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I • & ¥ 4* - : * - * * - - - - . - - - A. —- *. - * . * á - . - -- g s« . * s ! v. - * -. * - + • • ' *. , : A * x . *. - «-* h* • :*; i . • Y- .* *. • - * , *** , * *. ; * - ~- <& T - * * • - i - - -. .* - : -- & ■ -. . . - • -. - - .* * - * . + ** - - · - f - ** , 2. -* - - - ** , *» • &, , , . • A , a. cxxxvii guided it, not changed in the Anglo-Norman The privileges of the * four ways,” gradually ex- period, or in the early ages of the Common Law cxxix tended to all public streets and highways cxxxviii 40 Hen. III.—Thieves pursued by the outcry of the Molmucius and Belinus (note) : cxxxviii country, and immediately beheaded q. cxxix | Mythological traditions connected with highways. Contumacious offenders, or those who refuse to ap- «« Chaussées de Brunehault** in Belgic Gaul cxxxix pear after presentment or accusation, appre- Watling street—the Milky-way called by the same hended by the ** Gerefa,'* and compelled to find name. supposed by the Franks and Spaniards viij CONTENTS. Page to indicate the road to St. Jago ;—by the Ma- hommetans as pointing to Mecca ;-the ** Way of Souls'* of the Iroquois * cxxxix Irmin Street—its connexion with the pillar of Irmin, the Irminsule, the principal idol of the ** Old Saxons'' * * ¢ - cxl Magical powers ascribed to the forms of the law cxli-cxliii Ancient superstitions of the law amongst the Scan- dinavians, &c. û * . cxli Animals treated as if they were reasonable creatures cxli Bears and wolves considered as outlaws by the Nor- wegians * * * * ..hence perhaps the origin of the ancient legal phrase, ** lupinum caput gerere," as applied to an outlaw * • … --> cxli The ** Wargus” of the Salic and Ripuariam laws, one banished from all human society-the ** War- wolf,'° or ** Loup garou " •* ■ cxli Animals banished by legal decrees © cxlii Vampires liable to legal process—ejected by action, and burnt by sentence of the Magistrate cxlii Germanic tribunals, supposed to be connected with Pagan policy • * * cxliv-clix The ** Frey Feld gericht," or Free Field Court of the Abbey of Corbey,-anciently under the su- premacy of the priests of the Irminsule . Composed of sixteen members-the Graff, or Gerefa, the senior member; the ** Frohner,'° or sum- moner, the junior member, and fourteen ** Schöpp- fen,'' ** Rechtsprecher,'° or Echevins—Declarers of judgment—chosen from amongst the twenty- two septs or families who inhabited the ** Gau " cxliv The ** King's seat,'° or place of judgment, how conse- cxliv crated * • - •* cxliv — If any judgment was given on a spot not duly conse- crated, it was void and of no effect - cxlv Vestiges of solar worship-similarity to the Bardic institutions ç - * * ©* cxlv ~ Form of opening the Court, by a metrical dialogue between the Frohner and the Graff . cxlv Jurisdiction of the Free Conrt extending to all crimes *--. committed in the open air, but to none others cxlvii — Territorial jurisdiction possessed by the Free Court cxlviii Courts of a similar nature in other adjoining dis- tricts ¢ • -* * cxlviii The se Vehm Gerichte,'° or Vehmic Tribunals of Westphalia ę .… * * ę cxlix Erroneous ideas respecting these courts - cxlix Westphalia divided into ** Freygraffschafften," Free- Graviates or Counties,~each containing one or more Vehmic tribunals * *• Court composed of ** Freyschöppfen," or Free Eche- vins,—divided into two classes : the Ordinary, cxlix and the Wissenden or Witan . • cxlix Initiation of the ** Wissenden '° could only take place upon the ** red earth” - - cxlix Rhythmical oath, taken by the candidate, binding him to secrecy, and to make denunciation or presentment of offenders ę • . cl Punishment inflicted upon a “ Nothschöppff," or one who had disclosed the secrets of the tribunal cl cxlij / N Circuits of the Echevins ;—offenders apprehended in Page Ehe or Aewe, term how employed (note) * cl Vast number of the initiated * * • • cli General Chapter, or Parliament of the Vehmic tribn- nals, possessing both a judicial and legislative authority © * ■ - . cli Vehmic Courts of two descriptions—the tt Orenbare Ding," or open Folkmoot, and the « Heinliehe Acht,'" or secret tribunal *- - . cli Proceedings in the open court, to which all tho res;. ants within its jurisdiction owed suit and servico J;; Extent of the jurisdiction assumed by the Vehmic tri- bunals * I. «* * • clii open delict, ** hondhabbend,” &c., immediately executed ■* * ■* … . clii ** Inquisitorial proceedings '' upon ** Leumund," or open fame, corresponding to the ** malecredence ” of the old English law v. - . cliii If confirmed by the secret tribunal, the * Acht • • o. bann was denounced against the culprit, and ho was executed as soon as he could be apprehended cliii One of the ** Wissendem,'' being presumed to be a true man, was always allowed to clear himself by his compurgatory oath * *-* . cliii ** Leumund ** (note) • * * • . cliii Accusatorial or ordinary process, by examination of witnesses • -• ' • - . cliv The ** Wissenden " liable only to the accusatorial process - e � . cliv ** Heimliche Acht,'° or secret tribunal or court,—de. rived its name from the precautions taken for the purpose of preventing its proceedings from being divulged,—not from any secrecy in the time or manner of tlie meeting • ¢ Vehmic tribunals—their origin attributed to Charle- magne ; but to be considered more properly as the ancient denunciatory courts of the •« Old Saxons," which had survived the conquest of the nation T* T. • ■ . clw Comparison between the Vehmic courts and the Eng- lish territorial jurisdictions of the Hundred, &c. clv Probability that, in earlier periods, persons accused upon ** Leumund '' before the Vehmic Courts could clear themselves by ordeal • • clv Vehmic tribunals—not without use in Germany clvi Places and mode of assembling the Folkmoot of the Hundred. The ** Ward Staff " of Ongar clviii-clxii Examples of the assemblages of the ancient popular courts in the open air,-in the neighbourhood of springs, under trees, upon moot-hills . clviii Few similar meetings sub dio on the Continent, ex- cept in Scandinavia (which, mot being snbject to Charlemagne, was not affected by his capitular, directing such meetings to be held under cover); in Westphalia, where the ancicnt jurisdictions subsisted as before mentioned; and in Friesland clviii Tale of the Ward Staff i … ■ clix-clxii Record by oral testimony * «• clxiii-clxv Record,—oral testimony so denominated according to the Norman law • ■ -* Record, as described in the Assizes of Hen. 1I. cliv clxiii clxiii --- *- - -*"** CONTENTS. ix, Page Examples of oral record, according to the ancient Norman law , I. i.* clxiii-clxiv Record of the King's Court, i. e. the King's Testi- mony • … .. » clxiii IRecord of the Exchequer . * ç clxiii Record of Assize . ¢ ω • clxiv IRecord of Battle . ú • I. clxiv I{ecord of View - * • * * clxiv Examples of oral record, according to the ancient English law . • • . clxiv-clxv 6 Ric. I.—Two Knights bear record of the result of an Inquest taken in the County Court, concern- ing an individual who had been falsely alleged to have incurred outlawry • ę clxiv G Ric. I.—Justices in Eyre, bear record of an Appeal in the King's Court at Westminster . clxiv 5 Joh.—Knights deputed by the County Court to the King's Court at Westminster, wlio make record, or testify, concerning a Plea in the County Court . *-* : * -* * * clxv Writs of re. fa. lo. as in use, after the custom of transmitting a written statement or record was introduced • (… - * clxv Assize or Statute of Henry II. for the conservation of the Peace • [… - clxvi-clxxii • . its singularity, as being the earliest specimen of Anglo-Norman legislation preserved in an authentic form * *• ç clxvi Frankpledge, directed to be renewed by this Assize clxvi Clauses directing the construction of ** jnils,'' i. e. wooden cages, for the confinement of offenders : similar to the celebratedcagein which theCountess of Buchan was kept by order of Ed. I. «• clxvi Jail—etymology of the term (note) -* clxvi Description of the Countess of Buchan's cage (note) clxvii Clause for the extirpation of the heresy of the * Pub- licans '° * * « ; * I. * clxvii Sheriff's oath for the extirpation of I,ollardies clxviii Assize, enacted at Clarendon by the King by tlie ad- vice of his Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, and other his Barons, the Prelates here acting in their temporal capacity . 1. * clxviii-clxxi Assize enacted under Henry Fitz-Ailwyne, first Lord Mayor of London w* t. clxxii Mode of building in ancient London • clxxii The Jew's house at Lincoln (note) '* clxxii Terms of Fitz-Ailwyne's Assize, indicate the steps by which the Anglo-Saxon Thanes or Echevins, &c. vere converted into Jurors . - clxxiv Assize, or Bye-law, provided and ordained by tho more discreet and better men of the City of London ¢* . clxxiv-clxxv Trial by Jury • * • clxxvi-clxxxviii Great importance of viewing Trial by Jury in its proper light,—viz. as a trial by witmesses clxxvi Itecapitulation of facts established by the Records clxxvii Writ or Charter of the Conqueror, directing the re- stitution of the Lands of the Church of Ely, exhibiting the mode by which the Anglo-Normám inquest was engraftea om the Anglo-Saxon Courts … t-* «… *- clxxviii VoL. I. ¥ Page ; Writ of William Rufus φ I. • *> . . . clxxix/ Writs issued in the name of William the Atheliiig, 7 f son of Hen. I. -» clxxix IRight of pannage claimed by the Abbot of Abingdon ; recognition to be taken by the ** probi homines'' of the IIundred, pursuant to Writ of Hem. II. clxxxi IHow the Abbot of Caen recovered a curtilage in Wood-street, by a verdiet given in the Husting of Londom, pursuant to the Writ or Commission of Hen. II. . • • * clxxxi House in Wood-street, near St. Peter's Church, which had been the property of Lenruth or Liefrid, the Englishman, granted by Walram Fitz-Ralph to the Monks of St. Stephen's Abbey . clxxxii Complaint preferred to Henry I. by the Monks of St. Stephen at Caem, against the King's tenamts of Bridport ¢ ■ * * - clxxxiii Ancient records illustratimg the mode by which Trial by Jury was substituted for the Fire and Water Ordeal—and the course adopted after Trial by Jury was established φ clxxxiv-clxxxviii Peine forte et dure *• - e* clxxxix ... extended by the Judges to Appeals, though the Statute speaks omly of Indictments . clxxxix Forms of the Sentence (note) * • clxxxix Practice, introduced about the reign of Elizabeth, of placing such heavy weights upon the crirninal as Killed him in a short time * £- CXC Old Bailey practice. The thumbs of an obstinate prisoner tied together with whipcord, until the torture compelled him to plead * cxci Examples of this mode of English torture from the reign of Charles II. to 1734 (note) i. cxci Normam Juries I* - ^ * cxcii-cxciv Inquests according to the I/aw of Normandy cxcii 824-85].—Mallum held before the Missus of Nominoe, Duke of Brittamy *-* * * . cxciv Testimony given by Twelve free Bretons, who are svvorm to the truth .. * *- cxciv Judgment by the Echevins *- ę cxciv Icelandie Courts . • * . cxcv-cxcvi Ancient Courts of the Northmen . * CXCV Godordsmen,—Priests, and Magistrates, in the Pagan age,—hereditary and territorial Magistrates in the subsequent periods * i-* CXCV Herred, or Hundred Courts, also called the Var-thing, or Spring Courts * • *- cxcv Doomsmen named by the Godordsmen, in the samo manner as the priests of the Eresburgh are said to have appointed the Echevins of the Free-field Court of Corbey • q. ç cxcv Fierding, or Quarter Courts * * CXCV Fimtardom, or supreme Judicial Court in cases of ordinary jurisdiction—the ** Laugrette," being the supreme Political Court, having also an ex- traordinary jurisdiction w I. * cxcvi Causes decided in this Court by a select body of Doomsmen.—Six chosen by the Plaintiff, and six by the Defendant . ę T. cxcvi Chancellors and Referendarii. of the Frankish mo- narchs ę ¢ ç ® cxcvii b X. CONTENTS. -Anglo-Saxon Charters, &c. . Page Royal Chaplains, their promotion . , cxcvii Ancient state of the Britons t- -* cxcix 1284.—Archbishop Peckham's Letter to Edward I. describing the mauners of the Welsh, and sug- gesting plans for civilising them • cxcix The Gweison Bychan (note) * * * * • CC Varioius Battle Trials * * -. ■ cci Battle between a male and a female—managed so as to put the parties on an equality ę Amongst the Angles, a married Womam, accused of the murder of her Husband, might be defended by her Kinsman as her Champiom t-. Battle Trial, how employed by the ancient Bavarians to decide the possession of land—viz. when no Proof could be found of the contested boundaries, in which case the Battle Trial is to be considered as a war which was to settle the rights of all parties * c * *-* *.* Amongst the Lombards, Grimoald enacts, that thirty years' possession shall be a bar to a 1}attle Trial. IBut Luitprand restores the Battle, if such pos- session was grounded upon a fraudulent title Lombard pleadings (note) . «• cci cci ccii cciii . cciii © cciv-ccxxvi Conveyances of land amongst the barbarians, prepared by the clergy,—by which means a general uni- formity of style was introduced * Precariæ, Prestariæ, or Præstitæ—land solicited from a superior, and granted or lent by him, for a qualified and determinable estate e. cciv These lands called ** Læna” or Loans by the Anglo- Saxons * - • ¢ cciv IPrecariæ also termed Benefices • ¢ ccy • • their similarity to the Roman Benefices . ccV Examples showing that the terms vere synonymous ccv About the eleventh century these Benefices acquire the name of Fiefs or Fevds e* ¢ ccvi Eief or Fevd derived from Emphyteusis or Emphytefsis ccvii Examination of the etymology of the term (note) ccvii No word corresponding to Fief or Fevdum in any of the Teutoiiic languages, except ** Loan,' and its cognate terms . ■ -. � ccviii Anglo-Saxon Charters * * -* • ccviii Ethelbert's Foundation Charter of St. Augustine's Monastery -» ę • & ccviii Doundaries accurately described.—Burgate, i. e. tho Burgh-gat (the borough-street or borough-road), still retains its ancient name . • " cciv i | i Xit; how accounted for . ■ ccviii Ethelbert's Tower (note) . *• * ccviii Anglo-Saxon Charters, sometimes incur undeserved suspicion * * 1- *• ccix Copies of ancient Charters made in charter form, sometimes considered as forgeries, in conse- quence of the character of the handwriting not agreeing with the ostensible date *-* ccix Omissions and alterations in the copies, arising from carelessness or ignorance e- '* ccix Cases in which forgeries may be detected by the hand- writing, and by the spurious embellishments of the Charters ■* © * * • Croyland Charters—manifestly spurious ■ Papal Bulls not unfrequently forged, in order to CCX CCX Page support claims of exemption from episcopal juris- diction ■* -» • -* Extensive forgeries committed by a Monk of the Abbey of St. Medard, who confesses on his death- bed that he had thus attempted to prejudice the rights of the See of Canterbury, in favour of St. Augustine's Monastery . • The ** Golden Charter” of Croyland (note) Declamatory and turgid style of the Charters of IEdgar and his successors. Greek words fre. quently introduced *-* • i-. This affectatiom noticed by Malmsbury … Anglo-Saxon language would probably have become much mixed with words derived from foreign lan- guages, even ifthe Conquest had not taken place ccxiii Cases in which the Anglo-Saxon Charters are falsi- fied by internal evidence,—such as the Croyland Charters, which represent the course of proceed- ings before the Witenagemot to have been like those of the Parliaments of England, temp. Edward II. . ę � * * ccxiii Authentic Clauses often preserved in adulterated Charters * ■ , • . ccxiv ... particularly in the subscriptions, which are oftem genuine, though appended to a modernized or doubtful paraphrase . ccxiv Authenticity of the greater number of tle Anglo- Saxon Charters I. * I. ccxiv ... confirmed by history, and by each other . ccxv CCXV Seals, whether employed amongst the Anglo-Saxons ccxv HDescriptiom of the Seals of Ethelwald, Bishop of Dun- wich, and of Edgitha, Abbess of Wilton (note) ccxv Used for certain official purposes from the reign of Ethelred, but not, as in after times, absolutely necessary for the validity of royal Charters ccxvi Custom of sealing Charters, introduced by slow degrees ccxvi Origin of the double impression, or obverse and re- verse of the great seals of the Kings of England : the equestriam figure being originally intended to represent them as Dukes of Normandy, and the sittimg figure as Kings of England • ccxvii 605.—Ethelbert, King of Kent, grants a plot of land without the city of Canterbury, to the end that a monastery may be erected thereom * ccxviii Grant by Ethelbald, King of the Mercians and South Anglia, to his Comes, Æthelric, son of Oshere, IKing of the Wiccians, of lands to be held ns an ecclesiastical benefice, with consent of the Bishops and Optimates . w o ccxviii 736.—Ethelbald, King of Mercia and South Anglia, taking also the title of King of Britain, grants lands, &c., near Stoure, to his Comes, or Eal- dorman, Cynibert • ccxix Cœnnulf, King of the Mercians, and his brother, Cuthred, Vassal King, or Regulus of Kent, grant lamds to Swithin, their ** Minister" or Thane ccxix Swithin bequeaths the land to the Church of Ro- chester * • * » ccxix 821.—Kenulpl, King of the Mercians.— Extracts from his Charter in favour of the monastery of Abingdon ę • ■ * ccxi «• ccxi ccxi ccxii ccxii CCXX CONTENTS. xi Page The abbey to be exempted from the burthen of find- ing free quarters for the King's huntsmen, fal- coners, &c. _* i. ę i. i Service of twelve vassals and twelve shields ¢ 823. Egbert, King of the English, with the consent of his Witenagemot, amd of his som Ethelwulf, whom he had appointed to be King of Kent, frees the Church of Rochester from the burthen of finding ** Paraverdae '' and free quarters for the followers of the Court * . 842. Grant, by Ethelwulf, King of Wessex, by the title of «• King of the Southern Nations,'' to Ceol- mund his ** Præfectus” i * ę . ccxxi 850. Grant by Ethelwulf, King of Wessex, and Ethelstam, King of Kent, to their “ Prince '' Ealhere * riae * * i* ccxxi Ethelred, Duke or Ealdormam of the Mercians, with the consent of the ** Senate,'' or Witenagemot of Mercia, renews the landboc. or charter of Cuthulf the Thane, which had been carried off by the Danes £. … û ccxxi Duke Ethelfrith, having lost all his lamdbocs, the same having been destroyed by fire, applies to Edward the Elder, as supreme Lord of Mercia, and to Ethelred, the Ealdormam of the same kingdom, and Ethelfleda his wife (who was joined with him in the government), and to the Witenagemot of Mercia, to cause new charters to be written for him i * ú ccxxi, ccxxii Oswald, Bishop of Worcester, with the assent of Edgar, King of the English, and Alfere, Duke of the Mercians, grants Uptun to his ** Minister'' or Thane Cynelm, or Kenelm a . ccxxii Archbishop Oswald, with the assent of Alfere, Duke or Ealdormam of Mercia, grants one hyde of land (parcel of Oswald's Law) to his Knight, Wulf- geat * . ę . ccxxii Archbishop Oswald, with the assent of King Edward, and of Alfhere, Duke of the Mercians, grants or gebooks three hydes of land to his Thane or Minister Eadric ι. i* û . ccxxii 984. Archbishop Oswald, with the assent of Ethel- red, Emperor of Albion, and Alfric, Comes of the Mercians, grants Bishop's Stoke to his Knight or Soldier, Ethelred * . ccxxiii JBrithnoth, Duke of East Anglia, being about to go out to war against the Danes, bequeaths all his land to pious uses, . ccxxiii 999. Ethelred, Emperor of Britain, grants Cerne to the Church of Abingdon . ■* . ccxxiii 1012. Ethelred, King of all the Nations of the Peo. ple of Britain, grants Stanton and Hilton to the Bishop of Rochester * ■ . ccxxiv Charter by which Canute restores certain lands to Christ's Church, Camterbury • „ CCXXV Lyvingus, Bishop of Worcester, with the consent of Ring Hardicanute, and of Leofric, Duke or Earl of the Mercians, grants Elmley to his true man, Ægelric, for three lives ccXX CCXX CCXX 90I. * . i. * ccxxvi , Symbols of Investiture a * ccxxvii Application of these Symbols ■* ccxxvii Examples ofseizin given by symbols i * ccxxvii Page Legend of St. Birlanda • ú* ù ccxxvii summaries of Anglo-Saxon history • ccxxix—cccxl DifHculty of understanding Anglo-Saxon History, un- less the student gains a distinct idea of the suc- cession of each state • i. f s ccxxix Rotw of the names of the ** Subreguli,'' Dukes, &c. and other dependants, or Vassal Princes, pre- served by the Chroniclers iì rii ccxxix Tho succession of the Rulers or Subreguli of Hwiccas only knowm from their charters * ccxxix Corruptions and alterations of proper mames ccxxxi Wessex.—Old Saxons and Jutes . ccxxxiv-cclxv IEIla q. i * * * . ccxxxiv 494, 519. Cerdic and Cynric i * ccxxxiv 534. Cynric. ** • ę ccxxxiv 560. Ceawlin * i . • ' • ccxxxiv 591. Ceol, or Ceolric t, * . ccxxxiv 507, 607. Ceolwulf * t* ccxxxiv G] 1. Cynegils amd Cwichelm ¢ • CCXXXV 638. Cynegils alone ea si * * CCXXXV 643. Cenwealh ę ' • ù , CCXXXV 648. Cenwealh expelled I. * * • CCXXXV Cenwealh restored . • * CCXXXV 672. Seaxburgha ę * * • CCXXXV Interregnum a û CCXXXV 674. Escwin * . - , • CCXXXV 676. Centwin * ę * … ■ CCXXXV 685. Ceadwalla £ì i . in . ccxxxvi 680. Ina . ę i * * * ę ccxxxvi 728. Ethelheard ę ij £* . ccxxxvi 740—752. Cuthred * ■ ccxxxvi, ccxxxvii 754, 755. Sigeberht * r. * ccxxxvii Deposition of Sigebert by his subjects (note) ccxxxvii 755. Cynewulf . * ■ . ccxxxviii Cynewulf's death (note) . -* *. ccxxxviii 786. Beohrtric i. * T. . ccxxxviii 799, 800. Egbert . iì ■ * ccxxxix 836. Ethelwulf i* rim * ccxl 854, 855. Ethelwulf and Ethelbald ę . ccxli 856, 857. Ethelbald . * ccxli 860. Ethelbert ré … . ccxli 866. Ethered q. ę t* ¤ ccxli 871. Alfred … I. , . ccxli, ccxlii Division of Wales between the sons of IRoderick (Note) ccxli 901. Edward the Elder f* * ccxlii-ccxliv Date of the death of Alfred (note) í* ii ccxlii 925. Athelstane : … ccxliv-ccxlvii Edmnnd * * û . ccxlvii, ccxlviii 946, 947. Edred . ά * ccxlviii, ccxlix Eadwy i * ἀ £* 3. * ccxlix, ccl 958, 950. Edgar ú * * . ccl-ccliv 975. Edward the Martyr - * ì . ccliv 978. Ethelred © ę * * . ccliv, cclv 1013. Sweyne ú * . ccliv Ethelred deposed T. • £. . ccliv 1014. Ethelred restored … . • ccliv IEdmund * & . i * i . ■ cclv 1016, 1017. Canute * * T. • cclv 1035. IIarold Hareföot i. … ę cclvi Hardacnute r* I. * . cclvi 1040. Hardacnute restored . t * … cclvi b 2 xii CONTENTS. Page Page 1042. Edward the Confessor . • cclvi-cclviii || 971. Ordgar, or Aridgar . ę * cclxv 1066. Harold . • * cclviii—cclx | Ordwulf • • • • cclxv IEarldom of Wessex • � * • cclx | 1013. Æthelmar . ■» • *• cclxv 1051. Godwin .… … • ę cclx 1020. Godwin . £* ¢ . cclxv Dominions included in the Kingdom of the West 1051. Odda … «• (… ę cclxv Saxons • *• * * . cclxi—cclxv | 088. Goda - (… * . cclxv Wight. Jutes or Goths ■ ¢ *• cclxi | 100I. Cola ¢ «. φ • cclxv 530. Stuffa and Wihtgar o • • . cclxi || 1003. Hugh . «• * . cclxv 544. Wihtgar £- . � . cclxi | 1017. IBrihtric . ę ę cclxv 686. Arvald . … • (… . cclxi | Cernau, or Cornwall � > • cclxv Astulph • ¢ ¢ • ę cclxi ! Goodrich . •* • «• � cclxv 900. Albert . û υ ■ . cclxi i IRomantic history of Ordgar (note) • cclxv Hampshire. Saxons, and Jutes or Goths cclxi, cclxii | Kent. Jutes * *- » cclxvi-cclxxii 755. Sigeberht . � c* (• . cclxi || 446. Hengist and Horsa Q. • cclxvi 860. Osric . ę ę • • cclxi | 465. Hengist. Eric or Æsc • *• cclxvi 897. Wulfred . (… ę • . cclxi i Nennius—British traditions (note) . cclxvi 97 l. Elfeg «• * * � • cclxi Ocha £. ι• ** * ύ cclxvii 982. Ethelmar . ę o* � . cclxi | Ermeric � sº» » . cclxvii Conquest of the Isle of Wight (note) . * cclxi I Ethelbert . * • υ * cclxvii 994, 995. Ethelward . ¢ • . cclxii | 616. Eadbald . *• û • cclxvii 1003. Elfric . ■ *• … • cclxii | 640. Ercombert . e o- » cclxvii 1006. Elfhelm … ę • . cclxii || 664. Egbert • « * ç • cclxvii Winchester . «… * ■ ι• cclxii || 673. Hlothere, or Lothar . � « * cclxvii 897. Beornwulf *-* -* - (… . cclxii || 685. Eadric . υ • . cclxviii JBerks e «• ( » ¢ ę esl,&t; || 686, 687. Ceadwalla - *-* » cclxviii 800. Ethelwulf ■» • ■ . …].&;; | 690, 603. Wibtred and Swæbhard . cclxviii VVilts * * r. * ę * cclxii | 694. Wihtred . o-» ę cclxviii 800. VVeoxtam . ύ (… . cclxii ' Eadbert, Ethelbert II., Alric • • cclxix 887. Athelhelm . - ę ¢ cclxii | 702. Sigered • • '• * cclxix 1003. Elfric . • • • . cclxii | 770. Eardulf • ę » • cclxix Somerset . ç r. £• cclxii, cclxiii | 763, 779. Egbert and Heahbyrht • , cclxix 823. Hun . . - • ■ cclxii || 783. Alchmund � ę • cclxix 845. Eanwulf , ę ¢ . cclxii , 796, 797. Eadbert Pren . ę ¢ cclxx 878. Athelnoth T. ® © . cclxiii | Cuthred • * * (… . cclxx 1013. Sweyne . * , * . cclxiii | Sigered • * * * © » cclxx 105l. Odda . ¢ • • . cclxiii ; 823. Baldred • � ■ . cclx; IBath • ■ ę ę ę . cclxiii | Ethelwulf . «… © • © cclxx 907. Alfred . q. . ι* . cclxiii | 830. Athelstane • * • cclxx Dornsettas (Dorset) ¢ . * • . cclxiii | 852. Ethelbert . • *• � cclxxi Ethelward * (… ę • * . cclxiii || 866. Ethered . ύ ę . cclxxi 837. Athelhelm * • * . co];ii; | Ealdormen, Comites, and Earls of Kent . cclxxii 845. Osric . ę • * cclxiii | 568. Oslac. Cnebba . • • cclxxii Godwin . ę ę • • . cclxiii | Osuulf . ¢. � « ò ę cclxxii 1051. Odda . * ■* * . cclxiii 851. Ealchere • • • cclxxii West Wales,—Damnonia or Dyvnaint (afterwards 807. Ceolmund . • , , cclxxii Devonshire) and Cernau or Cornwall cclxiii, cclxiv , 004, 905. Sigewulf and Sigehelm . cclxxii 530. Geraint . ( * ■ (… . cclxiii | 1007. Aegelmar . • £0 � cclxxii Constantine . s. � ** . cclxiii | 1035. Godwin • � - cclxxii 589. Geraint II. ę * , . cclxiii Harold . w ç © ę cclxxii 710. Geraint III. * *• * * , cclxiii ! Merscwara • • * … cclxxii 730. Blederic . i-* ¢ • . cclxiv , 838. Herebryht . «• • Q. cclxxii 872. Dongerth * * • * . cclxiv || Kentish territory (note) © . cclxxii 917. Owen, or Huganus . * ę cclxiv South Saxons or Sussex . . cclxxiii-cclxxxi 026. Howell . . ę *• . cclxiv || 477. Ella * ç-, ¢ ¢ cclxxiii 1051. Odda (… -» ę • cclxiv || 518. Cissa • ę (… • cclxxiii Treaty between the British and Saxon tribes of 648- Ethelwalch . ę ■ * * cclxxiii I)amnonia (note) . f- , . cclxiv || 683. Ethelwalch * *• ę cclxxiii Anglo-Saxon Ealdormen of Devonshire . cclxiv, cclxv , 685. Berthun. Athelhun � • cclxxiii 851. Ceorl � ę … . . cclxiv , Selsea Charters-their peculiarities (note) . cclxxiii 878. Odda &* * ę • cclxiv || 693. Huna or Numa, Wattus, Nothelm • cclxxix 899, 900. Æthered, or Edred , * , cclxv ! 758. Osmund . (] . cclxxiv CONTENTS. Page IEthelbert ę ¢ • (… cclxxiv 796. Sigebert C. * • . cclxxiv IDuces and Ealdormen, &c. of the South Saxons cclxxv 693. Bruny • *T* ¢ . • cclxxv 780. Oslac (… (… © … cclxxv Aldwulf • ę • • cclxxv 982. Edwin • *- * , cclxxv 897. Eadulf . ' • ę . cclxxv 1007. Wulfnoth . '.• €• ę cclxxv Surrey, ** Suthrige," or the Southern Kingdom cclxxvi Frithewald ę ι• ¢ ■ cclxxvi 836. Athelstane _. ę • . cclxxvi 853. Huda • «• «• • cclxxvi 857. Ethelbert c. ' • * . cclxxvi Mercia. Angles • • • cclxxvii—ccxcvii 585. Crida . ę © ę . cclxxvii Wibba . i * ¢ ■* ę cclxxvii Ceorl ¢. � *- ę . cclxxvii 626. Penda © • * … cclxxvii G55. Peada . • • . ■* . cclxxvii 656. Wulfhere . � . * * cclxxviii 675. Ethelred * * © � • cclxxviii 704. Cenred . ę * * cclxxviii 709. Ceolred t… � � . cclxxviii 716. Ethelbald © * ■ cclxxviii 757. Beornred • * * . cclxxix 757. Offa ■ • ę * cclxxix 785—795. Ecgferth . • ■» • cclxxx 796. Cenwulf . • (/ cclxxx Offa's coinage (note) c. «… . cclxxx 819. Ceolwulf . ' . «… © cclxxxi 828. Wiglaf ę ę ę • cclxxxi 838. Beortwulf • (… I* cclxxxi 852. Burhred » � * . cclxxxii 874. Ceolwulf . © • ę cclxxxiii 880. Guthrum � ¤ ę . cclxxxiii 886. Ethelred . � ¢ < j cclxxxiii 912. Ethelfleda · �. ¢ . cclxxxiv 920. Edward the Elder • … cclxxxiv 925. Athelstane ■ • . • cclxxxiv 942. Edmund . «• * ■ cclxxxiv 947. Edred (• … . cclxxxv 955—958, 959. Edgar . • * cclxxxv 975—1014. Ethelred . £• . cclxxxv 1013. Sweyne . . I- ■ cclxxxv 1016. Canute '• • • cclxxxv 1035. Harold Harefoot … ■ cclxxxv Middle Angles ę * © • cclxxxvi 653, Peada ■ - «• *• ę cclxxxvi 1041. Thor * * … ę . cclxxxvi Ealdormen and Earls of Mercia cclxxxvi, cclxxxvii 883. Ethelred ę ę ę • cclxxxvi 919. Ethelfleda . £• • c. cclxxxvi 962. /Elfere • * � • cclxxxvii AElfric • '• � ¢ cclxxxvii 1007. Edric Streone � ę • cclxxxvii Hwiccas or ** Magesetania'* (… cclxxxviii, cclxxxix Eanfrid. Eanhere … ę • cclxxxviii 676. Osric. Oswala ; (… I. cclxxxviii 680. Kenfrith ę ę •* ' . cclxxxviii Berthwald ' . S … ¢* cclxxxviii Page 680. Oshere � . ■ . cclxxxviii 706. Æthelward, Ethelric, Cuthbert . cclxxxviii 742. Eanberht, Uhtred, Aldred ę . cclxxxviii 799. Brorda . ę • ' • cclxxxix 800. Hugh • • ( . • cclxxxix 800. Ethelmund ■ ę «• . cclxxxix 825. Wiglaf • *• «… • cclxxxix 855. Athelwulf • • � cclxxxix Territories comprised in Magesetania (note) . cclxxxix VVorcester • £* (… cclxxxix, ccxc 1029. Haco • ę ę . cclxxxix 1041. Raulf T* ô © ę CCXC Hereford, or Hecana � œ . ccxci Merwald • ¢- * * ■ ccxci 1056. Alfnoth ¢ � *• (… ccxci Warwick - * * ę _* ccxci 962. Huva • © (» ę ccxci Chester and Coventry . * * ccxci, ccxcii Leofric I. £_. � ¢ •* £. ccxci Genealogy of the family of Leofric (note) ę ccxci Algar I. ę *• ® , • • ccxcii Algar II. . *• • V- * * ccxcii Leofric II. ( . q. . ę • ccxcii Leofwine . ¢ • ■ *• � ccxcii 1017. Northman ę '• ®. • ccxcii Leofric III. *-* • … * ccxcii Algar III. *. * * T. *- � ccxcii 1065. Edwin *• � • * ccxcii Lancaster * * ■ • «… • ccxciii 1010. Wulfric, otherwise Wulfric Spott * ccxciii Salop * û ę ■ • ccxciii 1006. Alfhelm . * * ç . ccxciii Staffordshire � •* ę • ccxciii Leofwine ¢- • … «• ccxciii Oxfordshire . * * q. � • ccxciii 735. Aidan • . q. • ccxciii Gurth {• * .- ©» • ccxciii Gainsborough *• *• ę C. ccxciii 868. Ethelred * * * ç * ccxciii 903. Ethelwulf . «- . i* ccxciii Further account of Wulfric Spott (note) . ccxciii Honour of Gloucester ę û … ccxciv 930. Ailward . • ι. • ccxciv Algar * • ' • ę ę ccxciv 1066. IBrictric {- ¢ ¢ . ccxciv 1051. Sweyn ■ . . t* ccxciv I.incoln * * ę �. '. • ccxciv 628. Blecca * * © I * ® ccxciv 716. Egga • - e* • ccxciv Algar I. . « . ę q. Q* ccxciv Algar II. * * * ę T. • ccxciv Godwin . � , ę ■ ç ccxciv 1016. Osgod .… * r • • ccxciv Brunne, in Lincolnsliire . * ■ ccxciv 870. Morcar . . ę � • ccxciv Northamptonshire … ę - ccxciv VVulsib. Northman . • «• . ccxciv The Danish Burghs … � ¢* CCxcv Sigferth and Morcar . •} ζ e CCxCv* Lincoln (City) • ccxcvi «* ¢ ç Law-men of Lincoln in the reign of the Confessor ccxcvi xiv CONTENTS. Page • Law-men at the time of the Domesday Survey ccxcvi Huntingdon r- ę , ¢- ccxcvii 1055. Tostig ■ * , T. ccxcvii Siward £* i • . r* * ccxcvii Waltheof . I. ę ę ę ccxcvii East Angles íì ç i. ccxcviii—ccciii 571. Uffa r. ę ç * ccxcviii 586. Tytila q. ¢ * . ccxcviii , Redwald . ■ * * ç ¢ ccxcviii 624. Eorpwald . ę * * *- ccxcviii , 631. Sigbert *- . ę i* ccxcviii 633. Egrice £- i. * * • ccxcviii 633. Anna i * * * . ccxcviii 655. Ethelhere . * * * ccxcviii 660. Aedilwald . I. ę . ccxcviii 680. Alduulf … i * ę ccxcviii Alfwold . * * * ccxcviii 747. Selred * * ú ę I* ccxcviii 740. Hunbeanna and Ethelbert . * * ccxcix 758. Beorn è * * ę ç ccxcix Edelred ę * * ç- ę * * ccxcix 792. Ethelbert : * ę ú ê. ccxcix 855. Edmund ■ ę * * i ccxcix Legendary histories of St. Edmund (note) . ccxcix 880. Guthrun l. . ę * * * ccc 890. Guthrum II. I. * * • ccc ! 905. Eric.—Ethelwald * * * * r* ccc Gytro ú i ; £ * û ccc 926. Athelstane . ἀ C. ę Ccc ; AEthelwold -* «• ę ę ccci Ailwin . * £* ¢ -* ccci Ailwin's tomb (note) * r ; £* ccci ] 004. Ulfkyttle £* * £. ę cccii 1017. Thurkill . * . … £. cccii 105]. Harold … * • * * cccii Algar ę * * … ù ¢ cccii Gurth * * : * * * i* , cccii Gyrwa *. . rii * * ij ccciii 060. Tondbryht . r-i * s * ccciii Ovin's Cross (note) * £- * ccciii East Saxons ę * ę , ccciv-cccvi 527. Ercenwine . tì t. û ccciv : 587. Sleda * r … ç ę ccciv ; 604. Sebert : * * * & • ccciv Sexred.---Seward.—Sigebert û * * ccciv Sigebert the Little i. * «… ccciv ; 653. Sigebert the Good . û ¢ ccciv ' Swithelm * ;£};,„ et Thome Weynd Ballivis et Johanne de Karliolo et Nicholao fil. Nicholai coro- çxecutéd by the judg- natoribus et tota communitate villæ prædictæ, absque secta alicujus, S€U1 manuopere, rºgº: per considerationem Curiæ de Appleby suspensi fuerunt. Et quia fecerunt judicium. íesííííííá after they super ipsos absque secta alicujus seu manuopere ; ideo ad judicium de tota libertate, #,#*; di$ the &c. Postea per justiciarios, eadem libertas capta est in manu Domini Regis pro íííííííííí'Town prædictis transgressionibus; et Johannes de Helton et Johannes le Irreys fecerunt ;£$°.$.i5: Sacramentum coram justiciariis ad respondendum fideliter de exitibus et proficuis J â $; ;e judgment ejusdem villæ ad Scaccarium.—Rot. It. Westmoreland, 20 Ed. I. p• 212. P R O O FS AND IILI, USTRATIONS. cxxxi ** assists him in resisting the officers of justice, shall sustain the •* same doom ** Canute, by the advice of his Witam, renewed the penalty of 120 shillings, to be paid by those who refused to assist in the pursuit, which fine was retained by the Conqueror. This law of « borh *' was strictly and rigorously enforced. The only indulgence obtained by the culprit, was, that he might be allowed to continue in fetters and bonds until the requisite surety could be found. He might be redeemed at any time before execution ; and the happy arrival of the fidejussors who rescued the votary of good St. Wilfred from an undeserved and ignominious death, is a miracle which holds a conspicuous placein the legend of theJPatron of Ripom.*. No class of perils, whether arising from flame or flood—no kind of signal deliver- amce, whether from the sword of the robber or the jaws of the lion—will be found to furnish so many incidents in the Acts of the Saints,—those inexhaustible mines of information concern- ing the manners and opinions of the middle ages — as the dangers resulting from the law, and the oppressions of those by whom it was administered. It must, however, be recollected, that the execution of the culprit was the consequence of a full and legal presentment, which may occasionally, as in the legend, have fallen upon the innocent, but which was not an arbitrary suspicion ; it was * Edgar, 78. Canute II. pp. 30—39. William's law is nearly a translation from TEdgar. So far as concerns the punishment of the abettors, and their exclusion from Christian burial, these enactments were only declaratory of the law, as appears from Ethelred's Charter. * Adolescens quidam, cum furti et latrocinii in civitate Eborum argueretur, vin- culis mancipatus, diuque reservatus, cum non esset qui fidejussoriam pro eo porri- geret cautionem, tandem adjudicatus morti, ad supplicium ducebatur.—He implores the aid of St. Wilfred, not forgetting his orisons to St. Alchmund and St. Tilberht. The executioner lifts up his sword, and prepares to strike—in qua morula, ecce duo juvenes, equis velocissimis vecti, ocius advolant : ac more patrio cautione pro eo præstita, adolescentem nece eripiunt, absolvunt vinculis, et liberum abire permittunt. (Acta Sanctorum, Sept. vol. iii. p. 118.) to sustain the same pu- nishment as the princi- pal. Laws of Canute amd Edgar repeated by the Conqueror (XLVII.) Miraclc ofSt.Wilfred— two sureties arrive at the critical moment when an offender, un- der the foregoing cir- cumstances, is about to be executed. Dangers and oppression of the laws, furmish most abundant mate rials for tlme incidents of the Acta Sanctorum. Yet thc punishment of death, wheu inflicted as above mentioned, is only ahotherapplication of thc laws which al- lowed of the instant ex- ecution of the outlaw or friendless mam. s 2 cxxxii PRO OFS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. (See p. 205.) (p. 210.) Extreme severity of pu- nishment inflicted by Edgar. grounded upon a mode of testimony guided by legal forms, and prescribed by the usages of the country. As I have before observed, the same doctrine, that the thief was false to the community, is to be traced in the legislation of the Carlo- vingian Kings * ; and, indeed, the law is only a variation of the general principle adopted towards the outlaw long after the Conquest :— death was to be his lot, umlamented and unavenged. Edgar had greatly increased the punishment for theft. After experiemcing the most frightful mutilations, the half-living carcass of the malefactor was cast to the beasts of prey and the fowls of heaven *. Canute attempted slightly to mitigate these inflictions. Mutilation was again enforced by the Assizes of Henry II.* But although the Common Law of England * Capit., lib. ii. 23. ** Wolstan, in his Metrical Life of St. Swithim (Lel. Coll. i. 55), expatiates on these acts ofjustice, piety, and benignity. Præcipit interea Rex justus et inclytus Edgar, Quosque minis terrendo malos, lex staret ut ista Gentis in Anglorum diffusis limite, quòd si Fur aliquis, seu prædo ferox inventus eâdem Adforet in patriâ, crudelia damna subiret, Lumine privatus miser et cæcatus utroque ; Tortor eique simul nares præcidat et aures; Truncaretque manus plantasque securibus actis ; Subtraheretque omnes capitis cum pelle capillos ; Seminecemque virum, pænâ cruciante peremptum, Projiceret canibus rabidis exactor edendum Nocturnisque avibus corvis et edacibus; atque Membratim in vacuas cæsum dispergeret auras. Stat prædicta pii lex et sententia Regis In commune bonum, quam sanxerat ille benignus. Exploratores sylvarum densa peragrant ; Prædonesque locis investigantur opacis, Et membris cæsis præbent spectacula plebi. Such modes of government might well enable Edgar to repress robbery and sedi- tion—Tempore suo, latrones nulli fuerunt, nec aliquis qui guerram vel turbationem in regno movere audebat.—Brompton, S69. * See Assize of Clarendon, post. P R O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIO N S. cxxxiii did not shrink from capital punishment, there was a sufficient feeling of humanity to induce the Courts of Justice to refrain from these exacerbations of death, which have so long disgraced the penal codes of the continental nations; and which, in the earlier periods of our history, contributed so powerfully in per- petuating our national aversion towards the Civil Law. FORMS OF CIVIL PROCEEDINGS. (XLIII., XLIV.) The previous * demand of right,” in the Hundred or Shire Court, expressly prescribed by Canute, whose law is translated By the Conqueror, is indicated, though less clearly, in the laws of Ina. The power of compelling appearance by distress, or Distres, oransmium; taking pledges, was probably more particularly adapted to per- ζῆ which the appearance of sonal actions, though it may have been occasionally the mode; $*** *** ** of enforcing a claim to land, when the demandant was not quite powerful enough to make an entry upon the property. It must be particularly recollected, that this mode of proceeding No other process oii. was the only mode of enforcing the appearance of a defendant $. Ę • ę By the Common Law ; it has only gone out of use at a very P''°'° recent period ; and the process of “ capias,” was created not by law, but by the astuteness of the officers of the Court of Common Pleas, and the willing aid of legal practitioners. When the Defendant was brought before the Folkmoot, Legalforms declaredor enounced in poetry or the party declared against him, according to ancient usage, ihythmi Geô fîl repeating the accustomed and traditional forms. A most sin- gular succession of rhythmical lines, apparently adapted to the Egeisj* ed to the claim or de- assertion, or perhaps to the defence of the rights arising out ΚΕΙ άioi, ** Canute II. 18. And ne nime nan man nane næme, ne innam sciran, ne ut of scire, ær man hæbbe thriwa on hundrede his rihtes gebedan. The translation given- by Wilkins, is curiously incorrect :—Et nemo alicujus hominis nomen, intra vel extra Provinciam assumat, antequam ter a centuria jus ejus sit postülatum, cxxxiv PR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. £$'.''*''* of land, is preserved in the well known colléction of ErnuI- tus Roffensis ” of Er- Ęmilarinspirit phus*; and the comparison of the Anglo-Saxon « Law-speech ** to the ** Trygdamal.'' - - - - ** Of this singular relic I have been favoured with translations by the two most. distinguished Anglo-Saxon scholars of the present day, the Rev. J. A. Conybeare amd Mr. Price. The original is extremely obscure. It is uncertain whether it is properly to be considered as the claim of a demandant, who has begun by taking possession, or the plea of a tenant, who rebuts the attack. Mr. Price inclines to the opinion, that it contains a series of forms, united by the transcriber. The following lines may serve as a specimen of the rhythm:— Ic aznian pulle To agene aehte Thæc chaet ic haebbe Ano ne ppe thaec yncan * Ne plot ne ploh Nè tunp me copt Ne punh ne pot mael Ne lano ne lære Ne penjrc ne menrc Ne nuh ne nom llJæber ne peloer Lonoej ne rtjnonper tUealcer ne pæcepér Do rpa 1c læne Teo che be chinum Ano lact nne be' menum n * +■ Ne zyjnne ic chiner Ne + lather ne Ianoer Ne race ne rocne Ne chænpc ne mynce Ic the nam thing. The “general words," or descriptions of the appurtenances of land, in the Anglo- Saxon Charters, (the ** all and singular houses, out-houses, edifices,” &c. of a. modern deed,) have a great correspondence with these lines, shewing how their rhythmical forms were ingrafted upon the Anglo-Saxon law. “ Windsor and Stanes” are thus granted to St. Peter by the Charter ofthe Confessor (Monasticon, vol. i. p. 29S), with all that thereto belongeth :— - Binnan bunch unb butam Mib race ano mio rocne Mu'o toll uno mib cheame Anb mio inpanzenecheop On pooe ano on peloe * * - Be renanoe ano be lahoe - On rcjnate ano op rcnate. * Yntan is unknown to me. Cam it be connected with ct hyntlia,** ** damage,” “ loss,'' and meam, ** I will never suffer loss of it ;'' oris it an error for ymtian, pro aemtiam vacare ? (I, A. C.) The T. R. reads thae; $ymfan, which i know nothing of. The C. C. MS. reads the myntan, perhaps preserve or keepit.—(R. P) + A * Lathe" may imply a district, as in Kent. Mr. Price, however, supposes, that we shouia reaa t, lædes,'* and that it is the same with the Icelandic lad, a grassy spot - .PRO OFS ANI) ILLUSTRATIO N S. with the * Trygdamal” of the Northmem, affords a proof of the conformity bfthe proceedings, and of the principles upon which they were founded. “ So Ihold it as he held it, who held it as saleable, and as I “ will own it—and mever resign it—neither plot nor plough- ** land—nor turf nor toft—nor furrow nor foot length—nor land ** nor leasow—nor fresh nor marsh—nor rough ground nor room ** —nor wold nor fold—land nor strand—wood nor water.” “ Do as Irede thee”—is the reply.—** Keep thee to thine own— * leave me to mine own—I covet not thine—neither lathe nox ** land—nor sac nor soc—Nor covet thou mine—nought need * I from thee—nought did I mean unto thee.** All the Anglo-Saxon oaths are couched in a kind of easy alliterative rhythm—prose flowing into irregular verse; enough to aid the memory and to guide the ear, though not circum- scribed by any regular metre*. And, notwithstanding the labours of Augustine, it is to be suspected that the ancient wedding form is yet retained in our ritual, when the wife is This is the usual emumeration. But other phrases employed in the Rochester Ithyme are often found in the Charters. This fact shews that originally, and before the introduction of written instruments, the land was granted by a form similar fo that by which it was demanded or defended ; and it is most probable that even after written instruments became in use, the ancient traditional form was recited by the party, when he delivered seisin of the property. And hence, in the Latin Charters, these lines, or others of similar import, are frequently inserted in the vulgar tongue. 'The Clerk ingrossed the Land Boc, the Thane addressed the Witan of the Folkmoot, in which the conveyance was made. * The* old English law of promotion" (p. 30) is evidently part of a poem. The introductory lines completely retain their metrical form :— -* Hit paej hpulum On Enzla lazum That leoo ano lagu Fon bezethuncchum. Ano tha paejnon leoD putan llJeojnthrciper peojnthe, AElc by hij mæche, Eonl ano Ceojnl Thezen ano Theoben. Anglo-Saxon oaths shewing many vestiges of metro. The * Wed- ding'' form, as retained in England at the pre- sent day, also derived from the ancient poetry of the law. cxxxvi PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Scandinavian law forms —singular efficacy as- cribed to them (p.l49) taken * to have and to hold—from this day forward—for richer “ for poorer—for better for worse—in sickness and health.—to * love and to cherish—till death us do part *7* These words, as a learned Catholic divine, Bishop Chaloner, observes, are inserted in our service according to the ancient Canon of England ; and even when the Latin mass was sung by the tonsured priest, the promises which accompany the delivery of the symbolical pledge of union, were repeated by the blushing bride in a more intelligible tongue. The binding force, which the Northmem in general ascribed to their legal formulæ, is a very curious feature in their juris- prudence. The words of power, were considered as having an efficacy in themselves, without requiring either the assent or the understanding of the party to whom they were addressed. It was sufficient that the words were spoken. Once uttered, the charm had struck, and could not be dissolved. The whole Saga of ** Gunlaug with the serpent's tongue * turns upon this idea. The youthful poet sought instruction in the law from Thorstein the wise. A year was passed in listen- :ing to Thorstein's lessons; but the severer studies of Gun- laug were relieved by the contemplation of the charms of the “ In the older marriage forms, the rhythmis more strongly marked than in that which is now in use. According to the usage of Salisbury, the bride answered: I take thee, John, to be my wedded husband—to have and to hold—fro' this day forward—for better for worse—for richer for poorer—in sycltnesse, in hele-to be bonere and buxom (i.e. obedient; Germ. biegsam) in bedde and at borde—till death do us part [if Holy Church it well ordain]—and thereto I plight thee my troth. This, in fact, is the wedding or sponsio, the civil ceremony, to which the Church has added the benediction. The penultimate clause is evidently a Christiam insertion. The forim was adopted with some very slight variations in the other English dioceses. Thus, in the province ofYork, or, tò speak more correctly, in the kingdom of Northumbria, the bridegroom's promise was tothe following effect:—I take thee, Alice—to my wedded wife—to have and to hold—at belde and at borde—for fairer for fouler—for better for worse—in syknesse in hele—till déth us depart. See Selden (Uxor Hebraica, lib. i. c. 28). The Belgic form of espousals, which he gives, is the English form in substance, but brought down into plain prose. PRO OFS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. cxxxvii fair-haired Helga, the daughter of the Sage. It chanced that they were sitting at the board, when Gunlaug spake to Thor- stein :—“ One law-form yet remaineth, which thou hast not taught me ; nor do I yet know how a maiden is to be wedded.* Thorstein answered, that few words were needed ; and he re- cited the form of espousal. Gunlaug then craved leave to repeat his lesson to Helga ; a request to which the father assented, slightly hinting that the sport was idle. The lover, however, persisted, and pronounced the wedding words with audible precision and solemnity, and mamed his witnesses. All who were present laughed at the playful children ; but in the aftertime, Gunlaug vindicated his right to the hand of IHelga, in bloodshed and in death *. THE KING's HIGHWAYS. (XXVI.) In the Latin text of the laws, only three of the Kings High- ways are mentioned;—the French, or Romance, text has the usual number offour, corresponding with almost every other authority. Antiquarians have not altogether determined upon the lines taken by these communications. Even Stukeley, who travelled along them, and with no small danger of dislocations and contusions, was frequently at fault, and compelled to desert these venerable ruts of Belinus, and to amble again upon the Turnpike of King George. The main track, however, of “ Watling Street,* the most important in history, as it became the boundary of the Danish and English States, is ascertained with tolerable accuracy. ** Fosse ** is also perfect in parts ; and though it was not a public frontier, it often divides manor from manor. Higden, diligent and laborious, .uniting the in- formation which he obtained from the stores of the library ** Gunlaug's Saga. VoL. I. t The four* Highways ot the King''— Watling Street, Fosse, Irmin Street, and Ikenild or Rikenild Way or Street (see p. 284). cxxxviii JP R O O FS A N D IIL LU S T R A T I O N S. The privileges of the ** four ways,'' gradnally extended to all public streetsandhighways. with the fruits of his own observation, has described the general directions of these ways with some degree of minuteness and accuracy ; and we may be content to follow Irmin Street and Rikenild or Ikenild Way, according to the route which he has laid down *°. Originally these ancient ** Streets ** seem alone to have en- joyed the privileges ascribed to Belinus. But the rights of the King were easily extended to all public roads ; the property of the soil was considered as vested in him. If a stone was removed from the street, the Magistrates had the power to punish the offence as the most heinous robbery°. 4° Molmucius, Kyng of Brytons, was the xxiii. of them, and fyrst y* gafthem lawe. He ordeyned that plowmen solowes, Goddes temples, and hygh wayes that ledem men to cytees and townes, sholde have the fredome of socoure, so that euery man that went to ony of the thre for socoure or for trespas y* he had do shold be sauf for poursute of all his enemyes. But afterward, for that wayes were uncertayne and stryf was had, therfore Belinus, the kyng that was y* forsayd Molmucius sone, for to put away all doubt and stryfe, made four hyghe kynges wayes, pryveleged with all pryveleges and fredom. And the wayes stretch thorugh the Ilonde. The fyrst and gretest of the four wayes is called Fosse, and stretcheth out of the south into ye northe, and begynneth from the corner of Cornewayll, and passeth forth by Devenshyre, by Somersete, and forth besydes Tethbury, upon Cotteswolde, besyde Coventre, unto Leycetre, and soo forth by Wylde pleynes ioward Newerke, and endeth at Lyncoln. The seconde chyfe kynges hyghe waye is named Watlyngstrete, and stretcheth thwert ouer Fosse out of the south in to the northe weste, and begynneth at Douer, and passeth by the myddell of Kente over Tamyse, besyde London, by west Westmynstre, and so forth, by Saynt Albon, in the west syde, by Donstable, by Stratforde, by Towcetre, by Wedon, by South Lylleborn, by Atheriston, unto Gilbertus hylle, that now is called Werkene, and forth by Severne, and passeth besydes Wrokcetre, and thenne forth to Stratton, and so forth, by the myddell of Wales unto Cardykan, and endeth atte Iryshe see. The iii waye is called Erymyngestret, and stretcheth out of the west north-west into eest south-eest, and begynneth in Menevia, that is, in Saynt Davyd londe, in West Wales, and stretcheth forth unto Southampton. The fourth is called Rykenildestrete, and stretchethe forth by Worcestre, by Wycombe, by Βrymyngham, by Lychefelde, by Derby, by Chestrefelde, by Yorke, and forth unto Tynmouth.—Trevisa's Polycronicon, lib. i. c. 45. „ . - & * : *0 This happened at Bath, in which city three unlucky travelling workmen re- moved a great stone, for which they were seized by the Magistrates;—ferocious animals as they are every where,—says Gozeline, the narrator of the miracles of St. * PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. cxxxix Many British tumuli and fortifications are cut through by the four ways, in different parts of their course ; it is possible that, in some instances, an older British causeway may have been repaired by the Romans; but no satisfactory opinion cam lbe formed, until the whole of Britain shall have received ÈÉ ;* illustrations as copious as those bestowed upon the county, * * * * ■ * * which, containing Stonehenge and Amesbury, has been explored with unwearied zeal and enthusiasm. ·m· ' The Saxons transferred their own local traditions to the Mythological traditions connected with high- highways of Britain ; even as the Franks had done in Gaul. Üíeíï Brunehault there obtained the supremaey of the causeways #**"""* of the Empire ;—not the Queen of Sigebert, but the Brinhilda, of the songs of the Edda, transformed by popular belief into a Sorceress, and whose mythic character has a strange analogy to the misdeeds amd cruelty of the IFrankish Queen. ** Watling Watliag strcet — the i- JMilky-waycalledbythe Street ** was the name applied to the Milky-way. Chaucer íú. Š * ę - - by the Frank * and Gavin Douglas thus describe the starry Zone*. If we ?j'; s amd Spa niards to indicate the seek the etymology of ** Watling Street * in the Anglo-Saxon, $ $$$$$ Mahommetans as point- it appears to be the path of the wanderer*. Later traditions jgto Megcs; gigte * * - i . . * i-* * Way of Souls'* ofthc considered the galaxy as pointing out the road to the shrine i,j. of St. Jago. Mahommedan piety views the circle of light as Augustine (Acta Sanct. Maii, vol. vi. p. 403).—Hinc indignati, præsides et judices oppidi irruunt in eos, ut sunt passim, homines ferini, hiantes ad prædam ; raptosque hos tres advenas, velut regii juris invasores et publici prædones, simul in arctissimum cippum, omni compede durius, constrinxere. - 51 lo the galaxy, The whiche men clepen. the Milky-way, For it is white, and some, par fey Ycallin it han Watlyngstrete. * t House Qf Fame, book ii. v. 427. Of every sterne, the twynkling notes he " That in the still hevin move in cours we se Arthury's house, and Hyades betailrning raine, Syne Watlingstrete. * G. Douglas, p. S5. * From uasol-vagabundus, erraticus.—Lye. t 2 cx} > PRO OFS ANI) IILLUSTRATIONS. Irmin Street-its com- nection with the pillar of Irmin, the Irmin- sule, the principal idol of the * oid Saxons.” pointing to the holy Mecca ; and the Iroquoise considerit as the path of souls. Whether the Anglo-Saxoms had any similar belief cannot be ascertained ; but the appropriation of the same identical name to the starry circle and also to the earthly road, may induce us to suppose that the latter had some connection with the astral mythology of the early age. * * Irmin Street ** is more evidently related to the worship of the old Saxons. Irmin, in the cloudy Olympus of Teutonic belief, appears as a king and a warrior ; and the pillar, the * Irminsule,” bearing the statue, or considered as the symbol of the Deity, was the Palladium of the Saxon nation, until the temple of Eresburgh was destroyed by Charlemagne, and the column itself transferred to the monastery of Corbey, where perhaps a portion of the rude rock idol yet remains, covered by the ornaments of the Gothic era. The investigation of the character and attributes of this Deity, or Demigod, has long employed the erudition and excited the imagination of the learned of Germany, who, as is often the case, dazzle us with a display of riches which we cannot employ, and over- whelm us with erudition, which sometimes confounds even those by whom it is possessed. Protection and power, how- ever, seem to have been ascribed to the Irminsul, and as such, we may conjecture that the great Highway was placed under the same tutelary Deity, and that the sanctity of religious feeling was invoked in aid of the municipal law*. * The reader who wishes for further information on the subject of the Irminsule, may consult the older treatise of Meibomius, ** De Irminsula Saxonica,'' or the more modern productions ofVon der Hagen (Irmin, Seine Saüle, &c., Breslau, 1817), and Grimm (Irminstrasse und Irminsaüle, Wien, 1S15). The latter treatise, in parti- cular, contains a profusion of mythological and etymological learning, of which I have availed myself. It has been a great matter of dispute, whether Irmin should be iden- tified with Mars, or with Mercury. The mame of the Temple speaks in favour of the first etymology ; the name of the Deity, for the last. PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. cxli MAGICAL POWERS ASCRIBED TO THE FORMS OF THE LAW. Amongst the Scandinavians, the law embraced all living Ancient superstitionsot the law amongst the things. Brute beasts were included in the social compact ; the Scandinavians, &c. (see industrious beaver, according to the laws of Haco, the foster- £?,„ „. son of Athelstane, had * his house even as the bonde ;'* and if ifigyçôáôïí the beaver were killed, a fine of three marks was paid both “ for bloodwite and hamesoken, to the beaver's Lord, the owner of the ground. It may be thought, at first, that this compensation was made upon the familiar principle of indemnifying the pro- prietor for the loss of the fur; but such an interpretation, though more practical and homely, is contradicted by the lan- guage of the Code, which speaks expressly of the domicile of the animal, and of his rights as an inhabitant. But the grim denizens of the forest, the enemies of mankind, were declared to be out of the protection of the law. * Bear and wolf shall be Hears and wolges com. sidered as outlaws by outlaws in every place**'; a phrase which affords a most singular άΚξῖ. and pertinent commentary upon the definition of an outlaw— Hence perhaps the ori- the Bearer of the Wolf's head—according to our own juris- gia oftig ancient lega! phrase, “lupinum caput prudence. Yet, even the bear was entitled to due notice. If ÉÉÉÉ ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ I. w* ■* * tl .2 ** IBruin robbed and spoiled his two-legged countrymen, it was "*"" (see p. 210) necessary to summon a Tinwald Court, in which he was declared to be liable to condign punishment*. - The terrific ** war-wolfi* or ** loup-garou,* seems to have been The "Wayus'' of the • * • • . Salic and Ripüariam originally only the * Wargus;* a wretch banished from his fel- î, î„î, • e • ' * _* T. a * all human society—the low-creatures by the judicial sentence which forbade his nearest ; War-wolf,'' or * Loup kindred, his wife or his child, from affording him the smallest girou." * Biorn ög älf, scal hvervetna útlægr vera. ** Saga af Finboga hinum rama, or Tale of Finbog the Strong—Copenhagen, 1812, p. 247. The bear is killed by Finbog in single combat; but the hero treats his antagonist with chivalrous courtesy, and has many parleys with him. Werlauf, the leagned Editor, adds, that the opinion that Bears have â reasonable knowledge. of Danish, is yet prevalent in Norway. v. - cxlii E R O O FS AND II, LUSTRATIONS, Animals banished by legal decrees, Vampires liable tolegal process — ejected by action, and burnt by sentence of the Magis- trate. aid*. And it is not altogether difficult to understand how the depredations to which such a wretched outcast was incited by his meed, or prompted by his ferocity, may have contributed to form the popular notion of this direful visitant. Nor is it less singular that the crime which, amongst the Franks, more particularly drew down this punishment, was the spoliation of the corpse. The vengeance of the disembodied spirit may have been considered as concurring in the punishment of the unhappy offender ; aided by the imprecations, which, in the day of paganism, accompanied the sentence thundered forth from the rocky temple,—the scene of government, of judgment, and ofumholy sacrifice. Analogous ideas may be traced throughout the middle ages ; and it was supposed, that noxious vermin—rats, mice, and even insects—would obey the decree of a civil tribunal. These strange acts were occasionally accompanied by sentences of excommunication, which were to be enforced if the defend- ants failed to obey the sentence which expelled them. The Church remonstrated against this abuse ; but it indicates that the source of these opinions is to be found in the ancient con- nection between the rites of religion and legal ceremonies. Eoth proceeded from the same Source ; and the might of the Hierophant was united, in the opinion of the people, to the solemn forms of the law °7. ' IHence, they extended it not only to mam, but to the Fiend. When the ghastly corpse was tenanted by the foul spirit, who raised the carcass in all the loathsomeness of the grave, for the purpose of tormenting the survivors, the Northmen addressed theº« Giengangerº,” as an illegal trespasser, bound to obey ° Lex Salica, § lvii. de corporibus spoliatis, 5. Lex Ripuaria, § lxxxv. de cor- pore spoliato, 2. - ' - . t& - - ° st Iíis, perhaps, not altogether owing to accident, thatthe metrical claim (p. cxxxiv.) is united in theTextus Roffensis (p. 51) to an exorcism. ss Literally, a « Revenant," one who * gangs again." .IP R O O FS . AN D IIL L U S T R A T I O N S. cxliii the same code as a living intruder. The Doomsman holds the Court in the ordinary form, and when the judgment is pro- nounced, the corpse, filled with demoniac life, rises from the seat and yields to the sentence of the tribunal*. But this opinion was not peculiar to Iceland ; and in all those coun- tries where similar strange and unaccountable scenes made the night hideous, a similar course was pursued. The Vampire, or the * Broukolaka," was not to be quieted by exorcisms. He feared not holy water ; he fled mot before the hallowed relics ; lhe defied bell, book, and candle ;—but it was necessary to exhumate and consume the dead offender ; and this proceeding took place in consequence of a formal decree of the Magistrate, Imade upon legal evidence of the Vampire's crimes °. And in 6rder to escape. the preternatural summons thundered forth at JDunedin's Cross, when, s. each chief of birth and fame, Oflowland, highland, border, isle, Foredoomed to Flodden's carnage pile, Was cited there by name; an appeal was lodged against the judgmentº in the manner which would have been recognized by the College of Justice. Even in bargains with the Tempter, we always find a valid, if not a good consideratiom, and a bond, signed and sealed in due form of law. - C. legal forms were used. —. - i ° Le seul remède contre ces apparitions, est de couper la tête et de brûler le corps de ceux qui reviennent. Toutesfois, om ne procède pas sans forme de justice ; on cite et on entend les témoins: on examine les raisons; on considèreles corps exhumés pour voir si l'on y trouve les marques ordinaires qui font conjecturer que ce sont ceux qui molestent les vivans, comme la mobilité, la souplesse dans les membres, Ia fluidite dans le sang, l'incorruption dans les chairs. Si ces marques se remcontrent *on !es livre au bourreau qui les brûle.—Calmet, Surles Vampires, vol. ii. p. 36. • ' ; " See Pitscottie, as quoted in the Notes to Marmion, p. 97. -- •* Eyrbiggia Saga, p. 280. The Saga particularly notices that all the ordinary cxliv JP R O O FS * A N D ILL U S T R A T I O N S. GERMANIC TRIBUNALS, SUPPOSED TO BE cONNECTED WITH THE PAGAN POLICY—THE FREE FIELD COURT OF CORBEy THE VEHMIC, OR SECRET TRIBUNALS OF WESTPHALIA. In Germany, there existed a singular jurisdiction, which claimed a direct descent from the Pagan policy and mystic ritual of the earliest Teutons. I. ££.' **'*''; We learn from the Historians of Saxony, that the ** Frey Feld richt,'° or Free Field couit gf the Abbey gericht” of Corbey was, in Pagan times, under the supremacy Š; of the Priests of the Eresburgh, the Temple which contained Ę. :;- the Irminsule, or pillar of Irmin, to which I have already alluded *. After the conversion of the people, the possessions of the temple were conferred by Louis the Pious upon the Abbey Composed gf sixteen which arose upon its site. The court was composed of sixteen çï persons, who held their offices for life. The senior member iii£, presided as the Gerefa or Graff ; the junior performed the √ humbler duties of ** Frohner,'' or summoner ; the remaining ' * Schöppfen'' ** Recht- - sprechi," or Echevins fourteen acted as the Echevins, and by them all judgments were — Declarers of judg- - - £* ment,... pronounced or declared. When any one of these died, a mew ÉĘ member was elected by the Priests, from amongst the twenty- families Who iniìiiei two septs or families inhabiting the Gau or district, and who "*"*""***) included all the hereditary occupants of the soil. Afterwards, the selection was made by the Monks, but always with the assent of the Graff and of the ** IFrohner.** * w- ~The* King, seaty or The seat of judgment, the King's seat, or * IKönigs stuhl,” £""" was always established on the green sward ; and we collect from the context, that the tribunal was also raised or ap- pointed in the common fields of the Gau, for the purpose of deciding disputes relating to the land withim its precinct. Süch a ** King's seat ** was a plot sixteen feet in length, and sixteen feet in breadth ; aind when the ground Was first conse- ** Meibomius de Irminsula Saxonica, cap. iv. PRO OFS AlN D IIL LU STRATIONS. cxlv crated, the Frohner dug a grave in the centre, in which each of the Free Echevins threw a handful of ashes, a coal, and a tile. If any doubt arose whether a place of judgment had been ! $. $' $. given on a spot not duly duly hallowed, the Judges sought for the tokens. If they £gy- e* ę and of ct. were not found, them all the judgments which had been given """" became null and void. It was also of the very essence of the Court, that it should be held beneath the sky, and by the light of the sum. All the ancient Teutonic judicial assemblies (ss., 1ss) were held in the opem air ; but some relic of solar worship Vestiges gf solat wgt- ship—similarity to the may perhaps be traced in the usage and in the language of this Éicistitutions. tribunal. The forms adopted in the Free Field Court also betray a singular affinity to the doctrines of the British Bards respecting their Gorseddau, or Conventions, which were ** always held in the open air, in the eye of the light, and in face of the sum °.” When a criminal was to be judged, or a cause to be decided, Form of operirg the ourt, by a metrical the Graff and the Free Echevins assembled around the * König- dialogie* betweeíïè •) - * * * * i-* Frohner and the Graff. stuhl ;" and the ** Frohner,* having proclaimed silence, opened """"°" the proceedings by reciting the following rhymes: Sir Graff, with permission, •, I beg you to say, According to law, and without delay, If I, your Knave, Who judgment crave, With your good grace, Upon the King's seat, this seat may place. To this address the Graff replied : While the sun shines with even light Upon Masters and Knaves, I shall declare The law of might, according to right. & . . . Place the King's seat true and square, J* Owen Pugh's Elegies of Lewarch Hem, Pref., p. 46. The place of these meet- ings was set apart by forming a circle of stones round the Maen Gorsedd, or Stone 6fthe Gorsedd. - VoL. I. Ul cxlvi PRO OFS ANI) II, LUSTRATIONS. Let even measure, for justice salte, Βe given in sight of God and mam, That the plaintiff his complaint may make, And the defendant answer,—if he can. In conformity to this permission, the * Frohner* placed the seat of judgment in the middle of the plot, and then he spake for the second time : - - - Sir Graff, Master brave, - I remind you of your honour, here, And moreover that I am your Knave ; Tell me, therefore, for law sincere, If these mete-wands are even and sure, Fit for the rich and fit for the poor, IBoth to measure land and condition ; Tell me as you would eschew perdition. And so speaking, he laid the mete-wand on the ground. The Graffthen began to try the measure, by placing his right foot against the wand, and he was followed by the other Free Echevins in ramk and order, according to seniority. The length, of the mete-Wand being thus proved, the Frohner spake for the third time : - Sir Graff, I ask bypermissiom, If I, with your mete-wand may mete Openly, and without displeasure, Here the king's free judgment seat. And the Graff replied : I permit right, -* And I forbid wrong, - Under the pains and penalties. That to the old known Iaws beIong. , Now was the time of measuring the mystic plot ; it was measured by the mete-wand along and athwart, and when the dimensions were found to be true, the Graff placed himself in the seat ofjudgment, and gave the charge to the assembled Free PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ;cxlvii IEchevins, warning them to pronounce judgment, according to right and justice. On this day, with common consent, IAnd under the clear firmament, A free field court is established here, In the open eye of day ; Enter soberly, ye who may. The seat in its place is pight, The mete-wandis found to be right; Declare your judgments without delay; And let the doom be truly given, Whilst yet the Sun shines bright in heaven°. Judgment was given by the IFree Echevins according to plu- §iijieti$$i$ie$$e; s. Court, extending to all rality of voices. The jurisdiction of the Court extended to all crimes committed in - - the open air, but to - - none ot/iers. * I owe this translation to the kindness of a friend. I add the metrical form in the original Nether-Saxon dialect. Sir Walter Scott, as my readers will already have perceived, has made good use of this judicial dialogue in Ann of Geierstein, though, by a very excusable poetic licence, he has transferred the rhymes from the free Field court of Corbey, to the Free Vehmic tribunal,—of which, more anon:— I. Tho meten Lande and Stande Herr Greve I3y yuwer Seelen pand. Met Orlove » IV, gje met behage Herr Greve, JEck yock frage Eck frage mct Orlowe, Segget my vor Recht, Effeck yuwe Knecht, Düssen Stoel sette möge Up den König Stoel mit Orlove. II. All dewile die Sunne metrechte Eeschynet Herrn und Knechte Unde alle use Werke, So sprecke cck datTRecht so stercke; Den Stoel tho setten ovem unde Rechte mate tho geven, IDen Rleger Recht tho hören Dem beklageden tho antwortem. - III. Herr Greve, leve Herre i Eck vermafine yock yuwer Ehre, Eck sy yuwer Knecht. iParum segget my vor Recht. Tff düsse mathe sy geliéke ' Dem armen alse dem ricken. Effeck moge meten, NMet yuwe mede Weten, Openbar und unverholen Düssen freyen König Stoel. v. Eck erloeve I{echt Unde vorbede unrecht Bey peinn derolden erkannten Recht, VI. All dewile an diissem Dage Met yuwer allem behage, Under dem hellem Himel klar, Ein frey féld gericht openbar: Geheget beym lechten Sunnenschein Met nochterm Mund kommen herim, De Stoel ock is gesettet recht Det maht befundem upgerécht So sprecket Rechtane with und wonne, Up Klage unde Antwort, weilschient die Sunne, u 2 cxlviii IPRO O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. It possessed also a ter- ritorial jurisdiction. Courts of a similar ma- ture in other adjoining districts. crimes committed in the opem air—thefts of cattle, or agricultural implements, trespasses—and even murder. But unless the eye oflight saw the deed, the Free Court, assembled beneath the sky, could not judge the offender. Though the Echevins might pronounce sentence of death, they could not carry the sentence into execution, the criminal being transferred for that purpose to the feudal superior. This restriction, however, was probably of more recent introduction. The Free Judges also appear to have possessed originally a territorial jurisdiction. A free tenant could not sell his land to a villain, but only to another free tenant. A surrender of the tenement was made in court ; and as soon as the free tenant was divested of his land, he became * dienstbar,” a vassal or villain. If this fact be correctly stated by Justus Georgius Schottelius, it is a very singular proof of the extent to which the principle of territorial qualification was carried amongst the Saxon tribes. Similar tribunals existed in many other parts of Saxony, not retaining so many mystical ceremonies, yet still betraying theií common origin. These courts were * fenced” by a dialogue between the Judge and the Prosecutor, no longer in verse, yet in which we discover the phrases of the metrical form— the solemn appeals to the eye of day, the bidding of right, the forbidding of wrong. The Echevins were composed of the villainage, somewhat obscured in their functions by the learning of the grave Civiliam who was associated to them, and somewhat limited by the encroachments of modern feudality ; but they were still substantially the judges of the court. The ** wroge,” presentments, or accusations, were brought before them ; and the * honourable Scabini * gave their decision. Usage had limited this jurisdiction to petty trespasses and offences, whether against the peace or against good morals. These were punished by pecuniary fines. If greater crimes were* brought before them, they declared the culprit to be in IP R O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIO N S. cxlix the mercy of the feudal Lord, and the Judge appointed by him took cognizance of the case accordingly “. Of more reputation than the preceding, were the celebrated *''®; Vehmic tribunals of Westphalia, so well known from Romance ; Westphalia. but the protocols of their proceedings do not altogether realize „ „ „. the popular idea of their terrors and tyranny. Their victims specting these courts. were not buried in subterraneous dungeons, Or stretched upon the rack. The Court was held with known and notorious publicity beneath the * eye oflight ;* and the sentences, though speedy and severe, were founded upon a regular system of established jurisprudence, not so strange, even to England, as it may at first sight appear. Westphalia, according to its ancient constitution, was divided Xj?i$i $ig; ¢ * * . . � , (… to « Freygraffschafften'' into districts called * Freygraffschafften,** each of which usually of Fieé`Grayiates or Counties, each contain- contained one, and sometimes many, Vehmic tribunals, whose îîîî boundaries were accurately defined. The right of the * Stuhl- "* Herr," or Lord, was of a feudal nature, and could be transferred by íhe ordinary modes of alienation ; and if the Lord did not choose to act in his own person, he nominated a * Freigraff* to execute the office in his stead. The Court itself was composed of “ Freyschöppfen,” Scabini, gogft sgmpyed, of “ Freyschöppfen," or or Echevins, nominated by the Graff, and who were divided Fríííííííaú into two classes : the into two classes: the ordinary, and the * Wissendem * or îîï ** Witam,” who were admitted under a strict and singular bond ;;;;; Witan—(see of secrecy. The initiation of these, the participators in all the mysteries Iitigtjg ofti£,"Wi: «• ... senden " could only of the tribunal, could only take place upon the * red earth°,” ā€placíon íé {£ rcd carth.'* , ** I have extracted this account of the tribunals of Corbey from the treatise ** de singularibus quibusdam in Germania juribus,” &c., by Justus Georgius Schottelius— JFrankfort, 1671. He speaks of the ordinary tribunals as' then existing, and of the IFreygericht of Corbey, as having been held within the memory of the authorities whom he quotes. . - * Was this the colour of the Saxon banner? cl IPRO OFS AND ITLLUSTRATI O N S. Rhythmical oath, taken by the candidate, bind- ing him to secrecy, and to make denunciation or presentment of offend- CrS, Punishment inflicted upona“Nothschöppff," or one who had disclos- cd the secrets of the tribunal, or within the limits of the ancient Duchy of Westphalia. IBareheaded and ungirt, the candidate is conducted before the dread tribunal. He is interrogated as to his qualifications, or rather as to the absence of any disqualification. He must be free born, a Teuton, and clear of any accusation cognizable by the tribunal of which he is to become a member.—If the an- swers are satisfactory, he then takes the oath, swearing by the EIoly Law *, that he will conceal the secrets of the Holy Vehme from wife and child—from father and mother—from sister and brother—from fire and water—from every creature upon which the sun shines, or upon which the rain falls—from every being between earth and heavem. - Another clause relates to his active duties. He further swears, that he will ** say forth * to the tribunal all crimes or offences which fall beneath the secret ban of the Emperor, which he knows to be true, or which he has heard from trust- worthy report ; and that he will not forbear to do so, for love mor for loathing, for gold nor for silver mor precious stones.— This oath being imposed upon him, the new Freischopff was then entrusted with the secrets of the Vehmic tribunal. He received the pass-word, by which he was to know his fellows, and the grip or sign by which they recognized each other in silence; and he was warned of the terrible punishment awaiting the perjured brother.—If he discloses the secrets of the Court, he is to expect that he will be suddenly seized by the ministers of vengeance. His eyes are bound, he is cast down on the soil, his tongue is torn out through the back of his neck—and he is then to be hanged seven times higher tham amy other criminal. And whether restrained by the fear of punishment, ° Ich gelobe bey der heiligen Ehe. The employment of Ehe för law, is a pure Anglo-Saxonism—Ae, or Aepa. In a secondary sense it signifies marriage; and perhaps any lawful obligation, PRO O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. cli or by the stronger ties of mystery, mo instance was ever known of any violation of the secrets of the tribunal. - Thus connected by an invisible bond, the members of the * Holy Vehme * became extremely numerous. In the four- teenth century, the league contained upwards of one hundred thousand members. Persons of every rank sought to be asso- ciated to this powerful commünity, and to participate in the immunities which the brethren possessed. Princes were eager to allow their ministers to become the members of this myste- rious amd holy alliance ; and the cities of the Empire were equally anxious to enrol their magistrates in the Vehmic union. The supreme government of the Vehmic tribunals was vested in the great or general Chapter, composed of the Preegraves and all the otherinitiated members, high and low. Over this assembly the IEmperor might preside in person, but more usually by his deputy, the Stadtholder of the ancient Duchy of Westphalia; an office, which, after the fall of Henry the Lion, T)uke oflBrunswick, was annexed to the Archbishopric of Cologne. - • - IBefore the general Chapter, all the members were liable to account for their acts. And it appears that the ** Freegraves” reported the proceedings which had taken place- within their jurisdictions in the course of the year. Unworthy members were expelled, or sustained a severer punishment. Statutes, or ** Reformations;" as they were calIed, were here enacted for the regulation of the Courts,and the amendment of any abuses; and new and unforeseen cases, for which the existing laws did not provide a remedy, received their- determination in the Vehmic Parliament. - As the Echevins were of two classes, uninitiated and initiated, so the Vehmic Courts had also a twofold character ; the ** Offen- |bare Ding* was an Open Court or Folkmoot; but the ** Heim- liche Acht* was the far.famed Secret Tribunal. Vast number of the ini- tiated. General Chapter, or Parliament of the Veh• mic Tribunals, possess- ing both a judicial and legislative authority. Vehmic Courts of two descriptions-the ** Of. fcnbare Ding,*' or opem Folkmoot (see p. 130), and the * Hcimliche Acht," or secret Tri- bunal. - clii IPRO OFS A N D ILLUSTRATIO N S. The first was held three times in each year. According to the ancient Teutonic usage, it usually assembled on Tuesday, anciently called “ Dingstag,'' or court-day, as well as « Dienst- tag," or serving-day, the first open or working day after the two great weekly festivals of Sun-day and Moon-day. Here all the Proceedings in theopen householders of the district, whether free or bond, attended as Court, to which all the . *. , ç © • i • • * * * , • Ęîîjî suitors. The ** Offenbare Ding* exercised a civil jurisdiction ; i'"*""" and in this Folkmoot appeared any complainant or appellant who sought to obtain the aid of the Vehmic tribunal, in those cases when it did not possess that summary jurisdiction from which it has obtained such fearful celebrity. Here also the suitors of the district made presentments or * wroge,” as they are termed, of any offences committed within their knowledge, - and which were to be punished by the Graff and Echevins. Ę igit The criminal jurisdiction of the Vehmic Tribunal took the vehmic Tribunali. widest range. The * Vehme ** could punish mere slander and contumely. Any violation of the Ten Commandments was to be restrained by the Echevins. Secret crimes, not to be proved by the ordinary testimony 6f witnesses, such as magic, witch- craft, and poison, were particularly to be restrained by the Vehmic Judges ; and they sometimes designated their jurisdiction as comprehending every offence against the honour of mam or the precepts of religion. Such a definition, if definition it cam be. called, evidently allowed them to bring every action of which am individual might complain, within the scope of their tribu- mals. The forcible usurpation of land became an offence against the * Vehme.” And if the property of an humble individual was occupied by the proud Burghers of the Hanse, the power of the Defendants might afford a reasonable excuse for the * * interference of the Vehmic power. - v Circuits of the Eche- * * ¢ ú ï. The Echevins, as Conservators of the Ban of the Empire, Ę;";; were bound to make constant circuits within their districts, by $j? "***'* night and by day. If they could apprehend a thief, a murderer, hended in opem delict, executed. P R O O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. cliii or the perpetrator of any other heinous crime in possession of or in the very act ; or if his own mouth con- fessed the deed, they hung him upon the next tree. But to render this execution legal, the following requisites were neces- sary :—fresh suit, or the apprehension and execution of the offender before daybreak or nightfall ;—the visible evidence of the crime;—and lastly, that three Echevins, at least, should seize the offender, testify against him, and judge of the recent deed. If, without any certain accuser, and without the indication of crime, an individual was strongly and vehemently suspected ; or when the nature of the offence was such as that its proof could only rest upon opinion and presumption, the offender then became subject to what the German jurists term the inquisitorial proceeding ; it became the duty of the Echevin to denounce the * Leumund,” or manifest evil fame, to the secret tribunal. If the Echevins and the Freygraff were satisfied with the presentment, either from their own knowledge or from the information of their compeer, the offender was said to be ** verfämbt ;”—his life was forfeited ; and wherever he was found by the brethren of the tribunal, they executed him without the slightest delay or mercy. An offender who had escaped from the Echevins was liable to the same punishment; and such also was the doom of the party, who, after having been summoned pursuant to an appeal preferred in opem court, made default in appearing. But one of the ** Wissenden* was in no respect liable to the summary process, or to the inquisitorial proceeding, unless he had revealed the secrets 9 fhe ** mainour,' “ Inquisitorial proceed- ings” upon* Leumund' or opem fame, corre- sponding to the “ male- credence'' of the old English law (p. 214). If confirmed by the Secret Tribunal, the “ Acht'' or bann was denounced against the culprit, and he was exe- cuted as soon as he could be apprehended. One of the f« Wissen- den'' being presumed to be a true man, was of always allowed to clear himself by his compur- the Court. He was presumed to be a true man ; and if accused satoryoii, upon vehement suspicion or ** Leumund,” the same presump- “ Denunciation upon Leumund, is exactly the “ malecredence" of Anglo-Norman law, The word signifies common and notorious, or evil fame or repute. Wachter derives it from Leoma or Lioma (A.S.), light or brightness; hence applied to matters openly and notoriously known. VoL. I. X. cliv IP R O O FS ANI) IILLUSTRATIO NS. Accusatorial or ordina- ry process, by exami- nation of witncsscs. The {*Wissondem'' liable only to the accusatorial process. ** Heimliche Acht,'° or secret tribunal or court, derived its mame from the precautions taken for the purpose of pre- venting its proceedings from beimg divulged,— not from any secrecy in the time or manner of the meeting. tion or evil repute, which was fatal to the uninitiated, might be entirely rebutted by the compurgatory oath of the free Echevin. If a party, accused by appeal, did not shum investigation, he appeared in the'open court, and defended himself according to the ordinary rules of law. If he absconded, or ifthe evidence or presumptions were against him, the accusation then came before the Judges ofthe Secret Court, who pronounced the doom The accusatorial process, asit was termed, was also, in many cases, brought in the first instance before the ** Heimliche Acht.* IProceeding upon the examination of witnesses, it possessed no peculiar character, and its forms were those of the ordinary courts of justice. It was only in this manner that one of the * Wissenden * or Witan could be tried; and the privilege of being exempted from the summary process or from the effects of the * Leumund,” appears to have been one of the reasons which induced so many of those who did not tread the ** red earth * to seek to be included in the Vehmic bond. There was mo mystery in the assembly of the Heimliche Acht. Under the oak or under the lime-tree, the Judges assembled ; in broad day-light and before the eye of heaven; but the tribunal derived its name from the precautions which were taken, for the purpose of preventing any disclosure of its proceedings which might enable the offender to escape the vengeance of the Vehme. Hence, the fearful oath of secrecy which bound the Echevins. And if any stranger was found present in the Court, the unlucky intruder instantly forfeited lhis life as a punishment for his temerity. If the presentment or denunciation did chance to .become known to the offender, the law allowed him a right of appeal. But the permission was of very little utility, it was a profitless boon, for the Vehmic Judges always laboured to conceal the judgment from the hap- less criminal, who seldom was aware of his sentence until his meck was emcircled by the halter. PRooFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 'cIv * Charlemagne, according to the traditions of Westphalia, was the founder of the Vehmic tribunal; and it was supposed that he instituted the Court for the purpose of coercing the Saxons, ever ready to relapse into the idolatry from which they had been reclaimed, not by persuasion, but by the sword. This opinion, however, is not confirmed either by documentary evidence or by contemporary historians. Ahd if we examine the proceed- ings of the Vehmic tribunal, we shall see that, in principle, it differs in no essential character from the summary jurisdiction exercised in the townships and hundreds of Anglo-Saxon Eng- land. Amongst us, the thief or the robbei was equally liable to summary punishment, if apprehended by the men of the Township ; and thé same rules disqualified them from proceed- ing tò summary executiom. An English outlaw was exactly in the situation of him, who had escaped from the hands of the Echevins, or who had failed to appear before the Vehmic court : he was condemned unheard, nor was he confronted with lhis accusers. The inquisitorial proceedings, as they are termed ly the German Jurists, are identical with our ancient present- ments. Presumptions are substituted for proofs, and general opinion holds the place of a responsible accuser. He who was untrue to all the people, in the Saxon age, or liable to the malecredence of the inquest at a subsequent period, was scarcely mòre fortunate than he who was branded as ** Leumund* by the Vehmic law. - In cases of òpem delict and of outlawry, there was substan- tially no difference whatever betweeni the English and the Vehmic proceedings, delinquent was allowed, according to our older code, to rum the risk of the ordeal. He was accused by or before the Hundred, or the Thanes of the Wapentake ; and his own oath cleared him, ifa true man; but he « bore the iron ** if unable to avail himself of the credit derived from a good and fair repu- Vehmic tribunals-their origin attributed to Charlemagne; but to be considered more properly as the ancient denunciatory courts of the ** Old Saxons, ** which had survived tho conquest of the natiom. Comparison between the Vehmic courts and the English territorial jurisdictionsofthe Hum- dred, &c. (pp. 100— 213.) IBut in the inquisitorial process, the Probability, that in ear- lier periods persons ac- cusedupon “Leumund'* before theVehmicCourts could clear themselves by ordeal. x 2 clyi PIRO O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. VehmicTribunals—mot without their use in Germany. tation. The same course may have been originally adopted in Westphalia ; for the * Wissend,** when accused, could ex- culpate himself by his compurgatory oath, being presumed to be of good fame; and it is therefore probable that an um- initiated offender, standing a stage lower in character and cre- dibility, was allowed thelast resort of the ordeal. But when the judgment of God was abolished by the decrees of the Church, it did not occur to the Vehmic Judges to put the offender upon his second trial by the visne, which now forms the dis- tinguishing characteristic of the English law, and he was at once considered as condemned. The Heimliche Acht is a present- ment not traversable by the offender. The Vehmic Tribunals can only be considered as the original jurisdictions of the * Old Saxons,* which survived the subjuga- tion of their country. The singular and mystic forms of initiation, the system of enigmatical phrases, the use of the signs and symbols of recognition, may probably be ascribed to the period when the whole system was united to the worship of the Deities of vengeance, and when the sentence was pro- mulgated by the Doomsmen, assembled, like the Asi of old, before the altars of Thor or Woden. Of this connexion with ancient pagan policy, so clearly to be traced in the Icelandic Courts, the English territorial jurisdictions offer some very faint vestiges*; but the mystery had long been dispersed, and the whole system passed into the ordinary machinery of the law. As to the Vehmic Tribunals, it is acknowledged, that in a truly barbarous age and country, their proceedings, however violent, were not without utility. Their severe and secret vengeance often deterred the rapacity of the noble robber, and protected the humble suppliant ; the extent, and even the “ The strange ceremony of the ** Gathering of the Ward Staff*' in Ongar Hun- dred (see p. clx.), for instance, possesses a similarity to the style of the Free Field Court of Corbey. . PRoofs AND ILLUSTRATIONS. élvii abuse, of their authority was in some measure justified in an Empire divided into numerous independent jurisdictions, amd not subjected to any paramount tribunal, able to administer impartial justice to the oppressed. But as the times improved, the Vehmic tribunals degenerated. The Echevins, chosen from the inferior ranks, did not possess any personal consideration. -Opposed by the opulent cities of the Hanse, and objects of the suspicion and the enmity of the powerful aristocracy, the tri- bunals of some districts were abolished by law, and others took the form of ordinary territorial jurisdictions; the greater number fell into desuetude. Yet, as late as the middle of the eighteenth century, a few Vehmic tribunals existed in name, though, as it may be easily supposed, without possessing any remnant of their .pristime power °. °° The principal authorities which I have consulted are, Schottelius; Freherus de Secretis Judiciis, Ratisbon, 1762; Kopp, über die Verfassung der Heimlichem Gerichte—Gottingen, 1794; Beck, Geschichte der Westphälischen Fehm Gerichte— Bremen, 1814; and the Corpus Juris Germanici—Frankfort, 1766. The latter con- tains some very curious original documents, and in particular the ** Codex Legum et ' Consuetudinum Judicii Westphalici summæ sedis Tremonensis.” The covers of the original manuscript of this code were fastened by a padlock ; and the reader, if he found its pages open, was to be deterred by the inscription, warning him, at his peril, to refrain from indulging his curiosity. None but a Free Echevin was to venture to peruse the Custumal of the dread Tribunal. The manuscript begins with a short ' nomenclature:— I. Freygraff.—Judex est et locumtenens Regis quoad jurisdictionem. II. Freyscheff.—Assessor est Comitis privilegiati archanorum judiciorum ; atque illos archani conscios vocant, Wissendt. III. Notschäff.—Qui privilegia et archana Scabinorum archanorum false ac dolose suscepit, et perjurio commisso, eos decepit. IV. Unwissendt—Omnes vocant qui non sunt Scabini privilegiati atque ejus sym- boli nescii. - - - V. Stulherr—Est ejus territorii dominus, in quo habetur sedes juditiaria. clviii PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Examples of the assem- blages of the ancient popular courts in the open air, in the neigh- bourhood of springs, under trees, upon moot- hills (see p. 140.) Few similar meetings sub dio on the Conti- nent, except in Scandi- navia (which, mot being subject to Charlemagne, was not affected by his capitular, p. 138, direct- ing such meetings to be held under cover); and in Westphalia, where the ancient jurisdictions subsistedas before men- tioned, and in Fries- land. BLACES AND MODE OF ASSEMBLING THE ROLKMOOT OF THE HUNDRED.—THE * WARD-STAFF » OF ONGAR, IN England, the ancient mode of assembling the suitors o£ £he Hundred ** beneath the sky,” continued to be retained with very remarkable steadiness. Within memory, at least within the memory of those who flourished when English topography began to be studied, the primeval custom still flourished through- out the realm. Halikeld Wapentake derives its name from the consecrated spring, whose worship was forbidden by Cnute. Modbury, the Mootbergh, vies with the Tinwald of Mam ; and similar examples of Humdred and Manor Courts, held upon Moot hills, or beneath ancient trees, may be found in every Shire". It is remarkable that, om the Continent, there appear to be very few subsisting traces of popular Courts held in the open air, except in Scandinavia and its dependencies, where the authority of Charlemagne did not extend; in Westphalia, where the Vehmic tribunals retained, as I have supposed, their pristine Saxon law ; and in * Free Friesland,” the last stronghold of Teutonic liberty. The ** Tale of the Ward Staff* to which we must now pro- ceed, appears as a strange and umcouth fragment of the ear- liest customs of the Teutons. Corrupted by the errors of the transcriber, the ** Tale* was without doubt, also modernized in the mouths of the Churls who repeated it; and yet we cam still recognize the tone and the phraseology of the Courts of the Eresburgh. The * Irminsule” itself has been described as a trunk of a tree. Thor was worshipped under the same rude *° Halikeld is in Yorkshire ; Modbury (i. e. Moe-beonz) is in Dorset ; the following examples may be added :—Barkestone (York) under an ash-tree, called Barkestone Ash ; Fawsley (Northampton) under an enormous beech, called Mangrave, measur- ing nineteen feet in circumference above the spurs; Sheffield (Surrey) under an oak; Bucklow (Cheshire) on Bucklow Hill; Clarho (York) on a small hillock, perhaps a natural elevation, near Acton Mauleverer. P R O O FS AND IILLUSTRATIONS. clix symbol; and it may be suspected, that the singular respect and reverence shewn to the Ward Staff of the East Saxons, is not without its relatiom to the rites and ceremonies of the heathen. time, though innocently and umconsciously retained. TALE OF THE WARD STAFF*. Aungar Hundr.—The order of the gathering and yearly making of the Wardstaff of the King there, with the due course and circumstance of the yearly watch, ward, and service royall incident to the same. That is to say, First, the Bailiffe of the said Libertie, or Hundred shall gather and yearly make the Wardstaffe, of some willow bough, growing in Abbasse Rothing Wood, the fSunday next before Hock-Munday, which shall contain in length iii quarters of a yard, and viii inches round in compasse, or thereabout. And hee shall convey the same yme- diately unto the Mannor Place of Ruckwood-Hall, in Abbasse Rothing afores'd, where the Lord of the said Manor for the tyme being shall reverently the same receive into his house, and shall rowle itt upp in a faire fine lynnen cloth, or towell, and so lay it upon some pillow or cushion on a table or cubberd standing in thê chiefe or highest place in the hall of the said Maner Place, there to remaine until the said Bailiffe shall have refreshed himself. And when the said IBailiffe shall seeconvenient tyme to departe, he shall convey the same staffe by summe shineing unto Wardhatch-lane besides Long Barnes, in Roothing aforesaid; whem and where the said Lord of Ruckwood-Hall, and all and everie other tennant and tennants, land-owners, which by reason of their tenure doe hould their lands like- wise by service royall, to watch and warde the said staffe there, upon convenient summons and warning to be given unto them yearly by the said Lord of Ruckwood Hall for the time being, with their full ordinarie number of able men well harnished with sufficient weapom shall attend. Whereuppon the Lord of Ruckwood Hall shall then and there yearly at his proper costs and charges, have readie prepared a great rope called a barr, with a bell hanging on the end of the same, which he shall cause to be extended overthwart the said lane, as the custom hath beene, to stay and arrest such people as would pass by. Att the end of which said barr, mot far from the said bell, shall be laid down reverently the said staffe upon a pillowe or cushion, on the grounde ; which done, forthwith the said Bailiffe shall severally call the * Morant (Hist. Essex, vol. I. p. 126), says, “ The MS. whence this was taken, is an account of the rents of tt the Hundréd in the time of John Stoner (of Loughton) who had a grant ofit for his life in the 34th of Hen. VIII., tt which aro said to be such as have been executed, dome, paid, used, observed, and kept, not only in the time of * Ed. III. and Rob. Bruce, sometime King of Scots, but also in the time of his noble progenitors, Kings of England, “ long before, when the Saxons inhabited this realme, as manifestly may appeare more at large by ancient records “ thereof made, by Humphry de Bohun then Earl of Hereford and Essex and Constable of England, Lord of the * said Hundred, dated at Pleashy the 10th of July, in the llth of the said King Edward, as also by divers others ** ancient and sundrie notable Records, the same remaining writtem in the Saxon tongue.” ' + A Fortnight after Easter. clx PRO QFS AN D ILLUSTRATIO N S. 1 * names of all the aforesaid tenamts, land-owners, who shall present their said ordinarie number of men accordingly. Then shall the said Bailiffe in the King our Soveraigne Lord's name, straightlie charge and comand them and everie of thêm to watch änd 1:eep the ward in due silence, soe that the King be harmless and the countree scathe- less, untill the sunne arrising, when good houre shall be for the said Lora 6f Rué]._ wood-Hall to repair unto the said Staffe, who in the presence of the whole wate}, shall take the same staffe into his hand, and shall make uppon the upper rind of the same with a ltnife, a score or notch, as a marke or token, declaring their loyall ser- vice done for that year in this behalfe ; and soe shall deliver the said Staffe unto the : IBailiffe, sending it unto the Lord or land-owner of the Mannor of Fiffield, or unto the Tennant resiant, saying this notable narracion of the Wardstaffe hereafter writtem, in the Saxon tongue ; which done, they may hale up the said barr, and depart at their pleasure. THIE TALE OF TIIE WARDSTATFE. Iche athied the Staffe byleue Thanne Staffe Iche toke byleue, Byleue Iche will tellen How the Staffe have I got : Yotlie Staffe to me com, As he hoveon for to don, Faire and well Iche him underfing As Iche hoveon for to don. All, iche theron challenged That theron was for to challenge, a* Nameliche, this, and this, And all that ther was for to challenge. Fayer iche him upp dede, As iche houton for to don, Alliche warnyd to the ward to cum, That thereto houton for to cum IBy sumne shining. We our roope yonder brouton, A roope celtam, as we houton for to dom, And there waren and wakeden, And the ward soe kept That the King was harmeles And the Country scatheless. And a morn when itt day was, And the sun arisen was, Faier honour waren to us toke, Als us houton for to don. • Fayre on the Staffe wee scorden As we houton for to don. PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. çlxi Fayre we him senden, Hether we houuen for to sende. And zifther is any man, That this, withsiggen * can ; Iche am here ready for to don Ayens himselfiche one. Other mid him, on, Other mid myn feren Als we ther waren. Sir, by leave, take this Staffe, This is the Tale of the Wardstaffe.f The Munday following, called Hock-Munday, the said Staffe shall be presented yearly unto the Lord and owner of the manor of Fiffield for the time being, or his resient, who shall ymediately unfold the clothes it is wrapped in, that it may appear by the score made thereon, how the aforesaid Lord of Ruckwood Hall and other ten- mants, which by reason of their tenures of their lands, owe suit and service to watch the said Staffe at AbbasS-Rothing aforesaid, have done their watch and service-royall accordingly the night before. Then shall he clothe it again, lay it in order, and use it in every degree as the Lord of Ruckwood Hall hath done, &c. This is called Abbass Rothing Watch. Tuseday following, it is carried to the Lord of the Mannor of Nash Hall in High Ongar, who, &c. as before. This is called Stondon Watch. N. B. The watch is kept at Horrelsford, alias Hallsford. - Navestock Watch. Wednesday following the same is yearly presented to the Lord of the Mannor of Loft Hall in Navestock, &c. The watch is kept in Three JVants Lane. - Stapleford-Abbots Watch. Thursday following, thesaiâ Staffe shalle be yearly presented to the Lord of Battels Hall, &c. The Watch is kept at Pissingford Bridge. Lamborme. Priday following, the said Staff sháll be yearly presented to the Lord of the Mamor of Lamborne Hall, &c. The watch is kept at a cross in the middle of the town of Abridge. [4 Chigwell. The Sunday following, the Staff shall be presented to the land-owners of Lough- borrow, &c. The watch kept at the cross against the church. Theydon Germon. - The Monday following, the Staff shall be presented to the Lord of the Manor of Gaynes Park Hall, &c. The watch kept at Webbis-Cross in Theydon Gernon. ι-* * llJ1δ raezgem to Gainsay. t The corruptions that this “ Tale " has sustainéd íe been partly remedied by conjecture, in which I have Aenjoyed the able assistance of Mr. Price and Mr. Singer. VoL. I. y clxii PRO O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. Morton. The Tuesday following the said Staffe shall be yearly presented to the Lord of the Manor of Blake Hall, Sºc. Watch liept in the midst of the town of Morton. Maudlin-Laver. The Wednesday following the Staffe shall be presented yearly unto the Lord of the Manor of High Laver, 8 c. Watch at Poole-lane end in Maudlin-Laver. The ceremony of the watch in each parish I have omitted, being the same as in Abbasse-Rothing I have also omitted the number ofwatchmen in each parish. This Procession seems to have been a yearly muster of fencible men, who were appointed to guard the Hundred against murthers and robberies, for both which it was liable to pay a fine. If, by preventing these, the King receives no harm, as in the loss ofa subject, or the felonious breach of his peace, the subject escapes a fine, otherwise due for suffering a murderer or thief to escape. The ceremony began at Abbasse-Rothing, as at the extremity of the Hundred, went on to Chigwell, the other extreme, and returned to High Laver, which was in the neighbourhood of Ruckwood Hall. At one of these two maner-houses we may sup- pose it deposited, with due regard to royal authority. What we learn from Records concerning the design of this ceremony of the Ward- staffis, that it was to represent the King's person”, and to keep the King's peace. Somelands were held by the service of finding two men to watch with the Wardstaff, of keeping the Wardstaff; and of paying Ward-silver, and doing white-service at the Wardstafff. o To conclude, this Wardstaff was to be carried through the towns and hundreds of Essex, as far as a place called Atte Wode near the sea, and be thrown there into the seat. This custom hath been long neglected. (Morant's Essex, vol. ii. p. 126.) * Margaret Nynge ten' ...... 4 acr' pasture, 2 acr prati, 3 acr'bosci in Bobingworth de Dio Rege, per servic' custodiendi Virgam Dii Regis vocat'le Wardstaffe apud Bobbingworthe annuatim cum ibid' venerit; per quam quidem Virgam, Persona Diii Regis representatur.-Inquis. 15 Hen. VIII. March 1st. i Johis Wright ten' Maner de Kelvedon de Robtö Dnò Riche, ut de le Wardstaffe; et per servic' inveniendi duos homines ad vigiland' cump'dcò Wardstaffe, pro omnibus serviciis, &c.–Inquis. 6 Jaco. July 16. Reginald Bysmere ten' Maner de Daweshall in Lambourn, de Duce Buck' ut de Castro de Ongar, per fid' & reddit 2s. per ann, vocat Ward silver, ac ad faciend' dcó Duci, Album servic' ad le Wardstaffe in Hundred' de Ongar.-Inquis. 22 Hen. VII. Cecilia Welis ten' Maner de Maddels in Epping, 8 c. de eodem Duce per servic' custodiendi le Ward- staffe pro omni servic' custodiendi le Wardstaffe pro omni servic &c.-Inquis. 23 Hen. VII. t Isabella de Dover, pro dimid' Maner de Chyngelford, debebat, per ballivum, ad le Hokeday ferre quoddam baculum vocat'Wardstaff, pro pace Regis servanda, qui baculus deferri debet per vill' et Hundr Essex u sque Iocum vocat'Attewode prope mare, et ibi projici in mare.-Rot. Assis, 56 Hen. III, rot. 4. - P R O OF S AND ILLUSTRATION S. clxiii RECORD BY ORAL TESTIMONY. As we certainly borrowed the term of “ record* from the Nor- Record, oral testimoy so denominated accord- ing to the Norman law. man practitioners, though the usage itself was not peculiar to the Duchy, I add the passages which I have quoted in the text. It will be seen that * record,** was considered, in fact, a legal mode of bearing testimony,—a verbal certificate made by a certain number of persons, and in a definite form,—a declaration, to which judicial faith was given, and which could not be con- „ troverted. - ** Record of Court,” as practised in England, may also be (p. 145.) properly understood, by viewing the * Recorders " as an autho- rized deputation from the inferior jurisdiction, to the superior tribunal, and attestingits proceedings. An instance of this may l)e subsequently found in the Assize of Henry II. (p. clxix.) The men ofthe Township, or Hundred, came from the Township, or the Hundred, to testify the judgment which had been passed Before them. In the same manner did the men of the Shire appear before the Justices in Eyre; and the Justices in Eyre in their turn made their. ** record,** or gave testimony in person, in and before the Curia Regis, of which they themselves were members. • EXAMIPILES OF ORAL I&ECORID ACCORIDING TO TIIE ANCIENT NORMAN LAW. De Recort de Court de Roy. Record, as described in the Assizes of Hem. II. Recort de Court de Roy, est li recors des chosez qi sont feites pardevant le n..„ „,, u, r;„;, Roy. Toutes les chosez qi sont feites pardevant le Roy, pour tant qe il i ait ung Court, i. e. the King's autre avecqes li, qi qe il soit, ont recort: et cest recort puet il faire soi et autre, et se Testimony. il ne le velt faire, il puet estre fet par deux autres ; et sa personne ne puet estre seonnée, ne a ce, ne a autre chose. Toutes les choses qi sont feites en droit pardevant lui, doivent maintenant avoir pardurable fermeté. De Recort d'Eschequier. Recort d'Eschequier doit estre fet au mains par sept personnes creablez, a qi 1' om doit enjoindre qe il diront voir, parle serementqe ilz ont fet au Roy; et ilz le doivent otrorier. Et se ilz n' ont fet serement au Roy, il jureront qe ilz recorderont verité. Et se les personnez voelent seonner aucun des recordeorz, ilz doivent estre oi, et ce a I{ecord chequer. of the Ex- y 2 clxiv PR O O FS A N D IIL LU ST RATI O N S. IRecord of Assize. Record of Battle. Record of Vicw. lieu en tout recort de court, excepté la personne, et celle au baillif, fors en lor propres causes. Cest recort puet estre en des chosez qi sont feites ou dites ou otroiees en court. De Recort d'assise. Recort d'assise, est fet en ceste meisme manere, fors qe li recors de l'Eschequier doit estre fez en l'Eschequier, et cil de l'assise en l'assise. Recort de Bataille. Recort de bataille, doit estre fet par sept homes jurés, en qui court qe la bataille ait esté feite. Ièecort de Veue. Recort de veue, doit estre fet par quatre chevalers, et par les serjans et par huit loiax hommez, si qe chascon doit jurer, quant l' om plaide por la proprieté de la chose. Mes se la veue fu de dessaisine, ou pour nucune tel chose, il poet estre fèt par duze loiaus hommes qi jurent, et par le serjant. The foregoing extracts are taken from a very valuable manu- script of the Grand Coustumier, or Custumal of Normandy, in the possession of the Earl of Gosford, and formerly belonging to Sir Oliver St. John. The Custumal itself, is the production of some private practitioner, but unquestionably containing the usages of the country, as they prevailed at the period of its separation from the English Crown. Two Knights bear record of the result of an Inquest taken in the County Court concerning an indi- vidual, who had been falsely alleged to have incurred Outlawry. Justices in Eyre bear record in the Ring's Court at Westminster, of an Appeal brought in the County of 'Lincoln, by Hugo de Severby, who, as he alleges, was present when Alvredus de Glentham slew his brother, IHenricus de Severby. Thc Appellant being, as usual, a witness in his own cause (see p. 232.) IEXAMIPLES OF ORAT, IRECORID ACCOIRIDING TO THE ANCIENT IENGILISII I. AW. Oxon. Simon de la Cumbe, Gilbertus de la Hyde, Willielmus de Clinton, et Radulphus J/aunzy dicunt pro comitatu Oxoniæ quod Adam de Bedingfield nunquam in comitatu illo uthlagatus fuit; de quo præceptum fuit vicecomiti ut inde inquireret rei veritatem. Et dicunt quod nichil ibi fecit, unde utlagari debuit.—(Plac. apud Westm. 6 Ric. I.) Lincols. Galfridus filius Petri et Willielmus de Stuteville et eorum socii, justiciarii itinerantes in comitatu Lincolniæ, recordant, quod Hugo de Severbi appellat Alvredum de Glentham quod contra pacem domini Regis et inique, assultavit Henricum fratrem suum, et illum vulneravit, dexterâ manu suâ, unde obiit. Et hoc offert probare versus eum, per considerationem curiæ, et quod hoc vidit et audivit. Et Jordanum appellat de vi, qui uthlagatus est. PRO O FS ANI) ILLUSTRATIONS. clxv Alvredus totum defendit, sicut homo maimatus de morbo caduco, et sicut curia consideraverit, vel per Robertum de Karleton hominem suum et cog- natum, vel per Willielmum Braunche, qui hoc offerunt defendere, per corpora sua. Hugo autem dicit, quod ad factum, cepit ipsos Alvredum et Jordanum et ipsos liberavit ballivos Gerardi de Camville, tunc Vic. et petit ut inquiratur per sacramentum viginti et quatuor militum provincialium utrum Alvredus habet morbum caducum vel non. Et utrum Robertus et Willielmus parentes ejus sint, vel non. Milites custodientes placita coronæ inde conventi dicunt, quod in comi- tatu primo appellavit Jordanum, qui nunc utlagatus est, de facto, et Alvredum de vi. (Plac. apud Westm. 6 Ric. I.) OxoN. Ricardus filius Nigelli, Wìllielmus filius Nigelli, JYillielmus de Bruges, Walterus de Gersinton, Henricus de Hauverd, Ricardus Talemasche et JVillielmus filius Eliæ, missi per comitatum Oxoniæ ad faciendum recor- dum loquelæ quæ fuit in comitatu, inter Ricardum Foliot petentem et }}^illielmum Salveym tenentem, de una hida terræ et dimidia in Kadewell, recordantur, quod Ricardus venit in comitatu, et tulit breve de recto versus eundem Willielmum, et probavit defaltam curiæ Willielmi de Oyly.—(Placita apud Westm. 5 Joh.) -* Rex Vicecomiti Eborum, salutem. Præcipimus tibi quod assumptis tecum quatuor discretis et legalibus militibus de comitatu tuo accedas ad curiam, &c. Et in plena curia illa recordari facias loquelam, quæ est in eadem curia per breve nostrum de recto, &c. Et recordum illum habeas coram justiciariis nostris apud Westmonasterium tali die sub sigillo tuo et sigiIlis quatuor legalium hominum ejusdem curiæ, ex illis qui recordo illi interfuerint. Rex, &c. Comiti Cestriæ filio suo charissimo vel ejus justiciario, &c. salutem. Cum A. petit, &c., mandamus vobis, quod si ita sit, tunc in pleno comitatu vestro recordari facias loquelam prædictam. Et recordum et pro- cessum loquelæ prædictæ, cum omnibus ea tangentibus, justiciariis nostris apud Westmonasterium tali die sub sigillo vestro et sigillis quatuor legalium militum ejusdem comitatus, ex illis qui recordo illi interfuerint distincte et aperte mittatis.—(Reg. Brevium, pp. 5, 6.) The Defendant pleads that he is disabled by epilepsy, but offers to defend himself by' either of two Champions, who áre his kinsmen, and also his mem or vassals. Plaintiff replies, that he took the Defendant (and another, who had escaped, and is outlawed), in the fact, and prays that it may be iu- quired by a Jury of twenty-four Rnights, whether the Defendant be orbe not afïïicted with the epilepsy, and whether the Champions are or are not his kinsmen. Knights keeping the Pleas of the Crown, i. e. the Coroners of the Couuty (p. 297), testify that the Appeai hád been duly Tbrought in the County Court. Knights deputed by the County Court to the King's Court at West- minster, who make record, or tes- tify, concerning a Plea in the County Court : thereby giving the same information to the superior Court, vivâ voce, which was afterwards given in writing, by the return to writ of recordari facias loquelam. Writs of re.fa. lo. as in use after the custom was introduced of send- ing a written statement or record of the transactions of the inferior Courts under the seals of the per- sons who * recorded'* them, and which statement was now termed the ** rccord," in the same manner as the verbal deposition had pre- viously been (p. 147.) clxvi P R O OIFS A N D ILLUSTRATIONS. Assize of Henry II. (P. 259.) Its singularity, asbeing the earliest specimen of Anglo-Norman legisla- tion preserved in am au- thentic form. ' Frankpledge directed to be renewed by this As- size (p. 257). Clauses directimg the construction of ** gaols” i. e. wooden cages, for the confinement of of- fenders. Similar to the celebrated cage in which the Countcss of Buchan was kept by the order of Edward I. ASSIZE OR STATUTE OF HENRY II. FOR THE CONSERVATION OF THE PEACE. Independently of the importance possessed by this Assize, on account of the regulations which it prescribes, it is very re- markable, as the earliest specimen of an Anglo-Normam statute in an authentic form. The laws of William the Conqueror are promulgated like those of his Anglo-Saxon predecessors, but this, is an act of Parliamentary regulation ; and the other documents of a similar description, are only recited by the chroniclers, who, though they may have given the substance of the Assizes of Henry II. and Richard I. with tolerable accuracy, have yet failed to present them in their strict and legal guise. The present Statute is contained in a very fine and early copy of Glanville (Bib. Reg. 14, c. 2), where it has lurked unnoticed until the present time. And it is possible, that other MSS. of the same class may yet conceal legislative proceedings of great value. The clauses relating to the Inquests of the Townships and Hundreds, and the renewal of the Frankpledge, have been already explained. It may be added, however, that the decla- ration, that not even the honour of Warremme was to be exempted, does not seem to have any peculiar relation to the privilege of that Franchise. Warremne was inserted by way of example, just as the honour of Boulogne is noticed in a similar mammer in Magna Charta ; and this circumstance is not entirely unworthy of attention, inasmuch as it shews how readily the Clerks of the Chancery availed themselves of any established precedent of language. The clauses concerning the construction of the gaol " may require explanation. Such a place of confinement was neither *' The etymology of the word is sufficiently clear. Cavea, or caveola, is the root. Hence, in Romance Latin, gabia and gabeola-gajola, gaiolle, gaole—all in use in the Langue d'Oil Dialects.—(Roquefort, vol. i. p. 656.) PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. clxvii more mor less than a great Wooden cage, in which the miserable wretches were incarcerated until their deliverance—not hung out upon the topmost tower of the castle, but inclosed in a strong chamber, or, perhaps, fixed in a gloomy vault, like those which subsisted till the Revolution, in the Mount St. Michael. Of this description, but affording as much comfort as the residence would admit, was the well known cage in which the Countess oflBuchan passed her dreary days of confinement. And it is rather sin- gular that, considering how clearly the plan amd structure of her ** cage " cam be collected from the writ of Edward I., it should ever have been imagined that she was exposed to public scorn on the battlements of Berwick tower 7*. The renegades, against whom the prohibition (sec. 21) is directed, are the Publicans, as they were called, who, about the year 1165, were delivered to the secular arm, pursuant to the decree of the Ecclesiastical Council of Oxford*. The historians state that these unhappy wretches perished in consequence of the severities which they experienced; but this prohibitiom shews that they escaped ; or, that if the punishment killed the IHeretic, it only scotched the heresy. A clause in the oath of the Sheriffs of more modern periods, Dound them to ** destroy and make to cease all manner of ** Ordenez est et mandez par lettres du privé seal, au Chaumberlein d'Escosse, ou a som Lieutenant, a Berewick sur Twede, que en une des turelles dedanz le chastel, de meisme le leu, en lieu qe il veist qe a ce feust plus covenable, feist faire une kage de fort latiz, de fuist, et barrez et bien efforcez de ferrement (of stout lattice work of timber, barred and strengthened with irom) en la quele il feist mettre la Contesse de Eucham.—(Foedera, vol. i. p. 995.) By the same instrument it is ordered, that Mary, sister of Robert Bruce, shall be caged in the like manner, in the castle of Roxburgh. Eut this uncomfortable mode of confinement was but too common. In 33 Edw. I. (Rot. Claus. m. 3.) the Constable of Bristol castle is commanded to provide ** quan- dam cageam ligneam, ferro ligatam,” fit for the accommodation of an unlucky Cambro- Briton, Owen ap David ap Griffith, who had incurred his displensure. A prisoner in those däys might be termed a gaol-bird, in sober sadness, and without a metaphor. ** Gul. Neubrig. lib. ii. c. 13. Clause for the extirpa- tion of the heresy of the * Publicams.” clxviii P R O O FS AND IILILU STRATI O N S. heresies and errors commonly called Lollardies,” and it is sup- posed to have been inserted pursuant to the Statutes 5 Rich. II. st. 5. c. 5. and 2 Hen. IV. c. 15. But these enactments seem rather to have adapted an old precedent to existing circum- `stances*. The Assize of Northampton, before quoted, was enacted in 1176, and, in the interval between that year and 1165, we probably find the era of the present Assize, which, if not the very Assize of Clarendom noticed by Benedictus Abbas, is yet an énactment agreeing with it in all those points, which render the reign of Henry II. the most important of the transitiom periods of the English Law. Assize, emacted by the King by the Hæc est assisa, facta apud Clarendune, quam Dominus Rex HENRIcUs, advice ofhis Archbishops, Bishops, consilio Archiepiscoporum et Episcoporum et Abbatum, cæterorumque Abbots, and other his Barons, the Prelates here acting in their tem- Baronum suorum, statuit, pro pace servanda et justicia tenenda. poralespasity (p. 257,259) (1.) Quòd per singulos comitatus inquirant per singulos hundredos, per Inquiy t$ be made, ly the twelve q„J<.,;„, legaliores homines de hundredo, et per quatuor legales homines de most lawful men of the Hundred, and the four men of the Townships. qualibet villata, per sacramentum quod illi verum dicent, si in hundredo vel Such Inquests to be taken both by in villata sua, sit aliquis homo qui sit rectatus vel publicatus, quod ipse sit the Justices and the Sheriffs. roberator vel murdrator, vel latro, vel aliquis qui fuerit receptor roberatorum Vcrdict. Matters to be presented. vel murdratorum vel latronum, postquam Dominus Rex fuit Rex. Et hæc inquirantur justiciarii coram se, et vicecomites coram se*. * Benedictus Abbas seems to consider the Assize which he has preserved in his life of Henry II. (p. 131) as the text of the law. But the document, which he gives, wants the formal introduction or enacting part ; and instead ofbeing the actual Assize, either of Clarendon or of Northampton, it seems to be formed by uniting both texts. As the acts of the ancient legislature were often repéated, we cannot be assured that this is the Assize to which he specifically alludes. . •* Hæc sunt Assisæ factæ apud Clarendune, et postea recordatæ apud Northamton, si quis rectatus fuerit coram justiciariis Domini Regis de murdro vel latrocinio, vel roberia, vel receptatione hominum talia facientium vel de falsoneria, vel iniqua combustione, per sacramentum duo- decim militum de hundredo, et si milites non adfuerint, per sacramentum duodecim liberorum legalium hominum, et per sacramentum quatuor hominum de unaquaque villa hundredi, eat ad judicium aquæ ; et si perierit, alterum pedem amittat. Et apud Northamtoniam additum est pro rigore justiciæ, quod dexterum similiter pugnum cum pede amittat, et infra quadraginta dies a regno exeat. “ In consequence of the scruples felt by ** Sir Edward Coke, late Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and afterwards of the King's Bench, but removed from his place, and made Sheriff of the County of Buckingham,”—(Cro. Car. 26.)—this clause was expunged. His objections were well grounded; but neither the learned Sir Edward Coke, the Attorney-General, nor the learned Sir Edward Coke, the ChiefJustice, could suspect the illegality, which became so forcibly apparent to the conscientious Sir lEdward Coke, when out of office, and in opposition. P R O O FS AND IIL LU STRATIONS. clxix (2) Et qui invenietur per sacramentum prædictum retatus vel publicatus de prædictis, eat ad juisam aquæ ; et juret quod ipse non fuit roberator, vel murdrator, vel latro, vel receptor eorum, postquam Dominus Rex fuit Rex, de valentia quinque solidorum, quod ipse sciat. (3.) Et si dominus ejus qui captus fuerit, vel dapifer ejus, requisierint eum per plegios, infra tres dies postquam captus fuerit, replegiatur ille donec faciat legem suam. (4.) Et quando roberatores vel murdratores, vel latrones vel receptores eorum capti fuerint per prædictum sacramentum; si justiciarii non fuerint tam cito venturi in illum comitatum ubi capti fuerint, vicecomites mandent propinquiori justiciæ per intelligentem hominem, quod tales homines cepe- rint. Et justiciarii remandebunt vicecomitibus, ubi voluerint quod illi ducantur ante eos. Et vicecomes eos ducat ante justiciarios; et illic ducantur de hun- dredo et villata ubi capti fuerint, duo legales homines ad recordandum recordationem hundredi et comitatus, quare capti fuerunt. Et ibi ante jus- ticias faciant legem suam. (5.) Et de illis qui capti fuerint per prædictum sacramentum, nullus habebit curiam vel justiciam nec catalla, nisi Dominus Rex in curiâ suâ, COrám justiciariis ejus. Et T)ominus Rex habebit omnia catalla eorum. (6.) De illis qui capti fuerint aliter quam per prædictum sacramentum, sit sicut esse debet. Et vicecomites qui eos ceperint, eos ducant ante jus- ticiarios sine alia summonitione quam inde habebunt. Et omnes roberatores et murdratores, et latrones et receptores eorum, per hoc sacramentum vel aliter tradantur vicecomitibus, et ipsi recipiant eos, statim et sine dilatione. (7.) Et in singulis comitatibus in quibus non fuerint gaiolæ, fiant in burgo vel in aliquo castello Domini Regis, et de bosco ejus si prope fuerit, vel de alio bosco propinquiori per visum servientium Regis ad hoc, ut vicecomites in illis possint illos, qui capti fuerint, per ministros et servientes suos custodire. (S.) Vult etiam Dominus Rex quod omnes veniant ad comitatum ad hoc sacramentum faciendum; ita quod nullus remaneat pro libertate, quam habeat, vel curia vel soca, quam habeat, quod non veniat ad sacramentum faciendum. (9.) Et mon sit aliquis in castellum vel extra castellum, nec etiam in honore de Warengia, qui vetet vicecomites intrare in curiam suam et terram, ad videndum francos plegios, quod omnes sint sub plegio. (10.) Et ante vicecomitibus mittantur sub libero plegio: et in comitatu et in burgo nullus habeat homines nec receptet in terrâ suâ, vel in domo suâ, Vel in §9câ suâ, quos non in manu capiat, quod habebit eos ante justiciarios si requisiti fuerint, vel sint sub franco plegio. VoL. I. 2. (2.) Any person thus indicted, to undergo the water ordeal. (3) But upon the application ofhis Lord, or of his Lord's Steward, he may be admitted to bail until he shall undergo the ordeal. (4.) Sheriffs to inform the Justices (if the latter are not speedily ex- pected in the County) of such Per- sons as they shall have arrested pursuant to the Presentments, in order to take their directions as to the place where the Prisoners shall be sent for Trial. Two good mem ofthe Hundred, orthe Township, to appear before the Justices, to “ re-. cord," i. e. to testify, the present- ment, vivâ voce. (5.) Offenders taken pursuant to the presentments, to be tried only by the King's Justices, and not by any inferior Court. All their chat- tels to be forfeited to the King. (6.) Robbers, &c. apprehended by presentment, or in any other mam- mer, to be delivered to the custody of the Sheriff, and brought by the Sheriff before the Justices, without any special summons. (7.) Gaols, or cages, to be built with the King's timber, if any of his forests shall be mear the castfe or town in which they are tobe con- structed, otherwise from the nearest wood (being private property.) (8) No person tobe excused from making the oath (i. e. serving on the Juries.) (9) Sheriffs empowered to enter all Franchises for the purpose of seeing that the Frankpledge is duly kept. (10.) Frankpledge to be held be- foro the Shêriff. No lord, land- holder, or householder,to allow any ersons to remain in his soke, land, ör dwelling, more than one night, unless they be in Frankpledge, of unless he will be their pledge for their appearance, clxx PRO OFS ANI) II, LUSTRATION S. (11.) Sherifftoenter all Franchises for the purpose of arresting persons within the scope of the Assize. (12.) Persons, in whose possession stolen goods are found, if defamed, or not having the warranty [of their Iord] not to be allowed to undergo the ordeal. (13.) Persons making confessiom before the Hundred, &c. not to be allowed to withdraw such confes- sion, mor to be allowed the ordeal. (14.) Offenders cleared by the or- deal, if of very bad testimony (i. e. if their lords refuse to give it) or otherwise defamed, to abjurc the kingdom. (15.) No stranger to be harboured anywhere except in aborough, and there, not more tham one night, un- less detained by illness or accident happening to himself or his horse. (16.) If he prolong his stay, he is to be imprisomed until his lord shall repledge him. (17.) Any Sheriffwho shall receive information from any other Sheriff, that offenders have escaped into his bailiwick, is to arrest such offend- crs ; and he is to act in like manner, if he shall become aware of such offenders, either from his own knowledge, orthe information given by others. (18.) Sheriffs also to return the names of such fugitives to the jus- tices, in order that they may be arrested in any part of England where they are to be found. (ll.) Et nulli sint in civitate nec in burgo, nec in castello, vel extra cas- tellum, nec in honore Warengiæ, qui vetent Vicecomites intrare in terram suam vel socam, ad capiendos illos qui retati sunt vel publicati, quod sint robera- tores, vel murdratores, vel latrones, vel receptatores eorum, vel uthlagati vel retati de foresta Regis: sed præceptum est quod juvent eos ad illos capiendos. (12.) Etsi aliquis fuerit captus qui fuerit saisitus de roberia vel latrocinio, si ipse sit defamatus et habet malum testimonium de publicamento, et non habet warrantum, non habeat legem. (13.) Et si non fuerit publicatus per saisinam quam habeat, eat ad aquam. Et si aliquis fuerit recognoscens coram legalibus hominibus de hundredo, de roberia vel murdredo vel latrocinio vel receptione eorum, et postea negare voluerit, non habeat legem. (14.) Vult etiam Dominus Rex quod illi qui facient suam legem, et mundi erunt per legem, si ipsi fuerint de testimonio pessimo, et publice et turpiter defamati, multorum testimonio et legalium hominum, foris-jurent terram Regis; ita quod infra octo dies mare transibunt, nisi aura eos detinuerit, et cum primâ aurâ quam habebunt mare transibunt, et ultra in Angliam non revertentur, nisi per misericordiam Regis, et ibi sint uthlagati. Et si redierint, capiantur sicut uthlagati 7°. (15.) Prohibet etiam Dominus Rex me aliquis waivatus vel ignotus hospi- tetur alicubi, nisi in burgo, etibi, mon nisi una nocte ; nisi ipse ibi infirmetur vel equus ejus, ita quod monstrare possit rationabile causam. (16.) Et si hospitetur plusquam una nocte, capiatur donec dominus ejus venerit ad plegiandum eum, vel ipse habeat salvos plegios, et ipse similiter capiatur qui eum hospitatus fuerit. (17.) Et si aliquis vicecomes mandaverit alio vicecomiti, quod homines fugerint de vicecomitatu suo, in alium comitatum, pro roberia vel pro mur- dro vel latrocinio, vel receptione eorum * * vel pro uthlagaria vel pro recto forestæ Regis, ille capiat illos ; et etiam si per se vel per alios sciret quod tales homines fugerint in suum comitatum, capiat eos, et custodiat donec de eis habeat salvos plegios. (18.) Et omnes vicecomites facient inbreviare omnes fugitivos qui fugerint de suis comitatibus, et hoc faciant coram comitatu, et illorum nomina scripta, portant ante justiciarios, cum primo venerint ad illos: ut illi per totam Angliam querantur, et eorum catalla capiantur ad opus Regis. 7° Et si ad aquam mundus fuerit, inveniat plegios, et remaneat in regno, nisi retatus fuerit de murdro, vel alia turpi felonia, per commune comitatus, et legalium militum patriæ: de quo, si prædicto modo rectatus fuerit, quamvis ad acquam salvus fuerit, nihilominus infra quadraginta dies a regno excat.-- (Ben. Abbas, ut supra.) For ** octo dies,” in the text, we should probably read * quadraginta.” PR O O FS' AND ILLUSTRATIONS. clxxi (19.) Et Dominus Rex vult ex quo vicecomites susceperint summonitiones (19.) SheriTs to make inquiry by justiciariorum itinerantium, ut ipsi cum comitatibus suis sint ante illos. Illi the suit9rs of theit County Courts aggregabunt comitatus suos, et inquirent omnes qui de novo venerint in suos íŸ • * • * • ; • - - the County since the enactment of comitatus post hanc assisam, et, illos mittent, per plegios- quod, sint coram ά Άά,λής ύigat. justiciariis, vel illos custodient donec justiciarii ad.illos venerint, et tunc ha- tached to appearbefore the justices, `bebunt illos coram justiciariis. A. (20.) Prohibet, etiam, Dominus Rex ne monachi, vel canonici vel aliqua. (20.) Persons belouging to the domus religionis recipiant aliquem de minuto populo in monachum vel cafio- lower grders ?9t to beálloye {19 micum' vel fratrem, donec sciatur de quali testimonio ipse fuerit, nisi ipse Ę- due. infirmus fuerit ad mortem. (21.) No one throughout England (21.) Prohibet Dominus Rex ne aliquis in totâ Angliâ receptet in terrà £'*''°"''''°''°'°'''*j t* * - , * T licans' or Renegades, who were suâ vel soca sua vel domo sub se, aliquem de secta illorum renegatorum, qui „Ο îaçãïí fuerunt.excommunicatis et signati apud Oxeneford. Et si quis eos receperit, oxford, and allsheriffsto besworn. sit in misericordia Domini Regis; et domus ubi illi fuerint, asportetur extra to the observance of this P£9iib* villam et comburatur. Et hoc jurabit unusquisque vicecomes quod hoc Ę to É'ì g * •.• *. • • * ' * - ■ lk€ Oalll 10 £l e]r tenebit, et hoc jurare faciet omnes ministros suos, et dapiferos et barones et §ùí, ï'ï ôïíô, omnes milites et franco-tenentes.de.comitatu- Rnights, and Freeholders of the Shire. (22.) Et vult Dominus Rex quod hæc assisa teneatur in regno suo, quam- (22) Assize to be keptthroughout diu; ei placuerit?“ England, so long as the Kingshall - * please. 7° Bib. Reg. 14, C. ii. clxxii P R O O FS AND ILLUSTRATIO NS. · Assize emacted under Henry Fitz-Ailwyne, first Lord Mayor of London (see p. 258.) FITZ-AILWYNE'S ASSIZE. This Building Act, which affords much curious illustration, mot only concerning the jurisprudence, but the domestic architec- ture of London, appears to have been required in consequence of the new mode of construction introduced subsequently to the disastrous fire, which, in the first year of the reign of Stephem, ravaged great part of the city. About that period all the houses were of wood, and thatched, and probably of slight construction. The assize of Henry II. (sec. 21) directs that the house of the individuál who harbours a heretic shall be carried out qf the towm, and burnt—which at least was more merciful than burning the owner. From this regulation, as well as from other passages in records and historians, we cam ascertain that the log-houses, in which the middling and lower orders then dwelt, were very meam and small. A better mode of building was probably introduced by the Normans; but the houses of the burgesses and sokemen in general continued to be * getimbered,” as in the Saxon age. After the fire, however, the more durable mode of building, noticed in the Assize, was adopted in Londom. Stone and tile were employed: a similar improvement seems to have taken place in the other great cities. And if the ** Jew's IIouse ** at Lincoln 77 is a specimen of the ordinary street archi- tecture of Henry II., it had then attained no inconsiderable degree of splendour. The main object of Fitz-Ailwyne's Assize is to facilitate the decision of vicinal disputes, by providing am expeditious, and at the same time an impartial, tribunal. It was therefore enacted 77 This very singular relic has recently been miserably deformed by the introduction of a smart shop-front, surmounted by a sash-window. It may be doubtful whethe, even the rights of private property ought to allow the owner to deface or destroy any historical monument. But at all events, where opulent corporations exist, they woulâ exercise a sound and praiseworthy application of their funds in the purchase of such structures, and thus their ruin might-be averted. sę p R O O FS A N D ILLUSTRATIONS. clxxiii that twelve Aldermen should be elected and sworn ** in full husting,” by whose verdict, or by the verdict of the majority, all such contentions were to be decided. Much of their business arose out of the regulations concerning party fence walls. These were to be not less than three feet in thickness. If built by the mutual consent of neighbours, each mam ceded eighteen inches of his own ground. But if one wished to make this im- provement, and the neighbour refused, then the first was entitled to build the whole of the wall upon the ground of his neighbour, though without depriving him of the property of the soil. Very minute and special provisions were established or sanc- tioned by the bye-law concerning the dispositions of the parts and appurtenances of the buildings. They are clear and ex- plicit: but rights of this description have always been a fruitful Source ofill-blood and vexation ; and unless the ancient citizens were of a much calmer and more placable temper than their descendants, we may be certain that very frequent disputes arose as to the rights and liabilities of the parties. The remedy pointed out by the Assize was prompt and effec- tual. If any individual were aggrieved by the encroachment of another, he could restrain the workmen by giving security to the Sheriff, that he would pursue his legal remedy. Upon an appointed day, the twelve sworn Aldermen, together with the Mayor, proceeded to the spot. There they heard the allegations of the plaintiff and defendant, and viewed and inspected the premises ; and their decision was final and conclusive. The absence of the defendant did mot delay the caption of the assize. If the Jurors gave judgment against the encroachment, and it were mot remedied within forty days, the plaintiff then applied to the Mayor. Two or three of the Jurors were nominated by him for the purpose of ascertaining the fact ; and ifthe defendant Were found to have been contumacious, he was * in mercy” for his contempt ; and the Sherif? forthwith carried the judgment into execution. clxxiv P1R O O FS A NID ILLUSTRATI O N S. TermsofFitz-Ailwyne's Assize indicate the steps by which the Anglo- Saxom Thanes or Eche- vins, &c. were convert- ed into Jurors. (p. 214, &c.) Without bestowing any exaggerated praise upon this specimen of civic legislation, Fitz-Ailwyne's Assize might be perused as affording a useful precedent for the same object at the present .day. A summary judgment given upon the site, possessing formality .enough to secure justice, but not so formal as to occasion expense and delay, may be favourably contrasted with the intricate process to which the plaintiff must now resort, when he seeks his remedy by action according to our modern common law. And all parties before the Court may, perhaps, regret the time when the Jurors saw the facts with their own eyes, instead of listening to the statements of the counsel, and the evidence given by interested ignorance and stupidity. As an example, comparatively recent, of the steps by which the Anglo-Saxon functionaries were converted into the Anglo- Normam inquests, IFitz-Ailwyne's Assize is of great value. The Aldermen, by law required to decide upon oath, became a jury, and in this instance their verdict was of a mixed nature. It had the form of recognition, and the effect of a judgment. They were both Jurors and Judges. Facts were ascertained by them as Jurors, and a judgment given by them as Ealdormen. In London the Assize of Fitz-Ailwyne went out of use. No other similar duty was assigned to the Ealdormam, yet their capacity, as magistrates, continued umimpaired. But, in the open country, the * Judicatores,** umprotected by municipal franchises, or, to speak more correctly, having no municipal franchises to protect, were ultimately lostamidst theinquest-men andjurors ofthe shire. Incipit ordo qualiter procedendum est, in Assisis de Edificiis, inter vicinos. Civi- tatis Londomiae7°. Anno Domini millesimo clxxxix, videlicet primo anno regni illustrissimi Regis RicARDI, tunc Majore Londoniæ Henrico filio Elwini, qui fuit primus Major Londo- miarum, provisum fuit et ordinatum per discretiores viros civitatis, ad contenciones Preamble, Assize, or Bye-law, provided and ordained by the more discreet amd bettcr men of the City of Londom. 78 Tho Records in the City Archives contain several copies of this Assize. The portions now published are taken from a Manuscript (Bib. Cott. Vesp. D. p. 92,) containing much valuable matter relating to the Laws and Customs of the City, extracted from the City Books, with marginal references to the Originals. It appears to have been com- piled in the reign of Edward III. P R O OIFS ANI) ILLUSTRATI O N S. clxxv pacificandas, quæ quandoque oriuntur inter vicinos in civitate, super clausturis inter terras eorum factis, vel faciendis, et rebus aliis; ita quod secundüm quod tunc pro- visum et ordinatum fuit, debent tales contenciones pacificari. Dicta vero provisio et ordinacio vocata est, assisa; ad quam assisam prosequendam et ad effectum producendam, electi sunt xii. viri Aldermanni de civitate, in pleno hus- tengo et ibidem jurati, quod ad illam exequendam, fideliter intendant, et ad sumoni- cionem Majoris veniant, nisi causa rationabili sint impediti. % >k * * Necessare est tamen quod major pars prædictorum virorum intersint, cum Majore, ad prædictum negocium exequendum. Sciendum est, quod qui petit assisam, eam debet petere in pleno hustengo. Et Major assignabit ei diem infra octo dies, ita quod per prædictos xii. viros, vel per majorem partem illorum sicut prædictum est, assisa illa terminetur. * :k * * 3% * Si vero domus, murum lapideum, cloaca, stillicidium, vel aliquod aliud edificium, in tempore peticionis dictæ assisæ edificatur; statim ad sectam illius petentis defen- datur, nec amplius edificant. Et si ultra defensionem, carpentarii, latomi ac alii operarii, aut eciam dominus dicti edificii, edificia edificaverint, prisonæ mancipentur. Si vero hustengum non sedeat, sicut tempore quo sunt nundinæ Sancti Botulphi et tempore messium, et tempore quo nundinæ sunt apud Wyntoniam, et aliquis habeat necessare ad illam assisam petendam ; gratis debet ei concedi a Majore et aliquibus de civibus præsentibus cum Majore, et terminari sicut prædictum est, per prædictos xii viros juratos vel per majorem partem illorum et semper in praesencia Majoris. . * * Sciendum est, quod si aliquis edificet juxta tenementum vicini, et visum sit dicto vicino illum injuste et ad dampnum tenementi sui ibidem edificare; bene potest edifi- cacionem illam impedire, datis vadio et plegio vicecomiti civitatis de prosequendo ; et tunc cessabit illa edificacio, quousque per prædictos xii viros vel per majorem partem illorum discussum sit, si injuste vel non fuerit edificatum. Et tunc necessare est ut ille cujus edificacio impeditur, petat assisam. Die autem statuto, et prædictis xii viris summonitis, debet Major civitatis cum prædictis viris super tenementum illorum, inter quos assisa petitur, accedere, et ibidem secundum visum xii virorum aut majoris partis illorum, auditis hinc inde querimonia conquerantis et responsione adversarii sui, illud megocium terminare. >k * * >* • _ • >k Si autem ille de quo querimonia facta fuerit, feceritdefaltam, nichilominus procedat assisa per considerationem prædictorum xii virorum vel per majorem partem illorum. Et quod per illos judicatum fuerit, debet per vicecomitem intimari illi qui fecerit defal- tam, ut quod judicatum fuerit infra xl dies proximo sequentes ad effectum perdu- catur. Et sciendum est quod quociens prædictum judicium infra xl dies non fuerit perfectum, et super hoc querimonia facta fuerit Majori Londoniæ, tunc debent duo viri de assisa vel tres per præceptum Majoris ibidem accedere, et si viderint quod ita sit, tunc erit ille contra quem assisa fertur, in misericordia. Et vicecomes proprio custu ipsius, illud judicium statim perducere ad effectum tenetur. * ££ % * * Twelve Aldermen to be elected in full husting, and sworn. To appear when summoned by the Mayor. Benefit of the Assize, to be prayed in full hus- ting. Buildings, &c. to be stayed as soon as the Assize is prayed. Car- penters, masons, &c. proceeding with the work in contempt of the injunction, to be com- mitted to prison. During such periods as the Court of Husting does not sit—viz. Har- vest time, Boston Fair, Winchester Fair,—the Mayor, and a competent number of Citizens em- powered to act. Mode of proceeding in cases of encroachment. The Mayor and sworn Aldermen to proceed to the spot, where they are to settle the matter upon inspection of the pre- mises, and hearing the allegations of the par- ties. Encroachments to be removed within forty days. If not done, two or three of the sworn Aldermen to ascertain the fact, in which case the Defendant is ** in mercy.'' Sheriff to carry judg- ment into execution, at the expense of the De- fendant. clxxvi P R O O FS A N D IIL L U S T R A T I O N S. (See Chap. VIII.) Its details. TRIAL BY JURY. I HAVE stated the process by which Trial by Jury was gradually established in England. The documents which follow are quoted in my text, and should be perused in illustration. It has been well observed, * that an institution which is so pecu- liarly characteristic of England, as Trial by Jury, deserves every attention to its origin ;** and, therefore, the records which illustrate this portion of our legal history, however dry and technical they may be, must always possess great interest in the eyes of every one who is anxious to become acquainted with the real nature of a tribunal praised and prized by ewery Englishmam, and yet the nature of which has been entirely misunderstood, because the evidence has been cast aside. The records of these earlier ages are always clear narratives of the facts. They are strictly reports of the proceedings, and mot, like the pleadings of the present age, a creation of the lawyer, put into a shape which bears no semblance to the history of the case which it includes. * Upon the character originally possessed by the Traverse-Jurors, as witnesses, and as witnesses only, the course of our ancient common law mainly depends. The merits and defects of the system are chiefly to be attributed to this peculiar source. And, great importance of from the means which were adopted to administer justice, when viewing Trial by Jury in its proper light—viz. as a trial by witnesses. such a mode of trial could not be fairly obtained, and whem the vitmesses summoned and impanelled by the Sheriff became incompetent to afford a fair trial, arose that “ equitable juris- diction," which maintained so long and angy a confict with the ** common law,'' the effects whereof may yet be discerned in the forms and maxims of our jurisprudence. 7° Hallam's Middle Ages, ch. viii. p. 1. PR O O FS AN D II, LUSTRATIO N S. clxxvii Whilst the ordeal subsisted, the Presentment was the testi- Recapitulation of facts momy of those, who, guided either by circumstantial evidence stu- rae ne- which had become known to them, or by their actual knowledge of the facts, declared their strong and vehement suspìcìon of the guilt of the Party (9); or their absolute convîctîon, that he had committed the crime (12, 18, &c.) In such a case, a verdiet so given would now be followed by sentence ; and, therefore, as I have before observed, the ordeal was, in fact, only a mode of (P. 2345 giving to the Culprit a last chance of escaping the pumishment of the law. The same testimony of the Jurors supported the assertion of the Appellant, who was at once a Prosecutor and a (P. 232.) Witness for the prosecution: but it could also discharge or annul the Accusation which he preferred. Originally conceded as a special favour (17, 18), and purchased by a fine, or other gift or payment to the King, the Traverse, or Petty Jury, was merely considered as a species of proof, more or less conclusive, according to the circumstances under which it was afforded. Concerningthose facts only, which the Jurors could be supposed to know from their own sight and hearing, was their testimony received. So that in case ofdeath by poison, there could be no trial by the Country. The murder was a faet, which could mot be known to the Country ; and which consequently could not be testified by the Country. The Parties were, therefore, driven to the Duel, being the only ordeal which remaimed after the abolition of the Fire and Water ordeal*. When the Jurors gave a verdict, the Judge was required, if he doubted their testimony, to take them apart from each other, and to sift and examine the evidemce thus obtained*'. Full and cogent proof, by witnesses, ousted the Culprit of his trial by Inquest (21). When such evidence was given as entirely concurred with the knowledge of the Grand Jury and of the Men of the Townships, it appeared entirely unnecessary to indulge the Culprit with any further sæ -° Bracton de Corona, c. 19. ** Ib, c, 22, VoL. I. 2 a clxxviii IP R O O FS ANI) ILLUSTRATI O N S. VVrit or Charter of thc 4Conqueror, directing 1he restitution of the Lands of the Church of Eiy. inquiry. But the positive testimony of the Inquest was not always to be received to its fullest extent. It could not pre- vail so entirely against circumstances which the law considered as the surmise of guilt, as to restore the credit of the supposed offender (22). Though rebutted by opinion, the visible facts still spoke against him. And even the suspicions entertained by a Township, whose representatives were rejected from the array (20), were sufficient to prevent the unconditional discharge of the Offender, whom the other Townships had absolved. (1.) VVillielmus Rex Angliæ, Lanfranco Archiepiscopo et Rogero Comiti Moretonii et Galfrido Constantiniensi Episcopo, salutem. Mando vobis et præcipio, ut iterum faciatis congregari omnes scyras quæ interfuerunt placito habito de terris ecclesiæ de Ely, antequam mea conjux in Normanniam novissime veniret. Cum quibus etiam sint de Baronibus meis qui competenter ad esse poterint, et præ- dicto plácito interfuerunt, et qui terras ejusdem ecclesiæ tenent. Quibus in unum congregatis, eligantur plures de illis Anglis qui sciunt quomodo terræ jacebant præfatæ ecclesiæ, die quâ Rex Edwardus obiit, et quod inde dixerint ibidem, jurando testentur. Quo facto, restituantur ecclesiæ terræ quæ in dominio suo erant, die obitûs Edwardi, ex- ceptis hiis quas homines clamabant me sibi dedisse; illas vero, litteris mihi significate, quæ sint, et qui eas tenent. Qui autem tenent Theinlandes, quæ proculdubio sunt et debent teneri de ecclesia, faciant concordiam cum abbate, quam meliorem poterint; et si noluerint, terræ remaneant ad ecclesiam. Hoc quoque de tenentibus socam et sacam fiat. Denique præcipite ut illi homines faciant pontem de Ely, qui meo præ- cepto et dispositione hucusque illum soliti sunt facere.—(Monasticon, vol. i. p. 478.) This instrument exhibits the mode by which the Anglo- Normam practice was ingrafted upon the Anglo-Saxon tribunals. The Shires are assembled before the King's Justices, or Com- missioners; the Barons, as well as the Tenants, enfeoffed by the Conqueror, are to assist at the ** Placitum** with the Suitors, and from the latter a competent number of Englishmen are selected as Witnesses, an oath is imposed upon them, and judg- ment is to be given according to their recognition or testimony. In the reign of William Rufus, we find an original writ (2) direct- P R O O FS A N D ILLU ST R A T I O N S. clxxix ing the restoration of lands by the Judgment of the Shire, and without prescribing a Jury; but the writ of execution commands the delivery of the property, * asit is testified and sworn,* there- fore the Sheriff either impanelled the Inquest at his own discre- tion, or by virtue of some other writ, concurrent with the first commission. (2.) Rex, Willielmo de Cahannis, salutem. Præcipio tibi, ut facias convenire Sciram de Hamtona, et judicio ejus, cognosce, si terra de Isham reddidit firmam monachis Sancti Benedicti, tempore patris mei, et si ita inventum fuerit, sit in dominio abbatis; si vero teinlanda tunc fuisse invenietur, qui eam tenet, de abbate teneat, et recog- noscat. Quod si noluerit, eam abbas in dominio habeat, et vide ne clamor inde amplius ad me redeat. Teste Willielmo Episcopo Dunelm. TRex, Wìllielmo vicecomiti, salutem. Mando et præcipio tibi ut Abbatem Ailsi facias habere Isham, sicut ipse dirationavit eam in Hamtona, et sicut testimoniata et Jurata fuit ad opus Sancti Benedicti. Teste R. Bigot.—(Brady, Pref. p. xlix.) (3.) WiLLiELMvs filius regis, Willielmo vicecomiti de Chent salutem. Præcipio quod præcipias Hamonem filium Vitali, et probis vicinis Santwic, quos Hamo nominabit, ut dicant veritatem de nave abbatis de Sancto Augustino: et si navis illa perrexit per mare, die quâ rex novissime mare transivit, tunc præcipio ut modo pergat, quousque Rex in Angliam veniat, et interim resaisiatur inde Abbas predictus. Testibus Epis- copo Sarum et Cancellario apud Wodestoc. (4.) WILLIELMUs filius regis, Willielmo vicecomiti salutem. Præcipio quod resaisias abbatem de Sancto Augustino de nave sua sicut ego præcepi per meum aliud breve, et sicut recognitum fuit per probos homines comitatûs, quod inde abbas erat saisitus, die quâ rex mare novissime transivit, et in pace teneat, et hoc sine mora, ne inde clamorem amplius audiam. Teste Cancellario apud Windesor. (Bib. Cot. Julius, D. ii. p. 92.) These writs relate to the right possessed by the Abbots of St. Augustine, grounded upon various Anglo-Saxon charters, offree- ingone vessel from all tolls in the Port of Londom. It is clear, that the * probi vicini” of Sandwich, mentioned in the first writ (3) are the * probi homines” of the second (4). At this era it Will be seen that the same process which impanelled the Jury, also contained directions to place the Claimant in possession of the right which he demanded. Writ of William Rufus. Writs issuod in thc name of William tho Atheling, son of Hen. I, 2 a 2 clxxx IP R O O FS AN D IIL LU STRATI O N S. How the men of Wallingford im- pleaded the Abbot of Abingdon concerning his rights of market. The men of Wallingford and Ox- ford appear before Henry II. and nllege, that the market of Abingdon is held otherwise tham it had been in the time of Henry I. and con- trary to law: and the King, giving credit to such allegations, enjoins the Monks not to hold such mar- kets, except for small articles, un- til his return from parts beyond the §€£lS. By pretence of which injunction, the Plaintiffs endeavour, with the help of the Constable of the castle of Wallingford, to abate the market altogether, but the men of Abingdon drive them away by main force. In consequence of this transaction, the plaintiffs do notawaitthe King's return, but send to him abroad, and obtain his writ, addressed to Robert de Bellomonte, Earl of Leicester, tlme Justiciar. Ring's writ, commanding the Jus- ticiar to convene the County of Berks, and to cause twenty-four Jurors of the time of Hen. I. to be elected, by whose verdict the plea is to be decided. Verdict accordingly given in the County Court, that the Monks had enjoyed the full right of market. The Plaintiffs suggest that the ver- dict was false, upon which the King orders that a fresh inquest shall be takem, selectedequally from the men of Wallingford and the men of the County at large, (5.) DE FORO ABBINDONIAE. In primo tempore adventôs Abbatis Walkelini ad hanc ecclesiam, adierunt Regem Henricum, Walingefordenses cum his de Oxeneford, de foro AÜben- donensi ei suggerentes, quod aliter esset, quam esse deberet, vel Henrici regis, avi sui, tempore fuit. Multa postea verborum dolositate et fallaciis insiste- bant, ut regis assensum de foro defendendo adquirerent. Quibus, cum rex credendum putaret, præcepit quidem interim mercatum defendi, præter parva venalia quæ ibi vendi solebant : quousque ipse de transmarinis partibus, ad quas tunc properabat, reverteretur ; et super hoc causam subtilius examina- ret. Illi vero, acceptâ potestate, a fori defensione donec Rex transfretaret abstinuerunt; sed postea quasi libero utentes malitiæ suæ impetu, assumpto secum regis constabulario de Walingeford, ad Abbendonam advenerunt, ex Regis verbo, omnes qui venalia sua illuc detulerant, abire præcipientes, rus- ticisque vim inferentes. Abbendonenses autem fori suo defensionem graviter ferentes, assumptâ, nescio unde, audaciâ, omnes qui invenerant adversarios, cum dedecore a villa longius abegerunt. Quâ repulsione, amplius adversarii ad malum instigati, Regis in patriam adventum non expectantes, ad eum ubi erat venerunt, et qualiter eis non sine injuria Regis evenerit, multa superad- dentes vana, retexerunt. Importunitati quorum cum legis equitate satisfacere volens, quodam eis brevi tradito, repatriare permisit; revertentes vero et prorsus fori Abbendonensis eversionem in litteris contineri putantes, ad Justi- ciam Angliae, Robertum videlicet comitem Legecestriæ, pervenerunt; lectum igitur est coram Justitiâ, abbate Walkelino assistente, breve, hujusmodi habens SGI} SllIIl. Henricus Rex Angliæ et Dux Normanniæ et Aquitaniæ, etcomes Andegaviæ, Roberto comiti Legecestriæ salutem. Præcipio quod convocato omni comitatu 1Berchescirae, viginti quatuor homines de senioribus, qui Henrici I{egis avi mei tempore fuerunt,eligere facias; qui si jurare poterint quod in diebus ejus plenum mercatum in Abbendona fuerit, ita sit et munc. Si vero nec viderunt, nec jurare poterint, ut rectum est, prohibeatur ne amplius inde clamorem audiam. Quo perlecto, confusi sunt a spe sua quam portaverant, utpote de veri- tate sibi conscii, præcipiente tamen Comite, Adam vicecomes, comitatum lenum apud Ferneburgam congregans, homines qui secundum regis præcep- tum jurare deberent electos, constituit; qui cum juramento asseruerunt se rerum omnium venalium mercatum plenissimum inibi vidisse et interfuisse. His ita finem habentibus, et Rege ad regnum proprium revertente, conyene- runt ad eum jurgatores prædicti, fingentes juramentum falsum factum fuisse, et, quia quidam eorum quijuraverant, de abbatia erant, quod eis utile videba- tur et non quod rei veritas docebat, protulisse. [His verbis Rex aliquantulum commotus, præcepit ut apud Oxeneford, iterum Walingefordenses et omnis comitatus Berchesciræ coram justitiis suis convenirent, et ex utraque parte seniores viri eligerentur, qui secundum quod eis verum videretur, pro foro Abbendonensi jurarent ; ita tamen, ut de abbatia, nullus de jurantibus esset, ne P R O O FS AND IL LU STRATIO N S. clxxxi suspicarentur aliqua de causa velle perjurare. Quod cum præcepisset Rex, ad Sarisberiam profectus est, omnibus justitiis suis ad audiendum relictis. Congregati sunt igitur ut rex jusserat, universi; et segregati qui jurarent, diversis opinionibus, causam suam confundebant. Walingefordenses enim nunquam Henrici Regis senioris tempore, præter panem et cervisiam vendi in Abbendonia jurabant: Orenefordenses vero nam et ipsi jurabant se mer- catum inibi ampliorem ; ceteris non autem plenum, ut in navibus onerariis et quadrigis, vidisse dicebant. Qui vero de comitatu jurabant, plenum omnium verum mercatum vidisse se asserebant, de navibus tantum onerariis per aquam Tamisiæ currentibus dubitabant; abbate tamen, navibus suis, ad ea quæ vellet utente. Comes autem Legecestriae qui Justitia et Judex aderat, eorum videns opiniones variare, nihil super hoc judicare præsumpsit, sed ad Regem pro- fectus, ei quæ gesta fuerant, indicavit; ne tamen Rex de rei hujus veritate inscius dubitaret, idem Comes plenum Henrici regis tempore se testatus est vidisse mercatum, et quod ulterius est, cum adhuc puer esset, et apud Abben- donam nutriretur, regis Wìllielmi tempore. Rex autem tanti viri testimonio delectatus, plus soli verum-dicenti credendum sentivit, quam multis, per con- tentionem a veritate discordentibus. Interea Rege apud Radingam existente, convenerunt ad eum præfati calumpniatores, dicentes se ejus villas minime tenere posse, si mercatum ut ceperat, in Abbendonam permaneret. Quibus pro malæ mentis pertinacia Rex indignatus, eosdem a se turbulenter abegit, præcepitque, ut a die illo, mercatum plenissimum ibi esset, navibus tantum exceptis, abbate tantummodo suis utente: et ne aliquis dissipare niteretur quod Henrici regis avi sui tempore dispositum constabat, et ipse nunc con- firmabat, calumpniantibus silentium imponens perpetuum interdixit. Tamen antequam res hæc, ad hunc finem perveniret, non modicum pertulit Abbas }^alkelinus laborem. (Bib. Cott. Claud. B. vi. p. 17S.) (6.) Henricus Rex Angliæ Dux Normanniæ et Aquitaniæ et Comes Ande- gaviæ, Ricardo de Luceio et forestariis de Windesores salutem. Præcipio quod sine dilatione faciatis recognosci per sacramenta legalium hominum de hundredo, quot porcos quietos de pasnagio Abbas de Abendona solebat habere in foresta mea, quæ Kingesfrid vocatur, tempore Regis Henrici avi mei: et sicut recognitum fuerit, ita Walchelino Abbati de Abendona et monachis ibidem Deo servientibus, juste habere faciatis. Teste Man. Biset dapifero, apud Rothomag. (Bib. Cott. Claud. B. vi. p. 174.) (7.) Gualerannus filius Ranulfi dedit Deo et ecclesiæ Sancti Stephani de Cadomo, unam mansionem terræ infra Londoniam, quæ fuit Liefredi Angli, The Jurors of Wallingford, of Ox ford, and of the body of the County* give discordant verdicts. 3) The Earl of Leicester does not givo judgment, but proceeds to the King, and testifies, that when he was brought up at Abingdon—he, as a boy, saw how the market was enjoyed. Full right of market confirmed to. the Monks by the King's judg- ment. I'ight of pammage claimed by the Abbot of Abingdon—recognition to be taken by the ** probi homines'* of the Hundred (p. 255) pursuant to Writ of Hen. II. * Extracted from a very valuable Chartulary of the Monastery, now in the possession of the Abb6 de la Rue. The greater portion of the muniments of the abbey were dispersed or destroyed during the IRevolution. The charters of the « Abbaye Aux Dames,'° founded by Matilda, were concealed by the nuns under the tiles of the abbey house,'where they escaped the Sansculottes, but perished under the attacks of rats and mice. How the Abbot of Caen recowered a curtilagein Wood-street, by a ver- dict givem in the HustingofLondon, pursuant tothe Writ or Commission of Hcm. II.°3 (P. 255.) clxxxii PR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. House in Wood-street, near St. Peter's church, which had been the property of Leureth or Liefrid, the Englishman, granted by Walram Fitz-Ralph to the Monks of St. Stephen's Abbey. A part thereoffraudulently usurped by John, the son of Nicholas, the mercer, who grants the same in fee-farm, tempore Stephani. Abbot William procures the writs of Hem. II. addressed to the Earl of Leicester, and to Bocointa, Sheriff of London, directing them to decide the question by a sworn inquest. The Defendants, being then sum- moned to the Court of Husting, make default. By advice of the Husting, fourteen Jurors are elected pursuant to the Ring's writ—by whose oath and record the monks recoyer their land, sitam in Wodestrata, prope ecclesiam Sancti Petri, quietam de gelt et de escot et de omni alia consuetudine, quam Guarinus Bucherell et hæredes sui, longo tempore de prædicto Sancto Stephano tenuerunt. Verumtamen in diebus eorum, quædam pars terræ prædictæ mansionis, subtracta fuit et separata cum dolo. Johannes autem filius Nicholai, Mercennarius de Londonia hanc prædictam terram de mansione Sancti Stephani separatam atque sub- tractam, quæ latitudinem duodecim pedum habet in fronte, liberavit Ricardo filio Edithæ quasi ad feodalem firmam, in tempore persecutionis quæ fuit sub Rege Stephano. Quo mortuo, Henricus Dux Normanniae et Aquitaniae, Regnum Angliæ, Deo annuente, adeptus est, qui a Deo constitutus est Rex gloriosus et fortis. Sub quo, Willielmus Abbas rexit Cadumensem eccle- siam. Qui audiens hanc divisionem factam, illo nesciente, de terra Sancti Stephani, venit Londoniam, cum scriptis et munitionibus Regis Henrici, ad Comitem Legecestriae et Umfredum Bocointa, Vicecomitem Londoniæ. Quibus Rex Henricus mandabat, quod ipsi, de civibus civitatis Londoniae veritatem audirent, consilio Hustingi, per sacramenta legalium hominum, de terra Sancti Stephani de Cadomo ; vocatisque illis qui terram tenuerant, si venirent . . . . . . si venire noluerint, veritatem audirent. Qui audientes mandatum Regis, miserunt primò et secundo usque ad tertium, ad Johan- mem et Ricardum qui terram tenuerant, quod venirent in hustingo audire mandatum Regis, et veritatem et judicium, de terra Sancti Stephani, quam tenuerant; qui divertentes, neque ad primum, neque ad secundum, neque ad tertium venerunt hustingum. Justicia vero et qui aderant, hoc videntes, fece- runt mandatum Regis. Et per commune consilium de hustingo secundum praeceptum Regis, elegerunt quatuordecim viros de civibus civitatis Londonia- qui juraverunt. Et per sacramentum et per recordacionem juramenti eorum, Sanctus Stephanus habuit totam suam mansionem cum prædicta parte, lata duodecim pedum, quam Johannes et Ricardus filius Edithæ tenuerant. Hæc sunt nomina illorum qui juraverunt in hustingo, divisam de terra Sancti Stephani, quæ est infra Lundoniam in Wodestreta. Martinus Cartarius. Odo Corduamarius. Terricus 1Bolloc. Serlo de Cadomo. }Villielmus Toyri. Stephanus Mercennarius. JEngelramus Cobba. Albertus Loremarius. 1Vicholaus Lefranceis. 1Raimerus JVardus. Albricus de Domo Petri. JJVillielmus Garlec. Johannes Toyri. IRadulphus frater Hervici. P R O O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. clxxxiii Isti quatuor, Martinus, Odo, Terricus, et Serlo, juraverunt; reliquos vero decem, quietavit Willielmus Abbas, qui parati erant jurare. Et hæc sunt nomina eorum, in quorum præsentiajuraverunt. Umfredus Bo- cointa, Vicecomes Londoniae, Geufridus frater ejus, Wìllielmus filius .4ilwardi, EIalderman ; Robertus Pulcher, Halderman ; Fromundus, Halderman ; Hen- ricus filius Ailwini, Halderman; Petrus filius Walteri, Halderman ; JVillielmus Camerarius, Robertus filius ejus, Johannes Bocointa, Geufridus Bocointa, Radulfus de Wodestreta, Symond de Haverhulla, Petrus filius Alveredi de }Vindesora, Petrus filius Meillesme, Hervicus de Torreneio, Robertus Neu- lerius, Geufridus Aurifaber filius Wìllielmi, Everardus frater ejus, Willielmus de Ely, Willielmus de Rothomago, Rainerinus de Valentiis. Et ex parte Abbatis sunt hii testes. Rogerius de Montenneio, Willielmus Manchon, Geufridus Camerarius, Ricardus de Dovra filius Rainaldi, Haymeric filius Quintini, Johannes filius Geroldi, Eustachius de J?os. (S.) Anmo millesimo centesimo vicesimo secundo ab incarnatione Domini. Henricus Rex Anglorum præcepit ut quærela monachorum Sancti Stephani Cadomi, quam faciebant de terra, quæ pertinet ad ** Bridetonam, quam ho- mines Regis de Brideport præripuerant, et auxilio ministrorum Regis potiti diu tenuerant, sub examinatione Judicum discuteretur; ita quidem ut finis totius quæstionis in affirmatione virorum de quatuor partibus vicinitatis illius villæ poneretur. Quod sepe dilatum, tandem ut fieret, instabat Regis jussio. Die igitur statuto, calumpnia monachorum audita est coram septem hundredis qui convenerant super eandem terram, ex circumjacentibus et procul remotis villis, præsente Guarino Vicecomite de Dorseta et Sumerseta cujus tenendum super hac re specialiter injunctum erat, et secundum regis definitionem jura- tum est. Nam sexdecim homines, tres videlicet de Brideport et tres de IBridetona et decem de vicinis, juraverunt se veram affirmationem facturos de inquisitione terræ illius. Qui, factâ inquisitione, cujus rectius debeat esse affirmabant, juxta fidem juramenti, prædictam terram antiquitus adjacere ad Bridetonam. Et cujus fuerit Bridetona, ejus debere esset et terra illa. Quorum assertioni cuncti adquiescentes; Dei gratia, Sanctique Stephani meritis, sua jura conquærentibus adjudicabant, restituendamque terram illam ad I3ridetonam, et monachis ilico tradendam. Sicque eodem die factum est • . . . . . . . . . . . nomina vero illorum qui juraverunt, hæc sunt. Willielmus de Uer, Ramaldus Postel, Rualdus de Esterta, Ricardus filius Livingi, Aeilwardi de Demecaham, Edwardus Chingenot, Saricus de IBerewicia, Ailwardus de Bridia, Leovericus Burdelin, Alwinus Bacon, qui erat præpositus, Edwinus filius Sarici de Brideport, Alvricus filius Sideflet, Tedwi de Brideport, Torgotus de Bridetona, Saricus de Bridetona, Alucinus (P. 255.) Complaint preferred to Hen. I. by the monks of St. Stephen at Caen, against the King's tenants of Brid- port, who, as the monks allege, had unlawfully occupied certain oftheir lands, appurtenant to the manor of Brideton. The King orders that the same shall be determined by the testimony of four Townships. ** Sevcm Hundreds'' assembled be- foro Warine, Sheriff of Dorset and Somerset. filius Onwini de Bridetona. 33 The £!a£9* 9f Brideton, with the appurtenances, was granted to the Abbey by the Conqueror, * consilio Mathildis uxoris meæ, baronumque meorum.” Verdict of sixteem Jurors . . . . . • • • . who state that the land had always been appurtenant to Bride- tom, as claimed by the Monks. Names of the Jurors, clxxxiv P R O O FS A N D ILLU ST RATI O N S. {P. 251.) Though the Jury was returned or selected by the advice of the Husting (7), yet the process rested wholly upom the King's writ, which was in the nature of a special commission to the Earl of Leicester and to the Sheriff. It is a curious fact, that Titz-Ailwyn himself was present during these proceedings ; and that his Assize altered their course, and gave to the Aldermen, nominated by the Court, the character of Jurors united to that of Judges. The claim of the Abbot was in the nature of a suit ** de rationabilis divisis.* In a case, not entirely dissimilar, IIen. I. allowed the Justices to exercise their discretion. They were to take the recognition of the ** probi homines” concern- ing the disputed boundary ; but if the suitors, when unsworn, did not testify to the satisfaction of the Justices, then an oath was to be administered to them**. They might be treated either as Anglo-Saxon suitors, or as Anglo-Norman inquest-mem. And, in the Husting case, since the Abbot was contented with the oaths of four of the Inquest, the Court acquiesced. All these circumstances shew, that the whole process was only con- sidered as the means of getting at the truth, and not bound by any rigid rule. (9.) Jurorspresent Christiana,thewidow «of Ernaldus de IKnabbewelle, and a certain clerk, named Reginald, as the murderers of Radulphus Par- mentarius, who had been found dead, with his neck broken, stating in this presentment, the grounds of their sùspicions, viz. because the deceased had brougb ta suit against Christiana in the Ecclesiastical Court, for breach of promise of marriage, at- the time Iwhen she cohabited with the clerk. And upon these grounds of suspi- cion, thus testified by the Jurors, it is adjudged that ᾶ shall clear herself by the fire ordeal. 8* H. Juratores dicunt quod Radulphus Parmentarius inventus fuit mortuus, collo ejus fracto, et de ejus morte habent quandam Cristianam, quæ fuit uxor Ernaldi de Knabbevelle in suspectione, quia ipse Radulphus inde placitavit eam in capitulo, de fide suâ, quam ipsa affidaverat eum: et Reginaldus, clericus de . . . . . . . . . frequentaverat eam, post mortem Ernaldi viri sui, et eam abstulit ab ipso Radulpho ; et ipsi habuerunt ipsum Radulphum in odio, quia eam implacitaverat de fide suâ; et pro odio illo habent ipsum clericum et ipsam Cristianam suspectos de morte illius. Et Comitatus dicit quod habent eos in suspectione. Ideo consideratum est, quod clericus et Cristiana veniant coram justiciariis die Veneris . . . . . . et Cristiana mundet se per ignem. (Rot. It. Wiltes. &c. 10 Ric. I.) Rex Anglorum, Ran. Meschino et Osberto Vicecomiti, et Picoto filio Colsuen; et JVigoto de Linc, salutem. Ite, et videte divisas inter manerium meum de Torkesei et manerium de Estora, et facite recognoscere per probos homines de comitatu, et dividere prædictas divisas. Et si bene eis non credideritis, sacramento confirment quod dixerint. (Mon. vi. p. 1273.) P R O OF S AND ILLUSTRATIO N S. clxxxv (10.) Juratores dicunt, quod Osbertus Cole occidit quemdam Godefredum, cum quadam furca ferrea. Et Osbertus captus est, et venit, et defendit quod eum non percussit, nec per eum mortem accepit. Mundet se per aquam, de morte illâ. (Rot. It. Wiltes. 10 Ric. I.) (11.) Juratores dicunt quod apud Estr', fuit Willielmus Algar de nocte vulneratus, et Editha uxor ejus et Matilda famula sua, occisæ. Et ipse Willielmus inde, Stephanum de Caldecot, et Augnetem sororem ejus, et Willielmum de Insula, et Walwinum de Roinges, qui in prisona sunt, appellavit. Etidem appellavit inde Gaifridum Scrop, et Adam qui fugitivi sunt. Willielmus venit et appellat prædictos Stephanum et Augnetem et Willielmum, quod in pace Regis, et de nocte et nequiter, occiderunt uxorem ejus et famulam, et eum ligaverunt et esgargataverunt, et domum ejus fregerunt, et catalla sua furtim asportaverunt; ' et hoc offert probare per consideracionem curiæ sicut homo maimatus. Ipsi totum defendunt. Consideratum est quod Stephanus et Willielmus purgent se, igne, quia elegerunt adferre judicium ; et Augnes comburatur, quia convicta est. Et ipse Willielmus Algar relaxavit Walwinum. Et milites jurati non malecredunt eum. Augnes pregnans est, et custodiatur, donec pepererit; et postea comburatur. (Placita Coronæ, apud Stratford, 10 Ric. I. m. 8.) (12.) Goditha quæ fuit uxor Walteri Palmeri appellat JRicardum de Stomhale quod ipse in pace domini Regis, et nequiter, de nocte, cum vi sua venit in domum suam, et ipsam et virum suum ligavit ; et postea }Valterum virum suum interfecit; et hoc offert probare versus eum, sicut sponsa sua, prout curia consideraverit; et ipse totum defendit de verbo in verbum, prout curia consideraverit. Et juratores et totum visnetum malecredunt eum de morte illâ: et ideo consideratum est quod ipse purget se per judicium ferri, quia ipse elegit portare ferrum. (Rot. It. Staff. 5 Joh.) (13.) ar Quædam Elena malecreditur a juratoribus quod ipsa fuit ubi Reinalda de Hencherche Occisa fuit, et quia per ejus auxilium et ôonsensum occisa fuit; et ipsa defendit, et ideo purget se perjudicium ferri. Sed quia infirmatur, ponitur in respectum quousque convaluerit. (Rot. It. Staff. 5 Joh.) (14.) 4ndreas de Burewestom malecreditur a juratoribus de morte cujusdam Hervici, eo quod subtraxit se pro morte illâ, et ideo purget se per judicium aquæ. (Rot. It. Staff. 5 Joh.) * • * VoL. I. 2 b The Jurors of the Hundred affirm that Osbertus Cole killed a certain man mamed Godfrey, with an iron fork. The accused denies the fact, but he is condemned to undergo the water ordeal. The Jurors testify that Willielmus Algar was wounded, and his vife and servant killed by certain De. fendants whom they namc. Algar appears in Court and prefers his appeal against them, and being a maimed man, he offers to prove the same by the judgment of the Court. Three of the Defendants deny the wrong. Stephanus de Caldecote and Willielmus de Insula are ad- judged to bear the hot iron. Agnes de Caldecote being ** convicted,” is sentenced to be burnt, but being pregnant, execution is respited un- til after her delivery. The Plaintiff releases his appeal against amother Defendant, who is discharged, as the Knights of the Jury do not sus- pect him. An appeal of murder brought by a widow, being confirmed by the malecredence of the Jury, &c. the Defendant is adjudged to bear the hot iron. The Jurors state that the Defendant was present when a murder was committed, and that the murder was so committed with her assist- ance and consent. Sheis adjudged to bear the hot iron. The Jurors present a Defendant as guilty of a murder, grounding their suspicion upon his flight. He is adjudged to the water ordeal. clxxxvi PRO OFS ANI) IILLUSTRATIONS. A Defendant presented as guilty of theft and burglary by the Jurors of the Hundred, and by the four next (15.) De Hundredo de Pirkull isti sunt. Henricus de Ravenesne est captus et malecreditus a juratoribus et quatuor Townships, aàjudgei to the water villatis proximisjuratis, de latrocinio et burgleria ; purget se per aquam. (Rot. ordeal. Hugh the Fuller being arrested as an accessary to a murder, gives certain chattels to the King, as the price of an inquest. The Jurors testify that he is not guilty. Robert, the som of Robert de Fer- rariis, brings his appeal against IRanulph de Tattesworth, for that the Appellee assaulted and wounded Roger, the mam of the said Robert. The Appellee or Defendant offers, a Mark to the Ring, to be allowed to put himself upon the testimony of a Jury or Inquest of Knights- pleading also, that no appeal had been brought against him by Roger, The Jurors state the facts, amd declare that they bear no sus- picion against the Appellee. A Defendant accused of thefi, offers one Mark to the Kimg to have a ** good inquest.” A Jury of twenty- four men ofthe Hundreds returned, who testify that he is not guilty. Verdict given by the twelve Jurors ofthe Hundred, and the fournearest Tythings. It. Stafford. 5 John.) (16.) - Willielmus Pepin occidit Johannem Guldenemam, et fugit; nulla habuit catalla; interrogetur—et Hugo Fullo captus fuit pro morte illâ et in gaolâ positus. Et quia prædictus Johannes occisus fuit in domo suâ, idem Hugo dat domino Regi catalla sua, quæ capta fuerunt cùm eo, pro habendà inquisicione utrum ipse inde esset culpabilis necne. Juratores dicunt quod non est inde culpabilis, et ideo eat quietus. Itin. Salop, 5 Joh.) (Rot. (17.) IEobertus filius Roberti de Ferrariis appellat IEanulfum de Tatteswarthe, quod ipse venit in gardinum suum, in pace domini Regis, et nequiter assultavit Rogerum hominem suum, et eum verberavit et vulneravit, ita quod de vitâ ejus desperabatur ; et ei robavit unum pallium et gladium et arcum et sagittas; et idem I?ogerus offert hoc probare per corpus suum, prout curia considera- verit; et IRanulphus venit et defendit totum de verbo in verbum, et offert domino Regi unam marcam argenti pro habendâ inquisitione per legales milites, utrum culpabilis sit inde, necne : et prætereà dicit quod iste JEogerus nunquam ante appellavit eum, et petit ut hoc ei allocetur,—oblatio recipitur.— Juratores dicunt quod revera contencio fuit inter gardinarium prædicti Roberti, Osmund nomine, et quosdam garciones, sed Ranulfus non fuit ibi* riec male- credunt eum, de aliquâ roberiâ, vel de aliquo malo, facto eidem. (Rot. It. Staff. 9 Joh.) (18) De Hundredo de Munsselawe. Colemam de Luddelawe rectatus de latrocinio: venit et defendit latrocinium et totum, et de bono et malo ponit se super patriam, et offert domino Regi unam marcam pro habendâ bonâ inquisicione, per plegios Galfridi Andreu, de Luddelawe et Willielmi de Radenour de eadem. Et duodecim juratores istius hundredi et duodecim juratores hundredi de Luddelawe dicunt super sacramentum suum, quod non est culpabilis, ideo inde quietus. (Rot. It. Salop. 15 Hen. III.) w (19.) Hundredum de Erminton, venit per duodecim.—Ricardus le Giu rectatus de latrocinio, venit et defendit latrocinium et totum, &c. et ponitse super patriam de bono et malo. Et duodecim juratores, et quatuor Thedingi propinquiores dicunt super sacramentum suum, quod prædictus Ricardus non est culpabilis de aliquo malefacto, ideo inde quietus, (Rot. It. Devon. 33 Hen. III.) P RO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. clxxxvii * (19.) Wapental: de Leylaundsyre per duodecim.—Mabilia de Perbold appellavit in comitatu Adam Dum, quod ipse in felonia, et contra pacem Domini Regis occidit Albinum virum suum. Eadem Mabilia appellavit in comitatu Gil- bertum Nite, de morte Ricardi filii sui. Et Mabilia modo non venit; et fuit attachiata per Ricardum filium Roberti de Wallemore et Machinum de Cuton. Ideo ipsa capiatur. Et plegii sui de prosecucione in misericordiâ. Eadem appellavit de vi, Robertum de Crumton, Willielmum de Querendom, IRobertum de Bracington, et Benedictum de Medecroft, quòd ipsi fuerunt in vi et auxilio ejusdem occisionis, qui omnes modo veniunt, et alias capti fuerunt et imprisonati apud Lancastriam pro prædictâ morte. Et super hoc mandavit Dominus Rex per breve suum, quod accepit per inquicisionem factam, quod prædicti Adam, Robertus, et alii, interfecerunt prædictos Albinum et Ricar- dum pro latrocinio, unde intercepti fuerunt et non per feloniam ; et quod committerentur duodecim legalibus hominibus qui eos manucaperent habendi ipsos coram justiciariis ad primam assisam, &c. Et duodecim juratores dicunt quod prædicti Albinus et Ricardus fuerunt latrones de bobus et vaccis, et cum latrocinio capti unde fuerunt in seisina; et ideo fuerunt decollati. Et prædicti juratores requisiti si de aliquo malecredunt prædictos Adam et alios, dicunt quod non malecredunt ipsos de aliquo malefacto. (Rot. It. Lanc. 31 Hen. III.) (20.) Willielmus Powe de Herteshorne captus pro suspicione latrocinii, venit et defendit latrocinium et totum, et dixit quod hoc crimen ei impositum fuit per villam de Barton, eo quod eadem villa odio habuit ipsum, et offert Domino Regi quindecim marcas pro habendâ inquisicione perjuratores comitatûs et per omnes villas propinquiores, excepta villa de Bartom, et recepti sunt per plegios 6ilberti filii Ormi, Ricardi de Salesergle, Eliæ filii Simonis, Roberti filii Eliæ et Willielmi filii Thomæ. Etjuratores istius comitatus et omnes villæ propin- quiores, præter prædictam villam de Barton, dicunt super sacramentum suum quod prædictus Wìllielmus im mullo est culpabilis de aliquo malefacto: ideo quietus. Et quia suspicio de eo habetur per prædictam villam, ideo remaneat sub eadem plevina, quod erit fidelis. (Rot. It. Westmoreland, 40 Hen. III.) (21.) Willielmus filius Matildæ captus fuit et imprisonatus apud Gloucestriam pro morte Willielmi Blund, quem ipse occidit: et Nicholaus de Ecelesid, Johannes filius Melisent, Walterus de Havena, Walterus Faber, et Ricardus de Herdeshelt, et plures alii, qui interfuerunt quando ipse occisus fuit, testati sunt quod ipsi viderunt, ubi ipse occidit eum, et quod ipsi statim super factum ceperunt eum, adhuc tenentem in manu sua baculum, unde ipse eum occidit ; et præterea quatuor villatæ propinquiores, hoc idem testantur et præter . . . . et Dionisia uxor ipsius JVillielmi Blumd appellavit eum de morte prædictâ, e* Mabilia de Perbold brings her ap- peal against certain persons for the death of her husband and sons. Tho Appellees are let out upon manucaption,pursuant to the King's writ—such writ bcing groumded upon an inquisition virtually declar- ing them innocent. Twelve Jurors declare that the per- sons killed were beheaded by the Defendants as thieves, they having been taken in flagrante delicto- (p. 210,) &c. William Pow accused of theft, alleges that he is falsely accused by the Township of Bartom. And he offers a fine of fifteen Marks, that the fact may be inquiredinto by the Jurors of the County, and by the nearest Townships, Barton ex- cepted. The Jurors of the County, and of the nearest Townships (Barton being excepted), declare that they do not suspect him. But on ac- count of the suspicion of that oue Township, it is adjudged that he shall continue under security for his good behaviour, Certain witnesses appear in Court, and testify that they were present when the Prisoner committed the murder. The four nearest townships testify to thesame effect. And the Jurors of the Hundred declare that he is guilty. 2 b 2 clxxxviii PR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. The prisoner offers to plead ** mot guilty,'' but inasmuch as he was taken in the fact, and it is declared unanimously, and without a dis- sentient voico that he is guilty, it is adjudged that he is not entitled to any further trial. Judgment givem accordingly. John le Brasuris found in company with a thief, who is convicted and hanged. He puts himself upon the country, and the four Townships declaro that they do not suspect him, nor can any thing be alleged against him, except that he was found in company with the thief ; yet as he cannot find pledges for his good behaviour, he abjures the kingdom. The seneschalof Robert Fitz-Roger is presented by the Township, for a misdemeanour, in amercing the men thcreof according to his will, and not by the judgment of their peers. Hc puts himself upon the Jury of the Township, who, being re-ex- amined as an Inquest, find that he has amerced them according to the ancient custom, to wit, by the assessment of the Reeve and the Hayward, and he is therefore ac- quitted. The Jurors are amierced, because their verdict contradicts their presentment. ut de visu suo; et præterea duodecim juratores dicunt quod ipse est inde cul- pabilis. Et ipse defendit totum versus omnes—Sed quia ipse captus fuit super factum, tenens adhuc in manu suâ baculum unde ipse occidit eum, et omnes dicunt unâ voce quod ipse est inde culpabilis: consideratum est quod ipse non potest defendere, et ideo suspendatur. (Rot. It. Glouc. 5 Heh. III.) 22.) Hundredum de Heyngford, e$ per duodecim.—Johannes le Brascur captus fuit in societate Martini Fikeboc cum quodam equo Ricardi Batayle, furato. Et Martimus suspensus fuit, pro latrocinio. Et Johannes venit et defendit latrocinium et omnem feloniam, et ponit se super patriam de bono et malo. Et quatuor villatæ propinquiores dicunt super sacramentum suum quod nunquam viderunt nec sciverunt ipsum esse de societate ipsius Martini nisi postquam prædictus Martinus captus fuit, neque malecredunt ipsum de aliquo malefacto, nisi quod fuit cum Martino quando captus fuit. Et quia non potuit invenire plegios, petit licenciam quod possit abjurare regnum.—Abjuravit.— Et elegit portum de Doverio, et datus est ei dies, quando evacuerit regnum, infra octo dies. (Rot. It. Essex, 19 Hen. III.) (23.) Villa de Roubyry venit per duodecim juratores. Juratores præsentant quod Johannes de Brigham Senescallus Roberti filii IRogeri apud IRoubyry de consuetudine amerciat tenentes prædicti Roberti in curiâ de Roubyry pro voluntate suâ, et non secundum quantitatem delicti, nec per pares suos, &c. Et Johannes modo venit, et dicit quod ipse nunquam amerciavit tenentes præ- dicti manerii nisi secundum consuetudinem antiquitus usitatum in prædicto manerio, tempore quo non extat memoria, et hoc per pares suos. Et de hoc ponitse super prædictos juratores prædictæ villæ. Et juratores dicunt quod prædictus Johannes non amerciavit tenentes prædicti manerii, nisi secundum antiquam consuetudinem prædicti manerii, videlicet per præpositum et mes- sarium sicut fieri consuevit; ideò prædictus Johannes inde quietus. Et præ- dicti duodecim juratores sint in misericordiâ, quia contrarium præsentaverint im veredicto suo. (Rot. It. Northumb. 21 Hen. III.) PRooFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. clxxxix PEINE FORTE ET DURE. IFLETA and Bracton describe the ** Pemance* in such terms as to shew that, according to the opinion of these writers, the punish- ment, though hard indeed, was not considered as necessarily occasioning the death of the Offender. Such was the law, and Andrew Horne does not hesitate to accuse those of homicide, who kill the prisoner by * surcharge of penance* About the same period, however, the chroniclers do record the fate of many Criminals who perished under the infliction ; and we can only ascribe this increase of punishment to the discretion assumed by the Judges. They not only aggravated the ** penance," but ex- tendedit beyond the purview of the statute, which speaks only of indictments—for it was universally applied also to appeals, of which no mention is made. Coke defends the legality of the in- fliction by the theory, that the punishment existed at common law* ; but at all events mo authority cam be shewm, that the ** common law, which,” as he considerately says upon this occa- sion, ** is the absolute perfectìon qf all reasom,*' sanctioned the additional severities inflicted by the tribunal*. ** 2 Inst. p. 178. *° Gascoigne (the well-kmown Chief Justice) par advis de touts les justices, agard, que ils fueront mis a penance, et command al marshal pour eux mettre en diverses bases measons estoppés; et que ils gisent sur la terre touts nudes, forsque lour braces; et que il metteroit sur chescun de eux altant de fer et pois, comeils puissent porter, et pluis, issint que ils ne puissent lever, et que ils ne averont mul mangier ne boire, si non le pluis pier pain que purrait estre trové, et de l'ewe plus prochein al huis del gaole, sauve ewe currant, et que le jour que ils eient pain que ils n'eient l'ewe, et e contra—et que ils gisent issint, tamque ils fueront morts. Et fuit diffique le contrarie avera estre fait avant ces heures. (Mich. S. Hen. VI. i) Thus itappears from the concluding phrase, that some held that the punishment was not continued till the death of the offender.—In a subsequent case, the judges settled the ** penance ” after a private consultation.— Il serra mis en une chambre, et la serra nud, saunz ascun litter, on sirplis ou ascuns draps ou autre chose, mes solement la nude terre, et que puis il serra nude couchant sur Son dorce, nude saunz ascun garnish circa luy, ayant une chose le quel recovera (See p. 270.) Peine forte et dure,- extended by the judges. to appeals, though the statute speaks only of indictmcnts, CXC PRO OFS AN D II, LU STRATIONS. Barrington's supposi- tion, that the judges adopted the plan of prcssing, or compres- sing the criminal, in or- der to enable them to leave the assize town as soon as possible, as they would otherwise have been compelled to wait, till he was dispatched' by starvation. Practice introduced about the réign of Eli- zabeth of placing such heavy weights upon the criminal as killed him in a tolerably short time. Some countenance to the common law theory of the * penamce* is afforded by the Normam practice, which, as appears from the Custumal (p. cxcii), condemned the Appellee, if he would not put himself upon an inquest, to lie in prison for a year and a day. Little meat and little drink was he to have during his confinement ; but these directions do not imply that he was to be actually starved to death. IBarrington supposes, that the alteration in the original sem- tence by the different tortures afterwards used, arose from the anxiety of the Justices of gaol delivery to leave the assize town as soon as they could ; and that this was the reason which in- duced them to adopt a less tedious mode of dispatching the Offender. Coke does not mention the further alteration in prac- tice which prevailed in his time. The Criminal wasloaded with so great a weight, that he was more speedily delivered from his sufferings, though not without undergoing great agony under the press, which crushed his miserable body". som membre, et que son teste soit vesté, et les pies vesté, et que l'um brache soit traie a l'un quarter del chambre ove une corde, et 1'autre brache a l'autre quarter, &c. Et que 1'un peé soit traie a l'un quarter del chambre et l'autre peé a lautre quarter, et que sur son corps soit mis une peece de ferre tant come il poit suffrir et porter suir lui et pluis; et le primer jour il avera pain fait de barley trois mor- cellis saunz ascum boyer, et le second jour il boyera trois foits, tant si come il poit d'ewe que est procheim a le huis del prisom, except ewe que est currant, saunz ascum pain, et cel serra son diet tamque il soit mort. (Trin. 15 Ed. IV. No. 17.) 57 ** Such fellons as stand mute and speak not at their arraignment, are pressed to denth by huge weights upom a board, that lieth over the breast, and a sharp stone under their backs ; and these commonly hold their peace, thereby to save their goods unto their wives and children, which if they were attainted, should be confiscated to the prince.** (Harrison's England, Book II. c. 11.) The simple and affecting narra- tive of the death of Margaret Middletom, (Lingard's England, Vol. VIII. p. 345,) shews that this execution was attended with fearful horror. When Major Strange- ways was pressed in Newgate in 1659, he was prohibited the usual ** favour in that kind to have a sharp piece of timber laid under his back,” by which his death would have been accelerated. (Harl. Misc. Vol. IV.) This unfortunate man vas attended by his friends, who, at his urgent request, cast the weights upon the engine of torture. The Press-yard of Newgate probably derived its name from these executions. PRO OFS AN D ILLUSTRATIO N S. cxci The tender mercies of cruelty introduced an agreeable variation of torture. It became the custom at the Old Bailey to tie the thumbs of the Prisoner together with whipcord, till they were cut to the bone. In IXeelyng's Reports, this is said to have been the constant practice at Newgate*, and, like the main punishment, continued in use, until standing mute was rendered equivalent to the confession of the Felon. It is a singular proof of the want of attention to amy general principles of legislation, that a custom, equally foolish and barbarous, should have continued so long unaltered. And the subject is one, amongst others, which shews that the English law, ** the absolute perfection of all reason,” must forfeit many of the encomiums of humanity, which have so long passed current amongst us. es Newgate Sessions, 14th Oct. 14 Car. II. George Thoreby being indicted for robbery, refused to plead, and his two thumbs were tied together with whipcord, that the pain might compelhim to plead, and he was sent away so tied, and a minister appointed to go to him to persuade him, and an hour after he was brought again, and pleaded. (Keelyng, p. 27.) ** It appears by the Sessions Papers,” says Barrington (p. 82), “ that this was prac- tised at the Old Bailey, in the reign of Queen Anne. In 1714 a prisoner's thumbs were thus tied at the same place, who then pleaded. And, in January 1720, Wm. Spiggot submitted in the same manner, after his thumbs had been tied as usual ; and his accom- plice, Phillips, was absolutely pressed for a considerable time, tilf he begged to stand his trial. In April, 1721, Mary Andrews continued so obstinate, that three whipcords were broken before she would plead. In December, 1721, Nathamael Hawes suffered in the same manner, by tying his thumbs, after which he continued some minutes under the Press, with 250lbs. and then submitted. John Durant was also obliged to plead, by tying his thumbs together very tight during the mayoralty of Sir William Billers, in the year 1734.” Old Bailey practice.- The thumbs of an ob- stinate prisoner tied to- gether with whipcord, until the torture com- pelled him to plead. cxcii PRO OFS AND IILLUSTRATIO N S. NORMAN JURIES. Juries $ordin£to,the IN the printed text of the Grand Coustumier, the word Law of Normandy ($ee 9 • t. A 99 p. 245.) ** Enqueste** is substituted for * Jureé,” and there are some other variations of language. The separate examination of the Witnesses distinguishes this ancient proceeding from the more modern * Enqueste,” in which the witnesses appeared in a body or ** tourbe,'' and gave their joint evidence. In IBrittany, at an early period, judgments were given by the Scabini, upon the evidence of the Twelve witnesses who were first examined, and afterwards sworn, and this took place in the * Mallum,” before the Missus of Nominoe, King or Duke of the IBretons (2); the whole process of the Carlovingiam jurisprudence was forced upon this Celtic people. If any doubt could exist as to the origin of the English Jury, the language and tenor of the Normam Custumal would be more than sufficient to remove all hesitation. Appeal, or suit of mur- L'om doit savoir qe nus ne puet sieurre de murdre, devant qe certainnes ensaingnes de£ng! to be brought, ensoient trouveés du murdre. until there are certain s s • íî.jî, î, Se nus n'est qi face sieute ou clamor de murdre, se aucuns en est blasmez com- Persons accusea L, munelment, il doit estre arestez par la J ustisejusqu' a ung an et ung jour, a poi de common fame to be mangier et de boivre, se il n' offre dedens ce, a soustenir l' enqueste du pais. gesté! Pyth£ £iiigeis Et se illa veut soustemir, la Justise se doit porveoir, qe cil de qi il qidera qi em : Et su ?Â; sachent la verité de cel murdre, de quel lieu qu'il soient, vengnent par devant lui Š í,'? §„ΤύΊ, soudenement et desporveuement, et sans savoir pourquoi ; ce est si, qe li ami a celui day, untii they submit qi est en prison ne les corrompent ou par proiere ou par louier. $. i. £. ; * ' Si doit 1'om apeler chascun par soi, par devant quatre chevaliers qi ne soient pas í? É î, „ soupgonnels, etenquerre lor diligement se cil qi est en prison feist cel murdre; et quant aré supposed to know l'om aura oi lor dis, ot mis en escript, cil qi est emprison doit estre amenez devant els. the truth, to be sud- Et li doit l'om demander se il en veut nul seonner, et se il met soufisant seon sus, Š, πῆ; aucum chose qe il die ne doit estre a riens conteé. Mez si le seon qe il met sus, li cxamined before four m' est soufisant, ce qe il dira sera receu ove les autres. l&nights. Teljureè doit estre feite par vint quatre hommez loiax, et ne mie soupconnex, qe Four-and-twentyjurors, amour ne haingne ne doit oster de la jurée : et la semonse doit estre feite par feel serjant, qi ne soit corrompus, ne par proiere, ne par louier, ne par amour, ne par P RO O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CXC i i i haigne, qe il semoingne les plus prodes hommez qe il purra trouver, es liex ou le meffet fiifet, et cex qi en sachent la verité. Lajurée doit estre soustenue de larrecin ou de roberie. Loiax jureourz doivent estre in case of theft or rob- semons de la ou cil qi est accusé a conversè, et de la ou 1'en dit qe il fist le larrecin, et bery, juror$ to be sum- qe l'om croit qi sachent la verité de ses fez, et de sa vie ; et doivent estre si soudene- Ę 1m Ε: Ê; ment amenés devant la justice, qe les amis a celui qi est en prison ne les corrompent from the spot where the i. » criminal lived, and cog- si comme nous avoms dit. nisant of the fact. , Li baillif les doit prendre segreement par devant quatre chevalers, e demander a chascon par soi, ce qe il set de la vie et des fes a celui qi est accusez, et ce qe i en croient. - Quant'il aura oi chascun par soi, cil qi est accusez doit estre amenez devant els, et After they have been li doit 1'om demander se il en velt nui seoner; se il met souffisaht seon sus, aucun *'*'*"'**""*'** es * * * • Ę * * ú i* T. are to be comfronted chose qe cil die, ne li doit puis nuire. with the accused, who Lors doivent li jureorz estre apelez en commun, et ce qe il auront dit, doit estre re- may challenge any one cordé de par la Justise a celui qi est accuse, et il doivent reconnoistre qe ainssi ont il 9f them, andif his chal- juré; et sus ce doit maintenant li jugement estre fet, et ce qi sera jugié doit estre lenge is allowed, the ■ * * t iis v ■ g* testimony of such iuror acompli sans delai; et ce qe li vint diront, soit gardé. is to be rejected. 9 * * •~ : * • i* * * L'om doit savoir qe cil sont apelés jureours, qui par le serement qe il font en cort, Twenty must concur sont tenus a dire verité des querelez, selonc ce qe ii lor sera encharcié par le baillif, jy the Yejiet: ou par celui qi sera en son lieu. Quant contens doit estre finez par serement de gET description of jureours, il convient qu'il sachent les circonstances des contens ; si comme des per- they ars to attena to somnes entre qi li contens est, et le lieu, et la cause et la manere. the circumstances of the es ę £* es q. * q. r * matters at i Li anemi, ne li especial ami, ne li cousin a l'um me a l'autre, me nus de qi 1'om puisse'*'**'**'** and to be acquainted with the par certaine raison avoir soupegon d'amour ou le lingnage, ou de haigne, ne doivent íéisoioiie paties, pas estre recheu au serement. Ne cil qi sont pargoner de la querele, ne cil par qi elle Causes of challenge. est mené et deffendue; ne cil qi m' est ne prochain ne voisin de la chose de quoi con- tens est; et cil qi n' est du tens ne du lieu qi en puissent riens savoir, doivent estre ostez du serement; et cil qi sunt repris de parjure et de faux tesmoing porter. Et pour ce, doit l'om semondre as juréez, les plus prodes hommes et les plus pro- chainz, et cels de qi 1'on croit qi en sachent la verité, et qi ne soient soupegonnels a l'une partie me a l'autre. Autresi doit l'om faire de cels qi sont communalment blasm& àe larrecin d'omicide, ou d'aucun autre crime de quoi il n'est qi les sieue. Du memet qi a este fet a ceus qe I'om apele, ne puet enqueste estre feite, fors par 1'aisens a l'une partie et a l'autre. Plusorz se seulent accorder, qe se ung homme apele ung autre a mort, et cil qi est Opinio?, givem with apelez veut soustenir 1'enqueste du pais, en la forme qe mous avons dite, il la doit avoir, £; Š Š et se il est atains par l'enqueste, il doit estre dampnez : et se l'enqueste le sauve, si ; $. Appellee to É goit delivrez, et se il est mis en non-savoir, l'apeleour puet revenir a la bataille, a ce seu- mandaniiquest. lent plusors acorder pur abatre les fauces plaintes, ja soit ce, qe plusorz me veulent pas. Vol. I. 2 c cxciv PR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. £Mallum held before the IMissus of Nominoe, IDuke of Brittany. Conwoion, abbot of I{ieux, accompamied by Comdelu (Cyndylan) his præpositus appears amd demands certain lands against one Fet- Im6r*, Testimony given by twelve free Bretons, who are sworn to the truth. Judgment by the Eche- * VIIJS, (2.) v, Notitia in quorum præsentia qui subter tenentur, quomodo venerunt monachi, Con- voion abbas et Comdelu præpositus, in Mallo publico ante Missum Nominoe, nomine Drewalon, interpellantes Fetmer propter campum illorum, nomine Cam-dou-pont,quem habebat raptum, et malo ordine exaratum atque seminatum. Et venerunt in ratione, et non dedit Fetmer fidejussores, testificantibus omnibus quod inique et mendaciter egisset Fetmer rapere ipsam terram. Et testificaverunt duodecim viri franci, hi sunt, Hobrit, Vuruval, Burg, Antrival, Omni, Gurgot, Winwocom, Tutwallom, Roemheber, Fitber, Yarnvant, I?isbart, quod plus esset, et supradicta terra ex tigranmo Acum in Langon qui ad Convenran Fitmer ; atque juraverunt in altare S. Petri quod sic esset verum. Et judicaverunt Scavini quod digni erant supradicti viri nd testifican- dum et jurandum. Hi sunt Scavini, Branoc, Jiarman, Arthuin, Catlowen, Wovcar, IBenedic, Wathin. (Lobineau, Hist. de Bretaigne, vol. ii. p. 74.) From the Cartulary of Redon. There are marked peculiarities in the barbarisms of the Latin employed by the Cymri; and the Breton charters are exactly in the tone amd style of the narrative grants contained in the Liber Landavensis. Nominoe is said to have been appointed Dulce of Brittany, or rather of the Bretoms, by Louis le Debonnaire, S24. He died in 851, amd was succeeded by his son Erispoe, P R O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. cxcv ICELANDIC COURTS. IcELAND was colonized by the Norwegians before they received Christianity, and the Civil constitution continued, in great measure, free from those innovations introduced in consequence of the increasing prerogatives of the Monarch in the Mother country. It may therefore be concluded, that the usages re- tained in this remote Tsland, almost beyond the verge of the habi- table world, exhibit the principles of Gothic jurisprudence and legislation in the purest form. The connexion between the reli- gion and the policy of the Icelandersis very remarkable. Priests and Magistrates, whilst the Islanders retained their ancient faith, afterwards, Hereditary Magistrates, the ** Godordsmen,” were the principal IFunctionaries in the territorial courts, which formed the basis of the commonwealth. The Herred, or Hun- dred in Iceland, is stated to have contained three Godords, and the three Priests united together constituted the magi- stracy by which it was governed. Each Godordsman chose, or elected twelve Doomsmen, by whom the bench was filled, just as the Priests of the Eresburgh named the Free Echevins of the Eield Court of Corbey. This Court was called the Varthing, or Spring Court, from the time ofits assembling. a* Each Quarter of the island contained mine ancient Godords; and in the Fierding, or Quarter Court, each Godordsman was attended by one Doomsmam of his nomination. When, in after times, the Godord became divided by descent or alienation, still only one Suitor attended on its behalf, who was named con- jointly by the owners, The idea of the indivisibility of the political unit was always retained in England. Whatever num- ber of manors arose within the township, still the township was only ome in the eye of the law. In the Fierding Court were decided all causes which had not been settled in the court below, or when an appeal was made from its authority. Ancient courts of the Northmem, (pp. 115, 116.) Godordsmen, priests, and magistrates, in the Pagam age, hereditary and territorial magis- trates, in the subse- quent periods. . Herred, or Hundred Courts, also called the Var-thing, or Spring Courts. Doomsmen named by the Godordsmen, just as the priests of the Eresburgh are- said to have appointed the Echevins of the Free- field Court of Corbey. Fierding, or Quarter Courts. 2 c 2 cxcvi PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. Fimtardom, or supreme judicial court, in cases of ordinary jurisdiction, the ** Laugrette,'' (p. 115,) being the su- preme political court, having also an extraor- dinaryjurisdiction. Causes decided in this court, by a select body of doomsmen. Six cho- sen by the plaintiff, and six by the defendant, The Quarter, or Fierding Courts, were subordinate in due course to the Fimtardom, the last court of resort in cases of ordinary jurisdiction ; composed of nine Doomsmen, from every Tierding, or thirty-six for the whole land. A fourth bench, or branch, resulted from the nomination, or election of the Lords of the new ** Godords* which had been created by the partition of the ancient districts. This species of representation must, from its nature, have been engrafted upom the older con- stitution ; and it is the more remarkable, because the Godords- men themselves are not expressly noticed as forming a part of the assembly. But when a cause was to be decided by the « Thing,” it was referred to a select Body. SixI)oomsmen were chosen by the Plaintiff, and six by the Defendant. These were to rise, and, separating themselves from,the other Doomsmen, they took their station in the midst of the circle ; and their judgment was final and decisive. More regularly defined and reduced into system than our Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence, these proceedings throw great light upom the course occasionally adopted in the IHundreds, when a select body was named by, and out of the members of the court, acting as a tribunal within a tribunal, and who, when an oath was more constantly imposed upon them, hecame the Jurors of the Hundred, or of the Shire*. *° From Arnesen's *' Islandske Rettergang.” PRooFS AND ILLUSTRATIoNs. cxcvii CHANCELLORS, &c. OF THE FRANKISH MONARCHS. It appears to be the better opinion, that according to the esta- blishment of the Frankish Monarchs, the Arch-Châplain and the Chancellor are to be identified*. ' Originally, the * Referen- darius* was the keeper of the royal signet ring. And this officer was so usually invested with the office of Chancellor, that the titles were used indiscriminately. The practice of preserving writsor rescripts, ** brevia,* as they were even then called, in the Chapel, is noticedin the proceedings of the Council of Frankfort, A.D. 794. In Scotland, whose law is always the faithful mirror of antiquity, the Chancery was called by the name of the King's Chapel*', and the phrase is substantially retained to the present day. Amd in Scotland, also, we find the possession of the Chapel-clerkships leading to the episcopal office, just as in our own ancient history. IBesides the examples of these convenient promotions of Royal Chaplains, which I have noticed in my text, I may add the im- stances of Walkeline of Winchester, and Thomas of York, who received their Sees from the Conqueror. And, in the following reign, Flambard and Losenga, Ralph Lulla, and Johannes *° Quin et par est credere non olim duntaxat, et prima stante regum mostrorum stirpe, sed etiam sub tertiâ, Capellanos seu Archicapellanos, et Cancellarios eodem functos munere, ita ut qui regum diplomata subscribebant, promiscue, Archicapellanos et Cancellarios, crebro sese inscriberent. (Du Cange, II. 227). Hincmar, in his very curious Epistle “ de ordine palatii,” certainly distinguishes the officers; but this seems to have been a temporary separation: for the lists published by Du Cange shew that scarcely any instance can be found in which they are not united.—Apro- crisarius autem, quem nostrates, Capellanum vel Capelli custodem, appellant, omnem Clerum palatii sub cura et dispositione sua regebat. Cui sociabatur summus Cancellarius, qui, a secretis, olim appellabatur ; erantque illi subjecti prudentes et intelligentes ac fideles viri, qui præcepta regia absque immoderata cupiditatis venalitate scriberent, et secreta illius fideliter custodirent. (Hincmar, ut supra, 17.) * Thus saith Skeene (Quon. Attach. c. 53.) Gifthe breeve is impetrat, and raised according to the form of the King's Chapell, the assize sall proceed. Chancellors and Refe- rendarii of the Frankish monarchs, (see p. 177.) [(P. 176.) cxcviii PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Medicus, all being the king's chaplains, and the king's friends, received the best preferments of England*.—The históry of the Chancery must be reserved for another part of this work ; and it will be then seen how effectually the King's Clerks worked and laboured in the great task of establishing the law, and in directing the course of jurisprudence ; they being placed at the fountain head of the stream. 5° Ord. Vit. 516, 764. P R O O FS ANI) IILLUSTRATIONS. cxcix ANCIENT STATE OF THE BRITONS. THE wild freedom of the Celtic tribes has always beem repre- sented with extreme bitterness by their more polished neigh- bours; and we may almost suspect, that the ** Sassemach ** at those periods, when they were reduced into decent order, secretly envied the happy license of the savage community. Archbishop Peckham's letter affords a valuable, though not an impartial, portrait of the Welsh at the time of the English conquest. The rude barbarity which he reprobates, plainly resulted from their unchanged adherence to the customs of their ancestors. No better praise could perhaps have been claimed by the Britons. As a political measure, Peckham's recommendation that the Welsh should be brought together in towns, was wise and expedient ; and the Boroughs founded and incorporated by Edw. I. seem to owe their origin to this advice. The Archbishop's etymology of the name of the Eurgundians, is grounded upon a passage in Orosius; which, however, is somewhat embellished by the prelate's ingenuity. Anno Domini, M°. CC°. octag. quarto. • A tres honurable Prince e Seygnur Edward, Deu grace, Rey de Engleterre, Seygnur de Irlande e Duc d'Aquitaine—Frere Jan par la suffrance de Dieu, Prestre de Canterbyre, Primat de tut Engleterre, saluz en graunt reverence. - Sire,—Il me semble qe li poeple de Gales est trop sauvages e malicius durement, quaunt a plusurs, e pou sachant de ben, e une gent perdue saunz profit au munde. E siilvus plest, vus i poez mettre conseil legierement en ceste manere, si l'en me troeve meillur. Primerement Sire, lur savagine, ove autre maus, surt mut de go ke il ne habitent pas ensemble; eins meint chescunloinz de autre. E pur go Sire, si vus volez, l;e l'en les puist enfurmer, sulum Dieu et sulum le munde, e oster lur sauvagine, comaundez ke il meynent ensemble en villes. Issi le fist uns Empereres aunciene- ment aS JBurgoynmiuns, qui esteient larruns e murderieres, e habitoyent tuz severez e loinz cheskun d'autre, kar illes fist ensembler e habiter en burgs;e de go sunt ilapelés, IBurgoynniuns °. Ovek go Sire, la malice des Galeys surt mut de leur oysufté, karil Ancient state of the Eritons. Archbishop Peckham's Letter to Edw. I. A,D, 1284 (see p, 76.) 3 • ' • * • •A «* «. cae •* - * Hos quondam subactâ interiori Germaniâ à Tiberio et Drusone, per castra dis- positos, aiunt in magnam coaluisse gentem : atque ita nomen ex opere præsumpsisse, quia crebra per limitem habitacula constituta, Eurgos, vocant. (Orosius, lib. 7, c. 19.) PRO OFS ANI) ILLUSTRATIONS. sunt oysus, e pur go pensent il tute malices. E pur go, Sire, comaundez ke cheskun segun sum estate face chaskun jur aukune chose, issi ke 1'en sache dunt chascum ad sun vivre. E jo ay comaundé d'autre part ke 1'er, sustreye les sacramenz de Seynte Eglise as Oysus: pur go ke nul n'est en estat de salu qui aukun profit me fet au munde. E pur go, Sire, pur Dieu, la manere de vivre dé Wysshanbigham ot comaundez oster de tut. Oveke go, Sire, jamés le people ben ne savera, ne bon me serra, deske a taunt ke il eyent genz, qui les sachent enseigner, e go ne poent estre, si l'en ne les destreint de envoyer lur enfaunz en Engleterre pur apprendre clergie et maniere: kar ly clerc du pays ne sevent gere plus de lettre ke ly lay. Par la queu chose, Sire, avus qui en estes Sires, jo delivere ma conscience en la foy ke jo vus doy, Ite james cele gent ne serra en estat de valur et de pes seure, ne profitable au munde, deske il meynent ensemble, et ke il oevrent sicume autre genz ; e ke il eyent en- seygnement de gemz qui les sachent e voyllent aprendre. Ovelt go Sire, si il vus sem- ble ke mun Seygnur Seynt Thomas deyve estre plaunté en vostre noveau conquest si * come vous avez premys, si il vus sovient, fetes ent vostre pleysyr nun pas pur moy, kar tres bem me suffisent les tres graunt honeurs que vos genz unt fetes a moye a miens par tute la terre par vostre comaundement. Sire, Dieu vus gard a tuz jurs. Ceste lettre fu escrite a Neuport lendeymen de la Translaciun Seynt Thomas. (Register Peckham, Lambeth Library, p. 446.) ** The ** Gweison bychan," or ** young lads," were juvenile retainers of the Welsh Court, who, like mostof the followers ofthe British Princes, were entitled to quarter themselves upon the Villains. The Welsh youth, as we learn from Giraldus, delighted in the sports of the field, and, possibly, the Archbishop, in his zeal for the amend- ment *of the ** savages,'' may have thought that an immunity which tended to encourage their roving and marauding disposition was likely to impede the civili- zation of Edward's newly-acquired and turbulent subjects. He recommends that the way of living of the “ Boys” should be wholly prohibited ; and, lilte all the .other customs connected with the policy and court of the British princes, it was very speedily suppressed. Edward, however, was too good a financier to grant a gratuitous release of this onerous prerogative, and the service of finding ** hospi- tation*' was commuted into a pecuniary payment. Thus, in the extent of Denbigh- shire, talten in 1342, amongst the various payments due from the Cantred of Ruveniog, are enumerated, ** Pastus Penmackew, et waison bæghan ixs. iiiid.'' P R O O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. cci BATTLE TRIALS. TIIE most whimsical of these conflicts, is that described, in an various Battle Trials- «-* * - (see p. 220.) ancient German Custumal, as having taken place when a Woman and a Man were engaged in single combat. In order to equalize the strength of the Combatants, the Male Batde between a male Hero was placedin a circular pit, in which he stood as low as his ïïi girdle, armed with an oaken club or staff, of the length of a partes et ab equality. good cloth ell. The Virago, on her part, was furnished with a sling or rope of equal measure, and at the end of the sling was tied a heavy stome ; with this weapon she endeavoured to fell her Antagonist. He parried and shifted as well as he could, striving to twist his club in the sling. If he succeeded, he would be in the way of winning the fight, for the sling was tied to the Woman's arm, amd he could drag her easily within reach of his fists and staff, and them she was at his mercy ; yet even with this advantage the victory might not always be an easy one*. Amongst the ancient Bavarians the weregeld for a woman was twice that of a man, on account of her feminime weakness. But if she was such a Woman, as in the boldness of her heart would stamd up, and fight like a man, then her life was worth Only as much as the lives of her brethren ; she could protect herself, and did not require the additional safeguard of a double penalty. The ancient law of the Angles furnishes the incidents so often found in legends and in romance. If the Wife was accused of Amongst the Angles a marriedwomam,accused poisoning her Husband, or having otherwise compassed his íŸ death, her nearest Kinsman was to justify her in the field. But √ ended by her kinsman if no Champion was found, then like Queen Emma, she was to as her ciimpion, prove her innocence by treading with maked feet over burn- ing ploughshares°7. “ Dreyer sammlung vermischter Abhandlungen. Rostock, 1754, p. 159. *' LL. Bajuv. Tit. iii. cap. 15. Lex Anglorum, Tit. xiv. VoL. I. 2 d ccii PRooFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. (P. 222) Battle Trial, how em- ployed by the ancient IBavarians to decide the possession of land-viz. when no proof could be found of the contested boundaries, in which case tho Battle Trialis to be considered as the one combat which was to settle the rights of all parties, In this case the causes prompting the Battle Trial still appear with sufficient distinctness. If the Friends of the Husband slew the Woman without cause, her Kinsmen would have attempted to avenge her death, Battle, when convertedinto a judicial process, compelled all parties to pause. The IXinSmen had an oppor- tunity of forming some judgment upon the case. If they should think her innocent, they might legally take up her quarrel: if not, they abandoned her to her fate. In addition to the passages quoted in the text (p. 221), the laws of the Bavarians furnish other clear examples ofthe original nature of Battle Trial. A controversy might arise concerning allodial land. It might happen that the metes and bounds were unevidenced by any land-mark or march-range,—neither by hill nor dale, by the course of the stream, nor by the noted tree.— IEach of the contending Parties asserted that the property had descended to him from his ancestor. If, under such circum- stamces, no other proof could be found, then the parties were to give gage of battle, not by Champions, but in their own proper persons, and to him unto whom the most strength was given, the disputed property was to belong*. What was this, but a provision of the law, by which ome con- flict was substituted for an endless feud? To use a colloquial expression, it was thought better that the disputants should fairly fight the matter out and out, instead of keeping the country in a stàte of constant disturbance. * * Quotiens de commarchanis contentio nascitur, ubi evidentia signa non apparent in arboribus, aut in montibus, nec in fluminibus, et iste dicit: Hucusque antecessores mei tenuerunt, et in alodem mihi reliquerunt, et ostendit secundum proprium arbitrium locum; alter vero nihilominus in istius partem ingreditur, alium ostendit locum, secundum prioris verba suum et suorum antecessorum semper fuisse usque in præsens asserit. Et si alia probatio nusquam inveniri dinoscitur, nec utriusque invasionem compensare voluerint, tunc spondeant invicem Wehadinc, quod dicimus, et in cam- piones non sortiantur, sed cui Deus fortiam dederit et victoriam, ad ipsius partem designata pars, ut quærit, pertineat. (Lex Bajuv. tit. xii, cap. 5.) PRooFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ctiii The improving policy of the Lombard kings led them to dis- courage the judicial combat. Grimoald, repeating in substance the laws of Rothar (i. e. Red-hair, or Rufus), his predecessor, enacted, that thirty years possession excluded the battle trial, andleft the question to be decided by the compurgatory oath of the party°. By a subsequent law, Luitprand restored the battle, if the possession had been grounded upon fraud. And the alle- gation of forgery, when the title deed was produced, compelled the tenant to enter the field. This was a concession to popular feeling. It was the opinion of the Nation prevailing against the opinion of the King. The Legislator was fully aware of the un- certainty of these appeals, which tempted Providence ; and that many a good and righteous claim had been defeated by the chance of battle ; but so inveterate was the custom of the Lom- bard Nation, that he could not prohibit this ** impious law.” The Lombard form of waging battle agrees with the practice of the common law ; and the Normam custumalis to the same effect. Anditis very difficult to believe, that this purely Teutonic ceremonial was not introduced here until after the Conquest : and that, according to the usualopinion, the Anglo-Saxons were strangers to an institution which was known to all their Brethrem. ° Leges Grimoaldi, § iv. Leges Luitprandi, Lib. vi. § 115. The formula which is annexed to the latter, is a good example of the Lombard pleadings, which have a very strong affinity to the course of common law. Petre, te appellat Martinus, quod tu tenes sibi malo ordine, terram in tali loco. Mea propria est terra quam dicis. Quid tibi pertinet? Ecce carta, quam tu mihi fecisti. Et si non voluerit pugnam facere appellator, tunc appellatus, postquam bellum fac- tum est, quod possederit terram illam per xxx annos, non audiatur. Secundum quosdam ita igitur. Alii vero ita. Petre, te appellat Martinus, quod terra quæ in tali loco est, sit sua: tu sibi eam de- tines. Non ei respondeo, quia possedi per xxx annos. Vere possedisti, sed per $um falsam, quam dixisti patrem meum fecisse tibi. Non est verum. Ita appro- {ll}O. Vel ita. Vere possedisti sed malo ordine, et malo titulo. Non malo ordine, quia patruelis tuus mihi eam vendidit per chartam. Illa charta falsa est. Amongst the Lombards, Grimoald enacts, that thirty years possession shall be a bar to a bat- tle trial. But Luitprand restores the battle, if sncli possession was groumded upona fraudu- lent title, 2 d 2 cciv : PRO O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. Conveyances of land amongst the barbarians prepared by the clergy, bywhich means, a gene- ral uniformity of style was introduced. Precariæ, Prestariæ, or Præstitæ, (see p. 66,) land solicited from a superior, and granted, or lent by him for a qualified and determi- nable estate. -* These lands called * Laena" or Loans by the Anglo-Saxons. ANGLO-SAXON CHARTERS, &c. CoNVEYANCEs ofland, as employed amongst the Teutonic nations settled upon Roman ground, were almost exclusively prepared by the Clergy ; and as the Clergy constituted but one body through- out all Christendom, a general uniformity 'of style was soon in- troduced. All the monks of Latin Europe were virtually bred in the same college. The members of the church were constantly in migration from province to kingdom ; and a good precedent carefully settled at Monte Casino was rapidly transmitted to the ** Scriptorium* at Worcester or at Canterbury. Therefore we need not wonder if we find that most of the Anglo-Saxon tech- nical terms are translated from the vulgar Latin of the conti- mental practitioners. Thus, the ** land boc * was the ** libellus,” and ** gebociam * was used like * libellare,'* to grant or convey. Limited estates in land,—not descendible or transmissible, ac- cording to the rules of law—governed by the agreement of the parties—and requiring a form al renewal, when the term, whether more or less extensive, for which they had been granted, expired, were termed Precariæ. They were obtained, not by right, but upon solicitation ;—and because only the occupation of land passed,—the estates so created were called Prestarìae, or Praes- titae, which the Anglo-Saxons termed * Læna,” or Loans °. The * For this assertion, we have sufficient authority in the very remarkable record, concerning the six sollens of land at Worldham, (Text. Roff. 116, 117). The land originally belonged to the Church of Rochester, and hadbeen usurped, or resumed by the Crown. Alfstane bought the domain from King Edmund, andit was ** geboced* io him and his heirs for ever. It appears, that the land must have been partible according to the gavel-kind; but Elfig, his eldest son, kept possession of the whole, and excluded his brother, Elfin, from all right to the land. He was to stand in the situation of a stranger, and to have nothing, except what he could earn, or deserve by his service. But at last, from natural affection, he granted certain lands to him, but for his life only; and as a ** Læn" or “in prestito," and notas an inheritance. Upon the death of Elfric, his brother resumed the “Laen," but he granted it out again to Eadric, the son of Elfric. Eadric died in the life-time of Elfig ** cwidelos" leaving a widow, but no child, Elfig then re-entered upon thè land, and resumed the “ Laen,” but granted to the widow her “ Morgengife,” or dowry. It should seem, that although the ** Laen'' was not trans- P R O O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O NS. êcv Gramtor had the property, the Grantee had only the usufruct. Such an estate was also considered as an Emphyteusis. The- words Precariæ and Emphyteusis were employed as if they were synonymous. Thus a charter granted in the reign of JBeren- garius II. (950, 961), contains the following clause—** Nom habent potestatem ipsum Xenodochium nemini in emphyteusin, id est precariam, dandi aut concedendi.” Precariæ and Præstitae were Benefices; the expressioms used Precarite also termeâ in ancient documents leave mo doubt that originally the words benefices. denoted one and the same thing in the Romano-barbaric laws, and their legal incidents gave them much affinity to the military Benefices of the Lower IEmpire. They were qualified estates, qualitea estates like held upon condition, and descending, when and if they did ä.£;; descend, not by the general law of inheritance, but in terms of their creatiom. - - : IPrædictas res sub beneficio Præstariae cum omni integritate, Examples showing that. • ■ u * h. i- eo tenore concedimus, ut quamdiu præfatus Artoldus et Adelizia ggresse nºn futura ejus uxor, et heredes ex eis nascituri, vixerint, usumfruc- 1 5 » tum exinde percipiant". The petition presented to Charles the Bald, by the Bishops, in the memorable great Council or Placitum held at Epernay, 846, contains the following request: “ A nullâ potestate quis cogatur facere precariam, de rebus proprie Deo et sanctis illius ; dicatis cum ratio et usus obtineat meminem cui non vult, contra utilitatem et rationem præstitum de proprio facere beneficium.” missible to heirs, and that upon the determination ofthe life-estaté, it reverted, by law, unconditionally to the Lord, still that the custom of allowing the son to succeedto his father's “Laem," and the widow to enjoy her dowry, began to prevail. * Cwidelos,” in the old versiom, which accompanies the Saxon text, is translated ** absque commen- datione vel distributione rerum suarum," but in this case, it implies, as I apprehend, that Eadric did notin his life-time prefer any request to Elfig, that the estaté mightbe allowed to his relict.—“ Læn-land” not being transmissible, except at the will of the Lord, is distinguished from Bocland, held up for three lives ; in which case, the two 19minees of the grantee took their estate under the power contained in this charter. (Hemingi Cartularium, 94, 158, 204, 205, and the Charters appended to this essay.) “ Tabularium Monasterii Sancti Andreae Viennensis. (Du Cange, I. p. 1118.) ccvi PRO O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. About the eleventh cen- tury these benefices ac- quire the name of Fiefs or Feyds, In the precedents for regranting, as a Benefice, the lands which had been surrendered to a Monastery, the transactiom is thus described: “ Postea ad petitionem tuam non denegavimus, nisi ut ipsas res ad præstitum beneficium tibi præstare deberemus.” (Marculf. App. 28.) So of lands originally belonging to the. monastery : * Dum tua fuit petítío vel supplicatio, et nostra decrevit voluntas, ut præstitum beneficium de rebus nostris tibi facere deberemus.* (Form. Lindenbrog, 26.) And for such IBenefices also, the vassal prayed his temporal Lord 1°. It is not correct to suppose that the terms præstitæ and precariæ were confined to church holdings ; this impression has arisen merely from the circumstance that a greater mass of documentary information relating to the church has been preserved, than with respect to the temporalty. - It is generally admitted, by the best authorities, that from about the eleventh century, Benefices acquired the name of IFiefs or Feuds. An Emphyteusis was a Precaria, a Precaria a IBenefice, a IBenefice a Feudum, or rather Fevdum, and no better * The following Precept of Charles le Chauve, affords an instructive example of such a grant: - A. D. S76. In nomine sanctæ et individuæ Trinitatis, IKARoLUs ejusdem Dei om- nipotentis misericordia Imperator Augustus. Si petitionibus fidelium nostrorum justis et rationabilibus assensum præbemus, Imperialis celsitudinis operibus consue$- cimus, et exinde eos ad nostræ celsitudinis obsequium fideliores ac devotiores reddi- mus. Itaque notum sit omnibus fidelibus sanctæ Dei ecclesiæ et nostris, præsentibus scilicet ac futuris, quia quidam fidelis noster, nomine Hildebertus, culminis nostri adiens serenitatem, deprecatus est, ut ei quasdam villas, quæ appellantur Cavaliacus et . . . quæ sunt sitæ in comitatu Lemovicensi, usufructuario et jure beneficiario omnibus diebus vitæ suæ, et filio suo post eum, per hoc præceptum nostræ auctoritatis conce- deremus. Cujus precibus ob sui bene meritum famulatum assensum præbentes, hoc scriptum fieri jussimus, per quod concedimus ei jam dictas villas, cum omni sua integ- ritate, cum terris, vineis, silvis, pratis, pascuis et cum hominibus desuper com- manentibus, ut absque alicujus immutationis sive imminutionis vel minorationis detrimentis omnibus diebus vitæ suæ, et filius ejus post eum, ut prædiximus, jure beneficiario et usufructuario habeant et possideant. Et ut hæc nostræ auctoritatis præceptio pleniorem atque firmiorem in Dei nomine obtineat firmitatis vigorem, &c. (Recueil des Historiens, vol. viii, p. 654) PRooFS AND ILLUSTRATIoNs. ccvii etymology can be found for this last term, than by supposing that it is a colloquial abbreviation of “ Emphyteusis.** This derivation may appear far-fetched ; but let those who object to it point out a better, amd I will then give it up, but not till then, for I really cannot find out one more satisfactory, amongst the numerous guesses and conjectures of Lexicographers and Antiquarians “. Hallam observes, and truly,—* It cannot be * From Emphyteusis (pronounced Emphytefsis) the Italians have formed ** Fitto.” I doubt if the word Feudum ever existed. It cannot be too often recollected, that the w and the v are but one letter in ancient manuscripts, and that we owe the distinction between the vowel and the consonant, to the ingenuity of Trissino. The older form seems to have been Fevodium (Charpentier, vol. ii. p. 420), and I suspect that Emphytefsis was first contracted into * Phitef* or Fitef, and then into Fiev or Fief, afterwards latinized into Fevodium, which some contracted into Fevdum, and others by omitting the v, into IFeodum. In the Scottish language, the verbis to infeff, not to infeud. It is hardly necessary to observe, that the words—Alms, Obispo, Evesque, Vescovo, Dom, Dom, Mossem, Vidame, Na, exhibit abbreviations and transformations quite as unlike the original root, as that for which I contend. * As may be fully seen by the following enumeration of the Sources in which the origin of the word has been sought. Some in the Latin language, from fides, or fœdus, or fidelitas (Obertus and Johannes de Janua.) Matthias Berneggerus, from the Hungarian faeld, earth; which, by the way, if really a Magyaric word, is also good Norsk. Pontanus, Hottomam, and Sandius contend for faida (Alem.), feide (Dan.), vehd (Germ.)—battle-feud or dissension. Grotius, Selden, Wachter, and Robertson tell us that feodum is compounded ofod, possession or estate, and feo, wages, or pay, intimating that it was stipendiary, and granted as a recompense for service. And Gundlingius, adoptingthe same syllables, takes feo in its sense of cattle, and expounds feodum as * bonum rusticum vel pecuarium.” Upon all the Teutonic etymologies it is sufficient to observe, that the theories are' contradicted by the practice of the Teutonic tongues—a Fevd or Fief is not called by such a name, or by any name approachingthereto, in any Teutonic or Gothic language whatever. Lehn, is the only corresponding Teutonic term. About the reign of Henry I. a knight's fee was called a Knyghtesmetehom (Shaftes- bury Charters, Mon. III. p. 477), a knight's place or ** home” of ** meat” or main- tenance. We have retained this term as applicable to ecclesiastical Benefices, and in Hampshire, the people call any holding of land a Living,—John Spong's Living is John Spong's farm. Not the large overgrown farm of a ** capitalist," formed by uniting field to field, and acre to acre ; but just such a hame or home as would give meat or maintenance to a yeoman and his family. These Livings, unfortunately för landlord and for tenant, and still more for the country at large, have been almost wholly swept away by themarch of agricultural improvement.' The Workhouse will tell the consequence. » v Fief or Fevd, derived from emphyteusis, or emphytefsis. ccviii PRO OFS A N D IILLUSTRATIONS. No word corresponding to fief or feudum in any of the Teutonic lan- guages, except Lehn, and its cognate terms. Anglo-Saxon Charters, Ethelbert's foundation chartcr of St. Augus- tine's monastery. Boundaries accurately described. Burgate, i. e. the Burh-gat (the borough-street, or bo- rough-road)still retains its ancient name. * doubted, but that some word of barbarous original must have * answered in the vernacular languages to the Latin Beneficium.” Certainly.—And the word which does so answer, in al/ the Teutonic vocabularies—ancient and modern, living and dead— Anglo-Saxon, Danish, Swedish, German, &c.—is Læn, Len, Leen, or Lehn*. The essential and fundamental principle of a territorial Fief or Feud, is, that the land is held by a limited or conditional estate,—the property being in the Lord, and the usufruct in the Tenant. Military service and territorial juris- diction, and the bond of fidelity, present themselves as the most prominent features of feudality ; but we must recollect that they are not the foundation of the system, but adjuncts, which, however important they may have become at subsequent stages of its history, do mot constitute its basis, or impart the essential character of the Tenure. In selecting the following Charters, I have endeavoured to give the preference to those which elucidate the constitutional history of the Anglo-Saxon IXingdoms. The series of these instruments begins with the Charter by which Ethelbert (A. D. 605) founded the monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul, afterwards called St. Augustine's abbey. The abuttals are accurately given ; and it may be remarked, that the Burgate, the road or street named as the southern boundary of the land, retains the same identical name, without any variation, after a lapse of twelve hundred years "*. ** See Wachter, Schilter, Halthaus, Ihre, and Junius, in his Glossary appended to Ulphila. *° Ethelbert's Tower has recently been laid in ruins by the obstinacy of an ignorant mechanic; and in consequence of the supineness of the corporation, the same fate is preparing for the sumptuous portal, almost the only remaining relic of a pile whose history is coeval with the establishment of Christianity in England. The example afforded to the corporation by the Dean and Chapter ought to shame them out oftheir Vandalism. The restoration of the cathedral, effected under the inspection of Deam Percy, now Bishop of Carlisle, without the aid qf any professional architect, ex- hibits an union of skill, contrivance, and correct taste, which has been rarely equalled, and never surpassed. - P R O O FS A N D IL L U S T R A T I O N S. ccix As the information obtained from Charters, when they stand the test of criticism, is of the highest importance, it becomes necessary to use much caution before we admit their validity. At the same time, however, that we subject them to critical ex- amination, we must take into consideration those circumstances which may impart a character of suspicion to authentic docu- ments. There are many Instruments in the shape and form of original charters, but which are probably copies, after the Conquest, for use and perusal; and to prevent the in- jury which might result to the ancient * Land-boc,” if touched by rude or careless hands. Occasionally, the Calligraphist attempted, not merely to repeat the words, but to depicture the ancient characters ; and as these imitations are easily detected by the skilful Antiquary, he may be induced to condemm, as a forgery, a document which was merely intended to be an innocent fac- simile. The same reasons which occasioned the Clergy to make transcripts of their chartersin detached schedules, or membranes, also induced them to enter such muniments in Chartularies or IRegisters. Great judgment and accuracy are sometimes dis- played in these collections ". But the indolence of the Monk -would frequently induce him to omit the subscriptions of the charter. Successive copyists modernized the language, and re- duced the pure Anglo-Saxon of Ethelred to the Anglo-Norman or English of the Plantagenets ;—the ignorant Clerk corrupted the document, unintelligible to him, into the most barbarous jargon *;—and in some instances, a more skilful, but equally *° In the most valuable chartulary of Worcester, from which many of the following documents are talcem, for instance, the transcripts which we owe to the care of Hemingius, leave nothing to be desired. This is also the case with the “ Textus Roffensis.'' Some of the original charters which it contains are yet extant in the Museum, and they agree so closely with the printed text as to afford the strongest testimony of the care and accuracy of those to whose successive labours we owe the printed book—Ernulphus, Sir Edward Dering, and Hearne. ° The exemplifications of Anglo-Saxon charters on the Tower IRolls are corrupted in the most extraordinary manner. Yet the clerks of the Chancery always attempted to copy these muniments in an Anglo-Saxon character. , VoL. I. 2 e Anglo-Saxon charters sometimes incur unde- served suspicion. Copies of amcient char- ters made in charter- made long Jorm, that is to say, upom membranes, or pieces of vellum, and in- tended for ordinary use, to prevent damage to the originals, sometimes considered as forgeries in consequence of the character of the hand- writing not agreeing withthe ostensible date. Omissions and altera- tions in the copies arising from careless- ness or ignorance. CCX PR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATION S. injudicious Scribe, has destroyed the credit of the ** Land-boc,” by translating its antique phraseology into terms which were Imore familiar to his contemporaries. Cassinyiichfotgeries Interest may have tempted the Monks to commit forgery ; amd may be detected by the . :~ a. 4.1-: � - -* íúíí they did not always resist this temptation so resolutely as might Ę,„jj'* be wished for the honour of their order. Yet in extenuatiom, if not in apology of this offence, it must be remembered that their falsifications were chiefly defensive. Lands which umquestion- ably belonged to the Church, were frequently held merely by prescriptive possession, unaccompanied by deeds amd charters. The right was lawful, but there were no lawful means of proving the right. And when the monastery was troubled and impleaded by the Norman Justitiar, or the Soke invaded by the Normam Baron, the Abbot and his brethren would have recourse to the artifice of inventing a charter for the purpose of protecting property ; which, however lawfully acquired and honestly en- joyed, was like to be wrested from them by the captious niceties of the Normam jurisprudence, or the greedy tyranny of the Normam sword. These counterfeits are detected by the pains which were taken to give them currency. It is familiarly Κnown, that the Anglo-Saxons confirmed their Deeds by sub- scribing the ** Token* of the * Rood ;'* and the charters arefairly But plainly engrossed upon vellum. Instead of imitating these unostentatious instruments, the elaborate forgers often endea- voured to obtain respect for their fabrications by investing them with as much splendour as possible. But the Crosses of gold, vermilion, and azure, which dazzled the eyes and deceived the judgment of th ourt, when produced before a Bench of cre- dulous, honest, and unsuspecting Lawyers, mow reveal the secret fraud, to the shrewd Antiquary. According to Ingulphus these modes of adornment prevailed long before the reign of the cissima clares ms. Confessor. The foundation charter of Croyland, purporting to "°" have been granted by Ethelbald,'is richly ornamented in the manner which I have, described, whence it obtained the name P R O O FS AlND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccxi of the ** Golden Charter,'* and the ancient * Chirographs,* gay with paintings andilluminations, and the charters of the Merciam Kings covered with embellishments, are enumerated by Ingulphus amongst the treasures which were consumed, when the monastery was destroyed by fire in the year 1091. But I can state, upon the information of Mr. Petrie, the most competent living autho- rity, that there is no charter of this description which is not manifestly spurious, and unless it be supposed that all the . genuine illuminated chartersim England perished by Sympathy, when those at Croyland felt the flame, we must infer that the Monk who compiled the history attributed to Ingulphus, erred, either through ignorance or design °. . Monastic charters relating to exemptions from episcopal juris- diction, lie under a general suspicion, not entirely undeserved. The proceedings between the Bishop of Chichester and the Gses p. xxviii, &c.) monks of Battle, will sufficiently exemplify the extreme eagerness with which the monks watched their real Or supposedimmunities. ÌPapal Bulls were occasionally manufactured for this purpose. Papal Bulls mot unfie- • • ę quently forged, in order Of these fabrications we have a remarkable testimony. A monk äÄÈÉ of the abbey of St. Medard being on his death-bed, confessed, $'"°P°P° ? jurisdiction. with great contrition and repentance, that he had forged Estg$ £rig: committed by a monk numerous bulls of exemption in favour of various monasteries,— ófíôùbeyöfst. Mé- *• ę dard, who confesses om the abbey of St. Ouen in Normandy, and of St. Augustine's, Éåäïíïí * * ę * had thus attempted t Canterbury, being amongst the number, to the prejudice of the Ãîî.; rights of their Ordinaries. Certificates of this acknowledgment '*''''j"j"£ in favour of St. Augus- were sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury, under the seals of times monastery. the Archbishop of Rouem, and of the Bishop of Evreux, and the originals are extant in the archives of the Cathedral“. ° The ** Golden Charter” of Croyland has not beem seen since the year 1734. It was then exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries by Mr. Lethieulliere, who obtained the loan of it from Robert Hunter, Esq., Lord of the Manor. (Gough's Croyland, Pref. viii.) In the opinion of Humphrey Wanley, ** it was not much older, if any- thing at all, tham Henry the Second's time.*' From the fac simile published by Hickes (Diss. Ep. Tab. D.), I suspect that it is even of later date. ° Anglia Sacra, Vol. II. Pref. p. v., and from the information of Mr. Petrie. 2 e 2 ccxii PR O OFS ANID ILLUSTRATIONS. Declamatory and turgid style of the charters of Edgar and his succes- sors. Greek words frc- quemtly introduced. This affectatiom noticed by Malmsbury. (See p. ccxv.) IFrom the time of Edgar, the style of the Anglo-Saxon charters becomes extremely turgid. The recitals are couched in a strain of the most inflated eloquence— to be equalled only by the preambles of the patents of creation in the reigns of Queen Amne and George the First, preserved with so much zest and industry by gentle Collins. Greek words are frequently introduced ; and sometimes it is scarcely possible to extract any definite meaming from the clauses. This declamatory style has erro- neously been considered as a proof that such instruments are nonkish forgeries, whereas, in fact, it is the strongest proof of their authenticity : the Anglo-Saxons courted pomposity in their writings ; and Malmsbury expressly notices the delight which they took in the barbarous Hellenisms of their charters''. Greek characters were intermixed with the Latin alphabet, as in the seal of Ethelwald, and Greek titles assumed, as in the seal of Eadgitha. In the Latin compositions the same affectation is often very remarkable. Dark indeed are the verses of the « Patriciam Consul, Fabius Quæstor IEthelwerdus,” upon which, without doubt, he prided himself as the best testimonies of his taste and learning; and the chapter in which he narrates the coronation of Edgar, affords the clearest comment upon the style of Edgar's charters. De Principatu Edgari Regis. Denique Eadgar coronatur in regnum, rex admirabilis. Annis sextenis siquidem per regna meatus, Bisque dies numero tenuit minus obice septem: Argivæ hebdomadas gentis posuere magistri ; Septimanas recitant post quas nunc voce Latini. Tingite nunc calamos musæ propriumque vocate Carmen, et ignoto ventis properate secundis. Cum placido steterint, fontes aperite poëtæ. " Græci involute, Romani splendide, Angli pompatice, dictare solent. Id in omnibus antiquis cartis est animadvertere, quantum quibusdam verbis abstrusis, ex Græco petitis, delectentur. (Malm, de Vita Aldhelmi, p. 7.) PR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. ccxiii Fungitur interea regno, post Anaae in arce, IXimannis castrum, a priscis jam nomine dicta, Nec Bathun ab aliis non pro feruentibus undis. Costis pentidies fuerat, quam quondam honore, IBradifonus, Domino, Moyses sacrarat amore. Advenit et populus pariter, sine nomine turmæ, Quin etiam ferro syncipite rasi corona. (Rer. Angl. p. 4S3.) The same false taste induced the Anglo-Saxon poets to inter- polate their Staves with Latin words and Latin verses. If Ingul- phus, or his Personator, cam be credited, the French language had already become fashionable in the reign of the Confessor. IBut be this as it may, the affectation of the Anglo-Saxon literati was evidently tending to adulterate their language ; and even if the Conquest had not taken place, the purity of the English language would have been speedily destroyed by the admixture of a foreign vocabulary. IFrom the circumstances before mentioned, namely, that charters were oftem copied in charter form, for use, no very valid argument cam be drawn against the authenticity of a charter, merely from the character of the writing. Palaeography affords aids which are of great utility to the historiam, but by placing too implicit confidence in the outward signs and tokens which it affords, we may be led to indulge in very unreasonable scepticism. Internal evidence is usually the best test of the falsity of a charter ; and the forgeries can generally be detected by the ignorance of their authors. Terms and phrases borrowed from the Anglo-Normam jurisprudence are introduced, and institu- tions and usages belonging to the age of the inventors, trans- ferred to periods when they were entirely unknown. A charter ascribed to Beortwulf, King of Mercia, and dated at Kingsbury, on Saturday in Easter week, 851, recites, that the monks of Anglo-Saxom would probably have becomc much mixed with words derived from foreign languages, even if the Conquest had not takem place. - Cases in which the. Anglo-Saxon Charters are falsified by inter- nal evidence, such as the Croyland Char- ters, which represent the course of proceed- ings before the Witema- gemot to have been like those of the parliaments ofEngland, temp. Ed. lI. ccxiv IPRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Authentic clauses oftem preserved in adulterated charters. Particular!y in the sub- scriptions, which are often genuine, though appended to a modern- ized or doubtful para- phrase. Authenticity of the greater numbcr of tho Anglo-Saxom charters. Croyland having preferred their complaint before the Prelates and Peers of Mercia concerning various trespasses, the King ordered Radbod, the vice domìnus of Lincoln, to perambulate the demesne of the monks, and to return the boundaries before the king and his council, * ubicunque in ultimo paschæ fuisse- mus,”—which being done, the King, with the consent of his IPrelates and Peers, confirms the privileges of the monastery. These proceedings are wholly conformable to the legal usages of the fourteenth century ; and umless it be supposed, that the forms of the High Court of Parliament during the reign of Edward II., were inherited from the Witenagemot of Mercia, the whole body of the instrument must be considered as a spu- rious or adulterated paraphrase"*. I employ this expressiom, Decause I apprehend that the Forgers did not entirely trust to their powers of invention ; and that in concocting many of the fabrications, they borrowed the substratum from genuine instru- ments, which they expanded and altered in such a manner as to suit the purpose required. At least, we cannot otherwise ac- count for the consistency and pertinence of the concluding clauses, or confirmations by the Members of the Witenagemot, appended to many charters, of which the contents are doubtful, or modernized. Whilst the falsity of some charters may be thus detected by the language which they speak, òr the matter which they con- tain, many others, and indeed the great mass of those which have been preserved, receive the strongest confirmation by internal evidence. The names of the Ealdormen, and other Personages by whom they are attested or confirmed, frequently correspond with history in the most striking manner ; and scarcely any one Individual of note is mentioned in the chronicles, whose name. does not occur in some of the contemporaneous charters, as a ** Ingulphus, 12, 13. P R O OFS AND IILLUSTRATION S. CCXV Member of the Witenagemot. History supports the charters, Š, .iia and uy eac Other, and the charters support history, and also confirm each other". And their trustworthiness is mot in the least impaired by occa- sional anachronisms, some apparent and some real. The errors Anachronisms, how ac- of Transcribers, and the different modes of computation are the chief sources of the first : the last arise from the practice which obtained, of Kings, Bishops, and Magnates adding their signa- tures (of course I mean, their marks) to charters which had been granted by their predecessors, or before their time, in order that the instruments might thus receive further confirmation amd validity'*. The employment of Seals amongst the Anglo-Saxons has given rise to much discussion. There cam be no doubt, but that seals were used for the purpose of impressing the wax which closed the epistles of the Anglo-Saxons. The Seals of Edgitha, Abbess of Wilton, and Ethelwald, Bishop of Dunwich, are still extant "*. The point at issue, however, is, not whether seals were in use amongst the Anglo-Saxons ; but, whether the usage of appending a seal to a charter was considered as a legal method of executing * See the examples appended to this essay. - "* Of this a remarkable example maybe found in a charter granted to St. Alban's Monastery, by Offa and his son Ecgfrid, and signed afterwards by nine successive ltings, Alfred being the last. (Mat. Par. Auctuarium, p. 238.) - “° This seal of Ethelwald (S30—870) was dug up in a garden, about two hundred yards from the gate of the monastery at Eye, by a labourer, who gave it to the child of a workman employed om the farm. The child threw the seal into the fire, and it thus received some injury. It was afterwards purchased by Hudson Gurney, Esq., and presented by him to the Dritish Museum. The sealis of a yellow metal, mitre shaped, composed oftworows of arches, supported by nine wolves' heads, the eyes of which are formed by small garnets. The legend exhibits a mixture of Greek and Latin charac- ters, SIT EBILVVALDI EPT, (Archæologia, vxx. p. 4S0.) Ofthe sealof Edgitha, probably the daughter of Edgar, only an impression remains. She is represented mearly at full length, the effigy being surrounded by an inscription, composed partly in Greek and partly in Latin—SIGILL' EAGDGYBE REGAL' ADELPHE. (Hoare's Wilton Chartulary Pref.) : - counted for, Seals, whether employ- ed amongst the Anglo- Saxons. «ccxvi PRO OFS ANID ILLUSTRATIONS. Used for certain official the instrument, according to the custom of later times. In £; ç the reign of Ethelred, the Anglo-Saxon IKings issued letters Ę under their seals"; and in the reign of Edward the Confessor, dity of royal chartes, the *gewrit and insegel,* was the customary mode o£ confirming a dignity, of bestowing the king's protection, or of signifying his commands. But a seal, though it might be added to a charter, was not indispensable to the validity of the instrument. And though the impression of the King's effigy was probably con- sidered as imparting more than ordinary solemnity to the docu- Custom ofsealiug char- ment ; still the practice did not possess the uniformity and con- ters introduced by slow degrees. stancy of a legal custom, and it gained ground only by slow degrees. William the Conqueror had a Great Seal, which was occasionally employed by him, yet he frequently confirmed his charters by his Sign, or Cross alone ; and until the reign of Henry II., the pri- vilege of using a seal scarcely extended to any but the greater barons. Gilbert de Baillol, the lord of the fee of certain lands contested in the Curia Regis'", exclaimed that many chirographs in the names of his Ancestors had been read in his hearing, but that their deeds were not fortified by the testimony of their seals. Richard de Luci, the Justiciar, inquired if he had a seal. Baillol answered in the affirmative. The Justiciar replied, with a Smile of contempt : It was not the custom in the olden time, for every Knightling to use a seal, which is fitting only for Princes and IPersons of rank and dignity. On the Continent, the Seal had been employed since the days of Dagobert ; but the Confessor departed from the pattern of his contemporaries, the waxen impression being pendant to the char- *** In the treaty between Ethelred and Richard of Normandy, it was agreed that the two sovereigns should not harbour each other's subjects, except provided with their respective seals, i. e. with passports, under seal. Et de hominibus regis, vel de imimicis suis, mullum Ricardus recipiat, nec Rex de suis, sine sigillo eorum. (Malm. Lib. II. C. x.) 117 See p. lxx. P R O OIFS A N D ILLUSTRATIO N S. ccxvii ter, whilst the diplomatic etiquette of France required that the wax should be applied upon the parchment, like a modern wafer- seal". William the Conqueror adhered to the fashion of the oHginofusas,L.i„. Anglo-Saxon Chamcery ; but he caused his effigy, as the mailed ἐξ Duke of Normandy, mounted on his charger, and brandishing í'*5%%"%*'; the equestrian figure his lance, to be impressed on the obverse of the wax; whilst vgiag originaliyintend- • * * s. »• • ed to represent them as the reverse displays him in the character of. King of England, ÉÉÉÉÉTÉî, bearing the crown and sceptre, arrayed in the robe of royalty, iii, ;;;;;'• and seated on the throne "°. Hence the origin of the double portraiture of the Kings of England. on their Great Seals, according to the usage which now prevails. For am analo- gous reason, the seal of Odo, Bishop of Baieux, and also Earl of Rent, exhibits him, on the obverse clad in his pontificals ; and on the reverse, in the martial garb of the Earldom. Louis VII. upon his marriage with Eleanor of Guyenne, caused an imitation to be made of the English seal, one side representing him as King of France, and the other as Duke of Aquitaine ; but when helost that territory by his separation from his consort, he then used only the French die, and the reverse of the wax continued with- out any impress, until Philip Augustus, stamped the blank with the counter seal of the IFleur-de-lys, being his privy signet, which pattern has continued to the present time". *** Pendant seals were afterwards adopted in France. *** As is testified by the inscriptions— - Hoc, Normamnorum Willielmum nosce patronum, - · · · Hoc, Anglis regem, signo fatearis eundem. - “° The seals offhe Confessor and the Conqueror have been repeatedly engraved, but never with sufficient exactness. Mabillon, De Re Diplomatica, is the best autho- rity for the French seals. - Vol. I. - 2 f ccxviii JPRO OFS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. Ethelbert King of Kent, grants a plot of land without the city of Can- terbury, to the end that a monastery may be .erected thereon. (A. D. 605.) Eoundaries. Optimates of Kent. Grant by Ethelbald, King of the Mercians and South Anglia, to his Comes, Æthelric, son of Oshere, King of the Wiccians, oflandsto be heldas an ecclesiastical benefice, with consent of the Bishops and Op- timates. propria manu roboravi confirmavique. l. In nomine Domini nostri Jesu cuiuę 'o- hominem qui secundum Deum vivit, et remunerari a Deo sperat, et optat, oportet ut piis precibus consensum hilariter ex animo præbeat; quoniam certum est, tanto faciliùs ea, quæ ipse à Deo popos- cerit, consequi posse, quanto et ipse libentius Deo aliquid concesserit. Quocirca ego EtrIELBERTUs Rex Cantiæ, cum consensu venerabilis Archiepiscopi Augustini ac principum meorum, dono et concedo Deo, in honorem Sancti Petri aliquam partem terræ juris mei, quæ jacet in oriente civitatis Doroberniæ, ita duntaxat ut monas- terium ibi construatur, et res quæ infra memorantur, in potestate abbatis sint qui ibi fuerit ordinatus. Igitur adjuro et præcipio in nomine Dei omnipotentis, qui est omnium rerum Judex justus, ut præfata terra, subscriptâ donatione, sempiternaliter sit confirmata, ita ut nec mihi nec alicui successorum meorum regum aut principum, sive cujuslibet conditionis dignitatibus et ecclesiasticis gradibus de ea aliquid fraudare liceat. Si quis vero de hac donatione nostra aliquid minuere, aut irritum facere temptaverit, sit in præsente separatus a sancta communione corporis et sanguinis Christi: et in die judicii ob meritum malitiæ suæ a consortio sanctorum omnium segregatus. Circumcincta est hac terra, his terminis; in oriente ecclesia Sancti Martini, in meridie via de Burgate, in occidente et aquilone Drouting-street. Datum in civitate Doroberniæ, anno ab incarnatione Christi, DCV. indict. VI. ego*ETIIEL- RERTUs Rex Cantiæ, sana mente integroque consilio, donationem meam signo crucis Ego Augustinus gratia Dei Archiepiscopus Edbaldus, Hamigisilus, Augemundus Refe- (Somner's Canterbury, p. 47.) testis consentiens libenter subscripsi. rendarius, Hocca, Tangil, Pinca, Geddy. A concurrent charter is signed and attested in the following manner: Ego *ETIIELBERTUs, Rex Anglorum. Edbaldus, Regis filius, favi. Ego Hami- gisilus, Dux, laudavi. Ego Hocca, Comes, consensi. Ego Augemundus, Refenda- rius, approbavi. Ego Graphio, Comes, veredixi. Ego Tangisilus, Regis optimas, confirmavi. Ego Pinca, consensi. Ego Gedde, corroboravi. (2.) Ego Ætm ELBALTIIUs non solum Mercensium, sed et universarum provinciarum quæ, communi vocabulo, dicuntur Suthengli, divina largiente gratia Rex, reverentissimo Comiti meo, mihique satis caro, filio quondam Huuicciorum regis OosfiEREs,ÀETIIILRicae terram viginti cassatorum, in possessionem ecclesiasticæ rationis atque regulæ, cum consensu f vel episcoporum, fvel optimatum meorum larga mentis benevolentia donans concedo. Est autem idem ager qui traditur in regione, quæ antiquitus nominatur Stoppingas in loco qui vetusto vocabulo dicitur Uuidutuun juxta fluvium, quem priores nostri appellare solebant, et adhuc nominatur Aetluuinnae. Omnem itaque hunc agrum intra terminos, ab antiquis possessoribus constitutos, cum campis, et saltibus, et pratis, necnon et universis, qui ex eo provenire possint necessariis redituum usibus, ita nimirum præfato Comiti meo ÆTIIILRIcae, in jus monasticæ rationis rogatus ab eo, tradens largior, ut et ipse, quamdiu vita comite voluerit, prospere possideat, et * It may be necessary to mention, that to save room, and spare trouble to the printers, I have omitted the Crosses, which are invariably prefixed to all the Anglo-Saxon signatures. - f Sic. PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccxix cuicumque placuerit, vel se vivente, vel obeunte, ea conditione qua sibi traditum acce- perit, licenter omnino nobis concedentibus libens tradat. Ego Æthelbalth, hanc dona- tionem meam subscripsi. Ego Uuor, Episcopus, consensi et subscripsi. Piot, Abbas —Uuilfrith, Comes-Sigibed, Comes—Oba, Comes—Beorcol, Comes—HEARD- BERIIT, Frater Regis—Eadberht, Comes—Tepra—Aduulf—Ceoba—Stronglic— Beonna—Uuilfriht, Episcopus—Cuthred, Abbas—Eobe, Abbas—Aethiluuald, Abbas —Ælbred. (Heming, vol. I. p. 219.) (3.) Ego ÆTIIILBALT, Domino donante, Rex, non solum Marcensium, sed et omnium pro- vinciarum quæ generale nomine Sutangli dicuntur, pro remedio animæ meæ et relaxa- tione piaculorum meorum, aliquam terræ particulam id est x cassatorum venerando comiti meo Cyniberhtte, ad construendum: coenobium, in provincia, cui ab antiquis nomen inditum est Husmeræ,juxta fluvium vocabulo Stur, cum omnibus necessariis ad eam pertinentibus, cum campis silvisque, cum piscariis pratisque in possessionem eccle- siasticam benigne largiendo trado; ita ut quamdiu vixerit potestatem habeat tenendi ac possidendi, cuicumque voluerit, vel eo vivo, vel certe post obitum suum relinquendi. Scripta est hæc cartula A. D. 736, &c. Ego ÆTDILBALD, Rex Britanniæ, propriam donationem confirmans subscripsi. Ego Uuor, Episcopus, consensi—Uuilfridus, Episcopus—ÆTIIILRIc, Subregulus atque Comes gloriosissimi principis Ethilbaldi— Ibe, Abbas—Heardberht, Frater atque Dux præfati Regis-Ebbella—Onoc, Comes— oba—Sigibed—Bercol—Ealduuft—Cusa-Dede. (Smith's Bede, App. p. 786.) (4.) Regnante et adjuvante nos Deo et domino nostro Jhesu Christo. Ego CoEN- NULFUs, gratia Dei Rex Merciorum, anno V°. imperii nostri, una cum fratre meo CUTII Redo, Rege scilicit Cantuariorum, dabo in perpetuam possesionem, Suithune, nostro in commune ministro, modicam telluris portionem, trium scilicet aratrorum, ubi nominatur Aetbrom Gehaege in provincia Cantiæ, &c. prædicto viro, vel ejus pos- teris sub perpetua libertate concedimus, cum omnibus ad se pertinentibus rebus, ut habeat et possideat quamdiu vivat, et post se, cui voluerit, relinquat in sempiternam possessionem, eo videlicit jure, si ipse nobis et optimatibus nostris fidelis manserit miiinister, et inconvulsus amicus. Ego CoENULFUS Rex donationem meam signo crucis confirmo. Signum manus CUTHREDI regis Cantuariorum. Signum manus Ceölberhti, ducis. Signum manus Berhthuni et Byrnwaldi, comitum. Hoc item secunda die Paschae adfirmant coram rege CUTIIREDo in urbe Cantuariorum, Archie- piscopus Aethilheard; et Merciorum Abbas Dæghelm, cum optimatibus quorum hic scripta sunt nomina—Æthilheard, Archiepiscopus—Dæghelm, Presbyter : Abbas— Hedberht—Osuulf — Egnulf—4lhmund—Beornheard—Esne—Ealdbert—Haehfrith — Ealdberht—Osmod— Wiohthert—Bealthhæth. ' Quomodo Suithun hanc terram sibi datam a Regibus concessit Sancto Andreæ post obitum suum.—Ego Swithun post obitum meum trado terram hujus libelli, pro remedio animæ meæ, omnibusque sibi pertinentibus|Sanctæ Andreæ in perpetuum. Et si quis auxerit, æternam vitam tribüat ei Deus: si quis tunc minuere voluerit f mortem supplicium cum diabolo in æternum sit passus. (Textus Roffensis, pp. 94, 95.) Consent of the mem- bers of the Witenage- nmot. Ethelbald, King of Mer- cia and South Anglia, takiag also the title of Ring of Britain, grants lands and castle mear Stoure, tohis Comes, or Ealdorman, Cyniberht. (A. D. 736.) Confirmation by the members of theWitena- gemot. + Sic. 2 f 2 Connulf, King of the Mercians, and his bro- ther, Cuthred, Vassal Ring, or Regulus of Kent, grant Iands to Swithin their ** Minis- ter” or Thane. He is to hold the same for his life, with full. power of bequeathing the same, upon condi- tion of being a true and faithful Thane to the Rings and their Opti- mates. Confirmation by the members of\the Witen- agemot, --- - - * Swithin bequeaths the land to the Church of [Rochester. CCXX. P R O OFS AND ILLUSTRATIO N S. (A.D. 821.) Kenulph, Ring of the Mercians. Extracts from his char- ter in favour of the mo- nastery of Abingdon. The abbey to be ex- empted from the bur- then of finding free quarters for the King's huntsmen, falconers,&c. Service oftwelve vassals and twelve shields (or, in more modern lan- guage, twelve knight's fees) to be rendered from theabbey(p. 167.) (A.D. 823.) Egbert, Κing of the English, with the consent of his Witenagemot,and of his son Ethelwulf, whom he had appointed to be King of Kent, frees the church of Rochester from the burthen offind- i ng * Paraverdao'' and free quarters for the followers of the Court (see p. 157.) (5.) - In nomine Dei et Domini nostri Jesu Christi, veri redemptoris mundi anno vero dominicæ incarnationis DCCCxxi, indictione xiiij. Ego CœNULPIIUs Rex Merciorum, ab eodem Deo et Domino nostro populis et tribubus præordinatus ;,, * • Regem anno ' imperii nostri xxv. (See Summary of the History of Mercia.) - * [Here follows a confirmation of the possessions of Abingdon.] Mandamus in nomine Patris et Filii et Sancti Spiritus ut nullus superveniat homi- num, superbia inflatus, nec Rex suum pastum requirat vel habentes homines quos nos dicimus faestingmen, nec eos qui accipitres portant, vel falcones, vel caballos ducunt sive canes, nec pœnam mittere super eos quoquomodo audeat. Nec princeps, nec graffio*, hanc lenitatem præfatam, in alicujus oneris molestia mittere audeat, aut in diebus nostris vel successorum nostrorum. Si pro aliquo delicto accusatur homo Dei, ecclesiæ illæ custos solus cum suo juramento, si audeat, illum castigat. Sin autem ut recipiat aliam justitiam hujus vicissitudinis conditionem, præfatum delictum cum simplo precio componat. Expeditionem cum xij Vasallis, et cum tantis scutis exer_ ceant. Antiquos pontes et arces renovent, cæterum plena et integra libertate glorientur, maxime cum ipsi diebus dominicis vij missas pro nobis saluberrimas offerant et armi§ spiritualibus centum psalteriis contra invisibiles hostes dimicare non cessant. (Bib. Cott. Claud. B. vi. fol. 9) . (6.) * • In nomine Domini nostri Jhesu Christi. Ego EcGBERIITUs, gratia DeiRex Anglorum, cum consensu episcoporum ac principum meorum, hanc libertatem donavi ecclesiæ quæ sita est in civitate Hrobi et omnibus agellis qui ad ecclesiam Sancti Andreæ Apostoli pertinent, pro remedio animæ meæ et filii mostri ÆTIIELUULFI, quem regem constituimus in Cantia, ut omnes agri sint liberi ab omni regali servitio, a pastu regum et principum, ducum et præfectuum exactorumque, ab equorum et falconum accipitrumque et canum acceptione et illorum hominum refectione f quod nos festing. memm nominamus, a parafrithis, et ab omnibus difficultatibus regalis vel secularis servitutis notis et ignotis, cum furis comprehensione intus et foris, majoris minorisve, præter pontis constructionef et expeditionei æternaliter liberata permaneat (A.D. S23.) Ego EcgBERTUs, Rex Anglorum, hanc donationem meam hujus libertatissigno sanctæ crucis Christi confirmavi et subscripsi. Ego ÆTIIELUULF, Rex, consensi et subscripsi. Ego Uulfred, Archiepiscopus, consensi et subscripsi. Ego Wigthegm, Episcopus, consensi et subscripsi. Ego Ealhstan, Episcopus, consensi et subscripsüi. Ego Eeornmod, Episcopus, consensi et subscripsi. Ego Wulfhard, Dux, consensi ét subscripsi. Ego Monuede, Dux, consensi et subscripsi. lEgo Osmod, Dux, con- sensi et subscripsi. Ego Dudda, Dux, consensi et subscripsi. Aldred—Oshere— Aetheluulf — Duduc—Boba—Ealhhere—Sigesteb—Æthelhard. . (Textus Roffensis, pp. 97—99.) * “ Grafio,” in the phraseology of the continental laws and charters, is sometimes employed to designate the higher nobility, and sometimes the ministerial officer§ 6£ the King. Here it seems to be used in the first sense, as equivalent to •* Comes,” or ** Ealdorman,” or the more recent “ Earl.'' + Sic. P R O O FS AND IILLUSTRATIONS. ccxxi (7.) Ego ADELUULF, Rex Australium populorum, tibi fidelissimo meo præfecto Ceol- mundo trado terram juris mei unius aratri, &c. et cuicumque voluerit post se æternaliter possidendum relinquat. (A.D. 842.) ADELUULF, Rex—Adeluulf, Dux—Adelhun, Praesbiter—Ethelmoth— Edelred—Ceolnoth, Archiepiscopus-Alhere, Dux—Beor- mod, Praesbiter—Adelrit—Lulluc—Beormod, Episcopus—h/erehard, Præsbiter— Muthsar, Minister—Alhard—Beasnoth—EDELSTAN, Rex-—Brythnoth, Præsbiter— Tutta, Minister—Hudda. (Registrum Roffense, p. 23.) (8.) Ego EtiielwoLF, Rex occidentalium Saxonum, + seu ETHELSTAN, Rex Canciæ, + dabo et concedo Ealhere humili atque dilecto principi meo, aliquantulam partem terræ juris mei, &c. ut habeat et perfruat, cum pratis et pascuis cum omnibus rebus quæ ad illam pertinent, et qualicumque homini iillam placuerit, derelinquat in haereditate in sempiternum, et sit liber ab omni regali servicio, præter tribus, pontis et arcis constructionë et expeditioné, &c. (A. D. 850.) Ego Ethelwolfus, Rex, roboravi. Ego ETIIELSTAN, Rex, consensi—Ceolnodus, Archiepiscopus—Orric, Dux—Orbrith, Miles—ETIIELBALD, filius Regis—Ealhere, Dux—Oineberht, Miles—Eaduulf, Dux — Lulla, Miles—Mucel, Miles. (Registrum Roffense, p. 24.) (9.) In nomine Domini nostri Jhesu Christi, ATIIELRED, Deo adjuvante, Merciorum Dux, hanc cartam Cuthulfo, ministro regis, pro illa terra marmam cliueid estx manentium, fieri concessit, quam terram, Cered propinquus illius Cuthulfi, cum mille siclis a Burhredo, rege Merciorum adquisivit, ac post mortem suam, suæ uxori Uuerthrythe ad optinendam donavit. Tunc ille Cuthulf a prefata muliere, Romam cupienti pergere, in presentia Uuerfrithi episcopi, omniumque optimatum provincie Huicciorum cum probabili pecunia comparavit. Sed ille Athelred, prefata Uuerthrythe sub juramento âffirmante, supradictæ terræ libellum a paganis arreptum esse, cum consensu omnium IMerciorum senatorum, alium scribere jussit, ut ille Cuthulfilla terra, ut sibi placeret, perhenniter perfrueretur, et, cui donare vellet, sine impedimento ullius personæ licen- tiam haberet. (Heming. 328.) r* ms 10. I . Regnante imperpetuum et mundi -®- gubernante, altitoni Patris sobole qui celestia simul et terrena moderatur, illius etenim incarnacionis anno D.cccc.iiii. indictione vero sexta, contigit quod Ethelfritho duci omnes hereditarii libri ignis vastacione combusti perierunt ; tali igitur necessitate cogente, predictus Dux rogavit EduArduM regem et ELREDUM quoque et ETHELFLEDAM qui tunc principatum et potestatem gentis Merceorum, sub predicto rege tenuerunt, omnes eciam senatores Mer- ceorum, ut ei consentirent, et licentiam darent, alios libros rescribendi. Tunc illi unanimiter omnes devota mente concesserunt ut alii ei libri scriberentur eodem modo quo et priores scripti erant, in quantum eos memoriter recordari potuisset. Si yero quoslibet recordari minime potuisset, tunc ei ista cartula in auxilio et affirmacione (A.D. 842.) , Grant by Ethelwulf, King of Wessex, by the title of King of the Southern Nations, Ceolmund, his 6« Praefect.” Confirmation by the Witenagemot,— Athel- stane, King of Kent, signing amomgst the rest. . Grant by Ethulwulf, King of Wessex, and Ethelstan, King of Kent, totheir ** Prince” Ealhere. (A. D, 850.) Witemagemot.' Ethelred, Duke or Eal- dorman ofthe Mercians, and with the consent of the * Senate,'' or Wite- nagemot of Mercia, re- mews the landboc or charter of Cuthulf the Thane, which had been carried offby the Danes. f Sic. Duke Ethelfrith having lost all his lamdbocs, the same having been destroyed by fire, ap- plies to Edward the : Elder, as supreme Lord of Mercia, and to Ethel- . red the Ealdorman of the same kingdom, and : Ethelflede his wife (who was joined with him in the government) ccxxii IPRO OFS ANID ILILU STRATIO N S. and t9 £he Witenage- fieret, ut nullus cum contencione cum aliis libris afligere valuisset, nec propinquus mot of Mercia, to cause new chartersto be writ- ten for him. Subsequent confirma- tion by Edred. Oswald, Bishop of Wor- cester, with the assent of Edgar, King of the IEnglish, and Alfere, IOuke of the Mercians, grants Uptun to liis ** Minister'' or Tbane Cynelm, or Kenelm, for his life,and fortwo other lives after his decease, after which the same is to revert to the Church of Worcester. Archbishop Oswald, holding the see of Wor- cester in commendam, and with the assent of Edward King of the English (Edward the Martyr) and Alfere, Duke or Ealdormam of Mercia, grants one hyde of land (parcel of to his Knight, Wulfgeat, to hold for his lifé, and after his decease for two other lives, in succession,after which the same Oswald's Law) is to revert to, &c. Archbishop Oswald, with the assent of King Edward, and of Alfhere, Duke of the Mercians, grants or gebooks three hydes of land to his Thane, or Minister, Eadric, for thrce lives, formerly held as Lehn- Iand, or as a Benefice or Feud. nec alienus, quamvis aliquis homo aliquem de vetustis libris protulerit, quem prius fraudulenter vel hora ipsius incendii vel alio quolibet tempore per furtum abstraxisset. Novimus namque quod omnia que in hoc mundo contigere solent aliquando cicius aliquando tardius, ex memoria mortalium delapsa deveniunt nisi in cedulis literarum caracteribus annotentur: quapropter in hac cartula innotescere ratum atque gratum satisque commodum duximus, de illa videlicet terra at Wringtone, cujus quantitas est viginti cassatorum. Ego ATiiELRET consensi et confimavi. Ego EDWARD, Rex, con- sensi et subscripsi. Et hanc prefatam largicionem. Ego EDRED, Rex, et totus senatus Anglorum, devoto animo Ethelfretho duci in perpetuam hereditatem persolvimus ut nemo post nos percipientes sine indignacione Dei omnipotentis illam irritam faciàt. Hanc prefatam hereditatem Athelstam Dux, filius Etheredi conversus et factus monachus optulit secum ad monasterium Glastingense illamque sibi largitus est Athelstam Rex. (Monasticon, vol. i. pp. 49, 50.) (11.) Ego OsUUALD, gratia Dei Episcopus, cum consensu ac licencia EADGARI, Regis Anglorum, et ÆLFIIERE, ducis Merciorum, quamdam ruris particulam, quod a gnos- ticis Uptum appellatur, vi. videlicet mansas, cuidam ministro meo nomine Cynelm cum. omnibus ad illud rite pertinentibus, perpetuâ largitus sum hereditate, et post vitæ suæ terminum duobus tantum heredibus immunem derelinquat, quibus defunctis, ecclesiæ Dei in uJiozounna ceartne restituatur. (A.D.962.) (Heming. p. 145.) - *- [Signed by two priests, one deacom, and fourteen clerks, being the members of the cathedral monastery.—A note in Anglo-Saxon is added, containing the name of one of the persons whom Cynelm, the ** Thegne,” has nominated as the next life.] (12.) Ic Oruuold }uph goder ziefe Ancebirceop mid zepafunze j leafe Eadpender angul cyminzer j Ælphener (mencna henetozan *] pær hineder æt ujiozenna ceastne, lander jumne dael, paet iran hid æt hymel tune, rumum Cnihte pam irujulfgeat noma mid eallum pinzum pe paento belimpaö, pneolice hir dæze fongeaf j aeften hirdæze, tyaem ynf pean- dum *} æften hiena fonô, ripe to paene hal3an rtope into lUiozenna ceastjne pæm bircope to bpyce. (Heming. pp. 151, 152.) (13.) Anno Dominicæ incarnationis D CCCC Lxxvii. Ego OswALD, superni rectoris fultus juvamine, Archipresul, cum licentia EdwARDI Regis Anglorum, ac ÆlfiieRe, Ducis Merciorum, uni ministro meo fidelo, qui a gnosticis nota Eadric nuncupatur vocabulo, ob ejus fidele obsequium, quandam ruris particulam, iii videlicet mansas quod solito vocitatur nomine Tibin;ctum, cum omnibus ad se rite pertinentibus liberaliter concessi, ut ipse, vita comite, fideliter perfruatur, et post vitæ suæ terminum, duobus, quibus voluerit, cleronomis derelinquat. Quibus etiam ex hac vita migratis, rus predictum, cum omnibus utensilibus, ad usum primatis ecclesiæ Dei in lUiogonna ceastne restituatur immunis. ponne ir pær lander iii hiba pe Ospalo ancebiscop boca8 Eaonice hir pegne, 3enentune zefym spa he hit æm hæfde to tan tande mid pær heonooer 3epitnerre on lUio3onna ceastpe. (Heming. pp. 204, 205.) PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccxxiii (14.) Alma et individua ubique inlocaliter regnante Trinitate, necne ÆTIIELREDO allubescente ac favente, per *omni parentis motum totius Albionis Basileo, AELFRIci Merciorum Comite consentiente ; Ego Oswaldus largifluâ Dei clementiâ archipresul, quandam rurisculi partem, tres scilicet mansas, in loco, qui vocatur æt bisceoper Stoce libenti concedo animo, cum omnibus ad eum utilitatibus rite pertinentibus, cum con- .sultu atque permissione venerabilis Weogernensium familiæ, Æthelredo meo videlicet Milite, pro ejus humili subjectione atque famulatu, ut vita comite illo feliciter per- fruatur, absque ullius refragatione, duobusque quibuscumque decreverit, post metam proprii ævi, fclero nominis relinquat, finitoque illorum vitæ curriculo, ad usum primatis in uJeozonna ceastjne redeat immunis ecclesiæ. Anno dominicæ incarnationis D CCCC Lxxxiiii° scripta est cartula ista, his testibus æstipulantibus, quorum nomina infra caraxata cernuntur. (Heming, pp. 121, 122.) - (15.) Anno Dominicæ incarnationis d ccccxci. Ego Dux Brihtnotus iturus contra pagamos -ad bellum, consentiente Rege ATIIELREDo, divisi omnes terras meas per ecclesias per Angliam, audiente Sirico, archiepiscopo ; et optimatibus regis omnibusque id laudan- tibus et consentientibus. Ecclesiæ Salvatoris in civitate Doroberniae has terras contuli, Lallinges, Illelege, et Hathlege, liberas ab omni servitute seculari, excepto -communi labore expedicionis pontis et arcis construccione. Haetlege tamem concessi ' Alflede uxori meæ, tantum in diebus suis, postea redeat ad ecclesiam Xpi in eadem villa. (Bib. Lamb. No. 1212, p. 326.) IEgo ÆTHELRED totius Britanniæ nô, quandam telluris particulam xv vide- licet cassatos, Ioco qui celebri, Ætcerne, muncupatur vocabulo, Domino nostro Jesu Christo sanctæque ejus ecclesiæ beatæ Dei genitricis Mariae, qui celebri Abbendona muncupatur onomate, ad usus monachorum Dei inibi degentium cum omnibus utensilibus, pratis videlicet, pascuis, aquarumque cursibus Uulfgaro abbati æterna largitus sum hereditate. Sit autem prædictum rus omni terrenæ servitutis jugo liberum, tribus exceptis, ratâ videlicet expeditione, pontis arcisve restauratione. Est sane præfata terra Cyrne de illis villulis quas pridem quidam Comes jvocitamine ./Elfric a quadam matrone Ealfled nomine diripuit, et sibi in propriam hæreditatem vsurpavit. Ac deinde temporum variante vice, necne instigante humani generis per- yersissimo temptatore diabolo, contra eum meumque regale imperium multa et inaudita miserabiliter committens piacula, Episcoporum Ducum ómniumque hujus regni optimatum, unanimo legali consilio æquissimoque judicio, in villa regia quæ -Anglica appellatione Cirnceastre dicitur, ipso extra patriam in exilium addicto, non solum illæ quas a præfata muliere abstraxit, sed et cæteræ omnes, quas jure possidebat Hereditario, sibi ac omni suæ posteritati interdictæ fuerunt, mihique in proprium jus habendi donandique firmiter et immobiliter sunt æternaliter deputatæ. `Ego quoque Τ9st hæc cum consilio et precatu optimatum meorum concessi, quatenus præfata vidua ílirepta sua resumeret ac vita comite possideret, quæ humiliter suscipiens et rationa- biliter fruens et in ultimo hujus labilis vitæ termino, omnes mihi benevola mente in Archbishop Oswald, with the assent of Ethel- red, Emperor of Albion, and Alfric, Comes of the Mercians, grants Bishop's Stoke to his Κnightor Soldier EtheI- red, in consideration of his service and vassal- age, for three lives, as before mentioned. A. D. 984. A. D. 991. Brithnoth, Duke ofEast Anglia, being about to go out to war against the Danes, bequeaths all his land to pious uses. Will concerning the domains which he bequeaths to the church of Canterbury. A life estate to his widow Alfleda is reserved. - 16. * lege, omnipotentis nutum. f lege, cleronomis. t Sic. A. D. 999. Ethelred, Emperor of Britain, grants Cerne to the Church of Abbing- don. Recital ofthe manner in which the King became possessed of the land. Earl Alfric forcibly dis- seises the widow Eal- fled, and then conspires against the King. He is outlawed and banish- ed by the Witemagemot assembled at Cirences- ter, and all his posses- sions adjudged to the Κing. At the prayer of the Witam,Ethelred restores the land to Ealfled, to be held by her during the term of her life. ' ccxxiv PRO OFS ANI) ILLUSTRATI O N S. Curses and impreca- tions upon such as shall violate the grant. - Confirmation by the Witenagemot. A. D. 1012. Ethelred, King ofall the nations of the people of I3ritain, grants Stanton and Hilton totheBishop of Rochester. . -Recital of his title to the property. Leofsiue, or Leofsige, who had been advanced to the dignity of a Duke by the King's grace and favour, treacherously marders Alfric, the Ring's High Gerefa. As a punishment for his crime heisoutlawed and banished, together with proprium jus restituit. Si autem tempore contigerit aliquo quempiam hominum aliquem libellum ob istarum apicum adnichilationem in palam producere, omni modo in nomine Sanctæ Trinitatis, ab omnibus Christianis interdico, ita ut meum donum corroboratum sit cum signaculo sanctæ crucis, ut nec sibi nec aliis proficiat sed + in sempiterno graphio deleatur; denique vero si quis. nostræ dapsilitatis donum violari fraudulenter temptaverit sciat se die ultima judicii, coram Deo rationem redditurum, atque cum reprobis quibus dicitur, “ Discedite a me maledicti in ignem æternum,” poenis atrocibus se esse passurum, sine antea corporea lamentatione emendaverit. Prædicta siquidem tellus his terminis circumcincta clarescit. Metæ. [Here follow the boundaries.] Acta est præfata donatio anno ab incarnatione Domini nostri Jesu Christi, D CCCC xc ix, indictione xij, his testibus consentientibus, quorum inferius nomina lcaraxantur. - Ego ÆTIIELRED, Rex Anglorum, hoc taumate agiæ crucis roboravi. Ego Ealfric Dorobernensis ecclesiæ Archiepiscopus, ejusdem Regis benevolentiam subscripsi. Ego Ealdulf Eboracensis ecclesiæ Archipræsul, hilari vultu consensi. Ego Ælfheah, Præsul, sigillum sanctæ crucis impressi. Ego Uulfstan, Episcopus, corroboravi. Ego Ælfheah, Episcopus, consolidavi. Ego Aescuuig, Episcopus, confirmavi. lEgo Athulf, Episcopus, depinxi. Ego Ordbriht, Episcopus, annotavi. Ego Goduuine, Episcopus, subscripsi. Ego Athelstam, Episcopus, acquievi. Ego Uulfsie, Episcopus, consignavi. Ego Lyfincg, Episcopus, non renui. Ego Ælfuuold, Episcopis, conclusi. Ego, Ælfthrida, mater ejusdem Regis, fautrix extiti. Ego ÆTIIELSTAN, filius ejus- dem Regis, non interdixi. Ego Ælfric, Dux. Ego Ælfhelm, Dux. Ego Leofsige, Dux. Ego Leofuuine, Dux. Ego Ælfuuerd, Abbas. Ego Uulfgar, gaudens dic- tavi Abbas. Ego Ælfsige, Abbas. Ego Kenulf, Abbas. Ego Aelfsige, Abbas. Ego Æthelnodus, Abbas. Ego Æthelmar, Minister. Ego Ordulf, Minister. Ego Brihtuuold, Minister. Ego Uulfheah, Minister. Ego Uulfgeat, Minister. IEgo AEthelric, Minister. Ego Uulfric, Minister. (Bib. Cot. Claud. B. vi. p. 91.) (17.) ' . Ego ETIIELREDUS, Rex nationum totius gentis Brittanniæ, pro adipiscenda coelestis vitæ præmia, cuidam devotissimo Dei famulo Goduuino, Hrofensis parrochiæ Episcopo michique oppidò familiariter dilecto, dono liberali dextera xv mansas terrarum in villa at Stanton et aet Hiltum, cum omnibus appendiciis suis in pascuis et pratis, omni- busque quæ hujusce villæ sunt juris, ut possidens perhenniter possideat, et post se heredem cui sibi libuerit præficiat, ea interposita ratione ut, jugi deprecatione pro mere salutis integritate Dominum interpellando exoret. Erat autem eadem villa cuidam matronæ, nomine Aethelflaede, derelicta a viro suo, obeunte illo, quæ etiam habebat germanum quendam, vocabulo* Leofsinum, quem de Satrapis nomine tuli, ad celsioris apicem dignitatis dignum duxi promovere, Ducem constitutendo scilicet eum, unde humiliari magis debuerat, sicut dicitur. « Principem te constituerunt, noli extolli ** et cætera. Sed ipse hoc oblitus, cernens se in culmine majoris status + subrogatu famulari sibi pestilentes spiritus, promisit, superbiæ scilicet et audaciæ quibus nichilo- minus ipse se dedidit, in tantum ut floccipenderet quin offensione multimoda me multoties graviter offenderet. Nam præfectum meum Ælficum quem Primatem inter + Sic. * lege, Leofsiuum. p R O O FS A ND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccxxv primates meos taxavi, non cunctatus in propria domo ejus, eo inscio perimere, quod nefarium et peregrinum opus est apud Christianos et Gentiles. Peracto itaque scelere ab eo, inii consilium cum sapientibus regni mei, petens ut quid fieri placuisset de illo decernerent, placuitque in commune nobis eum exulare et extorrem a nobis fieri cum complicibus suis, Statuimus etiam inviolatum fœdus inter nos, quod qui præsumpsisset infringere, exhereditari se sciret omnibus habitis, hoc est, ut nemo nostrûm aliquid humanitatis vel commoditatis ei sumministraret. Hanc optionis electionem post habitam, nichili habuit soror ejus Æthelflaed, omnia quæ possibilitatis ejus erant, et utilitatis fratris omnibus exercitiis studuit explere, et hac de causa alia- rumque quam plurimarum exheredem se fecit omnibus. Sit ergo prædicta domatio ab omni fmundiali servitio immunis, excepto quod omnibus est generale terris, pontis videlicet vel arcis recuperatione et expeditione. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . � * ç Anno ab incarnatione Domini, Mill. xii. indictione x. caraxatum est hoc polipticum et signaculo crucis insignitum, his testibus magnifice firmiterque adamantino stilo firmantibus. Ego ÆTIIELREDUs Rex Anglorum præfatam terram, pro amore Dei ejus- que genitricis et perpetuæ Virginis Mariæ, Godwino episcopo cum vivificæ crucis vexillo impressam libens concessi. Ego Ælfgyfu, Regina, domini mei Regis dono arrisi. Ego Wulfstam, Archiepiscopus, cum coepiscopis nostris et filiis Regis, et abba- tibus et ducibus et militibus, quorum nomina inserta sunt corroboravi. Ego Eadnoth, Episcopus. Ego Athulf, Episcopus. Ego Athelwoldus, Episcopus. Ego Ælfgar, Episcopus. Ego Godwinus, Episcopus. Ego Æthelfic, Episcopus. IEgo Briht- voldus, Episcopus. Ego Leuing, Episcopus. Ego Alfhum, Episcopus. Ego Ælmar, Episcopus. Ego Wulfgar, Abbas. Ego Ælfsi, Abbas. Ego Brihtmaer, Abbas. Ego Ælfwi, Abbas. Ego Ælfsi, Abbas. Ego Edric, Abbas. Ego Brihstan, Abbas. Ego Eadmaer, Abbas. Ego Æscytel, Abbas. Ego Eadric, Dux. Ego Uhtred, Dux. Ego Leofwine, Dux. Ego Ælfric, Dux. Ego Æthelmær, Dux. Ego Syferth, Miles. Ego Æthelweard, Miles. Ego Godwine, Miles. Ego, Morcar, Miles. Ego LElfgar, Miles. Ego Wada, Miles. Ego Ulfkytel, Miles. Ego Thurkytel, Miles. Ego AEthelwine, Miles. Ego Adelwold, Miles. Ego Ælmar, Miles. * (Textus Roffensis, pp. 136, 137, 138.) * This event took place in 1102. Dux Leofsiuus (Sax. Chron. p. 175, Leofsige) nobilem virum Eaficum, summum regis præpositum occidit, unde Rex irâ succensus, patria illum depulit. (Flor. Wigorn.) In the Saxon Chronicle Alfic is called the IKing's ** Heah-gerefa.” It will be recollected, that Leofsige appears in another of Ethelred's charters (p. cxxvii.) (18.) ** It is witnessed in this writing, how King CANUTE gave üp to Christ's Church, at Canterbury, that land at Folkstone, when Eadsi his priest turned monk there, upon this condition, that Eadsi the monk shall have it during all his lifetime. But he may neither give it nor sellit, nor lose it by default, nor forfeit it, so as to defeat the right of the convent. And after his days are ended, let the land go to the ministers who serve God in Christ's Church.” *; “ Canute so settled the land,'' the charter then states, ** because his Witan informed him that the land had belonged to Christ's Church in the days of King Athelstane, and Archbishop Odda, and had since been tortiously usurped.” Vol. I. -t- Sic. 2 g his accomplices. His sister Ethelfledaafforils him counsel and assist- ance, in consequence whereof she forfeits all her property. Confirmation by the Members of the Witema- gemot, amongst whom are Syferth and Morcar the chief Thanes of the Danish Burghs. Translation of a charter by which Canute re- stores certain lands to Christ's Church, Can- terbury. ccxxvi PRO O FS ANID ILLUSTRATIONS. Lyvyngus, Bishop of . Worcester,with the con- sent of King Hardica- nute, and Leofric Duke or Earl ofthe Mercians, grants Elmley to his true man, Ægelric, for three lives. Confirmation by the Witemagemot. “This was done at Kingston, in Surry, on the Holy Day of Pentecost, and the following are the witnesses thereof: AelfgivA IMMA, the Lady. Archbishop Aegelnoth. Aelfuine, Bishop of London. Aelfsi, Bishop of Winchester. /Egelric, Bishop of Susser. /Elmar, Abbot ofSt. Augustine's. Wulnoth, Abbot of JVestmimster. Aelfwine, Abbot of Newminster, and Wulfsi, Abbot of Cuhertsey. Earl Ulf.—Earl Eglaf— Earl Lyfwine—Earl Harold—Earl Yric. Thored, the * Stallere.' Agamand. Osgod Clapa. Tosig. Ægeluine, the som of Ælfhelme. Siward of Cilleham. /Egilric IBigga. Ælfward, the Kentish Man, and Eadmer, of Binham. And all the IXing's Counsellors, Clerks, and Laymen, who were there assembled*. And of this writing there are three parts. One is ltept in Christ's Church, another in the Abbey of St. Augustine's, and the third is in the King's * Halydome,' i. e. amongst the relics in his chapel.° (Bib. Lamb. No. 1212, p. 408.) * “ Ealle I}ær kynzer noeozypan zeha§ooe ano Iaepeoe pe }æp zeramnoo paenon.'* I may here remark, that an ancient register of Canterbury cathedral contains many inedited documents of great interest and value. By another charter (Somner's Gavelkind, p. 213), Eadsi, styled the priest of Canute, King, and of Elgiva, the Lady, settled many other large possessions upon the Church of Canterbury, ** and thereof are witnesses—the King and the Queen, Archbishop Ethelnoth, and Ælfstam, the Abbot, and Brihtric, * geonga,' or the young, and Ethelric, the Husbandman, and Thurth, Thurkill's mephew, and Tofi, and Elfwin, the priest, and all the King's rædesmen.” (19.) Ego Lyfing, superni Rectoris fultus juvamine, in Wiogorma civitate ecclesiæ, cum licentia HEARDECNUTI, Regis, ac LEOFRICI, Ducis Merciorum, meo fideli homini qui f agnoscitis noto Aegelric f nuncu vocabulo ob ejus fidele obsequium quandam ruris particulam, Duas videlicet mansas in loco quem illius terræ soliculæ, Elmlaeh vocitant, libenti concedo animo, cum omnibus ad re rite pertinentibus ut ipse vita comite fideliter perfruatur. Et post vitæ suæ terminum duobus quibus voluerit cleronomis derelin- quat. Quibus etiam ex vita migratis, rus prædictum ad usum primatis ecclesiæ in Wiogorma civitate restituatur immunis. Sit autem prædicta terra libera ad omni seculari negotio, tribus exceptis, id est expeditione, pontis arcisve edificatione. Ego HEARDECNUT, Rex, præfatam donationem concessi. Ego Aelfric, Archiepis- copus, cum charactere sanctæ crucis consignavi. Ego Etsie, Archiepiscopus, con- firmavi. Ego Lyfing, Episcopus, dignum duxi. Ego Aethelstan, Episcopus, addesco. Ego Duduc, Episcopus. Ego Aelfweard, Episcopus. Ego GODWINE, Dux. Ego LEOFRIC, Dux. Ego HARALD, Dux. Ego Godwine, Abb. Ego Aelfric, Abb. IEgo Aelfwine, Abb. Ego Athelwine, Sacerd. Ego Etstam, Sacerd. Ego Wulfwi, Sacerd. Ego Wulfweard, Sacerd. Ego Wilstam, Sacerd. Ego J/ulfstam, Sacerd. Ego Leofwine, Diacon. Ego Edwi, Diacom. [Ego Odda, Miles. Ego Bryhtrie, Miles. Ego Aelfric, Miles. Ego Bryhtric, Miles. Ego Bryhtwine, Min. Ego Leofrte, Min. Ego Aethelric, Min. Ego Dodda, Min. Ego Atsere, Min. Ego Aelevi, Min. Ego Eadwi, Min. Ego Thuri, Min. Ego Wigod, Min. Ego Godric, Min. (Smith's Bede, App. p. 7S0.) + Sic, P R O O FS AlND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccxxvii SYMBOLS OF INVESTITURE. IN supposing that there was originally a consistent system of Appiigio;%f§ymbols symbols, by which land was tráhnsferred, we must bear in mind that these tokens would apply to the relative estate of the parties to the transaction. In Scotland, the vassal who alienates his feud, gives seizin to the grantee, by the delivery of earth and stone,—he transfers all the possession which he has. But when he resigns that same feud into the hands of his superior, the tradition of the usufruct is made ** per fustem et baculum.” A remarkable instance of seizin given by symbols is found in the life of St. Birlanda. The unkind, delicate, and fastidious maidem refused to consort with her leprous father. Oidelardus revenged himself by disinheriting the undutiful child, and transferred all his domains, with all the villains thereupon, to St. Gertrude, by placing all the symbols of property upom her shrine,—a turf, a twig, and a knife,—indicating that all his estate was alienated to the monastery*'. When Tassilo submitted to Charlemagne, and renewed his vassalage, he surrendered his dominions by delivering a staff, at the head whereof was the image of a Man—perhaps an ancient idlol!*. Amongst the Danes, according to Kofod Ancher, the learned commentator upon the laws of that nation, the ceremony called * Skjodning,” was indispensable to the transfer of property. A turf or clod was cast or * shot * by the Grantor into the cloak or hood of the Grantee. This act could only take place in full ut Acta Sanctorum Feb. Vol. I. p. 379. This transaction took place in the reign of Dagobert. The annotator remarks, that in many Belgic districts, the distinction which I have noticed (p. 141) was strictly observed. The soil was transferred by the delivery of the turf; the usufruct, or qualified estate, by the staff. * Annales Nazariani, ad annum 787, Recueil des Historiens, V. p. 12. [(p. 141.) Examples of seizin given by symbols. 2 g 2 ccxxviii IP R O O FS A N D I LLUSTRATI O N S. court, or in some assembly of equivalent publicity. Proof that the earth had been duly delivered, was proof of the title to the land*. The knife, or rather a dagger, occurs not unfrequently in the *continental grants,—and the ** small silver sword,' as it is called, by which Gillespie Moir received investitute from Culen, the Scoto-Pictish King (A. D. 965), is a weapon of this description.'* The actual delivery of the symbols is rarely noticed in terms, in the Anglo-Saxon * land-bocs;*' but I may remark, that no argument whatever can be drawn from their silence. Livery of seizin is never mentioned in the early feoff. ments at Common Law*, though the charter would have been wholly inefficacious, if the ceremony had not been duly per- formed. ** Ancher's History of the Danish Law, vol. ii. p. 415. * Du Cange, vol. iii. p. 1523. ** Archæologia, vol. xi. p. 46. * In comparatively recent times, itbecame the practice to endorse a memorandum of livery of seizin on the deed. SUMMARIES OF ANGLO-SAXON HISTORY. THE following Summaries are intended to display the succession of the Rulers who governed the several states composing Anglo- Saxon Britain ; together with animdication of the principal events connected with their progress or decay, their subjection or supremacy ; and I hope these Tables will mot be without their use, in enabling the reader to gain a clearer idea of the general course of Anglo-Saxon history, than cam be obtained when the whole is blended into one narrative. From the complicated involution of the affairs relating to the different IKingdoms, it would be tedious to write complete histories of each state dowm to the time of the Norman Conquest ; for as they were almost always engaged in warfare with each other, every battle would become a twice told tale. Yet the streams, if I may use the expression, continue, in great measure, distinct to the last ; and it is very important that such their distinct and separate ex- istence should be clearly understood and comprehended. One of the most important of the objects to be answered by these chronological abstracts is that, which, from the want of materials, cam only be accomplished in the most imperfect manner. I meam, the display of the succession of the Sub- reguli, Ealdormen, Dukes, ** Comites,” and other Vassal-princes by whom the minor states of the Island were ruled. Of the very numerous Homagers included in this class, and who composed the Witenagemot, or Great Council in each Ringdom, scarcely any notices are preserved in the Chroniclers. The pious and powerful branch of the Royal House of Mercia, who governed the state of ** Hwiccas,* can only be traced by their Charters and Donations ; and if one of them, * Ethelmund,” is Difficulty of under- standing Anglo-Saxon History, unless the stu- dent gains a distinct idea of the succession of each state. Few of the names of the “ Subreguli,” Dukes, &c. 'and other depend- ants, or Vassal Princes, preserved by the Chro- miclers. The succession of the Rulers or Subreguli of Hwiccas only known from their charters. CCXXX IPRO OFS A N D ILLUSTRATI O N S. noticed in our annals, it is only the accidental mention of an obscure conflict which has placed him in the page of history. And I believe that the great part of my readers will, for the first time in their lives, become acquainted with the existence of a state which must have been quite as important in Britain as the IKingdoms, equally dependent, of Essex and of East Anglia, so familiarly known as portions of the mis-called * Saxon Hep- tarchy.* When Mr. Petrie's invaluable collection shall have appeared, I do not doubt but that it will afford the most ample means for completing a task, which has cost much labour, however unsatisfactory the result, as here presented, may be. I tIust, ]however, that this labour has not been ill bestowed. Our opinions concerning the Anglo-Saxon Legislature are ex- tremely cloudy and indistinct, in consequence of the difficulty which we feel when we attempt to identify and localize the parties. They come like shadows and depart as shadows ; and though the Charter may put us in full possession of the roll of the Witenagemot, it does not convey any intelligible idea of the nature of the Senate. All we know is, that the King wore his crown in the midst of a crowd of Chieftains, as strange to us, as the sons of Odin ; but their uncouth names will not in the slightest degree enable us to estimate the influence which they may have possessed, or to appreciate the power of the Sovereign by whom they were convened. IBut if we can locate amy of the Members on the map, or dis- cover their ancestry, or point out the possessions of which they were seized, we can then realize the ** Meeting of Sages;" and the ramk and station of those who cam be identified, must be allowed to vouch for the rank and station of their compeers, who enjoyed the same rights, and sat in the same assembly. IBy collecting, therefore, the fasti ofthe different minor states, and by bringing together the names of their rulers, we are a* P R O O FS A N D I LI, U STR A T I O N S. ccxxxi enabled to elucidate the composition of the Supreme Councils of the Anglo-Saxons at different and distant periods, not from theory, but from strict evidence of the classes and orders of which they were composed. . The Annals of Strath Clyde and Cumbria and the Scots have corruptions and altera- compelled me to enter slightly upon the verge of Celtic history. tions of proper names, Amongst the many causes which entangle allinquiries concerning that ancient people, the great uncertainty of the orthography of their proper namesis not the least. This source of difficulty has |been extremely aggravated by the errors of transcribers ; and the monkish writers, in seeking to euphonize and ennoble the denominations of their heroes, have given them still greater distortion. The name of “ Eocha,” when standing alone and without any affix, is found in mine several forms,—Eocha, Eachach, Ethach, Eochuid, Eoghuid, Eokal, Ethasi, Achajus, and Achilaus. Eochoidh- Rimmemhail, or Eochol-habens-curvum-masùm, runs the changes through Heoghed-rina vel, Hecged-ronaval, Ech- dach, Echadaeh, Eoghed, and ultimately settles in the well sounding Eugenius ; and Gairig becomes Girg, Girig, and Greg, which last sorry monosyllable expands into Gregorius Magnus. It may be remarked that, though much less fluctuating than the Celtic, the Anglo-Saxon mames have been varied by the diffe- rent dialects of the language. Oedilberct,—Oidilwald,—Aelbfled, in the rude Northern speech of Bede, are softemed by Alfred into Æthelbyrht, Æthelwald, and Alfled. According to the idioms of different shires, the names of Beortmoth, Beornoth, or Bryhtmoth— Æthestam or Aethelstan—Athelwulf, Athulf, or Adulf, applied to the same individuals, and usually consideredas various readings or corruptions of the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, should be valued, as elucidations of the different idioms that have prevailed. And therefore there is great reason to doubt, whether any modern *' Imnes, 133. ccxxxii PR O O FS A N D ILLUSTRATIO N S. critic, however great his knowledge may be, can form a good Anglo-Saxon text, by inserting a word from one manuscript and altering the turn of a phrase upon the authority of another; for this process must inevitably produce a medley of the dialects of different periods and of different districts, which would have sounded as uncouth to the Anglo-Saxon ear, as the introduction, e. g. of the Scottish of Gawin Douglas into the verses of Dryden's Virgil. IBritish names written by a Sassenach, or English names by a JBriton, are reciprocally deformed by the pronunciation and by the orthography of the respective nations. The Britons, for example, generally add Or substitute g or gu to or for the letter ap. Thus, by the Cumbrian genealogist (appended to Nennius), Uffa, or Wuffa, the founder of the East Angliam dynasty, is con- verted into Gveccha. • In all cases we are constantly liable to be led astray by the Imistakes arising from the confusion of letters bearing the same form im ancient MSS., such as ^ and V, ; c and t, &c. Some of these corruptions have become so inveterately fixed in English history, that we hardly know how to remove them ; and we almost feel some scruples in expelling Anlaf the Dane, in order to make room for Aulaf or Olave. These circumstances must be carefully kept in mind ; as we may otherwise suppose that authorities contradict each other, though, in fact, they agree. Thus Alfred's genealogies represent Cuthwín as the son of Celm, not of Ceawlin. But IBede (ii. 5,) informs us, that Ceawlin was also called Caelim, and the error of the transcriber, who united the syllable * in * into the letter ** m,” has produced another name. A correction of a similar nature establishes the authenticity of the record, testifying the submission of the Welch Princes to the jurisdiction of the Anglo-Saxon Crown'*. * See Summary of the History of Edward the Elder, p. ccxliv. .' P R O O FS AN D IILLUSTRATI O N S. cexxxiii: Another example may be given, of the light derived from these corrections: Lambard and Wilkins have published a Compact, of which they translate the first paragraph in the following manner: “ Hoc est consilium quod Anglicæ nationis sapientes, et Walliæ Consiliarii inter Monticolas constituerunt.* As, in the course of this document, a River is noticed as the boundary between the : two nations, their local situation cannot be easily reconciled with the title of the instrument ; but by reading* Devnsetam” instead of “ Deunsetan,” all difficulties disappear, and we find that it is a treaty between the British and English Inhabitants of Devon, and which establishes the very important fact, that the Britons still existed as a people, unmingled with their conquerors. VoL, I. »;« 2 h ccxxxiv PRO OFS A.ND IILLUSTRATIONS. WESSEX. CERIDIC and CYNRIC. CERDIC and CYNRIC. CYNRIC. CEAWLIN, (T£abliir. CEA}VLIN, CEO L, or CEO LRIC. CEO LJVULF, 494 501 508 5l4. 519 WESSEX. OLD SAXONS AND JUTES. GIIa, King of sussex, was acknowledged as Bretwalda', from 477 tq 514; or there- abóuts, änd, therefore, during: this period, Wessex' must, be considered:as being under his supremacy. (Bede, II. 5.) CERDIC, and CYNRIC his son, ** Ealdormen," or Leaders of the “ Old Saxons,"y land at the place afterwards.called Cerdic's-ores. ". Porta, Bleda, and Maegla land at Llongùorth.: slay, Geraint, the son of Erhim,] Prince or Ruler of “ Dyvnaint." QÉI[a. CERDIC and GYNRIC attack the Britons' under Nazanleod, whom they slay; - together with 5000-of his. followers. * Stuffamd Wihtgar, mephews of CERDIC, land. CERDIC and CYNRIC defeat the Britons at Cerdic's ford, and assume the govern- ment of the districts which they had conquered. CERIDIC and CYNIFIC defeat the Britons at Cerdic's lea. Isle of Wight taken, and given to STUFFand JVIHTGAR. CERDIC ob.—CYNRIC succeeds to all his dominions—Wight continues as a sub- ordinate kingdom. Sarum taken from tbe Britons. Battle of Beranbyrig—Britons defeated by CYNIRIC, and CEAWLIN, his son. CEAWLIN, son of CYNRIC, succeeds on the death of his father, ETHELBERT of Kent claims the supremacy of Britain—invades Wessex, but is defeated by CEAWLIN, and CUTHJWULF, his brother, also called CUTHVIN or CUTH4. About this time (Itaíuíím attains the dignity of Bretwalda. IBedford, Lentury, Bensington, 4ylesbury, and Eynsham, taken from the Britons by CUTHWIN and CUTH}VUJLÍ. Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath, taken from the Britons by CEAWLIN and CUTH }VULIY. Many towns are taken from the Britons, but CUTHJVULF is slain. CEOL, or CEQLRIC. son of GUTHWULF, regeives a dependent kingdom; per- haps some of the territories which his father had conquered. (êtjtlbtrt of Kent becomes Bretwalda about this time, which authority he retains , till his death, 616. (Bede, II. 5.) CEOL, or CEOLRIC, aided by the Britons, and, as it is said, by the Scots, rel against his uncle CEAVLIN, defeats him at Wodnesburgh, and expels him from (£fficlbgrt the kingdom. (Malm.—Flor. Wigorn.—Fordum. III. 20.)”. gtjclbcrt. CEOLhKULE or CEOLF, son of CUTHIVULF, succceds on the death of his bro. £her; 950L££C-engagéd in continued warfaré with the English—the Britoi√ the Picts and Scots. - e* 3 In this summary, the name of the Bretwalda, or other paramount Sovereign, amd in the margin opposite to that, which contains the names of the vassal king is printed in Black Letter, s or princes ; the latter are in Italic Capitals. For, tliose who are independent, but who did not enioy anyi ip Rom Capitals are used. d p. } joy any Imperial supremacy, Roman PRooFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CCXXXV, Q£fjclbcrt.K 611 33ùtmim, 628 f 635 Q}g{malù.* 638 r 643 645 648 Ogtuio, 658 660 661 661 672 674 675 676 WESSEX. CEOLJVULF defeats the South Saxons. CEO LJyUL F. CYNEGILS and CWICHELM*, succeed—reign jointly. (W. Malms.) ' CYNEGILS and • s • • - CJ¥ICHELMI, Battle of Beamdune—Britons defeated by CYNEGILS and CIVICHELM*. Five Kings of the West Saxons killed in bättIe with (£■(uim, Bretwalda, (617, 633.) A. (Bede, ii. 9.) PENDA, King of Mercia, or South-humbria, invades Wessex. QBgtuali, King- of Northumbria (whose sister was married to CIVICHELM), be- comes Bretúalda*, (635, 642)—JVesseae subject to his empire. Bishopric of Dorchester (Oxon) founded by the assent of CJVICHELM. CIVICHELM dies—succeeded by CUTHRED, his sQn, who, like his father, has the cyNEGILsAI.A. title of King, probably of some appanage, or dependant principality. CENWEALH (son of CYNEGILS), succeeds on the death of his father—marries CENJyEALH. the sister of PENDA of Mercia, whom he afterwards repudiates. ®3{pio, Bret- i walda, 642, 670. Wessex subject to his Empire. (Bede.) PENDA. CENJVEALH expelled by IPENIDA. Cenwealh expelled. CENIVE4LH, by the help of CUTHRED, son of CJVICHELM, recovers his king- CENiyEALII Hog privilegium hujus donationis et libertatis scribi fécimus, Anno Incarnationis Domini nostri Jesu Christi gongentessimo septuagessimo, Indictione tertia decima, anno regni mei atque tertio decimo, in villa regali, quæ famoso vocabulga solicolis J7famere nominatur, non clam in angulo sed sub divo palam eyidentissime, scientibns totius regni mei primatibu$, quorum quædam nomina hic infra inseri ad testimonium in posterum maiidavimus. Ego Ædgarus animo benigno hoc largiendo Deo concessi, et regia sublimitate corroboravi, Ego Dunstan, Archiepiscopus, corroboravi. Ego Oscytel, Archiepiscopus, corroboravi. *- 1P R O OTFS ATNT) ILLUSTRATI O N S. ccli VWESSEX. Ego Æthelwold, Epsc. confirmavi. . Ego Æ?/$tan, Epsc. consignavi. Ego Osulf, Epsc. £ugat. confirmavi. ' Ego }}'u£fric, Epsc. adquievi. Ego JVinsige, Epsc. córroboravi. Ego Alfwold, .Epsc. consglidavi. 0swold, Epsc. adquievi. Ego Byrhtelm, Epsc. confirmavi. Ego Eadelm, Epsc. cQusignayi. . Ego Elric, Epsc. consolidavi. Ego JVisige, Epsc. corroboravi. LE!fthryth, Regina. 4{fric, Abbas. Aescuig, Abbas. Osgar, Abbas. Aelstan, Abbas. ZEthelgar, Abbas. Cyneweard, Abbas. Thyrcitel, Abbas. Baldred, Abbas. Ordbriht, Abbas. Siferth, Abbas. Martim, Abbas. - w AEthelstan, Dux. Ælfhere, Dux. Ælfeah, Dux. Ordgar, Dux. Aethelwine, Dux. Oslac, Dux. MALcoLvi, Dux. Brihtnoth, Dtmx. Eadulf, Dux. •- Bridferth, Miles. Ælfwine, Miles. Æthelweard, Miles. Oslac, Miles. Frena, Miles. Siferth, Miles. Leofric, Miles. Edric, Miles. JFZfnoth, Miles. Æ/sige, Miles. Ufcytel, TMiles. Hroold, Miles. Thurstan, Miles. Osgod, Miles. Gota, Miles. Frithegist, Miles. Thurferth, Miles. Thurgodi,-Miles. Osferth, Miles. Oscyté!, Milcs. Siferth, Miles. Thur- cytel, Miles. Forne, Miles. Cnut, Miles. Thurstan, Miles. T/iurcytei, Miles. - (Hist. Eliensis. p. 517.) 971 A great. Council or Witenagemot held atJ.ondon—attended by KENNETH, King 6f Albania, or of the Scots, and MACCUS, Kimg of Man, or of the Isles. The charter which proves this couucil has been suspected, om account of the insertion of the name of Oswald, as Archbishop of York, though, according to the usual computation, he did not hold the see till the following year. But the repeated instances of theseirregularities are quite sufficientto overthrow any such grounds of distrust. Ego EDGAR, divina disposicione Rex Anglorum, ceterarumque gentium in circuitu persisten- cium gubernator et rector . . . Acta est hæc privilegii pagina, et confirmata apud Londoniam, communi consilio omnium primatum meorum, anno ab Incarnacione Domini nostri Jesu Christi nongentesimo septimo primo, indictione quarta decima. Hujus domi constipulatores fuerunt, , quorum nomina inferius caraxari videntur. Ego lepoAr. Rex tocius Britannie, prefatam liber- tatem, cum sigillo sanctæ crucis, confirmavi. Ego Ei!/jiva, ejus dem regis mater, cum gaudio consensi. Ego Edward, clito patris mei domini, cumi triumpho sanctæ crucis impressi. Ego ΚINAoius Rex ALBAN 1ae adquievi._ Ego MAscusius, Archipirata, confortavi. Ego Dunstantts, Dorobernensis Ecclesiæ Archiepiscopus, cum tropheo sanctæ crucis et cum suffraganeis presulibus regis donum corroboravi. Ego Oswald, Eboracensis Ecclesiæ Primas consenciens subscripsi. Ego Ethelwold, Wintoniensis Ecclesiæ Minister et Glastoniæ monachus signum sanctæ crucis impressi. Ego Brithelm, Fontanensis Episcopus consenciens, cgrrobo- ravi. Ego Elstan, Episcopus confirmavi. Ego Oswold, Episcopus concessi. Eg9 Elfwold, Episcopus, concessi. ' Egó JVinsige, Episcopus, cum signo sanctæ crucis, conclusi. Ego Segeger, Abbas, confirmavi, vexillùm sanctæ crucis impressi. Ego Ordgar, Abbas, corroboravi. - Ego Ethelgar, Abbas, consensi. Ego Kineworde, Abbas, consensi. Ego Tideman, Abbas, consolidavi. Ego Elpheh, Abbas, subscripsi. Ego Adulf, Herefordensis Ecclesiæ catascopus, corroboravi. - Ego Elphere, Dux, dominæ meæ Sanctæ Mariæ, Glastoniensis Ecclesiæ libertatem omni άevocigne cum sigillo sanctæ crucis confirmavi. Ego Oslac, Dux, concessi. Ego Ethelwine, Pux, haec dgnum .triumphale agie crucis proprie manus dépictióne impressi. Έgo Oswold, Μinister, confirmavi. Ego EJfward, Minister, corroboravi. Ègo JEthelsie, Ministér, consensi. Ego Elfsie, Minister, consensi, Hanc privilegii paginam Rex EDGARus, duodecimo ânno regni sui, sacro scripto apud Londoniam communi consilio optimatum suorum confirmavit. (Mon. vol. i. p. 27.) 971 Rex Eadgarus baromes Northumbrenses in consilium convocans apud Eboracum, capi- tula multa ad regni negotia spectantia bene ordinavit. Inter quæ etiam Osulfi comitatum, quem avunculus ejus Edredus toti Northumbriæ sub nomine comitis praefecerat, in duos divisit comi- tatus. Ipso Osulfo jam mortuo, noluit sub nomine hæreditatis Rex eam partem terræ alicui provenire soli, ne ad antiquam libertatem aspirantes * * Northumbria, hoc est, ab Humbria üsque ad Theisam, Oslach, et comitis gladio éum cinxit. ' A Theisa vero usque ad Mirefortà sub nomine etiam comitatûs, partem videlicet maritimam Deirar, dedit. JEadulf cognomento ' .. Eu'elchild, Sicque duo regna ad duos comitatus devenerunt, permanseruntque omni tempore regum 4nglorum sub ditione;et donatione eorundem. Louthión vero semper patuit excursibus Scotorum et Pictorum, et idcirco parum curæ fuit regibus hæc pars terrae. "Porro Rex Scotorum I{ìneth, audiens ex fama et commendatione duorum comitum Qslach et Eadulf, et Episcopi Dunelmi, Elfsi, Eadgari regis magnificentiam, desiderio videudi petivit conductum vénienüi Londoniam, ut cum eodem colloqueretur, et impetravit : conduxeruntque eum ex præcepto regis duo comites prædicti et episcopus, Venit Londonias Kineth Rex Scotorum, ubi a rége Eâdgaro honorifice susceptus est, et honori habitus; cumque amice familiariter et jocunde colloquerentur ; suggessit Rex Kineth regi Eadgaro Louthion ad suum jus-debere pertinere, et hæreditarie a regibus Scotorum possideri. Rex molens aliquid abrupte facere, ne post factum pœniteret, regis Kineth causam curiæ suæ intimavit. Proceres vero qui a progenitoribus grant £ruditi, nisi sub nomine homagii regi Anglorum a rege Scotorum inpensi ** et præcipue quia ad tuicndum terram illam difficilis est accessus, et parum proficua ejus dominatio,** assensit autem assertione huic Kineth, et.sub nomine homagii eam petiit et iccepit, fecitque regi Eadgaro ** Corrupted or mutilated passages, 2 It "2 - - K `cclii 3J PR O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. WESSEX. .. QEDgar. homagium sub cautione multa promittens, quod populo partis illius, antiquas consuetudines non negaret, et sub nomine et lingüa Anglicana permanerent. Quod usque hodie firmum manet. Sicque determinata est vetus quereli de Louthiom, et adhuc nova sæpe intentatur. Subjectus £st ergo Eadgaro Rex prædictus, prædicta causa, sed et Rex Cumbrorum Malcolm, et Oriccus [Maccus] plurimarum Rex insulafum,et Qrcadum diversi reges. Qui omnes Eadgaro homagii nomine tenebantur. (Wallingford, p. 545.) ' ' 973—May 11. €ύςar consecrated at Bath, or “Ake-man-ceastre," in the thirteenth year of his reign. 074 Celebrates his triumph on the Dee—receives the homage qf the Kings of the Scots, the Cumbrians, thé Norfhmen, the Gallovegians, and the Britons. This act was probably only a renewal of their homage, for the following charter, which testifies their attendancè at his court, must have been executed before 971, in which year Oscytel, Archbishop of York, died. - In nomine sanctæ et individuæ Trinitatis. Ego Edgarus Rex et Basileus totius Angliæ divino instructus admonitu, et sanctæ Dorobernensis Ecclesiæ antistitis Dunstani precibus sæpius exhortatus, reddo et concedo sanctæ Dorobernensi ecclesiæ et momachis ibi Deo serventibus, in pura elemosina, portum et villam de Sandwich, eisdem monachis olim ablatam, cum omnibus libertatibus et consuetudinibus regiis ad Sandwich pertinentibus quas ego aliquando habui, ex utraque parte aquæ, cujuscunque terra hinc vel inde fuerit. Confirmo eis omnes mansiones quas habent in villa de Sandwich quæ illis collatæ sunt in pura elemosina a fidelibus. Unde volo ut nullus ibidem habeat aîiquid jus nisi tantum moiiachi nostri de Dorobernia. , Quicunque hanc meam largifluam munificentiam interrumpere aut violare præsumpserit, indig- nationem dominæ nostræ Mariæ et eorum omnium qui in Dorobernensi ecclesia requiescunt sentiant, nisi ante mortem emendati fuerint. Ego EDGARUs, Rex totius Angliæ, huic codicillo meo signum sanctæ crucis propria manu apposui. Ego KINATH, Rex ScotoRUM, subscripsi. Ego MACCUS, Rex insularum, vidi. Ego Dunstan, Dorobernensis Archiepiscopus, subscripsi. Ego Ethelwoldus, JVintonensis Antistes, consensi. Ego MALCOLM, Rex Cumbrorum, subscripsi. Ego DUFNAL, vidi. Ego Oskitellus Etor'Archiepiscopus, subscripsi. Ego Osmundus, JVigorniae Episcopus, consensi. Ego Keneuuardus, Abbas, subscripsi. * -• Ego JACOBUS, Subregulus, signum posui. Ego JUKILL, Subregulus, subscripsi. Ego SIFERTH, Subregulus, subscripsi, signum crucis apposui in festo Pentecostes in civitáte Aechemani. (Bib. Cott. Aug. A.II.) Multarum linguarum gentes, unius fœdere legis conjunxit. (Eth. Rievallensis, p.301.) 973 Rex Anglorum pacificus Eadgarus, ætatis suæ anno 30, Indict. prima, quinto Idus Maii, die Pentecostes, a beatis præsulibus Dunstano et Oswaldo, et a cæteris totius Angliae antistibus, in civitate Acamanni benedicitur, et cum maximo honore et gloria consecratur, et in Regem ungitur. Interjecto deinde tempore, ille cum ingenti classe septentrionali Britannia circumnavigata, ad Legionum civitatem appulit. Cui subreguli ejus octo, Kynathus scilicet Rex Scotorum, Malcolmus Rex Cumbrorum, Maccus plurimarum Rex insularum, et alii quinque, Duffnallus, Siferthus, Huwallus, Jacobus, Iuchillus (yelU/£iitus), ut mandaverat occurrerunt, et quòd sibi fidelés, et terra et mari cooperatores esse vellent, juravérunt, Cum quibus, die quadam, scapham ascendit, illisque ad remos locatis, ipse clavum gubernaculi arripiens, eam per cursum I. fluminis Deae peritâ gubernavit, omnique türba Ducum et procerum simili gavigio cgmitante, a palatio ad moiiasteriüm Sancti Johannis Baptistæ nayigavit. Ubi facta oratione, eadem pompa âd palatium remeavit. Quod dum intraret, optimatibus fertur dixisse, tunc demum quemqüe suorum successorum se gloriari posse regem Anglorum fore, cum tot regibus sibi subsequentibus potiretur pompa talium honorum. (Flor. Wigorn.—Mailros,—and see also Ethelweard, as quoted p. ccxii.) 973 - Soom afterwards the King led all his ship force to Chester, and six kings cãme to meet him, and covenanted that they would be his* efehwyrhtan" by sea and by land. (Sax.Chron.) Anno gratiæ 973, Rex Anglorum Eadgarus pacificus, annô ætatis suæ trigesimo die. Pente- costes, præsentibus præsulibüs Dunstanó et ósualdo, cæterisque totius 4ngliae pontificibus, ac magiiatibus universis, apud Akemanecestre, quæ latine, Bathonia dicitur, coronati, portavit, et ibidem cum gloria et honore regaliter consecratur, datis singulis donariis consuetis, quæ in coronationibus dari magnatibus consuescunt. b * 974 Rex pacificus Eadgarus, ad urbem Legionum veniens, ab octo subregulis suis, Kinedo scilicet rege Scotorum, Malcolmo Cumbrorum, Macone rege Monae et plurimarum insularum, IDufnel rege Demetiæ, Sifertho et Howe! regibus Walliæ, Jacobo rege Galwalliae, et Iu£iti, JVestimariæ, juramentum fidelitatis accepit. Et in crastino cum illis, navem ascendens, sub- regulis ad remos locatis, ipse gubernaculum arripuit, naviculamque per cursum fluminis perite diiigens, multis admirantibus, simili navigio sequentibus magnatibus universis, à palatio üsque ad. monasterium Sancti Johannis Baptistæ navigavit, ubi divinis expletis ministeriis, eadem P R O O FS A N D IL L U S T R A T I O N S. ccliii WESSEX, pompa ad palatium remeavit, quod dum intraret, optimatibus dixisse fertur, tunc demum quem- φύgat. Ἀue suorum successorum, se posse gloriari, regem fore Anglorum, cum tot regibus sibi obse- quentibus, talium pompa potiretur honorum. (Flores Hist.) Regem Scottorum, Kinadium, Cumbrorum Mfalcolmum, Archipiratam Maccusium, omnesque reges }f/al/ensium, quorum nomina fuerunt, Dufnal, Sifreth, Huival, Jacob, Judeihil, ad curiam coactos, uno et perpetuo sacramento sibi obligavit. Adeo ut apud civitatem Legionem sibi occurrentes in pómpam triumphi, per fluvium] Dee illos deduceret. Una enim navi impositos ipse ad proram sedens remigáre cogebat per hoc ostentans regalem magnificentiam, qui sub- ' jéctam haberet tot regum pótentiam. Denique fertur dixisse tunc demum posse successores suos gloriari se reges Anglorum esse, cum tanta prerogativa honorum fruerentur. (Malm. de Gestis. lib. II. cap. viii) Edgarus Rex tertio decimo anno regni sui, sacratus est in die Pentecostes, apud Bathun; inde vero post Pentecostem duxit exercitum suum ad Legecestre ubi venerunt contra eum sex reges, qui òmnes ditione ejus subjecti sunt : et omnes illi domino, debitum dederunt fidem se terra et mari servituros ei ad ejus imperium. Edgarus pacificus, Rex magnificus, Salomon secundus, cujus tempore nunquam exercitus advenarum venit in Angliam, cujus dominio reges et principes Angliæ sunt subjecti, cujus potentiæ Scotti etiam colla dedere, cum regnasset sedecim annis et duobus mensis feliciter vivens feliciter obiit. UHem. Hunt.) Tanta enim in verbis, in vultu, ifi moribus, interioris suavitatis indicem præferebat, ut Deo co-operante, tota ei insula, sine sanguine mánus daret, et ad subdendum se ei Scotia, Cumbria, JVallia, libens accurrerit. (Ethelredus Rievallensis de Genealogia Regum, p. 359.) 975 Eodem quoque tempore Ælfsius Episcopus, et Comes Eadulfus, Kineduin regem Scotorum, ad regem Eadgarum conduxerunt. Quém cum perduxissent ad regem, multa donaria a regia largitate suscepit, interque contulit ei centum uncias auri purissimi, cum multis sericis ornamentis, et annulis, cum lápidibus preciosis. Dedit præterea eidem regi, terram totam, quæ Laudiam patria lingua nuncüpatur, hac conditione, ut annis singulis in festivitatibus præcipuis, quando Rex et ejus successores diadema portarent, venirent ad curiam, et cum cæteris regni principibus festum cum lætitia celebrarent. Dedit insuper ei Rex mansiones in itinere plurimas, ut ipse et ejus successores ad festum venientes, ac denuo revertentes, hos- pitari valuissent, quæ, usque in tempora regis Henrici secundi in potestate regum Scotiae remanserunt. (Flores Hist.) • Successit Cuieno, Kenedus secundus, Malcolmi filius, frater Regis Duffi, vir fortis et prudens . . . . . . . eo quoque statim coronato, Malcolmum filium Duffi successigne proximum si vixisset, in regulum Cumbriae libenter Eadgarus recepit, sub sacramento fidelitatis consueto. (Scotichron. iv.30) Ipsius Kenedi,circa vicesimum annum,postquam successionis statuta firmâsset, defuncto Mal- cohho filio Duffi Cambriæ Regulo, filium'suum Malcolmum ejusdem dominii regulum efficere volens, Anglorum Ethelredo Regi misit, a quo sub prætactis, ut supra, fidelitatis et hominii com- ditionibus, sponte susceptus est. (Scotichron. iv. 36.) Ante parum et his diébus Anglici, Danis tributa pr6 pace dederunt, primo decem millia deinde sexdecim, mox viginti quatuor, et ultimo triginta miillia librarum. Unde Rex Ethelredus I{egulo Cumbriae supradicto Malcolmo scribens, per nuncium mandavit, quod suos Cumbrenses tributa solvere cogeret, sicut ceteri faciunt comprovinciales. Quod ille protinus contradicens rescripsit, suos aliud nullatenus debere vectigal, præterquam ad edictum regium, quandocum- que sibi placuerit; cum ceteris semper fore paratos ad bellandum: nam pulchrius esse dicebat ác multo` præstantius, viriliter, gladio quam auro, defendere libertatem. Hac causa quidem, et sicut IRex in ira motus asseruit, et eo quod regulus, contra sacramentum sibi debitum, Danis favebat, maximam ex Cumbria prædam arripüit. Postea tamen concordes per omnia statim effecti, pace firma de cetero convenerunt. (Scotichrom. iv. 38.) Danis atque Northumbris, qui tunc velut una gens coierant, Cumbriam vastantibus adventus, eorum aliquando per nepotem Duncanum Rex prævisus occurrens, magnam exercitus partem misere caede prostravit. I Dederat ctiim ei Cumbriam antea, Regis Ethelredi consensu nondum 9btent9, quia transitus ad regem per regnum securus non erat, tum ob metum Danorum . . . . tum 9b, indigenarum proditióne.” (Scoiichron. iv. 44. «* It is my pleasure,'' Edgar declares, (Wilkins, p. 80), ** that the civil law (woruld gerihta) shall contitue established amongst the Dahes, undérsuch good statutes as they may best`choosë. Amongst the English, let that stand for law which t and my Witan have added to the judgments of our aucestors, for the benefit of all the people. Yet, ncvertheless, let this council be equally adopted by all the people, whether English, Danes, or Britons, in every part of my Empire.”— Sy peah hpae pene pær naeb gemæne eallum Leoorcype, æz}ejm ge Enzlum, ze Denum, ge Bjyttum in aelcum enoe muner anpæloer. The regulations then follow, emacting that every one should be put under * borgh,'' and f9r the appointment of jurats, by whose testimony sales of property were to be legalized. . He c9ncludes, “ and letthis also be common to ali of us who'dwell ih this island . . . . Letit be 9bserved by Earl Oslac, and all the Host that dwelleth in his government. Many c?pie§.*{% tο be made of £his original statute, and they are to be sent to Ealdorman E■/here, and to Ealdor- mam Egelwine, or Aylwin. Aìd they áre to disperse or promulgate themi in such manner that thc counsel be knowii to ali, rich and poor.'* ccliv IP R O O FS ANID ILLÜSTRATIONS. WESSEX. ®ùgat, The Martyr ®otwarù. Q£fjcIrrì. SWEYNE. (Ethelred deposed.) Q£fjcIrcù restored. .Ano par eaca ry ur eallum zemaene pe on pyrrum Izlanbum punia} . . . . Thonne Fyn}i3e Oslac Eoni an? eal] [Hene }è on }ij £aloonöome puhia} . . . . ano pnice man mage33 3eJJige be }irrum ; ano rén$e ægíem ge “co ZE fere Ealbôfimam ze to Aegeluine Ealoonman ; ano hi zehjyoen pact }ær Raco, cu} ry, æ3}eji 3e cajnmum 3e eabgum. It was in this manner that statutes were afterwards promulgated by Writ of Proclamation addressed to the Sheriffor Vicecomes, as here to the Earl or Alderman! such instances of the continuance of legal usages subsisting through the period of the conquest, may lead us to suspect that many portions of the constitution and jurisprudence of the Ànglö-Nofman age are really much moré ancient tham they appear to be,—or than we can venture to affirm. 975 €jgar dies in the mineteenth year of his reign in Mercia and Northumbria, and in the second year of his reign öwer all England. 975 €ùípatí, eldest son of €ύgat, and Ethelred, his second som, severally chosen to succeed him by the nobles, amongst whom great dissensions arise, but the former having been designated by Ldgar as his successor, he is accepted as King in a great council, and consecrated accordingly, being about thirteen years old. At Rex Edgarus immatura morte præreptus, Edwardum filium suum et regni et morum hære- dem reliquit. ' In cujus electione dum quidem principes Palatini acquiescere nollcnt, Dunstanus correptoTcrucis vexillo, Educardum illis ostendit, elegit, sacravit, &c. (Vita Dunstani Act. Osberno, C. viii. 372.) IDe rege eligendo magna inter primores regni oborta est dissensio. Quidam namque regis filium Edwardum, quidam vero fratrem illius elegerunt Æthelredum, quam ob causam, Archie- præsules Dunstanus et Oswaldus cum Chorepiscopis, Abbatibus, Ducibusque quam, plurimis,in unum convenerunt et Eadwardum, ut pater ejus præceperat, elegerunt, electum consecraverunt, et in regem unxerunt. (Flor. Wigorm.) Illum Dunstanus, et cæteri Episcopi consentanei, regali culmine sublimarunt, contra volun- tatem quorundam, ut aiunt, optimatum et novercæ. (Malm. de Gestis, II. 9.) 978—March 18. €ùíuatí killed at Corfe by the commands of Elfrida. ©tjtlrtû Atheling, his brother, succeeds to the kingdom—consecrated at Kingston. Indictione sexta, die Dominica xviii Kal. Maii, post paschalem festivitatem a sanctis Archi- præsulis Dunstano et Oswaldo, ct decem Episcopis in IKingestune ad regni fastigium est con- secratus. (Sim. Dun.) 1007 Edric Streone appointed “ Prefect" of Mercia by ©tjtirtì. 1013 Northumbria, which up to this time appears t9 have continued subject to Ethelred, sübmits to SWEYNE, together with Lindesey and the five Burghs, and all the Host morth of Watling-street, and receive him" as ** full king." Sweyne advances to the West—Ethelmar, the Aldermam of Devom, andall the Western Thanes, submit to him, and the Burhwara of London also. Ethelred takes refuge in Normandy with the Ethelings, Edward and Alfred. 1014—Feb. 2. Sweyne dies. Canute, his som, chosem to succeed him, by the IJane$, but the Witan of “ Angel-Cynn," bóth clergy andlaity, took counsel fo recall €tjtlrtú— [}a zenæooon ja uJicam ealle, zehaooooe ano zeloepebe Anzel-Cynner]-and accept him again as King, upom condition thathe would govern them more legally Qrjustiy than he did before. TEthelred sent his son Edward with his plenipotentiaries, and greeted all his people, and promised to be a good Lord to them, and amend all they wished to have amended ; and that all things should be forgiven whigh had been dome Or said against him, provided they woüld all turn to him without fraud. . And there was full friendship established in'word and deed and pledge on either side.— The Danish Kings were outlawed in this Assembly, though part of Mercia and Northumbria continued subject to Canute. Dani, Cnutonem filium Swani in regem eligunt; Angli contràgnaturalem dominum chariorem sibi pronunciantes, si regalius se quaiî consuevcrat ageret, c Normannfa IEthelredum regem accersunt. (Malm. de Gestis, II. 10.) Quo mortuo, filium ejus Canutum $ibi regem constituit, classica manus Danorum. At majores natu totius Angliæ, ad regem Anglorum Aethelredum pari consensu nuncios festinanter misérunt, dicentes se nullum plus amare vel amaturos esse, quam suum naturalem dominum, si ipse vei rectius gubernare, vel mitius eos tractare vellet, quam prius tractarat. Quibus auditis, Eadwar- dum filium suum cum legatis suis, ad eos dirigens, majores minoresque gentis suæ, amica- biliter salutavit, promittens se illis mitem devotumque dominum futurum, in omnibus eorum PRO O FS AND ILLUSTRATIO N S. cclv WESSEX, voluntati consensurum, consiliis acquieturum, et quicquid sibi vel suis ab illis probose et dede- (3fjcftcm, corose dictum vel contrarie factum fuerat, placido animo condonaturum, si omnes unanimiter et sine perfidia illum recipere vellent in regnum. Ad hæc cuncti benigni responderunt. Dein amicitia plenaria ex utraque parte et verbis et pacto confirmatur. Ad hæc principes se non amplius Danicum regem ádmissuros in Angliam, unanimiter spoponderunt. (Flor. Wigorn.) The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle seems to have preserved the substance, perhaps the words, of the ** gewrit'' which Ethelred addressed to his people. pa renoe re Cyng h1r runu Eaopapo, mib hir aenenonacum hiben ano het 3netam eafneThur le6orcipe anó ópea} }æt: he heom holo hlapono beon poloe. Ano. aelc pæna pinga bécán pe hi eâllé arcuneoon, ano aelc pæna pinga pon3tpen. beon fcéoloë }è hum geoön ob}e zecpæben pæne, p1} pam 5e hi ealle annaeolice buton jrpicoome to him zecynoon. : - 1015 Canute ravagos Wessex, of which the greater part appears to have been submitted to him. 1016 War throughout the kingdom betweem Edmund and Canute. Northumbria submits to the latter. (Etjtirtù dies. The Burgesses of London and partof the Witam choose (£intulù as EDMUND. their King. CANUTE elected by the rest of the Kingdom. Wessex submits to IEdmund—Battle of Assingdown — EDMUND becomes King of Wessex— CANUTE of Mercia, and the North3°. Edmundus inde pene solus pedem referens, Glocestriam venit, ut ibi recollectis viribus, hostes recenti victoria otiosos sicut putabat, aggrederetur. Nec Cnutoni audacia defuit, quin fugientem insequeretur. Ita cum infestis signis constitissent, Edmundus singularem pugnam petiit, ne duo homunculi propter ambitionem regnandi tot subjectorum sanguine culparentur, cum possent sine dispendio fidelium suorum fortunam experiri. Magnam utrilibet laudem futu- ram, qui suo potissimum periculo tantum regnum nancisceretur. Haec cum Cnutoni renuncia- rentur, abnuit prorsus, pronuncian8, animo se quidem excellere, sed contra tam ingentis molis hominem corpusculo diffidere ; verum, quia ambo non indebitè regnum efilagitent, quod patres amborum tenuerint, convenire prudentiæ, ut depositis animositatibus Angliam partiantur. Sus- ceptum est hoc dictum ab utroque exercitu, et magno assensu firmatum, qugd et equitati qua- drâret, et mortalium pace tot miseriis defatigatorum placide consuleret. Ita Edmundus unanimi clamore omnium superatus, concordie indulsit, fœdusque cum Cnutone percussit, sibi West- saarionam, illi concedens Merciam. (Malm, de Gestis, II. 10.) Florence, who places the scene of the pacification om the site of Olney, thus describes the partition :—JVest Saaroniam, East. Angliam, East Saxoniam, cum Lundonia civitate et totam terram ab australem partem Tfiamesis fluminis obtinuit Edmundus, Canuto aquilonares partes -Angliæ obtinente ; corona tamen Regi Edmundo remansit. So that Canute was to be consi- dered as subject to Edmund's supremacy. 1016T —Nov. 30. ©üintuiù dies. Canute, by the assent of the Witam, takes the whole of Gramtttfc. 1017 the kingdom, which he divides int9 fourgovernments, viz. JVesseae, which he retains to him§elf, and East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria, respectively given to THURKYLL, EDRIC and ERIC. (See Northumbria.) 1033 The Scots rebel. Canutc marches into Scotland, and MALCOLM, MAELBÆTHA, and JEHMARC, become his vassals. 1031 This year King Cnute travelled to Rome--and as soon as he came home he proceeded to Scotland, and Malcolm, King of the Scots, submitted to him, and became his man*—[and a* Scotta Cyng him to beah Maelcolm and nearth his mann] and two other Kings, Malbæthe- and Jehmarc, also. (Sax. Chron.) 1033 Cnut Roma rediens perrexit in Scotiam et Malcolm Rex Scotiae subditus est ei, et duo alii reges, Melbeatäe et Jefimarc. (Hen. Hunt.) 1033 Cnut Rex potentissimus, a Roma rediens, contra Scotos rebellantes, expeditionem duxit, et Malcolmum regem cum duobus aliis regibus, levi negotio superavit. (Florés Hist.) Canutus erat autem Rex totius Daciae, totius Angliae, totius Norwagiae, simul et Scotiae. IDiceto. 1033 Non enim hactenus Anglorum regi Cnutoni, qui regnum invaserat, pro %j? Duncanus, quamquam iterum et iterum ab eo summonitus, hominium fecerat; quia non inde sibi de jure, sed regibus Angligenis fidem deberi, rescripsit. Qua propter, a Romana peregri- * Simon of Durham's narrative of Canute's accession contains many important particulars, which h° details more clearly than the other chroniclers. One manuscript, employed by Dr. Ingram, adds, ** ac he that lytle hwile heold.'* cclvi IPR O OIFS ANID ILLUSTRATIONS. WESSEX. QTaftufe. HAROLD HAREFOOT. 1035 HARDACNUTE. natione rediens, cqnfestim magna cum armatorum potentia Cumbriam, suo subdendam dominio, pedetentim advenit. Cui Rex 31alcolmus, forti præsidio suffultus, obviam perrexit, atque pe? 9mnia paratus ad pugnam : sed Deo volente, præsulum ac ceterorum interçentu probofum, ad hanc quæ sequitur adducti sententiam £onyeniunt, ut videlicet regis nepos Duncanus Cumbriae dominio libere, sicut predecessorum aliquis liberius tenuit de ceté, , gaudeat in futurum : dum tamen ipse, futurorumque regum heredes, qui pro tempore fuerint reji chutoi; ceterisque suis successoribus Anglorum regibus, fidem consuetam faciant. Et sic ab ínvicem in pace discedunt per omnia concordati. (Scotichron. iv. 46.) * - 1033 Genuit autem Duncanus avi sui diebus, ex consanguinea Siwardi Comitis, duos filios Malcolmum scilicet Canmore, latine vero, Grossum Caput, et Donaldum Bane._ Cui Malcolmo Cumbriæ regionem, pater, statim ut coronatus est, donavit. (Scotichron. iv. 49) CANUTE dies, having appointed Harold Harefoot, his son by Alfwen, the daughter of Elfhelm, Ealdormiam of Hampshire, to succeed him in Ęt Council or Meeting of all the Witam held at Oxford. Leofric, Ear Thanes north of Thames, and the Lithsmen of I.omdom, choose HAROLD, but God- win and the Nobles of Wessex oppose this choice, and choose HARDACNUTE, whom Cnute had appointed King of Denmark and of the Danes in England. A. compromise is effected, HARDACNUTE is appointed King of Wessex. of Mercia, and the Anno Dominicæ Incarnationis millesimo tricesimo sexto Haroldus, quem fama filium Cnutonis ex filia EJ/elmi Comitis loquebatur, regnavit annis quatuor et totidem mensibus. Elegerunt eum Dani et Londoniæ cives, qui jam pene in barbarorum mores propter frequentem convictum transierant. Angli diu obstiterunt, magis unum ex filiis IEthelredi, qui in Normanniae, vel Hardecnutum filium Cnutonis ex Emma, qui tunc in Danamarchia erat, regem habere volentes, Maximus tunc propugnator justitiæ fuit Godwinus Comes, qui etiam pupillorum tutorem se pro- fessus, Reginam Emmam, et regias gazas custodiens, resistentes umbóne nominis sui aliquamidiu dispulit, sed tandem vi et numero impar, cessit violentiæ. Haro/dus, sceptro confirmato, nover- cam exiliavit. (Malm. de Gestis, II. 12.) HAROLD HAREFOOT. 1037 HAROLD, King of Mercia and Northumbria, chosem to be King over all England. HARDACNUTE restored. 1040 HAROLD dies. HARDACNUTE invited by the ** Proceres," and acknowledged as King of all England by Dames and English. &bibatù the Confessor. 1042 HARDACNUTE dies at Lambeth. . ®rituarij the Confessor chosen by the Clergy and Proceres, but chiefly by the influence of Earl GODJVIN, and of Livingüí, Bishop of Worcester. According to the Saxon Chronicle, hefore Hardacnute was buried, ** eall folk geceas Edward t9 Cynge." . The interpretation of this expression is found in Malmesbury, and the other autho- rities. Archbishop Eadsi consecrated him.—[Ano co eallum cham folce hune pel laenoe ano to hir agene meooe ano ealer polcer pel manube.] The influence exercised by Godwin is ascértained from other authorities. IIardecnuto mortuo, Eadwardus tam tristi nuncio accepto, incertumque fluctuans, quid ageret, et quo se verteret, nesciebat. Multa volventi potior sententia visa, ut Godwini consilio fortunas suas trutinaret. Conventus ille per legatarios, ut pace præfata colloquerentur, diu hesitabundus et cogitans, tandem non abnuit, venientem ad se cgnantemque ad genua procum- bere allevat, Hardecnuti mortem exponentem orantemque in Normanniam reditus, auxilium ingentibus promissis onerat. Melius esse, ut vivat gloriosus in imperio, quam ignominiosus moriatur in cxilio. Illum Ethelredi filium, Eadgari nepotem, jure ei competere regnum ævo maturo, laboribus defæcato, scienti administrare principatum per ætatem severè misérias pro- vincialium pro pristina egestate temperare; id quo minus fiat, nihil obstare, si sibi credenàum putet; suam auctoritatem plurimum in Anglia ponderari : quo se pronior inclinaverit, eo for. tunam vergere ; si auxilietur, neminem ausurum obstrepere, et e converso. Paciscatur ergo sibi amicitiam solidam, filiis honores integros, filiæ matrimonium ; brevi futurum ut se regem videat, qui nunc vitæ naufragus, exul spei alterius opem implorat. Nihil erat, quod Edwardus pro mecessitate temporis non polliceretur ; ita, utrinque fide data, quicquid petebatur sacramento firmavit. Nec mora, Gilingehgm congregato consilio, rationibus suis explicitis regem effecit, hominio palam omnibus dato. Homo affectati leporis, et ingenue gentilitia lingua eloquens, mirus dicere, mirus populo persuadere quæ placerent.. Quidam auctqritatem ejus sequuti, quidam muneribus flexi, quidam etiam debitum Eduardi amplexi, pauci qui præter æquum et bonum restitere, et tunc censoriè notati et postmodum ab Angliâ expulsi. (Malm. de Gestis, II. 13.) 1042 Rex Anglorum Hardecdnutus, dum in convivio in quo Osgodus C/apa, magnæ vir potentiæ, filiam suam Githam, Danico et præpotenti viro Tovio, Prudam cognomento, in loco qui dicitur Lamhithe, magna cum lætitia tradebat nuptui, lætus, sospe§, et hil$i$ âî sponsa prædicta, et quibusdam viris, bibens staret, repente inter bibenüum miserabili ζ ad terram corruit, et sic mutus permanens, sexto idus Junii, feria tertia, expiravit, et JVintoniam P R O O FS AND ILLUSTRATIO NS. cclvii WESSEX. delatus, juxta patrem suum regem Canutum, est tumulatus. Ciijus frater Eadwardus, anni- Q£ùtmarù the Confessor. tentibus maxime Comite Godwino, et JVigornensi præsule Livingo, Lundoniae levatur in regem. Cujus pater Aethelredus, cujus pater Eadgarus, cujus pater Eadmundus, cujus pater Eadwar- dus Senior, cujus pater Alfredus. (Flor.Wigorn.) The narrative in Flores Histor. is nearer to the Chronicle than Florence of Worcester:— Cujus frater Edwardus annuente clero et populo, Londinis in regem eligitur, et ab Archiepis- copis Cantuariensi Eadsio et Ebor. E!frico, cum sibi subjectis episcopis, in prima die Paschæ, in regem apud JVintoniam consecratur. The Ramsay Chronicle (cap. 102) seems to contain an inäependent account, perhaps written by a contemporary. The omission of the name of the Archbishop of York was probâbly occasioned by his being considered merely as am assistant, Igitur post Hardecnutum, prædictus frater ipsius ex matre Aeduardus a proceribus 4ngliae in rëgem electus, prima die sólemnis Paschæ, áb Edsio Doroberniæ Archiepiscopo apud }Win- toniãîn sacratus ést et coronatus. Erat autem vir sinplex et rectus, in Dei rebus streiuus ; vir, qui propter mansuetudinem innatam, vix etiam injuriis impetitus nosset irasci, unde quia sine severitate causali nullum congrue regi potest imperium, pluribus propter indulgentiam ejus et simplicitatem parum idoneum eum ad tractanda regni negotia arbitrantibus, Deus tamen opera ejus dirigens, et imperium timeri et majestatem ejus ab omnibus fecit adorari. (Hist. Rams. ut supra.) 1043 ($u{parù consecrated at Winchester on Easter Day. 1043 Quamvis Edwardus vel deses, vel simplex putaretur, habebat comites, qui eum ex humili in altum conantem erigerent: Siwardum Northanimbrensium, qui ejus jussu cum Scottorum rege Makbetha congressus, vita regnoque spoliavit; ibidemque Malcolmum filium regis Cumbrorum regem instituit. Leofricum Herefordensium, qui eum contra simultates Godwini favore magnifico tutabatur, quòd ille fidente conscientia meritorum minus regem revereretur. Leofricus cum conjuge sua Godifa in Dei rebus munificens, monasteria multa con- stituit; Coventria, Sanctæ Mariæ, Stow, Wenelok, Leonense, et nonnulla alia; cæteris orna- menta et predia, Coventriæ corpus suum cum maximo apparatu auri et argenti delegavit. Haroldum }Westsaxonum filium Godwini, qui duos fratres reges J}allensium, Ris et Griffinum, sollertia sua in mortem egerit; omnemque illam barbariem ád statum provificiæ, sub régis fidé redegerit. (Malm. de Gest. II. 13.) 1054 MALCOLM appointed King of Scots by (£utparù'g aid and authority. 1054 Strenuus Dux Northanhinbrorum Siwardus, jussu regis, cum equestri exercitu et classe valida, Scotiam adiit, et cum rege Scotorum Macbeotha prælium commisit, ac multis mil- libus Scotorum et Normannis omnibus, quorum supra mentionem fecimus, occisis, illum fugavit, et Malcolmum regis Cumbrorum filium, ut Rexjusserat, regem constituit. In eo tamen prælio suus filius et multi Anglorum et Danorum ceciderunt. (Flor. Wigorn.) 1054 Dux Northanimbrorum Siwardus, jussu regis Edwardi, Scotiam cum multo exercitu intrans, prælium cum rege Scottorum, Macbeth, committens, illum fugavit, et Malcolmum, ut Rex jusserat, Regem constituit. (Mailros.) 1054 Eodem anno, ex præcepto regis Edwardi, strenuus Dux Northanhumbrorum Siwardus, exercitum grandem in Scotiam ducens, regem Machbotum de regno suo fugavit, multis Scotto. rum millibus interfectis, cum Normannis omnibus. Rex igitur Eadwardus regnum Scotiae dedit Malcolmo filio regis Cumbrorum, de se tenendum. (Flores Hist.) 1056 ** GRIFFIN," King of the Welsh, becomes (£j{uarìj'g vassal. 1056 “ Earl Leofric and Earl Harold, and Bishop Ealdred, came against the Welsh, and ** concluded a setllement between them and the English. So that Griffin swore oaths that he ** would behave himself towards King Edward, as a true * Under-King,' and without deceit.''* (Sax. Chron.) Spa pat Gnippin rpom a par, pat he poloe beon Eaopapoe Kinge holo unoen Kyng, anb unrpizenbe. - 1063 \ BLETHYN and R YVVALLON, Kings of the JVelsh, become the vassals of 1064 QÉùíuáry, and also of HAROLD, as Earl of Wessex. 1063 In this year, about harwest time, King Griffin was slain, “in monas Augusti,” by his own subjects(fram his agenum mannum.) He was Kingoveral!* Wealh cynn,” andthey bróught his head to Earl Harold, and Earl Harold brought it to the King . . . . . ' and Ring Edward bestowed the land upon his two brothers, Blithgent and Rigwatle.f And they swóre oaths, and gave hostages to the King and to the Earl, that they would be fáithful to them in all things, and everywhere ready to aid them by sea and land, and they would perform such obligations in respect of the country, as ever was done before to other kings. (Sax. Chron.) * That is to sa , in the form and to the effect of the customary oath of fealty. f Blethyn and'Éywalion, the Soiis of Cen/yn, halfbrothers to "Griffin or Gruffydh. (Wynne's Caradoc, p. 96.) VoL. I. 2 1 cclviii PRooFs AND ILLUSTRATIONS. WESSEX. Q£utpatù the Confessor. 1064 Rex Norwalanorum Griffinus a suis interficitur, etcaput ejus caputque navis illius, cum ornatura Comiti Haroldo mittitur ; quæ mox ille regi Edwardo detulit. Rex vero Edwardus terram regis occisi, duobus fratribus suis Bleothgenti et Rithwalano, ea conditione concessit, ut fideles illi semper existerent, quod et per sacramentum et obsidibu§ datis confirmarunt. Mailros. 1064 Rex JValanorum Griffinus, non, Augusti a suis interficitur, et caput ejus ¢¤ navis ipsius, cum ornatura, Comiti Haraldo mittitur, qui mox illa regi detulit eaiu ard6. Qui- bus ge$tis, $uis fratribus Blethgento et Rithu glano Rex, terram i/alanorum dedit. Cui, et Haräldo éomiti fidelitatem illi juraverunt,et ad imperium illorum mari terraque se fore paratos, ac omnia quæ prius de terra illa, regibus anterioribus fuerant pensa, obedienter se pensuros spoponderünt. `(FIor. Wigorn.—Sim. Dunelm. de Gestis) * * v 1064 Gens jVallanorüm, nonas Augusti, interfecto Rege suo Griffino, caput ejus Duci Haraldo miserunt, quod mox Haraldus ad regem Eaduardum transmittens alium J/allensi- bus regem praefecit, qui Eadwardo regi fidelitatem, præstitò faciens juramento, omnia quæ regibus Anglorum solvi consueverant ipse fideliter se pensurum spopondit. (Flores Hist.) 1064 Griffinus Rex JVallensium a suis occiditur, et caput ejus cum rostro iiavis ipsius Haroldo destinatur, cujus fratribus Blithgento et Ruthis, Rex Edwardus dedit, et fidelitate jurata pro servitio regno Angliae debito singulis annis præsto persolvendo }Valliam tenendam sibi et posteris suis pacifice concessit. (Ingulphus, p. 68.) The Welsh laws and Triads acknowledge the tribute rendered to the King of England, or of ** London.?? Si quis de aliena patria fecerit regi Aberffraw injuriam, i. e. Sarhaed, reddat ei lxiii libras, et de hac causa quod tantum est Mechteyrnged, quod debet Rex Aberffraw reddere semel regi Londoniæ cum acceperit terram suam ab eo. (LL. Wallicæ, Pref.) Tria sunt in tota Cambria tributa regalia; primum Aberfravia accipiet a Dinevora, melle solvendum. Secundum tritico solvendum, accipiet a Mathravala, tertium est lxiii libræ quæ a rege Aberfraviae regi Angliae solvendæ sunt. I (LL. Wallicæ, ut supra.) HAROLD. 1066 Death of €¤[uary. HAROLD consecrated as King. The mode of Harold's accessiom is stated withgreat diversity. Malmesbury is the strongest authority for asserting that Harold obtaimed the throne against the will of the legislature. And it must be recollected, that this writer was the contemporary of Edgar Atheling.—Recenti adhuc regalis funeris luctu, Haroldus, ipso Theophaniæ die, extorta a principibus fide, arripuit diadema, quamyis Angli dicunt, a rege con- cessum : quod tamen magis benevolentia quàm judicio allegari existimo, ut illi hæreditatem transfunderet suam cujus semper suspectam habuerat potentiam. Quamyis ut non celetur veritas, pro persona quam gerebat regnum prùdentia et fortitudine gubernaret, si legitime suscepisset. (Malm. de Gestis, II. 13.) Ordericus Vitalis followson the samè side; !(Lib. iii. p. 492.) and his statement must be taken as proceeding from an Englishman, whd, though dwelling in Nor- mandy, retained all his national feeling. Post aliquot temporis, piæ memoriáé Rex Eduardus, xxiv anno regni sui, nonas Januarii, Lundoniae defunctus est, et in novo monasterio, quod ipse in occidentali parte urbis condiderat, et tunc præcedenti septimana dedicari fecerat, prope altare, quod beatus Petrus Apostolus, tempore Melliti Episcopi, cum ostensigne signQrum çonsecraverat, sepultu§ est. Tunc Heraldus, ipsô tumulationis áie, dum plebs in exequiis dilecti regis adhuc maderet fletibus, a solo Stigando Archiepiscopo (quem Româanus Papa süspenderat a divinis officiis pro quibusdam criminibus) sine com- muni consensu aliorum præsulum et comitum procerumque consecratus, furtim præripuit diadematis et purpuræ decus. Audientes autem Angli, temerariam in- vasionem, quam Heraldus fecerat, irati sunt: et potentiorum nonnulli fortiter Obsistere parati, a subjectione ejus omnino abstinuerunt. Alii vero nescientes qua- liter tyrannidem ejus (quæ jam super eos nimis excreverat) evaderent ; et e cofitra considerantes quod nec illum dejicere, nec alium regem ipso regnante ad utilitatem regni substituere valerent, colla ejus jugo submiserunt, viresque facinori, quod in- choaverat, auxerunt. « * With these, in subsfance, agrees the account preserved in Flores Hist. I)efuncto Eadwardo, Anglörum rege sanctissimo, * * * * * fluctuabant proceres regni, quem si5i regem præficerent et rectorem. Quidam enim Gulielmo Normannorum Duci, quidam Comiti Haraldo, Godwini filio, alii autem favebant Eadgaro filio Eadwardi. Eadmundus vero, Latus-ferreum, Rex naturalis de stirpe regum, genuit Eadwardum, Eadwardus Eadgarum, cui de jure debebatur regnum 4nglorum. Sed Haraldus, vir callidus et astutus, intelligens: quia nocuit semper differre paratis, in die Epiphaniæ, qua Rex Eadwardus sepúltus est, extorta fide a majoribus, capiti proprio imposuit diadema. (Flor. p. 221.) P R O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIO NS. cclix WESSEX. An elegy on the death of the Confessor, inserted in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle HARoLD. (it appears fqr the first time in Dr. Ingram's valuable edition), intimates that Haróld yas designated by Edward as his successor. It has been stated by a respectable cotemporary, fhat, according to the Saxon Chronicle, a part, if nof all of the nobles chosè himi; but the text merely says, “ Her wearth Har6ld Eorl eac to cynge gehalgod." Such a choice, however, is âffirmed by Floremce of Worcester. Quo tumulato, Subregulus Haraldus,Goduiniducis filius, quem Rex ante suamde- cessionem regni successorem elegerat, a totius Angliæ primatibus ad regale culmen electus, die eodem, ab Alredo Eboracensi Archiepiscopo in regem est honorifice consecratus. Qui mox, ut regni gubernacula susceperat, leges iniquas destruere, æquas coepit condere, Ecclesiarum ac, monasteriorum patrónus fiêri, Episcopos, abbates, mionachos, clericos colere simul ac venerari, pium, humilem, áffabilemque, se bonis omnibus exhibere, malefactores exosos habere. Nam ducibus, satrapis, vicecomitibus, et suis in commune præcepit ministris, fures, regni disturbatores comprehendere, et pro patriæ defensione ipsemet et terra marique desudare. (Flor. Wigorn,) Battle of Hastings. HAROLD is slaim. Archbishop Aldred, and the “ Burh-waru'' of Londonendeavourto secure the throne for Edgar Atheling, the legitimate heir. William prevails against all opposition. On Christmas day he is consecrated as Κing, at Westminster, by Archbishop Aldred ; but before he is crowned, he romises togovern the community as well as any king had best dome before him, if they would on their part be faithful to him. . . . . . . . . . . On mibpintjner bae3, hine halzobe to cynge Ealoneo Anceburcop om tlJertmynrtne, and he realoe h1m .on hanoe mio Cnifter bec. Ano eac rpori, aeen pan pe he polbe pa conona him on heapobe retman, pat he poloe jirne ÉÉÉÉÉ rpa pel healoan, rpa æni3 cynze ætponan hum betrc ojoe, zip he 1m holoe beon poloon. I have given the sense in the text, but mo modern equivalent cam he found, for the emphatic peoorcipe. Florence explains some of the obscurities of the vernacular chronicle. Aldredus autem Eboracensis Archiepiscopus, et Comites Edwinus et Morcarus cum civibus Loadoniensibus et Butsecarlis, Clitonom Eadgarum, Eadmundi Ferrei-lateris nepotem, in regem levare voluerunt, et cum eo se pugnam inituros promiserunt : sed dum ad pugnam de- scendere multi se paraverunt, Comites suum auxilium ab eis retraxerunt, et cum suo exercitu domum redierunt. Interea Comes Gulielmus, Suthsaroniam, Cantiam, Suthamtunensem provinciam, Suthregiam, Afiddelsaroniam, Herefordensem provinciam devastabat, et villas cremare, hominesque interficere non cessabat, dönec ad villám, quæ Beorcham nominatur, veniret. Ubi Aldredus Archiepiscopus, JVulstanus JVigornensis Episcopus, Clito Eadgarus, Comites Eadwinus et Morcarus, et de Lundonia quique nobiliores, cum multis aliis ad eum venerunt, et datis obsidibus illi deditionem fecerunt, fidelitatemque juraverunt. Cum quibus et ipse foedus pepigit, et nihilominus exercitui suo villas cremare, et rapigas ágere permisit. Appropinquánte igitur Dominicæ Nativitatis festivitate, cum omni exercitu Lundoniam,ut igi in régem sublimaretur, adiit. Et quia Stigandus Primas totius Angliæ, ab Apostolico Papa calum- niátus est pallium non suscepisse canoiiice, ipsa nativitatis die, quæ illo anno feria secunda evenit, ab Aldredo Eboracensium Archiepiscöpo in JWestmonasterio consecratus est honorifice, prius (ut idem Archipræsul ab eo exigébat) Tante altare Sancti Petri Apostoli coram clero êt populo jurejurando promittens, se velle sanctas Dei ecclesias ac rectores illarum defendere, nec non et cunctum pópulum sibi subjectum juste et regali providentia regere, rectam legem statuere et tenere, rapinas, injustaque judicia penitus interdicere. (Flor. Wigorn.) Interempto Heraldo, Stigandus Cantuarierisis Archiepiscopus, e£ præclari Comites Eduinus et Morcarus, aliique Primates Anglorum, qui Sentaêio bello non interfuerunt, Edgarum Clitonem, filium Edwardi filii Edmundi Irnesidæ, id est Ferrei-lateris, regem statuerunt ; et cum eo contra externos hostes pro patria et gente se fortiter pugnaturos minati sunt. Porro Guillelmus Dux ubi frequentiorem conventum eorum audivit, cum valida manu appropians non procul a Iundonia cónsedit; equitesque quingentos illo præmisit. Qui egressam de urbe contra se aciem, refugere intra mœnia compulerunt: et multa strage filiorum et amicorum facta, civibus ingentem luctum intulerunt. Incendium etiam, urbanæ cædi addiderunt, et qui£- quid aedificiorumi citra flumen erat, cremaverunt. Dux autem Tamesim fluvium transmeavit, et ad oppidum Guarengefort pervenit. Illuc Stigandus Archiepiscopus, aliique nobiles Angli advenerunt; Edgarum abrogantes, P°°°'° cum Guillelmo fecerunt, ipsumque sibi dominum susceperunt: et ipsi ab co benigniter suscepti, pristinas dignitates et honóres receperunt. Lundoniense$ nihilominüs utile consilium percipientes sese in obsequium Ducis tradiderunt : ct obsides quos et quot imperarat, adduxerunt. Edgarus 2 l 2 cclx PRO OFS ANID ILLUSTRATI O N S. WESSEX. GODJVIN. 4delinus, qui Rex fuerat constitutus ab Anglis, resistere diffidens, humiliter Guillelmo se reg- gumqug cQntulit. Ille vero, quia idem puér mitis et sincerus erat, et consobrinus Edwardi Magni Regis, filius scilicet nepotis ejus erat, amicabiliter eum amplexatus est, et omni vita sua inter filios suos honorabiliter veneratus est. Omnia, disponente Deo, in spatio trium mensium per Angliam pacata sunt, cunctique præ- sules regnique proceres cum Guillelmo concordiam fecerunt, ac üt diadema regium sumeret (sicut mos Anglici principatus exigit) oraverunt. Hoc summo fere flagitabant Normanni, qui pro fasce regali nanêiscenilo suo principi subierunt, ingens discrimen mafis et prælii. Hoc etiàm divino nutu subacti optabant indigenæ regni, qui nisi coronato regi, servire hactenus erant soliti. (Ord. Vit. iii. p. 503.) EARLDOM OF WESSEX. Upon the accession of Camutc, when Earls were appointed over East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria, the Kingdom of Wessex was retained by him in his own hamds. But before the close of his reign, the territory of JVesseae, together with Kem? and Susseae (to which must be added the dependant Surrey, or * Suthrige'), became the Earldom of — GODJVIN, son of JVulnoth, ** Child" of the South Saarons, and nephew of Edric Streone. (See Mercia.) He appears to have obtained his appointment from Camutc, as the reward for his services against the Swedesse. 1051 GODJVIN banished. The western part of his Earldom, including the ** Wealh kyn," granted to Odda (p. cclxiii.) 1052 GODJVIN restored. 1053—Apr. 15. Death of GQDJVINs*. He is succeeded in his Earldom of Wesser, and its dependancies, by his son HAROLD, whose Earldom of East Anglia, &c. devolves upon Earl Algar. HAROLD. ° Cnuto . . . . martem in Suevos transtulit . . . , primò exceptus insidiis, multos ex suis amisit . . . postremò reparatis viribus resistentes in fugam vertit. Reges gentis, U!^ et Eiglaf ad deditionis pacis adduxit. Promptissimis in ea pugna Anglis, hortante Godwino Comite . . . . . incumbuere igitur viribus -Angli, et victoriam consummantes, comitatum Duci, sibi laudem paraverunt. (Malm. II. xi.) This is the first notice of Godwin. The territories composing the Earldoms of Godwin and his sons are enumerated in the narrative of the gatherimg against Edward ihe Confessor. (1051.) Talia geri in suo comitatu, Comes Godwinus graviter ferens, de toto suo comitatu, scilicet de Cantia, Suth Saxonia, et J'est Saaronia ; et filius ejus primogenitus Swanus de suo, id est de Ornafordensi, Glawornensi, Herefordensi, Sumerseatunense, I3earucscirensi provinciis; alterque filius Haraldus de suo comitatu videlicet de East Saaronig, East-Anglia, Huntedunensi, ét Granteb, icgenii provinciis, innumerabilem congregayerunt exercitum. (Flor, Wigorn.) ai . . . cujüs ducatum susçepit filius ejus Haraldus ; et ejus comitatus datus est 4/9aro, Leofrici comitis filio. (FIor. Wigorn.) PR O OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. cclxi DOMINIONS INCLUDED IN THE KINGDOM OF THE WEST SAXONS. g- pyIGHT, JUTES OR GOTHIS. 530 CERDIC and CYNRIC take the Islamd-slay many of the Britons in *' Wihtgara byrig,' and bestow the Island on STUFFA and WIHTGAR, the nephews of CERDIC s*. (See p. ccxxiv.) 544 Death of WIHTGAR—he is buried at Wihtgara-byrig. 661 Wight conquered by WULFERE, of Mercia, and granted by him to ETHELVVOLD, King of Susseae. (See Sussex.) 686 AR VALD, King of Wight. The Island is attacked by CEADWALL and Mollo. The Brethren of Arvald are cruelly slains. — ASTULPH, King of the Vectiam Jutes, of whom only the name is knowns*. 900 ALBERT, or AeLBERT, son Qf ASTULPH, reigned about the time of @[frtv, after whose death the succession of Kings ceasêá, and the Pectians, or men of Wight, submitted to ©utpáry the Elders*. - HAMPSHIRE. SAXONS, AND JUTES OR GOTHS. WESSEX, JVIGHT, STUFFA and }yIHTGAR. *}}VIHTGAR, A R PAILD. ASTULPH. ALBERT. 755 SIGEBERHT, King of Wessex, retains this Province after his deposition. (See p. ccxxxvii.) 860 OSIRIC, Ealdormaa or Dux of Hamtunscire, resists the Danes. 897 Death of WULFRED, Ealdormam of this Shire. 971 Death of ALFEAG, or ELFEG, **. Duac Suthamtensium s*.** 982 Death of ÆTHELMAR, Ealdorman of Hampshire. * Huntingdon has a full account of the prowess of Stuffa and Wihtgar :— Sexto namque anno post bellum prædictum, venerunt nepotes Certic, Stuf et Witgar cum tribus navibus apud Certicesore. Primo autem mane duces Brittannorum acies in eos, secundum belli leges pulcherrimè construxerunt, cumque pars eorum in montibus, pars eorum in valle progrederetur cautè et excogitatè, apparuit sol oriens, offenderuntque radii clipeis deauratis, et resplenduerunt colles ab eis, aerque finitimus clarius refulsit, timueruntque Saxones, timore magno, et appropinquaverunt ad prælium; dum autem collide- rentur exercitus fortissimi, fortitudo Brittannorum dissipata est, quia Deus spreverat illos, et facta est yictoria patens, et adquisierunt duces prædicti regiones món paucâs, et per eos `fortitudo Kertici terribilis facta est, pertransiitque terram in fortitudine gravi. (Il. p. 179.) According to Malmesbury, the island was bestowed upón jyihigar only, whom he describes as the son of Cerdic's sister; and he also extols the prowess of the Jütish warfior.—Is cum sanguinis propinquitate tum bellandi artibus avunculo juxta charus (ejus enim ex sorore nepos erat) celebrem in eadem insüla primo prin- cipatum, post etiam sepulturam, accepit. (I. 2.) Obscure as these leaders now appear, they evidently held a `promifient station in Anglo-Saxon traditign ; and the grant made to themTby Cerdic explaifis the formation of the dependant appamages held by the junior branches of the Royal families. T Of their kjn was Oslac, “ Pincerna” of King Ethelwulf, and father of Osburgha, mother of Alfred. (Asser, p. 5.) untingdon probably translated an historical poem similar to that which commemorates the deeds of Brith- amoth, Ealdorman of É Anglia. * Pede .(iv. 36) is extremiely succinct in his narrative. The « Fratres Regis Arvaldi" were afterwards cangnized,but their legend conveys no further information. * Wallingford, p. 533. - * Flor. Wigorn. only. When uot otherwise expressed, the authority is the Saxon Chronicle• HAMPSHIRE. SIGEBERHT. OSIRIC. JjVULFRED, JELFEG. JETHELMAR. cclxii PRO OFS ANI) ILLUSTRATIONS. WESSEX—HAMPSHIRE. ETHEL}VARD. 994 995 }ETHEL JVARID 86. [ELFRIc?] 1003 “ Fyrd,"or general array, of Hampshire under the command of Ealdormam ELFRIC. ELFHELMr. 1006 ELFHELM, slain by the procurement of EDIRIC STREONE 37, JVINCHESTER. ABERKS. ETHELJVULF. JVINCHESTER. 897 Death of Beornwulf, ** Wicgerefa," or Præpositus of this city. ** Hamtunscire *' was the first seat of the West Saxons, but it was peopled also by a colony of Jutes, who settled in the Isle of Wight, and on the opposite coast, where they were cofi- sidered as a distinct nation till the time of Bede. De Jutarum origine sunt Cantuarii et J^ectuarii, hoc est ea gens quæ J'ectam tenet insulam, et ea, quæ usque hodie in Provincia Occidentalium Saxonum, Jutarum natio, nominatur, posita contra insulam Vectam. (Bede I. 15.) The river ** Homilea,” or Humble, ran through ** Eota land,'' as it is called by Alfred, and a place called * ad lapidem,'' or * Aet Stane,” was within the boundaries of this English Jut-land. IBERIKS. 860 ETHELWULF, ADULF, Or ATHULF, Ealdormam of Berkshire, ** Bearroccensis Pagæ Comes,". (Asser) defeats the Danes, (Dux Provinciæ Bearrucscire— Ethelward IV. 1.) JVILTS. JVEOXTAN. ATHELHELMf. [ELFRIC?] SOMERSET. AHUV, EANJVULF, 871 ETHELWULF, slain by the Danes, at Reading. (Asser, p, 21.—Ethelward IV. 1.) JVILTS. 800 JVEOXTA N, Alderman of the m'illsættum about this time. Battle between him and ETHELMUND of Hwiccas. 387 ATHELHELM, or ETHELM, ** Comes Wiltunensium " about this fime 88, 893 ATHELHELM, Ealdormam of JViltshire, dies. 1003 “ Fyrd*' of Wiltshire under the command of Ealdormam ELFRIC. SOMERSET. et 823 HUN, Duke of Somerset, killed in battle* against the Mercians at Ellendume (p. ccxxxix.) Buried at Winchester. 845 EANJVULF, with the Sumersactum, defeats the Dames. 854 m EANJVULF, ** Summursuttensis pagæ Comes," conspires against ETHELWULF. 855 (Asser. 9, and see p. ccxli.) - 867 IDeath of EANJVULF*°. ** This ** nobilis Dux Ethelwardus,'° or ** Ethelward, Ealdorman,*' was charged to meet Anlaf, in con- junction with Alfeg, Bishop of Winchester, and they afterwards escorted the Danish Prince to Andover. £t is therefore probable that he held office in this Province. Ethelweard the King's ** Heah-gerefa,” who headcd the Éyrd or levy of Hampshire, in the batlle of Alton (1001), on which occasion he was slain, ma be the same individual, unless the Heah-gerefa be considered as the Ethelward, son of Ethehmar, slaiii by Canute in 1013. (Flor. Wigorn. and Chron.) *7 He was the father of E(/giva, or Ælfwin, íhc mother of Harold. The first name is given to her by the Chroniclers-the last bythe Book öf Ramsey (p. 447.) According to Flor. Wigorn. he was Dux 5f Λ'orth-Hampton. 88 For thê variations of his name see Saxon Chron., Asser, 55, and Ethelward IV. 3. 30 Hum ibi occiditur, Dux provinciæ Sumersetton, requiescitque in urbe JVintonia, (Ethelward III, 2.) The other chroniclers notice the battle, but omit the name of the leader. *° In eodem anno, migravit Eanwulf, Dux Provinciæ Sumersetun. (Ethelward IV. 2.) � P R O O FS AN D ILLU S T R A T I O N S. cclxiii SOMERSET—WESSEX. 378 ATHEI, NOTH, Dux of Somerset about this time, continues faithful to ALFRED**. ATHELNOTH. 1013 Somerset and Dorset included in SWEYNE's Earldom (p. cclx.) SJVEYNE. 1051 Upon the banishment of SWEYNE, Somersetis included in ODDA's Earldom **. ODDA. IBATH. IBATH. 907 Death of Alfred, *' Wic Gerefa" of Bath. DORNSETTAS. (DORSET) I)ORSET, — EGELVARD, or ETHELWARD, Duac Dorsetensis im the reign of Edgar, founder ETHELIyARD. of the Monastery of Pershore 43. 837 Ealdorman ATHELHELM, or ETHELM, defeats the Danes at Portland. ATHELHELM. 845 OSRIC, Ealdormam, with the Dormsettas, defeats the Danes at ** Pedridan-muthe," OSRIC. i. e. the Mouth of the Parret. — Dorset included in GODJVIN's Earldom of JVesseac. GODJVIN. 1051 Dorset included in ODDA's Earldom **, ODDA. JWEST WALES—DAMNONIA or DYVNAINT** (afterwards Devonshire) and CERNAU or CORNWALL. 530 GERAINT, the son of ERBIN, Prince of Dyvnaint, killed by the Saxons at Llong- borth** (p. ccxxxiv.) CONSTANTINE46. 589 GERAINT II.37. From this period the Britons of the West seem to have been com- pelled to submitto the supremacy of the English. 652] Britgns of the West endeavour to recover their liberty, th defeated by CEN- É} WALCH (p. ccxxxv.) ir liberty, they are defeated by CEN 681 Britons driven to the sea by CENTWIN (p. ccxxxvi.) 710 GERAINT III.° 4. This notice of Athelnoth is found only in Ethelward (IV. 3.) ** And man sette pa Oddan to Eorle, ofer Defena-scire, and ofer Sumer.saeton, and ofer Dor-saeton, amd ofer JVealas. ° Malm. de Gestis Pontificum (p. 162.) Perscore perfecit et fundavit cænobium tempore Regis Eadgari, Egelwardus, Dux Dorsetensis, minime párcus animo, sed effuso in largitatem studio. ** This province in the British period included Cornwall. The Anglo-Saxon or English settlers acquired the name of Defensaettas. .Tho Britons are known by the usual denomination of JVeaiì. And it seems, from the language empl9yed in Alfred's will (p. 17), that Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, and erhaps Wilts, were them collectively known by the name or designatioh of the Wealh.6ynm, fíom ί number of British inhabitants. The following passages from Asser may shew the manner ifi wiiich tho doublo nomcn- clature of places, British and Anglo-Saxom, prevailed in this distiict: “ Saltus qui dicitur Selwdu (Selwood) Britannice, Coilmawr'' (p. 33.) “In paga quæ dicitur Britannice Durngweis, Saxonice autem Thornsaeta.** . 27. (P;. ā, geraint I. was really a Prince of Damngnia, is one of the best attested facts of British history ; andit should seem, from tho elegy of Llewarch Hèn, that he had long withstood the Saxon power. * Immundæ leænæ Damnoniæ tyrannicus catulus, Constantinus. (Ep. Gildæ, p. 10.) The British his- £iies or.traditions represent him 'as the son of Cador. The Ulstér Annals, 588, notice the * conversio Q23stantini ad Dominùm.'' This individualis supposed to have been the King of Damnonia, who, after abjeÄg; his throne, became a monk in Ireland. 48 3y W£om §t;Teiiau was hospitably received, when migrating to Armorica. (Uss. 290) Ę To whom Aldhelm addresséd his Epistle 6n the ob$ervatice of Easter. This curigus documentis printed by Alford, II, 408, and in other collections. This Geraiut, or Gerontius, with whom Ina fought, JVEST PALES, GERAINT. CONSTANTINE. GERAINT II. GE RAIN T III. cclxiv PRO OF S. ANID ILLUSTRATIONS. WESSEX—JyEST JyALES, B LEDERIC. ID0NGERTH. o}VEN, or HUGANUS. HOJVELL. 730 BLEDERIC, said to have been Prince of Cornuta!, (Wynne's Caradoc.) 755 Accession 9f CYNEWULF, who, in 766, w, ę * ù of the West (p. ccxxxviii.) as engaged in many wars with the Britons 809 EGBERT subdues the Britons of Cornwali (p. ccxxxix.y }EGBERT herries JWest JVales (p. ccxxxix.) 823 Battle of Gavelford, between the Britons and the Dena, i. e. the Anglo-Saxon settlers of IDamnonia, who appear, about this era, to have gained the dominion ot the soil (p. ccxxxix.) 835 Danes land in West Wales, and are joined by the Britons. 872 DONGERTH, King of Damnonia, drowned*°. 897 Death of Wulfric, the “ Weal-Gerefa," probably the officer by whom such of the British Provinces as were in the King's hands were administèred. 917Y HUGANUS, Lord of West JVales about this time*, perhaps only of a part of the 938 % country to the West of the Tamar. 926 9 §} HOMELL, King of Iprest JVales, becomes the vassal of atjttgtame“. ODD4, 1051 ODDA appointed Earl over the “ Wealas," who had been hitherto included in IDE VONSHIRE, CE0RL. ODDA. GODJVIN's Earldom (p. cclxiii, Note 32.) The ngtices of West Wales do not enable us to distinguish accurately between Devon and Cornwall. Many of the Ealdormen, and other rulers of Devon, are also ascribed to Cornwall. Asser's diocese of Sherborne, or, as he writes it, Exeter, extended into Cornwall and “ Saxony.” “ Dedit mihi Exanceastre, cum omni parochia quæ ad se pertinebat, in Saronia et in Cornubia." (p. 51.) Somewhat earlier than this period the compact between the Britons and the English seems to have been concluded.—This is seo gerædnisse }e Angelcymnes witan, and Wealh}eode Redboran, betwox Devnsetan gesetton.—It appears that the boundary betwoen the ** Wylisc- land *' and the ** Englisc-land*' was a river, and I conclude that rivêr to be the Exe, and not the Tamar, because the treaty is expressed to have been made between the Devnsaettan, thatis to say, between the ** Wylisc " Devonshire men, and the ** Englisc'' Devonshire men. If it had been an agreement between the Cornish Britons and the Englishmen of Devonshire, instead 9f being agreeg upgn betwixt the Devmsettas, it would naturally, and according to the usual forms of speech which then prevailed, have been expressed as made betwiart the Cornwealas and the Devnsettas. (Wilkins, p. 125.) ANGLO-SAXON EA LIDORMEN OF DE VONSHIRE. 851 CEORL, Comes Domnaniae (Asser) or CEORL, Ealdorman of Devonshire, gains ' a great victory over the Danes. §78 ODDA, « Dux Provinciæ Defenum," (Flor. Wigorn.) besieged by Halfdane. (p. ccxxvi), is considered by Dr. Owen Pugh as the last of the three Geraints. The style given to Geraint by Aldhelm, may lead to the supposition that he was the chief of the Princes of the Wealas. “ Domino gloriosissimo, Occidentalis regni sceptra gubernanti, quem ego fraterna charitate amplector, GERUNTIO Regi, simulque cunctis Deo sacerdotibus per Damnoniam conversantibus Althelmus, sine meritorum prærogativa abbátis officio functus, optabilem in Domino salutem.'' (Alford II. 408) This is the epistle éoncerning the due observance of Easter, to which Bede alludes (V. 19), and from its tenQr we can Collect, the Bishöp of sherborne did not then assume any episcopal authority 6ver the Britons of Dam- nonia ; he éxhorts theim as brethren, and advises them, not asthêir pästor, but astheir frien$: * *° Àccording to Carew (p. 78) and Cressy, in his Church History (p. 746.) A stone pillar, standing at Pen-nant, in the County of Coriwall, is supposed to have been erected to his memory. (Camden, I. 21.) ° According to Wynine's Caradoc (p. 465, this Huganus was defeated by. Elfleda, at Brecknock. Our chroniclers only notice the capture ofthe wife of the British King; and it is by no means certain that Bri- cenamere is Brecknock. ZEgefleda, Merciorum Domina, in terram Britonum ad expugnandam arcem apud Briccnamere misit exercitum, qui, expugnata arce, uxorem Regis Britonum, et triginta quatuor homines captivos in Merciam adduxerunt. (Flor.Wigorn.) Huganus i§ evidently the Eugenius (i. e. Ouen) who atfended the Witenagemot of Athelstane in 938. (See p. ccxlvii.) si See p. ccxlv. This Howel also attended the Witenagemot in 938. PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. cclxv DEPONSHIRELWESSEX. 899} ÆTHERED,9;EDRED, Ealdormam of Defenum, dies one month before the death ÆTHERED, or EDRED. *900 of ALFRED**. 926 Britons expelled ly 3tjflgtiint from Exeter, which they had hitherto inhabited in common with the English. (p. 410.) *971 ORDGAR, or ARIDGAR, Dux Devonensium, dies—father of Elfrida, Elfthrida, or ORDGAR, or ARIDGAR. Elfrida, the queen of ©¤gar.*' (Flor. Wigorn.) - — ORD}VULF EDULF or EADULF, son of ORDGAR°*, Dux of Devonshire. ORD}}/ULF, 1013 ÆTHELMAR, ** Comes Domnaniae," (Flor. Wigorm.) and the Western Thanes ÆTHELMAR. (Sax. Chron.) or ** Occidentales Ministri," submit to SWEYNE°. j 020 Devonshire included in GODJ}'IN's Earldom of }}^esseac. GODJyIN. 1051 Devom included in ODDA's Earldom. ODDA. 988 Goda, “ Satraps Domnaniæ," (Flor. Wig.) or the Thane of Devon (Saxon Chrom.) (Goda) slain by the Danes. Strenvold, avaliänt knight or soldier, fell in the same battle*°. 1001 Cola, the King's Heah-gerefa, leads the Fyrd of Devon against the Dames. ( Cola.); 1003 Hugh the Normam, Gerefa of Devon about this time*. (Hugh.) 1017 Brihtric, the son of Alfheg, Satrap of Devon, slain by the orders of Canute*. (Brihtric.) CERNAU, or CORNJVALL, CORN}}VALL, ._ GOODRICH°. GOODRICH, 52 Eodem anno obierat Edred Dux Davenescyre, uno mense anteobitum Ae/fridi Regis qui cum eo multa fidelis et fortis gesserat bella. (Hen. Hunt.) * The history of Ordgar is probably takeii in part from popular ballads. Malinesbury (de Gestis, II. 8) is more concise than Bromton (p. 886) in his narrative of E!/rida's adventures, and his grcater brevity is probably occasioned by the more critical use of his materials ; Edgar was married to EJ/rida in 964—965. Rex Anglqrum pacificus Eadgarus, Ordgari Ducis Domnaniæ filiam post mortem Ethelwoldi[£/woldi,S.D.] viri sui gloriosi Ducis Orientalium Anglorum in matrimonium accepit, ex qua duos filios Eádmundum et Egelredum suscepit. . Habuit etiam prius, ex Ege//teda candida, Ordmeri Ducis filia, Edwardum postea re£t£ £t jartyrum;..(§jm. Dum, and Flor. Wigorn.) Ordgar founded the monastery 6f Tavistock ifi 961. * This “venerabilis Comes” (Cartularium döTavistoke, ììon. III. 494) is reported to have been ofgigantic size, and of strength corresponding to his magnitude. The drowsy waráer of* exeter delaying to open the gates, he burst them open, demolishing also a part of the stone jamös om which they hung. ( Maim.de Pontif.) Örduulf wassuch abounteous benefactor to the monastery of Tavistock, that he wäs considèredas a founder, *' Ethelmar, or Ailmar, is supposed to be the founder or benefactor of Eynsham. If so, he was the son of a « Dux Ethelweard,'° as appears from Ethelred's charter. (Mon. III. 12.) 5° . . . . . et Miles fortissimus Strenuwoldus cum aliis nonnullis perimitur—sed tamen ex Danis plurio- ribus occisis, Angli loco dominantur funeris. (Flor. Wigorn. and Sim. Dun.) This passage is nofin the . Ego Æthelredus Angliæ Rex, hoc ecclesiæ Christi'privilegium ex auctoritate Cbristi confirmo;, Eg9:4£/ricus, Ecclesiæ Christi Archiepiscopus, üoni regis munificentiàm signo crucis in æternum corr9boro. Ego }J'ulfstanus, Londoniensium Episcopus, Domini mei nóbili dono semper cónsentio. _Ego Æ!/hea/, }}intoniensium Episcopus, hoc antedicti Regis scriptum meis viribus confirmo. Ego Ordbyrhtus, Episcopus, idem hoc cum Dei benedictioné 2 y 2 cccxlviii PRO OFS ANI) IILLUSTRATI O N S. * TIIE KEEPER OF TIIE WARDroBE, or ** Hraegel. Tiircs.” The word “Hrægel," garment, is preseryed in “ Night rail,'' which has only become obsolete since the days of Addison. Possibly, the “ Hrægel Thegm'' is the sarhe officer as the Cubicularius, or Thane of the Bower. TIIE PRivy CoUNsEllor, or ** TIIEGN AET RÆDE AND ET RUNAN.” Under the special denomination of “ Thegn at raede and aet runam,” he is men- tiomed only in one document; raede is council—rum or runa implies both council and secrecy*. This functionary was, therefore, a Privy Counsellor—Runemede, as is well known, was the field of private council. The Redesmen, Radegifan, or counsellors, occur in the chronicles and in the more precise language of the charters **; and they appear in the very remarkable writ or patent issued by Henry III.°, pursuant to the Provisions of Oxford, the last official document in that feci. Ego Athelricus, Episcopus, hoc idem feci. Ego Athulfus, Episcopus, hoc idem feci. Ego Godwinus, Epis- ' copus, omne hoc idem feci. Ego Lyfing, Episcopus, Domini mei voluntatem et bonitatem in aetermum confirmo. Ego JVuJ/ricus, Abbas, verus testis. Ego ÆZ/wardus, Abbas, similiter. Ego Jj wlfgar, Abbas. Ego Æ//&ige, Abbas. Ego Leofric, Abbas. Ego JVighard, Abbas. Ego Ælfricus, Senator. Ego Æ///ie/mus, Senator. Ego Leofwinus, Senator. Ego Leofsiga, Senator. Ego AEthelmaerus, Domini mei Dapifer, testor. Ego Ordulphus, itidem verus tcstis. lEgo Eadricus, fidelis testis. I£go Byrhtricus, Regis Minister, testor. Ego Æthelricus, Senior, fidelis testis. Ego Leofricus, vestiarius, verus testis. Ego Siwardus, I{egis Minister, hoc verbum fideliter testor. In the Anglo-Saxon duplicate of this instrument we have equally the description of the king's household officers, and more fully than in the Latin text. Ic Æthelmaer, mines hlafordes Discthegem gewitnys. Ic Byrhthric, cynges thegen gewitnys. Ic Leofric, hraegel thegen trywe gewitnys. * • e* * I ■ Ic Syivari, cynges thegem æt raede and æt runan, thise spræce trywe gewitnys. (Concilia, Vol. I. pp. 283, 284.) 31 Lib. Abb. p. 54. Claud. C. II. ** To rune gegangen—To go or to take council. *** See Sax. ChrUti. p. 211, aiid p. ccxxvi. This station gave great consequence, as appears from tho following instance :— Hemingius, or whoever was the compiler of the chartulary, is relating a conversation with Bishop Wulstan, who told him how the Church had acquired Clent and Terdebrigg. Dixit enim quendam decanum loci istius extitisse, Egelsium nomine, nobilem valde, et prudentem, tam in monasticis quam iri secularibus actionibus, in tantum, ut inter consiliarios Regis connumeraretur, et esset inter eos satis conspicabilis. Hinc factum est ut in divitiis et pecuniarum abundantia, plurimos majoris ordinis precelleret, &c. (Hem. p. 277.) ** Henri, purg Godes fultume, King on Engleneloande, Lhoaverd on Yrloand, Duk on Normandie, on Aquitain, and Eorl on Aniow, send igretinge to alle hise halde, ilaerde and ilæwede, on Huntendonschir. paet witem ge wel' alle, baet we willem and unnen, }aet }æt ure Raedesmen alle, o}er pe moare dael 9f heom, paet beöp ichosen jurg us and'purg paet loandes folk oh ure $umeriche habbe} idon, and sciulgn dor, in pe yorpnesse of Gode, and 5n üro treowje, fof the freme of}e loande, purg pe besigte of pan toforen iseide raedesmen, beo stede- fæst and ilestinde in alle pinge abuten wende. And we hoaten alle ure treowe in pe treowpe paet heo us ogem, paet heo stedefæstliche healden, and swerien to healdem, and to weriem, pe isetnesses pæt beon imakede and beon to makien, purg pan toforen iseide raedesmen, oper purg je moare dæl oflieom, alswo hit is biforen iseid. And }æt æhc oper helpe, paet for to done, by pan ilche ope, agenes alle men, rigt for to done and foangen, and noan ne mime of loande ne of egte whærepurg pis besigte muge beon ilet o})er iwersed on onie wise, and gif oni o}er cumen her ongenes, we willen and hoaten }æt alle ure treowe heom healden deadliche ifoun. And for }æt we willen, paet pis beo stedefæst and lestinde, we senden gew }is writ open, iseined wi} ure seel to halden amanges gew ine hord. Witnesse usseleven æt Lunden pane egteten}e day on pe mon}e of Octobr, in pe two and fowertigjpe geare of ure cruninge. And pis waes idon aetforen ure isworene redesmen,—Bonefacius, Archebischop on Kanterbur'. JValter of Can- telop, Biscop om JVÎrechestr'. Sim' of Muntford, Eorl on Leischester. I?icard of Clare, Eorl on Glowchestr' and on Hurtford. Roger Bigod, Eorl on Northfolk and Marescal on Engleneloand. Perres of Sauveye. JVi/i' of Fort, Eorl on Aubemarle. Johan of Plesseis, Eorl on J¥arewik. Joh' Geffreessune. Perres of Mfuntfort. IRic' of Grey. IRoger of Mortemer. James of Aldithel, and ætforen opre moge. And al on }o ilche wordem is isend, into avrihce opre shcire over al pare kuneriche on Engleneloand and ek in tel Irelonde. (Rot. Pat. 43 Hen. III, m. 15.) P R O OFS ANI) ILLUSTRATI O N S. cccxlix. dialect which may be termed Anglo-Saxon: and after which we find no public instrument in the vernacular language until the reign of Henry V. The term Redebora, sometimes rendered *' consul,” is applied, in the Devonian compact, to the magistracy of the Britons. , {ing of Enqland, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy, and of Aquitain, and Earl of Anjou, .£í: ā: Ê; íííííÜêá, of jìjjìniìire; This kuow ye all well, that we ¥ grant that, that our Raedesmen ali, or the most of them, that be chosen by us, and the landsfolk of our kingdom have doné, and shall do, for the honour of God, and under their allegiamceto us, for the benefit (ot amendment) of the iìì, by the advice or consideration of our aforesaid raedesmen, be stedfast and lasting in all things, without end. And wé command all our liege people in the fealty that they owe us, that they stedfastly hold and swear to hold (or keep) and to defend (or maintain) the statutes (or provisions) which be made, and shall be made, through those aforesaid Raedesmen, or by the mgre part of them, all s6 as it is before said; and tliat they each other help to perform, according to that same oath, against all men, doing, and causing right to be done : and no one make any distress ofland or goods, whereby the provisions may be hindered or worsened in $y wise : and if any øther; Ę against them, we will and commänd that all our liege people then hold for deadly fpes ; and because wg will that this be stedfast and lasting, we send you this patent wfit, $igned with our seal, to be kept amgngst you in Hoard. Witness our self at London, the 18th day of the month of Qctober, in the two and fortieth year of our coronation ; and ghis W"31§ done before our sworn Raedesmen, Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury. JFalter of Cantelow, Bishop of Horcester. Simon of Montfort, Earl of Leicester. Richard 9f Clare, Earl of Glocester and of Hartford. Robert Bigott, Earl 9f Norfolk, and Mareschal of England. Peter of Savoy, William of Fort, Earl of Aubemarle, John of Pesseiz, Earl of JWarwick. John Gefferison. Peter of Montfort. IRichard of Grey. I?oger of Mortimer. James oi 4ldithly. And before others more. * And in these same words is sent into every other shire over all the kingdom of England, and also into Ireland. (p. 464.) cccl PRO O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, ALDERMEN and EARLS. Aldermen, Wide appli- Ealdormam or Eltermam, appears to have been originally the cation of the title, s - • ¢ • principal title of honour amongst the Teutons,—Sheik has the same meanimg,—Senior and Senator the like,—all pointing out the patriarchal origin of authority. The Saxons used the term with considerable latitude. Thus did they designate the first leaders of their tribes, who conducted their ancestors from Germany,—the founders of the royal lines,—the chieftains of the Scots,—and the Subreguli who governed the subordinate kingdoms '. All those who in the Latin charters are styled “ Principes,” “ Duces,” or ** Comites,” were also Ealdormen in their various ranks and degrees : consequently the title is so interpreted by the judicious compiler of the Historia Eliensis (p. 466), “ Surrexere viri potentes, videlicet Egelwinus qui cog- nominatus est Aldermam, quod intelligitur Prínceps, sive Comes, et fratres sui, dicentes quod pater eorum, Adalstenus Alderman, pro patrimonio suo, quod erat in provincia, quæ dicitur Defene, terram illam cambierat.” During the Saxon period, I am not aware that * Alderman* is ever specifically applied in the written laws, to the Magistrates of Towns ; but so many of the Burghs were really Shires or Hundreds, that any of the numerous regu- lations, speaking of Aldermen in general, would equally apply to those who held the Court within the walls. London in par- ticular seems to have had Aldermen from time immemorial, and the honours which they possessed in the middle ages of our ' Here arrived two Ealdormen in Britain, Cerdic, and Cynric his som, with five ships. (Sax. Chron.) ....Osuald, misit ad majores natu Scottorum, &c. (Bede, IV. 3.) ....tha sende he to Scotta Ealdermannum, &c. (Alfred's Version.) ....cujus Episcopatus tempore, devictis atque amotis Subregulis, Cædwalla suscepit imperium. (Bede, IV. 12.) ....and in thaes Biscopes tide, wæron oferswythe and geflymde tha Ealdormem. (Alfred's Version.) PRO OFS AND IILLUSTIR ATI ON S. cccli history, may perhaps be received as affording some evidence of their station in the olden time. After the Conquest, when the title of Ealdormam became disused in the higher orders of the state, the municipal magis- trates continued in undisturbed possessiom of the name. The title continued to hold its station in the Moot Hall, because it was forgotten in the Parliament. The Aldermen noticed in the laws as holding the Shire Courts, seem in most instances to have been the hereditary rulers of the country. The laws of Henry I. speak, however, of special Aldermen of the Hundred, who presided in the Court, and administered justice*. An officer styled the Alderman of the Hundred, chosen by the Suitors, and who represented the Hundred, in the Court of the Shire, existed till the reign of Edward I.* He then performed only the humble duties of a Beadle. He is indicted as a nuisamce, inasmuch as he had no other fee or salary, save what he could extort from the people, and the disreputable office fell into disuse ; yet he does really appear to have been the dege- nerate, though legitimate successor of the ancient functionary. * LL. Hen. I. c. 8. • - * Susseae. Juratores dicunt, quod Baronia de Aquila est escæta Normannorum, quæ est in manu Dominæ Reginæ matris Regis nunc, et sunt in eadem Baronia lxii. feoda militum quæ pertinent ad custodiam Castri de Pevenes. Et Hundreda Baroniæ dant ad auxilium Vicecomitis, ix,l. xvii,s. vi,d. per quod Barones et Milites tocius Earoniæ quieti sunt de secta ad Comitatum, salvis Aldermannis Hundredorum qui faciunt sectam ad Comitatum pro Hundredo. Et prædicta Baronia valet per annum ccc l. Et Castrum de Pevenes pertinet ad coronam. (Röt. Hundr. 3 Edw. I., Vol. II., pp. 204, 205.) - Susser. Juratores de Rutherbrugge, dicunt quod Hundredum istud est in manu Ricardi de Mundevill et valet per annum duas marcas præter communem finem, quem ballivi illius Hundredi percipiunt pro pulchere placitando, et nihilominus occassionant ipsos pauperes et innocentes, de omnibus quærelis, ac si nihil darent. Et præter hoc est ibi quidam Bedellus qui vocatur Aldremam, qui dat pro ballivâ suâ per annum quatuor marcas et nihil habet de certo de quo possit dictam firmam levare, nisi quod poterit extorquere de populo sibi subdito, et injuste. Et aliquo tempore solebant hujusmodi bedelli eligi per sectatorum Hundredi; et tunc parum vel nihil dederunt pro ballivâ suâ. (Rot. Hundr. 3 Edw. I., Vol. II. p. 214.). * Aldermam of the Hun- dred chosen by the Suitors, and appearing as the representative of the Hundred in the County Court. ccclii P R O OF S A N D I LLUSTRATI O N S. The title of Earl, as de- motinga specific dignity, introducedbytheDanes, though always used by the Anglo-Saxons as expressive of high and distinguished birth. IEarl supposed by some to be equivalent to Atheling. EARLS. The authority of Ethelward seems to be conclusive, that in his time, the title of Earl, if considered as denoting a specific dignity, was not employed by the Anglo-Saxons '; but it cer- tainly designated a person of noble race. This is the form in which it is employed in the laws of Ethelbert. The Earl and the Churl are put in opposition tó each other, as the two extremes of society. The laws of the Kentish King, and the traditional customs of the age of Athelstane*, describe the Earl-kind race, as thé highest order of subjects: they are placed above the Ealdormen, and if that last mentioned term be taken in its more usual technical sense, as denoting the Hereditary rulers of the smaller tribes, there may be some reason for the supposition that, in this particular instance, the title of “ Earl* denotes the ** Athelimgs,” the immediate descendants of the sovereign ; and the traditionary opinion that the sons of the King of England were Earls by birth', seems like a reminiscence of Anglo-Saxon policy. In the more general sense, however, Earlship or Earldom was only high nobility; and very long after the title was appropriated by law to the Peer of Parliament, the 4 « Undecim consules ruunt,” says he, speaking of the defeats sustained by the Dames, « quos illi, Eorlas solent nominare, et Rex eorum unus."—(IV. 3.) The root of Earlor Iarl, may also be discerned in Égas, Herr, Herus. * Wilkins, p. 70. * * The second sort of Earls are Earls by. birth, and so are all the sons of the IXings of England, if they have no other dignity bestowed upon them."—So asserted by Doddridge, in his argument in the Bergavenny case (Collins, p. 102.) I cannot trace the doctrine higher, but it has every colour of antiquity. What are the rights of the younger sons of the Kings of England, supposing they are not advanced to the peerage by the usual mode ? They are now mere commoners: their persons may be arrested upon civil process; and if arraigned of felony, they would be tried by a common jury. Butit is difficult to believe that in the old time they were destitute of every dignity and nobility. -* PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 'cccliii Yeomam of the North continued to bestow this title upon Gentlemen of ancient descent and honoured family. Whem Johnny Faw the Gipsy, is described as the * Earl of Lower Egypt,” it is only the same application of the idiom of the old time. The Scandinavians gave the title of “ Earl* or * Jarl,' to the Chieftains who ranked immediately below the King. It is said that, originally, persons of royal blood and lineage could alone claim this dignity 7. The ** Hird Skraa," or ** Jus Aulicum, Νorwagiae,” compiled in the thirteenth century, distinguishes . a class of Earls who appear in the nature of Viceroys,—they administered the ** Skatlamde,” or countries tributary to the erown of Norway. Harold, the father of Haco, is said to have first appointed official Earls of this nature *. Such an Earl governed every district, or Fylki, receiving one third of the revenues as his salary. Another class of Earls consisted of those rulers who held their Earldoms, mot as the King's Viceroys, but as their Feuds or property. The writer of the ** Hird Skraa ” represents such territories as obtained from the free bounty of the King, and granted by his grace and favour. That the Jarldoms or Earl- doms, given as appanages to the members of the royal family, were of this class, may be conceded, but a different origin must be assigned to the authority possessed by those Jarls who may be styled the mediatised Princes of the North. The mode by which they were displaced from a higher rank, is instructively displayed in the following singular example, which throws much light upon Anglo-Saxon history. 7 Ihre, p. 964. The ** great Earl of Whitfield," the enemy of Hobbie Noble (Border Minstrelsy, I. p. 245), was only. an individual of a good old family, and proprietor of a large demesne. The ** Earls of Socburn *' were gentlemen of the same class. (Surtees's Durham, II. p. 209.) * Haralld's'Saga, p. 100. VoL. I. 2 z Norwegiam Earls, or Jar!s. cccliv IPR O O FS AN D II, LU STRATIO NS. History of Herlaug and Hrollaug, Kings of Naumedale, in Norway. Hrollaug surrenders his lsingdom to Harold Har- fager, and receives it back as an Earldom. There were two * Kings* in Naumedale, in Norway, Herlaug and Hrollaug, who, duringthree years, employed themselves and their subjects in raising a mound or tumulus, which, according to Snorro, was composed of stone, lime, and timber. At the top thereof was a seat, on which they held their Court as Kings. Scarcely was this Hill of Estate completed, when Harold Har- fager approached with his army. Resistance was hopeless, but Herlaug would not submit to any superior. He entered the chamber of the tomb, beneath the mound, accompanied by twelve trusty followers, who, with their Lord, abandoned for ever the light of day. Meat and drink they took with them, but the earth was cast upon them, and they never emerged again. Hrollaug now ascended the eminence, and seated himself as King in the royal throne. Having done so, he descended, and took bis place on the under-bench, whereon the Jarls were used to sit, and, in presence of the people, he declared that he assumed the name and title of a Jarl. Harold had now entered the territory, and Hrollaug, humbly drawing nigh unto the IKing of all Norway, surrendered up his little kingdom, and offered him- self to Harold as his Mam ; and Harold took a sword and bound it to Hrollaugs side, and he hung a shield round Hrollaug's neck, and created Hrollaug his Jarl, and then he conducted Hrollaug to the ** high seat ” or throne, and gave him seizin of the dominion of Naumedale, no longer a Ringdom, but a Laen, amd placed him as Jarl to rule over and govern the same°. It may be here remarked, that great importance was attached to the title of King: and, evem as Harold acted with respect to ° Snorro, Haralld's Saga, cap. 8. The vassalage, and the conversiom of the Riki, or ltingdom, into a Laen, are expressed with great precision. Eptir that för Hrollaugr moti Harrolldi Könungi, oc gaf honum alt riki sitt, oc baud at göraz hans madr. Tha tok Harraldr IKönungr sverd oc festi a lindi hönum, tha festi hann sltiolld a hals hönum, oc gerdi hann Jarl sinn, oc leidde hann i ha-setti, tha gafhanm hönum Naumdæla fyll;i oc sætti hann thar, Jarl yfir. PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccclv this ** Fylkis Konung,” so did Edred, when he suppressed the royal title in Northumbria, and converted the province into an JEarldom *°. . • ** : & The privileges and rights of the Anglo-Saxon Earls, in the reign of the Confessor, are ascertained with considerable distinct- ness from Domesday. In Deira, or Yorkshire, the Earl had nothing in the King's demesne manors, nor the King in the Earl's. The King had ** four high ways,* three by land ", and one by water, and all forfeitures incurred thereupon were divided between the King and the Earl,—the proportiom is not men- tioned,—whether the way passed through the land of Arch- hishop, Earl, or King. Peace, given under the King's hand, or by his seal, was compensated by ** twelve hundreds ; * if, by the IEarl, half was paid. He who was outlawed by the King could only be pardoned by the King. But the Earl or the Vicecomes could outlaw in like manner, and theirs was the pardon of such outlawry. Thanes who had * sake and soke * forfeited to no one but to the King and to the Earl*. The rights in other shires vary in details, but agree in principle. Generally speaking, the Earl received one third of the land-gable or rent, paid by the shire-town ; and this proportion of the gable, as well' of the market-toll and the legal fines, seems to have been due of commom right when not otherwise expressed*; in the Anglo- Normam age this third penny was inseparable from the Earldom. In the shire which he ruled, the Anglo-Saxon Earl was next only to the IKing*. * p. cccxviii. si Probably such of the Romam ways as traversed the country (p. cxxxvii.) * Domesday, Everwicscire, 298. ** Comitis rectitudines, secundum Anglos, istæ sunt communes cum Rege, tertius denarius in villis ubi mercatum convenerit, et in castigatione latronum. (Text. Roff. p. 45.) “ Thus, Orm Gamalson dates the building of the church of Rydale,—'' In Edward dagum Cyng, and in Tosti dagum Eorl'' (Arch. V. p. 90), In the days of Edward the IKing and of Tosti the Earl. Anglo-Saxon Earls. Rights of the Earls of Deira, in the reign of the Confessor, adduced for the purpose of ex- emplifying the general nature of the dignity. 2 z 2 ccclvi PRO OFS ANID ILLUSTRATIONS. The official Earls had probably the same rights as those who held their territories by a feudal right, and it is therefore difficult to distinguish between the two classes. The greater part of the Danish Earls appointed by Canute seem to have Been of the official class. IBut all the great Earls under the Confessor evidently considered themselves as Peers, and as equally possessing vested rights, which could not be legally assailed by the King. P R O O FS ANI) IILLUSTR.ATIO N S. ccclvii T IE N UIR E S. IBOCLAND and FOLKLAND — LÆNLAND — HERIOTS — SER VICES. IBocLAND, derived its name from the mode of its creation, and Bocland,—i. e. land r. • ¥ re r • granted by * landboc,'* included many classes oftenure. In its primary sense, Bocland, ἐὰ signifies land granted by lamdboc or charter. Such a grant pro- ceeded from the compact of the parties ; the tenure, and the conditions according to which it was held, might, therefore, be subject to the greatest varieties. A feorm or rent might be reserved, or the land might be wholly free. The property might be held for lives or at will, for services, certain or inde- finite, or with no reservation of services '. Bocland, constituted the one principal genus of territorial property. The other was Folklamd*, of which we know little Ęt more tham the name. It is scarcely ever mentioned in the y Inmemoriai usage. Anglo-Saxon muniments: and the paucity of notices concerning IFolkland resulted, in all probability, from its nature, viz. that the land derived under a charter, and held by immemorial custom and usage, was not affected by the ordinary modes of con- veyance. After such land had become the subject of a written grant, it changed its nature, and was converted into Bocland*. ' Allen's Inquiry, p. 155. * From the import of the following passage it is evident that the two qualities of IBocland and Folkland comprehended all the land respecting which a claim of right could be raised (Edward the Elder, 2). Eac we cwædon hwaes se werthe wêrê the othrum rihtes wyrnde, athor oththe on boclande oththe on folclande, hwonne he him rihte worhte beforan thaem gerefam. Gif he thonne nan rihte naefle ; ne om boc lamde ne on folclande, that se wære the rihtes wyrnde scyldig xxx scill. with thome cyning. æt othrum cyrre eac swa : æt thriddam cyrre cyninges oferhyrnysse, that is cxx scill. buton he ær geswice. Lænland, though plainly distinguishable for some purposes from Bocland, was pro- bably included under that mame, inasmuch as it was granted by Landboc or charter. * This is Spelman's opiniom,—** Terra popularis, scilicet quæ jure communi possi- ccclyiii P R O OTFS AN D ILLUSTRATI O N S. Testamentary disposi- tions unknown to the ancient Teutons. burden. Judging from the appellation, for we have little else to guide us, Folkland, was land originally possessed |by the nation, tribe, clan, or sept, but which had been allotted, in severalty, to individuals. As the * trinoda necessitas,* or the obligation of contributing to the ** Fyrd,* or military service, and to the repairs of the burghs and highways, is always expressed in the most general terms, Folkland must have borne the common How Folkland was conveyed we know not. As there are no charters concerning it, we may suppose it was transferred in the presence of the Folkmoot, amd by the delivery of some visible symbol. And speaking with less doubt and hesitation, we can affirm that no testamentary disposition could alienate Tolkland from the heir, and that it could only be affected by transactions ìnter vivos. Testamentary dispositions were wholly unknown to the Teutonic nations*; at this day, such a power does not apply to lands held by copyhold or customary tenure. Strictly speaking, these lands are not Folkland, but they retain a great affinity thereto. They are Anglo-Saxon tenures, which, though much modified by the law of the later ages, have survived the Conquest. Copyholds, or customary tenements, as is well known, are not the subject of testamentary devise. If the tenant wishes to pass the lands to a devisee, he surrenders them to the use of his will. He comes into Court amongst his Peers, and declares, or makes known to the Lord that he wishes that the lands shall go, after his decease, to such persons as he shall name in his will. The superior is merely the medium through whom the land is transferred. He receives the land from the tenant, in order that it may be made to vest in the devisee. detur, vel sine scripto. Ei contraria quæ Bocland dicitur.'' Lye adds, ** ad volun- tatem domini, censum amnuum pensitans, et officiis servilibus obnoxia,'' for which last assertion, adopted from Somner, no competent ancient authority can be found. * Tac. Germ. 19. P R O O FS AND I1LLUSTRATI O N S. ccclix: Such appears to have been the original nature of the Anglo- Saxon Cuythe*, or bequest. The Tenant addresses the King, and prays that his wishes may be granted, that his will may stand; and whemever the quality of the land is mot described, and the testator solicits the King to carry his intentions into effect, I agree in the opinion* that the land was generally of the quality before described. The power of enabling the owner to make a devise, was vested in the Crown. AS chief of the state, the King could convert Folkland into Bocland 7. The license is solicited humbly, and as a favour, and it is possible that it was a request which might have been refused, and that the King did not act entirely in a ministerial capacity : but the legal nature of the transaction is not impaired or affected by considering the permission, as emanatingfrom the prerogative of the sovereign. In many of the Bocland grants made by or in the name of the sovereign, a full and absolute enjoyment of the property during life, and of bequeathing the same after the decease of the owner, is imparted by the Landboc. Boclamd thus became synonymous with inheritance *. It is very possible that many of Such charters or grants, appearing to proceed from the mere bounty and munificence of the King, were, in fact, formal conveyances, grounded upon resignations to a feudal superior, * Cypam or Cwipan,—to announce, speak out, declare, or notify. In ordinary lan- guage we preserve the word in the defective quoth. The Cwythe was at first merely the last declaration of the will of the testator. But as the word ** Will" has acquired a technical sense, so “ becwæpam," to bequeath, was soon restricted to the declaration thus emphatically made for the purpose of effecting the dispositiom of property. • Allen's Inquiry, p. 147. 7 And as such, the prerogative is enumerated amongst the “ consuetudines regum inter Anglos.” Carta alodii ad æternam hæreditatem. Forisfactura allodii et pretium £E; qui habent alodium quando ita profunde forisfaciunt se ipsos. (Text. Roff. p. 44.) * See p. ccxix. 3, 4. p. ccxxi. 7, 8. The precedents there given, are examples of the usual form. The Anglo-Saxon Cwythe, or bequest, a transaction in the nature of the surrender made by a copyholder to the use of his will. Many of the grants of Bocland, probably only instruments of coiivey- ance, grounded upon resignations or surren- ders. ccclx PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. or resulting from a surrender of the Folkland, made by the owner for the purpose of receiving it back, with am unfettered power of disposition, both conjectures being supported by the jurisprudence of the Feudal Kingdoms. Other of these Landbocs were probably the grants made by the sovereign pur- suant to a bequest. Once affected by such a grant, the Folk- land lost its nature and became Bocland. The owner of the IBocland might direct the descent of the property in any way which he thought proper. The practice is evinced by number- less examples. The succession of the property was limited, varied, or restrained, as suited the wishes of the testator, and the law protected the entail*. The greatest proportion, however, of the Boclands were probably such as the sovereign granted to his Thanes as the price of their services, sometimes in perpetual inheritance, sometimes for one or more life or lives". In such a case, if the tenant did not allow the land to pass to his heir, he named the persons who were to take it after * Alfred, 37. *° The power might be for three lives absolutely. The donor might have the power of nominating the “hæredes,'' or ** yrfweardes,” after which the land reverted to the lord (p. ccxxii. No. 11, 12, 13, 14, 19). It might be limited to two persons, “ two milites” in succession, with a power to the second life, if he should survive, of maming one of his two brothers (Hem. p. 210): to a man, his wife, and one of their children (Hem. p. 18S): to a widow, with power to name the lives from her children, if she should leave any, but if not, then from strangers in blood (App. Bede, p. 771). A * Minister *' who had *' earned'' a grant of blood from his lord to him- Selfamâ two of his heirs, makes his declaration or bequest that it shall go to his son, who may give the same to whom he likes best, so as the donor be a male, or of the spear side. Ego Oswald, &c. A. D. 963, annuente Regi Anglorum Eadgaro, Alfereque Merciorum Comite, necnon et familiæ Wiogornensis ecclesiæ, quandam ruris particulam, &c. cuidam ministro meo nomine Alfric, perpetua largitus sum hæredi- tate, et post vitæ suæ terminum, duobus tantum hæredibus immunem derelinquat, quibus defunctis ecclesiæ Dei in Wiorgorna-ceastre restituatur. Then follows the cythe or bequest. Ic Ælfric cype minan leofam Hlaforde, pæt ic 6n AEpelsige, minam suna, pæs landes pe ic to gearnode aefter minan dæge to habbanne his daeg, and æfter his dæge to syllane, pæm pe him leofast seo, and paet seo on pa spere hand. (Hem. 134.) TSometimes the Precaria or Laen was only for one life, as in the grant of Cranefield made by the Monks of Ramsey to the Earl of Hereford (p. ccxc.) PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccclxi his death, sometimes by a memorandum om the charter, some- times by his Cwithe or bequest. There is an early and very remarkable example of a grant made by the Bishop of Worcester to Bertwulf, King of Mercia, for the purpose of purchasing his protection and defence, and to the end that he might be the friend and defender of the See. This grant was made for five lives. After which the land was to revert to the Church 11. Land thus granted for lives (p. ccv.) constituted one of the classes of Laenlamd. We have a precedent of the renewal of such a grant : the charter by which Archbishop Oswald grants or gebroks three hydes of land to his Thane or Minister *, is of this description. He held it as Laenlamd before, but now he takes it back with a further estate, for three lives: and as long as they endure, the tenant need not pray to the lord for a renewal of his tenure. Laenland, without doubt, included various classes of interest, and the Lord might absolutely deny any right of perpetual in- lneritance. This is expressed with great precision in the liberties «of “ Oswald's law.” In whatever manner the lands were lent for the purpose of serving the Bishop, he who held the Laen or Loan was never to acquire any hereditary right in the same, nor claim it as his Feud except at the will of the Bishop, and according to the agreement which they had made *. “ Hem. pp. 5, 6. * p. ccxxii. 13. “ Et hæ prædictæ ccc hidæ fuerunt de ipsius dominio ecclesiæ, et quocunque modo præstitæ fuissent, et cuicumque præstitæ fuissent, ad serviendum inde episcopo, ille qui eam præstitam terram tenebat, nullam omnino consuetudinem sibimet retinere poterat, nisi per episcopum ; neque terram retinere, nisi usque ad impletum tempus, quod ipsi inter se constituerunt, et nusquam cum hac se vertere poterat, nec jure hereditario eam usurpando retinere, aut feudum suum eam clamare poterat, nisi secundum voluntatem episcopi, et secundum conventionem, quam cum illo fecerat. QHem. vol. I. p. 287.) In the greater part of the manors belonging to the see of Worcester, the tenants hold by demise in court for three lives. VoL. I. 3 a. (pp. cciv. ccxxiii.) Land thus granted one of the classes of Laen- land. Liberties of Oswald's law. ccêlxii PRO OFS ATNID ILLUSTRATIO N S. Land granted upon con- dition of performing domestic services. Heriots or reliefs duo on the death of the land- holder. Force, however, overcamie the law ; many of such ** Loans** might be made to these powerful Tenants, who, ifthey once had possession of the land, were- little willing to surrender the deposit when the term had expired; and it was in vain for St. Cuthbert to demand restoration of the Præstita which had been granted to a Nolthumbrian Earl*. It is most probable, that the tenant of Laenland was a Thane, in respect of his Laen or Peud, and hence, such land may have been sometimes called Thaneland, but this is a point of great difficulty. The ** Hylde- athe," or oath of fealty, seems to point at land held by con- ventionary tenui;e, such as the Laema before described. Land might be granted as the pay for domestic services.— Eanswitha obtains a loam upon condition of washing and making the church limen *. Godwin, in granting his lands, reserves the life-estates of his Dapifer and his Goldsmith '°. Upon the death of every landholder, the sovereign or the Lord was entitled to claim the Here-geat or Heriot %. The * Sunt autem nonnullæ terrarum possessiones, quas Aldunus Episcopus, sui tem- poris Comitibus Northanimbrorum, dum necessitatem paterentur, ad tempus quidem præstitit: sed violentia Comitum qui eis successerunt pene omnes eas a dominio ecclesiæ alienavit. (Sim. Dun. Hist. Dun. p. 29.) * Ideo ego Demeberht Episcopus, simul cum mea familia ** on Wigornaceastre,” hoc decretum definiendo confirmavi, ut terram illam Hereforda, cujus quantitas est ii. cassatorum, dabo Eanswithe possidendam, quamdiu ipsa vivat, si illam post me superstitem in seculo derelinquo, ea conditione, ut ipsa sit semper subdita //igornensi ecclesiæ, et ipsius familie,Thoc modo, ut semper illius ecclesiæ indumentum innovet et mundet, et augeat, et postquam ipsa viam patrum incedat, terra supradicta ad JVigor- mensem ecclesiam absque omni contradictione conscripta est. (Hem. p. 330.) * Hist. Rams. p. 420. - '7 Here-geat apparatus bellicus, (Lye.) Under the name of Herwede, Heerge- vette, Herwad, Hergevæde, and Hergerette, these gifts or payments were equally lxnown to the Germanlaw. The distinction of the modern law, accordingto which'the FIeriotis due from the executors of the deceased, whilstithe Reliefis paid'by the heir, was not known in these early times, and the • distinction was equally unknown in ancient Germany. Hergette etiam est præstitio heredum, qui ut successionem hære- ditariam in feudo relevent, vel equum defuncti vassalli, vel alias res, vel pecuniæ summam, offerre tenentur Domino, (Halthaus, p. 8S4.) PRIO.O'FS A NT) ILLÜSTRATIONIS; cccfxiii extent of these payments, which, in the laws of William, are termed Reliefs*; appear distinctly from the general decla- ratory Statute of the Dane. Eight horses,—four saddled and four unsaddled,—four helmets, four coats of mail, eight spears, eight shields, four swords, and two hundred mancusas of gold, were to be tendered by the heirs of the ** Earl." From the heirs of the IKing's Thane (the Baron ofthe Norman text), four horses,—two Saddled and two unsaddled,—two swords, four spears, four shields, a helmet, a coat of mail, and fifty mancusas of gold. The reliefs due from the inferior Thanes (the Vavassurs. of William's laws) differed in the three great divisions of the empire. In East-Anglia and Mercia each paid two pounds. In Wessex no money is mentioned as due from the Thane, but his horse, his harness, his weapons, or his ** halsfang,” his collar of estate or ** torques,* became the property of the King. In «IDane law* the rate was more burdensome. The Heriot; of the Thane or Baron who had ** socne,” or jurisdiction, was four pounds., IBut if he had made any further declaration or bequest, probably, if he had made his owythe concerning any IFolkland which he wished to convert into. Bocland, then two horses,—ome saddled and one unsaddled,—one sword, two spears, two shields, and fifty mancusas of gold, and who had less, and was less able to pay, was to render two pounds. IFrom the Lagemen, or territorial magistrates of Cambridge, as large a relief was. exacted as from the Thane, together with a palfrey, and the arms of one knight or soldier °. A proof is hereby given of the rank which these magistrates possessed, and we also obtain a kind of certificate of the extent of land which they held. With respect to these fumctionaries, it is noticed, that in Stamford, though they had ** sake and soke ** over their * p. xcv. Canute, II. 69. *° Grentebrigscire, p. 189. 3 a 2 ccclxiy PRO O FS AND II, LUSTRATIONS. Local customs as to Heriots. men, yet the Heriot did mot belong to them, but either to the Earl or the King*. If a Burgess of Hereford served the King on horseback, as a knight, his horse and his arms were delivered upon his death as a relief to the King. If he had no horse, then ten shillings were paid, otherwise the King'became entitled to the burgage land*. The Burgess of Shrewsbury paid a relief of ten shillings*. The like was due in Chester, whem the Burgess took up his land, or the land of his kinsman*. This sum, therefore, seems to have been the ordinary amount or average of the relief paid by this class of tenantry, and when mo relief is due, the fact is expressly stated in the record**. Lastly, the Villain was to render his relief or heriot; and the best beast which he possessed,—horse, ox, or cow,—was to be presented to his lord *, being, as is familiarly known, the Heriot generally due from the Copyholder of the present day. The general outline of the system was varied by local customs, some of which are noticed in Domesday. The representative of the Berkshire Thane was bound to present the hawks and hounds of the deceased to the King*. In Nottinghamshire, if a Thane held above eight manors, the sum of eight pounds was paid to the King in lieu of any relief. If he held under that number, three marks of silver were paid to the * Vicecomes*.” The same custom prevailed in Yorkshire*, so that in a con- ■* * Lincolnscire, p. 336 (b). *' Herefordscire, p. 179. ** Sciropescire, p. 252. * Cestrescire, p. 262 (b). ** Euruicscire, p. 29S (b). ** Laws of the Conqueror, p. xcvi. * Tainus vel miles Regis dominicus, moriens, pro relevamento, dimittebat Regi omnia arma sua, et equum unum cum sella, et alia sine sella; quod si essent ei canes vel accipitres, præsentabantur Regi, ut si vellet acciperet. (Berochescire, p. 56, b.) *' Tainus habens plusquam sex maneria, non dat terræ relevationem nisi Regi tantum octo libras, si habet sex tantum vel minus, vicecomiti dat relevationem tres marcas argenti, ubicunque maneat, in burgo vel extra. (Snotinghamscire, p. 2S0, b.) * Relevationem terrarum dant solummodo Regi illi Taini, qui plusquam sex maneria habuerint; relevatio est octo lib. Si vero sex tantum maneria vel minus habuerint, vicecomiti pro relevatione dant tres marcas argenti. (Euruicscire, p. 29S, b.) PRO OFS ANI) IILLUSTRATIO NS. `ccêlxv siderable portion of the Danelagh, the general rate was in- creased by the usages of the country. And the Freemam holding of the great Lordship of Derby paid forty shillings, if he wished to have his father's lands*. - In Kent, the King had relief from all the * Allodarii,” excepting certain persons, upon whose death the relief belonged to those who had the ** sac and soke* of their lands°. The foregoing instances are sufficient to show that the relief was an incident of tenure in the strictest sense of the word. It fell to the lord in respect of the land, and was paid by the heir in respect of the land. Generally, it was due to the lord who possessed the soke, or jurisdiction ; whatever had been its origin, it had ceased to be an arbitrary fine ; and, from the general wording of the law, we may infer, that no land held by any vassal, as of a superior, was free from the burden thus imposed. Whatever services the lord remdered to the sovereign, he, im his turm, could exact from his vassals. He could demand their aid towards the IFyrd, their contribution towards the payment of taxes, and, if they transgressed against the law, or were banished from the country, the land reverted to the superior*'. Lands liable to service could only be held by performance of such service; and suit of court was one of the tokens of *° Si quis terram patris sui mortui habere volebat, quadraginta sol. relevabat ; qui . nolebat, et terram et omnem pecuniam patris mortui Rex habebat. (Inter Ripam et Merseiam, p. 269, b.) i ° Et quando moritur Alodiarius, Rex inde habet relevationem terræ, excepta terra Sanctæ Trinitatis, et S. Augustini, et S. Martini, et exceptis his, Godric de Burnes, et Godric Carlessone, et Arnold Cilt, et Isba Biga, et Siret de Cilleham, et Turgis, et Normam, et Azor. Super istos habet Rex forisfacturam de capitibus eorum tantummodo: et de terris eorum habet relevamen, qui habent suam sacam et socam, et de his terris, scilicet Goslaches et Bocheland, et alium Bocheland, et tertium Bocheland, et Herste, i. jugum de Ora, et i. jugum de Herte. (Chent, I.) * Hem. pp. 76, 77. The Lord cntitled to claim the services ofhis Vassals. Escheat. Suit of Court. ccclxvi PR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATTONIS. subjection*- ' If a tenant, died, leaving a daughter, the lörd WardslipandMarriage, could give her in marriage to a knight, in order that the service might be duly performed* ; and it should seem that a widow, * Four hydes ofland in Benningworth, and fifteen hydes in Hantona, in the hun- dred of Oswald's law, were claimed by the Abbot of Evesham. The abbot appears to have denied the services. The first was heard by the king's justices appointed by his writ or patent, and terminated by the submission. Hæc est commemoratio placiti, quod fuit inter W. Episcopum et Walterum Abbatem de Evesham, hoc est, quod ipse episcopus reclamabat super ipsum abbatem, sacam et socam, et sepulturam, et ciricsceat, et requisitiones, et omnes consuetudines, faciendas ecclesiæ Wigornensi in hundredo de Oswaldeslawe, et geldam regis et servitium et expeditiones in terra et in mari de xv. hidis de Hantona et de iiii°* hidis de Benningewrde, quas debebat Abbas tenere de Episcopo: sicut alii feudati ecclesiæ, ad omne debitum servitium Regis et Episcopi, libere tenent. De hac re fuit magna contentio inter Episcopum et Abbatem, qui Abbas diu resistens injuste hoc defendebat. Ad ultimum tamen hæc causa ventilâta et discussa fuit per justitiam, et breve, et preceptum Regis Willielmi senioris, quod misit de Normannia, in presentia Gosfredi Constantiensis Episcopi, cui Rex man- daverat, ut interesset predicto placito, et faceret discernere veritatem inter Episcopum et Abbatem, et fieri plenam rectitudinem. Ventum est in causam. Conventus magnus factus est in Wirecestra vicinorum Comitatuum et Baronum ante Gosfridum Episcopum. Discussa est res, facta est supradicta reclamatio W. Episcopi super Abbatem. Abbas hanc defendit : Episcopus legitimos testes inde reclamavit, qui tempore regis Edwardi hæc viderant, et predicta servitia ad opus Episcopi susceperant. Tandem, ex præcepto justitiæ regis et decreto baronum, itum est ad judicium.—The abbot withdrew his suit, the shire attested the agreement between the parties, and a writ of execution was issued in favour of the abbot upon. the concord. (Hem. pp. 80, SI.) Offa, grants Cropthorne to the Bishop of Worcester,—eo tenore ut quisquis habuerit aliquem ex ipsis viculis, venerabili Episcopo Tillhere, omnibusque suis suc- cessoribus servitium faciat, in vectigalibus, et expeditionibus omnibusque aliis sub- jectionibus, qualescumque Episcopus ipse suique successores, mihi meisque successo- ribus persolvere debuerint. Si vero aliquis ex ipsis hominibus deliquerit, vel de patria, in exilium missus fuerit, vel alio aliquo modo de honore pulsus fuerit, terra ipsa, sine omni refragatione, antiquæ ecclesiæ in Wigreceastre restituatur. (Hem. .96. - p É? at the same time the lord might discharge his right of escheat. Oswald gebooks two mansus at Clifford, to his Thane or ** Minister,'' Wihthelm, for his own life, and the lives of two heirs, but with a proviso, that let him do whatever he may do, the land is not to be forfeited to the Church. (Hem. p. 201.) * Hanc terram tenuit Sirof de Episcopo, tempore Regis Edwardi, quo mortuo, dedit Episcopus filiam ejus cum hac terra, cuidam suo militi, qui et matrem pasceret, et Episcopo inde serviret. (Wirecestrescire, p. 173.) PRO `O FS AT\ D TILLUSTRATIO N'S. êcclxvii holding the lands of her husband in dowry, could not marry again without the consent of the King*. The law of Canute professes to secure to her the right of making her choice ; mor was the marriage of Wife or Maiden to be sold. But the suitor, though he was prohibited from bargaining with the lord, might show his gratitude for the assistance which he had received in wooing*. He might give a present to the party by whose influence he obtained the Lady's hand ; and as she could not accept him whom she liked best, without the King's assent, the freedom of choice enjoyed under King Canute's congé d'élíre, may have differed little in practice, from a recognized power over the disposal of her person and property. .There are some passages which seem to show that Boclamd placed the owner in immediate subjection to the Crown. The Ring was to have the Wites of all who held Bocland*, and if the owner committed any crime punishable by outlawry, his Bocland was forfeited to the King, whoever might be his Lord *, that is to say, that the prerogative of the Crown compelled the rights ofthe other Lords to give way. In subsequent times the same species of prerogative may be observed. If the tenant held land of the Crown, and of a mesne lord, the latter lost the wardship of the heir. ** Hanc villam, antequam Daci regnum Angliæ invasissent, quidam Anglus hæredi- taria sorte possidebat. Cui cum natura liberos invidisset, sine hærede mortis legem subiens, conjugi suæ superstiti eam reliquit dotis nomine possidendam. Cnutonis. ergo Regis tempore, quidam Dacus cum memorata muliere ex permissione Regis, connubium trahens, prædictæ villæ dominium, jure conjugis, est adeptus. (Hist. Rams. p. 441.) - -* - ** Andlet no man compel either wife or maiden to [marry him] whom she herself shall dislike, nor let her be sold for money, excepting as to what he may give of his own free will. (Canute, II. 72.) + · · * Ethelred, 2. *' Camute, 12. JVites or fines incurred by the holders of Boc- land, to belong exclu- sively to the King. öcclxviii PR O O FS ANT) IILLUSTRATIONS. The ** Fyrd " or « Er- pedition,'' the * Herr- bann '' of the Franks. Summoned by the king. THE « FYRD,''—** EXPEDITION,'—or GENERAI, ARRAY. HowEVER different the duties imposed upom the various classes may have been, the ** Fyrd," the ** Expeditio,” or ** Herr-bann,” evidently embraced all the force of the country'. The levy was summoned by the King, and the necessary defence of the realm or empire involved every case in which military service could be required*. The Host or Here was assembled by royal Bamm or edict*, and the ** Scyp-fyrd,” or maval expedition, was called out in the same manner as the land force. Trom the earliest period to which our documents can reach, we find the Fyrd appearing as a general armament of the people, comprehending every rank, though under different obligations and penalties. If the Sithcumd man, being a landholder, remained at home, he forfeited all his land, and paid a fine of * In the Latin chronicles and charters, both of the Anglo-Saxons and of France and Germany, Expeditio is the term most usually employed, but Herebannum in the capitularies. Fyrd (A.-S.), from Faren, to issue, or go forth, requires no comment. The Anglo-Saxons had the phrase of * bannan ut hene,'' (Saxon Chron. p. 230), and probably the term Herebann was also in use amongst them, though we cannot quote any document in which it appears. * See the grants to the clergy, passim. In Æthelbald's general charters (Concilia, I. 101), it is declared that they were to be freed from all taxes and burdens,— omnibus operibus absolvantur nisi sola quæ communiter fruenda sint, omnique populo edicto Regis facienda jubentur, id est, in structionibus pontium, vel necessariis defen- sionibus arcium contra hostes. * These assemblages are sometimes expressly stated to have been made by the assent of the Witenagemot. 999 The King counselled with all his Witam, to proceed against the enemy with “ scip-fyrd " and with *' land-fyrd.” 1010 And all the Witam were summoned to the King, that counsel should be taltem how this land should be defended. But whatever was counselled, it did not stand further than a mouth. And there was not a head man who would assemble or gather any Fyrd, but every one fled, as he best might, and furthermore no Shire would assist or stand by the other. P R O O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccclxix one hundred and twenty shillings. If he did not possess any land, sixty shillings was his fine ; whilst thirty shillings was the Fyrdwite* of the Churl*, and, to the last, it continued as a levy of all the population of the country *. Attendamce was strictly enforced ; whoever departed from the Rings Host forfeited all his property. This we ascertain from a declaratory law enacted in the time of Ethelred 7. In Canute's statute there is another law to the same effect ;—if a man fleeth from his Hlaford, or from his Gerefa, whether it be from « scip.fyrd* or ** land:fyrd,* let him lose all that he hath, and * The vite or penalty, for neglecting the Fyrd. * More literally, if he remain [sitting] at home. Gif se sithcundman landagende, fyrde forsitte, gesylle hund twelftig scili, and tholige his landes, unlandagende syxtig scill. Ceorlisc, thrittig scill to fyrdwite. (Ina, § 51.) * That het se cyng abannan ut, ealne theodscipe. (Sax. Chron. A. D. 1009.) 7 Namely, the very curious decree of the Council of Enham ........ ę ó -* -* Quodam tempore contigit, ut Regis Aethelredi edicto concrepante, Archipræsulumque Aelfeahi et Wulfstani hortatu instigante, universi Anglorum optimates die sancto Pentecostes ad locum, ab indigenis Eanham nominatum, acciti sint convenire. Col- lecto itaque ibidem Christicolarum coetu venerabilum quamplurimorum, de Catholicæ cultu religionis recuperando, deque etiam rei statu publicæ reparando vel consulendo, plura et non pauca, ut pote divinitus inspirati, ratiocinando sermocinabantur. Denique in eorundem synodalis exordio sermocinationis episcopi semetipsos primitus fidei speique et charitatis, quatuorque principalium virtutum, prudentiæ videlicet et justiciæ, fortitudinis quoque et temperantiæ decore adornari mutuis colloquiorum instructionibus salubrium, invicem cohortabantur; statueruntque pro invicem cotidi- anam interventionem ; atque pactum pacis et concordiæ fideliter firmiterque inter se confirmabant. . . • • • • • • • • • • • . Arcium muri, urbes, oppida, castella, civitates, pontes reparentur, restaurentur, renoventur, vallis et fossis muniantur et circumvallentur. Naves per singulos annos, ob patriæ defensionem et munitionem præparentur, postque sacrosanctum Pascha cum cunctis utensilibus competentibus simul congre- gentur. Qua igitur etiam poena digni sunt, qui navium detrimentum in aliquibus per- ficiunt, notum cunctis esse cupimus. Quicunque aliquam ex navibus per quampiam inertiam vel per incuriam, vel negligentiam corruperit, et tamen recuperablis sit; is navis corruptelam vel fracturam ejusdem persolidam, prius recuperet, regique deinde ea, quæ pro ejusdem munitionis fractura sibimet pertinent, rite persolvat. Si autem de expeditione, id est de procinctu, cui ipsé Rex intererit, sine licentia quisquam discesserit, rerum facultatumque discrimen cunctarum incurrat. (Concilia, I. pp. 292, 294.) VoL. I. 3 b Penalties imposed upon defaulters. ccclxx PR O OFS ANID ILLUSTRATIONS. Local customs altering the general law of mili- tary service. his life to boot ; and let the Lord seize his property, and all the land which he granted to him ; and if he have Bocland, let it escheat into the King's hand. And the man who falls before his Lord in the Expedition, either within the realm or without the realm, let the heriot be forgiven to him, and let the heirs enter into possession of the land and property, and divide the same according to law*.— Many local customs were grounded upon the general law. In Worcestershire, a freemam having * sak and soc* was liable to forfeit all his land in case of default. IBut if he was the Vassal of a Lord, he could redeem his neglect by paying forty shillings to the substitute whom the lord had provided ; if no substitute was found, then the lord paid forty shillings to the king, and the vassal, in his turn, paid forty shillings to the lord °. In Kent, a manor or township is stated as owing one * Miles* to the Archbishop, the lord thereof. From the special notice, we must conclude, that this was either more or less than the usual rate of service required by the general custom of the shire '°. * Canute, II. 75, p. 176. I add the very ancient Latin text from Rosenwinge's excellent edition, p. 98,— Si quis, timore perterritus, a domino suo aut a sociis suis, fugerit de bello, sive in terra sive in mari, careat omnium bonorum suorum cum vita, et dominus suus accipiat omnia, quæ illius sunt, et terram si quam ei antea dedisset ; si autem habere allodium sit Regis. , & • * - si quis vero ceciderit ante dominum suum in bello, sive in patria sive extra patriam, relevatio domini sui, scilicet heregeat, perdonetur uxori ejus, vel hæredibus; hæredes autem habeant omnia ejus cum terris, et juste dividant. » Quando Rex in hostem pergit: si quis edictu ejus vocatus remanserit, si ita liber homo est ut habeat socam suam et sacam et cum terra sua possit ire quo voluerit; de omni terra sua, est in misericordia Regis. Cujuscunque vero alterius Domini liber homo, si de hoste remanserit, et Dominus ejus pro eo alium hominem duxerit, xl. sol. I)omino suo, qui vocatus fuit emendabit. Quod si ex toto nullus pro eo abierit; ipse quidem Domino suo xl. sol. dabit. Dominus autem ejus, totidem sol. Regi emendabit. (Wircestrescire, p. 172.). , ° Reddit viginti tres libras et unum militem in servitio Archiepiscopi. : • (Chent, p. 3.) v. PRO OFS ANI) ITLLUSTRATIO NS. ccclxxi When the general array was proclaimed, there was, in some shires, a general assessment of the whole territory, grounded upon the estimated admeasurement of the land. From every five hydes, one soldier was furnished, and the other hydes con- tributed to his stipend, each paid four shillings for the two months during which his service was to endure. This money was impounded ; it was not paid as a tax to the king, but kept back, in order to satisfy the military '. In some boroughs, as in Colchester *, every house contributed to the maintenamce of the ** soldiers," so called by the compilers of Domesday, but who appear to have been only the ordinary Fyrd, or militia of the shire. All Exeter contributed only as five hydes of land*. In Warwick ten burgesses served for all the rest ; a defaulter paid the heavy fine of one hundred shillings ; the same city also furnished four Bat-suems*, or Boatswains, for the naval expedition : but four pounds might be paid as a commutatiom for the marimers*. The men of Wallingford, when they performed service, followed either on horseback or by water, but within a certain boundary, beyond which, they were not required to pass". Trom Leicester, twelve burgesses were obliged to accompany the king in the land army ; ifthe expedition was by sea, then four performed the service. Dover contributed only to the scyp-fyrd, twenty vessels, each containing twenty-one men, for the space of fifteem days". • " Si Rex mittebat alicubi exercitum ; de v hidis tantum unus miles ibat, et ad ejus victum vel stipendium de unaquaque hida dabantur ei iv. sol. ad ii. menses. ' Hos vero denarios Regi non mittebant, sed militibus dabantur. Si quis in expe- ditionem summonitus non ibat, totam terram suam erga Regem forisfaciebat. Quod si quis remanendi habens, alium pro se mittere promitteret, et tamen qui mittendus erat remaneret; pro l, sol. quietus erat Dominus ejus. (Berrochescire, p. 56.) * Essexia, II. 211. * Devenescire, p. 100. '* The Swain or Youngman of the boat, i. e. the strongest or most robust of the crew, and therefore the Head-man. ** Warewicscire, p. 23S. ** Berrochescire, p. 56. • '7 Chent, I. 3 b 2 ccclxxii PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. (Sec p. 176.) Detachments of certain districts, entitled to par- ticular stations in the Fyrd. The Fyrd might be raised either by the Earl* or by the ** Vicecomes.” Possibly their summons was considered as equivalent to the summons of the King*. The troops of each Shire were marshalled together * ; and we cannot doubt but those of each Burgh and Hundred were assembled around their own standard *'. The Bishop of Worcester had a leader who headed his con- tingent both by sea and land ; but it may be ascertained, that many of the prelates led on their troops, as boldly as amy lay lordl*. Many of the battalions were entitled to claim particular posts in the army. The men of Archenfield had their station of honour amidst the Fyrd of the shire of Hereford. They * Of the fact there are many examples in the chronicles; for instance, the trans- actions of the years 1010, 1051. Hereford, p. 179. Si vicecomes evocat eos ad siremot, meliores ex eis, sex aut septem vadunt cum eo. Qui vocatus non vadit, dat duos solidos, aut unum bovem Regi, et qui de hundret remanet tantundem persolvit. Similiter emendat qui jussus a vicecomite secum ire in Walis non pergit. Nam si vicecomes non vadit, nemo eorum ibit; cum exercitus in hostem pergit, ipsi per con- suetudinem faciunt Avantwarde et in reversione Redrewarde. Hæ consuetudines erant Walensium T. R. E. in Arcenefelde. * Sciropscire, p. 252. - ° This year came the aforesaid army, after Easter, into East Anglia, and went up at Ipswich, where they heard say that Ulfcytel was with his fyrde. The Angles soon took flight, but Grantebricgscyre stood firmly against them. (Sax. Chr. A.D. 1010.) *' The Burgesses who held the lands of the Canons of York were mustered under the banmer of St. Peter. Quando Rex congregabat exercitum, unus homo tantum præparabant de totâ terrâ canonicorum, cum vexillo Sancti Petri, qui si Burgenses in exercitu irent, Dux et sig- nifier eos præcederet, sine Burgensibus vero nec ipse iret. (Carta Hen. I. de lib. Eccl. Ebor. Mom. VI. p. 1180.) OxoN. }Villielmus filius I?oberti de Nether-hortom, tenet unam virgatam terræ in Nether-hortom per serjanciam deferrendi penecellum coram hundredo, per quadraginta dies, ad custum suum proprium. (Rot. Itin. 25 Hen. III. m. 4.) * Edricus qui fuit, tempore Regis Edwardi, Stermannus navis episcopi et ductor exercitus ejusdem episcopi ad servitium Regis, (Hem. p. 81.) Edric served both by sea and by land. IPRO OFS AIN ID ILILU STRATIONS. ccclxxiii formed the vanguard when the ** Vicecomes” advanced against the enemy, and the rearguard when the troops returned from the foray. Kent possessed the same position in the army of Wessex; and the ** Burwara,* or Burgesses of London, were entitled to form the body-guard of the IXing*, and to protect the standard which he unfurled. Some of the customs seem to indicate a particular summons to individuals as well as a general summons to the shire. This important point, however, cannot be clearly ascertained. .& - The ship-service was rendered general by Ethelred ; and pursuant to the same emactment, the Shires were assessed to furnish a hauberk and a helm for every eight or nine hydes. The latter law rather implies, that a horseman, thus equipped and arrayed, should be sent to the Fyrd at the expense of the owner or owners of the definite quota of land*. This law may be compared with the Carlovingian regulations, by which the lieges provided arms and armour to the extent of their property*. The general array of the King's Host continued to be called by its old Saxon name of Fyrd as late as the reign of Henry I., * We collect these particulars from Wace (1957—1966). IKar go dient lte cil de Kent. Deivent férir primierement; U ke li Reis auge en estor Li primier colp deit estre lor. Cil de Lundres, par dreite fei, Deivent garder li cors li Rei Tut entur li deivent ester, IE l'estandart, deivent garder;— ** 100S Rex Anglorum Ethelredus de trecentis et decem cassatis unam trierem, de movem vero, loricam et cassidam fieri: et per totam Angliam naves intente præ- cepit fabricari. (Flor. Wigorn.)—of prym hund hidum and of tynum hydum ænne scægp and of ealita hidum, helm and byrnam. The Latin and Saxon chronicles differ, and the latter is obscure. I expect that the labours of Mr. Price and Mr. Petrie will remove this and many similar difficulties. * ** Omnis homo de duodecim iiiansis bruniam habeat. Qui vero bruniam habens, in exercitu non tulerit, omne beneficium cum brunia perdat. Capitulare, ann. S05, § 8, Ethelred's law concern• ing military and naval service. ccclxxiv PRO OFS AlND ILLUSTRATIONS. Watch and ward, how performed by the land- holders. Land specially granted for the perform- ance of such service, and we hence collect that, in popular estimation at least, there had not been any material change*°. Closely connected with the military service was the duty of Watch and Ward, which afterwards became the peculiar province of the Conservators of the Peace. Stretvarde was per- formed by four men from every hyde* in the Hundred ; but, like all other duties, it was often limited and defined by local customs. From the lands of the principal Kentish Thanes, the IKing was entitled to six days ward, either at Canterbury or Sandwich. The King was to provide them with meat and drink, and if he did not, they were discharged without fine*. Such a service was a general obligation, but lands might be granted upon the tenure of performing this important duty*°. * The register of Shaftesbury monastery (Bib. Harl. No. 61), amongst many other very curious documents, contains an enumeration of the Knights' fees belonging to the House, in the vernacular English of the period to which I allude, and which is thus rubricated by the scribe,—Thes beth thaere Knyghtene Londes, thil syllen into voerde- vare, myd the Kyng, myd hyre hors, and myd fiyre ygare for thare Chyrche of Sheftesbury. Them follows the particularizatiom, of which the first entry may be taken as a specimen,—That aerest lond hatteth, Chiklad, and ys on yhol Knyghtes- meteholm. This terrier is not a legal document drawn up by a clerk of the Ex-. chequer, in the language and phraseology of the King's Court, but the statement of a monk, who writes the feodary in his own mother tongue. - * Or perhaps one man from every ten hydes, for the texts differ. p. xcviii. * Chent, p. 1. De terris supra nominatis, Alnoldi Cild et similium ejus ; habet Rex custodiam, sex diebus apud Cantuariam vel apud Samuuic et ibi habent de rege cibum et potum. Si non habuerint, sine forisfactura recedunt. Si fuerint præmoniti ut conveniant ad sciram, ibunt usque ad Pinnedennam, non longius. Et si non venerint, de hac forisfactura et de aliis omnibus Rex c. solidos habebit, excepta Gribrige quæ viii. lib. emendatur. * Iste quoque Abbas, dictus Leofstanus, cognomento Plumstan, cum esset homo pius ac simplex, et omnibus compatiens periclitantibus, ut viatoribus et institoribus, necnon et peregrinis, beati Albani ecclesiam pro expiatione peccatorum suorum et corporum prosperitate, adeuntibus, vias prepararet tutiores: opaca nemora quæ a limbo Ciltrice usque Londoniam fere, a parte septéntrionali ubi præcipuè strata. Regia quæ Watlingestrata dicitur, fecit resecari, salebras explanari, pontes fabricari et abrupta viarum in planitiem redigi tutiorem. Abundabant enim eo tempore per totam Ciltriam nemora spatiosa, densa et copiosa, in quibus habitabant diversæ bestiæ, lupi, apri, tauri sylvestres et cervi abundanter: necnon et qui plus nocue- PRO OFS A N D IIL LUSTRATIONS. ccclxxv The Bridge and Causeway service, as well as the * Burgh- Bridge and Burghbote. hote,” were general obligations like the Fyrd, but their nature often subjected particular lands to the charge. Certain lands were specially liable to the repairs of Rochester bridge, each temure having its own pier*. For the repairs of the bridge and walls of Chester, one mam was bound to come from every . hyde in the shire, at the bidding of the Præpositus*'. , runt, prædones, latrones, vispillones, exules et fugitivi. Unde Abbas Leofstanus (non ad damnum, sed ad commodum hujus ecclesiæ) concessit cuidam militi strenuissimo, Thurnotho nomine, et duobus suis commilitonibus JValdef et Thurman, manerium de Flamsteede, pro quo dedit eidem Abbati I.eofstano, dictus Miles Thurnothus quinque uncias auri, et unum palefridum pulcherrimum, et unam leoparariam desiderabilem. Quod tamen factum est talis conditionis tenore, ut dictus Miles Thurnothus cum suis commilitonibus prænominatis, et eorum sequela, partes illas occidentales quæ maxime latronibus abundabant, tam a bestiis nocivis quam prædonibus tuerentur et potenter custodirent, et pro damnis si per desidiam eorum evenirent, competenter responderent. Et si communis guerra oriretur in regno, omnem diligentiam et totum posse fideliter adhiberent, ad ecclesiæ Sancti Albani tuitionem. Quod et ipse T. et ejus socii, eis fideliter adimpleverunt et eorum similiter hæredes, usque ad tempora Regis Willielmi, qui Angliam sibi conquisivit. Tunc enim ablatum est ab eis dictum manerium, quia pati jugum Normannorum dedignabantur. Et nemora adeuntes, indomabiles facti, et Normannis qui in suas terras se ingesserunt, insidias præparantes et domus eorum combusserunt et multos de illis peremerunt. Sed prosperante Rege memorato, omnes vel ad pacem, qualem qualem redierunt, vel capti (sicut sequens narratio declarabit) perierunt. Veruntamen quidam nobilis, Rogerus de Thoni nomine, cui successit in sortem distributionis illud manerium, noluit jus Sancti Albani auferre et servitium prædictum stenuè adimplevit. (M. Paris, Vita Abbatum S. Albani, pp. 45, 46.) - * Lambard's Kent, p. 3S5. *' Cestrescire,'p. 262 (ò). ° ccclxxvi P R O O FS A N D ILI,USTRATIONS. Thanes, originally the £f Ministri"* or Scrvants of the Anglo-Saxon so- vereigns. THANES and THANAGE—HUSCARLS. TIIERE is a great deal of obscurity with respect to the statiom and ramk of the Anglo-Saxon Thame. As far, however, as the word itselfis concerned, we can have no doubt of its primitive signi- fication, mor of its ultimate application. A Thegm or Them ! was originally a ** Minister ” or Servant, and thus the dignity, or rather the office, is denominated in the Anglo-Saxon charters: but it gradually became restricted to landholders: and at the time of the Conquest, and until the Anglo-Saxon written lam- guage passed entirely into colloquial English, the word was generally considered by historians as equivalent to the term ' * Baro*," and employed as designating the individuals in that class of society. The German antiquaries trace the ** Ministeriales,” or « Dienstleute *,* to the remotest age, and consider them as the followers of the Chieftains. The King's Thane was, in his origin, no better than any other Thane, but he would rise with lnis master, and the title would gain in estimation and dignity * From Thegnian—Themian (A. S.), Dienem (Germ.) -- * Thus it is stated in the Saxon Chronicle—Thrice did he [William the Con- queror] bear his Cynehelm or crown in each year, as often as he was in England. Ât Easter he bare it at Winchester,—at Pentecost, Westminster,—at “ Midwinter,'* Gloucester. And there were with him all the powerful men [ealle tha ricemen] of all England,—Archbishops and Bishops, Abbots and Earls, Thames and Knights [Thegenas and Cnihtas]. (Saxon Chron. p. 294.) Et tunc aderant ibi Archie- piscopi, Episcopi, Abbates, Consules, et Barones totius Angliæ. (Ann.Wav. p. 243.) In Domesday, Archbishops, Bishops, and the greatest Normam Barons, are all called Thanes,—Hi subscripti Tnini de Oxenfordscire habuerunt terram in Wallingford, Lanfranc Archiepiscopus, IRemigius Episcopus, Abbas de Sancto Albano, IR. Abbas, Comes Hugo, Walterus Giffard, &c. (Berrochescire, p. 56.) Thus, also, in tho account of the proceedings of the Council of Gloucester, 1127 (p. cccxxxiv.), the Thanes of the Saxon Chronicle are the Barons of the Chronicle of Melrose. * See Eichhorn, &c. PROO FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccclxxvii accordingly. We find the King's Thanes, designated as a distinct and superior class, at an early period of the law ; and though the term continued to be applied to persons of a very inferior degree, some so low as perhaps to be Thegms, or Serving- men, almost in theliteral sense; still, that circumstance would not detract from the dignity of the superior Thanes. Much diffi- culty, however, is occasioned to us, at this distance of time, by the ambiguities arising from such ** homonymes,” of which the different significations are perfectly intelligible, whilst they are applied to living institutions. When the word * Minister,” slides off our tongue, our hearers can tell at once, whether we allude to the First Lord of the Treasury, or to the Rector of the Parish, but it is not so certain that the application of the word would be always intelligible to a foreigner. Now, we, are as foreigners to the Anglo-Saxons, and this circumstance should De borne in mind, if the same word seems to be employed with varying, or even discordant meanings. In the later period of the Anglo-Saxon TEmpire the word Name ortile ofTiane, • *• «… extended to all the Thane*, which sometimes appears as equivalent to Homo *, or ììììsì,í, íí Vassal*, was extended to all members of the lamded popu- í'i'.'i.'j lowest grade, i. e. nei• lation, who not being either Aldermen or Ceorls, had yet a £.Auer- {10* right to assent to the enactment of laws*. They constituted a class between the highest nobility and the villainage. To them the Kings prits were addressed ; it was the Thanes who pro- nounced judgment, and gave testimony in the Shire*. It was * As in Domesday, Bedfordshire, p. 211, in which ** Alwoldus,” who held the manors of Bruneham, Stiventone, Pabenham, &c. is indifferently styled ** Teignus Regis Edwardi,'' and * Homo Regis Edwardi.” * This was the case as early as the reign of Athelstane:—see the Kentish Address (p. ccxxii.) Edward the Confessor's Writ of Restitution in favour of the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury, (Mon. I. p. 99.) addressed to Earl Harold, and the Archbishop and ** ealle mine Thegenas on Cent,” is grounded upon the judgment or doom of the Thanage,—* for tham that ic wille that se dom stande, that mine Thegenas gedemdam,” The question in this case was the validity of a donation, VoL. I. 3 c êcclxxviii PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. knights, or Cnihts, originally servants, like the Thanes. Laena or Feuds granted to Knights. Cniht be- comes a title of honour 1ike Thane. they who filled the ramiks 6f Harold's army, and whose lands were divided amongst the Normam chivalry °. In the Latin êharters the word * Miles " is the equivalent of Thane, and the epithet of Fidelis is usually added thereto. . The word Cniht not having been Latinised like * Teimus,” does not appear so prominently in Domesday. It seems, how- eyer, to have possessed both the same primitive, and the same secondary meaning. A Cniht, a Knecht (Germ.'), might be a servant of the lowest grade, a mere attendant upon his master. IBut the Cniht who obtains the Laen granted by Archbishop Oswald*, is evidently a Thane, a military Thame of the first class ; and, in the reign of the Confessor, we find that the IKnighthood of the Shire was, as nearly as may be, equivalent to the Thamage, or great body of landed proprietors*. * Thane* was equally applied to the Dames. The Thanes of the Danish IBurghs were the Land-Lords of these towns. But the Danish Thanes also constituted a distinct class, far out of the boun- The ** Thegenas on East Seaxan* are the witnesses of a Cythe orbequest (Writ of the Confessor, Mon. I. p. 107). Innumerable examples to the same effect may be given. The generaldirection, or greeting to the Thanes was continued after the Con- quest. One of the latest instances, occurs in a charter of Henry I., issued between l122 and 1135, in favour of the Archbishop of Canterbury,—H. thurh Godes gevu Anglelandes Cyning, grete ealle mine Bissceopes, and ealle mine Eorles, and ealle mine Sciregerevan, and ealle mine Thegenas, Frencisce and Englisce (Lye, App. No. 6). Canute addresses himself to the Barons of Winchester (p. ccxc.)—These are the Thanes of his charters in the Anglo-Saxon language. • Lib. Abb. Claud. B. VI. p. 120. The passage is very remarkable and instructive. * In Germam, Cnecht, now signifies a menial servant, but in the earlier period it designated a soldier of high rank, and one bound by oaths of fealty. A very anciént glossary, quoted by Wachter (S56), gives the following interpretations,—Militones— Chenehta. Sacramentis militaribus est implicatus—In Chemehto eide-ward pivangen. * p. ccxxii. No. 12. • * Thus in a chirograph of a concordor final agreemententered into, in the shire or county court of Worcester, many of the persons present are named,—“ Wulfric æt Cloddesheale, Saeword æt Uptuny, &c. and maenig god Cniht to eacan thysan.”— (Hickes's Pref. p. xxi.) Amongst the many curious points to be collected from this document, we may observe the commencement of the practice of giving local Surn{lIneS. , P R O O FS AND ILLUSTR AT I O N S. ccclxxix. daries of the Danelagh ". The * Bonde* and the Thane seem to be considered as the two extremes of the classes of the ordinary landed proprietors. The Bonde paid thirty pence, the lowest fine for the breaking of the Fasts of the Church ; the highest, . thirty shillings, was paid by the Thane". I do mot know whether we can consider the remarkable instances of fidelity and devotion shown by the Thames of Cynewulf and of Edwin, as proofs, merely of their deep sense of honour and allegiance. It is most probable that they were bound by some solemn engagement, and that they had received some price for their services: the evidence, showing that military services were pur- chased by donations of land, made by the State or Sovereign, is of the clearest description *, and I doubt if any charter or * Landboc* cam be found, containing a grant of land to any “ Thus the grant of a Laen made by Bishop Aldred (1049—1058) is attested by ** ealle pa pegenas on Wigeraceastrescire, Denisce and Englisce.” (Hickes, Gram. Angl. Sax. p. 142.) *' Hickes, Diss. Ep. I07. * Thus Bede, in describing the early youth of St. Benedict Biscop (Historia Abbatum Wircmuthensium), “Nobili quidem stirpe gentis Anglorum progenitus, sed non minori nobilitate mentis ad promerenda semper Angelorum consortia suspensus. Denique cum esset Minister Osuiu Regis, et possessionem terræ, suo gradui com- petentem, illo donante perciperet, annos natus circiter viginti et quinque, fastidivit possessionem caducam, ut adquirere posset æternam : despexit militiam cum cor- ruptibili donativo terrestrem, ut vero Regi militaret, regnum in superna civitate mereretur habere perpetuum: reliquit domum, cognatos et patriam, propter Christum et propter Evangelium, ut centuplum acciperet, et vitam æternam possideret."— (p. 293.) Such donations being made by Bertwulf contrary to law, they were resumed by the sentence of the Witenagemot.—* Contigit autem, quod Berhtwulf Rex Merciorum, ftollerat a nobis, et tradidit terram nostram, fquod recte acjure sub propria potestate ac libera possessione cum firma domatione, tradita est et concessa et firmata, ad sedem episcopalem, id est, ad Uueogermensem ecclesiam, IRex præfatus +suobus propriis hominibus condonavit, sicut se inimici homines docuerunt, hoc est, Stoltun JVassaburna Cyneburgingetun Tateringetun Codeswelle. Tunc perrexit ille Episcopus Heaberht, cum suis secum senioribus, in Pascha, ad Tomeworthie et suas libertates et cartulas ante fnominatorum terrarum secum habentes, et ibi ante Regem ejusque proceres fuerunt allecta, et ibi Merciorum optimates dejudicaverunt illi, ut male ac injuste dispoliati essent in suo proprio.” (Hem. p. 27) + Sic. (p. ccxxxviii. Note 19, and Bede, II. 9.) Military services pur- chased by donations of land. 3 c 2 ccclxxx ERO OFS AN D ILLUSTRATI O N S. (p. ccxix.) Tharies, particulars re- latimg to their style and condition, layman mot designated as a Thane, ** Minister,'° or Knight: and instances may be found in which such grants are expressly made as the price offealty or fidelity. *. According to the traditional verses relating to the ranks and orders of society, a Thane who had another Thane beneath him, holding five hydes of land, in respect whereof military service was performed, enjoyed the privilege of appearing by his Vassal when his oath was required*. Some other of the particulars con- cerning Thaneship are to be collected from the very curious rules or regulations of the ** Thegnagyld ** of Cambridge. The mem- bers bound themselves to contribute to the payment of the blood fine, incurred by any member, provided he had not committed the slaughter treacherously or wantonly. Also, to accompany the funeral, when the body of any deceased member was carried to the grave. It was assumed that every Thane had a ** Gerefa,” a Reeve, his Steward, or man of business, who, in the absence of his Master, received notices for him, consequently there was no Thane who was not a landed man ; and it may be remarked, that this privilege, of being represented by the Steward, con- tinued, till a very late period, to be one of the franchises of the Baronage. It was an excuse for a Thame when summoned, if he was engaged in the service of his * Hlaford,” a term which, in this instance, does not seem to be applied to the King, but to some other Lord or superior'*. It may be observed, how- ever, that a King's Thane, could also be commended to another Lord '°. * Si autem liberalis homo, id est thegem, ita profecisset, ut regi servisset, et vice sua equitaret in missatico Regis ; is talis, si haberet alium sub se qui ad expedi- tionem Regis quinque hidas teneret, et in aula Regis suo Domino servisset, et ter, nuntius Domini sui regem adisset ; is inquam talis, dehinc potest pro domino suo præjurare juramentum, quod supra nominavimus forath, in diversis rebus, ubicunque opus est. (Textus Roffensis, p. 47.) I have given the old Latin version, which expresses the sense of the original with tolerable accuracy. * Hickes, Diss. Ep., p. 20, '* Domesday, Norf., p. 130. PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccclxxxi After the Conquest, we find the term ** Thane* employed vwith considerable latitude. Barons were sometimes designated as Thanes. It was also used to denote all the Lieges, perhaps one of the original applications of the term, inasmuch as the Germans trace it in their ** Unter-tham,” i. e. subject. It was also sometimes rendered by “ Allodarius,'° a term almost foreign to the English law, and which, in this country, never obtained any very precise or technical meaning; though generally employed as the designation of a person holding inheritable land ". Some Thane-lands or Thamage lands appear at first to have been con- ventionary tenures, in which the Tenant had not a certain estate unless he could bargain with his Lord. The term died away in the South, but in the Northern counties, Thanages continued till the fourteenth century, being then held by pecuniary rents, which could mot be altered by the Lord '7. The Thanes ofIan- cashire, who paid a fine to be quit of talliage, 13 Hen. III.'*, were probably tenants of this description. The Huscarls were the ** King's own,* the body-guard of the IDanish Sovereigns *°. They were retained after the restoration * In the Saxon charter of Henry I. he grants to the convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, sake and soke, and various other rights of jurisdiction,—** ofer swa fela pegena swa ic heom to gelætem habbe." (Lye, App. No. 6.) In another charter, of exactly the same form and tenor, in favour of the monastery of St. Augustine, he conveys the same right to them,—“ super omnes allodarios, quos eis habeo datos.” (Bib. Cott. Julius, D. II. 107.) But this latter charter is merely the confirmation of one, to the same effect, granted by the Confessor. “ In the inquisition taken upon the death of Henricus de Lacy, A.D. 1311, Thanage tenants are noticed as holding by pecuniary rents. (Whittaker's Whalley, p. 247.) i* + * Maddox, Hist. Exch. I. p. 417. i° Vita Sancti Elphegi, p. 145. See also Sax. Chron. p. 207 and p. ccxcii. They were also called Hirdmem. Probably they were the ** Commilitones,'' amongst whom Canute divided the English lands. (Hist. Rams. p. 438.) Cum enim, ut dictum est superius, Rex Cnuto, genere Dacus, Anglici principatus esset monar- chiam adeptus, quidam Angli nobiles, antecessorum suorum Regum proditores, ex ejus sententia proscripti et exterminati, Dacis commilitonibus Regis adjudicatas, sibi, suæque posteritati vel successioni hæreditates reliquerunt. Huscarls, the Body guard of the Danish Sovereigns. ccclxxxii PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Power of alienatiom. of the Anglo-Saxom line, and then they seem to have formed a class of Thames. The Confessor gives this title to Thurstam, who held land of him *, and many others are noticed in Domes- day*'. They had Vassals or ** Commendati** under them ; and the great Earls had Huscarls, like the King*. . In Domesday, whenever the Tenants had the power of aliena- tion, it is usually expressed with care, and when they had not the power, the factis signified, as will appear from the examples quoted below*. * In a charter by which he confirms the domation of ** Chalkhill," made by Thurstam to the Abbot :ind Monlcs of Westminster,— swa Thurstam min Huskarl hit furmest of me heold, und into paere halgan stowe geaf. (Hickes, Gram. Anglo-Sax., p. 159.) Grundesburgh—adhuc in eadem, in dominio, duo liberi homines, Burricus et Ailricus commendati Aischilli Huscarli (Suff. 441). Aschill appears as the King's Thane in Bedfordshire (p. 213), and this is probably the same individual. *' One of these entries contains some curious details. Legrum—istud quoque manerium, tempore Regis Edwardi, dedit Esgarus Haroldo, et Haroldus iterum dedit cuidam sui Huscarlo, nomine Scalpino. Et iste Scalpinus dedit uxori suæ in dote, videntibus duobus hominibus, scilicet Rogero Marescalca et quodam Anglico, et hoc testatur Hundredum, quod audierunt recognoscere Scalpin. (Essexia, p. 59.) ** Domesday, I. pp. 164, 140, 213. * Hoc Manerium (Bissopescote) tenuit Edwinus, homo Asgari Stalri, et potuit inde facere quod voluit. Hanc apposuit Radulfus Taillebosc in Loitone, Manerium Regis, per crementum quod ei dedit, et foris misit de Hundredo ubi se defendebat. T. R. E. E contra sumpsit alias quinque hidas de alio Hundredo, et posuit in Flictham Hundredo. (Bedefordscire, p. 209, b.) Ipse Episcopus (Constantiensis) tenet in Dena quatuor hidas et ibi sunt sex sochmanni et sex bordarii et duo servi—valent lx. solidos. Quando rec. similiter. T. R. E. xl. solidos. Hoc manerium tenuerunt sex sochmanni, homines Borret. fuerunt. De soca Regis tres hidas et dimidium, potuerunt dare et vendere et ad alterum dominum recedere sine licencia Borred, dimidium vero hidæ sine ejus licencia, dare vel vendere non potuerunt. (Bedefordscire, pp. 209, b, 210.) Hanc terram (Hergentone) tenuit Azelinus homo Comitis Tosti ; non potuit dare neque vendere sine licencia illius, qui Camestone, Manerium Comitis tenuit. (Bede- fordscire, p. 217, b.) P RO OFS AND II, LUSTRATIO N S. ccclxxxiii v* * . * w**- * TAXES, DANE-GELT, &c. THE Peter's Pence were collected orgathered in each Wapentake Taxes, how collected. by two true Thames and one Mass Priest'. I suppose that this was the usual mode of collecting the taxes, because nearly the same course was pursued in the reign of Ric. I.; and long after- wards. The Anglo-Saxon precedent was copied in the Anglo- Normam age, and a continued and uninterrupted usage seems to be implied*. The Danish Kings employed their Huscarls upon the agreeable service of levying the Dame-gelt (p. ccxcii.), amd those functionaries acted. with great rigour ; but the tax was equally insupportable under Ethelred. Elfric is compelled to sell his land, to discharge his arrears *. The territorial posses- sions of the Church and Clergy, and the ornaments of the fabric, shared the same fate *. ' And we willap, pat man namige, on ælcon wæpemgetace, twa triwe pegenas, and aenna massepreost and hi hit gegaderiam, and eft agifan. (Laws ofthe Northumbriam Clergy, p. 101.) * Thus the carucage levied by Richard I., after being assessed by the Township Jurors, was to be collected by the two Knights in every Hundred. Hæc pecunia reci- piebatur per manus duorum legalium militum de quolibet Hundredo. (Hov. p. 443.) * Hist. Eliensis, p. 471. Post modicum tempus contigit, quod idem Aluricus gravi tributo opprimebatur. Qui cum pecuniam a se exactam non haberet, venit ad Aedel- voldum Episcopum, et ad Brihtnothum Abbatem, obtulitque eis duas hydas suas de Dumham ad commutandum, pro tribus hydis, quas ipsi habebant in Cypenham, eo- pacto, ut tantum pecuniæ, quantum eis placeret, sibi ob incrementum ab eis daretur. Qui sic fecerunt, videlicet, terras commutaverunt, et ei quatuor libras insuper dederunt: facta est autem inter eos hæc conventio, sive commutatio, ac persoluta est Alurico hæc pecunia, juxta Grantebrucge in australi parte, coram toto populo illius provinciæ. Aluricus igitur eandem terram Brihtnotho Abbati liberavit in manu, primum coram xxiv. judicibus in prædicto loco, deinde etiam fecit similiter coram testibus legalibus, Edrico, et Alfelmo, cognomento Polcam, et Leofsio, Alfwii filio, et Osulfo, et Leovingo, et Alfnotho, et Uvi, et Oswio, et Grim, et Wlnotho, et Alurico, et Wensio, et Leofsio, et Alfhotho Godingi filio. * Plurimas terrarum possessiones, quæ nunc ab aliis injuste possidentur, et, villas quamplures, ad hanc ecclesiam jampridem juste pertinere, tam seniorum et predeces- sorum nostrorum relatu, quam etiam litterarum et testatorum serie didicimus, quas postea et regalium vectigalium importabilis exactio, et potentissimorum hominum impia direptio inique distraxit, et à monasterii possessione abstraxit. Sicuti factum est temporibus Adelredi, Regis Anglorum, vastante et depopulante hanc patriam * cclxxxiv PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Canute established the law, that if the Tenant failed to pay the tax within the appointed time, he might be ** sold out " of his land; and any one paying the arrears became entitled to the property*. This regulation continued in force under the Con- queror * ; but, in subsequent periods, we do not find that the land itself could be seized under such circumstances: So that the Anglo-Normam Exchequer was somewhat less rapacious than the Treasury of the earlier Sovereigns. - pagano Rege Danorum, Swein nomine, cum maximum et fere importabile tributum tota Anglia reddere cogeretur. Ob hujus itaque tam gravis tributi exactionem, omnia fere ornamenta hujus ecclesiæ distracta sunt, tabulæ altaris, argento et muro paratæ, spoliatæ sunt, textus exornati, calices confracti, cruces conflatæ, ad ultimum etiam terræ et villulæ pecuniis distractæ sunt. Simili modo etiam actum est regnante Cnut, filio suo, et adhuc graviora vectigalia superaddita sunt, temporibus regni filii Cnut, cujus nomen erat Hardecnut, qui etiam totam istam provinciam, hostili exer- citu, ferro et igne depopulavit. (Heming. p. 248.) The church of Malmesbury was exposed to the same depredations. Brichtwoldus, ut ex scriptis Anglicis animadvertimus, multa incommoda Coenobio intulit, terras, vel omnino distrahendo, vel parvo pretio invadendo. Sed enim excusatur, quòd magno illo geldo, qui tunc Danis dabatur, oppressus, unicum inveniebat malorum remedium : quod futurorum incautus, non videbat obesse posse in posterum. (Malm. in Vita Aldhelmi, p. 35.) * Tempore quo Cnut Rex Danorum, hac patria devicta, vectigal importabile toti Anglorum regno imposuerat, ablatæ sunt hæ villulæ in Uuareuuicscire à monasterii possessione, vi et fraude malignorum Danorum, quorum potentia, eo tempore, terror erat indigenis hujus patriæ : Ludingtun, et Draeitum, et iii. hide ad Lockeslea, et Lap- pawurthin, et dimidia Mylecote. Constituerunt enim, ut siquid vectigalis ad tertiam *constituti diei deesset, quisquis prius pecuniam pro ea solveret, ejus possessioni sub- jaceret. Hac calliditate inventa, quisquis aliquam terram de monasterio concupierat, pecunia data vicecomiti, vectigale* refugato etiam satis tempestivo, quod male concu- pierat, pro libitu injuste rapiebat. Sed Deus hanc sui rapinam absque ultione non ùimisit. Nam unusquisque eorum, qui huic fraudi operam dederunt, digna ultione percussi, aut luminibus privati, aut paralisi dissoluti, aut in insaniam, versi sunt; plurimi etiam semet ipsos interfecerunt. (Heming, p. 277) 6 Osbernus piscator, tenet in Sernebroc de rege dimidium hidæ. Terra est i. car. et ibi est unum molendinum. xvi. den. pratum, dim. car. Silva x. porc. et unum viva- nium pisc. Ibi unus villanus et ii. bordarii, valent xxvi. sol'. Quando recep. x. soI. T. R. E. xl. sol. Hanc terram tenuit Toui, Huscarle Regis Edwardi, et vendere potuit. Cum ista terra, reclamat idem Osbertus unam virgatam et quartam partem unius virgatæ, quam tenuit antecessor ejus, T. R. E. Sed postquam Rex Willielmus in Angliam venit, ille gablum de hac terra dare noluit, et Radulfus Tailgebosc gablum dedit, et pro forisfacto, ipsam terram sumpsit, et cuidam suo militi tribuit. (Bedeford, p. 216, b.) * Omissions or corruptions. PRooFs AND ILLUSTRATIONs. ccclxxxv THE JVITENA-GEMOT. EvERy Anglo-Saxom charter is a record of the sittings of the great national Council: and the specimens which I have given of these documents will be sufficient to illustrate their general tenor. We find express proof that many such assemblies were summoned by the Sovereign : yet it is possible that they could meet without summons, and by usage. The extracts below, will, in some measure, afford further examples of the compositiom amd proceedings of the Coumcils: as well of those of a mixed nature, as of those which acted merely as temporallegislatures '. * The signification of Wita may appear to fluctuate between that of Wise-mam and VVitness. In point of fact, the Witness is so called, because of his knowledge of the facts concerning which he testifies: but it is evident, that it was chiefly in the sense of superior that the Anglo-Saxons applied “ Wita '' to the member of the supreme assembly. The meeting was also called the “ Mycel getheaht,"—the great thought. Anno Dominicæ Incarnationis D CCC XVI., Indictione viiii., hæc synodus congre- gata fuerat, die vi. cal. Augusti, in loco famoso, qui dicitur Celichyth, præsidente vero Wulfredo Archiepiscopo, cæterisque assidentibus australibus Anglorum Episcopis; id est, Beormodo, Hrouensis Ecclesiæ, Aetheuulfo, Selesegae Episcopo, necnon Wigthegnet, JYigberhto, Occidentalium Saxonum Episcopi, Daemberhfo, Huicciorum, Episcopo, Wulfheard quoque Herefordensi Antistite, simul etiam reveremdissimis Merciorum Episcopis Hereuuino et Raethuno ; insuper Eaduulfo, Lindisfarorum Episcopo, honorabilibusque Orientalium Anglorum Episcopis Sibbano et Tidfritho, seu Aethelnotho, Lundoniæ civitatis Episcopo. Porro Coenuulfi, Regis Merciorum, anno xx. qui tunc temporis præsens adfuit, cum suis Principibus, Ducibus et Optima- tibus. Tum undique sacri ordinis Præsides cum Abbatibus, Presbyteris, Diaconibus, et Optimatibus, pariter tractantes de necessariis et utilitatibus ecclesiarum......... - (Concilia, I. p. 169.) Anno Dominicæ Incarnationis D CCC XXII., Indictione iii., de diversis Saxoniæ partibus, congregatum est synodale concilium in loco præclaro qui nominatur Clovesho; præsidente huic venerabili concilio Beornulfo, Rege Merciorum, et Wul- fredo Archiepiscopo, cæterisque Episcopis et Abbatibus, omniumque dignitatum Optimatibus, ecclesiasticarum scilicet et secularium personarum utilitatem, et neces- sitatem ecclesiarum, monasterialisque vitæ regulam et observantiam, stabilitatem quoque regni pertractantes. Super hæc omnia quadam vice idem Rex Coenulfus cum suis consiliariis veniens Vol. I. 3 d (See in particular, pp. ccxxv., ccxxvi.) ccclxxxyi PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Torty hydes of land re- quired to place a man of moble birth amongst the IProceres. That the qualification of forty Hydes ofland was required for the purpose of placing an East Angliam Noble amongst the Proceres is distinctly proved. The Books of Ely and of Ramsey are the compilations of very judicious and accurate writers : they are almost wholly founded upon charters. The facts gathered from these documents are interwovem into a narrative, for which the authorities are adduced, and in the whole compass of our history, no better evidence can possibly be found*. ad villam regalem Lundoniam, constituit diem, cum magna indignatione, quo idem Archiepiscopus veniret ad eum. Quo cum venisset, præcepit Rex, ut relictis omnibus rebus suis, citissime de Anglia decederet ; nec aliquam spem haberet redeundi amplius, nec per præceptum domini papæ, nec pro precibus imperatoris, nec alicujus alterius personæ, nisi consentiret voluntati ejus, dimittendo ei villam trecentorum manentium nomine Leogenesham, insuper daret sibi, videlicet Regi, centum viginti libras denariorum. (Concilia, I. p. 172.) • There is amother record of the same transaction, showing, that the words ** con- siliarii” and * sapientes " were indifferently employed. (Concilia, I. p. 173.) In one case, we find what may be termed an adjournment,—Then took counsel the King and his Witam that they should again have a Gemot of all the JVitam at London at harvest-even-night (the autumnal equinox), and then the ISing com- manded that the Host should be called out (and het se cyng bannan ut Here), both South of Thames and North. (Saxon Chron. p. 230.) *. For an instance of a Gemoot summoned by the King, see Saxon Chron. p. 1010. In the following example the authority by which the assembly is convened, does mot appear ; it can however hardly be doubted but that it was by the King's command. (Hist. El. p. 469.) Nam edicitur generale placitum apud Lundoniam, quo, dum Duces, Principes, Satrapæ, Rhetores et Causidici ex omni parte confluxerant, beatus Æthelwoldus præfatum Leofsium in jus protraxit, et coram cunctis suam causam et injuriam ac rapinam, quam ipse Leofsius intulerat sanctæ ecclesiæ, ex ordine patefecit. Qua re bene et rite ac aperte ab omnibus discussa, omnes, Deo et beato Ædelwaldo, per judicium reddiderunt, Burch, et Undelas, et IKateringes. Judicaverunt etiam ut Leofsius Episcopo totum damnum suum suppleret, et mundam suam redderet ; de rapina vero, Regi forisfactnram emendaret dato prætio genealogiæ suæ. Post hæc infra octavum diem convenerunt iterum ad Northamtune, et congregata ibi tota pro- vincia, sive vicecomitatu, coram cunctis iterum causam supradictam patefecerunt; qua patefacta ac declarata, ut præjudicatum erat apud Lundoniam, judicaverunt et isti apud Northamtune. * Habuit enim Abbas Fratrem Gudmundum vocabulo, cui filiam praepotentis viri in matrimonium conjungi paraverat. Sed quoniam ille, quadraginta hidarum terræ áominium, minime obtineret, licet nobilis esset, inter proceres tunc numerari non potuit, eum puella repudiavit; unde pudore nimium suffusus, ad Abbatem rediit, con- , P R O O FS A NID II, LU STRATIO NS. í ccclxxxvii It is not indeed stated in express terms, that Gudmund would gain a seat in the Witenagemot, but the Fief or Laen placed him in a rank which birth alone did not impart. And the title of ** Proceres ** is so constantly applied, both in charters and histories, to the Peers of the King's supreme Court, that we can scarcely doubt, but that the seat was the privilege, without which his proud Léman, refused to accept him as her wedded Lord. querens infortunium sibi illatum : et ut ei aliqua ecclesiæ rura, pro fraternitate, com- mitteret, intentius exorat, ne nunc honoris nomine, præsertim optata matrimonii copula frustraretur. Abbas vero nimium carnaliter amans fratrem, absque titulo et scriptionis testimonio, hæc subjuncta maneria illi, sed tantum in præstito dimisit, partem viz. de Merham cum curia villæ, Livermere, Nachantume, Acholt, Bedene- stede, Gerboldesham, et hoc non manifeste, ne monachis innotesceret; non prævidens aut præcavens, quantum criminis et discriminis sit ad momentum etiam, res sacras et bona, Domino oblata, laicorum manibus exponere, ut perfecta matrimonii celebratione absque controversia recipere deberet. (Hist. El. p. 513.) If any Freeman broke the fast imposed as a national humiliation during the Danish invasions (sometime in the reign of Ethelred), he was to make amends, or pay a fine, according to the judgment of the Shire Bishop and the Witan of the Shire.— bete that, swa the Scir-Biscop, and ealle Scir- Witam rihtlicost deman,—gebete that, swa Scire- JVitam sylfe geceosan. (Hickes, Diss. Ep., p. 107.) - The Witam of Kent decreed that Eadgiva should give proof by compurgatory oath concerning the payment made by her father for the redemption of his land (Lye, App. 4.) These are the ordinary shire-men, though in this case the shire was an ancient ltingdom. 3 d 2 : ccclxxxviii PRO O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. Antrustionship, equiva- lent to commemdation (see p. cccxciii.) Writ declaring that the Antrustion hasduly per- formed homage. HOMAGE,—ANTRUSTIONS,—NATURE OF BENEFICES, &c. THE following writ or Precept preserves the form, by which the Antrustion became the Homager of his Sovereign. “ Rectum est, ut qui nobis fidem pollicentur inlæsam, nostro tueantur auxilio. Et quia ille fidelis Deo propitio noster, veniens ibi in palatio nostro una cum arma' sua, în manu, nostra trustem et fidelitatem nobis visus est conjurasse : propterea per præsens præceptum decernimus ac jubemus, ut deinceps memo- ratus ille in numero Antrustionum computetur. Et si quis fortasse eum interficere præsumpserit, moverit se virgildo suo sol. DC. esse culpabilem.” (De Antrustione Regis, Marculfi Torm. I. 18.) • IBy comparing this document with the faithful accounts of Tassilo's submission (III. 2 to 13), and also with the English form of homage (IV. 8, 9), no reasonable doubt can be enter- tained, but that feudal vassalage resulted from the union of the Teutonic bond with the tenure of beneficiary land. The Precept, testifying that the Fidelis was to be numbered amongst the Antrustions, contains all the essentials of the relationship : the declaration of aid to be given by the Senior, the submission of the Jumior, and the oath, as well as the ceremony, by which the Man testified his obedience and sub- jection. The earliest definite example of a grant accompanied by fealty, rests upon the authority of the charter of Charles le Chauve, reciting the donatioms made by Dagobert to the ancestors of * Some manuscripts read, cum arimania sua. The arimanni are supposed to have been the followers of the chieftains, but very differeht opinions prevail respecting their ranl: (see Savigny and Eichorn). On the whole, the reading which I have adopted from Walther seems preferable. P R O O FS A N D ILLUSTRATIONS. ccclxxxix Eudo, Duke of Acquitaine, and of which the substance is given below. The authenticity of this charter has certainly been impugned, yet I think it has been successfully vindicated by most competent authorities*. Whether the language may not have been slightly altered by the scribe, is another question ; ' but it must be considered in connexion with the other fragments of Gascon and Acquitanian history (see p. ccccv.) These are less explicit than the details concerning Tassilo, but they establish the same principle—they exhibit Vassals bound by fealty, obligations often broken, and renewed again by compact— (III. 15 and 16.) That those who were in the ** King's trust * were also desig- mated as the Fideles and Leudes, is I believe generally admitted*; but the French Lexicographers* have erred in ascribing to the word frust, the signification which trost or troost now bears in By Gaillard and by La Vaissette; the latter in an elaborate Essay, Vol. I., Preuvés, p. 6SS. In his history, he thus narrates the effectofthe donation: C'est alors que nous croions que ce Prince, touché de compassion pour ses deux neveux, Boggis et Bertrand, et sollicité sans doute par Amand Duc des Gascons, aieul de ces deux Princes, leur donna par forme d'appanage, et à titre de duche h6réditaire, le roiaume de Toulouse ou la partie de l'Aquitaine qui avoit composé les états du Roi Charibert leur père. Nous avons déjà parlé ailleurs de l'étendue de ce roiaume auquellaville de Toulouse, qui en étoit la capitale, avoit donné son nom. Elle le fut aussi du duché d'Aquitaine possédé par Boggis et Bertrand et par leurs descendans. Dagobert donna en même tems à ces Princes l'avouerie sur tous les monastères de ce duché à condition qu'ils tiendroient l'un et l'autre à foi et hommage de la. couronne, et qu'ils paieroient au thrésor roial um tribut annuel qu'il leur imposa, Ces deux Princes s'y soûmirent, ou plûtôt le Duc Amand, leur aieul, à leur mom, dans l'impuissance où ils étoient de faire valoir leur prétensions, et à obtenir des conditions plus favorables. Depuis ce tems-là, Boggis et Bertrand, et les Ducs d'Aquitaine issus de leur branche, demeurèrent sous la dépendance de Dagobert et des Rois de Neustrie ses successeurs. C'est là, le premier exemple de l'hérédité des fiefs dans la monarchie Frangoise, ou plùtôt d'un appanage donné aux Princes de la maison roiale: appanage qui fut possédé héréditairement jusqu'à la fin de la première race, par le fameux Eudes, et par les autres Ducs d'Aquitaine ses successeurs, qui descendoient tous de Charibert Roi de Toulouse et frère de Dagobert. (Hist. de I.anguedoc ' Vol. I., p. 338. See also Gibbon, Vol. IX., ch. 49.) ' . - * See Mably and Guizot. • * See Du Cange. Antrustions, described as fidelesintruste Regis, the King's true or trusty men, his Leudes or Lieges. :< cccxé. , . .PRO OFS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. *^, J'assal-Celtic origin of the term. the German and Belgic dialects, i. e. comfort or consolation. It is plainly used in the sense yet preserved in our common and daily speech, and it is derived more readily from the Anglò- Saxon Trywsiam, than from Trouven (Germ.), which is also found in the Anglo-Saxon form of Treoviam. - * ' As * Senior,” afterwards Sigmore and Seigneur, was employed merely as a designation of rank, so * Junior* was also applied, without any relation to age ; it only pointed out the situation of the party: the inferior was the younger in relation to his Lord *, and although, according to the original application of Homage and fealty,— distinguished from each other according to the more recent law, but not in the earlier pe- riods,-as appears from the precept of Antrus- tionship. the word, the Gwós (Latinized into Vassus*), ought to have been a Youth, yet it would speedily be used to designate every Antrustion who appeared as a dependent upom a superior. The employment of this Celtic term, which cannot be fairly deduced to amy Teutonic root, assists in corroborating the opinion, that some of the maim features of the feudal system, as it existed in Gaul, are to be deduced from the original policy of the Celtic nations before their annexation to the Romam empire. According to the more recent law of England and France?, homage and fealty were accurately distinguished. Homage might be due without the necessity of taking the oath of fealty*; and in the Visigothic code, we find a seeming distinction between the oaths of fealty and allegiamce*. Yetit is most probable that these differences did not exist at an early period. When the Amfrustiom entered into his obligation, homage and fealty were * Alius vero census ab eis, neque a Comite, neque a junioribus et ministerialibus ejus exigatur. (Præceptum Lud. Pii pro Hispanis, A. D. 815, Baluze, I. 549.) Many other examples may be found. (Du Cange.) * Gwds, a lad or young man, a page, a servant (Owen Pugh). From Gvvdsaeth, attendance, service, was formed ** Vassaticum.'' * See Littleton, II., 1, and Brussel, pp. 19—28. * But Bracton seems to consider fealty, as the necessary accompaniment ofhomage. (See IV. 8.) - .' » See Allen's Enquiry, § Allegiance (pp. 54 to 92) in which this subject is treated with great clearness and consummate knowledge. * PR O O FS A N D IIL ILU STRATIONS. êccxci, conjoined. The ancient English vassal seems always to have been compelled to take the oath of fealty (No. IV. 8). Nor do I observe any very substantial variation in the several forms of oaths which have been preserved (No. IV. 1 to 9), they are all of equal tenor. The form of surrendering a benefice appears twice, in the history of Tassilo. In the first instance, it is made by the delivery of the staff: in the second, by Guerpitìom. When this last mentioned ceremony, analogous to the ** Skjodning” of the Danes (p. ccxxvii.), was performed, the symbol was cast into the lap of the person to whom the grant or surrender was made. This, in the law Latin of the Franks, was termed ** laisowerpóre” —from latz or loos, lap, and wyrpam or wyrfam, to cast.—In the ** Præceptum de Leisowerpo* (No. I.) which for the reasons before stated (Chap. XVII.) I consider to be a mere formal con- veyance, we have another example of the same ceremony. The examples (No. II.) in which hereditary benefices are granted expressly in consideration of fidelity or vassalage, may be compared with an Anglo-Saxon land-boc (p. ccxix.— No. IV.) of the same description °. Upon the question of an hereditary right of possession in territorial dignities, the Capitulary of IKiersi (A. D. 877) has usually been considered as establishing the same. « Si Comes obierit, cujus filius nobiscum sit, filius noster cum cæteris fidelibus nostris, ordinet de his, qui illi plus familiares et propinquiores fuerint, qui cum ministerialibus ipsius Comitatus et Episcopo, ipsius comitatum prævideant usque dum nobis io The plain import of the following law seems to have been, that the performance of homage must necessarily precede the grant of a benefice. Noverint tamen iidem Hispani, sibi licentiam a nobis esse concessam, ut se in vassaticum, Comitibus nostris, nore solito commendent. Et si beneficium aliquod, quisquam eorum, ab eo cui se commendavit fuerit consecutus, sciat se de illo, tale obsequium Seniori suo exhibere. debere, quale nostrates homines de simili beneficio Senioribus suis exhibere solent.— (Præceptum pro Hispanis, A.D. 815,—Baluze, I, p. 552.) Benefices, how sumren- dered. Examples of Benefices grantedon express con- sideration of fealty and service. Question as to the ex- : istence of an hereditary right in territorial dig- nities. Capitulary of IKiersi, 877, considered by some writers as es- tablishing such right.. cccxcii P R O O FS A NID ILLUSTRATIO NS. Capitulary of Kiersi. 877. . . . to be considered as relating to the custody of Counties, &c. in the interval between the death of the Vassa! and the investiture of his Sll CC€SSOr. Homage performed up- on clmange of Lord as wellas of Vassal. Docu- ments proving this prin- ciple. Vassal,wlio lias received a benefice from Chale- magne, unable to repair to Louis le Debonnaire * to perform homage, prays that he may re- ceive investiture in the „meanwhile. renuntietur. Si autem filium parvulum habuerit, isdem cum * ministerialibus ipsius comitatus et Episcopo in cujus parochia consistit, eundem comitatum prævideat donec obitus præfati comitis ad notitiam nostram perveniat, et ipse filius ejus, per nostram concessionem de illis honoribus honoretur. Si vero filium non habuerit, filius noster cum cæteris fidelibus nostris ordinet, qui cum ministerialibus ipsius comitatus et Episcopo ipsum comitatum prævideat donec jussio nostra inde fiat. Et pro hoc, nullus irascatur, si eundem comitatum alteri cui nobis placuerit dederimus quam illi qui eum hactenus prævidit. Similiter et de vassallis nostris faciendum est. Et volumus atque expresse jubemus, ut tam IEpiscopi quam Abbates, et Comites, seu etiam cæteri Fideles nostri, hominibus suis similiter conservare studeant ; et tam de Episcopatibus quam et de Abbatiis, vicinus Episcopus et Comes prævideant, ne aliquis res ecclesiasticas vel facultates diripiat, et nullus ad eorum eleemo- synam faciendam impediat.” It is obvious, however, that the law relates to the custody of the County or Fief during the interval between the death of the father and the investiture of the heir. The principles of successiom appear from the following docu- ment, preserved amongst the Epistles of Eginhard:— Magnifico et honorabili atque inlustri viro N. glorioso Comiti, Eghinardus sempi- ternam in Domino salutem. N. Vassus Dominicus, frater uxoris N. Comitis, morbo pedum et senectute gravis, volebat venire ad dominum Imperatorem : sed non potuit propter infirmitatem suam. Cùm primum potuerit, veniet ad servitium ejus. Interim postulat, ut sibi liceat beneficium suum habere, quod ei dominus IKarolus Imperator dedit in Burgundia in pago Genavense*, usque dum ille ad præsentiam ejus venerit, ac se in manus ejus commendaverit. Mihi quoque rectum et utile videtur ut ita fiat, sicut ipse desiderat, quia vir bonus ac prudens est, et bonæ famæ inter vicinos suos: et vos bene facietis, si eum in hac re adjuvare dignemini. Opto ut semper bene valeatis in Domino. (Bouquet, VI. p. 375.) -r In this case the Vassal had received his Benefice from Charle- magne, and was about to renew his homage or commendation to * The Gau of Genfor Geneva, PRO OFS AN D IILLUSTRATIONS. cccxciii Louis le Debonnaire. The land had been seized in the King's hands until homage should be performed : and the Vassus being unable to repair to the royal presence, in consequence of his infirmities, he prays, as a favour, that his homage may be respited, and that in the meanwhile he may be allowed to enter into possession of the land. In this transaction there is nothing whatever incompatible with the theory which I have advanced,—of an inchoate right of succession, which became perfect, when the Vassal had complied with the conditions imposed by the original grant. The principle of beneficiary tenure will appear from another example. The Spaniard * Johannes,” having defeated the Saracens in a great battle near IBarcelona, offers a share of the spoil,—am excellent horse, a hauberk, and an Indiam sword, with its sheath of silver, to Louis, the son of Charlemagne, and prays that he may obtain a part of a certain ** villare heremum * in the * Pagus* of Narbonne called * Fontes.” The Spanish refugees were per- mitted to settle upon these lands, as appears from the * Præcep- tum de Hispanis,” and we can have no difficulty in affirming that they are such as the ** campi vacantes” of the Theodosian code (Lib. vii. 20, 11), which the veterans were allowed to occupy (p. 357) free of all tax or tribute, but upon condition of military service. Johannes having commended himself to Charlemagne, he obtains a grant, to hold to him and his posterity, so long as they shall be faithful to Charlemagme amd his sons. . . . . .cognoscat almitas vestra, qualiter Johanne ad nos veniente, òstendit nobis epis- tolam quam dilectus filius noster Ludovicus ei fecerat et per ipsum ad nos direxit. Et invenimus in ipsa epistola insertum quòd Johannes ipse super hæreticos sive Sarracenos infideles nostros, magnum certamen certavit in pago Barchinonense ubi superavit eos, in locum ubi dicitur ad Ponte, et occidit jam dictos infideles et cepit de ipsis spolia; aliquid exinde dilecto filio nostro obtulit, equum optimum et brunia optima et spatam Indiam cum techa de argento parata ; et petierat in pago Nar- bonense, villare heremum ad laborandum, quem dicunt Fontes. Ille verò dedit ei ipsum villare et direxit eum ad nos. Et cùm ad nos venisset cum ipsa epistola, quam filius noster ei fecerat, in manibus nostris se commendavit; et petivit a nobis jam VoL. I. - 3 e Commendation equiva- lent to Antrustionship (see p. ccclxxxviii.) cccxciv PR O OF S A N D I LILUSTRATION S. The lands granted by Charlemagne upom com- dition offealty. IIomage renewed ac- cordingly by the Vassa! to Louis le Debonnaire aftcr the death of Char- lemagne. The Fidelis commcnds himself, and performs homage.—815. Condition of fealty as before. The son of the Vassal : obtains livery of Charles le Chauve.—844. dictus fidelis noster Johannes ut ipsum villare, quod filius noster ei dederat, concedere fecissemus. Nos verò concedimus ei ipsum villarem et omnes suos terminos et per- tinentias suas ab integrè, et quantum ille cum hominibus suis in villa Fonte joncosa occupavit vel occupaverit, vel de heremo traxerit, vel infra suos terminos, sive in aliis locis, vel villis, sem villare occupaverit, vel aprisione fecerit cum hominibus suis. Hæc omnia concedimus ei per nostrum donum, ut habeat ille et posteritas sua absque ullo censu aut inquietudine dum nobis aut filiis nostris fideles extiterint. (Baluze, II. p. 1400.) * Johannes ° the ** Vassus,'° ** Fidelis,” or ** Homo fidelis,” is now clearly in possession of his Benefice, but the first con- tingency happens, the death of the Semior, and immediately (815) upon the death of Charlemagne, Johannes appears before Touis le Debonmaire, performs homage in due form, and obtaims a fresh livery of the lands, upon the same conditions as before, that he and his heirs should be the Fideles of the Emperor and the Emperor's heirs. .. Qualiter quidam homo fidelis noster, nomine Johannes, veniens in nostra præsentia, quæ in manibus nostris se commendavit, et petivit nobis sua aprisione, quicquid genitor noster ei concesserat ac nos, et quicquid ille occupatum habebat, aut aprisione fecerat, vel deinceps occupare aut prendere potebat, sive filii sui, cum homines eorum, et ostendit nobis exinde auctoritate quod genitor noster ei fecit. Nos verò alia ei facere jussimus sive melioravimus. Et concedimus eidem fideli nostro Johanne in pago Narbonense villare Fontes, et villare Cello Carboniles, cum illorum terminos et per- tinencias cultum et incultum, ab integrè et quantum ille in villa Fonte joncosa, vel in suos terminos, sive in aliis locis vel villis sive villares occupavit, sive aprisionem fecit unà cum suis hominibus, vel deinceps facere poterit, tam ille qùam filii sui, omnia per nostrum donitum habeant, ille et filii sui et posteritas illorum, absque ullum censum vel alicujus inquietudine .... Et hæc auctoritas nostra firmis permaneat, dum ille et filii sui et posteritas illorum ad nos, et ad filios nostros, aut ad posteritatem illorum fìdeles extiterint. (Baluze, II. p. 1406.) In 844, Louis le Debonnaire and Johannes are both dead; the firstis succeeded by Charles le Chauve, and Theodfrid, the son of the ** Vassus” or Beneficiary, appearing before his Senior, prays for livery of his inheritance ; and, accordingly, he receives the Sal.IY) €. Notum sit omnibus sanctæ Dei ecclesiæ fidelibus et nostris præsentibus atque futuris, quia quidam fidelium nostrorum regni Septimaniæ, Vassus noster, nomine Teodtfridus, nostris obtulit obtutibus auctoritatem avi nostri Karoli, qua continebatur aº* PRO OFS AND IILLUSTRATIO N S. CCCXCVr. qualiter patri suo, nomine Johanni, præscriptus bonæ memoriæ avus noster ICarolus concesserat villarem ad laborandum qui vocatur Fontes cum omni sua integritate, et quantumcunque ille in Fonte joncosa de heremi vastitate traxit cum suis hominibus. Ostendit etiam nobis epistolam domni et genitoris nostri Hludouvici piissimi Augusti ad Sturmionem comitem directam, ut prædictam villam, id est, Fontes, memorato Johanni absque ullo censu et inquietudine habere dimitteret. Propter quam epistolam avus noster Karolus, ut in sua auctoritate continetur illi fieri jussit hoc. Unde et prædictus fidelis noster, nostram deprecatus est misericordiam ut nos denuo prædictam villam quemadmodum domnus avus noster augustus ac serenissimus augustus genitor noster patri suo per eorum litteras comfirmaverunt, nos denuo illi cum sua integritate vel termino confirmare dignaremur. Quapropter et has litteras nostras illi fieri jussimus ; per quas volumus atque firmamus ut prædictus qui moderno habet fidelis noster Teodtfridus sæpedictam villam Fontes perpetuò tenere, habere, et absque ullius inquietudine possidere. (Baluze, II. p. 1445.) Upon these documents, Guizot observes,—* Ainsi, malgré l'hérédité du titre, chaque fois que le bénéficiaire ou le donateur venoit à mourir, le possesseur du bénéfice croyait avoir besoim d'être confirmé dans sa proprieté : tant 1'idée primitive de la personalité de cette relation et des droits qui en découlaient, était profondément empreinte dans les esprits.” All this, how- ever, is arguing away from the documents, which are so plain as to leave no doubt of their construction. There was no loose belief of the expediency of confirmation, but a clear mecessity of obtaining a renewal of the grant ; the land had been granted upon condition of fidelity. Until Johannes had put his hands between the hands of Ludovicus Pius, he had mot ensured such his fidelity. Whem he had complied with the forms, and renewed the bond of commendation, which had been severed by death, then, he became entitled to his Benefice, not by favour, but pursuant to law, and he received investiture accordingly. I. PpaeOEPTUM DE LESIUUERpo. Quidquid enim in præsentia nostra agitur, vel per manum nostram videtur esse transvulsum, volumus ac jubemus: ut maneat in posteram robustissimo jure firmis- simum. Ideòque veniens ille [*Adalbertus], fidelis noster ibi im- palatio- nostro, in Prayer for the renewal of the grant ofthe Bene- fice. Preceptof Laisiuuerpo, being the record of the surrender made to a. Sovereign by a Fidclis, 3 e 2 cccxcvi P R O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATI O N S. to the intent that he might take it back for his life with remainder to amother tenant. nostra vel' Procerum nostrorum præsentia, villas nuncupatas illas, sitas in pago illo, sua spontanea voluntate, nobis per festucam visus est werpisse, vel condonasse, in ea ratione, si ita convenit, ut dum vixerit, eas ex nostro permisso sub usu beneficio debeat possidere, et post suum discessum sicut ejus adfuit petitio, nos ipsas villas fideli nostro illi [f Lanfrido], plena gratia visi fuimus concessisse. Qua propter per præsens decernimus præceptum, quod perpetualiter mansurum esse jubemus, ut dummodo taliter ipsius illius decrevit voluntas, quòd ipsas villas in supra scriptis locis nobis volun- tario ordine visus est lasowerpisse, vel condonasse: et nos prædicto viro illi [Adal- berto] ex mostro munere largitatis, sicut ipsius illius decrevit voluntas concessimus; hoc est tam in terris, domibus, ædificiis, accolabus, mancipiis, vineis, silvis, campis, pratis, pascuis, aquis aquarumve decursibus, ad integrum quicquid ibidem ipsius illius portio fuit, dum advixerit, absque aliqua deminutione, de qualibet re usufruc- tuario ordine debeat possidere: et post ejus discessum memoratus ille [Lanfridus] hoc habeat, teneat et possideat, et suis posteris, aut cui voluerit, ad possidendum relinquat. Et ut hæc auctoritas, &c. (Marculfi Form. I. 13.) Being convinced, as I have before observed, that this important document was not, as has been hitherto supposed, the voluntary surrender of an Allodialist for the purpose of obtaining the protection of a Senior, I fluctuated in opinion respecting its real import.—I rather inclined, however, to the supposition that the transaction was a surrender of Allodial or Folkland, made in order that the owner himself might receive it back with a power of testamentary disposition. On further consideration, I am now entirely satisfied that the surrender is made in Court by the Beneficiary tenant [*Adalbert] for the purpose of transfer- 'rìng the lamd, qfter his death, to amother persom [fLanfrid], or, as we should say in common legal language, a surrender of a customary freehold to the use of himself for life, remainder to Lanfrid. All difficulties will be removed, if we advert to the circumstance pointed out by Hallam, and which enabled him to rectify the mistakes committed by Houard and Montesquieu in explaining another of the forms of Marculfus (Middle Ages, chap. ii., p. 1), namely, that these forms being mere precedents, the blanks are to be filled vp* before they are employed. In this instance the first * * ille” refers to the tenant, and the second « + ille” tothe grantee of the reversion. (See Chap. XVII.) 1 Pe! is here used for et. 2 As is here done with the names * *Adalbert *' and ** f Lanfrid." PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. cccxcvii The best explanatory comment upon the Frankish precept will be found in the following feudal surrender. If we divest the charter of the technical phraseology of the English law, it will be seen that the transactions are identical in effect, and very nearly so, even in form. Hathevisia de Gurneio, omnibus hominibus suis atque amicis Francis et Anglis salutem. Sciatis quod Alexander de Budicumbd totam terram suam de Clivevare vendidit Thomæ filio Willielmi pro C. et iii. solidis, et totum suum jus ei quietum clamavit, in præsentia mei et meorum hominum in curiâ meâ apud Barowam ; scilicet illam terram quam Robertus de Gurneio pater meus ei pro servicio suo dedit; et ipse Alexander se inde demisit ; et per unum ramum arboris eam terram michi quietam reddidit in manum ad saisiendum prædictum Thomam de illà. Et ego saisivi Thomam inde per eundem ramum arboris; ad tenendum in capite de me et de meis hæredibus sibi et suis hæredibus, per servicium idem quod Alexander michi faciebat, scilicet ser- vicium v. partis unius militis; cum quinque ferdellis terræ de Bacwellâ ; et ipse Thomas meus homo inde devenit ; et annulum aureum michi inde dedit de recog- nitione. Hanc convencionem concedo, et hac meâ cartâ et sigilli mei impressione confirmo. Testibus hiis Thomâ de Buritond, Mathello de Gurneio, Rogero de Batvent, Willielmo filio Radulphi, Widone, Roberto de Batvent, Roberto de Warewic [with seventeen others]. (Madox's Formulare Anglicanum, p. 54.) II. EENEFICES GRANTED UPON ExpREss CoNDITION oF SERvIcE. (l.) Concedimus cuidam fideli nostro, nomine Nivelongo, sub devotione servitii sui, quasdam res juris nostri, sitas in pago Otisioderinse seu Wastinense [the Gatinois], ..........Unde et hanc nostræ firmitatis auctoritatem scribere jussimus, per quam memorato fideli nostro supra taxatas res, jure proprietario, cum omni eorum integri- tate concedimus. (Dip. Karoli Calvi. A. D. 843—Bouquet, VIII. p. 435.) (2.) Concedimus cuidam fideli nostro nomine Sigfrido et per hanc nostram auctoritatem largimur, ob devotionem servitii sui, quasdam res juris nostri quæ ita noscuntur fore. In pago Russilione villa videlicet, &c. Ea videlicet conditione ut quemadmodum de reliquis rebus suis, &c. liberam habeat potestatem faciendi quicquid elegerit, &c. (Dip. Karoli Calvi. A.D. 843—Bouquet, ut supra.) *- (3.) In nomine Domini mostri Jesu Christi Dei æterni, Hlotharius divina ordinante providentia, Imperator Augustus. ........omnium fidelium sanctæ Dei ecclesiæ ac nostrorum, præsentium videlicet et futurorum, noverit industria, quia dilectissima ac Compare with thc Pre- cept ** de laisiuuerpo.'* “ in nostra et procerum nostrorum præsentia.” “ per festucam.” Benefices granted upon the express condition of service or fealty— comparewith the Anglo- Saxonlandboc, p. ccxix. No, 4. cccxcviii P R O O FS A N D I LLU ST RATI O N S. 884. William and Engels- chalk,—Marquisate, or Limitanian Benefice of Pannonia, or Austria, granted to them upon condition of defending the same against the Moravians. The Honour not being restored to their sons, but granted to Arbo, the sons and their kinsmen expel the intruder. Tassilo I. appointed King of the Bavarians by Childebert. 596. familiarissima femina nostra Doda, ad nostram accedens majestatem, deprecata est celsitudinem nostram pro quodam fideli vassallo nostro Ebroino nomine, ut ei quasdam res nostræ proprietatis, quæ in pago Hasbannio sitæ esse noscuntur, id est, in villa Gundrinio, mansum dominicatum unum, ad quem pertinere noscuntur, inter terram arabilem et pratum, bunuaria decem et octo, et alii mansi serviles sex, cum mancipia quinque, ad proprium concederemus, ac per præceptum nostrum largiremur ...... Ita videlicet ut quicquid ex eis deinceps jure proprietario facere voluerit, scilicet vendendi, donandi, commutandi, liberam in omnibus habeat potestatem faciendi, sicut et de reliquis hereditatis suæ rebus: Ita tamen ut nusquam a nostra discedat fidelitate. A.D. S55. (Martene, Amplissima Collectio, Vol. I. p. 138.) i-* - - - III. ExTRAcrs FroM HisToRiANs oF TIIE FRANKISII EMPIRE, ELUCIDATINO TIIE ERINcIPLEs AND PRogress oE FEALTY AND BENEFICIARx TENURE. (1.) Reverso ad Alamanniam Rege, habitum est in villa, quæ dicitur Cholonpurum, generale conventum. Inde edictum est Baiowarios ad Italiam contra Vuitonem belligera manu proficisci. Quippe Pannonia magnum detrimentum patitur, cujus rei unde exordium narratur assumpsisse, stilo enucléamus. Igitur cum duo fratres, Willihelmus et Engilschalcus, terminum regni Bajowariorum in oriente à Rege (id est, seniore Hludouuico) concessum, contra Marauuos tenuerunt, multaque pro patria. tuenda conflictando sudasse feruntur. Tandem diem ultimum hujus íieris in eadem voluntate finivere permanentes. Cum vero non esset honor illorum filiis redditus, Arbo in Comitatum domno Rege concedente successit. Quod prædictorum virorum pueruli, illorúmque propinqui in contrarium accipientes et vertentes, dixerunt alterutrum fieri, et Arbonem Comitem si non recederet de Comitatu parentorum suorum, et seipsos ante faciem gladii morituros. Hoc experimento Arbo concussus, amicitiam iniit cum Zuentibaldo Duce Maravorum gentis, firmatoque inter illos foedere, filium suum obsidem fieri non tardavit. Nec minus ipsi prædicti pueri con- sulant quosdam primores Bajowaricæ gentis, collatisque propinquis, ac undiquè copiis, fortior manus in id tempus illis adstabitur. Comitem à Rege constitutum inhonorificè expellebant, comitatumque illis in usum usurpaverunt. (Ann. Franc. Fuld. Bouquet, VIII. p. 49.) (2.) His diebus Tassilo Rex Bajoariorum a Hildeberto constituitur, qui mox, Sclavis superatis, magnam exinde prædam deportavit. (Hermannus Contractus, Bouquet, III. p. 324.) His diebus Tassilo, a Childeberto Rege I'rancorum, apud Bajoariam Rex ordi- natus est. (Paul. Diac. de Gestis Langobardorum, Bouquet, II., p. 637.) PR O O FS A N D IIL LU STR ATI O N S. cccxcix (3.) Ogdilo, Dux Bajoariorum, qui Hiltrudem filiam Karoli ad se fugientem, in con- jugium sibi copulaverat contra voluntatem Pipini et Carlomanni, 5e et etiam ducatum suum, quem largiente olim Karolo Principe habuerat, a dominatione IFrancorum sub- trahere nitebatur: qua de causa, compulsi sunt gloriosi germani exercitum contra ipsum ducere. (Ann. Metenses, Bouquet, II. p. 686.) (4.) Grifo, Saxonum fidei diffidens, Bajoariam petiit, et copiis, quæ ad eum de JFrancia confluebant, ipsum Ducatum in suam redegit potestatem : Tassilonem et Hilthtrudim in deditionem accepit; Swithgerum sibi in auxilium venientem suscepit. Hæc cùm ad Pipinum perlata fuissent, cum maximo exercitu in Bajoariam profectus est, fratremque suum Grifonem cum omnibus qui cum eo vel ad ipsum eò venerant, cepit, Tassilonem in Ducatum restituit: domumque reversus, Grifonem, more Ducum, duodecim comitatibus ditavit. (Annales Eginhardi, Bouquet, V. p. 197.) Grifo, de Saxonia iter peragens, fugiendo in Bagauriam usque pervenit, ipsum Ducatum sibi subjugavit, Hiltrudem cum Tassilone conquisivit. Swidger ad eum venit in solatio supradicti Grifonis. Hæc audiens Pipinus, iter illuc arripiens cum exercitu suo, supranominatos totos sibi subjugavit, Grifonem secum abduxit, Lant- fridum similiter. Tassilonem vero in Ducatu Bajoariorum conlocavit per suum beneficium. Grifonem verò partibus Neustria, misit, et dedit ei duodecim comitatus, (Annales Loiseliani, Bouquet, V. p. 33.) Pipinus Eajoariam adiens, Thassilonem sororis suæ Hiltrudis filium, Ducem ibi constituit. (Hermannus Contractus, Bouquet, III. p. 331.) (5.) Venit Dessilo ad Martis Campum. (Annales Nazariani, Bouquet, V. p. 10.) TRex Pipinus, cum nepote suo Tassilone, Bajoariorum Dux, partibus Italiæ, usque ad Ticinum iterum accessit, et totam regionem illam fortiter devastans, circa muros Ticini utraque parte fixit tentoria, ita ut nullus exinde evadere potuisset; haec Aistulfus, Rex Langobardorum, cernens, &c. (Chron. Fredegar. Bouquet, V. p. 3.) - (6.) Rex Pipinus tenuit placitum suum in Compendio cum Francis. Ibique Tassilo venit, Dux Bajoariorum, in vassatico se commendans per manus: sacramenta juravit multa et innumerabilia, reliquiis Sanctorum Martyrum manus imponens: et fideli- tatem promisit Regi Pipino et supradictis filiis ejus, Domno Carolo et Carlomanno, sicut vassus recta mente et firma devotione per justitiam domino suo esse deberet. 743. Odilo (a descendant of Tassilo I.) obtains bis Duchy by the grant of Charles Martel. 748. Tassilo(theson ofOάilo) restored to his Duchy by Pepin, 748. 748, 749. 754, 755. Tassilo, as the Vassal of Pepin, attends the Champ de Mars;--per- forms military service. 757. Tassilo appears beforo Pepin in the Placitum at Compiegne, becomes his Vassal, performs homage, and takes the «oath of fealty to Pepin, CCCC P R O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATI O N S. and his sons, Charles atid Carlomam, — the Bavariam Nobles do the like-compare with the JPrecept of Antrustion- ship (p. ccclxxxviii.), and the Anglo-Saxon Homages (p. ccxl. &c.) 757. 763. Tassilo violates his oaths offealty. 763. 764, 780, Tassilo, instigated by his wife, rebels against Charlemagne. Sic confirmavit supradictus Tassilo supra corpus Sanctorum Dionysii, Rustici, et Eleutherii, necnon et S. Germani, seu Sancti Martini: ut omnibus diebus vitæ suæ sic conservaret, sicut sacramentis constrictus promiserat. Sic et ejus homines, majores natu, qui erant cum eo, firmaverunt, sicut dictum est, in locis superiùs nominatis, et in aliis multis. (Annales Loiseliani, Bouquet, V. p. 34.) Constantinus Imperator, Pipino Regi multa misit munera, inter quæ et organa, quæ ad eum in Compendio villa pervenerunt, ubi tunc populi sui generalem con- ventum habuit. Illuc et Tassilo Dux Bajoariorum cum primoribus gentis suæ venit, et more Francico, in manus Regis in vassaticum, manibus suis, semetipsum commen- davit ; fidelitatemque tam ipso Regi Pipino, quàm filiis ejus Karolo et Karolomanno jurejurando super corpus Sancti Dionysii promisit. Sed non solum ibi, verum etiam super corpus Sancti Martini, et Sancti Germani, simili sacramento, fidem se præ- dictis dominis suis, diebus vitæ suæ, servaturum est pollicitus. Similiter omnes primores ac majores natu Bajoarii, qui cum eo in præsentiam Regis pervenerant, fidem se Regi et filiis ejus servaturos in prædictis venerabilibus locis promiserunt. (Annales Eginhardi, Bouquet, V. p. 198.) (7.) I. Pipinus Rex habuit placitum suum in Nivernis. Et quartum iter faciens in Aqui- taniam, ibi Tassilo Dux Bajoariorum postposuit sacramenta, et omnia quæ promiserat, et per malum ingenium se inde seduxit, omnia benefacta quæ Pipinus Rex avunculus ejus ei fecit, postposuit: per ingenia fraudulenta se subtrahendo, Bajoariam petiit, et nusquam amplius faciem supradicti Regis videre voluit. (Annales Loiseliani, Bouquet, V. p. 35.) Redeunte anni congruo tempore, conventu in Nivernis habito, et contractis undique copiis, Rex Pipinus Aquitaniam repetit, et omnia quæ extra munitiones erant, ferro et igne depopulatus, usque ad Cadurciam oppidum accessit. Inde cum exercitu integro in Franciam se recepturus, per Limovicam regreditur. De qua expeditione Tassilo, Bajoariæ Dux ægritudine per dolum simulata, in patriam reversus est: firmatóque ad defectionem animo, ad Regis aspectum se ulterius venturum abjuravit. Rex Pipinus, distracto in diversa animo propter duo bella; Aquitanicum scilicet jam olim susceptum, et Bajoaricum propter Tassilonis Ducis defectionem susci- piendum, populi sui generalem conventum habuit in Wormacia civitate. Dilatáque in futurum expeditione, illo anno domi se continuit. (Annales Eginhardi, Bouquet, V. p. 199.) (8.) - - - Tassilo, Dux Bajoariæ, contra Karolum Regem rebellat, hortatu uxoris suæ quæ filia erat Desiderii Regis, et exilium patris sui per maritum suum vindicare tentabat. (Chron. Sigeberti, Bouquet, V. p. 377.) P R O O FS A N D II, I, U STRATIONS. cccci •* (9.) Sine hoste fuit hic annus, nisi tantum Wurmacia civitate venerunt Franci ad Placitum: et ibi fuit Tassilo, Dux de Baioaria, magnaque munera presentavit Domno Regi et per suum comigatum rediit ad patriam. (Annales Petaviani, Bouquet, V. p. 15.) (10) Carolus Romam veniens, honorificè ab Adriano Papa susceptus est. Et cum ibi sanctum Pascha celebraret, baptizavit idem Pontifex filium ejus Pipinum, unxitque in Regem. Unxit etiam et Ludovicum fratrem ejus, quibus et coronam imposuit. Quorum major, id est, Pipinus, in Langobardia : minor verò in Aquitania Rex con- stitutus est. . . . . . . . .quibus gestis, in Franciam reversus est. Sed cum Romæ esset, convenit inter ipsum atque Adrianum Pontificem, ut simul Legatos mitterent ad Tassilonem Ducem Bajoariae, qui eum commonerent de sacramento quod Pipino Regi et filiis ejus ac Francis juraverat: scilicet ut eis subjectus esset ac obediens. Electi ac directi sunt in hanc legationem de parte Pontificis, Formosus ac Damasus Episcopi, et de parte Regis Richolfus Diaconus, atque Eberhardus Magister Pincer- narum. Qui cùm, ut jussi erant, commemorato Duci locuti fuissent, in tantum cor ejus emollitum est, ut diceret se statim velle ad Regis properare præsentiam, si sibi tales dentur obsides, sub quibus de sua salute dubitare nulla sit necessitas. Quibus datis, sine cunctatione apud Wormaciam, ad Regem venit, sacramentum quod jube- batur juravit, obsides duodecim qui imperabantur sine mora dedit: quos Suidbertus Reginensis Episcopus de Bajoaria in Carisiaco ad conspectum Regis adduxit. Sed idem Dux domum reversus, non diu in ea quam promiserat fide permansit. (Annales Eginhardi, Bouquet, V. p. 205.) (11.) Carolus Rex Francorum de Roma revertens, ad Paveia Civitatem, Langobardos congregavit, &c. postea, commoto exercitu Francorum, perrexit in fines Aleman- morum et Bejuveriorum, ad flumen quod appellatur Lech. Illucque veniens Dessilo Dux Bejuveriorum ad eum, et reddidit ei cum baculo ipsam patriam, in cujus capite similitudo hominis erat. Et effectus est vassus ejus, et Theodonem filium suum dedit ei obsidem. (Annales Nazariani, Bouquet, V. p. 12.) IKarolus perrexit in fines Bajuvariorum, et illuc venit Dux Tassilo, et reddidit ei ipsam patriam cum baculo, in cujus capite similitudo hominis erat sculptum, et dedit ei filium suum Deodonem obsidem. (Annales Guelferbyt. Pertz. I. p. 45.) (12.) Dessilo autem Dux Bejuveriorum venit in Franciam ad Regem Francorum Carolum, ad villam quæ appellatur Ingolheim. Post hæc ergo transmisit jam præ- 781. Tassilo attends the Pla- citum, or Champ de Mai—presents gifts to the King. 781. Pope Adriam, and Charlemagne, join in despatching legates to Tassilo, exhorting him to observe the oaths of fealty which he had SWOrn. TassilorepairstoWorms —renews his oaths, but which he immediately afterwardsbreaks again. 787. Tassilo surrenders up his duchy to Charle- magne, by the delivery of the Staff. Renews his vassalage— his son given as a hos- tage. 787. VoL. I. 3 f 788. Tassilo brought before ccccii PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Charlemagne, accused of treason,—confesses his guilt,—shorn as a monk. His sons also shorn and bamished. [4nother narrative of the preceding trans- actions.] 787. Tassilo despatches am- bassadors to the Pope, praying his mediation. The Pope fulminates an anathema against Tas- silo, unless he observes the oaths which he had sworn to Pepin,&c. The Pope further declares, that unless Tassilo ren- ders duc obedience, Charlemagne and the Franks will be fully absolved from all sim in relation to bloodshed, &c., to be occasioned by the just and neces- sary war which may be undertaken against the rebels, fatus Rex Legatos suos in Bejuveriam post uxorem ac liberos jam præfati Ducis. Qui studiosè atque efficaciter jussionem Regis implentes, adduxerunt hæc omnia, una cum thesauris, ac familia eorum copiosa valde, ad jam dictum regem. Cúmque hæc ita agerentur, comprehensus est jam præfatus Dux à Francis, et ablatis armis ejus, ductus est ante regem. Igitur cumque simul sermocinarentur, interrogavit eum de insidiis atque dolosis consiliis, quod cum multis gentibus jam olim ei præparare conatus fuerat. Quod cùm ille negare nequaquam prævalere videbatur, invitus jussus est comam capitis sui deponere. Ille autem magnis precibus postulabat Regem, ut non ibidem in Palatio tonderetur, propter confusionem videlicet, atque opprobrium quod à Francis habere videbatur. Rex enim precibus ejus adquiescens, ad Sanctum Nazarium, qui juxta Rheno flumine in corpore requiescere cognoscitur, eum transmisit; et ibidem clericus effectus est, et indè exiliatus est ad Coenobium quod appellatur Gemeticum. Duo quoque filii ejus, his nominibus, Theoto et Theotbertus, utrique tonsurati atque exiliati sunt. Nam et uxor jam præfati Ducis nomine Luit- burga exiliata esse comprobatur. Hæc ergo omnia ad gloriam et honorem domino I{egi, ad confusionem vero et opprobrium fiebant inimicis suis, eò quòd rerum Creator omnium fecit eum semper esse triumphatorem. (Annales Nazariani, Bouquet, V. p. 12.) Reversus est sæpè nominatus Rex, et celebravit Pascha cum domno Apostolico in Roma. Ibique venientes missi Tassilonis Ducis, hii sunt, Arnus Episcopus, et Humricus Abba, petierunt Apostolicum ut pacem terminaret inter domnum Carolum Regem, et Tassilonem Ducem. Unde et domnus Apostolicus multum se interponens, postulando jam dicto domno Regi. Et ipse domnus Rex respondit Apostolico, hoc se voluisse, et per multa tempora quæsisse, et minimè invenire potuisse, et proferebat statim fieri. Et voluit supradictus domnus Rex in præsentia domni Apostolici cum ipsis missis, pacem firmare: et renuentibus supradictis missis, dicendo, quia non ausi fuissent de eorum parte ullam firmitatem facere. .Apostolicus verò cùm cognovisset de instabilitate vel mendacio eorum, statim, supra dictum Ducem eorum vel suis consentaneis, anathema posuit: si ipsa sacramenta, quæ promiserat domno Pipino Regi, et domno Carolo item Regi, non adimplesset. Et obtestans supradictos missos, ut contestarent Tassilonem, ut non aliter fecisset, nisi in omnibus obediens fuisset domno Regi Carolo, et filiis ejus, et genti Francorum, ut ne fortè sanguinis profusio proveniret, vel læsio terræ illius. Et si per se Dux, obdurato corde, verbis $upradicti Apostolici minimè obedire voluisset, tunc domnus Carolus Rex, et suus exercitus absoluti fuissent ab omni periculo peccati, et quicquid in ipsa terra factum eveniret in incendiis, aut in homicidiis, vel in qualecumque malitia, ut hoc super Tassilone et ejus consentaneis evenisset, et domnus Rex Carolus, ac Franci, inoxii ab omni culpa exinde permansissent. Hæc verba expleta, missi Tassilonis absoluti sunt. Et tunc in invicem sibi domnus Apostolicus atque domnus gloriosus Carolus Rex valedicentes, benedictione assumpta, oratione peracta, Franciam jam- dictus præcellentissimus Rex reversus est. Et pervenit idem mitissimus Rex ad conjugem suam domnam Fastradam Reginam in civitate Warmatia : et ibi ad invicem gaudentes et lætificantes, ac Dei misericordiam conlaudantes: synodum namque congregavit suprascriptus domnus Rex ad eandem civitatem. Et sacer- 1. P R O O FS AN D ILLUSTR ATI O N S. cccciii dotibus suis, et aliis optimatibus nunciavit, qualiter omnia in itinere suo peragebantur. Et cum venisset ad hunc locum, quod omnia explanasset de parte Tassilonis, sicut actum erat: tunc perspiciens idem Rex ut missos mitteret, mandaretque Tassiloni, ut omnia adimplere festinaret, secundum jussionem Apostolici, vel sicut justitia erat: eo quòd sub jurejurando promissum habebat, ut in omnibus obediens et fidelis fuisset domno Regi Carolo, et filiis ejus, vel Francis, et veniret ad ejus præsentiam, quod renuit, et venire contempsit. Tunc domnus Rex Carolus unà cum Francis videns justitiam suam, iter coepit peragere partibus Bajoariæ cum exercitu suo, et per semetipsum venit in loco, qui Lecfel vocatur, super civitatem Augustam. Et jussit alium exercitum fieri, id est, Francorum, Austrasiorum, Thoringorum, et Saxonum, et conjungere super Danubium fluvium, in loco qui dicitur Faringa. Et tertium exercitum jussit fieri partibus Italiæ, ut domnus Pipinus Rex venisset usque ad Triantum cum exercitu suo, et ipse ibi maneret, et exercitum suum pleniter in antè mitteret usque ad Bauzanum. Tunc prospiciens se Tassilo ex omni parte esse circumdatum, et videns quod omnes Bajoarii plus essent fideles domno Regi Carolo, uuam ei, et cognovissent justitiam jamdicti domni Regis, ut magis voluissent justitiam consentire, quam contrarii esse, undique contristatus Tassilo venit per semetipsum, tradens se manibus domni Regis Caroli in vassaticum, et reddens Ducatum sibi commissum a domno Pipino Rege, et cognovit se peccasse in omnibus et malè egisse. Tunc denuo renovans sacramenta, et dedit obsides electos duodecim, et decimum tertium, filium suum Theodonem. Receptis obsidibus, et præstitis sacramentis, tunc reversus est prefatus gloriosus Rex in Franciam. Et celebravit Natalem Domini in villa quæ dicitur Ingilenhaim, et Pascha similiter. Et immutavit se numerus annorum in DccLxxxvIII. Tunc domnus Rex Carolus congregans synodum ad jam dictam villam Ingilenhaim, ibique veniens Tassilo ex jussione domni Regis, sicut cæteri ejus vassi. Et coeperunt fideles Bajoarii dicere ; quod Tassilo fidem suam salvam non haberet, sed postea fraudolans appareret, postquam filium suum dedit cum aliis obsidibus, et sacramenta fefellit, suadente uxore sua Luitberga. Quod et Tassilo dene- gare non potuit, sed confessus est, se ad Avaros transmisisse vassos supradicti domini Regis, ut ad se cohortando venirent: et se super vita Regis conciliasse; et homines suos, quando jurabant, jubebat ut aliter in mente retinerent, et sub dolo jurarent: et quod magis confessus est, se dixisse, etiamsi decem filios haberet, omnes voluisset perdere, antequam placita sic manerent, vel stabile permitteret sicut juravit. Et etiam dixit, meliùs se moriturum esse, quam ita vivere. Et de his omnibus com- probatus, Franci, et Bajoarii, Langobardi, et Saxones, vel omnes ex aliis provinciis, qui ad eandem synodum congregati fuerunt, reminiscentes priorum malorum ejus, et quomodo domnum Pipihum Regem in exercitu derelinquens, et ibi quod Theodisca lingua “ Harislitz" dicitur, visi sunt judicasse se eundem Tassilonem ad mortem. Sed dum omnes unâ voce acclamárent, capitali eum ferire sententiâ, jamdictus domnus Carolus piissimus Rex, motus misericordiâ ob amorem Dei, et quia consanguineus ejus erat, contenuit ab ipsis Dei ac suis fidelibus, ut non moriretur. Et interrogatus à jamfato clementissimo domno Rege prædictus Tassilo, quid agere voluisset: ille vero postulavit, ut licentiam haberet sibi tonsorandi, et in monasterio introeundi, et pro tantis peccatis poenitentiam agendi, et ut suam salvaret animam. Similiter et filius ejus Theodo dijudicatus est, et tonsoratus, et in monasterio missus. Et pauci Tassilo summoned to appear before Charle- magne, which he refuses to do. Charlemagne leads his army against Tassilo. Tassilo renews his ho- mage, and gives hos- tages. 788. Tassilo appears before Charlemagne, at Ingle- heim, like the other Vassals. Accused of Harislit:— (i. e. desertion from the Here or Army,)—and other treasons,-con- demned to death by the judgment of his Peers, the Vassi attending the Placitum. 3 f 2 cccciv JP R O O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 794, Tassilo humbly craves forgiweness for his trea- SGWYS. Surrenders (by Guerpi- tion) all the right and property which he, or his sons orhis daughters had or might have in the Dukedom. Tassilo pardoned by Charlemagne, to the end that he might em- bracc the monastic life. Three writs made, con- taining this capitulum, one to be kept in the imperial palace, a se- cond to be given to Tas- silo, and a third kept in the chapel (see pp. 177, 178, &c.) Duke of the Bayarians always to be chosen or appointed from the family of the Agilol- fings. But he is to be faithful towards the Prankish sovereign, and prudent or wise in govermment. 635, 636. Cascons take the oath offealty to Dagobert, Βajoarii, qui in adversitate domni Caroli Regis perdurare volebant, missi sunt in exilio. (Annales Loiseliani, Bouquet, V. p. 46.) (13.) Capitulare Francofordiense datum in pleno synodo anno Christi DCCXCIV. De Tassilone definitum est capitulum, qui dudum Bajoariæ Dux fuerat, sobrinus videlicet domni Karoli Regis. In medio sanctissimi adstitit concilii, veniam rogans pro commissis culpis, tam quas tempore domni Pippini Regis adversus eum et regnum Prancorum commiserat, quam et quas postea sub tempore domni nostri piissimi Karoli Regis, in quibus fraudator fidei suæ extiterat, indulgentiam, ut ab eo mereretur accipere humili petitione visus est postulasse, dimittens videlicet puro animo iram atque omnem scandalum de parte sua, quæque in eo perpetrata fuissent, et sciebat, necnon omnem justitiam et res proprietatis, quantum illi aut filiis vel filiabus suis in ducatu Bajoariorum legitimè pertinere debuerant, gurpivit atque projecit, et in post- modum omni lite calcanda, sine ulla repetitione indulsit, et filios ac filias suas in illius misericordia commendavit. Et idcirco Domnus noster misericordia motus præfato Tassiloni gratuito animo et culpas perpetratas indulsit, et gratiam suam pleniter con- cessit, et in sua eleemosyna eum in amore dilectionis visus est suscepisse, ut securus de Dei misericordia existeret in antea. Unde tres breves ex hoc capitulo uno tenore conscriptos fieri præcepit, unum in palatio retinendum ; alium præfato Tassiloni, ut secum haberet in monasterio, dandum ; tertium vero in sacri palatii capella recon- dendum fieri jussit. (Baluze, I. p. 263.) (14.) I. De genealogia qui vocantur Hosidra, Ozza, Sagana, Habilingua, Anniena, isti sunt quasi primi post Agilolfingos, qui sunt de genere ducali. Illis enim duplum honorem concedimus, et sic duplam compositionem accipiant. II. Agilolfingi vero usque ad ducem in quadruplum componuntur, quia summi principes sunt inter vos. III. Dux vero qui præest in populo, ille semper de genere Agilolfingorum fuit: et debet esse: quia sic Reges antecessores nostri concesserunt eis, ut qui de genere illorum fidelis Regi erat, et prudens, ipsum constituerent Ducem, ad regendum populum illum, (Lex Bajuvariorum, Tit. II., cap. xx., § 1, 2, 3.) Si quis contra Ducem suum, quem Rex ordinavit in provincia illa, aut populus sibi elegerit Ducem, de morte ejus consiliatus fuerit, et exinde probatus negare non potest, in Ducis sit potestate, homo ille et vita illius: et res ejus infiscentur in publico. (Lex Bajuvariorum, Tit. II. cap. I. § 1.) (15.) JVascones oppressi seu perdomiti, veniam et pacem petentes, promittunt se gloriæ et conspectui Dagoberti Regis præsentaturos, et suæ ditioni traditos, cuncta ab eodem injuncta impleturos . . . , . . Anno decimo quinto Regni Dagoberti, Wascones omnes PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CCCCV. seniores terræ illius cum Aiginane Duce ad Dagobertum, Clippiacum venerunt .... ibique sacramentis Wascones firmantes simul et promittentes se omni tempore, Dagoberto et filiis suis regnoque Francorum fideles fore: quod more solito, sicut sæpe fecerant, fefellerunt. (Chron. Fredegar. Bouquet, II. p. 443.) (16.) Eodo Dux mortuus est. Quod cum audisset invictus princeps Karolus, adunato exercitu, Ligerim fluvium transiit, et usque Garonnam et urbem Burdegalensem, et castra Blavia occupavit. Illamque regionem cepit et subjugavit, cum urbibus ac suburbanis eorum. Ducatúmque illum solita pietate Hunaldo filio Eodonis dedit, qui sibi et filiis suis, Pippino et Karlomanno fidem promisit. Pipinus et Karlomannus........ collecto exercitu, Ligerim transeunt et castra in finibus Aquitaniæ ponunt. Videns autem Hunaldus Dux, quod eis resistere non valeret, omnem voluntatem eorum se facere, sacramentis et obsidibus datis spopondit, ipsumque cum omnibus quæ habebat, invictorum principum servitio se mancipavit.. Hunaldus corona capitis deposita, et monachi voto promisso, in monasterium quod Radis insula situm est, intravit, filiumque suum Waiferium in principatu reliquit. (Ann. Mettenses, Bouquet, II. pp. 684, 687.) (17.) Ibi inter alia, veniens Zwentibaldus Dux cum principalibus suis, homo, sicut mos est, per manus imperatoris efficitur, contestatus illi fidelitatem juramento, et usque dum IXarolus vixisset nunquam in regnum suum hostili exercitu esset venturus. (Ann. Fuld. Bouquet, VIII. p. 49.) (18) Post hæc adveniente atque annuente Ludovico et missis Pipini omnique populo qui præsentes in Aquis palatio adesse jussi fuerant, dedit filio suo Karolo, maximam Βeljarum partem, &c.... deinde quicquid inter Mosam et Sequanam, &c....Et de Burgundia, &c... omnes videlicet Episcopatus, Abbatias, Comitatus, fiscos, et omnia inter prædictos fines consistentia, cum omnibus ad se pertinentibus in quacumque regione consistant, sicque jubente imperatore, in sua præsentia. Episcopi, Abbates, Comites, et Vassalli dominici in memoratis locis beneficia habentes, Carolo se com- mendaverunt, et fidelitatem sacramento firmaverunt. (Ann. Bertin. Bouquet, VI. p. 199.) (19) - Deinceps per totum reliquum diei tempus, hominia fecerunt Consuli illo, qui feodati fuerant prius a Karolo Comite piissimo, suscipientes tunc feoda sua et officia, et quæcunque obtinuerant antè , , . . . ,. , , , , ,. ,., , ... , • Septimo idus Aprilis, feria 734, 735. Upom the death of Eudes Duke of the Acquita- nians, Charles Martel occupies the country, afterwhich he grants the dukedom to Hunald, the son of Eudes, who takes the oath of fealty to Charles Martel, and his sons, Pepin and Carlo- In{lIm, 744, Hunaldus submits to the will of Pepin and Kar- loman, and confirms his engagement by oath [of fealty]. 884. Zwentibald becomes the Man or Homager of Charles le Gros, and takes the oath of fealty to him. 837. Neustria, &c. granted by Louis le Debonnaire to Charles le Chauve. All the Bishops, Abbots, Counts, and royal vas- sals, perform homage to the new King, and take. the oath of fealty. 1127. Upon the inauguratiom of William the Norman as Count of Flanders, coccvi PTRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. all those who had been enfeoffed by his prede. cessor, Charles the Good, become his men, and perform homage, take the oath of fealty, and receive a new in- vestiture. of their fiefs, by the delivery of the rod. 'Oath of fealty taken be- fore the Missi, A.D.802. 'Oath of fealty taken by ihe laity in the general Placitum apud Gundul- fìvillam, 872. Oath of fealty to be taken by the Vassal— from the book of Feuds. quinta, iterum hominia facta sunt Comiti quæ hoc ordine suæ fidei et securitatis, termino consummata sunt. Primùm, hominia fecerunt ita. Comes requisivit si integrè vellet homo suus fieri; et ille respondit, Volo—et junctis manibus amplexatus a manibus comitis, osculo confoederati sunt; secundo loco, fidem deditis, qui hominium fecerat, Prolocutori* Comitis, in iis verbis. Spondeo in fide mea, fidelem fore amodo Comiti Willielmo et sibi hominium integraliter contra omnes observaturum, fide bonâ et sine dolo. Idemque super reliquias sanctorum tertio loco juravit. Deinde virgula, quam manu Consul tenebat, investituras dedit eis omnibus qui hoc pacto securitatem et hominium, simulque juramentum fecerant. *. (Vita Caroli Boni, Auctore Galberto, Recueil des Historiens, XII. p. 387.) IV. PoRMs oE VAssALAGE AND FEALTv. (1.) Sacramentale qualiter promitto ego, quod ab ipso die in antea fidelis sum domno ICarolo piissimo Imperatori filio Pippini Regis et Berthanæ Reginæ, pura mente absque fraude et malo ingenio de mea parte ad suam partem, et ad honorem regni sui, sicut per drictum debet esse homo domino suo. Sic me adjuvet Deus et ista sanc- torum patrocinia, quæ in hoc loco sunt, quia diebus vitæ meæ per meam voluntatem, in quantum mihi Deus intellectum dederet, sic attendam et consentiam. (Baluze, I. p. 378.) g- (2.) . Sacramentum generale omnium fidelium. Sic promitto ego, quia de isto die in antea isti Seniori meo, quamdiu vixero, fidelis et obediens et adjutor quantumcunque plus et melius sciero et potuero, et consilio et auxilio secundum meum ministerium in omnibus ero absque fraude et malo ingenio, et absque ulla dolositate vel seductione seu deceptione, et absque respectu alicujus personæ, et neque per me, neque per missum, neque per litteras, sed neque per emissam, seu intromissam personam, vel quocunque modo ac significatione contra suum honorem et sanctæ ecclesiæ atque regni illi commissi quietem et tranquillitatem atque soliditatem machinabo vel machi- inanti consentiam ; neque unquam aliquod scandalum movebo quod illius præsenti vel futura saluti contrarium vel nocivum esse possit. Sic me Deus adjuvet et ista sanctorum patrocinia. (Baluze, II. p. 226.) Qualiter autem debeat jurare vasallus fidelitatem, videamus—Jurare scilicet sic debet. Ego juro ad hæc sancti Dei evangelia, quod amodo in antea ero fidelis huic, sicut debet esse vasallus domino : nec id quod mihi sub nomine fidelitatis commiserit T)ominus, pandam alii ad ejus detrimentum, me sciente. * - - *. - - (Jus Feod. Longob. Lib. ii., Tit. 5.) * *The* Chfahdellór. ' ' ' - - PRO OFS AND ILLÜSTRATIONS. ccccvii • • - - - ` . (4.) - TTu se Man sceal sweriem. How the Mam [or Vassal] shall swear....... ....... I will be obedient and faithful to N. [ic wille beon N. hold and getriwe] and love all that he loves, and shum all that he shuns, according to the laws of God, and of the world, and never willingly, or by compulsion, in word or deed, do aught that is hateful to him; on condition that he keep me as I am willing to earm, and all that fulfil which was agreed upon between us, when I submitted to him, and chose his will. (Leg. Ang. Sax. p. 63.) --* (5.) Imprimis ut omnes jurent in momine Domini pro quo sanctum illud sanctum est, fidelitatem Edmundo Regi, sicut homo debet esse fidelis domino suo, sine omni con- troversia et seditione, in manifesto, in occulto, in amando quod amabit, nolendo quod molet, et antequam juramentum hoc dabitur ut nemo concelet hoc in fratre vel proximo suo plusquam in extraneo. (Bromton, p. 859.) . (6.) Post alias, unguendi, coronandi et regem inthronizandi ceremonias, cuncti Proceres liomagium faciunt; Archiepiscopi et Episcopi genuflectentes ; sic, ........ I, A. B., shall be faithfull, and true faith and troth bear unto you, our Soveraign Lord, and to your heirs, Kings of England: and I shall do and truly aclrnowledge the service of the lands which I claim to hold of you, as in the right of the Church, as God help me. Quo facto sinistram Regis buccam deosculantur.——Proceres verò temporales hoc modo homagium faciunt. .... I, N. N., become your liege man oflify and lymme, and ofearthly worship ; and faith and troth I shall bear unto you, to live and dye against all manner of follt, so God me help. (Spelman's Glossary, p. 296.) (7.) I become zour man, my Liege IKing, in land, lich, life and lim, warldly honour, homage, fealty and lawty, against all that live and die. Zour counsell conceiland, thát ye schaw me. The best counsel schawand, gif ye charge me, your skaith or dishonour not to hear or see, bot I shall let at it all my gudly power, and warne zow theirof. Swa helpe me God. (Bishop Nicholson's Pref. to Wilkins, p. vii.) (8.) Devenio homo vester, de tenemento quod de vobis teneo (vel aliter) quod de vobis teneo et tenere debeo ; et fidem vobis portabo de vita et membris, et terreno honore, The Anglo-Saxon Hyld- oath, or ** oath qf obe- dience.'* Oath of fealty taken to Eúmund, as settled in the Witemagemot at ** Culestone.'' (See 1 and 3.) Homage and fealty as anciently performed by the ecclesiastical and temporal Baronage on the accession of a King of England. Oath of fealty taken by Scottish Barons to the King. English form of per- forming homage and ccccviii PR O OFS ANI) II, LUSTRATIONS. fealty according to (secundùm quosdam, vel aliter, secundum alios) de corpore et catallis et terreno Bracton. honore, et fidem vobis portabo contra omnes gentes (qui vivere poterint et mori, secundùm quosdam) salva fide debita domino Regi, et hæredibus suis. Et statim post, faciat domino suo sacramentum fidelitatis hoc modo: Oath of fealty to be Hoc audis, Domine N. quod fidem vobis portabo de vita et membris, corpore, et *°*°' immediately a'et catallis, et terreno honore, sic me Deus adjuvet et hæc sancta Dei evangelia. he homage. (Bracton, Lib. II., Cap. 25, § 8.) (9.) Modus faciendi homa- Quant fraunk homme fra hommage a son Seignur, de qi il tient son chief 9i* usually, but erro- mesuage, il tendra ses mains jointes par entre les mains son Seignur, et dirra issint— ÉÉÉÉÉ Jeo deveigne vostre homme de ceo jour em avaunt, de vie et de membre et de terrein T honour, et foi vous porterei del tenement qejeo clayme tenir de vous, sauve le foi qe jeo doi a nostre Seignur Roi. Quant fraunlt homme fra feauté, il tendra sa main destre outre le livre, et dirra issint—Ceo oiez vous monsieur R. qejeo vous serrei foial et loial, et foy vous porterei des tenementz qe jeo clayme tenir de vous, et loialment vous conusterei et loialment vous ferrei les custumes et les services qe faire doie as termes assignez: si moy eide Dieux et les Seintz. PR O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. ccccix MILITARY ADOPTION.— KNIGHTHOOD. I)U CANGE supports the opinion, that the origin of Chivalry is Military adoption. to be sought in the ceremony of military adoption, deduced from the ancient Teutonic usage commemorated by Tacitus. (Hist. de St. Louis, Diss. XXII. des adoptions d'honneur en fils, et par occasion de l'origine de la Chevalerie,—also in his Glos- sary, Arma.) Some examples adduced by him are not exactly in point ; but, on the whole, his arguments are convincing. The interesting and spirited, but fanciful St. Palaye, who has often substituted the visions of romance for the truth of history, seems rather to abamdon this conclusion ; but he has failed to observe, that Chivalry, like feudality, is a complex institutiom. The religious sentiment, the high wrought feeling of Gothic Knighthood, may have been derived from other Sources; but the main feature of the military imitiation is, indisputably, found in the investiture of the Teutonic youth. The best proof of this assertion will be given by the simple juxtaposition of a few examples selected from the annals of different realms and distant ageS. (1.) Arma sumere, non ante 'cuiquam moris, quam civitas suffecturum probaverit: tum in ipso concilio, vel Principum aliquis, vel pater, vel propinquus, scuto frameaque juvenem armat: hæc apud illos toga, hic primus juventæ honos. . (Tacit. Germ. 13.) (2.) Regi Herulorum, Theodoricus Rex.—Per arma fieri posse filium, grande inter gentes constat esse præconium, quia non est dignus adoptari nisi qui fortissimus meretur agnosci * * ■ i. © * q. û . t… ¢ * . Et ideo more gentium et conditione virili, filium te presenti munere procreamus; ut competenter per arma nascaris filius. Damus tibi equos, enses, clypeos, et reliqua instrumenta bellorum ; sed quæ sunt omnibus fortiora, largimur tibi nostra indicia. (Cass. Var. IV. 2.) VoL. I. 8 g Du Cange opposed to St. Palaye. Arms given to the Ger man youth in the Folk- moot, cither by one of the nobles, or by his father or somc mear rc- lation. Military adoption of the Κing of the Heruli by Theodoric of Verona, 2ccccx PRO OIFS ANI) T'LLUSTRATIO IN S. {3 (3.) 791. Interea anno hunc sequente, patri Regi Rex Ludovicus, Engleheim occurrit, inde Louis le Debonnaire • * •. * * ■* girt with the sword, by Renesburg cum eo abiit. Ibique ense, jam appellens adolescentiæ tempora, accinctus his father Charlemagné. est . . . ... (Vita Lud. Pii, Bouquet, VI. S9.) (4.) 838. Domnus Imperator filium suum Karolum, armis virilibus, id est, ense cinxit, Charles le Chauve girt - *- * • • * i* a # $í'í'°„'j'j,5; corona regali caput insignivit, partemque regni quam homonymus ejus ICarolus father, Louis le De $. habuit, id est, Neustriam attribuit. Et præsentes quidem Neustriæ provinciæ t i« • * +• - Š É; primores Karolo manus dederunt, et fidelitatem sacramento obstrinxerunt: absentium 9f Neustria. . Qaihs of autem quisque postea itidem fecit. (Vita Lud. Pii, p. 121.) fealty taken to him. - - (5.) £t›; Tunc jussu patris in testamento, Athelstamus.in Regem acclamatus est, quem jam ÄÈÉî, hi§ gìåíïíhę, tricennalis ætas et sapientiæ maturitas commendabant. Nam et avus Alfredus who inyests.him with nrosperum ei regnum olim imprecatus fuerat, videns et gratiosè complexus w* • SI)6C162 the robe, the sword, prosp £ p. » 3. p peciei and the belt. spectatæ puerum et gestuum elegantium, quem etiam prematurè Militem fecerat, donatum clamyde coccinea, gemmato baltheo, ense Saxonico cum vagina aurea. -, (Malm. de Gestis, II. 6.) • » ` (6). ■* Henry knighted E; Here the King bare his crown, and held his court at Winchester at Easter; and SO ÉÉWïôï. he travelled, that he was at Westminster at Whitsuntide ; and he dubbed his -son queror. Henry a Knight there [and dubbade his sunu Henric, to ridere thær]. - (7.) 1178. Rex [Henricus] vero post Archiepiscopi recessum, Gaufridum filium suum Š et; Comitem Britanniæ militem fecit apud Wodestokam. (Benedictus Abbas, 266.) II - * - Hen. II. (8.) 1185. Et sic finito concilio, Dominus Rex venit usque Windesoveres, et Dominica media John - knighted by 1r • ltalendis Aprili it. h it Joh fili • iij. ii.î.„,?, quadragesimæ quæ kalendis Aprilis evenit, honoravit Johannem, filium suum, armis ijs beigg. appoihted militaribus, et statim misit eum in Hyberniam, et eum inde regem constituit. §£ ; Ireland. (See - ' . . . . . - (Benedictus Abbas, 435.) (Sax. Chron.) P R O OFS A N D ILLUSTR ATI O N S. ccccxi, LEGISLATION OF THE STATES COMPOSING THE FRANKISH EMPIRE. IN the legislative bodies which existed in the States composing the Frankish Empire, there were, as I have observed, two modes of enactment ; the law might be transmitted by the Sovereign to the assembly ; or, he might make his decree or constitutiom, upon the request or petition of the different ranks or orders, according to the practice of the Roman empire. Of such legislation, pursuant to petitions presented by the clergy, there are two very remarkable and instructive examples. A “ Conventus Populi*' is held at Thionville, 82] ' ; and the same time and place, the prelates of Gaul and Germany are assembled in synod. In the last mentioned Council it was decreed, that a humble supplication should be addressed to the Sovereign, praying for the infliction of additional punish- ments upom those who might assault or slay the clergy. A. Capitulum emacted by Charlemagne had rendered such offenders liable to pecuniary penalties* ; but a late atrocious act, the assassination of a Gascon bishop, had shown that these were inadequate, and therefore the clergy prayed that heavy pemances should be imposed. The murderer of the Bishop is to abstain from meat and wine during the whole of his life, to be excluded from the nuptial bed, and to put off, for ever, the belt and * * S21. Medio Octobri conventus publicus in Theodonis villa est celebratus.— (Vita Lud. Pii, p. 104.) Medio mense Octobri conventus generalis apud Theodonis villam, magnâ populi Francorum frequentiâ celebratur. (Eginhardi Annales, p. 181.) The proceedings of the council, as now existing, do not show that it was held con- currently with this lay assembly. The clergy sought to disunite themselves as much as possible from the laity. * * As * JVites'' to the King,—or as ** Weres'* to the party or his l;insmen ?—This point is uncertain. Fleury is of the latter opinion.—I have considered Louis le Debonnaire and Lothaire as constituting one Emperor. at (See Chap. XVII.) Two modes of enact- ment in the legisla- tive assemblies of the Frankish empire. The Sovereign might present the proposed law to. theassembly: oritmight. result from his answer to the petitions pre- sented to him, in a man- ner analogous to the. practice of the Lower. Empire (p. 340), and also to the practice of the Parliaments, States- General, and Cortes, of the Middle. Ages. . -* (p. 365.) 3 g 2 ccccxii P R O OFS ANID ILLUSTRATI O N S. 821 • Proceedings of the Council of Thionville, the Prelates being con- vened concurrently with the Conventus Populi. A petition presented to the Sovereign, praying for the infliction of pe- malties and pemances upon persons assaulting or slaying the Clergy. sword of chivalry. Proportionate pemances are to protect the inferior orders of the hierarchy : the ** aperes* are increased by additional payments to the ecclesiastical superiors ; and, upon the motion of the Archbishop of Mentz, the Bill was presented to the Sovereign and his fideles for their approval. “ Petitio Episcoporum.” In Concilio apud Theodonìs vìllam ubi interfuerunt xxxii. IEpiscopi, Aistolfus Magontiensis Archiepiscopus, cum suis suffraganeis ; Hadabaldus, Coloniensis Archiepiscopus, cum suis suffraganeis; Hetto, Trevirensis Archiepiscopus, cum suis suffra- ganeis ; Ebbo, Remensis Archiepiscopus, cum suis suffraganeis; cum nuntiis reliquorum Episcoporum Galliæ et Germaniae, ob nimiam præsumptionem quorundam tyrannorum in sacerdotes IDomini bacchantium, et propter factum quod in Wasconia noviter acciderat de Episcopo Johanne inhonestè et inauditè mordridato, decretum est, ut communi consensu et humili devotione supplicaretur auribus Principis, si suæ pietati compla- ceret, ut calumnia in Christi sacerdotes peracta juxta synodalia determinaretur pleniter statuta, hoc idem Episcoporum judicio placeret, si ex toto secundùm potestatem ipsorum posset definiri, id est, ut canonica ferirentur sententia ; hi videlicet qui timorem Domini postponentes, in ministros suos grassare præsumerent. Quòd si verò pietati illius complaceret, juxta capitula regum præcedentium* ubi eorum provisio misericorditer in offensis pecuniæ quantitatem interposuit, pro consolatione Sanctæ IEcclesiæ, ut præfatæ res per pecuniam ab imperatoribus, sacer- dotibus ad defensionem concessam, et per poenitentiam deter- minarentur IEpiscoporum judicio si pietas illius conlaudare voluerit, sic definiri eis complaceret. * Qui Subdiaconum occiderit, trecentos solidos componat; qui Diaconum, quadrin- gentos ; qui Presbyterum, sexcentos; qui Episcopum, nongentos ; qui monachum, quadringentis solidis culpabilis judicetur. (Cap. Car. Magni, A. D. S03.) PRO OFS AN D ILLUSTRATI O N S. ccccxiii CAP. I. Si quis subdiaconum calumniatus fuerit, vulneraverit, vel debilitaverit, et conva- luerit, quinque quadragesimas sine subditis annis poeniteat, et trecentos solidos cum sua compositione et Episcopalibus bannis Episcopo componat. - Si autem mortuus fuerit, singulas supradictas quadragesimas cum sequentibus annis poeniteat et quadrin- gentos solidos cum tripla sua compositione et Episcopalibus bannis triplicibus Episcopo componat. ' -. - II. Si Diaconum calumniatus fuerit, et convaluerit, sex quadragesimas sine subditis annis poeniteat, et quadringentos solidos cum compositione sua et Episcopalibus bannis Episcopo componat. Si autem mortuus fuerit, singulas supradictas sex quadragesimas cum sequentibus annis poeniteat et sexcentos solidos cum tripla sua compositione et Episcopalibus bannis triplicibus Episcopo componat. III. Si quis Presbyterum calumniatus fuerit et spassaverit, sex quadragesimas sine sub- ditis annis poeniteat, et sexcentos solidos cum triplici sua compositione et Episco- palibus bannis triplicibus Episcopo componat. Si autem mortuus fuerit, duodecim annorum poenitentia secundùm canones ei imponatur, et nongentos solidos cum triplici compositione sua et Episcopalibus bannis triplicibus Episcopo componat. IV. si quis Episcopo insidias posuerit, comprehenderit vel in aliquo dehonestaverit, decem quadragesimas cum subditis annis pœniteat, et Presbyteri occisi triplicem com- positionem componat. Si autem casu et non sponte occiditur, cum comprovincialium Episcoporum consilio homicida poeniteat. . Si quis autem sponte eum occiderit, carnem non comedat, vinum non bibat omnibus diebus vitæ suæ, cingulum militare deponat, absque spe conjugii in perpetuo maneat. Aistolfus Magontiensis Archiepiscopus dixit. . Si Principibus placuerit aliisque suis fidelibus, rogemus ut conlaudetur et subscribatur. Et conlaudatum est et sub- scriptum, tam a Principe quàm a ceteris omnibus. (Baluze, I. pp. 624, 62S.) The signature of the Sovereign and the Fideles, obtained as above-mentioned, may have authenticated the document, but no confirmation was imparted ; nor was any law enacted by the temporal authority until the following year. In the Conventus ]held at Tribur*, the petitions of the prelates were considered, and, in part, affirmed: that is to say, five articles were con- stituted or decreed, nearly in the same words, but in a more abridged form ; retaining the pecuniary 'penalties, but not * A royal palace on the Rhine, near Mentz. iccccxiv JP R O O FS ANID ILLUSTRATIO N S. 822. Proceedings of the Com- ventus lyeld at Tribur. The Sovereign and his Fideles give a qualified assent to the Petitions ofthe Clergy, by enact- ing constitutions of an import uearly cquiva- lent to the canoms. incorporating all the clauses relating to the penances* ; and those who are familiar with our ancient English parliamentary proceedings will observe, that the constitutions of Louis le Debonnaire bear the same relation to the petition of the prelates, that our ancient Statutes generally do, to the petitions upon which they were founded. A sixth article is added by the Sovereign ; the offender who despised the censure of the Church was to become incapable of holding a benefice,—his allode was to be seized. If he continued in contumacy during a year, his property became forfeited to the Fisc, and the culprit was kept in custody, or doomed to exile, until he obeyed the ecclesiastical authority. :* The question was then put to the assembly whether they were content with these constitutions. Their assent having been them given, the Sovereign and the greater part of the “ Principes“of Gauland Germany attested the act by subscribing their signs ; Te Deum was sung, and the assembly was dissolved. ** Decretum Imperatorium post petitionem Episcoporum.” IPlacuit nobis et fidelibus nostris, ut sicut ab Episcopis et reliquis sacerdotibus ac Dei servis alio anno apud Theodonis villam admoniti fuimus et rogatâ, ut Episcopi et eorum Ministri, quos Deus suo, non humano, judicio reservavit, juxta sanctorum canonum sanctorumque patrum ac capitularium precedentium Regum coram positorum statuta, et Dei sacerdotes eorumque cooperatores, quorum intercessionibus, supplicationibus Sancta Dei Ecclesia constare videtur, intacti permaneant. I. Constituimus ut si quis Subdiaconum calumniatus fuerit et convaluerit, poenitentia canonica poeniteat, et trecentos solidos Episcopo componat. Et si mortuus fuerit, juxta id quod canones præcipiunt pœniteat, et quadringentos solidos Episcopo componat. 5 F] — ** 1 •, A. ti ] f t y lés eury says, es mêmes articles furent renouvelés quant aux amendes pécuniaires sans parler de pénitences.” (Hist. Eccl. X. p. 218.) P R O O FS AN D ILLUSTR.ATIONS. °CCCCXV , * II. Si Diaconum quis calumniatus fuerit et convaluerit, poeniteat secundùm canones, et quadringentos solidos Episcopo componat. Si non convaluerit, juxta præcepta synodalia poeniteat, et sexcentos solidos Episcopo componat. III. si Presbyterum quis malè tractaverit et spassaverit, secundùm ejus Episcopi senten- tiam poeniteat, et nongentos solidos Episcopo componat. Si autem mortuus fuerit, ut synodus dijudicaverit pœniteat, et mille ducentos solidos Episcopo componat. IV. Et si quis Episcopo insidias posuerit, comprehenderit, vel in aliquo dehonestaverit, poeniteat secundùm canonum statuta et Presbyteri occisi triplicem compositionem, cum justitiis quæ in superiori capitulo scriptæ et confirmatæ esse videntur, componat. V. Si quis per industriam Episcopum occiderit, juxta id quod apud Theodonis villam a xxxii. Episcopis decretum est et quod ibi à nobis et à primatibus totius Galliae et * Germaniæ benigna conlaudatione conlaudatum est et subscriptum, poeniteat, et pecuniam a nobis concessam ecclesiæ viduatæ persolvat. VI. Et hoc de nostro adjecimus, ut si quis in his supradictis sanctorum canonum nostrique decreti sanctionibus Episcopis inobediens et contumax extiterit, primùm canonica sententia feriatur, deinde in nostro regno beneficium non habeat, et alodis ejus in bannum mittatur ; et si annum et diem in nostro banno permanserit ad fiscum nostrum redigatur et captus in exilium religetur, et ibi tam diu custodiatur et con- stringatur donec coactus, Deo et sanctæ ecclesiæ satisfaciat quod prius gratis facere noluerat. Et si omnibus vobis ista complacuerint, dicite. . Et tertio ab omnibus conclamatum est, Placet! Et imperatores et penè omnes Galliæ et Germaniæ principes subscrip- serunt, singuli singulas facientes cruces. Et ecclesiasticus ordo Deo et principibus laudes referentes hymnum, Te Deum laudamus, decantabant. Et sic soluta est synodus. (Baluze, I. pp. 627, 630.) - Thus, according to the constitution of the Frankish empire, the Clergy, powerful and influential as they were, could not give validity to their determinations, without the aid of the - sovereign power. s * * The prelates assembled in the Council of Meaux, 845", * Labbe, Concilia, vol. vii. p. 813. ccccxvi PRoöFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. adopted eighty canons, relating to ecclesiastical privileges : many had been already enacted, but they had never been enforced, or had fallen into desuetude. They were to be revived or renewed. AS it will appear, from the subsequent trans-, actions, they could only become efficient laws, binding the laity, when confirmed by the Sovereign and the temporal legislature. They were presented to the general Conventus held at Epernay; and the result appears from the rubric or title prefixed to the Capitulary. Hæc quæ sequuntur capitula excerpta sunt a Domno Rege Karolo, et Principibus ejus, ex his capitulis quæ anno 846 ediderunt Episcopi in synodis, Wenilo scilicet cum suffraganeis suis, Guntboldus cum suffraganeis suis, Ursmarus cum suffraganeis suis, Hincmaro cum suffraganeis suis, Amalo cum suffraganeis suis; et oblata sunt eidem Principi, sicut ipse jusserat, collecta ad relegendum in Sparnaco, villa Remensis ecclesiæ. Et quia factione quorundam motus est animus ipsius Regis contra Epis- copos, dissidentibus Primoribus regni sui ab eorundem Episcoporum ammonitione, et remotis ab eodem concilio Episcopis, ex omnibus illis capitulis hæc tantum observanda et complacenda sibi collegerunt, et Episcopis scripta tradiderunt, dicentes non amplius de eorum capitulis acceptasse quam ista, et ista se velle cum principe observare. (Baluze, II. p. 29.) The Capitulary then states the titles of the Canons or Petitions which had been accepted, referring to the proceedings of the Council for their tenor, and inserts the whole of those which had been rejected. The feeling which the transaction excited, is strongly expressed in a contemporary chronicle ; but there does not seem to be any doubt concerning the legality of the conduct pursued by the temporal authority 7. As the Clergy petitioned, so did the People. Thus was the Capitular, exempting the Clergy from military service, also emacted in the general assembly held at Worms. 7 Carolus apud villam Sancti Remigii, Sparnacum momine, contra mórem con- ventum populi sui generalem mense Junio habuit. In quo Episcoporum regni sui pernecessaria admonitio de causis ecclesiasticis ita flocci pensa est, ut vix unquam reverentia Pontificalis Christianorum duntaxat temporibus sic posthabita legatur. - (Annales Bertiniani, Bouquet, VII. p. 64.) P R O O FS AN D IL LUSTR ATI O N S. ccccxvii Capitulare octavum anni D CCC III. sive capitula de immu- nitate Episcoporum ac reliquorum sacerdotum ab expeditionibus bellicis, data Wormatiæ in generali populi conventu sub finem anni ID CCC III. De generali totius populi supplicatione apud Principem pro sacerdotum causa, ne in hostem aut pugnam pergerent, et quale eis omnibus ex hoc immineat periculum. Ex capitulis Domni IXaroli Imperatoris Wormatiæ generaliter decretis, atque ab omnibus firmatis et cunctis pro lege tenendis contraditis. The people address their petition in very humble language: Petitio populi ad Imperatorem. Plexis omnes precamur poplitibus majestatem vestram, ut Episcopi deinceps, sicut hactenus, non vexentur hostibus. Sed quando vos nosque in hostem pergimus, ipsi propriis resideant in parrochiis, Deoque fideliter famulari studeant, et eorum sacro- sancta ministeria canonicè et Deo placitè peragere satagant, atque pro vobis et cuncto exercitu vestro, unà cum omnibus sibi commissis orare viriliter, missasque cantare et letanias atque eleemosynas facere decertent..... .Ut ergo hæc omnia a vobis et a nobis sive a successoribus vestris et a nostris, futuris temporibus absque ulla dissimu- latione conserventur, scriptis ecclesiasticis inserere jubete et inter vestra capitula. interpolare præcipite. The Emperor gives his answer to the petition. Concessio Domni ICaroli Imperatoris ad suprascriptam petitionem. Omnibus notum esse volumus quia non solùm ea quæ super Episcoporum et Pres- byterorum hostium vexationibus et præcibus pro nobis et vobis fieri rogitastis, con- cedere optamus, sed quicquid pro sanctæ Dei ecclesiæ et sacerdotum sive totius populi et vestra utilitate inveneritis concedere paratissimi sumus. Et modo ista, sicut petistis, concedimus. Et quando, vita comite, Deo auxiliante, ad generale placitum yenerimus, sicut petistis, consultu omnium fidelium nostrorum scriptis firmare, nostris nostrorúmque atque futuris temporibus inrefragabiliter manenda firmissimè Domino amminiculante cupimus. Modo ea quæ generalia sunt, et omnibus conveniunt ordinibus, statuere ac cunctis sanctæ Dei ecclesiæ nostrisque fidelibus ob Dei omni- potentis amorem et recordationem tradere parati sumus; et ad proximum synodalem nostrum conventum ac generale placitum ubi plures Episcopi et Comites convenerunt ista, sicut postulastis, firmabimus. (Baluze, I. p. 406.) These documents are followed by the ** Capitula,” framed upon the petition of the people. The whole proceeding VoL. I. - 3 h. Capitulary of Worms enacted upon the peti- tion of the ** populus.'* 803. ccccxviii PRO O FS AND ITLLUSTRATI O N S. Importance of these examples in connect- ing the legislation of the Roman empire with the proceedings of the Par- liaments, &c. of the middle ages. (p. 365.) Objections to the deduc- tions drawn from the foregoing examples. deserves much attention. The principle is exactly that which prevailed in the old English Parliament,-the People ask,-the Ring assents, with the advice of his Council. These examples possess great interest, because they stand midway between the Petitions and Postulations of the provincial assemblies of the Roman empire; and the equivalent proceed- ings in the legislative or remedial assemblies of the middle ages. In all these, we find exactly the same form.–In the States- General of France, the Cahier is presented to the Sovereign. In the Cortes of Castille, the law is obtained upon the Prayer of the membersº; and in England, as it is hardly necessary to mention, the Petition presented to the King is very few cases excepted, the foundation of the statute or law. It will perhaps be said, that I lay too much stress upon a few isolated examples. To this I reply, – º An extract from the Quaderno of the Cortes, held at Medina del Campo, 1343, will show the ordinary course of legislation in the Peninsula. Sepan quantos este Quaderno vieren, como Nos D. FERNANDo por la gracia de Dios, Rey de Castiella, de Toledo, de Leon, de Gallicia, de Sevilla, de Cordova, de Murcia, de Jahen, del Algarve, è Sennor de Molina; estando en las Cortes, que agora ficimos en Medina del Campo, sevendo y conmigo la Reyna Donna Maria mi Madre è el Infante D. Johan mi Tio, è mis Hermanos el Infante D. Pedro, è el Infante D. Felipe, è D. Gonzalo Arzobispo de Toledo, è D. Alfonso Obispo de Astorga, è D. Alfonso Obispo de Coria, è D. Johan Nunnes mi Adelantado Mayor en la frontera, è D. Pedro Ponce mi Mayordomo Mayor, è D. Garcia Lopez, Maestre de Calatrava, è otros Ricos-Omes, è Abades, è Omes de Ordenes, è Infantes, è Cavalleros, è otros omes bonos de los Regnos de Castiella è de Leon, è de las Estre- maduras, è del Regno de Toledo: Los Cavalleros, è los omes bonos que vinieron a estas Cortes por Personeros de los Conceios de las Cibdades, è de las villas de las Estremaduras, è del Regno de Toledo, veeyendo que era servicio de Dios, è prò de toda la tierra, pidieron Nos estas cosas, que aqui son dichas. E Nos vistas las cosas que nos piederon, libramosgelo en esta guisa. I. Primeramente à lo que Nos pidieron que rescivien muchos agraviamentos de Infantes, è de Ricos-Omes, è de otros omes poderosos, lo uno que les tomaban yantares; è lo al, que pleyteaban los Logares por quantias ciertas de dineros, è que Ies tomaban lo que les fallaban: Tenemos por bien quanto en lo pasado de lo saber, è facerlo enmendar. (From the edition of Asso y del Rio, pp. 18, 19.) PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. ccccxix I. It must not be supposed that in the Capitularies, as they appear in the pages of Baluze, we have the whole, or any thing approaching to the whole, of the statutes enacted by the Carlo- vingiam legislature. It was the object of the transcriber merely to preserve such matter as was required for ordinary use in the Mallum, or in the Conventus, or in the Synod. The greatest number of the capitulars stand without amy introduction or recital of previous proceedings. These were not required in practice. It was sufficient to furnish an authentic copy of the mandatory part of the law. The Petition or Suggestion which gave rise to the * constitution,” was of as little importance to the Chancellors and Notaries of the empire, as the votes of the Commons are to the practitioner of the present day, after the Bill has gone through both Houses and obtained the royal assent, and appears in the statutes at large. It may be con- jectured that, if we possess the details concerning the capitulars of Tibur and Epernay, it was because they were exceptions to the general course. A rejection, or even a modification, of the requests preferred by the Clergy, would be a matter of rare occurrence. And the same indignation which prompted the monk to exclaim against the affront offered to the prelates, would equally dictate the special record of these injurious transactions. With respect to the petition presented by the * Populus” in the Conventus at Worms, we probably owe the preservation of this most important document to the Clergy's wish that their immunities should appear to be secured, not at their own request, but by the good will and seeking of the laity; or, if this supposition be considered as untenable, we may suppose that the petition was retained merely by the accidental diligence of the compiler. Instead of commencing “ Volumus ut nullus sacerdos in hostem pergat,” he began his copy from the top of the page, and inserted the whole of the act which he had before him. Answers to such objec- tions. Frequent practice ofthc ancient transcribers to omit the formal or in- troductory parts of le- gislative proceedings, as being of no practical llSC. 3 h 2 ccccxx. IP R O O FS A N D ILLUSTRATI O N S. ILegislation upom peti- tion, mot the only mode, Paucity of early ex- amples of legislation upon petition, compen- sated by the universality of the practice at a later period. II. It will be recollected, that ** legislation upon Petition* was only one of the modes of enactment, and, possibly, the mode least often called into action. The greater share of legislation Delonged to the Sovereign ; and, in the reign of Charlemagne, he would generally anticipate his subjects in discovering causes for the amendment of the law. Therefore, this is not a case in which the paucity of examples should lead us to consider the practice as out of the settled constitutional course : it might be unusual, but it was not, therefore, extraordinary. III. Such paucity of early examples is amply compensated ly the universality of the practice in a subsequent period. As I have before observed (p. 365), had not this mode of legis- lating proceeded from a common Source, it is hardly possible to account for the general uniformity which we find in the several members of the Romam empire. IPRooFs AND ILLUSTRATIoNs. ccccxxi LEGISLATION OF THE DEPENDANT NATIONS. THE main principle of this legislation is enounced in the cele- brated Edict apud Pistas, A. D. 864, Lex consensu populi fit, et constitutione Regis (Baluze, II. 178.) The “ Constitution * of the King, which he had framed by the advice of his Fideles, was transmitted by the Missi to the people in the Mallum. This assembly was composed of the Bishops amd Abbots, or their Wisdames, the Comites, the great Landlords, and the King's Wassi, and the Scabini representing the several Pagi of which the land was composed ; and, in some parts of the empire, these same functionaries were equally the representatives of the municipal communities. The prelates, such as were the IKing's Wassi, attended by virtue of a special writ of summons : the Vassi of the Count followed their Senior: the Scabini were elected ; and the acceptance of the capitular by the Mallum rendered it a law. All these particulars appear so clearly from the following texts, as not to require any further corroboration or argument'. Vult dominus Imperator ut in tale placitum quale ille nunc jusserit, veniat unus- quisque Comes, et adducat secum duodecim Scabinos, si tanti fuerint. Sin autem, de melioribus hominibus illius comitatus suppleat numerum duodenarium *. (Cap. Lud. Pii, addita ad Legem Salicam, II. 2, A,D. 819,—Baluze, p. 606.) ' For the writs of summons, see I. 1, 2, 3. It is probable that the composition of the Mallum would be varied by local customs. In a Lombard Mallum, 877, the Scabini and Notarii of two cities are noticed as members. (Agobardi Op., App. p. 135.—See also II. 1, 2, pp. ccccxxx. &c., and ccccxxxii. &c., and p. cxciv. No. 2.) - * In a subsequent law, three or four of the principal Scabini are said to be sufficient. Itaque volumus ut medio mense Maio conveniant iidem Missi, unusquisque in sua legatione, cum omnibus Episcopis, Abbatibus, Comitibus, ac Vassis nostris, advocatis nostris, ac Vicedominis Abbatissarum, necnon et eorum qui propter aliquam inevi- •; Legislation of the de- pendant nations—how exercised in the Mallum before the Missi or Royal commissioners. (see p. 112) Twelve Scabini to at- tend each Comes to the Placitum. ccccxxii PRO OFS AN ID ILLUSTRATI O N S. Scabini elected by the people. Capitula framed by the Sovereign with the ad- vice of this Council. Assent of the People required by the Capi- tula, 803. Example ofthe promul- gation of a law in the IMallum of the Franks held at Paris. (see p. 113.) Capitulum read before the Scabini. Ut Missi nostri ubicumque malos Scabineos inveniunt, eiciant, et totius populi consensum loco eorum bonos eligant. Et cum electi fuerint, jurare faciant ut scienter injustè judicare non debeant. (Cap. Wormatiense, A.D. S29, II. 2.) Volumus etiam ut capitula quæ nunc et alio tempore consultu nostrorum fidelium è nobis constituta sunt, à Cancellario nostro, Archiepiscopi et Comites eorum, de propriis civitatibus modo, aut per se aut per suos Missos accipiant: et unusquisque per suam diocesim ceteris Episcopis, Abbatibus, Comitibus, et aliis fidelibus nostris ea transcribi faciant, et in suis Comitatibus coram omnibus relegant, ut cunctis nostra ordinatio et voluntas mota fieri possit. (Cap. Lud. Pii, A.D. S23, § 24,—Baluze, I., p. 640.) Ut populus interrogetur de capitulis quæ in lege noviter addita sunt. Et postquam omnes consenserint, subscriptiones et manufirmationes suas in ipsis capitulis faciant. (Cap. III. A.D. 803, § I9.) Incipiunt capitula quæ in Rege Salica Dominus Augustus Karolus, anno ab Incar- natione Domini nostri, Jesu Christi, S03, imperii vero sui anno tertio præponendo addere jussit. Hæc sunt capitula quæ Domnus Karolus Magnus Imperator jussit scribere in consilio suo et jussit eas ponere inter alias leges... Anno tertio_clementissimi Domni nostri Karoli Augusti, sub ipso anno, hæc facta capitula sunt, et consignata Stephano Comiti ut hæc manifesta faceret in civitate f Parisius mallo publico, et illa legere faceret coram Scabineis, quod ita et fecit. Et omnes in uno consenserunt quod ipsi voluissent omni tempore observare usque in posterum. Etiam omnes Scabinei, Episcopi, Abbates, Comites, manu propria subter signaverunt. (Baluze, I. pp. 390, 391.) We can have little doubt but that such a promulgation and enactment took place in each of the Assemblies, however they might be designated, of the different dependant nations. That; few notices of the actual acceptance of capitularies are pre- served, may be accounted for, by recollecting that there was no central repository or record-office into which the writs were tabilem necessitatem ipsi venire non possunt, ad locum unum. Et si necesse fuerit, propter opportunitatem conveniendi, in duobus vel tribus locis, vel maxime propter pauperes populi, idem conventus habeatur, qui omnibus congruat. Et habeat unus- quisque Comes, Vicarios et Centenarios suos: necnon et de primis Scabineis suis tres aut quatuor. (Cap. A. D. 823, § 28,—Baluze, I. pp. 642, 643.) Itis impossible to explain the causes of these minute variations, nor are they of any consequence, since they do not affect the main principle. + Sic. PRO OFS AND IILLUSTRATIO N S. ccccxxiii returned, after the capitular had been confirmed by the people, and that, as I have before observed, the transcribers always sought brevity. They consulted the convenience of their con- temporaries, and not the curiosity of posterity. One example of such abridgement cam be distinctly pointed out. In the Capitula of Thionville, A. D. 820, Louis le Debonnaire declares, * generaliter omnes admonemus ut capitula quæ præ- terito anno legi Salicæ per omnium consensum addenda ipse censuimus, jam non ulterius capitula, sed tantum lex dicantur, immo pro lege teneantur.” (Baluze, I. 623.) Now the Capitula alluded to are those entitled * De Interpretatione Legis Salicæ," or the ** Capitulare tertium anni 819.* (Baluze, II. 607.) In these, as they now exist, there is no notice of the assent of the Tranks or Salians, the facts being only collected from the sub- sequent recital. The same conventions which took place before the Missi, the representatives of the Monarch, could, of course, be held before the Sovereign himself. When the law was to be accepted by the Franks or Salians, this may have been often the cáse,—more seldom, probably, with the other nations. But the Capitulare Saxonum was thus enacted at Aix la Chapelle, A.D. 797. Anno ab Incarnatione Domini nostri Jesu ChristiIDCCXCVII. regnante Domno Karolo præcellentissimo Rege, convenientibus in unum Aquis palatio, in ejus obsequio venerabilibus Episcopis et Abbatibus, seu illustribus viris Comitibus, v. Kalendas Novembris, simulque congregatis Saxonibus de diversis pagis, tam de Westfalahis et Angrariis, quàm et de Oostfalahis, omnes unanimiter consenserunt et aptificaverunt ut de illis capitulis pro quibus Franci, si Regis bannum transgressi sunt, solidos sexaginta componunt, similiter Saxones solvent, si alicubi contra ipsos bannos fecerint. (Baluze, I. p. 275.) (p. ccccxix.) Conventioms of the dc- pendant nations held in the presence of the Sovereign. 797. Conventus of Aix la Chapelle. Saxons as- sent to certain Capitu- lars. Saxons appearing from and for the several Pagi. ccccxxiv PR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. Legislation, how exer- cised by the dependant Sovereigns. 772. Tassilo's enactment, In the fifth chapter “ De compositione secundum legem, Saxonum,” the assent of the Saxons only is expressed,-“placuit omnibus Saxonibus.” The tenth, “de banno augendo,” provides that the King may increase the Fyrdwite “ una cum consensu Francorum et fidelium Saxonum.” It is hardly necessary to observe, that the Saxons of Westphalia, Ostfalia, and Angria, or Engern, could only appear by deputation at Aix la Chapelle; and it probably mattered little whether these deputies were the hereditary Aldermen of the Pagi, or the elected Scabini. Thus convened, the People also might petition, either for new laws, or for the confirmation of those which existed. This is shown by the seventeen “ Leodkesta” of the ancient Frisic code. I add the first petition in the Latin as well as in the Frisic textº, without attempting to decide which is the original. Petitio I. Hec est prima petitio et ICaroli Regis concessio omnibus Frisonibus, quod universi rebus propriis utantur, quamdiu non demeruerunt possidere. Thet is thiu forme Liodlrest and thes Kyning ICerles ieft and Londriuch allera Frisona, thet allera monna el: an sine gode bisitte alsa longe sa hit unforwrocht hebbe. º Legislation was exercised by the dependant chieftains, as appears from the Decrees enacted by Tassilo. Regnante in perpetuum Domino nostro Jesu Christo, in anno vero xxii. regni religiosissimi Ducis Tassilonis gentis Baioar- riorum, sub die consulum, quod erat ii. id. Octobr. atque anno ab Incarnatione Dominica DCCLXXII., Indict. x, divina per- flatus inspiratione, ut omne regni sui praenotatus Princeps collegium procerum coadunaret, in villam publicam Dingol- vingam nuncupatam, &c. (Lindenbrog, p. 439.) º Wiarda's invaluable edition of the “ Asega Buch,” p. 12. The learned editor derives Kest from Keasa (Frisic.), Keosa (Isl.), Cysan (Ang.-Sax), softened, in modern English, into “chuse.” The Leodkest is the law chosen by the people, and then presented to the sovereign. P R O O FS AN D I LLUSTRATIO N S. CCCCXXVr. This enactment is principally directed against the ancient superstitions, or heathenish practices, prevailing amongst the 33avarians. Under the third race, the legislation heretofore exercised by Legislation under die - ę iT* : … third race. Examples the dependant mations in the Mallum reappears. It is now άlii§5,TÄ. i. * . * * f Geoffry Plantagenet vested in the States of the feudal dependamcies. Such is Geoffry $$ "3'£'* Plantagenet's Assize, enacted upon the Petition of his Bishops #%£"%*$; Blanche, Countess of and Barons, and altering the canon of succession in the Fiefs of Troyes, j * * (pp. ccccxxxv. and Armorica (III. 1), a document of great importance, both in itself, ccccxxxvi.) and as elucidating the progress of the English law. Of the same mature and class is the Ordinance of the Countess of Troyes, or Champaigne (III. 2.) Upon these documents I shall only observe, that they may be considered in some measure as the counterparts of Tassilo's statute. In the County of Toulouse, the constitutional members of the Estates of the County ofToulouse. Simon de States or Parliament are enumerated in the preambles of the íîïí,íî ordinances of Simon de Montfort (1212), and of Raymond Βerenger (1233). In meither of these, are the representatives of the towns expressly mentioned, but they are implied in both, and they appear by name in the Council convened before the Papal Legate (IV. 3), at the time when Raymond, the recon- ciled heretic, had just been recalled to his authority, but which was evidently the usual legislature of the country. In the 1262. Ordinancc of Clartres domain of the King of France we find (1262) a representation of Äî î,`É. Burgesses-a represen- the Burgesses by twelve Jurats', evidently deduced either from $º;'i. the ancient duodenary courts in general, or from the institution from the ancient quo* * Three from Paris, three from Provins, two from Orleans, two from Sens, and two from Laon. Facta fuit hæc ordinatio Carnoti, Anno Dom. 1262, &c. . . . . cui faciendæ inter- fuerant jurati Clemens de Visilia, Joannes dictus Rigidus, Johannes Herman, Cives Parisienses ; Nicolaus de Castello, Guarinus Fernet, Jacobus Fris, Burgenses Pruvi- menses; Johannes de Lori, Stephanus Morin, Cives Aurelianenses ; Evrardus Malori, Johannes Parergini, Cives Senonenses ; Robaille de Claustro, Petrus de Moncellis, Cives Laudunenses. (Ordinances, I. 94.) VoL. I. . 3 i ccccxxvi PRO O FS AN D II, LU ST RATI O N S. naty courts Ges cap. of the Scabini ; and this was probably not a solitary instance, ā€¤* but the usual practice, though unnoticed in the other ordinances. The omission of the enacting parts of the monuments of ancient legislation, is a fact recurring at every stage of these inquiries. In the Latim copy of the Ordinances of Pamiers, first published by Martene, the Benedictine, the preamble is omitted, and there is no notice whatever of the Parliament. For anything that appears to the contrary on the face of that copy, the Ordinances were made by the uncontrolled authority of Simon de Montfort ; and the information, so important to us, is derived (p. ccccxxxvi. No. 3) from an old French, translation of an unmutilatedl or unabridged text. I call the attention of the reader to this circumstance in further proof of the observations above made, concerning the omissions of the formal parts of legislative proceedings. eius, et uis senes. Perhaps the evidence best enabling us to deduce the history Ę of legislation, is found in the example of Carcassone. (III. 5 & 6.) # ;'* Carlowingiam Here the ** Mallum * of the Carlovingian county (II, 3) (pp. ccccxxxviii, &c.) distinctly reappears under the name of the * Estates” of the 1254. Capetiam Seneschaussée. The Ordinance of St. Louis, con- sidered by the historians of Languedoc as creating the Provin- (p. ccccxxxviii.) cial States (III. 4), is, in truth, the fullest recognition of their statuto grounded upon previous existence and authority. It is a remedial statute, ;'i'i'; Peo- grounded upon the Petition of the People. A grievance has been sustained by the act of the Sovereign, and he declares that, in future, his prerogative shall not be exercised without the assent of the legislature. The Three Estates are not instituted by the ordinance : but St. Louis concedes that, in a particular case, a power which had been hitherto exercised by the irre- sponsible authority of the Sovereign, shall be submitted to their advice and control. ç.i;iii It is observed by Hallam, that, ** excepting a few instances, it € {lUSeni C€ OI {l Ce n [rt] íú, does not appear that the Kings of the House of Capet acted French Monarchy, erro- iïÉ according to the advice and deliberation of any national assembly, ** P R O O FS ATND ILLUSTRATIO N S. ccccxxvii such as assisted the Norman Sovereigns of England ; mor was any theyritersholdingsuch * * • • • _• • ę opinions not having ad- consent required for the validity of their edicts, except that of Äú -* * » o- * « . d b h is- their ordinary council, chiefly formed of their household officers íŸ latures of the several and less powerful vassals. This is at first sight very remark- Ę.? able,—for there can be no doubt that the government of France. Eenry I. or Henry II. was incomparably stronger tham that of Louis VI. or Louis VII. But this apparent absoluteness of the latter was the result of their real weakness, and the disor- ganization of the monarchy. The Peers of France were infrequent in their attendance upom the King's Coumcil, because they denied its coercive authority." (Hallam, p. 174.)—In this opinion he follows Mably.— J'ai dit, en parlant du gouvernement féodal en France, que sur la fim de la seconde race et sous les premiers Capétiens, îl n'y eut poînt d'assemblée de la matìon en quâ résidát la puîssamce publique, et qui eit droit de faire des lois auxquelles chaque seigneur fut obligé d'obéìr. La foi et l'homage entre les suze- rains et leurs vassaus, tous vrais despotes dans leurs terres, étoient les seuls liens qui les unissent. Cependant pour suppléer, autant qu'il étoit possible, à cette puissance publique dont on sent toujours la nécessité, les seigneurs qui avoient quelques affaires communes, îmagîmèrent de s'assembler dans um lieu commode dont ils convenoient, et prirent l'habitude d'inviter leurs amis et leurs voisins à s'y rendre, pour délibérer de concert sur leurs prétensions, et Ia manière dont ils se comporteroient. Ces espèces de congrès, qu'on tint assez souvent à l'occasion des croisades, des entreprises du clergé, etc., se nommoient alors IParlemens, parce qu'on y parlementoit. Il faut se garder de confondre ces assemblées avec la cour de justice du Roi, qu'on ne commenga à nommer Parlement, que vers le milieu du treizième siècle (Voyez le traité des fiefs de Brussel, p. 321.) 3 i 2 ccccxxviii E R O O FS AND IILLUSTRATIONS. Les seigneurs qui tenoient les assises ou les plaids du Roi, profitant de l'occasiom qui les rassembloit pour conférer ensemble sur leurs affaires communes ou particulières, ainsi qu'ils avoient coutume de faire dans les assemblées, ou congrès, dont je parle, on s'avisa de se servir du mot de Parlement, pour désigner la cour de justice du Roi, et bientót ce nom lui fut attribué priva- tivement, soit parce que la cour du Roi formoit une assemblée plus auguste et plus importante que les autres, soit parce qu'elle s'assembloit régulièrement plusieurs fois l'année, et que les autres assemblées n'avoient, quant à leur convocation et tenue, rien de régulier et de fixe. - C'est dans le sens de congrès que Villehardouin emploie le mot de Parlement, ainsi qu'on em peut juger par les passages suivans. ** Après pristrent li Baron (qui étoient croisés) un parlement a Soissons, pour savoir quand il voldroient movoir, et quel part il voldroient tourner. A celle foix ne se porent accorder, porce que il lor sembla que il n'avoient mie encore assés gens croisiè. En tot cet an 1200 ne se passa onques deux mois, que il n'assemblassent, a parlement a Compeigne en qui furent tuit li Comte et li Baron qui croisiè estoient (art. 10), pristrent un parlement al chief del mois a Soissons per savoir que il pourroient faire. Cil qui furent li Cuens Balduin de IFlandres et de Henmaut, et li Cuens Loeys de Blois et de Chartraim, li Cuens Joffroy del Perche, li Cuens Hues de S. Pol et maint autre preudome (art. 20.) Les parlemens ou congrès ne faisoient point partie du gou- vernement féodal. Quelque seigneur que ce fut, étoit le maître de les proposer, et s'y rendoit qui vouloit. On convenoit quelquefois dans ces assemblés de quelques articles qui n'obli- geoient que ceux qui les avoient signés: c'étoient des conven- tions ou des traités de ligue d'alliance ou de paix, et non pas des lois. P R O O FS AN D II, LU STRATI O N S. ccccxxix. I have made these long extracts (Mably, II. pp. 373 to 376), in order that it may be seen how the characteristics, which are sought in vain in the * Monarchy” of France, are to be found in the legislatures of the dominions denominated by that collective name. And, indeed, it is marvellous how Mably, with La Vaissette upom his shelves, could assert that, in the reign of Philip le Bel, * les Frangois, plongés dans la plus profonde ignorance, n'avoient aucume idée de la forme que doivent avoir des assemblées nationales, ni de la police régulière qui doit en être 1'ame pour les remdre utiles. Ils ne savoient peut-être pas qu'il y eut un Charlemagne, et certainement ils ignoroient l'histoire de nos anciens Champs de Mars et de Mai.* (II. 123.) The Assembly of Carcassone was as truly a national assembly for that ancient County, as the Parliament of Scotland or of England. Whether the three orders of Carcassone knew much or little about the Champ de Mai, is foreign to the purpose. But it may be asked, whether the Abbé was not more inexcusably ignorant of matters which he was bound to know. It is amusing to see all the elaborate theories concerning the supposed motives which induced Philip le Bel to introduce the Deputies of the Tiers Etat into the States-General in 1302, at once demolished hy the production of the record. The States-General necessarily took into them all the elements of which the Provincial States are composed. The appointment of Deputies for the ToWns, instead of their Magistrates, was mere matter of arrangement. The Consuls of Albi* were, perhaps, detained by the affairs of Reprcsentation oftowns the town, and therefore they appeared at Beziers by their Pro- curators ; and when an assembly was appointed to meet for all IFrance, such a practice would be adopted, not only for the convenience of the distant towns, but in order to keep the numbers of the assembly within moderate bounds. Municipal * See p. ccccxli, &c, I. First appearing by their Magistrates, or governing classes or bodies. II. Next, by Deputies, appointed by such Magistrates, or governing classes. III. Lastly (in some cases), by Deputies elected by the body of freemem, &c. ccccxxx PRO OFS AND IIL1LUSTRATIONS. Writ of Summons to a General Conventus to beheld before the King. bodies seem, in the first instance, to have appeared by their Magistrates, or governáng bodies. In the next stage, Deputies were appointed by such Magistrates or goverming bodies. Delegates, appointed or elected by the inhabitants, corporators, or burgesses at large, constituted the last stage. w I. WRITS OF SUMMONS TO TIIE GENERAL CoNvENTUs, of To TIIE MAllUM, FoRMATION of TIIE GENERAL CoNvENTUs, &c.* (1.) A recital of a writ of summons to a General Conventus is preserved in the epistle addressed by Hincmar and the other Bishops of the province of Rheims and Rouen to Louis King of Germany, A. D. S5S. Litteras dominationis vestræ, quique nostrum habuimus, quibus jussistis ut vobis vii: Kalendas Decembris, Remis occurreremus; quatenus ibi nobiscum et cum cæteris fidelibus vestris de restauratione sanctæ ecclesiæ et de statu ac salute populi Chris- tiani tractaretis. Sed nos ad placitum illud occurrere non potuimus, et propter incom- ditatem et brevitatem temporis et propter inconvenientiam loci, et quod lugubrius est, propter confusionem tumultûs exorti, &c. (Bouquet, VII. p. 519.) * I add examples of our English Writs, in order to bring before the reader the general resemblance of the proceedings. They should also be compared with the writs of summons addressed to the members of the States of Carcassone. Rex venerabili in Christo Patri W. Eborum Archiepiscopo salutem. Mandamus vobis rogantes, quatenus sicut nos et honorem nostrum pariter et vestrum diligitis, et in fide qua nobis tenemini, omnibus aliis negociis omissis, sitis ad mos, apud London', a die Sancti Hillarii in xv. dies, ad tractandum mobiscum, una cum cæteris magna- tibus nostris, quos similiter fecimus convocari, de arduis negociis nostris, statum nostrum et totius Regni nostri specialiter tangentibus: et hoc nullatenus omittatis. Teste Rege apud Windleshore, xiiii. die Dec. (26 Hen. III.) Rex dilecto et fideli suo Ricardo de Burgo, Comiti Ulton. salutem, &c. . . . . . ad hæc, quia dilecto et fideli nostro Johanni Wogan, Justiciario nostro Hiberniæ super isto negocio nostram mandavimus voluntatem, vobis ex parte nostra vivæ vocis oraculo plenius referendam, vos rogamus quatenus eidem Johanni in hiis quæ vobis dixerit in hac parte fidem plenariam præbeatis, et ea in omnibus faciatis et com- pleatis, secundum quod vos ex parte nostra duxerit requirendos. . . . . .super quibus vestrum responsum per eundem justiciarium remandetis. Et hoc sicut nostri et totius Regni nostri commodum et honorem diligitis, et de fidelitatis vestræ constantia con- fidimus, mullatenus omittatis. Teste Rege apud Plympton, quarto die Maii. - (25 Ed. I.) PROO FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccccxxxi (2.) In nomine Domini Dei et Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, Hludovicus divina ordi- mante providentia Imperator Augustus. G. Comiti. Notum sit tibi, quia volumus ut, quando hæc Epistola nostra ad te venerit, statim sine ulla dilatione præpares te ad hoc, ut xv. Kal. Januarii, id est, vi. diebus ante Natale Domini, obviam Misso nostro H. venias, in villa nostra quæ dicitur Heilambrunno: et quicquid ille tibi de verbo nostro simul cum aliis Comitibus et fidelibus nostris ad faciendum injunxerit, facere studias, et taliter exinde agas, qualiter in tua fidelitate bonam habemus fiduciam. Bene vale. (Bouquet, VI. p. 373.) (3.) Magnifico et honorabili atque inlustri viro N. glorioso Comiti Eghinhardus æternam in Domino salutem. Domnus Imperator mandavit per Dagolfum venatorem ut N. Comes faceret convemire ad unum locum illos Comites qui sunt in Austria, id est, Hattonem, et Popponem, et Gebehardum, et cæteros socios eorum, ut inter se con- siderarent quid agendum esset, si aliquid novi de partibus Bajoariae fuisset exortum. Tunc visum est illis bene esse, ut et tu et Atto in eodem placito fuissetis. Ideò rogant vos ut consideretis, atque illis mandetis in quali loco videatur aptissimum esse illis conloquium. Nam H. videtur, ut hoc bene esse possit. (Bouquet, VI. p. 384.) (4.) Imperator verò peracta autumnali venatione, trans Rhenum hiematum ad Fran- conofurt profectus est: ibique generali Conventu congregato, necessaria quæque et ad utilitatem Orientalium Regni sui finium pertinentia, more solemni cum Optimatibus, quos ad hoc evocari jusserat, tractare curavit. In quo conventu omnium Orientalium Sclavorum, hoc est, Abotritorum, Soraborum, Wilsorum, Behemannorum, Marua- morum, Predemecentorum, et in Pannonia residentium Avarum, Legationes cum muneribus ad se missis excepit. Fuere in eodem Conventu et Legationes de Nord- mannia tam de parte Heriholti quam filiorum Godefridi. Quibus omnibus auditis, atque dimissis, ipse in eodem loco, constructis ad hoc necessariis ædificiis novis, quemadmodum secum statuerat, hiemavit. DCCCXXIII, Mense Maio Conventus ibidem habitus est, in quo non universæ Franciæ primores, sed de Orientali Francia atque Saxonia, Bajoaria, Alemannia, atque Alemanniæ contermina Burgundia, et regionibus Rheno adjacentibus adesse jussi sunt. In quo inter ceteras barbarorum Legationes, quæ vel jussæ, vel sua sponte venerunt, duo fratres, Reges videlicet Wilsorum, controversiam inter se de Regno habentes, ad Imperatoris præsentiam venerunt, quorum nomina sunt Meligastus et Celeadragus. Erant enim filii Liubi Regis Wilsorum. Qui licet cum fratribus suis Regnum suum divisum teneret, tamen propterea quod natu major erat, ad eum totius Regni summa pertinebat. Qui ubi commisso cum Orientalibus Abotritis prælio cecidisset, Wilsi filium ejus Meligastum, qui major erat, Regem sibi constituunt. Sed cum is secundum Writ of Summons to a Mallum to beheldbefore, the Missus. (Compare with the writ to Richard de Burgh, in the pre- ceding note.) Certaim Comites of Aus- trasia summoned by the Writ of the Emperor. They think it necessary that two others shall be present in the Placitum, and a precept is issued accordingly. 822. General Conventus held at Frankfort. 823. Conventus held at Frankfort, composed of tho * Primores** of East France, Saxony, Baya- ria, ** Alemannia,” Bur- gundy, and the parts adjoining the Rhine, who are commanded to attend. Meligast and Celeadra- gus, sons of Liubi, a king of the Wilzi, (or Sclavonia Orientalis.) Meligast, the elder son, who had been appointed IKing, deposed, because he did not goveru to thc ccccxxxii IPR O OF S A N D I ILLUSTRATI O N S. satisfactionofthenation, and Celeadragus ap- pointed in his stead.— They are both sum- moned to appear before the Emperor,who, when he understands that the younger is the more agreeable to the people, confirms him in his au- thority. Ceadragus, Prince of the Abotriti, accused of hav- ing violated his fealty towards thc Franks. Ceadragus promises to repair to the presence of the Emperor in the en- suing winter season. Amother Couveritus agreed upon, to be held at Compeigne. Ceadragus, accompa- mied by some of the ** Primores *' of his na- tion, appears before the Emperor, in the Placi- tum or Conventus at Compeigne, and justi- fies his conduct. A. D. 823. Meligast and Celeadra- gus take the oath of fealty to Ludovicus Pius. Between 824 and 851. Armorican Mallum held before Gralon or Grae- lent the Mactiern, &c. and the Missus of Nomi- noe, thc King or Prince of Brittany. ritum gentis, commissum sibi Regnum parum dignè administraret, illo abjecto, juniori fratri regium honorem detulerunt. Quam ob causam, ambo ad presentiam Impe- ratoris venerunt. Quos cùm audisset, et gentis voluntatem proniorem in junioris fratris honorem agnovisset, statuit ut is delatam sibi à populo suo potestatem haberet. Ambos tamen muneribus donatos, et sacramento firmatos, in patriam remisit. Accu- satus est in eodem placito apud Imperatorem Ceadragus, Abotritorum Princeps, quod se erga partem Francorum parum fideliter ageret, et ad Imperatoris præsentiam jam diu venire dissimulasset. Propter quod ad eum Legati directi sunt. Cum quibus ille iterum quosdam ex primoribus gentis suæ ad Imperatorem misit, perque illorum verba promisit se ad proximum hyemis tempus ad illius præsentiam esse vemturum. «* C- • I. e* In eodem Conventu locus et tempus alterius Conventûs habendi indicta sunt, Novembris videlicet mensis, et Compendium Palatium. Peracto itaque placito, et dimissis Proceribus, cum Imperator jam indè digredi statuisset, &c. . . . . . Ceadragus, Abotritorum Princeps, pollicitationibus suis fidem adhibens, cum qui- busdam primoribus populi sui Compendium venit ; dilatique per tot annus adventûs sui rationem coram Imperatore non improbabiiiter reddidit. Qui licet in quibusdam causis culpabilis appareret, tamen propter merita parentum suorum non solùm impu- nitus, verùm muneribus donatus ad Regnum redire permissus est. - (Eginhard. Ann. Bouquet, VI. pp. 183, 184.) (5.) In eadem villa, Franconoford scilicet, Imperator hieme exacta, Maio mense Con- ventum habuit Australium Francorum, Saxonum, aliarúmque eis collimitantium gentium. In quo duorum fratrum certamen, quod de Regno magna altercatione inter se vertebant, congruo fine diremit. Erant autem Wilzi genere, filii Liubi, quondam Regis: nomina eorum fuere, Mileguastus et Celeadragus ; quorum pater Liubi dum Abodritis bellum indixisset, ab eis interemptus est, et regnum primogenito contra- itum. At hic cum nimis segniorem se, quam res poscebat, in regni administratione exhiberet: circa junioris honorem favor populi declinavit. In qua altercatione ante præsentiam Imperatoris venientes, requisita atque reperta voluntate populi, junior quidem Princeps est declaratus: ambos tamen Imperator muneribus amplis donatos, et sacramentis devinctos, et inter se et sibi dimisit amicos. (Vit. et Act. Ludov. Pii Imp., Bouquet, VI. p. 105.) II. TiiE MALLUM oR PLACITUM—DocUMENTS RELATING THERETo. (l.) Conwoiom Abbas venit in Lis-celli in placito publico ante Gradlon Mactiern et ante Portitog, et Ratuili, et Catloiant, et Jarnuocon filius Worwili, et ante Jouvoion missus Nominoë et multos alios nobiles viros, et interpellavit Merchrit eo quod hære- ditatem Rethwobri per vim retinebat, &c., Merchrit eam reddidit secundum judicium PR O O E S AN D I LLUSTRATIO NS. ccccxxxiii -scabinorum, quorum hæc sunt nomina. Hitin. Franwal. Wolethaec. Drihicam, etc. Judgment given by the INominoë, Principe in Britannia. Mainone Episcopo. Gradlon Mactiern, etc. * (Lobineau, II. p. 69) For the proceedings in another British Mallum, see p. cxciv., No. 2. These documents áre very singular, since they show that the Frankish or Teutonic Scabini had been introduced into Armorica: but I must leave it to the Cymric anti- quaries to determine whether any analogous institution may have existed previous to the subjugation of the country. Nominoë had his Missus in imitation of Charle- magne.' p. p. • y- , (2.) • -* - Extract from the record of a Mallum of the County of Carcassone, held at Ausonne, A.D. 918. Cum in Dei nomine resideret ARIDEMANDUs Episcopus sedis Tolosæ civitatis, cum viro venerabili Bernardo qui est Missus advocatus Raymundo Comite Tolosæ civitatis et Marchio, per consensu Odone Comite genitore suo, una cum Abbatibus, Presbyteris, Judices, Scaphinos, et Regimburgos*, tam Gotos, quam Romanos seu etiam et Salicos qui jussis causam audire, dirimere, et legibus definire; id est, Donadeus Monachus, Bellus Monachus, Amelius Monachus ; Adalbertus, Jodolenus, I)onatus, Rumaldus, item Donatus, Judices Romanorum ; Eudegarius, Aicobrandus, Radulphus, Hugo,' Judici Gothorum ; Oliba, IRotgarius, Aimenradus, Johannes, Aimo, Arloinus, Arimares, Ailenus, Judices Salicorum. Sive et in præsentia Autario, Adalardo, Olibano, Arnulfo, Ugberto, Hugone, Gairaldo, Ossendo, Bellone, Balde- fredo, Ischafredo, Malaignaco, Segebrando, Ariberto, Sanprognano, Bonemiro, Ostaldo, Salvardo Sagione et aliorum plurimorum bonorum hominum qui cum eos residebant in Mallo publico, in castro Ausona, in die Sabbato. Ibique in eorum præsentia veniens homo nomine Adalbertus qui est mandatarius vel adcertor advo- catus Bernardo vicario seniori suo, dicebat: Domne episcope et vos judices jubete me audire et facite mihi justitiam de iste Arifonso Abbate S. Johannis Baptistæ castri Malaste, quæ est situs in territorio Carcassense super fluviam Duranno. Iste jam dictus Abbas et ipsa congregatio de jam dicto loco venerabile, retinent vilare cujus vocabulum est Villa-Fedosi quæ alium nomen vocatur Elsau, cum terminis et limitibus et adjacentiis suis, qui est situs in territorio Ausonense in suburbio Carcassense . . • • • [Here follow the boundaries.] * ... tunc Grafio congreget secum septem Rachinburgos idoneos, et cum ipsis ad casam illius fidejussoris veniat. (Lex Salica, 52, § 2.) .....si quis ad Mallum venire contempserit et quod ei a Rachenburgis judicatum fuerit implere distulerit. (Lex Sal. 59.) From these, and many similar passages collected by Savigny, I. 180, &c., and Eichhorn, I. 211, it appears that they held an office or station similar to the Scabimi. I do not find amy satisfactory etymology for the name. VoL. I. 3 k Scabini. - Placitum or Mallum of Carcassone,—Members composing the same;- Clergy, Judges,Scabini, and Rachenburgi,Goths, Romans, and Salians, or Franks. ccccxxxiv PR O O FS ANI) IILLUSTRATIONS. Iands asserted to be held by the service of Cavalcata. ...de quantum in istas totas àffrontationes abet ipse villare constructo cum terminibus, limitibus et ajacentiis suis, sic retinet iste jam dictus Abba injuste et malum ordine, unde servicius debet exire circa et quarta, et cavalcata *, sicut alii Spanii debent facere de illorum aprisione. . . . . . . . . . . . . The Abbot, by his mandatory, pleads that his predecessors purchased the land, and that the precepts, by which the monks hold the property, show “ quod nullum obsequium nec nullum servitium non debent facere de jam dicto villare nec de suum terminium sed omnia hæc in alimonia pauperum et in stipendia monachorum;'' and he proffers his charters, &c. Adalbert is then called upon by the Court to rebut this plea by legal evidence: “ interrogavimus Adalberto mandatario de jam dicto Bernardo vicario Misso Raymundo Comite, si potebat habere scripturas aut testes aut ullum judicium veritatis, ut possit approbare quod beneficius debet esse de seniore suo Ber- nardo per donativum vel consensu de jam dicto Comite Raymundo, quam alodes de ipse venerabile loco superius nominato.*'—He is unable to do so, and withdraws his suit, and, by the order of the Mallum, he acknowledges in Court that the Abbot has more right to hold the land as an allode, than his Senior has to claim it as a benefice: “ Recognosco me ego Adalbertus mandatarius quod negare non possum et sic facio meam professione adque exvaguatione, quæ de ipse vilare superius nominatum, unde ego per vocem seniori meo interpeJlavi Soniario mandatariam Arifonso Abbate, injuste et malum ordine eum interpellavit adque mallavit que plus debet esse ipse vilares cum finis et terminis suis, sicut scriptum est, alodes legitimum de ista jam dicta casa-Dei adque venerabili loco, sive Arifonso Abbate, vel ad ejus congregatione, per illorum auctoritate et per regia donatione, quam beneficius seniore meo qui me man- datarium injunxit aut de quolibet hominem. Et ea quæ ego me recognosco atque exvacuo, simulque conlaudo recte et veraciter, me recognosco atque conlaudo, et mea recognoxio vera est in omnibus.” (Preuves de l'Histoire de Languedoc, tom. II. pp. 56, 57, 58.) The strangely corrupted language of this document holds à medium between “ Book Latin *' and the Lingua Romana. INo service due from the lands, the same being held for the support of the poor, and the main- tenance of the Monks. * Cavalcata is military service for forty days: tho * circa [tertia ?] et quarta,'' is unintelligible. PR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATION S. ccccxxxy III. • LEGISLATION OF THE STATES* INCLUDED IN TiiE FRANKISII EMPIRE OR MoNARchy. (I.) · Constitutio Gaufredi Comitis Britonum. § 1. Hæc est Assisia terrarum Britanniæ quam fecit Gaufridus Comes, filius Regis Anglorum. Notum sit omnibus tam præsentibus quam futuris quod cum in IBritannia super terris inter fratres dividendis detrimentum plurimum soleat evenire, ego GAUFRIDUs filius HENRICI Regis, Dux Britanniæ, Comes Richemundiæ, utilitati terræ providere desiderans, petitioni Episcoporum et Baronum omnium Britanniæ satisfaciens, communi assensu eorum, Assisam feci tempore meo et sucessorum meorum permansuram, et concessi quod in Baroniis et feodis militum ulterius non fierent divisiones, sed major natu integrum obtineret dominatum. Junioribus suis majores providerent et ministrarent honorifice necessaria juxta posse suum ; ea vero quæ tunc juniores possidebant in terris sive denariis tenerent quamdiu viverent; hæredes quidem terras tenentium illas possiderent in perpetuum, denarios autem habentium hæredes post patres non haberent. § 2. Item si terra majorum, devenerit in ballivum, frater major post eum bailliam habebit. Quod si fratrem non habuerit, ille de amicis balliam habeat cui decedens cum assensu Domini sui eam commendare voluerit. § 3. In filiabus vero, qui majorem habuerit terram habeat, et juniores maritabit de terra ipsa ad consilium Domini et propinquorum generis. Si autem in terra majoris nmaritagium aliquod decidere contigerit, quod juniori placeat, illud habebit; nec major alii conferre poterit dum junior habere velit. Quod si habere noluerit et alibi inve- nerit major frater ei de rebus et catallis suis dando pro posse suo cum consilio pro- pinquorum procuret amicorum. Item si major juniori terram dederit de qua eum in hominem recipiat et sine hærede obierit, alicui de propinquis suis cui voluerit eam dabit, ita quod ad principalem Dominum non redeat. Si autem non ceperit eum in hominem ad majorem fratrem hæreditas revertetur. § 4. Hanc Assisam ego Gaufridus, Dux Britanniæ et Constancia uxor mea et omnes Barones Britanniæ juravimus tenere. Decrevimus etiam necessarium ut et majores natu et juniores eam jurarent tenendam. Et si juniores mollent jurare amplius nec in terram nec in denarios partem essent habituri. 1185. Constitution or Assize enacted by GeoffryPlan- tagenet, Duke of Brit- tany, upon the petition of the Bishops and Ba- rons of Brittany. Baronies and Knights' fees not tobe dividedas heretofore, but to de- scend entire to the eldest sons. * I avoid, almost to affectation, the name of Provinces, because by that name, in -. its modern sense, we can hardly help understanding it as designating portions of a. ltingdom or state. Now, I wish that the reader should always keep in mind that the component parts of France were distinct and individual states, which had never been combined into one monarchy, and that their privileges were not gained at the ex- pense of the Crown, but were merely the remains of an independent organization, which had escaped destruction. 3 k 2 ccccxxxvi E R O O FS ANID ILLUSTRATI O N S. 1212. EstablishmentorStatuto madeby Blanche, Coun- tess of Troyes, by the advice and assent ofthe IBarons amdVavassors of Champagne and Brie, concerning the succes- sion of daughters of TBarons and Vavassors, as coparceners. 1212. Parliament of Pamiers held by Simon de Mont- fort. § 5. Hanc igitur institutionem sive Assisam Rolando de Dinanno et ejus hære- dibus per totam terram suam concessimus permansuram. Utigitur ratum permaneat. et stabile, attestatione sigilli mei et Constanciæ uxoris meæ volumus roboravi. Testibus, Herberto Redonensi Episcopo. P. Macloviensi Episcopo. Mauritio Nam-. netensi Electo. Radulfo de Fulgeriis. Comite Eudone. Alano de Rohan. Alano filio Comitis. Henrico filio alterius. Abbate Tudi, et pluribus aliis. Apud Redonas. (Lobineau, II. pp. 317, 318.) Copies of this Assize were delivered to all the principal Barons of the Duchy, the. name of the party being inserted in the fifth section. (2.) Ego Blancha Comitissa Trecensis Palatina, notum facio universis, tam præsentibus, quàm futuris, me communi consilio et assensu baronum meorum et vavassorum meorum statuisse, quòd si aliquis baronum meorum, vel vavassorum Campaniæ, vel Briæ, sine herede masculo decesserit, et plures habuerit filias, primogenita filiarum habeat castellum, aliæ verò habeant planam terram : ita quòd de terra illa plana unicuique illarum portio sua rationabilis assignetur, juxta valentiam reddituum castelli, mon æstimata vel computata valentia dominii vel forteritiæ sive castelli sui, neque valentia justitiæ infra castellum, neque valentia feodorum quæ pertinent ad castellum. Et si post rationabilem cujuslibet portionem, sicut superiùs est expressum, factam de terra illa plana, aliquid residuum fuerit ; in residuo,illo primogenita filiarum domina castelli cum aliis sororibus suam habeat portionem, si verò plana terra non valuerit tantum, quod quælibet filiarum possit habere rationabilem portionem, juxta valentiam reddituum castelli, sicut prædictum est ; de castelli redditibus suppleatur. Si autem, duo vel tria, vel plura fuerint castella, prima filiarum melius habeat castellum; secunda melius post illud; tertia tertium ; quarta quartum; et sic de aliis. Aliæ vero filiæ habeant terram planam ; ita quod si de plana terra non possunt habere rationabilem portionem juxta valentiam castellorum, non æstimata vel computata valentia dominii, vel forteritiæ illorum castellorum, sicut prædictum est, neque valentia justitiæ infra castella, neque valentia feodorum quæ pertinent ad castella; unicuique illarum portio fiat rationabilis, et augeatur de redditibus castellorum. Hoc idem stabilimentum feci de castellanis, et de vavassoribus qui habent castella, vel domos fortes. (Thesaur. Anecdot. vol. I.—Misc. Epist. et Dipl. p. S25.) (3.) . Nous Simon Counte de Leicestre, Sieur de Montfort, &c., par le conseil des vene- rables Seigneurs, scavoir est, les Archevesques de lBordeaur, Evesques de Tolose, Car- cassone, Agem, Perigeuae, Conserans, Commenge, et Bigorre, et des sages hommes nos Barons et principaux vassaux * mettons en toute nostre terre telles generales cous- * E quand lo dit Conte de Montfort, vist que otré cosa, no podie far, va s'en tornar dessa en Pamias, la ont mandet un grand conseilh et parlament. (From a Chronicle in the Provengal language, Vaissette, III. 50, Preuves.) E R O OFS AND II, LUSTRATIONS. ccccxxxvii tumes, les quelles commandons estre de tous inviolablement observeés, et sont celles qui ensuivent. (Catel. 269.) Anno Incarnationis Domini 1212, mense Novembris, convocavit nobilis Comes IMontis-fortis, Episcopos et Nobiles terræ suæ, apud Castrum Apamiarum celebra- turus colloquium generale *. Causa autem colloquii hujus ista fuit, ut Comes moster, in terra quam acquisierat.......... ................institui faceret bonos mores, hæretica spurcitia procul pulsa, quæ totam corruperat terram illam, bonæ tam cultu religionis Christianæ, quam etiam de temporale pace et quiete, consuetudines plan- tarentur. Terra siquidem illa, ab antiquis diebus depredationibus patuerat et rapinis, opprimebat quippè potens impotentem, fortior minus fortem. Voluit igitur Comes nobilis, cunctas consuetudines fixosque limites terræ dominis ponere, quos transgredi mon liceret, quatenus etiam milites de suis certis et rectis redditibus rectè viverent: minor etiam populus sub alis dominorum posset vivere, immoderatis exactionibus non gravatus: ad quas consuetudines statuendas, electi fuerunt viri duodecim qui super sacro-sancta. Evangelia juraverunt, quod pro posse suo tales consuetudines ponerent, iper quas ecclesia sua libertate gauderet, tota etiam terra in statu firmaretur meliori. T)e illis autem 12 electoribus, quatuor fuerunt Ecclesiastici, duo scilicet Episcopi, [Tholosanus et Consoranensis, unus Templarius, unusque hospitalarius, quatuor præterea Francigenæ Milites, quatuor etiam indigenæ, duo milites et duo burgenses, per quos dictæ consuetudines, satis competenter positæ et firmatæ f. Ut autem con- suetudines illæ inviolabiliter servarentur, antequam proferrentur in medium, nobilis Comes omnesque milites sui super quatuor Evangelia juraverunt, quod supra memo- ratas consuetudines, nunquam præsumeret violare: ut etiam majorem obtinerent firmitatem redactæ sunt in scriptum, sigillo etiam Comitis et omnium Episcoporum qui ibi plures erant, firmatæ et munitæ. (Chron. Petr. Vallis. Du Chesne, V. p. 624.) Idemque Legatus ibidem Tholosæ post æstatem consilium celebravit, cui inter- fuerunt Narbonensis, Burdigalensis, Auxitanensis, Archiepiscopi, et Episcopi multi et alii prælati. Item adfuerunt Comes Tholosanus et alii Comites præter Fuxensem, JBarones et Senescallus Carcassonae et Consules Tholosani, duo, unus de civitate et alius de Burgo, qui statuta pacis in totius universitatis animam juraverunt et tam Comes quam cæteri illud approbaverunt, et fecerunt et idem fecit postea tota terra. . (Chron. Guill. de Podio, Du Chesne, V. p. 691.) * * As the Burgesses are mentioned in the Committee of Twelve it is probable that they also formed a part of the assembly. - i This Committee seems to have furnished the precedents for the appointmentofa similar body, in the Parliament of Oxford, 1258. The French Knights were those to whom Simon de Montfort had granted fiefs in the county of Toulouse,—* on sait par ces statuts, que Simon de Montfort avoit disposé dès lors, en faveur de divers Chevaliers Frangois, des terres qui avoient étés confisquées sur la noblesse du pais qui avoit eu le malheur d'embrasser ou de favoriser l'hérésie, ou de se déclarer contre ce Général." (La Vaissette, III. p. 234.) A Committee of twelve elected in such Parlia- ment, by whom the ordinances were to be made, such Committeé being composed of twö Bishops, one Knight Templar, one Knight Hospitaller, four French Knights, two Knights of the county, and two Burgesses. 1229. Council or Parliament held before the Papal Legate at Toulouse. By this assembly the inquisition was esta- blished. ccccxxxviii IP R O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIONS. 1233. Parliament held before TRaymond, Count of Toulouse. 1254. . Rnights and Burgesses of Beaucaire present their petitions complain- ing of certain griev- ances, and the King grants, that the Senes- chal shall not prohibit the exportation of corn, &c. at his pleasure. lExportation not to be prohibited exceptbythe advice of the Prelates, Barons, Knights, and IMen of the good towns. * 1212. Consuls of Narbonne pray that the exporta- tion of corn may be prohibited according to the statute, Nos Raymundus Dei gratia Comes Tolosæ de consilio et assensu Episcoporum et aliorum prælatorum, Comitum et Baronum, Militum et plurium aliorum virorum pru- dentum terræ nostræ, statuimus, &c. (Concilia, XI. p. 449.) (4.) Ludovicus D. G. Francorum Rex, universis præsentes litteras inspecturis, salutem. Visis petitionibus et discussis, quas fideles nostri milites et burgenses Belliquadri nobis obtulerunt, super variis gravaminibus quæ per ballivos nostros sibi asserunt irrogari; . . . . . . Sane ut rebus suis uti liberius eisdem liceat, firmiter inhibemus, ne senescalli nostri pro suæ voluntatis arbitrio, bladi vel vini, vel aliarum rerum venalium ipsis faciant interdictum ; quin ea eis liceat exportare, vel exportare volen- tibus vendere: hac tamen moderatione subintellecta, ut arma nullo tempore Saracenis vel victualia, dum guerram cum Christianis habuerint, sed nec quibuscumque nobiscum guerram habentibus liceat exportare. Si tamen causa urgens institerit, propter quam videatur interdictum hujusmodi faciendum, congreget senescallus con- silium non suspectum, in quo sint aliqui de prælatis, baronibus, militibus et hominibus bonarum villarum ; cum quorum consilio dictum faciat interdictum ; et semel factum, absque consilio consimili non dissolvat; mec interdicto durante, prece vel pretio, cuiquam faciat gratiam specialem . . . . . . . Quod ut ratum et stabile permaneat, præsentes litteras sigilli nostri fecimus impressione muniri. Actum apud S. Egidium Anno Domini MCCLIV., mense Julio. (Vaissette, Preuves de l'Histoire de Languedoc, tom. III. p. 507.) This ordinance is, as nearly as possible, in the old English parliamentary form;- a charter granted upon the petition of the legislature. The charter for JBeaucaire only has been preserved; but it will be seem from the next document, that the same proceeding had taken place in Carcassone. (5.) Procès verbal de la tenue d'une assemblée des trois états de la sénéchaussè de Carcassone. Noverint universi quod Anno Domini MCCLXIX., viii. ltal. Augusti, viri vene- rabiles et discreti, consules urbis et suburbii Narbona, ad præsentiam Domini Guil- lielmi de Cohardon militis senescalli Carcassonæ et Biterris, accedentes, cum instantia petierunt, ut bannum faceret de blado de dicta senescallia non extrahendo, ex causis quæ inferius exprimentur. Sed cum juxta statutum Domini Regis juratum, hujusmodi deffensum fieri sit prohibitum, sine causa urgente; et tunc etiam cum bono et maturo consilio nec suspecto sit faciendum, et factum cum consilio, sine consilio non sit dissolvendum, nec eo durante, tanquam sit facienda gratia specialis; prædictus senescallus ad habendum hujusmodi consilium, convocavit prælatos, terrarios, barones, milites, consules, et majores communitatum infrascriptos, in die Dominica post festum Beati Nazarii, ad ipsum veniant Carcassonæ ; ad præstandum sibi consilium in prædictis, per suas litteras sub.hac forma. . . • - .. • PRO OFS A NID ILLUSTRATIONS. ccccxxxix ' Venerabilibus in Christo patribùs D. M. Dei gratia Archiepiscopo Narbonæ ; 1Biterrensi, Agathensi, Lodovensi, Magalonensi, et Albiensi Episcopis, et Domino electo Carcassonæ, et capitulis eorum ; Abbati Crassensi [and 35 other Abbots, Priors, &c.] Domino Philippo de Monte-forti. Domino Guidoni de Levis, Marescallo Albigesii. Domino Johanni de Brueriis. Domino Almarico Vicecomiti Narbonae. Domino Lamberto de Limoso. Domino Symone de Limoso. Domino Geraldo de Canesus- penso. G. de Vicinis. Domino Ramundo Abbanni. Domino Guillelmo Abbanni. Domino Gaufrido de Caldaireno. Domino Philippo Goloyn, Majori. Domino Stephano de Darderiis, Philippo de Bosco-Arcambaudi. Domino Guillelmo 4curati. Domino Rainfrido Ermengaudi fratri ejus. Domino Jordano de Cabareto. Domino Lamberto de Montilio. Domino Isarno Vicecomiti Lautricensi. Domino Amalrico. Domino Bertrando fratribus ejus. Domino Jordano de Saziacho. Domino Berengario de Podio Sorigario. Aymerico de Boyssiacis. Berengario Guil- lelmo Domino Claromontis. Domino Guillelmo de Lodeva. Domino Petro de Writ or writs of sum- mons to the Prelates, Barons, and Communi- ties. [Compare with the writs of summonsto the Mallum.] (p. ccccxxxi., &c.) Claromonte. Consulibus Carcassonæ. Consulibus Biterris. Consulibus de Capite , Stagni. Consulibus Agathens. Consulibus S. Tyberii. Consulibus Pedenacii. • Consulibus de Caucio. Consulibus de Serviano. Consulibus Clari-Montis. Dominis et Consulibus et Gigniacho. Consulibus de Porc. Consulibus de Florenciacho. Consulibus de Serinhano. Consulibus civitatis Albiensis. Consulibus de Castris. Consulibus Lautricensibus. Consulibus de Sariacho. Consulibus Montis-regalis. Consulibus Limosi. Consulibus Montis-Olivi. Consulibus Electi. Consulibus Crassensibus. Consulibus Asiliani. Consulibus de Caunis. Consulibus de Tribus- bonis. Consulibus de Pipionibus. Guillelmus de Cohardon, Miles, Senescallus Carcassonæ et Biterris, salutem et sinceram dilectionem cum honore. Cum per viros venerabiles consules urbis et suburbi Narbonæ fuerimus cum instantia. requisiti, ut deffensum bladi de nostra senescallia extrahendi faciamus ex causis, quas die assignanda inferiùs audietis ; et hoc sine causa urgente, secundum statutum regium, sit minime faciendum; el tunc etiam cum bono et maturo consilio nec Suspecto fieri debeat, et factum cum consilio, sine consilio non dissolvi, nec eo durante cuiquam gratia fieri specialis ; requirimus vos et mandamus, quatinus die Dominica post festum Beati Nazarii, videlicet xi. mensis Augusti, ad nos apud Carcassonam veniatis ad præstandum nobis bonum et maturum consilium in prædictis, cum prælatis, terrariis, baronibus, et bonarum villarum consulibus, ad hoc per nos specialiter com- ' vocatis. Datum Carcassonæ vii. kal. Augusti. Anno Domini MCCLXIX., reddite litteras portirori*. - Qua die, prædicti prælati, barones et consules, pro majori parte comparuerunt apud Carcassonam, coram prædicto Senescallo, præsentibus, Domino Arnulpho de Curia- * It might appear at first, that this was one general writ shown to eacl. party, and returned to the bearer; but I apprehend that, as in the next case, the writs were special, and that the general address was framed by the notary or the clerlt, out óf the special or specific addresses. In the English records, one writ to one individual is entered at length on the roll, and then a schedule is added, containing the names of the other persons summoned. - (p. ccccxli.) ccccxl PR O O FS A N D I LLUSTR.ATIO N S. The Estates refuse their assent to a general pro- hibition. ITerrandi, milite Domini Regis Franciæ, et Domino Raymundo Marchi ;—videlicet Archiepiscopus Narbonæ, Dominus P. Episcopus Biterrensis. Dominus, P. Epis- copus Agathensis. Dominus R. electus in Episcopum ecclesiæ Carcassonae. Abbas Crassensis. Abbas Montis-Olivi. Abbas Caunensis. Abbas Villæ-longae. Abbas S. Polycarpi. Abbas S. Pontii Tomeriarium. Abbas Electensis. Abbas Jocundensis. Abbas S. Jacobi Biterrensis. Dominus Phillippus de Monte-forti. Dominus Guido de Levies, Marescallus Albigesii. Dominus Isarnus Vicecomes Lautricensis. Dominus IBertrandus, frater ejus. Guillelmus de Vicinis. Dominus Geraldus de Canesuspenso. Dominus Johannes de Brueriis. Dominus Gaufridus de Varanis. Dominus Philippus Goloymh. Dominus Bertrandus de Podio-Sorigario. Aymericus de IBociasse. Berengarius Guillelmi Dominus Clari-montis. Consules Carcassonæ. Consules Biterris. Consules Montis-Regalis. Consules Limosi. Consules Asiliani, et multi alii de villis prædictis, et de aliis locis, et exposita eis supplicatione deffensi supradicti et habita deliberatione usque in crastinum expectata, Dominus Archiepis- copus Narbonensis, et Dominus Philippus de Monteforti memorati, pro prælatis et terrariis * responderunt prædicto senescallo, in hunc modum ; consulentes eidem senescallo. Videlicet quod sit magna bladi abundantia in senescallia Carcassonae, et bladum non sit carum in mercatis, non videtur eis, quod deffensum generale de blado' non extrahendo de senescallia Carcassonæ, per mare vel per terram, sit faciendum, nec fieri consulunt. * * © … © • * [They then advise that the exportation of grain to the Saracens, the men of Pisa, and other enemies of the Holy Church, be prohibited, but allow of such expor- tation to Sicily, &c.] . . . . . . [quod bonorum virorum consilium, prædictus senescallus, de multorum aliorum bonorum virorum consilio, approbavit, et acceptavit; et prædictum consilium publicavit et solemniter edidit edictum proponendum, quod quicumque in contrarium fecerit, bladum hujusmodi in commissum incidat, &c. *. (Preuves de 1'Hist. de Languedoc, III. pp. 5S5, 586, 5S7.) (6.) •, Assemblée tenuê à Beziers des trois Etats de la sénéchaussée de Carcassonne- Noverint üniversi, quod cum aliquæ personae quarumdam bonarum villarum de senescallia Carcassonae, exposuissent Gaufrido de Avesia vicario Biterrensi Domini regis, tenenti locum Domini Guillelmi de Cohardon militis, senescalli Carcassonæ et IBiterris, quod propter messes steriles bladi caristia imminebat, et cum instantia. supplicassent, ut habito consilio, juxta regulæ statutum, deffensum faceret generale de blado non extrahendo de senescallia Carcassonæ et Biterris: prædictus tenens locum dicti Domini senescalli; ad habendum super his consilium, prælatos, et barones et consules et communitates civitatum et aliarum bonarum villarum, de senescallia. Carcassonæ et Biterris, per suas patentes litteras, apud Biterrim convocavit, in hunc modum. I 271. Estates of Carcassone. * The Terrarii seem sometimes to be considered as a class distinct from the Baronage. (Du Cange.) PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATI O N S. ccccxli Reverendo Patri in Christo Dominó M. Dei gratia Archiepiscopo Narbonensi, et capitulo ecclesiæ ejusdem, Gaufridus de Avesia, Vicarius Biterrensis, locum tenens Domini Senescalli Carcassonae et Biterris, salutem et sinceram dilectionem. Cum propter messes steriles, et bladi caristiam imminentem, à quibusdam fuerimus cum instantia requisiti, de deffenso generali faciendo, me bladum extrahatur per mare vel per terram de senescallia Carcassonæ et Biterris ; et ad hoc ad diem Jovis post festum S. I.aurentii, apud Biterrim, consilium prælatorum, et baronum, et aliorum bonorum virorum, prout in statutis regalibus continetur, duximus convocandum ; requirimus vos, rogamus et mandamus, quatinus ad dictum consilium, die et loco prædictis, veniatis, ad præstandum nobis bonum consilium, quid super his agere debeamus. Datum Carcassonæ, mense Augusti, Anno Domini MCCIXXI. Reddite litteras *. Item sub eodem modo et forma, de verbo ad verbum, scripsit reverendis in Christo Patribus Dominis Biterrensi, Agathensi, et Lodovensi, Episcopis, et capitulis suarum ecclesiarum. Item, Domino electo, et capitulo ecclesiæ Carcassonae. Item, viris venerabilibus et discretis abbatibus de Monte-Olivo, &c. [and fifteen other abbots.] Item nobilibus viris Aymerico Vicecomiti Narbonae, Amalrico, fratri ejus; Domino Isarno ; Domino Bertrando Domino Amalrico fratribus Vicecomitibus Lautri- censibus ; et Domino Lamberto de Montilio, et Domino Stephano de Darderiis senescallo terræ uxoris et liberorum Domini Philippi de Monteforti quondam. Item nobili viro Domino Guidoni de Levis, Marescallo Mirapisci. Item nobilibus viris Domino Lamberto de Tureyo, Domino Gualfredo de Felgariis, Domino Aymerico de Bossiassis, Berengario Guillelmi, Domino Claromontis. Item discretis viris Præ- ceptoribus de Bozincho, [and four others.] Item consulibus et communitatibus Narbonæ, Carcassonae, Biterræ, Agathæ, et Lodevæ f. Item abbatibus Castrensi, et Candillii, et Ardorelli. Item capitulo ecclesiæ Albiensis. Ad quam diem et locum, de prædictis prælatis, baronibus, con- sulibus et communitatibus convocatis, venerunt infra scripti. Videlicet venerabilis pater Dom. Episcopus Agatensis. Item, Raymundus Wayneti Canonicus Lodovae, cum mandato procuratorio Domini Episcopi Lodovensis. Item, Petrus camerarius Montis-Olivi, cum mandato procuratorio Domini Abbatis Montis-Olivi. Item Dominus B. §acrista ecclesiæ Carcassonæ, et Dom. Sancius Morlana pro capitulo ecclesiæ Carcassonæ. Item, frater G. prior claustralis monasterii Crassensis, pro- curator generalis ejusdem monasterii, abbate carentis. Item, Raymundus de Avracio, clericus, cum mandato procuratorio abbatis Caunensis. Item, Dominus Abbas S. Pauli Narbonensis, scilicet Dominus Guiraudus, et P. Abbas S. Jacobi Bitcrrensis, et Dominus P. Abbas S. Affrodisii, &c. Item, Aymericus, Vicecomes Narbonensis, et Amalricus fratres. Item, pro Vice- comitibus Lautricensibus, littera approbationis de hoc quod fiet, per vicarium sigillata, cum sigillo Domini Isarni, Vicecomitis Lautricensis. Item, Dominus Lambertus de Tureyo. Item, Ameyricus de Bociacis, et B. Guillelmi. Item, Consules * The writ was probably to be returned to the messenger, in order that he might certify his service thereof, by indorsement. f The Communities of Albi and Pedenac were also summoned, as appears below. (p. ccccxlii.) VoL. I. 3 1 Writ of summons to the Archbishop and Chapter of Narbonne. (Com- pare with the English Parliamentary Writs.) Prelates. Barons. Towns. Members attending. Consuls of thc good towns appearing for their con^munities. ccccxlii, PR O O FS AN D IILLUSTRATI O N S. 3Procurator, appointed by the Consuls of Albi, appearing for the Con- suls and Community. Essoigns or excuses of defaulters. The Estates enact the prohibition. Narbonae ; videlicet Johannes Benedicti, Petrus Abbati, pro se et aliis conconsu- libus, et pro communitate urbis et burgi Narbonae. Item, Consules Biterris ; scilicet Guillelmus de Rivo-Sicco, B. Grassi, Pontius Torti, Rainfridus Bardoni, G. Villa- magna, Bertrandus Salvator, et Paulus Cultelli, pro se et pro communitate civitatis Biterris. Item, B. Johannis, et G. Petrus Pitrelli, Consules Carcassonae, pro se et aliis conconsulibus suis, et communitate Carcassonae. Item, Guillelmus Grava, pro consulibus et communitate Albiæ, cum mandato procuratorio sigillato cum sigillo pendenti consulum civitatis Albiæ : sed et alii vocati non venerunt: sed curia Archi- episcopi Narbonensis excusavitlitteratoriè ipsum Archiepiscopum, quod iter arripuerat eundi in I'ranciam *. Item, Abbas S. Poncii Thomeriarum excusavit se per suam litteram, approbans quidquid ordinaretur cum consilio aliorum prælatorum. Item, multi alii fuerunt vocati, quorum litteræ præ manibus non habentur, de quibus venerunt infra scripti, videlicet Dominus Prior de Cassiano, et Dominus Br. de Podio Sorigario, et Johannes de Insula, et Consules de Pedemacio ; scilicet, G. de Aureliaco, et Petrus Bernardi. A quibus omnibus supradictis, Vicarius Biterris, locum tenens Domini Senescalli Carcassonae et Biterris, super prædicto deffenso faciendo, et de modo, et de forma, juxta regale statutum, consilium requisivit. Omnes autem prædicti qui venerant, prout superius sunt nominati, necnon et multi alii boni viri ; videlicet Dominus IRaymbaudus de Salve Miles Judex Domini Senescalli, Magister IBartholomæus de Podio, Domini Regis Franciæ clericus, Judex Carcassonae, Magister Simon Judex Biterrensis, Dominus P. de Figui, Miles de Biterris, Guicardus IErmengaudi, IR. de Montefetosio, G. Aynardi, G. Petri jurisperitus, et multi alii boni viri, cum aliis supra nominatis, in palatio Biterrensi Domini regis congregati, consuluerunt prædicto tenenti locum senescalli Carcassonae et Biterris, quod faciat generale deffensum, ne aliquis éxtrahat bladum de senescallia Carcassonæ et Biterris, per mare vel per aliam aquam, vel per terram, hinc ad futurum festum nativitatis Βeati Johannis Baptistæ sub poena commissi ipsius bladi ; præterquam ad civitatem Aconensem.---[Various regulations follow.] (La Vaissette, III. p. 603.) * A curious expressiom, as showing that, in common language, the JLangue d'oc was not considered as France. PTRO OFS ANTID ILLUSTRATIO NS. ',ccccxlii DIVISION OF FRANCE INTO NATIONS. THE want of unity in what we term the * Kingdom of France,“ is emphatically shewn by a remarkable passage in the Epistles of Ivo of Chartres. (Ep. 104. Bouquet XV. p. 144.) By the advice of this learned and influential Prelate, Louis le 'Gros was crowned at Orleans (1108). The Clergy of Rheims expostulated loudly against such an invasion of their rights. Tvo replied by a circular letter or declaration, in which he attempts to shew that the consecration at Orleans was valid France possessed by distinct nations (sec p. 544.) according to custom, reason, and law.—One of his arguments is the following. ** Præterea, quæ ratio est Belgicorum, Regem * suum creare et consecrare, quamvis in aliis provinciis regna- * turus sit, si ita ipsorum Regum voluntas, et temporum atque ** locorum opportunitas se obtulerit: eadem est Celticorum et * Aquitanorum, qui Belgicorum provinciæ nihil debent, Regem “ suum, quamvis et in Belgicâ regnaturus sit, eligere, et omne “ regi debitum obsequium exhibere.*'—The nations were sepa- Tate : but if any one took the lead, the others were bound to follow. 3 1 2 - ccccxliv E R O OFS ANID ILLUSTRATIONS. Domesday Surveys, the results of the verdicts of Jurors (p.272), andalso of other witnesses. Portions of the original Inquisitions yet extarit• Inquisitio Eliensis. Inquisitio de terris quas £aici tenuerunt in Gran- tebricgscire, DOMESDAY SUR VEYS. THE regularity of the course adopted, when this record was com- piled, is very remarkable; and affords a satisfactory proof that the business of the government was well conducted, and with Imuch less rudeness than is usually supposed. The Commis- sioners were furnished with interrogatories, upon which they examined the Jurors of the Shire and Hundred, and also such other witnesses as they thought expedient'. +. Fragments of the original inquisitions have been preserved. Those relating to the lands and demesnes of the church of Ely, in the counties of Cambridge, Huntingdom, IEssex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, and also to the possessions of the laity in the county of Cambridge, exist in one and the same manuscript*, and disclose the plan which was pursued. The Commissioners appear to have taken the account regu- larly through all the Hundreds and Townships, adding the parti- culars of live stock, as required by the circular instructions. Of these inquests it is probable that various transcripts were * Hic subscribitur inquisicio terrarum quomodo Barones Regis inquirunt, videlicet per sacramentum Vicecomitis Sciræ et omnium Baronum et eorum Francigenarum et tocius centuriatus—presbiteri præpositi vi. villani uniuscujusque villæ.—Deinde quo- modo vocatur mansio, quis tenuit eam tempore Regis Edwardi, quis modo tenet, quot hidæ, quot carrucatæ in dominio, quot homines, quot villani, quot cotarii, quot servi, quot liberi homines, quot sochemanni, quantum silvæ, quantum prati, quot pascuorum, quot molendinæ, quot piscinæ, quantum est additum vel ablatum, quantum valebat totum simul ; et quantum modo ; quantum ibi quisque liber homo vel sochemanum habuit vel habet. Hoc totum tripliciter, scilicet tempore Regis LEduardi ; et quando Rex Willielmus dedit; et quomodo sit modo, et si plus potest haberi quam habeatur. Isti homines juraverunt. (Then follow the names.) (Inquisitio Eliensis, p. 497.) * Bib. Cott. Tiberius A. VI. The manuscript appears to be of the reign of Henry II. ; the first portion consists of the Inquisitio Eliensis, extending, as above mentioned, into five counties. Itis followed by the inedited Inquisitio de Terris, &c. IPRO OFS AN D IIL LU STRATI O N S. ccccxlv made : the Ely and Cambridge inquisitions are such ; and the substance of the returns for Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, and a part of Wilts, are included in the volume usually entitled the Exom Domesday*. The lands are here generally classed under the name of each tenant in capite, though not with entire regularity: the particulars of stock are added as before. Domesday* itself consists of the returns, methodized according to a consistent, and, with the exception after noticed, a uniform plan. The Survey is comprised in two volumes; and the colo- phon at the end of the second, enables us to ascertain the period when the transcripts were concluded*. The descriptions are arranged in the following order. A notice of the special cus- toms of the Shire and the description of the principal cities or * It is preserved amongst the archives of the Cathedral of Exeter. * There are two ancient etymologies of this name: “Hic liber ab indigenis Domesdei ** nuncupatur, id est, Dies Judicii, per metaphoram ; sicut enim districti et terribilis ** examinis illius novissimi sententia nulla tergiversationis arte valet eludi; sic, cum “ orta fuerit in regno contentio de his rebus quæ illic annotantur, cum ventum fuerit “ ad Librum, sententia ejus infatuari non potest, vel impune declinari. Ob hoc nos “ eundem Librum Judiciarium nominavimus.” (Dialogus de Scaccario, p. 39S.) Stowe, on the contrary, quoting an ancient monastic chronicle, supposes that T)omesday derived its name from the place in which it was deposited. ** The Booke *' of Bermondsey saith, this Book was laid up in the King's Treasurie (which was ** in the Church of Winchester or Westminster), in a place called Domus j)ei, or ** God's house; and so the mame of the booke, therefore called Domus Dei, and. ** since, shortly, Domesday.” The latter derivation appears the most plausible. Some moderns have deduced Domesday” from “ Domboc ;” but the Survey is never known by the latter name. I)omesdai, whatever may have been its origin, soon became the denomination for any register of authority. A survey of the manors belonging to the Deanery of St. Paul's, talten in 1181, is entitled ** Domesday Petri de Diceto.'' In the Cathedral of York there was a Domesday Register. A volume in the office of the Town-clerk of Nor- wich, containing entries of charters and customs, is entitled Domesday ; and there is a similar volume at Ipswich. The Domesday of Chester, being a record more nearly approximating to the real Domesday, was preserved amongst the archives of the Earldom. * Anno millesimo octogesimo sexto ab incarnatione Domini, vigesimo vero Regni JVillielmi, facta est ista descriptio non solum per hos tres comitatus sed etiam per alios. Exon Domesday, Earchequer Domesday. Description of the Vo- lumes, •, ccccxlvi : PR O O FS A NT) IILLUSTRATIONES. , burghs ; *'Terra regis,” or °the King's land, follows; and them the lands of the other possessors, duly classed and numbered. The substance of the information given by the inquisitionsis retained, though somewhat in an abridged form ; but all the particulars of the live stock are omiitted, except in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge, contained in the seconú volume. It was obviously unnecessary to insert these particu- lars in a permanent record, and it is not easy to understand why they were retained in the last-mentioned counties*. These volumes have always been preserved with great care. Aceording to the usage of the Exchequer, no person is allowed to touch the writing ; and if the finger chances to stray upon the text, it is immediately warned off into the margim, by the 'vigilant keepers of the Record. . Ancient transcripts of Various transcripts and abridgments were made for the con- I)omesday. £ * i * , * * • ■ * * * * * venience of the King's officers. 'One abridgment of this descrip- tion appears to have been engrossed upon a roll".; . and it is, perhaps, from the use of this transcript that the name ofthe “Roll of Winton ** was inaccurately given to the Book of Domesday. There are three other copies, book copies, in the repositories of the Court of Exchequer ; and it is possible that some one of these transcripts is alluded.to, by.the ancient, though not very , early, authorities, which clearly testify"the existence of two copies of Domesday, each considered as legal evidence*. *The second volume is of a smaller size than the first, and it is not improbable ihat this difference indicates two stages in the * redaction ” of the materials, namely, that a first abridgment was made, including the stock ; and them, a second abridgment, in which the particulars were omitted, and which second abridgment was completed for the counties in the. larger volume, but left unfinished as to the remainder; so that, according to this supposition, the first or larger volume is , an abridgment of. a. set, of which the second or smaller volume is the only one which remains. * Bib. Cott. Vitellius, C. VIII. 13. The fragment contains the survey of Kent. It consists of fourteen membranes or sltins : the writing is only upon one side of the .vellum. * - * Thus, according to Rudbourne. Eodem tempore factus est magnus liber; qui habitus est in Thesauro JVestmonasterii et alius in Thesauro Ecclesiæ Cathedralis PRO OFS. AND ILLUSTR A T I O N S. ccccxlvii. Ingulphus, or rather the compiler to whom we owe the frifacciamento which has so long passed current as the produc- tion of the venerable Abbot, speaks with great complacency, when he recounts the favour shewn to his Monastery by the- Domesday Commissioners. In order that the possessions of the Abbey might be protected against encroachments, they emlarged the site of the township, to double its real size*. The description, however, to which Ingulphus refers, does not occur in any part of the volume : and the whole passage relating to Domesday, is one of the many which tend to impugn the authenticity of the Croyland history. But Domesday was really not considered as satisfactory to the fiscal greediness of the Anglo-Normam treasury. Ralph IFlambard, of evil fame, recommended himself to the patromage and favour of William Rufus, by advising a new and more correct survey". All the hydes of arable land were remeasured .»» ** by the line ;'* and the result of the operation, which curtailed each man's possessions exceedingly, gave a proportionate in- crease to the revenues of the Crown. In the simpler stages of society, land was admeasured more By quality than by extent. The Fanegada of Spain was as much land as could be sown with a Famega of wheat ; and the same quantity of grain would spread more widely in a stony JVintoniæ vocatus Domysday. (Anglia Sacra, I. 257.) In the history of the foundation of Burton. Abbey, land is more than once described, ut habetur in libro de Domusdaei apud Wintoniam et Westmonasterium: (Mon.Vol. III. p. 47.) 8 Ingulphus, p. 83. ' ° Hic, juvenem fraudulentis stimulationibus inquietavit Regem, incitans ut totius Angliæ reviseret descriptionem, Anglicæque telluris comprobans iteraret partitionem, subditisque recideret, tam advenis quàm indigenis, quicquid inveniretur ultra certam dimensionem. Annuente Rege, omnes carrucatas, quas Angli hidas vocant, funiculo mensus est, et descripsit; postpositisque mensuris, quas liberales Angli jussu Edvardi Regis largiter distribuerant, imminuit, et regales fiscos accumulans, colonis arva retruncavit. Ruris itaque olim diutius nacti diminutione, et insoliti vectigalis gravi exaggeratione, supplices Regiæ fidelitati plebes indecenter oppressit, ablatis rebus attenuavit, et in nimiam egestatem de ingenti copia redegit.—Ord. Vital. 678. Flambard's Domesday. Survey made by Rufus, at the instigation of Flambard, for the pur- pose of correcting the errors of the Exchequer Domesday. Lands remeasured. Amcient measures of land indicated its value and capability, rather than its superficial ex- tent. ccccxlviii PR O O FS ANID ILLUSTRATI O N S. ' Fragments of a Survey contained in a Lieger- book or Register, of the Monastery of Evesham. Probability of its being Flambard's Domesday. and arid glebe than in a more kindly soil. A Frankish Mansus was the allotment sufficient to maintain a family. The fields capable of being tilled by one plough in the course of one year, constituted the Carrucate or Plough-land. This mode of calculation, though rude, was equitable. It defined the value of the donation better than am enumeration of superficial acres. The term of measurement designated the capability and worth of the land which it comprised. In various parts of England, therefore, the carrucate differed exceedingly in quantity. The same denomination was applied to sixty, eighty, an hundred, an hundred and twelve, an hundred and twenty, and an hun- dred and fifty acres". And the harshness of the conduct of William Rufus seems to have consisted in his causing the new survey to be made, throughout all England, by the smallest geometrical standard, without any respect to the quality of the land. The Domesday Commissioners received the 'verdicts of the Jurors, who stated the quantity of the land by estimatiom. The agents of Rufus took the measuring tape in their hands, and, in plotting out the carrucates, gave no more in superficial extent to the poorest tham to the richest soil. A general survey, made under such auspices, and intended to supply the deficiencies of Domesday, must excite our curiosity ; and there is reason to suppose that a specimen of Elambard's Record has been accidentally preserved by its insertion in am amcient Lieger Book of Evesham Monastery*. The fragment in question relates to the County of Gloucester. Differing wholly in arrangement from the Exchequer Domesday, it recognizes the same principle, by referring to the Confessor's '' The principal passages relating to the ancient measurements of land have been industriously and judiciously collected and explained by Mr. Ellis (Domesday Introduction, p. 46.) * Bib. Cott. Vespasiam, B. XXIV. The fragment extends from p. 53. to p. 60. The very multifarious contents of this manuscript are not described in the Museum Catalogue, and hence, probably, the fragment has hitherto escaped notice. PR O O FS AN D ILLUSTRATIO N S. ccccxlix reign. as the period of legal prescription. The particulars are frequently much more ample than the Exchequer Domesday. The mentiom made of Sampson, Bishop of Worcester, fixes the era of its compilation between 1096 and 1112. But the greater part of the tenants enumerated in the ExchequerlDomes- day were yet living: and, comparing these circumstances with the account of Flambard's proceedings, there will be little doubt, but that the Evesham fragment is a portion of the survey which he caused to be made *. Possibly other frag- ** The comparison of the following extracts from the two documents, will best explain the relation which they bear to each other :— Evchequer Domesday. Tempore Regis Edwardi reddebat Civitas de Glowecestre xxxvi. libras numeratas et xii. sextaria mellis ad mensuram ejusdem burgi et xxxvi. dicras ferri et c. virgas ferreas ductiles ad clavos navium regis et quasdam alias minutas consuetudines in aula et in camera regis. Modo reddit ipsa civitas regi lx. libras de xx. in ora. Et de moneta vero habet Rex xx. libras. In dominica terra regis tenet Rogerius de Berchelai unam domum et unam pisca- riam in ipsa villa et est extra manum regis. Hanc Balduinus tenuit tempore Regis LEdwardi. Osbernus Episcopus tenet terram et mansiones quas JEdmarus tenuit reddunt x. solidos cum alia consuetudine. Gaufridus de Mannevile tenet vi. mansiones. Hae tempore Regis Edwardi redde- bant vi. solidos et viii. denarios, cum alia consuetudine. JVillielmus Baderom, ii. mansiones de XXX. denariis. JJìllielmus Scriba, i. mansionem tenet de li. denariis. IRogerius de Laci, i. mansionem de xxvi. denariis. Osbernus Episcopus, i. mansionem de xli. den. Bernerus unam mansion. de xiiii. denariis. JVillielmus Calvus, i. mansionem de xii. denariis. 1)urandus Vicecomes, ii. mansiones de xiiii. denariis. Isdem Durandus temet i. mansionem de xxvi. denariis ; et adhuc unam man- sionem quæ nullam consuetudinem reddit. Hadeuuinius tenet i. mansam quæ dat gablum sed aliam consuetudinem retinet. Gosbertus i. mansionem, Dunning i. mansionem, Widardus i. mansam. Arnulfus Presbiter, i. mansam quæ reddit gablum et aliam consuetudinem retinet. Omnes istæ mansiones reddebant regalem consuetudinem tempore Regis Ed- avardi. Modo Rex JYìllielmus nichil inde habet, nec Robertus minister ejus. Istæ mansiones fuerunt in firma Regis Edwardi die qua fuit vivus et mortuus: VoL. I. 3 m ccccl. PRO OFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ments may be lurking among the miscellaneous matter con- tained in ancient ecclesiastical registers : for, as yet, compara- tively few of these volumes have been searched and examined with the attention which they deservé. modo vero sunt ablatæ de firma et consuetudine Regis. Tempore Regis Edwardi erat dominium Regis in civitate totum hospitatum vel vestitum. Quando Comes Willielmus ad firmam recepit, similiter vestitum fuit. Sedecim domus erant ubi sedet castellum quæ modo desunt, et in burgo civitatis sunt wastatæ xiiii. domus. Eurgum de Wincelcumbe reddebat tempore Regis Edwardi vi. libras de firma. De his habebat Heraldus Comes, tercium den. id est xl. solidos. Postea reddebat xx. libras cum toto Hundredo ejusdem villæ. Durandus Vicecomes apposuit c. solidos, et Rogerus de Ivrei lx. solidos, modo adjunctis iii. hund. reddit xxviii. libras de xx". in ora.—Glowecestrescire, p. 162. Evesham Domesday. Tempore Regis Eadwardi erant in civitate Gloecestriae ccc. burgenses in dominio reddentes xviii. li. et x. sol. de gablo per annum. Ex his sunt centum, tribus minus, residentes in propria hereditate, et centum, tribus minus, manentes in emptis mansionibus, Francigenæ et Anglici, quæ valent x. li. per annum, et has tenuerunt per duodecim annos, hoc est, sexties xx. li. Ex* infra castellum manserunt de his trecentis, viginti quatuor. Et quatuor viginti et ii. mansiones sunt wastæ. -. Archiepiscopus Ebor' habet in eadem civitate lx. burgenses. Episcopus Samson, vi. Abbas ejusdem civitatis lii. Et exceptis hiis, Stanborc i. mansionem habet, 1)erherst xxxvi. Abbas Evesham' iiij. Abbas Persore i. Comes Hugo Cestriæ xiii. JRobertus filius Hamonis xxii. Hugo de Laceio xxviii. Bertonæ Regis pertinent xxiii. Berchelai iiii. JValt. de Gloecestria xy. Hugo Asinus ii. Walterus filius Ricardi ii. Radul- plus Bloiet vi. Horseleia i. Wulmarus i. Ascelinus de Tateberia v. }}/. de Saio i. JVillielmus filius Badder' xvii. Hamelinus de Badelum i. Henricus Comes i. JV. de Mammavilla vi. Patricius de Cahorc' vi. Gislebertus de Ceno- mannia i. Et super omnes istos habet Rex saccam et soccam. Et x. Ecclesiæ sunt in socha IRegis propria. Tempore Rogeri Vicecomitis reddebant de firma xxxviii. li. et iiii. sol. Modo reddunt xlvi. li. et Walterus Vicecomes habuit lxiiij. sol. de rogatu et Præpositus xl. Civitas vero pejorata est de lx. li.—(p. 53.) In JVincelcumbe Burgo. In dominio R. E. erant lx. Burgenses reddentes xli. sol. de gablo per annum. De his sunt lii. in hereditate sua manentes, et octo habent alii Burgenses quæ valent per annum xxx sol., hoc est xxii. li. et x. sol. per xv. ann. IPræter hoc Abbas habet in eo xl. Burgenses. Et Abbas Evesham ii. Episcopus - * Probably a mistake for Et, P R O O FS AN D IILLUSTRATIONS. ccccli The great cities of London and Winchester are not included ' Liber IVintom.y ot in the Exchequer Domesday. Henry I. wished to ascertain what * Landgable," or rents, were due to him in the last-mentioned capital, such as the citizens were accustomed to render in the days of King Edward. For this purpose a Jury was impan- melled, consisting of eighty-six of the best Burgesses of Win- chester, who made their perambulation in the presence of William Giffard', the Bishop of the See, and other Royal Commissioners'°. The returns thus obtained, and which constitute the ** Lîber JVintom.” throw great light upon the occupancy of am Anglo- Saxon City;-though they do not afford any information respect- ing its government. In the same MS. we find- another survey of the city, taken in 114S, furnishing curious means of com- parison with the earlier survey, but less ample in its details. The pattern set by Domesday, was partially followed by Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham, who, in 1183, caused a minute and accurate survey to be made of the rents and customs due from his demesnes in St. Cuthbert's franchise. ** Boldon Book,” as the record is called, does not include the military tenures, or IKnights'-fees of the Bishopric, but the Hereford* Derherst ii. Hugo Asinus i. Langaberga iii. Robertus filius Haimonis v. Turstinus de Cormeil' ii. et unum molendinum. Heroldus x. et ii. moJendina. IRobertus de Belhismo iii. Walterus de JValerico et Hugo de Laceio i. Robertus de Surveys of the City of Winchester, in the reign of Hen. I. Boldon Book, a Domes- day Survey of the Bish- opric of Durham, by Bishop Pudsey, 1183. IFerreriis ii. Hugo de Ham i. Ricardus de Solariis i. Radulphus de Salceto iii. Willielmus Guiz iii. I*obertus de Lacei i. JV. Froisselupum i. Et super omnes istos Rex habet suum geldum. Tempore Rogeri Vicecomitis redd. 3. li. et modo xxi. li. num. et Vicecomes habuit de rogatu xii. sol.—(p. 55.) .# ** Consecrated 1107—died ll2S. -- *° *JHenricus Rex volens scire quid Rex Edwardus habuit omnibus modis Wintoniae in suo dominico; Burgensium suorum sacramento, hoc comprobari jussit. Volebat enim illud inde penitus habere. f Sed Rex Edwardus suo tempore inde habuit: hoc igitur sacramentum factum fuit de quat. viginti et vi. Burgensibus melioribus Wintoniæ, præsente Willielmo Episcopo et Herberto Camerario et Radulpho Basset et Goisfrido Ridel, et J^illielmo de Pontearchar: hoc autem Burgenses, peracto sacramento, a porta orientali ceperunt inquirere ethergingis."—Liber Winton., p. 531. 3 m 2 cccclii IPR O O FS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. services of the Sockmem and Villainage are fully set forth, with details which render the Boldom Book one of the most curious records of the class to which it belongs. sive bury survey. A general survey of the possessions of the Monastery of Shaftesbury is extant", made perhaps at an earlier period in the reign of Henry II. than the Boldon Book of Durham. The names of the Villains or Churls therein enumerated, are almost wholly Anglo-Saxon : the population was unchanged. In Domesday, we have merely the number and designation of the Villains who were appurtenant to the different manors. In the Shaftesbury survey, their services are described with great minuteness ; and the document is one of the most valuable links of evidence in our territorial history. The regular series of our Records begins with John : and the Shaftesbury survey connects the Common Law period with the Anglo-Saxon age. Other records of the same description might be enumerated ; , ÉÉÍ Avaro, put I shall conclude these observations by noticing the ** IExtent of North Wales '7,'° the most recent of these surveys, but the one which approaches most closely to the original prototype. The Earl of Arundel being Justice of North Wales (26 Ed. III.), *° In the Shaftesbury Register or Lieger-Book. Bib. Harl. No. 61. *7 Bib. Harl. 626. This volume, composed of records relating to the Principality, appears, from a memorandum prefixed, to have been anciently preserved amongst the muniments of the Court of Wards. The original inquisitions, which were depo- sited in the Exchequer at Caernarvom, have been long since lost ; and the present volume is said (Cymmrodorion Transactions, I. 337) to have been transcribed, with some others of the same nature, by Sir William Griffith, of Penrhyn, who was Chamberlain of North Wales in the reign of Elizabeth. The edition of Domesday, published pursuant to the address of the House of Ilords, is well known. The valuable introductory Dissertation by Mr. Ellis, com- piled by authority of the Record Commission, appeared, together with the Indices of Places, and Tenants in Capite, in 1816. At the same time were published the “ Additamenta,” containing the Exon Domesday, the Inquisitio Eliensis, the I,iber Winton., and Boldon Book. The other Surveys are yet inedited ; but a translation of so much of the ** Extent of North Wales *' as refers to the County of Anglesea, is published in the Transactions of the Cymmrodorion (I. p. 336.) PROOFS A N D ILLUSTRATIO N S. ccccliii the extent was taken by the oaths of all the tenants of every Commot, as well free as bond, and afterwards examined by twelve Treemem of each Commot, impannelled as a Jury. The inquisitions of the Jury form the * Extent.** Every Township or * Tref* is entered as a distinct head. The tenures, rents, and services are described by their British mames: and, with the exception of the substitution of pecuniary commutations for certain personal liabilities, the legal claims of the Black Prince . were bounded by the prerogatives of the last native Sovereign of Aberfraw. ccccliv PR O O FS ANID ILLUSTRATIO NS, Conservancy of the Peace, its relation to Parliament. Conserva- tors appointed in Simon de Montfort's Parlia- ment.—1264. (405, 407.) • CONSER VANCY OF THE PEACE. THE IKeepers of the IPeace under Simon de Montfort's commission were to be appointed * donec per nos et barones nostros de statu “ Regni nostri aliter fuerit ordinatum.** The future regulations for the conservancy of the Peace,—a wide term when employed by a revolutionary government,—would be included amongst the affairs for which the Knights of the Shire would be returned. ** IEt quia instanti Parliamento nostro de negotiis nostris et ** regni nostri cum Prælatis, Magnatibus, et aliis Fidelibus nostris * tractare necessariò nos oportebit : Vobis mandamus quatinus * quatuor de legalioribus et discretioribus militibus dicti comi- ** tatûs, per assensum ejusdem Comitatûs ad hoc electos, ad nos “ pro toto comitatu illo mittatis: ita quod sint ad nos Londofi . * in octabis instantis festi Sanctæ Trinitatis ad ultimum, nobis- * cum tractaturi de negotiis prædictis. Vos autem in hiis * omnibus exequendis tam fideliter et diligenter vos habeatis, “ ne per negligentiam vestri ad vos et vestra graviter capere “ debeamus.” (Foedera, Vol. I. p. 442.) The following are the names of the Conservators :— *Adam de Novo-Mercato (Lincoln.) Robertus de Stradely (Nots.) *Ricardus de Tany (Esseae & Hertford.) I{icardus de Vcrmon (Derby.) *Johannes de Eyvill (York.) *Johannes filius Johannis (Bucks.) Willielmus de Bovill (Suffo//.) Walterus de Beauchamp de Chalvestern (Bed/.) *Johannes de Burgo (Nor/olk.) Gilbertus de Ellesfeud (Oxon.) *Egidius de Argenteiii (Cambridge.) Robertus filius Nigelli (Berks.) *Henricus Engaine (IIunt.) *Johannes de Plessetis (Northumb.) *Willielmus le Marescall (Northampt.) *Thomas de Muleton (Cumb.) Godefridus de Escudemor (JJilts.) *Johannes de Moreville (JWestmorl.) *Johan. de Sancto Walerico (Southampt.) Brianus de Gowiz (Somers.) Willielmus de Tracy (G/oucester.) *Oliverus de Dynant (Devon.) *Radulphus Basset de Sapecote (Leicester) *Radulphus Bassct de Drayton (Salop and Staff.) *Thomas de Estleys (JJ'arr.) Of these, all marked thus (*), or their representatives, were IPRooFs AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ccccly summoned amongst the Baronage ; and the others are members of ancient baronial families. - In the Parliaments of the 18th Ed. I., and subsequent years, a connexion between the representation of the Shire and the conservancy of the Peace is plainly apparent, as will appear from the abstract subjoined'. CONSERVATORS, 15 EDW. I. RNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE. IBedford . . Johannes de Pabeham. Johannes de Pabenham. (Bedford-—25, 33 Ed. I.) Thomas de Norwod. «* IBerks . . . Adam de Brinton. Adam de Brumton. (Berks—28 Ed. I.) Ducis `.`s- - Johannes Banastr'. Gerardus de Insula. Bartholomeus de Erlye. ~Robertus Barre. Bartholomeus de Erle. (Berks—25 Ed. I) . Cambridge Cornwalt . Cumberland Derby. -. IDevonshire. Dorsetshire Gloucestershire & IReginaldus de Bello Campo; Johannes Neirnuit. Alanus le Fraunceys. Henricus de Lacy. Johannes de Alet. Reginaldus de Bovil!'. Johannes Treiagu. Thomas de Newtom. Hubertus de Multom. Walterus de Mulcastr'. Egidius de Menill. Thomas Tuchet. Willielmus de MIcnill. Willielmus de Alba Marl*. Regin'. de Ferrariis. Henricus de Ralegh. Petrus de Bosco. Ricardus de Havering. Radulphus de Wylingtom. Johamnes de Acton. Robertus de Meysy. Petrus de Bosco. I\eginaldus de Bello Campo. (Bucks—18 Ed. I.) Johannes Neirmuit. (Bucλ•—33. Ed..I.). Alanus le Fraunceys. (Cambridge—18 Ed. I.) Henricus de Lacy. (Cambridge—18 Ed. I.) . . Reginaldus de Bovill'. (Cornwal1—24, 25, 26, 29, 34 Ed. I.) Johannes Treiagu. (Cornwall—35 Ed. I.) Hubertus de Multom. (Cumberland—18 & 24 Ed. I.) Walterus de Mulcastr'. (Cumber/and-18 Ed. I.) — Egidius de Meynill, Meynhill. (Derby—24, 34 Ed. I.) Reginaldus de Ferrers. (Devon—28 Ed. I.) Henricus de Ralegh. (Devon—25, 29 Ed. I.) (Dorset—18 Ed. I.) Ricardus de Havering. (Dorset—18, 34 Ed. I.), Johannes de Acton. (Heref.—28, 29 Ed. I. Glouc.—29 Ed. I.) Hertford . . Willielmus Ate-_ Willielmus de Aete. (Hertford—18 Ed. I.) Johannes filius simoii.T-ioiiii-atissimonî, (Hertford—18, 24 Ed. I.) Huntingdon . Radulphus de Rastell. T~*~~-.. __._ • ' Johannes de Drayton. Johannes de Drayton. (Huntingdon—18 Ed. I.) Lancashire. . Robertus de Haverington. Robertus de Haveryngtone. (Cumberland—24 Ed. I.) Johannes Byron. • Robertus de Holand. Lincolnshire . Radüs de Sancto Laudo. Johannes Gobaud. Robertus de Horbling. Thomas de Burgham. Ranulphus de Rye. Johannes Dyne. Johannes Dyne. (Lincoln—18 Ed. 1.) 3 See Parliamentary Writs, Vol. I., Alphabetical Digest. cccclvi PRO OFS ANID ILLUSTRATI O N S. CONSERVATORs, 15 EDW. I. AMiddleseac . Norfolk £ * Willielmus de Brok. Rogerus de Bacheford. Fulco Baynard. Willielmus de Gynney. Thomas de Begevill. INorfhumberland Willielmus Hlerum. Nottingham Oxfordshire IRutland . Shropshire. stafford . Surrey . • Susseae . . * JJ'estmoreland . Michael de Rye. Ricardus de Bingham. Walterus Tuke. Gerardus de Hedon. Johannes de Clift. Henricus de Bruilly. JBicardus de Williamescotc. Alanus filius Roaldi. Theobaldus de Nevill. Willielmus Murdak. Johannes filius Aeri. Willielmus de Hodenet. Willielmus de Staff'. Johannes Giffard. Willielmus de Mere. Johannes de Abernoum. Willielmus Amesas. Willielmus de Echingham. EHamo Boueyt. VVillielmus de Stirkeland. KNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE. Willielmus de Brok. (Middlesex—21, 30 Ed. I.) Fulco Baynard. (Norfolk—25 Ed. I.) Willielmus Heyron. (Northumberland—18 Ed. I.) Ricardus de Bingham. (Nottingham-26 Ed. I.) Henricus de Bruyli. (Orford—25, 26 Ed. I.) . Ricardus de Wyllamescot. (Oxford—18 Ed. I.) Theobaldus de NeviiI. (Ruland—33 Ed. 1) Williélmus Murdak. (Northampton—24, 25 Ed. I.) Johannes filius Aeri. (Salop—18 Ed. I.) Willielmus de Hodenet. (Salop—18 IEd. I.) Willielmus de Staff*. (Stafford-18, 26, 34 Ed. I.) Willielmus de Mere. (Stafford-18, 34 Ed. I.) Johannes de Abernoun. (Surrey—25, 26 Ed. I.) Willielmus Ambesaz. (Surrey—18, 24, 25 Ed. I.) Willielmus de Etchingham. (Susseae—33 Ed. I.) Hamo Bovet. (Sussea —22 Ed. I.) Willielmus de Stirkeland. (JVestmoreland—18 Ed. I.) Robertus le Engleys. Robertus le Engleys. (JPestmoreland—24 Ed. I) . I quite admit that, qfter the House of Commons, in its pre- sent shape, became a permanent branch of the High Court of Parliament, the connexion which continued (and still con- tinues) between the two functions of Parliamentary Knights and Conservators, was merely a connexion of station. It them only implied that the Keepers of the Peace were the most influential persons in their Shires : and, as such, chosen for IParliamentary Representatives. All that I have proposed to prove is, that it was partly by means of their duties as Con- servators of the Peace, that the Knights of the Shire were first conducted into Parliament. 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