tenements by knight's service of the king shall have a writ of right for
wardship of the body as well as of the land of any minor heir of a
deceased person who had the use [beneficial enjoyment of a trust] of the
land for himself and his heirs as if the land had been in the possession
of the deceased person. And if such an heir is of age, he shall pay
relief to the lord as if he had inherited possession of the land. An
heir in ward shall have an action of waste against his lord as if his
ancestor had died seised of the land. That is, lands of "those who use"
shall be liable for execution of his debt and to the chief lord for his
relief and heriot, and if he is a bondsman, they may be seized by the
lord. The king tried to retain the benefits of feudal incidents on land
by this Statute of Uses, but attorneys sought to circumvent it by
drafting elaborate and technical instruments to convey land free of
feudal burdens.
Any woman who has an estate in dower, or for a term of life, or in
[fee] tail, jointly with her husband, or only to herself, or to her use,
in any manors, lands, tenements, or other hereditaments of the
inheritance or purchase of her husband, or given to the said husband and
wife in tail, or for term of life, by any of the ancestors of the said
husband, or by any other person seised to the use of the said husband,
or of his ancestors, who, by herself or with any after taken husband;
discontinue, alienate, release, confirm with warranty or, by collusion,
allow any recovery of the same against them or any other seised to their
use, such action shall be void. Then, the person to whom the interest,
title, or inheritance would go after the death of such woman may enter
and possess such premises. This does not affect the common law that a
woman who is single or remarried may give, sell, or make discontinuance
of any lands for the term of her life only.
All deeds of gift of goods and chattels made of trust, to the use of
the giver [grantor and beneficiary of trust], to defraud creditors are
void.
It is a felony to carry off against her will, a woman with lands and
tenements or movable goods, or who is heir-apparent to an ancestor. This
includes taking, procuring, abetting, or knowingly receiving a woman
taken against her will.
A vagabond, idle, or suspected person shall be put in the stocks for
three days with only bread and water, and then be put out of the town.
If he returns, he shall spend six days in the stocks. (A few years later
this was changed to one and three days, respectively.) Every beggar who
is not able to work, shall return to the hundred where he last dwelled,
is best known, or was born and stay there.
No one may take pheasants or partridges by net snares or other devices
from his own warren [breeding ground], upon the freehold of any other
person, or else forfeit 200s., one half to the owner of the land and the
other half to the suer. No one may take eggs of any falcon, hawk, or
swan out of their nest, whether it is on his land or any other man's
land, on pain of imprisonment for one year and fine at the King's will,
one half to the King, and the other half to the holder of the land, or
owner of the swan. No man shall bear any English hawk, but shall have a
certificate for any imported hawk, on pain for forfeiture of such. No
one shall drive falcons or hawks from their customary breeding place to
another place to breed or slay any for hurting him, or else forfeit
200s. after examination by a Justice of the Peace, one half going to the
king and one half to the suer.
Any person without a forest of his own who has a net device with which
to catch deer shall pay 200s. for each month of possession. Anyone
stalking a deer with beasts anywhere not in his own forest shall forfeit
200s. Anyone taking any heron by device other than a hawk or long bow
shall forfeit 6s.8d. No one shall take a young heron from its nest or
pay 10s. for each such heron. Two justices may decide such an issue, and
one tenth of the fine shall go to them.
No man shall shoot a crossbow except in defense of his house, other
than a lord or one having 2,667s. of land because their use had resulted
in too many deer being killed. (The longbow was not forbidden.)
No beasts may be slaughtered or cut up by butchers within the walls of
a town, or pay 12d. for every ox and 8d. for every cow or other beast,
so that people will not be annoyed and distempered by foul air, which
may cause them sickness.
No tanner may be a currier [dressed, dyed, and finished tanned leather]
and no currier may be a tanner. No shoemaker [cordwainer] may be a
currier and no currier may be a shoemaker. No currier shall curry hides
which have not been tanned. No tanner shall sell other than red leather.
No tanner may sell a hide before it is dried. No tanner may tan
sheepskins.
No long bow shall be sold over the price of 3s.4d.
Good wood for making bows may be imported without paying customs.
No grained cloth of the finest making shall be sold for more than 16s.,
nor any other colored cloth for more than 11s. per yard, or else forfeit
40s. for every yard so sold. No hat shall be sold for more than 20d. and
no cap shall be sold for more than 2s.8d., or else forfeit 40s. for each
so sold.
Silver may not be sold or used for any use but goldsmithery or amending
of plate to make it good as sterling, so that there will be enough
silver with which to make coinage.
Each feather bed, bolster, or pillow for sale shall be stuffed with one
type of stuffing, that is, dry pulled feathers or with clean down alone,
and with no sealed feathers nor marsh grass, nor any other corrupt
stuffings. Each quilt, mattress, or cushion for sale shall be stuffed
with one type of stuffing, that is, clean wool, or clean flocks alone,
and with no horsehair, marsh grass, neatshair, deershair, or goatshair,
which is wrought in lime fats and gives off an abominable and contagious
odor when heated by a man's body, on pain of forfeiture of such.
Salmon shall be sold by standard volume butts and barrels. Large salmon
shall be sold without any small fish or broken-bellied salmon and the
small fish shall be packed by themselves only, or else forfeit 6s.8d.
Herring shall be sold at standard volumes. The herring shall be as good
in the middle and in every part of the package as at the ends of the
package, or else forfeit 3s.4d. Eels shall be sold at standard volumes,
and good eels shall not be mixed with lesser quality eels, or else
forfeit 10s. The fish shall be packed in the manner prescribed or else
forfeit 3s.4d. for each vessel.
Fustians shall always be shorn with the long shear, so that it can be
worn for at least two years. If an iron or anything else used to dress
such injures the cloth so that it wears out after four months, 20s.
shall be forfeited for each default, one half to the king and the other
half to the suer.
Pewter and brass ware for sale shall be of the quality of that of
London and marked by its maker, on pain of forfeiture of such, and may
be sold only at open fairs and markets or in the seller's home, or else
forfeit 200s. If such false ware is sold, its maker shall forfeit its
value, one half to the king and one half to the searchers. Anyone using
false weights of such wares shall forfeit 20s., one half to the king and
one half to the suer, or if he cannot pay this fine, to be put in the
stocks until market day and then be put in the pillory all the market
time.
No alien nor denizen [foreigner allowed to reside in the nation with
certain rights and privileges] may carry out of the nation any raw wool
or any woolen cloth which has not been barbed, rowed, and shorn.
Silk ribbons, laces, and girdles of silk may not be imported, since
they can be made in the nation.
No one shall import wine into the nation, but on English ships, or else
forfeit the wine, one half to the king and one half to the seizer of the
wine.
No one may take out of the nation any [male] horse or any mare worth
more than 6s.8s. or under the age of three years, upon pain of
forfeiture of such. However, a denizen may take a horse for his own use
and not to sell. This is to stop losing horses needed for defense of the
nation and to stop the price of a horse from going up.
Freemen of London may go to fairs and markets with wares to sell,
despite the London ordinance to the contrary.
Merchants residing in the nation but outside London shall have free
access to foreign markets without exaction taken of more than 133s.
sterling by the confederacy of London merchants, which have increased
their fee so much, 400s., that merchants not in the confederacy have
been driven to sell their goods in London for less than they would get
at a foreign market. Exacting more is punishable by a fine of 400s. and
damages to the grieved party of ten times the excess amount taken.
For the privilege of selling merchandise, a duty of scavage shall be
taken of merchant aliens, but not of denizens. Any town official who
allows disturbing of a person trying to sell his merchandise because he
has not paid scavage, shall pay a fine of 400s.
Coin clipped or diminished shall not be current in payment, but may be
converted at the King's mint into plate or bullion. Anyone refusing to
take coins with only normal wear may be imprisoned by the mayor,
sheriff, bailiff, constable or other chief officer. New coins, which
have a circle or inscription around the outer edge, will be deemed
clipped if this circle or inscription is interfered with.
The penalty for usury is placement in the pillory, imprisonment for
half a year, and a fine of 400s. (The penalty was later changed to one
half thereof.)
Lawbooks in use at the Inns of Court included "The Books of Magna Carta
with diverse Old Statutes", "Doctor and Student" by St. Germain, "Grand
Abridgment" by Fitzherbert, and "New Natura Brevium" by Lombard.
- Judicial Procedure -
This stastute made changes in the judicial process: The Chancellor,
Treasurer, keeper of the King's privy seal, or two of them, with a
bishop selected by them, and a temporal lord of the King's council
selected by them, and the two Chief Justices of the King's Bench shall
constitute the court of the Star Chamber. It shall have the authority to
call before it by writ or by privy seal anyone accused of "unlawful
maintenances, giving of liveries, signs and tokens, and retainers by
indentures, promises, oaths, writings, or otherwise embraceries of his
subjects" and witnesses, and impose punishment as if convicted under due
process of law. These laws shall now be enforced: If a town does not
punish the murderer of a man murdered in the town, the town shall be
punished. A town shall hold any man who wounds another in peril of
death, until there is perfect knowledge whether the man hurt should live
or die. Upon viewing a dead body, the coroner should inquire of the
killers, their abettors, and anyone present at the killing and certify
these names. In addition, the murderer and accessories indicted shall be
tried at the King's suit within a year of the murder, which trial will
not be delayed until a private suit is taken. If acquitted at the King's
suit, he shall go back to prison or let out with bail for the remainder
of the year, in which time the slain man's wife or next of kin may sue.
For every inquiry made upon viewing a slain body coroners shall be paid
13s.4d. out of the goods of the slayer or from a town not taking a
murderer, but letting him escape. If the coroner does not make inquiry
upon viewing a dead body, he shall be fined 100s. to the King. If a
party fails to appear for trial after a justice has taken bail from him,
a record of such shall be sent to the King.
Henry sat on the Star Chamber Up to 1600, it heard many cases of
forgery, perjury, riot, maintenance, fraud, libel, and conspiracy. It
could mete out any punishment, except death or any dismemberment. This
included life imprisonment, fines, pillory, whipping, branding, and
mutilation. Henry VII sat on it. If a Justice of the Peace does not act
on any person's complaint, that person may take that complaint to
another Justice of the Peace, and if there is no remedy then, he may
take his complaint to a Justice of Assize, and if there is not remedy
then, he may take his complaint to the King or the Chancellor. There
shall then be inquiry into why the other justices did not remedy the
situation. If it is found that they were in default in executing the
laws, they shall forfeit their commissions and be punished according to
their demerits.
Justices of the Peace shall make inquiry of all offenses in unlawful
retaining, examine all suspects, and certify them to the King's Bench
for trial there or in the King's council, and the latter might also
proceed against suspects on its own initiative on information given.
Perjury committed by unlawful maintenance, embracing, or corruption of
officers, or in the Chancery, or before the King's council, shall be
punished in the discretion of the Chancellor, Treasurer, both the Chief
Justices, and the clerk of the rolls.
The Star Chamber, Chancellor, King's Bench and King and council have
the power to examine all defendants, by oath or otherwise, to adjudge
them convicted or attainted. They can also be found guilty by
confession, examination, or otherwise. If a defendant denied doing the
acts of which he is convicted, he was subject to an additional fine to
the king and imprisonment. Violations of statutes may be heard by the
Justices of Assize or the Justices of the Peace, except treason, murder,
and other felony.
Actions on the case shall be treated as expeditiously in the courts of
the King's Bench and Common Pleas as actions of trespass or debt.
Proclamation at four court terms of a levy of a fine shall be a final
end to an issue of land, tenements, or other hereditaments and the
decision shall bind persons and their heirs, whether they have knowledge
or not of the decision, except for women-covert who were not parties,
persons under the age of twenty-one, in prison, out of the nation, or
not of whole mind, who are not parties. These may sue within five years
of losing such condition. Also, anyone not a party may claim a right,
title, claim, or interest in the said lands, tenements, or other
hereditaments at the time of such fine recorded, within five years after
proclamations of the fine.
A defendant who appeals a decision for the purpose of delaying
execution of such shall pay costs and damages to the plaintiff for the
delay.
No sheriff, undersheriff, or county clerk shall enter any complaints in
their books unless the complaining party is present. And no more
complaints than the complaining party knows about shall be entered. The
penalty is 40s. for each such false complaint, one half to the king and
the other half to the suer after examination by a Justice of the Peace.
This is to prevent extortion of defendants by false complaints. The
justice shall certify this examination to the King, on pain of a fine of
40s. A bailiff of a hundred who does not do his duty to summon
defendants shall pay a fine of 40s. for each such default, after
examination by a Justice of the Peace. Sheriffs' records of fines
imposed and bailiffs' records of fines collected may be reviewed by a
Justice of the Peace to examine for deceit.
Any sheriff allowing a prisoner to escape, whether from negligence or
for a bribe, shall be fined, if the prisoner was indicted of high
treason, at least 1,333s. for each escape. However, if the prisoner was
in their keeping because of a suspicion of high treason, the fine shall
be at least 800s.; and if indicted of murder or petite treason, at least
400s.; and if suspected of murder or petite treason, 200s.; and if
suspected of other felonies, 100s. Petite treason was that by a wife to
her husband or a man to his lord.
Any person not responding to a summons for jury service shall be fined
12d. for the first default, and 2s. for the second, and double for each
subsequent default.
A pauper may sue in any court and be assigned a attorney at no cost to
him.
A Justice of the Peace to whom has been reported hunting by persons
disguised with painted faces or visors or otherwise, may issue a warrant
for the sheriff or other county officer to arrest such persons and bring
them before the justice. Such hunting in disguise or hunting at night or
disobeying such warrant is a felony. This is to stop large mobs of
disguised people from hunting together and then causing riots,
robberies, and murders.
Benefit of clergy may be used only once, since this privilege has made
clerics more bold in committing murder, rape, robbery, and theft.
However, there will be no benefit of clergy in the case of murder of
one's immediate lord, master, or sovereign. (This begins the gradual
restriction over many years of benefit of clergy until it disappears.
Also, benefit of clergy was often disregarded in unpeaceful times.)
For an issue of riot or unlawful assembly, the sheriff shall call 24
jurors, each of lands and tenements at least 20s. of charter land or
freehold or 26s.8d. of copyhold or of both. For each default of the
sheriff, he shall pay 400s. And if the jury acquits, then the justice,
sheriff, and under-sheriff shall certify the names of any jurors
maintained or embraced and their misdemeanors, or else forfeit 400s. Any
person proved to be a maintainer or embracer shall forfeit 400s. to the
king and be committed to ward.
The principal leaders of any riot or unlawful assembly shall be
imprisoned and fined and be bound to the peace with sureties at a sum
determined by the Justices of the Peace. If the riot is by forty people
or heinous, the Justices of Peace shall certify such and send the record
of conviction to the King.
The King's steward, Treasurer, and comptroller have authority to
question by twelve discreet persons any servant of the king about making
any confederacies, compassings, conspiracies, or imaginations with any
other person to destroy or murder the king or one of his council or a
lord. Trial shall be by twelve men of the King's household and
punishment as by felony in the common law.
Ohanges in the judicial process other than those made by statute were
made by court decision. For instance, the royal justices decided that
only the king could grant sanctuary for treason and not the church.
After this, the church withdrew the right of sanctuary from second time
offenders.
The King's council has practically limited itself to cases in which the
state has an interest, especially the maintenance of public order.
Chancery became an independent court rather than the arm of the king and
his council. In Chancery and the King's Bench, the intellectual revival
brought by humanism inspires novel procedures to be devised to meet
current problems in disputed titles to land, inheritance, debt, breach
of contract, promises to perform acts or services, deceit, nuisance,
defamation, and the sale of goods.
A new remedy is specific performance, that is, performance of an act
rather than money damages.
Evidence is now taken from witnesses.
Various courts had overlapping jurisdiction. For instance, trespass
could be brought in the Court of Common Pleas because it was a civil
action between two private persons. It could also be brought in the
Court of the King's Bench because it broke the King's peace. It was
advantageous for a party to sue for trespass in the King's court because
there a defendant could be made to pay a fine to the king or be
imprisoned, or declared outlaw if he did not appear at court.
A wrongful step on the defendant's land, a wrongful touch to his person
or chattels could be held to constitute sufficient force and an adequate
breach of the king's peace to sustain a trespass action. A new form of
action is trespass on the case, which did not require the element of
force or of breach of the peace that the trespass offense requires.
Trespass on the case [or "case" for short] expands in usage to cover
many types of situations. Stemming from it is "assumpsit", which
provided damages for breach of an oral agreement and for a written
agreement without a seal.
Parliament's supremacy over all regular courts of law was firmly
established and it was called "the high court of Parliament",
paradoxically, since it rarely came to function as a law court.
When a land holder enfeoffs his land and tenements to people unknown to
the remainderman in [fee] tail, so that he does not know who to sue, he
may sue the receiver of the profits of the land and tenements for a
remedy. And the receivers shall have the same advantages and defenses as
the feoffees or as if they were tenants. And if any deceased person had
the use for himself and his heirs, then any of his heirs shall have the
same advantages and defenses as if his ancestor had died seised of the
land and tenements. And all recoveries shall be good against all
receivers and their heirs, and the feofees and their heirs, and the co-
feoffees of the receivers and their heirs, as though the receivers were
tenants indeed, or feofees to their use, or their heirs of the freehold
of the land and tenements.
If a person feoffs his land to other persons while retaining the use
thereof for himself, it shall be treated as if he were still seised of
the land. Thus, relief and heriot will still be paid for land in socage.
And debts and executions of judgments may be had upon the land and
tenements.
The penalty for not paying customs is double the value of the goods.
The town of London shall have jurisdiction over flooding and unlawful
fishing nets in that part of the Thames River that flows next to it.
The city of London shall have jurisdiction to enforce free passage of
boats on the Thames River in the city, interruption of which carries a
fine of 400s., two-thirds to the king and one third to the suer.
Jurors impaneled in London shall be of lands, tenements, or goods and
chattels, to the value of 133s. And if the case concerns debt or damages
at least 133s, the jurors shall have lands, tenements, goods, or
chattels, to the value of 333s. This is to curtail the perjury that has
gone on with jurors of little substance, discretion, and reputation.
A party grieved by a false verdict of any court in London may appeal to
the Hustings Court of London, which hears common pleas before the mayor
and aldermen. Each of the twelve alderman shall pick from his ward four
jurors of the substance of at least 2,000s. to be impaneled. If
twenty-four of them find that the jurors of the petty jury has given an
untrue verdict, each such juror shall pay a fine of at least 400s. and
imprisonment not more than six months without release on bail or surety.
However, if it is found that the verdict was true, then the grand jury
may inquire if any juror was bribed. If so, such juror bribed and the
defendant who bribed him shall each pay ten times the amount of the
bribe to the plaintiff and be imprisoned not more than six months
without release on bail or surety.
The Bishop's Court in London had nine offenders a week by 1500. Half of
these cases were for adultery and sexual offenses, and the rest were for
slander, blasphemy, missing church services, and breach of faith.
Punishment was penance by walking barefoot before the cross in the
Sunday Procession dressed in a sheet and holding a candle.
- - - Chapter 12 - - -
- The Times: 1509-1558 -
Renaissance humanism came into being in the nation. In this
development, scholars in London, Oxford, and Cambridge emphasized the
value of classical learning, especially Platonism and the study of Greek
literature as the means of better understanding and writing. They
studied the original Greek texts and became disillusioned with the
filtered interpretations of the church, for example of the Bible and
Aristotle. There had long been displeasure with the priests of the
church. They were supposed to preach four times yearly, visit the sick,
say the daily liturgies, and hear confessions at least yearly. But there
were many lapses. Many were not celibate, and some openly lived with a
woman and had children. Complaints about them included not residing
within their parish community, doing other work such as raising crops,
and taking too much in probate, mortuary fees, and marriage fees.
Probate fees had risen from at most 5s. to 60s. in the last hundred
years. Mortuary fees ranged from 1/3 to 1/9 of a deceased person's
goods. Sanctuary was abused. People objected to the right of arrest by
ecclesiastical authorities.
Also, most parish priests did not have a theology degree or even a
Bachelor's degree, as did many laymen. In fact, many laymen were better
educated than the parish priests. No one other than a laborer was
illiterate in the towns.