arising between people living on the manor, such as bad ploughing on the
lord's land or letting a cow get loose on the lord's land, and land
disputes. This court also made the decision of whether a certain person
was a villein or freeman. The manor court took over issues which had
once been heard in the vill or hundred court. The baron charged a fee
for hearing a case and received any fines he imposed, which amounted to
significant "profits of justice".
Boroughs held court on trading and marketing issues in their towns such
as measures and weights, as well as issues between people who lived in
the borough. The borough court was presided over by a reeve who was a
burgess as well as a royal official.
Wealthy men could employ professional pleader-attorneys to advise them
and to speak for them in a court.
The ecclesiastical courts dealt, until the time of Henry VIII, with
family matters such as marriage, annulments, marriage portions,
legitimacy, undue wifebeating, child abuse, orphans, bigamy, adultery,
incest, fornication, personal possessions, defamation, slander which did
not cause material loss (and therefore had no remedy in the temporal
courts), libel, perjury, usury, mortuaries, sacrilege, blasphemy,
heresy, tithe payments, church fees, certain offenses on consecrated
ground, and breaches of promises under oath, e.g. to pay a debt, provide
services, or deliver goods. They decided inheritance and will issues
which did not concern land, but only personal property. This developed
from the practice of a priest usually hearing a dying person's will as
to the disposition of his goods and chattel when he made his last
confession. It provided guardianship of infants during probate of their
personal property. Trial was basically by compurgation, with
oath-helpers swearing to or against the veracity of the alleged
offender's oath. An alleged offender could be required to answer
questions under oath, thus giving evidence against himself. The
ecclesiastical court's penalties were intended to reform and determined
on a case-by-case basis. The canon law of Christendom was followed,
without much change by the English church or nation. Penalties could
include confession and public repentance of the sin before the parish,
making apologies and reparation to persons affected, public
embarrassment such as being dunked in water (e.g. for women scolds),
walking a route barefoot and clad only in one's underwear, whippings,
extra work, fines, and imprisonment in a "penitentiary" to do penance.
The ultimate punishment was excommunication with social ostracism. Then
no one could give the person drink, food, or shelter and he could speak
only to his spouse and servants. Excommunication included denial of the
sacraments of baptism, penance, mass, and extreme unction [prayers for
spiritual healing] at death; which were necessary for salvation of the
soul; and the sacrament of confirmation of one's belief in the tenets of
Christianity. A person could also be denied a Christian burial in
consecrated ground. However, the person could still marry and make a
will. The king's court could order a recalcitrant excommunicant
imprisoned until he satisfied the claims of the church. Excommunication
was usually imposed for failure to obey an order or showing contempt of
the law or of the courts. It required a hearing and a written reason. If
this measure failed, it was possible to turn the offender over to the
state for punishment, e.g. for blasphemy or heresy. Blasphemy [speaking
ill of God] was thought to cause God's wrath expressed in famine,
pestilence, and earthquake and was usually punished by a fine or
corporal punishment, e.g. perforation or amputation of the tongue. It
was tacitly understood that the punishment for heresy was death by
burning. There were no heresy cases up to 1400 and few after that. The
state usually assured itself the sentence was just before imposing it.
The court of the rural dean was the ecclesiastical parallel of the
hundred court of secular jurisdiction and usually had the same land
boundaries. The archdeacons, who had been ministers of the bishop in all
parts of his diocese alike, were now each assigned to one district,
which usually had the same boundaries as the county. Henry acknowledged
occasional appellate authority of the pope, but expected his clergy to
elect bishops of his choice.
There was a separate judicial system for the laws of the forest. There
were itinerant justices of the forests and four verderers of each forest
county, who were elected by the votes of the full county court, twelve
knights appointed to keep vert [everything bearing green leaves] and
venison, and foresters of the king and of the lords who had lands within
the limits of the forests. Every three years, the officers visited the
forests in preparation for the courts of the forest held by the
itinerant justices. The inferior courts were the woodmote, held every
forty days, and the swein [freeman or freeholder within the forest]
mote, held three times yearly before the verderers as justices, in which
all who were obliged to attend as suitors of the county court to serve
on juries and inquests were to be present.
- - - Chapter 6 - - -
- The Times: 1154-1215 -
King Henry II and Queen Eleanor, who was twelve years older, were both
intelligent, educated, energetic, well-traveled, and experienced in
affairs of state. Henry was the first Norman king to be fully literate
and he learned Latin. He had many books and maintained a school. Eleanor
often served as regent during Henry's reign and the reigns of their two
sons: Richard I, the Lion- Hearted, and John. She herself headed armies.
Henry II was a modest, courteous, and patient man with an astonishing
memory and strong personality. He was indifferent to rank and impatient
of pomp to the point of being careless about his appearance. He usually
dressed in riding clothes and was often unkempt. He was thrifty, but
generous to the poor. He was an outstanding legislator and
administrator.
Henry II took the same coronation oath as Edward the Confessor
regarding the church, laws, and justice. Not only did he confirm the
charter of his grandfather Henry I, but he revived and augmented the
laws and institutions of his grandfather and developed them to a new
perfection. Almost all legal and fiscal institutions appear in their
first effective form during his reign. For instance, he
institutionalized the assize for a specific function in judicial
proceedings, whereas before it had been an ad hoc body used for various
purposes. The term "assize" here means the sitting of a court or
council. It came to denote the decisions, enactments, or instructions
made at such.
Henry's government practiced a strict economy and he never exploited
the growing wealth of the nation. He abhorred bloodshed and the
sacrifice of men's lives. So he strove diligently to keep the peace,
when possible by gifts of money, but otherwise with armed force. Robbers
were hanged and any man who raped a woman was castrated. Foreign
merchants with precious goods could journey safely through the land from
fair to fair. These fairs were usually held in the early fall, after
harvesting and sheep shearing. Foreign merchants bought wool cloth and
hides. Frankpledge was revived, now applying to the unfree and villeins.
No stranger could stay overnight (except for one night in a borough),
unless sureties were given for his good behavior. A list of such
strangers was to be given to itinerant justices.
Henry had character and the foresight to build up a centralized system
of government that would survive him. He learned about the counties' and
villages' varying laws and customs. Then, using the model of Roman law,
he gave to English institutions that unity and system which in their
casual patchwork development had been lacking. Henry's government and
courts forged permanent direct links between the king and his subjects
which cut through the feudal structure of lords and vassals.
He developed the methods and structure of government so that there was
a great increase in the scope of administrative activity without a
concurrent increase of personal power of the officials who discharged
it. The government was self-regulating, with methods of accounting and
control which meant that no official, however exalted, could entirely
escape the surveillance of his colleagues and the King. At the same
time, administrative and judicial procedures were perfected so that much
which had previously required the King's personal attention was reduced
to routine.
The royal household translated the royal will into action. In the early
1100s, there had been very little machinery of central government that
was not closely associated with the royal household. There was a Chief
Justiciar for legal matters and a Treasurer. Royal government was
largely built upon what had once been purely domestic offices. Kings had
called upon their chaplains to pen letters for them. By Henry II's
reign, the Chancery was a highly efficient writing office through which
the King's will was expressed in a flow of writs, and the Chancellor an
important and highly rewarded official, but he was still responsible for
organizing the services in the royal chapel. Similarly, the chamberlains
ran the household's financial departments. They arranged to have money
brought in from a convenient castle treasury, collected money from
sheriffs or the King's debtors, arranged loans with the usurers, and
supervised the spending of it. It was spent for daily domestic needs,
the King's almsgiving, and the mounting of a military campaign. But they
were still responsible for personal attendance upon the king in his
privy chamber, taking care of his valuable furs, jewels, and documents,
and changing his bed linens. There were four other departments of the
household. The steward presided over the hall and kitchens and was
responsible for supplying the household and guests with food supplies.
The butler had duties in the hall and cellars and was responsible for
the supply of wine and ale. The marshall arranged lodgings for the
King's court as it moved about from palaces to hunting lodges, arranged
the pay of the household servants, and supervised the work of ushers,
watchmen, fire tenders, messengers and huntsmen. The constable organized
the bodyguard and escorts, arranged for the supply of castles, and
mustered the royal army. The offices of steward, constable, chamberlain,
butler were becoming confined to the household and hereditary. The
Justiciar, Chancellor, and Treasurer are becoming purely state offices.
They were simply sold or rented, until public pressure resulted in a
requirement of ability.
Henry's council included all his tenants-in-chief, which included
archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, knights and socage
tenants of the crown, whether they made payments directly to him or
through a sheriff. The higher ones were served with a writ addressed to
them personally. Knights and below were summoned by a general writ to
the sheriff.
Henry brought order and unity by making the King's Royal Court the
common court of the land. Its purpose was to guard the King's peace by
protecting all people of free status throughout the nation and correct
the disparity in punishments given by local courts. Heretofore, the
scope of the King's peace had varied to cover as little as the King's
presence, his land, and his highway. The royal demesne had shrunk to
about 5% of the land. The Common Law for all the nation was established
by example of the King's Royal Court. Henry erected a basic, rational
framework for legal processes which drew from tradition but lent itself
to continuous expansion and adaptation.
A system of writs originated well-defined actions in the royal courts.
Each court writ had to satisfy specific conditions for this court to
have jurisdiction over an action or event. This system determined the
Royal Court's jurisdiction over the church, lords, and sheriffs. It
limited the jurisdiction of all other courts and subordinated them to
the Royal Court. Inquests into any misdeeds of sheriffs were held, which
could result in their dismissal.
Henry and Eleanor spoke many languages and liked discussing law,
philosophy, and history. So they gathered wise and learned men about
them, who became known as courtiers, rather than people of social rank.
They lived in the great and strong Tower of London, which had been
extended beyond the original White Tower, as had other castles, so that
the whole castle and grounds were defended instead of just the main
building. The Tower of London was in the custody of one of the two
justiciars. On the west were two strongly fortified castles surrounded
by a high and deeply entrenched wall, which had seven double gates.
Towers were spaced along the north wall and the Thames River flowed
below the south wall. To the west was the city, where royal friends had
residences with adjoining gardens near the royal palace at Westminster.
The court was a center of culture as well as of government. The game of
backgammon was played. People wore belts with buckles, usually brass,
instead of knotting their belts.
London extended about a mile along the Thames and about half a mile
inland. It had narrow twisting lanes, some with a ditch down the middle
for water runoff. Most of its houses were two stories, the ground floor
having booths and workshops, and the upper floor living space. Most of
the houses were wooden structures. The richer merchants' and knights'
houses were built of stone. Walls between houses had to be stone to a
height of 16 feet and thatched roofs were banned because there had been
many fires. There was poor compliance, but some roofs were tiled with
red brick tiles. The population was about 40,000. There were over 126
churches for public worship, thirteen monasteries (including nunneries),
and St. Paul's Cathedral. All were built of stone. The churches gave a
place of worship for every 300 inhabitants and celebrated feast days,
gave alms and hospitality to strangers, confirmed betrothals or
agreements of marriage, celebrated weddings, conducted funerals, and
buried the dead. The synod of Westminster of 1175 prescribed that all
marriages were to be performed by the church. Church law required a
warning prior to suspension or excommunication. Monastic, cathedral, and
parish schools taught young boys grammar so they could sing and read in
church services. Nuns taught girls. Fish but no meat was eaten on
Fridays. There was dark rye bread and expensive white wheat bread.
Vegetables included onions, leeks, and cabbage. Fruits included apples,
pears, plums, cherries, and strawberries. Water was obtained from
streams running through the town to the Thames and from springs. Only
the rich, palaces, and churches could afford beeswax candles; others had
homemade tallow [cow or sheep fat] candles which smelled and gave off
smoke. Most people washed their bodies. Even the poor had beds and bed
clothes. The beds were often shared. Few babies survived childhood. If a
man reached 30, he could expect to live until age 50. Thousands of
Londoners died during a hot summer from fevers, plague and the like.
In London, bells heralded the start and finish of all organized
business. The sellers of merchandise and hirers of labor were
distributed every morning into their several localities according to
their trade. Vendors, craftsmen, and laborers had their customary
places. Some vendors walked the streets announcing their wares for sale.
There were craft guilds of bakers, butchers, cloth workers, and
saddlers, as well as of weavers. Vendors on the Thames River bank sold
cooked fish caught from the river and wine from ships and wine cellars.
Cook shops sold roasted meats covered with hotly spiced sauces.
London Bridge was built of stone for the first time. It was supported
by a series of stone arches standing on small man-made islands. It had
such a width that a row of wood houses and a chapel was built on top of
it. In the spring it was impassable by ships because the flow of water
under it varied in height on either side of the bridge by several feet
at half tide. The bridge had the effect of slowing down the flow
upstream, which invited wherries and rowboats and stately barges of the
nobility. In winters in which it froze over, there was ice skating, ice
boating, and fishing through holes in the ice.
Outside each city gate were clusters of ragged buildings, small
monasteries and hostelries, groups of huntsmen's kennels, and fencing
schools. Outside one of the gates, a horse market was held every week.
Horses wore horseshoes made of iron or of a crude steel. From the
southwest gate of the city along the north river bank toward
Westminster, there was a gradually extending line of rich men's mansions
and bishops' palaces. On the southern bank of the Thames River was
growing the disorderly suburb of Southwark, with fishermen's and
boatmens' hovels, and taverns and brothels that were frequented by
drunkards, rakes, and whores. On the north side of the city was a great
forest with fields and wells where students and other young men from the
city took walks in the fresh evening air. In some fields, country folk
sold pigs, cows, oxen and sheep. Mill wheels turned at various streams.
Near London in the country was a glass factory. At sunset, the gates of
London were closed for the night. All taverns had to be closed, all
lights put out, and all fires banked or covered when the bell of the
church of St. Martin le Grand rang at 9:00 p.m. Anyone found on the
streets after this curfew could be arrested. Gangs of young nobles or
gangs of thieves, cutpurses, and looters roamed the streets after dark
and sometimes rioted. Offenders were often beheaded and their heads
placed on spikes on London Bridge.
Men in London had begun weaving cloth, which formerly had been done by
women. Some of the cloth was exported. The weavers guild of London
received a charter by the King in 1155, the first granted to any London
craft: "Know that I have conceded to the Weavers of London to hold their
guild in London with all the liberties and customs which they had in the
time of King Henry [I], my grandfather; and that none may intermeddle
with the craft within the city, nor in Southwark, nor in other places
pertaining to London except through them and except he be in their
guild, otherwise than was accustomed to be done in the time of King
Henry, my grandfather ...So that each year they render thence to me two
marks [26s.8d.] of gold at the feast of St. Michael. And I forbid that
any shall do injury or contumely to them on this account under penalty
of 10 pounds [200s.]. Witness T[homas], Chancellor, and Warinus, son of
Gerard, Chamberlain, at Winchester." The liberties obtained were: 1) The
weavers may elect bailiffs to supervise the work of the craft, to punish
defaulters, and to collect the ferm [amount owed to the King]. The
bailiffs were chosen from year to year and swore before the mayor of
London to do and keep their office well and truly. 2) The bailiffs may
hold court from week to week on pleas of debt, agreements, covenants
[promises for certain performance], and minor trespasses. 3) If any of
the guild members are sued in any other court on any of the above pleas,
the guild may challenge that plea to bring it to the guild court. 4) If
any member is behind in his share of the payment to the King, the
bailiffs may distrain his loom until he has paid this.
The weavers' guild punished members who used bad thread in their weaving
or did defective weaving by showing the default to the mayor, with
opportunity for the workman to make entreaty, and the mayor and twelve
members of the guild then made a verdict of amercement of 1/2 mark
[6s.8d.] and the workman of the cloth was also punished by the guild
bailiffs according to guild custom.The weavers' guild tradition of
brotherliness among members meant that injury to a fellow weaver
incurred a severe penalty. If a weaver stole or eloigned [removed them
to a distance where they were unreachable] any other weaver's goods
falsely and maliciously, then he was dismissed from the guild and his
loom was taken by the guild to fulfill his portion of the annual payment
to the King. The weavers were allowed to buy and to sell in London
freely and quietly. They had all the rights of other freemen of the
city.
Paying an annual payment freed the weavers from liability to
inconsequent royal fines. Failure to make this payment promptly might
have led to loss of the right, hence the rigorous penalty of distraint
upon the looms of individual weavers who fell into arrears.
Thus from the middle of the 1100s, the weavers enjoyed the monopoly of
their craft, rights of supervision which ensured a high standard of
workmanship, power to punish infractions of their privileges, and full
control of their members. In this they stand as the prototype of English
medieval guilds. These rights represented the standard which all bodies
of craftsmen desired to attain. The right of independent jurisdiction
was exceptional.
In Henry II's charter to London, London did not retain its right to
appoint its own sheriff and justice given by Henry I. London's chief
magistrate was the mayor, who was appointed by the King, until 1191.
Then the mayor was elected yearly by the aldermen of the city wards and
approved by the king. He was typically a rich prince chosen by the
barons and chief merchants of London. The commoners had no voice in his
selection, but they could still approve or disapprove of the actions of
the city government at ward and folk motes. At certain periods, a king
asserted royal power over the selection of mayor and governance of the
city. There were three ways to become a citizen of London: being the son
of a citizen, apprenticeship in a craft for seven years, and purchase of
citizenship. London and Westminster growth led to their replacing
Winchester as the capital.
St. Barthomew infirmary was established in London for the care of sick
pilgrims traveling to the shrine of Becket in Canterbury. It had been
inspired by a monk who saw a vision of St. Barthomew telling him to
build a church and an infirmary.
Trading was facilitated by the stabilization of the amount of silver
metallic content of the English coinage, which was called "sterling"
[strong] silver. The compass, a magnetic lodestone [leading stone]
needle mounted on a cork and floated in a bowl of water, assisted the
navigation of ships. With it, one could tell the general direction of a
ship when the skies were cloudy as well as clear. And one could
generally track one's route by using the direction and speed of travel
to calculate one's new position. London became a major trading center
for foreign goods from many lands.
About 5% of the knights were literate. Wealthy men sent their sons to
school in monasteries to prepare them for a livelihood in a profession
or in trade or to the town of Oxford, whose individual scholars had
migrated from Paris and had attracted disciples for a long time. These
schools grew up around St. Mary's Church, but had not been started by
the church as there was no cathedral school in Oxford. Oxford had
started as a burh and had a royal residence and many tradesmen. It was
given its basic charter in 1155 by the King. This confirmed to it all
the customs, laws and liberties [rights] as those enjoyed by London. It
became a model charter for other towns.
Bachelors at Oxford studied the arts of grammar, rhetoric, and logic,
and then music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy, until they mastered
their discipline and therefore were authorized to teach it. Teaching
would then provide an income sufficient to support a wife. The master of
arts was analogous to the master craftsman of a guild. From 1190, the
civil law was studied, and shortly thereafter, canon law. Later came the
study of medicine. The use of paper supplemented the use of parchment
for writing. Irregular edged paper was made from linen, cotton, straw,
and/or wood beaten to a pulp and then spread out over a wire mesh to
dry.
Theologicians taught that the universe was made for the sake and
service of man, so man was placed at the center of the universe. Man was
made for the sake and service of God.