CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON, 1164.
+Source.+--_Historical Documents of the Middle Ages._ Henderson. Bohn's
Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.
1. If a controversy concerning advowson and presentation of Churches
arise between laymen, or between laymen and clerks, or between clerks,
it shall be treated of and terminated in the court of the lord King.
3. Clerks charged and accused of anything, being summoned by the Justice
of the King, shall come into his court, about to respond there for what
it seems to the King's Court that he should respond there; and in the
ecclesiastical court for what it seems he should respond there; so that
the Justice of the King shall send to the Court of the Holy Church to
see in what manner the affair will there be carried on. And if the clerk
shall be convicted, or shall confess, the Church ought not to protect
him further.
4. It is not lawful for his archbishops, bishops and persons of the
kingdom to go out of the kingdom without the permission of the lord
King. And if it please the King and they go out, they shall give
assurance that neither in going, nor in making a stay, nor in returning,
will they seek the hurt or harm of King or kingdom.
6. Laymen ought not to be accused unless through reliable and legal
accusers and witnesses in the presence of the bishop, in such wise that
the archdean do not lose his right nor anything which he ought to have
from it.
7. No one who holds of the King in chief, and no one of his demesne
servitors, shall be excommunicated, nor shall the lands of any one of
them be placed under an interdict, unless first the lord King, if he be
in the land, or his Justiciar, if he be without the kingdom, be asked to
do justice concerning him.
9. If a quarrel arise between a clerk and a layman or between a layman
and a clerk concerning any tenement which the clerk wishes to attach to
the church property, but the layman to a lay fee: by the inquest of
twelve lawful men, through the judgement of the Chief Justice of the
King, it shall be determined in the presence of the Justice himself,
whether the tenement belongs to the Church property or to the lay fee.
10. Whoever shall belong to the city or castle or fortress or demesne
manor of the lord King, if he be summoned by the archdean or bishop for
any offence for which he ought to respond to them, and he be unwilling
to answer their summonses, it is perfectly right to place him under the
interdict: but he ought not to be excommunicated until the chief
servitor of the lord King of that town shall be asked to compel him by
law to answer the summonses.
12. When an archbishopric is vacant, or a bishopric, or an abbey, or a
priory of the demesne of the King, it ought to be in his hand: and he
ought to receive all the revenues and incomes from it, as demesne ones.
And, when it comes to providing for the church, the lord King should
summon the more important persons of the Church, and, in the lord King's
own chapel, the election ought to take place with the assent of the lord
King and with the counsel of the persons of the kingdom whom he had
called for this purpose. And there, before he is consecrated, the person
elected shall do homage and fealty to the lord King as to his liege
lord, for his life and his members and his earthly honours, saving his
order.
14. A church or cemetery shall not, contrary to the King's justice
detain the chattels of those who are under penalty of forfeiture to the
King, for they (the chattels) are the King's, whether they are found
within the churches or without them.
16. The sons of rustics may not be ordained without the consent of the
lord on whose land they are known to have been born.
ASSIZE OF CLARENDON, 1166.
+Source.+--MS. in Bodleian Library.
1. In the first place the aforesaid King Henry, by the counsel of all
his barons, for the preservation of peace and the observing of justice,
has decreed that an inquest shall be made throughout the separate
counties, and throughout the separate hundreds, through twelve of the
more lawful men of the hundred, and through four of the more lawful men
of each township, upon oath that they will speak the truth: whether in
their hundred or in their township there be any man who, since the lord
King has been King, has been charged or published as being a robber or
murderer or thief: or any one who is a harbourer of murderers or robbers
or thieves. And the Justices shall make this inquest by themselves, and
the Sheriffs by themselves.
2. And he who shall be found through the oath of the aforesaid persons
to have been charged or published as being a robber or murderer or
thief, or a receiver of them, since the lord King had been King, shall
be taken and shall go to the ordeal of water, and shall swear that he
was not a robber or murderer or thief or receiver of them since the lord
King has been King, to the extent of five shillings as far as he knows.
3. And if the lord of him who has been taken, or his steward or his
vassals, shall, as his sureties, demand him back within three days after
he has been taken, he himself, and his chattels, shall be remanded under
surety until he shall have done his law.
9. And let there be no one within his castle or without his castle, nor
even in the honour of Wallingford, who shall forbid the sheriffs to
enter into his court or his land to take the view of frank-pledge; and
let all be under pledges; and let them be sent before the sheriffs under
free pledge.
10. And in the cities or burghs, let no one have men or receive them in
his home or his land or his soc, whom he will not take in hand to
present before the Justice if they be required: or let them be in
frank-pledge.
12. And if any one shall be taken who shall be possessed of robbed or
stolen goods, if he be notorious and have evil testimony from the
public, and have no warrant, he shall not have law. And if he be not
notorious, on account of the goods in his possession, he shall go to the
water.[1]
14. The lord King wishes also that those who shall be tried and shall be
absolved by the law if they be of very bad testimony and are publicly
and disgracefully defamed by the testimony of many and public men, shall
forswear the lands of the King, so that within eight days they shall
cross the sea unless the wind detains them; and with the first wind
which they shall have afterwards, they shall cross the sea; and they
shall not return any more to England, unless by the mercy of the lord
King: and there, and if they return, they shall be outlawed; and if they
return they shall be taken as outlaws.
15. And the lord King forbids that any waif, that is vagabond or unknown
person, shall be entertained anywhere except in the burgh, and there he
shall not be entertained more than a night, unless he become ill there,
or his horse, so that he can show an evident excuse.
20. The lord King forbids, moreover, that monks or canons or any
religious house, receive any one of the petty people as monk or canon or
brother, until they know of what testimony he is, unless he be sick unto
death.
21. The lord King forbids, moreover, that any one in all England receive
in his land or his soc or the house under him any one of that sect of
renegades who were excommunicated and branded at Oxford. And if any one
receive them, he himself shall be at the mercy of the lord King; and the
house in which they have been shall be carried without the town and
burned.
[1] THE JUDGMENT OF BOILING WATER.--"The priest shall sprinkle over them
some of the water itself; and to those who are about to go into the
judgement of God, to all of them, he shall give to drink of that same
holy water. And when he shall have given it, moreover, he shall say to
each one: 'I have given this water to thee or to you for a sign to-day.'
Then pieces of wood shall be placed under the cauldron, and the priest
shall say ... prayers when the water itself shall have begun to grow
warm.--And he who puts his hand in the water for the trial itself, shall
say the Lord's Prayer, and shall sign himself with the sign of the
cross; and that boiling water shall hastily be put down near the fire,
and the judge shall suspend that stone, bound to that measure, within
that same water in the accustomed way: and thus he who enters to be
tried by judgement shall extract it thence in the name of God himself.
Afterwards with great diligence, his hand shall be thus wrapped up,
signed with the seal of the judge, until the third day; when it shall be
viewed and judged of by suitable men."--_Historical Documents of the
Middle Ages_, p. 316. (Published by G. Bell & Sons.)
"THE KING'S OFFICERS AT FAULT." THE INQUEST OF SHERIFFS, 1170.
+Source.+--MS. in Bodleian Library.
§ 5. Let an enquiry be made concerning the goods of those that fled on
account of the Assize of Clarendon and of those that perished through
that assize. Let it be known what was done and what left each hundred
and vill and let it be written down exactly and in order. In like manner
let an enquiry be made, whether any man was unjustly accused at that
assize through bribery, malice, or any unjust cause.
§ 6. Let an enquiry be made concerning the aids for the marriage of the
king's daughter. What left each hundred and vill, whether it be in
revenue or pardons and to whom this money was given up and delivered.
§ 9. An enquiry shall be made, whether the sheriffs or any bailiffs
whatsoever have returned anything of the goods they have taken and
whether they have made their peace with men after they heard of the
king's coming, in order to prevent a complaint coming from them to the
lord king.
ASSIZE OF ARMS, 1181.
+Source.+--_Roger de Hoveden_, Vol. II., p. 261. Bohn's Libraries.
G. Bell & Sons.
1. Whoever has a fiefdom of one knight, let him have a coat of mail, a
helmet, a shield and a lance; and let every knight have as many coats of
mail and helmets and shields and pikes as he has knights fiefdoms in his
demesne.
3. Also let all burghers and the whole community of freemen have a
doublet, an iron headpiece and a pike.
7. Let no Jew keep his coat of mail or his hauberk, but sell them or
give them or get rid of them in some way, provided that they remain in
the service of the King.
8. Let no man carry arms outside England except by order of the King.
THE SALADIN TITHE, 1188.
+Source.+--_Benedictus Abbas_, Vol. II., 31.
The King, on the advice of his faithful counsellors, chose clerks and
laymen in whose wisdom he could confide and sent them through each
county to collect the tenths according to the decree, which obtained in
his land across the Channel. But from each town in the whole of England
he had all the richer inhabitants chosen, for instance, from London 200
and from York 100 and from the other towns according to their number and
wealth. All were ordered to present themselves to him on given days at
given places. From these he took a tenth of their incomes and their real
property. The valuation was effected by his officers, who had knowledge
of their incomes and their goods. If he found any rebellious, he at once
had them imprisoned and kept in chains until they had paid the uttermost
farthing. He dealt in a similar manner with the Jews of his land, from
whom he acquired an enormous sum of money.
THE LEVYING OF A FORCE, 1205.
AN ATTEMPT TO BLEND THE FYRD OR "FOLKMOOT IN ARMS" AND THE FEUDAL LEVY.
+Source.+--_Patent Rolls_, I., 55.
The King to the Sheriff of Rutland greeting. It has been ordained with
the assent of archbishops, bishops, counts, barons and all our loyal
subjects of England, that throughout England nine fighting men shall
find a tenth well equipped with horses and arms for the defence of our
realm: that those nine provide for the tenth on a specified day two
pounds towards his equipment. Furthermore we charge thee, as thou lovest
thy goods and thyself, to provide that all the tenth men of thy district
be at London for three weeks dating from Easter, being well equipped
according as we have ordained.... It has been ordained also, that, if
foreigners come to our shores, all shall attack them with one accord
using force of arms. Let none make excuse or delay but go at the first
rumour of the invasion.
JOHN'S CONCESSION OF ENGLAND TO THE POPE, 1213.
+Source.+--_Historical Documents of the Middle Ages._ Henderson.
Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.
John, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou, to all the faithful of Christ
who shall look upon this present Charter, greeting. We wish it to be
known to all of you, through this our charter, furnished with our seal,
that inasmuch as we had offended in many ways God and our mother the
Holy Church, and in consequence are known to have very much needed the
divine mercy, and cannot offer anything worthy for making due
satisfaction to God and to the Church unless we humiliate ourselves and
our kingdoms: we, wishing to humiliate ourselves for Him who humiliated
Himself for us unto death, the Grace of the Holy Spirit inspiring, not
induced by force or compelled by fear, but of our own good and
spontaneous will, and by the common counsel of our barons, do offer and
freely concede to God and His holy apostles Peter and Paul and to our
mother the Holy Roman Church, and to our lord pope Innocent and to his
Catholic successors, the whole kingdom of England and the whole kingdom
of Ireland, with all their rights and appurtenances, for the remission
of our own sins and of those of our whole race, as well for the living
as for the dead; and now receiving and holding them, as it were a
vassal, from God and the Roman Church, in the presence of that prudent
man Gaudulph, subdeacon, and of the household of the lord pope, we
perform and swear fealty for them to him our aforesaid lord pope
Innocent and his Catholic successors and the Roman Church, according to
the form appended; and in the presence of the lord pope, if we shall be
able to come before him, we shall do liege homage to him; binding our
successors and our heirs by our wife forever, in similar manner to
perform fealty and show homage to him who shall be chief pontiff at that
time, and to the Roman Church without demur. As a sign, moreover, of
this our perpetual obligation and concession we will and establish that
from the proper and especial revenues of our aforesaid kingdoms, for all
the service and customs which we ought to render for them, saving in all
things the penny of St. Peter, the Roman Church shall receive yearly a
thousand marks sterling, namely at the feast of St. Michael five hundred
marks, and at Easter five hundred marks--seven hundred, namely, for the
kingdom of England, and three hundred for the kingdom of Ireland--saving
to us and to our heirs our rights, liberties and regalia; all of which
things, as they have been described above, we wish to have perpetually
valid and firm; and we bind ourselves and our successors not to act
counter to them. And if we or any one of our successors shall presume to
attempt this,--whoever he be unless being duly warned he come to his
senses, he shall lose his right to the kingdom, and this charter of our
obligation and concession shall always remain firm.
FORM OF THE OATH OF FEALTY.
I, John, by the grace of God, King of England, and Lord of Ireland, from
this hour forth will be faithful to God and St. Peter, and the Roman
Church and my lord pope Innocent and his successors, who are ordained in
a Catholic manner. I shall not bring it about by deed, word, consent or
counsel, that they lose life or members or be taken captive. I will
impede their being harmed, if I know of it, and will cause harm to be
removed from them if I shall be able: otherwise, as quickly as I can I
will intimate it or tell of it to such person as I believe for certain
will inform them. Any counsel which they entrust to me through
themselves or through their envoys or through their latters, I will keep
secret, nor will I knowingly disclose it to any one to their harm. I
will aid to the best of my ability in holding and defending against all
men the patrimony of St. Peter, and especially the kingdom of England
and the kingdom of Ireland. So may God and these Holy Gospels aid me.
SUMMONS TO A COUNCIL AT OXFORD, 1213.
+Source.+--_Report on the dignity of a Peer_, p. 2.
The King to the Sheriff of Oxford greeting. We charge thee to see that
all the fighting men of thy bailliwick, who have been summoned, should
come to us at Oxford with their arms for fifteen days from All Saints'
Day: in like manner the barons, but without their arms: and see that
four discreet men from thy county come to that same place for the same
length of time to talk with us about the affairs of our realm. Given
under my own hand.
MAGNA CHARTA, 1215.
+Source.+--_Historical Documents of the Middle Ages._ Henderson. Bohn's
Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.
John, by the grace of God King of England, lord of Ireland, duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou: to the archbishops, bishops,
abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, prevosts, serving
men, and to all his bailiffs and faithful subjects, greeting. Know that
we, by the will of God and for the safety of our soul, and of the souls
of all our predecessors and our heirs, to the honour of God and for the
exalting of the holy church and the bettering of our realm....
1. First of all have granted to God, and, for us and for our heirs
forever, have confirmed, by this our present charter that the English
Church shall be free and shall have its rights intact and its liberties
uninfringed. And thus we will that it be observed.
As is apparent from the fact that we, spontaneously and of our own free
will, before discord broke out between ourselves and our barons, did
grant and by our charter confirm--and did cause the Lord Pope Innocent
III. to confirm--freedom of elections, which is considered most
important and most necessary to the Church of England. Which charter
both we ourselves will observe, and we will that it be observed with
good faith by our heirs forever. We have also granted to all freemen of
our realm, on the part of ourselves and our heirs forever, all the
subjoined liberties, to have and to hold, to them and to their heirs,
from us and from our heirs:
2. If any one of our earls or barons, or of others holding from us in
chief, through military service, shall die; and if, at the time of his
death, his heir be of full age and owe a relief: he shall have his
inheritance by paying the old relief; namely, the heir, or the heirs of
an earl, by paying one hundred pounds for the whole barony of an earl;
the heir or heirs of a baron, by paying one hundred pounds for the whole
barony; the heir or heirs of a knight, by paying one hundred shillings
at most for a whole knight's fee; and he who shall owe less shall give
less, according to the ancient custom of fees.
3. But if the heir of any of the above persons shall be under age and in
wardship,--when he comes of age, he shall have his inheritance without
relief and without fine.
4. The administrator of the land of such heir who shall be under age
shall take none but reasonable issues from the land of the heir, and
reasonable customs and services; and this without destruction and waste
of men or goods. And if we shall have committed the custody of any such
land to the sheriff or to any other man who ought to be responsible to
us for the issues of it, and he cause destruction or waste to what is in
his charge; we will fine him, and the land shall be handed over to two
lawful and discreet men of that fee who shall answer to us, or to him to
whom we shall have referred them, regarding those issues. And if we
shall have given or sold to any one the custody of any such land, and he
shall have caused destruction or waste to it,--he shall lose that
custody, and it shall be given to two lawful and discreet men of that
fee, who likewise shall answer to us, as has been explained.
5. The administrator, moreover, so long as he may have the custody of
the land, shall keep in order from the issues of that land, the houses,
parks, warrens, lakes, mills and other things pertaining to it. And he
shall restore to the heir when he comes to full age, his whole land
stocked with ploughs and wainnages, according as the time of the
wainnage requires and the issues of the land will reasonably permit.
6. Heirs may marry without disparagement; so, nevertheless, that, before
the marriage is contracted, it shall be announced to the relations by
blood of the heir himself.
7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall straightway and
without difficulty, have her marriage portion and her inheritance, nor
shall she give anything in return for her dowry, her marriage portion,
or the inheritance which belonged to her, and which she and her husband
held on the day of the death of that husband. And she may remain in the
house of her husband, after his death for forty days: within which her
dowry shall be paid over to her.
8. No widow shall be forced to marry when she prefers to live without a
husband; so, however, that she gives security not to marry without our
consent, if she hold from us, or the consent of the lord from whom she
holds, if she hold from another.
9. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall seize any revenue for any debt, so
long as the chattels of the debtor suffice to pay the debt; nor shall
the sponsors of that debtor be distrained so long as that chief debtor
has enough to pay the debt. But if the chief debtor fail in paying the
debt, not having the wherewithal to pay it, the sponsors shall answer
for the debt. And if they shall wish, they may have the lands and
revenues of the debtor until satisfaction shall have been given them for
the debt previously paid for him; unless the chief debtor shall show
that he is quit in that respect towards those same sponsors.
10. If any one shall have taken any sum, great or small, as a loan from
the Jews, and shall die before that debt is paid--that debt shall not
bear interest so long as the heir, from whomever he may hold, shall be
under age. And if the debt fall into our hands, we shall take nothing
save the chattel contained in the deed.
11. And if any one dies owing a debt to the Jews, his wife shall have
her dowry, and shall restore nothing of that debt. But if there shall
remain not children of that dead man, and they shall be under age, the
necessaries shall be provided for them according to the nature of the
dead man's holding; and from the residue the debt shall be paid, saving
the service due to the lords. In like manner shall be done concerning
debts that are due to others besides Jews.
12.[2] No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our realm unless by the
common counsel of our realm; except for redeeming our body, and
knighting our eldest son, and marrying once our eldest daughter. And for
these purposes there shall only be given a reasonable aid. In like
manner shall be done concerning the aids of the city of London.
13. And the city of London shall have all its old liberties and free
customs as well by land as by water. Moreover, we will and grant that
all other cities and burroughs, and towns and ports, shall have all
their liberties and free customs.
14.[2] And in order to have the common counsel of the realm in the
matter of assessing an aid otherwise than in the aforesaid cases, or of
assessing a scutage,--we shall cause, under seal through our letters,
the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons to be
summoned for a fixed day--for a term, namely, at least forty days
distant--and for a fixed place. And, moreover, we shall cause to be
summoned in general, through our sheriffs and bailiffs, all those who
hold of us in chief. And in all those letters of summons we shall
express the cause of the summons. And when a summons has thus been made,
the business shall be proceeded with on the day appointed according to
the counsel of those who shall be present, even though not all shall
come who were summoned.
15.[2] We will not allow any one henceforth to take an aid from his
freemen save for the redemption of his body, and the knighting of his
eldest son, and the marrying, once, of his eldest daughter; and for
these purposes there shall be given a reasonable aid only.
16. No one shall be forced to do more service for a knight's fee, or for
another freeholding, than is due from it.
17. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in a
certain fixed place.
18. Assizes of novel disseisin, of mort d'ancestor, and of darrein
presentment shall not be held save in their own counties, and in this
way: we, or our chief justice, if we shall be absent from the kingdom,
shall send two justices through each county four times a year; they,
with four knights from each county, chosen by the county, shall hold the
aforesaid assizes in the county, and on the day and at the place of the
county court.
19. And if on the day of the county court the aforesaid assizes cannot
be held, a sufficient number of knights and free tenants, from those who
were present at the county court on that day, shall remain, so that
through them the judgements may be suitably given, according as the
matter may have been great or small.
20. A freeman shall only be amerced for a small offence according to the
measure of that offence. And for a great offence he shall be amerced
according to the magnitude of the offence, saving his contenement[3];
and a merchant, in the same way, saving his merchandise. And a villein,
in the same way, if he fall under our mercy, shall be amerced saving his
wainnage. And none of the aforesaid fines shall be imposed save upon
oath of upright men from the neighbourhood.
21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced save through their peers, and
only according to the measure of the offence.
22. No clerk shall be amerced for his lay tenement, except according to
the manner of the other persons aforesaid; and not according to the
amount of his ecclesiastical benefice.
23. Neither a town nor a man shall be forced to make bridges over the
rivers, with the exception of those who, from of old and of right, ought
to do it.
24. No sheriff, constable, coroners or other bailiffs of ours shall hold
the pleas of our crown.
25. All counties, hundreds, wapentakes, and trithings--our demesne
manors being excepted--shall continue according to the old farms,
without any increase at all.
26. If any one holding from us a lay fee shall die, and our sheriff or
bailiff can show our letters patent containing our summons for the debt
which the dead man owed to us,--our sheriff or bailiff may be allowed to
attach and enroll the chattels of the dead man to the value of that
debt, through view of lawful men; in such way, however, that nothing
shall be moved thence until the debt is paid which was plainly owed to
us. And the residue shall be left to the executors that they may carry
out the will of the dead man. And if nothing is owed to us by him, all
the chattels shall go to the use prescribed by the deceased, saving
their reasonable portions to his wife and children.
27. If any freeman shall have died intestate, his chattels shall be
distributed through the hands of his near relatives and friends, by view
of the church; saving to any one the debts which the dead man owed him.
28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take the corn or other
chattels of any one except he straightway give money for them, or can be
allowed a respite in that regard by the will of the seller.
29. No constable shall force any knight to pay money for castle-ward, if
he be willing to perform that ward in person, or--he for a reasonable
cause not being able to perform it himself--through another proper man.
And if we shall have led or sent him on a military expedition, he shall
be quit of ward according to the amount of time during which, through
us, he shall have been in military service.
30. No sheriff nor bailiff of ours, nor any one else, shall take the
horses or carts of any freeman for transport, unless by the will of that
freeman.
31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take another's wood for castles or
for other private uses, unless by the will of him to whom the wood
belongs.
32. We shall not hold the lands of those convicted of felony longer than
a year and a day; and then the lands shall be restored to the lords of
the fiefs.
33. Henceforth all the weirs in the Thames and Medway, and throughout
all England, save on the sea-coast, shall be done away with entirely.
34. Henceforth the writ which is called "Praecipe" shall not be served
on any one for any holding, so as to cause a free man to lose his court.
35. There shall be one measure of wine throughout our whole realm, and
one measure of ale, and one measure of corn--namely, the London
quart;--and one width of dyed and russet and hauberk cloths--namely, two
ells below the selvage. And with weights, moreover, it shall be as with
measures.
36. Henceforth nothing shall be given or taken for a writ of inquest in
a matter concerning life or limb; but it shall be conceded gratis, and
shall not be denied.
37. If any one hold from us in fee-farm or in socage, or in burkage, and
hold land of another by military service, we shall not, by reason of
that fee-farm, or socage, or burkage, have the wardship of his heir or
of his land which is held in fee from another. Nor shall we have the
wardship of that fee-farm, or socage, or burkage, unless that fee-farm
owe military service. We shall not by reason of some petit-serjeantry
which someone holds of us through the service of giving us knives or
arrows or the like, have the wardship of his heir or of the land which
he holds of another by military service.
38. No bailiff, on his own simple assertion, shall henceforth put any
one to his law, without producing faithful witnesses in evidence.
39. No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or disseized, or outlawed,
or exiled, or in any way harmed--nor will we go upon or send upon
him--save by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.
40. To none will we sell, to none deny or delay, right or justice.
41. All merchants may safely and securely go out of England, and come
into England, and delay and pass through England, as well by land as by
water, for the purpose of buying and selling, free from all evil taxes,
subject to the ancient and right customs--save in time of war, and if
they are of the land at war against us. And if such be found in our land
at the beginning of the war, they shall be held, without harm to their
bodies and goods, until it shall be known to us or our chief justice how
the merchants of our land are to be treated who shall, at that time be
found in the land at war against us. And if ours shall be safe there,
the others shall be safe in our land.
42. Henceforth, any person, saving his fealty to us, may go out of our
realm and return to it, safely and securely, by land and by water,
except, perhaps, for a brief period in time of war, for the common good
of the realm. But prisoners and outlaws are excepted, according to the
law of the realm; also people of a land at war against us, and the
merchants, with regard to whom shall be done as we have said.
43. If anyone hold from any escheat--as from the honour of Wallingford,
Nottingham, Boloin, Lancaster, or the other escheats which are in our
hands and are baronies--and shall die, his heir shall not give another
relief, nor shall he perform for us other service than he would perform
for a baron if that barony were in the hand of a baron; and we shall
hold it in the same way in which the baron has held it.
44. Persons dwelling without the forest shall not henceforth come before
the forest justices, through common summonses, unless they are impleaded
or are the sponsors of some person or persons attached for matters
concerning the forest.
45. We will not make men justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs,
unless they are such as know the law of the realm, and are minded to
observe it rightly.
46. All barons who have founded abbeys for which they have charters of
the Kings of England, or ancient right of tenure, shall have, as they
ought to have, their custody when vacant.
47. All forests constituted as such in our time shall straightway be
annulled; and the same shall be done for riverbanks which we closed[4]
in our time.
[Here follow three temporary clauses.]
* * * * *
51. And straightway after peace is restored we shall remove from the
realm all the foreign soldiers, cross-bowmen, servants, hirelings, who
may have come with horses and arms to the harm of the realm.
52. If anyone shall have been disseized by us, or removed without a
legal sentence of his peers, from his lands, castles, liberties or
lawful right, we shall straightway restore them to him. And if a dispute
shall arise concerning this matter it shall be settled according to the
judgement of the twenty-five barons who are mentioned below as sureties
for the peace. But with regard to all those things of which any one was,
by King Henry our father, or King Richard our brother, disseized or
dispossessed without legal judgement of his peers, which we have in our
hand, or which others hold, and for which we ought to give a guarantee:
we shall have respite until the common time for crusaders. Except with
regard to those concerning which a plea was moved, or an inquest made by
our order, before we took the cross. But when we return from our
pilgrimage, or if, by chance, we desist from our pilgrimage, we shall
straightway then show full justice regarding them.
53. We shall have the same respite, moreover, and in the same manner, in
the matter of showing justice with regard to forests to be annulled and
forests to remain, which Henry our father or Richard our brother
constituted; and in the matter of wardships of lands which belong to the
fee of another--wardships of which kind we have hitherto enjoyed by
reason of the fee which some one held from us in military service: and
in the matter of abbeys founded in the fee of another than ourselves--in
which the lord of the fee may say that he has jurisdiction. And when we
return, or if we desist from our pilgrimage, we shall straightway
exhibit full justice to those complaining with regard to these matters.
* * * * *
60. Moreover, all the subjects of our realm, clergy as well as laity,
shall, as far as pertains to them, observe, with regard to their
vassals, all these aforesaid customs and liberties, which we have
decreed shall, as far as pertains to us, be observed in our realm with
regard to our own.
61. Inasmuch as, for the sake of God, and for the bettering of our
realm, and for the more ready healing of the discord which has arisen
between us and our barons, we have made all these aforesaid
concessions--wishing them to enjoy for ever entire and firm stability,
we make and grant to them the following security: that the barons,
namely, may elect at their pleasure twenty-five barons from the realm,
who ought, with all their strength, to observe, maintain and cause to be
observed, the peace and privileges which we have granted to them and
confirmed by this our present charter.
[Here follows "a treaty of peace" between John and the Barons.]
* * * * *
Moreover, it has been sworn on our part, as well as on the
part of the barons, that all these above-mentioned provisions
shall be observed with good faith and without evil intent.
The witnesses being the above-mentioned and many others.
Given through our hand in the plain called Runnimede between
Windsor and Stanes, on the fifteenth day of June, in the
seventeenth year of our reign.
[2] These important articles were omitted in the charters sworn by
subsequent kings.
[3] Means of subsistence.
[4] The Latin is "quae per nos tempore nostro positae sunt in defenso."
Henderson renders "made into places of defence." In Cassell's _Dict. of
English History_ it is rendered "in defiance." But _defensum_ in Med.
Latin = (1) "prohibition" hence the French _défense_, and (2) "a close
season" for fishing or hunting. I suggest that here it is used in a
sense midway between (1) and (2) and means "closed" permanently to the
public, just as the forests were. Naturally there would be objections
raised to new "close" forests and new "close" rivers. Both the other
suggested translations appear meaningless.
DIALOGUS DE SCACCARIO.
+Source.+--_Historical Documents of the Middle Ages._ Henderson. Bohn's
Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.
In the twenty-third year of the reign of King Henry II., while I was
sitting at the window of a tower next to the river Thames, a man spoke
to me impetuously, saying: "Master, hast thou not read that there is no
use in science or in a treasure that is hidden?" When I replied to him,
"I have read so," straightway he said: "Why, therefore, dost thou not
teach others the knowledge concerning the exchequer which is said to be
thine to such an extent, and commit it to writing lest it die with thee?"
* * * * *
1. _What the Exchequer is, and what is the reason of this name._
_Disciple._ What is the exchequer?
_Master._ The exchequer is a quadrangular surface about ten feet in
length, five in breadth, placed before those who sit around it in the
manner of a table, and all around it, it has an edge about the height of
one's four fingers, lest any thing placed upon it should fall off. There
is placed over the top of the exchequer, moreover, a cloth bought at the
Easter term, not an ordinary one, but a black one marked with stripes,
the stripes being distant from each other the space of a foot or the
breadth of a hand. In the spaces, moreover, are counters placed
according to their values; about these we shall speak below. Although,
moreover, such a surface is called exchequer, nevertheless this name is
so changed about that the court itself, which sits when the exchequer
does, is called exchequer: so that if at any time through a decree
anything is established by common counsel, it is said to have been done
at the exchequer of this or that year. As, moreover, one says to-day "at
the exchequer," so one formerly said "at the tallies."
_D._ What is the reason of this name?
_M._ No truer one occurs to me at present than that it has a shape
similar to that of a chess board.
_D._ Would the prudence of the ancients ever have called it so for its
shape alone, when it might for a similar reason be called a table
(tabularium)?
_M._ I was right in calling thee painstaking. There is another, but a
more hidden reason. For just as, in a game of chess, there are certain
grades of combatants and they proceed or stand still by certain laws or
limitations, some presiding and others advancing: so, in this, some
preside, some assist by reason of their office, and no one is free to
exceed the fixed laws, as will be manifest from what is to follow.
Moreover, as in chess, the battle is fought between Kings, so in this it
is chiefly between two that the conflict takes place and the war is
waged,--the treasurer, namely, and the sheriff who sits there to render
account; the others sitting by as judges to see and to judge.
* * * * *
_M._ ... The barons, moreover, who sit at the exchequer shall pay
nothing under the name of customs for the victuals of their household
bought in the cities and burghs and ports. But if an officer of the
revenues shall have compelled one of them to pay anything for these,--if
only one of his servants is present who is willing to prove by taking an
oath that the things have been bought for his master's use: to the baron
indeed, the money exacted shall be restored entire, and the scoundrel of
a collector shall pay a pecuniary punishment according to the quality of
the person.
... If those who sit at the exchequer shall have mutually molested each
other with any sort of contumelious attack, they shall make peace again;
the others of their rank who serve with them acting as mediators, in
such wise that satisfaction shall be rendered by him who, in their
estimation, has injured an innocent person. But if he be unwilling to
acquiesce, but rather persevere in his rashness, the matter shall be
laid before the president, and afterwards, from him each one shall
receive justice. But if, through the devil, the instigator of evil, who
does not look with unmoved eyes on the joyous happiness of fraternal
peace, it should happen that occasion for discord should come up among
the greater officials themselves, and thence--which God forbid--a war of
insults should arise; and, Satan adding goads, peace cannot be restored
by the other colleagues in those labours:--the knowledge of all these
things shall be reserved for the prince himself; who, according as God,
in whose hand it is, inspires his heart, shall punish the offence; lest
those who are set over others should seem to be able to do with impunity
what they decree should be punished in others.
_D._ From this is manifest what Solomon says: "Death and life are in the
power of the tongue," and likewise James: "The tongue is a little member
and boasteth great things."
_M._ So it is; but let us proceed concerning the prerogatives. Common
assessments are held at times, throughout the counties, by itinerant
justices whom we call deambulatory or wandering judges; the assessments
are called common because, when the sum is known which is required in
common from those who have estates in the county, it is distributed
according to the hides of land, so that when the time comes for payment
at the exchequer, nothing of it is lacking. From all these payments all
those who, by mandate of the King, sit at the Exchequer are entirely
free, so that not only are none of them exacted from their domains, but
also none from all their fiefs.
* * * * *
2. _Scutage and Murdrum._
_D._ Now if it please thee, do not delay to make clear what are scutage
and murdrum....
_M._ It happens sometimes that, when the machinations of enemies
threaten or attack the kingdom, the King decrees that, from the
different Knights' fees, a certain sum shall be paid,--a mark, namely,
or a pound; and from this come the payments or gifts to the soldiers.
For the prince prefers to expose mercenaries, rather than natives, to
the fortunes of war. And so this sum, which is paid in the name of the
shields, is called scutage. From this, moreover, they who sit at the
exchequer are quit.
Murder (murdrum), indeed, is properly called the secret death of
somebody, whose slayer is not known. For "murdrum" means the same as
"hidden" or "occult." Now in the primitive state of the kingdom after
the conquest, those who were left of the Anglo-Saxon subjects secretly
laid ambushes for the suspected and hated race of the Normans, and, here
and there, when opportunity offered, killed them secretly in the woods
and in remote places: when the Kings and their Ministers had for some
years, with exquisite kinds of torture, raged against the Anglo-Saxons;
and they, nevertheless, had not, in consequence of these measures
altogether desisted--when he who had caused his death was not to be
found, and it did not appear from his flight who he was. "As a vengeance
it was decided that the hundred in which the dead Norman was found
should be condemned to pay a large sum of tested silver to the treasury."
_D._ Ought not the occult death of an Anglo-Saxon like that of a Norman,
to be reputed murder?
_M._ By the original institution it ought not to, as thou hast heard:
but during the time that the English and Normans have now dwelt
together, and mutually married and given in marriage, the nations have
become so intermingled that one can hardly tell to-day--I speak of free
men--who is of English and who of Norman race; excepting, however, the
bondsmen who are called "villani," to whom it is not free, if their
lords object, to depart from the condition of their station. On this
account almost always when any one is found thus slain to-day, it is
punished as murder; except in the case of those who show certain proofs,
as we have said, of a servile condition.
3. _The Fusion of English and Norman._
_D._ I wonder that this prince of singular excellence, and this man of
most distinguished virtue, should have shown such mercy towards the race
of the English, subjugated and suspected by him, that not only did he
keep from harm the serfs by whom agriculture could be exercised, but
left even to the nobles of the kingdom their estates and ample
possessions.
_M._ Although these things do not pertain to the matters undertaken and
concerning which I have bound myself, I will nevertheless freely expound
what I have heard on these matters from the natives themselves. After
the conquest of the kingdom, after the just overthrow of the rebels,
when the King himself and the King's nobles went over the new places, a
diligent inquiry was made as to who there were who, contending in war
against the King, had saved themselves through flight. To all of these,
and even to the heirs of those who had fallen in battle, all hope of the
lands and estates and revenues which they had before possessed was
precluded: for it was thought much for them even to enjoy the privilege
of being alive under their enemies. But those who, having been called to
the war, had not yet come together, or, occupied with family or any kind
of necessary affairs had not been present,--when, in course of time, by
their devoted service they had gained the favour of their lords, they
began to have possessions for themselves alone; without hope of
hereditary possession, but according to the pleasure of their lords. But
as time went on, when, becoming hateful to their masters, they were here
and there driven from their possessions, and there was no one to restore
what had been taken away,--a common complaint of the natives came to the
King to the effect that, thus hateful to all and despoiled of their
property, they would be compelled to cross to foreign lands. Counsel at
length having been taken on these matters, it was decided that what
they, either on merits or having entered into a legal pact, had been
able to obtain from their masters, should be conceded to them by
inviolable right; but that, however, they should claim nothing for
themselves by right of heredity from the time of the conquest of the
race.
* * * * *
4. _Danegeld and Essarts._
_M._ "Our island content with its own, does not need the goods of the
stranger
Therefore with every good right, our predecessors have called it,
Truly the lap of riches; the home, too, of every delight."
On account of this she has suffered innumerable injuries from outsiders;
for it is written "marked jewels attract the thief." For the robbers of
the surrounding islands, making an irruption and depopulating the
shores, carried off gold and silver and all sorts of precious things.
But when the King and the natives, drawn up in warlike array, pressed on
in defence of their race, they betook themselves to flight by sea. Now
among these robbers almost the first, and always the most ready to do
harm, was that warlike and numerous race of the Danes, who, besides
possessing the common avarice of plunderers, pressed on the more eagerly
because they claimed, of ancient right, some part in the domination of
that kingdom, as the history of the Britons more fully relates. In
order, therefore, to ward these off, it was decreed by the English Kings
that, from each "hide" of the kingdom, by a certain perpetual right, two
shillings of silver should be paid for the use of the brave men, who,
patrolling and carefully watching the shores kept off the attack of the
enemy. Therefore, since principally on account of the Danes this revenue
was instituted, it is called "Danegeldum" or "Danegeldus." This,
therefore, under the native kings, was paid yearly, as has been said,
until the time of King William I. of the race and people of the Normans.
For in his day the Danes as well as the other robbers by land and by
sea, restrained their hostile attacks, knowing to be true that which is
written, "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace his possessions are
in peace." For they also knew, indeed, that men of surpassing valour do
not suffer injuries to go unpunished. When, therefore, the land had long
been quiet under the rule of this King, he became unwilling that that
should be paid as a yearly tax which had been exacted by the urgent
necessity of a time of war, nor yet, however, on account of unforeseen
cases, did he wish it to be entirely omitted. It was occasionally paid,
therefore, in his time, and in that of his successor; that is, when from
outside nations, wars or rumours of wars arose. But whenever it is paid,
those who sit at the exchequer are free from it, as has been said. The
sheriffs, too, although they are not counted under the barons of the
exchequer, are quit of this for their domains, on account of the labour
of collecting the tax. Know, moreover, that the domains of any one are
called those which are cultivated at his own expense or labour, and
likewise those which are possessed by his serfs in his name. For the
serfs, according to the law of the kingdom, not only may be transferred
by their lords from those places which they now possess and others; but
they themselves also are sold or sundered in every possible way; which
right they themselves, as well as the lands which they cultivate, in
order to serve their masters, are considered domains. Likewise it is
said by those to whom the ancient dignity of exchequer was known from
what they had seen with their own eyes, that its barons are free, for
their domains, of essarts (clearance-fines) of the forests. With whom we
also agree; adding the reservation, that they may be called quit of
those essarts which had been made before the day on which the
illustrious King Henry I. bade farewell to human affairs. For if they
were quit of all, whenever made or to be made, the barons would seem to
be free with impunity, according to their own will and judgment, to cut
down their woods in which the Royal forest consists; which they can, in
fact, by no means do with impunity, unless the consent of the King or of
the chief forester has first been gained. Nay, those who have their
domicile in the forest, may not take from their own woods what they want
for the necessary uses of their homes, unless by view of those deputed
to guard the forest. But there are many who wish to prove by their
arguments that no one, by reason of his seat at the exchequer, is free
from these essarts. If any one at all of those sitting there should, by
any misfortune, commit a fault against the King, for which he would
merit to be punished with a pecuniary fine, he would not be freed from
that punishment except by special mandate of the King. Since, therefore,
a clearance is a fault committed against the forest of the King, he who
thus errs, and on this account receives a penalty, ought not, as they
say, to be acquitted unless by express mandate of the King. Now,
although this reasoning is subtle and seems to some almost sufficient,
it is to be said, in objection to it, that the penalty for clearance is
fixed and common to those who err in this way; so that, namely, for the
clearance of one acre of wheat land one shilling is paid; but for an
acre in which oats are sown, six pence, by a perpetual law. Moreover,
from these items a certain total sum arises, for which the sheriff is
compelled to account to the exchequer; just as from the established two
shillings or one from the different "hides" one sum arises which is
called the common assessment. Since, therefore, in these respects, the
essart has an express similitude with the common assessment, as has been
said, it would seem as if the barons, not without justice, should be
considered quit from the essarts, just as from the other common
assessments. Likewise the authority, not to be despised, of custom and
long usage is against them (the cavillers). For those whose memory is
hoary call to mind that it was so in past times. I myself, who speak
with thee, have, in modern times, looked upon Robert, Earl of Leicester,
a discreet man learned in letters, and versed in matters of the law. He,
while having an inborn virtue of mind, became also an emulator of his
father's prudence: his industry examined into many matters under our
Prince Henry the Second, whom neither fictitious prudence nor
dissimulated folly deceives; so that, by the King's order, not only at
the exchequer did Robert obtain the dignity of president, but also
throughout the whole kingdom. He once, when the visitation of the
forests, which they commonly call the "view," and which takes place
every third year, was at hand, obtained a writ of the King to the effect
that he should be quit of whatever might be demanded from his land for
essarts, the sum being stated to which these amounted: and when this
writ was brought and publicly read before the exchequer, all were amazed
and wondered, saying, "does not this Earl invalidate our privileges?"
And while those who sat there mutually regarded each other, Nigel, of
blessed memory, the whilom Bishop of Ely, began speaking thus with
modesty: "My lord earl, thou dost seem to have invalidated, by this
writ, the prerogative of the exchequer, since thou hast obtained a
mandate of the King for those things from which thou, by reason of thy
seat at the exchequer, art free; and if one may logically draw an
inference by deduction from the major term, whoever does not obtain a
writ of the King concerning his essarts, will soon become answerable for
their payment, but, with all due reverence, this mode of absolution is
pernicious on account of the example it sets." When, therefore, as
happens in doubtful cases, some were of one opinion, and others of
another, there was brought in, as a valid argument in this matter, the
yearly (pipe) roll of the time of that great King of whom we spoke
above, under whom the dignity and the knowledge of the exchequer are
said to have flourished in a high degree; and something was found which
seemed to justify the bishop who made the assertion concerning the
prerogative of those sitting there. Having heard these things, the earl,
after deliberating a little with himself, said: "I confess that in this
matter I obtained a writ of the King, not that I might invalidate your
right, but that thus, without trouble, I might avoid the too unfortunate
exaction--unknown, however, to the King--of the collectors." Abandoning
his writ, therefore, he chose to be absolved on account of the
prerogative of his seat. Some time after, when the aforesaid bishop,
detained by infirmity, could not be present, and I myself supplied, as
well as I could, his place at the exchequer, it happened that essarts
were paid. When, therefore, what had been exacted from his domain had
been paid, I complained publicly, alleging the right of exemption. By
the common counsel and verdict of all, therefore, the sum which had
already been paid was restored to me. Reserving therefore, what had been
raised from his domain, I restored to his serfs, in its entirety, what
had been exacted from each one, so that the memory might survive and be
witness in this matter.
_D._ With all due reverence, one should not use examples, but reasons in
these matters.
_M._ That is so; but it happens, at times, that the causes of things and
the reasons of sayings are secret; and then it suffices to bring up
examples relating to them; especially if they are taken from the cases
of prudent men, whose deeds are circumspect and are not done without
reason. But whatever we have said about these things taking part for
this privilege or against it, thou may'st be sure that in this matter we
have called nothing certain, unless what the authority of the King
decreed should be observed. But the account of the forests and also the
punishment or absolution of those who transgress with regard to them,
whether it be a pecuniary or a corporal one, is kept separate from the
other judgments of the kingdom, and is subjected to the will of the King
alone or to that of some one of his intimates specially deputed for this
purpose. It subsists by its own laws, which, they say, are not subject
to the common law of the kingdom, but to the voluntary decree of the
princes; so that whatever has been done according to its law may be said
to be not absolutely just, but just according to the law of the forest.
The forests, moreover, are the sanctuaries of the Kings and their
greatest delight, thither they go for the sake of hunting, having laid
aside their cares for a while, so that they may be refreshed by a short
rest. There the serious, and at the same time the natural uproars of the
court having ceased, they breathe in for a while the boon of pure
liberty; whence it comes that they who transgress with regard to the
forest are subject to the royal displeasure alone.
_D._ From my earliest youth I have learned that it is wrong for a
prudent person to prefer to suffer ignorance rather than to demand the
causes of things that have been said, in order, therefore, that the
foregoing may more fully be made clear, do not put off revealing what a
forest is.
* * * * *
5. _The Forest._
_M._ The forest of the King is the safe dwelling-place of wild beasts;
not of every kind, but of the kinds that live in woods; not in all
places, but in fixed ones, and ones suitable for the purpose; whence it
is called "foresta," the "e" being changed into "o," as if it were
"feresta"--_i.e._ an abiding place for wild beasts.
_D._ Is there a forest of the King in each county?
_M._ No; but only of the wooded ones, where the wild beasts can have
their lairs and ripe nourishment: nor does it matter to whom the woods
belong, whether to the King or to the nobles of the kingdom,--the wild
beasts can none the less run around everywhere free and unharmed.
* * * * *
6. _The Sheriffs and Bailiffs._
_M._ All the sheriffs, therefore, and the bailiffs, to whom summonses
are directed, are bound by the same necessity of the law; that is, by
the authority of the royal mandate; that, namely, on the day mentioned
and at the place designated, they shall come together and render
satisfaction for their debts. In order that this may be clearer to thee,
look more closely at the tenor of the summons itself, for it reads: "See
to it, as thou dost love thyself and all thy belongings, that thou art
at the exchequer of such and such a time and place; and that thou hast
with thee whatever thou owest of the old farm and the new, and these
debts written below." Pay attention, then, for two things are said which
fit in with the two which follow: for this, "See to it as thou dost love
thyself," refers to "that thou art there and there at such and such a
time and place"; that expression, however, "and as thou dost love all
thy belongings," seems to refer to this: "and that thou hast with thee
these debts written below"; as if it were openly said, "thy absence,
whoever thou art that receiveth a summons, unless it can be excused by
causes necessary and defined by law, will redound to the peril of thy
head; for thou wilt seem thus to have spurned the royal mandate, and to
have acted irreverently in contempt of the royal majesty, if, being
summoned concerning the matters for which thou art bounden to the King,
thou dost neither come nor send one to excuse thee...."
* * * * *
7. _Liveries._
_D._ What is that thou didst speak of as liveries of both kinds?
_M._ Some of the liveries are of poor people; as when, solely from the
promptings of charity, one penny a day or two or more, are accorded to
someone by the King for food and clothing. But some are of people who do
service, so that they receive them as wages; such are the custodians of
the palaces, the guardians of the royal temples, the pipers, the seizers
of wolves, and the like. These, then, are liveries of different kinds
which are paid for different reasons, but are counted among the fixed
payments. And mark that, although the King is free to confer these
liveries on any poor people whatever, they nevertheless, by ancient
custom, are usually assigned to those who minister at court, and who,
having no income, fall into bodily sickness and become unfit for labour.