Justices of the Peace of the county. He had to reside in his bailiwick.
The sheriff could be sued for misfeasance such as bribery in the King's
court.
Impeachment was replaced with bill of attainder during the swift
succession of parliaments during the civil war. This was a more rapid
and efficient technique of bringing down unpopular ministers or
political foes. There was no introduction of evidence, nor opportunity
for the person accused to defend himself, nor any court procedure, as
there was with impeachment.
An example of a case of common law decided by Court of King's Bench is
Russell's Case (1482) as follows:
In the king's bench one Thomas Russell and Alice his wife brought a writ
of trespass for goods taken from Alice while she was single. The
defendant appeared and pleaded not guilty but was found guilty by a jury
at nisi prius, which assessed the damages at 20 pounds. Before the case
was next to be heard in the King's Court an injunction issued out of the
Chancery to the plaintiffs not to proceed to judgment, on pain of 100
pounds, and for a long time judgment was not asked for. Then Hussey
CJKB. asked Spelman and Fincham, who appeared for the plaintiff if they
wanted to ask for judgment according to the verdict. Fincham [P]: We
would ask for judgment, except for fear of the penalty provided for in
the injunction, for fear that our client will be imprisoned by the
Chancellor if he disobeys. Fairfax, JKB: He can ask for judgment in
spite of the injunction, for if it is addressed to the plaintiff his
attorney can ask for judgment, and vice versa. Hussey, CJKB: We have
consulted together on this matter among ourselves and we see no harm
which can come to the plaintiff if he proceeds to judgment. The law will
not make him pay the penalty provided in the injunction. If the
Chancellor wants to imprison him he must send him to the Fleet Prison,
and, as soon as you are there you will inform us and we shall issue a
habeas corpus returnable before us, and when you appear before us we
shall discharge you, so you will not come to much harm, and we shall do
all we can for you. Nevertheless, Fairfax said he would go to the
Chancellor and ask him if he would discharge the injunction. And they
asked for judgment and it was held that they should recover their
damages as assessed by the jury, but they would not give judgment for
damages caused by the vexation the plaintiff suffered through the
Chancery injunction. And they said that if the Chancellor would not
discharge the injunction, they would give judgment if the plaintiff
would ask for it.
An example of a petition to chancery in the 1400s is Hulkere v. Alcote,
as follows:
To the right reverend father in God and gracious lord bishop of Bath,
chancellor of England, your poor and continual bedwoman Lucy Hulkere,
widow of Westminster, most meekly and piteously beseeches: that whereas
she has sued for many years in the King's Bench and in the Common Pleas
for withholding diverse charters and evidences of land, leaving and
delaying her dower of the manor of Manthorpe in Lincolnshire and also of
the manor of Gildenburton in Northamptonshire, together with the
withdrawing of her true goods which her husband gave her on his deathbed
to the value of 100 pounds and more, under record of notary, sued
against Harry Alcote and Elizabeth of the foresaid Gildenburton within
the same county of Northampton. And by collusion and fickle counsel of
the foresaid Harry and Elizabeth his mother there was led and shown for
him within the Common Pleas a false release, sealed, to void and exclude
all her true suit by record of true clerks and attorneys of the
aforesaid Common Pleas. Of the which false release proved she has a copy
to show. [All this is] to her great hindrance and perpetual destruction
unless she have help and remedy by your righteous and gracious lordship
in this matter at this time. That it please your noble grace and pity
graciously to grant a writ subpoena to command the foresaid Henry Alcote
and Elizabeth Alcote to come before your presence by a certain day by
you limited in all haste that they may come to Westminster to answer to
this matter abovesaid, for love of God and a deed of charity,
considering graciously that the foresaid Harry Alcote, with another
fellow of his affinity who is not lately hanged for a thief in Franceled
her into a garden at Gildenburton and put her down on the ground, laying
upon her body a board and a summer saddle and great stones upon the
board, the foresaid Harry Alcote sitting across her feet and the other
at her head for to have slain her and murdered her, and by grace of our
lady her mother- in-law out walking heard a piteous voice crying and by
her goodness she was saved and delivered, and otherwise would be dead.
Pledges to prosecute: John Devenshire of Berdevyle in Essex and James
Kelom of London. Returnable in Michaelmas term.
- - - Chapter 11 - - -
- The Times: 1485-1509 -
Henry Tudor and other exiles defeated and killed Richard III on
Bosworth field, which ends the civil War of the Roses between the
Lancaster and York factions. As King, Henry VII restored order to the
nation. He was readily accepted as king because he was descended from
the Lancaster royal line and he married a woman from the York royal
line. Henry was intelligent and sensitive. He weighed alternatives and
possible consequences before taking action. He was convinced by reason
on what plans to make. In his reign of 24 years, Henry applied himself
diligently to the details of the work of government to make it work
well. He strengthened the monarchy, shored up the legal system to work
again, and provided a peace in the land in which a renaissance of the
arts and sciences, culture, and the intellectual life could flourish.
His primary strategy was enacting and enforcing statutes to shore up the
undermined legal system, which includes the establishment of a new
court: the Court of the Star Chamber, to obtain punishment of persons
whom juries were afraid to convict. It had no jury and no grand jury
indictment. For speed and certainty, it tried people "ex officio": by
virtue of its office. Suspects were required to take an oath ex officio,
by which they swore to truthfully answer all questions put to them. A
man could not refuse to answer on the grounds of self-incrimination. The
Star Chamber was the room in which the King's council had met since the
1300s.
The most prevalent problems were: murder, robbery, rape or forced
marriage of wealthy women, counterfeiting of coin, extortion,
misdemeanors by sheriffs and escheators, bribing of sheriffs and jurors,
perjury, livery and maintenance agreements, idleness, unlawful plays,
and riots. Interference with the course of justice was not committed
only by lords on behalf of their retainers; men of humbler station were
equally prone to help their friends in court or to give assistance in
return for payment. Rural juries were intimidated by the old baronage
and their armed retinues. Juries in municipal courts were subverted by
gangs of townsmen. Justices of the Peace didn't enforce the laws. The
agricultural work of the nation had been adversely affected.
Henry made policy with the advice of his council and had Parliament
enact it into legislation. He dominated Parliament by having selected
most of its members. Many of his council were sons of burgesses and had
been trained in universities. He chose competent and especially trusted
men for his officers and commanders of castles and garrison. The fact
that only the king had artillery deterred barons from revolting. Also,
the baronial forces were depleted due to the civil War of the Roses. If
Henry thought a magnate was exercising his territorial power to the
King's detriment, he confronted him with an army and forced him to bind
his whole family in recognizances for large sums of money to ensure
future good conduct. Since the king had the authority to interpret these
pledges, they were a formidable check on any activity which could be
considered to be disloyal. The earl of Kent, whose debts put him
entirely at the King's mercy, was bound to "be seen daily once in the
day within the King's house". Henry also required recognizances from men
of all classes, including clergy, captains of royal castles, and
receivers of land. The higher nobility now consisted of about twenty
families. The heavy fines by the Star Court put an end to conspiracies
to defraud, champerty [an agreement with a litigant to pay costs of
litigation for a share in the damages awarded], livery, and maintenance.
The ties between the nobility and the Justices of the Peace had
encouraged corruption of justice. So Henry appointed many of the lesser
gentry and attorneys as Justices of the Peace. Also he appointed a few
of his councilors as nonresident Justices of the Peace. There were a
total of about thirty Justices of the Peace per county. Their
appointments were indefinite and most remained until retirement or
death. Henry instituted the Yeomen of the Guard to be his personal
bodyguards night and day.
Many bills of attainder caused lords to lose their land to the King.
Most of these lords had been chronic disturbers of the peace. Henry
required retainers to be licensed, which system lasted until about 1600.
Henry was also known to exhaust the resources of barons he suspected of
disloyalty by accepting their hospitality for himself and his household
for an extended period of time.
Henry built up royal funds by using every available procedure of
government to get money, by maximizing income from royal estates by
transferring authority over them from the Exchequer to knowledgeable
receivers, and from forfeitures of land and property due to attainders
of treason. He also personally reviewed all accounts and initialed every
page, making sure that all payments were made. He regularly ordered all
men with an income of 800s. [40 pounds] yearly from lands or revenue in
hand to receive knighthoods, which were avoided by those who did not
want to fight, or pay a high fee. As a result, the Crown became rich and
therefore powerful.
Henry's Queen, Elizabeth, was a good influence on his character. Her
active beneficence was a counteracting influence to his avaricious
predisposition. When Henry and his Queen traveled through the nation,
they often stopped to talk to the common people. They sometimes gave
away money, such as to a man who had lost his hand. Henry paid for an
intelligent boy he met to go to school.
Henry had the first paper mill erected in the nation. He fostered the
reading of books and the study of Roman law, the classics, and the
Bible. He had his own library and gave books to other libraries.
The age of entry to university was between 13 and 16. It took four
years' study of grammar, logic, and rhetoric to achieve the Bachelor of
Arts degree and another five before a master could begin a specialized
study of the civil law, canon law, theology, or medicine. Humanist
studies were espoused by individual scholars at the three centers of
higher learning: Oxford University, Cambridge University, and the Inns
of Court in London. The Inns of Court attracted the sons of gentry and
merchants pursuing practical and social accomplishments. The text of
"readings" to members of the inns survive from this time. In the
legalistic climate of these times, attorneys were prosperous.
The enclosure of land by hedges for sheep farming continued, especially
by rich merchants who bought country land for this purpose. Often this
was land that had been under the plough. Any villeins were given their
freedom and they and the tenants at will were thrown off it immediately.
That land held by copyholders of land who had only a life estate, was
withheld from their sons. Only freeholders and copyholders with the
custom of the manor in their favor were secure against eviction. But
they could be pressured to sell by tactics such as breeding rabbits or
keeping geese on adjoining land to the detriment of their crops, or
preventing them from taking their traditional short cuts across the now
enclosed land to their fields. The real line of distinction between
rural people was one of material means instead of legal status: free or
unfree. On one extreme was the well-to-do yeoman farmer farming his own
land. On the other extreme was the agricultural laborer working for
wages. Henry made several proclamations ordering certain enclosures to
be destroyed and tillage to be restored.
Other land put to use for sheep breeding was waste land. There were
three sheep to every person. The nearby woodlands no longer had wolves
or lynx who could kill the sheep. Bears and elk are also gone.There were
still deer, wild boar, wildcats and wild cattle in vast forests for the
lords to hunt. Wood was used for houses, arms, carts, bridges, and
ships.
The villages were still isolated from each other, so that a visitor
from miles away was treated as warily as a foreigner. Most people lived
and died where they had been born. A person's dialect indicated his
place of origin. The life of the village still revolved around the
church. In some parishes, its activities were highly organized, with
different groups performing different functions. For example, the
matrons looked after a certain altar; the maidens raised money for a
chapel or saw to the gilding of the images; the older men collected
money for church repair; and the younger men organized the church ales
and the church plays. Wills often left property or rents from leased
land to the church. Church cows and sheep given could be leased out to
villagers. Church buildings given could be leased out, turned over to
the poor, used to brew ale or bake bread for church ales, or used in
general as a place for church activities. Church ales would usually a
good source of income; alehouses would be closed during the ceremonies
and parishioners would contribute malt for the ale and grain, eggs,
butter, cheese, and fruits.
The largest town, London, had a population of about 70,000. Other towns
had a population less than 20,000. The population was increasing, but
did not reach the level of the period just before the black death.
In most large towns, there were groups of tailors and hatmakers,
glovers, and other leatherworkers. Some towns had a specialization due
to their proximity to the sources of raw materials, such as nails,
cutlery, and effigies and altars. Despite the spread of wool
manufacturing to the countryside, there was a marked increase of
industry and prosperity in the towns. The principal streets of the
larger towns were paved with gravel. Guild halls became important and
imposing architecturally.
A large area of London was taken up by walled gardens of the
monasteries and large mansions. There were some houses of stone and
timber and some mansions of brick and timber clustered around palaces.
In these, bedrooms increased in number, with rich bed hangings, linen
sheets, and bolsters. Bedspreads were introduced. Nightgowns were worn.
Fireplaces became usual in all the rooms. Tapestries covered the walls.
Carpets were used in the private rooms. Some of the great halls had
tiled floors. The old trestle tables were replaced by tables with legs.
Benches and stools had backs to lean on. A long gallery was used for
exercise, recreation such as music and dancing, and private
conversations. Women and men wore elaborate headdresses. On the outer
periphery are taverns and brothels, both made of mud and straw. Houses
are beginning to be built outside the walls of London along the Thames
because the collapse of the power of the great feudal lords decreased
the fear of an armed attack on London. The merchants introduced this
idea of living at a distance from the place of work so that they could
escape living in the narrow, damp, and dark lanes of the City and have
more light and space. Indeed no baronial army ever threatened the king
again. East of London were cattle pastures, flour mills, bakers,
cloth-fulling mills, lime burners, brick and tile makers, bell founders,
and ship repairing. There was a drawbridge on the south part of London
Bridge for defense and to let ships through. Water sports were played on
the Thames such as tilting at each other with lances from different
boats.
The Tailors' and Linen Armorers' Guild received a charter in 1503 from
the king as the "Merchant Tailors" to use all wares and merchandise,
especially wool cloth, as well wholesale as retail, throughout the
nation. Some schooling was now being made compulsory in certain trades;
the goldsmiths' company made a rule that all apprentices had to be able
to read and write. There are guilds of ironmongers, salters, and
haberdashers [hats and caps]
A yeoman was the second-rank person of some importance, below a knight,
below a gentleman, below a full member of a guild. In London, it meant
the journeyman or second adult in a small workshop. These yeomen had
their own fraternities and were often on strike. Some yeomen in the
large London industries, e.g. goldsmiths, tailors, cloth workers, who
had served an apprenticeship started their own businesses in London
suburbs outside the jurisdiction of their craft to search them.
The Merchant Adventurers created a London fellowship confederacy to
make membership of their society and compliance with its regulations
binding on all cloth traders and to deal with common interests and
difficulties such as taxation, relations with rulers, and dangers at
sea. They made and enforced trading rules, chartered fleets, and
organized armed convoys when the seas were unsafe and coordinated
policies with Henry VII. Membership could be bought for a large fee or
gained by apprenticeship or by being the son of a member.
Tudor government was paternalistic, curtailing cutthroat competition,
fixing prices and wages, and licensing production under grants of
monopoly to achieve a stable and contented society and a fair living for
all.
Foreign trade was revived because it was a period of comparative peace.
The nation sought to sell as much as possible to foreign nations and to
buy at little as possible and thereby increase its wealth in gold and
silver, which could be used for currency.
Ships weighed 200 tons and had twice the cargo space they had
previously. Their bows were more pointed and their high prows made them
better able to withstand gales. The mariners' compass with a pivoting
needle and circular dial with a scale was introduced. The scale gave
precision to directions. Ships had three masts. On the first was a
square sail. On the second was a square sail with a small rectangular
sail above it. On the third was a three cornered lateen sail. These
sails make it possible to sail in almost any direction. This opened the
seas of the world to navigation. At this time navigators kept their
knowledge and expertise secret from others. Adventurous seamen went on
voyages of discovery, such as John Cabot to North America in 1497,
following Italian Christopher Columbus' discovery of the new world in
1492. Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal circumnavigated the world in 1519,
proving uncontrovertedly that the earth was spherical rather than flat.
Theologians had to admit that Jerusalem was not the center of the world.
Sailors overcame their fear of tumbling into one of the openings into
hell that they believed were far out into the Atlantic Ocean and ceased
to believe that a red sunset in the morning was due to a reflection from
hell. Seamen could venture forth into the darkness of the broad Atlantic
Ocean with a fair expectation of finding their way home again. They
gradually learned that there were no sea serpents or monsters that would
devour foolhardy mariners. They learned to endure months at sea on a
diet of salt beef, beans, biscuits, and stale water and the bare deck
for a bed. But there were still mutinies and disobedient pilots.
Mortality rates among seamen were high. There are more navy ships, and
they have some cannon.
The blast furnace was introduced in the iron industry. A blast of hot
air was constantly forced from a stove into the lower part of the
furnace which was heating at high temperature a mixture of the iron ore
and a reducing agent that combined with the oxygen released. After the
iron was extracted, it was allowed to harden and then reheated and
hammered on an anvil to shape it and to force out the hard, brittle
impurities. Blast furnace heat was maintained by bellows worked by water
wheels. Alchemists sought to make gold from the baser metals and to make
a substance that would give them immortality. There was some thought
that suffocation in mines, caverns, wells, and cellars was not due to
evil spirits, but to bad air such as caused by "exhalation of metals".
In 1502, German Peter Henlein invented the pocket watch and the
mainspring inside it.
There were morality plays in which the seven deadly sins: pride,
covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth, fought the seven
cardinal virtues: faith, hope, charity, prudence, temperance, justice,
and strength, respectively, for the human soul. The play "Everyman"
demonstrates that every man can get to heaven only by being virtuous and
doing good deeds in his lifetime. It emphasizes that death may come
anytime to every man, when his deeds will be judged as to their goodness
or sinfulness. Card games were introduced. The legend of Robin Hood was
written down.
The Commons gained the stature of the Lords and statutes were regularly
enacted by the "assent of the Lords spiritual and temporal and the
Commons". The Commons now assented instead merely requested enactments.
- The Law -
Royal proclamations clarifying, refining or amplifying the law had the
force of parliamentary statutes. In 1486, the King proclaimed that
"Forasmuch as many of the King our sovereign lord's subjects [have] been
disposed daily to hear feigned, contrived, and forged tidings and tales,
and the same tidings and tales, neither dreading God nor his Highness,
utter and tell again as though they were true, to the great hurt of
divers of his subjects and to his grievous displeasure: Therefore, in
eschewing of such untrue and forged tidings and tales, the King our said
sovereign lord straitly chargeth and commandeth that no manner person,
whatsoever he be, utter nor tell any such tidings or tales but he bring
forth the same person the which was author and teller of the said
tidings or tales, upon pain to be set on the pillory, there to stand as
long as it shall be thought convenient to the mayor, bailiff, or other
official of any city, borough, or town where it shall happen any such
person to be taken and accused for any such telling or reporting of any
such tidings or tales. Furthermore the same our sovereign lord straitly
chargeth and commandeth that all mayors, bailiffs, and other officers
diligently search and inquire of all such persons tellers of such
tidings and tales not bringing forth the author of the same, and them
set on the pillory as it is above said." He also proclaimed in 1487 that
no one, except peace officers, may carry a weapon, e.g. bows, arrows, or
swords, in any town or city unless on a journey. He proclaimed in 1498
that no one may refuse to receive silver pennies or other lawful coin as
payment regardless of their condition as clipped, worn, thin, or old, on
pain of imprisonment and further punishment.