THE FEUDAL STRUCTURE
1. Frankalmoin, _temp._ Hen. II.--2. Knight Service, 1308--3. Grand
Serjeanty, 1319--4. Petty Serjeanty, 1329--5. An action on the feudal
incidents due from land held by petty serjeanty, 1239-40--6. Free
socage, 1342--7. Commutation of a serjeanty for knight service,
1254--8. Commutation of service for rent, 1269--9. Subinfeudation,
1278--10. Licence for the widow of a tenant in chief to marry,
1316--11. Marriage of a widow without licence, 1338--12. Alienation
of land by a tenant in chief without licence, 1273--13. Wardship and
marriage, 1179-80--14. Grant of an heir's marriage, 1320--15.
Wardship, 1337--16. Collection of a carucage, 1198--17. An
acquittance of the collectors of scutage of a sum of 10l. levied by
them and repaid, 1319--18. Payment of fines in lieu of knight
service, 1303--19. The assessment of a tallage, 1314--20. A writ
_Precipe_, _c._ 1200--21. Articles of enquiry touching rights and
liberties and the state of the realm, 1274--- 22. Wreck of sea, 1337.
The general characteristics of feudalism as a system by which the
administrative, legislative and judicial functions of the state had
their basis in the tenure of land, are well known. In the following
documents an attempt has been made to illustrate the development of
English feudalism under the direction of a strong central government,
which succeeded in controlling the centrifugal force of feudal
institutions and in establishing a national administration dependent on
the crown and antagonistic to local franchise. By the end of the
thirteenth century the crown was firmly entrenched behind well developed
courts of permanent officials, having at the same time retained its
control of local affairs by preventing the office of sheriff from
becoming hereditary; in the sphere of justice, the central courts of
King's Bench and Common Pleas, supplemented by the itinerant Justices
of Assize and by the energy of the Chancellor in devising new remedies
and new legal actions, were slowly but surely undermining the manorial
justice of the greater tenants, a process well understood by the framers
of _Magna Carta_; while the creation of Parliament brought into being an
institution destined to rival and ultimately to supersede the exclusive
claims of the lords, the feudal council, to advise and control the
crown. While therefore the worst tendencies of feudalism were
neutralised, the sovereign's hold on the land was tightened, and feudal
obligations were reduced to a rigid system which persisted until the
Civil War of the seventeenth century. The administration of this branch
of royal rights, facilitated by the existence of Domesday Book and the
rapid development of the Exchequer, was locally in the hands of the
sheriffs for a century and a half after the Conquest; but the growth of
business, due to the increase of population and the subdivision of the
original knights' fees, necessitated the creation of a separate
official. Already in the time of Richard I., there appears "the keeper
of the king's escheats," and early in the reign of Henry III. the
sheriffs are relieved by the two escheators, one on each side of the
Trent, who answer directly at the Exchequer, although it is not until
the year 17 Edward II. (1323-4) that their accounts are transferred from
the Pipe Roll to a separate enrolment.
The office of escheator passed through a period of experimental
fluctuation during the first half of the fourteenth century; Edward I.
in 1275 temporarily abolished the original two escheatries, dividing the
realm into three stewardships with the sheriffs as escheators in each
county; Edward II. in 1323 divided the country into ten escheatries,[44]
a plan readopted by Edward III. in 1340; between 1332 and 1340 there
were five escheators, between 1341 and 1357 the office was held by the
sheriffs, though separate patents were issued, while from 1357 onwards
the office suffered no change of importance until the Tudor period, when
the Court of Wards was established (32 Henry VIII.) and the feodary
appears. The functions of the escheator were to take into the king's
hand and administer the lands of all tenants in chief and of others
whose lands by death, escheat or forfeiture, fell to the crown, to
deliver seisin to the heirs, after taking security for the payment of
relief, to make partitions of lands among heiresses, to assign dowers to
the widows of tenants, and in general to watch over the interests of the
crown in all matters of feudal obligation.
The documents given below show the machinery in operation. Instances are
given of the different tenures[45] (Nos. 1 to 6), while the uncertainty
prevailing in the twelfth century as to the incidents due from land held
by serjeanty is illustrated in No. 5. The gradual substitution of a
money economy for a feudal economy, which finds expression in scutage
(No. 17) and otherwise (No. 18), encouraged an elasticity of tenure
which made a change from serjeanty to knight service (No. 7) and from
personal service to a rent (No. 8) convenient equally to lord and
tenant. The degree to which subinfeudation had commonly proceeded in the
thirteenth century is shown in No. 9, and the burden of the feudal
incidents is exemplified in Nos. 10 to 15. The ordinary revenues of the
Crown from feudal incidents and aids, rents, the profits of justice, and
escheats, were never sufficient to meet emergencies, just as the feudal
army was inadequate for a protracted campaign, and hence the Crown was
forced to resort on the one hand to a universal land-tax (No. 16) or a
limited exaction from the crown demesnes (No. 19), and on the other to a
tax on the feudal unit, the knight's fee (No. 17); the provisions for
the collection of a carucage illustrate the royal determination to exact
the uttermost farthing, while the assessment of a scutage was conducted
on the modern principle of extracting the money first and settling the
liability afterwards. No. 20 is a rare surviving instance of an original
writ _Precipe_ issued before _Magna Carta_, and shows precisely the
method of the royal procedure in attracting legal causes to the King's
jurisdiction out of the hands of the lord. The section concludes with
the important articles of enquiry initiated by Edward I., which led to
the compilation of the Hundred Rolls and the proceedings _quo warranto_,
and also set out in detail the King's conception of his sovereignty and
of the royal origin of all feudal franchises and liberties (No. 21);
while the last document (No. 22) furnishes a curious instance of one of
the minor royal rights.
AUTHORITIES
The principal modern writers dealing with the subject of this section
are:--Pollock & Maitland, _History of English Law_; Maitland,
_Lectures on Constitutional History_; Stubbs, _Constitutional
History_; Hazlitt, _Tenures of land and customs of manors_; Round,
_Feudal England_; Round, _The King's Serjeants and Officers of
State_; Baldwin, _Scutage and Knight Service in England_; McKechnie,
_Magna Carta_; Freeman, _Norman Conquest_; Hatschek, _Englische
Verfassungsgeschichte_; Digby, _History of the Law of Real Property_.
_Documentary authorities_:--The principal original sources are, _The
Red Book of the Exchequer_ (Hall, Rolls Series); _The Hundred Rolls_
(Record Commission), _Placita de quo Warranto_ (Record Commission);
_Placitorum Abbreviatio_ (Record Commission); _Testa de Nevill_
(Record Commission),[46] _Inquisitions Post Mortem_ (Record Office
Calendars), _Feudal Aids_ (Record Office Calendars).
[Footnote 44: Besides these ten, the palatinate county of Chester had
its own escheator, and the Mayor of London exercised the office in
London. Minor escheatries were carved out from time to time.]
[Footnote 45: Unfree tenure is illustrated below in section III., The
Manor.]
[Footnote 46: A new edition is in course of preparation.]
1. FRANKALMOIN [_Ancient Deeds_, B. 4249]. _temp._ Henry II.
To all sons of Holy Mother Church, present and to come, Roger son of
Elyas of Helpstone, greeting. Know ye that I have given and granted and
by my present charter confirmed to God and the church of St. Michael of
Stamford and the nuns serving God there, for the souls of my father and
my mother and for the salvation of my soul and the souls of my ancestors
and successors, in free and pure and perpetual alms, 2 acres of land,
less 1 rood, in the fields of Helpstone, to wit, 3 roods of land on
Peselond between the land of Payn the knight and between the land of
Robert Blund, and 1/2 acre between the land of William Peri and between
the land of William son of Ede, and 2 roods between the land of Sir
Roger de Torpel, lying on both sides. I have given, moreover, to God
and the church of St. Michael and the nuns serving God there, in free
and pure and perpetual alms 1/2d. of rent which John son of Richard of
Barnack used to render to me on the day of St. Peter's Chains[47] for a
house and for a rood of land in Helpstone. And the aforesaid land and
1/2d. of rent I, Roger, and my heirs will warrant to the aforesaid nuns
against all men and against all women. Witnesses:--Payn of Helpstone,
Roger his son, Geoffrey of Lohoum, Geoffrey of Norbury, Walter of
Helpstone, Robert son of Simon, Geoffrey son of John, Geoffrey son of
Herlewin, Walter of Tickencote, Richard Pec.
[Footnote 47: August 1.]
2. KNIGHT SERVICE [_Inquisitions post mortem, Edward II,_ 2, 19], 1308.
_Somerset._--Inquisition made before the escheator of the lord the King
at Somerton on 29 January in the first year of the reign of King Edward
[II], of the lands and tenements that were of Hugh Poyntz in the county
of Somerset on the day on which he died, how much, to wit, he held of
the lord the King in chief and how much of others and by what service,
and how much those lands and tenements are worth yearly in all issues,
and who is his next heir and of what age, by the oath of Matthew de
Esse[48] ... Who say by their oath that the aforesaid Hugh Poyntz held
in his demesne as of fee in the county aforesaid on the day on which he
died the manor of Curry Mallet, with the appurtenances, of the lord the
King in chief for a moiety of the barony of Curry Mallet by the service
of one knight's fee; in which manor is a capital messuage which is worth
4s. a year with the fruit and herbage of the garden; and there are there
280 acres of arable land which are worth 4l. 13s. 4d. a year at 4d. an
acre; and there are there 60 acres of meadow which are worth 4l. 10s. a
year at 18d. an acre; and there is there a park the pasture whereof is
worth 6s. 8d. a year and not more owing to the sustenance of deer; and
the pleas and perquisites of the court there are worth 4s. a year; And
there are there 12 free tenants in fee, who render yearly at the feasts
of Michaelmas and Easter by equal portions 74s. 8d. for all service; and
there are there 16 customary tenants, each of whom holds 1/2 virgate of
land in villeinage, rendering yearly at the said terms by equal
portions 4s., and the works of each are worth from the feast of the
Nativity of St. John the Baptist[49] to the feast of Michaelmas 2s. a
year; and there are there 28 customary tenants, each of whom holds 1
fardel[50] of land in villeinage, rendering yearly at the said terms by
equal portions 2s., and the works of each for the same time are worth
12d. Sum of the extent:--22l. 12s. 8d.
Further, the aforesaid jurors say that Nicholas Poyntz, son of the
aforesaid Hugh Poyntz, is next heir of the same Hugh and of the age of
30 years and more. In witness whereof the same jurors have set their
seals to this inquisition.
* * * * *
The aforesaid Hugh de Poyntz held no other lands or tenements in my
bailiwick on the day on which he died, except the lands and tenements in
these inquisitions.[51]
[Footnote 48: And eleven others named.]
[Footnote 49: June 24.]
[Footnote 50: A quarter of a virgate.]
[Footnote 51: A second inquisition is appended.]
3. GRAND SERJEANTY [_Inquisitions ad quod damnum_, 135, 10], 1319.
_Norfolk._--Inquisition made at Bishop's Lynn before the escheator of
the lord the King on 30 March in the 12th year of the reign of King
Edward, son of King Edward, by Robert de Causton.[52] ... Which jurors
say upon their oath that it is not to the damage or prejudice of the
lord the King or of others if the lord the King grant to Thomas de
Hauvill that he may grant to the venerable father John, bishop of
Norwich, a custom called lastage[53] which he has and receives in the
port of Bishop's Lynn in the county of Norfolk, to receive and hold to
him and his successors, bishops of that place, for ever. Asked of whom
that custom is holden in chief, they say, Of the lord the King in chief.
Asked also by what service, they say that Thomas de Hauvill holds the
manors of Dunton and Rainham and the custom called lastage in the ports
of Bishop's Lynn and Great Yarmouth, in the county aforesaid, and
Boston, in the county of Lincoln, by grand serjeanty, to wit, by the
service of keeping a falcon of the lord the King yearly.[54] Asked how
much that custom is worth yearly in the port of Lynn, they say that the
aforesaid custom in the aforesaid port of Lynn is worth 16s. according
to the true value in all issues yearly. In witness whereof the aforesaid
jurors have set their seals to this inquisition at Lynn the day and year
abovesaid.
[Footnote 52: And eleven others named.]
[Footnote 53: Here a toll of ships' ladings.]
[Footnote 54: The service of grand serjeanty was usually more onerous.]
4. PETTY SERJEANTY [_Fine Roll, 3 Edward III, m. 5_], 1329.
The King to his beloved and faithful, Simon de Bereford, his escheator
on this side Trent, greeting. Because we have learned by an inquisition
which we caused to be made by you that Nicholaa, who was the wife of
Nicholas de Mortesthorp, deceased (_defuncta_), held on the day on which
she died the manor of Kingston Russell with the appurtenances for the
term of her life of the gift of William Russel, and that that manor is
held of us in chief by the service of counting our chessmen (_narrandi
familiam scaccarii nostri_) in our chamber, and of putting them in a box
when we have finished our game; and that the aforesaid Nicholaa held on
the day aforesaid the manor of Allington with the appurtenances for the
term of her life of Theobald Russel by knight service; and that the
aforesaid Theobald, son of the aforesaid William, is William's next heir
of the manors aforesaid and of full age: We have taken Theobald's homage
for the manor which is thus held of us and have given it back to him.
And therefore we command you, that after you have taken security from
the aforesaid Theobald for rendering to us a reasonable relief at our
Exchequer, you cause the same Theobald to have full seisin of the manor
aforesaid with the appurtenances and of the other lands and tenements
which the same Nicholaa so held for the term of her life of the
inheritance aforesaid in your bailiwick on the day on which she died,
and which on account of her death have been taken into our hand, saving
the right of every man. Witness the King at Gloucester,
26 September. By writ of privy seal.
5. AN ACTION ON THE FEUDAL INCIDENTS DUE FROM LANDS HELD BY PETTY
SERJEANTY [_Bracton's Note-Book, III, 290. No. 1280_], 1239-40.
Jollan de Nevill was summoned to shew wherefore without licence of the
lord the King he gave in marriage William, son and heir of Randolf son
of Robert, who ought to be in the wardship of the lord the King because
Randolf held his land of the King by the service of serjeanty, etc. And
Jollan comes and says that the aforesaid William held no such land of
the lord the King in chief save by the following service, to wit, that
he ought to be verger (_portare unam uirgam_) before the justices in
eyre at Lincoln, wherefore it seems to him that no wardship pertains
thereof to the lord the King, and he says that at another time he was
impleaded by Earl Richard[55] touching that wardship on account of
certain land which the same Randolf held of the same Earl, and in such
wise that an inquisition was made whereby it was proved that the same
Earl had no right in that wardship, and also he says that another
inquisition was made between the lord the King and him, Jollan, whereby
it was proved that the wardship pertained to Jollan, and the inquisition
was delivered to the Chancellor, and he puts himself on that
inquisition, and thereof he says that after the wardship remained to him
by that inquisition he sold the wardship and marriage forthwith to the
Chancellor at Lincoln for 20 marks. And therefore let the inquisition be
viewed etc.[56]
[Footnote 55: Earl of Cornwall, the king's brother.]
[Footnote 56: For the uncertainty prevailing as to the burdens of this
tenure in the thirteenth century, _cf._ Bracton, _f._ 35_b_. "Since such
services are not done for the king's army or the defence of the country,
no marriage or wardship is due therefrom to the chief lord, any more
than from socage." But the gloss of this dictum quotes an instance of a
justice upholding the claim of a chief lord to the wardship and marriage
of the heir of a tenant by petty serjeanty.]
6. FREE SOCAGE [_Fine Roll, 16 Edward III, m. 15_], 1342.
The King to his beloved and trusty, Richard de Monte Caniso, his
escheator in the counties of Essex, Hertford and Middlesex, greeting.
Because we have learned by an inquisition which we caused to be made by
you that a tenement with the appurtenances in the parish of St. Clement
Danes without the bar of the New Temple, London, which was of Thomas de
Crauford, barber, deceased, and which is worth by the year in all issues
6s. 8d. according to the true value of the same, is holden of us in
chief in free socage by the service of 18d. a year to be rendered
therefrom to us at our Exchequer for all services, and that the wardship
of the land and heir of the same Thomas does not pertain to us, because
the wardship of such tenements holden of us in form aforesaid ought to
pertain to the next friends of the same heirs to whom the aforesaid
tenements cannot come by hereditary right, and that John, son of the
said Thomas, is next heir of the same Thomas and of the age of fourteen
years: We have taken the fealty of the same John due to us from the
tenement aforesaid. And therefore we command you that after you have
received from the aforesaid John security for rendering to us his
reasonable relief at our Exchequer, you deliver to the same John the
tenement aforesaid with the appurtenances, which was taken into our hand
by reason of the death of the aforesaid Thomas; saving the right of any
man. Witness the King at Woodstock, 18 June.
7. COMMUTATION OF A SERJEANTY FOR KNIGHT SERVICE [_Inquisitions ad quod
damnum_, 1, 30], 1254.
This is the inquisition made by the oath of James de Northon[57] ... in
the presence of the keepers of the pleas of the crown,[58] what damage
it would be to the lord the King to grant to his beloved and trusty Adam
de Gurdun that for the service which his father used to do to the same
lord the King, to wit, of finding a serjeant for the lord the King for
40 days in his army and expedition, for the land which the same Adam and
his mother hold of the lord the King by serjeanty in Tisted and Selborne
in the county of Southampton, hereafter he do to the lord the King the
service of half a knight's fee: Who say that it is not to the damage of
the lord the King to grant to Adam de Gurdun that for the service which
his father used to do to the lord the King ... he do hereafter the
service of half a knight's fee. In witness whereof they have set their
seals to this inquisition.
[Footnote 57: And eleven others named.]
[Footnote 58: The coroners.]
8. COMMUTATION OF SERVICE FOR RENT [_Inquisitions ad quod damnum_, 2,
40], 1269.
Inquisition made before the sheriff on All Souls Day[59] in the 53rd
year of the reign of King Henry son of King John, what and what sort of
customs and services are due to the lord the King from two virgates of
land with the appurtenances which Adam de Ardern holds of the aforesaid
lord the King in Colverdon and Walesworth, within the manor of the
aforesaid lord the King of Barton without Gloucester, and how much those
customs and services are worth yearly in money, if they were converted
into money, and whether it would be to the damage of the aforesaid lord
the King or to the injury of the manor aforesaid, if the lord the King
should grant to the aforesaid Adam that for the customs and services
aforesaid he should render to the aforesaid lord the King the value of
the same yearly in money; and if it should be to the damage of the lord
the King aforesaid or to the injury of the same manor, to what damage
and what injury; by the oath of the below written persons, to wit,
Philip de Hatherle[60] ... Who say upon their oath that the aforesaid
Adam holds of the aforesaid lord the King within the manor aforesaid in
Colverdon a virgate of land with the appurtenances and renders 10s. a
year to the lord the King, and another virgate of land with the
appurtenances in Walesworth and renders 20s. to the same lord the King,
and for the aforesaid two virgates of land he owes suit to the court of
the lord the King at the Barton aforesaid, and it is worth 2s. a year,
and he shall carry writs within the county and shall have no answering
of the aforesaid writs, and it is worth 2s. a year, and he ought to be
tallaged for the two virgates of land aforesaid, when tallage is
imposed, at the will of the lord the King. And if the aforesaid lord the
King should grant to the aforesaid Adam to hold the aforesaid land for
the aforesaid service,[61] it would not be to the damage of the lord the
King nor to the injury of the manor aforesaid.
[Footnote 59: November 2.]
[Footnote 60: And twelve others named.]
[Footnote 61: _i.e._, for the money-payments specified above.]
9. SUBINFEUDATION [_Rotuli Hundredorum, II_, 350], 1278
_Township of Thornborough._--The abbot of Biddlesdon holds 6 hides of
land and a virgate in Thornborough, to wit, of John de Hastings one hide
of land, and John himself holds of Sir John son of Alan, and Sir John
himself holds of the lord the King in chief.
Again, the said abbot holds a half hide of land and a virgate of Alice
daughter of Robert de Hastings, and she holds of Sir John son of Alan,
and he holds of the King in chief, and the said abbot renders to the
said Alice 30s. a year.
Again, the same abbot holds of Hugh de Dunster 2-1/2 hides of land and a
virgate, and renders for the said land to the nuns of St. Margaret of
Ivinghoe 40s. a year, and maintains the chapel of Butlecote for the
aforesaid land. And Hugh held of John de Bello Campo a hide and a
virgate of land, rendering to John de Bello Campo 4d. a year, and John
himself holds of Sir John son of Alan, and he holds of the lord the King
in chief.
Again the same abbot holds of the gift of Roger Foliot a half hide and a
virgate, and Roger himself held of Reynold de Fraxino, and Reynold held
of John son of Alan, and he of the lord the King in chief.
Again, the same abbot holds of the gift of William de Fraxino and his
ancestors a hide of land, and they held of John son of Alan, and he of
the lord the King in chief.
And it is to be known that all the aforesaid land used to render foreign
service,[62] except the land which the said abbot has of the gift of
John de Hastings and Alice daughter of Robert de Hastings, but John son
of Alan and his heirs will acquit the said abbot towards the lord the
King and all other men, to wit, of the ward of Northampton, of scutage,
of a reasonable aid to make the king's son a knight and to marry his
daughter, for ever, and of all services pertaining to them.[63]
[Footnote 62: _i.e._, service due to the King, a permanent burden upon
the land. _See_ Bracton, _f._ 36. "Item sunt quedam servitia que
dicuntur forinseca ... quia pertinent ad dominum regem ... et ideo
forinsecum did potest quia fit et capitur foris sive extra servitium
quod fit domino capitali."]
[Footnote 63: The process of subinfeudation was brought to an end by the
Statute of _Quia Emptores_, 1290. "Our lord the king ... has ... enacted
that henceforth it be lawful for any freeman to sell his land or
tenement or any part thereof at his pleasure, so always that he who is
enfeoffed thereof hold that land or tenement of the same chief lord, and
by the same services and customs, whereby the enfeoffor formerly held
them."]
10. LICENCE FOR THE WIDOW OF A TENANT IN CHIEF TO MARRY [_Fine Roll, 10
Edward II, m. 19_], 1316.
The King to all to whom etc. greeting. Know ye that by a fine of 100s.
which our beloved John de la Haye has made with us for Joan, who was the
wife of Simon Darches, deceased, who held of us in chief as of the
honour of Wallingford, we have given licence to the same Joan that she
may marry whomsoever she will, provided that he be in our allegiance.
In witness whereof etc. Witness the King at Westminster, 11 July.
11. MARRIAGE OF A WIDOW WITHOUT LICENCE [_Fine Roll, 12 Edward III, m.
26_], 1338.
The King to his beloved and trusty, William Trussel, his escheator on
this side Trent, greeting. Whereas Millicent, who was the wife of Hugh
de Plescy, deceased, who held of us in chief, who (_que_) lately in our
Chancery took a corporal oath that she would not marry without our
licence, has now married Richard de Stonley without having obtained our
licence hereon: We, refusing to pass over such a contempt unpunished,
and wishing to take measures for our indemnity in this behalf, command
you that without delay you take into our hand all the lands and
tenements which the aforesaid Richard and Millicent hold in Millicent's
dower of the inheritance of the aforesaid Hugh in your bailiwick; so
that you answer to us at our Exchequer for the issues forthcoming
thence, until we deem fit to order otherwise thereon. Witness the King
at the Tower of London, 6 May. By the King.
12. ALIENATION OF LAND BY A TENANT IN CHIEF WITHOUT LICENCE [_Fine Roll,
1 Edward I, m. 7_], 1273.
Order is made to the sheriff of Hereford that without delay he take into
the King's hand the manor of Dilwyn, which Edmund, our[64] brother,
holds of the King in chief, and which he has now alienated to John
Giffard without the King's licence; and that he keep it safely until the
King make other order thereon, so that he answer to the King at the
King's Exchequer for the issues arising therefrom. Given as above [at
St. Martin le Grand, London, 5 October]. By the King's council.
[Footnote 64: i.e., the King's brother. The enrolling clerk confuses the
first person of the original writ with the third person of the enrolment
formula.]
13. WARDSHIP AND MARRIAGE [_Pipe Roll, 26 Henry II, Rot. 5, m. 2d._],
1179-80.
Otto de Tilli renders account of 400l. to have the wardship of the
land of his grandson; and let his daughter be given [in marriage] at
the King's will. In the treasury are 100l. And he owes 300l.
Adam son of Norman and William son of Hugh de Leelai render account of
200 marks for marrying the daughter of Adam with the son of William,
with the King's good will. In the treasury are 50 marks. And they owe
100l.
14. GRANT OF AN HEIR'S MARRIAGE [_Fine Roll, 13 Edward II, m. 3_], 1320.
The King to all to whom etc., greeting. Know ye that by a fine of 6l.
which our beloved clerk, Adam de Lymbergh, has made with us, we have
granted to him the marriage of John, son and heir of Joan de Chodewell,
deceased, late one of the sisters and heirs of Philip le Brode,
deceased, who held of us in chief, which John is under age and in our
wardship; to hold without disparagement.[65] In witness whereof etc.
Witness the King at Odiham, 26 March. By the council.
And command is given to Richard de Rodeney, the King's escheator on this
side Trent, that he deliver to the same Adam the body of the heir
aforesaid, to be married in the form aforesaid. Witness as above.
[Footnote 65: _i.e.,_ The heir is not to be married below his rank. _cf.
Magna Carta, 6._ "Heirs shall be married without disparagement, so that
before a marriage be contracted, the near kindred of the heir shall be
informed thereof."]
15. WARDSHIP [_Fine Roll, 11 Edward III, m. 18_], 1337.
The King to his beloved and trusty, William Trussel, his escheator on
this side Trent, greeting. We command you, straitly enjoining, that
forthwith, on view of these presents, you cause the body of the heir of
Roger de Huntyngfeld, deceased, who held of us in chief, wheresoever and
in whosesoever hands it be found in your bailiwick, to be seized into
our hand and to be sent to us without delay, wheresoever we shall be in
England, to be delivered to us or to him whom we shall depute as
guardian of the said heir: and that you in no wise neglect this, as you
will save yourself harmless against us. Witness the King at the Tower of
London, 2 September.
By letter of the secret seal.
16. THE COLLECTION OF A CARUCAGE [_Roger of Hoveden, Rolls Series_, iv.
46], 1198.
In the same year Richard, King of England, took an aid of 5s. from
every carucate of land or hide, of the whole of England, for the
collection whereof the same King sent throughout every county of England
a clerk and a knight, who, together with the sheriff of the county to
which they were sent, and with lawful knights elected hereto, after
taking oath faithfully to execute the King's business, summoned before
them the stewards of the barons of that county and from every town the
lord or bailiff of that town and the reeve with four lawful men of the
town, whether freemen or unfree (_rusticis_), and two of the more lawful
knights of the hundred, who swore that they would faithfully and without
deceit say how many ploughlands (_carucarum wannagia_) there were in
every town, to wit, how many in demesne, how many in villeinage, how
many in alms granted to men of religion, which the grantors or their
heirs are bound to warrant or acquit, or wherefrom men of religion ought
to do service; and by command of the King they put on each ploughland
first 2s. and afterwards 3s.; and all these things were reduced to
writing; and the clerk had thereof one roll, and the knight a second
roll, the sheriff a third roll, the steward of the barons a fourth roll
of his lord's land. This money was received by the hands of two lawful
knights of each hundred and by the hand of the bailiff of the hundred;
and they answered therefor to the sheriff, and the sheriff answered
therefor by the aforesaid rolls at the Exchequer before the bishops,
abbots and barons appointed hereto. And for the punishment of any jurors
who should conceal aught in this business contrary to their oath, it was
decreed that any unfree man convicted of perjury should give to his lord
his best plough-ox, and moreover should answer from his own property, to
the use of the lord the King, for as much money as he should be declared
to have concealed by his perjury; and if a freeman should be convicted,
he should be at the King's mercy, and moreover should refund from his
own property, to the use of the lord the King, as much as should be
concealed by him, like the unfree man. It was also decreed that every
baron together with the sheriff should make distraints upon his men; and
if through default of the barons distraints were not made, that which
should remain to be rendered by their men should be taken from the
demesne of the barons, and the barons themselves should have recourse to
their men for the same. And the free fees of parish churches were
excepted from this tallage. And all escheats of barons, which were in
the hand of the lord the King, paid their share. Serjeanties, however,
of the lord the King, which were not of knights' fees, were excepted;
nevertheless a list was made of them and of the number of carucates of
land and the value of the lands and the names of the serjeants, and all
those serjeants were summoned to be at London on the octave of the Close
of Pentecost, to hear and execute the command of the lord the King. And
those who were elected and appointed to execute this business of the
King decreed, by the valuation of lawful men, 100 acres of land to each
ploughland.
17. AN ACQUITTANCE OF THE COLLECTORS OF SCUTAGE OF A SUM OF 10L. LEVIED
BY THEM AND REPAID [_Chancery Miscellanea, 1, 18, 9_], 1319.
To all Christ's faithful to whom the present letters shall come, John de
Twynem, receiver of the money of the lord John of Brittany, earl of
Richmond, in the barony of Hastings, greeting in the Lord. Know ye that,
whereas John Fillol and William de Northo were appointed[66] to collect
and levy in the counties of Surrey and Sussex the scutage of the lord
the King of the armies of Scotland of the twenty-eighth, thirty-first
and thirty-fourth years of the reign of King Edward, father of King
Edward that now is, and afterwards by command of the lord the King were
appointed[67] to pay to the said lord John of Brittany, earl of
Richmond, the scutage of the tenants of the barony aforesaid of the
aforesaid thirty-first and thirty-fourth years, I have received of the
aforesaid John Fillol and William de Northo by the hands of the said
John to the use of the said lord John of Brittany, earl of Richmond,
10l. for the scutage of five knights' fees in Wartling, Cowden and
Socknersh, of the aforesaid thirty-fourth year; of which 10l. I will
acquit the aforesaid John and William, their heirs and executors, and
save them harmless, against the said earl and others whomsoever. In
witness whereof I have set my seal to these presents. Given at Lympne,
12 September, at the beginning of the thirteenth year of the reign of
the King abovesaid.[68]
[Footnote 66: _Fine Roll, 8 Edward II., m._ 19.]
[Footnote 67: _Scutage Roll, 8-11 Edward II., mm._ 2. l.]
[Footnote 68: Scutage was imposed on all tenants of knights' fees, but
might be reclaimed by the lord if he did the service due.]
18. PAYMENT OF FINES IN LIEU OF KNIGHT SERVICE [_Patent Roll, 31 Edward
I, m. 12d_], 1303.
The King to the sheriff of York, greeting. Though we lately commanded
you that you should cause to be summoned archbishops, bishops, abbots,
priors and other ecclesiastical persons, and also widows and other women
of your bailiwick, who hold of us in chief by knight service or by
serjeanty, or hold of the guardianships of archbishoprics and bishoprics
or other guardianships or wardships in our hand, that they should have
at our side on the feast of Whitsunday next coming at Berwick-upon-Tweed
their whole service due to us, well furnished with horses and arms, and
ready to march with us and with others our faithful against the Scots,
our enemies; wishing, however, on this occasion graciously to spare the
labours of the same prelates, religious persons, women and others, who
are unskilled in or even unfit for arms, we command you, straitly
enjoining, that forthwith on sight of these presents, in full
county-court and none the less in market towns and elsewhere throughout
the whole of your bailiwick where you shall deem most expedient, you
cause it to be publicly proclaimed that the same prelates, religious
persons, women and others insufficient or unfit for arms, who owe us
their service and are willing to make fine with us for the same service,
come before our treasurer and barons of the Exchequer on the morrow of
the Ascension of the Lord next coming, or sooner, if they can, at York,
or then send some one thither on their behalf, to make fine with us for
their service aforesaid, and to pay the same fine to us on the same
morrow, to wit, 20l. for a knight's fee and otherwise in proportion to
their knight service or serjeanty due to us in this behalf; or else that
they be at our side on the aforesaid feast of Whitsunday with horses and
arms, and the whole of their service, as they are bound; and that you
have this writ at our said Exchequer on the morrow abovesaid. Witness
the King at Laneham, 16 April.
19. THE ASSESSMENT OF A TALLAGE [_Patent Roll, 8 Edward II_, p. 1, _m._
14, _schedule_], 1314.
The King to his beloved and faithful, Hervey de Stanton, Henry le Scrop,
John de Merkingfeld and Ralph de Stokes, greeting. Whereas in the sixth
year of our reign we caused our cities, boroughs and demesnes throughout
England to be tallaged, and certain our lieges to be appointed in the
counties of our realm to assess our tallage in our cities, boroughs and
demesnes, separately by heads or in common, as they should deem the more
expedient for our advantage, and that tallage for certain causes yet
remains to be assessed in our city of London: We appoint you to assess
that tallage in the city aforesaid and the suburb of the same separately
by heads or in common, as you shall deem the more expedient for our
advantage. And therefore we command you that without delay you go to the
city aforesaid and the suburb of the same to assess the said tallage
according to the means of the tenants of the same city and suburb, to
wit, from their moveables a fifteenth and from their rents a tenth, so
that that tallage be assessed as soon as possible, and the rich be not
spared nor the poor burdened overmuch in this behalf; and that after
that tallage be assessed in the form aforesaid, you deliver estreats
thereof under your seals without delay to our sheriffs of London
separately for that tallage to be levied without delay and paid to us at
our Exchequer; and that you apply such diligence upon the expedition of
the premises that we may deservedly commend you thereupon, in no wise
omitting to appear at the Exchequer aforesaid as soon as you
conveniently can to certify our treasurer and barons of the Exchequer
aforesaid of that which you shall have done in the premises; for we have
commanded our sheriffs of the city aforesaid that when they be
forewarned by you, three or two of you, they cause to come before you,
three or two of you, all those of the city and suburb aforesaid whom
they shall deem necessary for the said tallage, and that they be aiding
and attending to you hereon, as you shall enjoin upon them on our
behalf. In witness whereof, etc. Witness the King at Spalding, 24
October, in the eighth year.
20. A WRIT _Precipe_ [_Chancery Files_], _c._ 1200.
G. Fitz Peter,[69] earl of Essex, to the sheriff of York, greeting.
Command (_precipe_) Ralph de Nevill justly and without delay to render
to Robert, son of Richard de Haverford, Fivelay and Moseton and Sloxton
with the appurtenances which the same Robert claims to be his right and
inheritance, and whereof he complains that Ralph unjustly deforces him;
and if he refuse and Robert give us security to prosecute his claim,
summon the same Ralph by good summoners to be before us at Westminster
on the quinzaine of Michaelmas to show wherefore he does it not; and
have there the summoners and this writ. Witness H. Bard at Shoreham, 21
June.[70]
21. ARTICLES OF ENQUIRY TOUCHING RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES AND THE STATE OF
THE REALM, 2 EDWARD I.[71] [_Patent Roll, 2 Edward I., m. 6_], 1274.
How many and what demesne manors the King has in his hand in every
county, as well, to wit, of ancient demesnes of the crown, as of
escheats and purchases.
Also what manors used to be in the hands of Kings, the King's
predecessors, and who hold them now and by what warrant and from what
time, and by whom and in what manner they were alienated.
Also touching fees of the lord the King, and his tenants who now hold
them of him in chief, and how many fees each of them holds, and what
fees used to be holden of the King in chief and are now holden by a
mesne lord, and by what mesne, and from what time they have been
alienated, and how and by whom.
Also touching the lands of tenants of the ancient demesne of the crown,
as well free sokemen as bond, whether [holden] by bailiffs or by the
same tenants, and by what bailiffs and by what tenants, and by whom they
have been alienated, how and at what time.
In like manner let enquiry be made touching the farms of hundreds,
wapentakes and ridings, cities, boroughs and other rents whatsoever, and
from what time [they have been alienated].
Also how many hundreds, wapentakes and ridings are now in the hand of
the lord the King, and how many and what are in the hands of others, and
from what time and by what warrant, and how much each hundred is worth
yearly.
Touching ancient suits, customs, services and other things withdrawn
from the lord the King and his ancestors, who have withdrawn them and
from what time, and who have appropriated to themselves such suits,
customs and other things pertaining to the lord the King and accustomed,
and from what time and by what warrant.
Also what other persons claim from the King to have the return and
estreats of writs, and who hold pleas of replevin,[72] and who claim to
have wreck of sea,[73] by what warrant, and other royal liberties, as
gallows, assizes of bread and ale, and other things that pertain to the
crown, and from what time.
Also touching those who have liberties granted to them by Kings of
England and have used them otherwise than they ought to have done, how,
from what time, and in what manner.
Again, touching liberties granted which hinder common justice and
subvert royal power, and by whom they were granted, and from what time.
Further, who have newly appropriated to themselves free chaces or
warrens without warrant, and likewise who have had such chaces and
warrens from of old by grant of the King, and have exceeded the bounds
and metes thereof, and from what time.
Also what lords or their stewards or bailiffs whosoever or also the
ministers of the lord the King have not suffered execution of the
commands of the lord the King to be made, or also have contemned to do
them or in any wise hindered them from being done, from the time of the
constitutions made at Marlborough in the 52nd year of the reign of the
lord King Henry, father of the King that now is.
Again, touching all purprestures[74] whatsoever made upon the King or
the royal dignity, by whom they have been made, how, and from what time.
Touching knights' fees of every fee soever, and land or tenements given
or sold to religious or others to the prejudice of the King, and by
whom, and from what time.
Touching sheriffs taking gifts for consenting to conceal felonies done
in their bailiwicks, or who have been negligent in attaching such felons
by any favour, as well within liberties as without; and in like manner
touching clerks and other bailiffs of sheriffs, touching coroners and
their clerks and bailiffs whomsoever, who have so done in the time of
the lord King Henry after the battle of Evesham, and in the time of the
lord the King that now is.
Touching sheriffs and bailiffs whomsoever taking gifts for removing
recognitors from assizes and juries, and from what time.
Again, touching sheriffs and bailiffs whomsoever who have amerced for
default those who were summoned to inquisitions made by command of the
lord the King, when by the same summons sufficient persons came to make
such inquisitions, and how much and from whom they have taken for the
cause aforesaid, and at what time.
Again, touching sheriffs who have delivered to bailiffs, extortionate
and burdensome to the people beyond measure, hundreds, wapentakes or
ridings at high farms, that so they might raise their farms; and who
were those bailiffs and on whom such damages were inflicted, and at what
time.
Again, when sheriffs ought not to make their tourn save twice a year,
who have made their tourn more often in a year, and from what time.
Again, when fines for redisseisin or for purprestures made by land or
water, for hiding of treasure and for other such things, pertain to the
lord the King, and sheriffs ought to attach the same, who have taken
such fines, and from whom and how much.
Again, who by the power of their office have troubled any maliciously
and hereby extorted lands, rent or other payments, and from what time.
Who have received command of the lord the King to pay his debts and
have received from the creditors any portion for paying them the
residue, and nevertheless have caused the whole to be allowed them in
the Exchequer or elsewhere, and from what time.
Who have received the King's debts or part of his debts and have not
acquitted the debtors, as well in the time of the lord King Henry as in
the time of the lord the King that now is.
Who have summoned any to be made knights and have received bribes from
them to have respite, and how much and at what time. And if any great
men or others without the King's command have distrained any to take up
arms, and at what time.
Again, if any sheriffs or bailiffs of any liberty soever have not made
summons in due manner according to the form of the writ of the lord the
King, or have otherwise fraudulently or insufficiently executed the
royal commands through prayer, price or favour, and at what time.
Again, touching those who have had approvers[75] imprisoned and have
caused them to appeal[76] loyal and innocent persons for the sake of
gain, and sometimes have hindered them from appealing guilty persons,
and from what time.
Again, who have had felons imprisoned and permitted them for money to
depart and escape from prison free and unpunished, and who have extorted
money for dismissing prisoners by plevin,[77] when they have been
replevied, and from what time.
Again, who have received any gifts or bribes for exercising or not
exercising or executing their offices, or have executed the same or
exceeded the limits of the King's command otherwise than pertained to
their office, and at what time.
And let all these things be enquired of, as well in the case of
sheriffs, coroners, their clerks and bailiffs whomsoever, as in the case
of lords and bailiffs of liberties whatsoever.
Again, what sheriffs or keepers of castles or manors of the lord the
King, for any [works], or also what surveyors of such works wheresoever
made by the King's command, have accounted for a greater sum in the same
than they have reasonably spent and hereupon have procured false
allowances to be made to them. And likewise who have retained or moved
away to their own use stone, timber or other things bought or purveyed
for such works, and what and how much damage the lord the King has had
thence, and at what time.
Touching escheators and subescheators, during the lord the King's
seisin, doing waste or destruction in woods, parks, fishponds, warrens
within the wardships committed to them by the lord the King, how much,
and in the case of whom, and in what manner and at what time.
Again, touching the same, if by reason of such seisin they have unjustly
taken goods of deceased persons or of heirs into the hand of the lord
the King, until they were redeemed by the same, and what, and how much
they have so taken for such redemption and what they have retained
thereof to their own use, and at what time.
Again, touching the same, who have taken gifts from any for executing or
not executing their office, how much and from whom and at what time.
Again, touching the same, who have insufficiently extended[78] the lands
of any man for favour to him or another to whom the wardship of those
lands should be given, sold or granted, to the deception of the lord the
King, and where and in what manner, and if they have taken anything
therefor, and how much, and at what time.[79]
[Footnote 69: Geoffrey Fitz Peter, justiciar of England, 1198-1213.]
[Footnote 70: It was to writs of this nature that the barons objected.
_Cf. Magna Carta_, 34. "The writ called _Precipe_ shall not hereafter be
issued to any one touching any tenement, whereby a freeman may lose his
court." It illustrates the method by which the King stole from the
barons the administration of justice.]
[Footnote 71: Printed in Foedera, I., ii., 517.]
[Footnote 72: The recovery of goods equivalent in value to goods
wrongfully seized by way of distraint.]
[Footnote 73: For a curious instance of this liberty, _see_ No. 22.]
[Footnote 74: Encroachments.]
[Footnote 75: A criminal who turns King's evidence.]
[Footnote 76: To bring an action for treason or felony.]
[Footnote 77: Surety or pledge.]
[Footnote 78: Surveyed.]
[Footnote 79: The results of this enquiry were embodied in the Hundred
Rolls and served as a basis for the _Placita de quo warranto_; these
records are as important for the thirteenth century as is Domesday Book
for the eleventh.]
22. WRECK OF SEA [_Fine Roll, 10 Edward III, m._ 1], 1337.
The King to the sheriff of Kent, greeting. Because we have been given to
understand that a great mass of a whale lately cast ashore by the coast
of the river Thames between Greenwich and Northfleet in your county,
which should pertain to us as our wreck, and whereof a great part has
been carried away by certain evildoers in contempt of us, remains still
in your keeping, to be delivered to us or others at our command, as is
fitting: We order you, straitly enjoining on you, that you cause all of
the whale aforesaid, which is thus in your keeping, to be entirely
delivered without any delay to our beloved and trusty Nicholas de la
Beche, constable of our Tower of London, to be kept to our use, as has
been more fully enjoined on him by us; and that you in no wise neglect
so to do; for we have commanded the same Nicholas to receive from you
that mass, to be kept in the form aforesaid. Witness the King at
Westminster 14 January. By the King himself.