the constitution, but they supply a commentary on the Charter in its legal articles which is of interest to the student of social life and manners. The constitutional views of the period may be regarded as em- bodied in the elective council, rather than in its distinct acts. In point of fact, although the name of the Provisions of Oxford belonged properly to the first articles there promulgated, and indirectly also to those issued at Westminster in October, 1259, the leading idea, probably, understood by the name was the maintenance of the new form of government. Henry might have submitted to any of the details, but not to be permanently superseded by the elective council. i. Petunt comites et barones de successionibus, quod films natus et primogenitus vel filia post patrem libere ingrediatur possessionem patris, ita quod capitalis dominus debet habere simplicem seisinam per unum ex ballivis suis, ita quod nihil capiatur per praedictum ballivum de exitibus terrae vel reddi- tibus ; quando vero haeres fuerit plenae aetatis et prosecutus jus suum fuerit, ad faciendum domino suo quod facere debet : et ita fiat de fratre vel sorore et de avunculo seisito, si obierit sine haerede, ad nepotem suum filium primogeniti ; et si frater non habeatur, ad liberos fratris vel sororis, et sic deinceps, per rationabile relevium et homagium et relevia domino feodi facienda ; ita quod dominus feodi medio tempore nullum faciat vastum vel exilium, venditionem vel alienationem, de domibus vel boscis, vivariis, parcis sive hominibus villenagium tenen- tibus. Quod si hoc fecerit et inde convictus fuerit, secundum quantitatem delicti puniatur. Et omnia damn a quae praedictus haeres ea occasione habuerit, sine dilatioiie restituet. Et cum haeres fecerit domino regi rationabile relevium cum fuerit plenae aetatis, domina regina inde petit aurum secundum aestimationern decimae partis, et videtur quod non debet habere nisi de fine. vi.] Petition of Ike Barons. 383 2. Item petunt remedium quod ubi aliquis infra aetatem existens tenet plures terras de pluribus et diversis dominis, et idem ten eat aliquam quantitatem terrae de domino rege in capite per servitium militare vel sergantiam, occasione cujus servitii dominus rex habet custodiam omnium terrarum et tene- mentorum praedictorum haeredis, de quocumque tenuerit ; si dominus rex eat in exercitu, licet teneat in manu sua plura feoda militum de feodis aliorum, sicut praedictum est, nihilo- minus petit totum servitium a praedictis dominis feodi qui de eo tenent in capite, nee eis vult quicquam allocare ex hoc quod tenet custodiam praedictorum feodorum in manu sua. 3. Item petunt barones habere custodiam terrarum et tene- mentorum suorum qui sunt de feodis suis, et haeredum usque ad legitimam aetatem ipsorum ; ita quod dominus rex habeat maritagium et custodiam corporis penes se : et hoc petunt de jure communi. 4. Item petunt quod castra regis committantur custodienda ad fideles suos et de regno Angliae natos, ob plures casus qui poterunt in regno Angliae evenire vel emergere. 5. Item petunt quod castra regis quae sunt supra portus maris, ubi navigia evenire possunt, committantur fidelibus homi- nibus de regno Angliae natis, propter pericula plurima evidentia quae emergere possunt si aliis committerentur. 6. Item petunt de maritagiis domino regi pertinentibus, quod non maritentur ubi disparagentur, videlicet hominibus qui non sunt de natione regni Angliae. 7. Item petunt remedium quod bosci et terrae infra metas forestae non existentes, qui per ambulationem proborum homi- num, et per quindecimam partem omnium bonorum hominum Angliae domino regi datam, deafforestari fuerunt, per volunta- tem suam reafforestavit. 8. Item petunt de assartis factis infra metas forestae de terris suis propriis et tenementorum suorum de novo arentatis, unde dominus rex vendicat sibi custodiam haeredum talium, -et nihilo- minus vendicat servitium omne inde debitum. 9. Item petunt remedium quod forestae deafforestatae $er cartam regis et per fidem eidem per communitatem totius regni factam, ita quod quisque ubique possit libere fugare, dominus rex de voluntate sua pluribus dedit de praedicta libertate warennas, quae sunt ad nocumentum praedictae libertatis -concessae. 10. Item petuut remedium, quod religiosi non intrent in feodum comitum et baronum et aliorum sine voluntate eorum, per quod amittunt in perpetuum custodias, maritagia, relevia et eschaetas. 384 Henry III. [PART ir. Item petunt remedium de abbatiis et prioratibus fundatis de feodis comitum et baronum, unde dominus rex ad vacationem dictarum domorum inde petit custodias, ita quod non possunt eligere sine voluntate domini regis : et hoc est in praejudicium comitum et baronum, cum servitia inde debita domino regi sustineant ut medii. 12. Item petunt remedium de hoc, quod dominus rex ali- quando pluribus dat per cartam suam aliena jura, dicens ilia esse eschaeta sua, unde tales dicunt quod non debent nee possunt respondere sine domino rege. Et cum justitiarii hoc ostendunt domino regi, nihil justitiae in hac parte factum est. 13. Item petunt remedium, quod cum ipsi comites et barones habeant terras suas in pluribus comitatibus, justitiarii domini regis sint itinerantes uno tempore in omnibus comitatibus praedictis, ad placitandum de omnibus placitis, et de foresta simul et semel, et nisi ipsi comites et barones compareant coram illis primo die communis summonitionis, amerciabuntur ad voluntatem domini regis pro sua absentia, nisi habeant breve domini regis de acquietantia. 14. Item praedicti justitiarii capiunt finem gravem pro pul- chro placitando de quolibet comitatu, ne occasionentur ; et non debent emere jura, et de aliis pluribus occasionibus de placitis coronae. Et si villatae quatuor propinquiores ad mortem ho- rninis interfecti vel submersi non accesserint, omnes de aetate xii. annorum praedictarum iv. villatarum graviter amercia- buntur. 15. Item petunt quod nullus possit firmare castrum supra portum maris, vel supra insulam infra inclusam, nisi sit de con- sensu concilii totius regni Angliae : quia plura pericula possent inde evenire. 1 6. Item de vicecomitum firmis et aliorum ballivorum liber- orum qui capiunt comitatus et alias ballivas ad firmain, qui etiam habent comitatus suos ad tarn altam firmam quod non possunt dictam firmam inde levare ; nee amerciant homines secundum quantitatem delicti, sed ad redemptionem ultra vires eos arctant. 17. Insuper dicunt quod vicecomites ad duos turnos suos per annum demandant personalem adventum comitum et baronum tenentium baronias suas in diversis locis et comitatibus; et si non venerint ibi personaliter, amerciant ipsos sine consideratione et judicio ; et hoc quia quilibet vicecomes dicit, quod in dictis turnis est justitiarius quoad diem. 1 8. Item ubi aliquis habet aliquam partem terrae, scilicet duas acras terrae vel plus vel minus, sine mansione eidem adja- vi.] Petition of the Barons. 385 cente, nisi ratione illius terrae ad turnos suos veniat, tune pro voluntate sua amerciabitur. 19. Item si aliqua justitiaria mandata fuerit specialiter coram aliquo justitiario assignato, vel de nova disseisina, vel de morte antecessoris, vicecomites clamare faciunt in mercatis, quod omnes milites et libere tenentes patriae veniant ad certum diem et lo- cum audituri et facturi praeceptum regis, et cum ibi non vene- rint, eos amerciant pro voluntate sua. 20. Item petunt remedium de hoc quod si aliquis comes vel baro, vel ballivus, vel aliquis alius qui libertatem habeat vel in civitate vel in villata, ceperit aliquem malefactorem et ilium obtulerit vicecomiti, vel suo ballivo, ad incarcerandum vel cus- todiendum quousque de eo fiat judicium, vicecomes recusat admittere prisonem ilium, nisi is qui ipsum ceperit finem faciat per sic quod ipsum recipiat. 21. Item de eo quod multi homines de diversis partibus regni propter caristiam temporis venientes, et per diversas provincias transitum facientes, fame et inedia moriuntur, et tune per legem terrae visum factum est per coronatores, et quatuor villatas vicinas, et cum praedictae villatae de ita mortuis nihil sciunt nee dicunt, nisi quod casu praedicto moriuntur, et quia nihil de huthesia Englescheria assignatur, amerciatur patria coram jus- titiariis tanquam de murdro. 22. Item de prisis domini regis in nundinis et mercatis et civitatibus, videlicet quod hi qui assignati fuerint ad praedictas prisas capiendas, eas rationabiliter capiant, scilicet quantum pertinet ad praedictos usus domini regis ; unde conqueruntur, quod dicti captores capiunt in duplo vel in triple plus quam cedit ad usus domini regis : capiunt etiam totum illud superfluum ad opus s'uum, vel ad opus amicorum suorum retinent, et partem hide aliquam vendunt. 23. Item conqueruntur quod dominus rex de prisis nullam fere facit pacationem, ita quod plures mercatores de regno Angliae ultra moduin depauperentur, et alii mercatores extranei ea occasione subtrahunt se de veniendo in terram istam cum suis mercibus, unde terra magnam incurrit jacturam. 24. Item petunt remedium de sectis de novo levatis in regno, tarn ad comitatus et hundreda, quam ad curias libertatis, quae nunquam aliquo tempore fieri consueverunt. 25. Item petunt remedium de hoc, quod Judaei aliquando debita sua et terras eis invadiatas [tradunt] magnatibus et po- tentioribus regni, qui terras minorum ingrediuntur ea occasione : et licet ipsi qui debitum debent, parati sint ad solvendum prae- dictum debitum cum usuris, praefati magnates negotium proro- c c 386 Henry III. [PART gant, ut praeclictae terrae et tenementa aliquo modo sibi rema- nere possint, dicentes quod sine Judaeo cui debebatur debitum, nihil possunt nee sciunt facere : et semper differunt solutioneni dictae pecuniae, ita quod occasione mortis vel alicujus alterius casus, evidens periculum et manifesta patet imininere exhaere- datio his quorum praedicta tenementa fuerunt. 26. Item petunt remedium de Christianis usurariis, ut de Caursinis qui degunt Londoniis, cum Christianae religioni con- trarium videatur manutenere vel fovere aliquos hujusmodi, saltern ex quo nomen Christian! induerunt. Et praeterea per eorum usuras plures depauperantur et destruuntur; et etiam plures mercandias venientes versus Londonias, tarn per aquam quam per terrain, occupant et emunt, ad magnum detrimentum mercatorum et omnium praedictae civitatis, et ad magnum dam- num domini regis, quia cum dominus rex talliat praedictum civitatem, in nullo participant nee participare \olunt cum prae- dictis civibus in tallagiis et aliis domino regi faciendis. 27. Item petunt remedium de maritagiis alienatis, videlicet in tali casu ; si aliquis dederit alicui unam carucatam terrae in maritagio cum filia vel sorore habendam et tenendam eis et haeredibus de praedictis filia vel sorore exeuntibus, ita videlicet quod, si praedieta filia vel soror obierit sine haerede de corpore suo, terra cum pertinentiis integre revertatur ad ipsum qui terram dederit in maritagium vel ad haeredes suos ; et cum praedictum donum non sit absolutum sed conditionale, tamen mulieres post mortem virorum suorum in viduitate sua dant vel vendunt praedicta maritagia et infeodant pro voluntate sua, licet haeredes de corpore suo non habuerint, nee hujusmodi feofamenta hucusque aliquatenus fuerunt revocata. Unde petunt quod ex aequitate juris, ratione praedictae conditionis, sive per breve de ingressu, vel aliquo alio modo competenti provideatur remedium ad revocandum hujusmodi feofamenta, et quod in tali casu procedatur ad judicium pro ipso petente. 28. Item petunt remedium de hoc, quod dominus rex large facit militibus de regno suo acquietantiam, ne in assisis ponan- tur, juramentis vel recognitionibus, propter quod in pluribus comitatibus pro defectu militum non potest capi aliqua magna assisa, et ita remanent hujusmodi loquelae, ita quod petentes nunquam justitiam consequuntur. 29. Item in pluribus comitatibus usitatum est, quod si aliquis defert breve de recto directum proximo capital! domino feodi, et petens probaverit defaltam curiae ipsius capitalis domiui pro consuetudine regni, et post eat ad comitatum et petat quod ad- versarius suus summoiieatur quod sit ad proximum comitatum, vi.] Provisions of Oxford. 387 veniet superior capitalis dominus feodi ejusdem et petit suam curiam inde et habebit : et, probata defalta curiae, veiiiet adhuc alter superior dominusi feodi illius et petit similiter curiam suam et habebit : et sic de singulis capitalibus dominis quotquot fuerint superiores. Quod est aperte contra justitiam, cum in brevi contineatur quod capitalis dominus feodi cui breve diri- gitur plenum rectum teneat quod vicecomes faciat, etc. (Annals of Burton, 439-443.) No. IV. Provisions of Oxford. Provisio fact a apud Oxoniam. Provisum est quod de quolibet comitatu eligantur quatuor discreti et legales milites, qui, quolibet die ubi tenetur comita- tus, conveniant ad audiendum omnes querelas de quibuscunque transgressionibus et injuriis quibuscunque personis illatis per vicecomites, ballivos, seu quoscunque alios, et ad faciendum tachiamenta quae ad dictas querelas pertinent usque ad primum adventum capitalis justitiarii in partes illas. Ita quod suffici- entes capiant plegios a conquerente de prosequendo, et de eo de quo queritur, veniendo et juri parendo coram praefato justitiario in primo adventu suo. Et quod praedicti quatuor milites in- rotulari faciant omnes praedictas querelas cum suis attachia- mentis ordinate et serie, scilicet de quolibet hundredo separatim et per se. Ita quod praefatus justitiarius in primo adventu suo possit audire et terminare praefatas querelas sigillatim de quolibet hundredo. Et scire faciant vicecomiti quod venire faciant coram praefato justitiario in proximo adventu suo ad dies et loca quae eis scire faciet, omnes hundredarios et ballivos suos ; ita quod quilibet hundredarius venire faciat omnes con- querentes et defendentes de balliva sua, successive, secundum quod praefatus justitiarius duxerit de praedicto hundredo pla- citare ; et tot et tales tarn milites quam alios liberos et legales homines de balliva sua per quos rei veritas melius convinci poterit, ita quod omnes simul et semel non vexentur, sed tot veniant quot possunt una die placitari et terminari. Idem provisum est quod nullus miles de praedictis comi- tatibus, occasione acquietantiae quod non ponatur in juratis vel assisis, per cartam domini regis deferatur, nee quietus sit quoad provisionem istam sic factam pro communi utilitate totius regni. C C 2 388 Henry III. [PART JElecti ex parte domini Regis. Dominus Londoniensis episcopus, dominus Wintoniensis electus, dominus H. filius regis Alemanniae, dominus J. comes Watfennae ; dominus Guido de Lysinan, dominus W. de Valentia, dominus J. Comes Warewici, dominus Johannes Hansel, frater J. de Derlington, Abbas Westmonasterii, do- minus H. de Hengham. Electi ex parte comitum et baronum. Dominus Wygornensis episcopus, dominus Symon comes Leycestrensis, dominus Ricardus comes Gloverniae, dominus Humfridus comes Herefordiae, dominus Hogerus Marescallus, dominus Kogerus de Mortuo Mari, dominus J. filius Galfridi, dominus Hugo le Bigot, dominus Ricardus de Gray, dominus W. Bardulf, dominus P. de Monteforti, dominus Hugo Dis- pensarius. Et si contingat aliquem istorum necessitate interesse non posse, reliqui istorum eligant quern voluerint, scilicet alium ne- cessarium loco absentis ad istud negotium prosequendum. Ceo jura le commun de Engleterre a Oxentford. Nus, tels et tels, fesum a saver a tute genz, ke nus avum jure sur seintes Evangeles, e sumus tenuz ensemble par tel serment, e promettuns en bone fei, ke chescun de nus e tuz ensemble nus entre eiderums, e nus e les nos cuntre tute genz, dreit fesant, e rens pernant ke nus ne purrum sanz mef fere, salve la fei le rei e de la corune. E promettuns sur meime le serment, ke nul de nus ja ren ne prendra de tere ne de moeble par que cest serment purra estre desturbe, u en nule ren empeyre. E si nul fet encontre ceo, iius le tendrums a enemi mortel. Ceo est le serment a vint e quatre. Chescun jura sur seintes Evangeles, ke il al honur de Deu, e a la fei le rei, e al profit del reaume, ordenera e tretera ovekes les avant dit jures sur le refurmement e le amendement del estat del reaume. E ke ne lerra pur dun, ne pur promesse, pur amur, ne pur hange, ne pur pour de nulli, ne pur gain, ne pur perte, ke leaument ne face solum la tenur de la lettre, ke le rei ad sur ceo done et sun fez ensement. Ceo jura le haute justice de Engletere. II jure ke ben et leaument a sun poer fra ceo ke apent a vi.] Provisions of Oxford. 389 la justicerie de dreiture tenir, a tute genz al prou le rei e del reaume, solum la purveaunce fete et a fere par les vint et quatre, et par le cunseil le rei e les hauz humes de la tere, ki li jurrunt en cestes choses a aider e a meintenir. Ceo jura le Chanceler de Engletere. Ke il ne enselera mil bref fors bref de curs sanz le com- mandement le rei, e de sun cunseil ke serra present : ne enselera dun de grant garde, ne de grant ... ne de eschaetes, sanz le assentement del grant cunseil u de la greinure partie : ne ke il ne enselera ren ke seit encontre le ordinement, ke est fet et gerra a fere par les vint et quatre, u par la greinure partie. Ne ke il ne prendra nul loer autrement ke il nest divise as autres. E lem li baudra un companiun en la furme ke le cunseil purverra. Ceo est le serment ke les gardens des chastels firent. Ke il les chastels le rei leaument e en bone fei garderunt al ces le rei e de ses heyrs. E ke eus les rendrunt al rei u a ses heyrs et a nul autre, e par sun cunseil et en nule autre manere ; ceo est a saver, par prodes homes de la tere esluz a sun cunseil, u par la greinure partie. E ceste furme par escrit dure deske a duze ans. E de iiokes en avant par cest establement et cest serment ne seint constreint, ke franchement ne les pussent rendre al rei u a ses heirs. Ceo sunt ceus ke sunt jurez del cunseil le rei. Archiepiscopus Cantuariensis, episcopus Wygornensis, comes Leycestrensis, comes Glovernensis, comes Mariscallus, Petrus de Sabaudia, comes Albemarliae, comes "Warewik, comes Hereford- ensis, Johannes Mansel, Johannes films Galfridi, Petrus de Monteforti, Ricardus de Gray, Rogerus de Mortuo Mari, Jacobus de Aldithelege. Les duze de par le rei unt eslu ) Le cunte Roger le Marescall, des duze de par le commun / Hugo le Bigot. E la partie ver le commun ad ) Le cunte de Warewik, eslu des duze ke sunt de par le rei / Johannes Mansell. E ces quatre unt poer a eslire le cunseil le rei, et quant il unt eslu, il les mustrunt as vint et quatre ; et la u la greinure partie de ces assente, seit tenu. 39 Henry III. [PART Ces sunt les duze ke sunt eslu per les baruns a treter a treis parlemenz per an oveke le cunseil le rei pur tut le commun de la tere de commun bosoine. Episcopus Londoniensis, comes Wintoniensis, comes Here- fordensis, Philippus Basset, Johannes de Bailol, Johannes de Verdun, Johannes de Gray, Rogerus de Sumery, Roger us de Monte Alto, Hugo Dispensarius, Thomas de Gresley, Aegidius de Argenten. Ces sunt les vint el quatre ke sunt mis per le commun a treter de aide le rei. Episcopus Wigornensis, episcopus Londoniensis, episcopus Sarum ; comes Leycestrensis, comes Glovernensis, comes Mares- callus, Petrus de Sabaudia, comes Herefordensis, comes Aube- marliae, comes Wintoniensis, comes Oxoniensis, Johannes films Galfridi, Johannes de Gray, Johannes de Bailol, Rogerus de Mortuo Mari, Rogerus de Monte Alto, Rogerus de Sumery, Petrus de Monteforti, Thomas de Greley, Fulco de Kerdiston, Aegidius de Argenton, Johannes Kyriel, Philippus Basset, Aegi- dius de Erdinton. E si aukun de ces ne i pusse estre u ne voile, a ces ke i serrunt apent poer de autre eslire en sun liu. Del estat de seint Eglise. A remembrer fet ke le estat le seint Eglise seit amende par les vint et quatre esluz a refurmer le estat del reaume de Engletere, kant il verrunt liu et tens, solum le poer ke il en unt par la lettre le rei de Engletere. De la haute justice. Derichef ke justice seit mis un u deus, et quel poer il avera, et ke il ne seit fors un an. Issi ke al chef del an respoine devant le rei et sun cunseil de sun tens et devant celui ke serra apres lui. Del tresorer e de le eschecker. Autel del tresorer. Mes ke il rende acunte al chef del an. E bone genz autres seient mis al escheker solum le ordenement les avant dit vint et quatre. E la vengent totes les issues de la tere, et en nule part ailurs. E ceo ke lem verra a ameuder seit amende. vi.] Provisions of Oxford. 391 Del Chanceler. Autel del chanceler. Issi ke al chef del an respoine de sun tens. E ke il ne ensele hors de curs par la sule volunte del rei ; mes le face par le cunseil ke serra entur le rei. Del poer la justice e de bailivis. La haute justice a poer de amender les tors fez de tutes autres justices, et de ballifs, e de cuntes, et de baruns, et de tutes autres genz, solum lei et dreit de la tere. E les brefs seient pledez solum lei de la tere e en leus deues. E ke la justice ne prenge ren si ne seit present de pain et de vin et de teles choses, ceo est a saver, viandes et beifres, sicum lem ad este acustume a porter as tables de prodes homes a la jornee. E ceste meime chose seit entendue de tuz les cunseilers le rei et de tuz ses ballifs. E ke nul ballif par achesun de plai u de sun office ne prenge nul loer par sa main, ne par autru en nule manere. E si il est ateint, ke il seit reint, et cil ke done autresi. E si co vent ke le rei done a sa justice et a sa gent ke le servent, ke il ne eient mester ke il ren prengent de autrui. De vescuntes. Les vescuntes seient purveus leus genz et prodes homes et tere tenanz ; issi ke en chescun cunte seit un vavasur del curite memes vescunte, ke ben et leuement trete la gent del cunte et dreitement. E ke il ne prenge loer, e ke il ne sei vescunte fors un an ensemble. E ke en le an rende ses acuntes al echeker, e respoine de sun tens. E ke le rei lui face del soen, solum sun afferant- coment il pusse garder le cunte dreitement. E ke il ne prenge nul loer, ne li ne ses ballifs. E si il seient ateint, seient reinz. A remembrer fet ke lem mette tel amendement a la Gyuerie et as gardeins de la Gyurie, ke lem i sauve le serement. De Eschaeturs. Bons eschaeturs seient mis. E ke il ne prengent rens des bens as morz, de queles teres deivent estre en la main le rei. Mes ke les eschaeturs eient franche administraciun des bens, deske il averunt fet le gre le rei si dette lui deivent. E ceo solum la furme de la chartre de franchise. E ke lem enquerge des tors fez ke eschaeturs unt fet ca en arere, et seit amende de tel et de tel. Ne tailage ne autre chose ne prenge, fors si come il devera solum la chartre de franchise. La chartre de franchise seit garde fermement. 392 Henry III. [PAHT Del Eschange de Lundres. A remembrer fet del eschange de Lundres amender, et de la cite de Lundres, et de totes les autres citez le rei, ke a hunte et a destrucciuns sunt alez per tailages et autres oppressions. De hospitio regis et reginae. A remembrer fet del hostel le rei et la regine amender. Des parlemenz, quanz serrunt tenuz per an et coment. II fet a remembrer ke les xxiv. sunt ordene ke treis parle- menz seient par an. Le premerein as utaves de Sein Michel : le secund le demein de la Chandelur : le terz le premer jor de June, ceo est a saver, treis semeines devant le Seint John. A ces treis parlemenz, vendrunt les cunseillers le rei esluz, tut ne seient il pas mandez pur ver le estat del reaume et pur treter les cummuns bosoingnes del reaume et del rei ensement. E autre fez ensement quant mester serra per le mandement le rei. Si fet a remembre ke le commun eslise xii. prodes homes, ke vendrunt as parlemenz et autre fez quant mester serra, quant le rei u sun cunseil les mandera pur treter de bosoingnes le rei et del reaume. E ke le commun tendra pur estable ceo ke ces xii. fmnt. E ceo serra fet pur esparnier le cust del commun. Quinze serrunt nomez par ces quatre, ceo est a saver per le cunt le Marechall, le cunte de Warewik, Hugo le Bigot, et John Mansel, ki sunt esluz par les xxiv. pur nomer les devant dit quinze, les queus serrunt de cunseil le rei. E serrunt cunfermez par les avant dit xxiv. u par la greinore partie de els. E averunt poer del rei conseiler en bone fei del governement del reaume, et de totes choses ke al rei u al reaume pertenent. E pur amender et adrescer totes les choses ke il verrunt ke facent a adrescer et amender. E su le haute justice, et sur totes autres genz. E si il ne poent tuz estre, ceo ke la greinure partie fra, serra ferm et estable. Ceo sunt les nums des cJieveteins chasteaus le rei, et de ceus ke les unt en garde. Robertas de Neville ; Bamburg, Novum castrum super Tyne. Gilbertus de Gant; Scardeburg. Willelmus Bardulf; Noting- ham. Kadulfus Basset de Sapercot ; Norhamton. Hugo Bigot ; Turris Londoniarum. Ilicardus de Gray ; Doveria. Nicolaus de Moules ; Koucestria et Cantuaria. Wintonia. Rogerus de Samford ; Porcestria. Stephanus Longe Espee ; Corfe. Matheus vi.] Provisions of Oxford. 393 de Besill ; Gloucestria. Henricus de Tracy ; Exonia. Eicardus de Eochele; Haldesham. Johannes de Gray; Herefordia. Robertus Walrant; Sarum. Hugo Dispensarius ; Horestan. Petrus de Monteforti ; Brugewalter. Comes Warewik ; Divises. Johannes filius Bernard! ; Oxonia. (Ann. Burton, pp. 446-453.) TRANSLATION". TJtis t7ie commonalty of England swore at Oxford. We, so and so, make known to all men, that we Lave sworn upon the holy Gospels, and are held together by such oath, and promise in good faith, that each one of us and we all together will mutually aid each other, both ourselves and those belonging to us, against all people, doing right and taking nothing that we cannot without doing mischief, saving faith to the king and the crown. And we promise under the same oath, none of us will henceforth take land or moveables by which this oath can be dis- turbed or in anyways impaired. And if any one acts against this, we will hold him as a mortal enemy. This is the oath to the twenty -four. Each swore on the holy Gospels, that he to the honour of God, and to his faith to the king, and to the profit of the realm, will ordain and treat with the aforesaid sworn persons upon the reformation and amendment of the state of the realm. And that he will not fail for gift, nor for promise, for love, nor for hate, nor for fear of any one, nor for gain, nor for loss, loyally to do according to the tenour of the letter which the king and his son have together given for this. This the chief justice of England swore. He swears that he will well and loyally according to his power do that which belongs to the justiciar of right to hold, to all persons, to the profit of the king and the kingdom, according to the provision made and to be made by the twenty-four, and by the counsel of the king and the great men of the land who shall swear in these things to aid and support him. This the chancellor of England swore. That he will seal no writ, excepting writs of course, without the com- mandment of the king and of his council who shall be present. Nor shall he seal a gift of a great wardship, or of a great [ ]*, nor of escheats, without the assent of the great council or of the major part. And that he will seal nothing which may be contrary to the ordinance which is made and shall be made by the twenty-four, or by the major part. And that he will take no fee otherwise than what is given to the others. And he shall be given a companion in the form which the council shall provide. * A blank space in the MS, 394 Henry III. [PART This is the oath which the guardians of the Icing's castles made. That they will keep the castles of the king loyally and in good faith for the use of the king and of his heirs ; and that they will give them up to the king or to his heirs, and to none other, and by his counsel and in no other manner, to wit, by honest men of the land elected as his council, or by the major part. And this form by writ lasts for twelve years. And from that time /forward by this settlement and this oath they shall not be hindered so that they cannot freely give them up to the king and his heirs. These are those who are sworn of the king's council. [The names follow.] The twelve on the king's side have elected out of the twelve on that of the commonalty the Earl Roger the Marshall, and Hugh Bigot. And the party of commonalty have elected out of the twelve who are on the king's side the Earl of Warwick and John Mansel. And these four have power to elect the council of the king, and when they have elected them, they shall present them to the twenty-four ; and there, where the greater part of these agree, it shall be held. These are the twelve who are elected by the barons to treat at the three parlia- ments by year with the Icing's council for all the commonalty of the land of the common need. [The names follow.] These are the twenty-four who are appointed by the commonalty to treat of aid to the king. [The names follow.] And if any one of these cannot or will not serve, those who shall be there have power to elect another in his place. Of the state of holy church,. Be it remembered that the state of the holy church be amended by the twenty-four elected to reform the state of the realm of England, when they shall see place and time, according to the power which they have respect- ing it by the letter of the King of England. Of the chief justice. Moreover, that a justice be appointed, one or two, and what power he shall have, and that he be only for a year. So that at the end of the year lie answer concerning his time before the king and his council and before him who shall follow him. Of the treasurer, and of the exchequer. The like of the treasurer. That he too give account at the end of the year. And other good persons are to be placed at the exchequer accord- ing to the direction of the aforesaid twenty-four. And there let all the issues of the land come, and in no part elsewhere. And let that which shall be seen to require amendment, be amended. vi.] Provisions of Oxford. 395 Of the chancellor. The like of the chancellor. That he at the end of the year answer concerning his time. And that he seal nothing out of course by the sole will of the king. But that he do it by the council which shall be around the king. Of the power of the justice and bailiffs. The chief justice has power to amend the wrongs done by all the other justices and bailiffs, and earls and barons, and all other people, according to the law and justice of the land. And let the writs be pleaded according to the law of the land, and in fit places. And that the justice take nothing unless it be presents of bread and wine, and such things, to wit, meat and drink, as have been used to be brought to the tables of the chief men for the day. And let this same thing be understood of all the king's councillors and all his bailiffs. And that no bailiff, by occa- sion of plea or of his office, take any fee in his own hand, or through the agency of another in any manner. And if he is convicted, that he be punished, and he who gives likewise. And if it be fitting, that the king give to his justiciar and his people who serve him, so that they have no occasion to take anything from elsewhere. Of the sheriffs. Let there be provided as sheriffs, loyal people, and substantial men, and land tenants ; so that in each county there be a vavasour of the same county as sheriff, to treat the people of the county well, loyally, and rightfully. And that he take no fee, and that he be sheriff only for a year together ; and that in the year he give up his accounts at the exchequer and answer for his time. And that the king grant unto him out of his own, according to his contribution, so that he can guard the county rightfully. And that he take no fee, neither he nor his bailiffs. And if they be con- victed, let them be punished. Be it remembered that such amendment is to be applied to the Jewry, and to the wardens of the Jewry, that the oath as to the same may be kept. Of the escheators. Let good escheators be appointed ; and that they take nothing of the effects of the dead, of such lands as ought to be in the king's hand. Also that the escheators have free administration of the goods until they shall have done the king's will, if they owe him debts. And that, according to the form of the Charter of liberty. And that inquiry be made into the wrongs done which the escheators have done there aforetime, and amend- ment be made of such and such. Nor let tallage on anything else be taken, excepting such as ought to be according to the Charter of liberty. Let the Charter of liberty be kept firmly. Of the exchange of London. Be it remembered to amend the exchange of London, and the city of London, and all the other cities of the king which have gone to shame and destruction by the tallages and other oppressions. 396 Henry III. [PART Of the place of reception of the king and queen. Be it remembered to amend the hostelry of the king and the queen. Of the parliaments, how many shall be held by year, and in what manner. It is to be remembered that the twenty-four have ordained that there be three parliaments a year. The first at the octave of S. Michael. The second the morrow of Candlemas. The third the first day of June, to wit, three weeks before S. John. To these three parliaments the elected coun- cillors of the king shall come, even if they are not sent for, to see the state of the realm, and to treat of the common wants of the kingdom, and of the king in like manner. And other times in like manner when occasion shall be, by the king's command. So it is to be remembered that the commonalty elect twelve honest men, who shall come at the parliaments and other times when occasion shall be, when the king or his council shall send for them, to treat of the wants of the king and of the kingdom. And that the commonalty shall hold as established that which these twelve shall do. And that shall be done to spare the cost of the commonalty. There shall be fifteen named by these four, to wit, by the Earl Marshall, the Earl of Warwick, Hugh Bigod, and John Mansel, who are elected by the twenty-four to name the aforesaid fifteen, who shall be the king's council. And they shall be confirmed by the aforesaid twenty-four, or by the major part of them. And they shall have power to counsel the king in good faith concerning the government of the realm and all things which appertain to the king or to the kingdom; and to amend and redress all things which they shall see require to be redressed and amended. And over the chief justice and over all other people. And if they cannot all be present, that which the majority shall do shall be firm and established. These are the names of the principal castles of the king, and of those who have them in keeping. [The names follow.] (Chiefly from the Translation by Mr. Luard, Ann. Burton, pp. 501-505.) No. V. Proclamations oftJie King's Adhesion to the Provisions. i. HENR* bur} G-odes fultume king on Engleneloande, Lhoauerd on Yrloand', Duk on Norm' on Aquitain' and eorl on Aniow send igretinge to alle hise holde ilserde and ileawede on Hun- tendon' schir'. beet witen 56 wel alle bset we willen and unnen bset. beet ure rsedesmen alle ober be moare dsel of heom bset beob ichosen bur} us and burj bset loandes folk on ure kuneriche. habbeb idon and schullen don in be worbnesse of Gode and on ure treowbe. for be freme of be loande. bur} be besi3te of ban toforeniseide redesmen ; beo stedefaest and ilestinde in alle binge abuten sende. And we hoaten alle ure treowe in be vi.] Provisions of Oxford. treowbe. baet heo us o^en. bget heo stedefestliche swerien to healden and to werien bo isetnesses bset and beon to makien bur3 ban toforeniseide rsedesme be moare dael of heom alswo alse hit is biforen )>set sehc ober helpe bget for to done bi ban ilche obe men. ri^jt for to done and to foangen. And noan ne loande ne of ejte. wherburj bis besigte muge beon ilet iwersed on onie wise. And }if oni ober onie cumen her on^enes we willen and hoaten bget alle ure treowe heom healden dead- liche ifoan. And for \>sdt we willen bget bis beo stedefsest and lestinde; we senden jew bis writ open iseined wib ure seel, to halden a manges jew inehord. Witnesse us seluen set Lunden'. bane Ejtetenj^e day. on be Monbe of Octobr' In be Two and fowertijbe jeare of ure cruninge. And bis wes idon setforen ure isworene redesmen. Bonefac' Archebischop on Kant'bur'. "Walt' of Cantelow. Bischop on Wirechestr'. Sim* of Muntfort. Eorl on Leirchestr'. Ric' of Clar' Eoii on Glowchestr' and on Hurtford'. Eog. Bigod Eorl on Northfolk' and Marescal on Engleneloand'. Perres of Sauueye. Will' of Fort Eorl on Aubem'. Joh' of Plesseiz Eorl on Warewik'. Joh' Geffrees sune. Perres of Muntfort. Ric' of Grey. Rog' of Mortemer. James of Aldithel and setforen o^re moje. And al on ]>o ilche worden is isend in to sevrihce o]>re shcire ouer al J>sere kuneriche on Engleneloande. and ek in tel Ire- londe. (Foedpra, i. 378, collated with the edition of A. J. Ellis, London, 1868.) TRANSLATION. Henry, by the grace of God king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to all his faithful, clerk and lay, in Huntingdonshire, greeting. Know ye all well that we will and grant that that which our counsellors, all or the greater part of them, that be chosen by us and by the people of the land of our kingdom, ha\ge done and phall do in honour of God and in loyalty to us, for the bene- fit of the country, by the provision of the aforesaid counsellors, be steadfast and lasting in all things without end. And we command all our true men in the troth that they owe us, that they steadfastly hold and swear to hold and to defend the statutes that be made or to be made by the aforesaid counsellors or by the greater part of them as is aforesaid ; and that each help other that for to do by the same oath, against all men, right for to do and to receive ; and let no one take of land or of goods, whereby this pro- vision may be hindered or damaged in any wise. And if any person or persons come there against, we will and command that all our faithful hold them as deadly foes. And for that we will that this be steadfast and lasting, we send you this writ open, sealed with our seal, to keep among you in store. Witness ourself at London, the i8th of October, in the forty- second year of our reign. And this was done before our sworn counsellors Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury ; Walter of Cantelupe, bishop of Henry III. [PART Worcester; Simon of Montfort, earl of Leicester; Richard of Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford ; Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk and marshall of England ; Peter of Savoy ; William de Fortibus, earl of Albemarle ; John of Plessis, earl of Warwick ; John, son of Geoffrey ; Peter of Montfort ; Richard of Grey ; Roger of Mortimer ; James of Audley ; and before other more. And all in the same words is it sent into every other shire over all the kingdom of England and also into Ireland. 2. Henri, par la grace de Deu rei de Engletere, due de Nor- mandie, de Aquitanie, et cunte de Angou, a tuz ses feus et leus saluz. Pur coe ke nus desirrums et volums ke hastive dreiture seit fete par tote nostre reaume autresi ben as poveres cum a riches, nus volums et comanduns ke tuz les torz ke unt este fet de nostre tens en vostre cunte, ki unkes le avera fet, seint mustre as quatre chevalers ke nus avum a coe aturne, si en avant ne lur eit este mustrez. E nus, al plus hastivement ke nus purrums, les frum amender et adrescer. Mes si nus ne pur- rums si hastivement ceste chose fere cume nus vodrums, et cume mester serreit a vous et a nus, ne nus ne vous devez pas amer- veiler ke la chose, ke est si longement malement ale a nostre damage et al vostre, ke eles ne poent si tost estre amendez. Mes par les premer amendeinenz ke serrunt fet al cunte u nus ave- rum nostre justice et de nos autres prodes homes, pur coe poez aver certeyn esperance ke ausi fra lem a vous al plus tost ke lem purra. Sachez ke nus avum fet jurer chescun de nos vescuntes icel serment, ke il nus servira lewement, et lewement tendra a son poer ceo ke est desuz escrit; ceo est a saver, ke il fra dreiture communement a tute gent solum le poer ke il a de sun office. E ceo ne lerra pur amur, ne pur hayne, ne pur pour de nul, ne pur nule coveytise, ke il ausi ben et ausi tost ne face hastive dreiture al povere home cume al riche ; ne de nuly ren prendra par li, ne par autre en nule manere, par art ne par engyn par achesun de la baylie, fors solement mangers et beyfres ke lem est acustume a porter as tables, ausi cume a une jornee al plus ; ne ke il ne avera fors eyne chevaus en lyu ou il her- berge ovekes autre par achesun de sa bayllie j ne oveke nul ne herbergera ke eit meins de quarante livere de tere, ne en nule mesun de religion ke eit meins de value de cent mars chescun an de teres ou de rentes ; ne ovekes les lyus dites ne herbergera ke une net par an, ou deus al plus. E ceo ne fra fors par lur priere et par lur bone volunte. E ke ceo a custume ne trerra. E si il covent ke il herberge, ke plus ne prendra de presenz ne de autre chose ke plus vaile ke duze deners. E ke de serganz ne avera fors tant cum li covendra convenablement tenir pur garder sa bayllie, e teus serganz prendra, des queus il seit si seur ke il vi.] Provisions of Oxford. 399 pusse respondre de lur fet. E ke le pais ne seit trop greve pur lur manger ne pur lur beyfres. E ceul tant cume il sunt en bayllie, nul home clerc ne lay, franc ne vilein, de mesun de religion ne de vilee, ne demanderunt ne prendrunt aygnel, garbe, blee, ne leine, ne nul autre man ere de moble, ne deners ne ke le vaille, si come plusurs unt acustume ca en arere. E co lur face jurer le vescunte kant il les mettra en bailie. E ke cuntez, hundredes, wapetakes, ne nul autre manere de baillies de nostre reaume debaudra a ferme a nulli. E seient certeins vescuntes, et tote maneres de autres baillis, ke si nul est ateint de nule manere de autre prise ke suz est escrit par achesun de sa baillie, ke il serra reint ausi ben le donur come le recevur; kar nus avum purveu par le cunseil de nos hauz homes ke tuz jurs mes seit fete plenere et hastive dreiture a tuz sanz nule manere de luer. E pur co nus comanduns et defenduns a tuz et a totes, ke a nul de nos baillis rens ne offrent, ne promettent, ne donent, sur peine de estre reint; kar quant le vescunt vendra al chef del an sur sun acunte, lem li livera ses covenables despenses ke avera fet, pur sa baillie garder et pur le luer de ses serganz. E pur co le donums nus del nostre, ke nus ne volums ke il eient achesun de rens prendre de autru. E nus volums ke nul de nos baillis ke nus metums en nostre tere, viscunte ne autre, demorge en sa baillie plus de un an. E pur co le vous fesums a saver ke si duresces ou torz seient fetes par les avant dites baillis, ke vus nieins les dotez, et plus seurement lurs torz mostrez. Teste- moigne memes a Westmostre, le vintime jur de Octobre, le an de nostre regne xlii. TRANSLATION. Henry, by the grace of God king of England, duke of Normandy, Aqui- taine, and count of Anjou, to all his faithful and loyal subjects, health. Forasmuch as we desire and wish that speedy justice be done through the whole of our realm, as well to the poor as to rich, we wish and command that all the wrongs which have been done in our time in your county, whoever shall have done them, be shown to the four knights whom we have assigned for this, if they have not before been shown to them. And we, as speedily as we can, will have them amended and redressed. But if we cannot as speedily do this as we wish, and as occasion shall be to you and to us, neither we nor you ought to wonder that what has for so long gone on ill to our loss and, to yours, cannot so quickly be amended. But by the first amendments that shall be done in the county where we shall have our justiciar and our other proved men, by this you can have certain hope that thus it shall be done to you as soon as possible. Know that we have made each one of our sheriffs swear this oath, that he will serve us loyally, and loyally will keep according to his power that which is written above, to wit, that he will do right in common to all people, according to the power which he has from his own office. And that he will not fail for 400 Henry III. [PART love, not for hate, nor for fear of any, nor for any greed, as well and as soon to do speedy justice to poor as to rich ; and that he will not take from any one anything by himself nor by another in any manner, by art or by device, by occasion of the bailiwick, excepting only meat and drink which are accustomed to be brought on the tables, and that as for one day at the most ; nor that he shall have more than his own horse in the place where he lodges with another by occasion of his bailiwick ; nor shall he lodge with any one who has less than forty librates of land, nor in any religious house which has less than the value of 100 marks each year in lands or in rents ; nor shall he lodge in the said places more than once a year, or twice at most ; and that he shall not do except at their prayer and their good will ; and that that shall not be drawn into a custom. And if it be convenient for him to lodge, that he shall take no more of presents nor of other things than is worth twelve pence. And that of servants he shall have only so many as shall be rightful for him to have conveniently to protect his bailiwick, and those servants shall he take of whom he may be sure that he can answer for their deeds. And that the country be not too much pressed for their meat or for their drink. And they, so long as they are in the bailiwick, shall not ask nor take from any man, clerk or lay, free or villein, from religious house or township, lamb, sheaf, corn, nor wool, nor any other kind of moveable property, nor money, nor what is worth it, as many have been accustomed aforetime. And this the sheriff is to make them swear when he puts them in charge. And that he shall not deliver up counties, hundreds, wapentakes, nor any other kind of baili- wicks of our realm to farm to any one. And let them be certain, sheriffs and all kinds of other bailiffs, that if any one is convicted of any kind of other prisage than is written above, by occasion of his bailiwick, that he shall be punished, as well the giver as the receiver. For we have provided, by the counsel of our great men, that for ever after there be done full and speedy justice to all without any kind of fee. And for this we command and prohibit to all men and all women, that to no one of our bailiffs shall they offer, or promise, or give anything, on pain of being punished ; for when the sheriff shall come at the end of the year upon his account, there shall be paid to him his proper expenses which he shall have made to guard his bailiwick and to fee his servants. And for that we give him of our own, because we will not that he have occasion to take anything from another. And we will that no one of our bailiffs whom we put in our lands, sheriff or other person, remain in his bailiwick more than a year. And for that we cause you to know, that if hardships or wrongs are done by the aforesaid bailiffs, that you fear them less and more surely show their wrong doings. Witness ourselves at Westminster, the aoth day of October, in the 42nd year of our reign. (Ann. Barton, pp. 453, 505.) No. VI. A.D. 1259. The Provisions of the Barons. These were drawn up in pursuance of the plan initiated by the Provisions of Oxford, and were published and ratified by the king on the feast of S. Edward, 1259. They were republished by Henry in 1262, when he was at one with the barons; and again in 1264, during his captivity. They were, vi.] Provisions of Westminster. 401 after the general pacification, embodied in the Statute of Marl- borough in 1267. Anno ab Incarnatione Domini M CCLIX regni autem Henrici regis, filii regis Johannis xliii , convenientibus apud Westmonasterium in quindena Sancti Michaelis ipso domino rege et magnatibus suis, de communi consilio et consensu dictorum regis et magnatum factae sunt provisiones sub- scriptae per ipsos regem et magnates et publicatae in hunc modum. 1. De sectis faciendis ad curias magnatum et aliorum domi- noruui ipsarum curiarum, provisum est et concorditer statutum quod nullus qui per cartam feofatus est, distringatur de cetero ad sectam faciendam ad curiam domini sui, nisi per formam cartae suae specialiter leneatur ad sectam faciendam ; hiis tan- turn exceptis quorum antecessores vel ipsimet hujusmodi sectam facere consueverunt ante primam transfretationem dicti domini regis in Britanniam, a tempore cujus transfretationis elapsi fuerunt xxix. anni et dimidius tempore quo haec constitutio facta fait : et similiter nullus feofatus sine carta a tempore con- quaestus vel alio antique feofamento distringatur ad hujusmodi sectam faciendam, nisi ipse vel antecessores sui earn facere con- sueverunt ante primam transfretationem domini regis in Bri- tanniam. 2. Et si haereditas aliqua, de qua tantum una secta debebatur, ad plures haeredes participes ejusdem devolvatur, ille qui habet einesciam haereditatis illius unicam faciat sectam pro se et parti- cibus suis : et participes sui pro portione sua contribuant ad sectam ilJam faciendam. Similiter etiam si plures feofati fuerint de haereditate aliqua, de qua unica secta debebatur, dominus illius feodi unicam habeat inde sectam, nee possit de praedicta haereditate nisi unicam sectam exigere, sicut fieri prius con- suevit. Et si feofati illi warantum vel medium non habeant qui inde eos acquietare debeat, tune ornnes feofati contribuant pro portione sua ad sectam illam faciendam. 3. Si autem contingat quod domini curiarum tenentes suos contra hanc provisionem pro hujusmodi secta distringant, tune ad querimoniam tenentium illorum attachientur quod ad curiam regis veniant ad brevem diem inde responsuri ; et unicum habeant essonium si fuerint in regno \ et incontinenti delibe- rentur conquerenti averia sive districtiones aliae hac occa- sione factae, et deliberata remaneant donee placitum inter eos terminetur. Et si domini curiarum, qui districtiones hujusmodi fecerint, ad diem ad quern attachiati fuerint non venerint, vel Dd 4O3 Henry III. [PART diem per essonium sibi datum non observaverint, tune mandetur viceeomiti quod eos ad diem ilium venire faciat, ad quern diem si non venerint, mandetur viceeomiti quod distringat eos per omnia quae habent in ballia sua, ita quod regi respondeat de exitibus, et quod habeat eorum corpora ad certum diem praefi- gendum, ita quod, si die illo non venerint, pars conquerens eat inde sine die, et averia sive aliae districtiones deliberata rema- neant donee ipsi domini sectam illam recuperaverint per con- siderationem curiae domini regis ; et cessent interim districtiones hujusmodi, salvo dominis curiarum jure suo de sectis illis per- quirendis in forma juris, cum inde loqui voluerint. Et cum domini curiarum venerint responsuri conquerentibus de hujus- modi districtionibus, si super hoc convincantur, tune per con- siderationem curiae recuperent conquerentes versus eos damna sua quae sustinuerunt occasione praedictae districtionis. Simili autem modo si tenentes post hanc constitutionem subtrahant dominis suis sectas quas facere debent, et quas ante tempus supradictae transfretationis et hactenus facere eonsueverunt, per eandem justitiam et celeritatem quo ad dies praefigendos et districtiones adjudicandas consequantur domini curiarum justitiam de sectis illis, una cum damnis suis, quemadmodum tenentes sua damna recuperant. Et hoc scilicet de damnis recuperandis intelligatur de subtractionibus sibi factis, et non de subtract ionibus factis praedecessoribus ipsorum ; verum tamen domini curiarum versus tenentes suos seisinam de sectis hujus- modi recuperare non poterunt per defaitam, sicut nee hactenus fieri consuevit. De sectis autem quae ante tempus supradietae transfretationis subtractae fuerunt, currat lex comniunis sicut prius currere consuevit. 4. De turno vicecomitis provisum est, ut necesse non habeant ibi venire archiepiscopi, episcopi, abbates, priores, comites, barones, nee aliqui religiosi seu mulieres, nisi specialiter eorum praesentia exigatur ; sed teneatur turnus sicut temporibus prae- decessorum domini regis teneri consuevit. Et si qui in hun- dredis diversis habeant tenementa, non habeant necesse ad hujusmodi turnum venire, nisi in balliis ubi fuerint conver- santes ; et teneantur turni secundum forinam Magnae Cartae regis, et sicut temporibus regum Johannis et Ricardi teneri consueverunt. 5. Provisum est etiam quod nee in itinere Justitiarum nee in comitatibus, nee in curiis baronum, de cetero ab aliquibus reci- piantur fines pro pulchre placitando, neque per sic quod non occasionentur. 6. In placito vero dotis quod dicitiir, wide nihil Jidbe^ dentur vi.] Provisions of Westminster. 403 de cetero quatuor dies per annum ad minus, et plures si com- mode fieri posset. 7. In assisis ultimae praesentationis, et in placito quare im- pedit de ecclesiis vacantibus, detur dies de quindena in quinde- nam, vel de tribus septimanis in tres septimanas, prout locus propinquus fuerit vel remotus. Et in placito Quare Impedit, si ad primum diem, ad quern summonitus fuerit, iion veniat nee essonium mittat impeditor, tune attachietur ad diem alium, quo die si non venerit nee essonium mittat, distringatur per magnam districtionem superius dictam. Et si tune non venerit, per ejus defaltam scribatur episcopo quod reclamatio impeditoris ilia vice conquerenti non obsistat, salvo impeditori alias jure suo, cum inde loqui voluerit. 8. De cartis vero exemptionis et libertatis ne ponantur impe- trantes in assisis, juratis vel recognitionibus, provisum est, ut si adeo necessarium sit eorum juramentum quod sine eo justitia exhiberi non possit, veluti in magna assisa et perambulationibus et ubi in cartis vel scripturis conventionum fuerint testes nomi- nati, aut in attinctis vel casibus aliis consimilibus, jurare cogan- tur, salva sibi alias libertate et exemptione sua praedicta. 9. Si haeres aliquis post mortem sui antecessoris infra aetatem exstiterit, et dominus suus custodiam terrarum suarum habuerit, si dominus ille dicto haeredi, cum ad legitimam aetatem per- venerit, terram suam sine placito reddere noluerit, haeres ille terram suam ut de morte sui antecessoris recuperabit, una cum damnis quae sustinuerit per illam detentionem a tempore quo legitimae fuerit aetatis; quod si haeres in morte sui anteces- soris plenae fuerit aetatis, et haeres ille apparens et pro haerede cognitus , inventus sit in haereditate ilia, capitalis dominus ejus eum non ejiciat nee aliquid ibi capiat vel amoveat, sed tantum simplicem seisinam faciat per recognitionem dominii sui. 10. Et si capitalis dominus haeredem hujusmodi extra seisinam malitiose teneat, per quod per actionem mortis ante- cessoris vel consanguinitatis oporteat ipsum placitare, tune damna sua recuperet sicut in actione novae disseisinae. 11. Nulli de cetero liceat ex quacunque causa districtiones facere extra feodum suum, neque in regia aut communi strata, nisi domino regi et ministris suis. 12. Provisum est etiam quod si terra quae tenetur in socagium git in custodia parentum haeredis, eo quod haeredes infra aetatem iuerint, custodes illi vastum facere non possunt neque venditio- nem nee aliquam destructionem de haereditate ilia, sed salvo earn custodiant ad opus dicti haeredis ; ita quod cum ad aetatem pervenerit, sibi respondeant per legitimam computationem de D d 2 404 Henry III. [PART exitibus dictae haereditatis ; salvis ipsis custodibus rationabilibus misis suis. Nee etiam possunt dicti custodes maritagium dicti haeredis dare vel vendere nisi ad commodum ipsius haeredis. 13. Nullus escaetor, aut inquisitor, vel Justitia ad assisas aliquas capiendas specialiter assignatus, vel ad querelas aliquas audiendas et terminandas, de cetero potestatem habeant amerci- andi pro defalta communis summonitionis, nisi capitalis Justitia vel Justitiarii itinerantes in itineribus suis. 14. Viris autem religiosis non liceat ingredi feodum alicujus sine licentia capitalis domini, de quo scilicet res ipsa immediate tenetur. 15. De essoniis autem provisum est quod in comitatibus, hun- dredis aut curiis baronum, vel alibi, nullus habeat necesse jurare pro essonio suo warantizando. 1 6. Nullus de cetero excepto rege placitum teneat in curia sua de falso judicio facto in curia tenentium suorum, quia hujusmodi placita ad coronam specialiter pertinent et dignitatem regis. 17. Provisum est etiam quod si averia alicujus capiantur et injuste detineantur, vicecomes post querimoniam inde tibi factam, ea sine impedimento vel contradictione ejus qui dicta averia cepit, deliberare possit, si extra libertates capta fuerint ; et si infra libertates hujusmodi capiantur averia, et ballivi libertatum ea deliberare noluerint, tune vicecomes per defectum dictorum ballivorum ea faciat deliberari. 1 8. Nullus de cetero distringere possit libere tenentes suos ad respondendum de libero tenemento suo, neque de aliquibus ad liberum tenementum suum spectantibus, sine brevi regis, nee jurare faciat libere tenentes suos contra voluntatem suam, de- sicut nullus hoc facere potest sine praecepto regis. 19. Provisum est etiam quod si ballivi qui compotum dominis suis reddere tenentur se subtraxerint, et terras vel tenementa non habuerint per quae distringi possint, tune per eorum cor- pora attachientur, ita quod vicecomites in quorum balliis in- venientur, eos venire faciant ad compotum suum reddendum. 20. Item firmarii tempore suarum firmarum vastum vel ven- ditionem vel exilium non faciant de boscis, domibus, hominibus nee de aliis aliquibus ad tenementa quae ad firmam habuerint spectantibus, nisi specialem habeant concessionem per scripturam suae conventionis mentionem habentis quod hoc facere possint. Et si fecerint, et de hoc convincantur, damna plene refundant. 21. Justitiarii itinerantes de cetero non amerciant villatas in itinere suo, pro eo quod singuli xii. annorum non venerint coram vicecomitibus et coronatoribus ad inquisitiones de morte horninis vi.] Summons of Three Knights of the Shire. 405 aut aliis ad coronam pertinentibus, dum tamen de villis illis veniant sufficienter per quos inquisitiones liujusmodi plene fieri possint. 22. Murdrum de cetero non adjudicetur coram Justitiis ubi infortunium tantummodo adjudicatum est ; sed locum habeat murdrum in interfectis per feloniam et non aliter. 23. Provisum est insuper quod nullus qui coram Justitiis itinerantibus vocatur ad warantum de placito terrae vel tene- menti, amercietur de cetero pro eo quod praesens non fuerit, excepto primo die adventus ipsorum Justitiarum : sed si warantus ille sit infra comitatum, tune injungatur vicecomiti quod ipsum infra diem tertium vel quartum secundum locorum distantiam faciat venire, sicut in itinere Justitiarum fieri consue- vit; et si extra comitatum maneat, tune rationabilem habeat summonitionem xv. dierum ad minus secundum discretionem Justitiarum et legem communem. 24. Si clericus aliquis pro crimine aliquo vel retto quod ad coronam pertineat, arestatus fuerit, et postmodum de praecepto regis in ballium traditus vel replegiatus exstiterit, ita quod hii quibus traditur in ballium eum habeant coram Justitiis, non amercientur de cetero illi quibus traditus fuit in ballium, vel alii plegii sui, si corpus suum habeant coram Justitiis, licet coram eis propter privilegium clericale respondere nolit vel non possit. (Statutes of the Realm, i. 8-n.) No. VII. A.D. 1261. Writ summoning three Knights of tlie Shire to Parliament at Windsor. REX Vicecomiti Norfolchiae et Suffolchiae, salutem. Cum ex parte episcopi Wigornensis, comitum Leyce striae et Gloucestriae et quorundam aliorum procerum regni nostri vocati sint tres milites de singulis comitatibus nostris quod sint coram ipsis apud Sanctum Albanum in instanti festo Sancti Matthaei Apo- stoli secum tractaturi super communibus negotiis regni nostri, et nos et praedicti proceres nostri in eundem diem apud Winde- soram convenerimus ad tractandum de pace inter nos et ipsos, tibi praecipimus quod illis militibus de ballia tua, qui vocati sunt coram eis ad diem praedictum, firmiter injungas ex parte nostra ut ; omni occasione postposita, ad nos die praedicto veniant apud Windesoram, et eis etiam districte inhibeas ne dicto die alibi quam ad nos accedant, sed eos modis omnibus venire facias coram nobis ad diem praedictum, nobiscum super praemissis colloquium habituros, ut ipsi per effectum operis videant et in- telligant quod nihil attemptare proponimus nisi quod honori et 406 Henry III. (PART communi utilitati regni nostri noverimus convenire. T. R. apud Windesoram, XL die Septembris. (Report on the Dignity of a Peer, App. i. p. 23.) No. VIII. A.D. 1264. Award of S. Lewis. LUDOVICUS, Dei gratia, Francorum rex, universis praesentes litteras inspecturis, salutem. Notum facimus quod carissimus consanguineus noster Henricus illustris rex Angliae et subscript! barones Angliae in nos compromiserunt, prout continetur in lit- teris eorum infra scriptis : tenor autem litterarum ipsius regis talis est ; ' Henricus, Dei gratia, Rex Angliae, dominus Hiberniae et dux Aquitanniae, omnibus ad quos praesentes litterae per- venerint, salutem. Noveritis quod nos compromisimus in domi- num Ludovicum regem Francorum illustrem super provisionibus, ordinationibus, statutis, et obligationibus omnibus Oxoniensibus, et super omnibus contentionibus et discordiis quas habemus et habuimus usque ad festum Omnium Sanctorum nuper praeteri- tum, adversus barones regni nostri, et ipsi ad versus nos, occa- sione provisionum, ordinationum, statutorum vel obligationum Oxoniensium praedictarum ; promittentes et per dilectos et fideles nostros Willelmum Belet militem et Robertum Fulconis clericum de mandate nostro speciali in animam nostram jurantes tactis sacrosanctis evangeliis, quod quicquid idem rex Franciae super omnibus praedictis vel eorum aliquibus de alto et basso ordinaverit vel statuerit nos observabimus bona fide, ita tamen quod idem dominus rex Franciae dicat super his dictum suum citra Pentecosten proximo venturam. In cujus rei testimonium praesentibus litteris sigillum nostrum fecimus apponi. Nos autem Edwardus praedicti domini regis Angliae primogeni- tus ; Henricus filius Ricardi regis Alemanniae ; Rogerus le Bigod comes Norfolciae et marescallus Angliae ; Johannes de Warenna ; Willelmus de Valentia ; Humfredus de Boliun comes Herefort et Essex ; Hugo le Bigod ; Philippus Basset j Johannes Filius Alani; Robertus de Bras; Rogerus de Mortuo Mari; Johannes de Verdun ; Willelmus de Breus ; Johannes de Baillol ; Henricus de Percy ; Reginaldus Filius Petri ; Jacobus de Aldi- thele ; Alanus le Zuche ; Rogerus de Clifford ; Hamo Extraneus ; Johannes de Grey ; Philippus Marmion ; Robertus de ( Neville ; Johannes de Vallibus ; Johannes de Muscegros ; Warinus de Bassingburn ; Adam de Gesemuth ; Rogerus de Somery ; Ri- cardus Foliot ; Rogerus de Leyburn ; et Willelmus le Latimere; praedicto compromisso, per dictum dominum nostrum regem Angliae facto, sicut praedictuxn est, consentimus et juramus tac- vi.] Award of S. Lewis. 407 tis sacrosanctis evangeliis, quod quicquid dominus rex Franciae, super omnibus praedictis vel eorum aliquibus, de alto et basso, ordinaverit vel statuerit, observabimus bona fide ; ita tamen quod idem dominus rex Franciae dicat super his dictum suum citra Pentecosten proximo futuram, sicut superius est expres- sum. In cujus rei testimonium praesenti scripto, sigillo domini nostri praedicti regis Angliae signato, sigilla nostra fecimus apponi. Datum apud Wiudesoram, Dominica proxima post festum Sanctae Luciae Virginis A.D. M CCLXIII . Confec- tioni istius instrument! interfuerunt Johannes de Chishul, Willelmus de Wilton ; frater Johannes de Derlington ; magister Ern. cancellarius regis Alemanniae, Eogerus de Messenden, et plures alii/ Litterae vero baronum tales sunt ; ' Universis praesentes litteras inspecturis, H. Londoniensis, W. Wigornensis epis- copi ; Simon de Monteforti comes Leycestriae et senescallus Angliae ; Hugo le Despenser justitiarius Angliae ; Humfredus de Boun juvenis ; H. de Monteforti ; S. de Monteforti ju- venis ; Adam de Novomercato ; Petrus de Monteforti ; Radulfus Basset de Sapecot ; Baldewinus Wake ; Robertus de Ros ; Willelmus le Blond ; Willelmus Marescallus ; Walterus de Coleville ; Ricardus de Grey ; Willelmus Bardoulf ; Ricardus de Tanny ; Henricus de Hastings ; Johannes Filius Johannis ; B-obertus de Veteri Ponte ; Johannes de Vescy ; Nicolaus de Segrave ; Galfridus de Lucy ; salutem in Domino. Noveritis quod nos compromisimus in dorninum Ludovicum, regem Franciae illustrem super provisionibus, ordinationibus, statutis, et obliga- tionibus omnibus Oxoniae, et super omnibus contentionibus et discordiis qnas habemus et habuimus, usque ad festum Omnium Sanctorum nuper praeteritum, ad versus dominum nostrum regem Angliae illustrem et ipse adversus nos, occasione provisionum, ordinationum, statutorum, vel obligationum Oxoniensium prae- dictarum : firmiter promittentes, et jurantes tactis sacrosanctis evangeliis, quod quicquid idem rex Franciae super omnibus praedictis vel eorum aliquibus de alto et basso, ordinaverit vel statuerit, nos observabimus bona fide, ita tamen quod idem dominus rex Franciae dicat super his dictum suum citra Pen- tecosten proximo venturara. Actum Londoniis, die Sanctae Luciae Virginis, A.D. MoCOLXoIIIo.' Insuper praedictus rex Angliae ex Tina parte et superius nominati ex alia parte barones, de omnibus contentionibus exortis inter eos post praedictum festum usque in praeteritum diem Sanctae Luciae occasione praedicta, in nos compromiserunt et promiserunt per juramenta tactis sacrosanctis evangeliis prae- 408 Henry III. [PART stita, bona fide se servaturos quicquid statuerimus et ordina- verimus de his vel eorum aliquibus, ita tamen quod citra Pente- costen proximo venturam dicamus super his dictum nostrum, et super omnibus quae super rebus in compromissum deductis vel circa ipsas interim contigerit attemptari. Nos vero, parti- bus propter hoc convocatis Ambiani, dicto rege personaliter et quibusdam de baronibus per se et aliis per procuratores com- parentibus coram nobis; auditis hinc inde propositis et etiam defensionibus ac rationibus partium plenius intellects, attendentes per provisiones, ordinationes, statuta et obligationes Oxonienses, et per ea quae ex eis et occasione eorum subsecuta sunt, juri et honori regio plurimum fuisse detractum, regni turbationem, ecclesiarum depressionem et depraeditationem, et aliis personis ipsius regni, ecclesiasticis et saecularibus, indigenis et alienigenis, gravissima dispendia proven isse ; et quod verisimiliter timebatur ne graviora contigerint in futurum, communicate bonorum et magnatum consilio; IN NOMINE PATRIS ET FILII ET SPIEITUS SANCTI praedictas provisiones, ordinationes, statuta et obliga- tiones omnes, quocunque modo censeantur, et quidquid ex eis vel occasione eorum subsecutum est, per dictum nostrum, seu ordinationem nostram, cassamus et irritamus, maxime cum ap- pareat summum pontificem eas per litteras suas cassas et irritas nunciasse; ordinantes quod tarn dictus rex quam barones et alii quicunque praesenti compromisso consenserunt, et de prae- dictis observandis se quoquornodo astrinxerunt, se de eisdem quietent penitus et absolvant. Adjicimus etiam quod ex vi seu viribus praedictarum provisionum sive obligationum seu ordina- tionum, vel alicujus jam super hoc concessae potestatis a rege, nullus nova statuta faciat neque jam facta teneat vel observet, nee propter non-observantiam praedictorum debeat aliquis alte- rius capitalis vel aliter inimicus haberi, vel poenam propter hoc aliquam sustinere. Decernimus etiam quod omnes litterae, super praemissis provisionibus et eorum occasione confectae, irritae sint et inanes, et ordinamus quod ipsi regi Angliae restituantur a baronibus et reddantur. Item dicimus et ordinamus quod castra quaecunque fuerint tradita custodienda ad securitatem seu occa- sione praedictorum et adhuc sunt detenta, libere a dictis baroni- bus eidem regi reddantur, tenenda ab eodem rege sicut ea tenebat ante tempus dictarum provisionum. Item dicimus et ordinamus quod libere liceat praedicto regi capitalem justitia- rium, cancellarium, thesaurarium, consiliarios, justitiarios mi- nores, vicecomites et quoscunque alios officiales ac ministeriales regni sui ac domus suae praeficere, destituere et amovere, pro suae libito voluntatis, sicut faciebat et facere poterat ante tern- vi.] Government ly the Barons^ 409 pus provisionum praedictarum. Item retractamus et cassamus illud statutum factum quod regnum Angliae de cetero per indigenas gubernetur, necaon ut exirent alienigenae non re- versuri, exceptis illis quorum moram fideles regni communiter acceptarent ; ordinantes per dictum nostrum quod liceat alieni- genis morari in dicto regno secure; et quod rex possit alienigenas et indigenas vocare secure ad consilium suum, quos sibi viderit utiles et fideles, sicut facere poterat ante tempus praedictum. Item dicimus et ordinamus, quod dictus rex plenam potestatem et liberum regimen liabeat in regno suo et ejus pertinentiis, et sit in eo statu et in ea plenaria potestate in omnibus et per omnia sicut erat ante tempus praedictum. Nolumus autem nee intendimus per praesentem ordinationem derogare in aliquo regiis privileges, cartis, libertatibus, statutis, et laudabilibus consuetudinibus regni Angliae, quae erant ante tempus provisionum ipsarum. Ordinamus etiam quod idem rex praedictis baronibus indulgeat et remittat omnem rancorem quern habet adversus eos occasione praemissorum, et similiter barones eidem ; et quod unus alterum, occasione praemissorum de quibus in nos exstitit compromissum, per se vel per alium de cetero non gravet in aliquo vel offendat. Hanc autem ordina- tionem nostram seu dictum nostrum protulimus Ambianis, in crastino beati Vincentii Martyris, A.D. MCC LXIII , mense Januario. In cujus rei testimonium praesentibus litteris nos- trum apponi fecimus sigillum. Actum anno, mense, die et loco praedictis. (Foedera, i. pp. 433, 434.) A.D. 1264. DOCUMENTS CONNECTED WITH SIMON DE MONTFORT'S ADMINISTRATION. The surrender of the king and his son immediately after the battle of Lewes placed the supreme authority in the hands of the Earl of Leicester. The text of the Mise of Lewes, which contained the terms of the surrender, is not preserved, but it is known to have included an agreement for a second arbitration as to all controversies between the king and his adversaries. Until this award should be given, it was necessary that some system of administration should be devised ; the royal castles were imme- diately entrusted to adherents of the barons ; and on the 4th of June writs were issued in the king's name, appointing guardians 4i o Henry III. [PAET of the peace in each county, and summoning four knights from each to treat with the king in parliament on the 22nd of the same month. (No. I.) The parliament assembled and ap- proved a scheme of government, which was to hold good until the Mise of Lewes was executed, by which the supreme power was placed in the hands of the king, with the assistance of nine counsellors, of whom three were to be in constant attend- ance upon him. This body was to be nominated by three primary electors. (No. II.) The three electors were the Bishop of Chichester and the Earls of Leicester and Gloucester. On the 6th of July the whole force of the country was sum- moned to London for the 3rd of August, to resist the army which was coming from France under the queen and her son Edmund. The invading fleet was prevented by the weather from sailing until too late in the season. Early in September, Henry of Al- main, son of King Richard, was sent to lay the terms of arbi- tration before the King of France. The papal legate, Guy Foulquois, who soon after became Clement IV, threatened the barons with excommunication, but the bull containing the sen- tence was taken by the men of Dover as soon as it arrived, and was thrown into the sea. On the 1 4th of December the Earl of Leicester, in Henry's name, summoned the famous parliament of 1265, to meet at Westminster on the 2oth of January. (No. III.) To this were invited a small number of barons, a very large body of ecclesiastics, two knights from each shire, and two burghers from each town. This is often regarded as the ' origin of popular representation ;' but it is not in any sense entitled to this praise. The novelty was simply the assembling the representatives of the towns in conjunction with those of the counties : this was now done for the first time for the purpose of the national council ; but we have seen that for all purposes of local self-government it had long been usual, and that the idea of the National Council was rapidly becoming that of the concentration of the local machinery. The really popular repre- sentation was that of the shires rather than that of the boroughs, and this, which in its essence was of immemorial antiquity, had long been incorporated in the parliamentary constitution. The vi.] Summons of Four Knights of the Shire. 41 1 credit of making both the popular elements necessary to the complete parliament belongs to Edward I. On the loth of March, in the parliament thus summoned, Edward subscribed the peace of June, 1264 ; and on the 2oth the Earl of Leicester was put in possession of the earldom of Chester and other estates, by the surrender of which Edward obtained the terms of reconciliation. He was kept, however, still under strict surveillance. His escape on the 28th of May, and the quarrel of the Earls of Gloucester and Leicester, threw new life into the royal party. Earl Simon fell at Evesham on the 4th of August. But the elements of opposition were unquenched. After a long siege, Henry III, in November 1266, admitted the rebels (who were at Kenilworth) to surrender. During the siege the Dic- tum de Kenilworth (No. VI.) was drawn up for the general paci- fication of the kingdom; and in July, 1267, the last of the king's enemies who were left in arms, in Ely, were admitted by Edward to the benefits of that agreement. The parliament of Marlborough, November 1267, re-enacted most of the legal reforms included in the Provisions of the Barons. Imme- diately after this Edward prepared to join the Crusade. He left England in May, 1269; and Henry retained undisturbed possession of the royal authority until his death, November 16, 1272. No. L A.D. 1264. Writ for Conservation of the Peace and Summons to Parliament. REX Adae de Novo mercato, salutem. Cum jam, sedata turba- tione nuper habita in regno nostro, ax inter nos et barones nostros, Divina cooperante gratia, ordinata sit et firmata ; ac ad pacem illam per totum regnum nostrum inviolabiliter observan- dam, de consilio et assensu baronum nostrorum provisum sit, quod in singulis comitatibus nostris per Angliam, ad tuitionem et securitatem partium illarum, custodes pacis nostrae constituantur donee per nos et barones nostros de statu regni nostri aliter fuerit ordinatum ; cumque nos, de vestra fidelitate simul et iudus- tria fiduciam gerentes, vos de consilio dictorum baronum nos- trorum custodem nostrum assignaverimus in comitatu Lincolniae quamdiu nobis placuerit; vobis mandamus, in fide qua nobis 412 Henry III. [PART tenemini firmiter injungentes, quatenus custodiae pacis nostrae ibidem et hiis quae ad conservationem pacis nostrae pertinent, diligenter intendatis, ut praedictum est ; firmiter et publice per totum comitatum praedictum inhibentes, ex parte nostra, ne quis sub poena exhaeredationis et periculo vitae et membrorum super aliquem currat nee aliquem depraedetur, nee homicidia vel incendia, roberias, toltas, seu alia hujusmodi perpetret enor- mia, nee cuiquam damnum aliquod inferat contra pacem nos- tram j nee etiam de cetero arma portet in regno nostro, sine licentia nostra et mandate nostro speciali ; et si quos hujusmodi malefactores et pacis nostrae perturbatores, vel etiam, ut prae- dictum est, arma portantes, inveneritis, eos sine dilatione arestari et salvo custodiri faciatis donee aliud inde praeceperimus. Et ad hoc si necesse fuerit, totum posse clicti comitatus cum toto posse comitatuum adjacentium, vobiscum assumatis, custodibus ipsorum comitatuum ad consimilia cum opus fuerit, viriliter auxiliantes. Et si forte ipsos malefactores evadere contingat, quod nulla ratione vellemus, tune de nominibus eorum nobis constare faciatis, ut quod justum fuerit de ipsis fieri faciamus. Et quia instanti parliamento nostro, de negotiis nostris et regni iiostri, cum praelatis, magnatibus et aliis fidelibus nostris trac- tare necessario nos oportebit, vobis mandamus quatenus quatuor de legalioribus et discretioribus militibus dicti comitatus, per assensum ejusdem comitatus ad hoc electos, ad nos pro toto comitatu illo mittatis, ita quod sint ad nos Londoniis in octavis instantis festi Sanctae Trinitatis ad ultimum, nobiscum tractaturi de negotiis praedictis ; vos autem in hiis omnibus exsequendis tarn fideliter et diligenter vos habeatis, ne per negligentiam vestri ad vos et vestra graviter capere debeamus. Teste Kege apud Sanctum Paulum Londoniis, quarto die Junii. (Foedera, I 442.) No. II. A.D. 1264. Form of Peace determined on in the Parliament. HAEC est forma pacis a domino rege et domino Edwardo filio BUG, praelatis et proceribus omnibus et communitate tota regni Angliae, communiter et concorditer approbata; videlicet, quod quaedam ordinatio facta in parliamento Londoniis habito circa festum Nativitatis beati Johannis Baptistae proximo praeteritum, pro pace regni conservanda quousque pax inter dictum domi- num regem et barones apud Leues, per formam cujusdam misae praelocuta compleretur, duratura omnibus diebus praedicti domini regis, et etiam temporibus domini Edwardi postquam in vi.] Constitution of Government. 413 regem fuerit assumptus, usque ad terminum quern ex nunc duxerit moderandum, firma maneat, stabilis et inconcussa ; dicta autem ordinatio tails est. Forma regiminis domini regis et regni. Ad reformationem status regni Angliae eligantur et nomi- nentur tres discreti et fideles de regno, qui habeant auctoritatem et potestatem a domino rege eligendi seu nominandi, vice domini regis, consiliarios noveni ; tres ad minus alternatim seu vicissim semper sint in curia praesentes ; et dominus rex per consilium eorundem noveni, ordinet et disponat de custodia castrorum et omnibus aliis regni negotiis : praeficiat etiam dominus rex per consilium praedictorum novem, justitiarium, cancellarium, thesau- rarium, et alios officiales majores et minores, in hiis quae spectant ad regimen curiae et regni. Jurabunt autem primi electores sive nominatores quod secundum conscientiam suam eligent vel nominabunt consiliarios quos credent honori Dei et ecclesiae, domino regi et regno, utiles et fideles. Consiliarii quoque ac omnes officiales, majores et minores, in sua creatione jurabunt quod officia sua pro posse suo, ad honorem Dei et ecclesiae et ad utilitatem domini regis et regni, absque munere, praeter escu- lenta et poculenta quae communiter in mensis praesentari solent, fideliter exsequentur. Quod si praedicti consiliarii vel aliqui seu aliquis eorum, in administratione sibi commissa, male ver- sati vel versatus fuerint aut fuerit, seu ex alia causa rnutancli fuerint, dominus rex per consilium priorum trium electorum seu nominatorum quos amovendos viderit, amoveat, et loco eorum, per eosdem, alios fideles et idoneos subroget et sub- stituat. Si autem officiales majores vel minores, in officiis suis male versentur, dominus rex per consilium praedictorum novem ipsos amoveat et alios sine dilatione per consilium praedictorum, loco eorum, substituat. Quod si primi tres electores seu nomi- natores in electione vel nominatione consiliariorum, aut forte consiliarii in creatione officialium, vel aliis negotiis domini regis et regni gerendis seu disponendis, discordes fuerint, quod a duabus partibus concorditer factum fuerit vel ordinatum firmiter observetur ; dummodo de illis duabus partibus, unus sit praelatus ecclesiae in negotiis ecclesiam contingentibus. Et si contingat duas partes dictorum novem in aliquo negotio non esse Concordes, de discordia ilia stabitur ordinationi primorum trium electorum vel nominatorum aut majoris partis eorundem. Et si videatur communitati praelatorum et baronum concorditer expedire, quod aliqui vel aliquis, loco aliquorum aut alicujus 414 Henry III. [PART primorum trium nominatorum subrogentur vel substituantur, dominus rex, per consilium coinmunitatis praelatorum et baro- num, alios vel alium substituat. Omnia autem praedicta faciat dominus rex per consilium praedictorum novem in forma supra - dicta, vel ipsi vice et auctoritate doinini regis, praesenti ordi- natione duratura, donee misa apud Lewes facta, et postea a partibus sigillata, fuerit concorditer consurnmata ; vel alia pro- visa quam partes concorditer duxerint approbandam. Haec autem ordinatio facta fuit Londoniis de consensu, voluntate et praecepto domini regis, necnon praelatorum, baronum ac etiam communitatis tune ibidem praesentis. In cujus rei testimonium domini K. Lincolniensis et Hugo Eliensis episcopi, R. comes Norfolciae et Marescallus Angliae ; K. de Veer comes Oxoni- ensis ; Humfredus de Bohuu, Willelmus de Monte Canisio, et major Londoniensis, signa sua huic scripturae apposue- runt. Actum in parliamento Londoniis, mense Junii A.D. Item ordinatum est quod status ecclesiae Anglicanae in statum debitum reformetur. Item ordinatum est quod praedicti tres electores et consiliarii, de quibus fit mentio in praedicta ordina- tione Londoniensi, et castrorum custodes, et ceteri ballivi domini regis, semper sint indigenae; alienigenae vero pacifice veniant, morentur et redeant ; et tarn laici in suis possessionibus quam clerici in suis beneficiis residere volentes ; mercatores etiam et alii omnes pro suis negotiis procurandis, libere veniant et pacifice commorentur ; dum tamen pacifice sine armis et suspecta multitudine veniant, et quod nullus eorum ad aliquod offici'im vel ballivam in regno vel hospitio domini regis aliqua- tenus assumatur. Caiiae vero libertatum generalium et forestae indigenis a domino rege dudum concessae, et statuta super gravaminum re vocation! bus, de turnis vicecomitis, sectis curiae et aliis, quae dominus rex anno praeterito in singulis comi- tatibus per suas litteras patentes fecerat publicari, cum lauda- bilibus regni consuetudinibus et diutius approbatis, in perpetuum observentur, et provideatur qualiter melius et fortius valeant observari. Item provisum est quod dominus rex et dominus Edvvardus baronibus, et hiis qui cum eis steterunt, omnem inju- riam et rancorem remittant, ita quod nullum ipsorum, occasione eorum quae facta sunt in turbatione praeterita, gravent vel a suis gravari permittant, et faciant omnes ballivos sues in assumptione ballivae jurare quod nullum occasione praedicta gravabunt, sed omnibus aequaliter justitiam exnibebunt, et pro- videatur bona securitas quomodo haec omnia firmiter obser- ventur. (jFoedera, i. 443.) vi.] Summons to Parliament. 415 No. III. A.D. 1264. Summons to the Parliament 0/1265. HENEICUS, Dei gratia, Rex Angliae, dominus Hiberniae et dux Aquitanniae, venerabili in Christo patri Roberto eadem gratia episcopo Dunelmensi, salutem. Cum post gravia turba- tionum discrimina dudum habita in regno nostro, carissimus filius Edwardus primogenitus noster pro pace in regno nostro assecuranda et firmanda obses traditus exstitisset, et jam sedata, benedictus Deus, turbatione praedicta, super deliberatione ejus- dem salubriter providenda, et plena securitate tranquillitatis et pacis ad honorem Dei et utilitatem totius regni nostri firmanda, et totaliter complenda, ac super quibusdam aliis regni nostri negotiis quae sine consilio vestro et aliorum praelatorum et magnatum nostrorum nolumus expediri, cum eisdem tractatum habere nos oporteat ; vobis mandamus, rogantes in fide et dilec- tione quibus nobis tenemini, quod omni occasione postposita et negotiis aliis praetermissis, sitis ad nos Londoniis in octavis Sancti Hilarii proximo futuris, nobiscum et cum praedictis prae- latis et magnatibus nostris quos ibidem vocari fecimus super praemissis tractaturi et consilium vestrum impensuri. Et hoc sicut nos et honorem nostrum et vestrum necnon et communem regni nostri tranquillitatem diligitis nullatenus omittatis. Teste rege apud Wygorniam, XIIII. die Decembris. The same writ was addressed to the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Dean of York, ten abbots and nine priors of the northern province, and to ten bishops and four deans of the southern. A similar one was issued at Woodstock on the 24th of December, to fifty-five abbots, twenty-six priors, the Master of the Temple, and the Prior of the Hospitallers ; also to five earls and eighteen barons. Item mandatum est singulis vicecomitibus per Angliam quod venire faciant duos milites de legalioribus, probioribus et discreti- oribus militibus singulorum comitatuum ad regem Londoniis in octavis praedictis in forma supradicta. Item in forma praedicta scribitur civibus Eboraci, civibus Lincolniae, et ceteris burgis Angliae, quod mittant in forma prae- dicta duos de discretioribus, legalioribus et probioribus tarn civibus quam burgensibus. Item in forma praedicta mandatum est baronibus et probis hominibus Quinque Portuum. . . . (Report on the Dignity of a Peer, App. i. p. 33.) 41 6 Henry III. [PAET No. IV. A.D. 1265. Confirmation oftJie Charters. REX omnibus de comitatu Eboracensi, salutem. Cum propter hostilem turbationem habitam in regno nostro, de unanimi assensu et voluntate nostra et Edwardi filii nostri primogeniti, praelatorum, comitum, barouum et communitatis regni nostri, pro regni ipsius pace pro cujus securitate dictus Edwardus et Heuricus filius regis Alemanniae nepos noster obsides dati fuerunt, concor- diter sit provisum, quod quaedam ordinatio de unanimi assensu nostro, praelatorum, comitum ac baronum praedictorum super nostro et regni nostri statu Londoniis, mense Junii anno regni nostri XLYIII<> facta, inviolabiliter observetur, universitatem vestram scire volumus quod nos ordinationem ipsam et pacem et tranquillitatem regni bona fide observare et in nullo contra- venire ad sancta Dei evangelia juravimus, hoc adjecto in eodem Sacramento specialiter et expresse, quod occasione factorum praecedentium tempore turbationis aut guerrae praecedentis neminem occasionabimus aut inculpabimus de illis aut de parte illorum quos tanquam inimicos diffidavimus, puta comites Ley- cestriae et Gloucestriae et alios sibi adhaerentes, ac barones seu cives nostros Londoniarum, et Quinque Portuum, nee alicui de praedictis dampnum faciemus aut fieri procurabimus nee per ballivos nostros aliquatenus fieri permittemus. Juravimus insuper quod ea omnia quae pro liberatione dictorum filii nostri ac nepotis sunt provisa et sigillo nostro sigillata, quantum ad nos pertinet, inviolabiliter observabimus et ab aliis pro posse nostro faciemus observari. Volentes et consentientes expresse quod si nos vel dictus Edwardus filius noster contra praeclictam ordinationem, provisionem nostram, seu juramentum, quod absit, in aliquo venire, seu pacem et tranquillitatem regni nostri turbare, seu occasione factorum praecedentium tem- pore turbationis ac guerrae praecedentis, aliquem de praedictis, aut de parte praedictorum quos diffidavimus, occasionare seu alicui de eis dampnum facere aut fieri procurare praesumpseri- mus, liceat omnibus de regno nostro contra"nos insurgere et ad gravamen nostrum opem et operam dare juxta posse ; ad quod ex praesenti praecepto nostro onines et singulos volumus obligari fidelitate et homagio nobis factis non obstantibus ; ita quod nobis in nullo intendant sed omnia quae gravamen nostrum respiciunt faciant ac in nullo nobis tenerentur, donee quod in hac parte transgressum fuerit seu commissum satisfactione congrua in statum debitum, secundum praedictorum ordinationis et pro- visionia nostrae seu juramenti formam, fuerit reformatum ; quo vi.] Confirmation of the Charters. 417 facto nobis sicut prius intendentes existant. Et si aliquis alius de regno nostro contra praedicta venire seu pacem et tranquilli- tatem regni nostri turbare praesumpserit, seu nobis vel Edwardo filio nostro aut alicui alteri contra praedicta vel aliquod praedic- torum venientibus opem, consilium, consensum, vel auxilium quoquo modo praestiterit, si hoc notorium fuerit aut de hoc per considerationem consilii nostri et magnatum terrae nos- trae convictus fuerit, de unanimi assensu nostro, Edwardi filii nostri, comitum, baronum, et communitatis regni nostri, pro- visum est et statutum quod corpus ipsius, si inventum fuerit, capiatur ; alioquin a regno nostro utlagetur : et sive inventus fuerit sive non, tarn ipse quam haeredes sui imperpetuum ex- haeredentur; et de terris et tenementis ipsorum fiat prout de terris eorum qui de felouia convicti sunt secundum leges et con- suetudines regni nostri fieri consuevit. Ad haec de unanimi assensu et voluntate nostra, Edwardi filii nostri, praelatorum, comitum, baronum et communitatis regni nostri concorditer provisum est, quod cartae antiquae communium libertatum et forestae, communitati regni nostri per nos dudum concessae, in quarum violatores ad petitionem nostram sententia excommuni- cationis dudum lata est et per sedem apostolicam specialiter con- firmata, necnon et omnes articuli de nostro et magnatum terrae nostrae communi assensu dudum provisi, quos nuper apud Wigorniam existentes per singulos comitatus sub sigillo nostro transmisimus, inviolabiliter observentur imperpetuum : ad quo- rum observationem sacramento ad sancta Dei evangelia corpora- liter praestito sponte nos obligamus; et omnes justiciaries, vicecomites et quoscunque ballivos de regno nostro tarn nostros quam aliorum simili sacramento volumus obligari, ita quod nullus teneatur alicui ballivo obedire donee sacramentum praestiterit. Et si quis contra cartas ipsas vel articulos praedictos in aliquo venire praesumpserit, praeter perjurii reatum et excommuni- cationis sententiam quae incurret, per considerationem curiae nos- trae graviter puniatur ; salvo in praemissis prout decet privilegio clericali. Et quia volumus quod haec omnia firmiter et inviola- biliter observentur, universitati vestrae firmiter injungendo ac praecipiendo mandamus, quatinus vos omnes et singuli praedicta omnia et singula, sicut superius scripta sunt, faciatis, teneatis et inviolabiliter observetis, et ad ea omnia facienda tenenda et observanda, ad sancta Dei evangelia sacramento corporaliter praestito, ad invicem vos obligetis. In cujus rei testimonium cartas et ordinationes praedictas cum praesentibus litteris patenti- bus vobis sub sigillo nostro transmittimus in comitatum nostrum sub custcdia fidedignorum ad hoc electorum ad rei memoriam E e 4i 8 Henry III. [PAET salvo custodiendas. Contra quas ne quis ignorantiam prae- tendere possit in futurum, ad minus bis in anno in pleno comi- tatu ipsas praecipimus publicari, ita quod fiat prima publicatio in proximo comitatu post instans festum Paschae, secunda vero fiat in proximo comitatu post festum Sancti Michaelis, et sic deinceps fiat annuatim. Volumus insuper quod, salvis omnibus supra- dictis, omnes aliae ordinationes et articuli per nos et consilium nostrum hactenus provisi, qui poterunt ad honorem Dei et ecclesiae, fidem nostram et regni nostri commodum, observari, inviolabiliter observentur et teneantur. Ut autem praemissa omnia et singula firma maneant et inconcussa, reverendi patres episcopi per regnum constituti ad instantiam nostram sen- tentiam excommunicationis fulminarunt in omnes illos qui con- tra praemissa vel aliquod praemissorum scienter venerint aut venire temptaverint cum effectu, quorum jurisdiction! seu coher- cioni spontanea voluntate quantum ad praemissa nos submitti- mus ; privilegiis ncstris omnibus impetratis aut impetrandis seu proprio motu domini papae nobis concessis aut in posterum con- cedendis in hoc pure renunciantes, prout in litteris super hoc confectis penes dictos praelatos residentibus plenius continetur. In cujus rei testimonium has litteras nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste meipso apud Westm. XIV to die Martii, anno regni nostri XLIX. (Blackstone' s Charters, pp. 74-78.) No. V. A.D. 1265. Summons to Parliament at Winchester. HEX decano et capitulo Eboracensi, salutem. Cum praelatos et magnates regni nostri jam vocari fecerimus quod sint ad nos apud Wintoniam primo die Junii proximo venture ad tractandum iiobiscum super nostris et regni nostri negotiis quae sine eorum praesentia finaliter expleri nolumus, vobis mandamus in fide et dilectione quibus nobis tenemini, firmiter injungentes quatenus modis omnibus duos de discretioribus concanonicis vestris ad dictos diem et locum mittatis qui plenam habeant potestatern vice vestra ad tractandum nobiscum una cum praefatis praelatis et magnatibus super negotiis antedictis, et ad ea faciendum nomine vestro quae vos ipsi facere possetis si praesentes ibidem essetis. Et hoc sicut nos et utilitatem regni nostri diligitis nul- latenus omittatis. T. R apud Gloucestriam, XV. die Mail (Report on tlie Dignity of a Peer, App. i. p. 36.) vi.] Dictum de Kenilworth. 419 No. VI. A. D. 1266. Dictum de Kenilwortfi. IN Nomine Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis, Amen. Ad honorem et gloriam omnipotentis Dei Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, et gloriosae et praecelsae Dei Genitricis Virginis Mariae et omnium beatorum quorum in terris meritis et intercessio- nibus gubernamur; sacrosanctae Catholicae atque Apostolicae Romanae Ecclesiae quae est omnium fidelium mater et magistra ; sanctissimi patris et domini nostri Clementis ipsius universalis ecclesiae Summi Pontificis ; ad honorem et bonum, prosperum, et pacificum statum Christianissimi principis domini Henrici regis Angliae illustris et totius regni et ecclesiae Anglicanae ; nos vero W. Exoniensis, W. Bathoniensis et Wellensis, N. Wy- gornensis et R. Menevensis episcopi, Gilbertus de Clare comes Gloucestriae et Hertford, et Humfridus de Bohun comes Her- ford., P. Basset, Johannes de Baillol, Robertus Walraund, Alanus de la Suche, Rogerus de Someri et "Warinus de Bassingbourne, providendum super statum terrae nominatim super facto exhae- redatorum, habentes a domino rege praedicto et ab aliis baroni- bus, consiliariis regni, et proceribus Angliae plenariam potesta- tem, secundum formam conscriptam in litteris publicis sigillis praedictorum regis et aliorum munitis ; ea quidem gratia Divrna favente pro vidimus quae secundum juris et aequitatis semitas Dei beneplacito et paci regni putavimus convenire, nullius in hac parte acceptantes personam, sed habentes prae oculis solum Deum, ante omnia igitur tanquam in conspectu Dei Omnipotentis facientes-et ex ordine caput membris aptissime praemittentes : 1. Dicimus et providimus quod serenissimus princeps dominus Henricus rex Angliae illustris dommium suum, auctoritatem et regiam potestatem habeat, plenarie obtineat, et libere exerceat sine cujuscunque impedimento vel contradictione per quam con- tra jura approbata et leges ac regni consuetudines diu obtentas, dignitas regia offendatur ; atque ab universis et singulis majo- ribus et minoribus ipsius regni hominibus, ipsi domino regi et mandatis ac praeceptis suis licitis plene obediatur et humiliter iutendatur. Et omnes et singuli per brevia ad curiam domini regis justitiam petant et in justitia respondeant, sicut ante tern- pus hujus turbationis hactenus fieri consuevit. 2. Kogamus etiam ipsum dominum regem et ipsius pietati cum reverentia suademus, ut tales ad justitiam faciendam et reddendam proponat, qui non sua sed ea quae Dei et justitiae Bunt quaerentes, subjectorum negotia secundum leges et consue- E e 2 42O Henry III. [PART tudines regni laudabiles recte componant, et ex hoc roboratum justitia reddant solium regiae majestatis. 3. E-ogamus pariter et suademus eidem domino regi ut liber- tates ecclesiasticas, cartas libertatum et forestae, quas servare et custodire tenetur expresse et proprio juramento, plene custodiat et observet. 4. Provideat etiam dominus rex quod concessiones quas fecit liactenus, spontaneus non coactus, observentur, et alia necessaria quae per suos ex ejus beneplacito sunt excogitata, stabiliat dura- tura. Et etiam Anglicana ecclesia suis libertatibus et consue- tudinibus, quas habuit et habere debuit ante tempus hujusmodi turbationis, plene restituatur et eis uti libere pennittatur. 5. Dicimus et providemus ut praefatus dominus rex universis et singulis qui, ab initio praesentis turbationis regni et occasione ipsius usque ad hoc tempus, in ipsum vel in coronam regiam commiserunt injuriam quamlibet vel offensam, et qui ad pacem ipsius venerunt infra xl. dies post publicationem hujusmodi nostrae provisionis, omnino remittat et parcat ; ita quod nullo modo nullaque causa vel occasione propter hujusmodi praeteritas injurias vel offensas, in eosdem offensores ullam exercet ultio- nein; aut ipsis poenam vitae, membri, carceris, vel exilii aut pecuniae inferat vel vindictam; exceptis hiis qui in praesenti nostra provisione inferius continentur. 6. Dicimus etiam et providemus ut omnia loca, jura, res, et alia ad coronam regiam pertirientia, ipsi coronae et domino regi restituantur, per eos qui ea detinent occupata, nisi ostendant se ilia per rationabilem warantiam ab ipso domino rege vel a suis antecessoribus possidere. 7. Dicimus etiam et providemus quod universa scripta, obligationes et instrumenta, quae praefatus dominus rex, vel dominus Edwardus ejus primogenitus, vel alii fideles fecerint, seu exposuerint hactenus, occasione provisionum Oxoniae vel occasione turbationis in regno habitae, ad instantiam quondam Simonis de Monteforti, comitis Leycestriae, et suorum compli- cium, penitus adnihilentur et cassentur, et pro cassis et pro nullis penitus habeantur. Facta etiam dicti Simonis et complicium suorum praejudicialia et damnosa, et contractus super rebus immobilibus ab eis facti dum essent in suo potentatu, adnihi- lentur et pro nullis habeantur. 8. Rogantes humiliter tarn dominum legatum quam domi- num regem ut ipse dominus legatus sub districtione ecclesiastica prorsus inhibeat, ne Simon comes Leycestriae a quocunque pro sancto vel justo reputetur, cum in excommunicatione sit de- fuiictus, sicut sancta tenet ecclesia ; et mirabilia de eo vana et vi.] Dictum de Kenilwortk. 421 fatua ab aliquibus relata null is unquam labiis proferantur; et dominus rex haec eadem sub poena corporal! velit districte inhibere. 9. Supplicamus reverenter et humiliter venerabili patri nos- tro domino O. Sancti Adriani diacono cardinal! et apostolicae sedis legato, ut cum tarn domino regi expedire cognoverit quam aliis hominibus, majoribus et minoribus de regno, qui cartas juratas miniine observarunt, ad quas observandas omnes per excommunicationis sententiam jam latam, inde non observances, tenebantur, beneficium absolutionis impendat. 10. Rogamus etiam et suademus quod nullus, cujuscunque conditionis existat, blada aut victualia quaelibet vel alia quae- cunque bona, sub nomine mutui vel provisione futurae solu- tionis, capiat sine licentia eorum quorum res seu bona sunt ; salvis regni consuetudinibus approbatis. 11. De Londoniis laudamus et praefatum dominum regem hortamur et rogamus, ut ipse provideat per consilium suum de statu reformando civitatis, quoad terras, redditus, dominium et libertates, et hujusmodi provisio cito fiat. 12. Super statu et negotio exhaeredatorum, inter cetera quae ordinavimus et statuimus, volentes secundum Deum et aequitatis tramitem incedere, ita duximus providendum, de assensu vene- rabilis patris 0. Sancti Adriani diaconi cardinalis et apostolicae sedis legati et nobilis Henrici de Alemannia similiter habentium potestatem, quod non fiat exhaeredatio sed redemptio, videlicet, quod incipientes guerram et perseverantes usque nunc ; item violenter et malitiose detinentes Norhampton contra regem ; item expugnantes et debellantes regem apud Lewes ; item capti apud Kenilworth qui venerunt de praedatione Wyntoniae, vel alibi fuerint contra regem, quibus rex non remisit ; item bel- lantes apud Evesham contra regem; item qui fuerunt apud Cestrefeud contra regem in bello ; item qui gratis et voluntarie et non coacti miserunt servitia sua contra regem vel filium ejus ; item ballivi et ministri comitis Leycestriae qui vicinos depraedati sunt, et homicidia, incendia et mala alia procurarunt; solvent quantum valet terra eorum per quinque annos ; et si isti solvant redemptionem, rehabeant terras suas, ita quod, si terra vendi debeat, nullus earn habeat nisi ille qui earn tenet ex dono domini regis, si tantum velit dare quam quilibet commu- niter emens, et eisdem terminis ; similiter si ad firmam debeat dari, nullus sit propinquior eo qui earn tenet ex dono domini regis, si tantum velit dare quam quilibet alius pro eo ad firmam velit dare, et eisdem terminis habeat ; similiter satisfaciens pro tota terra habeat totam, pro inedietate meclietatem habeat, et 422 Henry TIL [PART pro tertia parte statim tertiam partem habeat. Quod si ultimo termino statute redimens non satisfecerit, medietas terrae re- manentis remaneat illis quibus terrae collatae sunt per dominum regem; liberum autem sit redimenti infra ilium terminum ven- dere totum vel partem terrae secundum formam venditionis su- perius annotatam, et similiter ad firmam tradere. 13. Et si aliqui habeant nemora et velint vendere ad re- demptionem suam, ille qui tenet earn ex dono domini regis habeat fidelem suum qui recipiat inde pecuniam, et exhaere- datus ille qui vendit silvam habeat unum de quo confidat ; et isti duo recipientes solvant in conspectu illorum denarios, quos recipiunt de nemore, illis quibus debet dari redemptio. 14. Item comes de Ferrariis puniatur quantum valet terra sua per vii. annos, et milites et armigeri qui fuerunt praedones, et cum principalibus praedonibus in bellis et depraedationibus, si non habeant terras et habeant bona, solvant pro redemptione sua medietatem bonorum suorum, et inveniant fidejussionem competentem quod pacem regis et regni amodo conservabunt. Qui vero nihil habuerint veniant et jurent ad sancta Dei evan- gelia, et inveniant fidejussionem competentem quod pacem regis et regni amodo servabunt, et subeant satisfactionem competentem et poenitentiam secundum judicium ecclesiae, exceptis bannitis quibus solus rex potest remittere. 15. Ceterum domini haeredum infra aetatem et in custodia existentium solvant pro eis ; et, cum venerint haeredes ad legi- timam aetatem, solvant redemptionem dominis eisdem terminis per tres vel per duos annos, quibus alii solverunt ; ita quod domini terrae habeant custodias haeredum cum maritagiis usque ad legitimam aetatem haeredum. Si autem domini terrae nolunt solvere redemptionem illis quibus terrae datae sunt per dominum regem, iidem habeant custodiam haeredum cum maritagiis sine disparagatione, usque ad legitimam aetatem haeredum, et tune haeredes solvant prout alii solverunt eis eisdem terminis. 1 6. Custodiae autein, quae debentur domino regi, maneant illis quibus concessae sunt per dominum regem, et, cum per- venerint ad legitimam aetatem, solvant redemptionem eisdem terminis quibus alii, et nulla fiat destructio ab hiis qui habent custodias; sin autem, fiat justitia contra illos secundum quod continetur in Magna Carta. 17. Omnes de castro sint in communi via et forma pacis, exceptis Henrico de Hastinges, et mutilatoribus nuncii domini regis ; qui vii. annis puniantur vel in misericordia domini regis se ponant. 1 8. Si quis autem ad bellum de Lewes fuerit cum domino vi.] Dictum de KenilwortJi. 423 rege et post bellum sit exhaeredatus, quia noluit venire ad filium regis et ejus adjutorium, dicat rex voluntatem suam de eo per fidele dictum suum. 19. Nemora ab eis qui tenent nunc non vendantur nee destruantur aliquo modo, nisi post terminum ultimum non ob- servatum ; necessaria tamen ad custodiam vel restaurationem domorum habeant illi quibus terrae locatae sunt per regem ; sin autem, graviter puniantur. 20. Si aliquis sit de quo timetur quod velit guerram facere seu procurare, provideant se domini legatus et rex securitatem quam viderint expedire, mittendo extra regnum ad tempus vel aliter sicut expedire viderint ; ita tamen quod, si contingat ilium impediri a solutione suae redemptionis, propter hoc non exhaeredetur. 21. Si aliquis non sit contentus ista provisione, subeat judi- cium in curia domini regis infra festum Sancti Hilarii ; extra regnum vero existens habeat inducias transmarinas secundum legem et consuetudinem terrae, ita tamen quod teneat se in pace, aliter non sit in forma pacis. 22. Quia rex tenetur multis qui eum juverunt et ei fideliter affuerunt, quibus de terris non providit, et quidam plus habent quain habere debent, provideat dominus rex de redemptione capienda quod abundanter eos respiciat, ne sit materia novae guerrae. 23. Provideant etiam se domini legatus, rex, et Henricus de Alemannia, quod eligant xii. qui ista diligenter et fideliter exsequantur, et ilia faciat dominus rex et haeredes sui firmiter observari et manuteneri. Isti inquirant et compleant quae a supradictis xii. electis sunt ordinata, secundum formam or- dinationum quae jam factae sunt ; sin autem, faciant aestima- tiones rationabiles et veraces secundum quod xii. providebunt executores. 24. Firmarii qui fuerunt contra dominum regem careant firmis suis, salvis juribus dominorum quibus reddant censum annuum, detinentes firmas, et elapso termino revertantur ad veros dominos. 25. De castris aedificatis per cartas domini regis et con- sensum ejus et sine consensu exhaeredati, dicimus quod, post redemptionem solutam termino trium annorum, solvat dominus terrae infra sex annos custum qui imponebatur ante publicatio- nem per consensum regis, vel rationabile escambium terrae. 26. Laici manifesto procurantes negotia domini comitis et complicium suorum, attrahendo homines per mendacia, per falsitates instigando parti comitis et complicium suorum, et 424 Henry III. [PART detrahendo partem domini regis et filii sui, puniantur quantum valet terra eorum per duos annos. 27. Coacti vel metu ducti qui venerunt ad bellum, qui non expugnaverunt nee malum fecerunt ; impotentes qui vi vel metu miserunt servitia sua contra regem vel filium suum ; coacti vel metu ducti qui fuerunt praedones et cum principalibus praedo- iribus depraedationes fecerunt, et quando commode poterant, a praedationibus cessaverunt et ad domos suas redierunt, ex- istentes in pace, redimantur quantum valet terra eorum per unum annum. 28. Emptores scienter rerum alienarum valorem bonorum quae emerunt restituant, et sint in misericordia domini regis, qui contra justitiam fecerunt, quia illud inhibuit dominus rex jam dimidio anno elapso. 29. Illi qui ad mandatum comitis Leycestriae ingressi sunt Norhamptoniam, nee pugnaverunt nee malum fecerunt, si ad ecclesiam fugerunt quando regem venientem viderunt, et hoc sit attinctum per bonos ; illi, qui tenebant de comite Leycestriae et venerunt ad mandatum ejus, solvent quantum valent terrae eorum per dimidium anni. Isti qui ex feodo comitis tenebant solum sint in misericordia domini regis. 30. Impotentes, et illi qui malum non fecerunt, statim reha- beant terras suas, et recuperent damna sua in curia domini regis ; et puniantur accusatores quod amodo rex non credat eis de facili, et talis poena fiat eis qualis debet fieri illis qui injuste fecerunt fideles regis exhaeredari, sine tamen periculo vitae et mutilationis et exhaeredationis ; malitiose accusati statim rehabeant terras suas et recuperent damna sua in curia regis ut supra. 31. Mulieres autem habeant haereditates suas et dotes de primis dominis ; de terris autem maritorum qui fuerunt contra regem, habeant secundum quod rex statuit, et redimantur. 32. Redemptio eorum qui fuerunt contra dominum regem stet, sed in illis qui in nullo fuerunt contra regem, nee stet redemptio ; sed statim rehabeant terras suas et recuperent damna Bua, ut supra. 33. De malitiose accusatis dictum est et accusantes puni- antur ut supra. Submissio facta dicto domini regis vel aliorum dominorum per vos vel per concordiam vel pacem factam stet in robore suo. 34. De Simone de Monteforti comite et filiis comitis nihil dicimus, quia dominus rex Angliae factum eorum posuit in manus regis Franciae. vi.] Dictum de KenilwortJi. 425 35. Omnes recepti in pace per illos qui habuerunt potes- tatem, remaneant in statu in quo recepti ' sunt. Omnes qui redempti sunt non teneantur respondere de damnis et trans- gressionibus per eos factis super illos quos impugnaverunt tern- pore turbationis praedictae, sed damna et transgressiones ex utra- que parte remittantur, salva tamen actione cuicunque se non intromittenti de dicta turbatione et salvo quod ad ecclesiam pertinet. 36. Et quia periculosum videtur quod castra essent in potestate eorum qui male egerunt contra regem, dicimus et providimus de castris de Eardele, Byham et Certeleye, quod pro ipsis detur rationabile excambium. 37. Omnes de cetero teneant firmam pacem, et nullus faciat homicidia, incendia, roberias, nee aliquas transgressiones contra pacem ; et qui fecerit et convictus fuerit habeat judicium et legem secundum consuetudinem regni. 38. Item omnes quorum interest jurent super Sancta Evangelia, quod nullus capiet vindictam, nee procurabit, nee consentiet, nee fieri sustinebit quod vindicta capiatur, occasione turbationis. Et si aliquis vindictam capiat, puniatur per curiam domini regis, et satisfaciant ecclesiae hii qui earn laeserunt. 39. Si quis etiam non velit dictum istud tenere, vel judi- cium curiae domini regis per pares subire, et sic exhaeredati qui se dicunt tales, nullum jus habeant ad recuperandum terras. Et si aliquis qui tenet terras exhaeredatorum rebellet dicto, nihil juris per donum domini regis vendicare possit in terra vel redemptione. Insuper quicunque isti dicto non consenserit, sit publicus inimicus domini regis et filiorum suorum et communi- tatis ; pppulus et clerus, quantum canonica jura permittant, pro- sequantur eum tanquam inimicum pacis ecclesiae et regni. 40. Imprisouati seu incarcerati, praestita sufficienti et rationa- bili securitate, liberentur per obsidem vel per aliam securitatem competentem et rationabilem, secundum provisionem dictorum legati et regis. 41. Nullus praeterea occasione praeteritae turbationis possit aliquem exhaeredare, qui sibi aliquo jure succedere debeat. Datum et publicatum in castro apud Kenilworthe, pridie kalendas Novembris anno gratiae MCC LXVI , regni vero domini Henrici regis Angliae anno quinquagesimo primo. (Statutes of the Realm, i. 12-17.) PART VIL SELECT CHARTERS AND EXCERPTS ; Edward 1 A.D. 1272-1307. Archbishops of Canterbury. Robert Kilwardby, 1273-1278; John Peckham, 1279-1292 ; Robert Winchelsey, 1294-1313. Chief Justices of the King'a Bench. Ralph de Hengham, 1273-1289 ; Gilbert de Thornton, 1289-1295; Roger Brabazon, 1295. Chancellors. Walter de Merton, 1272; Robert Burnell, 1273-1292; John Langton, 1292 ; William Greenfield, 1302 ; William of Hamilton, 1304; Ralph Baldock, 1307. JN prince ever came to the English throne better qualified to rule strongly and well than Edward I. He had benefited by early experience, by intercourse with great men, by much know- ledge of the world outside of England, and by the warnings and examples of his father's reign. His own personal character was high, pure, and true. The part which he had taken in English politics before his accession was settled for him by circumstances rather than by choice. He had more than once revolted in disgust from the foolish falseness of Henry, and it was only when he found that he must not expect even bare justice from the reforming party that he threw himself heart and soul upon his father's side. From the temperament of the Angevin family he was nearly free : a tendency to legal captiousness does however present itself to view in many of his most important transac- tions, a flaw inherent in the very turn of his mind, brought into prominence moreover by the condition of the age and by the character of his advisers. The age of the lawyers was coming in : Edward's great advisers were lawyers rather than clerks and bishops : the great Character of the Reign. 427 men who were his examples were, like Lewis IX, Frederick II, and Alfonso the Wise, framers of laws and constitutions : the great distinguishing mark of his reign in English history is legal definition. Legal chicanery was the most characteristic sin of the Angevin house : and a disposition to take advantage of the letter of the law marks the greatest errors of Edward's own policy his severities in Wales, his assumptions in Scot- land, and especially the arbitrary measures by which he placed himself in such a position as to be obliged to confirm and extend the provisions of the Great Charter. The temper of the age was in itself a temptation to this : the period lies midway between the prolific premature life of the early thirteenth century and the splendid formal hollowness of the fourteenth. The principles and policy which had been springing up in the first half were being clothed in forms and hardened into definitions : fifty years more would see the forms stronger and the definitions harder still, but the life, the genius, the spirit of all, fainting and wearing out under the incubus of false chivalry, cruel extravagance, and the lust of war. In every branch of administration the process of definition goes on, almost uniformly. Parliament, convocation, the central courts of law, the provincial jurisdictions, take their permanent historic forms : the theory of representation, so long in the process of crystallisation, becomes fixed in the assemblies of both Church and State. The Courts of King's Bench, Exchequer, and Common Pleas take each to itself a distinct staff of judges and a distinct sphere of work. The administration of justice in the shires is completed and made symmetrical by a long series of statutes. The relations of Church and State are not indeed ^ settled, but a strong effort is made to reduce them to order, by defiance of Home, by the act of Mortmain, by the summoning of the clergy to parliament, and by securing representation in the church assemblies. In taxation, in legislation, in the admi- nistration of justice and police, the same tendency is visible : a tendency in the age, which produced other legislators besides Edward, and which brought out the weakness of other kings who, like Philip the Fair, had none of Edward's merits : a 428 Edward I. [PART tendency which, in Edward's case, falls in with the genius of the man, giving prominence to both his virtues and his faults. The first half of the reign was occupied with legislation and with the war in Wales, the second with constitutional develop- ment and war with France and Scotland. The two features common to both periods are war and financial difficulties : the latter owing of course in some measure to the former, but largely increased by the evils of the late reign, the impoverish- ment of the crown, and the ignorance on the part of both government and people of what may be by anticipation called the principles of political economy. Edward's expedients for the .raising of money are most diversified : the petition for thirtieths, twentieths, fifteenths, twelfths, elevenths, tenths, ninths, eighths, sevenths, sixths, fifths, thirds, runs up the whole scale of fractions, reaching the climax in the demand of a half of clerical revenue, or rather perhaps in the seizure of all the wool. When direct request for a subsidy is hopeless, he falls back on the old feudal aids, his daughter to be married, or his son to be knighted ; or the scutage ; or respite of distraint of knighthood, itself an expansion of the scutage system ; or an increase in the customs ; or, last and meanest, a revival of the almost forgotten talliage on demesne. It is true that during great part of the reign these taxes were light, for it is only from 1290 to 1297 that there is any pretence of severe exaction ; that they were taken with scrupulous regard to the legal letter of royal obligations : and that Edward's own outlay was mode- rate, and free, as far as possible, from personal extravagance. But they were irritating and confusing to the people, and con- tributed one chief ingredient towards the troubled atmosphere of the reign. Of the wars which contributed the other, it is unnecessary to speak here. The legislation of Edward I was in some respects a consolida- tion of the principles which had been brought into organised working by Henry II. The Statute of Winchester bears this relation to the Assize of Arms ; the Statute of Mortmain to the Constitutions of Clarendon ; the distraint of knighthood to the system of scutage ; the statute Quia Emptores to the antifeudal vii.] Excerpts. 429 measures, and the arrangements of the courts of law to the numerous judicial devices, of the first Angevin king. Most of these were indeed rooted in a far more distant past ; but Henry nursed them into life after a long winter of tyranny, and Edward pruned and trained them after the neglected luxuriance of a pre- mature summer. Up to the reign of Edward I every document belonging to every branch of administration has a constitutional value. After this reign much that has had historical interest becomes merely archaeological. This is owing in part to the permanence of the type defined under this king, and in part to the permanent dis- tribution of the system which he and his advisers arranged in the different departments of work : the definition of each part, and the definition of each function, of the machine of state. For instance, the ordinary courts of law, the practice of trial by jury, the organisation of national defence and police, cease to have the direct bearing on constitutional history which they have had : and the name of * constitutional ' becomes restricted to the parliamentary history and to the departments of state which exist in close dependence upon or in temporary rivalry with it. In the political history the result of the same process is to pro- duce local and personal partisanships rather than political par- ties. The struggles of the succeeding century are not about the framework of the constitution, but about the management of it : the vessel is complete, but the helm is contested by loyalists and Lancastrians ; by men of the south and men of the north ; supporters of the court and prerogative, and supporters of the old liberties, the natural opposition. EXCEEPTS. A.D. 1273. ANN. WINTON. p. 113. Hoc anno, scilicet post festum Sancti Hilarii, facta convocatione omnium praelatorum et aliorum magnatum regni apud Westmonasterium, post mor- tem illustris regis Henrici, convenerunt archiepiscopi et episcopi, comites et barones, abbates et priores, et de quolibet comitatu quatuor milites et de qualibet civitate quatuor, qui omnes in praesentia dominorum W. scilicet archiepiscopi Eboracensis, R. de Mortuomari, et R. Burnell clerici, qui in loco domini Edwardi 430 Edward I. [PART regis Angliae praefuerunt, sacramentum eidem domino Edwardo tanquam terrae principi praestiterunt, et de pace regni fideliter et firmiter custodienda praeceptum susceperunt; ubi dominus Walterus de Mertona cancellarius constitutus est, et ut moram trahat apud Westmonasterium, tanquam in loco publico, usque ad adventum principis ; et ubi provisum est quod nulli sint justitiarii itinerantes usque ad adventum principis, sed in banco. A.D. 1274. ANN. WINTON. p. 118. Hoc anno dominus Ed- wardus rex Angliae de Terra Sancta et de Wasconia reversus, secunda die mensis Augusti in Angliam applicuit apud Dorober- niam, et die Dominica proxima post Assumptionem Beatae Ma- riae Virginis, per impositionem manuutn R,. archiepiscopi Can- tuariensis de ordine Praedicatorum, unctus est in regem et coro- natus apud Westmonasterium, praesente domino rege Scotiae et multis aliis. A.D. 1275. ANN. WINTON. p. 119. In quindena Paschae quae fuit in principio mensis Maii, facta communi convocatione omnium magnatum regni, tenuit dominus rex Edwardus mag- num parliamentum suum apud Westmonasterium, ubi quam- plures de regno, qui aliqua feoda de corona regia tenuerunt, ea dicto domino regi reddiderunt, compositione tamen facta cum quibusdam ut ea tenere valeant quoad vitam. In quo parlia- mento de assensu communi quasdam novas leges constituit ob- servandas ad communem utilitatem totius regni. PATENT ROLL, July 24, 1276. . . . Cum in primo general! parliamento nostro post coronationem nostram in crastino oc- tavis Paschae anno regni nostri tertio, de voluntate nostra, et consiliariorum nostrorum consilio et communitatis regni nostri ibidem convocatorum consensu . . . ordinaverimus. . . . ANN. WINTON. p. 119. Item mense Octobris circa festum Sancti Lucae Evangel! stae, iterum tenuit ibidem aliud magnum parliamentum in quo quid em alias leges constituit inter Judaeos observandas, ubi de communi assensu archiepiscoporum, episco- porum, comitum et baronum, concessum fuit dicto domino regi quintum decimum quorundam bonorum laicorum omnium pos- sessionum regni Angliae in subsidium, causa suae novitatis, ut a quibusdam dicebatur. CLOSE ROLLS, Oct. 24. . . Praelati, comites, barones et alii de regno nostro, quintam decimam de omnibus bonis mobilibus, ad relevationem status nostri, nobis concesserint gratiose. . . . viz.] Excerpts. 431 A.D. 1276. ANN. "WAVERL. p. 386. Post Pascha, ad parlia- rnentum Westmonasterii multis proceribus regni congregatis, rex pacem suam exhaeredatis concessit. In quo parliamento quin- tam decimam omnium bonorum temporalium tarn clericorum quam laicorum, inaudito more ad unguem taxatam, rex jusserat levari et confiscari. . . . Item in eodem parliamento concessit dominus rex et demandavit per totum regnum Angliae quod cartae de communibus libertatibus et de forestis in suo robore permanentes ab omnibus per omnia observarentur. ANN. WINTON. p. 1 20. Praeterea cum anno praecedenti con- cessum fuerit domino regi quintum decimum omnium bonorum laicorum in regno, dictus dominus rex, pauperibus parcere volens, ordinavit et statuit ut qui ad valentiam xv. solidorum non ha- bent in bonis ad hujusmodi contributionem nullatenus compel- lerentur. A.D. 1277. MATT. WESTM. p. 408. In quindena Paschae rex recedens a Westmonasterio versus Walliam properavit cum omni militari servitio terrae suae Angliae, barones de scaccario et jus- titiarios de banco usque Salopian! secum ducens. ANN. T. WYKES, p. 274. Rex utique reversus de Wallia cepit de quolibet feodo militis per regnum xl. solidos pro scutagio, illis dumtaxat quietis a solutione scutagii, qui secum in Wallia personaliter vel per substitutes idoneos militabant. A.D. 1278. CHEON. W. RISHANGER, p. 93. Tenuit rex par- liamentum Gloverniae in octavis Sancti Johannis Baptistae, in quo edita sunt statuta quae ' de Glovernia ' appellantur. STAT. GTLOUCEST. Preamble. Le rei pur le amendement de sun reaume, e pur plus plenere exhibicion de dreit, si com le profit de office regal demaunde, appelez le plus descrez de sun regne, ausi bien des greindres cum les meindres, establi est e concordaument ordeine. . . . ANN. WAVERL. p. 390. Item in medio mensis Octobris do- minus Eadwardus rex tenuit magnum parliamentum apud West- monasterium, ubi dominus rex Scotiae venit et homagium dicto domino regi Angliae fecit. CHRON. W. DE HEMINGBUKGH, ii. 6. Cito post inquietavit rex quosdam ex magnatibus terrae per justitiarios suos, scire volens quo warranto tenerent terras ; et, si non haberent bonum warran- tum, seisivit statim terras illorum ; vocatusque est inter ceteros comes de Warenna coram justitiarios regis, et, interrogatus quo warranto teneret, produxit in medium gladium antiquum et 43 2 Edward I. [PART aeruginatum et ait, ' Ecce, domini mei, ecce warrantum meum. Antecessores enim mei cum Willelmo bastardo venientes con- quaesti sunt terras suas gladio, et easdem gladio defendam a quo- cunque eas occupare volente. Non enim rex per se terrain devicit et subjecit, sed progenitores nostri fuerunt cum eo par- ticipes et coadjutores.' A.D. 1279. ANN. WAVERL. p. 391. Johannes de Peccham archiepiscopus Cantuariensis . . . iii. kalendas Augusti facta convocatione quorundam episcoporum comprovincialium apud Radinges, quaedam generalia statuta promulgavit observanda. ANN. OSNEY, p. 286. In quodam parliamento facto apud Londoniam circa festum Omnium Sanctorum, rex instanter petiit a clero Angliae quintam decimam bonorum suorum in subsidium quod, uti praetactum est, a populo regni sui nuper extorsit, ut esset clerus sicut et populus. Archiepiscopus autem Eboracensis cedens petitioni regiae pro se et pro clero suae metropolis quin- tam decimam per duos annos primus concessit. Cantuariensis aliquantulum ut poterat rebellando, responsum suum super hoc usque in parliamentum post Pascha posuit in suspense, et tune regis instantia coercitus pro se et clero suo decimam trium anno- rum domino regi concessit. A.D. 1280. WILKINS, Cone. ii. 42. Clerici diocesis Ebora- censis excepto archidiacono Eichmundiae . . . concedunt . . . decimam beneficiorum suorum ecclesiasticorum secundum taxa- tionem Norwycensem prius factam . . . per duos annos duntaxat. Ib. Clerus nostrae provinciae . . . (sc. Cantuariensis) . . . concesserit domino regi quintam decimam bonorum suorum . . . per tres annos solvendam. ANN. WAVERL. p. 392. Dominus rex de consilio quorundam pontificum et baronum statuit quod religiosae personae de cetero in acquisitione terrarum seu reddituum non crescerent. . . . A.D. 1281. ANN. OSNEY, p. 285. Nonis Octobris . . . J. Cantuariensis archiepiscopus convocatis universis episcopis, ab- batibus, prioribus, ac universis praelatis et clericis suae metro- polis, apud Lamheye sollemne concilium celebravit ; in quo constitutions Ottonis et Ottoboni . . . innovavit et in posterum inviolabiliter observandas fore decrevit. ... In eodem concilio proposuerat quasdam libertates ad coronam domini regis spec- tantes et a multis retroactis temporibus usitatas annullare, videlicet cognitionem juris patronatus. prohibitions regias in placitis de catallis et hujusmodi quae spiritualitatem mere con- tingere videbantur; cui rex per quosdam de suis in eodem vii.] Excerpts. 433 concilio publice se opposuit, et intentando minas inhibuit ne quid statuere praesumeret in praejudicium seu depressionem regiae libertatis. Unde factum est ut territus archiepiscopus a sua praesumptione resiliret. A.D. 1282. ANN. OSNEY, p. 288. Convocatis regni magna- tibus statuit parliamentum suum apud Wigorniam in festo Nativitatis Sancti Johamiis Baptistae. . . . ANN. WAVERL. p. 399. Item hoc anno clerus et populus primo quintam decimam, et postmodum tricesimam, bonorum suorum domino regi concesserunt. A.D. 1283. ANN. DUNSTAPL. p. 294. Statim post Pascha bona omnium eorum, qui habebant ultra dimidiam marcam in catallis, per duodecim juratos de visneto suo taxabantur pro tricesima domino regi concessa : et tune bona nostra extra bur- gum cum aliis sunt taxata : et bona infra curiam per burgenses ; at tamen moderate. Postea taxatio praedicta revocata fuit per breve domini regis quoad viros religiosos et quoad mercatores qui alias dominum regem nomine mutui adjuvarunt ad guerram contra Wallenses. Eisdem anno et tempore nomine domini regis petita est a clero decima de omnibus proventibus ecclesiastic! s per triennium ... in subsidium guerrae suae contra Walliam. Archiepi scopus Cantuariensis habuit super hoc tractatum Lon- doniae cum coepiscopis suis, praelatis omnibus, atque clero, ubi a procuratoribus totius cleri fuit manifesto contributioni hujus- rnodi contradictum. ANN. OSNEY, p. 294. Circa festum Sancti Michaelis rex, con- vocatis regni sui magnatibus et majoribus civium Angliae apud Salopesbyriam, tenuit ibi parliamentum suum et adduci fecit illuc David qui apud Rothelan fuerat captivatus : ibique per considerationem magnatum ibidem congregatorum, pensatia impietatis suae meritis, judicialiter adjudicatus est morti. CHEON. W. DE HEMINGBURGH, ii. 14. Post festum Sancti Michaelis tenuit idem rex parliamentum suum apud Actone Bu**nel ubi fecit statutum sic vocatum. STAT. DE MERCATORIBUS. Preamble. Le rei par luy e par sun conseil ad ordine e establi. . . . A.D. 1284. ANN. OSNEY, p. 299. Ante festum Nativitatis Dominicae rex Angliae ... ad partes rediit Anglicanas et fuit Bristol lis in eodem festo Natal is. Quo expleto, convocatis quibusdam de magnatibus, singulare, non generale, tenuit parlia- mentum. . . . rf 434 Edward 1. [PAUT A.D. 1285. ANN. OSNEY, p. 304. In quindena Paschae con- vocatis proceribus regni rex cum majoribus et peritioribus de statu regni diffusum coepit habere tractatum ; protractoque parliamento usque ad Nativitatem Sancti Johannis Baptistae, edidit quaedam statuta toti regno pernecessaria quibus leges antiquas, quae per regni turbationem dormitaverant, excitabat ; quasdam quae per abusum corruptae fuerant ad statum debitum revocabat; quasdam vero minus evidentes seu perspicuas decla- rabat, quasdam vero novas utiles et honestas superaddidit ; com- pilationemque ipsorum statutorum, circa festum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli in aula Westmonasteriensi in praesentia totius populi, divulgari fecit et legi in publico. . . . STATUTES OF THE REALM, i. 71. Stat. Westm. n. Preamble. . . . Dominus rex, in parleamento suo post Pascha anno regni sui tertio decimo apud Westmonasterium, multas oppressiones et legum defectus, ad suppletionem praedictorum statutorum apud Gloucestriam editorum, recitari fecit et statuta edidit. STATUTES OF THE REALM, i. 104. Supplicabant domino regi in parliamento suo apud "Westmonasterium post Pascha anno regni sui xiii., plures de regno suo, tarn praelati, viri religiosi et aliae personae ecclesiasticae, quam comites et barones et ceterae personae saeculares seu laicae, ut idem dominus rex cartas a progenitoribus suis regibus Angliae vel ab aliis, concessas prae- decessoribus seu antecessoribus ipsarum personarum, et eis, de sua gratia confirmaret ; unde idem dominus rex habito super hoc cum suo consilio tractatu, concessit quod confirmationes cartarum illarum fiant. . . . ANN. DUNSTAPL. p. 317. Scutagium etiam pro Wallia ibidem generaliter per totam Angliam est concessum. A.D. 1286. ANN. OSNEY, p. 306. In quindena Paschae facta est per regis evocationem congregatio maxima magnatum totius regni, tarn saecularium personarum quam ecclesiasticarum, apud Londoniam ad tractandum de regni regimine. . . . Rex . . . committens regni sui custodiam Edmundo comiti Cornubiae, circa festum Ascensionis Dorninicae transfretavit in Galliam.' A.D. 1289. ANN. OSNEY, p. 316. Circa Purificationem Beatae Virginis convocatis edicto publico apud Londoniam regni magnatibus, episcopus Eliensis domini regis thesaurarius de man- date regis, ut dicebat, petiit a comitibus et baronibus, immo etiam generaliter ab universis incolis regni, subsidium ad opus regis, ad sublevationem expensarum quas triennio jam elapso fecerat in partibus Gallicanis. At illi ponentes responsum in vii.] Excerpts. 435 ore comitis Gloucestrensis, praecise respondebant se nihil penitus praestituros, nisi prius personaliter viderent in Anglia faciem regis \ thesaurarius, prospiciens se nihil posse proficere, coepit talliare civitates et burgos et dominica regis per totum regnum, imponens eis intolerabilem pecuniae quantitatem, statute tern- pore persolvendam. Ib. p. 318. Hex ... in Angliam applicuit Dovoriae pridie idus August!. ANN. WAVERL. p. 408. Cito post parliamento apud "West- monasterium omnium procerum convocato, omnes justitiarios ab officiis suis amovit ac animadversione condigna secundam de- merita corripuit et punivit. A.D. 1290. CHRON. W. DE HEMINGBURGH, ii. 20. Tenuit rex parliamentum suum Londoniis post Pascha, ubi fecit statuta Westmonasterii tertia . . . ordinatumque est per regem et secretum consilium quod certo die infra horam primam et ter- tiam omnes Judaei in singulis civitatibus caperentur et deinde expellerentur a terra. ANN. DUNSTAPL. p. 362, Et quia dicta expulsio Judaeorum multum placuit Anglicanae ecclesiae et populo, clerus concessit regi decimam bonorum spiritualium secundum taxationem Nor- vvicensem ; et baronagium et clerus concesserunt quintain decimam bonorum temporalium, taxandam et assidendam per legales homines secundum verum valorem inter gulam Augusti et festum Sancti Michaelis. ANN. OSNEY, p. 326. Circa festum Sancti Michaelis .... pessimis .et protervis domini regis consiliariis persuadentibus, ipsumque regem ad hoc pertinaciter iuducentibus, exiit edic- tum a rege toti regno perniciosum nimis et deplorabile, videlicet ut universi regnicolae tam clerici quam laici, saeculares pariter et religiosi, quintam decimam partem omnium bonorum suorum saecularium mobilium solverent fisco regio, congerendam sub in- tolerabili taxatione, graviore quidem quam aliquis praedecessorum Euorum retroactis temporibus consueverat aestimare. . . . ANN. WIGORN. p. 503. Rex indixit quintam decimam secun- dum quod bona uniuscujusque inter gulam Augusti et festum Omnium Sanctorum plus valebant, et in die Animarum ad hoc inquirendum de singulis hundredis duodecim sunt jurati. ANN. ELIENS. MS. Qui (sc. octo episcopi) omnes in crastino Dominicae . . . (sc. Oct. 2) in capitulo Eliensi concilium cele- brantes, decimas ecclesiarum Cantuariensis provinciae secundum Ff 2 Edward I. [PART taxationem Norwicensem dicto regi ad unum annum conces- serunt. ROT. PAEL. i. 45. Placita de parliamento apud Clypston, a die Saneti Michaelis in unum mensem, anno XVIII . A.D. 1291. ROT. PAUL. i. 66. Placita de parliamento apud Assherugge in crastino Epiphaniae, anno XIX . ANN. OSNEY, p. 331. Circa festum Sancti Michaelis dominus papa de plenitudine potestatis concessit regi Anglorum decimam omnium possessionum personarum ecclesiasticarurn tarn religio- sarum quam saecularium, exceptis duntaxat Templariis et Hos- pitalariis, percipiendam per sex annos continuos, in subsidium futurae suae peregrinationis in Terram Sanctam ad debellandum inimicos crucis Christi, non secundum antiquas taxationes sed secundum verum valorem, ad quern bona ipsa intolerabili aesti- matione taxari de novo constituit. A.D. 1292. ROT. PAEL. i. 70. De parliamento apud Lon- donias in crastino Epiphaniae Domini anno Regis Edwardi Ib. p. 78. Rex ... in pleno parliamento suo et de com- muni consilio suo statuit. . . . A.D. 1293. ROT. PAEL. i. 91. Placita coram ipso domino rege et consilio suo ad Parliamentum suum post Pascha apud Londonias in manerio archiepiscopi Eboracensis, anno regni domini regis Edwardi XXI. STATUTES OF THE REALM, i. 112. . . . Dominus rex ad par- liamentum suum post Pascha anno regni sui XXI m <> ad instan- tiam magnatum regui sui concessit et firrniter extunc praecepit observari. . . . ROT. PAEL. i. 112. Placita coram ipso domino rege et consilio suo ad parliamentum suum post festum Sancti Michaelis anno regni regis Edwardi XXI . . . . Habito super hoc consilio et tractatu diligenti cum archiepiscopi s, episcopis, comitibus, baroni- bus, thesaurario et baronibus de scaccario, justitiariis et ceteris cle consilio clericis et laicis tune ibi praesentibus, concordatum est. . . . STATUTES OP THE REALM, i. 113. . . . Dominus rex .... in parliamento de termino Sancti Michaelis anno regni sui XXI incipiente anno XXII . statuit. . . . A.D. 1294. MATT. WESTM. p. 421. Eadwardus rex Angliae teiiuit parliamentum suum apud Westmonasterium post festum Pentecostes; cui interfuerunt Johannes rex Scotiae et omnes vii.] Excerpts. 437 magnates Angliae, ubi recitabantur in auditu ibidem existentium motiones et continuationes hujus guerrae, insuper legationes et sponsiones pacis Angliae reformandae . . . Denique in hoc assen- tiunt omnes recuperare Vasconiam vi et armis. Tune rex Scotiae concessit regi Angliae per triennium omnes terras suas quae sibi jure haereditario competebant in regno Angliae, in sub- sidium Vasconiae adipiscendae, regno Scotiae solummodo con- tentus : ceterique comites et magnates de facultatibus suis auxilium pollicentur. CHEON. W. DE HEMINGBUEGH, ii. 54. Eodem etiam anno circa festum Ascensi'onis Domini omnes lanas terrae suae seisivit, tarn clericorum quam laicorum, et sic seisitas tenuit quousque mercatores, data maxima pecuniae summa, eas quasi de novo redimerent et haberent. ANN. WIGOIIN. p. 516. Cito per ministros regis summa saccorum lanae diligenter scrutata in Anglia et inventa, rex decrevit quod de singulis saccis lanae approbatae quinque marcas, et de sacco communis lanae tres marcas regi redderent venditores. CHEON. W. DE HEMINGB. ii. 53. Eex Angliae, nescio quorum fretus consilio, omnem pecuniam numeratam et omne depositum in ecclesiis cathedralibus, domibus religiosis, et universis gazo- phylaciis clericorum et laicorum, fratrumque Praedicatorum et Minorum ceterorumque ordinum omnium, quarto scilicet die Julii hora tertia, per ministros suos ad hoc praeordinatos, quasi ex improviso, cepit et in aerarium suum Londoniis reponi jussit, multamque pecuniam consecutus est quam nunquam postea restituit. Ib. p. 54. Eodena anno vocavit rex per litteras suas archi- episcopos, episcopos, decanos ecclesiarum cathedralium et archi- diaconos in propriis personis, clerumque uniuscujusque diocesis per duos procuratores, ut in festo Sancti Matthaei apostoli coram eo apparerent Londoniis. Quibus ibidem existentibus ait rex ' Domini carissimi, jam satis constat, ut audistis, de famosa ista guerra quae inter regem Franciae et nos initium sumpsit .... quoniain videtis comites, barones et milites vestros, quod non solum bona verum etiam corpora sua pro vobis exponunt . . . et vos igitur qui corpora vestra exponere non potestis, justum est et rationi consonum ut de bonis vestris subveniatis. . . . Quia recenter duo facta sunt in quibus admiramini, placare vobis volumus et in hac parte respondere. Praecepimus quod omnes lanae terrae arestarentur ; et hoc non sine causa fecimus, quia nostrae voluntatis fuit ut de bonis terrae ipsa terra conservaretur 438 Edward I. [PART illaesa. Aliud est : datum fuit nobis intelligi quod moneta terrae nostrae corrupta fuit et falsata, unde praecepimus quod statutum monetae in suo robore teneretur, nihil mail suspicantes, sed in hoc facto . . . fines mandati nostri quidam egressi sunt et deceperunt nos ; unde parati sumus emendas facere pro libito vestrae voluntatis.' . . . Hespondit Oliverus Lincolniensis epi- scopus . . . * detur igitur dies ad consulendum/ . . Datusque est dies tertius. ... In unum tandem votum concordabant omnes ut offerrent regi duas decimas in uno anno solvendas ; quod audiens rex indignatus est, et per suos satellites comminatus se extra protectionem suam clerum velle ponere nisi medietatem omnium bonorum concederent et votis ejus annuerent in hac parte : statimque quasi stipula corda eorum dissipata sunt ; quidam enim regi placere volentes festinanter, alii vero timore perterriti subsequenter, concesserunt, et quia immunitas ec- clesiae, .... laesa fuit et violata, petiit clerus a rege jubente quosdam articulos ; jussit enim rex postquam votis ipsius paruerant, ut et ipsi ab eo peterent remedia quae vellent. Et petierunt imprimis ut statutum de manu mortua, quod in praejudicium sanctae matris ecclesiae fuerat editum, deleretur ; cui quidem articulo respondit ipse rex, quod illud statutum de consilio magnatum suorum fuerat editum et ordinatum, et ideo absque eorum consilio non erat revocandum : ceteris autem articulis quos proposuerant respondit de facili ; ita quod frustrati et delusi reversi sunt ad propria, obligati tamen ad medietatem concessam. MATT. WESTM. p. 422. Praecepit saecularium militum bona taxari et sibi per Angliam decimari. Mercatoribus et civibus commorantibus in civitatibus muratis et villulis nundinariis, senarium denarium ex omnibus quae possederant ejus necessi- tatibus indixit persolvendum. PATENT ROLLS, Nov. 12. Comites, barones, milites et omnes alii de regno nostro in subsidium guerrae nostrae . . . decimam de omnibus bonis suis mobilibus . . . concesserunt. A.D. 1295. ANN. WIGORN. p. 522. Ad vincula Sancti Petri rex tenuit parliamentum Londoniis, ubi uterque cardinalis pro guerra quae orta est inter regem Angliae et regem Franciae de pace publice praedicavit. MATT. WESTM. p. 425. In vigilia Sancti Andreae, accersito clero, magnatibus, et populo apud Westmonasterium, de sub- stantiis suis ad tuitionem regni petiit rex iterum sibi subsidium exhiberi. Et concessa est ei undecima pars a quibus anno prae- terito decima solvebatur ; de quibus autem sexta, nunc vero VIT.] Excerpts. 439 septima est collata. Porro archiepiscopus Cantuariensis, in- dulta sibi conferendi cum suffraganeis suis super hac re licentia, unanimi assensu offerebat regi decimam ecclesiasticorum bono- rum. Qua etiam oblata sed minime admissa, redierunt iterum episcopi super his tractaturi. Cernens igitur rex eorum con- stantiam, misit ad eos quinquagenarium, magnum videlicet justitiarium de banco, et eos qui sub eo fuerant, qui dixerunt ' Episcopi, haec dicit rex ; " oblatum vestrum neque accepto neque acceptabo," sed festinanter descendite voluntatem ejus supplendo, saltern quartam partem vel tertiam concedendo.' Helias autem noster arehiepiscopus cum clero de loco suo non descendit. . . . Interim misit rex alium quinquagenarium can- cellariae suae et eos qui sub ipso erant : petierunt et hi quae praedestinati poscebant. At in omnibus his non est clerus motus a proposito suo, sed quoniam praeconcesserant decimam iterum obtulerunt. Videns ergo rex suam petitionem vires cleri excedere, nolens eos contristare, in crastino Conceptionis Beatae Mariae eorum gratum acceptavit oblatum. PATENT EOLLS, Dec. 4. Comites, barones, milites et alii de regno nostro in subsidium guerrae nostrae . . . liberaliter fece- runt undecimam de omnibus bonis suis mobilibus ; et cives, burgenses et alii probi homines de dominicis nostris civitatibus et burgis ejusdem regni septimam de omnibus bonis suis mobi- libus, exceptis his quae in decima ultima nobis concessa excipie- bantur, nobis curialiter concesserint. . . A.D. 1296. ANN. TRIVET, p. 352. Rex Angliae profectus in Angliam. apud Sanctum Edmundum parliamentum tenuit in crastino Animarum, in quo a civitatibus et burgis concessa est regi octava, a populo vero reliquo duodecima pars bonorum. Clerus ob constitutionem Bonifacii papae hoc anno editam (sc. litteras papae; Clericis laicos, Feb. 24, 1296), quae prohibet sub poena excommuuicationis ne talliae vel exactiones a clero per saeculares principes quocunque modo exigantur, vel eis solvantur de rebus ecclesiae, regi pro guerra petenti subsidium denegavit. Rex autem, ut de meliori response deliberaret, negotium in aliud parliamentum tenendum Londoniis in crastino Sancti Hilarii distulit. PATENT ROLLS, Dec. 16. . . Comites, barones, milites et alii de regno nostro in subsidium guerrae . . . duodecimam de omni- bus bonis suis mobilibus, et cives, burgenses et alii probi homines de omnibus et singulis civitatibus, et burgis regni nostri, de quorumcunque tenuris aut libertatibus fuerint, et de omnibus 44 Edivard I. [PAUT dominicis nostris, octavam de omnibus boms suis mobilibus . . . concesserint. A.D. 1297. ANN. TEIVET. p. 353. In parliamento Londoni- ensi post festum Sancti Hilarii, clero in denegatione subsidii persistente, rex ipsum a sua protectione exclusit, pro qua tamen redimenda multi per se, multi Vero per mediatores, regi bonorum suorum dederunt postea quintam partem. Rex archiepiscopum in hac parte rigidiorem comperiens, terras ejus omnes seisivit, et de bonis ejusdem debita in rotulis scaccarii inventa praecepit cum celeritate levari. W. DE HEMINGBURGH, ii. 119. Quadragesimali tempore praecepit rex ut omnes qui lanas haberent et coria, ad certos portus maris infra diem certum cariarent, sub poena perditionis earundem et incarcerationis gravisque forisfacturae regis. Quod cum ipsi fecissent, ministri regis omnes saccos lanae quinarium numerum excedentes, datis talliis, acceperunt ad opus regis, et ab unoquoque sacco numerum quinarium non excedente, ab ipsis eorum dominis nomine malae toltae quadraginta solidos extor- serunt. Insuper praecepit rex ut contra passagium suum in Flandriam de quolibet comitatu acciperentur per vicecomitem duo millia quarteria frumenti, et tantundem avenae, et ad portus maris ducerentur. Factumque est sic, et talliabantur homines ad certum numerum quarteriorum, etiam qui bladum non habebant; accipiebantur et ab eis carnes bovinae et porcinae ad certum numerum, et multae fiebant oppressiones in populo terrae. Ib. p. 121. In festo Sancti Matthiae apostoli ejusdem anrii, convocatis optimatibus regni absque clero, tenuit rex parliameu- tum suum apud Salesbire, ubi rogavit quosdam magnaturn ut in Vasconiam transfretarent, et coeperunt singuli se excusare. In- dignatusque rex comminabatur quibusdam eorum vel quod irent vel quod terras eorum daret aliis qui ire vellent. Et in hoc verbo scandalizati sunt multi et schisma coepit oriri inter eos. Comes etiam Herefordensis et comes Marescallus excusaverunt se, dicentes quod officia sua quae sibi jure haereditario competebant facerent libenter eundo cum ipso rege. Iterataque prece rogatus est comes Marescallus ut iret : et ait ' Libenter tecum vadam, O rex, praecedendo faciem tuam in acie prima, sicut mihi competit haereditario jure/ Et rex ' Etiam sine me ibis cum aliis/ At ille, 'Non teneor, nee est meae voluntatis, O rex, sine te iter arripere/ Et iratus rex prorupit in haec verba, ut dicitur ; 'Per Deum, comes, aut ibis aut pendebis/ Et illi, ' Per idem jura- mentum, rex, nee ibi nee pendebo/ Et licentia non accepta recessit, dissolutumque est concilium quoad diem hanc. Con- vir.] Excerpts. 441 festim vero duo comites isti, Herefordensis et Marescallus, associatis sibi multis magnatibus et plusquam triginta bannerettis electis, creverant in populum rnultum, numeratique sunt in equis armatis mille quingenti viri expediti ad bellum, et coepit eos timere rex, dissimulavit tamen. Illi autem profecti in terras suas noluerunt permittere ministros regis nee lanas, nee coria, nee extraordinarium quicquam, capere aut aliquid exigere ab invitis ; quin immo interdixerunt eis ingressum in terras suas sub poena capitis et membrorum, et se ad resistendum prae- parabant. MATT. WESTM. p. 430. Congregatis archipraesule Cantuari- ensi et quibusdam aliis coepiscopis suffraganeis suis apud Sanctum Paulura Londini, XXVI. die Martii, iterum pro statu ecclesiae consulturis, insurgentes protenus duo causidici et duo de ordine Praedicatorum fratres, regalem et temporalem favorem aucu- pantes, conati sunt argumentis probare clerum ipsi regi in tempore belli, non obstante prohibitione apostolica, de suis facultatibus posse licite subvenire ; insuper prohibito sub poena incarcerationis, ne quis contra ipsum regem et eos qui jam- pridem suam protectionem quaesierant excommunicationis sen- tentiam promulgaret, provocatione facta pro se ad Romanam curiam et pro ipsis. Recesserunt igitur omnes oneratis suis conscientiis per archiepiscopum sic dicentem 'salvet suam animam unusquisque.' Illo tempore voce praeconaria proclamatum fuit per Angliam ut possessores lanarum exponerent ipsas venditioni infra men- sem in civitatibus assignatis, alioquin tanquam forisfactura cederent ipsi regi : quae quidem in die Sancti Georgii, quasi modo praelocuto callide congregatae pro forisfactura regis in Flandriam sunt transvectae. His et aliis extortionibus turbati, comites et barones Angliae parliamentum suum per se in foresta de Wyre, quae est in Marchia, statuerunt. . . . In crastino translations Beati Thomae Martyris, citatis comitibus et baronibus regni Londini, mandante rege suo con- stabulario et suo marescallo, comitibus Northfolclriae et Here- fordiae, adunati populi coram ipsis apud Sanctum Paulum, adbreviare quot equitaturas quisque posset invenire ipsi regi processuro ad bellum ; responderunt supplicando quatenus im- peraret alicui alter! de domo sua illud officium, eo quod non citati immo rogati diverterant ad eunclem. Et displicuit sermo iste in oculis regis, assignatis interim duobus aliis mili- tibus in hujusmodi officio exsequendo. Eodem tempore, ad- misso archiepiscopo Cantuariensi in gratiam regis atque reddita sibi baronia sua, pridie idus Julii, ante magnam aulam regiam 44-2 Edward I. [PART "Westmonasterii elevatus rex super gradum ligneum cum filio suo et archiepiscopo, necnon comite Warwici, coram eo astante populo, erumpentibus lacrymis veniam de commissis humillime postulavit, dicens se minus bene et tranquille quam regem deceret ipsos rexisse, portiunculas facultatum suarum quas sibi dederant, seu quas ministri ejus ipso inscio extorserant, ideo acceptasse ut injuriosos nostrum conatus, sitientium sanguinem Anglicanum, sumpta reipublicae particula, massa quietius possi- denda, potentius expugnaret. Et addens, 'Ecce expositurus meipsum discrimini propter vos. Peto, si rediero, suscipiatis me velut in praesentia habetis, et ablata omnia reddam vobis. Quod si non rediero, in regem vestrum meum filium coronetis.' Haec autem, archipraesule resoluto in laciymas pollicente se fideliter observare, totus populus fidelitatem extensis manibus stipulantur. Absentantibus interea sponte praefatis comitibus usque quo eorum petitio pro alleviatione patriae audiretur, dixerunt quidam non fore proficuum regi in Flandriam transfre- tare, neque ipsos sibi illic servitia, ab antecessoribus suis insueta, praebere, praesertim ipsis Scottis jamdudum more Wallensium, adhuc se praesente, recidivatis ad pugnam. Postularunt etiam, allegata primitus communitatis exinanitione, ne de cetero per Angliam tallagia usurparet ; rursum ut libertates, contentae in Magna Carta ac de Foresta, in usu extune efficacius haberen- tur, et voluntarias super his inductas exactiones de cetero quasi in irritum revocaret. Super quibus non protenus ex- auditi cum indignatione recesserunt died comites et barones. Quo viso rex, instinctu unitatis confovendae suasuque victoriae adquirendae, articulos in praedictis cartis contentos innovari insuper et observari mandavit, exigendo pro hac concessione ab incolis octavum denarium sibi dari, qui mox concessus est a plebe in sua tune camera circumstante. Petiit etiam a clero subsidium, qui respondit se velle summo pontifici litteras sup- plicatorias dirigere pro conferendi licentia obtinenda. PATENT ROLLS, July 30. Comites, barones, milites et ceteri laici regni nostri extra civitates, burgos et dominica nostra, octavam partem omnium bonorum suorum mobilium, et cives, burgenses et alii probi homines, de omnibus et singulis civi- tatibus et burgis ejusdem regni nostri, de quorumcunque tenuris aut libertatibus fuerint, et de omnibus dominicis nostris, quintam partem omnium suorum bonorum mobilium . . nobis concesserint. W. RISHANGER, Chron. p. 175. Eege moram adhuc faciente apud Wynchelseyam, venerunt ad eum nuncii ex parte comitum sui regni, petitiones in scriptis hnjusmodi proponentes ; ' Haec vii.] Excerpts. 443 sunt nocumenta quae archiepiscopi, episcopi, abbates, et priores, comites et barones et tota terrae communitas, monstrant domino nostro regi, et humiliter rogant eum ut ea ad honorem suura et salvationem populi sui velit corrigere et emendare. In primis videtur toti communitati terrae quod praenmnitio facta eis per breve domini nostri regis non erat sufficiens, quia non exprime- batur certus locus quo debebant ire ; quia secundum locum oportebat facere providentiam et pecuniam liabere. Et sive de- berent servitium facere sive non ; quia dictum est communiter, quod dominus noster vult transfretare in Flandriam, videtur toti communitati quod ibi non debent aliquod servitium facere ; quia nee ipsi nee praedecessores sui seu progenitores unquam fecerunt servitium in terra ilia. Et quamvis ita esset quod deberent ibi servitium facere ut alibi ; tamen non habent facultatem faci- endi ; quia nimis afflicti sunt per diversa tallagia, auxilia, prisas, videlicet, de frumento, averia, braseo, lanis, coriis, bobus, vaccis, carnibus salsis, sine solutione alicujus denarii, de quibus se de- buerant sustentasse. Praeter haec dicunt quod auxilium non possunt facere, propter paupertatem in qua sunt propter tallagia et prisas antedictas; quia vix habent unde se sustentent, et multi sunt qui nullam sustentationem habent, nee terras suas colere possunt. Praeter haec tota terra communitatis sentit se valde gravatam, quia non tractantur secundum leges et consuetudines terrae secundum quas tractari antecessores sui solebant, nee habent libertates quas solebant habere, sed voluntarie excludun- tur. Sentiunt enim se multi gravatos super hoc quod solebant tractari secundum articulos contentos in Magna Carta, cujus articuli omnes sunt omissi in majus damnum populo universe. Propter quod rogant dominum nostrum regem quod velit ista corrigere ad honorem suum et populi sui salvationem. Praeter haec communitas terrae sentit se nimis gravatam de Assisa Forestae quae non est custodita sicut consuevit : nee Carta Forestae observatur, sed fiunt attachiamenta pro libitu extra assisam aliter quam fieri cousuevit. Praeterea tota communitas sentit se gravatam de vectigali lanarum, quod nimis est onerosum, videlicet de quolibet sacco quadraginta solidos, et de lana fracta de quolibet sacco septem marcas; lana enim Angliae ascendit fere ad valorem medietatis totius terrae, et vectigal quod inde solvitur ascendit ad quintam partem valoris totius terrae. Quia vero comimmitas optat honorem et salutem domino nostro regi, sicut tenetur velle, non videtur eis quod sit ad bonum regis quod transeat in Flandriam, nisi plus esset assecuratus de Flandren- sibus pro se et pro gente sua, et simul cum hoc propter terrain Scotiae quae rebellare incipit, ipso existente in terra ; et aesti- 444 Edward I. [PART mant quod pejus facient cum certificati fuerint quod rex mare transient. Nee solum pro terra Scotiae sed etiam pro terris aliis quae non sunt adhuc modo debito stabilitatae.' Has petitiones cum rex apud Odemer juxta Wynchelseyam recepisset, respondit se talibus non posse sine suo consilio respon- dere ; cujus pars jam aliqua transiit in Flandriam, pars vero aliqua Londoniis est relicta. . . . Duodecimo kalendas Septem- bris, rex Angliae naves ingressus, indissoluta classe, sulcato mari, sexto die sequenti applicuit in Flandria. . . . MATT. WESTM. p. 430. ... In vigilia Sancti Bartholomaei Apostoli . . . accedentes praefati comites et barones ad scacca- rium domini regis apud Westmonasterium, proliibuerunt baro- nibus loci illius ne levare facerent per vicecomites octonarium denarium a populo Anglicauo, dicentes de conscientia suorum non emanasse, sine quorum assensu tallagium non debet exigi vel imponi. W. RISHAXGER, p. 178. . . . inhibuerunt ne levari facerent octavum denarium a populo, qui regi concessus fuerat apud Sanctum Edmundum. Induxerunt etiam cives Londoniarum ut pro recuperandis suis libertatibus secum starent. W. HEMIXGBURGH, ii. 147. Consiliarii regis nostri . . . insti- terunt apud filium regis . . . ut comites praedictos Marescallum scilicet et Herefordensem, . . . rogaret et interpellaret ad pacis unitatem et amorem. Missis ergo litteris suis rogavit eos ut ad parliamentum suum, eo quod patris sui locum tenebat in Anglia, venirent Londoniis X. die Octobris celebrandum. Qui novi praeceptoris et futuri principis rogatum amplectentes, vene- runt ad eundem diem, non tamen nudi, immo cum mille quin- gentis equis armatis et magna copia peditum electorum. Portas tamen civitatis noluerunt ingredi nisi primo concederetur eis quod in omnibus portis civitatis ponerentur prius custodes eorum ne forte absque armis ingressi velut oves in ovili claude- rentur. Quo concesso ingressi suHt, ubi tandem post consilia multa et tractatus varios, mediante venerabili patre Cantuariensi arcliiepiscopo magistro scilicet Roberto de Wynchelse, cujus memoria in benedictione est, non fuit alia forma ad quam con- sentire voluerunt nisi quod ipse dominus rex- Magnam Cartain cum quibusdam articulis adjectis, et Cartam de Foresta, conce- deret et confirmaret ; et quod nullum auxilium seu vexationem a clero vel populo peteret vel exigeret in posterum absque magnatum voluntate et assensu ; et quod omnem rancorem remitteret eis et omnibus sibi associatis. vii.] Excerpts. 445 MATT. WESTM. p. 431. ... Eadwardus films regis . . . Magnas Cartas . . . renovavit consilio senum usus, easdem confirmante patre suo apud Gandavum V to idus Novembris. W. HEMINGBURGH, ii. 155. Pro hac autem confirmatione car- tarum praedictarum cum suis adjunctis praedictis dederunt magnates terrae cum communi populo nonum denarium j archi- episcopus Cantuariensis cum suo clero decimum denarium; et Eboracensis electus cum suo clero qui propinquiores periculo exstiterunt, quint um denarium, in subsidium guerrae regis in regno Scotiae; lanas etiam religiosorum et aliorum de populo prius acceperat rex, cum protestatione tamen quod allocarentur in eodem quinto. PATENT EOLLS, Oct. 14. ... Archiepiscopi, episcopi, abbates, priores, comites, barones, milites et alii de regno nostro extra civitates, burgos et domihica nostra, nonam partem omnium bonorum suorum . . . nobis concesserunt. . . . A.D. 1298. W. BJSHANGER, p. 185. Hex . . . parliamentum tenuit Eboraci [in festo Pentecostes] . . . suis indixit ut cum equis et armis parati essent Rokesburgiae in festo Sancti Johannis Baptistae. . . . Sub eisdem diebus comites Herefordiae et Marescallus, quia confirmatio cartarum fuerat facta in terra aliena, petiverunt ad majorem securitatem eas iterum confirmari. Spoponderunt autem pro rege episcopus Dunelmensis ac comites Johannes Surreyae, Willelmus Warwici, Badulfus Gloverniae, quod obtenta victoria rex eas post suum rediturn confirmaret. A.D. 1299. W. HEMINGBURGH, ii. 182. Rex . . . tendens Londonias . . . tenuit . . . ibidem parliamentum suum in prin- cipio Quadragesimae, ubi per praedictos comites . . . facta est con- tentio magna super confirmatione Magnae Cartae. . . . Qui cum abiissent, audierunt responsum non acceptabile quidem sed varia- bile ; articulos enim quos ipsi petierant sic confirmaverat rex ut in fine adjiceret ' salvo jure coronae nostrae.' Quod auditum displicuit, et recesserunt ad propria impacati. Consiliarii autem regis, timentes seditionem populi, tradiderunt utrasque cartas sic consignatas vicecomitibus Londoniensibus ut in publico lege- rentur : factumque est sic in coemeterio Sancti Pauli congregato populo universo : dumque viderentur imprimis cartae sic con- signatae, benedixerunt Dominum et regem, sed audito fine cap- tioso, confestim improperantes, maledictionem pro benedictione intulerunt. Dissolutumque est consilium, et comites nostri ut convenirent iterato in quindenam Paschae ante eorum recessum diem receperunt. In quo quidem colloquio Londoniis celebrato rex quasi omnia petita concessit et votis eorum paruit. Com- 446 Edward I. [PART promiseruntque quantum ad equitationem forestarum omnium in regno Angliae in tres episeopos, tres comites, et tres barones, ut ipsi, Deuin habentes prae oculis, forestas equitari facerent, et dubia emergentia secundum Dominum et justitiam dirimerent et declararent. STATUTES OF THE REALM, i. 131. . . .Nous par commun assentement des Prelatz, des countes, e des barouns de meisme le roiaume, avoms sur ceo ordene e establi remedye ...15 May. (A.D. 1299.) A.D. 1300. W. HEMINGB. ii. 186. Rex . . . tenuit parlia- mentum suum apud Westmonasterium Londoniis in sequenti Quadragesima, ubi confirmationes praedictarum cartarum reno- vavit et statuta fecit super eisdem cum aliis contentis plurimis. STATUTES OF THE REALM, i. 136. Pur ceo que les poynz de la grant Chartre des Franchises et la Chartre de la Foreste . . . ne unt pas este tenuz e gardez avant ces heures . . . nostre seigneur le Roi les ad de novel grante, renovele, e conferme, et a la request des prelats, contes et barouns en soen parlement a Westmonster, en quaremme Ian de soen regne vint et utisme, ad certeine fourme et peyne ordene e establi, encontre tuz iceaus que centre les poyntz des avandites chartres ou nul poynt de eles, en nul manere vendront .... Le roi ad grante a soen poeple qil eient eleccion de leur viscontes en chescun conte ou visconte ne est mie de fee sil voelent. . . . MATT. WESTM. p. 433. . . .Pro hoc confirmations effectu concesserunt comites et barones regi quiutam decimam partein bonorum suorum mobilium. A.D. 1301. PATENT ROILS, Oct. 24. . . . Cum vos sicut ceterae communitates aliorum comitatuum regni nostri nobis nuper in parliamento nostro Lincolniae (sc. Jan. 20, 1301) con- cesseritis quindecimam omnium bonorum vestrorum mobi- lium. . . . A.D. 1302. W. HEMINGB. ii. 223. In octavis Sancti Jo- hannis Baptistae tenuit rex parliamentum suum Londoniis, et exegit a clero et populo quintum decimum denarium de suis temporalibus : scutagium etiam exegit eodein anno in Quadra- gesima et ceteris militibus concessit ut a suis tenentibus illud facerent. PATENT ROLLS, Nov. 7. ... Cum primo die Junii anno regni nostri xviii praelati, comites, barones, et ceteri magnates de regno nostro concorditer pro se et tota communitate ejusdem regni in pleno parliamento nostro nobis concesserint quadra- vii.] Order for Proclamation of the King's Peace. 447 ginta solidos de singulis feodis militum in regno nostro, in auxilium ad primogenitam filiam maritandam . . . cujus auxilii levationi faciendae pro dicto communitatis aisamento hucusque supersedimus . . . assignavimus vos ad praedictum auxilium . . . ad opus nostrum levandum et colligendum. A.D. 1304. W. HEMINGB. ii. 233. Exegit rex a civitatibus suis et burgis sextum denarium secuiiduni taxationem bonorum. suorum. PATENT EOLLS, Feb. 6. Constituimus vos ... ad assiden- dos tallagium nostrum in civitatibus, burgis, et dominicis nostris. A.D. 1306. PATENT ROLLS, Nov. 10. Archiepiscopi, epi- scopi, abbates, priores, comites, barones, milites, liberi homines ac communitates comitatuum regni nostri tricesimam . . . civesque et burgenses ac communitates omnium civitatum et burgorum ejusdem regni necnon teneutes de dominicis nostris vicesimam . . . concesserint. A.D. 1307. W. HEMINGB. ii. 252. In eadem Quadragesima tenuit dominus rex Angliae parliamentum suum apud Carliolum, fecitque ibi statuta quaedam. STATUTES OF THE REALM, i. 152. . .Dominus rex post deliber- ationem plenariam et tractatum cum comitibus baronibus pro- ceribus et aliis nobilibus a communitatibus regni sui habitum in praemissis de consensu eorum unanimi et concordi ordinavit et statuit . A.D. 1272. ORDER FOR THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KING'S PEACE. The reign of Edward I began on the 2oth November, 1272 ; on which day the oath of fealty was taken by the barons at Westminster : and from this date he was called king. His absence from England on the crusade rendered this necessary. His predecessors, as a rule, became kings on their coronation, and the doctrine that during the vacancy of the throne the king's peace was interrupted made it necessary that the corona- tion should take place as early as possible. Henry II, Richard I, and John had each been in France when his predecessor died, and during the interval before the coronation had been entitled Duke of Normandy, or, sometimes, ' dominus Angliae ;' and the 448 Edward L [PART maintenance of the peace had been ensured by the chief justiciar. On this occasion the distance of Palestine from England ren- dered such delay very dangerous ; the archbishopric of Canter- bury was vacant, and the office of chief justiciar, in its ancient sense, had come to an end. The royal council appears therefore to have recognised Edward's hereditary right, and the fealty of the barons, as perfecting his title to the name of king, previous to coronation ; and from henceforth (with the single exception of Edward III) to the deposition of Henry VI the date of the king's accession was the day following the death of his prede- cessor. From that event onwards the throne has never been regarded as vacant by death ; the new reign beginning from the moment at which the old one ceases. EDWARDUS Dei gratia rex Angliae, dominus Hyberniae et dux Aquitanniae, vicecomiti Eboracensi, salutem. Cum de- functo jam Celebris memoriae domino Henrico rege, patre nostro, ad nos regni gubernaculum, successione haereditaria ac procerum regni voluntate et fidelitate nobis praestita, sit de- volutum, per quod nomine nostro, qui in exhibitione justitiae et pacis conservation omnibus et singulis de ipso regno sumus ex nunc debitores, pacem nostram dicti magnates et fideles nostri jam fecerunt proclamari ; tibi praecipimus quod per totam ballivam tuam in singulis civitatibus et burgis, feriis, mercatis, et locis aliis, pacem nostram publice clamari et firm- iter teneri facias, inhibendo omnibus et singulis sub periculo exhaeredationis, necnon amissionis vitae et membrorum, ne quis pacem nostram infringere praesumat. Nos enim omnibus et singulis, in omnibus juribus et rebus ipsos contingentibus, contra quoscunque tarn majores quam minores parati sumus et erimus plenam, auctore Domino, justitiam exhibere. Testibus, W. Eboracensi archiepiscopo ; E. Cornubiae et G. Gloucestriae comitibus; apud Westmonasterium XXIII. die Novembris anno regni nostri primo. (Foedera, i. 497 ; Liber de Antiq. Legg. p. 155. A.D. 1275. THE FIRST PARLIAMENT OF EDWARD I. Edward held his first general parliament in 1275, in the second week after Easter, beginning April 2 2 ; and to it are to be referred vii.] First Parliament of Edward I. 449 two very important acts, the Statute of Westminster the First, and the grant of the custom on wool, woolfells, and leather. I. The parliament itself contained, as stated in the preamble of the statute, 'the commonalty of the land/ as well as the prelates and barons : and this expression is further illustrated by the fact that the grant of the custom is said to be made by the communitates as well as by the magnates, and at the in- -^ stance of the merchants. It would appear almost certain that some representatives of the commons must have been present, but no writs for such attendance are forthcoming : it is possible that the country may have been consulted by special commis- sioners, or the consent of the commons secured by other means. II. This is said to be the first general parliament of Edward : it is to be distinguished therefore from the terminal sessions for judicial business which, during this reign, are also called parlia- ments, but the business of which was conducted by the king's ordinary council. III. The statute is said to be made by the king, 'par son conseil, e par le assentement des Erceveskes,' &c., a form which seems to show an intentional deviation from the proper ' consilio et consensu/ In this substitution of concilium for consilium lurks probably the principle that the king could enact on his own authority the principle of the Roman and later feudal lawyers, who were at this time getting a firm grasp on the law of England. Historically, it is to such a period as this that the king's power of ordaining in his own council, as distinct from enacting with counsel and consent of parliament, must be traced. In the letters patent, however, which were directed to the Sheriffs for the publication of the Statute in the hundred courts and county courts, it is said to be made by the king de commune consilio Praelatorum et magnatum. (Statutes, i. 39.) The use of the French language by Edward I, a curious feature in a policy essentially English, is also traceable to the lawyers, and perhaps to the influence of the law schools of the Continent. IV. The wool, the staple produce of England, had been a coveted object of taxation early in the century : large quantities 450 Edward I. [PART of it had been seized for Richard's ransom in 1194, and by the barons in 1264, and it was in many ways peculiarly amenable to royal exaction. We have now the first indication of legislative enactment touching it. The custom, although heavy, seems to have been granted to the crown in a way that was for the time constitutional ; and the royal attempts to increase it illegally were stoutly resisted. It was not sufficient to satisfy the king's necessities at the time. Another parliament was held in the autumn of 1275, in which the first grant of a fifteenth of move- ables was made on behalf of the community by the whole baron- age, including the prelates, but not affecting purely ecclesiastical revenue, which did not come under the head of mobilia. I. Statute of Westminster the First. Ces sunt les Establisemenz le Key Edward le fiuz le Key Henry, fez a Weymoster a son primer parlement general apres son corounemeut apres la cluse Paske Ian de son regne tierz, par son conseil e par le assentement des Erceveskes, Eveskes, Abbes, Priurs, Contes, Barons, et la Communaute de la tere ileokes somons. . . . V. Pur ceo que elections deivent estre fraunches, le rey defent sour sa greve forfeture que nul, haut home ne autre, par poer de armes ne par malice ne desturbe de fere fraunche Election. . . . XXXVI. Pur ceo que avaunt ces ures ne fut unices resonable aide a fere fiuz Chivalers, ou a filles marier, mise en certein, ne quant ele devoit estre prise, ne quel houre, par quei les uns leve- rent outraiouse aide plus tost que ne sembloit mester, dont le pople se send grevee ; purveu est que desoremes de fee de Chivaler eritier solement seient donez vint souz, e de vint liveres de tere tenues par socage vint souz, e de plus plus, e de meins meins, solum le aff eraunt ; e que nul ne puisse lever tiel aide de fere son fiuz Chivaler taunt que son fiuz seit de age de quinze aunz, ne a sa fille marier taunt que ele seit de age de set aunz ; et de ceo serra fet mencion en la brief le rey forme sur ceo, quant il le veille demaunder. . . . TRANSLATION. These be the Acts of King Edward, son to King Henry, made at West- minster at his first parliament general after his coronation, on the Monday of the Easter Utas, the third year of his 'reign, by his council and by the vii.] Custom on Wool. 451 assent of archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, and the com- munity of the realm being thither summoned. . . . V. And because elections ought to be free, the king commandeth upon great forfeiture that no man by force of arms, nor by malice or menacing, shall disturb any to make free election. . . . XXXVI. Forasmuch as before this time reasonable aid to make one's son knight or to many his daughter was never put in certain, nor how much should be taken, nor at what time, whereby some levied unreason- able aid, and sooner than seemed necessary, whereby the people were sore grieved ; it is provided that from henceforth of a whole knight's fee there be taken but xx. s. and of xx. pound land holden in socage xx. s. ; and of more more and of less less after the rate. And that none shall levy such aid to make his son knight until his son be fifteen years of age, or to marry his daughter until she be of the age of seven years ; and of that there shall be made mention in the king's writ formed on the same, when any will demand it. . . . Statutes of the Realm, i. 26, 35. II. Grant of Custom on Wool, Woolfells, and Leather. Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos praesens scriptum perve- nerit Willelmus de Valencia comes Penbrok, salutem in Domino. Cum archiepiscopi, episcopi, et alii praelati regni Angliae, ac comites, barones, et nos et communitates ejusdem regni ad in- stantiam et rogatum mercatorum pluribus de causis unanimiter concesserimus magnifico principi et domino nostro carissimo domino Edwardo Dei gratia regi Angliae illustri, pro nobis et haeredibus nostris, dimidiam marcam de quolibet sacco lanae et dimidiam marcam pro singulis trescentis pellibus lanutis quae faciunt unum saccum, et unam marcam de qualibet lesta corio- rum, exeuntibus regnum Angliae et terrain Walliae, percipi- endas de cetero in singulis portubus Angliae et Walliae tarn infra libertates quam extra ; nos ad requisitionem et instantiam praedictorum mercatorum concedimus, pro nobis et haeredibus nostris, quod idem dominus rex et haeredes sui in singulis por- tubus nostris in Hibernia, tarn infra libertates nostras quam extra, habeant dimidiam marcam de quolibet sacco lanae et dimidiam marcam de singulis trescentis pellibus lanutis quae faciunt unum saccum, et unam marcam de qualibet lesta corio- rum exeuntibus terrain Hiberniae, percipiendam per man us custodum et ballivorum ipsius regis, salva nobis forisfactura illorum qui sine licentia et waranto ipsius domini regis, per lit- teras suas patentes sigillo suo ad hoc proviso signatas, hujusmodi lanas, pelles, seu coria, per feoda nostra ubi libertates habemus extra Hiberniam ducere praesumpserint. De quibus dictus dominus rex et haeredes sui percipient et habebunt dimidiam marcam de lanis et pellibus et unam marcam de lestis coriorum in forma praedicta ; ita tamen quod in sirjgulis portubus nostris G g 2 452 Edward I. [PART ubi brevia praedicti domini regis non currunt, eligantur duo de discretioribus et fidelioribus hominibus portuum iilorum, qui praestito Sacramento de lanis pellibus et coriis in dictis portubus arestandis quousque mercatores lanarum, pellium et corioruni praedictorum, warantum suum inde sub sigillo domini regis ad hoc proviso habuerint, dictam consuetudinem fideliter colligant et recipiant ad opus ipsius domini regis et sibi inde respondeant. In cujus rei testimonium praesenti scripto sigillum nostrum apposuimus. Datum in generali parliamento praedicti domini regis apud "Westmonasterium, die Dominica in festo Sancti Dunstani episcopi anno regni ejusdem regis tertio. (Parlia- mentary Writs, i. 2.) A.D. 1277. SUMMONS TO AN ECCLESIASTICAL COUNCIL. The following series of documents shows the growth of the representative system in the construction of Church Councils during this century : 1. A summons by Archbishop Langton of the bishops, deans of cathedrals, archdeacons, abbots, and conventual priors. 2. A summons by the same archbishop, directing, in addition to the above, the presence of proctors for the chapters of the collegiate churches and for the monasteries. Both these are for ecclesiastical business only. 3. A summons by Archbishop Boniface, directing the pre- sence of bishops, deans, abbots, and priors ; and of the archdeacons with letters of proxy from the clergy of their archdeaconries. 4. A summons by Archbishop Kilwardby, directing the bishops to bring with them three or four of their greater clergy. The presence of proctors of the parochial clergy, although such proctors were present in the Parliament of 1255, is not yet regarded as an indispensable part of an ecclesiastical assembly. vii.] Ecclesiastical Councils. 5. A mandate addressed by Archbishop Kilwardby to the Bishop of London as dean of the province, directing him to summon the bishops of the province, with the greater members of their chapters, the archdeacons and the proctors of the clergy. None of these writs corresponds exactly with the summons to convocation in its modern sense. I. A.D. 1225. Summons to a Council of Bishops. STEPHANUS Dei gratia Cantuariensis archiepiscopus totius Angliae primas et sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalis, vene- rabili fratri E. eadem permissione Londoniensi episcopo, salutem in Domino. Fraternitati vestrae mandamus quatenus omnes suffraganeos nostros vocetis, ut veniant Londonias in crastino Epiphaniae Domini, et vocent decanos cathedralium ecclesiarum et archidiaconos suos abbates etiam et priores conventuales, ut siiniliter Londonias veniant, audituri mandatum domini papae, termino memorato. Hujus igitur auctoritate mandati vobis mandamus quatenus dictis die et loco secundum formam prae- scriptam compareatis. Vos igitur secundum formam prae- scriptam praesentiam vestram dictis die et loco exhibeatis. Yalete. (WilJdns, Concilia, i. 602.) II. A.D. 1225. Summons to a Convocation of the Prelates, Archdeacons, and collegiate and monastic Clergy. Mandamus vobis quatenus pro officii vestri debito faciatis vocari omnes episcopos, abbates non exemptos a nobis, et omnes priores et omnes decanos cathedralium ecclesiarum et praeben- dalium, et omnes archidiaconos ; et significetis singulis capitulis ut mittant procuratores tarn videlicet ecclesiarum cathedralium quam praebendalium et monasteriorum et aliarum domorum religiosarum ac collegiatarum, in virtute obedientiae et sub poena suspensionis eis districtius injungentes, ut intersint Lon- doniensi concilio, quod erit Dominica post Pascha, qua cantatur Misericordia Domini ; et significetis omnibus praedictis ut in- tersint, deliberent, et plene instructi venirent ad respondendum nuncio domini papae super petitione ex parte domini papae, et hoc faciant omni occasione et dilatione postpositis. Ut autem sciatis qui sint abbates exempti a nobis, eos vobis duximus no- minandos ; videlicet abbas Sancti Albani, abbas Westmonasterii, abbas Sancti Edmundi, abbas Sancti Augustini Cantuariensis. 454 Edward I. [PART Hujus igitur auctoritate mandati vobis mandamus quod dictis die et loco praefato intersitis concilio ; omnes insuper superius nominates secundum formam ejusdem mandati vocandos citari faciatis, ut sub poena superius expressa plene instructi, eisdem die et loco praefato intersint concilio. (Wilkins, Concilia, i. 602.) III. A.D. 1258. Summons to a Convocation in which the Archdeacons act as Proctors for the parochial Clergy. ROGERUS, Dei gratia Coventrensis et Lichfeldensis episcopus dilecto filio archidiacono Staffordiae, salutem, gratiam, et bene- dictionem. Mandatum venerabilis patris Bonifacii Dei gratia Cantuariensis archiepiscopi, totius Angliae primatis, recepimus in haec verba : * Bonifacius permissione Divina, Cantuariensis archiepiscopus, totius Angliae primas, venerabili in Christo patri H. Dei gratia Coventrensi et Lichfeldensi episcopo, salutem et fraternae dilectionis in Domino semper augmentum. Cum propter ecclesiae Anglicanae eventus et causas quas fraterni- tatem vestram ignorare non convenit, fratrum nostrorum con- gregationem videamus opportunam, devotionem vestrarn roga- mus, monemus, et exhortamur in Domino, sub obedientiae debito firmiter injungentes quatenus die Jovis proxima ante instans festum Sancti Barnabae Apostoli apud Mertonam curetis vestram praesentiam exhibere, qualibet occasione cessante, ut in hac urgent! necessitate ecclesia nostro regimini commissa per vos et alios fratres nostros gratum habeat providi consilii fulcimentum. Vocetis etiam decanos cathedralium ac aliarum ecclesiarum, necnon abbates, priores majores, insuper et archi- diaconos vestrae diocesis universes, ut cum litteris suorum sub- ditorum procuratoriis loco et die antedictis compareant, ut quod communi deliberatione provisum fuerit ex membrorum cohae- rentia firmius roboretur. Datum apud Lamhedam XIII kalen- das Maii, A.D. M CC LO YIII .' Hoc igitur mandatum vice nostra diligentius exsequamini, ac nihilominus vos ipsi com- pareatis dictis die et loco, cum litteris procuratoriis cleri totius archidiaconatus vestri, ut vestri praesentia firmius roboretur quod ad utilitatem ecclesiae Anglicanae de consilio et assensu vestro contigerit provider!. Datum VI kalendas Maii, poiiti- ficatus nostri anno primo. (Ann. Burton, p. 411.) vii.] Ecclesiastical Councils. 455 IV. A.D. 1273. Summons to a Convocation in which the Diocesan Clergy are represented by Episcopal Nominees. ROBERTUS, miseratione Divina Cautuariensis archiepiscopus totius Angliae primas venerabili in Christo fratri et domino H. Dei gratia Londoniensi episcopo, salutem et fraternae dilectionis in Domino sempiternum augmentum. Postquam cura sollicitudinis pastoralis officii nobis fuit Divina per- missione commissa et injuncta, ad statum ecclesiarum et eccle- siasticarum personarum quoad potuimus nostrae mentis intu- itum dirigentes, multa circa ea corrigenda et reformanda com- perimus, quae de fratrum et coepiscoporum nostrorum salubri consilio uecesse est sine morae dispendio, per Dei adjutorium, digne corrigere et in melius reformare. Hinc est quod venerandae paternitati vestrae tenore praesentium mandamus quatenus omnes ecclesiae nostrae Cantuariensis suffraganeos auctoritate nostra vocetis, quod conveniant apud Novum Tern- plum Londoniis die Mercurii proximo post instans festum Sancti Dionysii, super statu ecclesiarum et ecclesiasticarum libertatum, ac aliis quibusdam articulis necessariis, nobiscum tractaturi, provisuri, et ordinaturi, quod ad Dei hono^em et ecclesiae Suae sanctae visum fuerit conveniens expedire. v Et ut negotium hujusmodi saniori consilio fulciatur, injungatis ex parte nostra singulis episcopis ecclesiae nostrae suffraganeis, ut qui- libet eorum vocet et ducat secum ad praedictam congregationem tres vel quatuor personas de majoribus, discretioribus et pru- dentioribus, suae ecclesiae et dioceseos, ut communi mediante consilio tantum ecclesiae Dei negotium, Ipsius misericordia suffragante, felicem sortiatur effectum. Vos etiam sub forma consimili dictis die et loco compareatis, et faciatis uos per litteras vestras patentes, praesentium tenorem continentes, de hujus mandati nostri executione diligenti certiores. Datum apud Aldington, VII mo idus Septembris, consecrationis nostrae anno primo. (Wilkins, Concilia, ii. 26.) V. A.D. 1277. Summons to a Convocation, in which the Diocesan Clergy are represented by their Proctors. ROBERTUS Cantuariensis archiepiscopus H. Londoniensi episcopo salutem, etc. Meminimus in congregatione nostra communi dudum habita Northamptoniae negotia varia utili- tatem pariter et honorem totius ecclesiae Anglicanae tangentia in medio fuisse proposita, in quorum executione, licet viae de communi consilio excogitatae fuissent, et executores viarum 456 Edward I. [PAET praedictarum varii deputati ; quia tamen in quibusdam negotiis seu executionibus eorundem nobis adhuc exitus est incertus, quaedam autem penitus inconsummata existunt, emerserunt autem quaedam nova, quae ad aversionem nostrorum jurium, consuetudinum, libertatum, et grave periculum ecclesiae Angli- canae redundant ; fraternitati vestrae per praesentia scripta mandamus quatenus omnes fratres et coepiscopos seu suffra- ganeos nostros auctoritate nostra faciatis peremptorie per vestras litteras evocari, quatenus nobiscum in civitate Londoniarum in crastino Beati Hilarii in propriis personis conveniant una cum aliquibus personis majoribus de suis capitulis, et locorum archi- diaconis, et procuratoribus totius cleri diocesium singularum, nobiscum super negotiis memoratis tarn praedictis quam in- stantibus efficacius tractaturi ; ut eisdem eorundem communi mediante consilio finis imponatur laudabilis, ut ita incerta certitudinem et inconsummata consummationem et emergentia nova consilium debitum sortiantur. Qualiter autem hoc no- strum mandatum fueritis executi, nos per vestras litteras patentes harum seriem continentes, certificare curetis die et loco praedictis. Datum apud Mechlindon'XVI kalendas Decembris, A.D. MoCCoLXXoVIIo. (Wilkins, Concilia, ii. 30.) A.D. 1278. WEIT FOE DISTEAINT OF KNIGHTHOOD. This custom is illustrated by writs dating from the early years of Henry III. In relation to Edward's reign, it must be regarded chiefly as one of a class of expedients for raising money. The necessities of the crown were large; its estates impoverished ; in 1275 the custom on wools and a fifteenth on moveables had been granted. It was not until 1279 that the ecclesiastical revenues were taxed, nor until 1282 that a new aid was granted. In the meantime, a revenue was raised by accepting fines ' pro respectu militiae' for respite of knighthood. This measure may be compared with the scutage of Henry II, and with the Assize of Arms, but it is socially interesting as showing the increase in number and wealth of the tenants in socage, the most thoroughly English part of the population. In the following Act knighthood is made incumbent on the possessors of land worth 20 per annum: in 1282 all persons possessing an estate of 30 per Vii.] Statute of Mortmain. 457 annum are ordered to provide themselves with a horse and armour: in 1285, all freeholders holding estates of less than Xioo a-year are excused knighthood : in 1292, all holding 40 a-year in fee are to be distrained: in 1297, all holding over 20 a-year are summoned to military service. And so on. The principle was at once elastic and easy of application. Its importance however is prospective. Matthew of Westminster ascribes to Henry III in 1253 a measure compelling all freeholders possessing fifteen pounds a-year in land to become knights ; but this is perhaps an error caused by a confusion between the Assize of Arms, which directs such persons to provide a horse and armour (above, p. 371), and the later practice. EEX vicecomiti Gloucest. salutem. Praecipimus tibi firmiter injungentes quod omnes illos de balliva tua qui habent viginti libratas terrae, vel feodum unius militis integrum valens viginti libras per annum, et de nobis tenent in capite et milites esse debent et non sunt, sine dilatione distringas ad arma militaria citra festum Natalis Domini proximo futurum, vel in eodem festo, a nobis suscipiendum : distringas etiam sine dilatione omnes illos de balliva tua qui habent viginti libratas terrae, vel feodum unius militis integrum valens viginti libras per annum, de quocunque teneant, et milites esse debent et non sunt, ad hujusmodi arma in eodem festo vel interim suscipiendum : ita quod bonam et sufficientem securitatem inde ab eisdem recipias et nomina omnium illorum per visum duorum legalium militum comitatus praeclicti in quodam rotulo conscribi, et nobis sub sigillo tuo et sigillis duorum militum sine mora transmitti facias. Et scire te volumus quod de gestu tuo in executione hujus mandati nostri diligentem faciemus executionem et extunc remedium super hoc fieri faciemus opportunum. Teste Rege apud Westmonasterium, XXVI. die Junii. (Parliamentary Writs, i. 214.) AJX 1279. STATUTE OF MORTMAIN. The parliament in which the Statute de Religiosis was enacted appears to have been the same assembly in which the king demanded of the clergy an aid which should represent, on their part, the fifteenth granted by the baronage in 1275. This de- 45 8 Edward I. [PART mand is placed by the annals of Osney on the i st of November, 1280; but it is shown by the letters of the two archbishops (above, p. 432) to belong to 1279. It was responded to, after some hesitation, by a grant of a tenth of ecclesiastical revenue for two years in the province of York, and by one of a fifteenth for three years in the province of Canterbury : and these were made early in 1280. The repressive character of the Mortmain Act, as well as the urgency of the demand for an aid, was probably owing at the moment to the alarm taken by the king and his advisers at the energetic action of Archbishop Peckham, who had, in legislating, for the Church at the Council at Reading, gone, as the king thought, beyond the limits of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, especially in directing that a new copy of Magna Carta should be annually posted up in all cathedral and collegiate churches. Although, however, this statute may have been timed by a wish to repress ecclesiastical assumptions, it was unquestionably called for by the prevalence of an abuse which had existed from the first day of the Church Establishment in England ; the fraudulent bestowal of estates on religious foundations, on the understand- ing that the donor should hold them as fiefs of the Church, and as so exonerated from public burdens. There is no period of ur history at which complaints of this practice may not be found. But it had been wholesomely treated by Henry II, in enforcing scutages from the knights' fees held by the clergy, a principle of which the following statute may be regarded as an expansion. The Statute of Mortmain bears a close relation to the statute Quia Emptores, enacted eleven years later, in which the feudal dues of the superior lords, the king the chief of them, are secured by the abolition of subinfeudation ; as in this act they are secured by the limitation of ecclesiastical endowments. In both these points Edward's policy was a carrying out of the principles of his great-grandfather. Statutum De Viris Religiosis. REX Justitiariis suis de Banco, salutem. Cum dudum pro- visum fuisset quod viri religiosi feoda aliquorum non ingrede- vii.] Statutum De Fir is Eeltgionis. 459 rentur sine licentia et voluntate capitalium domiuorum. de qui- bus feoda ilia immediate tenentur ; et viri religiosi postmodum nihilominus tam feoda sua propria quam aliorum hactenus in- gressi sint, ea sibi appropriando et emendo et aliquando ex dono aliorum recipiendo, per quod servitia quae ex hujusmodi feodis debentur et quae ad defensionem regni ab initio pro visa fuerunt indebite subtrahuntur, et domini capitales escaetas suas inde amittunt ; nos super hoc pro utilitate regni congruum remedium provider! volentes, de consilio praelatorum, comitum et aliorum fidelium regni nostri de consilio nostro existentium, providimus, statuimus et ordinavimus, quod nullus religionis aut alius qui- cunque terras aut tenementa aliqua emere vel vendere, aut sub colore donationis aut termini vel alterius tituli cujuscunque, ab aliquo recipere, aut alio quovis modo, arte vel ingenio, sibi appropriare praesumat, sub forisfactura eorundem, per quod ad manum mortuam terrae et tenementa hujusmodi deveniant quoquo modo. Providimus etiam quod si quis religiosus aut alius, contra praesens statutum, aliquo modo, arte vel ingenio, venire praesumpserit, liceat nobis, et aliis immediatis capitalibus dominis feodi taliter alienati, illud infra annum a tern pore alienationis hujusmodi ingredi et tenere in feodo et haereditate. Et si capitalis dominus immediatus negligens fuerit, et feodum hujusmodi ingredi noluerit infra annum, tune liceat proximo capitali domino mediato feodi illius, infra dimidium .annum sequentem, feodum illud ingredi et tenere, sicut praedictum est ; et sic quilibet dominus mediatus faciat si propinquior dominus in ingrediendo hujusmodi feoduna negligens fuerit, ut praedictum est. Et si omnes hujusmodi capitales domini hujusmodi feodi, qui plenae fuerint aetatis et infra quatuor maria et extra prisonam, per unum annum negligentes vel remissi fue- rint in hac parte, nos statim post annum completum a tempore quo hujusmodi emptiones, donationes aut alias appropriationes fieri contigerit, terras et tenementa hujusmodi capiemus in ma- num nostram, et alios inde feoifabimus per certa servitia nobis inde ad defensionem regni nostri facienda ; salvis capitalibus dominis feodorum illorum, ward is, escaetis et aliis ad ipsos pertinentibus, ac servitiis inde debitis et consuetis. Et ideo vobis mandamus quod statutum praedictum coram vobis legi et de cetero nrmiter teneri et observari faciatis. T. B,. apud Westmonasterium XV die Novembris anno etc. septimo. (Statutes of tlie Realm, i. 51.) 460 Edward /. [PART A.D. 1282-1283. WRITS FOR PARLIAMENT AND OTHER NATIONAL COUNCILS. The financial and parliamentary proceedings of the years 1282 and 1283 are very interesting. They may be regarded as marking the point of final transition from the system of local to that of central assent to taxation. The earlier method by which the king treated with the several local communities through his officers or through their own magistrates had been generally adopted until the reign of John : although the barons and prelates made their grants in the 'Commune Concilium/ the lower freeholders, lay and clerical, were treated with separately, the towns and counties through negotiations of the officers of the exchequer or the sheriffs with the magistrates or with the county court, the lower clergy through negotiations of the same royal officers with the archdeacons. At several periods the method of centralisation had been used in reference to both classes ; but the borough representation was not yet permanently adopted, and therefore the vote of money by the magnates was necessarily followed up by a separate negotiation with the towns ; and with regard to the clergy, although the representative system was further advanced, it does not seem to have been yet applied to the making of money grants : in other words, although for ecclesiastical business the proctors of the diocesan clergy had been called into councils, there is no proof that they had yet granted money. To this extent, then, the method of local nego- tiation supplemented the grants of money made by the central assemblies. It is at this date that the former method vanishes and the latter comes into full play. In 1282 Edward, being in need of money for the war in Wales, despatched John Kirkby, afterwards Treasurer of the Exchequer and bishop of Ely, to negotiate separately with the counties and boroughs for a subsidy*. The envoy carried letters of credence from the king dated at Chester in the month of June. (No. I.) The negotiation was favourable to the crown : John Kirkby reported the willingness of the taxpayers to make a grant, and vii.] Parliamentary Proceedings. 461 collected considerable sums, for which the king issued letters of thanks, dated at Denbigh in October. (No. II.) Between these dates the whole military force of the kingdom had been called together at Rhuddlan for the 2nd of August. It was now, however, clear that the sums raised by this nego- tiation would not be sufficient to satisfy the royal necessities, and that a general grant must be asked for. But it would be extremely inconvenient either for the king and baronage to move from Wales to hold a parliament, or for the representatives of the counties and boroughs or the clergy to be summoned to Rhuddlan. Accordingly writs were issued on the 24th of November to the sheriffs and to the two archbishops, directing them to collect in two provincial assemblies at Northampton and York the representatives of the two estates. These assem- blies were to be held on the 2oth of January, 1283 ; the sheriffs were to summon four knights of each shire, and two representa- tives of each city, borough, and market town; and with them all freeholders capable of bearing arms and holding more than a knight's fee. (No. III.) The archbishops were to summon, through the bishops, the heads of the religious houses and the proctors of the ca- thedral clergy, no notice being taken of the parochial clergy. (No. IV.) The magnates, it is to be remembered, were with the king in Wales. ' The assemblies met at the appointed places and on the same day, in two bodies, a lay and clerical one, at each centre. I. The commons assembled at Northampton determined to grant the king an aid in the same proportion as that which should be granted by the ' magnates ; ' who, it must be supposed, signified to the king their willingness to grant a thirtieth : the king's letters to the counties, thanking them for this, are dated at Rhuddlan, Feb. 2 8th, 1283. (No. VII.) II. The corresponding assembly at York seems to have acted somewhat differently, perhaps to have made a larger or a smaller offer. The king, however, in answer (dated March i8th) to the communication of his officers, expresses his gratitude to 462 Edward I. [PART the northern counties and his intention of taking of them the thirtieth as in the case of the southern province. In the form drawn out for the collection of this thirtieth, it is expressly pro- vided that all sums paid by the several communities in con- sequence of the negotiations carried on by John Kirkby in 1282 shall be deducted from the amount now payable by virtue of the general grant. It was different with the ecclesiastical assemblies. III. The clergy of the province of Canterbury met at North- ampton under the archbishop, and were asked for a tenth of their revenue for three years ; they excused themselves from replying at once, the chief cause alleged being the absence of the larger portion of their body that is, the non-representation of the pa- rochial clergy. In consequence of this the archbishop (on the 2ist of January) issued a mandate to the Bishop of London, directing him to summon two proctors for the parochial clergy of each diocese, and one proctor to represent each of the chapters of the province. (No. V.) These were to meet the bishops at the New Temple at London three weeks after Easter. This plan of organising the representation of the clergy is said in the man- date to have been arranged in the council of Northampton, and it was either then or shortly after embodied in a canon, which may be regarded as settling historically the representation of the clergy in the convocation of the province of Canterbury : ' Item praecipimus, ut in proxima congregations nostra tempo re parlia- ment! proximi post festum Sancti Michaelis ad tres hebdomadas per Dei gratiam futura, praeter personas episcoporum et procuratores absentium, veniant duo aut unus a clero episcopatuum singulorum, qui auctoritatem habeant una nobiscum tractare de his quae ecclesiae et communi utilitati expediunt Anglicanae, etianisi de contributione aliqua vel expensis oportet fieri mentionem.' ( Wilkins, Concilia, ii. 49.) This canon is sometimes appended, erroneously, to the decrees of the council of Reading in 1279. The convocation thus constituted met at London three weeks after Easter, and was unable to come to a determination. The clergy were in fact hampered by the grant made in 1280 to the king, of a fifteenth of ecclesiastical revenue for three years, a TIL] Parliamentary Proceedings. 463 year and a term of which were not yet due. (See above, p. 458.) The archbishop was compelled to issue a new mandate, directing the assembly of convocation three weeks after Michaelmas ; in preparation for this meeting all the bishops of the province were (Aug. 6th) directed to call together their clergy in diocesan synods, so that the proctors, when they met, should be able tt give a distinct answer. The objections of the clergy seem tr. have been overcome, but the records of the determination of the dispute are not found. IV. Of the assembly of the clergy at York we only know that their meeting was either delayed or prorogued to the i6th of February : probably they followed the lead of the southern province. Before the convocation of Canterbury had determined on its answer to the king's commissioners, Edward had found it neces- sary to call another council of the kingdom. David, the brother and successor of Llewelyn, had surrendered as prisoner, and the king was preparing to try him as a traitor. For this purpose he summoned the baronage (by writs dated at Rhuddlan, June 28) to meet at Shrewsbury on the 3oth of September. Not content, however, with calling together an assembly of the peers of the accused, he summoned also the representatives of the counties ; and in addition to these he directed letters to the magistrates of London and twenty other towns, ordering them to return two representatives for each. (No. VI.) This assembly differs from an ordinary parliament in two important particulars : (i) it did not contain the clergy or even the bishops; and (2) the repre- sentatives of the towns were summoned by separate writs, and not through the sheriffs. It is, however, called the Parliament of Shrewsbury or of Acton Burnell ; and was the assembly in which the statute 'De Mercatoribus' was passed. Notwithstanding the language of the writs, it would seem from the words of the historians that David was tried by the baronage only ; and the statute of Acton Burnell, although called by that name, was really only an ordinance of the king and his council. It is therefore only in the loosest meaning of the word that the name of parliament is given to the assembly. The condemnation of 464 Edward I, [PART David and the issuing of the ordinance completed the business for which it was called together. No. I. A.D. 1282. Letter of Credence for a Royal Commissioner to raise an Aid. REX vicecomiti Warrewicsirae et Leycestresirae, civibus, burgensibus, mercatoribus, majoribus, ballivis et communita- tibus civitatum, burgorum, villarum mercatoriarum, et om- nibus aliis de comitatibus praedictis, salutem. Cum mittamus dilectum et fidelem nostrum Johannem de Kirkeby pro quibus- dam negotiis nostris arduis et specialibus quae sibi injunximus ex parte nostra et nomine nostra vobis ore tenus exponendis et per vos expediendis, vobis mandamus in fide et dilectione qui- bus nobis tenemini, firmiter injungentes quod eidem Johanni in praemissis firmam fidem adhibeatis et ea modis omnibus expleatis. Injunximus autem eidem Johanni quod responsum et volunta- tem vestram nobis rescribat sine mora. In cujus, etc. T. R. apud Cestriam, XIX. die Junii.- (Parliamentary Writs, i. 384.) No. II. A.D. 1282. Letter of thanks for the Aid negotiated ly a Royal Commissioner. REX dilectis et fidelibus suis majori et civibus suis Here- fordiae, salutem. De curiali subsidio quod nobis promisistis ratione praesentis expeditionis nostrae Walliae, secundum quod Johannes de Kirkeby clericus noster, quern ad vos propter hoc cum litteris nostris de credentia transmisimus, nos inde certioravit viva voce, vobis plurimum regratiamur et per Dei gratiam vos inde conservabimus indemnes tempore opportune. Ceterum quia ad praesens pecunia plurimum indigemus, vobis mandamus, in fide et homagio quibus nobis tenemini firmiter injungentes, quod pecuniam dicti subsidii secundum extractas sub sigillo praefati clerici nostri inde factas, ac vicecomiti nostro Herefordscirae et vobis liberatas, sub omni festinatione levari et eidem vicecomiti liberari faciatis ad nos ducendam, prout ei man- davimus per alias litteras nostras : et ita quod earn habeamus in crastino Omnium Sanctorum ad ultimum. Et hoc, sicut cor- pora vestra et omnia quae habetis in regno diligitis, nullatenus omittatis. Et advertatis inter alia quod non expediret aliquo modo quod nos et exercitus noster recederemus a partibus "Walliae ad praesens pro defectu solutionis pecuniae illius de qua confidimus ad plenum. T. R. apud Dynbey, XXVIII. die Octobris. (Parliamentary Writs, i. 387.) vii.] Writs of Summons. 465 No. III. A.D. 1282. Writ of Summons of Knights of the Shire. REX vicecomiti Norfolciae et Suffolciae, salutem. Quia Lewelinus films Griffini et alii Walenses complices sui, in- imici et rebelles nostri, toties temporibus nostris et progeni- torum nostrorum regum Angliae pacem regni nostri turbarunt et rebellionem suam et malitiam jam resumptam continuare non desistunt animo indurato, propter quod negotium quod ad ipsorum versutiam reprimendam jam incepimus de consilio procerum et magnatum regni nostri necnon et totius commu- nitatis ejusdem, ad praesens proponimus ad nostram et totius regni pacem et tranquillitatem perpetuam Deo concedente fina- liter terminare, commodius etiam et decentius esse perpendimus quod nos et incolae terrae nostrae ad ipsorum malitiam totaliter destruendam, pro communi utilitate, laboribus et expensis fati- gemur hac vice, licet onus difficile videatur, quam hujusmodi turbatione per Walenses ipsos nunc habita pro voluntate sua futuris temporibus cruciari, prout tempore nostro et progenito- rum nostrorum contigit manifesto, tibi praecipimus, firmiter injungentes : 1. Quod venire facias coram nobis in octavis Sancti Hillarii apud Norhamptoniam aut coram fidelibus nostris quos ad hoc duxerimus deputandos, omnes illos de balliva tua ad arma potentes et aptos qui habent ultra viginti libratas terrae et qui nobiscum in expeditione nostra Wallensi non existunt ; 2. Et quatuor milites de utroque comitatuum praedictorum pro communitatibus eorundem comitatuum habentes plenariam potestatem ; 3. Et de qualibet civitate, burgo, villa mercatoria, duos homines similiter potestatem habentes pro communitatibus eorundem, ad audiendum et faciendum ea quae sibi ex parte nostra faciemus ostendi. Et nulli de balliva tua ultra viginti libratas terrae habenti et ad arma potenti et apto, amore, favore, munere seu timore vel alia quacunque ratione, parcere vel de-. ferre praesumas. Nee etiam aliquem ultra viginti libratas terrae non habentem, licet ad arma aptus seu potens fuerit, coram nobis vel fidelibus nostris praedictis aliquatenus venire facias ex causa praedicta. Et de nominibus omnium illorum quos sic venire feceris nos vel praedictos fideles nostros ad praedictos diem et locum per praefatos quatuor milites reddas certiores. Et habeas ibi nomina illorum quatuor militum et hoc breve. Et haec omnia sicut te et tua diligis facere non omittas. T. R. apud Rothelan XXIV. die Novembris. Hh Edward I. [PART Eodem modo mandatum est vicecomitibus Nottingham et Derb., Sallop., Staff., Cant., Hunt., Essex., Hertford., Buk., Bed., Somers., Dor., Surr., Suss., War., Leyc., Oocon., Berk., Kane., Midd., Nortliampt., Hotel., Line., Cornub., Devon., Wilt., Here/., Wygorn., Glouc., et Suthampt., quod venire faciant, etc. apud Norhamptoniam. Et vicecomitibus Ebor., Cumb., Westmor., Northumbr., et Lane., quod venire faciant, etc. apud Eboracum. (Parliamentary Writs, i. 10.) No. IV. A.D. 1282. Writ of Summons to the Archbishop of Canterbury and Clergy. REX venerabili in Cliristo patri Johanni eadem gratia Cantuariensi archiepiscopo, totius Angliae primati, salu- tem. Quia Lewelinus, etc., as in the writ to the Sheriffs to contigit manifesto; vobis mandamus rogantes quatenus suffra- ganeos vestros et abbates, priores et alios singulos domibus religiosis praefectos, necnon et procuratores decanoruni et capi- tulorum ecclesiarum collegiatarum vestrae et suffraganeorum vestrorum diocesium, venire faciatis coram nobis apud Nor- hamptoniam in octavis Sancti Hillarii, vel coram fidelibus nostris quos ad hoc duxerimus deputandos, et vos eisdem die et loco intersitis ad audiendum et faciendum ea quae pro re publica vobis et sibi ostendi super hiis faciemus, et ad praestandum nobis consilium et juvamen, praesertim cum vestra sicut aliorum intersit per quod negotium jam inceptum ad laudem et honorem Dei et magnificentiam nostrae famae ac totius regni nostri et populi pacem et tranquillitatem perpetuam valeamus hac vice, ut intend imus, feliciter consummare. Teste ut supra. Consimilis littera et de eadem data dirigitur archiepiscopo Eboracensi quod sufFraganeos, etc. venire faciat coram Rege apud Eboracum in octavis praedictis vel coram fidelibus R. quos, etc. (Parliamentary Writs, i. 10.) No. Y. A.D. 1283. Writ of the Archbishop summoning the Clergy to Convocation. FRATER J. etc. episcopo Londoniensi etc. Quoniam in congre- gatione ad instantiam domini regis habita Northamptoniae in octavis Sancti Hilarii, nunciis ejusdem domini regis super qui- busdam nobis et suffraganeis nostris ac clero praesenti ibidem ex parte ipsius expositis, turn propter absentiam maximae partis cleri tune temporis modo debito non vocati, turn propter alia diversa, ad plenum non potuit responderi, de communi tune prae- senti urn consilio exstitit ordinatum, ut nostis, quod clerus totus vii.] Writs of Summons. 467 Cantuariensis provinciae ad certos diem et locum pro danda responsione hujusmodi congregetur. Quocirca fraternitati ves- trae tenore praesentium praecipiendo mandamus, quatenus con- fratres nostros episcopos Cantuariensis ecclesiae suffraganeos omnes et singulos, necnon abbates, priores ac alios quoscunque domibus religiosis praefectos, exemptos et non exemptos, decanos ecclesiarum cathedralium et collegiatarum, ac archidiaconos uni- verses per Cantuariensem provinciam constitutes, citetis vel citari faciatis peremptorie, quod compareant coram nobis per se vel per procuratores sufficienter instructos, seu conveniant apud Novum Templum Londoniis a die Pascha in tres septimanas, super his, quae ex parte domini regis in congregatione praedicta exposita fuerant, tractaturi ac ulterius facturi quod Dominus inspirabit. Singuli insuper episcopi, sicut in dicta congrega- tione provisum fuerat, circa diem praedictum clerum suae diocesis in aliquo loco certo congregari faciant, et eadem quae ex parte regis nobis proposita fuerant, diligenter exponi procurent; ita quod ad dictos diem et locum Londoniis, de qualibet diocesi duo procuratores nomine cleri, et de singulis capitulis ecclesiarum cathedralium et collegiatarum singuli procuratores, sufficienter instructi mittantur, qui plenam et expressam potestatem habeant una nobiscum et confratribus super praemissis tractandi, et con- sentiendi hiis quae ibidem ad honorem ecclesiae, consolationem domini regis, et pacem regni, cleri communitas providebit. De nominibus vero abbatum, priorum et aliorum religiosorum, deca- norum, archidiaconorura, procuratorum tarn cleri cujuslibet diocesis, quam capitulorum, singuli episcopi pro suis diocesibus ad dictos diem et locum per suas litteras distincte nos certificent et aperte. Vos autem quos tune praesentes adesse volumus, nobis rescribatis, ' per vestras litteras patentes, harum seriem continentes, qualiter praesens mandatum nostrum fueritis exe- cuti. Datum Northamptoniae XII. kalendas Februarii. A.D. MoCOLXXXoIIIo. (Wilkins, Concilia, ii. 93.) No. VI. a. A.D. 1283. Summons of Borough Members to a National Council. REX majori, civibus, et vicecomitibus Londoniarum. Quot fraudum et machinationum generibus lingua Walensium, ad instar vulpium, progenitores nostros, nos, et regnum nostrum invaserit a tempore quo potest hominis memoria recordari, quot strages magnatum, nobilium, et aliorum tarn Anglicorum quam aliorum, juvenum atque senum, mulierum et etiam parvulorum, fecerit, quot castrorum et maneriorum incendia tarn nostrorum quam aliorum incolarum regni hujus posuerit, quoties turbaverit H h 2 468 Edward I. [PART et infecerit regnum nostrum, Deum vel hominem non verendo, vix posset lingua hominis per singula enarrare ; verum qualiter hiis diebus, ut praeterita taceamus, Lewelinus filius Griffini Walliae quondam princeps, et David germanus ejus, spreto fidelitatis quam nobis fecerant debito, assueta relinquere non valentes, proditionalius solito villas nostras subito combusserunt, et proh dolor ! quibusdam fidelibus nostris occisis, quibusdam eombustis, et aliis diris carceribus mancipatis, castra nostra invadere ausu temerario praesumpserunt, fundendo immaniter sanguinem innocentem, jam est regni nostri singulorum auribus inculcatum. Sed Ille, Qui post peccatoris conversionem diutius exspectavit, ipsum induratum praecipitari permittit, hujus frau- dibus, machinationibus, incendiis et caedibus inhumanis, ut ap- paret verisimiliter, imponere finem volens, dicto principe prius interfecto, tandem dictum David, qui quasi ultimus superstes de dictorum proditorum genere habebatur, captivatum per homines linguae suae nostro carceri destinavit ; super quo Eidem gratias sicut Ipsum factorem credimus hujus rei. Et quia cum fidelibus nostris volumus habere colloquium quid de David fieri debeat meinorato, quern relegatum susceperamus, nutriveramus orpha- iium, ditaveramus de propriis terris nostris, ipsum inter majores nostri palatii collocantes ; vobis mandamus quod duos de sapi- entioribus et aptioribus civibus praedictae civitatis eligi faciatis, et eos ad nos mittatis, ita quod sint ad nos apud Sallopiam in crastino Sancti Michaelis proximo futuro, nobiscurn super hoc et aliis locuturi. Et hoc nullatenus omittatis. T. Rege apud Kothelan., XXVIIIvo die Junii. A similar letter was addressed to the mayors and citizens of Winchester, York, Exeter, Lincoln, Canterbury, and Carlisle : to the mayors and bailiffs of Newcastle- on -Tyne, Bristol, Grimsby, and Lynn : to the mayors and good men of North- ampton, Hereford, Chester, and Worcester : to the bailiffs of Norwich, Nottingham, Scarborough, and Colchester : and to the bailiffs and good men of Yarmouth and Shrewsbury, Sub forma praedicta mandatum est universis et singulis vicecomitibus per Angliam, quod in quolibet comitatu eligi faciant duos milites de discretioribus et aptioribus comitatus illius ad regem pro communitate ejusdem comitatus ventures, ita quod sint ad regem in crastino Sancti Michaelis praedicto apud Sallopiam cum rege super hiis et aliis locuturi. (Parlia- mentary Writs, i. 1 6.) vii.] Statute of Winchester. 469 No. VI. b. A.D. 1283, Oct. 12. Statute of Merchants. . . . LE rei par luy e par sun conseil ad ordine e establi . . . e par cest establissemeiit ne seit bref de dette abatu . . . Donee a Actone Burnel le duzim jor de Octobre en Ian de nostre regne unzim. (Statutes, i. 53, 54.) No. VII. A.D. 1283. Writ for the Collection of a Thirtieth. REX militibus, liberis hominibus et toti communitati eomi- tatus Suthamtoniae, salutem. De eo quod nuper per quatuor milites ex parte communitatis comitatus praedicti usque Nor- hamtoniam missos, curialiter concessistis nobis facere subsidium ratione praesentis expeditionis nostrae Walliae, secundum quod magnates nostri providerent et in hujusmodi subsidio concor- darent, vobis plurimum regratiamur. Et quia iidem magnates perpendentes milites aliorum comitatuum regni nostri, ex parte communitatis eorundem ad locum praedictum missos, subsidium tricesimae de omnibus bonis suis mobilibus nobis ratione expe- ditionis praedictae concessisse, concordarunt ad hujusmodi sub- sidium tricesimae nobis in forma qua milites aliorum comi- tatuum praedictorum concesserunt faciendum, assignavimus dilectos et fideles nostros Willelmum de Brayboef et Johannem de Arundel ad dictam tricesimam assidendam, taxandam, et per ipsos et per vicecomites comitatus praedicti colligendam. Et ideo vobis mandamus quod eisdem "Willelmo et Johanni in prae- missis sitis intendentes, respondentes, consulentes et auxiliantes, prout ipsi vobis scire facient ex parte nostra. In cujus etc. T. E. apud Rothelan., XXVIII. die Febr. (Parliamentary Writs, L 13.) A.D. 1285. STATUTE OF WINCHESTER. This important statute may be regarded as representing the sum of the series of documents, touching the Assize of Arms and Watch and Ward, given already ; and thus as illustrating rather the permanent and definite development in England of primitive custom than any particular constitutional detail. In the former stages of this process we have seen several points in which constitutional influences were at work, or in which the same influences were traceable as were at work on the other portions of the national polity to which the name of 47 Edward I. [PART constitutional is more frequently given ; such as the alodial basis of these institutions, and the use of jury-inquest in the administration of them. Such matters become now of archaeo- logical interest only. But the Statute of Winchester is a monu- ment of the persistence of primitive institutions working their way through the superstratum of feudalism and gaining strength in the process : and as such it is an illustration of the same permanence of principle in the higher regions of government. Pur ceo qe de jour en jour roberies, homicides, arsuns, plus sovenerement sunt fetes qe avaunt ne soleyent, e felonies ne poount estre atteinz par serment des jururs, qe plus volunters sufferent felonies fetes as estraunges genz passer saunz peynes qe enditer meffessours, dunt graunt partie sunt gent de meimes le pays, ou a meins, si les fesours sont de autre pays, lour recetturs sunt del visne ; e ceo funt il pur taunt qe serment nest mie hore dute as jururs ne au pays ou les felonies furent fetes qaunt a restitucion des damages, peyne avant ne fu purveue pur lur concelement e lur lachesce ; nostre seignur le rey, pur abatre le poer de feluns, si establit peyne en teu cas, issi qe par pour de la peyne plus qe par pour de serment, a nuli desoremes ne esparnient, ne nule felonie ne concelent; e comand qe so- lempnement seit la crie fete, en tuz cuntez, hundrez, marches, feyres e tuz autres lous ou solempne assemble des gentz sera, issi qe nul par ignoraunce se pusse escuser, qe checun pays issi desoremes seit garde, qe meintenant apres roberies e felonies fetes seit fete si fresche sute de vile en vile, de pays en pays. II. Enquestes ensement seient fetes si mester est en viles par celui qi soverein est de la vile, e pus en hundrez e en fraunchises e en cuntez, et ascun foiz en deux, trois, ou qatre countees, en cas quaunt felonies serunt fetes en marche de cuntez, issi qe meffesours pusent estre ateinz. E si le pais de tels manere de mefesours ne respoigne, la pein sera tiel qe chescun pais, cest assaver genz en pais demoraunz, respoignent de roberies fetes e de damages ; issi qe tut le hundred ou la roberie serra fete, ove les fraunchises qe sunt dedenz la purceint de meime le hundred, respoignent de roberie fete. E si la roberie seit fete en clevises dedenz hundrez, respoigne ambedeus les hundrez ensemblement of les fraunchises ; e plus long terme ne avera le pais, apres la roberie e felonie fete, qe xl. joursz, dedenz les quels il covendra qil facent gre de la roberie e du mefet ou qil respoignent de cors de mefesurs. III. E pur ceo qe le rey ne vueut pas qe gent sodeynement viz.] Statute of Winchester. 471 selent espoveri de ceste peyne qe semblereit dure a aucune gent, graunte qele ne seit mie maintenaunt encorue, mes preigne la peyne respit deqes a la Paske procheine venaunt, e dedenz eel terme verra le rey coment le pais se portera, e seserunt teles roberies e felonies. Apres quel terme tuz seient certeinz qe lavaundite paine curra generaument, ceo est asaver qe chescun pais, ceo est asaver genz el pais demoraunz, respoignent des roberies e felonies fetes en lur pais. IV. E a plus seurer le pais, ad le rey comaunde qe en les graunz viles qe sunt closes, les portes seient fermes del solail rescuse deqes au solail levaunt ; e qe nul home ne herberge en suburbe ne en forein chief de la vile, si de jour noun, ne uncore de jour si le hoste ne voille pur lui respundre ; e les baillifs de viles chescune sememe, ou ameins quinzeine, facent enquestes de genz herbergez en suburbes e en foreins chefs de viles ; e sil trovent nul herbergour qi resceive ou herberge en autre manere gent dunt suspeciun seit qil soient gent countre la pes, si enfa- cent les baillifs dreiture. E desoremes est comaunde, qe veylles soient fetes, issi cum auncienement soleyent estre, ceo est asaver del jour de la Ascenciun deqes le jour Seint Michel, en chescun cite par sis homes, en chescune porte ; en chescun burgh par xii. homes ; en chescune vile en terre par vi. homes ou iiii. solom nurabre des genz qi abitent ; e facent la veille continuelement tute la nuit del solail rescusse jeqes al solail levaunt. E si nul estraunge passe par eus, seit arestu jeqes au matin ; e si mile suspeciun ne seit trove, auge quites ; e si em trove suspeciun, seit livere al viscunte maintenaunt, e saunz daunger le receive, e sauvement le garde, jeqes a taunt qe en due manere seit delivre. . E si eus ne se soefferent pas estre aresteuz, seit heu e cri leve sur eus, e ceus qi funt la veille les siwent o tute la vilee ove les visnees viles, o heu e cri de vile en vile, jesqes taunt qil serra pris e livrez au viscunte cum est avaunt dit ' } e pur le resteiment de tels estraunges, nul ne seit enchesune. V. Comaunde est ensement qe les hauz chemins des viles marchaundes as autre viles marchaundes seient enlargiz, la ou il iad bois, ou haies, ou fossez, issi qil nieit fosse, suthboys, ou bussuns, ou lem pent tapir pur mal fere pres del chemin, de deus centz pez de une part, e de deus centz pez de autre part, issi qe cet estatut point ne estende as keynes, ne as gros fusz, par qei ceo seit cler desuz. E si par defaute de seignur qi ne vodra fosse, subois, ou bussuns, en la furme avauntdite abatre, e roberies seient fetes, si respoygne le seygnur : e sil ieyt murdre, si seit le seignur reint a la volunte le rey. E si le seignur ne suffist a suzbois abatre, si lui aide le pais a ceo fere. E le rei 472 Edward I. [PART veut qe en ses demeines terres, e boys dedenz foreste e deliors, seient les chemins enlargiz cum avaunt est dit. E si par cas park seit pres del haut chemin, si covendra qe le seignur del park amenuse sun park, jeques ataunt qil ieyt la leyse de deus centz pez pres del haut chemin, cum avaunt est dit, on qe il face tel mur, fosse ou haye qe meffesurs ne pussent passer ne returner pur mal fere. VI. Comaunde est ensement qe chescun home eit en sa mesun armure pur la pees garder, solum la aunciene assise ; ceo est assaver qe chescun home entre quinze annz e seisaunte soit asis e jure as armes, solum la quantite de lur terres e de lur chateus ; ceo est assaver, a quinze liveree des terres e chateus de quaraunte mars, halibergeun, chapel de feer, espe, cutel e cheval; a disz liveree de terre e chateus de vint mars, haubergeun, chapel, espe, e cutel ; a cent souldeesz de terre, parpoint, chapel de feer, espe e cutel ; a quaraunte souldeez de terre, e de plus jeqes a cent souz, espe, ark, setes e cutel ; e qe meins ad ke quarauute souze de terre seit jure a faus gisarmes, cuteus e autres menues armes ; qi meins ad de chateus ke vint mars, espees, cuteus e autres menues armes. E tuz les autres qi aver pount, eient arcs e setes hors des forestes, e dedenz forestes arcs e piles. E qe veue des armes soit fete deus foiz par an. E en chescun hundred e fraunchise seyent eleus deus conestables a fere la veue des armes ; e les conestables avaunt diz presentent devaunt les justice.8 assignez, quant il vendrunt en pays, les defautes qil averount trovez de armeure, e de suites de veilles, e de cheminz ; e presen- tent ausi de genz, qi herbergent genz estraunges en viles de uppe- launde, pur queus il ne volent respundre. E les justices assignez en chescun parlement representent au rey, e le rey sur ceo en fra remedie. E bien se gardent desoremes Viscuntes, Baillifs de fraunchises e dehors, greignurs ou maindres, qi baillie ou fores- terie unt, en fee ou en autre manere, qil siwent le cri ove le pays; e solum ceo qil sunt, eient chevaus e armeure a ceo fere ; e si nul seit qi nel face, seient les defauz presentez par les conestables as justicez assignez, e puis apres par eus au rey cum avaunt est dit. E comaunde le rey e defend qe feire ne marche desoremes ne soient tenuz en cimeter pur honur de Seinte Eglise. Done a "Wyncestre, le utisme jour de October, le an du regne le rey trezime. TRANSLATION. I. Forasmuch as from day to day, robberies, murders, burnings and thefts be more often used than they have been heretofore, and felons cannot be attainted by the oath of jurors which had rather suffer felonies done to strangers to pass without pain, than to indite the offenders of whom vii.] Statute of Winchester. 473 great part be people of the same country, or at least if the offenders be of another country the receivers be of places near; and they do the same because an oath is not put unto jurors, nor upon the country where such felonies were done as to the restitution of damages, hitherto no pain hath been limited for their concealment and laches ; our lord the king, for to abate the power of felons, hath established a pain in this case, so that from henceforth, for fear of the pain more than from fear of any oath, they shall not spare any nor conceal any felonies ; and doth command that cries shall be solemnly made in all counties, hundreds, markets, fairs, and all other places where great resort of people is, so that none shall excuse himself by ignorance, that from henceforth every country be so well kept that imme- diately upon such robberies and felonies committed fresh suits shall be made from town to town and from country to country. II. Likewise when need requires, inquests shall be made in towns by him that is lord of the town, and after in the hundred and in the franchise and in the county, and sometimes in two, three, or four counties, in case when felonies shall be committed in the inarches of shires, so that the offenders may be attainted. And if the country will not answer for the bodies of such manner of offenders, the pain shall be such, that every country, that is to wit, the people dwelling in the country, shall be answer- able for the robberies done and also the damages ; so that the whole hun- dred where the robbery shall be done, with the franchises being within the precinct of the same hundred, shall be answerable for the robberies done. And if the robbery be done in the division of two hundreds, both the hundreds and the franchises within them shall be answerable ; and after that the felony or robbery is done, the country shall have no longer space y than forty days, within which forty days it shall behove them to agree for the robbery or offence, or else that they will answer for the bodies of the offenders. III. And forasmuch as the king will not that his people should be suddenly impoverished by reason of this penalty, that seemeth very hard to many, the king granteth that it shall not be incurred immediately, but it shall be respited until Easter next following, within which time the king may see how the country will order themselves, and whether such felonies and robberies do cease. After which term let them all be assured that the foresaid penalty shall run generally ; that is to say, every country, that is to wit, fhe people in the country, shall be answerable for felonies and robberies done among them. IV. And for the more surety of the country, the king hath commanded that in great towns being walled, the gates shall be closed from the sun- setting until the sun-rising ; and that no man do lodge in suburbs, nor in any place out of the town, from nine of the clock until day, without his host will answer for him ; and the bailiffs of towns every week, or at the least every fifteenth day, shall make inquiry of all persons being lodged in the suburbs or in foreign places of the towns ; and if they do find any that have lodged or received any strangers or suspicious person against the peace, the bailiffs shall do right therein. And the king commandeth, that from henceforth, all watches be made as it hath been used in times past, that is to wit, from the day of the Ascension until the day of S. Michael, in every city by six men at every gate ; in every borough, twelve men ; every town, six or four, according to the number of the inhabitants of the town, and they shall watch the town continually all night from the sun- setting unto the sun-rising. And if any stranger do pass by them he shall be arrested until morning ; and if no suspicion be found he shall go quit ; and if they find cause of suspicion, they shall forthwith deliver him to the 474 Edward I. [PART sheriff, and the sheriff may receive him without damage, and shall keep him safely, until he be acquitted in due manner. And if they will not obey the arrest, they shall levy hue and cry upon them, and such as keep the watch shall follow with hue and cry with all the town and the towns near, and so hue and cry shall be made from town to town, until that they be taken and delivered to the sheriff as before is said ; and for the arrest- ments of such strangers none shall be punished. V. And further, it is commanded that highways leading from one market town to another shall be enlarged, whereas bushes, woods, or dykes be, so that there be neither dyke, tree, nor bush whereby a man may lurk to do j/hurt within two hundred foot of the one side and two hundred foot on the other side of the way; so that this statute shall not extend unto oaks, nor unto great trees, so as it shall be clear underneath. And if by default of the lord that will not abate the dyke, underwood, or bushes, in the manner aforesaid, any robberies be done therein, the lord shall be answer- able for the felony ; and if murder be done the lord shall make a fine at the king's pleasure. And if the lord be not able to fell the underwoods, the country shall aid him therein. And the king willeth that in his de- mesne lands and woods, within his forest and without, the ways shall be enlarged, as before is said. And if per case a park be near to the high- way, it is requisite that the lord shall minish his park the space of two hundred foot from the highways, as before is said, or that he make such a wall, dyke, or hedge that offenders may not pass, ne return to do evil. VI. And further it is commanded that every man have in his house harness for to keep the peace after the ancient assize ; that is to say, every man between fifteen years of age and sixty years, shall be "^assessed and sworn to armour according to the quantity of their lands and / goods ; that is to wit, from fifteen pounds lands, and goods forty marks, an J hauberke, an helme of iron, a sword, a knife, and a horse ; and from ten pounds of lands, and twenty marks goods, an hauberke, an helme of iron, a sword, and a knife ; and from five pound lands, a doublet, an helme of iron, a sword, and a knife ; and from forty shillings of land, a sword, a bow and arrows, and a knife ; and he that hath less than forty shillings yearly shall be sworn to keep gisarmes, knives, and other less weapons ; and he that hath less than twenty marks in goods, shall have swords, knives, and other less weapons ; and all other that may shall have bows and arrows out of the forest, and in the forest bows and boults. And that view of armour be made every year two times. And in every hundred and franchise two constables shall be chosen to make the view of armour ; and the constables aforesaid shall present before justices assigned such defaults as they do see in the country about armour, and of the suits, and of watches, and of highways ; and also shall present all such as do lodge strangers in uplandish towns, for whom they will not answer. And the justices assigned shall present at every parliament unto the king such defaults as they shall find, and the king shall provide remedy therein. And from henceforth let sheriffs take good heed, and bailiffs within their franchises and without, be they higher or lower, that have any bailiwick or forestry in fee or other- wise, that they shall follow the cry with the country, and after, as they are bounden, to keep horses and armour, so to do ; and if there be any that do not, the defaults shall be presented by the constables to the justices assigned, and after by them to the king ; and the king will provide remedy as afore is said. And the king commandeth and forbiddeth that from henceforth neither fairs nor markets be kept in churchyards, for the honour of the church. Given at Winchester, the eighth of October, in the thir- teenth year of the reign of the king. (Statutes of the Eealm, i. 96-98.) vii.] Parliament of 1290. 475 A.D. 1290. TRANSACTIONS IN PABLIAMENT. The acts and character of the parliament of 1290, like those of the national councils of 1283, bear the marks of a transi- tionary period. It would seem that during the year there were three distinct parliaments, one on S. Hilary's Day, at which the king appointed new judges in succession to those whom he had displaced on his return from France in 1289 ; a second after Trinity, in which the business was transacted to which the following documents refer ; and a third in October, during which the king and magnates sat at Clipston, and the clergy at Ely, (See above, p. 435.) The summer session is the only one to which the Commons are known to have been summoned. The first of the following documents is the grant of an aid to the king for the marriage of his eldest daughter. It is made on the 29th of May, by the barons and bishops only, but in full parliament, and not only for themselves but for the commonalty, at the rate of forty shillings on the knight's fee. (No. I.) A fortnight after this, June 1 4th, the king issued a summons to the sheriffs to return two knights of each shire, to meet at Westminster on the i5th of July, to counsel and consent to what should be then and there ordained by the earls, barons, and proceres. (No. II.) It is probable that it was intended to urge on the representatives of the shires the duty of agreeing to a similar grant of money. Without, however, waiting for the arrival of the Commons, the king, at the instance of the magnates, enacted the statute Quia Emptores on the 8th of July. (No. III.) What was done further in the July session cannot be certainly determined ; but it is probable that some difficulties arose, and that the settlement of the aid did not take place before September. On the 22nd of that month, the king, at Clipston, issued letters appointing collectors of a fifteenth, which, he says, the archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, and others of the realm had granted him. The aid ' pur fille marier' was not exacted at this time, nor for several years after : it was paid in 1302. It would seem then 47 6 Edward I. [PART that this fifteenth was accepted by the king instead of it, pro- bably in consequence of some action taken by the Commons in July. He himself was at Clipston throughout the month of October, and the Rolls of Parliament record a session of par- liament there a month after Michaelmas, but there is no evidence to show that he was attended by the Commons. The clergy, assembled in provincial council at Ely on the 2nd of October, supplemented the lay grant by a vote of a tenth of spirituals. The king's writ for the collection of the fifteenth has no reference to the grant of the tenth, which was indeed later in point' of time, although it may have been asked for in July. The importance of these events consists in the facts, that, at this, date, the presence of the representatives of the shires was not regarded as necessary for legislation; that the magnates still regarded themselves as competent to make a grant on the knight's fee for the whole community, without the presence of the Commons ; and that notwithstanding, the subsequent con- sent of the shires was demanded of their representatives, and in consequence, we may infer, of their action, a change in the character of the aid was effected. The historians appear to have thought that the aid was granted in gratitude for the expulsion of the Jews, a measure determined on in the May session. The enactment of the statute Qida Emptores without the presence of the Commons, is consistent with the proceedings in the case of the aid. It, as well as the aid, affected the land- owners only. There would be no occasion to consult the cities or boroughs on such a point; but that it should be enacted without the assent of the knights of the shire shows distinctly that the king, either alone or with the counsel and consent of the barons, was at this moment held competent to legislate without the consent of the representatives, so far at least as to publish a statute before that consent could be obtained. vii.] Parliament of 1290. 477 No. I. Grant of Aid ' pur file marier.' MEMORANDUM quod in crastino Sanctae Trinitatis, anno regni regis decimo octavo, in pleno parliamento ipsius domini regis, Kobertus Bathoniensis et Wellensis, Antonius Dunel- mensis, Johannes Wyntoniensis, Thomas Menevensis, Radulfus Karleolensis, episcopi ; et Willelmus electus Eliensis, Edmundus frater domini regis, Willelmus de Valencia comes Penebrok, Gilbertus de Clare comes Gloucestriae et Hertfordiae, Johannes de Warennia comes Surreiae, Henricus de Lacy comes Lin- colniae, Humfridus de Bohun comes Herefordiae et Essexiae, Eobertus de Tipetot, Eeginaldus de Grey, Johannes de Hast- inges, Johannes de Sancto Johanne, Bicardus Filius Johannis, Willelmus' le Latymer, Kogerus de Monte alto, Willelmus de Brewose, Theobaldus de Verdun, Walterus de Huntercumba, Nicolaus de Segrave, et ceteri magnates et proceres tune in parliamento existentes, pro se et communitate totius regni quan- tum in ipsis est, concesserunt domino regi, ad nliam suam pri- mogenitam maritandam, quod ipse dominus rex percipiat et habeat tale auxilium et tantum quale et quantum dominus Henricus rex pater suus percepit et habuit de regno ad nliam suam, videlicet sororem domini regis nunc, regi Scotiae mari- tandam. Et licet idem dominus Henricus rex tempore illo ad praedictum auxilium plenarie non percepit de quolibet feodo militis nisi tantmnmodo duas marcas vel parum plus, praedicti tamen praelati, comites, barones et proceres concesserunt quod dominus rex percipiat et habeat de quolibet feodo militari quadraginta solidos hac vice plenarie et integre ; ita tamen quod alias non cedat eis in praejudicium vel consuetudinem ; et ita quod istud auxilium nunc concessum levetur eodem modo quo praedictum auxilium domino Henrico regi concessum, ut prae- dictum est, levabatur. (Rolls of Parliament, i. 25.) No. II. Summons of Knights of the Shire. BEX vicecomiti Northumbrian salutem. Cum per comites, barones, et quosdam alios de proceribus regni nostri, uuper fuissemus super quibusdam specialiter requisiti, super quibus tarn cum ipsis quam cum aliis de comitatibus regni illius col- loquium habere volumus et tractatum, tibi praecipimus quod duos vel tres de discretioribus, et ad laborandum potentioribus, militibus de comitatu praedicto sine dilatione eligi, et eos ad nos usque Westmonasterium venire facias ; ita quod sint ibidem a die Sancti Johannis Baptistae proximo future in tres septima- nas ad ultimum, cum plena potestate pro se et tota communitate 47 8 Edward I. [PART comitatus praedicti, ad consulendum et consentiendum pro se et communitate ilia hiis quae comites, barones et proceres prae- dicti tune duxerint concordanda. T. Rege, apud Westmonas- terium XIIII. die Junii. (Report on the Dignity of a Peer, App. i. 54.) No. III. Statute Quia Emptores. The importance of this act is chiefly prospective : consisting in the greater facilities afforded for the division of estates ; the multiplication of tenants in capite of the Crown; and at the same time of socage tenants also j the stereotyping of local divisions ; the stopping the creation of manors, and of new grades of middle-men between the chief lord and the cultivator ; arid the fusion of the rural population without distinction of tenure. But viewed in itself, its relation is rather to the Sta- tute of Mortmain, which it resembles in principle, and in the securing of the legal rights of the Crown and feudal baronage. It is one of the few acts of legislation which, being passed with a distinct view to the interests of a class, have been found to work to the advantage of the nation generally. QUIA emptores terrarum et tenementorum de feodis mag- natum et aliorum. in praejudicium eorundem temporibus re- troactis multoties in feodis suis sunt ingressi, quibus libere tenentes eorundem magnatum et aliorum terras et tenementa sua vendiderunt, tenenda in feodo sibi et haeredibus suis de feoffatoribus suis et non de capitalibus dominis feodorum, per quod iideni capitales domini eschaetas, maritagia, et custodias terrarum et tenementorum de feodis suis existentium saepius amiserunt; quod quidem eisdem magnatibus et aliis dominis quam plurimum durum et difficile videbatur, et similiter in hoc casu exhaeredatio manifesta : dominus rex in parliamento suo apud "Westmonasterium post Pascha anno regni sui XVIII , videlicet in quindena Sancti Johannis Baptistae, ad instantiam magnatum regni sui, concessit, providit et statuit, quod de cetero liceat unicuique libero homini terram suam seu tene- meiitum sive partem inde pro voluntate sua vendere ; ita tamen quod feoffatus teneat terram illam seu tenementum de eodem capitali domino et per eadem servitia et consuetudines per quae feoffator suus ilia prius tenuit. Et si partem aliquam earundem terrarum seu tenementorum suorum alicui vendiderit, feoffatus vii.] Parliament of 1294. 479 illam teneat immediate de capital! domino, et oneretur statim de servitio quantum pertinet sive pertinere debet eidem domino pro particula ilia, secundum quantitatem terrae seu tenement! venditi ; et sic in hoc casu decidat capitali domino ipsa pars servitii capienda per manum feoffatoris, ex quo feoffatus debet eidem capitali domino, juxta quantitatem terrae seu tenement! venditi, de particula ilia servitii sic debiti esse intendens et respondens. Et sciendum quod per praedictas venditiones sive emptiones terrarum seu tenementorum, seu partis alicujus eorundem, nullo modo possunt terrae seu tenementa ilia, in parte vel in toto, ad manum mortuam devenire, arte vel ingenio contra formam statuti super hoc dudum editi, etc. Et sciendum quod istud statutum locum tenet de terris venditis tenendis in feodo simpliciter tantum, etc. ; et quod se extendit ad tempus futurum ; et incipiet locum tenere ad festum Sancti Andreae proximo futurum, etc. (Statutes of the Realm, i. 106.) A.D. 1294. PAELIAMENTAEY WKITS. These writs make the third and penultimate step in the process towards the settled constitution of parliament which was completed in 1295. In 1290, the representatives of the Commons had been summoned after the work of legislation, and even the plan of taxation, had been determined : and the bishops had joined in the grant after the writs for the collection of the lay grant were issued. In 1294, however, the clergy are regularly assembled in the persons of their representatives; they are treated with separately, but in an orderly way ; and that done, the knights of the shire are summoned to meet the magnates at a later parliament, and the writs for the collection of the grant are dated on the clay of meeting. The further steps of uniting the clergy by their representatives under the praemunientes clause, and the Commons by the borough mem- bers as well as by the knights of the shire, with the assembled magnates, are taken in 1295. The war for the recovery of Gascony was determined on in the Whitsuntide parliament or court at Westminster (June 6, 1294). On the 1 4th, the king summoned the military force of the kingdom to muster at Portsmouth on the ist of September; 480 Edward I. [PAUT a term afterwards postponed to the 3oth. On the igth of August the king summoned the whole clergy of the realm, not in provinces as heretofore, but to one assembly at "Westminster on the 2ist of September (No. I) : the chapters being repre- sented by one, and the parochial clergy by two proctors from each diocese. The assembly met, and the king demanded a half of the goods of the clergy : after much discussion and complaint, he seems to have obtained the concession, at least from a portion of the body. He had already seized the treasures of the churches, and the wool of the merchants, and was pro- ceeding in a most arbitrary manner. At this juncture a rebel- lion of the Welsh stopped the expedition to Gascony ; but the king found himself obliged to summon the parliament for a money grant. The writs were issued on the 8th of October (No. II) ; the next day another writ, summoning two additional knights from each shire, was sent to the sheriffs, but no repre- sentatives of the towns were summoned. The day of meeting was the 1 2th of November. The parliament, without the clergy, met on that day, and the business was speedily despatched, for, on the same I2th of November, the king appointed the commissioners to collect the tenth granted by the earls, barons, knights, and all others of the kingdom. The historian, Matthew of "Westminster, adds that a sixth was exacted from the towns. About the same time a writ was issued exempting from the payment of the tenth the goods of those of the clergy who had granted the ' half in the assembly on S. Matthew's day. No. I. Summons of the Clergy. KEX archiepiscopo Eboracensi, Angliae primati, salutem. Qualiter rex Franciae nos de terra nostra Vasconiae malitiose decepit, et inde fraudulenter ejecit, earn nequiter detinendo, paternitatem vestram credimus non latere. Cum igitur ad terrain illam recuperandam a manibus dicti regis vestrum con- silium et auxilium, sicut et ceterorum praelatorum ac cleri de regno nostro quos communiter negotium istud tangit, nobis quam plurimum prospexerimus profutura, ob quod apud West- monasterium in festo Sancti Matthaei Apostoli et Evangelistae proximo futuro personaliter esse disposuimus, Deo dante, ad vii.] Writs of Summons. 481 tractandum mm vobiscum et ceteris praelatis ac clero ejusdem regni et ad ordinandum tune ibidem super statu dictae terrae nostrae Vasconiae et remedio in hoc contra hujusmodi malitiam adhibendo ; vobis mandamus, in fide et dilectione in quibus nobis tenemini firmiter injungentes, quod dictis die et loco personaliter intersitis, vocantes prius decanum et capitulum ecclesiae vestrae, archidiaconos toturnque clerum vestrae dio- cesis, facientesque quod iidem decanus et archidiaconi in pro- priis personis suis, et dictum capitulum per unum, idemque clerus per duos procuratores idoneos plenam et sufficientem potestatem ab ipsis capitulo et clero habentes, una vobiscum intersint modis omnibus tune ibidem ad tractandum, ordi- nandum et faciendum, pro ipsis capitulo et clero ac eorundem nomine, quod de vestro et aliorum praelatorum, decani, archi- diaconorum, procuratorum, praedictorum communi consilio providebitur in praemissis. T. R. apud Portesmuthe, XIX. die August!. A similar summons was directed to the rest of the bishops severally, and to sixty-seven abbots. (Report on the Dignity of a Peer, App. i. p. 59.) No. II. Summons of the Knights of the Shire. REX vicecomiti Norhumbriae salutem. Quia cum comitibus, baronibus, et ceteris magnatibus de regno nostro, super quibus- dam negotiis arduis nos et idem regnum nostrum contingentibus in crastino Sancti Martini proximo futuro apud Westmonaste- rium colloquium habere volumus et tractatum ; tibi praecipimus quod eligi- facias duos milites de discretioribus et ad laborandum potentioribus de comitatu praedicto, et eos ad nos usque West- monasterium venire facias : ita quod sint ibi in crastino prae- dicto cum plena potestate pro se et tota communitate comitatus praedicti, ad consulendum et consentiendum pro se et com- munitate ilia hiis quae comites, barones, et proceres praedicti concorditer ordinaverint in praemissis ; et ita quod pro defectu potestatis hujusmodi idem negotium infectum non remaneat. Et habeas ibi hoc breve. T. Rege apud Westmonasterium VIII. die Octobris. REX vicecomiti Norhumbriae, salutem. Cum nuper tibi prae- ceperimus quod duos milites de discretioribus et ad laborandum potentioribus ejusdem comitatus de consensu ejusdem eligi, et eos ad nos usque Westmonasterium in crastino Sancti Martini proximo futuro cum plena potestate pro se et tota communitate i ! 482 Edward 1. [PART ejusdem comitatus venire faceres, ad consulendum et consenti- endum pro se et communitate ilia hiis quae comites, barones et proceres de regno nostro in dicto crastino ordinabunt, tibi praecipimus firmiter injungentes quod, praeter illos duos milites, eligi facias alios duos milites legales et ad laborandum potentes, et eos una cum dictis duobus militibus usque 'Westmoriasterium venire facias ; ita quod in dicto crastino sint ibidem ad audi- endum et faciendum quod eis tune ibidem plenius injungemus. Et hoc nullo modo omittas. Efc habeas ibi hoc breve. T. Rege apud Westmonasterium, IX die Octobris. (Report on tJie Dignity of a Peer, App. i. p. 60.) A.D. 1295. GREAT COUNCIL AND PARLIAMENT. The king found himself early in 1295 in very difficult circum- stances at war with France, waging an unsuccessful struggle with the Welsh, and anticipating the breach with Scotland which occurred in the course of the year. It was not until June that he was able to take measures for holding a parlia- ment. On the 24th of that month he issued writs of summons to the archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, chiefs of orders, earls, barons, judges, deans sworn of the council, and other clerks of the council. They were directed to meet at Westminster on the ist of August. The object of the gathering was to discuss the proposals for mediation with France made by two papal legates. The debate lasted two days, and the legates left England with powers to treat for a truce. No representatives of the Commons were summoned to this assembly, which, although it is styled in the Rolls of Parliament a Parliament, and seems to have transacted the usual legal business of the terminal sessions of parliament, was more properly a Great Council. No attempt was made in it to raise money, but it was probably arranged that a grant should be asked for in the Michaelmas session. "With this view writs were issued on the 3efore that day, however, it had been determined to call a more complete council for the soth, to which the archbishop and the earls were invited by a writ dated on the pth. It would appear probable that the turning-point in the regent's councils should be fixed to this date. On the fifth of the month a summons is addressed to the bishop of London, and several others of the royalist side; it is not until the pth that the archbishop, the marshall, and constable are summoned. If this were so, the necessity for further concession must have become quickly ap- parent : for on the 1 5th, a fortnight before the date of the proposed council, "writs of election of representatives of the Commons were addressed to the sheriffs. The writs declare that the king is determined to confirm the charters in consideration of the aid of an eighth, and the representatives are summoned to receive their copies of the famous privileges on the 6th of October. This assembly was certainly called in an informal manner, the writs of the bishops containing no mention of the clergy, and those of the whole baronage, clerical and lay, fixing a day of meeting a week earlier than that fixed for the Com- mons. In other respects it was a sufficient parliament. It met as appointed, and received the confirmation promised in the summons. The whole of the proceedings were, however, tumul- tuary. The two earls appeared with a large military force, and prescribed the terms, supplementary to the charter, which they had already presented to the king. The prince, under the advice of his council, accepted them j confirmed the charters vn.J - Confirmation of Charters. 493 with tliese additions, and despatched them to his father for further corroboration. On the roth of October, not content with the granting of their demand, the earls insisted further that the illegal proceedings taken in the granting of the aid should be treated as null. Not even the grant of the eighth was allowed to be legal ; a new grant was made, of a ninth, by the whole of the laity in parliament, and then the strife ceased. The two charters were further confirmed by inspeximus on the 1 2th of October; and the clergy of the southern pro- vince granted a tenth, those of the northern a fifth, in aid of the war with Scotland. The above is a bare chronological statement of the two trains of events which led to this great and most important act; the one starting from the Bull Clericis laicos, the other from the refusal of the earls to go to Gascony without the king. Here, as in the events which led to the Great Charter, we trace two distinct but concurrent forces, supplementing each other ; each of them the summation of a series of accumulating influences, but timed by an extraordinary coincidence, through the king's necessities. Neither the heavy imposts laid on the clergy, nor the demand of foreign service from the earls, nor the seizure of the wool by the king, has any direct technical bear- ing on the question of the confirmation of -the charters of King John. Yet these charters are the rallying-point of the oppressed and offended ; the essence, as it was thought, of the constitution. If the actual effects of the two distinct forces are carefully ex- amined, it will be seen that whilst the confirmation of the charters is due mainly to the action of Archbishop Winchelsey, the addition of the new articles seems to be the result of the measures of the earls. It would be too much to suppose that Winchelsey was to them what Langton had been to the barons at Kunnymede, nor is there clear evidence that he was acting in concert with them after his reconciliation with Edward. The additional articles may, however, have been drawn up with his concurrence before the reconciliation, and they certainly appear as the gravamina of the whole estates of the realm. (See p. 443.) 494 Edward I. [PAUT The confirmation of his son's act by the king at Ghent in November did not entirely satisfy the barons. In the summer of 1298 the two earls demanded a second assurance as a con- dition of service in Scotland ; and a further formal confirma- tion was made by the king in consequence on the 8th of * March, 1299, with a provision saving the rights of the Crown. This form . did not content the people ; and the process was repeated without the salvo. A delay in carrying out the pro- cess of disforesting under the Carta de Foresta produced a new suspicion, and the charters were again confirmed, March ^ 6th, 1300, in a statute called 'Articuli super Cartas,' an im- portant act, containing many alleviations of popular complaints, but not repeating the points conceded on the loth of October, 1297. A final confirmation was bestowed in 1301, when, after the completion of the perambulation of the forests, the king, at the parliament of Lincoln, issued letters patent confirming -the charters, it is said, for the thirty-second time. It is memor- able that in all these confirmations the constitutional articles V of the Charter of John, omitted in the re-issue of 1216, were never replaced. I. EDWARD par la grace de Dieu, roy Dengleterre, seignur Dirland et dues Daquitaine, a toutz ceus qui cestes presentes lettres verront ou orront, saluz. Sachiez nous al honeur de Dieu et de seinte Eglise et au profit de tut notre roiaume, aver grante pur nous et pur nos heirs, qe la grand e chartre des franchises et la chartre de la forest les queles furent faites par commun assent de tut le roiaume en tens le rey Henry notre pere, seient tenuz en toutz leur pointz, sauz nul blemishment. E voloms qe meismes celes chartres de suth notre seal seient envoiez a nos justices, ausi bien de la forest, come as autres, e a toutz les viscontes des contez, et a toutz nos autres ministres, a totes nos citees par mi la terre, ensemblement ove nos briefs, en les queux sera contenu qil facent les avantdites chartres pupplier, e qil facent dire au poeple qe nous les avorns grauntees de tenir les en toutz leur pointz ; e a nos justices, viscontes, maires e autres ministres, qi la ley de la terre de south nous et par nous ount a guier, meismes les chartres en toutz leur pointz, en plez devaunt eus e en jugementz, les facent alower, cest a savoir la grande chartre des franchises come lay commune, e la chartre vii.] - Confirmation of Charters. 495 de la forest solom lassise de la forest, al amendement de notre poeple. II. E voloms qe si mils jugementz soient donez desoremes encontre les pointz des chartres avantdites, par justices et par autres nos ministres qui centre les pointz des chartres tenent plez devant eus, seient defaitz e pur nient tenuz. III. E voloms qe mesmes celes chartres de suth notre seal Beient envoiez as eglises cathedrales parmi notre roiaume et la demorgent ; e seient deufoitz par an lues devant le poeple. IV. E qe ercevesques et evesques doignent sentences du grant escomenger contre toutz ceus qui contre les avantdites chartres vendront, en fait, ou en ayde, ou en conseil, ou nul point enfreindront, ou encontre vendront. E qe celes sentences seient denuncies e pupplies deufoitz par an par les avantditz prelatz. E si mesmes les prelatz evesques ou nul de eus seient negli- gentz en la denunciacion susdite faire, par les ercevesques de Oanterbire e de Everwyk, qui pur tens serront, sicome covient, soient repris et destreins a mesme cele denunciacion faire en la fourme avauntdite. V. E pur ceo qe aucunes gentz de notre roiaume se doutent qe les aides e les inises, les queles il nous ount fait avant ces cures pur nos guerres et autre bosoignes, de leur grant e leur bone vdlunte, en quele manere qe faitz seient, pussent turner en servage a eus, e a leur heirs, par ce qil serroient autrefoitz trovez en roule, e ausi prises qe ont este faites par mi le roiaume par nos miuistres, en notre noun, avoms grante pur nous et pur nos heirs, qe nies tieles aides, mises, ne prises, ne treroms a custume, pur nule chose qe soit fait ou qe par roule ou en autre maniere peust estre trove. VI. E ausi avoms grante pur nous e pur nos heirs as ercevesques, evesques, abbes, e priurs, e as autres gentz de seinte eglise, et as contes et barons et a tote la comniunaute de la terre, qe mes pur nule busoigne tieu manere des aides, mises, ne prises, de notre roiaume ne prendroms, fors qe par commun assent de tut le roiaume, et a commun profit de meisme le roiaume, sauve les auncienes aides et prises dues et custumees. VII. E pur ceo qe tut le plus de la communaute del roiaume se sentent durement grevez de la male toute des leines, cest asavoir de chescun sak de leine quarante soudz, e nous ont prie que nous les vousissoms relesser, nous a leur priere les avoms pleinement relesse ; e avoms grante qe cele ne autre mes ne prendroms, sanz lour commun assent e leur bone vo- lunte ; sauve a nous e a nos heirs la custume des leines, peaus e quirs avant grant ez par la communaute du roiaume avantdit. 496 Edward I. [PART En temoignance de queux choses nous avoms fait faire cestes nos lettres overtes. Tesnioigne Edward notre fitz a Londres le disme jour de October, Ian de notre regne vintisme quynt. E fet a remembrer qe meisme ceste chartre suth meimes les paroles, de mot en mot, fust sele en Flaundres, de suth le grant seal le rey, cest asaver a Gaunt, le quint jour de November, Ian del regne lavantdit notre seignur le rey vintisme quint, e envee en Engleterre. TKANSLATION. I. Edward, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Guyan, to all those that these present letters shall hear or see, greeting. Know ye that we to the honour of God and of holy Church, and to the profit of our realm, have granted for us and our heirs, that the Charter of Liberties and the Charter of the Forest, which were made by common assent of all the realm, in the time of King Henry our father, shall be kept in every point without breach. And we will that the same charters shall be sent under our seal as well to our justices of the forest as to others, and to all sheriffs of shires, and to all our other officers, and to all our cities throughout the realm, together with our writs in the which it shall be contained, that they cause the aforesaid charters to be published, and to declare to the people that we have confirmed them in all points, and that our justices, sheriffs, mayors, and other ministers which under us have the laws of our land to guide, shall allow the said charters in pleas before them and in judgments in all their points ; that is to wit, the Great Charter as the common law and the Charter of the Forest according to the Assize of the Forest, for the wealth of our realm. II. A nd we will that if any judgment be given from henceforth, contrary to the points of the charters aforesaid, by the justices or by any other our ministers that hold plea before them against the points of the charters, it shall be undone and holden for nought. III. And we will that the same charters shall be sent under our seal to cathedral churches throughout our realm, there to remain, and shall be read before the people two times by the year. IV. And that all archbishops and bishops shall pronounce the sentence of great excommunication against all those that by word, deed, or counsel do contrary to the foresaid charters, or that in any point break or undo them. And that the said curses be twice a year denounced and published by the prelates aforesaid. And if the same prelates or any of them be remiss in the denunciation of the said sentences, the Archbishops of Canter- bury and York for the time being, as is fitting, shall compel and distrein them to make that denunciation in form aforesaid. V. And for so much as divers people of our realm are in fear that the aids and tasks which they have given to us beforetime towards our wars and other business, of their own grant and goodwill, howsoever they were made, might turn to a bondage to them and their heirs, because they might be at another time found in the rolls, and so likewise the prises taken throughout the realm by our ministers : we have granted for us and our heirs, that we shall not draw such aids, tasks, nor prises into a custom for anything that hath been done heretofore or that may be found by roll or in any other manner. VI. Moreover we have granted for us and our heirs, as well to arch- bishops, bishops, abbots, priors, and other folk of holy Church, as also to vii.] Confirmation of Charters. 497 earls, barons, and to all the commonalty of the land, that for no business from henceforth will we take such manner of aids, tasks, nor prises, but by the common assent of the realm, and for the common profit thereof, saving the ancient aids and prises due and accustomed. VII. And for so much as the more part of the commonalty of the realm find themselves sore grieved with the maletote of wools, that is to wit, a toll of forty shillings for every sack of wool, and have made petition to us to release the same ; we, at their requests, have clearly released it, and have granted for us and our heirs that we shall not take such thing nor any other without their common assent and goodwill ; saving to us and our heirs the custom of wools, skins, and leather granted before by the com- monalty aforesaid. In witness of which things we have caused these our letters to be made patents. Witness Edward our son at London, the loth day of October, the five and twentieth year of our reign. And be it remembered that this same chatter in the same terms, word for word, was sealed in Flanders under the king's great seal, that is to say at Ghent, the 5th day of November in the 25th year of the reign of our aforesaid lord the king, and sent into England. (Statutes of the Realm, i. 124, 125.) A.D. 1297. DE TALLAGIO NON CONCEDENDO. The following articles are given by Walter of Hemingburgh under the title 'Articuli inserti in Magna Carta,' as the Latin equivalent to the act of confirmation in French : they were referred to as a statute in the preamble to the Petition of Right, and were decided by the judges in 1637 to be a statute. But they are not found in any authoritative record, and are now held to be an abstract, imperfect and unauthoritative, of the regent's act of confirmation and of the pardon of the two earls. It will be 'seen that the omission of any qualifying word before ' tallagium vel auxilium' in the first clause (the tieu of the Con- firmation, clause vi.), and of the saving words in clauses vi. and vii. of the Confirmation, gives to this document* a much greater restrictive force than is possessed by the undoubtedly authentic one. It is certain that Edward did not regard himself as pre- cluded by the act of October 10 from exacting the ancient custom on wool, or from talliaging the towns and demesne, which he did in 1304. The obligations under which the king placed himself must be construed literally from the act just given. I. Nullum talliagium vel auxilium per nos vel haeredes nostros de cetero in regno nostro imponatur seu levetur, sine Kk 49 8 Edward L [PART voluntate et assensu communi arcliiepiscoporum, episcoporum et aliorum praelatorum, comitum, baronum, militum, burgen- sium et aliorum liberorum hominum in regno nostro. II. Nullus minister noster vel haeredum nostrorum capiat blada, lanas, coria, aut aliqua alia bona cujuscunque, sine volun- tate et assensu illius cujus fuerint hujusmodi bona. III. Nihil capiatur de cetero nomine vel occasione malae toltae de sacco lanae. IV. Volumus etiam et concedimus pro nobis et haeredibus nostris, quod omnes clerici et laici de regno nostro habeant omnes leges, libertates et liberas consuetudines suas ita libere et integre sicut eas aliquo tempore plenius et melius habere con- sueverunt. Et si contra illas vel quemcunque articulum in praesenti carta contentum statuta fuerint edita per nos vel per antecessores nostros, vel consuetudines introductae, volumus et concedimus quod hujusmodi consuetudines et statuta vacua et nulla sint in perpetuum. V. Remisimus etiam Humfrido de Boun comiti Herefordensi et Essexiensi constabulario Angliae, Rogero Bygot comiti North- folciae marescallo Angliae, et aliis comitibus, baronibus, mili- tibus, armigeris, Johanni de Ferrariis ac omnibus aliis de eorum societate, confoederatione. et concordia, existentibus, necnon om- nibus viginti libratas terrae tenentibus in regno nostro sive de nobis in capite sive de alio quocunque, qui ad transfre- tandum nobiscum in Flandriam certo die notato vocati fuerunt et non venerunt, rancorem nostrum et malam voluntatem quam ex causis praedictis erga eos habuimus ; et etiam transgressiones si quas nobis vel nostris fecerint usque ad praesentis cartae confectionem. VI. Et ad majorem hujus rei securitatem volumus et con- cedimus pro nobis et haeredibus nostris, quod omnes archi- episcopi et episcopi Angliae, in perpetuum in suis cathedra- libus ecclesiis habita praesenti carta et lecta, excommunicent publice et in singulis parochialibus ecclesiis suarum diocesium excommunicare seu excommunicatos denunciare faciant, bis in anno, omnes qui contra tenorem praesentis cartae, vim et effec- tum, in quocunque articulo scienter fecerint, aut fieri procu- raverint, quoquomodo. In cujus rei testimonium praesenti cartae sigillum nostrum est appensum, una cum sigillis archi- episcoporum, episcoporum, comitum, baronum et aliorum qui sponte juraverunt quod tenorem praesentis cartae, quatenus in eis est, in omnibus et singulis articulis observabunt, et ad ejus observationem consilium suum et auxilium fidele prae- stabunt in perpetuum. (W. de Hemingburgh, ii. 153, 154.) vn.J Parliament of Lincoln. 499 A.D. 1301. SUMMONS TO THE PARLIAMENT OF LINCOLN. This writ, issued in September 1300, is especially curious as directing the return to the new parliament, to be held the next January, of the representatives of the counties and boroughs who had served in the preceding one. The reason of this pro- bably was, that the session was held to receive the report of the perambulations, the arrangements for which had been made in the last parliament. It was in this parliament that the charters received their last confirmation, Feb. 14, 1301. An aid of a fifteenth was voted in consequence. Here also was drawn up the reply of the nation to the letter of Boniface VIII claiming the superiority over Scotland. REX vicecomiti Cumbriae, salutem. Cum nuper pro communi utilitate populi nostri etc. etc. tibi praecipimus firmiter injun- gendo quod venire facias coram nobis ad parliamentum nostrum apud Lincolniam in octavis Sancti Hilarii proximo futuri duos milites de balliva tua, illos videlicet qui pro communitate comi- tatus praedicti ad parliamentum nostrum ultimo praeteritum per praeceptum nostrum venerunt, et etiam de qualibet civitate infra baillivam tuam eosdem cives, et de quolibet burgo eosdem burgenses qui ad praedictum parliamentum nostrum alias sic venerunt. Et si forte aliquis militum, civium, aut burgensium praedictor'um, mortuus fuerit aut infirmus, per quod ad dictos diem et locum venire nequiverint, tune loco illius mortui aut infirmi unum alium idoneum ad hoc eligi et ad dictum parlia- mentum nostrum venire facias : ita quod milites, cives, et burgenses praedicti, dictis die et loco modis omnibus intersint cum plena potestate audiendi et faciendi ea quae ibidem in praemissis ordinari continget pro communi commodo dicti regni. Et eisdem militibus de communitate comitatus praedicti, civibus de civitatibus, et burgensibus de burgis praedictis, rationabiles expensas suas habere facias, in veniendo ad dictum parlia- mentum nostrum, ibidem morando, et etiam redeundo. Tibi insuper praecipimus sicut prius quod per totam ballivam tuam sine dilatione publice facias proclamari, quod omnes illi qui terras aut tenementa habent infra metas forestae nostrae in balliva tua, et qui perambulationem in aliquo calumniari volue- rint, quod sint coram nobis in parliament nostro praedicto, K k 2 5 Edward 1. [PART ostensuri in hac parte rationes suas et calumnlas si quas habent. Et habeas ibi nomina praedictorum militum, civium et bur- gensium, ^et hoc breve. T. R. apud la Rose, XXVI. die Septembris. (Parliamentary Writs, i. 90.) A.D. 1303. WRIT OP SUMMONS TO A 'COLLOQUIUM* OF MERCHANTS. The heavy expenses of the French and Scottish wars compelled the king to look about him for new sources of revenue. In 1302 he had fallen back on the aid * pur fille marier,' which had been voted in 1290, but never paid. He now attempted to get the consent of the merchants to raise the custom on wine, wool, and merchandise. The assembly called is anomalous, but would, if it had been submissive, have given him authority sufficient to enable him to approach the parliament with a plausible case. The opposition, however, was very strong, and the project dropped. EDWARDUS Dei gratia etc., majori et vicecomitibus Lon- doniarum, salutem. Quia intelleximus quod diversi mercatores regni iiostri, ut ipsi de prisis nostris quieti esse et diversis liber- tatibus per nos mercatoribus extraneis et alienigenis concessis uti valeant et gaudere, nobis de bonis et mercandisis suis solvere volunt quasdam novas praestationes et custumas quas dicti mercatores extranei et alienigenae nobis de bonis et mercandisis suis solvunt infra regnum et potestatem nostram ; nos volentes super praemissis cum mercatoribus dicti regni nostri habere colloquium et tractatum ; vobis praecipimus quod de civitate nostra praedicta duos vel tres cives venire faciatis ad scaccarium nostrum Eboraci, ita quod sint ibidem in crastino Sancti Johannis Baptistae proximo future, cum plena potestate pro communitate civitatis nostrae praedictae, ad faciendum et recipiendum quod tune de nostro et eorum ac mercatorum dicti regrii nostri consilio et assensu ordinabitur in praemissis ; et habeatis ibi tune hoc breve. T. me ipso apud Novum castrum super Tynarn, VIII. die Maii, anno regni nostri XXXI. Forty-two towns sent representatives : Qui omnes venerunt XXV. die Junii coram consilio domini regis apud Eboracum per summonitionem brevis supradicti, et dixerunt unanimi consensu et voluntate, tarn pro se ipsis quam vii.] Collection of Talliage. 501 pro communitatibus civitatum et burgorum supradictorum, quod ad iucrementum maltolliae iiec ad custumas in praedicto brevi contentas, per alienigenas et extraneos mercatores domino regi concessas, nullo modo consentient nisi ad custumas antiquitus debitas et consuetas. (Parliamentary Writs, i. 134, 135.) A.D. 1304. WRIT FOR THE COLLECTION OF TALLIAGE. This is another monument of Edward's financial difficulties and ingenuity. The right of talliaging demesne was not formally taken from the king by the act of October 10, 1297, although it was contrary to the interpretation of that act in the ' De Tallagio non Concedendo.' This exaction, however, in conjunction with the attempt to raise the custom on wool in 1303, and the abso- lution obtained in 1305 from Clement V from the observance of the Confirmation of Charters, are made a ground of accusation of bad faith against Edward. The second of these counts is of no importance. The exaction of the talliage was the act of a man of very precise and legal mind, in great financial difficulty, avoiding a breach of the letter of the law : supposing a simple talliage not to be contrary to his obligations. The Bull of Clement V rehearses no more than is true of the compulsion by which the Confirmation of Charters was wrested from the young Edward : but the real answer to the charge inferred from it is that Edward did not act upon the absolution. REX dilectis et fidelibus suis, Eogero de Hegham, Waltero de Gloucestria, et Johanni de Sandal e, salutem. -Sciatis quod con- stituimus vos vel duos vestrum ad assidendum tallagium nostrum in civitatibus, burgis et dominicis nostris infra comitatus Kanciae, Middlesexiae, Londoniae, Surreiae et Sussexiae, separatim per capita vel in communi, prout ad commodum nostrum magis videritis expedire : et ideo vobis mandamus quod sine dilatione accedatis ad civitates, burgos et dominica praedicta, ad dictum tallagium secundum facultatem tenentium eorundem civitatum, burgorum et dominicorum, assidendum in forma praedicta ; ita quod tallagium illud ad citius quod poteritis assideatur; et quod divitibus non deferatur nee pauperes nimis in hac parte graventur. Et extractus totius tallagii praedicti liberetis sub 502 Modus Tenendi Parliamentum. [PAIIT sigillis vestris certis personis per vos eligendis ad tallagium illud sine dilatione levandum et nobis ad scaccarium nostrum inde respondendum. Et talem circa praemissa expedienda diligen- tiam apponatis quod vos inde merito commendare debeamus, nullatenus omittentes quin sitis ad scaccarium praedictum quam cito commode poteritis, ad certificandum thesaurario et baroni- bus nostris de eodem scaccario de eo quod feceritis in prae- missis. Mandavimus enim vicecomitibus nostris comitatuum praedictorum, quod, cum a vobis vel duobus vestrum fuerint praemuniti, venire faciant coram vobis vel duobus vestrum omnes illos de civitatibus, burgis et dominicis, quos ad dictum tallagium assidendum videritis necessarios, et vobis ad hoc sint auxiliantes et intendentes, prout eis injungetis ex parte nostra. In cujus, etc. Teste Rege apud Dunfermelyn, YI die Feb- ruarii, anno etc. XXXII . (Rolls of Parliament, i. 266.) MODUS TENENDI PARLIAMENT!. The following short treatise is a somewhat ideal description of the constitution of parliament in the middle of the I4th century, and is a fitting appendix to the series of documents given in this volume. Its authenticity has been bitterly assailed, and it is of course absurd to regard it as a relic of the times of the Conque- ror But it is not therefore a modern forgery. It is found in manuscripts of the I4th century, and although, on reference to contemporary writs and documents, it is found to be frequently misleading, it may be accepted as a theoretical view for which the writer was anxious to find a warrant in immemorial antiquity. The following recension is taken from the edition published in 1846 by the present Deputy Keeper of the Records, Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy, and with his permission. Hie describitur modus, quomodo parliamentum regis Angliae et Anglicorum suorum tenebatur tempore regis Edwardi filii regis Etheldredi; qui quidem modus recitatus fuit per cliscre- tiores regni coram Willelmo duce Normanniae et Conquestore et rege Angliae, ipso Conquestore hoc praecipiente, et per ipsum approbatus, et suis temporibus ac etiam temporibus successorum suorum regum Angliae usitatus. vii.] Modus Tenendi Parliamentum. 503 Summonitio Parliamenti. Summonitio parliament! praecedere debet primum diem par- liamenti per quadraginta dies. Ad parliamentum summoneri et venire debent, ratione tenurae suae, omnes et singuli archiepiscopi, episcopi, abbates, priores, et alii majores cleri, qui tenent per comitatum vel baroniam, ratione hujusmodi tenurae, et nulli minores nisi eorum praesentia et eventus aliunde quam pro tenuris suis requiratur, ut si sint de consilio regis, vel eorum praesentia necessaria vel utilis reputetur ad parliamentum ; et illis tenetur rex ministrare sumptus et expensas suas de veniendo et morando ad parliamentum; nee debent hujusmodi clerici minores summoneri ad parliamentum, sed rex solebat talibus pariter mittere brevia sua rogando quod ad parliamentum suum interessent. Item, rex solebat facere summonitiones suas archiepiscopi s, episcopis, et aliis exemptis personis, ut abbatibus, prioribus, decanis, et aliis ecclesiasticis personis, qui habent jurisdictiones per hujuf-modi exemptiones et privilegia separatim, quod ipsi pro quolibet decanatu et archidiaconatu Angliae per ipsos deca- natus et archidiaconatus eligi facerent duos peritos et idoneos procuratores de proprio archidiaconatu ad veniendum et inter- essendum ad parliamentum, ad illud subeundum, allegandum et faciendum idem quod facerent omnes et singulae personae ipsorum decanatuum et archidiaconatuum, si ibidem personaliter interessent. Et quod hujusmodi procuratores veniant cum warantis suis duplicatis, sigillis superiorum suorum signatis, quod ipsi ad hujusmodi procurationem clerici missi sunt, quarum litterarum una liberabitur clericis de parliamento ad irrotulandum et alia residebit penes ipsos procuratores ; et sic sub istis duobus gene- ribus summoneri debet totus clerus ad parliamentum. De Laicis. Item, summoneri et venire debent omnes et singuli comites et barones, et eorum pares, scilicet illi qui habent terras et redditus ad valentiam comitatus vel baroniae integrae, videlicet viginti feoda unius militis, quolibet feodo computato ad viginti libratas, quae faciunt quadringentas libratas in toto, vel ad valentiam unius baroniae integrae, scilicet tresdecim feoda et tertiam partem unius feodi militis, quolibet feodo computato ad viginti libratas, quae faciuut in toto quadringentas marcas ; et nulli minores laici summoneri nee venire debent ad parliamentum, 504 Modus Tenendi Parliamentum. [PART ratione tenurae suae, nisi eorum praesentia aliis de causis fuerit utilis vel necessaria ad parliamentum, et tune de illis fieri debet sicut dictum est de minoribus clericis, qui ratione tenurae suae ad parliamentum venire niinime tenentur. De Baronibus Portuum. Item, rex tenetur mittere brevia sua custodi Quinque Portuum quod ipse eligi faciat de quolibet portu per ipsum portum duos idoneos et peritos barones ad veniendum et interessendum ad parliamentum suum, ad respondendum, subeundum, allegandum, et faciendum idem quod baroniae suae, ac si ipsi de baron iis illis omnes et singuli personaliter interessent ibidem ; et quod barones hujusmodi veniant cum warantis suis duplicatis, sigillis comrnunibus portuum suorum signatis, quod ipsi rite ad hoc electi, et attorn ati sunt, et missi pro baroniis illis, quarum una liberabitur clericis de parliamento, et alia residebit penes ipsos barones. Et cum hujusmodi barones portuum, licentia optenta, ~~de parliamento recessum fecerant, tune solebant habere breve de magiio sigillo custodi Quinque Portuum, quod ipse rationabiles sumptus et expensas suas hujusmodi baronibus habere faceret de communitate portus illius, a primo die quo versus parliamentum venerint usque ad diem quo ad propria redierint, facta etiam expressa mentione in brevi illo de mora quam fecerint ad parlia- mentum, de die quo venerint, et quo licentiati fuerint redeundi ; et solebat mentio fieri aliquando in brevi quantum hujusmodi barones capere debent de communitatibus illis per diem, scilicet aliqui plus, aliqui minus, secundum personarum habilitates, honestates, et respectus, nee solebat poni per duos barones per diem ultra viginti solidos, habito respectu ad illorum moras, labores et expensas, nee solent hujusmodi expensae in certo reponi per- curiam pro quibuscumque personis sic electis et missis pro communitatibus, nisi personae ipsae fuerint honeste et bene se habentes in parliamento. De Milit'ibus. Item, rex solebat mittere brevia sua omnibus vicecomitibus Angliae, quod eligi facerent quilibet de suo comitatu per ipsum comitatum duos milites idoneos, et honestos, et peritos, ad veni- endum ad parliamentum suum, eodem modo quo dictum est de baronibus portuum, et de warantis suis eodem modo, sed pro expensis duorum militum de uno comitatu non solet poni ultra unam marcam per diem. vii.] Modus Tenendi Parliamentum. 505 De Civibus. Eodem modo solebat mandari majori et vicecomitibus Lon- doniarum, et majori et ballivis vel majori et civibus Eboraci et ali arum civitatum, quod ipsi pro communitate civitatis suae eligerent duos idoueos, honestos, et peritos cives ad veniendum et interessendum ad parli amentum eodem modo quo dictum est de baronibus Quinque Portuum et militibus comitatuum ; et polebant cives esse pares et aequales cum militibus comitatuum in expensis veniendo, morando et redeundo. De Burgensibus. Item, eodem modo solebat et debet mandari ballivis et probis hominibus burgorum, quod ipsi ex se et pro se eligant duos idoneos, honestos, et peritos burgenses ad veniendum et inter- essendum ad parliamentum eodem modo quo dictum est de civibus ; sed duo burgenses non solebant percipere pro expensis suis per unum diem ultra decem solidos, et aliquando ultra dimidiam marcam, et hoc solebat taxari per curiam, secundum magnitudinem et potestatem burgi et secundum honestateni personarum missarum. De Principalilus Clericis Parliamenti. Item, duo clerici principales parliament! sedebunt in medio justiciariorum, qui irrotulabunt omnia placita et negotia par- liamenti. Et sciendum quod illi duo clerici non sunt subjecti quibus- cumque justiciariis, nee est aliquis justiciarius Angliae in par- liamento, nee habent per se recorda in parliamento, nisi qua- tenus assignata vel data fuit eis nova potestas in parliamento per regem et pares parliamenti, ut quando assignati sunt cum aliis sectatoribus parliamenti ad audiendum et terminandum diversas petitioties et querelas in parliamento porrectas ; et sunt illi duo clerici immediate subjecti regi et parliamento suo in communi, nisi forte unus justiciarius vel duo assignentur eis ad examinanda et emendanda eorum irrotulamenta, et cum pares parliamenti assignati sunt ad audiendas et examinandas aliquas petition es specialiter per se, tune cum ipsi fuerint unanimes et Concordes in judiciis suis reddendis super ejusmodi petitionibus, recitabunt et processum super eisdem habitum et reddent judicia in pleno parliamento, ita quod illi duo clerici principaliter irrotulent omnia placita et omnia judicia in principal! rotulo 506 Modus Tenemli Parliamentum. [PAIIT parliament!, et eosdem rotulos liberent ad thesanrarium regis antequam parliamentum licentietur, ita quod omni modo sint illi rotuli in thesauraria ante recessum parliament!, salvo tamen eisdem clericis inde transcripto, sive contrarotulo, si id habere velint. Isti duo clerici, nisi sint in alio offieio cum rege, et feoda capiant de eo, ita quod inde honeste vivere poterint, de rege capiant per diem unam marcam pro expensis suis per aequales portiones ; nisi sint ad mensam domini regis, tune capient praeter mensam suam per diem dimidiam marcam per aequales portiones, per totum parliamentum. De quinque Clericis. Item, rex assign abit quinque clericos peritos et approbates, quorum primus ministrabit et serviet episcopis, secundus procu- ratoribus cleri, tertius comitibus et baronibus, quartus militibus comitatuum, quintus civibus et burgensibus, et quilibet eorum, nisi sit cum rege et capiat de eo tale feodum seu talia vadia quod inde honeste possit vivere, capiet de rege per diem duos solidos ; nisi sint ad mensam domini regis, tune capiant per diem duodecim denarios; qui clerici scribent eorum dubitationes et responsiones quas faciunt regi et parliament, et intererunt ad sua consilia ubicumque eos habere voluerint ; et, cum ipsi vacaverint, juvabunt clericos principales ad irrotulandum. De Casibus et Judiciis difficilibus. Cum briga, dubitatio, vel casus difficilis, sit pacis vel guerrae, emergat in regno vel extra, referatur et recitetur casus ille in scriptis in pleno parliamento, et tractetur et disputetur ibidem inter pares parliament!, et, si necesse sit, injungatur per regem seu ex parte regis, si rex non intersit, cuilibet graduum parium quod quilibet gradus adeat per se, et liberetur casus ille clerico suo in scripto, et in certo loco recitare faciant coram eis casum ilium ; ita quod ipsi ordinent et considerent inter se qualiter melius et justius procedi poterit in casu illo, sicut ipsi pro per- sona regis et eorum propriis personis, ac etiam pro personis eorum quorum personas ipsi representant, velint coram Deo respondere, et suas responsiones et avisamenta reportent in scriptis, ut omnibus eorum responsionibus, consiliis et avisa- mentis hinc inde auditis, secundum melius et sauius consilium procedatur, et ubi saltern major pars parliamenti concordet. Et si per discordiam inter eos et regem et aliquos magnates, vel forte inter ipsos magnates, pax regni infirmetur, vel populus vel patria tribuletur, ita quod videtur regi et ejus consilio vii J Modus Tenencli Parliamentum. 507 quod expediens sit quod negotium illud tractetur et emen- detur per considerationem omnium parium regni /sui, vel si per guerram rex et regnum tribulentur, vel si casus difficilis coram cancellario Angliae emergat, seu judicium difficile coram justiciariis fuerit reddendum, et hujusmodi, et si forte in hujusmodi deliberationibus omnes vel saltern major pars con- cordare non valeant, tune comes senescallus, conies constabu- larius, conies marescallus, vel duo eorum eligent viginti quinque personas de omnibus paribus regni, scilicet duos episcopos, et tres procurators, pro toto clero, duos comites et tres barones, quinque milites comitatuum, quinque cives et burgenses, qui faciunt viginti quinque ; et illi viginti quinque possunt eligere ex seipsis duodecim et condescendere in eis, et ipsi duodecim sex et condescendere in eis, et ipsi sex adhuc tres et conde- scendere in eis, et illi tres in paucioribus condescendere non possunt, nisi optenta licentia a domino rege, et si rex con- sentiat, illi tres possunt in duos, et de illis duobus alter potest in alium descendere ; et ita demum stabit sua ordinatio supra totum par] iamen turn ; et ita condescendendo a viginti quinque per- sonis usque ad unam personam solam, nisi numerus major con- cordare valeat et orclinare, tandem sola persona, ut est dictum, pro omnibus ordinabit, quae cum se ipsa discordare non potest ; salvo domino regi et ejus consilio quod ipsi hujusmodi ordina- tiones postquam scriptae fuerint examinare et emendare valeant, si hoc facere sciant et velint, ita quod hoc ibidem tune fiat in pleno parliaments, et de consensu parliamenti, et non retro parliamentum. De Negotiis Parliamenti. Negotia pro quibus parliamentum summonitum est debent deliberari secundum kalendarium parliamenti, et secundum ordinem petitionum liberatarum, et affilatarum, nullo habit o respectu ad quorumcumque personas, sed qui prius proposuit prius agat. In kalendario parliamenti rememorari debent omnia negotia parliamenti sub isto ordine ; primo de guerra si guerra sit, et de aliis negotiis personas regis, reginae, et suorum liberorum tangentibtis ; secundo de negotiis commu- nibus regni, ut de legibus statuendis contra defectus legum originalium, judicialium, et executoriarum, post judicia reddita quae sunt maxime communia negotia ; tertio debent rememorari negotia singularia, et hoc secundum ordinem filatarum peti- tionum, ut praedictum est. Modus Tenendi Parliament urn. [PART De Diebus et Horis ad Parliamentum. Parliamentum non debet teneri diebus Dominicis, sed cunctis aliis diebus, illo die semper excepto, aliisque tribus, scilicet Om- nium Sanctorum, et Animarum, et Nativitatis Sancti Johannis Baptistae, potest teneri ; et debet singulis diebus inchoari hora media prima, qua hora rex tenetur parliamentum interesse, et omnes pares regni ; et parliamentum debet teneri in loco pub- lico, et non in private, nee in occulto loco : in diebus festivis parliamentum debet inchoari hora prima propter Divinum servitium. De Gradibus Parium. Hex est caput, principium, et finis parliament!, et ita non habet parem in suo gradu, et ita ex rege solo est primus gradus ; secundus gradus est ex archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, prio- ribus, per baroniam tenentibus ; tertius gradus est de procurato- ribus cleri ; quartus de comitibus, baronibus et aliis magnatibus et proceribus, tenentibus ad valentiam comitatus et baroniae, sicut praedictum est in titulo de laicis ; quintus est de militibus comitatuum ; sextus de civibus et burgensibus : et ita est par- liamentum ex sex gradibus. Sed sciendum est quod licet aliquis dictorum graduum post regem absentet, dum tamen omnes praemuniti fuerint per rationabiles summonitiones parliament!, nihilominus censetur esse plenum. De Hodo Parliament}. Ostensa primo forma qualiter cuilibet et a quanto tempore summonitio parliamenti fieri debet, et qui venire debent per summonitionem, et qui non; secundo dicendum est qui sunt qui ratione officiorum suorum venire debent, et interesse tenentur per totum parliamentum, sine summonitione ; unde adverten- dum est quod duo clerici principales parliamenti electi per regem et ejus concilium, et alii clerici secundarii de quibus et quorum officiis dicetur specialius post, et principalis clamator Angliae cum subclamatoribus suis, et principalis hostiarius Augliae ; quae duo officia, scilicet oificium clamatoriae et hostiariae, sole- bant ad unum et idem pertinere, isti officiarii tenentur inter- esse primo die : cancellarius Angliae, thesaurarius, camerarius, et barones de scaccario, justiciarii, omnes clerici et milites regis, una cum servientibus regis ad placita, qui sunt de concilio regis, tenentur interesse secundo die, nisi rationabiles excusationes habeant ita quod interesse non possent, et tune mittere debent bonas excusationes. vii.] Modus Tenendi Parliamentum. 509 De Inchoatione Parliamenti. Dominus rex sedebit in medio majoris banci, et tenetur inter- esse, primo, sexto die parliament! : et solebant cancellarius, thesaurarius, barones de scaccario, et justiciarii recordare defalta facta in parliamento sub ordine qui sequitur. Prinio die voca- buntur burgenses et cives totius Angliae, quo die si non veniant, amerciabitur burgus ad centum marcas et civitas ad centum libras : secundo die vocabuntur milites comitatuum totius Angliae, quo die si non veniant, amerciabitur comitatus unde sunt ad centum libras : tertio die parliament! vocabuntur barones Quinque Portuum, et postea barones, et postea comites; unde si barones Quinque Portuum non veniant, amerciabitur baronia ilia unde sunt ad centum marcas ; eodem modo amer- ciabitur baro per se ad centum marcas, et comes ad centum libras ; et eodem modo fiet de illis qui sunt pares comitibus et baronibus, scilicet qui habent terras et redditus ad valorem unius comitatus vel unius baroniae, ut praedictum est in titulo de summonitione : quarto die vocabuntur procuratores cleri, quo die si non veniant, amerciabuntur episcopi sui pro quolibet archidiaconatu qui defaltam fecerit ad centum marcas : quinto die vocabuntur decani, priores, abbates, episcopi, demum archi- episcopi, qui si non veniant, amerciabitur quilibet archiepiscopus ad centum libras, episcopus tenens integram baroniam ad centum marcas, et eodem modo de abbatibus, prioribus, et aliis. Primo die debet fieri proclamatio, primo in aula, sive monasterio, seu aliquo loco publico ubi parliamentum tenetur, et postmodum publice in civitate vel villa, quod omnes illi, qui petitiones et querelas liberare velint ad parliamentum, illas liberent a primo die parliamenti in quinque dies proximo sequentes. De Pr dedications ad Parliamentum. TTnus archiepiscopus, vel episcopus vel magnus clericus dis- cretus et facundus, electus per archiepiscopum in cujus provincia parliamentum tenetur, praedicare debet uno istorum primorum quinque dierum parliamenti in pleno parliamento et in prae- sentia regis, et hoc quando parliamentum pro majori parte fuerit adjunctum et congregatum, et in sermone suo consequenter sub- jungere toti parliamento quod ipsi cum eo humiliter Deo sup- plicent, et Ipsum adorent, pro pace et tranquillitate regis et regni, prout specialius dicetur in sequenti titulo de pronuntia- tione ad parliamentum. 510 Modus Tenendi Parliamentum. [PART De P ronuntiatione in Parliament. Post praedicationem debet cancellarius Angliae vel capitalis justiciarius Angliae, ille scilicet qui tenet placita coram rege, vel alius idoneus, honestus, et facundus, justiciarius vel clericus, per ipsos cancellarium et capitalem justiciarium electus, pronun- tiare causas parliament!, prirno in genere, et postea in specie, stando ; et inde sciendum est quod omnes de parliament o, qui- cumque fuerint, dum loquitur, stabunt, rege excepto, ita quod omnes de parliarnento audire valeant eum qui loquitur, et si obscure dicat vel ita basse loquatur, dicat iterate, et loquatur altius, vel loquatur alius pro eo. De Loquela Regis post Pronuntiationem. Rex post pronuntiationem pro parliamento rogare debet cle- ricos et laicos, nominando omnes eorum gradus, scilicet arcbi- episcopos, epi scopes, abbates, priores, arcbidiaconos, procuratores, et alios de clero, comites, barones, milites, cives, burgenses, et alios laicos, quod ipsi diligenter, studiose et corditer laborent ad pertractandum et deliberandum negotia parliament!, prout majus et principalius hoc ad Dei voluntatem primo, et postea ad ejus et eorum honores, et commoda fore intellexerint et sentierint. De Absentia Regis in Parliamento. Rex tenetur omni modo personaliter interesse parliamento, nisi per corporalem aegritudinem detineatur, et tune potest tenere cameram suam, ita quod non jaceat extra manerium, vel saltern villam, ubi parliamentum tenetur, et tune debet mittere pro duodecim personis de majoribus et melioribus qui summo- niti sunt ad parliamentum, scilicet duobus episcopis, duobus comitibus, duobus baronibus, duobus militibus comitatuum, duobus civibus, et duobus burgensibus, ad videndam personam. suam et testificandum statum suum, et in eorum praeseritia committere debet archiepiscopo loci, senescallo, et capitali justici- ario suo, quod ipsi conjunctim et divisim inchoent et continuent parliamentum nomine suo, facta in commissione ilia expressa mentione adtunc de causa absentiae suae, quae sufficere debet, et monere ceteros nobiles et magnates de parliamento, una cum notorio testimonio dictorum duodecim parium suorum ; causa est quod solebat clamor et murmur esse in parliamento pro ab- sentia regis, quia res dampnosa et periculosa est toti com- munitati parliament! et etiam regni, cum rex a parliamento vii.] Modus Tenendi Parliament um. 511 absens fuerit, nee se absentare debet nee potest, dumtaxat nisi in casu supradicto. De Loco et Sessionibus in Parliamento. Primo, ut praedictum est, rex sedebit in medio loco majoris banci, et ex parte ejus dextra sedebit archiepiscopus Cantua- riensis, et ex parte ejus sinistra archiepiscopus Eboraci, et post illos statim episcopi, abbates et priores linealiter, semper tali modo inter praedictos gradus, et eorum loca, quod nullus sedeat nisi inter suos pares ; et ad hoc tenetur senescallus Angliae prospicere, nisi rex alium assignaverit : ad pedem regis dextrum sedebunt cancellarius Angliae et capitalis justiciarius Angliae, et socii sui, et eorum clerici qui sunt de parliamento ; et ad pedem ejus sinistrum sedebunt thesaurarius, camerarius, et barones de scaccario, justiciarii de banco, et eorum clerici qui sunt de parliamento. De Hostiario Parliamenti. Hostiarius principals parliament! stabit infra magnum hos- tium monasterii, aulae, vel alterius loci ubi parliamentum tenetur, et custodiet hostium, ita quod nullus intret parlia- mentum. nisi qui sectam et eventum debeat ad parliamentum, vel vocatus fuerit propter negotium quod prosequitur in par- liamento, et oportet quod hostiarius ille habeat cognitionem personarum quae ingredi debent, ita quod nulli onmino negetur ingressus qui parliamentum interesse tenetur ; et hostiarius ille potest et debet, si necesse sit, habere plures hostiarios sub se. De Clamatore Parliamenti. Clamator parliament! stabit extra hostium parliament!, et hostiarius clenunciabit sibi clamationes suas ; rex solebat mittere servientes suos ad arma ad standum per magnum spatium extra hostium parliament!, ad custodiendum hostium, ita quod nulli impressiones nee tumultus facerent circa hostia, per quod parlia- mentum impediatur, sub poena captionis corporum suorum, quia de jure hostium parliament! non debet claudi, sed per hostiarium et servientes regis ad arma custodiri. De Stationibus Loquentium. Omnes pares parliament! sedebunt, et nullus stabit sed quando loquitur, et loquetur ita quod quilibet de parliamento eurn audire 512 Modus Tenendi Parliamentum. [PART valeat ; nullus intrabit in parliamentum, nee exiet de parlia- mento, nisi per unum hostium, et quicumque loquitur rem aliquam quae deliberari debet per parliamentum, stabunt omnes loquentes ; causa est ut audiatur a paribus, quia onmes pares sunt judices et justiciarii. De Auxilio Regis. Rex non solebat petere auxilium de regno suo nisi pro guerra instauti, vel filios suos milites faciendo, vel filias suas maritando, et tune debent hujusmodi auxilia peti in pleno parliamento, et in scriptis cuilibet gradui parium parliamenti liberari, et in scriptis respoiideri ; et seiendum est quod si hujusmodi auxilia conce- denda sunt oportet quod omnes pares parliamenti consentiant, et intelligendum est quod duo milites, qui veniunt ad parliamen- tum pro comitatu, majorem vocem habent in parliamento in concedendo et contradicendo, quam major comes Angliae, et eodem modo procuratores cleri unius episcopatus majorem vocem habent in parliamento, si omnes sirit Concordes, quam episcopus ipse, et hoc in omnibus quae per parliamentum concedi, negari vel fieri debent : et hoc patet quod rex potest tenere parliamen- tum cum communitate regni sui, absque episcopis, comitibus et baronibus, dumtamen summoniti sunt ad parliamentum, licet nullus episcopus, comes vel baro ad summonitiones suas veniant; quia olim nee fuerat episcopus, nee comes, nee baro, adhuc tune reges tenuerunt parliamenta sua; sed aliter est econtra, licet communitates cleri et laici summonitae essent ad parliamen- tum, sicut de jure debent, et propter aliquas causas venire nol- lent, ut si praetenderent quod dominus rex non regeret eos sicuti deberet, et assignarent specialiter in quibus eos non rex- erat, tune parliamentum nullum esset omnino, licet archiepi- scopi, episcopi, comites et barones, et omnes eorum pares, cum rege interessent : et ideo oportet quod omnia quae affirmari vel infirmari, concedi vel negari, vel fieri debent per parliamentum, per communitatem parliamenti concedi debent, quae est ex tri- bus gradibus sive generibus parliamenti, scilicet ex procura- toribus cleri, militibus comitatuum, civibus et burgensibus, qui repraesentant totam communitatem Angliae, et non de mag- natibus, quia quilibet eorum est pro sua propria persona ad parliamentum et pro nulla alia. De Partitione Parliamenti. Parliamentum departiri non debet dummodo aliqua petitio pendeat indiscussa, vel, ad minus, ad quam non sit determinate viz.] Modus Tenendi Parliamentum. 513 responsio, et si rex contrarium permittat, perjurus est ; nullus solus de paribus parliament! recedere potest nee debet de parlia- mento, nisi optenta inde licentia de rege et omnibus suis paribus, et hoc in pleno parliamento, et quod de hujusmodi licentia fiat rememoratio in rotulo parliament!, et si aliquis de paribus, durante parliamento, infirmaverit, ita quod ad parliamentum venire non valeat, tune per triduum mittat excusatores ad par- liamentum, quo die si non venerit, mittantur ei duo de paribus suis ad videndum et testificandum hujusmodi infirmitatem, et si sit suspicio, jurentur illi duo pares quod veritatem inde dicent, et si comperiatur quod finxerat se, amercietur tanquam pro defalta, et si non finxerat se, tune attornet aliquem sufficientem coram eis ad interessendum ad parliamentum pro se, nee sanus excusari potest si sit sanae memoriae. Departitio parliament! ita usitari debet : Primitus pet! debet et publice proclamari in parliamento, et infra palacium parlia- ment!, si sit aliquis, qui petitionem liberaverit ad parliamentum, cui nondum sit responsum ; quod si nullus reclamet, suppo- nendum est quod cuilibet medetur, vel saltern quatenus potest de jure respondetur, et tune primo, videlicet, curn nullus qui petitionem suam ea vice exhibuerit reclamet, Parliamentum nostrum licentiabimus. De Transcriptis Eecordorum in Parliamento. Clerici parliamenti non negabunt cuiquam transcriptum pro- cessus sui, sed liberabunt illud cuilibet qui hoc petierit, et capient semper pro decem lineis unuin denarium, nisi forte facta fide de impotentia, in quo casu nihil capient. Hotuli de parlia- mento continebunt in latitudine decem pollices. Parliamentum tenebitur in quo loco regni regi placuerit. Explicit Modus tenendi Parliamentum. Ll APPENDIX. A.D. 1628. PETITION OF EIGHT. 3 CAB. I. c. i. The Petition exhibited to his Majesty by the Lords Spiritual and Tem- poral, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, concerning divers Eights aiid Liberties of the Subjects, with the King's Majesty's royal answer thereunto in full Parliament. To the King's Most Excellent Majesty, Humbly show unto our Sovereign Lord the King, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in Parliament assembled, that whereas it ia declared and enacted by a statute made in the time of the reign of King Edward I, commonly called Statutum de Tallagio non Concedendo, that no tallage or aid shall be laid or levied by the king or his heirs in this realm, without the good will and assent of the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, knights, burgesses, and other the freemen of the commonalty of this realm ; and by authority of parliament holden in the five-and-twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it is declared and enacted, that from thenceforth no person should be compelled to make any loans to the king against his will, because such loans were against reason and the franchise of the land ; and by other laws of this realm it is provided, that none should be charged by any charge or imposition called a benevolence, nor by such like charge; by which statutes before mentioned, and other the good laws and statutes of this realm, your subjects have inherited this freedom, that they should not be compelled to contribute to any tax, tallage, aid, or other like charge not set by common consent, in parliament. II. Yet nevertheless of late divers commissions directed to sundry com- missioners in several counties, with instructions, have issued; by means whereof your people have been in divers places assembled, and required to lend certain sums of money unto your Majesty, and many of them, upon then? refusal so to do, have had an oath administered unto them not warrantable by the laws or statutes of this realm, and have been con- strained to become bound and make appearance and give utterance before your Privy Council and in other places, and others of them have been therefore imprisoned, confined, and sundry other ways molested and dis- quieted ; and divers other charges have been laid and levied upon your people in several counties by lord lieutenants, deputy lieutenants, commis- Ll2 516 Appendix. sioners for musters, justices of peace and others, by command or direction from your Majesty, or your Privy Council, against the laws and free customs of the realm. III. And whereas also by the statute called ' The Great Charter of the liberties of England,' it is declared and enacted, that no freeman may be taken or imprisoned or be disseised of his freehold or liberties, or his free customs, or be outlawed or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. IV. And in the eight-and-twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it was declared and enacted by authority of parliament, that no man, of what estate or condition that he be, should be put out of his land or tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disherited, nor put to death without being brought to answer by due process of law. V. Nevertheless, against the tenor of the said statutes, and other the good laws and statutes of your realm to that end provided, divers of your subjects have of late been imprisoned without any cause showed ; and when for their deliverance they were brought before your justices by your Majesty's writs of habeas corpus, there to undergo and receive as the court should order, and their keepers commanded to certify the causes of their detainer, no cause was certified, but that they were detained by your Majesty's special command, signified by the lords of your Privy Council, and yet were returned back to several prisons, without being charged with anything to which they might make answer according to the law. VI. And whereas of late great companies of soldiers and mariners have been dispersed into divers counties of the realm, and the inhabitants against their wills have been compelled to receive them into their houses, and there to suffer them to sojourn against the laws and customs of this realm, and to the great grievance and vexation of the people. VII. And whereas also by authority of parliament, in the five-and- twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it is declared and enacted, that no man shall be forejudged of life or limb against the form of the Great Charter and the law of the land ; and by the said Great Charter and other the laws and statutes of this your realm, no man ought to be adjudged to death but by the laws established in this your realm, either by the customs of the same realm, or by acts of parliament : and whereas no offender of what kind soever is exempted from the proceedings to be used, and punishments to be inflicted by the laws and statutes of this your realm ; nevertheless of late time divers commissions under your Majesty's great seal have issued forth, by which certain persons have been assigned and appointed commissioners with power and authority to proceed within the land, according to the justice of martial law, against such soldiers or mariners, or other dissolute persons joining with them, as should commit any murder, robbery, felony, mutiny, or other outrage or misdemeanour what- soever, and by such summary course and order as is agreeable to martial law, and as is used in armies in time of war, to proceed to the trial and condemnation of such offenders, and them to cause to be executed and put to death according to the law martial. VIII. By pretext whereof some of your Majesty's subjects have been by some of the said commissioners put to death, when and where, if by the laws and statutes of the land they had deserved death, by the same laws and statutes also they might, and by no other ought to have been judged and executed. IX. And also sundry grievous offenders, by colour thereof claiming an exemption, have escaped the punishments due to them by the laws and The Habeas Corpus Act, 517 statutes of this your realm, by reason that divers of your officers and ministers of justice have unjustly refused or forborne to proceed against such offenders according to the same laws and statutes, upon pretence that the said offenders were punishable only by martial law, and by aiithority of such commissions as aforesaid ; which commissions, and all other of like nature, are wholly and directly contrary to the said laws and statutes of this your realm. X. They do therefore humbly pray your most excellent Majesty, that no man hereafter be compelled to make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, without common consent by act of parliament; and that none be called to make answer, or take such oath, or to give attend- ance, or be confined, or otherwise molested or disquieted concerning the same or for refusal thereof; and that no freeman, in any such manner as is before mentioned, be imprisoned or detained ; and that your Majesty would be pleased to remove the said soldiers and mariners, and that your people may not be so burdened in time to come ; and that the aforesaid commissions, for proceeding by martial law, may be revoked and annulled ; and that hereafter no commissions of like nature may issue forth to any person or persons whatsoever to be executed as aforesaid, lest by colour of them any of your Majesty's subjects be destroyed or put to death contrary to the laws and franchise of the land. XI. All which they most humbly pray of your most excellent Majesty as their rights and liberties, according to the laws and statutes of this realm ; and that your Majesty would also vouchsafe to declare, that the awards, doings, and proceedings, to the prejudice of your people in any of the premises, shall not be drawn hereafter into consequence or example ; and that your Majesty would be also graciously pleased, for the further comfort and safety of your people, to declare your royal will and pleasure, that in the things aforesaid all your officers and ministers shall serve you according to the laws and statutes of this realm, as they tender the honour of your Majesty, and the prosperity of this kingdom. Qua quidem petitione lecta et plenius intellecta per dictum dominum rcgem taliter est responsum in plena parliamento, viz. Soil droit fait come est desire. (Statutes of the Realm, v. 24, 25.) A.D. 1679. THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT. 31 CAB. II. c. 2. An Act for the better securing the Liberty of the Subject, and for Prevention of Imprisonments beyond the Seas. Whereas great delays have been used by sheriffs, gaolers, and other officers, to whose custody any of the king's subjects have been committed for criminal or supposed criminal matters, in making returns of writs of Habeas Corpus to them directed, by standing out an Alias and Pluries Habeas Corpus, and sometimes more, and by other shifts to avoid their yielding obedience to such writs, contrary to their duty and the known laws of the land, whereby many of the king's subjects have been and here- after may be long detained in prison, in such cases where by law they are bailable, to their great charges and vexation : II. For the prevention whereof, and the more speedy relief of all persons imprisoned for any such criminal or supposed criminal matters ; be it enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the 5 1 8 Appendix. advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Tempor.il, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority thereof, that whensoever any person or persons shall bring any Habeas Corpus directed unto any sheriff or sheriffs, gaoler, minister, or other person whatsoever, for any person in his or their custody, and the said writ shall be served upon the said officer, or left at the gaol or prison with any of the under-officers, under-keepers or deputy of the said officers or keepers, that the said officer or officers, his or their under-officers, under-keepers or deputies, shall within three days after the service thereof as aforesaid (unless the commit- ment aforesaid were for treason or felony, plainly and specially expressed in the warrant of commitment) upon payment or tender of the charges of bringing the said prisoner, to be ascertained by the judge or court that awarded the same, and endorsed upon the said writ, not exceeding twelve pence per mile, and upon security given by his own bond to pay the charges of carrying back the prisoner, if he shall be remanded by the court or judge to which be shall be brought according to the true intent of this present act, and that he will not make any escape by the way, make return of such writ ; and bring or cause to be brought the body of the party so committed or restrained, unto or before the Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper of the great seal of England for the time being, or the judges or barons of the said court from whence the said writ shall issue, or unto and before such other person or persons before whom the said writ is made returnable, according to the command thereof ; and shall then likewise certify the true causes of his detainer or imprisonment, unless the commitment of the said party be in any place beyond the distance of twenty miles from the place or places where such court or person is or shall be residing; and if beyond the distance of twenty miles, and not above one hundred miles, then within the space of ten days, and if beyond the distance of one hundred miles, then within the space of twenty days, after such delivery aforesaid, and not longer. III. And to the intent that no sheriff, gaoler or other officer may pretend ignorance of the import of any such writ : be it enacted by the authority .aforesaid, that all such writs shall be marked in this manner, per statutum tricesimo primo Caroli secundi reyis, and shall be signed by the person that awards the same ; and if any person or persons shall be or stand committed or detained as aforesaid, for any crime, unless for felony or treason plainly expressed in the warrant of commitment, in the vacation-time, and out of term, it shall and may be lawful to and for the person or persons so com- mitted or detained (other than persons convict or in execution by legal process) or any one on his or their behalf, to appeal or complain to the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, or any one of his Majesty's justices, either of the one bench or of the other, or the barons of the exchequer of the degree of the coif; and the said Lord Chancellor, Lord Keeper, justices or barons or any of them, upon view of the copy or copies of the warrant or warrants of commitment and detainer, or otherwise upon oath made that such copy or copies were denied to be given by such person or persons in whose custody the prisoner or prisoners is or are detained, are hereby authorized, and required, upon request made in writing by such person or persons or any on his, her or their behalf, attested and subscribed by two witnesses who were present at the delivery of the same, to award and grant an Habeas Corpus under the seal of such court whereof he shall then be one of the judges, to be directed to the officer or officers in whose custody the party so committed or detained shall be, returnable immediate before the said Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, or such justice, baron or any other justice or baron of the degree of the coif of any of the said courts ; The Habeas Corpus Act. 519 nnd upon service thereof as aforesaid, the officer or officers, his or their under-officer or under-officers, under-keeper or under-keepers, or their deputy, in whose custody the party is so committed or detained, shall within the times respectively before limited, bring such prisoner or prisoners before the said Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, or such justices, barons or one of them, before whom the said writ is made returnable, and in case of his absence before any of them, with the return of such writ, and the true causes of the commitment and detainer ; and thereupon within two days after the party shall be brought before them, the said Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, or such justice or baron before whom the prisoner shall be brought as aforesaid, shall discharge the said prisoner from his imprisonment, taking his or their recognizance, with one or more surety or sureties, in any sum according to their discretions, having regard to the quality of the prisoner and nature of the offence, for his or their appearance in the court of king's bench the term following, or at the next assizes, sessions, or general gaol-delivery of and for such county, city, or place where the commitment was, or where the offence was committed, or in such other court where the said offence is properly cognizable, as the case shall require, and then shall certify the said writ with the return thereof, and the said recognizance or recognizances into the said court where such appearance is to be made ; unless it shall appear unto the said Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, or justice or justices, or baron or barons, that the party so committed is detained upon a legal process, order or warrant, out of some court that hath jurisdiction of criminal matters, or by some warrant signed and sealed with the hand and seal of any of the said justices or barons, or some justice or justices of the peace, for such matters or offences for the which by the law the prisoner is not bailable. IV. Provided always, and be it enacted, that if any person shall have wilfully neglected by the space of two whole terms after his imprisonment, to pray a Habeas Corpus for his enlargement, such person so wilfully neglecting shall not have any Habeas Corpus to be granted in vacation- time, in pursuance of this act. V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any officer or officers, his or their under-officer or under-officers, under-keeper or under-keepers, or deputy, shall neglect or refuse to make the returns aforesaid, or to bring the body or bodies of the prisoner or prisoners according to the command of the said writ, within the respective times aforesaid, or upon demand made by the prisoner or person in his behalf, shall refuse to deliver, or within the space of six hours after demand shall not deliver, to the person so demanding, a true copy of the warrant or warrants of commitment and detainer of such prisoner, which he and they are hereby required to deliver accordingly ; all and every the head gaolers and keepers of such prisons, and such other person in whose custody the prisoner shall be detained, shall for the first offence forfeit to the prisoner or party grieved the sum of one hundred pounds; and for the second offence the sum of two hundred pounds, and shall and is hereby made incapable to hold or execute his said office; the said penalties to be recovered by the prisoner or party grieved, his executors or administrators, against such offender, his executors or administrators, by any action of debt, suit, bill, plaint, or information, in any of the king's courts at West- minster, wherein no essoin, protection, privilege, injunction, wager of law, or stay of prosecution by non vult ulterius prosequi, or otherwise, shall be admitted or allowed, or any more than one imparlance ; and any recovery or judgment at the suit of any party grieved, shall be a sufficient conviction for the first offence; and any after recovery or judgment 520 Appendix. at the suit of a party grieved for any offence after the first judgment, shall be a sufficient conviction to bring the officers or person within the said penalty for the second offence. VI. And for the prevention of unjust vexation by reiterated commit- ments for the same offence ; be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no person or persons which shall be delivered or set at large upon any Habeas Corpus, shall at any time hereafter be again imprisoned or com- mitted for the same offence by any person or persons whatsoever, other than by the legal order and process of such court wherein he or they shall be bound by recognizance to appear, or other court having jurisdiction of the cause ; and if any other person or persons shall knowingly contrary to this act recommit or imprison, or knowingly procure or cause to be recom- mitted or imprisoned, for the same offence or pretended offence, any person or persons delivered or set at large as aforesaid, or be knowingly aiding or assisting therein, then he or they shall forfeit to the prisoner or party grieved the sum of five hundred pounds; any colourable pretence or variation in the warrant or warrants of commitment notwithstanding, to be recovered as aforesaid. VII. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that if any person or persons shall be committed for high treason or felony, plainly and specially expressed in the warrant of commitment, upon his prayer or petition in open court the first week of the term, or first day of the sessions of Oyer and Terminer or general gaol-delivery, to be brought to his trial, shall not be indicted some time in the next term, sessions of Oyer and Terminer or general gaol- delivery, after such commitment ; it shall and may be lawful to and for the judges of the court of king's bench and justices of Oyer and Terminer or general gaol-delivery, and they are hereby required, upon motion to them made in open court the last day of the term, sessions or gaol-delivery, either by the prisoner or any one in his behalf, to set at liberty the prisoner upon bail, unless it appear to the judges and justices upon oath made, that the witnesses for the king could not be produced the same term, sessions or general gaol-delivery ; and if any person or persons com- mitted as aforesaid, upon his prayer or petition in open court the first week of the term or first day of the sessions of Oyer and Terminer and general gaol-delivery, to be brought to his trial, shall not be indicted and tried the second term, sessions of Oyer and Terminer or general gaol-delivery, after his commitment, or upon his trial shall be acquitted, he shall be discharged from his imprisonment. VIII. Provided always, that nothing in this act shall extend to dis- charge out of prison any person charged in debt, or other action, or with process in any civil cause, but that after he shall be discharged of his imprisonment for such his criminal offence, he shall be kept in custody according to the law, for such other suit. IX. Provided always, and be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any person or persons, subjects of this realm, shall be committed to any prison or in custody of any officer or officers whatsoever, for any criminal or supposed criminal matter, that the said person shall not be removed from the said prison and custody into the custody of any other officer or officers ; unless it be by Habeas Corpus or some other legal writ ; or where the prisoner is delivered to the constable or other inferior officer to carry such prisoner to some common gaol : or where any person is sent by order of any judge of assize or justice of the peace to any common workhouse or house of correction ; or where the prisoner is removed from one prison or place to another within the same county, in order to his or her trial or discharge in due course of law ; or in case of sudden fire or infection, or The Habeas Corpus Act. 521 other necessity ; and if any person or persons shall after such commitment aforesaid make out and sign, or countersign any warrant or warrants for such removal aforesaid, contrary to this act ; as well he that makes or signs, or countersigns such warrant or warrants as the officer or officers that obey or execute the same, shall suffer and incur the pains and forfeitures in this act before mentioned, both for the first and second offence respectively, to be recovered in manner aforesaid by the party grieved. X. Provided also, and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that it shall and may be lawful to and for any prisoner and prisoners as aforesaid, to move and obtain his or their Habeas Corpus as well out of the high court of chancery or court of exchequer, as out of the courts of king's bench or common pleas, or either of them ; and if the said Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, or any judge or judges, baron or barons for the time being, of the degree of the coif, of any of the courts aforesaid, in the vacation -time, upon view of the copy or copies of the warrant or warrants of commitment or detainer, or upon oath made that such copy or copies were denied as aforesaid, shall deny any writ of Habeas Corpus by this act required to be granted, being moved for as aforesaid, they shall severally forfeit to the prisoner or party grieved the sum of five hundred pounds, to be recovered in manner aforesaid. XI. And be it declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid, that an Habeas Corpus according to the true intent and meaning of this act, may be directed and run into any county palatine, the cinque-ports, or other privi- leged places within the kingdom of England, dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick upon Tweed, and the islands of Jersey or Guernsey ; any law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding. XII. And for preventing illegal imprisonments in prisons beyond the seas ; be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no subject of this realm that now is, or hereafter shall be an inhabitant or resiant of this kingdom of England, dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick upon Tweed, shall or may be sent prisoner into Scotland, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Tangier, or into parts, garrisons, islands or places beyond the seas, which are or at any time hereafter shall be within or without the dominions of his Majesty, his heirs or successors ; and that every such imprisonment is hereby enacted and adjudged to be illegal ; and that if any of the said subjects now is or hereafter shall be so imprisoned, every such person and persons so imprisoned, shall and may for every such imprisonment maintain by virtue of this act an action or actions of false imprisonment, in any of his Majesty's courts of record, against the person or persons by whom he or she shall be so committed, detained, imprisoned, sent prisoner or trans- ported, contrary to the true meaning of this act, and against all or any person or persons that shall frame, contrive, write, seal or countersign any warrant or writing for such commitment, detainer, imprisonment, or trans- portation, or shall be advising, aiding or assisting in the same, or any of them ; and the plaintiff in every such action shall have judgment to recover his treble costs, besides damages, which damages so to be given, shall not be less than five hundred pounds ; in which action no delay, stay or stop of proceeding by rule, order or command, nor no injunction, protection or privilege whatsoever, nor any more than one imparlance shall be allowed, excepting such rule of the court wherein the action shall depend, made in open court, as shall be thought in justice necessary, for special cause to be expressed in the said rule ; and the person or persons who shall knowingly frame, contrive, write, seal or countersign any warrant for such commit- ment, detainer, or transportation, or shall so commit, detain, imprison or 523 Appendix. transport any person or persons contrary to this act, or be any ways advising, aiding or assisting therein, being lawfully convicted thereof, shall be disabled from thenceforth to bear any office of trust or profit within the said realm of England, dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick upon Tweed, or any of the islands, territories or dominions thereunto belonging ; and shall incur and sustain the pains, penalties, and forfeitures limited, ordained and provided in and by the statute of Provision and Praemunire made in the sixteenth year of King Richard the second ; and be incapable of any pardon from the king, his heirs or successors, of the said forfeitures, losses, or disabilities, or any of them. XIII. Provided always, that nothing in this act shall extend to give benefit to any person who shall by conti'act in writing agree with any merchant or owner of any plantation, or other person whatsoever, to be transported to any parts beyond the seas, and receive earnest upon such agreement, although that afterwards such person shall renounce such contract. XIV. Provided always, and be it enacted, that if any person or persons lawfully convicted of any felony, shall in open court pray to be transported beyond the seas, and the court shall think fit to leave him or them in prison for that purpose, such person or persons may be transported into any parts beyond the seas ; this act, or anything therein contained to the contrary notwithstanding. XV. Provided also, and be it enacted, that nothing herein contained shall be deemed, construed or taken, to extend to the imprisonment of any person before the first day of June one thousand six hundred seventy and nine, or to anything advised, procured, or otherwise done, relating to such imprisonment ; anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding. XVI. Provided also, that if any person or persons at any time resiant in this realm, shall have committed any capital offence in Scotland or Ireland, or any of the islands, or foreign plantations of the king, his heirs or successors, where he or she ought to be tried for such offence, such person or persons may be sent to such place, there to receive such trial, in such manner as the same might have been used before the making of this act ; anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding. XVII. Provided also, and be it enacted, that no person or persons shall be sued, impleaded, molested or troubled for any offence against this act, unless the party offending be sued or impleaded for the same within two years at the most after such time wherein the offence shall be com- mitted, in case the party grieved shall not be then in prison ; and if he shall be in prison, then within the space of two years after the decease of the person imprisoned, or his or her delivery out of prison, which shall first happen. XVIII. And to the intent no person may avoid his trial at the assizes or general gaol-delivery, by procuring his- removal before the assizes, at such time as he cannot be brought back to receive his trial there ; be it enacted, that after the assizes proclaimed for that county where the prisoner is detained, no person shall be removed from the common gaol upon any Habeas Corpus granted in pursuance of this act, but upon any such Habeas Corpus shall be brought before the judge of assize in open court, who is thereupon to do what to justice shall appertain. XIX. Provided nevertheless, that after the assizes are ended, any person or persons detained, may have his or her Habeas Corpus according to the direction and intention of this act. XX. And be it also enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any information, suit or action shall be brought or exhibited against any person Bill of Eights. 523 or persons for any offence committed or to be committed against the foi-m of this law, it shall be lawful for such defendants to plead the general issue, that they are not guilty, or that they owe nothing, and to give such special matter in evidence to the jury that shall try the same, which matter being pleaded had been good and sufficient matter in law to have discharged the said defendant or defendants against the said information, suit or action, and the said matter shall be then as available to him or them, to all intents and purposes, as if he or they had sufficiently pleaded, set forth or alledged the same matter in bar or discharge of such infor- mation, suit or action. XXI. And because many times persons charged with petty treason or felony, or as Accessaries thereunto, are committed upon suspicion only, whereupon they are bailable, or not, according as the circumstances making out that suspicion are more or less weighty, which are best known to the justices of peace that committed the persons, and have the examinations before them, or to other justices of the peace in the county ; be it therefore enacted, that where any person shall appear to be committed by any judge or justice of the peace, and charged as accessary before the fact, to any petty treason or felony, or upon suspicion thereof, or with suspicion of petty treason or felony, which petty treason or felony shall be plainly and specially expressed in the warrant of commitment, that such person shall not be removed or bailed by virtue of this act, or in any other manner than they might have been before the making of this act. (Statutes of the Eealm, v. 935-938-) A.D. 1689. BILL OF EIGHTS. i WILL. & MAE. SESS. 2. c. 2. Whereas the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, assembled at Westminster, lawfully, fully, and freely representing all the estates of the people of this realm, did, upon the thirteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty-eight, present unto their Majesties, then called and known by the names and style of William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, being present in their proper persons, a certain declaration in writing, made by the said Lords and Commons, in the words following ; viz. : Whereas the late King James II, by the assistance of diverse evil counsellors, judges, and ministers employed by him, did endeavour to subvert and extirpate the Protestant religion, and the laws and liberties of this kingdom : 1. By assuming and exercising a power of dispensing with and suspend- ing of laws, and the execution of laws, without consent of Parliament. 2. By committing and prosecuting divers worthy prelates, for humbly petitioning to be excused from concurring to the same assumed power. 3. By issuing and causing to be executed a commission under the Great Seal for erecting a court, called the Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiasti- cal Causes. 4. By levying money for and to the use of the Crown, by pretence of prerogative, for other time, and in other manner than the same was granted by Parliament. 5. By raising and keeping a standing army within this kingdom in time of peace, without consent of Parliament, and quartering soldiers contrary to law. 6. By causing several good subjects, being Protestants, to be disarmed, 524 Appendix. at the same time when Papists were both armed and employed contrary to law. 7. By violating the freedom of election of members to serve in Parlia- ment. 8. By prosecutions in the Court of King's Bench, for matters and causes cognizable only in Parliament ; and by diverse other arbitrary and illegal courses. 9. And whereas of late years, partial, corrupt, and unqualified persons have been returned and served on juries in trials, and particularly diverse jurors in trials for high treason, which were not freeholders. 10. And excessive bail hath been required of persons committed in criminal cases, to elude the benefit of the laws made for th liberty of the subjects. 11. And excessive fines have been imposed; and illegal and cruel punishments inflicted. 12. And several grants and promises made of fines and forfeitures, before any conviction or judgment against the persons upon whom the same were to be levied. All which are utterly and directly contrary to the known laws and statutes, and freedom of this realm. And whereas the said late King James II having abdicated the government, and the throne being thereby vacant, his Highness the Prince of Orange (whom it hath pleased Almighty God to make the glorious instrument of delivering this kingdom from popery and arbitrary power) did (by the advice of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and diverse princi- pal persons of the Commons) cause letters to be written to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, being Protestants, and other letters to the several counties, cities, universities, boroughs, and cinque ports, for the choosing of such persons as represent them, as were of right to be sent to Parliament, to meet and sit at Westminster upon the two-and-twentieth day of January, in this year one thousand six hundred eighty and eight, in order to such an establishment, as that their religion, laws and liberties might not again be in danger of being subverted ; upon which letters, elections have been accordingly made. And thereupon the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, pursuant to their respective letters and elections, being now assembled in a full and free representation of this nation, taking into their most serious consideration the best means for attaining the ends aforesaid, do in the first place (as their ancestors in like case' have usually done), for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties, declare : 1. That the pretended power of suspending of laws, or the execution of laws, by regal authority, without consent of parliament, is illegal. 2. That the pretended power of dispensing with laws, or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal. 3. That the commission for erecting the late Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical causes, and all other commissions and courts of like nature, are illegal and pernicious. 4. That levying money for or to the use of the Crown, by pretence of pre- rogative, without grant of parliament, for longer time or in other manner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal. 5. That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all com- mitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal. 6. That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of parliament, is against law. Bill of Eights. 525 7. That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence suitable to their conditions, and as allowed by law. 8. That election of members of parliament ought to be free. 9. That the freedom of speech, and debates or proceedings in parliament, ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of parliament. 10. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed ; nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 11. That jurors ought to be duly impanelled and returned, and jurors which pass upon men in trials for high treason ought to be freeholders. 12. That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction, are illegal and void. 13. And that for redress of all grievances, and for the amending, strengthening, and preserving of the laws, parliament ought to be held frequently. And they do claim, demand, and insist upon all and singular the premises, as their undoubted rights and liberties ; and that no declara- tions, judgments, doings or proceedings, to the prejudice of the people in any of the said premises, ought in any wise to be drawn hereafter into consequence or example. To which demand of their rights they are particularly encouraged by the declaration of his Highness the Prince of Orange, as being the only means for obtaining a full redress and remedy therein. Having therefore an entire confidence that his said Highness the Prince of Orange will perfect the deliverance so far advanced by him, and will still preserve them from the violation of their rights, which they have here asserted, and from all other attempts upon their religion, rights, and liberties : II. The said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, assembled at Westminster, do resolve, that William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, be, and be declared, King and Queen of England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, to hold the Crown and royal dignity of the said kingdoms and dominions to them the said Prince and Princess during their lives, and the life of the survivor of them ; and that the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only in, and executed by, the said Prince of Orange, in the names of the said Prince and Princess, during their joint lives; and after their deceases, the said Crown and royal dignity of the said kingdoms and dominions to be to the heirs of the body of the said Princess ; and for default of such issue to the Princess Anne of Denmark, and the heirs of her body ; and for default of such issue to the heirs of the body of the said Prince of Orange. And the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do pray the said Prince and Princess to accept the same accordingly. III. And that the oaths hereafter mentioned be taken by all persons of whom the oaths of allegiance and supremacy might be required by law, instead of them ; and that the said oaths of allegiance and supremacy be abrogated. I, A. B., do sincerely promise and swear. That I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to their Majesties King William and Queen Mary : So help me God. I, A. B., do swear, That I do from my heart, abhor, detest, and abjure as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position, that Princes excommunicated or deprived by the Pope, or any authority of the See of 526 Appendix. Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or any otlier what- soever. And I do declare, That no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm : So help me God. IV. Upon which their said Majesties did accept the Crown and royal dignity of the kingdoms of England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, according to the resolution and desire of the said Lords and Commons contained in the said declaration. V. And thereupon their Majesties were pleased, that the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, being the two Houses of Parlia- ment, should continue to sit, and with their Majesties' royal concurrence make effectual provision for the settlement of the religion, laws, and liberties of this kingdom, so that the same for the future might not be in danger again of being subverted ; to which the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, did agree and proceed to act accordingly. VI. Now in pursuance of the premises, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in parliament assembled, for the ratifying, con- firming, and establishing the said declaration, and the articles, clauses, matters, and things therein contained, by the force of a law made in due form by authority of parliament, do pray that it may be declared and enacted, That all and singular the rights and liberties asserted and claimed in the said declaration, are the true, ancient, and indubitable rights and liberties of the people of this kingdom, and so shall be esteemed, allowed, adjudged, deemed, and taken to be, and that all and every the particulars aforesaid shall be firmly and strictly holden and observed, as they are expressed in the said declaration ; and all officers and ministers whatsoever shall serve their Majesties and their successors according to the same in all times to come. VII. And the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, seriously considering how it hath pleased Almighty God, in his marvellous providence, and merciful goodness to this nation, to provide and preserve their said Majesties' royal persons most happily to reign over us upon the throne of their ancestors, for which they render unto Him from the bottom of their hearts their humblest thanks and praises, do truly, firmly, assuredly, and in the sincerity of their hearts, think, and do hereby recognize, acknow- ledge, and declare, that King James II having abdicated the government, and their Majesties having accepted the Crown and royal dignity afore- said, their said Majesties did become, were, are, and of right ought to be, by the laws of this realm, our sovereign liege Lord and Lady, King and Queen of England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, in and to whose princely persons the royal State, Crown, and dignity of the same realms, with all honours, styles, titles, regalities, pre- rogatives, powers, jurisdictions and authorities to the same belonging and appertaining, are most fully, rightfully, and entirely invested and incor- porated, united, and annexed. VIII. And for preventing all questions and divisions in this realm, by reason of any pretended titles to the Crown, and for preserving a certainty in the succession thereof, in and upon which the unity, peace, tranquillity, and safety of this nation doth, under God, wholly consist and depend, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do beseech their Majesties that it may be enacted, established, and declared, that the Crown and regal government of the said kingdoms and dominions, with all and singular the premises thereunto belonging and -appertaining, shall be and Bill of Riffhts. 52? continue to tlieir said Majesties, and the survivor of them, during their lives, and the life of the survivor of them. And that the entire, perfect, and full exercise of the regal power and government be only in, and executed by, his Majesty, in the names of both their Majesties during their joint lives ; and after their deceases the said Crown and premises shall be. and remain to the heirs of the body of her Majesty : and for default of such issue, to her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Denmark, and the heirs of her body ; and for default of such issue, to the heirs of the body of hist said Majesty : and thereunto the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and! Commons, do, in the name of all the people aforesaid, most humbly and! faithfully submit themselves, their heirs and posterities, for ever : and do faithfully promise, That they will stand to, maintain, and defend their said Majesties, and also the limitation and succession of the Crown herein speci- fied and contained, to the utmost of their powers, with their lives and estates, against all persons whatsoever that shall attempt anything to the contrary. IX. And whereas it hath been found by experience, that it is incon- sistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant kingdom, to be governed by a Popish prince, or by any king or queen marrying a Papist, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do further pray that it may be enacted, That all and every person and persons that is, are, or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with, the See or Church of Rome, or shall profess the Popish religion, or shall marry a Papist, shall be excluded, and be for ever incapable to inherit, possess, or enjoy the Crown and government of this realm, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, or any part of the same, or to have, use, or exercise any regal power, authority, or jurisdiction within the same ; and in all and every such case or cases the people of these realms shall be and are hereby absolved of their allegiance ; and the said Crown and government shall from time to time descend to, and be enjoyed by, such person or persons, being Protestants, as should have inherited and enjoyed the same, in case the said person or persons so reconciled, holding communion, or professing, or marrying as aforesaid, were naturally dead. X. And that every king and queen of this realm, who at any time here- after shall come to and succeed in the Imperial Crown of this kingdom, shall, on the first day of the meeting of the first parliament, next after his or her coming to the Crown, sitting in his or her throne in the House of Peers, in the presence of the Lords and Commons therein assembled, or at his or her coronation, before such person or persons who shall administer the coronation oath to him or her, at the time of his or her taking the said oath (which shall first happen), make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the declaration mentioned in the statute made in the thirteenth year of the reign of King Charles II, intituled 'An Act for the more effectual pre- serving the King's person and government, by disabling Papists from sitting in either House of Parliament.' But if it shall happen, that such king or queen, upon his or her succession to the Crown of this realm, shall be under the age of twelve years, then every such king or queen shall make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the said declaration at his or her coronation, or the first day of meeting of the first parliament as aforesaid, which shall first happen after such king or queen shall have attained the said age of twelve years. XL All which their Majesties are contented and pleased shall be declared, enacted, and established by authority of this present parliament, and shall stand, remain, and be the law of this realm for ever ; and the same are by their said Majesties, by and with the advice and consent of 528 Appendix. the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, declared, enacted, or established accordingly. XII. And be it further declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after this present session of parliament, no dispensation by non obstante of or to any statute, or any part thereof, shall be allowed, but that the same shall be held void and of no effect, except a dispensation be allowed of in such statute, and except in such cases as shall be specially provided for by one or more bill or bills to be passed during this present session of parliament. XIII. Provided that no charter, or grant, or pardon granted before the three-and-twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand six hundred eighty-nine, shall be any ways impeached or invalidated by this act, but that the same shall be and remain of the same force and effect in law, and no other, thaii as if this act had never been made. (Statutes of the Realm, vi. 142-145.) A.D. 1700. THE ACT OP SETTLEMENT. 12 & 13 WILL. III. An Act for the further Limitation of the Crown, and better securing the Eights and Liberties of the Subject. Whereas in the first year of the reign of your Majesty, and of our late most Gracious Sovereign Lady Queen Mary (of blessed memory) an Act of Parliament was made, intituled, ' An Act for declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject, and for settling the Succession of the Crown,' wherein it was (amongst other things) enacted, established and declared, That the Crown and Regal Government of the kingdoms of England, France and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, should be and continue to your Majesty and the said late Queen, during the joint-lives of your Majesty and the said Queen, and to the survivor : And that after the decease of your Majesty and of the said Queen, the said Crown and Regal Government should be and remain to the heirs of the body of the said late Queen : And for default of such issue, to her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Denmark, and the heirs of her body : And for default of such issue, to the heirs of the body of your Majesty. And it was thereby fur- ther enacted, That all and every person and persons that then were, or afterwards should be reconciled to, or should hold communion with the See or Church of Rome, or should profess the Popish religion, or marry a Papist, should be excluded, and are by that act made for ever uncapable to inherit, possess, or enjoy the Crown and Government of this realm and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto , belonging, or any part of the same, or to have, use, or exercise any regal power, authority, or jurisdiction within the same : And in all and every such case and cases the people of these realms shall be and are thereby absolved of their allegiance : And that the said Crown and Government shall from time to time descend to and be enjoyed by such person or persons, being Protestants, as should have inherited and enjoyed the same, in case the said person or persons, so reconciled, holding communion, professing, or marrying as aforesaid, were naturally dead. After the making of which statute, and the settle- ment therein contained, your Majesty's good subjects, who were restored The Act of Settlement. 529 to the full and free possession and enjoyment of their religion, rights, and liberties, by the providence of God giving success to your Majesty's just undertakings and unwearied endeavours for that purpose, had no greater temporal felicity to hope or wish for, than to see a royal progeny descend- ing from your Majesty, to whom (under God) they owe their tranquillity, and whose ancestors have for many years been principal assertors of the reformed religion and the liberties of Europe, and from our said most Gra- cious Sovereign Lady, whose memory will always be precious to the sub- jects of these realms : And it having since pleased Almighty God to take away our said Sovereign Lady, and also the most hopeful Prince William Duke of Gloucester (the only surviving issue of her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Denmark) to the unspeakable grief and sorrow of your Majesty and your said good subjects, who under such losses being sensibly put in mind, that it standeth wholly in the pleasure of Almighty God to prolong the lives of your Majesty and of her Royal Highness, and to grant to your Majesty, or to her Royal Highness, such issue as may be inherit- able to the Crown and regal Government aforesaid, by the respective limitations in the said recited Act contained, do constantly implore the Divine Mercy for those blessings : and your Majesty's said subjects having daily experience of your royal care and concern for the present and future welfare of these kingdoms, and particularly recommending from your Throne a further provision to be made for the succession of the Crown in the Protestant line, for the happiness of the nation, and the security of our religion ; and it being absolutely necessary for the safety, peace and quiet of this realm, to obviate all doubts and contentions in the same, by reason of any pretended title to the Crown, and to maintain a certainty in the succession thereof, to which your subjects may safely have recourse for their protection, in case the limitations in the said recited Act should de- termine : Therefore for a further provision of the succession of the Crown in the Protestant line, we your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parlia- ment assembled, do beseech your Majesty that it may be enacted and declared, and be it enacted and declared by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the most Excellent Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, daughter of the most Excellent Princess Elizabeth, late Queen of Bohemia, daughter of our late Sovereign Lord King James I, of happy memory, be and is hereby declared to be the next in succession, in the Protestant line, to the Imperial Crown and dignity of the said realms of England, France and Ireland, with the dominions and territories thereunto belonging, after his Majesty, and the Princess Anne of Denmark, and in default of issue of the said Princess Anne, and of his Majesty respectively : And that from and after the deceases of his said Majesty, our now Sovereign Lord, and of her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Denmark, and for default of issue of the said Princess Anne, and of his Majesty respectively, the Crown and regal Government of the said kingdoms of England, France and Ireland, and of the dominions thereunto belonging, with the royal state and dignity of the said realms, and all honours, stiles, titles, regalities, prerogatives, powers, jurisdictions and authorities, to the same belonging and appertaining, shall be, remain, and continue to the said most Excellent Princess Sophia, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants : And thereunto the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, shall and will, in the name of all the people of this realm, most humbly and faithfully submit themselves, their heirs and M m 53 Appendix. posterities ; and do faithfully promise that after the deceases of his Majesty, and her Royal Highness, and the failure of the heirs of their respective bodies, to stand to, maintain, and defend the said Princess Sophia, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants, according to the limitation and suc- cession of the Crown in this Act specified and contained, to the utmost of their powers, with their lives and estates, against all persons whatsoever that shall attempt anything to the contrary. II. Provided always, and it is hereby enacted, That all and every person and persons, who shall or may take or inherit the said Crown, by virtue of the limitation of this present Act, and is, are or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with, the See or Church of Rome, or shall profess the Popish religion, or shall marry a "Papist, shall be subject to such in- capacities, as in such case or cases are by the said recited Act provided, enacted, and established ; and that every King and Queen of this realm, who shall come to and succeed in the Imperial Crown of this kingdom, by virtue of this Act, shall have the Coronation Oath administered to him, her or them, at their respective Coronations, according to the Act of Par- liament made in the first year of the reign of his Majesty, and the said late Queen Mary, intituled, ' An Act for establishing the Coronation Oath,' and shall make, subscribe, and repeat the Declaration in the Act first above recited mentioned or referred to, in the manner and form thereby pre- scribed. III. And whereas it is requisite and necessary that some further provi- sion be made for securing our religion, laws and liberties, from and after the death of his Majesty and the Princess Anne of Denmark, and in de- fault of issue of the body of the said Princess, and of his Majesty respec- tively : Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That whosoever shall hereafter come to the possession of this Crown, shall join in communion with the Church of England, as by law esta- blished. That in case the Crown and imperial dignity of this realm shall hereafter come to any person, not being a native of this kingdom of England, this nation be not obliged to engage in any war for the defence of any domi- nions or territories which do not belong to the Crown of England, without the consent of Parliament. That no person who shall hereafter come to the possession of this Crown, shall go out of the dominions of England, Scotland, or Ireland, without consent of Parliament. That from and after the time that the further limitation by this Act shall take effect, all matters and things relating to the well governing of this kingdom, which are properly cognizable in the Privy Council by the laws and customs of this realm, shall be transacted there, and all resolu- tions taken thereupon shall be signed by such of the Privy Council as shall advise and consent to the same. That after the said limitation shall take effect as aforesaid, no person born out of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or the domi- nions thereunto belonging (although he be naturalised or made a denizen, except such as are born of English parents), shall be capable to be of the Privy Council, or a Member of either House of Parliament, or to enjoy any office or place of trust, either civil or military, or to have any grant of lands, tenements or hereditaments from the Crown, to himself or to any other or others in trust for him. That no person who has an office or place of profit under the King, of The Act of Settlement. 531 receives a pension from the Crown, shall be capable of serving as a Member of the House of Commons. That after the said limitation shall take effect as aforesaid, Judges' Com- missions be made Quamdiu se bene gesserint, and their salaries ascertained and established ; but upon the Address of both Houses of Parliament it may be lawful to remove them. That no pardon under the Great Seal of England be pleadable to an impeachment by the Commons in Parliament. IV. And whereas the Laws of England are the birthright of the people thereof, and all the Kings and Queens, who shall ascend the Throne of this realm, ought to administer the Government of the same according to the said laws, and all their officers and ministers ought to serve them respec- tively according to the same : The said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do therefore further humbly pray, That all the Laws and Sta- tutes of this realm for securing the established religion, and the rights and liberties of the people thereof, and all other Laws and Statutes of the same now in force, may be ratified and confirmed, and the same are by his Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, and by the authority of the same, ratified and confirmed accordingly. (Statutes of the Realm, vii. 636-638.) M m 2 GLOSS ARY This Glossary does not contain the French or Anglo-Saxon words con- tained in the Translations given in the body of the work ; nor medieval forms of classical words differing in spelling only from the accepted usage ; nor has it been thought necessary to specify the ordinary meanings of words the peculiar senses of which only are worth noting, such as invenire. Abbatia, an abbey. Acatum, a purchase. Cf. Fr. achat; from the Low Lat. accaptare. Accersire, to summon. Medieval form of arcesso. Accipitrarius, the keeper of the hawks. Acquietare, to acquit, quietum reddere. Acra, an acre. A. S. cecer. Admerciare, to punish by a pecuniary mulct, or amercement. Adresoiare, or Adreciare, to give redress. Fr. adresser. Adulterinus, unlawful ; applied to the castles erected without royal licence. Advocare, to avouch, to vouch to warranty, to recognise as superior lord, and hence to hold an estate as a fief from such a lord. Advocatio, an advowson, the right of nominating a clerk to a benefice. Aerea, an eyrie. Affilare, to file, to thread on a string, bills, papers, &c. Affirmare, (p. 261) to fix the rent of a ferm. Afforestare, to make into a forest. Affortiare, to fortify. Agistamentum, the right of turning cattle into the woods at particular times of the year. Agistare, to turn cattle into the woods to feed. Agrarius, relating to the country. Agrarius miles is a country knight, or the owner of a knight's fee, as opposed to a courtier or a warrior. Alanius, an exactor, (p. 205) ; an obscure and perhaps corrupt word, pos- sibly from alanus, a hound, from the power of scenting taxable property. Aldermannus, (p. 105) an ealdorman of a hundred ; (p. 377) an alderman of a borough. 534 Glossary. Allegare, to allege. Allegiare, (p. 107) to purge oneself by oath or ordeal, lex. THORPH. Allocare, to allow. Amerciamentum, a pecuniary mulct. Amerciare, to punish by a pecuniary mulct. Amodo, from henceforth. Andegavensis, Angevin. Andegavensis moneta, the money of the county of Anjou, was worth a fourth of the English money of the same name. Angaria, hardship. Angylde, legal value. At p. 63 probably equivalent to wer. An-scote, see Scot. Apostolicus, the pope. In med. Fr. I'apostoile. Appellare, to appeal, the term used of a private person bringing a crimi- nal charge. But the word is very frequently used in the regular sense of recourse to a higher tribunal. Appellum, the act of appealing, or the bringing of a criminal charge by a private person. Appretiare, to appraise, to value. Arentare, to let at a rental. Arestare, to arrest. Also arrestare. Fr. arreter. Argentarius, the officer who presides over the essaying of silver in the Exchequer. Arismeticus, arithmetical. Armiger, an esquire. Ascriptitius, bound to the soil ; applied to the condition of a villanus. Asportare, to carry away. Assalire, to assault. Med. Lat. for assilire. Assartum, a clearing in a wood. See Essartum. Assecurare, to assure. Old Fr. asseurer. Assidere, to assess ; (p. 200) to have a seat in the Exchequer. Assisa, an assize : (i) an assessment ; (2) a law or edict ; (3) a mode of trial prescribed by such a law ; (4) the select body employed to carry out the trial ; (5) the trial itself. Assisus, assessed. Part, of assideo, applied to redditus, assised rent. Asturcarius, keeper of the asturcae, great hawks. . Atenere, to extend, to hold from such a tune onwards. Attachiamentum, a seizure of person or goods by legal process. Attachiare, to seize person or goods by legal process. Attaintus, Attinctus, convicted. Fr. atteint. Atterminare, to appoint a term for hearing. Attornare, to appoint a substitute. Aubergel ; Aubergellum, a hauberk, a coat of mail. Germ. Halsberg. Auxilium, an aid ; the feudal contribution so called. Aventura, an adventure. Averia, all animals used in husbandry. Fr. avoir. , a farm horse. Fr. avoir. Bacheleria, (p. 332) probably means the body of knights bachelor ; used loosely in this place, apparently, for the gentry of England, the landed interest, beneath the rank of barons. The Low Lat. baccalarius was originally the owner of a baccalaria or grazing farm; from 6acca= vacca, a cow. BaiUia, Baillivus, Bailliva ; see BaUia, Ballivus, Balliva. Glossary. 535 Balistarius, a crossbow-man. Ballia, Balliva; a charge, an office of trust; translated in English 'a bailiwick,' and sometimes used for the area over which the functions of the office extend ; from bajulare, to carry. Ballivus, a bailiff, a person put in charge by his superior. The praepositus, or reeve, might be an elective officer, but the bailiff is the nominee of the lord. Ballium, charge. Bancus, the bench, the tribunal of judges. Old High Germ. bane. Bannerettus, a banneret ; a person knighted on th^ field of battle ; more loosely and obscurely, a nobleman below the degree of baron who leads his retainers under his own banner. Baro, properly a vassal, = homo ; but generally a tenant in chief holding by bai-ony. Baronagium, the collected barons, as an estate of the realm. Baronia, a barony, containing, definitely, thirteen knights' fees and a third, (p. 503) but more loosely, any amount of land held in chief of the Crown under grant as a barony. Bassus, low ; Basse, in alow voice. Bedellus, a beadle. Bellum, trial by battle, = duellum. Beneplacitum, good pleasure. Bercheria, a sheepfold. Fr. bergerie, from the Latin vervex, or berbex. Bernarius, bear-ward ; the keeper of the kings's bears. Bisia, a hind or doe. Fr. biclie. Bladum, corn. Fr. ble. Blancus, white. Old High Germ, blanch. Blod-wit, the fine imposed for drawing blood ; fori^factura sanguinis Bocland, land the possession of which was secured by book, i. e. charter. Borh, a surety ; plegium or plegius. Boscus, wood. Fr. bois. Bot, amends, reparation. Lat. cmendatio. Botteleria, a buttery. Bovaria, a cowhouse. Fr. bouverie. Braciare, to brew. Fr. brasser. Braciator, a brewer. Brasium, Braseum, malt. Pliny gives brace as a Gaulish word. Breve, a writ. Fr. bref. Brid-tol, or Brud-tol, an obscure impost, perhaps, = brycg-tol, or pontage. Briga, a dispute. Med. Lat. brica, Fr. brigue. Brig-bot, Bric-bot, one of the three obligations of alodial ownership, called the trinoda necessitas ; the repair of bridges, pontis reparatio. Bulla, the seal of gold or lead appended to papal, imperial, and royal letters : hence the letter itself, which is properly epistola bullata. Burdare, to joust. Fr. bohourt or behourt. Burgagium, tenure of land or houses in a borough, equivalent to free and common socage in the country. Burg-bryce, the violation of a castle or palace. Burgensis, a burgher or burgess. Burgus, a borough, burh. Burh, a fortress, castle, borough. Burh-bot, Burcbota, arcis reparatio, the alodial obligation of repairing local defences. Burh-gemot, meeting of the burghers in council. Burh-gate-seat, a seat at the town-gate, a local court of justice. Burh- ware-mot, a meeting of the burghers, burh-wara. 536 Glossary. Busca, bnsh or underwood. Fr. "busche, from lois. ' Bytt-fylling,' ' buccellorum impletio' a filling of butts ; an obscure expres- sion referring probably to the festivities common at the councils or local assemblies of the Anglo-Saxons, especially the guild-meetings. Calculus, a counter. Calumnia, a claim, not necessarily a false one. Calumniare, to claim, without the notion of falsehood or chicanery. Calumniator, a claimant. Camerarius, a chamberlain, keeper of accounts. Cancellare, to cancel, to erase by cross-lining. Cancellarius, a chancellor, the chief clerk of the curia regis ; so called from sitting within cancella, a screened partition : occasionally the medieval writers derived it from his power of modifying the king's writs -by cancelling unjust provisions contained in them. Capella, the furniture required by a priest for divine service ; a chapel. Capellet, a head-piece. Capellum, a head-piece. Fr. chapeau. Capere, ' capere se,' to take to, to have recourse for satisfaction to seizure of person or goods of an offender. Capitale, capital, property in cattle. Caput (as we say a head of cattle), capitale, captale, catallum ; whence both cattle and chattels. Capitalis, chief; as capitalis justitia, chief justice; capitalis dominus, chief lord. Capitaneus, a captain. Capitulum, (pp. 109, 418) the chapter of a cathedral, collegiate, or con- ventual church ; (p. 327) an article or chapter of a document. Carsta, Caretta, Carect*, a cart. Fr. charette. Carectarius, Caretarius, (sc. equus), a cart-horse. Cariagium, carriage. Cariare, to carry. Fr. charrier. Carpentarius, a carpenter. Caristia, dearth. Caruca, Carruca, a plough. Fr. charrue. Canicagium, a tax levied at so much a plough. Carucata, Carrucata, the quantity of land that could be ploughed by one plough or team in a season ; long varying in extent, according to the locality or the nature of the soil, but determined in 1194 to be 100 acres. Cassare, to quash. Catallum, Catellum, a chattel ; see Capitale. - Ceap-gild, market-price ; from ceap, a market. Centena, a hundred. Centenarius, the head man of the hundred. Centuriata, Centuriatus, a hundred. Ceorl, a churl, originally a freeman who is not noble, in opposition to eorl r at a later period = villanus. Certiorare, to make certain. Cervisia, beer ; a Gaulish word, according to Pliny. Chaceare, to chase. Fr. chasser. Chamberlengeria, the chamberlainship of London. Childwite, a penalty paid to the lord for impregnating his female villein. Glossary. 537 Chiminagium, a tax upon waggons and other carriages going though a forest. Fr. chemin. Chiminum, a road. Fr. chemin. Ciffus, a cup, scyphus. Cimiterium, a church-yard, cemetery. Clamare, to claim ; to complain. Clamator, a crier of court. Clamor, a claim ; a complaint ; hue and cry. Claustralis, belonging to a cloister or monastery. Clericus, a clerk. Clerus, the clergy. Cnipulus, a knife. Fr. cant/. Coadunare, (p. 366) to get together, to get in (the harvest). Cognoscens, (p. 151) confessing. Collecta, a collection of money, in alms or taxation. Combustio, (p. 151) burning, the crime of arson; (p. 193) the process of trying the silver at the Exchequer. Comes, a ' gesith ' or companion of a lord ; generally, an earl. Comitatus, a county or shire ; the county court or shiremoot. Comitia, a pedantic expression for a legal assembly, such as the county court. Commeare, to come backwards and forwards at pleasure, as opposed to rcsidere, which implies a fixed position and regular duties. Communa, an organised body possessing rights and property in common : applied sometimes to a chartered town, sometimes to the community -in general. See pp. 162, 165. Communitas, a community, like communa, ; latterly it conies to mean the Commons, as an estate of the realm. Compotus, Computus, account. Fr. compte. Computator, accountant. Concanonicus, a fellow-canon. Concelamentum, concealment. Concredere, to answer for the credit of a person. Conductitius, a hired follower. Conludium, collusion. Conquisitio, Conquestus, conquest, Consiliarius, a counsellor ; a member of the council. Consistorium, the bishop's diocesan tribunal. Constabularius, (p. 1 79) constable of the king's court, comes stabuli, the statter ; (p. 300) the constable of a castle; (p. 372) the high constable of a hundred or wapentake ; (p. 372) the constable of a township. Consuetude, custom, often in the sense of customary exaction. Consulatus, a county ; a pedantic use of the word. Consulere, (p. 140) to provide for. Contenementum, explained by Selden to mean the amount of property necessary for a man to maintain his position as knight or baron. Continuare, to continue ; to adjourn. Contrabreve, counter-brief; the copy of a writ kept in court after the original has been served. Contra-rotulus, the counter-roll, kept as a check upon the public roll ; hence the word control. Contra-talea, counter-tally ; the half of the tally kept in the treasury to check the half entrusted to the payer. Convenire, (p. 139) to make application to a judge ; (p. 288) to be agreed ; convenit, it is agreed ; (p. 330) to come together ; (p. 69) to be convenient ; (p. 330) to consult. 538 Glossary. Conventio, a covenant. Conventionare, to covenant. Corditer, cordially, unless it is a clerical error for concorditer. Cornare, to blow a horn. Coronator, a coroner. Coscinum, (p. 313) a measure of corn : the application in this place is very uncertain. Costa, the coast. Costera, the coast. Cotarius, a cotter. Cotsetus, a cotter. Credentia, credence. Crementum, increase or profit of a ferm over and above the fixed sum at which it is let. Crucesignatus, one who has taken the cross to go on crusade. Cruciatus, a crusader. Curia, (i) a court of justice (p. 143) ; (2) right of jurisdiction (pp. 77, 143, 301) ; (3) the court of a house (p. 91) ; (4) a solemn assembly in the king's presence (p. 128). Curialis, courteous ; adv. curialiter, courteously. Custodia, (p. 301) guardianship ; (p. 148) the tenure of a county as custos, i. e. not at fixed ferm, but as accountable for all particulars. Gustuma, custom, in the sense of tax. Custus, cost. From contfare, couter. Cynebot, the atonement to the nation for the killing of the king. Cynedom, the royal dignity. Danegeldum, Danegildum, Danageldum, Danegeld. Dapifer, a steward. Deafforestare, to disforest. Dealbare, to whiten, to blanch ; hence our word daub. The process of blanching a ferm is described at p. 2 20. Dealbator, a bleacher. Decanatus, a deanery. Decania, a tithing. Decanus, (p. 77) the head man of a tithing ; (p. 130) the dean of a chapter. Decennalis, of the number ten. Decima, (p. 106) a tithing ; (pp. 134, 1 60) a tithe or tenth. Deeurtator, a clipper of coin. Defalta, Defaltum, default. Defensum, prohibition ; the close or fence time for fishing or hunting. Cf. Fr. defense and defendre. Defindere is used in the same way. Defortiare, to deforce, to dispossess by violence. Demanda, a demand or application. Demandare, (p. 384) to demand or request ; (p. 431) to ordain by man- date. Demenium, demesne, the portion of a manor which the lord retains in his own hands and cultivates by his villeins. Denageldum , see Danegeldum. Denarius> a penny ; (pp. 144, 162, 200) money in general. DepartitiQ, separation, closing of the session of parliament. Depauperare, to impoverish. Glossary. 539 Depraeditatio, disendowment. Detonsor, a clipper of coin. Detruncatio, mutilation. Dextrarius, a war-horse. Fr. destrier. So called because the squire led it with his right hand. Diflftdare, to defy. Disfacere, to defeat, to disregard. Disparagatio, disparagement. Disratiocinare, Disrationare, to prove one's cause or disprove one's adversary's in a court of law, to prosecute a suit to its determination. Dissaisiare, Dissaisire, to dispossess. Dissaisina, dispossession. Districtio, distraint or distress ; sometimes the thing seized in the dis- traint. Distringere, to distrain, to compel by seizure of goods. Disturbare, (p. 149) to prevent the due course of justice by a bribe or by hush-money ; commonly, to disturb. Divisa, a devise by will ; the will itself. Divisa, the boundary of landed property ; also a court held on the bound- ary to settle disputes of the tenants. THORPE. Domesmenn, judges. Dominicum, demesne. Dominicus, held as demesne, or connected with it. Dominium, demesne. Duellum, trial by battle. Dyscolus, perverse : from the Greek. Ealdordom, the jurisdiction of an ealdorman. Ealdorman, the chief magistrate of a shire. Lat. dux or princeps, Old Ger. Heretoga. Einescia, seniority. Fr. ainesse. Emenda, amends. Emendare, to make reparation. Emendatio, reparation, amends ; = A. S. "hot. Eorlas, noblemen, opposed to ceorlas. Equitatura, the furniture of a horse, or horse soldier. Errare, to go on the eyre, or itinerate. Escaeta, Eschaeta, Eskaeta, Excaeta, the reversion of a fief to the lord, on the extinction or corruption of the blood of the tenant ; the estate so escheated. From the Old Fr. eschoir cadere, to fall. Escaetor, an escheater, an officer who received the escheats of the Crown. Escambium, Excambium, an exchange. Esnecca, a ship of transport. Essartum, a clearance in the forest ; variously derived from ex-arare, ex- er cere, ex-sarrire ; spelled also assartum. Essayum, Essaium, trial, examination by fire ; examen. Essonium, an excuse. Estoverium, Estuverium, fire-wood ; originally provision or stuff gene- rally. Fr. etouffer, Lat. stuff are. Eventus, (p. 511) used apparently for attendance in parliament. Ewagium, = aquagium, a tax on water carriage. Excidentia, escheats. 54 Glossary. Exhaeredare, to dispossess of an inheritance. Exitus, outgoings, issue. Exorbitare, to go beyond bounds. Expeditatio, the mutilation of dogs, by cutting their claws so as to prevent them from being used in hunting. Expeditio, the duty of military service, incumbent on all owners of land, =fyrd. Extraneus, a stranger. Falco, a falcon. Falconarius, a falconer. Palsarius, a forger or depraver of the coinage. Falsonarius, a forger ; (p. 263) a forger of charters especially. Falsoneria, forgery of coin or charters. Felonia, felony. Feodatarius, a feudal dependant. Feodi-firma, fee farm. Feodum, Feodus, Feudum, a fief, an estate held by tenure from a superior lord ; (p. 506) a fee, in the modern sense of a payment as honorarium. Feoffamentum, feoffment, the act of conveying an estate in fee. Feoffetor, a feoffor. Feoffatus, a feoffee, the person receiving or holding such an estate. Feonatio, the fawning time. Fr. foinesun. Med. Lat. fannatio. Feorm-fultum, rent paid in kind from royal demesne or public lands. Feos-bot, (p. 73) amendment of the coinage. Ferdingus, a freeman of the lowest grade. Feria, a fair. Feudatus, in possession of a fief. Fidejussio, security. Fidelitas, fealty. Filare, to file, to string on a thread ; see Affilare. Filum, the thread or course of a stream. Finis, a payment made to procure the end of a lawsuit or immunity from molestation, and in that sense a fine ; not a mulct by way of punish- ment. Compare our fines upon leases. Firma, ferm or farm ; a fixed sum or rent payable by way of composition ; the profits of the county jurisdictions let at fixed sums to the sheriffs. Firmarius, a person who fermed, compounded by an annual fixed pay- ment for the revenues of his official position. Fiscus, the Exchequer ; revenue in general. Flyma, a runaway. Folgare, to follow. Germ, folgen. Folgarius, a follower. Germ. Folger. Folkesmote, meeting of the folk or people in the, shiremoot. Foreoath, the oath taken by plaintiff and defendant at the beginning of a suit. Foresta, forest. Germ. Forst. j Forestel, an assault ; from fore and stellan, to spring. THORPE. * Forisfacere, to transgress ; to forfeit. Forisfactura, forfeiture. Forstallatio, obstruction or hindrance; from fore and stellan', see Forestel. Glossary. 541 Fortitude, force. Forulus, a shelf or compartment. Fossatum, a ditch. Francus, a freeman, a freeholder. Francus-plegius, a frank-pledge ; a member of an association for mutual security. Francus-tenens, a freeholder ; generally in socage. Frith, peace. Frith-borg, surety for the keeping of the peace ; Frithborga, an as- sociation of ten men for mutual security = frank-pledge ; Frithborgus, a member of such an association. See p. 77. Frith-borge-lieved, the head of a frank -pledge. Fritli-bot, Frithesbot, amendment of peace, payment to atone for breach of peace. Fritli-bryce, breach of the peace. Frith-gegildas, members of an association for mutual protection. Fugare, to course. Fugatio, right of coursing. Fundus, the soil : often =feodus. Furca, the gallows. Furnum, an oven. Furragium, provender. From fur rare, to forage. Goth. fodr. Fyrd, the expeditio of the alodial system ; the duty of military service for the defence of the country. Fyxdung, Fierdfare, the going on the fyrd. Fyrdwite, the penalty for neglecting the fyrd. G-ablum, tax ; from A. S. gafol. Fr. gabelle. Gafol, tax. Gaiola, a prison, a gaol. Fr. geole ; from the Lat. caveola. Garba, a trave of corn. Old High Germ. Fr. gerbe. Geldare, to pay tax. Geldum, Gildum, a tax of any sort. Germ. Geld. Gemot, a meeting. Geneatland, land cultivated by geneats, or persons holding by service. Neotan, to enjoy. THOEPE. Gersumna, an exaction. Gesithcundman, a man in the rank of gesith or comes ; a companion of a king or great lord, and so ennobled by service. Gewitenemot, = witenagemot. Gieresgieve, the same as gersuma, a bribe given to the king's officers for connivance. BRADY. Gild, (p. 72)=wer-gild. Gilda, Gylda, a voluntary association for mutual protection, for common mercantile aims, or for religious worship. Gildwite, (p. 310) probably a miswriting for childwite. Gisarma, a dart. Grangia, a granary, thence a grange, a farm-house. Grantum, security given. Gravamen, a grievance. Gravare, to aggrieve. 543 Glossary. Gregarius, miles gregariut seems to mean a knight employed properly in military command, as contrasted with one who merely holds a knight's fee in land. Grith, immunity from molestation ; special frith or localised peace. Guerra, Gwerra, war. Gwerrina, in a state of war. Haia, a hedge. Fr. haie ; Old High Germ. Haga. Halbergettus, the material of which the common hauberk was made. Halimotum, the hall-moot, the local court of a franchise. Hangewitha, the penalty for hanging a thief without process of law. DUCANGE. Thorpe, however, defines it as a fine for letting a prisoner escape from prison. Hansa, a trade guild. Hanshus, the hall where the hansa or guild met. Haracia, a stud of horses. Fr. haras. Haubio, a hauberk. Healsfang, the sum a man sentenced to the pillory would have to pay to save him from that punishment. THORPE. Heals-fang properly is the pillory itself. Schmid, however, explains it as really meaning a pay- ment of the nature of wer-gild, made to the near relatives of a slain man. Heimfara, a breach of peace by forcibly entering a man's house. Heorthfest, having a fixed hearth or dwelling. Herbagium, herbage. Heriot, Heriet, a heriot ; from here-geatwu, the military equipment of a vassal, which on his death reverted to his lord. In the later laws the heriot is often Latinised, as relevium ; but properly it differed from the relief, which was the payment made by the heir to secure the possession of his inheritance. Heyrinus, a heron. Hida, a hide of land : a measure varying at the time of Domesday, but in Henry IPs reign fixed at 100 acres. Hlafordsokna, (p. 66) the right of the freeman to choose his own lord ; hence the jurisdiction of the lord over his men. Hokeday, the second Tuesday after Easter. Hold, a Danish noble. Homagium, homage, the process of acknowledging oneself the homo or vassal of a feudal superior. Hominium, homage. Homo, generally a vassal. Honor, an aggregation of knights' fees, held as an honour, as the qualify- ing holding of a baron or earl. Horn-gelth, a tax upon horned cattle, cornage. Hornus, of this year ; applied to a hawk that has not moulted. Hospitare, to entertain. Hospitatus, inhabited. Hostiarius, = ostiarius, a door-keeper, an usher. Fr. huissier. Hostium, = ostium, a door. Hundredarius, the hundred-man, the bailiff of the hundred. Hundredum, Hundredus, Hundretum, Hundret, the local division called the hundred ; frequently also the hundred court. Glossary. 543 Husting, Hustenge, Hustingus, the court of a borough held in a house ; from hus. a house, and thing, an assembly. Huthesia, Hutesium, hue and cry made after criminals. Hyda, a hide of land ; see Hida. Hydagium, a tax imposed at so much a hide. Hynde, the number ten. Hynden, an association of ten men in a frith-gild. Hyndenman, the head man over ten hyndens. Imbreviare to register. Imbrochiare, to tap a barrel, to broach a cask. Impetrare, to obtain by application, generally used of a writ or papal bull. Implacitare, to implead, to bring an action against. Imprisonamentum, imprisonment. Imprisonare, to imprison. Incaustum, ink. From the Greek, ZyKavarov. Incrementum, increase of profit over fenn-rent. Indictamentum, indictment. Infangentheof, jurisdiction over a thief caught within the limit of the estate to which the right belonged. Infeodare, to enfeof. Ingenium, a contrivance ; ' malum ingenium,' trickery, evasion of obliga- tions. Ingravare, to burden. Inland, ' terra dominicalis,' the demesne. Instauramentum, the stocking of a farm. Instaurare, to stock a farm. Interciare, to demand warranty of a person in whose hands stolen property is found. Fr. entiercer. Interprisa, a usurpation. Intromittere (se), to meddle with. Invadiare, to put in pledge for a loan, to mortgage. Invenire, to find, in the sense of to furnish. Irrotulamentum, enrolment. Irrotulare, to enrol. Jieresgieve, = gieresgive. Jocalia, jewels. Fr. joyau =jocale. Judicium, (pp. 76, 151) the ordeal. Juisa, the ordeal. Jurata, a jury. Justitia, =justitiarius, a justice or judge. Justitiabilis, amenable to jurisdiction. Justitiare, to bring to justice. Kalendaritun, a kalendar, a list of agenda. Kadellus, Kydellus, a weir. 544 Glossary. Laga, law. Icelandic, log. Lagan, the right to matters thrown up by the sea, lying on the shore. Lageman, a person possessing jurisdiction or qualified to exercise it. Lanutus, woolly ; pellis lanuta, a wool-fell. Lardarium, a larder. Legalis, lawful; legalis homo, a man possessed of all the rights of a free- man. Leod, the people. Germ. Leute. Leporarius, a harrier. Lesta, lading, a last, a weight of leather and other substances. Lestagium, a custom exacted on a ship's lading. Lesth, lading. Leuca, a measure of 1 500 paces ; later, a league. Leue, = Jem, an exaction, or compulsory gift to the magistrate, like scotale. Leugata, the territory surrounding a town, at the radius of a leuca. Lex, (pp. 144, 301) the ordeal. Liberare, to deliver. Liberatio, a delivering ; hence the thing delivered, equipment, livery. Libra, a pound. Librata, an estate in land worth a pound a year. Licentiare, to dismiss. Liesing, the Danish freedman. Ligantia, allegiance. Ligius, liege, ligiiis dominus, the lord to whom the oath of fealty was taken contra omnes homines without exception. Lingua, (p. 485) tongue, nation. Lista, the selvage or listing of cloth. Loquela, a legal claim. Lorica, a coat of mail, as worn by a knight ; hence the knightly tenure. Lot, the share of taxation imposed upon an individual payer towards making up the aggregate required of the community. M Maeg-burg, the kindred. Maironia, timber, =meremium. Major, (p. 323) of age, twenty-one years old; (p. 314) the mayor of a community. Malatolta, Malatollia, the unjust custom on wool, the evil tolta or tax : tolta is a rude participle from tollo, to take as toll. Malefactio, (p. 264) a misdoing ; in this place the stolen property. Mancus, an English money of the same value as the mark, or 30 penings. Maneries, manner, sort. Manerium, a manor. Mansio, a dwelling-house ; a inanor. Manung, the district or population under the jurisdiction of a reeve. A. S. amanian, to exact. Manuopere, with the hand in the act ; hand-habend, in possession of stolen goods. Manutenere, to maintain. Marca, a mark, 8 ounces, two-thirds of a pound ; the mark of silver is 13*. 4^. ; the mark of gold is six pounds sterling. Glossary. 545 Marcandisa, merchandise. Marescallus, a marshal, the ancient hors-thegn ; from mar, horse, scale, servant. Maritagium, the right of bestowing in marriage a feudal dependant. Maritare, to give in marriage. Maritatio, the act of giving in marriage ; the right of doing so. Marka, a mark. Marlera, a marl-pit. Martrinus, Martrinis, belonging to a marten. Mass-thegn, (p. 66) a priest holding thegn's rank. Mastivus, a mastiff. Mediatus, mesne : mediatus dominus, a mesne lord, Merca, a mark, the ancient division of land, so called from its mark or boundary. Mercandisa, Mercandia, merchandise. Mercarius, of merchants. Mercata, the quantity of land which is worth a mark (135. 4cZ.) a year. Mercatum, a market. Mercliet, the sum paid by a villein to his lord for leave to give his daughter in marriage. Meremium, Meremum, timber; materiamen, DUCANGE. Mesuagium, a mansion. Methel, an assembly, = mallus, or gemot. Miles, a knight ; Militia, the right of knighthood. Millarium, a sum of a thousand. Minorare, to diminish. Minutus, mean or small. Misa, a capitulation. Misericordia, mercy, a mulct at discretion : to be at the king's mercy was to lie in such a position that the king might either exercise the right of complete forfeiture or accept a fine in commutation. Miskenning, Mescheninga, 'variatio loquelae,' a shifting of the ground of an action after it has come into court ; commonly the fine imposed for such variation, levied on very trivial occasions, and abolished by charter frequently as a privilege. Modernus, of the present day ; from modo, now. Molinus, a mill. Monetagiuzn, mintage, a payment by the moneyers for the privilege of coining ; otherwise explained as a payment by the subjects to prevent loss by the depreciation or change of coinage. Monetarius, a moneyer, a person empowered to coin. Murafrus, walled. Murdrator, a murderer. Murdrum, secret homicide ; sometimes the penalty paid by the district in which a murdered person is found (see p. 201); wilful murder. Mutatorium, a change (of raiment). Mutatus, changed ; applied to a hawk that has moulted ; hence the word mews. Namiare, to distrain. Namium, Namum, distress, seizure; the thing taken by distress, districtio. Germ, nehmen, to take. Nativus, a neif, or unfree dependant. 546 Glossary. Nithing, a worthless person. Wocumentum, a nuisance. Xfundinae, a fair. Nundinarius, having a fair. Obolus, a halfpenny. Occasio, an excuse. Oceasionare, to molest, to spoil. Occasiuncula, a mean excuse. Oferhyrnes, contempt, disobedience ; commonly the penalty of contempt of jurisdiction. On-hlote, = lot, the share of taxation apportioned to the individual mem- ber of a community. Ora, a varying sum of pennies or denarii ; twenty, sometimes sixteen. Ortillus, the claw of a dog's foot. Pacabilis, payable ; applied to a beast that is a lawful tender in payment in kind. Pacatio, payment. Palefridus, a horse. Med. Lat. paraveredus. Pannagium, the privilege of feeding swine in the woods. Old Fr. pasnage, pasture; from pastinaticum, a derivative from pastionem. Parlamentum, Parliamentum, parliament : = colloquium, from parabolare, to speak ; whence parole and parler. Parliamentatio, parliamentary discussion. Parochianus, a parishioner. Passagium, (p. 440) a voyage ; (p. ic8) a tax upon passengers. Pecunia, money or stock : pecunia viva, live stock. Pedo, a foot-soldier. Pelota, the ball of the foot of a dog. Pensum, weight, as opposed to scala, rate. Percognitio, a recognition ; see Eecognitio. Percussura, coining. Perdonum, pardon, remission of payment. Peregrinatio, pilgrimage. Perire, to fail in the ordeal. Perquirere, to acquire, to purchase ; (p. 138) to seek or contrive. Perquisitio, acquisition. Persolta, = per-soluta ; seep. 231. Persona, a beneficed clergyman. Pertica, a perch, a measure of land. Pilatus, a bolt for shooting. Pilleus, a cap. Pincerna, a butler. Placitum, a plea, a lawsuit. Plegium, a surety, the condition of a surety. Plegius, a surety, a person pledging himself for the appearance of another. Port, (p. 66) a mercantile town. Pontagium, bridge-toll. Glossary. 547 Portreeve, the chief magistrate of a port, or mercantile town. Portsocha, Portsoka, the jurisdiction of a portreeve. Praebenda, (p. 194) provender; (p. 366) a prebend in a cathedral or college.. Praeconarius, belonging to a crier. Praemunire, to premonish. Praemunitio, a premonition. Praepositura, office of reeve. Praepositus, = reeve. Praesentatio, the right of nominating a clerk to a benefice. Praestatio, a payment. Praetaxare, to define beforehand. Praevaricare, to break or evade an obligation. Prindere, to take ; a form of prehendere. Prisa, a taking, an exaction. Priso, a prisoner. Prisona, a prison. Probator, an approver, king's evidence. Procurator, a proctor, the person who holds a proxy. Procuratorius, conveying delegated power: procuratoriaelitterae, letters of proxy. Proficuum, profit. Prolongare, to remove, to dispossess, by delaying seisin. Prosolta, = pro-soluta ; see p. 231. Protojustitiarius, the Chief Justice. Providentia, (p. 334) a provision or ordinance. Publicatus, notorious by report. Purprestura, an encroachment. Purpunctus, a sword-proof or spear-proof coat. Quarterium, a quarter, a measure of capacity. Quietantia, quittance. Quietum clamare, to quit-claim, release from obligation. Quindena, a quinzaine, a day over the fortnight. Quinquagenarius, (p. 439) a captain of fifty, used figuratively with refer- ence to 2 Kings i. Ran,= raven, rapine. Recautum, a counter tally ; see Contratalea, a security ; from re-caveo. Recepta, receipt. Recidivare, to relapse. Recognitio, an inquest by oath of twelve men, under the system of assize; (p. 137) a declaratory statement of the law. Recognoscens, a person acknowledging his offence. Recordum, a record. Rectare, see Rettare. Rectitude, right. Redemptio, ransom. Redimere, (p. 100) to redeem ; (p. 251) to compel to redeem. N n 2 54-8 Glossary. Begratarius, a retailer who buys goods in order to sell them again at a higher price. Beguardor, a person acting as visitor in a reguard. Beguardum, Beguarda, a visitation of the forests. Behabere, to recover possession. Belevare, to relieve, to take up an inheritance by payment of relief. Belevatio, the act of relieving ; the relief. Belevium, the relief, the money paid by the incoming heir for admission to his inheritance. Bemandare, to remand. Bememorare, to regard, or to place in the agenda, of parliament. Benegator, a renegade, heretic. Beplegiare, to remand under surety. Bespectus, respite. Betare, Bettare, to accuse ; from the Norse rett, an imputation or accusation : not connected with the Lat. rectum, although early con- founded with it : hence the form rectare for rettare. Betonsor, a clipper of coin. Betta, Betum, Bettum, an accusation. Norse, rett. Bevelach, A. S. reaflac, theft ; from reafian, to rob, to bereave. Biparia, Bivaria, a river. v Fr. rividre. Bobator, a robber. Germ. Rduber. Boberia, robbery, Bumbus, a turbot. Buncinus, a horse. Bussettus, a common red cloth. Busticus, a native, a villein. Buttarius, a routier, a mercenary soldier. Low Lat. ruptuarias. S Saca, Sacha, jurisdiction in matters of dispute. Saisiare, Saisire, to seize, to take possession of. Old High Germ, sazjan. Saisina, possession. Salvagius, wild. Fr. sauvage, from silvaticus. Scaccarium, the Exchequer. Scala, scale, rate as opposed to weight. Scannum, a bench. Schedula, a schedule, list of articles. Schira, Scira, a shire, = comitatus. Schirereva, Scyr-gerefa, a sheriff: the king's representative in the shire, as the praepositus or gerefa (Ger. Graf; Engl. reeve) was in the township. Lat. vicecomes. Schot, a tax generally ; from sceatta, money. Scir-gemot, Scyres-gemot, meeting of the shire; county court ; comitatus. Scirman, the headman of the shire, probably = sheriff. Scotagium, = scutagium. Scothala, Scotteshale, 'Public compotations at the charge of some for the benefit of others.' SPELMAN. 'Abuses put on the king's people by his officers, who invited them to drink ale and then made a collection, to the end they should not vex or inform against them for the crimes they had committed or should commit.' BRADY. A forced contribution levied on the pretence or occasion of a festivity. Glossary. 549 Scrinium, a shrine. Scriptorium, a writing-room. Secta, (p. 401) suit, attendance at a court; (p. 264) suit, pursuit of the hue and cry. Sectator, a suitor. Seedlip, a measure of wheat ; a seed basket. Seisina, possession of land. Senescallus, a steward, the senior scale or servant in a household. Septimana, a week. Fr. semaine. Sequestrare, to separate litigants, to settle the matter between them ; more commonly to sequestrate. Sergantia, Sergantisa, Sergenteria, serjeanty, a tenure of land by pecu- liar service of special duty to the person of the lord. Sermocinari, to preach. Serrura, a lock. Fr. serrure ; from Lat. serare. Serviens, a Serjeant ; serviens ad placita, Serjeant at pleas; serviens ad arma, serjeant at arms. Sextarius, a measure of four gallons. Sithessocna, explained to mean the jurisdiction of a gesith, any private franchise ; but the word occurs only in the form of Sipesocna, which has been understood to mean the district liable to furnish a ship to the king's fleet. The former explanation is however the most probable. Soca, Socca, Socna, Soka, Soken, jurisdiction ; l inter pellatio majoris audientiae,' a liberty, privilege, or franchise granted by the king to a subject ; also the area within which that franchise is exercised. Socagium, Sokagium, tenure of land on condition of fixed and determi- nate services, especially that of suit to the lord's court or soken. Sochemannus, a man who has to pay suit to a soken ; hence a tenant in socage. Solemnium, a solemnity. Solidarius, a paid soldier. Solidata, the quantity of land that is worth a shilling a year. Solidus, a shilling. Fr. sous. Sollagium, = solagium, an impost claimed by the lord of the soil, by way of ground rent. Solta, == soluta ; seep. 231. Speruarius, a sparrow-hawk. Fr. epervier. Stabilitio, probably the duty of erecting the hunting- camp of the king or lord of a forest, and otherwise providing for the carrying out of the hunt. Stallagium, payment for having a stall in the market. Staurare, to stock a farm. Stengesdint, from stenge (A . S.), a pole, and dingan, to strike : sense obscure. Sterilensis, Sterlingus, sterling ; lawful and current money of England. The derivation is extremely uncertain. Strata, street. Suanimotum, the court of the freemen in the forest; from 'swam, liberc tenens.' Subclamator, a sub-crier, of parliament. Submonire, to summon. Sumagium, (p. 350) a burden; from summa, Fr. somme, Med. Lat. salma = sagma; Ger. Saum, in Saumthier. Summagium, (p. 167) a team of beasts of burden. Summarius, a beast of burden ; a sumpter-horse. 550 Glossary. Summonero, to summon. Summonitjo, a summons. Supersedere, to treat as superfluous. Tachiamentum, an arrest. Tailagium, Taylagium, Tallagium, Talliagium, a tax, from taillare, tattler, to tax ; specially a talliage, an aid demandable of demesne lands at the will of the lord. Tailliare, Tailleare, Talliare, to tax or talliage. Talea, Tallia, Taleola, a tally, a long piece of wood on which the sums received at the Exchequer were notched ; the tally being then split, and half kept by the court, half by the payer, so that each was a check on the other. Tannator, a tanner. Taxare, (p. 211) to fix. Team, Theam, Them, Theim, the right of compelling the person in whose hands stolen or lost property was found to vouch to warranty, that is, to name the person from whom he received it. Tenementum, a holding, an estate held feudally. Ten-manne-tale, = frank-pledge. Tenseria, a tax. Tenura, the mode of holding an estate feudally ; the holding itself. Testimonium, (p. 145) character; (p. 188) attestation. Thegn, Thegen, Tein, Thaynus, Tainus, a thegn, or thane : originally a young man, or warrior; hence often a servant, especially an armed servant ; then one who becomes noble by serving the king in arms ; the possessor of five hides of land. The thegn before the Conquest occupied nearly the same position socially as the knight did after it. Th.eod.en, a lord, as opposed to Thegen, a servant. Theofgyld, money paid in compensation for robbery. Thing, an assembly. Thingemannus, a Danish soldier, perhaps =hu8carl. Thrymsa, a coin worth three pence Mercian. Timbre, a bundle of skins. Tithing, Tethinga, a union often freemen for mutual security; or a local subdivision of the hundred, in some parts of England. Tithingman, the head of a tithing. Tol, Thol, Toll, Theloneum, Thelonium, Telonium, Toloneum, Tneoloneum, duty on imports. Tolta, a tax ; from tollo, to raise by taxation. Trespas, a fine for trespass. Trethingius, a third part of a county, a riding. Treuga, a truce. Tun-grevius, the reeve of a township, praepositus vittatae. Turniare, to attend a tournament. Turnus, the tourn or periodical court of the sheriff. Twyhynde, a man whose wer-gild was 200 shillings. The twelf-hynde man's was worth 1200. Tyenthe-heved, the head of a frank-pledge of ten men. Tyhtbysig, of bad reputation; tihtle t accusation, and bysig, implicated. THORPE. Glossary. 55 1 TTnfritli, state of being out of the king's peace. Usuro, to bear interest. Uthesium, hue and cry ; see Hutesium. TJtlagare, to outlaw; TJtlagatus, outlawed. Utlagia, outlawry. Utlagus, Utlagh, an outlaw. Utware, explained as a grant of land by the king from the public land. THORPE. Vadiuna, a wager, surety, gage ; wages ; ad remanens, security by way of deposit. LYTTELTON. Vaivus, a waif, a vagabond. Valentia, value. Vastus, waste. Cf. Fr. guaster, gater, to spoil. Vavassor, an inferior baron, or vassal holding of a baron. Venatio, privilege of hunting, venison. Veredictum, verdict. Vicarius, a deputy. "Vicecomes, a sheriff. The word used after the Conquest to describe the scyr-gerefa ; probably because the duties of the Norman vicecomes corresponded with those of the English sheriff. The latter, however, was a royal officer, and not the substitute for the earl or comes : but an earl was sometimes hereditary vicecomes of his shire. Vicedominus, the deputy of a lord. Vicinetum, Vicinia, Visinetum, Visnetum, the neighbourhood, the venue. Vigena, a score. Villa, a town ; villa mercata, a market town. Villanus, a villein ; see Nativus, Rusticus, Ceorl. Villata, a- township. Villenagium, villein tenure : state of villenage. Villula, a village ; villula nundinaria, a village that has the privilege of holding a fair. Viridarius, a verderer. Viridis, the privilege of using the wood in the forest ; vert. Vivarium, a fish pond. W Wambais, a gambeson; a doublet or purpoint of mail. Wannagium, Waynagium, Wainnagium, properly the extent of land worked by the plough ; in some places it seems to mean farming stock, but this is uncertain. "Wapentaccus, Wapentakius, Wapentagium, a wapentake, a subdi- vision of the riding. "Warantia, warranty. 552 Glossary. Warantizare, to guarantee, to authorise. "Warantum, a warrant, a warranty. Warantus, a warrantor. Warda, pupillage, wardship ; an estate held by the lord in wardship. Warde-mota, meeting of the ward in a corporate town. Warennarius, a warrener. "Warennia, "Warenna, a rabbit warren. "Warnistura, garnishing. Wedd, a pledge or gage, = vadium. "Wer, the pecuniary estimation of a man, by which the value of his oath and the payment for his death were determined. "Wer-gild, the payment for the slaying of a man. "Werra, war. "Widrigildum, a Frank word, meaning probably the same as "hot or com- pensation, and distinguished by Grimm from the wergild. Witan, wise men, sapientes. "Wite, Wita, a mulct, a payment by way of punishment, opposed to bot, which is compensation to the injured. "Witena-gemot, meeting of the wise men. Wrec, wreck. X Xenium, a present ; more commonly written exenium. From the Greek. Yeresgieve, see G-ieresgieve. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. RECEIVED AUG23'66-9AM LOAN DEPT. WE? t**n MARsst '8 -4PM LC DCFT. ^w b37 ^ 813^ : RECEfVeo. OCTIO'68-UAM 7p 2 ^ 65 u^SjjgjjSg^