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 http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924032666764 
 
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There is no transaction in the ancient part of our . 
 lish History more interesting- and important, than the rise 
 and progress, the gradual mutation and final establishment 
 of the Charters of Liberties. 
 
 Sir William Blackstone. 
 
 It is called Magna Chahta, not that it is great in 
 quantity, for there be mixny voluminous Charters commonly 
 passed, specially in these later times, longer than this is; 
 nor, comparatively, in respect that it is g-reater than Charta 
 de Foresta, but in respect of the g-reat importance and 
 weightinesB of the matter, as shall hereafter appear. 
 
 As the gold-finer will not out of the dust, threads, 
 
 or shreds of gold, let pass the least crumb, in respect of the 
 excellency of the metal ; so ought not the learned reader 
 to let pass any syllable of this Law in respect of the 
 excellency of the matter. 
 
 Sir Edward Coke. 
 
 Printed by J. Johnson, 10, Brook Stn;et, Holbo. 
 
 f^^"^'---^ „^. 
 
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 VISCOUNT ALTHORP, 
 
 ETC. ETC. ETC. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have at length the honour 
 and pleasure of publicly inscribing with 
 your distinguished Name, the ensuing 
 Historical Work on Magna Charta. 
 Such a Dedication is singularly appro- 
 priate, not only from several of your 
 Ancestors having been engaged in the 
 events here related ; but also because the 
 first idea of this Volume arose out of 
 my introduction to your Lordship, and 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 because your patronage was so readily 
 extended towards it when it was ori- 
 ginally commenced. 
 
 That its completion has been so 
 long delayed, has been to myself a con- 
 stant source of regret ; yet I would fain 
 hope that the Work is certainly now far 
 more worthy of your Lordship's accept- 
 ance, than it could have proved had it 
 appeared in the imperfect state in which 
 it was first designed. Still, however, 
 it affords me the highest gratification, 
 that it is produced under such protec- 
 tion as your Lordship's ; and I feel 
 no less delight in being thus permitted 
 to subscribe myself publicly, as I have 
 so frequently done in private. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship's most Obliged, 
 
 Obedient, and Faithful Servant, 
 
 RICHARD THOMSON. 
 
 May 1, 1829. 
 
FTER a very ex- 
 tended, though un- 
 expected, delay, the 
 Historical Essay 
 ON Magna Charta, -il 
 is now presented to > 
 the Public ; with a * 
 hope that it will ' «te' 
 readily be perceived, that the time occu- 'f^' 
 pied in its completion, has been also ac- >! "^ ' 
 
 Sii tively employed in its amplification and 
 improvement. 
 
 Perhaps there is no event of the His- 
 tory of England, which is more popularly ^^c, 
 ;' remembered and referred to, than the grant- i^fij 
 ^' ing of the Great Charter by King John; ^^^"" 
 whilst at the same time it is probable, ^^iJ 
 that there is no circumstance which is 
 more imperfectly and erroneously under- 
 "^'M' stood: although it may fairly be viewed as < 
 h^ a subject, concerning which it may almost be 
 c considered as the duty of every English- °^-h 
 

 man to possess accurate ideas, and some- 
 what more than ordinary information. For 
 this reason it has been excellently re- 
 corded and explained, by many of the 
 best Authors in the noble host of En- 
 glish Historians and Commentators; and 
 by Sir Edward Coke, and Sir William 
 Blackstone in particular: — yet their works 
 are often supposed to require a degree of 
 historical, or legal knowledge, which gene- 
 ral readers consider that they do not pos- 
 sess; and, therefore, a familiar account 
 and explanation of the principal circum- 
 stances and contents of the Charters of 
 Liberties appeared to be still wanting. 
 Such was the origin of the present vo- 
 lume, which was at first intended to be 
 confined to the Magna Charta of King 
 John ; but various and unavoidable delays 
 having prevented its progress through the 
 Press, the Editor seized the opportunity 
 of including in it a general view and ex- 
 planation of the whole series of English 
 Charters, with accounts of the events, 
 principal persons, and historical documents 
 and illustrations, connected with them. 
 

 PRKl'ACE . 
 
 translated into English, and laid before 
 the reader in the most familiar manner; 
 that nothing might' be wanting whicli a 
 work like the present would be expected 
 to contain. A reference to the Table of 
 Contents, however, will be the best state- 
 ment of the information and materials of 
 the following pages, and the labour of 
 collecting and arranging them, will pro- 
 bably be readily allowed upon their peru- 
 sal ; and, perhaps, atone for the lapse 
 which has taken place between the an- 
 nouncement of this volume and its com- 
 pletion, which none have regretted more 
 sincerely than the Editor. 
 
 As the principal books connected with 
 this subject are fully described in a sub- 
 sequent article, and the very numerous 
 authorities consulted for this work will be 
 found in the Index, it' is evident that the 
 ensuing pages must have in them more of 
 research than originality; because History is 
 for the most part repetition, the only no- 
 velty of which it is capable being the 
 detection of former errors, or the addition 
 of curious or undiscovered illustrations and 
 
 (^ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 proofs. The highly decorative character of 
 the present volume, has allowed of the 
 introduction of several of the most inte- 
 resting of those illustrations connected 
 with its subject, in the numerous embel- 
 lishments with which its Proprietors have 
 so liberally adorned its pages. These con- 
 sist of Fac-similae of the Charters of Liber- 
 ties, Tombs, Monumental Effigies, Armorial 
 Ensigns, and Seals. The chief intent 
 of this volume, however, is to furnish 
 familiar and correct views of one of the 
 most famous events in the annals of Eng- 
 land ; and much gratified will the Editor 
 be, if it should be found adequate to that 
 object; for if any fact should be placed in 
 a clearer light, or any misconception be 
 rectified by its statements, the labours of 
 its compilation will not have been in vain. 
 
 4^^ 
 
 E?Sk£<^^- 
 
 
1 . Frontispiece Title :— A rich design of Gothic architecture and foliage, 'J 
 enclosing Regal, Ecclesiastical, and Military emblems, and connecting, 
 at the sides, the Armorial Ensigns belonging to John as King of England, 
 Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Earl of Cornwall 
 and Aiijou, and his badge ; surmounted by scrolls bearing their respeclive 
 names in Latin, in the band-writing of his Great Charter. The cenlre 
 above consists of a Gothic canopy, bearing the Royal Arms of His present 
 3Iajesty.King George the Fourtli, and a line of escutcheons of some 
 of the principal of the Twenty five Baronial Securities to the Magna 
 Charta of King John. Beneath is a representation of the solemn dis- 
 coTery of the Charter of Liberties granted by Henry I., by Cardinal 
 Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, to the assembled Barons of 
 England at the Abbey of St , Edmund's Bui7 ; when they swore to support 
 it, and procure its confirmation from John, as described on pages 12, 13, 
 of the present volume. The painting whence this subject was in part 
 copied, is preserved in the Picture Gallery at Oxford, and is certainly one 
 of the most correct designs in its costume, &c. ever produced from the 
 history of Magna Charta: since its large dimensions of 12 feet by 10, ena- 
 bled Mr. W . Martin , the Artist, to identify most of the principal charac- ' 
 ters by their Armorial Ensigns. The scene is laid at an altar in front of 
 the tomb of St. Edmund the King, close to which stands Cardinal Lang- 
 ton, pointing to the new I yd is covered Charter of Henry I., and encourag- ,. 
 ing the Barons to swear to support it. One aged Prelate is holding the 
 instrument, and several other ecclesiastics appear in the back ground. ' 
 On the right of the Archbishop stands a figure intended for William 
 Marshall, the younger, and on the left appears Geoffrey de Mandeville, 
 
 , Earl of Essex and Gloucester, with Robert Fitz-Walter standing between 
 them ; all of whom were afterwards Securities for carrying into effect the 
 Great Charier of King John. On the left, in front, is Robert de Vere, 
 Earl of Oxford, next to whom is Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk; and 
 others of (he principal Barons are assembled in the back. On each side - 
 of this design in the Frontispiece of the present volume, is a Gothic ta- 
 bernacle, within which stand two effigies , representing CardinalLangton, ; 
 and Henry de Eohun,£arl of Hereford, another of the Baronial Securi- ■ 
 ties to Magna Charta. Designed and Drawn by W.H.Brooke; Engraved 
 byA.J.Mason; the Subject in the centre by G W. Bonner. > 
 
 2. Title-Page, Border :— The design is a general allusion to the man- 
 ner in which the Great Charter was obtained ; and consists of the figure 
 ofKing John, taken frfim his monument at Worcester, resigning Magna _, 
 Charta to a Baron who appears on the opposite side in complete armour, 
 
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF THE EMBELLISHMEjNTS. 
 
 holding bis sword and leaning; on a pile of weapons. On the left of the 
 centre shield is a representation of the royal mound used by King John, 
 taken from his Great Seal. The palm branches entwined with the crosier 
 and cross at the lower pari of the pape, refer to the success of the eccle- 
 siastical power in the reign of this Sovereign. Drawn by the late J. 
 Thurston; Engraved by J. Thompson. 
 
 3. Page ii. Border emblematical of the Constitulional privileges of 
 the English Barons ; in the centre the inslilution of the Trial by a Jury 
 of equals, protected by chap, xxxix of the Great Charter, see also page 
 223, &c. of the following notes. At the sides are two figures of William, 
 Earl of Warren and another Baron, in their habits of state, and beneath 
 is a group formed of the armour and weapons, which the heir of a Baron 
 gave as a relief to the King; see Notes to (he Great Charters, page 164. 
 Drawn by W. H. Bronlte ; Engraved by G. W. Bonner. 
 
 4. Page iii. Dedication : Border emblematical of the dignity and 
 constitutional privilfges of the English Barons, as procured in the Great 
 Charter of King John, In the centre is ai'epresentation of the Sovereign 
 attended by his Prelates, &c. giving that instrument to Fitz-Walter and 
 others of his Barons; taken from the splendid painted window in the 
 Baronial Hall at Arundel Castle, executed by Mr. Backler. At the sides 
 are cfiigies ofRogerBigod, Earl of Norfolk, and Robi-rt Fitz-Walter, two 
 of the Baronial Securilies to Magna Charta, habited in their arms and 
 robes, likewise from windows in the same mansion, whence, also, 
 some of the side figures on the other pages of this volume have been 
 selected : the border beneath consists of a group of armour and weapons 
 belonging to the former Baron. Drawn by W. H. Brooke; Engraved by 
 the late W. Hughes. 
 
 5. Page iii. Headpiece: Armonal Ensigns and Supporters of the 
 flight Honourable the Earl Spencer. Engraved by G. W. Bonner. 
 
 6. Page iv. Borders emblematical of the dignity aud peerage of the 
 English Barons; in the centre the tomb and ethgy of Robert de Vere, 
 Earl of Oxford, one of the Baronial Securities to the Magna Charta of 
 King John, see the ensuing Notes, pages 281,282. At the sides are the 
 figures of that Baron and Almeric de Sancto Mauro, Master of the 
 Knights-Templars in England, in their proper habits; and beneath is a 
 group of arms and foliage. Drawn by W. H. Brooke ; Engraved by the 
 late W. Hughes. 
 
 7. Page v. Preface: Initial Letter A. An escutcheon bearing an 
 equestrian figure of King John , from the reverse of his Great Seal. Drawn 
 by the late J. Thurston ; Engraved by the late W. Hughes. 
 
 8. Page vi. Bordersemblematical of Forest sports and laws: consist- 
 ing of an axe, quiver, and bow and arrow, enwreathed with foliage, and 
 supported by the heads of deer. Drawn by W . Harvey, and the late J. 
 Thurston. Engraved by H, White. 
 
 9. Pagevii. Bordersemblematical of Forest sports and laws, ron- 
 sistiog of a spear, bugle-horn, bow, quiver, and arrows, enwreathed with 
 ivy foliage, and supported by heads of greyhounds, which were prohibited 
 in the English Forests, excepting by special license. See Notes on the 
 Forest Charters, page 363. Drawn by the late J. Thurston; Eugi-aved 
 byH. White. 
 
 10. Pageviii. Borders of Military emblems, including spear, sword, 
 banner, shield, and bugle; wreathed with oak, and supported by heads 
 of war-horses. Drawn by the late J. Thurston; Engraved by the late 
 W. Hughes. 
 
!.i^-^ 
 ^■. 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF THE EMBELLISHMENTS. 
 
 11. Page X. Borders of Ecclesiastical emblems, the crosier, mitre, 
 and censer, supported by heads of cherubim. Drawn by the late J. 
 Thurston ; Engraved by H. White. 
 
 12. Page xi. Borders of Ecclesiastical emblems, supported by angels. 
 Drawn and Engraved by the same. 
 
 13. Pagcxii. Borders emblematical of Forest sports and laws, con- 
 cerning birds, and the keeping of hawks, falcons, ^c. which are repre- 
 sented at the centre and sides, interspersed with forest-plants and 
 flowers, crossbows and arrows, dead game.hnwks hood, jesses, &c. and 
 an axe indicative of the severe penalty annexed lo theancientgame-laws. 
 Drawn by W. H. Brooke ; Engraved by the late W. Hughes. 
 
 14. Page xiii Borders eniblenialiral of Forest sports and laws, con- 
 cerning birds, and the keeping of fowls of chase : at the sides a (ahon 
 feeding on bis prey, and a hawk on his perch dressed for hunting, herons 
 and a pheasant intlie cenire, with dead-game, cross-bows and arrows, and 
 forest-plants and flowers interspersed. Drawn and Engraved by the 
 8am e. 
 
 15. Page xiv. Borders emblematical o/tlie military duties of the En- 
 glish Barons; the royal camp in the centre, and at the sides two Barons 
 armed for Knight's-service aud the Crusade, one watching a beacon, and 
 the other holding the banner of Jerusalem : beneath a group formed of a 
 battering-ram, scaling-ladder, sword, and banner. Drawn and Engraved 
 by the same. 
 
 16. Page XV. Borders emblematical of the ancient military duly of 
 Castle-guard, see chap- xxix. of Magna Charta, and page 211 of the Notes ; 
 in the centre a royal fortress, and at tlie sides two knigbfs armed for 
 keeping guard : beneath a group formed of an ancient mace, cross-bows, 
 quarrels, &c. Drawn and Engraved by the same. 
 
 17. Pagexvi. Borders emblematical of the Norman Sovereigns of 
 France, containing the ancient crown and sceptre, lily-flowers, &c. sup- 
 ported by heads of the royal leopards of Normandy. Drawn by the late 
 J. Thurston; Engraved by H. White. 
 
 18. Pagexvii. Borders emblematical of the Norman Sovereigns of 
 England; consisting of the mound, crown, and sceptre, wreathed with 
 oak and roses, and supported by heads of the royal leopards of Norman- 
 dy. Drawn and Engraved by the same. 
 
 19. Pagexviii. Borders emblematical of Forest sports and laws; 
 sword, greyhound, &c. supported by the heads of a fox and a hin-l, two 
 of the protected animals in the royal woods. See Notes on the Forest 
 Charters, page 311. Drawn by W.H.Brooke; Engraved by the late W. 
 Hughes. 
 
 20. Page xix. Borders emblematical of Forest spoKs aud laws; 
 spears, arrows, cross-bow, &c. and the species of tnastiff allowed to be 
 generally kept in the Forests, see Notes on the Forest Charters, page 
 363, supported by the heads of a wolf and a boar, which were prohibited 
 to be killed in the royal woods. Drawn and Engraved by the same. 
 
 21 . Page xxi. Borders emblematical of the dignity of the Ecclesiastics 
 of England; in the centre are the tomb and effigy of Hubert Waiter, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the principal supporters of King John. 
 At the sides are figures of a Cardinal Legate aud an Archbishop, in their 
 proper habits, and beneath is a group of palm and ecclesiastical emblems. 
 Drawn and Engraved by the same. 
 
 22. Pagexxii. Borders alluding to the ancient English Laws con- 
 cerning Rivers, contained in the Great and Forest Charters; the pro- 
 hibited wears, nets, and dams, for flsb, and an emblematical figure of the 
 
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF THE EM D ELLISilMEXTS 
 
 Tlmmes. which is particularly g:uarde<i in chap, xxxiii of Magna Charta: 
 at the sides are susperifled various sorts of river-fish. Drawn by W. H. 
 Brooke ■ Engraved by the late R. Bi-anston. 
 
 23. Pagexxiii. Borders alluding to the ancient English Laws con- 
 cerning Rivers, contained in (he Great and Forest Charters; an em- 
 blematical figure of the Medway, surrounded by the nets prohibited to be 
 placed therein, by chap, xxxiii. of Magna Charia, with an antique ship, 
 anchor, and various kinds offish suspended on ancient oars at the sides. 
 Drawn and Engraved by the same. 
 
 24. Page xxv. Borders of Military emblems, comprising ewords, 
 spears, bugle, helmet, and shirt of mail ; on the left of the centre shield 
 is the double cross, a badge worn by the Knights Templars, and on the 
 right their celebrated banner "Beau-seant," parted black and white, the 
 former alluding to their hatred to infidels, and the latter to their friend- 
 ship towards christians. These emblems are intended particularly to 
 refer to Almeric de Sancto-Mauro, Master of the Knights Templars in 
 England, and a witness to Magna Charta on the behalf of King John, see 
 pages64,65; and his arms will be found in the shield on page 71. The 
 present border is supported by lions heads wreathed with laurel, alluding 
 to the success and fierceness of the English Barons. Drawn by the late 
 J. Thurston; Engraved by the late W, Hughes. 
 
 25. Page 1. Essay on Magna Charta. Initial Letter T. Cardinal 
 Pandulphus, the Papal Legate, receiving the crown of England from 
 King John; an account of which ceremony will be found on pages 18, 
 4S5, 486, of the present volume. Drawn and Engraved by the same. 
 
 26. Page 48. Essay on Magna Charta. Tailpiece : Painted window 
 containing the portraits of eleven English Sovereigns who improved the 
 Laws of the realm, or granted Charters of Liberties, for a particular ac- 
 count of which see pages 396-444. The portraits represent jElfred the 
 Great, Canute, Edward the Confessor, William I. and II., Henry I., 
 Stephen, Henry II., John, Henry III., and Edward I. Drawn by W. H. 
 Brooke; Engraved by J. Thompson, 
 
 27. Page 49. Articles of the Great Charter. Initial Letter A, formed 
 of a pile of spears, &c. in the back-ground a soldier on watch, with the Ba- 
 ronial encampment on Runnemede, and Windsor Castle. Drawn by the 
 late J. Thurston; Engraved by the late W Hughes. 
 
 28. Page 61. Articles of Magna Charta, Tailpiece : Ancient Norman 
 ruins, looking towards the Baronial encampment on the river banks, and 
 Magna Charta Island, where the instrument was concluded; see page 
 526. Drawn by W. H. Brooke ; Engraved by the late W. Hughes. 
 
 29. Page 62. Magna Charta in the Original Latin. Italic [nitialJ. 
 An Abbot holding chapter with his monks for electing an Archbishop, 
 alluding to the freedom of ecclesiastical elections previously conceded by 
 King John , and i-eferred to in the first chapter of this Charter. See also 
 pages 411-498. Drawn by the late J. Thurston ; Engraved by the late R. 
 Branston. 
 
 30. Page 63. The Great Charter in English. Roman Initial J. Al- 
 luding to the clauses on Forest Laws, which appeared in that instrument 
 only ; see chapters xliv , xivli., xlviii., liii., ami page 237. Drawn by the 
 late J. Thurston ; Engraved by G. W. Bonner. 
 
 31 Pages 100 101. The Great Charter of King John, Tailpiece: Ob- 
 verse and Reverse of the Seal of King John. Drawn from an original 
 attached to his Charter, preserved in the Arcliives of the City of Loudon, 
 permitting the Citizens to elect a Lord Mayor. Engraved by the late W . 
 Hughes. 
 
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF THE EMBELLISHMENTS. 
 
 32. Page 102. Covenant between the Kin^ and the Barons, IniLiiil 
 Letter T, formed of the crosa, which was frequently placed at the com- 
 mencemcTit of anrjent deeds, &c. to give them sanctity. In the back- 
 ground is a represent ation of the Tower of London, which by this Cove- 
 nant was givenup to the Barons, until the provisions of the Great Clinrter 
 were carried into effect. Drawn by the late J. Thurston. Engraved by 
 the late W.Hughes. 
 
 33. Page 104. Covenant of Security, Tail-piece: Ancient silver Seal 
 of Robert, fifUi Baron Fitz-W alter, described on page511. Copied from 
 aplateinihe Arck^o/ogia. vol. v. page 211, plate xv. Engraved by the 
 late W. Hughes. 
 
 34. Page 105. The First Great Charter of Henry HI. Initial Letter 
 H. The first Coronation of that Sovereign by Sir Peter de Rupibus, 
 Bishop of Winchester, and Josceline de Welles, Bishop of Bath, at Glou- 
 cester, on Friday, Oct. 28th 1216 ; the King being at that time only nine 
 years of age. Drawn by W. H. Brooke, from an ancient illumination of 
 the thirteenth century, contained in a manuscript in the Cotfonian Li- 
 brary, described on page 537. Engraved by T. Mosses. 
 
 35 Page 117. Letters-Patent of Henry HI. .attached to the preceding 
 Charter, Tail-piece ; Fragment of the Seal of Cardinal Jacobus de Gualo, 
 the Papal Legate, who sealed most of the early grants of this Sovereign, 
 with the Protector, whilst he was without a Great Seal. Copied from a 
 represenlation given by SirWilliamBlackstoneof a mutilated impression 
 aifixeil to an Original of the Second Magna Charta of Henry HI. preserved 
 in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, described on pages 431, 432, Engraved 
 by the late W. Hughes. 
 
 36. Page 118. Second Great Charter of Henry III., Initial Letter H. 
 The young King, then ten years of age, attended by the Protector and 
 Cardinal Gualo, concluding the renewal of Magna Charta; see pages 37, 
 38. Drawn by W. H. Brooke; Engraved by G. W. Bonner. 
 
 37. Page 130. Conclusion of the Charter, Tailpiece: Seal of William 
 Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, Protector to King Henry, who sealed most 
 of his early grants with Cardinal Gualo. Drawn and Engi-aved by T. 
 Mosses, from a representation given by Sir William Blackstone of an im- 
 pression affixed to the Second Magna Charta of Henry 111. preserved in 
 the Bodleian Library at Oxford , described on pages 431 , 432. 
 
 38. Page 131. Third Great Charter of Henry IH., Initial Letter H. 
 Shrine erected by that King in Westminster Abbey, to the memory of 
 Edw^ard the Confessor, on most of whose Laws the Charters of Liberties 
 were founded. Drawn by W. H. Brooke: Engraved by T. Mosses. 
 
 39. Page 145. First Great Charter of Edward L, Initial Letter E. 
 Robert of Winchilsea, Archbishop of Canterbury, with the Monks of 
 Christ- Church, at tho High-Altar, reciting the Charters of Liberties, and 
 pronouncing the Sentence of the Clergy on their Contirmation; seepages 
 389, 390. Drawn by the late J. Thurston ; Engraved by J. Thompson. 
 
 40. Page 159. Notes on the Great Charters, Initial Letter T. An 
 ancient Student of the Law reading and commenting on the Charters. 
 Drawn by W. H.Brooke; Engraved by G. W.Bonner. 
 
 41. Page 281. Monumental Effigy and Shield of Arras of Robert de 
 Vere, Earl of Oxford; described on the above and succeeding page. 
 Drawn by W. H. Brooke; Engraved by G.W. Bonner. 
 
 42. Page 287, Monumental Effigy of William Marshall, Earl of Pem- 
 broke; described at the same place. Drawn by W.H. Brooke; En- 
 graved by G. W. Bonner. 
 
 43. Page 300. Monumental Effigy of Robert de Ros ; described at 
 
/^ 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF THE EMBELLISHMENT8. 
 
 the same place. Drawo by W. H. Brooke; Engraved by G. W. 
 Bonner. 
 
 44. Page 318. Monumental Efflgy of William de Lonffesp^e, Earl of 
 Salisbury; described at the same place. Drawn by W. H. Brooke; En- 
 graved by G. W, Bonner. 
 
 45. Page 328. Notes on the Great Charters. Tail-piece: Portraits 
 and Arms of three eminent Commentators on the Charters of Liberties: 
 Sir Edward Coke, Sir William Blacksfoiie, and the Hon. Daines Barring- 
 ton. Drawn by W. H.Brooke; Engraved by T. Mosses. 
 
 46. Page 329. The First Forest Charter of Henry IH., Initial Letter 
 H. A royal Forester on watch in his bailiwick. Drawn by W. H. 
 Brooke ; Engraved by G. W. Bonner. 
 
 47. Page 336. Conclusion of the Cliarter, Tail-piece : Seal of Jacobus 
 deGualo.as attached to the Original of the First Forest Charter, pre- 
 served in the Archives of Durham Cathedra) ; see page 4^. Copied and 
 Engraved by T. Mosses. 
 
 48. Page 368. Notes to the Forest Charters, Tail-piece : King John 
 hunting in a royal forest, with a rabbit-warren in the foreground. Drawn 
 by W. H. Brooke, Engraved by A. J. Mason, from an illumination of the 
 fourteenth century, in a manuscript in the Cotfonian Libraiy, described 
 on page 377, Note ". 
 
 49. Page 369. Confirmation Charter of Edward I., Initial Letter E. 
 Prince Edward sealing that instrument on behalf of his father ; see page 
 44. Drawn by W. Harvey; Engraved by F. W. Branston and J. 
 Wright. 
 
 EO. Page 373. Conclusion of the Charter, Tail-piece : Obverse of the 
 Great Seal of King Edward I. Drawn by W.H. Brooke; Engraved by 
 G. W. Bonner. 
 
 51 . Page 374. The Last Confirmalion of Edward I., Initial Letter E. 
 Efligy of the King from an illumination of the thirteenth centuiy, in a 
 manuscript in the Cottonian Library, described on page 537. Drawn by 
 W. Harvey; Engraved by T. Williams. 
 
 52. Page 375. Conclusion of the Charter, Tail-piece : Reverse of the 
 Great Seal of Ed ward I. Drawn by W.H.Brooke; Engraved by G. W. 
 Bonner. 
 
 53. Page 393, Notes on the Confirmation Charters. Tailpiece : Ob- 
 verse of the Great Seal of Henry HI. Drawn by W. H. Brooke; En- 
 graved by G. W. Bonner. 
 
 54. Page 394. Descriptive Account of the Charters, Initial Letter T. 
 Representation of the case in the Cottonian Library, containing the Ori- 
 ginal of King John's Great Charter, with Pine's Fac-simile placed on the 
 opposite side; seepage 423. Dra\vn by W. Harvey; Engraved by H. 
 White. 
 
 5560. Pages406,421,423,426,434,435, Six Facsimile of the hand- 
 writings of the Charters of Liberties, described in the places where they 
 are inserted; all Engraved by A. J. Mason. 
 
 61. Page 460. Descriptive Account of the Charters, Tail-piece: Re- 
 verse of the Grpat Seal of Henry HI. Drawn by W. H. Brooke ; En- 
 graved by G. W. Bonner. 
 
 C2. Page 461. Memoir of King John, Initial Letter T. Simon of 
 Swiueshead presenting the poisoned wine to the King; see page 491. 
 Drawn by W. Harvey from an illumination of the thirteenth century in 
 a manuscript in the Cottonian Library, particularly described on page 
 537. Engraved byH. White. 
 
 63. Page 496. Memoir of King John, Tail piece : Cenotaph and Effigy 
 
 g^s^-s,. 
 
 ^*aj_ ,i><U#ai 
 
AR.UANGEMENT OF THE HEtlALDRV. 
 
 of that Sovereign in the choir of Worcester Cathedral, described on page 
 549. Drawn by W. H. Brooke ; Engraved by G. W. Bonner 
 
 64. Page 497. Memoir of Cardinal Langton, Initial Letter C. Tomb 
 of the Prelate in St. Michael's Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral, described 
 on page 503. Drawn by W. Harvey; Engraved by H. White. 
 
 65. Page 503, Memoir of Cardinal Langton, Tailpiece: Another 
 view of the same monument. Drawn by W. Harvey; Engraved by H 
 White. 
 
 66. Page 504. Additional !Notes and Illustrations, Initial Letter T- 
 A Verderor of the royal Forests, rt-turniiig from the Court of Swanimole, 
 with the deer which he was permitted to kill on the journey; see page 
 359. Drawn bv W. Harvey; Engraved by J. Jackson. 
 
 67. Page 506. Monumental E£Bgy of Matilda Fitz- Walter, described 
 at the same place. Drawn by W. H. Brooke; Engraved by G. W. Bon- 
 ner. 
 
 68. Page 549. Monumental ElBgy of King John, described at the 
 same place. Drawn by W. H. Brooke; Engraved by A. J. Mason. 
 
 69. Page 554. Tail-piece; Interior of King John's Cenotaph and 
 stone coffin, exhibiting his decayed remains, as discovered in July, 17&7; 
 described at the same place. Drawn by W. H. Brooke; Engraved by 
 A. J. Blf^son. 
 
 ARRANGEMENT 
 
 OK THE 
 
 HERALDRY, 
 
 CO.VTAINED IN THE BORDERS OF THE PRESENT VOLDME. 
 
 Tba /Vrmorial Ensigos inoertpd in tlie upper parls of tLe eosuing pages, are thoio of the 
 SoTereigna, EooleiiHsUcs, Nolilea, Relisiouo Houses, &c. fco. connected willi the history of 
 Magna Churtn. Tlicy were Eograied by llie lale W. Haglies, and Meurs, Bonner, Masoo, 
 and J. Bjiicld. 
 
 THE HERALDICAL DEVICES OF THE PRESENT VOMME 
 ARE DISTRIBDTED INTO THE FOLLOWING 
 
 CLASSES AND DIVISIONS. 
 
 CLASS I. Ar:*is of Sovereigns and thetr Families. 
 
 Division 1. English Sovereigns wlio granted Charters of Liberties, or 
 improved the Laws of England. 
 
 2. Royal Personages of England connected with King John. 
 
 3. Princes of Foreign Countries connected with King John. 
 
 gg§> 
 
Division 1. Twenty-five Barons elected for the Security of Magna 
 Chart a. 
 
 2. Barons mentioned in the Great Charter of King Jolin. 
 
 3. Otiier Barons in arms against King Jolm. 
 
 4. Barons in arms on the part of King John. 
 
 5. Barons in arms against Henry 111- and Edward I. 
 
 6. Barons in arms on tlie part of Henry Til . and Edward 1. 
 
 ■ 7. Other Barons living in tlie time of John. 
 
 CLASS JV. Various AbSioriac- Ensigns relating to thk 
 History of Magna Charta, and the contents of 
 
 the pages where they are INSERTED: 
 
 Including Personages mentioned, Religious Houses, Towns, &c. 
 Commentators on the Charters, and Places where Originals are 
 
 preserved. 
 
 Title-pivgc. ENGLAND, Gules 3 lions passant gnarclaut in pale or. 
 Paae. 
 ii. SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE. Argent, 2 bars, in chief 3 cocks, gules. 
 iii. Dedication. DESPENCER, (Ancient.) Quarterly, argent and gules, in tlie 
 
 2nd. and 3rd, quarters a fret or, over all a bend sable, 
 iv, SPENCER. Quarterly, argent and g-ulcs, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters a fret 
 or ; on a bend sa. 3 escallop-shells of the first. 
 
 Principal Quarterings borne by Earl Spencer. 
 V. Preface. Grant. Erm. on a ehev. gu. 5 plates ; in chief a crescent for difference, 
 vi. Willoughby. Or on 2 bars gu, 3 water-l)0ugets, 2 on the upper, and 1 on the 
 
 lower, arg. 
 vii. Digby. Az. a fleur-de-lis arg. in the dexter chief a mullet for difference, or. 
 viii. Churcbill, Sa. a lion ramp. arg. a canton of augmentation of the 2nd charged 
 with across of St. George. 
 ix. Descriptive List of Embellishments. Jennings. Arg. on afesse gu. 3 bezants, 
 X. Granville. Gu. 3 clarions 2 and 1 or. 
 xi. Carteret. Gu. 4 lozenges in fcsse arg. 
 xii, SPENCER. 
 
 Ancient Baronial Arms Quartered bij Earl Spencer. 
 xiii. Frevile. Or, a cross patonce, guiles. 
 
 xiv. Cromwell of Tatshall. Argent a chief gules, over all abend azure. 
 XV. Marmlon. Vaire, afesse gules. 
 Kilpec. Argent, a fesae eules. 
 Botetourt. Or, a saltirc engrailed sable. 
 Bcauchamp. Quarterly or and gules, a bend sable, 
 xix. Erdinton, Or, 2 liona passant in pale a/.urc. 
 XX. Byset, Argent, 10 bezants, 4, 3,2, and 1. 
 xsi. Ncwmarch. Gules, 5 lozenges conjoined in fesse, or. 
 xxii. Howard. Gules, a bend between 6 cross-crosslets, argent. 
 xxiii. Scales. Gules, 6 escallop-shells, 3, 2, and 1, argent, 
 xxiv. Ufford. Sable, a cross engrailed or. 
 
 XVI. 
 xvii. 
 XTiii. 
 

 ARRANGEMENT OF THE HERALDRY 
 
 P^, .^. .. BlunduH. Lozeng-y, or and sa- 
 f T*! xxvi. Norwicli. Parted per pale, ^. and az. a lion 
 ')y\ xxvii, Gnuiit, Barry of G, or and az. abend gu, 
 xxviii. Mowbray. Gu. a lion ramp. ar^. 
 ) x-xix. Segrave. Sa. 3 garbs, '1 and 1, arg. 
 -/Z< '''"'• Fitz-GeofFroy. Gu. 3 lions pass, guard, in pale or, 
 •\C) 3 points arg. 
 
 ■(S- XAxi. Albini, Gu. a lion rampant, or. 
 ■^ xxxii. SpentcT, 
 
 Englis'i 
 
 Sovereigns who improved the Laws, or granted 
 Charters of Liberties. 
 
 1 . ALFRED THE GREAT. Checqnce or and purp. {or gu.) on a cliief sa. a lion 
 pass, guard, of the first. 
 
 2. CANUTE THE GREAT. Or, semee of hearts gu. three lions paaa. guard, in 
 pale, az. 
 
 a. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. Az. a cross patonce between five martlets, or. 
 
 4. WILLIAM 1. (Normandy.) Gu. two lions pass, guard, in pate, or. 
 
 5. STEPHEN, (Earldom of Blois.) Gu. a sagitarius, or. 
 
 Nicholas Upton, who is supposed to be the most ancient English iiTiter on 
 Heraldry, assigns to this Prince, "Gules, three lions in feet and bodies, and as far as 
 the neck like the sign Sagitarius." The Arms most commorilj' attributed to Stephen, 
 are, however, those first blazoned, which belonged to the Earldom of Bloia ; as the 
 latter are said to have been adopted from the position of the Sun in the Zodiac, at 
 Ihe time of his accession to the Throne, (2d. December, 1135) These he joined by 
 dlmidiation,---or the parting of two different charges in halves, and uniting them 
 ivjthout any line of division,— to the leopards of Normandy. 
 
 6. HENRY II, Gu. three lions pass, guard, in pale, or. The third leopard, or 
 lion, used in the Arms of England, was first added by this Monarch to (he coat of 
 Normandy, on his marriage n-ith Eleanor of Aquitaine, in 1152. 
 
 All the Sovereigns who succeeded down to King Edward III. bore these Arms. 
 
 Division 2. Royal Relatives of the English Sovereigns. 
 
 7. GEOFFREY PLANTAGENET, 5th son of Henry II. Gu. three lions pass, 
 guard, in pale or, over cU in chief a file of five points, ar?. 
 
 8. ARTHUR FITZ-GEOFFREY, his son, Duke of Bretagne," Ermine. 
 
 9. ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE, Queen of Henry II. and mother to King John. 
 Coat of Aquitaine, gu. a lion pass, guard, or. 
 
 10. ALICE, dau. of Humbert II., Earl of Maurienne, or SAVOY, and first Que<.n 
 to King John. Arg, an eagle displayed sa. ; on the breast an escutcheon im- 
 paled ; Ist. coat, Gu. a horse saliant, arg. 2nd. coat, Barry of 6, or and sa. a 
 crown in bend vert. (Ancient Coat.) 
 
 11. ISABEL, dau, of William Consul, Earl of GLOUCESTER, second Queen to 
 King John. Gu. three clarions, 2 and 1 or. 
 
 12. ISABEL, dau. of Aymer, Count of ANGOULEME, third Queen to King John. 
 Lozengy, or and gu. 
 
 13. PLANTAGENET. Ancient Arms of Anjou borne by the Plantagenets, who 
 were Earls of that place, of which family King John was descended. Gu. a 
 chief arg, over all an escarbuncle, or. 
 
 Division 3. Foreign Princes connected rrith King John. 
 
 14. PHILIP II,, KING OF FRiUVCE. (France ancient.) Az. scnitc of fleurs- 
 de-lis, or. 
 
 J^' 
 
ARRANGEMENT OF THE HERALDRr. 
 
 Page. 
 
 15. LOUIS, son of the above, DAUPHIN OF FKANCE. Afterwards Louis VIII. 
 Quarterly: latand 4lh France, as before ; 2nd and 3rd Or, a dolphin haurient- 
 embowed, az. 
 
 16. BLANCHE of CASTILE, 2nd dau. of Eleanor, Queen of Castile, daughter of 
 Henry II., married to the preceding. Gules, a castle triple- towered, or. Fer- 
 dinand III. first quartered this coat with that of Leon, namely, arg^. a lion r 
 pant, purpure, or giilcs. 
 
 17. ALEXANDER II. KING OF SCOTLAND, Or, a lion ramp. gu. armed and 
 langrued, az. within a double tressure flory and counterflory of the second. 
 
 18. LLEWELLIN AP JORWERTH, or the Great, Princeof North Wales. Quar- 
 terly, gu. and or, four lions pass, guard, counter changed. 
 
 CLASS II. ECCLESIASTICS. 
 
 D-ivision I. Popes and Cardinal Legates connected with the 
 history of Magna Churta, 
 
 19. Arms of the POPEDOM. Az. two keys in saltire, the upper one or, and the 
 lower one arg. cnsigned with the Papal Tiara, labelled and fringed all proper. 
 
 20. CELESTINE III. (Cardinal Hyacinthus Bubo.) Arg. a cross az. in the 2nd 
 and 3rd quarters a star of 8 points of the second ; all surmounted by a bend , gu. 
 
 21. INNOCENT in. (Cardinal Lothario Conti.) Gu. an eagle displ. cheoquee 
 arg. and sa. in chief a ducal coronet, or, 
 
 22. HONORIUS III. (Cardinal Cencius Sabella.) Parted per fesse arg, and 
 bendy of 6 arg, and gu., on a fesse vert a line wavy sa.; in chief two lions com- 
 battant, supporting a rose snrmounfed by a bird, all of the third. 
 
 23. CARDINAL PANDULPHUS DI MASCA, Bishop Elect of Norwich. Sa. a 
 cross lozengy, in the 1st and 2nd quarters an escallop-shell, or. 
 
 24. Another Coat attributed to the same Ecclesiastic. Parted per fesse nebulae sa. 
 and arg. 
 
 25. CARDINAL JACOBUS DE GUALLO, Arg. 3 escutcheons, 2 and 1, gii. each 
 charged with a fesse of the field ; a chief of the second. 
 
 26. NICHOLAS, BISHOP OF TUSCULUM. Impaled, Isl coat, vert, a lion 
 ramp. arg.( 2nd coat arg. three bars nebulee gules. 
 
 Division 2. British Archbishops and Bishops. 
 
 27. Arms of the See of CANTERBURY. Az. an episcopal-staff in pale or, and 
 ensigned with a cross patee, arg. surmounted by a pall of the last, edged and 
 fringed of the serond, charged with 4 crosses form(5e-fitchee, sable. 
 
 28. HUBEItT WALTER, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. Quarterly, az. 
 and arg. a cross or ; in the 1st and "Jth quarters 5 mullets of the first, in sal- 
 tire, in the 2nd and 3rd an eagle displ. sa. 
 
 29. STEPHEN LANGTON, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY AND CARDI- 
 NAL. Arg. a cross gu. pierced quarterly of the field. 
 
 30. Another Coat attributed to the same Ecclesiastic. Parted per pale az. and gu. 
 a bend or. 
 
 31. Arms of the See of YORK, Ancient Coat. Az, an episcopal-staff in pale or, 
 and cnsigned with a cross patce arg. surmounted by a pall of the last, edged 
 and fringed of the second, charged with 6 crosses, formec-fitchce, sa. 
 
 32. Archbishopric of YORK. (Modern Coat.) Gu. 2 keys in saltire arg. in chief 
 an imperial cro^vn, proper. 
 
 33- Archbishopric of DUBLIN. Az. an episcopal-staff in pale, or, cnsigned with 
 a cross patce arg. surmountedby a pale of the last, edged and fringed of the 
 second, and charged with 5 crosses formee-fitchce, sable. 
 
 34. Bishopric of LONDON, Gu. 2 swords in saltire, arg. pomels or. 
 
 35. Bishopric of WINCHESTER. Gu. 2 keys in bend endorsed, the uppermost or, 
 the other arg,; a sword interposed between them in bend sinister of the third, 
 hilt and pomel of the second. 
 
ARRANGEMENT OF THE HERALDRY 
 
 A'Z. a saltlre quarterly quartered, 
 
 § 
 
 36. Bishopric of BATH and GLASTONBURY, 
 or and argent. 
 
 37. Bishopric of LINCOLN. Gu. 2 Hodb passant ^ardant or ; on a chitf az. 
 Virgin and child seated, croivned, aceptered, and glorified, of the second. 
 
 38. Bishopric of WORCESTER. Arg. 10 torteaux, 4, 3, 2, and 1. 
 
 39. Bishopric of COVENTRY. Parted per pale, gu. and arg. a cross potent 
 quadrat in the centre, between four crosses patec of the second and or, 
 
 40. Bishopric of ROCHESTER. Arg. on a saltlre gu., an eBCullop-shell or. 
 
 41. Bishopric of NORWICH. Az. 3 mitres labelled, 2 and J, or. 
 
 42. John Grey, Bishop of Norwich, appointed by King John in 1205, to be Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, but rejected by the Pope. Barry of 6 arg. and a?.., in 
 chief 3 torteaux and a hie of 3 points erm. 
 
 CLASS in. ENGLISH BARONS. 
 
 Division f. Twenty-five Barons elected for the security oj 
 Magna Charta. 
 
 )Dntof Ihe Armorial Eniigos belonging lo 
 ^iTioirs coQtuiiicd in Ibe NuUs, al Ibe pagrs 
 
 rffur 
 
 43. Richard de Clare, Earl of Clare. Or, 3 chevrons, gni. See Notes, p. 271. 
 
 44, William de Fortibus, Earl of Aumerle. Bendy of C, arg. and gv., a chief, or. 
 See p. 273. 
 
 4,'), Geoffrey de Mande^-ille, Earl of Gloucester. Quarterly gu, and or, an escar- 
 
 buncle sa. See p. 275. 
 4fi. Sahor de Quincy, Earl of Winchester. Or, a fesae gTi. a file of 11 points az. 
 
 See p. 277. 
 47, Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. Az. a bend arg, between 2 cottiaes and (i 
 
 lions rampant or. See p. 278. 
 49. Roger Oigod, Earl of Norfolk. Or, a cross gru. See p. 380. 
 49. Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford. Quarterly gu. and or, in the tirst quarter h 
 
 mullet, arg. See pages 281, 282. 
 fiO, William Marshall, Juu, Parted per pale, or and vert, a lion rampant gu, 
 
 armed and langued az. See pages 284, 287. 
 
 51. Robert Fitz-Walter, Banner-bearer of London. Or, afesse between 2 chevrons 
 gu. See p. 511. 
 
 52. Ensigns from the Banner of London. Gu. the figure of St. Paul, or, his head, 
 hands, feet, and sword, arg. 
 
 53. Gilbert de Clare. Or, 3 chevrons, gu. See p. 289. 
 
 54. Eustace de Veacy. Gu. a cross patonce, arg. See p. 292. 
 
 55. William de Hardies, Lord Mayor of London. Vert, a fesse flory and counter- 
 floryor. See p. 293. 
 
 56. Ancient Arms of London. Arg, a cross gu. in the first quarter an ancient text 
 L of the second. 
 
 57. William de Mowbray. Gu. a lion rampant arg. See p. 275. 
 
 58. Geoffrey de Say. Quarterly or and gu. See p. 295. 
 
 59. Roger deMontbegon. Palyof 6, an orleof roundlescounterchanged, Seep.207- 
 tiO. William de Huntingfield. Or, on a fesse gu. 3 plates. See p. 297. 
 
 fil. Robert de Ros. Gu. 3 water-bougets, 2 and 1, arg. See pages 299, 300. 
 C<2. John de Lacy. Constable of Chester. (Coat of Office.) Az. 3 garbs, 2 and 1 , 
 or. See p. 302. 
 
 63. Lacy Coat. Or, a Hon rampant, purpure. See p. 303. 
 
 64. William de Albini. Gu. a lion ramp, or, armed and langued az. See pages 
 305, 306. 
 
 65. Richard de Percy. Or, a lion ramp, az. See p. 306. 
 
 66. William Malet. Az. 3 escallop-shells, 2 and 1, or. See p. 308. 
 
 67. John Fitz-Robert. Gu. 2 chevrons or. See p. 309. 
 
 68. William de Lanvallei. (Delaval.) Ermine, 2 bars vert. See pages 310, 311. 
 
Almeric de Sancto-Mauro. (Master of the Knights-Templars id ED[,^land.) 
 Arg;. i chevrons g-u., a file of three points, az. 
 , Arms of the Temple. Cuics, a cross argent,* 
 
 William Longfespt'c, Karl of Salisbury. Ax. (j lions rampant, 3,2, and 1, or. 
 , William Plantagenet, Earl of Warren. Checquee or and azure. 
 
 Alan de Gallawaj-, Constable of Scotland, Az. a lion ramp. arg. 
 
 Hugh de Neville. Gu. a saltire arg. 
 
 Peter Fitz-Herhert. Arg a chief vaire, or and gu., over all a bend az. 
 . Hubert de Burgh, Seneschal of Poictou, Gu. 7 mascles conjoined, 3, 2, and 
 
 1, 
 
 Arms of Poictou. Gu, 5 castles in saltire, or. 
 
 Warren Fitz-Gerold. Argent, a saltire gTJiIea. 
 81. Thomas Basset of Colinton. Paly of fi or and gules. 
 S2. Alan Basset of Wycombe. Barry-wa^-y of 6 arg. and az. 
 
 83. John Marshall of Hengham. Gu. a bend lozengy or. 
 
 84. John Fttz-Hugh. Az. a chief or; in base 3 chevrons braced, of tha second. 
 
 Division 3. Other BuTons in Arms against Kivg John. 
 
 8!). WiUiara de AquilloD. Gu. a flenr-de-lis arg. 
 86. Robert de Arsic. Or, a chief indented sa. 
 B7. Thomas dc Astley. Az. a cinquefoil, ermine. 
 
 88. William de Baddlesmere. Arg, a fesse between 2 bars gemellcs gu. 
 
 89. William de Beauchamp. (Ancient.) Quarterly or and gu. a bend of the last. 
 
 90. Beauchamp. (Modern.) Quarterly or and gu. a bend sa. 
 
 91. Roger Bertram. Az. an inescutcheon or. 
 
 92. Robert de Boteler. Gu. a fesse componce or and sa. between G crosses patee 
 ardent. 
 
 93. William de Braose. Az. crusily gu. a Hon rampant or, armed and langued of 
 the second. 
 
 94. Peter dc Bruce of Skelton. Or, a saltire engrailed gu., a chief per fesse dan- 
 ccttL'e of the field and the last. 
 
 g.!. Ralph de Camois. Arg. on a chief gu. 3 ber.ants, 
 
 96. Simon de Canci. Barry of <\ arg. and az. a lion rampant gu. 
 
 97. John de Clavering. Quarterly, or and gu. a bend sa. 
 93. William de Colville. Or. a fesse yu. 
 
 99. Roger de Cressic. Arg. a lion rampant qucuee-fourch(^e sa. 
 
 100. Hamon Crevcquer. Or, a cross voided gu. 
 
 101. Ralph Cromwell of Tatshall. Arg, a chief gu. over all a bend az. 
 
 102. Philip D'Aubini or D'Albini. Gu. 4 lozenges in fesse arg. 
 
 103. Oliver Deincourt, Az. a fesse indented between 10 billets or. 
 
 104. Walter dc Dunstanville. Arg. a fret gu. on a canton of the second a lion pas- 
 sant guardant, or; the whole within a bordure engrailed, sa. 
 
 105. Richard Engaine. Gu, a fesse indented between 7 cross-crosslets or. 
 100. Peter Fitz-John. Quarterly or and gu. within a bordure vaire. 
 
 107. Walter Foliot. Gu. a bend arg, 
 
 108. Gilbert de Gaunt, Earl of Lincoln. Barry of 6 or and az. a bend gti. 
 
 109. Hugh de Gournay. Paly of 6 or and ai. 
 
 110. Rohcrt de Gresley. Vaire, erm, and gu. 
 
 111. Humphrey de Hastang. Az, a chief gu., over all a lion rampant or. 
 
 112. William de Hastings. Or, a maiincb gu. 
 
 113. John de Humet. Arg, a bordure gu. bezaiit^^e. 
 
 114. William dc Keypes or Kayneto. Vaire 3 I'ars gu, 
 
 115. Bevil de Knovll. Arg. 3 etoiles gu. 
 
 ^fes- ■^•'mi 
 
■a^j:^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 ARRANGEMENT OF THE HERALDRY. 
 
 ill6. Simon de Kyme. Gu. a chevron between 10 cross-crosslets or. 
 g 117- Roger de Lcibunie. A/., C Uoncela rampam, 3, 2, and 1, arg. 
 > 118. John Maltrftvers of Lytchet-MaltraverB. Sa. a fret or, over all a file o( 3] 
 points, erm. 
 119. Geoffrey de Mandeville. Gu. 3 lions ['ass. in pale arg. debruised by a bendlet,! 
 
 ll'O. William Mauduit, Earl of Warwick. Arg. 2 bars, gu. 
 
 121. Hoger de Merlcy. Barry of 10 arg. and gu. within a hordure az. charged with 
 8 martlets, or. 
 
 122. William de Montacuto, Earl of SaUBbary. Arg, 3 fusils in fesae, gu. 
 
 123. Sinion de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. Gu. a lion rampant queui^c-fourr hi^c, 
 arg, 
 
 124. Robert de Mortimer of Attilbergh. Or, aemee of fleurs-de-lis, sa. 
 
 125. Geoffrey de Norwich. Parted per pale, gu. and az, a lion rampant, ermine. 
 
 126. Henry U'Oyly. Or, 2 bendlets, az. 
 
 127- Hugh Paganel. Gu. a einquefoil erm. a crescent for difference, 
 
 123. William Pantulf. Gu. 2 bars erm. 
 
 129. Robert de Pincheni. Or, 4 fusils in fesse, gu. 
 
 ISO. Hugh de Play/:. Parted per pale, or and gu. a lion passant, arg. 
 
 131. Hugh de Poyiitz. Barry of 8, or and gu, 
 
 132. Michael de Poyninu. Barry of 6, or and vert, a bend, g\i. 
 
 133. Roger de Saint Philibert. Bendy of 6, arg. and az. 
 
 134. Hoger de Somervile. Az. cnisilly, and 3 eagles displayed, or. 
 
 135. Nicholas de Stuteviile, or Estotevillc. Barry of 10, arg. and gu. a lion ram- 
 pant, sa, 
 
 136. Alexander de Sutton. Or, a lion rampant, vert. 
 
 137. Walter de Tibetot. Arg. a saltlrc engrailed, gu. 
 
 138. William de Todeni. Gu. an eagle displayed within a bordure, arg. 
 
 139. Ralph de Tonl. Arg. a maunch, gu. 
 
 140. Theobald de Valoincs. Or, a cross gu. within a bordure, az. billcttLe of the 
 first. 
 
 141. Ranuiph de Vaux. Chequee or and gu. 
 143, Nicholas de Verdon. Or, a fret, gu. 
 
 143. Richard de Umfravlle. Gu, a cinquefoil within an orle of cross-crossleis, or. 
 
 144. Ralph de Willeghby. Or, frettee, az. 
 
 Division 4. Barons in Arms on the part of King John. 
 
 145. Warine de Bassingbourne. Gyronny of 8, or and arg. 
 
 146. Robert de Braibroclt. Arg. 7 mascles conjoined in fesse, az. 
 
 147. Fowke de Breant. Gu. a cinquefoil, arg. 
 
 148. William de Briwere. Gu. 2 bends wavy, or. 
 
 149. Gerard de Camville. Vert, 3 lions passant arg. armed and langiied, gu. 
 
 150. William de Cantiiupe, Gu, 3 leopards' faces inverted, jessant-du-lis, or. 
 
 151 . John de Courci, Earl of Ulster. Arg. 3 eagles displayed, gn. crowned, or. 
 
 152. Thomas de Erdinton. Or, 2 lions passant in pale, az. 
 
 153. William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby. Argent, 6 horseshoes, 3, 2, and 1, sable, 
 pierced, or. 
 
 154. Roger de Gaugi. Per saltire, arg. and az, a cross saltire, gTi. 
 
 165. Richard de Grey, of Codnor. Barry of 6, arg. and az. in chief 3 torteaux. 
 
 156. Alured de Lincolne. Quarterly, per pale indented, or and gu. in the 1st and 
 4th quarters a cross of 5 lozenges of the second. 
 
 157. Bryan de Lisle. Gu. a lion passant guardant, arg. crowned, or. 
 
 155. Geoffrey de Lucie. Gu. 3 lucies haurient, £ and 1, arg. 
 
 159. John Marshall. Gu. a bend lozengy, or, 
 
 160. Peter de Mauley, Or a bend, sa, 
 
 IGl, Roger de Mortimer. Barry of 6, or and az. an escutcheon, arg. on a chief of 
 
 the first, between two esquires based, 3 pallets of the second. 
 162. Robert de Vipount. Or, 6 annulets, 8, 2, and 1, gu. 
 
163 William de Abrincia. Gii. 3 archers, 2 and 1, az. 
 
 164 Giles Argentine. Gu. 3 covered cnps, 2 and 1, arg. 
 
 165 John de Baalun. Arg. 3 bars dancettee, gu. 
 
 166 William de Bardolf. Az. 3 cinquefoiU, 2 and 1, or. 
 
 167. Ralph Basset of Drayton, Or, 3 pilea meeting in point, gu. a canton, 
 
 168. Ralph Basset of Sapcoate. Arg,-2 bars M-a^'j, sa. 
 
 169. John Beaucliamp of Bedford. Quarterly, or and gii, abend of the second. 
 
 170. Ralph de Berners, Quarterly, or and vert. 
 
 171. William le Blount. Barry- neb nice of 6, or and sa. 
 
 172. Reginald de Bottreaux, Arg. 3 toads erected, 2 and 1, aa, 
 
 173. Guy de Bryan. Or, 3 piles meeting in point, az, 
 
 174. Walter de Clifford, Checquife, or and az , a fesse, gu. 
 
 175. John D'Eivill, Arg. on a chevron, sa. a fleur-de-lis, or. 
 
 176. Jordan de le Warre. Gu. semee of cross-crosslets fitche'e, and a lion rai 
 
 177. William Devereux. Arg, a fesse gu., in chief 3 torteaux. 
 
 178. John-Fitz-Alan. Gu. a lion ramp, or, armed and langned, az. 
 
 179. Robert Fitz-PaJn. Gu. 3 lions pass, guard, in pale, . . . over all a beod, az. 
 
 180. FulkeFitz-Warine. Quarterly, per fesse indented, arg. and gu. 
 
 181. Aucher de Freschvill. Az, a bend between 6 escallop-shells, arg. 
 
 182. William de Heyrun. Gu. a chc^Ton between 3 herons, arg. 
 1S3. Henry Hoese. Barry of 6 ermine and gu, 
 
 184, Roger de Leiburne, Az. 6 lioncels rampant, 3, 2, and 1, arg. 
 
 185. Robert de Lisle. Gu, n lion passant guardaator, crowned, arg. 
 
 1S6. Roger de Lovetot. Arg. a lion rampant, parted per fesse, gu. and sa, 
 
 187. William de Montchensi. Or, 3 escutcheons, 2 and 1, barry of 6 vaire and gu. 
 
 188. Peter de Montforl. Bendy of 10, or and az. 
 
 189. Simon de Montfort. Gu. a lion rampant queu^e-fourcht^e, arg. 
 
 190. William de Mowbray. Gu. a lion rampant, arg, 
 
 191. Adam NcHinarch. Gu. 5 lozenges conjoined in fesse, or. 
 
 192. William de Pierrepointe, Arg, semee of cinquefoils gu, a lion rampant, sa. 
 
 193. Richard Plantagenet, Arg, a lion ramp, gu, crowned or, within a bordure, 
 sa. charged \i-ith 10 bezants. 
 
 194. Henry de Pomerai, Or, a lion rampant ^. armed and langued, az. within a 
 bordure indented, sa, 
 
 195. Roger de Saint John. Arg. on a chief gu. 2 mullets or, and a file of 3 points 
 of the field, 
 
 196. Nicholas de Segrave. Sa. 3 garbs, 2 and 1, arg. banded gu. 
 
 19". Robert de Trego/.. Gu, 2 bars gemelles, and in chief a lion pass, guard, or 
 193. John de Verdon, Or, a fret, gn. 
 
 199. Baldwin de Wake, Or, 2 bars gu, in chief 3 torteaux. 
 
 Division 6. Barons in Arms on the jiart of Hennj III. and Edward /, 
 
 200. James dc Aldithley, or Audcly. Gu. a fret, or. 
 
 201. Hugh Bftliol. Gu. an orle arg. 
 
 202. John ComvD. Gu, 3 garbs, 2 and 1, or. 
 
 203. Philip D'Arey. Az, scmee of cross-crosslets and 3 cinquefoils, arc. 
 
 204. John dc Grey, of Wilton. Barry of 6 arg. and az.in chief 3 torteaux, and a file 
 of 3 points of the first. 
 
 205. Bryan de L'lsle. Gu. a lion passant, arg. crowned, or. 
 
 206. Philip dc Marraion, Vaire, a fesse, gu. 
 
 207. Peter de Mauley. Or, a bend, sa, 
 
 203, Roger dc Merlcy. Barry of 10 arg. and gu. within a bordure az. charged with 
 8 martlets, or. 
 
Division 7- Other Barons of the reigns of John, Henry Iff., 
 and Edward I. 
 
 314. Gilbert de AquiU. Paly of 6 gu. and valre, (arg. and az.) on a chief or, 3 
 eagles displayed sa. 
 
 215. John L'Archer. Az, 3 arrows, 2 and 1, or, 
 
 216. Sir Humplirey Arundel. Sa. 6 swallows close, 3, 2, and 1, arjj, 
 
 217. Gilbert de Aton. Or, 3 bars az. on a canton gu. a cross patonce, arg. 
 
 218. William Tuchet, Lord Audley. Erm. a chevron, gu, 
 
 219. John de Bayeaux. Paly of 6, or and gu. on a chief of the second, 3 escallop- 
 Bhelle of the first. 
 
 220. Robert dc Bcauchamp, of Hacehe, Vaire, arg. and az. 
 
 221. Roger de Beriuehamp, of Eaton. Gu. a fesse or. 
 
 222. Walter de Beauchamp, of Alcester. Gu. a fesse, between fi martlets, or. 
 
 223. Henry de Beaumont. Az. sem^e dc lis, and a lion ramp. or. 
 
 224. John Bee. Gu. a crosa moline arg. 
 
 225. Michael Belet. Az. on a chief gu, 3 cinquefolls of the field. 
 
 226. John Biriiin. Arg, a fcasc a?,, in chief a file of 3 points, gii. 
 
 227. Henry Blset. Az. lU bezants, 4, 3, 2, and 1, arg. 
 
 228. Hugh de Bolebec. Vert, a lion ramp. arg. vitlned in the shoulder, proper. 
 
 229. Baldwin de Boilers, ba. a maunch, or, 
 
 230. Adam Boltby. Arg. on a fesae sa. 3 garbs or. 
 
 231. William de Bonvile. Sa. 6 mullets, , . . 3, 2, and 1, pierced, gu. 
 
 232. John de Botetourt. Or, a saltire engrailed, sa. 
 239. John de Bulmer. Gu. a lion saliant, erm. 
 
 234. Robert de Burghersh, Gu. a lion ramp, queui^e-fourctiee, or. 
 
 235. Philip Burnell, Arg. a lion ramp, sa, crowned or, within a bordure, az, 
 
 236. Hugh Bussel. Arg. a chevron between 6 water-bougcts, , . . 
 237- Roger de Byroii. Arg. 3 bends sinister, gu, 
 
 238. Peter de Cloches. ... 2 bars, gu. 
 
 239. Henry de Cobbeham. Gu. on a chevron or, 3 lions ramp, sa, 
 
 240. John de Coningebie. Gu. 3 conies seiant, 2 and 1, arg. 
 Arg, 3 ducal coronets, 2 and 1, sa, 
 
 Lozcngy, or and sa. 
 
 243. Brian de Criol, Or, 2 bars and a canton, gu. 
 
 244. Maurice dc Croun. Arg. a fesse betw, 2 fers-de-moline in chief, and an an- 
 nulet in base, gu. 
 
 245. Williara de Dacre. Gu. 3 escallop-ahells, 2 and 1, arg, 
 
 246. Hugh Despencer. Quarterly, arg. and gu. in the second and third quarters a 
 fret, or, over all a bend, sa. 
 
 247. Hugh de Courtenay, Earl of Devon. Or, 3 torteaux, 2 and 1, and a file of 3 
 points, az. 
 
 248. Hugh de Evre. Quarterly, or and gu. on a bend sa, 3 escallop-shells, nrg. 
 
 249. Walter de Fauconberg. Arg. a lion ramp, az, 
 
 250. John de Ferrers, of Chartlcy. Vaire, or and gu. 
 
 251. William de Ferrers, of Groby. Gu. 7 mascles conjoined, 3, 3, and 1, or. 
 
 252. Hugh Fitz-Ralph. Or, 2 bars, az. 
 
 253. Gerard de Furnlvall. Arg. a bend between G mascles, gu. 
 
 254. Ranulph de Greystoke. Barry of 6 arg. and az. 3 ehaplels, 2 and 1, gu. 
 
 255. Robert de Harrington. Sa, a fret, arg. 
 
 256. Ivo de Heriz. Az, 3 hedge-hogs, 2 and 1, or. 
 
 241. Walter de Conneill 
 
 242. William de Criketot. 
 
a feaae, gu. 
 n bend -within 
 
 257. Walter de Lacy, Or, 
 
 258. Wyschard Lcdet. Or, 
 be?ants. 
 
 259. Richard de Levington. 
 heads couped of the first. 
 
 2fW>. Richard de Lexine^ton. Arg. a cross patoiice, ax. 
 261. Uavid de Lindesef. Gu. 3 eagles displ. 2 and ), or. 
 2ri2. Hugh de Lizures. Or. a chief, az. 
 
 263. Simon de Long^champ, Or, 3 crescents, 2 and 1, gu. each cbfirged with a 
 mullet, arg. 
 
 264. Henry Lovel. Or, semife of cross-crosslets, a lion ramp, az, 
 
 265. Nicholas de Moels. Arg. 2 bars gti. in chief 3 toneaiuc. 
 
 206. John de Monmouth. Arg. 3 bars gemelies sa. over all a lion rampant gu. 
 
 armed and langnred az. 
 26?, Ralph de Mouthermer. Or, an eagle displ. vert, beaked and membered, gu. 
 
 268. William de Morley. Ajg. a lion ramp, sa. crowned, or. 
 
 269. Hugh Mortimer, of Chelmarsh. Barry of 6 or and gu, an escutcheon arg, on 
 a chief of the first, between 2 esquires basod, as many pallets of the second. 
 
 270. Hugh MorviUe. Az. an eagle displayed, Barry gn, and arg. 
 
 271. Thomas Multon. Az, 3 bars, gu. 
 
 272. Ralph Musard. Gu. 3 plates, 2 and 1, 
 
 273. Another Coat of Musard. Or, 2 chevrons, «-ilhin a bordure az, 
 
 274. Thomas Muschamp. Az. 3 bees, 2 and 1, or. 
 
 275- John de Oggil. Arg, a fesse between 3 crescents, gn. 
 
 276. Another Coat of Oggil. Sa. 6 mullets, 3, 2, and 1, arg. pierced gu, 
 
 277. John Peverel. Gyronny of 8, arg, and gu, 
 
 278. Guy de Thouars, Earl of Richmond. Or, 5 fleurs-de-lis, az, a canton, gu, 
 
 279. Peter de Dreux, Earl of Richmond. Chequee, or and az. a canton, erm. 
 
 280. Ralph Ribald, Or, on a chief indented, az. a lion pass, of the first. 
 
 281. Nicholas de Rye. Gu. on a bend, arg. 3 i^e-sialks, sa. 
 
 282. Robert de Ros, of Werke. Gu. 3 wnter-bougets, 2 and 1, sa, 
 
 283. Almeric de St. Amand, Or, frettee, on a chief sa, 3 bezants. 
 
 284. Robort le Scalers. Gu, 6 escallop-shells, 3, 2, and 1, arg, 
 
 285. John le Scott. Or, 3 piles meeting in point, gu, 
 
 286. William de Scroope, Az. a bend, or. 
 
 287. Henry de Stafford. Or, a chevron, gu. 
 
 288. John le Strange. Gu. 2 lions p;iss. arg. within a bordure engrailed, or. 
 
 289. Peter de Thani. Arg, 6 eaglets displayed, 3, 2, and 1, sa, 
 
 290. Oliver de Traci. Or, 2 bendlets, gu. 
 
 291. Robert de Turnham. Gu. a lion pass, in fesse, or, between 2 mascles iu pale 
 
 . bordure of the 
 
 . ^^^thin s 
 
 292. Reginald de Valletourt. Bendy of 6, arg, and gu. within a 
 second, bezant(;e. 
 
 293. Robert de Ufford. Sa. a cross engrailed, or. 
 
 294. Thomas de Newburgb, Earl of Warwiclt. Lozengy, or and f 
 dure gu, charged with 8 plates. 
 
 295. William de Welles. Or, a lion ramp, queuee-fourchee, sa. 
 
 296. Robert de Wentworth. Sa. a chevron between 3 leopards faces, or. 
 297- Hamon de Wolverton. Az. an eagle displayed debruised by a bend, gu. 
 
 298. Alan Zouche of Ashby. Gu. 10 bezants, 4, 3 2, and 1. 
 
 299. Eudo Zouche of Haryngworth. Tlic same, with a canton, crm. 
 
 300. John Ap Adam. Arg, on a cross gu. 6 mullets, or. 
 
 301. Thomas le Archdekne. Arg. 3 chevronels, sa. 
 
 302. Ralph Basset, of Wcldon. Or, 3 piles meeting in point, within a bordure be 
 zantee. 
 
 303. Robert Bavent. Arg. a chief indented, sa. 
 
 304. John de Benestede. Arg. 3 bars gemelies gu. 
 
 305. William de Bermingham. Per pale indented, or and gu, 
 
 306. Franco de Bohun. Or, a cross, az. 
 
ARRANGEMENT OF THR HERALDRY. 
 
 3U7. William Ic Butiller. A/, a bend between 6 ^arbs, or. 
 a08. Thomas de CailU. Arg. ■i bendlets, gTi. 
 309, Robert de Chandoa. Or, a pile, gu. 
 > 310. Peterdc Chaumpvent, orCbavent, Paly of 6 arg. and a/., a fcssc ^. 
 
 311. Thomas dc Chauworth, of Alfretoii. A/, 2 fbevrons, or, 
 
 312. Payne dc Chaworth. Barry of 10, arg. and gn, an orle of mudlcis sn, 
 
 313. Henry dc Cobham. Gu. on a chevron or, 3 ctoiles, sa. 
 
 314. Thomas Corbet. Or, a raven proper. 
 
 315. Adam de Crcting. Arg. a chevron between 3 mullets yu, pierced of du 
 31G. Gilbert Uamorie. Barry of C ncbulee, az. and gii. a bend of the first. 
 317- John dc la Mare. Gu. 2 lions passant in pale, arg. 
 
 318. Robert de la Ward. Vaire, arg, and sa. 
 
 319. Geoffrey Dinan or Dlnham. Gu. a fesse danccttee, erm. 
 
 320. Simon dc Echingham. Az. a fret arg, 
 
 321. Robert de Kveriiigham, Gu. a lion rampant vaire. 
 323. Roger dc Felton. Gu. 2 lions passant, erm, crosvnert or. 
 
 323. Bryan Fitz-Alan. Barry of 0, oi and gu. 
 
 324. Herbert Fitz-Herbert, Ary;. a chief vaire, or and gn, over all a bmd az. 
 
 325. Sir Thomas Fitz-William. Lozengy, arg, and gu. 
 
 326. Baldwin dc Frevile, Or, a cross pafoncc gii. 
 
 327. Geoffrey de Geneva, or Gencvil, Az. 3 horses bits Or, on a chief erm, a demi- 
 lion issuant, gu. 
 
 328. Ernald, Count of Ghisnes, Barry of G, vairu and gii. 
 
 329. Ralph de Gorges. Lozengy, or and az. 
 
 330. Another Coat of Gorges. Arj. a whirlpool az. 
 
 331. Otto dc Grandison. Paly of 6 arg, and verl, on a bend gn, 3 eagles dinpl. or. 
 
 332. Sir Ralph de Grendon, Arg. 2 rhevrons gu, 
 
 333. Eustace de Hacche, Or, a cross engrailed gu, 
 
 334. Robert dc Hilton, Arg, 2 bars az. and a llcur-de-lis, or, 
 
 335. William de Huntcrcombc, Erm, 2 bars gemetles, gu, 
 
 336. William de Kerdiston. Gii. a saltire engrailed, arg. 
 
 337. Roger de Lascells. Arg, 3 chaplets, 2 and 1, gu. 
 
 338. William Latimer. Gu, a cross patonce, or, 
 
 339. John de Longvill'ers, Sa. a bend betw, cross-crosslcts arj, 
 3-10. Henry dc L'Orti, Vert, a. pale or. 
 
 341, Matthew de Lovain, Gu, a fesse arg, betw. 10 billets or, 
 
 942. Robert Lutercl, Or, a bend betw. 6 martlets sa. 
 
 343. Richard de Meinell. Az. 3 bars geraelles and a chief, or. 
 
 314- Reginald Mohun. Gu. a maunch, erm. in the hand proper, a fleur-de-lis, arg. 
 
 345. Roger de Montalt. At. a lion ramp. arg. 
 
 346. Serlo de Nansladron. Sa. 3 chevronels arg. 
 
 347. Robert de Nereford. Gu, a lion rampant, erm, 
 
 348. John dc Northwood. Erm, a cross engrailed gu. 
 
 349. Fulke de Orreby. Erm. 5 chevronels gu. on a cant, of the 2nd. a lion of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 350. Simon de Patshul. Arg. a fesse sa. betw. 3 crescents gn. 
 
 351. Hamon Peche of Brunne. Arg. a fease betw, 2 chevronels g^u, 
 3,52. Ralph Pipurd. Arg. 2 bars gu. on a canton az. a cinquefoil or. 
 
 353. Alan de Plugenct. Erm. a bend engrailed, gu. 
 
 354. William de Rythre. Az. 3 crescents 2 and 1, or, 
 
 355. John de Sudley. Or, 2 bendlets, gu. 
 
 3,56, A^am de Swillington, Arg, a chevron ax, 
 
 357. Marmaduke Thweng. Arg, a fesse gu. 
 
 358. William Trussel. Arg, fretti^e, each joint charged with a bezant. 
 
 359. Walter Tyes. Arg, a chevron gu. 
 
 360. Thomas de Wahull. Or, 3 crescents 2 and 1, gu. 
 
 361. William de Wiudsore. Gu, a saltire arg, between 12 cross-crORslets, or. 
 
 -p^ 
 

 ARRANGEMENT OF THE HERALDRY. 
 
 Division 8. Descendants from, and Representatives qf the Baronial 
 
 SecuritiiiS and Witnesses to Magna Charta, an account of whom 
 
 vnll be found on the pages cited it the end of each name. 
 
 Pag» 
 
 r^r;-^; 362. Roliert Fitz-Walter. See pae:e 511. 
 
 '^f'*- 363- Benjamin Mildmay, last Earl of Fitz-Waltcr. See pages 510, 511. Arg. 
 >^^ lions ramp. 2 and 1, az. 
 
 564. Guoffrey de MandeviUe, Earl of Gloucester, 
 
 365. Georg^e Ferrers Townshend, Marquess Townshend. Sec p. 275. Az. a chevron 
 erm. between ii escallop-shells, arg^. 
 
 366. Saher de Quincy, Earl of Winchester. See paje 277- 
 
 367. Charles-Ingoldsby Pauletl, present Marquess of Winchester. Sec page 278. 
 Sa, 3 swords in pile, the points in base, arg. hilts and pomels or. 
 
 36S. Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. See page 278. 
 
 369. Henry Devereux, Viscount Hereford, Sec p. 279. Arg. a fe.sse gu, in chief 3 
 torieaux. 
 
 370. Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, 
 
 371. Bernard Edward Howard, Duke of Norfolk. See p. 2S0. Gu. on a bend bctw. 6 
 croBS-croaslets fitchi^e, arg,, in the dexter chief an Escutcheon of Augmentation 
 or, charged with a derai-lion ramp. gu. armed and langued az, pierced through 
 the mouth with an arrow, mthin the double tressure of Scotland, 
 
 372. Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford. Sec page 282, 
 
 373. William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, Duke of St. Alban's. See p. 283. Quar- 
 terly : 1st and 4th quarterly France and England ; 2nd Scotland ; 3rd Ireland , 
 overall, on a biiton in bendsinister gu.,3 roses, arg. barbed and seeded proper. 
 
 374. William Marshall, Jun. Earl of Pembroke. 
 
 375. George-Augustus Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery. See p. 2S4. 
 Parted per pale, az, and gu. 3 lions ramp. 2 and 1 arg. 
 
 376. Bernard-Edward Howard, Duke of Norfolk, with the insignia of Earl-Marshal 
 of England. See page S85. 
 
 377. Eustace De Vesci. 
 378- Quartering used by the Family of Clifford, as heirs-general of the House of Dc 
 
 Vesci. Or, a cross sa. 
 
 379. Edward Southwell-Clifford, Baron De Clifford. See p. 292, Arg. 3 cinque- 
 foils 2 and 1, gu. eacli charged W-ith 6 annulets or, and pierced of the field. 
 
 380. Richard de Clare. Or, 3 chevronels gu. on an escutcheon arg. a canton of 
 the second. 
 
 381. Gilbert de Clare. See page 271. 
 
 382. Thomas Pelham, last Marquess of Clare. See p. 272. Quarterly^ Isrt and 4th 
 az. 3 pelicans, 2 and 1 arg. , vulning themselres, gu. 2iid and 3rd. erm. 2 piles 
 meeting in point, sa. 
 
 333. William de Forlibus, Earl of Aumerle. Gu. a cross patoncc vaire. 
 
 384. William Charles Keppcl, Earl of Albemarle. See p. 273. Gu. 3 escallop- 
 shells, 2 and 1, arg. 
 
 385. William de Mowbray. 
 
 386. Howard. Quartering Hrotherton, Mowbray, and Warren. See pages 280, 295. 
 
 387. Geoffrey de Say. See page 295. 
 
 388. Henry-Pelham Fiennes-Pelham Clinton, Duke of Newcastle. See p. 296, 
 Arg, 6 cross-crosslets fitch^e, 3, 2, and 1, a?, on a chief of the second 2 
 mullets of the first pierced, 
 
 339, Gregory-William Eardley-Twialeton Fiennes, Baron Say and Sele. Sec p. 296. 
 
 Az. 3 lions ramp. 2 and 1 arg. 
 .390, Ros, 
 
 391. Charlotte Fitz-Gerald De Ros, Baroness de Ros. See page 300: 
 
 392. Richard de Percy. See page 306. 
 
 393. Hugh Percy, Duke of Northumberland. See p. 30?. Quarterly : let and 4th 
 quarterly, lat, and 4th. or, a lion ramp, az, for Percy, 2nd and 3rd gu. 3 lucies 
 
 -<&.. 
 
ARltANGEMENT OF THE HERALDRY. 
 
 hanrient, 2 and 1, eirg. for Lucy ; 2iid and ^rd Percy ancient, a';. 5 fusils con- 
 joined In fcGBe or. 
 
 394. William de Albini. See pages 3(l.j, 306. 
 
 395. Howard. See pages 280, 306, 
 
 396. William Malet. Gu. a lion ramp, or, (Icbriiiaftd with a bendlct, crm. See p. 
 308. 
 
 397. Sir Alexander Mnlet, Bart. Az. 3 escallop-iliells 2 and 1, or. See p. 309. 
 
 398. William de Lanvallei. See page .'ilO. Gu, a Hon pats, or. 
 
 399. Sir Roger Grealey, Bart. See page 310. Valre, g\\. and enn. 
 
 400. William, Earl of Warren. 
 
 401. Howard. Quarteriog Brotberton, Warren and Mowbray. 
 
 402. Sanctu-Mauro, 
 
 403. Edward Adolphus Seymour, Duke of Somerset, Quarterly, 1st and 4t'- 
 
 a pile ga. betw, 6 fleurs-de-lis, &?.. 3 lions of Eny:land of the first^ ^^monr, 
 
 Iloyal ; 2iid and 3rd gu. 2 ^vinga conjoined in lure, the points dowuivord, or. 
 
 Various Armorial Ensigns relating tu the history of Magna Charta, 
 and the contents of the -pages whereon they are placed. 
 
 ,i)d 1 < 
 
 i the tw 
 
 on ft cross arg. the text-lettci 
 
 Ist Coat, or, a double-headed eagle 
 dCoat, az. 
 
 , and E 
 
 404. Stephen, Earl of Bloia. 
 
 405. Robert the Consul, Earl of Gloucester. Gu. 3 clarions 2 . 
 chief turned dexter and sinister, that in base to the dexter, 
 
 406. Stephen, King of Kngland. 
 407- William I,, King of England, 
 
 408. Payne Fitz-John. 
 
 409. Henry II,, Kiag of Eni,'laod. 
 
 410. Edward the Confessor, 
 
 411. See of Canterbury, 
 
 412. France, Ancient. 
 
 413. Priory of Christ Church, Canterbury, 
 surmounted by an i, sa, 
 
 414. The Emperor Charlemagne. Impaled 
 displ. aa. crowned gold, dimidiated and joined to the centre lim 
 6 fleurs-dc-lys, 1, 2, 2, and 1, or. 
 
 415. Pope Urban III., {Cardinal Uberto Crivellufi.) Checquce, or, 
 chief of the first, an eagle dlspI. ea. 
 
 416. Arms of the Popedom, 
 
 417. John, King of England. 
 
 418. William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. 
 
 419. Henry VIII. King of England. Quarterly: l9t and 4th az. 3 fleurB-de-Iis, 2 
 and 1, or ; 2nd and 3rd gu. 3 lions pass, guard, in pale or, 
 
 420. Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury. Impaled: 1st Coat, az. an effigy of the 
 Virgin, crowned and glorified, supporting her Child with her right hand, and 
 holding a sceptre in her left, all or ; 2nd Coat, arg. 3 holly leaves in chief, 
 vert, and a feugle-horn in base, sa. garnished gn. a mullet for difference, for 
 Burnet of Leys. 
 
 421. See of Canterbury. 
 
 422. Sir Robert Cotton Bruce. Az. an eagle displ. arg. beaked and membered gu. 
 for Cotton, 
 
 423. Arms of Bnice, Or, a saltire and chief gu. 
 
 424. Bruce, King of Scotland. 
 428, John, King of England. 
 
 426. See of Lincoln. 
 
 427. See of Salisbury, Az. an effigy of the Virgin, crowned and glorified, support- 
 ing her Child with her right band; and holding a sceptre in her left, all or. 
 
AHBANGEMENT OF THE HERALDRY. 
 428 William Laud, Archbishop of Oanterbory. Impaled : 1st Coat, Canterburr ■ 
 KchAj""' '"' °° " '^'"°'' ''""■■ 3 "oUcs or, as many crosses patee- 
 
 429. See of Gloucester. Az. 2 keys endorsed In saltire, or 
 4ji0. Louis, Dauphin of France. 
 431. See of York. (Modern.) 
 
 «4. See of Durham. Az. a cross or, bet.v. 4 lions ramp. arj. 
 
 435. Henry III., King of England. 
 
 436. AYilliam Loni^espce, Earl of Salisbury. 
 
 438': si:'R.?::rctto:':' ''""''-■ ^- ■ ='™" "^- ^""- ^' """■^»-"». »■-• 
 
 439. City of London . (Ancient) 
 
 440. Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford, and Hieh-Constable, 
 
 21' W^^ ?,* ■ '^"' "' "'"'°"<' «'"< E.trl-M„,hal. 
 
 442. EdTvard I., King of England 
 
 443. See of Durham. 
 
 444. Sir Tliomas Bodley. 
 
 445. Henry VH., King „f England 
 
 446. Saxon Kings. 
 
 447. William I., King of England. 
 
 448. Canute, King of England. 
 
 449. Edward the Confessor. 
 
 450. Richard II., King of England 
 
 451. Edward I., King of England 
 
 '''■lS''3rd''l're1Z°'o''"""K- "T"'" '" "" ^'" "'"f"'"" ^ 2"'' «-•- 
 cro„ of Haoter , T "■'"«'•>"'» "' ■"■■«»" »"Ened „dtb the royal 
 
 LunTh,, . <f ' "'""^ "" '"' "•'■' "" tk^'on, the coats of Brunsxrick 
 
 !ie°it"l7iran'Erpl; "■""" '"'^™"'-° ^°' "- ^«t.-T^--ershi;o; 
 
 «4. I'ir rr Cotn Br"" '" ""• ^^ "'' "■ ' -^'" ^'"^■- ^ ""^ >• ".■ 
 
 455. Bruce. 
 
 456. Sir W. Blackstone. 
 
 «7. Hon. Dalnes Barriugton. Arg. b chevronels, g„. 
 468. City of London. (Modern.) 
 
 459. See of Lincoln. 
 
 460. George IV., King of England. 
 
 461. Plantagcnet. 
 40:;. Alice of Savoy. 
 
 463. See of Dublin. 
 
 464. Philip n., King of France. 
 
 465. Arthur, Duke of Bretarne 
 
 466. Philip n.. King of France. 
 
 467. Eleanor of Acquitaine. 
 
 468. William, King of Scotland. 
 
 469. See of Canterbirry 
 
 m Itr" V"' '^"■''""""P °f Canterbury. 
 471. W Uiam Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. 
 47-. John, Kmg of England 
 
 a?; ^';"''' "■' '^''S o' f "»«■ 
 
 474. Blanche of Castile. 
 
 475. Isabella of AngoulSme 
 
 476. Arthur. Duke of Dretagne. 
 
 477. Hubert de Burgh. 
 
 478. John, King of England. 
 
 479. Dukedom of Normandy 
 4S0. Duicdom of Guicnne 
 
fir 
 
 500. 
 501. 
 
 502. 
 603. 
 504. 
 
 507. 
 
 503. 
 
 512. 
 5J3. 
 514. 
 515. 
 516. 
 
 5ir. 
 
 518. 
 519. 
 620. 
 521. 
 522. 
 523, 
 524, 
 525. 
 526. 
 527. 
 528, 
 529. 
 530. 
 531. 
 532. 
 533. 
 534. 
 535. 
 536. 
 537. 
 
 ARRANGEMENT OF THE Hl^RALDRY 
 
 ?opc Innocent III. 
 Llesvcllin, Prince of Wales. 
 Thomas de Erdiiiifton. 
 Arms of the Popijdom. 
 Cardinal Pandulplms Di Masca. 
 Another Coat of the same. 
 Philip II., King of Frautc. 
 Louin, Dauphin of Fraiiee. 
 Caidinal Jacobus Di Gualo. 
 Louis, Dauphin of France. 
 See of Worcester. 
 Isabella of Angoulfime. 
 Ainieric de Sancto Mauro, 
 John, King of England. 
 PlantBjjenet. 
 France. (Ancient.) 
 
 Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbiirj. 
 Hubert Walter, Archbishop oi Canterbury- 
 Pope Innocent 111. 
 Pope HonoriuK III. 
 Another Coat of Langton. 
 John, King of England. 
 See of Canterbury. 
 Robert Fitz-Walter. 
 Saher de Quincy. 
 
 Priory of Dunmosv, Sable, n cross ary;ent, between 4 innlli> 
 John, King of England. 
 Louis, Dauphin of France. 
 William Marshall, Earl of Pcmbroito. 
 Ancient Banner of London, 
 Benjamin Mildmay, last Earl Fitz-Walter, 
 Lothario Conti. 
 Arms of the Popedom. 
 Pope Innocent III. 
 Louis, Dauphin of France. 
 Philip II., King of France. 
 Henry II., King of England. 
 Canute, King of Denmark. 
 Arthur, Duke of Bretagne. 
 Cardinal Pandulphua Di Masca. 
 See of Norwich. 
 Louis, Dauphin of France. 
 Alexander II., King of Scotland. 
 See of Winchester. 
 Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent. 
 John, King of England. 
 
 William Plantagenet, Earl of Wanen aiul Siutl-y. 
 King Alfred the Great. 
 Henry I., King of England. 
 John, King of England. 
 Sir Tliomas Botllcy. 
 Sir Robert Cotton. 
 City of London. (Modern.) 
 Bishop of Durham. 
 Cardinal Jacobus Di Gualo. 
 Bishop of Winchester. 
 Bishop of Worcester. 
 Almeric de Sancto Mauro. 
 William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. 
 
ARRANGEMENT OF THE HERALDRY. 
 
 t*,'\ 594. Roger tie Moutbegon. 
 
 , Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. 
 '''596. Hugh Pfrey, Duke of Northumberland. 
 :^, 597. Richard de Percy. 
 KJlIf fioa. Philip II., King of France. 
 'P4 699. Saher de Quincy, Earl of Winchester. 
 
 600. Richard I., King; of England. 
 
 601. Robert de Ros. 
 
 602. Geoffrey de Say. 
 , Sheriffs of London, 
 
 604. Stephen, King of England, 
 
 605. Inn of the Knights-Templars. 
 
 606. George Ferrers TonTishend, Marquess To^TILHhenrI. 
 
 607. Robert de Verc, Earl of Oxford. 
 
 608. Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 609. Bishopric of Bath and Wells. 
 
 610. William I., King of England. 
 
 611. Bishopric of Worcester. 
 
 612. Arms of the Family of Walmsley of Preston, LEincashiri, Gules, on 1 
 ermine, two hurts, 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Dedication 'ii 
 
 Fr^ace v-viii 
 
 Descriptive List qf the Embellishments ix-xv 
 
 Arrangement of the Heraldry inserted in the borders xv-xxxi 
 
 Table of Contents xxxii 
 
 Essay on Magna Charta I -48 
 
 Articles of the Great Charter : A. D. 1215 49 
 
 Magna Charta Regis Johannis : Jun. xv. A. D. M.CCXV 62-100 
 
 The Great Charter of King John : 16th June, A.D. 1215 6;M01 
 
 Covevunt between King John and the Barons: A. D. 1215 102 
 
 First Great Charter of King Henry TIL, V2ih Nov. A.D. J216.. 105 
 The King's Letter extending its liberties to Ireland, 6th Feb. 
 
 1217 116 
 
 Second Great Charter of King Henry IIL A.D. 1217 118 
 
 Third Great Charter of King Henry JIL : Wth Feb. 1224-25... . 131 
 
 Notice of his Fourth Charter 144 
 
 First Great Charter of King Edward I.: i2th Oct. 1297 145 
 
 Explanatory Notes on the foregoing Charters of Liberties 159-328 
 
 Memoirs of the Twenty -five Securities, and other Barons 
 
 connected with the Great Charter of King John 270-321 
 
 First Forest Charter of King Henry III. : Qth Nov. 1217 329 
 
 Explanatory Notes on the Charters of the Forests 3A7 
 
 Confrmation Charter of King Edward I. : 5th Nov. 1 297. . 369 
 
 Last Confirmation of the Charters of Liberties by King Edward 
 
 I. : Uth Feb. 1300-1301 374 
 
 Explanatory Notes on the Co'<if.rmation Charters 376 
 
 Historical and Descriptive Account of the principal Manuscript 
 
 and printed copies (f the English Charters, fyc 394 
 
 Memoir of John, King of England 461 
 
 Memoir of Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury 497 
 
 Additional Notes and Illustrations 504-564 
 
 /. Biographical Notice of Robert Fitz-Walter, Baron of 
 
 Dunmow 604 
 
 //. of Pope Innocent III. 512 
 
 ///. of Philip II. King of France 515 
 
 jp'_ of Cardinal Pandulphus 520 
 
 r. ~ of Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent.. 521 
 
 yi. Account of Runnemede, and other Topographical Notices 
 
 connected with Magr.a Charta 526 
 
 VII. Chronological Table of the stveral Cliartersof Liberties, 
 Writs, Acts of Parliament, and Confirmations, con- 
 nected with the ancier.t Laws of England 523 
 
 VIII. Table of the commencement and termination of the ye'irs 
 
 of King John''s reign 535 
 
 IX. Historical Examination into the supposed death qf King 
 
 John by Poison , b?A 
 
 X. Account of the Interment and Discovery of King John's 
 
 Remains in Worcester Cathedral 548 
 
 Inder ■■ ■ ■ 655 
 
 xxsn 
 
mj'^^^-o^ 
 
 MAGNA CIIARTA. 
 
 session of their oripii 
 
 power was entirely arbitrary, the partiallaT 
 
 HE Norman Conquest 
 in the eleveiilh century, 
 was a principal mdfat il 
 Wow to the libeitRs ot 
 Britain ; for Avhen ^\ il 
 liam the First became 
 Sovereign, there «cre 
 but few of the Enghsli 
 nation left in the pos 
 estates. As that Jloujich s 
 of a 
 
 4.- 
 
 foreign adventurer superseded those which had -^^^^ 
 been instituted by the equity of Edward the Con- ¥^,^ 
 fessor; and these innovations, in the course of tjj^^ 
 *' years, became a source of doubt and anxiety, even i-^ 
 to those on whom William bestowed the possessions 
 which he had wrested from the people of England. 
 Indeed, it required but little penetration to foresee, ;5^^ 
 that the chief who would deprive an inheritor of his MT"" 
 ancient patrimony, to reward a follower or a fa- "-^jc^ 
 vourite, would not hesitate to dispossess even them, ,^^ 
 
L..r-=^^ .#, % 
 
 ESSAY Oti MAGNA CHARTA 
 
 if policy suggested it as conducive to his own in- 
 terest. The " act of time," however, made these 
 Normans and tlieir successors look on themselves 
 as the heredit;iry owners of the estates which 
 William had assigned to them in his newly con- 
 quered territory; and they then became anxious 
 that those possessions should descend to their 
 posterity, not to be alienated by any future cir- 
 cumstance. The code of Saxon laws as formed by 
 King Edward, at once preserved all that was due 
 to the tenant, with the requisite powers for the 
 Lord of the Fee : and to gain the restoration of 
 these statutes under which they might securely 
 hold their property, now became the endeavour of 
 the Anglo-Normans ; and William the First, William 
 Rufus, Henry the First, and Stephen, were all 
 earnestly entreated to grant their renewal. Pro- 
 mises for future performance, or instruments 
 which were never executed, were all that they 
 received in reply to these repeated petitions ; for 
 until the time of King John, the liberties of Eng- 
 land thus continued to fluctuate, and a celebrated 
 historian'' makes the following remarks on the 
 disappointments the Barons met with antecedent 
 to that period. 
 
 "This contest remaining undecided during 
 several reigris, both parties had kept up their re- 
 spective pretensions. Mlien the King was weak, or 
 
 Rapiii's Hist, of England N'ol. I. 
 
 p-Srj, Edit, 1.73?, Fol. 
 
 
 ^2 hMiL 
 
 4 p-'-.:^^.^^^. 
 
in sucli circumstances as permitted him not tb 
 contend, ttie Barons tried to get the liberties of 
 the English restored, and the Prince not knowing 
 what to do better, put them off with fair promises, 
 which he had no design to perform. But, under 
 able Kings, who were in prosperity, the contest 
 was stifled, and the Barons waited for a more fa- 
 vourable opportunity to compass their ends." A 
 Charter for these liberties was, however, issued by 
 Henry the First, about the year 1100, wherein it 
 is declared that the Church shall be free, thatheirs 
 shall receive their possessions unredeemed, that 
 evil customs shall be abolished, and, in fine, relates 
 the greater part of those privileges which the sub- 
 sequent act of King John more securely confirmed. 
 The ascent of that Prince to the Throne of 
 England, in 1199, was a proceeding so extraordi- 
 nary and unprecedented, that it excited the amaze- 
 ment of the whole nation; it is true, his elder 
 brother Geoffrey, had been killed at a Tournament, 
 but his son Arthur was yet living, and should, on 
 the death of King Richard the First, have imme- 
 diately been proclaimed as the next heir to the 
 Crown of England. — The better, however, to se- 
 cure the voice of the English nation on the behalf of 
 John, the friends whom he had engaged to support 
 his cause, promised, in his name, a restoration of 
 those liberties the people so earnestly desired, a 
 confirmation of Henry the First's Charter, and a 
 renewal of the Anglo-Saxon laws, as instituted by 
 
 
 -^ 
 

 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 Edward the Confessor : and these promises, made -f^P 
 at the commencement of a new reign, gave to the <^®t 
 Barons a stronger hope for their performance, ^^' 
 
 than they liad hitherto entertained. But it was 'C' 
 
 not onl)' the succession of their estates that the ; 
 
 Peers of Eng'land desired to secure, it was also ; 
 
 that certain oppressive customs might he abolish- ! 
 
 ed, and more honest regulations instituted in their ; 
 
 stead : the Forest Laws, previous to the conclusion j 
 
 of the Great and Forest Cliarters, were peculiarly 5 
 
 harsh and severe; in the first instance, however, ; 
 
 their adoption was attended with policy, but when j 
 
 the motives which excited them had expired, their ! 
 
 cruel restrictions should also have ceased to exist. ', 
 
 In illustration of these remarks the following pas- ; 
 
 sage has been selected from IMr. Lewis's publica- ■^ 
 
 tion on the Laws and Customs of Forests.'* i 
 
 "In those times," says he, speaking of their ; 
 
 regidations as being contemporary with the Feudal ; 
 
 System, "when a conqueror settled the economy ; 
 
 of a country which he had previously vanquished, ; 
 
 it behoved him, in order to secure his new ac- ; 
 
 quisition, to keep the natives of the country, (who ' 
 
 were not his military tenants,) in as humble a ; 
 
 condition as possible ; and more especially to re- ; 
 
 strain them from the use of arms ; and as nothing ; 
 
 could do this so effectually as a prohibition of i 
 
 bunting and shooting, it became a matter of policy ; 
 
 ^ Historical Inquiry concerning; Forests, &c. p. 3 — 4. 
 
 
 il^^ 
 
 ^=1^ 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CTURTA. 
 
 to reserve this rigfht to himself, or to those of his 
 capital feudatories, (the crreater Barons,) on whom 
 he thought proper to bestow it." On this accoimt 
 these laws were both instituted and exerted with 
 much cruelty; but in Canute's Charter, granted 
 at Winchester, in the year 1016, many of the 
 offences committed both on the Vert and V'enison, 
 were to be redeemed by fines, and this restriction 
 extended only to the Royal Forests. Tlie succeed- 
 ing century produced a terrible alteration in these 
 statutes ; Beasts of Venery were then considered 
 to belong solely to the King, and the right of 
 taking them to be vested only in him ; and while 
 the Norman government carried these regulations 
 to their greatest extent, a M'ide range of country 
 was appropriated for the chace by the command 
 of William the First, which was then denominated 
 the New Forest. "Within these limits," says 
 Lewis, in the work before cited, ^ " and under the 
 colour of Forest Law, the most horrid tyrannies 
 and oppressions were exercised; the penalties at- 
 tached to the destroying a beast within the bounds 
 of a Forest, were made almost as severe as taking 
 away the life of a human being. These principles, 
 if we credit the assertion of Matthew Paris, seem 
 to have influenced the mind of John more than 
 that of any other monarch,'' for his interdict touch- 
 
 » Ih. p. 6. 
 •^ MaUliew of Westminster, lio-.vevcr, remarks of William 
 tlie First, "that if men disabled a wild beast, tliey were dis- 
 
 
 '■<£■- 
 
 '-^"^ 
 
ESSAY ON M\GN\ CIIAKTA 
 
 ing the chace, extended to the winged, as well 
 I as to the four-footed creation." It is not sur- 
 prising, that from laws such as these, the people 
 of England should contend as earnestly for lihera- 
 tion, as from the other oppressions of the Feudal 
 System ; and John would have been as reluctant to 
 confirm the Charter of Forests, as he was to ratify 
 the Charter of Liberties, but the former instru- 
 ment was at length granted in the ninth year of 
 his successor. King Henry the Third. 
 
 Magna Charta first mentions the abolition of 
 these oppressive statutes; as in Chapter LVI. it 
 is thus enacted: "All evil customs concerning 
 Forests, WarrenS, and Foresters ; Warreners, 
 Sheriffs, and their Officers ; Rivers and tlieir 
 Keepers ; shall forthwith be enquired into in each 
 County, by twelve Knights of the Sliire, chosen by 
 the most creditable persons in the same County, 
 and upon oath, and within forty days after the 
 said inquest, be utterly abolished, so as never 
 more to he restored." But perhaps the most 
 effectual law for the repeal of these statutes, is 
 contained in the X. Cliapter of King Henry's 
 Forest Charter, wherein the evil customs alluded 
 to are more jiarticularly explained. "No man, 
 for the time to come, shall lose life or limb for 
 taking our venison ; but if any one shall be seized 
 
 possossed and imprisoned ;" and in anotlier place, " if it were 
 a stag, abuck, or a boar, tliey were deprived ol' tbeir eves.' 
 Flores Ilistoriarium, Loud. 1570, Fol. p. 9. 11. 
 
 -^ifi^gj^ 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CIIARTA. 
 
 51 
 
 't] and convicted of taking venison, he shall be grie- 
 
 (/ vously fined, if he hath wherewithal to j)ay; and 
 
 a if he hath not, he shall lie in our prison a year 
 
 '>?' and a day. And after that, if he can find sureties 
 
 he shall be released; if not, he shall abjure our 
 
 realm of England." 
 
 But although these clauses, in the Magna 
 Cliarta and the Charta Foresta, seem intended 
 only to condemn and render void such Forest-laws 
 as were of destructive influence ; yet Sir William 
 Blackstone'^ observes, that the Archbishops of 
 Canterbury and Dublin, with the Bishops, sup- 
 posing that the very being of the Forests was en- 
 dangered by it, made protestation, that the Mords 
 of the Charter signified, that such customs as 
 tended to the preservation of the Forests should 
 not be abolished. This Protest is recorded in the 
 Tower of London,'' and in substance is as follows : 
 "To all the faithful in CIn'ist to whom the 
 present letters shall come ; — Stephen, by the Grace 
 of God, Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all 
 England, and Cardinal of the holy Roman Church, 
 and Henry, by same Grace Archbishop of Dublin, 
 William also of London, Peter of Winchester, 
 Jocelyn of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lin- 
 coln, Walter of Worcester, and William of Co- 
 ventry, Bishops, by the same Grace of the Lord, 
 
 ■' Inhoduction to the Eiiglisli Cliarlers 
 Oxford, 1739. Quarto. 
 
 •i Claus. 17 Joli. m. '27. d. 
 
 xx.i. Edit. 
 
 
ESSAY ON MAG>fA CHARTA. 
 
 Salutation in the Lord. By our Lord the King 
 hath been granted, and by his Charter it has it 
 been confirmed, that all evil customs of Forests 
 and Foresters and their Servitors, should presently 
 he enquired into in each County, by twelve sworn 
 Knights of the same County, who ought to be 
 elected by true men of the same County, and 
 within forty days after such enquiry hath been 
 made, they shall be destroyed so as never to be 
 recalled within the same ; nevertheless, upon con- 
 dition that our Lord the King shall previously know 
 of this. To all You be it known, that We will 
 that even this article shall be understood on both 
 parts as limited ; and expressing that all those 
 customs shall remain, without which the Forests 
 cannot be preserved : And this these present let- 
 ters do protest." 
 
 Another privilege which the people, or rather 
 the Clei'gy, of England earnestly desired, was the 
 freedom of the Church from several restraints by 
 which it was confined ; these restraints were how- 
 ever trifling, in comparison with those which 
 formed the principal ground-work of the Baron's 
 demands. Li several instances, King John had 
 imposed a heavy fine upon his Ecclesiastics as well 
 as his Peers; the Crown had also an important 
 vote in the election of Archbishops, and time had 
 overshadowed some of the liberties which the 
 Church had previously possessed ; hence Magna 
 Charta restored these, but granted none addi- 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 tional. Lord Coke, in liis Second Institute, ^^ 
 when commenting- on this instrument, thus re- 
 marks concerning it's clerical privileges: "All 
 ecclesiastical persons within the realm, their pos- 
 sessions and goods, shall be free from all unjust 
 exactions and oppressions, but, notwithstanding, 
 should yield all lawful duties cither to the King or 
 to any of his subjects, so as libera (free) here, is 
 taken for tiberata (set free), for, as hath been said, 
 this charter is declaratory of the ancient law and 
 liberty of England, and therefore no new freedom 
 is hereby granted, (to be discharged of lawful 
 tenures, services, rents, and aids), but a repetition 
 of such as lawfully they had before, and to free 
 them of that which had been usurped and en- 
 croaclied upon them by any power whatsoever." 
 These grants occupy the first chapter of Magna 
 Charta. 
 
 Such, then, were the principal liberties for 
 which Langton, Fitzwalter, and their respective 
 supporters, contended; and here, it may be ob- 
 served, that the forcible simplicity of this Charter 
 has never been exceeded, any more than the pri- 
 vileges it confirms have ever been surpassed. 
 After having thus stated the grounds on which 
 Magna Charta was demanded, it remains to point 
 out the methods by which it was finally gained 
 and confirmed. Although the Charter of King 
 Henry the First, as Matthew Paris relates, was 
 
 Instit. 2d Part. Edit. 1642, p. 
 
 Note. 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 sent in the year 1100 to all the English Counties, 
 and deposited in all the principal Monasteries ; 
 yet, in little more than a century afterwards, it 
 was so rare that a single copy of that instrument 
 could scarcely be found. King John professed 
 himself unacquainted with it's contents, hut the 
 whole Kingdom was rejoiced to find a precedent 
 on which they might found a new Charter. 
 
 In the year 1213,'' a war was pending between 
 England and France, when Philip the Second was 
 preparing, with a great naval expedition, to invade 
 the dominions of King John. This fleet, however, 
 was almost wholly destroyed by his firm friend 
 WiUiam Longesp6e, Earl of Salisbury ; and, elated 
 by this success, John was about to extend his 
 conquests into France, when the Barons refused to 
 attend him, as he was an excommunicated man, 
 and his Kingdom was under the dreadful influence 
 of Innocent's Interdict. This curse had then for 
 near six years overspread the whole nation, during 
 which time England resembled a vast city, where 
 
 ^ In this year tlie Barons became so powerful, aud John 
 was so destitute of other aid, that lie -seems to have been 
 almost driven to desperation; for Mattliew Paris relates, 
 that he sent Thomas de Erdiutou and Ralph Fitz-Nicholas 
 to Murmelius, King of Africa and Spain, with an offer of the 
 Kingdom of England to be held as tributary from him, and to 
 state that he would apostatise from Christianity and embrace 
 the faith of Mahomet, so that aid might be given him against 
 his disloyal subjects. 
 
^^?^ 
 
 ESSAY ON MAGXA CllVRTA. 
 
 the dead received no burial, Relig-ion had no mi- 
 nisters, a!id the people no God. Such a state 
 could not lona^ he endured, and John was never 
 peculiarly famed for fortitude; he therefore re- 
 called the Ecclesiastics he had formerly hanished, 
 and meeting them at AVinchester, he besought 
 them, with streaming eyes and bended knees, to 
 have pity upon him. After they had proceeded to 
 the Chapter-house of that City, Stephen Langton, 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the King ab- 
 solution from his Excommunication, who, holding 
 the book of the Gospels, took the following Oath 
 administered to him by the Prelate:" "'That he 
 woidd diligently defend the ordinances of the Holy 
 Church, and that his hand shoidd be against all 
 her enemies : that the good laws of his ancestors, 
 and especially those of King Edward the Con- 
 fessor, shoidd he recalled, and evil ones destroyed ; 
 and that his subjects should receive justice accord- 
 ing to the upright decrees of his Courts. He 
 likewise swore, that all Corporations and private 
 persons whom the Interdict had damaged, should 
 receive a fidl restitution of all which had been 
 taken away, before the time of the approaching 
 Easter, if his Sentence of Excommunication were 
 first removed. He swore, moreover, fidelity and 
 obedience to Pope Innocent and his Cathohc suc- 
 cessors, and that he woidd give them that su- 
 periority which was already contained in ^vriting." 
 
 »Matth. Paiis, Hist. Maj. Edit. Paris, 1644, p. 166, Folio. 
 
Thus was John freed from the ecclesiastical i 
 outlawry under which he had so long' lived ; hut 
 the Interdict which darkened his King'dom was not 
 removed until the year 1214, when Nicolas, Bishop 
 of Tusculum, the Papal Legate, relaxed it's rigours 
 at London on the twenty-ninth day of June. Both 
 the King and his Realm were then in a compara- 
 tively prosperous state to that which had for some 
 years existed ; hut with tliese terrors vanished 
 all the promises of John, he deemed the night of 
 his misfortunes past, that Innocent would be his 
 support, and that his Barons would now cease to 
 contend for the liberties of Magna Charta. This 
 hope was as futile as it was deceitful; the Barons 
 finding that John was only temporising with them, 
 convened a general assembly of the Peers and Ec- 
 clesiastics at Saint Paul's, when Langton, the 
 Archbishop, stood up and addressed the convoca- 
 tion in these terms:'' " Ye have heard, when at 
 Winchester, before the King was absolved, I com- 
 pelled him to swear that the existing evil statutes 
 should be destroyed, and that more salutary laws, 
 namely, those of King Edward the Confessor, 
 should be observed by the whole kingdom. In 
 support of these things are ye now convened ; and 
 I here disclose to you a newly-discovered Charter 
 of King Henry the First of England, the which if 
 ye are willing to support, your long-lost liberties 
 may be restored in all their original purity of 
 
 » Matt. Paris, Hist. Maj Edit Ihid p 175. 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 i character." ThePrelate then proceeded to read the 
 Charter with a loud voice, which so animated the 
 ^ minds of all present, that with the greatest sin- 
 cerity and joy they swore in the Archbishop's 
 presence, that at a proper season their deeds should 
 avouch what they had then declared, and that even 
 to death itself they would defend those liberties. 
 Langton, on the other hand, promised his most 
 faithful assistance in the execution of their ardu- 
 ous undertaking, and at the same time assured 
 them, that the Covenant then made, would reflect 
 honour on their names through successive genera- 
 tions. This, then, was the conclusion of the first 
 meeting for securing the King's consent to the 
 Magna Charta ; from the decisions of which none 
 of that assembly for a moment withdrew their 
 support, until the object which they had so long 
 sought was obtained, and the liberties which pre- 
 ceding Kings refused to grant, were entirely and 
 wholly theirs. But before such a conclusion put 
 the seal of certainty upon the endeavours of the 
 English Barons, many were the difficulties they 
 had to encounter, as well from the unwillingness 
 of the King, as from those of his friends who sup- 
 ported him against them. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding this relation, which is 
 derived from the History of King John, as written 
 by Matthew Paris, Sir William Blackstone seems 
 rather inclined to attribute the discontent of the 
 Barons to some cause unconnected with their 
 

 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA 
 
 liberties ; and indeed, the various historians of 
 
 ;S that eventful period, assign wholly different rea- 
 
 p sons for their conduct: the -words, however, of 
 
 '^■^f that celebrated judicial commentator are of too 
 
 great importance to be omitted here. 
 
 " It must be acknowledged," says Blackstone, 
 in his Introduction to the English Chartae, "that 
 very many of the articles, contained in the Charter 
 of King Henry the First, were in substance after- 
 wards repeated in that of King John, as will ap- 
 pear by a comparison of the latter in the present 
 edition, with the former as inserted in the notes. ^ 
 Yet it cannot but seem very extraordinary, that 
 since Matthew Paris himself informs us, that 
 copies of King Henry the First's Charter were 
 sent (A. D. 1100.) to aUthe Counties in England, 
 and deposited in the principal Monasteries ; since 
 the same were expressly confirmed by his grandson. 
 King Henry the Second, as appears from his Char- 
 ter; and since the laws of King' Henry the First 
 were commanded to be observed by King John's 
 own authority, on the 4th of August ; this Charter 
 should notwithstanding have been so totally for- 
 gotten by all the Prelates and Barons assembled 
 at St. Paul's within three weeks afterwards, that 
 it's discovery by the Archbishop should be a matter 
 of such novelty and triumph: nay, that the King 
 
 * The comparisoQ may also lie made by a reference to tbe 
 TrauslatioQS attached to Ibis Essay. — Vide Magna Cbarta and 
 Notes. 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA 
 
 himself, at Easter 1215, should want information 
 what those lawe and liberties were, that were 
 then so earnestly demanded of him. Nor, indeed, 
 if this charter was thus uppermost in the minds 
 of the Barons, can we at all account for their 
 forgetfulness at the Congress of Runningmede ; 
 the name of King Henry the First not once oc- 
 curring in the Capitula, or rough draught, of the 
 Great Charter, nor even in the Charter itself. It 
 is possible however, thatthough the circumstances 
 with which it is embellished are very suspicious 
 and improbable, yet the story itself may have so 
 far a foundation in truth, that the recollection and 
 remembrance of the Charters, which the King's 
 predecessors had granted, might suggest to the 
 Prelates and Barons the propriety of demanding 
 another; and therefore might teach them the 
 greater expedience of having the liberties they 
 claimed openly set down in writing, than of rely- 
 ing on the general terms of the oath which the 
 King had just taken at Winchester.'' 
 
 "For it is agreed by all our Historians, that 
 the Great Charter of King John was for the most 
 part compiled from the ancient customs of the 
 Realm, or the Laws of King Edward the Confessor ; 
 by which they usually mean the old Common Law, 
 which was established under our Saxon Princes, 
 before the rigors of fcedal tenure and other hard- 
 ships were imported from the continent by the 
 of the Norman line. But the immediate 
 
 Kings 
 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 If occasion of demanding' a restitution and confirma- ' 
 tion of these liberties, at this particular time, is 
 somewhat difficult to be certainly known. Matthew J 
 Paris, we see, attributes it to the sudden discovery 
 of the long-lost Charter of King Henry the First. 
 Knyghton, Hemingford, and Robert of Gloucester, 
 agree in asserting, that the King's inordinate de- 
 bauchery was the cause of these civil dissensions ; 
 and the two former have given us a particular 
 account of the plot laid by the King to vitiate the 
 wife of Eustace de Vesci, a principal Baron of 
 those times, who thereupon (it is said) stirred up 
 the other Barons to assert their liberties by force 
 of arms." And this receives some countenance, 
 not only from the testimony of a contemporary 
 writer, who informs us that the King had caused 
 that nobleman and Robert Fitzwalter to be out- 
 lawed, had seized theirlands, and had demolished 
 their castles ; but also from a mandate which was 
 sent by Pope Innocent the Third to Eustace de 
 Vesci, 5th November, 1214, and is preserved in 
 Rymer's Foedera, requiring him to cease from 
 troubling the King by any farther confederacies 
 or conspiracies against him, since the differences 
 between the kingdom and the priesthood were now 
 providentially allayed. But the Annals of Waverley 
 (which are also apparently contemporary with these 
 
 •^ Henry dc Knighton was an Historiau of the time of 
 Richard II,, and has recorded the ahove circumstance in 
 his work of the Events of England: an abstract of it will 
 be found on pag-e291 of the present volume. 
 
 ws^-^-^.^^^ 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA, 
 
 tumults), besides the oppression and incontinence 
 of the King- himself, ascribe the an^^er of the 
 Barons to the ill use which Peter, Bisliop of Win- 
 chester, who, in 1213, was constituted Chief Jus- 
 ticiary, made of bis newlj'-acquired jiower, during 
 the absence of King- John in France. And this 
 appears the more probable, because the nobility 
 were from the first extremely disgusted at his 
 promotion, taking it very ill that a foreigner should 
 be preferred above them all ; and because in the 
 Great Charter we find the poner of the Chief 
 Justiciary considerably curbed in many instances, 
 and a strong inuendo given, that the officers of 
 justice had been deficient in the knowledge, or at 
 least in the observance, of the laws of the land. 
 Possibly, indeed, these motives did all of them 
 concur to animate the conduct of the discontented 
 Barons : domestic injuries received from the King 
 in person, coupled with some gross acts of national 
 oppression by his minister, might whet their pri- 
 vate resentment, as well as rouse their public 
 spirit, to demand a new security against such 
 tyrannical proceedings for the future."^ 
 
 The preceding remarks of Sir William Black- 
 stone, point at another cause for the demands of 
 the English Peers; but however this might be, 
 the liberties of Magna Charta formed the only 
 ostensible motive under which they continued to 
 act. Tlie Baron/ thus united in themselves, but 
 
 ^ Blackst. Introd. p. iv — ix. 
 
 Sg''^;^-' 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 Idividetl from their Sovereign, gave to Innocent 
 the ojjportunity of renewing his demands uponp 
 
 jJohn, wlio, as his tributary, sent to him foi; 
 assistance against them ; and it was then thit 
 Nicolas, Bishop of Tuscuhim, came over to relax 
 the interdict, and secure the Pope's sovereignty 
 in England, by receiving an additional act of sub- 
 mission from the King. Until this act was per- 
 formed, and a new resignation sent to Rome, it 
 was vain to expect any aid from Innocent ; yet 
 even when all the Legate's demands were con- 
 ceded, and the Barons perceived their alliance 
 was discovered. Innocent refrained from inter- 
 fering until they should be more inclined to sub- 
 mit to his authority. 
 
 At John's first resignation of the Crown, Car- 
 dinal Pandulphus addressed the King in the most 
 haughty and degrading terms : and as the cere- 
 monial of that proceeding was at once the founda- 
 tion and precedent for the second demand, a 
 translation of the Deed by which England was 
 originally consigned to the Pope, and the words 
 then spoken by the Sovereign, are here inserted 
 from Holinshed's Chronicles ofthe English Nation.* 
 "The Charter of King John, his submission, 
 as it was conueied to the Pope at Rome. 
 
 "John, by the grace of God, King of England, 
 to all the faithful in Christ who shall see this 
 Charter, Salutationin the Lord. To all you, by this 
 
 » Cliion. Folio, Vol. II. p, 177. Edit. Loud. ] j86. 
 
 ^^3. <^5§?t,a^| 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 Charter secured by our Seal, we will it be noted! 
 that with God and our holy Mother Church, we' 
 have in many things offended, and are therefoie 
 unworthy of the very great divine mercies ; noi 
 could we worthily have offered tliat satisfaction to 
 God and the Church which is appointed to be 
 made, unless we ourselves had abased us, and 
 with our Kingdom had willingly humiliated us ; 
 for he that humbled himself to death for us, shall 
 inspire us with the grace of his holy spirit : there- 
 fore, not by the violence of command, neither by 
 the compulsion of fear, but of our voluntary act, 
 as conferred of in the Common Council of our 
 Barons, we have freely given unto God, and his 
 holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and our Mother the 
 Holy Church of Rome, and our Lord Pope Inno- 
 cent, with his catholic successors, the whole 
 Kingdom of England and the whole Ivingdom of 
 Ireland, with all the rights and extents of them, 
 for the remission of all our sins and all tliose of 
 our sons, as well for the living as the dead, and 
 therefore, henceforth, from him and the Church 
 of Rome, we do as it were, secondarily, receive 
 and hold them, in the presence of the learned 
 Pandulphus, our Lord the Pope's Subdeacon and 
 familiar friend. 
 
 "From this time to our Lord the aforesaid 
 Pope Innocent and his catholic successors, and the 
 Church of Rome, we have made and sworn to the 
 underwritten form and league of Homage in the 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 presence ofT*andulphus, and have made the sameH' 
 as if we were in tlie especial presence of our Lord 
 the Pope : We also engage that our successors and ' 
 the heirs of our marriage perpetually, shall give 
 in the same manner as we, a like sum to the 
 Pontiff for the time being, and to the Church of 
 Rome, and shall without contradiction faithfully 
 pay the debt, and recognise the homage. 
 
 "And also in token of this our perpetual en- 
 gagement and concession, being willing and sted- 
 fast, as well as of our proper and special delivery 
 of our aforesaid kingdoms, for all service and 
 custom, saving always the blessed Peter-pence, 
 there shall be made owing- to the Church of Rome 
 a thousand marks sterling, which shall be taken 
 annually ; that is to say, at the feast of Saint 
 Michael five hundred marks, and at Easter five 
 hundred : namely, seven hundred for the Realm 
 of England, and three hundred for the Kingdom 
 of Ireland, saving Us, our Heirs, Justices, Liber- 
 ties, and our Royalties. 
 
 "All which, such as it is before written, are to 
 be willingly and constantly rated; and we do engage 
 for us and our successors, to act contrary in no- 
 thing: and if we, or any of our successors, who- 
 ever he may be, presume to attempt any thing 
 against this, he shall, unless he formally repent, 
 fall from his right in the Kingdom. 
 
 "And this our Charter of obligation and con- 
 cession, shall always remain permanent. Witness 
 
 &m^^. 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHART \ 
 
 ;jmyself at the house of the Knights Temphrs neir to 
 [Dover, before Henry, Archbishop otDubbn, John t 
 I Bishop of Norwich ; Walter Fitz Petei , Wilbam, 
 Earl of Salisbury; William, Eail ot Pembioke, 
 Reg-inald, Count of Boulogne ; William, Earl of 
 Warren ; Saher, Earl of Winchester ; William, 
 Earl of Arundel ; William, Earl of Ferrars ; Wil- 
 liam Briwere ; Peter Fitz-Herbert, and Warren 
 Fitz-Gerald, the fifteenth day of May, and the 
 fourteenth year of our reign. " 
 
 "This deed and instrument being written and 
 ingrossed, the King deliuered it vnto Pandulph, 
 to take with him to Rome, there to make deliuerie 
 thereof to Pope Innocent, and herewith did ho- 
 mage to the same Pope, in forme as foUoweth. 
 
 "The wordes of fealtie made by King John to 
 the Pope : 
 
 "John, by the Grace of God King of England, 
 and Lord of Ireland, from this houre forward, shall 
 be faithfull to God and to Saint Peter, and to the 
 Church of Rome , and to my Lord Pope Innocentitis , 
 and to his successours lawfully entring. I shall 
 not be in word nor deed, in consent or counsell, 
 that they should lose life or member, or be ap- 
 prehended in euill manner. Their losse, if I maye 
 know it, I shall impeach and stale soe far as I 
 shal be able, or else soe shortlie as I can I shall 
 signifie vnto them, or declare to such person the 
 which I shall beleeue will declare the same vnto 
 them. The counsell which they shall commit to 
 
 ?s3^! 
 
fCh4^;SC 
 
 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 me by themselues, their messengers, or letters, I 
 shall keepe secret, and not vtter to any man to 
 their hurt to my knowledge. The patrimonie of 
 S. Peter and speciallie the Kingdomes of England 
 and Ireland, I shall indeavour my selfe to defend 
 against all men to my power. So helpe me God, 
 and these holie euangelists. Araen. These things 
 were done on the eeue of the Ascension of our 
 Lord, in the year 1213." 
 
 The second resignation of England took place 
 at Westminster, hefore the Peers and Ecclesiastics, 
 when a new instrument of concession was draiN'n 
 up and sealed with gold, instead of wax, like the 
 former, in order to give additional value to it's 
 authority. — The character of Langton here shews 
 in a beautifvil light ; his mind was so much affected 
 by beholding the Kingdom yielded a second time 
 into the hands of a capricious priest, and seeing it 
 would militate considerably against the liberties 
 he wished to secure, that, in the presence of all, 
 he declared his solemn protest against these pro- 
 ceedings, and laid that protestation on the altar 
 before them. Cardinal Pandidph de Masca, after 
 this formal resignation, immediately departed to 
 Rome with the assignment, where, influenced by 
 the then prevailing spirit of ecclesiastical party, 
 he pronounced John " the most pious of princes," 
 but designated Langton and the lords as tumul- 
 tuous, dissatisfied, and factious individuals. Spi- 
 ritual artillery appears to have been the only force 
 
 £^^ 
 
 X 
 
^'Z^ 
 ^^••> 
 
 with wliicli Innocent assisted John; but he in- 
 deed, issued those excommunications which a 
 breath decreed or removed, and suspended from 
 office tliose ecclesiastics wlio continued refractory 
 to tlie King's commands. 
 
 The year 1214 continued to pass away without 
 any appearance of the liberties of Magna Charta 
 being instituted, or King Edward's laws being re- 
 called ; but about the month of November, or, as 
 some authors have supposed, on the 20th, Saint 
 Edmunds-day, a second meeting of the Peers and 
 Clergy took place at Saint Edmund's Bury, to 
 take into consideration the most effective methods 
 for the obtaining of their demands. This con- 
 vocation being made under pretence of devotion, 
 but little suspicion could be excited of it's real 
 purposes. Before the Barons was laid the Charter 
 for ^1'hich they contended, whilst Langton stood 
 behind the high altar in the midst of the assembly, 
 to receive their protestations, and to give to their 
 proceedings all the sanction which ceremonial 
 services could impart. It was then, irritated by 
 the unexpected delay which they had found, with 
 their actions calling on the Prelate to witness their 
 oaths, and their voices entreating Heaven to con- 
 firm them, the Barons of England swore to support 
 the Charter of Liberties in these terms. That the 
 King shovdd immediately grant and confirm the 
 said laws and liberties, by a Charter under his 
 seal, or that they would withdraw themselves from 
 
l.^ 
 
 I^^' 
 
 ■ "OjV 
 
 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 rfs-- 
 
 his fealty, until they should gain the satisfaction/ 
 >. they desired. "And at leng'th it was agreed," 
 continues Matthew Paris, ^ " that after the Nativity 
 of our Lord, they should come to the King; in a ' 
 hody, to desire a confirmation of the liberties 
 before-mentioned. And that in the mean time 
 they were to proyide themselves with horses and 
 arms in the like manner ; — that if the King should 
 perchance break through that which he had spe- 
 cially sworn (which they well believed), and recoil 
 by reason of his duplicity, they would instantly, 
 by capturing his castles, compel him to give them 
 satisfaction." 
 
 Tlie impatient and ardent dispositions of the 
 Barons inflamed by these meetings, kept them but 
 too well to their engagements ; for in the com- 
 mencement of the following year, 1215, and at 
 the feast of the Epiphany, their armed bands ap- 
 peared before King John: — but the historian'' of 
 that period will best relate the circumstances. 
 
 "The demand for the Liberties of England 
 made by the Barons. 
 
 " Li the year of grace one thousand two 
 hundred and fifteen, which is the seventeenth 
 year of ICing John ; the same King held his court, 
 from the Birth of our Lord, at Worcester, the 
 space of one day. From thence he came with 
 all haste to London, and was received at the New 
 
 Ilisl. Major, p. 176. 
 
 >> lb. 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 ^i Temple Inn. Here, then, came to the King- the 
 aforesaid great Barons, in a very resolute manner, 
 with their military dresses and weapons, almost 
 demanding- the liberties and laws of King Edward, 
 with others for themselves, the Kingdom, and the 
 Church of England; to he granted and confirmed 
 according to the Charter of King Henry the First, 
 contained in the before-mentioned writing. They 
 asserted, moreover, that at the time of his absolu- 
 tion at Winchester, those ancient laws and liberties 
 were promised, and that he was obliged to observe 
 them by a special oath. But the King hearing 
 that the Barons were so resolute in their demands, 
 was much concerned at their impetuosity : when he 
 saw that they were furnished for battle, he replied, 
 that it was a great and difficult thing which they 
 asked, from which he required a respite until after 
 Easter, that he might have space for consideration ; 
 and if it were in the power of himself or the dignity 
 of his crown, they should receive satisfaction. But 
 at length, after many proposals, the King un- 
 willingly consented that the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, the Bishop of Ely, and William Marshal, 
 should be made sureties ; and that by reason of 
 their intercession, on the day fixed he would 
 satisfy all." 
 
 A certain period was thus assigned when the 
 civil contentions between the King and his subjects 
 should be finally terminated : when the former 
 should restore that which time only had abrogated, 
 
 ..^S^ 
 
and tlie latter should receive that for M'liich they 4) 
 so feryently contended ; and for the due perform- j-a " 
 ance of this engag-ement the Kina^, as already ^ 
 mentioned, gave three securities. But John, 
 during the period yet allowed him, endeavoured, 
 by various means, to fortify himself against the 
 conclusion so long procrastinated. He caused the 
 Oath of Allegiance to be again administered to all 
 his suljjects, received the acts of homage from his 
 own peculiar vassals, assumed the Cross in order 
 to shelter himself beneath the Ecclesiastics' pro- 
 tection, and finally, the better to secure their 
 concurrence, yielded a part of those liberties for 
 which they contended in the Magna Charta. 
 Notwithstanding all these precautions, tins King, 
 it cannot he denied, was peculiarly unfortunate in 
 the dependence be placed upon his friends, or 
 rather those whom he endeavoured to conciliate ; 
 as they were frequently unable, or else became 
 unwilling to render him any assistance. This 
 was the case in the present instance : Easter ar- 
 rived, and the impetuous Barons a])peared with a 
 powerful army at the town of Stamford in Lin- 
 colnshire, to receive John's ratification of his 
 promise. Tlie King was, however, awaiting their 
 coming at Oxford, from whence, upon receiving- 
 an account of their numbers and situation, he did 
 not remove to attend the conference, but deputed 
 William Marshal Earl of Pembroke, and, as 
 Matthew Paris adds, the Archbishop of Canter- 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
bury, two of his seciirities, to go to Stamford 
 ii])on his behaK, and to demand a fartlier account 
 of tliose laws and liberties wliich were so earnestly 
 desired. This was only again reciting what was 
 already " a twice told tale ;" a scliedule of the 
 requests was however delivered to tlie royal mes- 
 sengers, with the assurance, that if tlie King stiU 
 refused to confirm tliem, the Peers were resolved 
 at once to break through aU the ties which had 
 hitherto withheld them, and force his lingering 
 consent by seizing upon his fortresses. John con- 
 ceiving he had now a fair opportunity to resent 
 their factious conduct, was thrown into the most 
 violent agitation by this answer, and with a 
 passionate oath declared, tliat it was their wish to 
 deprive him of his Kingdom, but that his consent 
 should never be yielded to liberties which would 
 involve his prerogative in slavery. 
 
 The Barons were well aware, by such a reply, 
 that time would effect but little in their behalf, 
 and that force alone could prosper their faultering 
 cause ; accordingly they prepared to execute those 
 resolutions which their message to John had al- 
 ready premised. In pursuance of these intentions 
 they elected Robert Fitzwalter, Baron of Dunmow, 
 their leader, imder the title of "Marshal of Gad 
 and the Holy Church," and by his direction laid 
 seige to the Castle of Northampton. Here, how- 
 ever, meeting witli no success, the Baronial Army 
 withdrew to Bedford, where the Castle was yielded 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 to them by William de Beauchamp, it's owner. 
 Wliile the Barons were thus openly proceeding, a 
 secret plan of operation was also carrying on with 
 the principal inhabitants of London, who had 
 agreed to deliver up to them one of the gates of 
 the City : accordingly, by means of rapid marches, 
 they arrived at London on May the 24th, and 
 about day-break entered the City at Aldgate. 
 Although King John had secured himself in the 
 Tower, yet so well were these movements con- 
 ducted, that he remained wholly ignorant of them, 
 and of the Barons' intentions to besiege that for- 
 tress ; but the advantages they had now gained 
 were too material to deter them from incurring 
 any hazard to assist their cause. Tlie whole voice, 
 however, of the British Peers was not comprised 
 in the Baronial Army ; for some of them had yet 
 retained their allegiance to King John, and others 
 again had remained entirely neuter; the better, 
 therefore, to draw these over to the general in- 
 terest, while preparations were making for the 
 seige, circvilar letters were sent demanding their 
 assistance against the King, or assuring them of 
 the heaviest vengeance on their estates and castles. 
 Such menaces were not in vain ; for the neutral 
 Peers joined the Baronial Army, some of John's 
 firmest friends left his cause as hopeless, and the 
 King himself sent the Earl of Pembroke as a mes- 
 senger to his Peers, to declare his readiness to 
 ccede to their demands. Tlius, notwithstanding 
 
all that John had undergone to oppose tlie designs 
 of his Barons, he at length found himself forced 
 to yield upon their own terms ; hut all other en- 
 deavours were vain, and an early period was as- 
 signed for the conclusion and ratification of the 
 Great Charter. 
 
 Between Staines and Windsor is a large tract 
 of Meadow land, where tliis meeting between the 
 King and his Peers was appointed to be held : a 
 stream which flowed through it gave to it the name 
 of Running-Mead, or Runnemede, hut the same 
 spot also bore the name of Council-Meadow, 
 because in former times it was devoted to such 
 purposes. Here, then, on the 5th of June, ap- 
 peared the conflicting parties : and while John was 
 attended with but few supporters, the Barons were 
 followed by such vast midtitudes, tliat had tlie 
 King again endeavoured to retract, the attempt 
 would have proved as unavailing as it would have 
 been deceitful. An opportunity so favourable 
 seems to have encreased the demands of the Peers ; 
 but while John appeared willing to concede them 
 all, he at the same time considered that the more 
 extensive these were, the less blame could be at- 
 tributed to him when he should think proper to 
 withdraw from a covenant made under such cir- 
 cumstances. The Great Seal of England was then 
 appended to Magna Charta, which was likewise 
 confirmed by the Iving's solemn oath ; but it's 
 greatest security was, that twenty-five Barons were 
 
^"i^yn 
 
 ESSAY ON BIAGNA CIIARTA. 
 
 }||' elected by the rest, to enforce the observance of J 
 fall which this instrument contained. The Peers | 
 Ijwho -were entrusted with this authority were cei-|_ 
 taiiily some of the most celebrated of their time, 
 both with regard to descent, to valour, and to in- 
 tellectual endowments : their names were, Richard 
 de Clare, Earl of Clare ; William de Fortibus, Earl 
 of Aumerle ; Geoffrey de Maiideville, Earl of 
 Gloucester ; Saher de Quincy, Earl of Winchester ; 
 Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford ; Roger Big-od, 
 Earl of Norfolk ; Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford ; 
 William Mareschall, junior ; Robert Fitz- Walter, 
 Gilbert de Clare, Eustace de Vescy, WiUiam de 
 Hardell, Mayor of London; William de ISIowbray, 
 Geoffrey de Say, Roger de Mumbezon (Mount 
 Begon), William de Huntingfield, Robert de Ros, 
 John de Lacy, the Constable of Chester ; William 
 de Albeniac, Richard de Percy, William Malet, 
 John Fitz-Robert, William de Lanvalay, Hugh 
 Bigod, and Richard de Muntfitchet. 
 
 Previous, however, to the conclusion of Magna 
 Charta, the principal liberties it contained were 
 drawn up and received the sanction of John's 
 consent, as preparatory to the final settlement of 
 the more jjerfect instrument. These Articles 
 recapitulated in the same oi-der, and nearly in the 
 same words, the substance of the various chapters 
 afterwards inserted in the Great Charter ; and as 
 translations of both these deeds are given in this 
 volume, the divisions of the Articles are marked 
 
 I) \ 
 
 ^w- ■'^^'^^W^i 
 
ESSAY UN AIAGNA CIIARTA. 
 
 ^with the number of the corresponding chapter of 
 Magna Charta that contains the privileges to which ^^^4 
 they refer. When these preliminary proceedings "jvM 
 were thus agreed upon, they were sealed in a 
 manner similar to the Charter itself; and an ori- 
 ginal schedule of these is preserved in the British 
 Museum, with the seal of King John in brown 
 wax, pendant from the parchment. As John had 
 now conceded to all the claims which the discon- 
 tent of his Barons coidd devise, or their hatred 
 demand, it might be expected that the remainder 
 of Ms reign was passed with the faithful allegiance 
 and love of his subjects, but this was not the case ; 
 they feared the King might yet retract his engage- 
 ments, and they demanded, says Blackstone ,^ " a 
 real and substantial security for his performance 
 of the articles of the Charter ; nothing less than 
 the custody of the City and Tower of London, 
 till the loth of August then next ensuing, and 
 aftern'ards till the Charter slioidd be carried into 
 execution. To this the King also consented, if 
 compliance in his circumstances may be called a 
 consent, and the custody was actually delivered." 
 Tlie Covenant'' which thus originated, con- 
 tained a particular account of the Writs for electing 
 the twelve Knights, who were to rectify the Forest 
 laws and customs : these were dated on the nine- 
 teenth day of June, which was four days after the 
 conclusion of Magna Charta and the period when 
 
 Aide the Translation. 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 the assembly was dismissed. These Writs, or Letters 
 of Election, as they are called by the Covenant, 
 were a material part of the newly-granted liberties, 
 inasmuch as they gave to the Barons the power of 
 watching over the pure administration of the en- 
 actments of iMagna Charta. They were addressed 
 by the King, to the Sheriffs, Foresters, Warreners, 
 Keepers of Water-banks, and their Bailiffs, in the 
 various 'Counties ; and command, that according 
 to the Charter which had been concluded, they 
 should proceed to swear to the twenty-five Barons, 
 and afterward commence the election of the twelve 
 Knights in their respective Counties. These Writs 
 concluded by a command for the Officers to whom 
 they were addressed, to make choice of such men 
 as would support the King's honour, the peace of 
 the Kingdom, and the laws contained in the Great 
 Charter. 
 
 King John was thus seemingly cleared from 
 the continual harrassings with which his Barons 
 darkened his short and unhappy reign ; but 
 though he had i-esigned all which they demanded, 
 and had satisfied their extensive claims, yet in the 
 King's mind there was a deep and indelible regret 
 for having thus yielded to the violence with which 
 most of their resolutions had been conducted. 
 A celebrated English historian speaks in the fol- 
 lowing terms concerning the manner in which the 
 late grant of Magna Charta preyed upon the health 
 and the disposition of John. " Great rejoising," 
 
 ccW^J^ 32 
 
 
&,&.-:i 
 
 CiU^j 
 
 .^^"■hr^ 
 
 ESSAY OiN MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 says Holinshed,^' "was made for this conclusion 
 'p of peaca betwixt the King and liis Barons, the 
 people induing that God had touched the King's 
 heart, and mollified it, whereby bappie dales were 
 come for the realme of England, as though it had 
 beene deliuered out of the bondage of Aegypt : but 
 were m\ich deceiued, for the King having con- 
 descended to make such grant of liberties, farre 
 contrarie to bis mind, was rig-ht sorrowfull in his 
 heart, curssed his mother that bare him, the boure 
 that he was borne, and the paps that gaue him 
 sucke, wishing that be had receiued death by vio- 
 lence of sword or knife, in steed of naturall norish- 
 ment: be whetted his teeth, he did bite now on 
 one stafFe, and now on an other, as he walked, 
 and oft brake the same in pieces when be had 
 doone, and with such disordered bebauiour and 
 furious gestures be uttered bis greefe, in such sort 
 that the noble men verie well perceiued the in- 
 clination of his inward affection concerning these 
 things, before the breaking vp of the councell, 
 and therefore sore lamented the state of the realme, 
 gessing what would come of his impatiencie and 
 displesant taking of the matter." 
 
 If this melancholy description were a real pic- 
 ture of John's mind after the conclusion of Magna 
 Charta, he was indeed reduced to a miserable 
 state ; and this in a twofold sense, for he was not 
 
 A.fe 
 
^v^ 
 
 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 only bent under tlje weight of his present ev'ib, 
 but his Peers perceiving how much his extorted 
 concession oppressed his thoughts, and fearful of 
 liis swerving from it, were prepared to resort to 
 the same violent methods for it's preservation, as 
 those which they had already made use of to gain it. 
 The future actions of John's life were then smoul- 
 dering in his breast, like the sleeping yet un- 
 subdued fires of a volcano : his intentions were 
 however already suspected by many of his Peers, 
 and while the King was secretly providing for the 
 success of his plans, they were not less anxious for 
 the secvirity of theirs. Hence arose a mutual 
 mistrust, which the sealed deed of Magna Charta 
 could by no means dissipate ; but it was re- 
 garded by one party at least, as only a temporising 
 expedient, to put an end to the civil feuds which 
 were spread overall the Kingdom. In the midst 
 of the schemes which John had commenced, to 
 render void that engagement which he could never 
 remember but with agony, he died suddenly at 
 Newark on thel9th of October, 1215: — by poison, 
 as it is related by some writers, and through the 
 infirmities induced by a broken heart and constitu- 
 tion, as it is asserted by others. There r.re but 
 few, however, at the present time, who give any 
 degree of credence to the former relation ; yet who- 
 ever attentively considers the utter hatred which 
 was entertained for John by almost all his subjects, 
 but more especially by the Ecclesiastics, will per- 
 
 Ac 
 
ceive but little reason why this account should be 
 supposed wholly traditional. The celebrated Ra- 
 pin,» and liis annotator, Jlorant, have thought it 
 a sufficient argument against it's truth to remark, 
 that it was imi)robable for " a man to poison him- 
 self to be revenged of another:" but as the mis- 
 taken Friar believed he was acting in the most 
 patriotic and virtuous manner, in rescuing Eng- 
 land from a tyrannic power, so he g-ave himself, 
 without scruple, as a martyr to the cause, con- 
 fidently expecting as a reward, an immediate and an 
 eternal beatitude. The same authors also observe, 
 that this circumstance is neither mentioned by any 
 contemporary historians, nor even by any who 
 lived within sixty years of that time. This argu- 
 ment will go, however, but a short distance to 
 prove the falsity of the relation. Matthew Paris, 
 and from him the principal account of John's reign 
 is derived, was too great an enemy of that King 
 to allow of any vices in the opposing party ; par- 
 ticularly in that class of society, by a member of 
 which this act is said to have been committed. 
 During the space of sixty years it was in every 
 one's memory, and after that period, it is more 
 than probable, that, had there not existed some 
 foundation for such a report, it could never have 
 descended to later times through the medium of 
 written history. 
 
 Vol. I. p. ar9, note 7. 
 
 
 35 S^:^ 
 
' vgs^g 
 
 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 After the deatli of King John, the Barons were < 
 again in motion to secure for Magna Charta the 
 consent of his successor. Although it was de- 
 clared that the subsequent Monarchs of England 
 should adhere to it's laws, yet the Peers had ex- 
 perienced so much duplicity and procrastination 
 in John, that they determined to proceed at once, 
 in the plainest and most resolute manner, with his 
 son Henry. The youthful state of this Prince, 
 was probably his most effectual preservative from 
 immediately undergoing the same distresses which 
 marked the reign of King John ; nevertheless, at 
 a future period of his long-extended sway, he ex- 
 perienced some of those troubles ; for the Barons 
 having once gained their point by a resolute con- 
 duct, were always prepared to resort to the same 
 plan of proceeding, whenever they conceived their 
 Charter to be infringed. There was something, 
 however, in this method of ruling the Sovereign 
 power, which, it may be easily supposed no King 
 could ever yet agree to ; and although the Council 
 of Henry the Third confirmed Magna Charta while 
 he was a minor, yet when he was declared King 
 of England, he became almost as procrastinating- as 
 his father. As, however, this Essay is limited to the 
 History of the Grant of King John, little more 
 than an outline of the acts of his successors can he 
 expected. 
 
 The King's death appeared to be fatal with 
 regard to the Crown's descent in his family ; 
 

 Louis, the Dauphin of France, whom the Barons^ljl 
 had invited to rule over Britain, was still actively lli^i 
 pursuing- the advantages he had already gained, t J^ 
 and the Barons were nearly all united witli him ; 
 the Royal x\rmy was composed of foreigners whom 
 John never trusted, and the succeeding Sovereign 
 Tvas only ten years old when the kingdom devolved 
 to him. In this hopeless state, William Marshall, 
 Earl of Pemhroke, the principal adviser and sup- 
 porter of John, came forward to give his ex- 
 perience and loyalty to the cause of the youthful 
 Henry : — he first wrought so successfully with the 
 Barons, that he procured their consent to his 
 Coronation, which was performed at Gloucester, 
 on the 28th of October, 1215, hy Cardinal Gualo, 
 and he then became, by the national voice, the Pro- 
 tector of his juvenile Sovereign. From the time 
 this excellent noble appeared at the head of the 
 government, the Plantagenet interest rose in pro- 
 portion as that of the Dauphin's declined. Tlie 
 Council of the young Henry had already renewed 
 Magna Charta on the 12th ofNovember, 1210, with 
 amendments adapted to the times, and thus his 
 affairs seemed changed from a state of anarchy 
 and revolt, to a calmer situation for that period, 
 and a prospect of greater satisfaction for a future 
 one. This renewal of Magna Charta was rapidly 
 published both in England and Ireland ; a peace 
 •was concluded between the Dauphin and Henry ; 
 and an additional Charter, with one also for the 
 
Forests, of wliicli no copy is now remaining', was, 
 on the 23d of September, 1217, granted by the 
 latter Sovereign, containing several emendations 
 and improvements. 
 
 In the year 1223, Pope Honorius III. issned 
 a Bull, declaring that the King, then seventeen 
 years old, was in many respects of full age ; and 
 in consequence, commanding all who held anv of 
 his property, to yield it into his hands. The 
 Barons, who feared that Henry, on the assump- 
 tion of his full powers, would also recal the liber- 
 ties which he had previously granted, endea- 
 voured to excite the peojde to demand of him 
 their confirmation. In the following year, Louis 
 VIII. King of France, (the late Dauphin), so 
 deceitfully conducted himself with regard to the 
 English possessions in that country, that an army 
 was obliged to be raised to march against him. 
 A Parliament was therefore summoned, and Henry 
 demanded of them a supply ; which they consented 
 to grant, provided he confirmed those liberties 
 they required. On the 1 1th of February, in the 
 year 1224, these mutual demands were complied 
 with; and the King also took every means in his 
 power to render these Charters effectual, by send- 
 ing Commissioners with copies of them into every 
 County, to enforce their performance. But even 
 at this period, Magna Charta and the Charta de 
 Foresta, the first of that kind now extant, were 
 both at some distance from their final establish- 
 
 
ment. Eavly in the year 1226, Henry, at the 
 age of twenty, actually hegan to assume the 
 management of his own affairs ; in w hich conduct, 
 he was afterwards supported hy a Bull from 
 Gregory the Ninth. At that period, it is related 
 that he recalled the Forest Charters, under the 
 pretence of their having been granted before he 
 had full power over the Great Seal. Such a 
 resumption was doubtless the occasion of much 
 discontent; but although the Barons were again 
 about to resort to their swords, yet Henry, by 
 giving up some lands which were claimed by their 
 leader, Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cornwall, 
 found means at once to avoid their resentment, 
 and the renewal of the Charters of Liberties. 
 
 In 1236, and again in 1253, the Charters were 
 re-published, as a compensation for two supplies 
 granted to the King. In the latteryear, King Henry 
 under pretence of going to the Holy-land, although 
 his real intent was to prosecute his wars in 
 Guienne, summoned a Parliament to meet on the 
 5th of May, and demanded a large subsidy to enable 
 him to fulfil his purpose; representing to it, the op- 
 pression which the Christians in Palestine, must 
 have endured by reason of his delay. The Kingdom 
 in general however, knew that it was the rebellions 
 in Gascony which occasioned Henry's solicita- 
 tions; and while a direct refusal was dangerous, 
 it was determined by the Barons that Deputies 
 should be gent to the Monarch, with an assurance 
 
 
 ■4\ 
 
 ^j^^. 
 
ESSAY ON MiGNA. CHVRT\ 
 
 of their compliance, provided he would faithfully 
 ^•V observe the Charters of Liberties. He replied 
 fairly to the Secular messengers, but to such as 
 were Ecclesiastics, he represented that the free- 
 dom of clerical election which they asked, was hard- 
 ly desired by them; since they illegally held many 
 rich Bishoprics and Abbies, which he assured them 
 should be filled with learned and pious men, if 
 they were resigned. These mutual iipbraidings were 
 at length concluded, by the Clergy giving to Henry 
 the Tenths of their Revenues for three years ; 
 and by the Barons yielding three marks of every 
 Knight's -fee held in -chief of the Crown. The 
 King, on his part of the contract, summoned an 
 assembly in Westminster-hall on the 13th of May, 
 where all the Lords, both Spiritual and Temporal, 
 were present, holding lighted tapers ; though 
 Henry declined taking one, because he was not a 
 priest, hut he promised to keep his hand placed 
 open upon his heart during the whole ceremony, 
 as a proof of his sincerity. Boniface of Savoy, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, then read a Sentence 
 of Excommunication, which before both in 1224 
 and 1237, had been privately denounced against 
 all who should in any manner oppose or violate 
 the two Charters, or alter the Laws and Con- 
 stitutions of the Kingdom. Following this were 
 read those instruments themselves, which were 
 allowed of by the King, "and at the close," says 
 Matthew Paris, "every one cast down his taper 
 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 extinguished and smoking, and said, ' so may all 
 who incur this sentence , be put out and become cor- 
 rupt in Hell:' to which the Kingimmediately added, 
 ' So help me God, as I keep all these things invio- 
 late as I am a Man, as I am a Christian, as I am 
 a Knight, and as I am a King crowned.^'" With 
 the exception of some ecclesiastical disputes upon 
 the Charters, and a few general confirmatory writs 
 and proclamations respecting them, but little men- 
 tion is made concerning them till the year 1264. 
 The King, and his son Prince Edward, owing to 
 the Civil Wars in which they had been engaged, 
 were at that period in the custody of Simon de 
 Montfort, Earl of Leicester; and Henry, in order 
 to procure the Prince's liberty, sealed the Charta 
 Confirmationis of the 14th of March, 1264. This 
 unhappy Sovereign had but little farther connection 
 with these instruments, for dying on November 
 the 16th, 1272, he was succeeded by Edward the 
 First, who was at that time on his voyage to Sicily. 
 Until 1297, the Charters were doubtless in a 
 neglected state; but in that year, when King 
 Edward had in some measure arranged his Scottish 
 affairs, he was anxious to proceed to Flanders, to 
 avenge himself on Philip the Fair, King of France, 
 for his fraudulently preventing the union of the 
 daughter of the Earl of Flanders, with Prince 
 Edward of England. To strengthen and support 
 
-^ 
 
 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 the British Forces, which alone were not sufficient? 
 to oppose King Philip, Edward formed a League:^'! 
 , with the Emperor Adolphus, Albert Duke of fp 
 Austria, and several other German Princes, the 
 Duke of Brabant, and the Earls of Flanders, Hol- 
 land, Juliers, and Luxemburg, by whom men 
 were to be supplied, in return for large subsidies 
 sent from England. To meet these engagements, 
 the King summoned a Parliament at St. Edmund's 
 Bury, on the 11th of November; which gave to 
 him the eighth penny from all Merchants and Citi- 
 zens of Cities and Towns, and a twelfth from all 
 the remainder of the Laity. Tlie Ecclesiastics, 
 however, refused him any kind of aid, — notwith- 
 standing he represented to them that they enjoyed 
 the same estates and protection as the rest of his 
 subjects, — and pleaded for their exemption, a 
 Bidl issued in 1296, by Pope Boniface VIII., 
 which forbade the Clergy paying any Tax to Secu- 
 lar Princes, without the consent of the Romish 
 See. In consequence of their refusal, the King 
 determined upon the bold expedient of seizing 
 their lay-possessions, and displacing them from 
 the benefit of the Laws. Even their powerful in- 
 fluence was vain, when exerted to contend with a 
 Prince like Edward ; and at length the greater num- 
 ber of them compounded with him for a fifth part 
 of their goods, and Robert Winchelsea, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, who was the principal adviser of 
 these proceedings, yielded up a fourth part for 
 
j/JII himself. On the 25th of February, 1297-98, Kin^ ' 
 'fsm Edward called tog-ether the Nobility at Salisbury, 
 .?f^* to ascertain what forces he might expect from 
 Pt~ each Baron; as he wished not only to attack 
 Philip in Flanders, but also to make a powerful 
 diversion in Guienne. The Nobles who were 
 willing to furnish troops, and to march where the 
 King himself commanded, would nevertheless not 
 accede to serving in Guienne ; in consequence of 
 which Edward replied, that he shoidd transfer 
 their lands to such as would be more mindful of 
 his orders. This alarmed them, and Humphrey 
 Bohun, Earl of Hereford, Lord High-Constable, 
 and Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, Marshal of 
 England, answered the King, that where he com- 
 manded in person, they would follow, but not 
 otherwise. Bigod, added to this, that as his office 
 obliged him, so he was willing to lead the van- 
 guard under the Sovereign, but that he would not 
 serve under any other, and none could of right 
 force him to do so. This altercation increased so 
 much, that at length Edward in very great anger 
 exclaimed, with a depraved and unbecoming jest 
 upon the name of the Marshal, "By God, O Earl, 
 you shall either g'O or be hanged," to which Bigod 
 answered, "By the same oath, O King, I will nei- 
 ther go nor be hanged ," and immediately quitted the 
 Court. In a short time, these Earls again refused 
 to execute the commands of the King, in matters 
 relating to their offices, lest they should have 
 
 mi ^ 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 I fallen into his hands, upon which he expelled "I 
 [them both; and, as his affairs in Flanders could 
 I no longer be delayed, he prepared at once to em- 
 bark for that country. As Edward was about to 
 depart, he received a long remonstrance from the 
 Bishops, the Earls, the Barons, and the Com- 
 monalty of the realm, on grievances then existing 
 in the Nation, together with a statement of several 
 violations of Magna Charta. To all the higher 
 orders the King promised redress on his return ; 
 and to the people, who had been violently inflamed 
 by the secret proceedings of the Earls of Norfolk 
 and Hereford, he published a Proclamation, which 
 stated, that for the future the Great Charter 
 should be faithfully observed. On the 22nd of 
 August he sailed from Winchelsea for the Conti- 
 nent, and left his son Edward, tlien thirteen years 
 old, as Regentin his absence ; who, ata Parliament 
 which assembled in October, passed, on the behalf 
 of his father, a Confirmation Cbarter, and a Pardon 
 to several persons who had refused to attend the 
 King into Flanders, especially to the High-Con- 
 stable and the Earl-Marshal. After the conclusion 
 of this Parliament, copies of those deeds were sent 
 over to Edward, who, after some consideration, 
 sealed them at Ghent, on the 5th day of Novem- 
 ber ; which confimation of his son's act tlie still 
 incredulous Barons required should be renewed in 
 England. This was demanded at Carlisle about 
 Whitsuntide in 1298, when the friends of King 
 
 -.sr^: 
 
,} 
 
 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 Edward promised, that on his return from the 
 Scottish expedition, in which he was then en- 
 gaged, he shoukl ratify his confirmation, and also j\i 
 that the decrees of the Forest Charter should be 
 enforced, as soon as his affairs in the Romish Court 
 which related to his dispute with Philip of France, 
 should he brought to a conclusion. At a Parlia- 
 ment holden at London on the 8th of March, the 
 first Sunday in the next Lent, King Edward again 
 confirmed the Charters ; and on the 26th of March 
 and 2nd of April following, he issued Writs to the 
 several Sheriffs of England, containing arecitation 
 of nearly the whole of the Forest Charter, com- 
 manding it's particular observance, together with 
 all the Articles of the Great Charter. To answer 
 the doubts of the people, which stiU existed, Ed- 
 ward despatched other Writs addressed to all the 
 Sheriffs of England, written both in the Norman 
 French or common language, and also in the 
 Latin, which he commanded should be published 
 in every place of public resort, whether City, 
 Borough, or Market-town. The purport of these 
 Writs, which were dated on the 2oth of June, 
 was, that the King considered himself as too 
 hardly pressed by the continual complaints of his 
 subjects, at the same time stating that the reasons 
 of his delay were the many and difficult affairs in 
 which he was involved. These, he continued, 
 would in July be brought to a close ; but as it 
 would be improper for the Perambulators to com- 
 
 1^=.- 
 
S^E^^ 
 
 V o" 'J- V 
 
 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 meiice their survey of the Forests in Harvest-time, 
 ftliey should meet at Northampton, at the farthest'? 
 ' bj the ensuing Michaelmas day : he also requested 
 that the people would not believe any that malici- 
 ously reported to the contrary, in order to awaken 
 strife between tlie Sovereign and the Nation. At 
 another Parliament which sat at London on tlie 
 6th of March, the Charters were again confirmed 
 by a new statute, entitled the " The Articles upon 
 the Charters," hereafter printed, in the series of 
 these instruments. After much doubt concerning 
 the King's promise, it is supposed that the Forest 
 Commissioners or Perambulators, met at North- 
 ampton, about Michaelmas, in the year 1299, to 
 arrange their plans of proceedings for the next 
 Spring. On the first of April, 1300, Edward 
 issued Writs to each of them, commanding them 
 to commence their journies through the Forest- 
 Counties; and on the 10th of May, these were 
 followed by Commissions to the Knights who had 
 been elected in the various Shires, by others dated 
 on May the 27th, to put in force and execute the 
 two Charters. The Forest Commissioners con- 
 cluded their perambulations for settling the boun- 
 daries of the Royal Woods, about the Summer of 
 of the year 1300. On September the 29th, a Par- 
 liament was called to assemble at Lincoln on the 
 20th of January in the following year, and every 
 person cited to appear thereat, who could offer 
 any reason why the report of these Commissioners 
 
,• 4- 
 
 vj^^^ roaaai Qg^^ 6*^j 
 
 nr-rvrw. 
 
 ^*w*5^^^^V=5==5=^ 
 
 9=3 
 
 ESSAY ON MAGNA CHART A. 
 
 j should not be proceeded upon. The Perambula- 
 |t.ions were thea finally examined and approved by ' 
 jthe Parliament, having been attested by the King's i 
 ' Justices, the oaths of a Jury, and the evidence of ' 
 the Verderers and Foresters of each Forest. After 
 receiving a fifteenth from the Commonalty of Eng- 
 land, the King, on the 14th of the succeeding 
 February, confirmed the Perambulations, by which 
 he thus fixed the future boundaries of the Forests, 
 and at the same time issued the last Confirmation 
 of the Charters ; with the provisions, "that if any 
 thing had been enacted contrary to their true 
 sense and meaning, it should be remedied or even 
 annulled, by the common consent of the Realm. ="'" 
 Thus, after the example of Blackstone's cele- 
 brated Introduction, although certainly with much 
 less minuteness, have been traced the rise, fluctua- 
 ting progress, and permanent conclusion of Magna 
 Charta. Sir Edward Coke, in the Proem to the se- 
 cond of his Institutes, remarks, that Magna Charta 
 and the Charta Foresta, "have been confirmed, es- 
 tablished, and commanded to be put into execution 
 by thirty-two several acts of Parliament in all ;'' and 
 when this is properly considered, it will be evident 
 that it must occupy a history of no trivial extent, to 
 shew all the circumstances and events concerning 
 it. The centuries which have elapsed since it's exe- 
 cution, and tlie consequent oblivion into which many 
 of the customs so early a period must have fallen. 
 
 ™ Blackst, Introd. Ixxiii. 
 
ESSAY ON MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 fwhile they are sufficient arguments for the illus- 
 tration of the history of the Great Charter, arec 
 
 jat the same time almost insurmountable barriers to ; 
 the performance of it. By means of an Essay even 
 imperfect as the present, however, some idea may 
 beformedofthemannerin which the English Barons 
 thought and acted : what circumstances opposed 
 their progress, or what events combined to assist 
 them; and when the Reader is possessed of only 
 such information as this, he will with greater sa- 
 tisfaction turn to the modernised Copies and Trans- 
 lations, which occupy the following pages. 
 
TRANSLATION OP THE ARTICLES 
 
 (Bvm ©barter of EtStrti^gi, 
 
 UNDER THE 
 
 SEAL OF KING JOHN. 
 
 r The Roman Numerals which are placed af;ainst each of the followin^^ 
 Articles, divide them into forty-nine distinct heads, for the con- 
 venience of reference. The Arabic Figures, -which are also placed 
 at the commencement of each Article, refer to that Chapter o'' 
 King John's Great Charter, in which the contents of every divisi'n 
 are to be found. The same rule is also to be observed in the num 
 bers of reference, from the Charter back to the original Articles. 
 
 These are the particulars of what the Barons 
 petition, and our Lord the King grants. 
 
 I. (2). 
 
 FTER the death of an ' 
 Ancestor, the Heir of ' 
 full age, shall have his . 
 inheritance by the an- 
 cient Relief , as express- 
 ed in the Charter. 
 
 II. (3). An Heir 
 who is under age, and 
 who is in guardianship, 
 ■when he comes to age shall have his inheritance 
 without Relief or Fine. 
 
 III. (4). Tlie Keeper of an Heir's land shall 
 k; take only reasonable issues, customs, and services. 
 
 :,^^0L^i,-''^' 
 
■■^r%t 
 
 ARTICLES OF MAGNA CR.'VRTA. 
 
 I without destruction or waste of the men or goods ; \ 
 and if the Keeper of such land shall make de- 
 
 Istruction or waste, he shall be dismissed from that 
 gaurdianship; (5). and the Keeper shall maintain the 
 houses, parks, fish-ponds, mills, and other things 
 which belong to the land, or to the rents thereof: 
 (6). and that Heirs shall be married without dis- 
 paragement, so that it be by the advice of them 
 that are nearest of kin. 
 
 IV. (7)- No Widow shall give any thing for 
 her Dower or Marriage, after the decease of her 
 husband : but she may remain within his house for 
 forty days after his death ; and within that term 
 they shall be assigned her, and she shall have in 
 the same place her Dower, and her Marriage-por- 
 tion, and her Inheritance. 
 
 V. (9). The King nor his Bailiffs shall not 
 seize upon any land for debt, while there are suf- 
 ficient goods of the Debtor's ; nor shall the Securi- 
 ties of a Debtor be distressed, so long as the prin- 
 cipal Debtor be solvent: but if the principal 
 Debtor fail in payment, the Securities, if they be 
 willing, shall have the lands of the Debtor until 
 they shall be repaid ; unless the principal Debtor 
 can show himself to be acquitted thereof from the 
 Securities. 
 
 VI. (15.) The King shall not grant to any of 
 his Barons, that he shall take aid of his Free-men, 
 unless it be for the redeeming of his own body, 
 for the making of his eldest son a Knight, and 
 
ARTICLES OF MAGNA CHARTA, 
 
 once for marrying his eldest daughter; and this 
 shall be done by a reasonable aid. 
 
 VII. (16). No one shall do more service for a 
 Knight's-fee, than that which is due from thence. 
 
 VIII. (17-18). That Common Pleas shall not 
 follow the Court of our Lord the King, but shall 
 be assigned to any certain place ; and that recog- 
 nitions shall be taken in their same Counties in 
 this manner : that the King shall send two Jus- 
 ticiaries four times in the year, who, with four 
 Knights of the same County, elected by the people 
 thereof, shall hold Assizes of Novel Disseisin, 
 Morte d'Ancestre, and Last Presentation ; nor 
 shall any be summoned for this, unless they be 
 Jurors, or of the two parties. 
 
 IX. (20). That a Free-m<.n shall be amerced 
 for a small fault according to the degree of the 
 fault ; and for a greater crime according to it's 
 magnitude, saving to him his Contenement; a 
 Villain also shall be amerced in the same manner, 
 saving his Wainage ; and a Merchant in the same 
 manner saving his Merchandise; by the oath of 
 faithful men of the neighbourhood. 
 
 X. (22). Tliat a Clerk shall be fined accord- 
 ing to his Lay-fee in the manner aforesaid, and 
 not according to his Ecclesiastical benefice. 
 
 XI. (23). No Town shall be amerced for the 
 making of Bridges for river's banks, unless they shall 
 of right have been anciently accustomed to do so. 
 
 XII. (35). Tliat the Measure of Corn, Wine, 
 
fW< 
 
 S_2fflSW^ljiL 
 
 rrrrTv 
 
 T^wsn 
 
 ARTICLES OF MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 the breadth of clotli, and othei' things be amended 
 ^and the same of Weights. 
 
 XIII. (19). Thatthe Assizes of NovelDisseisinC 
 and Morte d'Ancestre be shortened, and made like 
 to other Assizes. 
 
 XIV. (24). That no Sheriff sball of liimself, 
 enter into Pleas belonging to the Crown, without 
 the Crown's authority; (25). and that Counties and 
 Hundreds shall be at the Ancient Ferme without 
 increase, unless they be the Manors of our Lord 
 the King. 
 
 XV. (26). If any who hold of the King shaU 
 die, although u Sheriff or other Officer of the King 
 shall seize and register his goods by the view of 
 lawful men, yet nothing shall be removed until it 
 be fully known if he owed any thing, and bis debts 
 to our Lord the King sliall be cleared ; then when 
 the whole of the King's debts are paid, the re- 
 mainder shall be given up to his executors, to do 
 according to the will of the deceased ; and if he 
 should not owe any thing to the King, all the goods 
 of the deceased shall be restored. 
 
 XVI. (27). Ifany Free-man shall die intestate, 
 his goods shall be distrilnited by his nearest of 
 kindred and his friends, and by the view of the 
 Church. 
 
 XVII. (8). No Widow sliall be obliged to 
 marry while she is willing to live without an hus- 
 band ; so that she will give security that she will 
 not marry without the consent of the King, if she 
 
 ^%^ 
 

 ARriCLES OF MAGNA CH\RTA 
 
 old of the Kiiiij, or tliat of the Lord of whom she 
 does hold 
 
 XVIII. (28). No Constable nor other Officer 
 shall take corn or other goods, unless he shall 
 presently render payment ; or unless he can have 
 respite by the will of the seller. 
 
 XIX. (29). No Constable can distrain any 
 Knight to give money for Castle-guard, if he be 
 willing to keep it in bis own Person, or by any other 
 true man, if he shall not be able to do so by any 
 reasonable cause ; and if the King shall have sent 
 him into the Army, he shall be free from Castle- 
 guard for that space of time. 
 
 XX. (30). No Sheriff nor Bailiff of the King 
 nor r'ny other, shall take horses or carts of any 
 Free-man, for carriage, unlessit be by his own will. 
 
 XXI. (31). Neither the King nor his Bailiffs 
 shall take another man s timber for castles or for 
 any other uses, unless it be by the will of him to 
 whom the timber was belonging. 
 
 XXII. (23). The King shall not hold the lands 
 of them that have been convicted of felony, more 
 than one year and one day, and then he shall give 
 them up to the Lord of the fee. 
 
 XXIII. (33). That all Wears for the time to 
 come, shall he destroyed in the Rivers of Thames 
 and Medway, and throughout all England. 
 
 XXIV. (34). No Writ called Prm>e, shall for 
 the future be granted to any one of any tenement, 
 whereby a Free-man may lose his cause. 
 
ARTICLES OF MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 XXV. (52). If anyone haye been dispossessed 
 or deprived by the King without judgement of his 
 lands, his liberties, or liis rights, they shall imme- 
 diately be restored ; and if any contention should 
 arise upon that subject, then shall it be decided by 
 tlie judgement of twenty-five Barons : and that 
 those who were disseised by the Kings our Father 
 or our Brother, shall have right without delay ac- 
 cording to the judgement of their Peers in the 
 King's Courts ; and if the King oweth any thing 
 he shall have until the common term of the Crusa- 
 ders, and then the Archbishop and Bishops shall 
 cause justice to he done, and a certain day to be 
 named for the debt being cleared. 
 
 XXVI. (36). Not any thing shall be given for 
 a Writ of Inquisition of life or limb, but it shall be 
 granted freely without price and not he denied. 
 
 XXVII. (37). If any hold of the King by Fee- 
 farm, by Socage, or by Burgage, and of another by 
 Knight's-service, our Lord the King shall not have 
 the custody of the other's Knight's-Fee, by reason 
 of the Socage or Burgage, nor will We hold the 
 custody of the Burgage, Socage, or Fee-farm; — 
 and that a Free-man shall not loose his Kniafht's-fee 
 by reason of Petit-Sergeantry, such as of them 
 that hold another tenement by giving for it knives, 
 arrows, or the like. 
 
 XXVIII. (38). No Bailiff can put any one to 
 his Law upon his single accusation, without suffi- 
 cient witnesses. 
 
 \==». 
 
^^•^ -« (P 
 
 ARTICLES OF MAGNA CllARTA. 
 
 XXIX. (39). No Free-man's body shall be 
 taken, nor imprisoned , nor disseised , nor outlawed , 
 nor banished, norinany ways be damaged, nor shall 
 the King send him to prison by force, excepting by 
 the judgement of his Peers and by the Law of the 
 land. 
 
 XXX. (40). No right shall be sold, delayed, 
 or denied. 
 
 XXXI. (41). That Merchants shall have safety 
 to go and come, buy and sell, without any evil 
 tolls, but by ancient and honest customs. 
 
 XXXII. (12). No Scutage nor aid shall be im- 
 posed on the Kingdom, excepting by the Common 
 Council of the Kingdom ; unless it be to redeem 
 the King's body, to make his eldest son a Knight, 
 and once to marry his eldest daughter ; and tliat 
 to be a reasonable aid: — and in like manner shall 
 it be concerning the Taillage and aids of the City 
 of London ; and of other Cities, which from this 
 time shall have their liberties ; and that the City 
 of London shall fully have all it's liberties and free 
 customs, as well by water as by land. 
 
 XXXIII. (42). That it shall be lawful for any 
 one to go out of the Kingdom and return again, 
 saving his allegiance to our Lord the King, unless 
 in time of war, by some short space for the com- 
 mon benefit of the Kingdom. 
 
 XXXIV. (10). If any one have borrowed any 
 thing of the Jews more or less, and shall die be- 
 fore they have cleared that debt, there shall be no 
 
 
interest paid for that debt so long as the Heir is 
 underage, of whomsoever he may hold; and if 
 the debt shall fall into the King's hands, the King 
 shall take only the chattel, which is contained in 
 tlie Charter. 
 
 XXXV. (11). If any one die indebted to the 
 Jews, his Wife shall have her Dower, and if he 
 shall have left children, they shall have necessaries 
 provided for them according to his tenement, and 
 out of the residue the debt shall be paid, saving 
 the service of the Lords. (5). In like manner 
 shall it he with other debts, and that guardians of 
 land shall give to the Heir when he shall come to 
 full age, his land stocked according to what the 
 same can reasonably bear, and the land shall re- 
 quire, with ploughs and carriages. 
 
 XXXVI. (43). If any man hold of us any Es- 
 cheat, such as the Honour of Wallingford, Notting- 
 ham, Bologne, or Lancaster, or of any other Es- 
 cheats which are in the King's hands and are Baro- 
 nies, and dies, his Heir shall not give any other 
 Relief nor do to the King any other service than he 
 would do to the Baron ; and that the King shall 
 hold it in the same manner as if the Baron held it. 
 
 XXXVII. (55). TliatFines which arc made for 
 Dowers, the Marriages of Heirs, and unjust amer- 
 ciaments against the Law of the land, shall be either 
 entirely forgiven, or else left to be decided by the 
 judgement of the twenty-five Barons, or by the de- 
 cision of the greater part of them, with one Arch- 
 
^r^- 
 
 ARTICLES OF MAGNA CHART A 
 
 bishop and others whom he shall be willing to call 
 with him: but so, that if any one or any of the 
 twenty-five shall be concerned in the cause, they 
 shall be removed, and others be substituted in their 
 places by the remainder of the" twenty-five. 
 
 XXXVIII. (49). That the Hostages and en- 
 gagements which were given to the King as security, 
 shall be delivered up. 
 
 XXXIX. (44). That they who dwell without 
 the Forest shall not appear before the Justici- 
 aries of the Forests upon a common summons, unless 
 they are impleaded or are securities; (48). and that 
 irregular customs of Forests and of Foresters, and 
 Warrenners, and Sheriffs, and Keepers of Rivers, 
 shall be amended by twelve Knights of the same 
 Shire, who ought to be elected by true men of the 
 same Shire. 
 
 XL. (50). That the King shall remove from 
 his Bailiwicks the relations and all the followers of 
 Gerard de Athyes, so that for the future they shall 
 not hold a Bailiwick ; — they are namely, Engelard, 
 Andrew, Peter, and Gyon de ChanceU, Gyon de 
 Cygony, Matthew de Martin, and his brother, 
 and Walter his nephew, and Philip Mark. 
 
 XLI. (51). That the King shall remove all 
 Foreign Knights, Stipendiaries, Crossbowmen, 
 Infringers, and Servitors who came with horses 
 and arms to the injury of the kingdom. 
 
 XLII. (45). Tliat the King shall make Jus- 
 
 M 
 
ticiaries, Sheriffs, and Bailiffs of such as know the 
 Law of the Land, and are disposed duly to observe it. 
 
 XLIIL (46). Tliat Barons who have founded 
 Abbeys, and hold them by Charters from the King, 
 or by ancient tenure, shall have the custody of 
 them when they shall be vacant. 
 
 XLIV. (56). If the Kinghavedisseisedor dis- 
 possessed the W^elsh of lands or liberties, or other 
 things in England or in Wales, they shall immedi- 
 ately without plea be restored : and if they were 
 disseised or dispossessed of their English tenements 
 by the King's father or brother, without judgement 
 of their Peers, he shall without delay do tliem 
 justice according the manner of justice in England ; 
 — for their English tenements according to the En- 
 glish Law, for their Welsh tenements according to 
 the Law of Wales, and for tenements in the Marches 
 according to the Law of the Marches : — the same 
 shall the Welsh do to the King and to his subjects. 
 
 XLV. (58). That 
 the King shall give up 
 the son of Llewellin; 
 and moreover all the 
 Hostages of Wales, 
 and the engagements 
 which they have en- 
 tered into for the se- 
 curity of the peace. 
 
 XLVL (59). That 
 the King shall treat 
 
 unless it ought to be 
 otherwise by the en- 
 gagements which the 
 King hath entered into, 
 and this shall be decid- 
 ed by the judgement 
 of the Archbishop, and 
 
with the King of Scots, 
 on the restoring of his 
 Hostages, and his rights 
 and liberties, according 
 to the same form as 
 he shall do with the 
 Barons of England, 
 
 XLVII. (47). And all Forests which have been 
 afforested by the King in his time, shall be dis- 
 forested, and the same shall be done with rivers 
 which have been fenced by the King himself. 
 
 XLVIII. (60). All the aforesaid customs and 
 liberties which the King hath conceded, are to be 
 holden in the Kingdom as much as belongs to him ; 
 therefore all his subjects of the realm, as well Ec- 
 clesiastics as Laity, shall observe them inasmuch as 
 they are concerned, from themselves towards their 
 dependants. 
 
 XLIX.(61). This is the form of the security for 
 the observance of the peace and liberties between 
 the King and the Kingdom. Tliat the Barons may 
 elect twenty-five Barons of the Kingdom, whom 
 they will, who shall take care with all their might 
 to hold and observe, and cause to be observed, the 
 peace and liberties which our Lord the King hath 
 conceded, and by his Charter hath confirmed; so 
 that, namely, if the King or the Justiciaries or 
 Bailiffs of the King, or any of his Ministers shall 
 in any case fail in the performance of them to- 
 wards any person, or shall break through these Ar- 
 
Loiaiai 
 
 ARTICLES OF MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 tides of peace and security, and tlie offence be 
 notified to four Barons of the aforesaid five and 
 twenty, they, the four Barons, shall go to our Lord 
 the King, or to his Justiciary, if the King shall be 
 out of the Kingdom, and laying open the grievance 
 shall petition to have it redressed without delay ; 
 and if the King shall not amend it, or his Justi- 
 ciary shall not amendit for him, if the King shall be 
 out of the Kingdom, within a reasonable time de- 
 termined upon in the aforesaid Charter, — the four 
 Barons shall refer the case to the remainder of the 
 twenty-five, and they,the twenty-five ,with the whole 
 community of the land, shall distrain and distress 
 the King by all the means which they can ; that is 
 tosaybytakingliisCastles,Lands, Possessions, and 
 in every other manner which they can, until amend- 
 ment shall be made according to their decision, 
 saving the persons of the King and Queen and of 
 their children, and when the grievance shall he re- 
 dressed, they shall obey our Lord the King as before : 
 and whosoever of the Kingdom is willing, may swear 
 to obey the orders of the aforesaid five and twenty 
 Barons, and harrass the King with them to the ex- 
 tent of his power, and the King shall give public 
 and free leave to any to swear to them that are 
 willing to swear ; and he shall not prohibit any 
 from swearing: also, all those of the land who of 
 themselves and of their own accord will not swear 
 to join with the five and twenty Barons, to distrain 
 and distress the King, the King shall make them 
 
 m 
 
swear to the same such as is aforesaid, by his 
 command. Also, if any of the aforesaid five 
 and twenty Barons shall die or remove from the 
 land or by any other way be prevented from put- 
 ting^ the things aforesaid into execution, the five and 
 twenty may elect another in his place, by their own 
 decision, who shall be sworn in a similar way with 
 the rest. Also in all things that are committed 
 to the charge of these five and twenty Barons, if 
 when they be all assembled, and between them- 
 selves they should disagree upon any thing, or 
 some of them when called cannot or will not come, 
 whatever be agreed upon by the greater part, shall 
 be as firm and valid as if all the five and twenty 
 had given their consent ; and the aforesaid five and 
 twenty shall swear, that all the aforesaid they will 
 faithfully observe, and will cause to be observed, 
 with their whole power. (63). Moreover the King 
 shall make them secure by the engagements 
 of the Archbishops and Bishops, and of Master 
 Pandulph, that he will not procure from our Lord 
 the Pope, any thing by which any part of this Cove- 
 nant shall be revoked or lessened, and if any such 
 thing be obtained, let it be considered as null and 
 void. 
 
MAGNA CHARTA, 
 
 SEU 
 
 CfjartaOeaifiertatifiueiaegisfotjaimie^ 
 
 Concessiis Die Jmiii Qmnto Decim n,j4.D.]2\5, 
 
 IN ANNO HIiCNl SBPTIMO DECIMO. 
 
 IN ARCHIVIS ECCLESI^^ CATHEDHAI.IS I,rNC0LNIENS18 
 A8SEHVATA, 
 
 lOHANNES Dei Gratia, 
 
 Rew Angli<e, Dominus 
 
 Hihernits, Dux Nor- 
 
 inannidB et Aqnitm- 
 
 iw. Comes Andegaviee, 
 
 Archiepi.icopis, Episco- 
 
 pis, Abbatibws, Comi- 
 
 tihics, Baronibvs, Jns- 
 i 
 ticiariis, Forestariis, 
 
 Vicecomitihns , Prcepositis, Ministris, ct omnibus 
 ^Ballivis, etfidelibus suis, — Salutem. Sciatis Nos, . 
 intuitu Dei, et pro salute animce nostrce, et ^ 
 omnium anteccssormn, et haredum nostrorum,^ 
 ad honor em Dei, et exaltationcm Sanctee Eccle- 
 . site, et emendationem Regni nostri, per consi- 
 lium venerabilium patrum nostrorum Stephanie 
 Cantuariensis Archiepiscopi, Totius Anglice Pri- 
 matis et Sanctw Romance Ecclesiae Cardinalis ; ' 
 
OHN, by the Grace of 
 God, King- of England, 
 Lord of Ireland, Duke '/ 
 of Normandy and Aqui 
 taine, and Earl of An 
 jou,tohis Archbishops, <. 
 Bishops, Abbots, Earls, 
 Barons, Justiciaries, 
 Foresters, Sheriffs, Go- 
 vernors, Officers, and to all Bailiffs, and his faith- 
 SJ&,fuL subjects, — Greeting. Know ye, that We, in the 
 presence of God, and for the salvation of our own 
 soul, and of the souls of all our ancestors, and of _ 
 our heirs, to the honour of God, and the exaltation 
 of the Holy Church and amendment of our King- 
 dom, by the counsel of our venerable fathers, 
 Stephen Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all ^ 
 England, and Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, ' 
 
 m 
 
MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS 
 
 Henrici Dubliniensis ArcJnepiscopi, Willielmi Lon- 
 ,, doniensls, Petri Wintoniensis, Joscelini Bathrmien- 
 sis et Glastonicnsis, Hugonis Lincoluietisis, Walteri 
 Wigorniensis, Willielmi Coventrensis, et Benedicti 
 Roffensis, Episcoporum; Blagistri P and.ulfi Domi- 
 ni Papce Stibdiaconi et familiaris , Fratris Eime- 
 rici, Magistri Militia: Templi in Anglia, et nohi- 
 lium virorum Willielmi Marescalli Comitis Peni- 
 brochias, Willielmi Comitis Sarisburire, Willielmi 
 Comitis Warrenite, Willielmi Comitis Arundellice, 
 Alani de Galweia Constabularii Scoti<s, Warini 
 filii Geroldi, Huberti de Burgo Senescalli Pic- 
 tavice, Petri Jilii Hereberti, Hugonis de Nevillte, 
 Matthei filii Hereberti, Thomas Basset, Alani Bas- 
 set, Philippi de Albiniuco, Roberti de Roppelay, 
 Johannis Marescalli, Johannis filii Hugonis, et 
 aliorumfidelium nostrorum ; In primis concessisse 
 Deo, et hac presenti Charta nostra confirmasse pro 
 nobis ethceredibus7iostrisinperpetmcm: — fl.J quod 
 Anglicana Ecclesia libera sit, et habeat jura sua 
 Integra et libertates suas illtesas, et ita volicmus 
 observari, quod apparet ex eo quod libertatem elec- 
 tionum, que maxima, et magis necessaria reputa- 
 tur Ecclesia Anglicana, mera et spontanea iwhm- 
 tate, ante discordiam inter nos et Barones nostros 
 motam, concessimus, et charta nostra conflrmavi- 
 mus, et earn obtinuimus a Domini Papa Innocen- 
 tio Tertio confirmari : quam et )ios observavimus, 
 et ab hoeredibus nostris in perpetuum bona fide 
 volumus observari. Concessimus etiam omnibus 
 
^ 
 
 cT 
 
 
 aju 
 
 m 
 
 THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 Henry Archbislioi) of Dublin, William of London, 
 Peter of Winchester, Joceline of Bath and Glas- 
 tonbviry, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, 
 William of Coventry, and Benedict of Rochester, 
 Bishops ;- Master Pandulph our Lord the Pope's 
 Subdeacon and familiar. Brother Almeric, Master 
 of the Knights-Templars in England, and of these 
 noble persons, William Mareschal Earl of Pem- 
 broke, William Earl of Salisbury, William Earl of 
 Warren, William Earl of Arundel, Alande Galloway 
 Constable of Scotland, Warin Fitz-Gerald, Hubert 
 de Burgh Seneschal of Poictou, Peter Fitz-Herbert, 
 Hugh de Nevil, Matthew Fitz-Herbert, Thomas 
 Basset, Alan Basset, Philip de Albiniac, Robert 
 de Roppel, John Mareschal, John Fitz-Hugh, and 
 others our liegemen ; have in the First place granted 
 to God, and by this our present Charter, have con- 
 firmed, for us and our heirs for ever: — (L) That the 
 English Church shall be free, and shall have her 
 whole rights and her liberties inviolable; and we 
 will this to be observed in such a manner, that it may 
 appear from thence, that the freedom of elections, 
 which was reputed most requisite to the English 
 Church, which we granted, and by our Charter con- 
 firmed, and obtained the Confirmation of the same, 
 from our Lord Pope Innocent the Third, before 
 the rupture between us and our Barons, was of 
 our own free will: which Charter we shall observe, 
 and we will it to be observed with good faith, by 
 our heirs for ever. — (IL) We have also granted to all 
 
 l^fe<^-' 
 
^^^ 
 
 MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS 
 
 ^ liberis hommibus regni nostri, pro nobis et hcere- 
 dihiis nostris in perpetuum, omnes libertates siib- 
 scriptas, habendas et tenandas els et hcsredibus 
 suis de nobis et hceredibiis nostris. — fll. 1 .J Si 
 qiiis Comitmn vcl Baronimi nostrorum, sive alio- 
 rum tenentitim de nobis in capite per servitium 
 mililarc, mortnus fuerit, et cum decesserit hares 
 Sims plene astatisfnerit, et relevimn debeat, habeat 
 hcereditatem sumnper antiquum relevimn; scilicet, 
 Jiteres vel heeredes C'omitis, de Baronia Comitisinte- 
 gra, per centum libras: hares vel haredes Baro- 
 nis, de Baronia Integra, per centmn libras : hares 
 vel haredes Militis, de Feodo Militis integro, per 
 centum solidos, ad plus: et qui minus debuerit, 
 minus det, secundum antiquum consuetudinem 
 feodorum. — (III. 2.J Si autem hares alicujits 
 talium ftierit infra atatem, et filer it in custodia, 
 cum ad atatem pervenerit, habeat hareditatem 
 suam sine relevio et sine fine. — (IV. 3.J C'ustos 
 terra hupismodi haredis qui infi-a atatem fiierit , 
 non capiat de terraharedis nisi rationabiles exitus, 
 et rationabiles consuetttdines, et ratiunabilia ser- 
 vitia, et hoc sine destructione et vasto hoyninum 
 vel rerum. Et si nos commiserimus custodiam 
 alicujus talis terra Vicecomiti, vel alicui alii qui 
 deewitibus illius nobis respondere debeat, etille de- 
 structionem de custodia fecerit vel vastimi, nos ab 
 illo capiemus emcndam, et terra commit tatur duo- 
 bus legalibus et discretis hominibus de feodo illo, 
 qui de ewitibus respondeant nobis, vel ei cui eos 
 
THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 the Freemen of our Kingdom, for us and our heirs 
 for ever, all the underwritten Liberties, to be en- 
 joyed and held by them and by their heirs, from us 
 and from our heirs.- — (II. 1 .) If any of our Earls 
 or Barons, or others who hold of us in chief by mili- 
 tary service, shall die, and at his death his heir shall 
 be of full age, and shaO owe a relief, he shall have 
 his inheritance by the ancient relief; that is to say, 
 the heir or heirs of an Earl, a whole Earl's Ba- 
 rony for one hundred pounds : the heir or heirs of 
 a Baron for a whole Barony, by one hvmdred 
 pounds ; the heir or heirs of a Knight, for a whole 
 Knight's Fee, by one hundred shillings at most: 
 and he who owes less, shall give less, according 
 to the ancient custom of fees. — (III. 2.) But if the 
 heir of any such be under age, and in wardship, 
 when he comes to age he shall have his inheritance 
 without relief and without fine. — (IV. 3.) Tlie 
 warden of the land of such heir who shall be under 
 age, shall not take from the lands of the heir any 
 but reasonable issues, and reasonable customs, 
 and reasonable services, and thatv without destruc- 
 tion and waste of the men or goods, and if we 
 commit the custody of any such lands to a Sheriff, 
 or any other person who is bound to us for the 
 issues of them, and he shall make destruction or 
 waste upon tlie ward-lands we will recover damages 
 from him, and the lands shall be committed to 
 two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who shall 
 answer for the issues to us, or to him to whom we 
 
MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS 
 
 assignaverimus. Et si dederhnus vel vendide- 
 rinms alicui custodiam aUmJits talis terra, 
 et ille destructionem itide fecerit vel vastum, 
 amittat ipsam custodiam; et tradatur duobus 
 logalibus et discretis hominibus de feodo illo, 
 qui similiter respondeant nobis sicut prcedic- 
 titm est. — fV.) Gustos autem, quamdiu custo- 
 diam terns habuerit, sustinet donios, parcos, 
 vivaria, stagna, molendina, et coetera, ad terrain 
 illam pertinentia, de exitibus terr<s ejiisdem, 
 ("X)-) et reddal hcsredi cum ad jilenam tetatem 
 pervenerit, terram suam totam, instauratam 
 de carrucis et waignigiis, secundum quod tem- 
 pus maignigii exiget, et e.vitus terrce rationabi- 
 Uter poterunt sustinere. — fVI. 3.J Haeredes ma- 
 ritentur absque disparagatione, ita quod ante- 
 quam coutrahatur matrimonium, ostendatur pro- 
 pinquis de consangidnitate ipsiiis hcei-edis. — 
 (VII. 4 J Vidua, post mortem marili, sui sta- 
 tim et sine difficultate, habeat maritagium et 
 hcereditatem suani; nee aliquid det pro dote 
 sua, vel pro maritagio sua, vel hcereditate sua, 
 quam h<ereditatem maritus suus et ipsa tenu- 
 erint die obitus ipsius mariti; et maneat in 
 domo mariti sui per quadraginta dies post mor- 
 tem ipsius, infra quos assignetur ei dos sua. — 
 (VIII. 17 J Nulla vidua distringatur ad ie ma- 
 ritandiim dum voluerit vivere sine marito; ita 
 lamen quod securitatem faciat quod se no7i ma- 
 ritabit, sine assensu nostra de nobis temierit, vel 
 
THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 have assigned them. And if we shall give or sell 
 
 .^^ to anjf one the custody of any such lands, and he 
 
 '^^ shall make destruclion or waste upon them, he 
 
 ^fc) shall lose the custody; and it shall he committed to 
 
 i two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who shall 
 
 answer to us in like manner as it is said before. 
 
 I (V.) But the warden, as long as he hath the cus- 
 tody of the lands, shall keep up and maintain the 
 houses, parks, warrens, ponds, mills, and other 
 things belongingtothem, out of their issues ; (35.) 
 and shall restore to the heir when he comes of full 
 age, his whole estate, provided with ploughs and 
 other implements of husbandry, according as the 
 time of Wainage shall require, and the issues of 
 the lands can reasonably afford. — (V'l. 3.) Heirs 
 shall be married without disparagement, so that 
 before the marriage he contracted, it shall be noti- 
 fied to the relations of the heir by consanguinity. — 
 (VII. 4.) A widow, after the death of her husband, 
 shall immediately, and without difiiculty have her 
 marriage and her inheritance ; nor shall she give any 
 thing for her dower, or for her marriage, or for her 
 inheritance, which her husband and she held at 
 the day of his death : and she may remain in her 
 husband's house forty days after his death, within 
 which time her dower shall be assigned. — (VIII. 
 17-) No widowshall be distrained to marry herself, 
 while she is willing to live without a husband ; but 
 yet she shall give security that she will not marry 
 herself without our consent, if she hold of us, or 
 
sine assensu donihii siii de quo temierit, si 
 %. dii alio teimcrit. — f/X. 5.J Nee nos nee Bal- 
 ivlivi nosfri, saisicmits terram aliquam nee red- 
 ditum pro dehito aliquo, quamdiu eatalla de- 
 hitoris snffieiunt ad dehitum reddendum ; nee 
 plegii ipsius debitoris distringantur, quam- 
 diu ipse eapitalis debitor siifficit ad sohitio- 
 nem debiti; et si eapitalis debitor defecerit 
 in solutione debiti, non hahens unde solvat, 
 plegii respondeant de debito, et si voluerint, 
 habeant terras et redditus debitoris, donee sit 
 eis satisfaclnm de debito quod ante pro eo 
 solverint, nisi eapitalis debitor motistraverit 
 se esse quietutn hide versus eosdem plegios. 
 — (X. 3i.J Si quis mutuo creperit aliquid 
 a Judeis, pAus vel minus, et moriatur ante- 
 qiiam dehitum illud solvatur, dehitum non 
 usuret quamdiu hceres fuerit infra cetateni 
 de quoeumque teneat; et si dehitum illud 
 inciderit in mmius nostras, nos non capie- 
 mus nisi catallum contentum in charta. — (X.I. 
 35. J Et si quis moriatur et dehitum debeat 
 Judeis, uxor ejus habeat dotem suam, et nihil 
 reddat de debito illo; et si liberi ipsius de- 
 functi qui fuerint infra (etatem, remanserint, 
 provideantur eis necessaria seeundum tenemen- 
 tum quod fuerit defuncti, et de residuo solva- 
 tur dehitum, salvo servitio dominorum. Simili 
 mod.o fiat de dehitis que debentur aliis quam 
 
THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 without the consent of the lord of whom she does 
 hold, if she hold of another. — (IX. 5.) Neither 
 we nor our Bailiffs, will seize any land or rent for 
 any deht, while the chattels of the debtor are suffi- 
 cient for the payment of the debt; nor shall the 
 sureties of the debtor be distrained, while the 
 principal debtor is able to pay the debt; and if 
 the principal debtor fail in payment of the debt, 
 not having wherewith to discharge it, the sure- 
 ties shall answer for the debt; and if they be 
 willing, they shall have the lands and rents of the 
 debtor, until satisfaction be made to them for the 
 deht which they had before paid for him, unless 
 the principal debtor can shew himself acquitted 
 thereof against the said sureties. — (X. 34.) If any 
 one hath borrowed any thing from the Jews, more 
 or less, and die before that debt be paid, the 
 debt shall pay no interest so long as the heir 
 shall be under age, of whomsoever he may hold; 
 and if that debt shall fall into our hands, we will 
 not take any thing except the chattel contained in 
 the bond. — (XI. 35.) And if any one shall die 
 indebted to the Jews, his wife shall have her 
 dower and shall pay nothing of that debt; and 
 if children of tlie deceased shall remain who are 
 under age, necessaries shall be provided for them, 
 according to the tenement which belonged to the 
 deceased : and out of the residue the debt shall 
 be paid, saving the rights of the lords (of ivhom 
 the lands are lield.J In like manner let it be with 
 
MAGNA CIIARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 Judeis. — fXII. 32. J Nullum scutagium vel mix- 
 ilium ponattir in regno nostra, nisi per communf 
 consilium regni nostri; nisi ad corpus nostrum rc- 
 dimcndum, ct primogenilum Jjlitim nostrum mili- 
 tem faciendum, etadfiliam nostram primogenitam. 
 semel maritandam ; et ad h<ec nonjiat nisi ratio- 
 nahile auxilium. — (XIII.j Simili modo fiat de 
 auxiliis de civitate Londonii. Et Civitas Lnn- 
 donii habeat omnes antiquas librrtates, et libe- 
 ras consueludines suas, tarn per terras quam per 
 aquas. Prtgtera volunms et concndimus quod 
 omnes aliee Civitatcs, et Bnrgi, et Villie, et Por- 
 tiis, habeant omnes libertates ft liberas coiisuctic- 
 dines suas. — fX/V.J Et ad habendum commune 
 consilium regni, deaiianlio assidendo, aliter quam, 
 in tribus casibus pradictis, vel de Scul.agio assi- 
 dendo, summ.oneri faciemus Jrcldepiscopos, Epis- 
 copos, Abhates, Comites, et majores Barunes, 
 sigillatim, per literas nostras. Et prwterea, 
 faciemus summoneri in generali per Vicecomi- 
 tes et Ballivos noslros, omnes illos qui de nobis 
 tenent in capite, ad certum diem, scilicet, ad 
 terminum quadraginta dierum, ad minus, et ad 
 certum locum; el in omnibus Uteris illius sum- 
 monitionis causam sununonitionis cxprimemus ; et 
 sic facta summonilione , negotium ad diem assig- 
 natitm procedat, secundum consilium illorum 
 qui presentes fuerint, quamvis non omnes sum^ 
 moniti venerint. — fXV. (i.) Nos non concede- 
 mus de ctetero, alicui, quod capiat auxilium de 
 
 ^0 
 
 N^"^-^ -^01' 
 
THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 /debts owing to others than Jews. — (XII. 32.) No 
 scutage nor aid shall be imposed in our kingdom, 
 unless by the common council of our kingdom; ex- 
 cepting to redeem our person, to make our eldest 
 sonakniglit, and once to marry our eldest (laughter, 
 and not for these, unless a reasonable aid shall 
 be demanded. — (XIII.) In like manner let it be 
 concerning the aids of the City of London . — And the 
 City of London should have all it's ancient liberties, 
 and it's free customs, as well by land as by water. 
 — Furthermore, we will and grant that all other 
 Cities, and Burghs, and Towns, and Ports, should 
 have all their liberties and free customs. — (XIV.) 
 And also to have the common council of the king- 
 dom, to assess and aid, otherwise than in the three 
 cases aforesaid: and for the assessing of scutages, we 
 will cause to be summoned theArchbishops, Bishops, 
 Abbots, Earls, and great Barons, individually, by 
 our letters.^ — And besides, we will cause to be sum- 
 moned in general by our Sheriffs and Bailiffs, all 
 those who hold of us in chief, at a certain day, 
 that is to say at the distance of forty days, {before 
 their meeting,) at the least, and to a certain place ; 
 and in all the letters of summons, we will express 
 the cause of the summons : and the summons being 
 thus made, the business shall proceed on the day 
 appointed, according to the counsel of those who 
 shall be present, although all who had been sum- 
 moned have not come. — (XV. 6.) We will not give 
 leave to any one, for the future, to take an aid of 
 
 K#g#r- ^^ 
 
-r 
 
 MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 l-liil ''^*™ hominihus siiis, nisi ad corpus simm^l 
 redimendum, et ad faciendum primo/^eiiitum'^i 
 ^!,Jiliiim sumn mititem, et ad primogenitam fi- ^M 
 |ii?f Ham suam seniel marilandam ; et ad htec non ^ 
 fiat 7iisi rationahile auwilium. — (XVI. "] .) 
 Ntdhis distringatur ad faciendum majus servi- 
 tium de Feodo Blilitis, nee de alio libero tene- 
 mento, quam inde debetur. — (X VII. S.J Commu- 
 tiia placita non sequantur curiam }tostram, sed 
 teneantur in aliqiio certo loco. — (XVIII.) 
 Recognitiones de Nova Dissaisiiia, de Morte 
 Antecessoris, et de Ultima Presentatione, non 
 capianttir nisi in suis comitatibus, et hoc 
 modo : — Nos, vel si extra regntim ftierimus, 
 Capitalis Justiciarius tioster, mittemus duos Jus- 
 ticiarios per unumqtiemque comitatum per qua- 
 tiior vices in anno, qui, cum quatuor militibus 
 cujiislibet comitatus, electis per comitatum, ca- 
 piant in comitatu, et in die et loco comitatus, 
 assisas prtedictas. — (XIX. 13.J Et si in die 
 comitatus assists pradicte capi non possint, 
 tot milites et liberiE tenentes remaneant de 
 illis qui interfiierint comitatui die illo, per 
 quos possint snfficienter judicia fieri, secundum 
 quod negotium fuerit majus vel minus. — (XX. 
 9.) Liber homo non amercietur pro parvo de- 
 licto, nisi secundum modum delicti; et pro mag- 
 no delicto, amercietur secimdum magnitudinem 
 delicti, salvo contenemento suo, et Mercator 
 eodem modo, salva mercandisa sua, et villainiis 
 
urn 
 
 ^^^' 
 
 ™Mit^ 
 
 tf:^« 
 
 fM 
 
 
 THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 Jhis own free-men, except for redeeming his own 
 body, and for making his eldest son a knight, and 
 for marrying once his eldest daughter ; and not that 
 unless itbe a reasonable aid. — (XVI. 7.) None shall 
 be distrained to do more service for a Knight's-Fee, 
 nor for any other free tenement, than what is due 
 from thence. — (XVII. 8.) Common Pleas shall not 
 follow our court, but shall be held in any certain 
 place. — (XVIII.) Trials upon the Writs of Novel 
 Disseisin, of Mart d'Ancestre (death of the ances- 
 tor), and Darrien Presentment (last presentation), 
 shall not be taken but in their proper counties, and 
 in this manner: — We, or our Chief Justiciary, if 
 we are out of the kingdom, will send two Justi- 
 ciaries into each county, fourtimes in the year, who, 
 with four knights of each county, chosen by the 
 county, shall hold the aforesaid assizes, within the 
 county on the day, and at the place appointed. — 
 (XIX. 13.) And if the aforesaid assizes cannot be 
 taken on the day of the county-court, let as many 
 knights and freeholders, of those who were pre- 
 sent at the county-court remain behind, as shall 
 be sufficient to do justice, according to the 
 great or less importance of the business. — (XX. 
 9.) A free-man shall not be amerced for a 
 small offence, but only according to the degree of 
 the offence ; and for a great delinquency, according 
 to the magnitude of the delinquency, saving his 
 contenement: a Merchant shall be amerced in the 
 same manner, saving his merchandise, and a villain 
 
 75 lf^^*% "-Staj^ 
 
Lteo" 
 
 MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 podeni modo amercielur, salvo ivaignaigio siio,\ 
 si inciderint in misericordiam tiostram; et nulla]^ 
 \prwdictarwn misericorJ.iarimi ponahir, nisi per^ 
 sacramentum probonim homimim de visneto. — 
 fXXT.J Comitcs et Barones non amercientur 
 nisi per Pares siios, et non nisi secundum modum 
 delicti. — fXXII. lO.J Nidliis Clericus amer- 
 cietnr de laico tenemento suo, nisi secundum tno- 
 dum aliorum prwdictorum, et non secundum quan- 
 titatem henejicii sui ecclesiastici. — (XXIII. W.J 
 Nee villa nee homo distringatur facere pontes ad 
 riparias, nisi qui ab antiquo, et de jure, facere 
 dehent.—fXXIV . 14.J Nullus Vicecomes, Con- 
 stabularius, Coronatores, vel alii Ballivi nos- 
 tri, teneant placita coronce nostres. — f XX V.J 
 Onmes Comitatvs et Hundredi, Treihingii, et 
 W apentadlii , sint ad antiquas firmas, absque 
 ulln incremento, exceptis Dominicis maneriis 
 nostris. — fXXVI. \5.J Sialiquis tenins de nobis 
 laicum feodum moriatur, et Vicecomes vel Balli- 
 vus noster, ostendat literas nostras patentes de 
 summonitione nostra de debito quod defunctus no- 
 bis debuit, liceat Vicecomiti vel Ballivo nostra 
 attachiare et inbreviare catalla dej'uncti inventa 
 in laico feodo, ad valentiam illius dcbiti, per 
 visum legalium hominum, ila tanien quod nihil 
 inde amoveatur , donee persolvatur nobis debi- 
 tum quod clarum Juit; et residuum relinqua- 
 tor eweculoribus ad faciendum testamentinn 
 
 '^^^wi 
 
bhall be amerced after the same manner, saviiigg 
 him his Wainage, if he shall fall into oiirl 
 smercy ; and none of the aforesaid amerciaments- 
 shall be assessed, but by the oath of honest men 
 of the vicinage. — (XXI.) Earls and Barons shall 
 not be amerced but by their Peers, and that 
 only according to the degree of their delin- 
 quency. — (XXII. 10.) No Clerk shall be amer- 
 ced for his lay-tenement, but according to the 
 manner of the others as aforesaid, and not accord- 
 ing to the quantity of his ecclesiastical benefice. — 
 (XXIIl. 11.) Neither a town nor any person shall 
 be distrained to build bridges or embankments, 
 excepting those which anciently, and of right, are 
 bound to do it.— (XXIV. 14.) No Sheriff, Con- 
 stable, Coroners, nor other of our Bailiffs, shall 
 hold pleas of our crown. — (XXV.) All Counties, 
 and Hundreds, Trethings, and Wapontakes, shall 
 be at the ancient rent, without any increase, ex- 
 cepting in our Demesne-manors. — (XXVI. 15.) 
 If any one holding of us a lay-fee dies, and 
 the Sheriff or our Bailiff, shall shew our letters- 
 patent of summons concerning the debt which the 
 defunct owed to us, it shall be lawful for the 
 Sheriff or our Bailiff to attach and register the 
 chattels of the defunct found on that lay-fee, to 
 the amount of that debt by the view of lawful 
 men, so that nothing shall be removed from thence 
 until our debt be paid to us ;' and the rest shall 
 be left to the executors to fulfil the wiU of the 
 
MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 defimcti et si nihil nobis debeatur ah ipso, omnia ^ 
 ,, catalla cedant defuncto, salvis uxore ipsius et piie 
 Vris rationaiilibus partibus siiis. — (XXVII. \&.J 
 Si aliquis liber homo intestatus decesserit, catalla 'i 
 sua per matins propinquonim parenttim et amico- 
 rum SHorum, per visum Ecclesiae distribuantttr ; 
 salvis iinicuiqiie debitis qiue defunctis ei debebat. 
 — (XX VIH. 18.J Nullus Conslabularius vel alius 
 Ballivics noster, capiat blada vel alia catalla ali- 
 ciijiis, nisi statim inde reddal denarios, ant re- 
 spectttm hide habere possil de voluntate vendi- 
 toris. — (XXIX. \9.J Nullus Constabularius dis- 
 tringat aliquem Militem ad dandum denarios pro 
 custodia castri, sifacere voluerit cnstodiam illam 
 in propria persona sua, vel per alium probum 
 hominem, si ipse eam facer e non possit propter 
 rationabilem causam: et si nos du.verimus vel 
 miserimus eum in e.vercitu, erit quietus de cus- 
 todia secundum quantitatem temporis quo, per 
 nos, fuerit in exercitu. — f^XXX. 20.J Nullus 
 Vicecomes vel Ballivus noster, vel aliquis alius, 
 capiat eqtios vel carettas alicnjus liberi hominis 
 pro carragio faciendo, nisi de voluntate ipsius li- 
 beri hominis. — (XXXI. 21.) Nee nos, nee Ballivi 
 nostri, capiemus alienum boscum ad castra vel alia 
 agenda nostra, nisi per voluiitatem ipsius cujus 
 boscus ills fuerit. — (XXXII. 22.J Nos non tene- 
 bimus terras illnrum qui convictifuerint dej'clonia, 
 nisi per unum annum et iciium diem; et tunc red- 
 dantur terrts dominis feodormn. — (XXXIII. 23. ) 
 
defunct ; and if nothing be owing to us by him, all 
 the chattels shall fall to the defunct, saving to 
 his wife and children their reasonable shares. — 
 (XXVII. 16.) Ifanyfree-nianshalldieintestate,his 
 chattels shall be distributed by the hands of his 
 nearest relations and friends, by the view of the 
 Church, saving to every one the debts which the 
 defunct owed.— (XXVIII. 18.) No Constable nor 
 otherBailifFof ours shall take the corn or other goods 
 of any one , without instantly paying money for them, 
 unless he can obtain respite from the free will of 
 the seller.— (XXIX. 19.) No Constable (Governor 
 of a Castle) shall distrain any Knight to give money 
 for castle-guard, if he be willing to perform it in 
 his own person, or by another able man, if he 
 cannot perform it himself, for a reasonable cause : 
 and if we have carried or sent him into the army, 
 he shall be excused from castle-guard, accord- 
 ing to the time that he shall be in the army by our 
 command.— (XXX. 20.) No Sheriff nor Bailiff of 
 ours, nor any other person shall take the horses or 
 carts of any free-man, for the purpose of carriage, 
 without the consent of the said free-man. — XXXI. 
 21.) Neither we, nor our Bailiffs, will take another 
 man's wood, for our castles or other uses, unless 
 by the consent of him to whom the wood be- 
 longs. — (XXXII. 22.) We will not retain the lands 
 of those who have been convicted of felony, except- 
 ing for one year and one day, and then they shall 
 be given up to the lord of the fee. — (XXXIII. 23.) 
 
+ • +■ 
 
 5^7^ 
 
 MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 |, Omnes Kidelli de catero deponantiirpenilus de Tlia- 
 imesia el de Medeivay, of, per totam Angliam, nisi 
 ?per costeram maris. — fXXXIV. 24.J Breve ^ 
 quod vocatur Prcecipe, de ctetero nohfiat alicui de 
 aliqiio tenemento, unde liber homo possit amittere 
 ciirimn suam. — (XXXV. 12.) Una niensiira tnni 
 sit per totum regnimi nostrum, et ima mensnra ccr- 
 visiae, et una mensura hladi, scilicet quurtarium 
 Londonii; et una latitudo patinorum linctorum, et 
 russettorum, et halbergettorum, scilicet, duae idncB 
 infra listas. De pondcrihus autem sit ut de men- 
 suris. — (XXXVI. 26.J Nihil detur vcl capi- 
 atur de ccetero pro Brevi Inquisitionis de vita vcl 
 membris; set gratis concedatur et non nesratur. — 
 (XXXVIJ. 21 .J Si aliquis teneat de nobis per 
 Feodi-Firmam, vel per Socagittm, vel per Bur- 
 gagium; et de alio terram teneat per Servitinni 
 Militare, nos non habehimus custodiam haredis 
 nee terrce sua; est de feodo alterius, occasione 
 illius Feodi-Firmfe , vel Socagii, vel Burgagii ; 
 nee habebimus custodiam. illius Feodi-Firmce, vel 
 Socagii, vel Burgagii, nisi ipsi Feodi-Firma de- 
 beat Servitium Militare. Nos non habebimus cus- 
 todiam haredis vel terrce alicujus, quam tenet de 
 alio per Servitium Militare, occasione Parve Ser- 
 janterie quam tenet de nobis per servitium red- 
 dendi nobis cultellos, vel sagiltas, vel hujusmodi. 
 —(XXXVIII. 28 J Nullus Ballivus ponat de 
 ccetero aliquem ad legem, simplici loquela sua, 
 sine testibusjidelibus ad hoc inductis. — {XXXIX. 
 
f^f«:^ 
 
 THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 lAll kydells (wears) for the future shall be quite re- 
 jfmoved out of the Thames, and the Medway, and 
 [through all Eng-laiid, excepting upon the sea-coast.— ' 
 (XXXI V. 24. ) The writ which is called Precipe, for 
 the future shall not be granted to any one of any te- 
 nement, by which a free-man may lose his court. — 
 (XXXV. 12.) There shall be one measure of wine 
 throughout all our kingdom , and one measure of ale, 
 and one measure of corn , namely the quarter of Lon- 
 don ; and one breadth of dyed cloth, and of russets, 
 and of halherjects, namely, two ells within the lists. 
 Also it shall he the same with weights as with mea- 
 sures. — (XXXVI. 26.) Nothing shall be given or 
 taken for the future for the Writ of Inquisition of life 
 or limb ; but it shall be given without charge, and not 
 denied.— (XXXVII. 27-) If any hold of us hy Fee- 
 Farm, or Socage, or Burgage, and hold land of ano- 
 ther hy Military Service, we will not have the custody 
 of the heir, nor of his lands, which are of the fee of 
 another, on account of that Fee-Farm, or Socage, or 
 Burgage ; nor will we have the custody of the Fee- 
 Farm, Socage , or Burgage, unless the Fee-Farm owe 
 Military Service. We will not have the custody of 
 theheir, nor of the lands of any one, which he holds of 
 another hy Military Service, on accountof any Petty- 
 Sergeantry which he holds of us by the service of giv- 
 ing us daggers, or arrows, or the like. — (XXXVIII. 
 28.) No Bailiff, for the future, shall put any man to 
 his law, upon his own simple affirmation, without cre- 
 dible witnesses produced for that purpose. (XXXIX. 
 
29.J Nidlus liber homo capiatur, vel imprisonetur, 
 ^ aut dissaisiatiir , aut utlagetvr, mtt exuletur, 
 aut aliquo modo destruatur; nee super eiim 
 ibimiis, 7iec super eum mittemiis, nisi per legale 
 judicium parium suorum, vel per legem terra;. 
 — (^h. 30.^ Vulli vendemus, niilli negabimus, 
 aut differimus, rectum aut Justitiam. — fXLI. 
 31. J Omnes 3Jercatores habeant salvum et secu- 
 rum ea'ire ab Anglia, H venire in Angliain, mo- 
 rari et ire per Angliam, tam per terram qitam 
 per aquam, ad emendum et vendendum, sine om- 
 nibus malis tollis, per antiquas et rectus con- 
 suetudines ; pneterqiiam in tempore guerree, et 
 si siiit de terra contra nos guerrina : et si 
 tales invenianfur in terra nostra in principio 
 g7ierree, attacMentitr sine dampno corporum et 
 rerum, donee sciatur a nobis, vel Capitali Jtis- 
 ticiario nostro, quomodo Blercatores terra; nos- 
 tr(B tractentnr, qui tunc invenientur in terra con- 
 tra nos guerrina; et si nostri salvi sint ibi, alii 
 salvi sint in terra nostra — fXLII. 33.J Liceat 
 unicuique de catero, exire de regno nostro, et re- 
 dire salvo et secure per terrain et per aquam, salva 
 fide nostra, nisi tempore guerree, per aliquod breve 
 tempus, propter communem utilitatem regni : ew- 
 ceptis inprisonatis et utlagatis, secundum legem 
 regni; et gentie de terra contra nos guerrina, et 
 3Iercatoribus de qiiibus fiat sicitt pradictum est. 
 — (XLIII. 36.J Si qnis teimerit de aliqua es- 
 caeta, sictit de Honore de IVallingeford ; Not- 
 
 Nr, 
 
 82 
 
 
"««Ssa>*>:^ 
 
 THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 29.) No freeman shall be seized, or imprisoned, or 
 dispossessed, or outlawed, or in any way destroyed ; 
 nor will we condemn him, nor will we commit him to 
 prison,exceptingbythelegaljudgment of his peers, 
 or by the laws of the land. — (XL. 30.) To none will 
 we sell, to none will we deny, to none will we delay 
 right or justice. — (XLI. 31.) All Merchants shall 
 have safety and security in coming into England, and 
 goingout of England, and in staying and in travelling 
 through England , as well by land as by water, to buy 
 and sell, without any unjust exactions, according to 
 ancient and right customs, excepting in the time of 
 war, and if they be of a country at war against us : 
 and if such are found in our land at the beginning of 
 a war, they shall he apprehended without injury of 
 their bodies and goods, until it be known to us, or 
 to our Chief Justiciary, how the Merchants of our 
 country are treated who are found in the country at 
 war against us ; and if ours be in safety there, the 
 others shall be in safety in our land. — (XLII. 33.) 
 It shall be lawful to any person, for the future, to 
 go out of our kingdom, and to return, safely and 
 securely, by land or by water, saving his allegi- 
 ance to us, unless it he in time of war, for some short 
 space, for the common good of the kingdom: ex- 
 cepting prisoners and outlaws, according to the 
 laws of the land, and of the people of the nation at 
 war against us, and Merchants who shall be treated 
 as it is said above. — (XLIII. 36.) If any hold of 
 any escheat, as of the Honour of Wallingford, Not- 
 
MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 nngehami(S, Bojionii, Lancastrits, vel de aliis es- 
 T caetis qurs sunt in manii nostra, et smit Baronia;, 
 et obierlt, hceres ejus non det allud relcvimn, nee 
 faciat aliud nobis servithim qiiam faceret Baroni, 
 si Baronia ilia esset in manu Barouis ; et nos 
 codem modo earn tenehimus quo Baro earn temiit. 
 • — fXLIV. 39. ) Homines qui manent extra forest- 
 am, nonveniant, de ctetero, coram Justiciariis nos- 
 tris de Foresta, per communes summonitiones ; nisi 
 sint in placito, vel plegii alicujus, vel aliquoriim 
 qui attachiati sint pro Foresta. — fXLV. 42. j Nos 
 non faciemus Justiciarios, Constabularios, Vice- 
 comites, vel BalUvos, nisi de talibus qui sciant le- 
 gem regni, et earn bene velint observare. — (XL VI. 
 43.J Omnes Barones qui fundaverunt Abbatias, 
 imde habent cartas Regum Jnglits, vel antiquam 
 tenuram, habeant earum custodiam cum vacave- 
 rint, sicut habere debent. — fXLVII. 47-) Omnes 
 ForestfB quis afforestate sunt tempore nostra, sta- 
 tim deafforestentur ; et ila fat de Ripariis quce 
 per nos tempore nostro posite sunt in defenso. 
 — (XL VIII. 39.J Omnes mala consuetiidines de 
 Forestis et Warrennis, et de Forestariis et War- 
 rennariis, Vicecomitibus et eorutn. ministris, Ri- 
 pariis et earum custotibus, statim inquirantur 
 in qtiolibet comitatu, per duodecim Milites jura- 
 tos de eodem comitatu, qui debent eligi per pro- 
 bos homines ejusdem comitatus, et infra quadra- 
 ginta dies post inquisitionem factum, penitus, ita 
 quud nunquam revocentur, delcantur per eosdem. 
 
M. 
 
 THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 ting'ham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or of other escheats , 
 which are in our hand, and are Baronies, and shall™| 
 die, his heir shall not give any other relief, nor do any 
 other service to us, than he should have done to the 
 Baron, if that Barony had been in the hands of the 
 Baron ; and we will hold it in the same manner that 
 the Baron held it.— (XLIV. 39.) Men who dwell 
 without the Forest, shall not come, for the future, 
 before our Justiciaries of the Forest on a common 
 summons ; unless they be parties in a plea, or sure- 
 ties for some person or persons who are attached for 
 the Forest. — (XLV. 42.) We will not make Justi- 
 ciaries, Constables, Sheriffs, or Bailiffs, excepting 
 of such as know the laws of the land, and are well dis- 
 posed to observe them. — (XLVI. 43.) AllBarons 
 who have found edAhhies, which they hold by char- 
 ters frOQi the Kings of England, or by ancient tenure, 
 shall have the custody of them when they become va- 
 cant, as they ought to have. — (XLVII. 47.) All 
 Forests which have been made in our time, shall be 
 immediately disforested ; and it shallbe so done with 
 Water-banks, which have been taken orfencedin by 
 us during our reign.— (XLVIII. 39.) All evil cus- 
 toms of Forests and Warrens, and of Foresters and 
 Warreners, Sheriffs and their officers, Water-banks 
 and their keepers, shall immediately be inquired 
 into by twelve Knights of the same county, upon 
 oath, who shallbe elected by good men of the same 
 county ; and within forty days after the inquisition 
 is made, they shall be altogether destroyed by them 
 
r^"^ 
 
 MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 ita quod nos hoc prius scianius vel Justicia- 
 rius noster, si in Anglia non fuerimus. — 
 (XLIX. 38.J Omnes obsldes et cartas statim 
 reddemus qiite liberate fuerwit noUs ah An- 
 glicis in securitatem pads, vel fldelis servitii. 
 — (L. 40 J Nos amovebitnus penitus de halliis 
 parentes Gerardi de Atyes, quod de catero 
 mdlam habeant balliam in Anglia; Engelardum 
 de Cijgonii, Andream, Petrum, et Gyonem de 
 Cancelli, Gyonem de Cygonii, Galfridum de 
 Martini, et fratres ejus, Philippum Marci, et 
 fratres ejus, et Galfridum nepotem ejus, et 
 totam sequelam eorumdcm. — (LI. 41. j Et sta- 
 tim post pads reformationem, amovebimus de 
 regno omnes alienigenas milites, balistarios, 
 servientes stipendarios, qui venerint cum equis 
 et armis ad nocimientum regni. — fLII. 25. J 
 Si quis fuerit dissaisitus vel elongatus per nos, 
 sine legali jiidicio parium suorum, de terris 
 castallis, libertalibus, vel jure sno, statim ea 
 ei restituemus ; et si contentio super hoc orta 
 fuerit, tunc inde fiat per judicium viginti 
 quinque Baronum, de quibus fit mentio in- 
 ferius in securitate pads. De omnibus autem 
 illis de quibus aliquis dissaisitus fiierit, vel 
 elongatus, sine legali judicio parium suo- 
 rum, per Henricum Regcm patrem nostrum, 
 vel per Richardum Regem fratrem. nostrum, 
 qua; in manu nostra habemtis, vel qua; 
 alii tenent qua; nos oporteat icarantizare. 
 
 ^m 
 
?<Si 
 
 THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 never to be restored ; provided that this be notified 
 to us before it be done, or to our Justiciary, if we 
 ,-(«H!i be not in England. — (XLIX.38.) We will iinme- 
 fk'> diately restore all hostages and charters, which 
 have been delivered to us by the English, in se- 
 curity of the peace and of their faithful service. — 
 (L. 40.) We will remove from their bailiwicks 
 the relations of Gerard de Athyes, so that, for the 
 future, they shall have no bailiwick in England; 
 Eugelard de Cygony, Andrew, Peter, and Gyone 
 de Chancell, Gyone de Cygony, Geoffrey de Mar- 
 tin, and his brothers, Philip Mark, and his brothers, 
 and Geoffrey his nephew, and all their followers. — 
 (LI. 41 .) And immediately after the conclusion of 
 the peace, we will remove out of the kingdom all 
 foreign knights, cross-bow-men, and stipendiary 
 soldiers, who have come with horses and arms to 
 the molestation of the kingdom. — (LII. 25.) If any 
 have been disseised or dispossessed by us, without 
 a legal verdict of their peers, of their lands, castles, 
 liberties, or rights, we will immediately restore 
 these tbings to them ; and if any dispute shall arise 
 on this bead, then it shall be determinedby the ver- 
 dict of the twenty-five Barons, of whom mention 
 is made below, for the security of the peace. — 
 Concerning all those tbings of which any one hath 
 been disseised or dispossessed, without the legal 
 verdict of his peers by King Henry our father, or 
 King Richard our brother, which we have in our 
 hand, or others hold with our warrants, we shall 
 
 i-.^ 
 
 -A 
 
w^ 
 
 MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 respectivm habebimns usque ad commitnem ter- 
 miniim Criicce Signatorum : exceptis illis de 
 ' (jnibus placilum motmn fidt, vel inquisilio facta 
 per praceptum nostrum, ante siisceptionem Cru- 
 cis tiostris; cum autem redierhnus de percgri- 
 natione nostra, vel si forte remanserimus a 
 peregrinalione nostra statim inde plenam jiis- 
 titiam exhibebimus. — (LIII.) Eundem autem 
 respectum liabcbimus, et eodem modo de jns- 
 titia ewhibenda, de forestis deafforestandis, vel 
 remansiiris forestis qitas Henricus pater tioster, 
 vel Ricardus frater noster afforestaverimt ; et 
 de ciistodiis terrarum quce sunt de alieno feo- 
 do, ciijusmodi custodAus Imcusque habuimiis, oc- 
 casione feodi quod aliquis de nobis tenuit per 
 Servitium Militare ; et de Abbatiis quce fundate 
 fuerint in feodo aUerius quani nostro, in qni- 
 bus dominus feodi dixerit se jus habere ; et 
 cum redierimus, vel si remanserimus a pere- 
 grinatione nostra, super Mis conqucrentibus ple- 
 plenam justitiam statim exhibebimus. — (LIV.J 
 Nulhis capiatur nee inprisunetur propter ap- 
 pellum feminne de morte aUerius, quam viri sui. 
 — (LF. 3] .J Omnes fnes qui injuste, et contra 
 legem terra; facti, sunt nobiscum, et omnia amer- 
 ciamenta facta injuste, et contra legem terrie, 
 omnino condonentur, vel fat inde per judicium 
 viginti quinque Baronum de qitibus ft mentio 
 inferiiis in seciiritate pads, vel per judicium 
 
>%~1-. 
 
 ■<A 
 
 %^' 
 
 THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 ; have respite, until the common term of the Crois- , 
 aders, excepting those concerning wliich a plea*^ 
 had been moved, or an inquisition taken, by our ^^ 
 precept, before our tailing the Cross ; but as soon w^ 
 as we shall return from our ex|)edition, or if, by 
 chance, we should not go upon our expedition, we 
 will immediately do complete justice therein. — 
 (LIII.) The same respite will we have, and the 
 same justice shall be done, concerning the dis- 
 forestation of the forests, or the forests which 
 remain to be disforested, whicli Henry our 
 father, or Richard our brother, have afforested ; 
 and the same concerning the wardship of lands 
 which are in another's fee, but the wardship of 
 which we have hitherto had, occasioned by any 
 of our fees held by Military Service ; and for Abbies 
 founded in any other fee than our own, in which the 
 Lord of the fee hath claimed a right ; and when 
 we shall have returned, or if we shall stay from our 
 expedition, we shall immediately do complete jus- 
 tice in all these pleas. — (LIV.) No man shall be 
 apprehended or imprisoned on the appeal of a 
 woman, for the death of any other man than her 
 husband. — (LV.37-) All fines that have been made 
 by us unjustly, or contrary to the laws of the land ; 
 and all amerciaments that have been imposed un- 
 justly, or contrary to the laws of the land, shall be 
 wholly remitted, or ordered by the verdict of the 
 twenty-five BaronSjOfwhom mention is made below, 
 for the security of the peace, or by the verdict of 
 
ife' 
 
 MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 iiHijoris partis eoiiimdem, una cum pradicta 
 ^SlfphciHo, Canluariensis Archiepiscopo, si irite- 
 resse poterit, et aliis qiios secum ad hoc vocarc. 
 voluerit: et si intcressc noii poterit, nihiliiminiis 
 procedat negotium sine eo; ita quod si aliquis, 
 vel aliqui, de preedictis viginti quinque Bciron- 
 ibus, fuerint in simili querela, amoveanttir, 
 quantum ad hoc judicium, et alii loco illorum 
 per residuos de eisdem viginti quinque tantum 
 ad hoc faciendum electi et jurat!, suhstituan- 
 tur. — (LVI. 44. J Si nos dissaisivimus vel elon- 
 gavimus Walenses de terris, vel libertatihus, 
 vel rebus aliis, sine legali judicio jiarium siio- 
 rum in Anglia, vel in Wallia, eis statim red- 
 dantur ; et si contentio super hoc orta fuerit, 
 tunc inde fiat in Marchia per judicium parium 
 suorum: de tenementis Anglice, secundum le- 
 gem Anglia; de teneme7itis WalVue, secundum 
 legem Wallia; de tenementis Mar chiie, secundum 
 legem Marchia. Idem facicnt Walenses nobis 
 et nostris. — (LVII.) De omnibus auteni illis de 
 quibus aliquis Walcnsium dissaisitus fuerit, vel 
 elongatus, sine legali judicio parium suorum, per 
 Henricmn Regem patrem nostrum, vel Richard- 
 um Regem fratrem nostrum, quce nos in manu 
 nostra habemus, vel qua alii tenent qua nos opor- 
 teal waranlizare, respectum habebimus usq}(e ad 
 communem terminum Cruca Sigi.atorum, illis 
 civceptis, de quibus placitum malum fuit, vel in- 
 
 ^M 
 
 ■-■^\. 
 
 
THE GREVT CHAilTER OF KIMG J01I\ 
 
 thegreaterpartof them, together with the aforesaid 
 Stephen, Archhishop of Canterbury, if lie can be 
 present, and others whom he may think fit to liring 
 with him : and if he cannot be present, the bnsi 
 ness sliall proceed, notwithstanding-, without him ; 
 but so, that if any one or more of the aforesaid 
 twenty-five Barons have a similar plea, let them be 
 removed from that particular trial, and others elect- 
 ed and sworn by the residue of the same twenty- 
 five, be substituted in their room, only for that 
 trial. — (LVI. 44.) If we have disseised or dispos- 
 sessed any Welshmen of their lands, or liberties, 
 or other things, without a legal verdict of their 
 peers, in England or in Wales, they shall be im- 
 mediately restored to them ; and if any dispute shall 
 arise upon this head, then let it be determined in 
 the Marches by the verdict of their peers : for a 
 tenement of England, according to the law of Eng- 
 land; for a tenement of Wales, according to the law 
 of Wales ; for a tenement of the Marches, accord- 
 ing to the law of the Marches. The Welsh shall 
 do the same to us and to our subjects. — (LVII.) 
 Also concerning those things of which any Welsh- 
 man hath been disseised or dispossessed without 
 the legal verdict of his jieers, by King Henry our 
 father, or King Richard our brother, which we 
 have in our hand, or others hold with our war- 
 rant, we shall have respite, until the common 
 term of the Croisaders, excepting for those con- 
 cerning which a plea had been moved, or an in- 
 
MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS 
 
 qwisitio facta per prtsceptnm nostrum, ante 
 siisceptiouem crucis nustrtB. Cum autem redi- 
 erimus, vel si forte remanserimus a peregrina- 
 tiofte nostra, stati'm eis hide plenum justitiam, 
 e;chibit)cmus secundum leges Wallensium, et 
 partes prtedietas. — (LVHI. 45.) Nos reddeinus 
 filium LeueHni, statim, et om7ies obsides de 
 IJ'aUta, et cartas qiia; nobis liberate fuerunt 
 in securitatcm pads. — (LIX. 46.) Nos fa- 
 ciemus Alexandra Regi Scotlorum, de sorori- 
 bus suis, et obsidibus reddendis, et libertatibus 
 suis, et jure sun, secundum formani in qua fa- 
 ciemus aliis Baronibus nostris Anglia;, nisi aliter 
 esse debeat per cartas qtias habemus de Gnliehno 
 patrts ipsius quondam Rege Scottorum ; et hoc 
 erit per judicium pariuin suorvm in curia nos- 
 tra. — (LX. 48.^ Omnes autem istas consue- 
 tudines prtedictas, et libcrtates quas nos conces- 
 simus in regno nostro tenendas, quantum ad nos 
 pertinet erga nostros, omnes de regno nostro, tarn 
 clerici quam laid observent, quantum ad se per- 
 tinet erga suos. — (LXI. 49.J Cum autem pro 
 DEO et ad emendationem regni nostri, et ad 
 melius sopiendum discordiam inter nos et Ba- 
 rones nostros ortam, hcec omnia prcedicta con- 
 cesseritnus, volentes ea integra et frma stabili- 
 tate in perpetuum gandere, facimus et concede- 
 mus eis securitatem subscriptam ; videlicet, quod 
 Barones eligent viginti quinque Barones de reg- 
 
quisition made, by our precept, before our taking 
 the cross. But as soon as we shall return from 
 our expedition, or if, by chance, we should not go 
 upon our expedition, we shall immediately do com- 
 plete justice therein, according to the laws of 
 Wales, and the parts aforesaid. — (LVIII. 45.) We 
 will immediately deliver up the son of Llewelin, 
 and all the hostages of Wales, and release them from 
 their engagements which were made witli us, for 
 the security of the peace. — (LIX. 46.) We shall 
 do to Alexander King of Scotland, concerning the 
 restoration of his sisters and hostages, and his li- 
 berties and rights, according to the form in which we 
 act to our other Barons of England, unless it ought 
 to be otherwise by the charters which we have from 
 his father William, the late King of Scotland ; and 
 this shall be by the verdict of Ms peers in our court.— 
 (JjX. 48.) Also all these customs and liberties 
 aforesaid, which we have granted to be held in our 
 kingdom, for so much of it as belongs to us, all our 
 subjects, as well clergy as laity, shall observe to- 
 wardstheir tenants as far as concei'ns them.— (LXI. 
 4!).) But since we have granted all these things 
 aftn-esaid, for GOD, and for the amendment of our 
 kingdom, and for the better extinguishing the dis- 
 cord which has arisen between us and our Barons , we 
 being desirous that these things should possess en- 
 tire and unshaken stability for ever, give and grant 
 to them the security underwritten; namely, that the 
 Barons may elect twenty-five Barons of the king- 
 
MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 f^v no, qrios vohcerint, qid deheant pro totis virilms 
 suis, observare, tenere, et facere observari, pa- 
 ceni et Uhertates qiias eis conccssimus et hac 
 prcsente carta nostra confirmavimtis : ita, scili- 
 cet, quod si nos, vel Justiciarius noster, vel 
 ballivi nostri, vel aliqnis de ministris nostris, in 
 aliqno erga aliquem dcliquerimus , vel aliquem 
 articuloruin pads ant sectiritatis transgressi fu- 
 erinms, et delictum ostensum fiierit quaiiior Ba- 
 ronibus de pradictis viginti qiiinque Baronibus, 
 illi quntuor Barones accedent ad nos, vel ad 
 Justiciarium nostrum, si fuerimus extra regniim, 
 proponentes nobis excessum, petent, ut ewcessimi 
 ilium sine dilatione faciamns emendari. Et si 
 }ios excessum non emendaverimus , vel si fueri- 
 nius regnum, Justiciariiis iioster non emendav- 
 erit, infra tempus quadraginta dierum, compu- 
 tandum a tempore quo monstratum fuerit nobis, 
 vel Justiciario nostra, si extra regnum fueri- 
 mns, prtsdicti quatuor Barones referant causam 
 illam ad residues de illis viginti quinque Baron- 
 ibus, et illi, viginti quinque Barones, cum 
 communa totius terris, distringent et gravabunt 
 nos modis oynnibits quibus poternnt; scilicet, 
 per captionem castrormn, terrarum, posses- 
 sionem, el aliis modis quibis poternnt, donee 
 fuerit emendatnm secundum arbitrium eornm ; 
 salva persona nostra, et Regince nostrce, - et 
 libcrorum nostrorum ; et cum fuerit emendatum. 
 
 T^ 
 
THE GREAT ClfARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 dom, whom they please, who shall with their whole 
 ])Ower, ohserve, keep, and cause to be observed, 
 the peace and liberties which we have granted to 
 them, and have confirmed by this our present char- 
 ter, in this manner: that is to say, if we, or oiir 
 Justiciary, or our bailiffs, or any of our officers, 
 shall have injured any one in any thing, or shall 
 have violated any article of the peace or security, 
 and the injury shall have been shown to four of 
 the aforesaid twenty-five Barons, the said four 
 Barons shall come to us, or to our Justiciary if we 
 be out of the kingdom, and making known to us 
 the excess committed, petition that we cause that 
 excess to be redressed without delay. And if we 
 shall not have redressed the excess, or, if we have 
 been out of the kingdom, our Justiciary shall not 
 have redressed it within the term of forty days, 
 computing from the time when it shall have been 
 made known to us, or to our Justiciary if we have 
 been out of the kingdom, the aforesaid four Barons, 
 shall lay that cause before the residue of the twenty- 
 five Barons; and they, the twenty-five Barons, 
 with the community of the whole land, shall dis- 
 tress and harass us by all the ways in which they 
 are able; that is to say, by the taking of our cas- 
 tles, lands, and possessions, and hj any other means 
 in their power, until the excess shall have been 
 redressed, according to their verdict ; saving harm- 
 less our person, and the persons of our Queen and 
 children; and when it hath been redressed, they 
 
 ^j<:£" 
 
MAGNA CHARTA REGIS JOHANNIS. 
 
 iutendent nobis sicut prius fccerunt. Et fjiii- 
 cumque voluerit de terra, juret quod ad prte- 
 dicta omnia exeqnenda, parebit maudatis prce- 
 dictorum viginti quinque Baronum, et qnod 
 gravabit nos pro posse suo cum, ipsis : et 
 nos pnblice et libere damus licentiam juran- 
 di cuilibet qui jurure voluerit, et nul/i um- 
 qaam jurare prohibebiriins. Omn.es (intern 
 illos de terra, qui per se et sj)07ite sua no- 
 liierint jurare viginti quinque Barnnibiis, 
 de distringendo et gravando nos cum eis, 
 faciemus jurare eosdem de mandato nostro, 
 sicut proedictum est. Et si aliqiiis de viginti 
 quinque Baronibus decesserit, vel a terra 
 recesserit, vel aliquo alio modo impeditits 
 fuerit, quomimis ista prtedicta possent exe- 
 qui, qui residui fucrint de prtedictis viginti 
 quinque Baronibus, eligant alium loco ipsius, 
 pro arlntrio suo, qui simili modo erit juralus, 
 quo et CfFteri. In oninibus autem, quts istis 
 viginti quinque Baronibus committunter exe- 
 quenda, si forte ipsi viginti quinque pre- 
 sentes fuerint, et inter se super re aliqiia 
 discordaverint, vel aliqui ex eis summoniti 
 nolint, vel nequnant interesse, ratum habea- 
 tiir et frmum, quod major pars eoruni, qui 
 pri'sentes fuerint, providerit, vel praceperit; 
 ac si omnes viginti quitique in hoc conseusis- 
 sent: et pradicti viginti quinque jurent quod 
 
THE GREAT CHARTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 fyshall behave to us as they have done before. And 
 whoever of our land pleaseth, may swear, that he 
 will obey the commands of the aforesaid twenty- 
 five Barons, in accomplishing all the things afore- 
 said, and that with them he will harass us to 
 the utmost of his power : and we publicly and 
 freely give leave to every one to swear who is will- 
 ing to swear ; and we will never forbid any to 
 swear. But all those of our land, who, of them- 
 selves, and of their own accord, are unwilling to 
 swear to the twenty-five Barons, to distress and 
 harass us together with them, we will compel them 
 by our command, to swear as aforesaid. And if 
 any one of the twenty-five Barons shall die, or 
 remove out of the land, or in any other way shall 
 be prevented from executing the things above said, 
 they who remain of the twenty-five Barons shall 
 elect another in his place, according to their own 
 pleasure, who shall be sworn in the same manner as 
 the rest. In all those things which are ap])ointed 
 to be done by these twenty-five Barons, if it happen 
 that all the twenty-five have been present, and 
 have differed in their opinions about any thing, or 
 if some of them who had been summoned, would 
 not, or could not be present, that which the greater 
 part of those who were present shall have provid- 
 ed and decreed, shall be held as firm and as valid, 
 as if all the twenty-five had agreed in it : and 
 the aforesaid twenty-five shall swear, that they will 
 faithfully observe, and, with all their power, cause 
 
 ^r^ 
 
J^k 
 
 omnia aiitedkta fideliter observabiint, et pro toto 
 posse suo facient observari. Et nos nihil impe- 
 trabimus ah aliquo, per nos, nee per alium, per 
 quod aliqiia istarum concessionum et libertatum 
 revocetur vel mimtatttr. Et si aliqiiid tale inipe- 
 tratitm fuerit, irritum sit et inane; et nnmquam 
 eo utemur, per nos, tiec per alium. — (LXII.J Et 
 omnes malas vohtntates, indignationes, et rancores 
 ortos, inter nos et homines nostras, clericos et laic- 
 os, a tempore discordia:, plene omnibus remisimus 
 et condonavimits. Praterea, omnes transgrcs- 
 siones factas occasione ejitsdem discordia, a Pas- 
 cha anno regni nostri sextodecimo, usque adpacem 
 reformatam, plene remisimus omnibus clericis et 
 laicis, et quantum ad nos pertinet, plene condonav- 
 imus. — (^49 .J Et, insuper, fecimus eis fieri li- 
 teras testimoniales patentes domini Stephani Can- 
 tuariensis Archiepiseopi, Domini Henrici Dubli- 
 niensis Archiepiseopi, et Episcoportim preedicto- 
 rum, et Magistri Pandulphi, super securitate ista 
 et concessionihus prtefatis. — (LXIII.J Quare, vo- 
 lumus, et firmiter pracipimtis, quod Anglicana 
 Ecclesia libera sit; et quod homines in regno nos- 
 tra habeant et teneant omnes preefatas libertates, 
 jura, et concessiones, bene et in pace, libere et 
 quiete, plene et integre, sibi eth<sredibus suis, de 
 nobis et hceredibus nostris, in omnibus rebus et locis, 
 in perpetuum, sicut prcedictum est. Juratum est 
 autem, tarn ex parte nostra, qiiam ex parte Ba- 
 ronum, quod haic omnia supradicta bona fide, et 
 
•^^ 
 
 THE GREAT CHAUTER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 to lie observed, all the things mentioned above. 
 S^ And we will obtain nothing from any one, by our- 
 selves, nor by another, by which any of these con- 
 cessions and liberties may be revoked or diminished. 
 And if any such thing shall have been obtained, let 
 it be void and null : and we will never use it, nei- 
 ther by ourselves nor by anothei;. — (LXII.) And 
 we have fully remitted and pardoned to all men, all 
 the ill-will, rancour, and resentments, which have 
 arisen between us and our subjects, both clergy and 
 laity ,fromthe'commencement of the discord. More- 
 over, we have fully remitted to all the clergy and 
 laity, and as far as belongs to us, have fully par- 
 doned all transgressions committed by occasion of 
 the said discord, from Easter, in the sixteenth year 
 of our reign, until the conclusion of the peace. ^ — ■ 
 (49.) And, moreover, we have caused to be made to 
 them testimonial letters-patent of the Lord Stephen , 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Henry, Arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, and of the aforesaid Bishops, and of 
 Master Pandulph concerning this security, and the 
 aforesaid concessions. — (LXIII.) Wherefore, our 
 will is, and we firmly command that the Church of 
 England be free, and that the men in our kingdom 
 have and hold the aforesaid liberties , rights, and con- 
 cessions, well and in peace, freely and quietly , fully 
 and entirely, to them and their heirs, of us and our 
 heirs , in all things and places , for ever as is aforesaid . 
 It is also sworn, both on our part, and on that of the 
 Barons, that all the aforesaid shall be observed in 
 
H I S i s theCo veiiant made 
 between our Lord John ~A_ 
 King- of England, on the 
 one part; and Robert 
 Fitzwalter, elected Mar- 
 shal of God and of the 
 Holy Church in Eng- 
 land, and Ricliard Earl^y 
 of Clsre, Geoffrey Earl 
 of Essex and Gloucester, Roger Bigod Earl of Nor- J 
 folk and Suffolk, Saher Earl of Winchester, Robert 
 Earl of Oxford, Henry Earl of Hereford, and the 
 i.Barons under-written: Tliat is to say, William f^ 
 Marshall the younger, Eustace de Vescy, William ^tgfc/ 
 de Mowbray, John Fitz Robert, Roger de Mont-^l'l"'®' 
 Begon, William de Lanvalay, and other Earls and J.}. 
 . Barons, and Freemen of the whole kingdom, on the qI^- 
 other part: namely, That they the Earls and'jili 
 Barons and others before written, shall hold the ]'S^ 
 custody of the City of London in bail from our ^ 
 
COVENANT OF SECURITY 
 
 Lord the King'; saving that they sliall clearly 
 render all the debts and revenues within the same, 
 to our Lord the King, until the term of the As- 
 sumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the 
 seventeenth year of his reign. 
 
 And the Lord of Canterbury shall hold in like 
 manner of bail from our Lord the King, the cus- 
 tody of the Tower of London, to the aforesaid term; 
 saving to the City of London it's liberties and free 
 customs, and taking his oath in the keeping of the 
 said Tower, that our Lord the King shall in the 
 mean while not place a guard nor other forces in 
 the aforesaid City, nor in the Tower of London. 
 
 And that also within the aforesaid term, the 
 oaths to the twenty-five Barons, he tendered 
 throughout all England as it is contained in the Char- 
 ter granted concerning the liberties and security 
 of the kingdom ; or to the attornies of the twenty- 
 five Barons as it is contained in the letters granted 
 concerning the election of twelve knights for abo- 
 lishing evil customs of the forests and others. — 
 And, moreover, within the said term, all the other 
 demands which the Earls, Barons, and other free- 
 men do ask of our Lord the King which he himself 
 has declared to be granted to them, or which by 
 the twenty-five Barons, or by the greater part of 
 them shall be judged proper to be granted, are to 
 be given, according to the tenor of the said Charter. 
 And if these things shall be done, or if our Lord 
 the King on his part shall agree to do them, 
 
+ 
 
 y^rvr^ 
 
 i#i#a 
 
 COVENANT OF SECURITY. 
 
 within the term limited, then the City and ToAver^ 
 of London shall at the same term be delivered \w 
 jto onr Lord the King-, saving always to the afore- ; 
 said City it's liberties and free customs as it is he- ' 
 fore written. — And if these things shall not he 
 done, and if our Lord the King shall not agree to 
 do them within the period aforesaid, rhe Barons 
 shall hold the aforesaid City and the lord Arch- 
 bishop the Tower of London, until the aforesaid 
 rfeerf« shall be completed. And in the mean- while, 
 all of both parts shall recover the castles, lands, 
 and towns, which have been taken in the beginning 
 of the war that has arisen between our Lord the 
 King, and the Barons. 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER 
 
 Minq i^rnre tfjc Cl&ira; 
 
 Granted November I2th. AD. 1'21G, 
 
 IN THE FIRST YEAR OF HIS REIGN. 
 
 :? Ilie precetlJric; Es5a\,p,iTe 37. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL, PRESERl'ED IN THE AUCHIVES Of 
 DURHAM CATHEDRAL. 
 
 ijlrumt^Dt n-hich are priolpd iii ItHlics, aiien- Ihe varintlans brLii.-i-n 
 a llml grdQted by Kiu^; Jolin, Vid.' ante, pajjcs 62,6.1 
 e llie Charter iolo CliH|>teri ; and the Ardblo ti^ure^ rcT^r buck tu 
 he grant of Klog John, tor tlie pnrpose of compiiriaon. 
 
 ENRY, by the Grace of 
 God, King: of En<,rland, 
 Lord of Ireland, Duke 
 of Normandy and Aqui- 
 taine, and Earl of An- 
 jou,totlieArchbisho])s, 
 Bishops , Abbots , Earls , 
 liarons, Justiciaries, 
 Foresters, Sheriffs, Go- 
 vernors, Officers, Bailiffs, and to all his faithful sub- , 
 ejects, — Greeting. Know ye, that We, in the pre- 
 . sence of God, and for the salvation of our own soul, ' 
 and of the souls of our ancestors, and of our suc- 
 cessors, to the honour of God, and the exaltation of 
 the Holy Church, and the amendment of our King- 
 
 W^%^^ 
 
 s«« 
 
 I'/^-^n 
 
 ■ 
 
 Ih 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 ife»i 
 
 i 
 
 r^^l "Ip^^^jjl^f^ ' J- 
 
 
 's>. 
 
 W 
 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 dom, by the counsel of our venerable fathers, the 
 Lord Gualo, fiititled a Cardin al Priest of St. Mar- 
 tin, Legate from the Apostolic See; Peter of 
 Winchester, Rrinerns of St. Asaph, Joceline of 
 Bath and Glastonbury, Simon of Exeter, Richard 
 of Oiichcster, William of Coventry, Benedict of 
 Rochester, Henry of Landaff, of St. Da- 
 vid's, rf Bangor , and Sylvester of Worcester, 
 
 of the Bishop-! ; and of these noble persons, Wil- 
 liam Maresclial Earl of Pembroke, Rannlph Earl 
 of Chester, William de Ferrars Earl of Derby, 
 William Earl of AVjemarle, Hubert de Burgh, 
 our Justiciary, Savarij de MaJlion, William de 
 Bruer, the Father, William de Brucr, the Son, 
 Robert de Conrtcnay, Fnlke de Brent, Reginald 
 de Vautort, Jl'alter de Lacy, Hngo dc Mortimer, 
 John de Monmoutli , Walter de Deauchamp, Wal- 
 ter de Clifford, Robert de Mortimer, William de 
 Cantelow, Matthew Fitz-Herbert, John Mares- 
 chal, Alan Basset, Philip de Albiniac, John Le 
 Strange, and others of our liea;emeu ; have in the 
 — (I. 1.) First place granted to God, and by this 
 onr present Charter, have confirmed, for us and 
 our heirs for ever, that the English Church shall 
 be free, and shall have her whole rights and her 
 liberties inviolable. We have also granted to all 
 the Freemen of onr Kingdom, for us and our heirs 
 for ever, all the under-written liberties, to be en- 
 joyed and held by them and by their heirs, from 
 us and from our heirs. — (II. 2.) If any of our Earls 
 

 FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 or Barons, or others who lioM of us in chief by Mili- 
 tary Service, shall die, and at his death his heir shall 
 be of full ag-e, and shall owe a relief, he shall have 
 his inheritance by the ancient relief; that is to say, 
 the heir or heirs of an Earl, a whole Earl's Ba- 
 rony for one hundred pounds : the heir or heirs of 
 a Baron, for a whole Barony, for one hundred 
 pounds ; the heir or heirs of a Knight, for a whole 
 Knight's Fee, for one hundred shillings at the most : 
 and he who owes less, shall give less, according to 
 the ancient custom of fees. — (III. 3.) But if the 
 heir of any such be under age, hh Lord shall not 
 have the Wardship of him nor of his land, before 
 he shall have received his homage, and afterward 
 such heir shall he in ward ; and when lit' siiall come 
 to age, that is to say, to twenty and one years, be 
 shall have his inheritance without relief and without 
 fine : yet so that if he be made a Knight, whilst he 
 be Wider age, nevertheless his lands shall remain in 
 custody of his Lord, until the term aforesaid.- — 
 (IV. 4.) The warden of the land of such heir who 
 shall be under age, shall not take from the lands 
 of the heir any hut reasomble issues, and reason- 
 able customs, and reasonable services, and that 
 without destruction and waste of the men or goods ; 
 and if we commit the custody of any such lands 
 to a Sheriff, or any other person who is bound to 
 lis for the issues of them, and lie shall make de- 
 struction or waste upon the ward-lands, we will 
 recover damages from him, and the lands shrdi be 
 
Mc 
 
 FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HE>fRY III. 
 
 'committed to two lawful and discreet men of the 
 same fee, who shall answer for the issues to us, or 
 to him to whom we have assigned them : and if we 
 shall give or sell to any one the custody of any 
 such lands, and he shall make destruction or waste 
 vipon them, he shall lose the custody; and it shall 
 be committed to two lawful and discreet men of the 
 same fee, wlio shall answer to us in like manner as 
 it is said before. — (V. 5.) But the warden, as long 
 as he hath the custody of the lands, shall keep up 
 and maintain the houses, parks, warrens, ponds, 
 mills, and other things belonging to them, out of 
 their issues ; and shall restore to the heir when he 
 comes of full age, his whole estate, provided with 
 carriages and all other things, at the least such as 
 he received it. Alt these things shall be ohserved 
 in the custodies of vacant Archbishoprics, Bishop- 
 rics, Abbies, Priories, Churches, and Dignities, 
 which appertain to us, excepting that these ward- 
 ships are not to be sold. — (VI. 6.) Heirs shall be 
 married without disparagement. — (VII. J.) A wi- 
 dow, after the death of her husband, shall imme- 
 diately, and without difficulty have her freedom of 
 marriage and her inheritance ; nor shall she give 
 any thing for her dower, or for her freedom of mar- 
 riage, or for her inheritance, which her husband 
 and she held at tlie day of his deatli ; and she may 
 remain in her husbands house forty days after his 
 death, within which time her dower shall be as- 
 signed ; unless it shall have been assigned brfot^e, 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY HI. 
 
 or excepting' his hovse sluill be a CaaUe ; find if s/te , 
 (lejifirts from the Castle, titer e shall be provided for'&l 
 her a complete hovsein which she may decerilly dwell, fi 
 tditil her doicer shall be assigned to her as afore- 
 said. — (VIII. 8.) No widow shall be distrained to 
 marry herself, whilst she is willing to live without a 
 husband ; hut yet she shall give security that she will 
 not marry herself, without our consent, if she hold 
 of us, or without the consent of her lord if she hold 
 of another. — (IX. 9.) We nor our Bailiffs, will not 
 seize any land nor rent for any debt, whilst the chat- 
 tels of the debtor present sufficient for the payment 
 of the debt, and the debtor shall be ready to make 
 satisfaction: nor shall the sureties of the debtor be 
 distrained, whilst the principal debtor is ahle to 
 pay the debt ; and if the principal delitor fail in 
 payment of the debt, not having wherewith to 
 djschaige it, or will not discharge it ivhen lie is 
 ahle, then the sureties shall answer for the debt ; 
 and if Ihey be willing, they shall have the lands 
 and rents of the debtor, until satisfaction be made 
 to them for tlie debt which they had before paid 
 for him, unless the principal debtor can shew 
 himself acquitted thereof against the said sureties. 
 —(X. 13) The City of London shall have all it's 
 ancient liberties, and it's free customs, as well by 
 land as by water. — Furthermore, we will and 
 grant that all other Cities, and Burghs, and Towns, 
 and the Barons of the Cinqne Ports, and all Ports, 
 should have all their liberties and free customs. — - 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III 
 
 (XI. 16.) None shall he distrained to do more 
 service for a Knight's-Fee, nor for any other free 
 tenement, thiiuAdiat is due from thence.— (XI 1. 17-) 
 Common Pleas shall not follow our court, hut 
 shall he held in any certain place. — (XIII. 18.) 
 Trials upon the Writs of Novel Disseisin, of Mort 
 d'Ancestre (death of the ancestor), and of Darrien 
 Presentment (last presentation), shall not he taken 
 hut in their proper counties, and in this manner : — 
 We, or our Chief Justiciary, if we should he out 
 of the kingdom, will send two Justiciaries into 
 each county, four times in the year, who, with 
 four kniglits of each county, chosen hy the county, 
 shall hold the aforesaid assizes, within the county 
 on the day, and at the pkice appointed. —(XIV. 19.) 
 And if the aforesaid assizes cannot l)e taken on 
 the day of the county-court, let as many knights 
 and freeholders, of those who were present at the 
 county-court remain hehiofl, as shall be sufficient 
 to do justice, according to the great or less import- 
 ance of the business. — (XV. 20.) A Free-man 
 shall not he amerced for a small offence, hut only 
 according to the degree of the offence; and for a 
 great delinquency, according to the magnitude of 
 the delinquency, saving his contenemeut: a Mer- 
 chant shall he amereed in the same manner, saving 
 his merchandise, and a villain shall be amerced 
 after the same manner, saving to him his wainage, 
 if he shall fall into our mercy; and none of the 
 aforesaid am'_'rci;'-ments shall be assessed, but by 
 
 -Si! 
 
 4 
 
FIKST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 the oath of honest and latvful men of the vicin- 
 ag-e. — (XVI. 21.) Earls and Barons shall not be 
 amereed hut by their Peers, and that only ac- 
 cording to the degree of their delinquency. — 
 (XVII. 22.) No Clerk shall be amerced excepting 
 according to the form aforesaid, and not according 
 to the quantity of his ecclesiastical benefice. — 
 (XVIll. 23.) Neither a town nor any person shall 
 be distrained to build bridges or embankments, 
 excepting those which anciently, and of right, ai'e 
 bound to do it.— (XIX. 24.) No Sheriff, Con- 
 stable, Coroners, nor other of our Bailiffs, shall 
 hold pleas of our crown. — (XX 26.) If any one 
 holding of us a lay-fee dies, and the Sheriff or our 
 Bailiff, shall shew our letters-patent of summons 
 concerning the debt which the defunct owed to us, 
 it shall be lawful for the Sheriff, or for our Bailiff to 
 attach and register the chattels of the defunct 
 found on that lay-fee, to the amount of that debt, 
 by the view of lawful men, so that nothing shall 
 be removed from thence until our debt be paid to 
 us ; and the rest shall be left to the executors to 
 fulfil the will of the defunct; and if nothing be 
 owing to us by him, all the chattels shall fall to 
 the defimct, saving to his wife and children their 
 reasonable shares. — (XXI. 28.) No Constable, 
 (Governor, nor his Bailiff, shall take the corn or 
 other goods of any one, tvho is not of that town 
 whfre his Castle is, without instantly paying money 
 for them, unless he can obtain a respite from the 
 
IPh-s 
 
 FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 free will of tlie seller ; b/it If he be of that foiru 
 wherein the Castle is, he shall give him the price 
 within three ioeeks—(XKU. 20.) No Constable 
 shall distrain any Knight to give money for Castle- 
 giiai-d, if he be willing to perform it in his own 
 person, or by another able man, if he cannot 
 perform it himself, for a reasonable cause : and 
 if we have carried or sent him into the army, he 
 sliall be excused from Castle-guard, according 
 to the time that he shall be in the army by our 
 command.— (XXIII. .30.) No Sheriff nor Bailiff of 
 ours, nor of any other person shall take the horses 
 or carts of any, for the purpose of carriage, with- 
 out paying according to the rate anciently ap- 
 pointed; that is to say, for a cart with tico horses, 
 ten-pence hy the day, and for a cart with three 
 horses, fo}irteen-pence by the day. — (XXIA''. 31.) 
 Neither we, nor our Bailiffs, will take anotherman's 
 wood, for our castles or for other uses, unless 
 by the consent of him to whom the wood be- 
 longs. — (XXV. 32.) We will not retain the lands 
 of those who have been convicted of felony, ex- 
 cepting for one year and one day, and then they shall 
 be given up to the lord of the fee. — (XXVI. 33.) 
 All Ky dells (wears) for the future shall be q\iite 
 removed out of the Thames and the Medway, and 
 through all England, excepting upon the sea-coast.— 
 (XXVII. 34.) The Writ which is called Precipe, 
 for the future shall not be granted to any one of 
 any tenement, by which a Free-man may lose his 
 
 ~-"m 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 court.— (XXVIII. 35.) There shall be one Mea- 
 sure of Wine throughout all our kingdom, and one 
 Measure of Ale, and one Measure of Corn, namely 
 the Quarter of London ; and one breadth of Dyed 
 Cloth, and of Russets, and of Halberjects, namely. 
 Two Ells within the lists. Also it shall be the 
 same with Weights as with Measures.— (XXIX. 36. ) 
 Nothing shall be given or taken for the Writ of 
 Inquisition of life or limb ; but it shall be given 
 without charge, and not denied. — (XXX. 37.) If 
 any hold of us by Fee -Farm, or Socage, or Burgage, 
 and hold land of another by Military Service, we 
 will not have the custody of the heir, nor of his 
 lands, which are of the fee of another, on account 
 of that Fee-Farm, or Socage, or Burgage ; nor 
 will we have the custody of the Fee-Farm, Socage, 
 or Burgage, unless the Fee-Farm owe Military 
 Service. We will not have the custody of the heir, 
 nor of the lands of any one , which he holds of another 
 by Military Service, on account of any Petty-Ser- 
 geantry which he holds of us by the service of 
 giving us daggers, or arrows, or the like.— (XXXI. 
 38.) No Bailiff, for the future, shallputany man to 
 his law, upon his own simple affirmation, without 
 credible witnesses produced for that purpose. — 
 (XXXII. 39.) No freeman shall be seized, or im- 
 prisoned, or dispossessed, or outlaived, or in any 
 way destroyed ; nor will we condemn him, nor will 
 we commit him to prison, excepting by the leg'al 
 judgment of his peers, or by the laws of the land. 
 
 (XXXIII. 40.) To none will we sell, to none 
 
^Hjjf 
 
 „' A.. FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III 
 
 \ iL Si will we deny, to none will we delay rig'lit or jus- 
 fc;j[w\ tice. — (XXXIV. 41.) All Merchants, !(«tes f/iey 
 
 Syr have before been publicly prohibited, shall have 
 J<\ safety and security in going out of England, and in . 
 "^ coming into Englaiid,and in staying and in travelling 
 ; through England, as well hy land as by water, to buy 
 \ and sell, without any unjust exactions, according to 
 \ ancient and right customs, excepting in the time of 
 ! war, and if they be of a country at war against us : 
 I and if such are found in our land at the beginning of 
 \ a war, they shall be apprehended, without injury of 
 \ their bodies or goods, until it be known to us, or 
 to our Chief Justiciary, how the Merchants of our 
 country are treated who are found in the country at 
 war against us : and if our's be in safety there, the 
 others shall be in safety in our land. — (XXXV. 
 43.) If any hold of any escheat, as of the Honour 
 of Wailiiigford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, 
 or of other escheats which are in our hand, and 
 are Baronies, and shall die, his heir shall not give 
 any other relief, nor do any other service to us, 
 than he should have done to the Baron, if those 
 lands had been in the hands of the Baron ; and we 
 will hold it in the same manner that the Baron 
 held it.— (XXXVI. 44.) Men who dwell without 
 the Forest, shall not come, for the future, before 
 our Justiciaries of the Forest on a common sum- 
 mons : unless they be parties in a plea, or sureties 
 for some person or persons who are attached for 
 the Forest. — (XXXVII. 4fi.) All Barons who have 
 founded Abbies, which they hold by charters from 
 
 -*^^«^t. 
 
 •'j-is^ 
 
 **^^ 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 the King's of Eiig-land, or by ancient tenure, shall 
 have the custody of them when they become va- 
 cant, as they ought to have, and such as it liath 
 been declared above. — (XXXVIII. 47.) All Forests 
 M'hich have been made in the time of King- John 
 our Father, shall be immediately disforested ; and 
 it shall be so done with Water-banks, which have 
 been taken or fenced in by the same John during 
 his reign. — (XXXIX. 54.) No man shall be ap- 
 prehended or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman, 
 for the death of any other man than her husband. 
 — (XL. 56.) And if the King John our Father, 
 hath disseised or dispossessed any Welshmen of 
 their lands, or liberties, or other things, without a 
 legal verdict of their peers, in England or in 
 Wales, they shall he immediately restored to them ; 
 and if any dispute shall arise upon this head, then 
 let it be determined in the Marches by the verdict 
 of their peers : for a tenement of England, accord- 
 ing to the law of England; for a tenement of 
 Wales, according to the law of Wales : for a tene- 
 ment of the Marches, according to the law of the 
 Marches : also the Welsh shall do the same to us and 
 to our subjects. — (XLI. 60.) iVlso all those cus- 
 toms and liberties aforesaid, which we have granted 
 to be held in our kingdom, for so much of it as 
 belongs to us, all our subjects, as well clergy as 
 laity, shall observe towards their tenants as far 
 as it concerns them. — (XLI I.) But because in 
 some chapters in the first Charter, were contained 
 tltat which seemed ic eighty and doubtful; namely. 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 concerning scutages unci the assessing of aids, con- 
 cerning debts to the Jews and others, concerning 
 of the liberty/ of going out and returning to onri 
 kingdom, concerning of forests and foresters, ivar- 
 rens and warreners, concerning the customs of 
 counties, and concerning rivers and their keepers, 
 it hath pleased the aforesaid prelates and nobles, 
 that they be had in respect, until we may have n 
 full council, and then we will provide most fully, 
 as IV ell for those us for other emendations which 
 have occurred, for the common use of all whom 
 they shall have pertained to, and the peace and 
 estate of us and our kingdom. Butbeeauseive have 
 not as yet any seal, ice have caused the present 
 Charter to be sealed with the seals of our venerable 
 father the Lord Gualo, Cardinal Priest by the title 
 of Saitit Martin, Legate of the Apostolic See; and 
 of William Marshal Earl of Pembroke, the guar- 
 dian of us and of our kingdom , at Bristol the twelfth 
 day of November, in the first year of our reign. 
 
 It has been stated at page thirty-seven of the preceding Essav, 
 that the foregoing Charter was sent into Ireland ; anil in tlie 
 Patent Rolls preserved in the Record Office of the Tower ol' 
 London, there is a copy of the King's Letter dispatched with 
 it. It is marked M 1.'3, and has Ijeen printed in the original 
 Latin in tlje recent edition of Rymer's F«edera, Loud. 1816, 
 Fol. Vol. I. Part I. page 146, whence the ensuing translation 
 has been made. 
 
 The King's Letter concerning the Charter of Liberties, 
 lately transmitted to the Provinces of Ireland. 
 
 The King to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Earls, 
 Barons, Knights, and to all his I'aithful subjects who are set- 
 tied throughout Ireland, Greeting. 
 
 ^^g^^-S..^-,,^^ 
 
 ^^%_ ^- 
 
PATENT LEITEP TO IRLLAND 
 
 Commending your faith in tlie Lord, wliich ye have al- 
 ways shewn unto the Lord our father, and are at this day ex- 
 hibiting unto us and our's, we will give, in token of your 
 fidelity, so manifest and so famous, to our kingdom of Ireland, 
 the liberties of our kingdom of England, granted by our father 
 and ourself out of our grace, that you and your heirs may per- 
 petually rejoice : which liberties, distinctly reduced to writ- 
 ing, by the common council of all our realm, we send, lo you 
 our faitbful subjects, signed with the seal of our Lord Gualo, 
 Legate of theApostolic See, and of our faithful WilliamMarshal, 
 Earl of Pembroke, the guardian of us and of our kingdom. 
 
 Because we have not as yet any seal, this process is to be 
 sealed at the same time by the private seals of the chiefs of the 
 council. Witnessed at Gloucester, tlie sixth day of February. 
 
 tu^ 
 
I ENRY, by the Grace of 
 God, King' of Eiig-Liiid, ,, i^.^^ 
 Ijord of Ireland, Dukajj^nl™ 
 of Normandy and Aijui- 
 taine, and Earl of An- 
 joujto the Archbishops, 
 Bishops, Abbots, Pri- 
 ors, Earls, Barons, 
 Sheriffs, Governors, ^^ 
 . Officers, and all Bailiffs, and his faithful subjects, .M^t^; 
 ■ ivho see this present charter, — Greeting. Know ye, ^1^^ 
 . that in the presence of God, and for the salvation of |j|% 
 our own soul, and of the souls of our ancestors, 
 
 and of our successors, to the exaltation of the Holy 
 Church, and the amendment of our kingdom, we' 
 
 % 
 
't^ 
 
 SECOND GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III 
 
 grant, mid hy this present Charter we have con- 
 firmed for lis and for heirs for ever, by the counsel 
 of our venerable fathers, the Lord Gualo, entitled 
 a Cardinal Priest of St. Martin, Legate from tlie 
 Apostolic See; the Lord Walter, Archbishop of 
 York, William, Bishop of London, and oilier 
 Bishops of England, and William Mareschal Earl 
 of Pembroke, Guardian of us and of our kingdom, 
 and others of our faithful Earls and Barons of 
 England, — these underwritten liberties to be held 
 in our realm of England for ever. — (L 1.) In 
 the first place we grant unto God, and by this our 
 present Charter we have confirmed for us and for 
 our heirs for ever, that the English Church shall 
 be free, and shall have her whole rights, and her 
 liberties, inviolable. We have also granted to all 
 the freemen of our kingdom, for us and for our 
 heirs for ever, all the underwritten liberties to 
 be held by them and by their heirs, of us and of 
 our heirs. — (IL 2.) If any of our Earls or Barons, 
 or others who hold of us in chief by Military Ser- 
 vice, shall die, and at his death his heir shall be of 
 full age, and shall owe a relief, he shall have his 
 inheritance by the ancient relief; that is to say, 
 the heir or heirs of an Earl, a whole Earl's Ba- 
 rony for one hundred pounds : the heir or heirs 
 of a Baron, a whole Barony, for one hundred 
 pounds ; the heir or heirs of a Knight, a whole 
 Knight's Fee, for one hundred shillings at the most: 
 and he who owes less, shall give less, according to 
 
SECOND GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 fthe ancient customs of fees. — (III. 3.) Butifthej 
 heir of any such be under age, his Lord shall not^ 
 
 Jhave the Wardship of him nor of his land, before ■ 
 he shall have received his homage, and afterward 
 such heir shall be in ward ; and Avhen he shall come 
 to age, that is to say, to twenty and one years, he 
 shall have his inheritance without relief and without 
 fine : yet so, that if he be made a Knight, whilst he 
 is under age, his lands shall nevertheless remain in 
 custody of his Lords, until the term aforesaid. — 
 (IV. 4.) The warden of the land of such heir who 
 shall be under age, shall not take from the lands 
 of the heir any but reasonable issues, and reason- 
 able customs, and reasonable services, and that 
 withoiit destruction and waste of the men or goods. 
 And if we commit the custody of any such lands 
 to a Sheriff, or any other person who is bound to 
 us for the issues of them, and he shall make de- 
 struction or waste upon the ward-lands, we will 
 recover damages from him, and the lands shall be 
 committed to two lawful and discreet men of the 
 same fee, who shall answer for the issues to us, or 
 to him to whom we have assigned them : and if \i"e 
 shall give or sell to any one the custody of any 
 such lands, and he shall make destruction or waste 
 upon them, he shall lose the custody ; and it shall 
 be committed to two lawful and discreet men of the 
 same fee, who shall answer to us in like manner as 
 it is said before. — (V. i5.) But the warden, as long 
 as he hath the c\istody of the lands, shall keep up 
 
 •=f%>> 
 
Mfl^ 
 
 SKCOND GREAT CHARTER OF KliVCJ HENRY 111 
 
 and maintain the houses, |)arks, warrens, ponilr 
 mills, and other things belona^ing to them, out ot 
 
 eir issues ; and shall restore to the iieir, when I 
 comes of full age, his whole estate, provided with 
 carriages and all other things, at the least such as 
 he received it. All these things shall be observed 
 in the custodies of vacant Archbishoprics, Bishop- 
 rics, Abbies, Priories, Cburclies, and Dignities, 
 which appertain to us. Excepting that these ward- 
 ships are not to he sold. — (VI. 0.) Heirs shall be 
 married without disparagement. — (VII. 7-) A wi- 
 dow, after the death of her husband, sliall imme- 
 diately, and without difficulty, have her freedom of 
 marriage and her inheritance ; nor shall she give 
 any thing for her dower, or for her freedom of mar- 
 riage, or for her inheritance, which her husband 
 and she held at the day of his death ; and she may 
 remain in the principal messuage of her husband, 
 for forty days after her husband's death, within 
 H'hicli time her dower shall be assigned ; unless it 
 shall have been assigned before, or excepting his 
 house shall be a Castle ; and if she depart from 
 the Castle, there shall be provided for lier a com- 
 plete house in which she may decently dwell, until 
 her dower shall be assigned to her as aforesaid. 
 And she shall have her reasonable Estover tvithin 
 a common term. And for her dower, shall be as- 
 signed to her the third part of all the lands of her 
 hiishand, tvhich were his during his life, except she 
 were endowed with less at the church door. — 
 
SECOND GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 (VIII. 8.) No widow shall be distrained to marry 
 herself, whilst she is willing- to live without a hus- 
 band; but yet she shall give security that she will 
 not marry herself, without our consent, if she hold 
 of us, or without the consent of her lord if she hold 
 of another. — (IX. 9.) We nor our Bailiffs, will 
 not seize any land or rent for any debt, whilst the 
 chattels of the debtor present sufficient for the 
 payment of the debt, and the debtor shall be ready 
 to make satisfaction : nor shall the sureties of the 
 debtor be distrained, whilst the principal debtor 
 is able to pay the debt ; and if the principal debtor 
 fail in payment of the debt, not having wherewith 
 to discharge it, or will not discharge it when he is 
 able, then the sureties shall answer for the debt; 
 and if they be willing, they shall have the lands 
 and rents of the debtor, until satisfaction be made 
 to them for the debt which they had before paid 
 for him, unless the principal debtor can shew 
 himself acquitted thereof against the said sureties. 
 —(X. 10.) The City of London shall have all it's 
 ancient liberties, and it's free customs, as well by 
 land as by water. — Furthermore, we will and 
 grant that all other Cities, and Burghs, and Towns, 
 and the Barons of the Cinque Ports, and all Ports, 
 should have all their liberties and free customs. — 
 (XI. II.) None shall be distrained to do more 
 service for a Knight's-Fee, nor for any other free 
 tenement,than whatis duefrom thence.— (XII. 12.) 
 Common Pleas shall not follow our court, but 
 
 w^ 
 
 
 ^^m-. 
 
 tjEmt: 
 
 c^r 
 
 
 Z.nr 
 
SECOND GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III 
 
 shall be held in any certain place. — (XIII. 13.) 
 Trials upon the Writs of Novel Disseisin and of 
 Mort d'Ancestre, shall not be aken but in their 
 proper counties, and in this manner: — We, or our 
 Chief Justiciary, if we should be out of the king- 
 dom, will send Justiciaries into every county, once 
 in the year; who, with the knights of each county, 
 shall hold in the county, the aforesaid assizes. — 
 (XIV. 14.) And those things, ivhich at the coming 
 of the aforesaid Justiciaries being sent to take the 
 said assizes, cannot be determined, shall be elided by 
 them in some other place in their circuit; and those 
 things vjhich for difficulty of some of the articles 
 cannot he determined by them, shall be determined 
 by our Justiciaries of the Bench, and there shall 
 be ended. — (XV.J Jssizes of Last Presentation 
 shall always be taken before our Justiciaries 
 of the Bench, and there shall be determined. 
 — (XVI. 15.) A Free-man sliall not be amerced 
 for a small offence, but only according- to the de- 
 gree of the offence ; and for a great delinquency, 
 according to the magnitude of the delinquency, 
 saving his contenement : a Merchant in the same 
 manner, saving his merchandise, and a villain, if 
 he belong to another, shall be amerced after the 
 same manner, saving to him his Wainage, if he 
 shall fall into our mercy ; and none of tlie aforesaid 
 amerciaments shall be assessed, but by the oath of 
 honest and lawful men of the vicinage. — (XVII. 
 16.) Earls and Barons shall not be amerced but 
 
 ^ 
 
.SECOND GREAT CHARTER 01' KING HENRY III. 
 
 liy their Peers, and that only according to the de- 
 cree of their delinquency. — (XVIII. 17) No 
 Ecclesiastical person shall be amerced according fc 
 to the quantity of his ecclesiastical benefice, but 
 according to the quantity of his lay-fee, and the 
 extent of his crime. — (XIX. 18.) Neither a town 
 nor any person shall be distrained to build bridges 
 or embankments, excepting those which anciently, 
 and of right, are bound to do it. — fXX.J No em- 
 bankments shall from henceforth be defended, but 
 such as ivere in defence in the time of King Henry 
 our grandfather ; by the same places, and the same 
 bounds as they were accustomed to be in his time. 
 —(XXI. 19.) No Sheriff, Constable, Coroners, 
 nor other of our Bailiffs, shall hold pleas of our 
 crown. — (XXII. 20.) If any one holding of us a 
 lay-fee dies, and the Sheriff or our Bailiff shall 
 shew our letters-patent of summons concerning 
 the debt which the defunct owed to us, it shall be 
 lawful for the Sheriff, or for our Bailiff to attach 
 and register the chattels of the defunct found on 
 that lay-fee, to the amount of that debt by the 
 view of lawful men, so that nothing shall be re- 
 moved from thence until our debt be paid to us ; 
 and the rest shall be left to the executors to fulfil 
 the will of the defunct ; and if nothing be owing to 
 us by him, all the chattels shall fall to the defunct, 
 saving to^ his wife and children their reasonable 
 shares. — (XXIII, 21.) No Constable, Governor, 
 nor his Bailiff', shall take the corn or other goods of 
 
 
 ^^^s'' 
 
 ^-''i?'- 
 
SECOND GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III 
 any one, who is not of that town where his Castle 
 is, without instantly paying money for them, unless 
 he can obtain a respite from the free will of the 
 seller; but if he be of that town wherein the Cas- 
 tle is, he shall give him the price withmforti/ days. 
 —(XXIV. 22.) No Constable shall distrain any 
 Knight to give him money for Castle-guard, if he 
 be willing to perform it in his own person, or by 
 another able man, if he cannot perform it himself, 
 for a reasonable cause : and if we do lead or send 
 him into the army, he shall be excused from Castle- 
 guard, according to the time that he shall be with 
 us in the army, on account of the fee for which he 
 hath done service in the host. — (XXV. 23.) No 
 Sheriff nor Bailiff of our's, nor of any other person, 
 shall take the horses or carts of any, for the pur- 
 pose of carriage, without paying according to the 
 rate anciently appohited ; that is to say, for a cart 
 with two horses, ten-pence hy the day, and for a 
 cart with three horses, fourteen-pence by the day. 
 — fXXVI.) No demesne cart of any ecclesiastical 
 person, or knight, or any lord, shall be taken by the 
 aforesaid bailiffs. — (XXVII. 24.) Neither we, nor 
 our Bailiffs, nor those of another , shall take another 
 man's wood, for our castles or for other uses, un- 
 less by the consent of him to whom the wood be- 
 longs.— (XXVIII. 25.) ^re will not retain the 
 lands of those who have been convicted of felony, 
 excepting for one year and one day, and then they 
 shall be given up to the lord of the fee.' — (XXIX. 
 26.) All Kydells (wears) for the future, shall be 
 
SECOND GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY 111. 
 quite removed out of the Thames and the Medway, 
 and through all England, excepting upon the sea 
 coast.— (XXX. 27.) The Writ which is called 
 Praecipe, for the future shall not be granted to any 
 one of any tenement, by which a Free-man loses 
 his court. — (XXXI. 35.) There shall be one Plea- 
 sure of Wine throughout all our kingdom, and one 
 Measure of Ale, and one Measure of Corn, namely 
 the Quarter of London ; and one breadth of Dyed 
 Cloth, and of Russets, and of Halherjects, namely, 
 Two Ells within the lists. Also it shall be the 
 same with Weights as with Measures. — (XXXII. 
 29.) Nothing shall for the future be given or 
 taken for a Writ of Inquisition, nor taken of him 
 that pray eth Inquisition of life or limb ; but it shall 
 be given without charge, and not denied. — 
 (XXXIII. 30.) If any hold ofus by Fee Farm, or 
 Socage, or by Burgage, and hold land of another by 
 Military Service, we will not have the custody of 
 the heir, nor of his lands, which are of the fee of 
 another, on account of that Fee-Farm, or Socage, 
 or Burgage ; nor will we have the custody of the 
 Fee-Farm, Socage, or Burgage, unless the Fee- 
 Farm owe Military Service. We will not have the 
 custody of the heir, nor of the lands of any one, 
 which he holds of another by Military Service, on 
 account of any Petty-Sergeantry which he holds of 
 us by the service of giving us daggers, or arrows, 
 or the like.— (XXXIV. 31.) No Bailiff, for the fu- 
 ture, shall put any man to his open law, nor to an 
 oath, upon his own simple affirmation, without 
 
 tl!ite*|^- 
 
 ■Si 
 

 SECOND GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY HI. 
 faitliftil witnesses produced for tliat purpose. — 
 (XXXV. 32.) No Free-man shall be taken or im- 
 prisoned, or dispossessed, of his free teitemenf, or 
 liberties, or free customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, 
 or in any way destroyed ; nor will we condemn bim, 
 nor win we commit him to prison, excepting- by 
 the legal judgment of his peers, or by the laws of 
 the land. — (XXXVI. 33.) To none will we sell, 
 to none will we deny, to none will we delay right 
 or justice. — (XXXVII. 34.) All Merchants, unless 
 they have before been publicly prohibited, shall 
 have safety and security in going out of England, and 
 in coming into England, and in staying and in travell- 
 ing through England, as well by land as by water, to 
 buy and sell, \vitho\itany unjust exactions, accord- 
 ing to ancient and right customs, excepting in the 
 time of war, and if they be of a country at war 
 against us : and if such are found in our land at the 
 beginning of a war, they shall be apprehended, 
 without injui-y of their bodies or goods, until it be 
 known to us, or to our Chief Justiciary, how the 
 Merchants of our country are treated who are found 
 in the country at war against us : and if our"s be in 
 safety there, the others shall be in safety in our 
 land.-(XXXVHI. 35.) If any hold of any escheat, 
 as of the Honour of Walliiigford, Boulogne, Not- 
 tingham, Lancaster, or of other escheats which are 
 in our hand, and are Baronies, and shall die, his 
 heir shall not give any other relief, nor do any other 
 service to us, than he should have done to the Ba- 
 ron, if those lands had been in the hands of the 
 
 4^ 
 4^ 
 
SECOND GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENR^ III 
 
 ll Baron; and we will hold it in the same manner 
 that the Baron held it. Neither will we have, hy 
 occasion of any Barony or Escheat, any Eschpat, 
 or the custody of any of our men, unless he tvho 
 held the Barony or Escheat, held otherwise of lis 
 in chief. — (XXXIX.) No Free-man shall from 
 henceforth, give or sell any more of his land, but 
 so that of the residue of his lands, the lord of the 
 
 fee may have the service due to him ivhich belong- 
 eth to the fee. — (XL. 37-) h\\.Patro7is ofAbhies, 
 which are held by charters o/^rft>oifi.so« from the 
 Kings of England, or by ancient tenure orpossessioH 
 of the same, shall have the custody of them when 
 they become vacant, as they ought to have, and 
 such as it hath been declared above. — (XLI. 39.) 
 No man shall be apprehended or imprisoned on the 
 appeal of a woman, for the death of any other man 
 than her husband. — (XLII.J No County Court, 
 shall, from henceforth be holden, but from month 
 to month; and where a greater term hath been used, 
 it shall be greater. Neither shall any Sheriff or 
 his Bailiff', keep his turn in the hundred but twice 
 in the year; and no where but in due and acctis- 
 tomed place ; that is to say, once after Easter, and 
 again after the Feast of Saint Michael. And the 
 viviv of Frank-pledge shall be likeivise at Saint 
 Michael's term, without occasion; so that every 
 man may have his liberties, which he had and ivas 
 accustomed to have, in the time of King Henry otcr 
 grandfather, or ivhich he hath since procured him. 
 Also the view of Frank-pledge sliall be so done. 
 
v.- 
 
 SECOND GREAT CHARTER OF KING IIENRV 111. 
 
 1 that our peace may he kept, and that the tything ^ 
 W may he wholly kept, as it hath been accustomed; ? 
 '>. and that the Sheriff' seek no occasions, and that he 
 be content with so much as the Sheriff was ivont to 
 h:ive for his view-making, in the time of Kino- 
 Henry onr grandfather.— (XLIII.J It shall not, 
 from henceforth, be lawfulfor any to give his lands 
 to any Religious House, and to take the same land 
 again to hold of the same house; nor shall it b'' 
 lawful to any House of Religion to take the lands 
 of any, and to lease the same to him from whom 
 they ivere received. Therefore, if any from hence- 
 forth do give his land to any Religious House, and 
 thereupon he convict, his gift shall be utterly void, 
 and the land shall accrue to the liord of the fee. — 
 fXLIF.J Scutage from henceforth shall be taken 
 as it was accustomed to be taken in the time of King 
 Henry our grandfather. — (XLV. 41.) Also all 
 those customs and liberties aforesaid, which we 
 have granted to he held in our kingdom, for so much 
 of it as belongs to us, all our subjects, as well 
 clergy as laity, shall observe towards their tenants 
 as far as it concerns them.-~-fXLVI.J Saving to 
 tlie Jrchbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Tem- 
 plars, Hospitallers, Earls, Barons, and all others, 
 as well ecclesiastical as secular persons, the liber- 
 ties and free customs which t/iey have formerly had. 
 — fXLVH.J We also ordain by the common 
 Council of onr tvhole kingdom, that all the adul- 
 terine castles, — namely those, which from ths he- 
 
s>> 
 
 ginning- of the turbulent war betwe'ui the Lord 
 
 John our Father, and his Barons of England — 
 
 which were built or re-edJfied, shall he pulled down . 
 
 @ But because we have not as yet any seal, we have 
 
 j caused this to be sealed with the seals of 
 
 ; our Lord the F-egate aforesaid, and of the Earl 
 S William Marshal, guardian of us and of our king- 
 'i dom. 
 
ENRY, by the Grace of , 
 God, King' of England, 
 Lord of Ireland, Duke 
 of Normandy and Aqui- 
 taine, and Earl of An- 
 joii, to the Archbisliops, ' 
 Bishops, Abbots, Priors, 
 Earls, Barons, Sheriffs, 
 Governors, Officers, and ■ 
 all Bailiffs, and his faithful subjects, who see 
 this present Charter, — Greeting. Know ye, that 
 hi the presence of God, and for the salvation of i 
 our own soul, and of the souls of our ancestors,^ 
 and of our successors, to the exaltation of the Holy 
 Church, and the amendment of our kingdom, that « 
 
 i^& 
 
THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 we spontaneously and of our own free will, do give 
 and grant to the Archbishops, the Bishops, Abbots, 
 Priors, Earls, Barons, and all of our kingdom, 
 — these under-written liberties to be held in our 
 realm of England for ever.- — (I. 1.) In the first 
 place we grant unto God, and by this our present 
 Charter we have confirmed for us, and for our heirs 
 for ever, tliat the English Church shall be free, 
 and shall have her whole rights and her liberties 
 inviolable. We have also granted to aU the free- 
 men of our kingdom, for us and for our heirs for 
 ever, all the under-written liberties to be had and 
 held by them and by their heirs, of us and of our 
 heirs. — (II. 2.) If any of our Earls or Barons, 
 or others who hold of us in chief by Military Ser- 
 vice, shall die, and at his death his heir shall be of 
 full age, and shall owe a relief, he shall have his 
 inheritance by the ancient relief; that is to say, 
 the heir or heirs of an Earl, a whole Earl's Ba- 
 rony for one hundred pounds : the heir or heirs 
 of a Baron, a whole Barony, for one hundred 
 pounds ; the heir or heirs of a Knight, a whole 
 Knight's Fee, for one hundred shillings at the most: 
 and he who owes less, shall give less, according to 
 the ancient customs of fees. — (III. 3.) But if the 
 heir of any such be under age, his Lord shall not 
 have the Wardship of him nor of his land, before 
 lie shall have received his homage, and afterward 
 siich heir shall he in ward ; and when he shall come 
 to age, that is to say, to twenty and one years, he 
 
shall liaveliis inheritance without relief and without 
 fine : yet so, that if he he made a Knight, whilst he 
 is under age, his lands slial! nevertheless remain in 
 custody of his Lords, until the term aforesaid. — 
 (IV. 4.) The warden of the land of such heir who 
 shall be under age, shall not take from the lands 
 of the heir any hat reasonable issues, and reason- 
 able customs, and reasonable services, and that 
 without destruction and Avaste of the men or goods. 
 And if we commit the custody of any snch lands 
 to a Sheriff, or to any other person who is bound 
 to us for the issues of them, and he shall make de- 
 struction or waste upon the ward-lands, we will 
 recover damages from him, and the lands shall be 
 committed to two lawful and discreet men of the 
 same fee, who shall answer for the issues to us, or 
 to him to whom we have assigned them : and if we 
 shall give or sell to any one the custody of any 
 such lands, and he shall make destruction or waste 
 npon them, he shall lose the custody ; and it shall 
 be committed to two lawful and discreet men of the 
 same fee, who shall answer to us in like manner as 
 it is said before. — (V. 5.) But the warden, as long 
 as he hath the custody of the lands, shall keep up 
 and maintain the houses, parks, warrens, ponds, 
 mills, and other things belonging to them, out of 
 their issues ; and shall restore to the heir, when he 
 comes of full age, his whole estate, provided with 
 carriages and all other things, at the least such as 
 he received it. All these tilings shall be ohserved 
 
TKIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 in the custodies of vacant Archbishoprics, Bishop- 
 , rics, Abbies, Priories, Churches, and Dig'nities, 
 wliich appertain to us ; excepting- that these ward- 
 ships are not to be sold. — (VI. 6.) Heirs shall be 
 taarried without disparagement. — (VII. 7-) A wi- 
 dow, after the death of her husband, shall imme- 
 diately, and without difficulty, have her freedom of 
 marriage and her inheritance ; nor shall she give 
 any thing for her dower, or for her freedom of mar- 
 riage, or for her inheritance, which her husband 
 and she lield at the day of his death ; and she may 
 remain in the principal messuage of her husband, 
 for forty days after her husband's death, within 
 which time her dower shall be assigned ; unless it 
 shall have been assigned before, or excepting his 
 house shall be a Castle ; and if she depart from 
 the Castle, there shall be provided for her a com- 
 plete house in which she may decently dwell, until 
 her dower shall be assigned to her as aforesaid : 
 and she shall have her reasonable Estover within 
 a common term. And for her dower, shall be as- 
 signed to her the third part of all the lands of her 
 husband, which were his during his life, except 
 she were endowed with less at the church door. — 
 (8.) No widow shall be distrained to marry her- 
 self, whilst she is willing to live without a hus- 
 band ; but yet she shall give security that she will 
 not marry herself, without our consent, if she hold 
 of us, or without the consent of her lord if she hold 
 of another.— (VIII. 0.) We nor our Bailift's, will 
 
 *-^^^ 
 
'^*. 
 
 m:^. 
 
 M 
 
 ■t t) -A 
 
 THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KTNG HENRY III. ^ 
 
 not seize any land or rent for any debt, whilst the 
 chattels of the debtor present sufficient for the 
 payment of the debt, and the debtor shall be ready 
 to make satisfaction : nor shall the sureties of the 
 debtor be distrained, whilst the principal debtor 
 is able to pay the debt; and if the principal debtor 
 fail in payment of the debt, not having wherewith 
 to discharge it, or will not discharge it when he is 
 able, then the sureties shall answer for the debt; 
 and if they be willing, they shall have the lands 
 and rents of the debtor, until satisfaction be made 
 to them for the debt which they had before paid 
 for him, unless the principal debtor can shew 
 himself acquitted thereof against the said sureties. 
 —(IX. 10.) The City of London shall have all it's 
 ancient liberties, and it's free customs, as well by 
 land as by water. — Furthermore, we will and 
 grant that all other Cities, and Burghs, and Tovvns, 
 and the Barons of the Cinque Ports, and all Ports, 
 should have all their liberties and free customs. — 
 (X. 11.) None shall be distrained to do more 
 service for a Knight's-Fee, nor for any other free 
 tenement, than what is due from thence. --(XI. 12.) 
 Common Pleas sliall not follow our court, but 
 shall be held in any certain place. — (XII. 13.) 
 Trials upon the Writs of Novel Disseisin and of 
 Mort d'Ancestre, sliall not be taken but in their 
 proper counties, and in this manner: — We, or our 
 Chief Justiciary, if we should be out of the king- 
 dom, will send Justiciaries into every county, once 
 
 t, \-. 
 
THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 in tlie year; who, with the knights of each county, 
 shall hold in the county, the aforesaid assizes. — 
 (14.) And those things, which at the coming ot 
 the aforesaid Justiciaries being sent to take tha 
 said assizes, cannot be determined, shall be ended 
 by them in some other place in their circuit; and 
 those things which for difficulty of some of the ar- 
 ticles cannot be determined by them, shall be de- 
 terminedby our Justiciariesof the Bench, and there 
 shall be ended. — (XIII. 15.) Assizes of Last Pre- 
 sentation shall always be taken before our Justici- 
 aries of the Bench, and there shall be determined. 
 — (XIV. 16.) A Free-man shall not be amerced 
 for a small offence, but only according to the de- 
 gree of the offence ; and for a gi-eat delinquency, 
 according to the magnitude of the delinquency, 
 saving his contenement : and a Blerchant in the 
 same manner, saving his merchandise, and a villain, 
 if he belong to another, shall be amerced after the 
 same manner, saving to him his Wainage, if be 
 shall fall into our mercy ; and none of the aforesaid 
 amerciaments shall be assessed, but by the oath 
 of honest and lawful 'men of the vicinage. — 
 (17-) Earls and Barons shall not be amerced but 
 by their Peers, and that only according to the 
 degree of their delinquency. — (18) No Eccle- 
 siastical person shall be amerced according to 
 the quantity of his ecclesiastical benefice, but ac- 
 cording to tlie quantity of his lay-fee, and the ex- 
 t- ' of his crime. — (XV. 19.) Neither a town 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^pfp. 
 
THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III, 
 
 ynor any person shall be distrained to build bridges 
 I or embankments, excepting those which anciently, 
 and of right, are bound to doit.— (XVI. 20.) No em- 
 bankments shall from henceforth be defended, but 
 such as were in defence in the time of King Henry 
 our grandfather ; by the same places, and the same 
 bounds as they were accustomed to be in his time. 
 —(XVII. 21.) No Sheriff, Constable, Coroners, 
 nor other of our Bailiffs, shall hold pleas of our 
 crown. — (XVIII. 22.) If any one holding of us a 
 lay-fee die, and the Sheriff or our Bailiif shall 
 shew our letters-patent of summons concerning 
 the debt, which the defimct owed to us, it shall be 
 lawful for the Sheriff, or for our Bailiff to attach 
 and register all the goods and chattels of the defunct 
 found on that lay-fee, to the amount of that debt 
 by the view of lawful men. So that nothing shall 
 be removed from thence until our debt be paid to 
 us ; and the rest shall be left to the executors to 
 fulfil the will of the defunct ; and if nothing be 
 owing to us by him, all the chattels shall fall to the 
 defunct, saving to his wife and children their 
 reasonable shares. — (XIX. 23.) No Constable, 
 nor his Bailiff, shall take the corn or other 
 goods of any one, who is not of that town where 
 his Castle is, without instantly paying money for 
 them, unless he can obtain a respite from the free 
 will of the seller; but if he be of that town wherein 
 the Castle is, he shall give him the price within 
 forty days.— (XX. 24.) No Constable shall dis- 
 
 sfe''^^^ 
 
THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 train any Knight to give him money for Castle- 
 guard, if he be willing to perform it in his own per- 
 son, or by another able man, if he cannot perform 
 it himself, for a reasonable cause : and if we do 
 lead or send him into the army, he shall be excused 
 from Castle-guard, according to the time that he 
 shall be with us in the army, on account of the fee 
 for which he hath done service in the host. — (XXI. 
 25.) No Sheriff nor Bailiff of our's, nor of any 
 other person, shall take the horses or carts of any, 
 for the purpose of carriage, without paying accord- 
 ing to the rate anciently appointed ; that is to say, 
 for a cart with two horses, ten-pence by the day, 
 and for a cart with three horses, fourteen-pence 
 by the day. — (26.) No demesne cart of any eccle- 
 siastical person, or knight, or of any lord, shall be 
 taken by the aforesaidBailiffs. — (27-) Neither we, 
 nor our Bailiffs, nor those of another, shall take 
 another man's wood, for our Castles or for other 
 uses, unless by the consent of him to whom the wood 
 belongs. — (XXII. 28.) We will not retain the 
 lands of those who have been convicted of felony, 
 excepting for one year and one day, and then they 
 shall be given up to the Lords of the fees. — (XXIII. 
 29.) All Kydells (wears) for the future, shall be 
 quite removed out of the Thames and the Medway, 
 and through all England, excepting upon the sea 
 coast.— (XXIV. 30.) The Writ which is caUed 
 Praecipe, for the future shall not be granted to any 
 one of any tenement, by which a Free-man loses 
 
 -^; 
 
THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III 
 
 his court. — (XXV. 31 .) There shall be one Mea- 
 sure of Wine throug-hout all our kingdom, and one 
 Measure of Ale, and one Measure of Corn, namely, 
 the Quarter of London ; and one breadth of Dyed 
 Cloth, of Russets, and of Halberjects, namely. 
 Two Ells within the lists. Also it shall be the 
 same with Weights as with Measures. — (XXVI. 
 32.) Nothing shall for the future be given or 
 taken for a Writ of Inquisition, nor taken of him 
 that prayeth Inquisition of life or limb ; but it shall 
 be given without charge, and not denied. — 
 (XXVII. 33.) If any hold of us by Fee-Farm, or So- 
 cage, or Burgage, and hold land of another by Mili- 
 tary Service, we will not have the custody of the 
 heir, nor of his lands, which are of the fee of ano- 
 ther, on account of that Fee-Farm, or Socage, 
 or Burgage ; nor will we have the custody of 
 the Fee-Farm, Socage, or Burgage, unless the Fee- 
 Farm owe Military Service. We will not have the 
 custody of the heir, nor of the lands of any one, 
 which he holds of another by Military Service, on 
 account of any Petty-Sergeantry which he holds of 
 us, by the service of giving us daggers, or arrows, 
 or the like.— (XXVIII. 34.) No Bailiff, for the fu- 
 ture, shall put any man to his open law, nor to an 
 oath, upon his own simple affirmation, without 
 faithful witnesses produced for that purpose. — 
 (XXIX. 35.) No Free-man shall be taken, or im- 
 prisoned, or dispossessed, of his free tenement, or 
 liberties, or free customs, or be outlawed, or exiled. 
 
 
' l]p 
 
 THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY HI 
 
 ir inany way destroyed ; nor will we condemn him,' 
 uor will we commit him to prison, excepting- byr; 
 Jthe legal judgment of his peers, or by the lawsS 
 of the land. — (36.) To none will we sell, to none will 
 we deny, to none will we delay right or justice. 
 — (XXX. 37.) AH Merchants, unless they have 
 before been publicly prohibited, shall have safety 
 and security in going out of England, and in com- 
 ing into England, and in staying and in travelling 
 through England, as well by land as by water, to 
 buy and sell, without any unjust exactions, accord- 
 ing to ancient and right customs, excepting in the 
 time of war, and if they be of a country at war 
 against us : and if such are found in our land at the 
 beginning of a war, they shall be apprehended, 
 without injury of their bodies or goods, until it be 
 known to us, or to our Chief Justiciary, how the 
 Merchants of our country are treated who are found 
 in the country at war against us : and if our's be in 
 safety there, the others shall be in safety in our 
 land.— (XXXI. 38.) If any hold of any Escheat, 
 as of the Honour of VVallingford, Boulogne, Not- 
 tingham, Lancaster, or of other Escheats which are 
 in our hand, and are Baronies, and shall die, his 
 heir shall not give any other relief, nor do any other 
 service to us, than he should have done to the Ba- 
 ron, if those lands had been in the hands of the 
 Baron; and we will hold it in the same manner 
 that the Baron held it. Neither will we have, by 
 occasion of any Barony or Escheat, any Escheat, 
 
 £■ ^^^^€ 
 
TIHED GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III 
 
 or the custody of any of our men, unless lie who| 
 held the Barony or Escheat, held otherwise of us 
 in chief. — (XXXII. 39.) No Free-man shall, from 
 henceforth, give or sell any more of his land, hut 
 so that of the residue of his lands, the Lord of the fee 
 may have the service due to him which belongeth 
 to the fee.— (XXXIII. 40.) All Patrons of Abbies, 
 which are held by Charters of Advowson from the 
 Kings of England, or by ancient tenure or possession 
 of the same, shall have the custody of them when 
 they become vacant, as they ought to have, and 
 such as it hath been declared above .—(XXXIV. 41 . ) 
 No man shall be apprehended or imprisoned on the 
 appeal of a woman, for the death of any other man 
 thanherhusband.-(XXXV. 42.) No County Court 
 shall, from henceforth, be holden but from month 
 to month ; and where a greater term hath been used , 
 it shall be greater. Neither shall any Sheriff or 
 his Bailiff, keep his turn in the hundred but twice 
 in the year ; and no where but in due and accus- 
 tomed place ; that is to say, once after Easter, and 
 again after the Feast of Saint Michael. And the 
 view of Frank-pledge shall be likewise at Saint 
 Michael's term, without occasion; so that every 
 man may have his liberties, which he had and was 
 accustomed to have, in the time of King Henry our 
 grandfather, or which he hath since procured him. 
 Also the view of Frank-pledge shall be so done, 
 that our peace may be kept, and that the tything 
 may be wholly kept, as it hath been accustomed ; 
 
.-sSs 
 
 THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 and that the Sheriff seek no occasions, and that he 
 be content with so much as the Sheriff was wont 
 to have for his view-making, in the time of King 
 Henry our grandfather.— (XXXVI. 43.) It shall 
 not from hencefortli, be lawful for any to give his 
 lands to any Religious House, and to take the same 
 land again to hold of the same House. Nor shall it 
 be lawful to any House of Religion to take the 
 lands of any, and to lease the same to him from 
 whom they were received. Therefore, if any from 
 henceforth do give his land to any Religious House, 
 and thereupon be convict, his gift shall be utterly 
 void, and the land shall accrue to the Lord of the 
 fee.— (XXXVII. 44.) Scutage from henceforth 
 shall be taken as it was accustomed to be taken 
 in the time of King Henry our grandfather. — 
 (46.) Saving to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, 
 Priors, Templars, Hospitallers, Earls, Barons, 
 and all others, as well ecclesiastical as secular per- 
 sons, the liberties and free customs which they have 
 formerly had. — (45.) Also all those customs and 
 liberties aforesaid, which we have granted to be 
 held in our kingdom, for so much of it as be- 
 longs to us, all our subjects, as well clergy as 
 laity, shall observe towards their tenants as far as 
 concerns them. — And for this our grant and gift 
 of these Liberties, and of the others contained in 
 our Charier of Liberties of our Forest, the Arch- 
 bishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, 
 Kidghts, Free Tenants, and all others of our King- 
 
THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 dom, have given unto us the fifteenth part of all 
 their moveables. And we have granted to them 
 for us and our heirs, that neither ive 7ior our heirs 
 shall procure or do any thing, whereby the Liber- 
 ties in this Cliarter contained shall he infringed 
 or broken; and if ayiy thing shall be procured hy 
 atiy person contrary to the premises, it shall be 
 had of no force nor effect. These being witnesses, 
 the Lord Stephen Archbishop of Canterbury , Ro- 
 ger of Loyidon, Joceline of Bath, Peter of Win- 
 chester, Hugh of Lincoln, Richard of Salisbury, 
 Benedict of Rochester , William of Worcester, John 
 of Ely, Hugh of Hereford, Ralph of Chichester , 
 William of Exeter, for the Bishops: the Abbot of 
 Saint Edmund's, the Abbot of Saint Albans, the 
 Abbot of Battle Abbey, the Abbot of Saint Augus- 
 tine's Canterbury, the Abbot of Evesham, the Ab- 
 bot of Westminster, the Abbot of Peterborough:, 
 the Abbot of Reading , the Abbot of Abingdon, the 
 Abbot of Malmsbury , the Abbot of Winchcomb , the 
 Abbot of Hyde, the Abbot of Chertsey, the Abbot of 
 Sherburn, the Abbot of Cerne, the Abbot of Abbots- 
 bury, the Abbot of Middleton, the Abbot of Selby, 
 the Abbot of Whitby, the Abbot of Cirencester, 
 Hubert de Burgh, the King's Justiciary, Randolph 
 Earl of Chester and Lincoln, William Earl of 
 Salisbury, William Earl of Warren, Gilbert de 
 Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, William 
 de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, William de Mande- 
 ville. Earl of Essex, Hugh le Bigod, Earl of Nor- 
 
]m 
 
 THIRD GREAT CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 ^folk, William Earl of Albemarle, Humphrey Ear l\ 
 >^of Hereford, John Constable of Chester, Robert de 
 ^Ros, Robert Fltz Walter, Robert de Vipont, Wil- 
 liam de Brewer, Richard de Montfchet, Peter Fit'Z 
 Herbert, Matlhetv Fitz Herbert, William de Albi- 
 niac, Robert Greslej/, Reginald de Bruce, John de 
 Monmouth^ John Fitz Alan, Hugh de Mortimer, 
 Walter de Beauchamp, William de Saint John, 
 Peter de Mauley, Brian de Lisle, Thomas de Mule- 
 ton, Richard de Argentine, Walter de Neville, 
 William Mauduit, John de Baalim. — Given at 
 Westminster, the Eleventh day of February, in 
 tlie Ninth Year of our Reign. 
 
 A Fourth Charter of Liberties, alluded (o ou page 39 of 
 the foregoing Essay, was granted by King Henry III. in the 
 36th yearof hisReign, namely, 1251-52; which is preserved in 
 the Cottonian Collection of Manuscripts, and a particular de- 
 scription of it will be found on a future page of this Volume. 
 The variations between this Instrument and that above given 
 are chiefly verbal, or else errors of the Scribe ; but in few 
 cases would they bear any different translation into English : 
 which remark, however, will apply more or less to the whole 
 series of Charters now priuted, as their various readings, so. 
 carefully noted by Sir William Blackstone, and the Editors 
 of the Parliamentary Record Publications, alter the Latin 
 words of the sentence, but cause no difference in tlie English. 
 There is however in this fourth Charter of King Henry III., a 
 singular deviation from the foregoing Instruments ; that of 
 ordaining an hundred marks as the relief of a Barony, instead 
 of one hundred pounds; this particular will be found consi- 
 dered and explained in the Notes to the several Charters of 
 Liberties. 
 
DWARD, by the Grace 
 of Gotl, Kingf of Eng;- 
 laiid, Lord of Ireland,^ 
 Duke of Aquitaiiie, To 
 to whom these pre- . 
 sent letters shall come, ■ 
 — Greeting. We have 
 examined the Great ■ 
 Cfiarter of the Lord , 
 Henry, late King of England, our father, contain- 
 ing the Liberties of England in these words:— 
 Henry, by the Grace of God, King of England, ■ 
 Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,' 
 and Earl of Anjou, to the Archbishops, Bishops, 
 Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, Sheriffs, Governors, 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I. 
 
 Officers, and all Bailiffs, and his faithful suhjects, 
 who see this present Charter, — Greeting-. Know 
 ye, that in the presence of God, and for the salva- 
 tion of our own soul, and of the souls of our an- 
 cestors, and of our successors, to the exaltation of 
 the Holy Church, and the amendment of our king- 
 dom, we spontaneously and of our own free wiU, 
 do give and grant to the Archbishops, the Bishops, 
 Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, and all of our king- 
 dom, — these under- written liberties to be held in 
 ourrealmof England for ever. — (I. 1.) In the first 
 place we have granted unto God, and by this our 
 present Charter we have confirmed for us, and for 
 our heirs for ever, that the Church of England shall 
 be free, and shall have her whole rights and her li- 
 berties inviolable. We have also granted and given 
 to aU the freemen of our kingdom, for us and for our 
 heirs for ever, these under-written liberties to be 
 had and held by them and by their heirs, of us and 
 of our heirs. — (11. 2.) If any of our Earls or Ba- 
 rons, or others who hold of us in chief by Military 
 Service, shall die, and at his death his heir shall 
 be of full age, and shall owe a relief, he shall 
 have his inheritance by the ancient relief; that is 
 to say, the heir or heirs of an Earl, a whole Earl- 
 dom for one hundred pounds : the heir or heirs 
 of a Baron, a whole Barony, for one hundred 
 marks; the heir or heirs of a Knight, a whole 
 Knight's Fee, for one hundred shillings at the most : 
 and he who hath less, shall give less, according to 
 
 1-^^^ 
 
S'^J 
 
 ?^ssmk 
 
 
 FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I, 
 
 the ancient customs of fees. — (III. 3.) But if the 
 heir of any such be under age, his Lord shall not 
 have the wardship of him nor of his land, before 
 he shall have received his homage, and afterward 
 such heir shall be in ward ; and when he shall come 
 to age, that is to say, to twenty and one years, he 
 shall have his inheritance without relief and without 
 fine : yet so, that if he be made a Knight, whilst he 
 is under age, his lands shall nevertheless remain in 
 custody of his Lords, until the term aforesaid. — 
 (IV. 4.) The warden of the land of such heir who 
 shall be under age, shall not take from the lands 
 of the heir any but reasonable issues, and reason- 
 able customs, and reasonable services, and that 
 without destruction and waste of the men or goods. 
 And if we commit the custody of any such lands 
 to a Sheriff, or to any other person who is bound 
 to us for the issues of them, and he shall make de- 
 struction or waste upon the ward-lands, we wiU 
 recover damages from him, and the lands shall be 
 committed to two lawful and discreet men of the 
 same fee, who shall answer for the issues to us, or 
 to him to whom we have assigned them : and if we 
 shall give or sell to any one the custody of any 
 such lands, and he shall make destruction or waste 
 upon them, he shall lose the custody; and it shall 
 be committed to two lawful and discreet men of the 
 same fee, who shall answer to us in like manner as 
 it is said before. — (V. 5.) But the warden, so long 
 as he hath the custody of the lands, shall keep up 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I 
 
 and maintain the houses, parks, wai-rens, ponds, 
 mills, and other things belonging to them, out of 
 ' their issues ; and shall restore to the heir, when he 
 comes of full age, his whole estate, provided with 
 carriages and all other things, at the least such as 
 he received it. All these things shall he observed 
 in the custodies of vacant Archbishoprics, Bishop- 
 rics, Abbies, Priories, Churches, and Dignities, 
 which appertain to us ; excepting that these ward- 
 ships are not to be sold.- — (VI. 6.) Heirs shall be 
 married without disparagement.^ — (VII. 7-) A wi- 
 dow, after the death of her husband, shall imme- 
 diately, and without difficulty, have her freedom of 
 marriage and her inheritance ; nor shall she give 
 any thing for her dower, or for her freedom of mar- 
 riage, or for her inheritance, which her husband 
 and she held at the day of his death ; and she may 
 remain in the principal messuage of her husband, 
 for forty days after her husband's death, within 
 which time her dower shall be assigned ; unless it 
 shall have been assigned before, or excepting his 
 house shall be a Castle ; and if she depart from 
 the Castle, there shall be provided for her a com- 
 plete house in which she may decently dwell, until 
 her dower shall be assigned to her as aforesaid : 
 and she shall have her reasonable Estover within 
 a common term. And for her dower, shall be as- 
 signed to her the third part of all the lands of her 
 husband, which were his during his life, except 
 she were endowed with less at the church door. 
 
.i^i-. 
 
 w^-,. 
 
 
 FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD 1. 
 
 — No widow shall be distrained to marry her- 
 self, whilst she is willing to live without a hus- 
 band ; but yet she shall give security that she will 
 not marry herself, without our consent, if she hold 
 of us, or without the consent of her lord if she hold 
 of another. — (VIII. 8.) We nor our Bailiffs, will 
 not seize any land or rent for any debt, whilst the 
 chattels of his debtor present sufficient for the 
 payment of the debt, and the debtor shall be ready 
 to make satisfaction. Nor shall the sureties of the 
 debtor be distrained, whilst tlie principal debtor 
 is able to pay his debt ; and if the principal debtor 
 fail in payment of the debt, not having wherewith 
 to discharge it, or will not discharge it when he is 
 able, then the sureties sliall answer for the debt; 
 and if they be willing, they shall have the lands 
 and rents of the debtor, until satisfaction be made 
 to them for the debt which they had before paid 
 for him, vmless the principal debtor can shew 
 himself acquitted thereof against the said sureties. 
 — (IX. 9.) The City of London shall have all it's 
 ancient liberties, and it's free customs, as well by 
 land as by water. — Furthermore, we will and 
 grant that all other Cities, and Burghs, and Towns, 
 and the Barons of the Cinque Ports, and all Ports, 
 should have all their liberties and free customs. — 
 (X. 10.) None shall be distrained to do more 
 service for a Knight's-Fee, nor for any other free 
 tenement, than what is duefrom thence.— (XI. II.) 
 Common Pleas shall not follow our court, but 
 
lit 
 m 
 
 shall be held in any certain place. — (XII. 12.) 
 Trials upon the Writs of Novel Disseisin and of 
 Mort d'Ancestre, shall not be taken but in their 
 proper counties, and in this manner :— We, or our 
 Chief Justiciary, if we should be out of the king- 
 dom, will send Justiciaries into every county, once 
 in the year ; who, with the knights of each county, 
 shall hold in the county, the aforesaid assizes. — 
 And those things, which at the coming of our 
 aforesaid Justiciaries being sent to take the said 
 assizes, cannot he determined, shall be ended by 
 them in some other place in their circuit; and 
 those things which for difficulty of some of the ar- 
 ticles cannot be determined by them, shall be de- 
 termined by our Justiciaries of the Bench, and tliere 
 shall be ended. — (XIII. 13.) Assizes of Last Pre- 
 sentation shall always be taken before our Justici- 
 aries of the Bench, and there shall be determined. 
 — -(XIV. 14.) A Free-man shall not be amerced 
 for a small offence, but only according to the de- 
 gree of the offence ; and for a great delinquency, 
 according to the magnitude of the delinquency, 
 saving his contenement: and a Merchant in the 
 same manner, saving his merchandise, and a villain, 
 if he belong to another, shall be amerced after tlie 
 same manner, saving to him his Wainage, if he 
 shall fall into our mercy ; and none of the afore- 
 said amei'ciaments shall be assessed, but by the 
 oath of honest and lawful men of the vicinage. 
 — Earls and Barons shall not be amerced but 
 
 '^■S^ 
 
'®l""° 
 
 ^i 
 
 ■ FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I. 
 
 by their Peers, and that only according to the 
 degree of their delinquency. — No Ecclesiastical 
 person shall be amerced according to the quan- 
 tity of his ecclesiastical benefice, but accord- 
 ing to the quantity of his lay-fee, and the ex- 
 tent of his crime. — (XV. 15.) Neither a town 
 nor any person shall be distrained to build bridges 
 or embankments, excepting those which anciently, 
 and of right, are bound to do it.— (XVI. 16.) No em- 
 bankments shall from henceforth be defended, but 
 such as were in defence in the time of King Henry 
 our grandfather ; by the same places, and the same 
 bounds as they were accustomed to be in his time . 
 —(XVII. 17.) No Sheriff, Constable, Coroners, 
 nor other of our Bailiffs, shall hold pleas of our 
 crown. — (XVIII. 18.) If any one holding of us a 
 lay-fee die, and the Sheriff or our Bailiff shall 
 shew our letters-patent of summons concerning 
 the debt, which the defunct owed to us, it shall be 
 lawful for the Sheriff, or for our Bailiff to attach 
 and register all the goods and chattels of the defunct 
 found on that lay-fee, to the amount of that debt 
 by the view of lawful men. So that nothing shall 
 be removed from thence until our debt be paid to 
 us ; and the rest shall be left to the executors to 
 fulfil the will of the defunct ; and if nothing be 
 owing to us by him, all the chattels shall faU to the 
 defunct, saving to his wife and children their rea- 
 sonable shares. — (XIX. 19.) No Constable, Go- 
 vernor, nor his Bailiff, shall take the corn or other 
 
 ^&^-' 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I. 
 
 g-oods of any one, who is not of that town where 
 his Castle is, without instantly paying money for 
 them, unless he can obtain a respite from the free 
 will of the seller ; but if he be of that town wherein 
 the Castle is, he shall give him the price within 
 forty days.— (XX. 20.) No Constable shall dis- 
 train any Knight to give him money for Castle- 
 guard, if he be willing to perform it in his own per- 
 son, or by another able man, if he cannot perform 
 it himself, for a reasonable cause : and if we do 
 lead or send him into the army, he shall be excused 
 from Castle-guard, according to the time that he 
 shall be witli us in the army, on account of the fee 
 for which he hath done service in the host. — (XXI. 
 21.) No Sheriff nor Bailiff of our's, nor of any 
 other person, shall take the horses or carts of any, 
 for the purpose of carriage, without paying accord- 
 ing to the rate anciently appointed ; that is to say, 
 for a cart with two horses, ten-pence by the day, 
 and for a cart with three horses, fourteen-pence 
 by the day. — No demesne cart of any ecclesias- 
 tical person, or knight, or of any lord, shall be 
 taken by our bailiffs. — Neither we, nor our Bai- 
 liffs, nor those of another, shall take another man's 
 wood, for our Castles or for other uses, un- 
 less by the consent of him to whom the wood 
 belongs.— -(XXII. 22.) We will not retain the 
 lands of those who have been convicted of felony, 
 excepting for one year and one day, and then they 
 shall be given up to the Lords of the fees. — (XXIII. 
 

 ■^sm^^m^mmssev' 
 
 FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I. 
 
 •23.) All Kydella (wears) for the future, shall be 
 quite removed out of the Thames and the Medway, 
 and through all England, excepting upon the sea 
 coast.— (XXIV. 24.) The Writ which is called 
 Precipe, for the future shall not he granted to any 
 one of any tenement, by which a Free-man loses 
 his court.— (XXV. 25.) There shall be one Mea- 
 sure of Wine throughout all our kingdom, and one 
 Measure of Ale, and one Measure of Corn, namely, 
 the Quarter of London ; and one breadth of Dyed 
 Cloth, of Russets, and of Halberjects, namely, 
 Two Ells within the lists. Also it shall be the 
 same with Weights as with Measures. — (XXVI. 
 26.) Nothing shall for the future be given or 
 taken for a Writ of Inquisition, nor taken of him 
 that prayeth Inquisition of life or limb ; but it shall 
 be given without charge, and not denied. — 
 (XXVII. 27.) If any hold of us by Fee-Farm, or Soc- 
 age, or Burgage, and hold land of another by Mili- 
 tary Service, we will not have the custody of the 
 heir, nor of his lands, which are of the fee of ano- 
 ther, on account of that Fee-Farm, or Socage, 
 or Burgage ; nor will we have the custody of 
 the Fee-Farm, Socage, or Burgage, vmless the Fee- 
 Farm owe Military Service. We will not have the 
 custody of the heir, nor of the lands of any one, 
 which he holds of another by Military Service, on 
 account of any Petty-Sergeantry which he holds of 
 us, by the service of giving us daggers, or arrows, 
 or the like.— (XXVIII. 28.) No Bailiff, for the fu- 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 tuie, shall put any man to his open law, nor to an 
 oath, upon his own simple affirmation, without 
 tiithtnl witnesses produced for that purpose. — 
 (XXIX. 29.) No Free-man shall he taken, or im- 
 piisoned, or dispossessed, of his free tenement, or 
 liberties, orfree customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, 
 or in any way destroyed ; nor will we condemn him, 
 nor M'ill we commit him to prison, excepting- by 
 the legal judgement of his peers, or by the laws 
 of the land. — To none will we sell, to none will 
 we deny, to none will we delay rijfht or justice. 
 • — (XXX. 30.) All Merchants, unless they have 
 before been p\iblicly prohibited, shall have safety 
 and security in ^oing' out of England, and in com- 
 ing- into England, and in staying and in travelling 
 through England, as well by land as by water, to 
 buy and sell, without any unjust exactions, accord- 
 ing to ancient and right customs, excepting in the 
 time of war, and if they be of a country at war 
 against us : and if sucli are found in our land at the 
 beginning of a war, they shall be apprehended, 
 without injury of their bodies or goods, until it be 
 known to us, or to our Chief Justiciary, how the 
 Merchants of our country are treated who are found 
 in the country at war against us : and if our's be in 
 safety there, the others shall be in safety in our 
 land. — (XXXI. 31.) If any hold of any Escheat, 
 as of the Honour of Wallingford, Boulogne, Not- 
 tingham, Lancaster, or of other Escheats which are 
 in our hand, and are Baronies, and shall die, his 
 
shall not give any other relief, nor do any other '£ 
 service to us, than he should have done to the Ba- 
 ron, if those lands had heen in the hands of the 
 Baron ; and we will hold it in the same manoer 
 that the Baron held it. Neither will we have, hy 
 occasion of any Barony or Escheat, any Escheat, 
 or the custody of any of our men, unless he who 
 held the Barony or Escheat, held otherwise of us 
 in chief. — (XXXII. 32.) No Free-man shall, from 
 henceforth, give or sell any more of his land, but 
 so that of the residue of his lands, the Lord of the fee 
 may have the service due to him which helongeth 
 to the fee.— (XXXIII. 33.) All Patrons of Ahbies, 
 which are held by Charters of Advowson from the 
 Kings of England, or by ancient tenure or possession 
 of the same, shall have the custody of them when 
 they become vacant, as they ought to have, and 
 such as it hath been declared above.— (XXXIV. 34.) 
 No man shall be apprehended or imprisoned on the 
 appeal of a woman, for the death of any other man 
 than her husband.-(XXXV. 35.) No County Court 
 shall, from henceforth, be holden but from month 
 to month ; and where a greater term hath been used , 
 it shall be greater. Neither shall any Sheriff or 
 his Bailiff, keep his turn in the Huudi ed but twice 
 in the year ; and no where but in due and accus- 
 tomed place ; that is to say, once after Easter, and 
 again after the Feast of Saint Michael. And the 
 view of Frank-pledge shall be likewise at Saint 
 Michael's term, without occasion; so that every 
 
 -&W 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I. 
 
 man may have his liherties, which he had and was 
 accustomed to have, in the time of King Henry our 
 grandfather, or which he hath since procured him. 
 Also the view of Frank-pledge shall be so done, 
 that our peace may be kept, and that the tything 
 may be wholly kept, as it hath been accustomed ; 
 and that the Sheriff seek no occasions, and that he 
 be content with so much as the Sheriff was wont 
 to have for his view-making, in the time of King 
 Henry our grandfather.— (XXXVI. 36.) It shall 
 not, from henceforth, be lawful for any to give his 
 lands to any Religious House, and to take the same 
 land again to hold of the same House. Nor shall it 
 be lawful to any House of Religion to take the 
 lands of any, and to lease the same to him from 
 whom they were received. Therefore, if any from 
 henceforth do give his land to any Religious House, 
 and thereupon be convict, his gift sliall be utterly 
 void, and the land shall accrue to the Lord of the 
 fee.— (XXXVII. 37-) Scutage from henceforth 
 shall be taken, as it was accustomed to be taken 
 in the time of King Henry our grandfather.— 
 (46.) Saving to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, 
 Priors, Templars, Hospitallers, Earls, Barons, 
 and all others, as well ecclesiastical as secular per- 
 sons, aU the liberties and free customs which they 
 have formerly had. — Also all those customs and 
 liberties aforesaid, M'hicli we have granted to be 
 held in our kingdom, for so much of it as be- 
 longs to us, all oar subjects, as well clergy as 
 
 c^Es^ m 
 
FIRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I. 
 
 Inity, shall oliserve towards their tenants as far as 
 '■ concerns them. — And for this our grant and gift 
 of these Liberties, and of the others contained in 
 our Charter of Liberties of our Forest, the Arch- 
 bishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, 
 Knights, Free Tenants, and all others of our King- 
 dom, have given unto us the fifteenth part of all 
 their moveables. And we have granted to them 
 for us and our heirs, that neither we nor our heirs 
 shall procure or do any thing, whereby the Liber- 
 ties in this Charter contained, shall be infringed 
 or broken ; and if any thing shall be procured by 
 any person contrary to the premises, it shall be 
 had of no force nor effect. These being witnesses, 
 the Lord Stephen, Archbishop of Canterbury, Eu- 
 stace Bishop of London, Joceline Bishop of Bath, 
 Peter of Winchester, Hugh of Lincoln, Richard of 
 Salisbury, W. of Rochester, William of Worces- 
 ter, John of Ely, Hugh of Hereford, Ralph of Chi- 
 chester, William of Exeter, for the Bishops : the 
 Abbot of Saint Edmund's , the Abbot of Saint Alban's , 
 the Abbot of Battle Abbey, the Abbot of Saint Au- 
 gustine's Canterbury, the Abbot of Evesham, the 
 Abbot of Westminster, the Abbot of Peterborough, 
 the Abbot of Reading, the Abbot of Abingdon, the 
 Abbot of Malmsbury , the Abbot of Winchcomb, the 
 Abbot of Hyde, the Abbot of Chertsey, the Abbot of 
 Sherburn , the Abbot of Cerne , the Abbot of Abbots- 
 bury, the Abbot of Middleton, the Abbot of Selby, 
 the Abbot of Whitby, the Abbot of Cirencester, 
 
 
 !§^ 
 
 V^ 
 
 a-^^.iS 
 
/--fi'i'^S) 
 
 riRST GREAT CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I. 
 
 Hubert de Burgh, the Justiciary, H. Earl of; 
 Chester and Lincoln, William Earl of Salisbury, 
 William Earl of Warren, Gilbert de Clare Earl of ^ 
 Gloucester and Hertford, William de Ferrers Earl \ 
 of Derby, AVilliam de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, 
 Hugh le Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, William Earl of 
 Albemarle , Humphrey Earl of Hereford , Jolm , Con- 
 stable of Chester, Robert de Ros, Robert Fitz Wal- 
 ter, Robert de Vipont, William de Brewer, Richard 
 de Montfichet, Peter Fitz Herbert, William de Albi- 
 niac, F. Gresley,F. de Bruce, John de Monmouth, 
 John Fitz Alan, Hugh de Mortimer , Walter de Beau- 
 champ, William de Saint John, Peter de Mauley, 
 Brian de Lisle, Thomas de Muleton, Richard de Ar- 
 gentine, Walter de Neville, William Mauduit, John 
 de Baalun.' — Given at Westminster, the Eleventh 
 day of Fel>ruary, in the Ninth Y'ear of our Reign. 
 We, ratifying mid approving these gifts and 
 grants aforesaid, confirm and make strong all 
 the same for tis and our heirs perpetually, and by 
 tenor of these presents do reneio the same: leill- 
 ing and granting for lis and our heirs, that the 
 Charter aforesaid, in all and singular its articles 
 for ever, shall be steadfastly and inviolably observ- 
 ed; and even although any article in the same 
 Cliarter contained, yet hitherto hath peradvcnturc 
 not been kept. In witness tchereof we have caused 
 these our Letters Patents to be made. Witness, 
 Edward our son, at Westminster, the Twelfth day 
 of October, in the Twenty-eighth year of otir reign. 
 
'V1& 
 
 IlE ensuing- series of Notes eniLrarcs 
 not only tlie Great Charter of Kin<^ 
 John, lint, as it is formed upon the 1 
 usual plan of the Statute Books, of di- 
 viding the respective instruments into 
 Chapters, it considers under eacli 
 division the various additions and al- 
 terations which every one of them lias 
 undevgonehy the grants of succeeding Sovereigns. To ex- 
 plain at full the historical character of the ancient Liher- 
 ties which they contain, would of course occupy many 
 extensive volumes : so that all which can he effected hy the 
 following hrief commentary, is to give firstly the reason for 
 the freedom declared iu the section, and secondly tlie nature 
 of that freedom; whilst in every note will he inserted the t 
 names of the authorities which have heeu eonsnlted upon the 
 suhject, in which will he found a numher of references for 
 the satisfaction of such as desire to make a farther enquiry. ^ 
 
 Pages 6C', 105, 118, 131, 145. Introduction. 
 
 John by the Gr.^ce of God, King of England. 
 
 In this Introduction, which is nearly similar iu all tlie 
 Charters, the King's style is the Rrst remarkahle passage. 
 From the collection of Royal Titles given by Sir Edward ■ 
 Coke in his First Institute, Book I. Chap. I. Sect. i. p. 7 a, it 
 may heseen thatthe Sovereign's style changed only according - 
 to the acquisition or alienation of territory ; the expression, < 
 "hy the Grace of God King of the English," or "of all 
 Britain," being extant in the Charters of William Rufns, 
 and even iu one of the Saxon King Edwyn, in a grant 
 
4- 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 nted A. D. 956. King- John first adopted the title of Lord Of ).j^\ 
 f Ireland j his possessions in which had been oouquered rS /n!^ 
 y hisfatber, who, in 1176, created him King- of that eouu- ^^^ " 
 Iry; but the title was not assumed as it is now used, until J'^ 
 1531 by King' Henry VIII. Tliestyle of Dukeof Nornt;indy 
 and Earl of Aquitaiue, were brought into the Royal descrip- 
 tion by Heury II. who held them in the rig-ht of Eleanor bis 
 Queen. Tbey were disused by Heury III. in 1259; restored 
 ;i^aiu by Edward I.; and finally exchang-ed, in 13-39, by 
 Edward III. for the title of King- of France. The address 
 of the Charter is the next particular contained in the In- 
 troduction ; ToaHfhe Archbishops, kc.\yh\ch was the ancient 
 superscription of the Royal Charters until the time of King- 
 Richnrd III., who reduced it to the present form of Letters 
 Patents, "To all to whom these present letters shall come,"" 
 excepting in the case of Charters of Dignities, ^\bich are 
 addressed to the Archbishops, Bishops, Dukes, Marquesses, 
 Earls, is-c. The four causes for g-rauting- Magna Charta are 
 the next prominent parts of the opening: — the honour of 
 God, the benefit of the King's soul — as a pious action — the 
 exaltation of the Cliurch, and the amendment of the King- 
 dom. The last expression to be observed is, that the words 
 Sponfaneoushj and of our ov^ii free icill, were first added in 
 the Third Great Charter of King Henry III, vide page 132, 
 because King- John endea\oured to avoid the execution of 
 bis grant, asserting tliat it bad been extorted from him by 
 force. Vide the preceding Essay, pages 33-34. Coke. 
 Chapter I. Pages 65, 106, 119, 132, 146. 
 The expression to grant unto God., with which this 
 section commences, was an ancient legal phrase, employed 
 when any thing was bestowed for the use and maintainauce 
 of the Church* since the thing so given was supposed 
 to be granted to God, as it was for bis service. King 
 John was the first Sovereign who used the plural pro- 
 noun We in his Grants, as all the preceding Monarohs \^ rote 
 in the first person singular, I.— Cote. — The freedom of the 
 English Chnrch is the subject of the first Chapter of the 
 Great Charter •, for, at it's orig-inal indicting, the kingdom 
 of Ireland had no share in this liberty, but by a law enacted 
 
 *&s>...^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 rri 1495, the eleventh year of Henry VII., it was decreed 
 tliat all previous Statutes of England should be extended into 
 that country. See also a Ro^-al Writ for the extension of the 
 privileg-es of the Great Charter to Ireland, issued by Henry 
 III. in 1^16, pag-e 116 of the preceding Charters. An ex 
 planation of the Freedom of the Church, in what it consisted, 
 and an account of the Charter for Ecclesiastical Electious, 
 will be found in a future note. It should be observed, that 
 the Charter says, "the Church shall be free," because that 
 cannot die nor pass away, but it's ministers are all liable to 
 death- it therefore fixes these liberties upon a firmer foun- 
 dation than the life of man only. The clause also adds, that 
 the Church shall enjoy her whole rights and liberties 
 inviolable, whicli is sufficient proof that it was intended 
 only to preserve the privileges it already possessed ; "and," 
 adds Lord Coke, " g-reat were sometimes their rights, for 
 they had the third part of the possessions ofthe Realm, as it is 
 affirmed iu a Parliament roll," (4th Rich. II. No, 13.) Indeed 
 the Ecclesiastics before this Charter, were well provided 
 for by the ancient Statutes 3 in which they were discharged 
 of purveyance of their own goodsj'of serving iu any temporal 
 office, althougli their possessions caused them to be elected 
 for it, of going out to war, of all tolls and customs on their 
 ecclesiastical property, and, in certain cases, of arrests upon 
 their persons; such were a few of those privileges whicli 
 this clause restored. The whole of these rights with some 
 others, are still enjoyed by the Clergy of England, see 
 '* Ecclesiastical Law," by Dr. Richard Burn; Edit, by S. 
 Eraser, Lond.1797, Octavo, Vol. III. pages 194-^11, Ar- 
 ticle "Privileges and Restraints of the Clergy." In this 
 Chapter it is to be observed, that the expression we have 
 granted to all the Freemen of our Kingdom^ includes all 
 persons both Clergy and Laity, in consequence of which it 
 is guarded by the words under-written liberties, because the 
 preceding clause concerned the Church alone and was 
 therefore without restraint, in this secular persons had no 
 interest, but claimed only the freedom of the Great Char- 
 
 u That is to say, having them tiikcn by the King's Purveyors for his aervicc, at 
 a aettlcJ prii;c'. This was entirely discharged hy the 12th Charles II. Cap. xjdv. 
 Sect. 12. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 ter. The use of the words frbm us and from our heirs, was 
 to piefent any douhts which mie^ht arise as to the stability 
 of this instrument, to engage all the King's successors who 
 were anciently called heiis, and to shew that liberties were 
 at first derived from the crown. Cohe. 
 
 Chapteb II. Pag-es 49, 67, 106, 119, 132, 146. 
 
 This section of the Great Charter refers to an ancient 
 law connected with Feudal Tenures, by which it was sup- 
 posed, that the Lord of the estate was the rea? proprietor of 
 all ; thoug-h the Tenant, whilst he was able to do service 
 for the land, held it in possession and enjoyed it's pro- 
 ducts. The grants issued by the superior Lord, lasted for life 
 only; and, upon the decease of a Tenant, if his heir were 
 n«t of an a^e sufficient to discharge all the services belong- 
 ing to tliat fee, or estate, it still remained in the possession 
 of the Chief Lord until he should be able to do so ; for, it 
 must be observed, that these services were, for the most 
 part, doing duty in the field. Nor was such an arrangement 
 either unreasonable or unjust, since, in the turbulent ages of 
 Feudal Tenures, it was probably, says Dalrymple," " a favour 
 to the heir and fief, to put them under the protection of the 
 lord, at a time when the heir was incapable of defending 
 either." Hence arose the right of Ward in the JMilitary Te- 
 nures both in England and in Scotland; which in the latter 
 nation, about three hundred years since, extended to the 
 exclusion of the uncle or grandfather. At one period in 
 Britain, the property returned entirely to the superior Lord, 
 to re-grant or retain as he thought proper; but afterwards 
 the heir was supposed to have some interest of succession, 
 yet not an absolute one, nor could he easily have enforced 
 it had he possessed even the right. In consequence of this, 
 therefore, heirs were contented to pay an acknowledgment 
 to their Lord for entering upon their estates; and hence 
 arose the service of Reliefs, which it is the object of this di- 
 vision of the Great Charter to regulate. 
 
 The present Chapter, which has remained unaltered 
 from the Charter of King John, in 1215, first provides for 
 
 a Esaay town: 
 1757, 8vo. p. 43. 
 
 1 General History of Feudal Property in Great Britain, Loud. 
 
 SU. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 the Reliefs lo be paid by tbe Peers of England- and in so 
 doing-, itevincesthatEarl was thebighest title then existing-. 
 Tbe first Duke since tbe Conquest, was Edward tbe Black 
 Prince, created Duke of Cornwall in the year 1337, by a 
 Charter, bearing- date the 17tb day of March. Tbe first 
 Marquis was Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, who was 
 created Marquis of Dublin in tbe year 1384 5 and the first 
 Viscount who sat in Pai-liameutby that title, was John Beau- 
 mont, who was made Viscount Beaumont in the year 1439. 
 The d.Ig-nity of Barons, wbicb is next in order in tbe clause, 
 comprehends tbe whole of tbe Nobility, and tbe g-reat Council 
 of tbe Nobility. 
 
 Having- mentioned tbe Peers, tbe Charter goes on to 
 protect a degree, which, for the most part, was equal with 
 them, such as held of the King in Chief by Military Service. 
 A Tenant in cxvpiiej or cbief, is when any one possesses a lord- 
 sbip immediately from the King- himself, in right of bis crown 
 and dignity without any intervening Lord; and Military, 
 or Knight's Service, is to possess lands either from the 
 King- or any other Lord, paying for tbe same personal ho- 
 mage, swearing- fidelity, and attending the chief when sum- 
 moned, ready arrayed for war. The amount of tbe Reliefs 
 to be paid by these Tenants is next stated; and in conclusion 
 of tbe former remarks on this subject, it should be observed, 
 that anciently this present was said to be given in redemption 
 of an estate, thus acknowledging that it had wholly de- 
 parted from tbe family of a deceased proprietor; but iu 
 later times it was said to be given for tbe relief or renovation 
 of an estate, tbe word being derived from the Latin Relevare^ 
 to lift up again. Tbe most ancient Relief is called a Heriot, 
 from theSaxou Here-geat, which literally signifies Armour 
 and Weapons : "a tribute,"' saysSomner in hisDictionarium 
 Saxonlco-Latino-Anglicum, Oxf. 1659, Folio, " of old given 
 to tbe Lord of a manor, for his better preparation towards 
 warre. We now call it a Heriot, and understand by it the 
 best horse, ox, cow, or such like cbattell, which the Tenant 
 hath at the boure of his death, due to tbe Lord by custome." 
 It was probably from this circumstance, then, that tbe 
 original Reliefs were ordained to be paid in Armour j and by 
 
 
ZbtJE^-*^ "-^irS^-. 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 j tlie La^^ s of King- William the Fiist.the Relief of an Earl was 
 eight horses saddled and bridled, four helmets, four coats 
 of mail, four shields, four spears, four swords, four chasoii, 
 or hunting- horses, and one palfrey hridled and saddled. A 
 Baion was to g'ive half as much with the palfrey. A Va- 
 vasor, the next deg-ree to a Peer, was to present his Lord 
 with his best horse, his helmet, coat of mail, shield, spear, 
 and sword; or instead of these one hundred shillings. A 
 Countryman^s Relief was his best beast, and he who farmed 
 his lauds g-ave a year's rent. Vide Leg^cs Anglo-Saxonicae, 
 by David Wilkins,Lond. 1721, Folio, pages 223, 224, Nos. 
 22-24,29. Thus there was originally a scale of settled sums 
 for the lands of the different degrees, from the highest down- 
 wards ; but previous to John's reig-n, especially in those of 
 King- William Rufus and Henry II,, Reliefs became arbi- 
 trary, and often, under the title of a reasonable Relief, con- 
 siderable oppressions were imposed. The sums mentioned 
 in the text, would be about bventy times their value in 
 modern currency ; ten times in allowing foi* the difference of 
 coin, and ten more in the quantity and worth of the article 
 to be procured. The ancient Relief however, to which the 
 present Chapter of Magna Charta alludes, was the giving 
 up the fourth part of the value of an Earldom, a Barony, or 
 a Knight's Fee for one year. Sir Edward Coke, in his 
 coninient upon this Chapter of the Third Great Cliarter of 
 King Henry III., contends for reading an hundred marks 
 (£.6<6 13.9. 4c?.) for the Relief of a Barony, instead of an 
 hundred pounds, as stated in the text. The sum which an- 
 ciently was sufficient to maintain the dignity of a Knight, 
 he observes, was £20 per annum, and his Relief, the fourth 
 part, £5 : the yearly value of a Baron's estate was to consist 
 of thirteen Knights fees and a quarter, or four hundred 
 marks, amounting to £266 13^. 4(/. in modern coin; the 
 fourth of which is one hundred marks, £66 \3s. 4d. Tlie 
 estate of an Earl being £400 per annum, his Relief ts truly 
 rated at an hundred pounds. 
 
 It is evident that in this Chapter there was only a res- 
 titution of ancient customs, and no grant of new privileo-es ■ 
 hut the whole of this clause of Magna Charta is now rendered 
 
 m 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 : ) i\ obsolete by an Act passed in the twelfth year of the reig-u of ^ 
 King- Charles II. cap. 24. entitled, "an Act for taking- away' 
 the Court of Wards and Liveries, and Tenures in Capite, and 
 .gffjf^ by Knight's Service, and Purveyance, and for settling; a Re- 
 vT**^ venue upon his Majesty in lieu thereof." This recompense 
 consisted of some of the duties arising- from the Excise. Coke. 
 
 Chapter III, Pag-es 49, 67, 107, 120, 132, 147. 
 
 The intent of this Chapter is to preserve the old Sta- 
 tute of the Common Law regarding- Military Service, Coke on 
 Littleton, Lib. II. Cap. iv. Sect. 112, by which it is provided, 
 that the Lord of an estate cannot have both guardian- 
 ship of the heir and his land, and also a Relief when he 
 shall come of ag-e to do Knight's, or Warlike service for it. 
 For this cause then, if a person held lands of the King- in 
 Chief, and different lands under some other Lord, both by 
 Military duty, the King- by his prerogative had the ward- 
 ship of all, and, upon the heir's coming- of ag-e, a Relief was 
 paid to the other by way of recompense. The Homage is 
 the first particular mentioned in the present Chapter in the 
 additions made to the Great Charter of King- John, by Henry 
 III. in 1217 ; and this consisted in a Tenant appearing 
 before bis lord ungirt and uncovered, kneeling- down, and 
 then placing- his joined hands between those of his Lord, pro- 
 raising- fidelity to him saving his faith to the King-. The 
 reason of tliis being performed previously to the Lord of a 
 fee taking his tenant's heir and land into ward, was to war- 
 rant the land to the hei]-, and to acquit him from any service 
 to all other Lords. It was also provided, that though the 
 heir should be made a Knight, which made hiui free as to 
 his body, yet his lands should still be in ward, as the clause 
 sets forth. The whole of this Chajtter referred to heirs male 
 only; but it was entirely cancelled by the act cited at the 
 end of the last Note. 
 
 Chapter IV. Pages 49, 67, 107, 120, 103, 147. 
 
 The intent of this, and the following Chapter of the 
 Great Charter, was to prevent the Sovereign from placing 
 rich estates of heirs under age in the custody of mercenary 
 men, who mio-ht exact heavier rents and services than the 
 land had ever before been rated at 3 or who would destroy 
 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 or neg-lect any of the property so committed to them ; and 
 this clause has remained unaltered since the Magna Charta 
 g-ranted hy King- John, down to the last Inspeximus or re- 
 viewal of Edward the First. But the duty of a Keeper, or 
 Guardian, was not only to preserve the estates, but the per- 
 son of the heir ; " to educate,^' says Lord Coke, " and bring- 
 up his Ward virtuously, and to advance him in marriage 
 without disparagement." In what the latter consisted, will 
 be shewn in the note upon Chapter VI.- but the present 
 and ensuing- one, relate only to the manner of preserving 
 the lands and property. Guardians of estates held by Mi- 
 litary Service, were, as Lyttleton observes, of two kinds j 
 namely, a Guardian in right, which was when the superior 
 Lord upon the decease of his Tenant, became, in virtue of his 
 title, the possessor of the heir and his lands ; and a Guar- 
 dian in fact, which is where the superior Lord, after having 
 made his claim, grants the Wardship to another, who conies 
 into possession by the force of that grant. This latter spe- 
 cies of Guardian is that mentioned in the text. The Chap- 
 ter first proceeds to state in what manner the products of an 
 heir's estate are to be made use of. IssneSy or as the orig-inal 
 word may be better translated, out-going-s, signify the rents 
 and profits issuing from the lands or tenements of the ward, 
 which are to be taken by the Guardian in a reasonable man- 
 ner, according to what is allowed by law. Customs are pri- 
 vileges due or appendant to the lands of the ward, such as 
 advowsons or presentations to ecclesiastical livings, com- 
 mons, waifs and strays. Tenant fines, &c. Services were 
 those duties accruing to the lord from his copyhold Tenants, 
 which were of the nature of feudal services, being annual 
 and accidental, as well as comprising homage and fealty. 
 The reasonableness of these various provisions was to be 
 decided by the King's Justices. 
 
 With regard to the saving clause in this Chapter, con- 
 cerning the destruction and waste of the men or goods, it 
 will be proper to explain it, as it concerns the legal signi- 
 fication of those terras. Waste is committed in neglecting 
 to repair houses, in damage done to gardens, and in the 
 cutting down of timber trees. Destntdion of goods, is the 
 
cuttino- down of young- timber plants, and any other kind of 
 trees set for the defence of the house. Exile, ordestruction 
 of men, is when by any oppression they are reduced to po- 
 verty, and forced to qnit their dwelliugs upon tlie estate. 
 Coke. It should be observed that the fair profits of the land 
 were claimed by the Lord of an heir under ag'e, that out of 
 them he mig-ht provide some person to supply his defect of 
 service, until be should be able to act for himself. Wright. 
 This Chapter is also rendered obsolete by the same Statute 
 as the two preceding-. 
 
 Chapter V. Pages 50, (39, 108, 120, 13.3, 147. 
 
 The Laws enforced by this Chapter of Mag^na Charta, 
 are similar to the agreement of repair which exists between 
 a Landlord and Tenant for years, as may be seen by a re- 
 ference to Sir Edward Coke's Commentary upon Littleton, 
 Book I. chap. vii. sect. 67, and it is, as Glanvil ohserves, 
 merely a restoration of the old Common Law, for Mag-na 
 Charta confirms all the ancient laws of England, which 
 time, or abandoned men bad changed; but notwithstanding- 
 the popular regard for this grant, it confers nothing- new, 
 nor any one privilege which is not in the present day far 
 more securely, amply, and excellently provided for. The 
 latter part of this Chapter relates to the King's prcrog-ative 
 as Patron and Protector of the Church, which was to have 
 not only the guardiaoship of such Abbies and Priories as 
 were of Royal foundation-, but also that of the lands and 
 temporal possessions of Bishops and Archbishops. The 
 Charter of King Henry III., in which this clause con- 
 cerning ecclesiastical guardianships first appeared, — vide 
 page 108, provides also against that guardianship being 
 sold, as was common in other cases of ward. The reason of 
 SQch a provision was as follows : Ranulph Flambart, Trea- 
 surer and Chaplain to King William Rnfus, assisted that 
 monarch in many of his schemes for procuring money from 
 his subjects; he would sometimes persuade him to keep 
 Church livings and preferments vacant for a considerable 
 time, in order that they might be let or sold, and that their 
 profits might be retained. The episcopal and priestly offices 
 were then no longer freely bestowed by nomination, and 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 't^ delivery of the pastoral ring- and staff; but sold to those 
 ' whose wealth best enabled them to procure such honours. 
 ^^c^JiyC/fH li^'iiilp^, ^"^'as, for such adv^ice as this, first advanced to the 
 ^mi^^ dig-nity of Chancellor, and afterwards to the See of Durham. 
 '^UO Wlien King Henry I. succeeded William Rufus,hc, foresee- 
 jng- the consequeuces of continuing- such a line of conduct, 
 readily ag'reed to abolish it by the Charter which he issued 
 in the year 1100, which also took away tlie Couvrefeu, and 
 granted some of the liberties contained in the present in- 
 strument; but a more particular account of this celebrated 
 deed, supposed to have been the foundation for the Magna 
 Cliarta of John, will be found in the preceding Essay, and 
 the second of the Notes at the end of the volume. After this 
 grunt, the King committed Bishop Ranulph to prison ; 
 "where," says Coke,^ "he lived without love, and died 
 without pity, saving of those that thought it pity be lived so 
 long." The passage in the text was therefore intended to 
 secure the clergy ag'ainst any such oppressions in future ; 
 but the King may conmiit to another, any ecclesiastical pos- 
 sessions during their vacation, as may be seen in the Statute 
 of the fourteenth year of King Edward III. chap. 4 and 5. 
 This portion of Magna Charto, as well as the former part re- 
 lating' to wards, is rendered obsolete by the act of Charles II. 
 already cited; and that coucerning Abbies, &c. by an act 
 passed in the thirty-first year of Henry VIII. chap. 13, en- 
 titled, "an Act whereby all Manors, Lands, Profits, and 
 Hereditaments belonging to any of the Monasteries or other 
 Religious Houses dissolved, or hereafter by any means to be 
 dissolved, are assured to theKing's Highness, his heirs and 
 successors for ever; and in what wise leases and grants 
 heretofore made, or hereafter to be made of them, or any part 
 of them, shall take effect." As the present was one of the last 
 Chapters of Magna Charta over which the Statute of the 12th 
 of Charles II. had any inflnence,it will be proper to give a very 
 brief notice of it's nature and origin. The Court of Wards 
 and Liveries was erected by authority of Parliament, in the 
 year 1549, 32nd Henry VIII. Chapter 46. It consisted of 
 
 a Seuohd Institute, Edition Lond. 1S0!>, Svo. Vol. iv. p. 15. 
 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 33 sections, and it's intent was to transact ail the affairs of 
 the Royal Wards, Idiots, and Widows, as it reg-arded their 
 property and niarriaf^e. This court was a Court of Record, 
 or one whicli had power to hear pleas according'' to the 
 Common Law, where the daraage is forty shillings or more ; 
 it had a common seal, and was constituted of a Master, the 
 King-'s Attorney, a Receiver General of the Rents of the 
 Estates, two Auditors of the Ward-lands:^ two Clerks of the 
 Court to draw leases, a Messeng-er, and an Usher, all of 
 whom were to he admitted on oath. The Master, the Attor- 
 ney, and the Auditors, or any three of them might sell and 
 grant Wardships, make sales of Underwood, and take timber 
 for repairs of the Ward-lands : they mig'ht treat with Widov^s 
 for their marriag-e-fines, manage the property of Idiots,-^ and 
 the Receiver Genei-al was to pay yearly to the Treasurer of 
 the King-'s Chamber, all monies or obligations for money 
 received by the Court, whilst an annual report of it's state 
 and proceedings wus to be made by the Master to the King', 
 in 1541, 33rd of Henry VIII. chap. 22 and 39, and again 
 iu 1553, 7th Edward VI. cliap. 2. the Act founding- this 
 Court was explained, modulated, and re-established; but 
 in t660, 12th Charles II. chap. 24. it was wholly repealed, 
 the Court dissolved, Military Tenures were taken away. 
 Marriage made free, and all future Tenures created by the 
 King were tobeindependent of any duty in war. The reasons 
 for the abolishing- of this Court and Military Tenures, were 
 g'iven in the introduction to the new Act, and they were, 
 firstly, that they had been "moreburthensome, grievous, and 
 prejudicial to the Kingdom, than they had been beneficial to 
 the King-," and that since the intermission of the English 
 Court, in 1645, that is to say, from the commencement of the 
 Civil Wars until the Restoration, many persons had disposed 
 
 a Tlic nuBtody of Idiots was formerly in tlic Lords of estates, and tliey were 
 considetL-d as always under (lyc, because they were iiitapnblc of doiug; service for 
 their lands. Sir Edwnrd Coke observes, that tbe Kiii^ first possessed the reroga 
 tive of holdiiiy; their possessions during their life, in the time of Edward I. 
 
 b Tliere is un Engraving of this Court, which s.tt in Westminster Ilnll, copied 
 from a very Ancient Paintini;, with an account of the Court itself, to be found in 
 the Pirst Vol. of the Vetnstn Moiiunieiita, published by [he Societ)' of Antiijuaries, 
 Loi.d. 17-17, Foliij. No. 70. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 of, and willed away the lands which they held by Knighf s 
 service, "^whereupon some questions mig-ht possibly arise, 
 unless some seasonable remedy be taken to prevent the same. ' 
 Instead, therefore, of the profits which the King had hitherto ^ 
 derived from the Court of Wards, he was to receive the -: 
 Excise Buties on Beer, Ale, Cyder, &c. Statutes at Large. 
 Before concluding- this account of the Court of Wards, it 
 should be observed that the word Livery, is put for Deli- 
 very, and signifies that writ by which an heir of full age 
 obtained possession of his lands from the King-. 
 
 Chapter VI. Pages 50, 69, 108, 121, 134, 148. 
 The Tenure of Military Service was connected with 
 the right of a superior Lord bestowing his Tenants in mar- 
 riage ^ or at least his consent was required before any union 
 could take place with one of his followers. And the rea- 
 son for this was certainly a fair one; because, according to 
 the principles of Feudal Tenures, it was proper to prevent 
 any person who enjoyed a part of the land, from bringing 
 into the joint possession of it either an enemy of the supe- 
 rior Lord, or one of a family at enmity with him. If there- 
 fore a Military Tenant married without his Lord's consent, 
 his fee was forfeited; and it is probable that in the orig-iual 
 state of Feudal Tenures, this law extended both to male and 
 female tenants; but, says Dalrymple, page 42, "as there 
 was an obvious distinction in the importance to the supe- 
 rior, between an heir female bring'ing a male foe into the 
 possession of the fief, without the superior's consent; and 
 an heir male bringing only a woman of a family at enmity 
 with the superior, into it; so there arose a difference be- 
 tween the penalties upon the marriage of the one, and those 
 upon the marriage of the other." A female heir might be 
 given in marriage by her father at the age of twelve, but 
 fourteen was called her age of discretion, or time when she 
 might consent or disagree to marriag'c under a feudal Lord ; 
 but if her ancestor died before she had reached the age of 
 fourteen, or was married, tlieu she was to remain in Ward 
 until the age of sixteen, in which two years it was supposed 
 that her Lord might tender to her a suitable marriage. This 
 if he neglected to do, at the end of the two years she conld 
 
 ^■*«%,..:^5=^^ 
 
?w^ ^Jli 
 
 ci 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 St? 
 
 "^ 
 
 filter on possession of her estate. If, on the contrary, she 
 tiere married under the ag-e of fourteen, in the life of her 
 pvo£»-enitor, and was also under that age at his death, then 
 the Lord was to have Wardship of her only until she at_ 
 tained to it, when her husband and she were immediately to 
 enter on possession of her lands. The ag-e of discretion for 
 a male heir was fourteen, at whieh time he might consent 
 or disag-ree to any marriage his Lord had formerly provided 
 for him ; and the old law was such, that if he did then dis- 
 agTeeto8uchmarriag-e,a!tliough his lands remained in Ward- 
 ship until he should eome to the full ag-e of twenty-one, yet 
 he was free from Ward as to his body, and his Lord had no 
 right to marry him a second time. In 1235, 20th Henry 
 III. chap. vii. was made a provision ao;ainst heirs of any 
 age refusing- to marry at the command of their Lord: they 
 were not to be compelled, but when they came nf age, they 
 were to pay him whatever sum might have been given for 
 the marriage of such heirs ; and tliis was to be done before 
 they could possess their lands. One who gave his diiiiohter 
 in marriage without the consent of his Lord, forfeited his 
 inheritance. This power of Feudal Lords, was however, 
 tog-ether with all the management of the property of Wards, 
 given to parents and proper persons by them appointed, by 
 the act so frequently cited, 12th Charles H. chap. xxiv. 
 sect. 8. During the time, however, that these laws existed, 
 the present chapter of Magna Charta was intended as an an- 
 cient institute of the Common Law, and was doubtless in- 
 serted as a provision ag-ainst mercenary or interested guar- 
 dians involving their Wards in any improper connections, 
 by way of securing' the estates for themselves. There were 
 many kinds of disparagements; but for any of these four 
 principal ones, the heir, if married before the age of four- 
 teen, when he arrived at that age might disagree to the 
 match, and it should then be dissolved by law: Istly, the 
 marriage might be refused, if the j)arty provided were an 
 idiot or lunatic; 2ndly, if they were of an inferior degree, 
 one of attainted blood, or illegitimate: 3rdly, if they were 
 imperfect in pers-^u, or deformed : Jind ithly, if the bride were 
 a widow, because that was considered as bigamy, and pre- 
 
 •t^^ 
 
k^' 
 
 '*^*fe 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 I eluded Benefit of Clergy, tlio latter, however^ was prnvidffl| 
 [^ngainst ill 1547,thefirstyear of Edward VI. cap. xii. § 16. by 
 all act entitled, "an Act for the Repeal of certain Statutes 
 i concerning Treasons, Felonies, Sec." in which it was declared 
 that Benefit of Clergy should be allowed to any person 
 notwithstanding- their marriag-c with widows. 
 Chapters VII. VIII. Pag-es 50, 69, 108, 121, 134, 148. 
 Before the Norman Conquest, a widow bad no power 
 to marry again until one year should have expired after the 
 death of her Iiushand : and the Hon. Daines Harrington, " 
 in his very amusing and yet learned observations on Magna 
 Charta, gives instances of the same kind of restriction in other 
 nations, as in Denmark and Sweden, and anciently in Ger- 
 many and in Rome, where the old laws limited the time of 
 celibacy to ten months. The word Maritagium, as it occurs 
 in the original text, is a technical expression signifying li- 
 berty to marry again, whereby the year of mourning was set 
 aside, so far as the Law was concerned. The whole of this 
 and the succeeding Chapter relates to the general rights of 
 Widows, as they regarded the Feudal System ■ for as females 
 at that period possessed no personal fortune to entitle them 
 to a jointure, so the immediate provision of Dower for their 
 maintenance, was of the greatest importance. The Widow, 
 however, might remain in her late husband's dwelling, (if it 
 were not a castle,) for forty days, which time was chilled her 
 quarantine, and which began on the day of his deatli, and 
 continued to thirty-nine days after; if during that time she 
 married, her widowhood was then past, and she forfeited her 
 Dower. Barrington, in his work already cited, says, thatone 
 reason for this quarantine, was the apprehension of counter- 
 feit issue, which he rennirks was not unfrequent in former 
 times. The additions in the Second Magna Charta of Kino- 
 Henry III. provided for the Widow's support, until the Dower 
 was assigned, under the title of her reasonable Estovers 
 which signify to sustain or nourish. With respect to the 
 quantity of the Dower when granted, it was generally the 
 third part of the deceased's possessions, and thonce called 
 
 '' Observations uyOn the uioru Ancient Statutes, .5 Kil. Lurid. l/'Jli, -llo. I'li, S-IO, 
 
 3^3S# 
 
 b£:^Xi_ ~^3'f^' 
 
i 
 
 q^"-^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GRE VT CHARTERS. 
 
 Dvs Jegitima^ or lawful Dower. But although the Widow w'\^ 
 to remain forty days in the house of her late hushand, if Jt 
 were acastlc held only for his own private use and habitation , 
 yet her quarantine was to he performed in another dwelling, 
 if sueh house were a castle or fortified building- for the dr 
 fence of the kingdont. Neither could she hold lier quaran- 
 tine in her husband's principal house ifitwere the Chief of 
 a County or Barony. Coke on Littleton^ Lib. I. Cap. r. 
 Sect. 3b'. An obsolete custom of endowing- a female, is al- 
 luded to in the additions of King- Henry III. to this part of 
 Mtigna Charta. Dower is of several distinct kinds, one of 
 wliich is denominated Dower ad ostium ecclesio'y or Dowry at 
 the Church door j by this species, a man was unable to endow 
 his spouse with more than a third part of his possessions, al- 
 thoug-h be raig-ht with less, and as this is a public act of 
 endowment, made immediately after the marriag-e, it would 
 be well known to what portion of property Widows were 
 formerly entitled. It' they claimed a Dower by Common Law, 
 they received a third partofall,but if by Dower at the Church 
 door, it consisted of such lands only as were named by the 
 husband at the time of making- the endowment. These 
 Chapters On the rights and duties of Widows, continue, that 
 they shall not be obliged to uiarry by distraint, or the seizure 
 of their goods; which was inserted probably to prevent the 
 Lord of the fee from giving- their possessions to any follower 
 of his own. The same chmse also adds, that tiie consent of 
 such Lordshall be procured previous to anyfuture marriag-e, 
 and tliis it is supposed for atwo-f(dd reason: firstly, because 
 the Widows of the King-'s chief tenants should not marry with 
 his enemies ; and secondly, because they should not be united 
 to strangers, by whose means the treasure of the lealin might 
 be carried out of the kingdom. The Relicts of such persons 
 as had held of the King- In Chief by Knight's Service, were 
 called the King's Widows, as In the Statutes concerning the 
 Court of Wards and Liveries; and the ancient fine paid by 
 any of them for marrying without license, was the value of 
 her dowry for one year. Coke. This Chapter in the First 
 Great Charter of King Edward I. contains several additions 
 and the enactments of several clauses in the |)recedlug in- 
 
%$^ 
 
 ~^^J 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 strumcnts, as may be seen by a reference to the pages cited 
 at the head of this Note-, but there were uo alterations made 
 ill it after the Third Mag-na Chartaof King- Henry the Third. 
 As Tenures of Knights Service were discharged by the Sta- 
 tute of 12th Charles 11. Chap. 24, Sect. i. so the following 
 section took away values and forfeitures ofinarriagc, by which 
 the greater part of this Chapter is void. For a general view 
 of the improved modern law of Dower, see Sir Thomas 
 Edlyn Tomlin's edition of Jacobus Law Dictionary, Quarto. 
 
 Chapter IX. Pages 50, 71, 108, 122, 134, 149. 
 
 This is the first Act of Grace contained in the Great 
 Charter ■ for by the Common Law, the King had execution 
 of the body, lands, and goods of the debtor, and he might 
 also, by his prerogative, distrain for his rent in any other 
 lands which his tenant possessed, although they were not of 
 his own fee. A similar process was likewise used by many 
 of the Barons, and this was afterwards carried to such an 
 extent, that they levied their distresses in the common streets 
 and high-ways, against which a Law was enacted in the 
 52nd Henry III., 1267, commonly called the Statute of 
 Marlborough, or Marlbridge, Chap. 15. The force of this 
 Act of Grace was more particularly shewn in the twelfth 
 Chapter of the Statute, denominated "The Articles upon the 
 Charters," of which some notice has been given in the pre- 
 ceding Essay, page 46. The following is the passage in the 
 ArticuU Super Cartas — "And he,'" — the King — "will not 
 that over great distresses shall be taken for his debts, nor 
 diiven too far, and if the debtor can find able and convenient 
 surety, until a day before the day limited to the Sherifl', 
 within which time a man may purchase remedy, or agree for 
 the demand, the distress shall be released in the mean time ; 
 and he tliat otherwise doth shall be grievously punished.''^ 
 In this instance, if the SheritF should refuse to receive an 
 off"ered surety, an action might be brought against him for 
 so doing. In the year 1541, in the 33rd of King Henry 
 VIII. Cap. 39, an act was passed for "The erection of a Court 
 of Surveyors, and for the more efiectual recovery of the 
 King's debts ^"^ but this, which was in fact a Court of Aug- 
 
""^^^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 mentation/ was dissolved in 1553, id the sRcond session of 
 the First of Mary, Cap. 10, hj "An Act for the Uniting-, 
 Dissolving-, and new Erecting- of Courts," and annexed to 
 the Exchequer. Some additioaal ohservations on Dehts of 
 the Crown, will be found in the Notes on the Thirty-first 
 Chapter of the Mag-na Charta of King- John. 
 
 Chapters X. XI. Pag-es 55^ 56, 71. 
 By the Laws of King- Edward the Confessor, and the 
 testimony of Glanville and others, it was anciently not law- 
 ful for Christians to take any sort of usury, so that interest 
 for money was paid to the Jews alone, and to them only 
 whilst the ancestor was living-, or after his successor came to 
 full age. The sole privileg-e wliich they possessed of thus 
 increasing- their wealth, tog-ether with the spirit of the Cru- 
 sades, generated in England a hatred to the Jews from which 
 none of the Eng-lish in the middle ages were free. Rapin 
 citing- several of the older historians, relates many instances 
 of the extreme cruelty and oppression with which they were 
 treated, immense sums being levied upon them at the King's 
 pleasure, for permission that they should remain in England : 
 and Henry III. sold them for a certain term of years to his 
 half-brother Richard. At length, in 1253, the same Sove- 
 relgnbeingin France, hewroteto his Queen and the Prince to 
 obtain an Aid to preserve Guienne from the Moorish Army, 
 when the King of Castile was marching against it. This 
 they did not venture to ask of the Parliament, and the King- 
 wrote a second time eoramandiug his brother at any rate to 
 extort money from the Jews ; wliich he so punctually and 
 rigourously performed, that they at first petitioned to leave 
 the kingdom, but even that being refused them, they were 
 compelled to pay to Henry a greater sum than ever. The 
 revenue arising from these unfortunate persons, was paid 
 intoaCourtbelonging to the Exchequer ;^ whence it received 
 the name of Scaccarium Judteorum, or the Exchequer of the 
 Jews. In this was deposited the amount of their Tallage 
 and Fines on Law proceedings. Amerciaments for Misdemea- 
 
 a The Court of AugnieiitatioDS was oria^inally so denominated, because it con- 
 sisted of Officers who receivc;d the prolits of the Religious Houses which the Kiug 
 reserviid for himself ; thereby considerably iiugmenting the Royal Revenue. 
 
 -y^ 
 
 %^ 
 
p 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 'uiiiis> Ransoms, Compositions, Sec. which they were forced' 
 tf piy for having- the King-'s hene\'olence, license to trade, 
 t I d hcharg-es, imprisonments, and the like. The enormous 
 [su lis which they disburseti, however, evinced that they had 
 amassed considerable wealth by the rnortg-ages, bonds, usury, 
 and traffic which they effected nearly all over England ; for, 
 being a very numerous body, they were settled in almost all 
 of the most considerable towns of the kingdom. A much 
 more extended and interesting- account of the early state of 
 the Jews in this country, tbelaws concerning' them, and their 
 taxations, with numerous references, will be found in M. 
 Rapin's History of England, Edit, by N. Tindal, Loud. 
 1732, Fol. Vol. I. page 347. Such were the benefits which 
 the Kings of England anciently derived from the Jews, and 
 perhaps to this arbitrary treatment may be ascribed that 
 usurious spirit which certainly actuated them • for Sir Ed- 
 ward Coke states, in his Second Institute, pag-e 505, that 
 when King' Edward I. was about to establish a final statute 
 ag-ainst the Jews and Usury, two grievances were to be taken 
 away by it. Firstly, the evils and disinheritances which the 
 people of England had experienced by becoming their 
 debtors ■ and secondly the national sins to which their usury 
 had given rise. The loss to the Crown, on the contrary, was 
 very considerable; for between 11*65, 50th Henry IH, and 
 ] 273, 2nd Edward I., a space of only eight years, the Jews 
 had paid £420,000, 15a-. 4d. Although a people so profit- 
 able were positively encouraged by a Charter from King- 
 John, and even the two Mouarchs above-mentioned issued 
 many acts to moderate their usury, yet at a Parliament held 
 by Edward I. in 1289, the eighteenth of his reign, the Sta- 
 tutum Judaismo was enacted, by which usury was entirely 
 forbidden in England. The Jews, continues Lord Coke, 
 deprived of their profits, but yet not banished the realm, left 
 the kingdom to the number of 15060, and remained in exile 
 abroad, until the time of the Civil Wars. Previously 1o 
 their departure, they petitioned the King for his Writ of 
 safe conduct through the country, the form of which is pre- 
 served by Sir Edward Coke: and it is directed to the 
 Sheriffof the County, cominandinghim to proclaim through^ 
 
 ■::-^^ 
 
ffil^^ 
 
 NOT LS ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 uut tlio whole of his jurisdiction, thnt the Jews shouM have 
 free liberty to depart towards London, without injury, nio- 
 hstttion, daung-e, or g-rievance, provided that they first 
 Hstoied the Christian pledges held hy them. It is dated] 
 th( 18th of July, 1289. By virtue of these Writs, the Jews 
 assembled lu London, and some of the richest of them 
 having- embarked with their treasure on board a vessel of 
 g-reat burthen, sailed down the Thames to Qiieeusboroug-h. 
 The Master of the ship, a man yet worse than the most 
 usurious of his passeng-ers, entered into a conspiracy with 
 his own mariners to destroy them. For this purpose he cast 
 anchor, and remained so until the vessel lay dry a-ground at 
 the ebb tide. The sailors then invited the Jews to go 
 on shore with the Captain, which they having- done, he caie- 
 fnlly watched the flowing- of the tide, and suddenly leaving- 
 them gaiued the ship by a rope. As no deceit was suspected, 
 the Jews did not discover it until it was too late; and then, 
 when they called out to be taken on board, the prophane 
 sailors bad them cry to Moses who had conducted their fathers 
 tliroug-h the Red Sea, who was also able to deliver them from 
 the tide which now was rapidly rising- upon them. The con- 
 clusion was that they perished in the waters by this act of 
 treachery, but the Captain and such of his crew as had con- 
 sented to It, were indicted of murder before the Justices on 
 the circuit, convicted, and subsequently hung-. It remains to 
 be added only, that King- Edward I. received a fifteenth from 
 the whole kingdom for his banishing the Jews from England 
 by the expulsion of usury. The Statutes of Jewry ordained 
 that usury should wholly cease for the future; that no in- 
 terest should run from the Feast of St. Edward preceding 
 this act, ISth March; that debts due to the Jews should be 
 paid between the time of enactment — Hillary Term in Ja- 
 nuary — and tJie ensuing- Easter ; that if any Jew lent at usury 
 after the passing of that Statute, the King's Officers were not 
 to aid him in recovering his debt, but that he should be pu- 
 nished and theChristlan's pledge restored; that their distresses 
 for debt should not be so heavy as to take away a debtor's 
 whole malntainance ; that a debtor's heir should uot be dis- 
 tressed, nor any person holding his land before the debt was 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 allowed in Court ; tliat goods and lands should be valued for 
 tlie Jews debts by o-ood and lawful men; that they should 
 have a particular abode and badge, and that all above twelve 
 years of age, should yearly pay to the King; the sum of three 
 pence at Easter ; that they should not make conveyances of 
 laud, without the King's license; that they should be pro- 
 tected by the King, his Sheriffs, Bailiffs, and subjects, and 
 not challenged in any Court but the King's ■, that they might 
 traffic with the work of their own hands, or that of Christians, 
 and be free from scot and lot; and finally, for the space of fifteen 
 years, that they might buy bouses and farms in their peculiar 
 residences, saving that they held them in Chief of the King. 
 Statutes of the Realm. Neither of the Chapters relating to 
 the debts of the Jews are to be found in any other Charter 
 of Liberties than that of King John ; for, in the end of the 
 first one grantcdby King Henry III., page 116, it is stated, 
 that these were some of the points reserved for consideration, 
 which, until they were settled, were to be held as lawful. 
 The next appearance of the first of these Chapters, namely, 
 that interest should not run against an heir under age, is in 
 the Statutes of Merton,"^ Cap. 5. But these Laws- were not 
 enacted until 1235, the20th of King Henry III. The twelfth 
 Chapter of the Magna Charta of King John, concerning the 
 dower of a Widow and the maintainance of her children 
 being delivered free of debts, is in conformity with the Se- 
 venth Chapter by which the whole dower was secured ; and 
 also by the principle observed in all the Charters, that dis- 
 tresses should not be carried to such an extent that nothing 
 should be left after they had been levied. The expression 
 in the text, saving the rights of the lordSy is a provision that 
 all their lawful customs and services are not barred by this 
 protection of a tenant's property ; audit infers that if they be 
 neglected or denied, the Lord of the fee might distrain for 
 Wardship, Relief, or Marriage. 
 
 Chapter XII. Pages 55, 73. 
 This Chapter is also to be found in it's fullest extent in 
 the Great Charter of King John only ; and it's subject is the 
 
 a A body of Laivs so calltjci, because they i\'ere enacted in a Parliament beld at 
 tbf Monastery of Cmious Rc|^lar of Ulcrton in Surrey. 
 
 >^ 
 
 178 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 levying- of Stutao-c, a tax anciently paid by such as held 
 laudshyKiiioht's Service towards furnishing the Royal Army, 
 at the rate of one, two, or three marks for every Knight's 
 fee. It was orig-iually derived of the Saxon words Scyld and 
 penig-, the Sheild-peuny j whence it was translated into the 
 Norman French Escuage, and the Law-Latin expression of 
 Scutagium, or service of the Shield: this, says Lord Coke, 
 "was in respect of the Scutum, or Shield, which ought to he 
 borne both by Lord and Tenant in such Avars .'^ The service, 
 however, was not entirely like Knig-ht's Service; inasmuch 
 as it was neither due upon all military occasions as that was, 
 nor was it a direct personal attendance upon the King in his 
 wars : but it consisted of a pecuniary aid or contribution, re- 
 served by particular lords instead of personal service, the 
 better to enable them to bear the extraordinary cost of their 
 own attendance and warfare, when the King made war, if 
 the tenure were so expressed. As the Lord''s service abroad 
 was thus uncertain, continue Jacob and Sir T. E. Tomlins, 
 from whom this definition of Escuage is derived, the amount 
 of his aid was seldom ascertained by reservation; but was 
 usually proportioned to the fine received hy the King- from 
 his Tenants in Chief, who failed to attend him on such expe- 
 ditions. The King's of England, therefore, anciently taking 
 the advantage of, or probably complying with this custom 
 of their tenants, and sometimes on occasion of war, assessed 
 without summons a moderate sum upon every Knight's fee, 
 as an Escuage wherewith they might provide foreign stipen- 
 diaries to supply their defect of service. But as this species 
 of Escuage was really a previous commutation between a 
 Tenant and lils Lord, and not incurred as a tine, it was not 
 long acceded to ; and in the reigu of King John it Avas not 
 only insisted upon as an undoubted right of the King's Te- 
 nants, but the Barons procured the insertion of the present 
 Chapter of Magna Charta, that it should be imposed only by 
 the Common Council of the kingdom. Littleton in his Te- 
 nures, Book 2, Chap. 3, Sect. 97, shews the proportions of 
 Escuage to be levied by the authority of Parliament after a 
 royal expedition, upon such as were not with the King ; and 
 Sir Edward Coke observes upon it, that although uncertain 
 
 -^2fc 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTEKS. 
 
 Escuaoe is due by tennre, yet because it's assessment con- 
 cerned so many in the realm, it could not he imposed by the 
 King- nor any other but the Parliament. The last Escuag-e so .<| 
 assessed, was levied in the year 1314, the 8th of Edward II. 
 As Escuage thus became the only penalty for defect of ser- 
 vice, many lords by covenant between them and their tenants, 
 fixed it at a certain sum, to be paid so often as Scutage 
 should be granted without regard to the rate assessed by 
 Parliament; and this was called Escuage Certain, because it 
 did in effect discharge the tenant from all military service. 
 The amount of Escuage assessed upon any estate, was, of 
 course, according to the extent of it; this being estimated 
 sometimes by the number of Knight's fees it contained, and 
 at others by the value of the land. The quantity compre- 
 hended in a Knight's fee, seems to have been very uncertain : 
 for it is asserted by some that it should consist of eight hides, 
 each of which were equal to an hundred acres ; others make 
 but 680 acres in the ivbole ; and a third class disputes the 
 number of acres contained in the Saxon terms an Oxgang, 
 a ploughland, and a yardland of territory. Camden and Sir 
 Edward Coke are opposed to all these, and speak positively 
 as to the income produced by the estate constituting a 
 Knight's fee, if it amounted to £20 per annum. This is again 
 controverted by that admirable Lawyer and Antiquary John 
 Selden, who in his Titles of Honour, Part 2, Chap. 5, § 26, 
 insists that a Knight's fee was not estimated either by quan- 
 tity or value, but l>y the service, or number of the Knight's 
 fees reserved. He also cites instances of Earldoms and Ba- 
 ronies containing an uncertain number of Knight's fees, 
 contrary to the assertion of Sir Edward Coke already men- 
 tioned, that tho.se estates were composed of a fixed quantity. 
 However this might be, the Tenures of Littleton, Lib. 2, 
 Cap. 3, § 97, state that Escuage was to be levied in propor- 
 tion to the Knight's fees or parts of one contained in any 
 property ; as, if the Parliament assessed one retaininga whole 
 Knight's fee to the amount of forty shillings, then he who 
 held but half an one, paid but half that sum to his Lord : he 
 who held less paid less, and he that owned more was rated at 
 more. This Cliapter in King John's Charter, also provides 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 for another privilege claimed l)y the superior Lords under the 
 Feudal system, namely the assessing- of Aids for defrayin 
 some of their own private charges. Strictly speaking, how- 
 ever Aids were not at first a direct Feudal obligation, but 
 were orioinally sums of money obtained from the Tenants out 
 ofareo-ard to the person and claims of his Lord. In their most 
 ancient state too, both the amount and nature of Aids were 
 as uncertain as the occasions which arose to demand them, 
 and the property of the Tenant could furnish ; but in the 
 course of years they became established renders of duty, of 
 which the three events mentioned in the text at page 73, gave, 
 in Normandy, the most general opportunities for claiming. 
 These soon became fixed and established, to the exclusion of 
 certain other unreasonable demands made by the inferior 
 Lords of Fees, which also passed under the title of Aids ; as 
 an assessment upon the Tenants to enable a Lord to discharge 
 his debts- and one termed Aide de Relief, to furuish the 
 sum required by the Law of Reliefs already treated of. In 
 the reion of Kin"' Henry II. -also, it was doubted whether the 
 lords might not require Aids towards the perfecting of their 
 military preparations; but all these illegal Aids were abo- 
 lished by the present Chapter of King John's Great Charter, 
 At the same time three certain Aids were permitted to be 
 taken, as well by the King as by his Barons; see page 73, 
 Chapter XV. to which also this Note will be a sufficient com- 
 mentary. They were ordained however to be taken in a lawful 
 manner, and were firstly,/or redeeming the King's or a Lord's 
 body, that is to say, whenever he became a prisoner of war : 
 secondly,/or making his eldest son a Knight; and thirdly,/or 
 once marrying h'ls eldest daughter . For the first of these causes 
 the Aid was less frequent and more uncertain than any of 
 the others ; but at the same time it was of the highest con- 
 sequence that he should be ransomed at any rate, so often as 
 he might be made a prisoner of war. Sir William Black- 
 stone in his Commentaries, Book II. Chapter 5, page 63, 
 observes that as this species of Aid was a natural consequence 
 of Feudal attachment and fidelity, the omission of it, when- 
 ever it was in the Tenant's power, was, by the rigour of the 
 Feudal Law, the absolute forfeiture of his estate. The se. 
 
sg^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 coiid species of Aid was for making the Lord's eldest son a 
 Knight, " a matter," says the same authority, " that was ,' 
 formerly attended with great ceremony, pomp, and expense." 
 The intent of this, was to bring; up the heir of the Lordship 
 to arms and chivalry for the better defence of the nation, ■ 
 and the assessment could not he made until the Young Chief 
 had attained the age of fifteen, or at least was capable of 
 bearing arms; but anciently, Sir Edward Coke observes, 
 the Lords would pretend that their eldest sons were hopeful 
 and forward, — as in their abilities and stature, — and that they 
 would thence demand a larger aid than was due from their 
 Tenants, and also before the proper time. The same oriev- 
 ance was likewise imposed with respect to the third kind of 
 Aid mentioned in the text, that of once marrying the Lord's 
 eldest (laughter; " by giving her," says Blackstone, " a suit- 
 able portion, for daughter's portions in those days were ex- 
 tremely slender, few Lords being able to save much out of 
 their income for this purpose ; nor could they acquire money 
 by other means, being wholly conversant in matters of arms ; 
 nor, by the Law of their Tenure, could they charge their 
 lands with this or any other incumbrances." 
 
 The present Chapter of Magna Charta was one of those 
 which the First Great Charter of King Henry III. left out for 
 farther consideration ; vide page 116 ; but it was inserted 
 again in his Second Charter in an altered form. Chapter 44, 
 page 129. Sir Williani Blackstone observes upon Scutage, 
 that this clause ordained it to be taken in a reasouable and 
 moderate way, as it was in the time of King Henry IL- but 
 in 1297, the 25th of Edward L, and many subsequent Sta- 
 tutes, it was again provided that the King- should take no 
 tasks nor aids but by the common assent of the realm. 
 Hence, he adds, it was held in our old Law Books, that Scu- 
 tage could not be levied but by the consent of Parliament 
 such Scutages being the ground-work of all succeeding sub- 
 sidies, and the land-tax of succeeding times. The assessino- 
 of Scutage by that name, was taken away by the act of the 
 12th Charles II., Cap. 24, Sect. ii. But the Charter of 
 King John, whilst it ordained that a reasonable Aid should 
 be taken for these occasions, did not specify any rate at 
 
^x. 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 vhicli it should l)p levied; so that It remnlncd in the uncev- 
 ' tain state of the Common Law enactment, until the first body 
 of Statutes was passed at Westminster in the 3rd of King- 
 Edward I., S;5th April, 1275, Ciiap. 36, when it was pro- 
 vided that the Aid of a Knig-ht^s Fee should he twenty 
 shilling-s, and the same sum for farm lands free of military 
 duty, valued at £20 annually, and of others less or more at 
 the same rate. This Statute was strengthened by another 
 act made in the 25tli of Edward III. 1330, Chapter xi, with 
 respect to Royal Aids for Knighting the Prince, and mar- 
 rying the Princess; but every species of Aid was rendered 
 obsolete by the act which took away the Court of Liveries, 
 12th Charles IL Cap. 24, § iv. 
 
 Chapter Xlll. Pag-cs 5ry, 73, 109, 122, 135, 14-9. 
 The first clause of this division of the Great Charter of 
 King John, lias great afiinity with the Chapter last explained, 
 since it provides for the lawful taking of Aids in the City of 
 London. Bluckstone remarks, that "from bearing propor- 
 tion to these Aids, no rank nor profession was exempted; and 
 therefore even the Monasteries, till the time of their dissolu- 
 tion, contributed to the Knighting of tiieir founder's male 
 heir, of whom the lands were holden, and the marriage of 
 bis female descendants." The assessment of Aids upon 
 Boroug-hs, according- to Baron Maseres' *' View of the 
 Ancient Constitution of the English Parliament,'''^ survived 
 even their erection into Free-Boroughs; and during" the 
 Saxon period, all great towns, and the City of London itself 
 were considered assuch, it being then called London-Burg : 
 indeed the custom of using the words Civitas, a City, and 
 Burg-US, a Boroug-h, promiscuously for the same place, as 
 Jacob and Tomlins observe, continued in force long- after 
 the Conquest. Baron Maseres supposes that the origin of 
 that g-reatness and wealth which now characterise the Bo- 
 roughs of England, arc from most of the inhabitants of the 
 ■walled towns being- first made free from doing services to 
 their Lords in their own persons, although they still re- 
 mained Tenants with regard to their dwellings. This being 
 
 * Arch!tolot,nii, Vol. II. pftut 320. 
 
 Sflirf^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 the cnse, as they increased in trade and wealth, they were yet 
 liahle to their rents and Aids heing- raised at the will of their 
 Lords upon pairiof being- ejected from their houses; and to 
 provide a better security, they used, with their Lord's con- 
 sent, to apply to the King to be incorporated into a common 
 body, forming- as it were but one Tenant, which should pay, 
 by themselves and their successors, a certain fixed and per- 
 petual sum to their landlord and his heirs for ever, instead 
 of those uncertain demands which he could increase at his 
 own pleasure. The King- himself was frequently the superior 
 Lord of these walled towns, and of all the land entitled An- 
 cient Demesne, or land held by the same Chiefs for a long- 
 succession of years. The sum was entitled a Fee-farm rent, 
 because it was a farm, or rent paid for the liberty of trading' 
 in the Lord's borough, and was, at the same time made per- 
 petual on both parts, thereby resembling- the Tenure of es- 
 tates of inheritance. A Borough thus jn'ivileged, ^vas said 
 to have been made free, and was termed a Free Borough. 
 But although the Feivfarm rent, was at first sufficient to com- 
 pensate the Lord for the loss of those rents and tolls which 
 he had resigned, yet in the course of years the great altera- 
 tion in the value of money reduced it to a trifle ; whilst the 
 burgesses of these enfranchised towns, were thus placed upon 
 a level with the freest Tenants of the country. The only 
 important difference which existed between them, was, that 
 the privileges of the Borough belonged to the inhabitants 
 collectively, whilst the freedom of the latter descended seoe- 
 ralhj to themselves and their heirs. Such perhaps was the 
 origin of Civic liberties, most of which were conferred be- 
 tween the reigns of the Kings Henry the Second and Third 
 inclusive; however, even after infranchisement the power 
 of levying lawful Aids and Taillages yet remained, but only 
 when they were imposed by the Common Council of the 
 kingdom, which consisted of the first class of Freeholders or 
 Tenants in Chief. Tlie Free Boroughs were first admitted 
 to send members to Parliament in 1295, the 23rd of Edward 
 I.; when the Burgesses and Tenants of an Ancient Demesne 
 voted and taxed themselves separately from the Knights of 
 Counties, who tlien sat with the Lords. They also, on such 
 
 -^1' 
 
 ■SSs 
 
 v^^^J 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 occasions, granted the King- a greater Aid for themselves 
 and their constitnents, than was at the same time laid upon 
 the Freeholders of the kingdom ; and, the Baron concludes, 
 from all these particulars, that they were admitted to the 
 privileg*e of taxing- themselves, and that the Taillages raised 
 hy the Lords of Free Boroughs from their Tenants, must have 
 been g-reater than the subsidies granted by the Freeholders 
 of the king-dom in the same proportion. The 32nd head of 
 the Articles of Magna Charta, page 55^ from which this 
 Chapter was framed, contains a proviso that the Taillage of 
 the City of London shall be taken in the same manner as the 
 Aids. The word Taillage, or Tallage, is derived of the 
 French TaiHe, any thing cut ; and is metaphorically used for 
 a part of a person's property cut out of the whole and paid 
 by way of tribute, toll, or tax : but Lord Coke states it to be 
 a general word for all kinds of taxes. The difference be- 
 tween Taillages and Aids, was, according to Baron Maseres, 
 that the latter were subsidies granted by the Military Tenants 
 in Chief to the King, for the whole body of the Freeholders 
 of the kingdom 3 but the former were those assessments laid, 
 almost at will, upon the Burgesses and inferior Tenants, either 
 by a Lord or the King as they might happen to hold. The 
 Tenants in Chief might not lawfully be taxed but by the 
 consent of the Great Council of the kingdom, and then to 
 the amount of a tenth, a fifteenth, or a twentieth of the goods 
 of each; hut the Lords of Boroughs, &.c. not unfrequently 
 Taillaged their Burgesses and other Tenants, with an arbi- 
 trary amount of Taillage, and at times and occasions answer- 
 ing to their own pleasure. This was in some xr^easure 
 provided against in the xv. Chapter of the Great Charter of 
 King John, page 73; though that section relates to the in- 
 ferior class of Freeholders, who, according to Maseres, " paid 
 like the Tenants in Chief, or Lords themselves, only the sums 
 assessed by the grant of the Great Council." The intent of 
 the present Chapter of Magna Charta, was like the preceding, 
 to prevent both the King and his Barons from taxing their 
 Tenants, excepting at such times only as when a subsidy was 
 granted by the Council of the kingdom. 
 
 Having thus stated some particulars concerning the 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 assessment of Aids in Cities, which was abolished by the 12th 
 of Charles 11. Cap. xxiv. Sect. 4. the next portion of the 
 Chapter proceeds to speak of a confirmation of all the priri- 
 leges enjoyed by the City of London until the reign of King- 
 John. The interpretation of this Is, says the Mirror of Justices- 
 as cited by Lord Coke, "That the Citizens shall have their 
 franchises, of which they are inherited by lawful title, by 
 the jSftfts and the confirmations of King-s, and which they 
 have never forfeited, by any abuse ; and that they have their 
 franchises and customs which are allowable by right, and 
 are not contrary to law ; and this interpretation concerning- 
 London is to be understood of the Cinque Ports and of other 
 places." The present Chapter of Mag-na Charta specifies 
 two kinds of franchises, namely, Ws ancient Liberties and ifs 
 Free Customs; the first of which signify aRoyal privileg-eor 
 branch of the King-'s prerog-ative, held by .grant or prescrip- 
 tion, and existing in the hands of his subjects, by which he 
 or they enjoy privileges not common to ordinary persons. 
 Free Customs are Liberties enjoyed by custom or usage, 
 which in it^s leg-al sense signifies a law not written, but 
 established by long' use, and the consent of ancestry^ The 
 antiquity of a Custom should be so g-reat, as that the memory 
 of man cannot shew it's contrary, and legal memory is within 
 the first year of King Richard L 1189; so that no custom 
 can prevail against an Act of Parliament, since the Statute 
 itself is proof of a time when the Custom did not exist. 
 Customs to be lawful must also have been continued, with- 
 out any interruption of the right, although there may have 
 been of the possession: they must have been without dis- 
 pute : they must not be unreasonable : they must be certain : 
 wheuonce established they must be compulsory: and finally, 
 they must be consistent with each other. " The Customs of 
 London," observe Jacobs and Sir T. E. Tomlins, "differ 
 from all others in point of trial, for if the existence of the 
 Custom be brought in question, it shall not be tried by a 
 jury, but by certificate of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen by 
 the mouth of the Recorder 5 unless it be such a Custom as 
 the Corporation is interested in, as a right of taking toll, 
 &.C. for then the law permits them not to certify in their own 
 
 m 
 
 'S^^^ise 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 behalf. And when a Custom has once heen certified hy the 
 Recorder, the Judg-es will take notice of it, and will not 
 suffer it to he certified a second time. These Customs of 
 London relate to divers particulars with reg-ard to trade, 
 apprentices, widows, orphans, i^c." The next point to be 
 briefly considered by the present Note, is the nature of the 
 principal liberties enjoyed by the City of London, and at 
 what periods they have been granted. It was ordained by 
 Kini^ Edward the Confessor, that whoever of servile con- 
 dition dwelt quietly within the City for a year and a day, 
 was thencefortit for ever free from his lord and master, and 
 became a freeman ; which Custom, Stow observes*' is related 
 in an ancient record book of Guildhall, to have been used 
 in the City of Troy, King" William I. confirmed this liberty 
 to the City of London, as well as all others which it had 
 possessed under Edward, but he also made that particular 
 privilege common to all Cities, Castles, and Burghs sur- 
 rounded by a wall. His Charter likewise ordains, that every 
 man in London shall be his father's heir upon his death, and 
 concludes with a promise of the Royal protection. King- 
 Henry the First granted to the Citizens to hold the rich 
 County of Middlesex to Farm for £300: that they should 
 elect their own Sheriff for keeping pleas of the Crown, or 
 suits in the King's name for oflences committed against his 
 Crown and dignity, and that none other should be Justice 
 over the people of London ; that the Citizens of London 
 should not answer without the walls to any suit: that 
 they should be free from the contributions of Scot and Lot, 
 Dane Gelt, and fine for uncertain murder, and that none of 
 them should wage battle : that if any should he impleaded 
 in pleas of the crown, the man of London should discharge 
 him by his oath, which was to be adjudged within the city: 
 that lodging- should not be seized on for the men of the King- 
 nor of his Barons : that the Citizens should be free through- 
 out England and the Sea Ports, from toll, passage throug-h 
 towns, ports, gates, and bridges ; and lestage, or a toll paid 
 for freedom to sell at fairs, &o.: that the Churches, Barons, 
 
 " Survey, Edit, by Strypf, Book v. Clui 
 
 -^-^^Sfs 
 
'tion quietly, and each enjoy their own customs : that a man '^i 
 of London should not be adjudg-ed in a pecuniary penalty 
 unless it were an hundred shillings: that in the hustings, 
 or highest court of jurisdiction in London, and in the Folk- 
 mote or g-eneral assembly of the Citizens, there should be no 
 miskenning- ■, and that the hustings should sit every Monday: 
 that the Citizens should have all their lands, premises, 
 bonds, and debts, within and without the City ; and that the 
 King' should do them right, arcnrding- to tbf City Law, of the 
 lands of which they should complain to him : that if any toll 
 or custom were taken of a Citizen, it should be taken back 
 of the same place which required it; that debtors owing- 
 debts to the Citizens should pay or discharge themselves in 
 London, or if they refused, the Citizens ini^ht seize upon 
 their goods wheresoever they mig'ht be : and finally, that the 
 Citizens of London should have their chases for hunting- as 
 fully as their ancestors had, in Hertford, Middlesex, and Sur- 
 rey. All these were confirmed by Stephen, with the provision 
 concerning' King' Edward's laws j and twice by Henry II. 
 with some few alterations. King' Richard I. also granted 
 two Charters to the City j the first in the fifth year of bis 
 reign, 1193, *23rd June, was a confirmatory one, and the 
 second related to Wears in the Thames, which will be ex- 
 plained in the Note on Chapter xxxiii. King; John, on the 
 l7thof June in the first year of hisreig'n, 1199, re-granted 
 to the Citizens their ancient Liberties and Customs, which 
 he confirmed by another Charter of the liilh of July in the 
 same year: and on the 20th of March, 1201, he granted at 
 the petition of the Mayor and Citizens, that the Guild of 
 Weavers should for the future be wholly removed from 
 London, but that as the King- had been accustomed to re- 
 ceive eighteen marks yearly from it, the Citizens were to 
 pay him twenty at every feast of St. Michael. On May the 
 9th, 1214, Kin^ John granted to the Barons of the City of 
 London, liberty to elect a Lord Mayor out of their own body; 
 but Stow shews, Vol. II. pa^e 6ST, that the office of Mayor 
 is older than the first of Richard I. 1189. Henry III. 
 granted nine Charters chiefly confirmatory j but Edward I. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 mm 
 
 ^ resumed the City Charter, and kept the liberties of London j 
 
 for several years in his own hands constitutino- Castodes or i 
 . . . . ? \ 
 
 keepers over it, without the choice of the Citizens. In the 
 
 26th of his reig-u, however, on the 28th of May, 1297, he 
 restored these freedoms without limitation, as tliey had been 
 held before their resumption. The next year, on the 18th 
 of April, he granted, that whereas it was the custom fur the 
 Citizens of London to present their Mayor to the Barons of 
 the Exchequer for admission, they were then permitted to 
 present him to the Constable of the Tower. On the 12th of 
 December, 1322, Edward II. issued a Charter of Indemnity 
 to the Citizens, which provided that tiie services which they 
 had done the Kin;^ by g'oino- out with him to war, should 
 not be considered as precedents; and Edward III. in his 
 first year, 6th March, 1327, confirmed all preceding- grants 
 from Edward the Confessor downward, in a large Charter 
 containing' many new privileg-es; concluding with a promise 
 that the City liberties should never be seized, nor keepers 
 set over it for any personal trespass committed within it. 
 The same Sovereig-n, on the 6th of May, 1327, granted the 
 village of Southwark to the City for ever, because felons and 
 robbers were wont to fly thither for security, as they could 
 not then be attached by the ministers of the City. In 1337, 
 1355, and 1376, the same King granted other Charters to 
 London : the first of which was confirmatory in a grant con- 
 cerning Merchants ; the second permitted to the Sheriffs the 
 use of gold and silver maces ; and the third, which was 
 granted on the petition of the Mayor, &c., enacts that Mer- 
 chant-strangers shall not keep houses nor sell in London. A 
 Charter of Henry IV. dated 25th May, 1399, grants to the 
 Citizens the keeping of New-Gate, Lud-Gate, and all the 
 other City gates and posterns j together with the office of 
 collecting the tolls in Cbeap, Billingsgate, and Smithfield, 
 with the tonnage, or weighing- of lead, wax, and pepper. 
 King Edward IV. granted Four Charters to London. The 
 first, after confirmation of all former Liberties, vests the ju- 
 dicial government of the City in the Mayor, Recorder, and 
 Aldermen past the chair 5 it then proceeds to protect the 
 Aldermen from being put upon Assizes, Attaints, and Juries 
 
 » 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 1?,'^ out of the City, and confirms all the privileges concernino- 
 , Southwark, granting- to it a fair for three days. The second 
 ,h Charter g-ipes tonnaoe and \vei&-hinp' to London: weiffhin^ 
 p\i of wool to be atLeadenhall, andat no other place within three '■^■ 
 miles. The third Charter concedes the very sini»ular privi- 
 lege of buying- 200 marks yearly in Mortmain : — that is to 
 say, the disposing of lands and estates to a Corporation, 
 Guild, Fraternity, &.c. by which the services due from them 
 become as it were dead. This Charter was granted as a 
 consideration, for the Citizens remitting to the King a debt 
 of 1923 marks formerly lent him. The fourth Charter of 
 Edward IV. bad a similar origin, for in consequence of the 
 Citizens releasing a loan of £7000, he granted them the 
 office of packing all woollen cloths and all other mercban- 
 dises, which was also confirmed to them in 1511, the third 
 year of Henry VIII.; they were likewise invested with 
 the office of portage of the goods and merchandises of all 
 Denizens and Aliens ; the garbling, or searching and cleans- 
 ing' of spices; the g'uaging' and wine-drawing of wines 
 brought to their Port, and of the duty of Coroner. King 
 Henry VIII., by his first Charter transferred Inquisitions to 
 the City; and in his second, gave to the Cltizeus the office 
 of Keeper of the Great Beam and Common Balance. Edward 
 VI. granted many additional privileges concerning South- 
 wark, andit's government; and Jamesl. confirmed the office 
 of Bailiff and Conservator of the Rivers Thames and Med- 
 way, to the Mayor and Commonalty of Lou don, with all the fees 
 and profits belonging thereto. By another Charter in 1607, 
 the fifth year of his reign, the same King confirmed all for- 
 mer Charters and Customs of London, with several privileges 
 to the inhabitants of the Black and White Friars : and in a 
 third Charter, in 1612, he granted the weighing, measuring, 
 and customs of coals brought into the Port of London, to the 
 City for ever. Charles I. in a very extensive Charter dated 
 October the 18tb,1638, the fourteenth of his reign, confirmed 
 all the foregoing, with many amendments and additions : 
 and in a second Charter dated September the 5th, 1640, 
 he granted and contirmed numerous privileges to the Port of 
 London, in consideration of the payment of £4200. After 
 
Bp^mfr-^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 the Restoration, King- Charles IT. granted a very full In- 
 ' speximus and Confirmatory Charter, dated June 24th, 1663 ; 
 but when the City was opposed to the measures of the Duke 
 of York, this instrument was forgotten in his brother's in- 
 dig-nation. During the violent proeeedJnos which charac- 
 terised the latter part of the reign of Charles II., say Jacob 
 and Tomlins, it was thouglit expedient to new model most 
 of the Corporate Towns of the kingdom ; for which purpose 
 many of them were persuaded to surrender their Charters, 
 and informations of enquiry were brought against otliers, 
 upon a supposed, or frequently upon a real forfeiture of their 
 franchises by the neglect or abuse of them. The eouse- 
 quence was, that most of their liberties were seized into the 
 hands of the King ; who granted them fresh Charters, with 
 such alterations as were considered essential, and during- 
 their unsettled state, the Crown named all their magistrates. 
 Upon this ground, with some ulledged aggravations, King- 
 Charles II. seized the City Charter in 1683; which pro- 
 duced from the Citizens a petition for it's return on the 18th 
 of June in the same year. Tiie answer to this was given to 
 the Mayor, &cc. by the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, who 
 told them that the King was willing to confirm their Char- 
 ter, provided they consented to certain regulations touching 
 his approval of the election of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs. 
 In this mutilated manner was the Chaiter of London again 
 renewed by Charles II., and in that state it remained until 
 1688, the last year of his successor James II., when Judge 
 Jefferies, then Lord Chancellor, was ordered to carry the 
 original Charter with great formality back to Guildhall, in 
 the hope of winning the City over to support his govern- 
 ment. In 1690, the second of William and Mary, the former 
 proceedings were declared illegal and arbitrary ; and that 
 judgment, and every other judgment given and recorded for 
 seizing the franchises of the City was reversed and made 
 void. It was also declared that the Mayor &c. of Loudon, 
 still remained a body politic under their ancient name ; and 
 that they should have and enjoy all their rights and Charters : 
 whilst all the Charters, Letters Patents, N:c. concerning- any 
 of their privileges or possessions issued since the judgment 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 I by the late King's were made void. The Officers, Companies,! 
 ^and Corporations were also restored : and the eighth Chap- ^ 
 
 tei' of the first Statute of William and Mary passed in the 
 !, above year, enacts that the franchises of the City of London J 
 should never hereafter be seized or fore-judg-e'd for any mis- 
 demeanour or forfeiture whatsoever. Such is a very g-eneral 
 view of the liberties of London, traced from the earliest pe- 
 riod down to the last great settlement; hut much farther 
 information on this head will he found in Strype''s edition of 
 Stow's Survey of London, Vol. II. Book v. Chapter 25, and 
 in the Appendix to the same, Chapter iii.; but the most per- 
 fect list of books containing- the City Laws and Charters, will 
 be found in Mr. W. Upcott's excellent ** Bibliographical 
 account of the principal works relating to Eng-lish Topog-ra- 
 phy," Lond. 1818, Octavo, Vol. ii. pages 793-810. See 
 also "an Index to the Statutes at Large" by John Raithby, 
 Lond. 1814, 4to. Article London. 
 
 In the first Great Charter of King- Henry III., the 
 liberties and privileges of the Barons of the Cinque Ports 
 were first provided for in the same Chapter with those of 
 London : vide page 109. The Cinque, or Five Ports, are 
 those havens which lie towards France, and have therefore 
 been considered by the King-s of England as important to be 
 carefully guarded against invasion. For this purpose they 
 yet retain an especial governor, called the Lord Warden of 
 the Cinque Ports; who has not only the authority of an 
 Admiral, but possesses also the privilege of issuing writs in his 
 own name. As Kent was always accounted the entrance of 
 Britain, Camden observes that King William I. was the 
 first Monarch who made a Constable, or Governor of Dover 
 Castle, and Warden of the Cinque Ports, which offices are 
 united. King John, however, was the first Sovereign who 
 granted them the privileges which they still enjoy; upon 
 the condition of their providing a certain number of ships at 
 their own charge for forty days, as often as the King should 
 require them in his wars. And this service, as Somuer re- 
 marks in his "Treatise of the Roman Ports and Forts in 
 Kent," they acknowledged and performed upon the Royal 
 summons, and attended with their ships at the time limited 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 at their own proper costs, staying- with the fleet as long- after 
 'as the King' required, at his charg-e. The Cinque Ports as 
 they are at present considered, are Dover, Sandwich, Rom- 
 ney, Wlnchelsea, and Rye; to which Hythe and Hastings 
 are added as members, although Lord Coke supposes that 
 they were originally two of the Ports, Winchelsea and Rye 
 being the members. Their privileges are principally as fol- 
 low : to send each two burgesses, called Barons of the 
 Cinque Ports to Parliament, to he free of the King's writs; 
 to hold various Courts of Pleas 5 and at a Coronation the 
 Barons of the Cinque Ports claim to carry over the King 
 in his procession, a canopy of cloth of gold, or of purple silk, 
 having a silver gilt bell at each corner, the whole supported 
 by four silver staves, four Barons carrying- each staff'. They 
 also claim to carry a similar canopy over the Queen ; to have 
 the canopies, Sec. as their fee, and the privilege of dining at 
 a table on the King's right hand. This claim is founded on 
 a prescriptive right which is recognised in the Charter 
 granted to the Cinque Ports by King Charles the Second. 
 Vide Coke's Second Institute, 557, 558. Fourth do. 222- 
 225. Raithby's Index to the Statutes, Art. Cinque Ports. 
 Charters of the Cinque Ports, by Samuel Jeake, Lond . 1728, 
 Folio. An account of the Cinque Ports' Meetings, by T. 
 Mantell, Lond. 1811, 8vo. 
 
 Concerning the remaining words of this Chapter, by 
 which all their free customs and privileges are granted to 
 all other Cities and Ports of England, the explanation varies 
 according to the place by which the Charter is pleaded. But 
 with respect to Ports it must be observed, that by the Feudal 
 Laws all navigable Rivers and Havens were considered as 
 special royalties, subject to the Sovereign j who, being Lord 
 of the whole shore, is particularly the guardian of Ports and 
 Havens which are the inlets and gates of the Realm. Madox 
 states, that in the reign of King John, ships were seized by 
 the King's Officers for putting in at a place which was not 
 a legal Port; and these legal Ports were, as Sir Edward 
 Coke supposes, first assigned by the Sovereign, since each 
 of them possesses a Court of Portmote, or a Court incident 
 to Haven-Towns. "But,'' continue Jacob and Sir T. E. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 i'Tomlins, "though the King- had a power of granting*- tho 
 ■ franchises of Havens and Ports, yet he had not the power ot"! 
 lesnmption, or of narrowing- and confining- their iiinite when \ 
 I once estahlished ; hut any person had a rig'bt to lade or dis- 
 charg;e his merchandise in any part of the Haven, whereby 
 the revenue of the Customs was mcuh impaired and di- 
 minished, by fraudulent \andings in obscure and private 
 corners." To prevent this, acts were passed by Elizabeth 
 and Charles II., for the ascertaining the limits of all Ports 
 by commission; and for the assigning- of proper places in 
 each for the lading- or landing of freig^hts. The word Port 
 sometimes refers to an inland town, since it is derived from 
 the Saxon, and also signifies a City. 
 
 Chapter XIV. Pag-e 73. 
 The provisions for the Parliament of England con- 
 tained in this Chapter, are not repeated in any other of the 
 Great Charters ; but so late as 1696, the seventh and eighth 
 of William III., Chap, xxv., an act was passed appointing; 
 forty days hetweeu the issue of the writ of summons for a 
 Parliament, and the returns of the same. There is at pre- 
 sent an extension of this term, A general council for the 
 management of the affairs of the nation, to form new laws, 
 and to amend the existing ones, has been held in England 
 from a very ancient period of time: and though many sup- 
 pose that the Commons were not admitted to sit in Parliament 
 upon the present arrangement, until the year 126-4-, the date 
 of the first writ of summons to any Knig'lits, Citizens, and 
 Burgesses; yet the Great Charter of King- John was made 
 by the King, the Barons, and the Free-men of the whole 
 king-dom. The constitution of this Chapter, remark Jacob 
 and Sir T. E. Tomlins, has subsisted at least from the year 
 above quoted; the Parliament writs of which are still ex- 
 tant. The first members of the English council, down to 
 the time of King- Henry III., were those persons only who 
 held of the King in Chief, and who are ordained to be sum- 
 moned by the present Chapter of Magna Charta: and they 
 are designated in the more ancient histories and works on 
 Law, by several names iznporting- superior rank ; as Barons 
 of the kingdom, the Greater Barons, &cq. and the assembly 
 
 ^^--J5"l 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 fwhich thoy formed was called the Great Council, or King-''sH 
 FCoiirt, tlie word Parliament not coming into use until thej 
 latter part of the reig-n of King- Henry III. Baron Maseru s| 
 npposes in his paper already quoted, page 308, that tlii 
 Cduncilmet at the least thrice in the year, at the Feasts of 
 Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide; which meetings being 
 in the ordinary course, required no issue of summons, though 
 there were occasionally others called for a special purpose, 
 when the King issued his command for the Council to come 
 together. The occupations, however, were the same in each, 
 as debates concerning war and peace, the granting of Aids 
 to the King, the regulation of the Laws, and the trial of 
 great causes between the Barons. The King, however, at 
 this period, had not the power of omitting to call a Baron to 
 the Great Council, nor of summoning any person who was not 
 a Tenant in Chief; but after the Battle of Evesham in 1265, 
 had subdued the Baronial influence, King- Henry III, se- 
 lected for the following Parliament only such of his Peers 
 as he thought proper, alledging that those who had been in 
 arms against him and their favourers, were not fit to be sum- 
 moned to his Councils. The same plan was pursued by 
 Edward I.; and thus arose the law that the King's writ of 
 summons constituted a Baron, and not the circumstance of 
 holding of him in Chief. Lords, however, were not created 
 by Patent until the reign of Richard II., and even after- 
 wards this was done in Parliament down to the time of 
 King Henry VII. Until the same period too, only the Tenants 
 in Chief were summoned to Parliament, but they had con- 
 siderably increased in number by the effect of a Statute 
 passed in 1289, the I8th of Edward I. which was originally 
 intended to preserve the Feudal Power of the Barons. This 
 Act is denominated, *' Quia Emptores," from the opening 
 words, and by it the people were allowed to dispose of their 
 estates, but the original tenure was made to follow the land 
 through all it's alienations. Thus, when the King's Vassal 
 divided his property into smaller Baronies, the new possessor 
 did not become his Tenant, but held immediately in Chief of 
 the Crown ; and if the second holders of the land disposed of 
 it to others, the tenure still continued, and remained in the 
 
 <*f5^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Crown. The Tenants in Chief, according- to Domesday, 
 amounted to about 700 persons; but their Baronies being- 
 very unequal in extent, and being- in the course of yean 
 repeatedly divided and subdivided, especially by partitions t 
 with female heirs, they were diminished in quantity, whilst ' 
 the number of Tenants in Chief was considerably increased. 
 There are instances, says Baron Maseres, of persons holding- 
 the 100th, and even the 300th part of a Barony; yet all 
 these had a title to a seat in Parliament, and hence arose 
 the distinction between the Greater and Lesser Barons. A 
 diiFerence between these is noted in the present Chapter of 
 Magna Charta ; for the King was therein bound to summon 
 the former to Parliament individually by iiis Letters, but 
 the latter were to be summoned in general by his Sheriffs 
 or Bailiffs. In 1507, the Sord year of Henry VII., the 
 King-, instead of summoning- all the Lesser Barons to Par- 
 liament, according- to this Act, required them to send two 
 of their number to represent them out of every County, 
 which was the origin of the Knights of Shires. 
 Chapter XV. Pages 50, 73. 
 
 This Clause occurs in the Charter of King- John only, 
 being one of those which were reserved for farther consi- 
 deration, in the first of Henry III. vide page 116. It's na- 
 ture and history have been already explained in the note on 
 Chapter XII. page 181. 
 
 Chapter XVI. Pages 51, 75, 110, 122, 135, 149. 
 
 This Statute was intended to relieve such as had no 
 remedy by the Common Law ; and it was a restoration of the 
 ancient 1-aw of England. It is usually stated, that the writ 
 entitled from it's commencing words, " Ne injuste vexes," 
 was originally grounded upon this act; but Sir Edward 
 Coke denies this on the authority of Glanville and the author 
 of the Mirror of Justices, the latter of whom wrote of the 
 ancient Laws of England, long previous to the Statute of 
 Magna Charta. Sir William Blackstone, however, adopts 
 the general belief, following- the " New Natura Brevium" of 
 Fitzherbert; and he explains that the writ is available where 
 a Tenant, who has held of a lord by certain services, has in- 
 advertently given his lord possession of more and of greater. 
 
^ '-rP '^ -Jf 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 The writ is in Eng-lisli as follows, and it should be observed, ! 
 tiiat althoug-h it is a prohibition only, yet it is iievertheiessj 
 
 in the nature of a right. "The King', &c. to ■ . 
 
 Greeting: we command you that you do not unjustly vex, ' 
 
 or suffer to be troubled of his freehold tenement, 
 
 which he holds of you in-- ; iiorinany manner exact, 
 
 or permit to be exacted from him, services or customs which 
 he ought not to do, (or rent which he owes not.)"" Almost 
 every question of this nature boweverj which now can arise, 
 where the above writ was formerly in use, may be deter- 
 mined by a writ of Trespass. Jacob. 
 
 Chapter XVII. Pages 51, 75, 110, 122, 135, 149. 
 The Court of Common Pleas, which this Chapter made 
 permanent in it's situation, is one of the King"'s Courts now 
 constantly held in Westminster Hall, but in ancient time it 
 was moveable at the King's will, according to the place of 
 tlie Royal residence: wliereupon, says Lord Coke, *' many 
 discontinuances ensued, and great trouble of jurors, charges 
 of parties, and delay of justice ; for these causes tliis Statute 
 was made." Sir William Blackstone states, that in the 
 Saxon constitution there was only one superior Court of 
 Justice in the kingdom, namely the General Council of which 
 some account has been already given on page 195. After 
 the Norman Invasion, the Ecclesiastical jurisdiction was se- 
 parated from the Civil ^ and King William soon after effected 
 another separation, of the judicial and parliamentary power 
 vested in the remaining members. On this account he 
 established a constant Court in his own residence, entitled 
 Aula-Regis, or the King''s Hall, which was composed of the 
 great officers of state. Of these, the Lord Marshal gene- 
 rally presided in matters relating to honour and arms, and 
 the militai^u-and national laws ; the Lord Chancellor kept 
 the Royal Seal, and had cognisance of all letters, writs, and 
 grants, to which it was affixed ; the Lord Treasurer was the 
 chief authority in affairs of the Revenue 5 and certain persons 
 who had carefully studied the laws, called the King's Jus- 
 tices, all of whom were assisted by the greater Barons of the 
 realm, formed a Court to be consulted in cases of appeal 
 or difficulty. Over this assembly presided an officer of 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 great rank and power, who was denominated the Chief Jus- 
 ticiary of all Eng-land. He was esteemed the second person 
 in the kingdom, of which, by virtue of his office, he was 
 guardian in the King-'s absence; and it was he who princi- 
 pally determined the vast variety of causes that were brought 
 before this Court. As such an establishment was bound to 
 follow the King's Household to -whatsoever place it might 
 remove, the trial of common causes became so difficult to 
 the people, that it's permanence formed one of the petitions 
 of the Articles of the Great Charter; and it was in conse- 
 quence settled in Westminster Hall, the place where the 
 ancient Kings of England were accustomed to reside, in 
 which it has in general ever since continued. At the same 
 time were appointed Justices of the Common Pleas having 
 a Chief, whose jurisdiction was to hear and determine all 
 pleas of land, and injuries between subject and subject. 
 This establishment of the principal Court of Common Law 
 at that particular period and place, gave rise to the Inns of 
 Court in it's vicinity. Both Madox and Lord Coke, how- 
 ever, consider that the Court of Common Pleas existed pre- 
 viously to this Charter, though it was the first act by which 
 it was made stationary. A more extended account of the 
 Court of Common Pleas, it's practice, officers, and peculi- 
 arities, may he seen in Sir Edward Coke's Second Institute, 
 page 22; Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries, Book III. 
 Chap, iv.; Barrington's Observations already cited, page 12; 
 and Jacob's and Tomlius' Law Dictionary, article Common 
 Pleas. 
 
 Chapters XVIII, XIX. Pages 51, 52, 75, 110, 123, 
 135, 136, 150. 
 The legal term Assize, with which this Chapter is con- 
 nected, signifies an Assembly of Knights or other substantial 
 persons, held at a certain place and time, w here they sit with 
 the Justice : the word itself being derived from the Latin 
 AssideOy to sit together. Assisa, or Assize, is also taken for 
 the Court, place, or time, at which the writs, Jkc. of Assize 
 are taken. Trials of Novel Disseissiiiy for which this Statute 
 first provides, were inquisitions for the recovery of lands or 
 tenements, of which any party had been disseised, or dis- 
 
 ^^ 
 
giftll[|i(fihillilii| 
 
 ^^? 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 possessed ; and the term Novel or New, was applied, because 
 the Justices who travelled, went their circuits only from 
 seven years to seven years ; and no Assize was allowed before 
 theiiv which had commenced previously to the last circuit, 
 as such was called an ancient Assize; whilst that which was 
 concerning- a later dispossession, was termed an Assize of 
 Novel Disseissin. A Trial of Mori d'Ancestre-y was an en- 
 quiry after the death of any ancestor or relative^ who was 
 possessed of lands, Sec. as estates which subsequently to 
 their decease were abated, — broken down or destroyed, — 
 by a strang-erj but the writ for this trial must be brought 
 within fifty years, or the rig-ht may be lost by the nej^lect. 
 The term ancestor, is here considered to slop at the father in 
 the ascending- line, and the writ assumes a new name for the 
 more ancient relations. It should be observed that both 
 this writ and the former are now nearly obsolete, being- 
 almost superseded by the action of Ejectment, excepting- in 
 some very peculiar cases. A trial or Assize oi Dan/en Pre- 
 sentmentj takes place when a person, or his ancestors under 
 whom he claims, hare presented a clerk to a benefice, and 
 upon the next vacancy a stranger presents, disturbing hirn 
 who is the real patron. In such a case, the true patron shall 
 have a writ of Last Presentation directed to the Sheriff, 
 to summon an Assize or Jury, to enquire who was the last 
 patron that presented to the vacant church ; and according 
 as the cause is decided, a writ is issued to the Bishop to in- 
 stitute that clerk, in favour of whose patron it is determined. 
 Assizes of this nature were foi-merly conclusive, but they are 
 now wholly disused in consequence of a Statute of the 7th of 
 Anne, 1708, Cap. XVIII. by which a person has a right to 
 recover if his title be good, notwithstanding- the writ of last 
 presentation. Previously to the making of this Charter, all 
 the above writs were required to he brought before the King- 
 or his Justiciary, wherever they might huppen to be ; but the 
 present Chapter tended considerably to relieve the Jurors 
 and parties in the plea, both in time and in expense, since 
 by it, justice was ordained to be administered to them in 
 their own peculiar Counties, without their following the 
 King's Court, or that of the Common Pleas, to a distant 
 
 Cv 
 
t&_ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 place. In the Second Great Charter of Henry III. vide 
 page 123, it was fiist added, that those pleas might be de-i 
 '•termined in another place, which could not he concluded 
 where they were originally heg-un ^ and this was intended 
 to supersede the delay of the Knig-hts and Freeholders in - 
 the County Court, as it is ordained in the Cliarter of King- 
 John. This expression, says Lord Coke, " in some other 
 place in their circuit, is to be taken larg-ely and beneficially, 
 for they may not only make adjournment before the same 
 Justices in their circuit, but also to Westminsterj or to Ser- 
 jeant's Inn, or to any place out of their circuit." It was 
 also in the Second Mag-na Charta of King- Henry III., that 
 Assizes of Last Presentation were ordered to he taken before 
 the Justiciaries of the Bench • and Lord Coke observes, 
 that the principle of this clause was expedition ; it being as- 
 certained from Glanville, that previously to this Statute such 
 writs were to be returned to the King- or his Justiciary by 
 whom the right of Presentation was decided. The title of 
 Justiciaries of the Bench, which occurs at page 123 in the 
 additional Chapter of the Great Charter of King Henry III. 
 last mentioned, is considered to have been instituted about 
 the reig'n of King- John • the word bancus, or bench, sig-ni- 
 fies, in the Common Law, a bench or seat of judgment, and 
 the privilege of the bench was allowed to the King's 
 Judges only, and not to inferior Courts. 
 
 Chapters XX, XXI, XXII. Pages 51, 75, 77, 110, 
 111, 123, 124, 136, 150, 151. 
 The subject of the throeChapters above cited being' so ex- 
 actly similar, namely the regulation of amerciaments or levies, 
 the few illustrations which they require will be brought for- 
 ward together in the present note. The first of these 
 Chapters concerns the Amerciaments to be levied on a Free- 
 man, that is to say a Freeholder, or a Corporation which is 
 consolidated in one [lerson as a Bishop, but not on that which 
 is composed of many, as a Mayor and Commonalty. The 
 term Amerciament is derived of the French a Merci^ and 
 signifies the pecuniary mulct laid upon an individual who 
 has offended, and therefore lies at the mercy of the King. 
 Amerciaments, properly so called, are penalties assessed by 
 
 ^^" 
 
 £^_ 
 
 -XSt, 
 
 gf 200 
 
 ^ 
 
the Peers or equals of the ofFending- party; and they are 
 considered as more merciful than fines, because if thej are 
 too heavy, a release may be sued by an ancient writ founded 
 CA upon Magna Charta. The Chapter next proceeds to state, 
 ;;l:ill to what extent Amerciaments shall be assessed. A Free- 
 holder was to be amerced according- to the degree of his 
 offence, taking- care that in a large fine, his Contenement 
 should be saved, or not wholly taken from him. This sin- 
 g-ular expression literally sig-nifies countenance ^ and is used 
 in the present instance to exemplify that particular species 
 of property by which any person subsists, and which is es- 
 sential to their rank in life : thus the *' countenance of a sol- 
 dier," says Lord Coke," is his armour, the books of a scholar 
 his countenance, and the like." The Honourable Daines Bar- 
 ring-ton sliews by several curious quotations, that the word 
 conteneraentum or countenance, was formerly used as sy- 
 nonymous with entertainment, and he states that this portion 
 of Mag-na Charta signifies, that " a man shall notbe so fined 
 but that be may be able to give his neighbour g-ood enter- 
 tainment.'' The next species of amerciament mentioned in 
 the text, is that to be assessed on a Merchant, and this was 
 to be done, saving his merchandise y upon the same principle 
 as before, " for trade and traffic," says Lord Coke, "are the 
 livelihood of a merchant, and the life of the commonwealth." 
 The extent of amerciament to be levied on a Villain is the 
 tijird species contained in the passag-e now illustrated; and 
 it should be observed, firstly, that the word in this place sig-- 
 nifies only one of low or servile condition, a bondman. Of 
 villains in Eng-land under the Feudal System, therewere two 
 kinds : the first were called villains in g-ross, and were such 
 as belong-ed to the person of a lord and his heirs; and the 
 second were those who belonged to a manor, and appertained 
 to the lord thereof only whilst he held it. These were termed 
 villains regardant. But thougdi the condition of a pure 
 villain was such, that his lord was entitled to impose upon 
 him those aids and taillages already treated of, and even 
 to dispossess him of all bis property, yet the Great Charter 
 has, with g-reat humanity, a clause in his favour which states 
 that be shall he anterced with safetij to his wainage. This 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 Uvord is derived from the Saxon Wa^na, wliich signifies i 
 cart or wago-on ; and the most liberal meaning' of the pas- 
 sage is, that tillag-e and husbandry shall not be hindcied by 
 lerying a distress or amerciament. Lord Cokr, hov\cver, 
 sets the intent of the Chapter in a much more unti^oui ibie, 
 and even a most wretched point of view, since lie sajs, that 
 wainagium signifieth a cart or wain wherewith a villain was 
 to render his service, as to carry the manure '^ of the lord out 
 of the scite of the manor unto the g-reat lord's land, and 
 casting" it upon the same, and the like- and it was g-reat 
 reason to save his wainag-e, for otherwise the miserable 
 creature was to carry it on his back." It should be ob- 
 served, that in the Second Great Charter of King Henry III., 
 vide pag-e 123, it was first provided that a villain, although 
 he belonged to another was to be amerced after the same 
 manner, if he gave himself up to the King's mercy. The 
 amerciaments to be assessed on the Barons are next regulated; 
 and Lord Coke remarks upon them, that although the present 
 be a negative Statute, yet custom has so far prevailed against 
 it that fines on the Nobility are reduced to a certainty. The 
 amerciament of a Duke, be adds, is £10; ofanEarl£5; of 
 a Bishop holding a Barony £5 ; of a Bishop amerced fo4'. an 
 escape, £100 ; of a Gaoler for the escape of an attainted felon 
 from careless watch, £100 ; and for that of a felon indicted, 
 £5. It is farther observed by the same Author, that with 
 respect to Barons, &c. being amerced by their Peers, the 
 whole body of the Peerage is in this point equal, as each of 
 the Nobles is peer to another, notwithstanding the difference 
 of degree. The amerciaments to be laid upon EcclesiasticSj 
 are lastly provided for, and it will be seen by a reference to 
 page 124, ia the Second Great Charter of King Henry 
 HI. that tiie words *' ecclesiastical person"" were first sub- 
 stituted for the more genera! title of *' clerk." Lord Coke 
 observes, that the amercing of priests according to their lay- 
 estates and the degree of their faults, and not according to 
 their spiritual possessions, which were always ninch more 
 extensive, was a privilege of the Church ; and Barrington 
 notices, that Bractou sets down this identical law of amercia- 
 ments without regard to the the Statute of Magna Cbartn, 
 
KS-^r. 
 
 w^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 which seeins to prove that it is declaratory of the old Con 
 nion Law only. For particulars coucerning the modern la\V|J 
 of amerciaments, the reader is referred to the Dictionary of ^ 
 
 Jacob and Sir T. E. Tomlins : and for a particular disserta- r^^ 
 
 *i I ■ * 1 ■ ■ r ■ ^7& 
 
 tion on the history and various species of amerciaments, to ^, 
 
 The History and Antiquities of the Exchequer, by Thomas 
 Madox, Lond. 1711. Folio. Chap. xiv. Pages 365-395. 
 Chapter XXllI. Pages 51, 77, 111, 124, 136, 151. 
 The original intent of this Statute was to avoid the re- 
 petition of those factitious exactions, which, during the reigns 
 of Richard I. and John, were made in the King's name for 
 making of bridges, banks, fortresses, and bulwarks, con- 
 trary to law. Lord Coke observes, that many of the acts 
 made in the time of King Henry III., refer to that of his 
 grandfather Henry II., because it was celebrated for a Privy 
 Council wise and learned in the laws of the realm; for a 
 Sovereign who carefully defended those laws at^d the rights 
 of his crown ; and for learned and upright Judges, who 
 acted according to the laws. So, adds he, this Statute is a 
 dechiration of the Common Law — because it ordains tliat the 
 custom of his time should be again put In force. The 
 erecting of bulwarks, &c. was however not prohibited by 
 this act, because they could not be built excepting' by the 
 King himself or by Act of Parliament. The twentieth Chap- 
 ter of the Second Great Charter of King Henry 111. vide 
 page 124, contains an additional Statute on the preceding 
 subject, and also contains a reference to the time of Henry 
 II. It ordains that river banks shall not be defended ex- 
 cepting at their ancient places and boundaries: and it's in- 
 tent was, says Coke, that no owner of such banks should in 
 future so appropriate or keep the rivers separate to himself, 
 as to prevent others from fishing, or having passage at them. 
 The Author of tlie Mirror notices, that even in his time 
 the non-observance of this rule had thrown it out of use. 
 The original word tn this Chapter is iJj/jani^, which, although 
 most commonly translated banks, seems to signify a river or 
 water running between banks. 
 
 Chapter XXIV. Pages 52, 77, 111, 124, 137, 151. 
 There were numerous and important benefits contained 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 in the laws enacted by this very brief Chapter ; and the ge- 
 neral intention of it was, that trials should he held before 
 Judges of learning- and experience in the laws of the country. 
 The term Pleas, Placita, in the original Latin of this instrn- ' 
 ment, sig-nifies pleadings, debates, and trials nt law ; but it 
 was anciently applied to the public assemblies of men 
 wherein the King presided, and the g-ieat affairs of the 
 kingdom were debated. Lord Coke derives the word from 
 the Latin pkicendo, pleasing, for that good satisfaction is 
 g-iven to all who please ; but Jacob derives it rather from the 
 Latin p/flfeis, or the Gevman liJafs, fields or streets, in which 
 the above assemblies were anciently held. Pleas are di- 
 vided into two g-eneral heads, the first of which is termed 
 Pleas of the Crown, and the latter Common Pleas, some his- 
 torical particulars of which have already been introduced to 
 the reader. Pleas of the Crown ^ which it' is the object of this 
 Chapter to preserve, are those suits which the King- com- 
 mences against all crimes and misdemeanours ; because, says 
 Sir William Blackstone, "in him centres the majesty of the 
 whole community, and he is supposed by the law to be the 
 person Injured by every infraction of the public rights be- 
 long-ing to that community, and is therefore in all cases the 
 proper prosecutor for every public offence." The persons 
 then by whom these pleas could not be held, comprise all 
 classes of the royal officers, although four deg-reesonly are 
 ' mentioned in the text. Sherijfs were the chief officers under 
 the King" in every County, deriving' their title from the two 
 Saxon words, Shire and Reve, the bailiff or steward of the 
 division. They are called however in the Latin text of the 
 Great Charter, Vicecomes, which literally sigmifies in place 
 of the Earl of the County, who anciently g-overned it under 
 the King', as Lord Coke observes in his Commentary on the 
 First Statute of Westminster, Chap. x. enacted in 1274, the 
 3rd of Edward I. The next officer mentioned in this Chapter 
 of Mag-naChartajiscalled CousiabuIariuSj or Const able, ^\hic\l 
 is sometimes derived from the Saxon, but other authorities- 
 have conceived it more truly to come from the Latin Comes 
 Stahuli^ a superintendant of the Imperial Stables, or Master 
 of the Horse. This title, however, began in the course of time 
 
 _ 204™ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 to signify a Commander, in which sense it was introduced 
 into Eng-land. In the present instance the word is put for 
 the Constahle, or keeper of a Castle, frequently called a Cas- 
 tellan, of whose dig-nity mention will he made In a future 
 note. They were possessed of such considerable power 
 within their own precincts, that previously to the present 
 act they held trials of crimes, properly the cogriizance of the 
 crown, as the Sheriffs did within their respective bailiwicks ; 
 and sealed with their own eflfig-ies on horseback . The Engdish 
 fortresses to which these officers belong-ed, in the time of 
 King- Henry II, amounted to 1115 in number; audit was 
 held that there should be one in every manor, bearing the 
 name of that manor, wherein the Constable had equal rule. 
 As prisons were considered to be an important part of all 
 a'ncientCastles, these officers are sometimes called Constables 
 of fees, which sig:nifies those who were paid for keeping- of 
 prisons. In this part of their duty they appear often to have 
 been guilty of great cruelty ; since in the 5th year of Henry 
 IV. 1403, Chap. x. it is enacted that Justices of Peace shall 
 Imprison in the common gaol, '^ because," says the passage, 
 *'that divers Constables of Castles within the realm of 
 England be assig'ned to be Justices of Peace by commission 
 from our Lord the King, and by colour of the said commis- 
 sions they take people to whom they bear ill-will, and im- 
 prison them within the said Castles, till they have.made fine 
 and ransom with the said Constables for their deliverance." 
 This Statute, observe Jacob and Tomliiis, seems to have put 
 an end to them. The title of Coroner implies that he was an 
 officer to the erown, to whom, in certain cases, pleas of the 
 crown, in which the king is more immediately concerned, 
 are properly belonging; and in this sense the Lord Chief 
 Justice of the King''s Bench is the principal Coroner of the 
 kingdom. Previously to this Statute of Magna Charta, a 
 Coroner might not only receive accusations against offenders, 
 but might try them ; but his authority was afterwards in ge- 
 neral reduced to the enquiry into violent and untimely 
 deaths, on sight of the body; although by custom in some 
 places he might make inquisition of other felonies. By the 
 1st Statute of Westminster, Chap.x.. his power was somewhat 
 
more positively explained, since it was there ordained that 
 the Coroner slioiild attacli pleas of the Crown, and present 
 them to the Justices, hut he can proceed no farther. The 
 last rank of g'reat officers mentioned in this Chapter is that 
 oi' Bailiffs, ^\\iose name is derived from the old French word 
 Bayliff, the keeper of a province ■ but in the present instance, 
 in this term, says Coke, *'are comprehended all Judges or Jus- 
 tices of any Courts of Justice;" by all which specili cations it 
 is evident, according- to a rule cited by the same Author, that 
 " the pleas of our Lord the King- shall be specially reserved, 
 that by none now in the kingdom, can pleas be had or held, 
 after the coutirmation of the aforesaid Charter is made, 
 without a special commission." This is particularly expressed 
 in the Articles of the Great Charter, vide page 52. It should 
 be observed, however, that an evil intended to be remedied 
 by the present Statute was, that when the above officers 
 held pleas of the Crown, and the culprit being- able to read, 
 claimed the benefit of clergy, the Bishop of the Diocese could 
 not he commanded to give it, because no Court inferior to 
 the King's could write to or command the Bishop. For the 
 modern duties of the foreg-oing; officers, see Jacob and ToinUns. 
 Chapter XXV. Pag-es 52, 77. 
 This Chapter appears in the Articles of Mag-na Charta, 
 and in the Great Charter of King- John only ; for in the tirst 
 issued by King- Henry III. it was one of those particulars 
 which were reserved forfurther consideration, vide pag-e 116. 
 Fi"om the time of the Norman Invasion down\vards, the Cities 
 and Towns of England were vested either in the Crown, the 
 Clergy, or the Barons : that is to say, of one of these classes 
 were the immediate Lords of Towns, &c. Those which ap- 
 pertained to the King- were of several kinds; for he pos- 
 sessed some by the orig-inal inheritance of his Crown, which 
 were termed Ancient Demesne; and others became his by 
 way of escheat, — want of heirs — attainder, or forfeiture. It 
 has already l)een observed, that many of the principal 
 Cities and Towns of England were in Ancient Demesne to 
 the Crown, and Madox in his Firma Burg-i, whence tlie 
 materials of this Note havebeeu chiefly derived, states, that 
 Exeter was the Demesne City of William 1., he having- 285 
 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 ^ 
 
 houses in that City which pnid custom. From the reig-n of 
 William I. also, the King- was accustomed to let out the 
 ' several Counties of the realm at a farm or rent, concerted 
 between the Crown and the holder, or else they were com- 
 mitted to custody, the nature of which is shewn in the Note 
 on Chapter iv. page 166. At the end of the year or term, 
 the holder, who wus commonly called Sheriff, g'ave in his 
 account to the Crown; and it is known from the ancient 
 Revenue Rolls that most of the Counties were let out by the 
 year, and Madox, in his Hist, of the Exchequer before cited, 
 Chap. X. Sect. 5. gives an extensive list of their keepers. 
 Thus, in the reign of King- John, William Mrn-eschal paid by 
 Nicholas de Avencl £372 13.«. 6d. and a blank, for the farm 
 of Gloucestershire ; and lu the time of Henry III., Richard 
 the King-'s son, paid £545 8^. 4d. and a blank, for the farm 
 of Berkshire. When a County was let out at a greater farm 
 than it had been formerly rated at, the advance money was 
 usually termed crementuvi j the increase ; which was some 
 times paid in palfreys, hawks, SiC. as William Ruffus in 1184 
 gave £10 and four Iiawks increase, for the County of Euck- 
 ing-ham ; and William Fitz-Richard thirty-nine hawks in the 
 same year for the same County. The yearly farm of Towns, 
 Boroughs, and Guilds, also formed a part of the ancient 
 Crown revenue: thoug-h Madox supposes, that after the 
 Norman Invasion many of the Engdish Towns were private 
 property. It remains to be obseri'cd only, concerning- this 
 Chapter of Magna Charta, that the word County, in Latin 
 ComitatuSj is derived from Comes, the Earl, or principal go- 
 vernor of it, to whom the Sheriff \vas anciently a deputy ; 
 that the term Hundred ^s supposed to have heen introduced 
 hy King- Alfred, and to sig-iiify a division of country contain- 
 ing- ten towns, each of which ^consisted of ten families of free- 
 holders : that a Trething, or Trithing', amounted to the third 
 partof a County : and that a Wapentake^ which is equivalent 
 with a Hundred, -was so called because the governor of the 
 district, when he first entered on his office, appeared in the 
 field on horseback holding- a lance, which all the chief men 
 of the Hundred touched with a similar weapon, thereby 
 evincing- their unanimity. Bktckstone. Jacob. 
 
 i,7 - \l^^ 207 ._,^ 
 
^=^o 
 
 5^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Chapters XXVI. XXVII. Pages 52^ 77,79, 111, 124, 
 137, 151. 
 As the present divisions of the Great Charter relate to 
 the old English Common Law concerning- Wills, it wi 
 perhaps tend to assist in their illustration if a few general 
 particulars of that Law he given, previously to considering 
 the nature of the Chapters themselves. The ancient Com- 
 mon Law respecting- Wills, was in g-eneral peculiarly com- 
 pulsory ; for in the time of Henry II. a person's goods 
 were to be divided into three parts, of which one went to 
 his wife, another to his heirs, and a third he was at li- 
 berty to dispose of. If he were childless, his widow 
 claimed half; and if he were a widower with children, they 
 also claimed an equal portion ; and these were termed their 
 reasonable shares, as the expression is used in the text of 
 Magna Charta. Such continued to be the law of the land until 
 the reign of Charles I., after which it gradually went 
 out of use and was altered. It was also an ancient custom 
 for the Clergy to claim a gift on the decease of any of their 
 parishioners, called a Mortuary; which was intended as a 
 species of amends to the Ecclesiastics for personal tythes or 
 other duties, which the deceased had forgotten or omitted to 
 pay. The Mortuary consisted of the second best chattel 
 remaining after the Lord had taken out his heriot, of which 
 some account has already been given on page 163. The 
 Mortuary was anciently broug'ht into Church along' with the 
 body, whence it was sometimes denominated a Corse-present, 
 which implied a voluntary bequest, hut \^hichj in tlie reign 
 of Henry 111. had become an established custom. As these 
 Corse-presents differed in various places, they were reduced 
 to the scale which exists at the present time, hy the Statute 
 21. Henry VIII. 1.V29, Cap. 16. Such were the chief points 
 required in the ancient English testaments ; and if a person 
 died without making any disposition of that part of his pro- 
 perty which he might bequeath, the King, as the general trus- 
 tee of the king"dom and father of the country, was empow- 
 ered to seize upon it. In process of time this branch of the 
 prerogative was given to the Church, which was doue, be- 
 cause spiritual men were supposed to have a better knowledge 
 
 -i 
 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 of what would conduce to the benefit of the soul of the 
 deeeused. Hence originated the power of the Church in tes- 
 tamentory concerns, and the proving- of Wills followed as a 
 matter of course; for, says Sir W. Blackstone, "it was 
 thoughtjustand natural,that the Will of the deceased should 
 he proved to the satisfaction of the Prelate, whose right of 
 distributing his chattels for the good of his soul, was ef- 
 fectually superseded thereby." As these Ecclesiastics, how- 
 ever, were not accountable to any one for the faithful 
 discharge of their trust, they too frequently abused it; and 
 it appears that so late as about 1250, the Clergy took the 
 whole residue of tbe deceased''s estate after the widow's 
 and children's two-thirds had been deducted, without even 
 paying his lawful debts: for which reason, in 1284, it was 
 enacted, that the Ordinary should be bound to pay the debts 
 of the intestate so far as the goods would extend. In 1357, 
 another Statute provided that in case of intestacy, the Or- 
 dinary should depute the nearest and most lawful friends of 
 the deceased to administer his goods j this, however, was 
 only a revival and an establishment of the old Chapter of 
 Magna Charta, as it was first published in the time of King 
 John, thougli it was ever afterwards omitted. — Blackstune. 
 Such is a very brief historical illustration of the laws of 
 Testfiments connected with the present Chapters ; and it now 
 remains to make a few illustrative remarks upon their par- 
 ticular contents. 
 
 The first of these divisions of tbe Great Charter re- 
 mained unaltered, from the Articles which preceded the in- 
 strument of JoJin, down to the last Inspeximus of Edward I. ; 
 but the latter Chapter was one of those which the First 
 Magna Charta of Henry III. — vide page IIG — reserved for 
 farther consideration, and which never was restored. The 
 First Chapter mentioned above, refers to debts due to the 
 Crown ; and the main intent of it appears to be, firstly, that the 
 King by his prerogative is to be preferred to any oth^r cre- 
 ditor : and, secondly, that the family of the deceased shall not 
 be left without a provision. This is the saving of a former 
 right only, and not the confevring- of any new one. The re- 
 covery of the King's debts is tbe first provision made by 
 
miiiii!\\\m' 
 
 M 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 |tlifse Chapters; and under that expression are comprised I 
 l^atl tbing-s due to him, as rents, fines, issues, amerciaments,} 
 ffnud other duties to the King-, recei\ed or levied hy tliel 
 I Sheriff, as well as debts in the usual sense of the word. The 
 Wiit of Summons, says Lord Coke, by which the Sheriff 
 claims theKing's debt, is the process, together Avith the ex- 
 tracts or copies from the Court Roll, under the Exchequer 
 Seal, containing- a notice or demand of tlie debt. This Writ, 
 it was enacted by the 19th Chapter of the First Stat. West- 
 minster, passed in 1274, should immediately be shewn to the 
 party of whom the debt was claimed, and without any fee 
 for exhibiting it, on pain of heavy fine and imprisonment. 
 By the same Statute also, the Sheriff was directed to give a 
 Talley,^ and to discharge the debtor at his next account to 
 the Exchequer. TheKing's debts were afterwards collected 
 by the Court of Surveyors, some notice of which has been 
 given on page 174. The intention of the inventory men- 
 tioned in this Chapter, was not less to prevent the executor 
 from concealing any part of the property of the deceased, 
 than to secure the payment of the Ring's debts. 
 
 The following- Chapter, 27, relates to such persons 
 only as die intestate ; who, accn)diug- to Matthew Paris, were 
 anciently considered as eternally condemned, because 
 by the Canon they were obliged to leave a tenth of their 
 property to pious uses, for the redemption of their souls; 
 which he who did not regarded not his own salvation. 
 There was also no distinction made between one who died 
 without a Will, and a suicide; for the goods of the former 
 were forfeited to the chief lord, and of the latter to the King. 
 As, how ever, sudden deaths might frequently cause intestates, 
 the Bisliops in the course of time received power to make 
 such a distribution from the goods of the deceased as he 
 himself was bound to do, under the term o( Eleemosyjta ra- 
 tionibillaj or reasonable alms. 
 
 A stick Lilt into two parts, on which \v(is luarkeil, cither hy notches or iiiiy 
 Other tigurcs, the account between ilcbtor and crctlitor. In debts paid to tlic Kiiiy: 
 one of these wns delivered, and upon carrying it to the Clerk of the Pipe Itliicc, 
 the debtor received a full Eicjuitt'tnce \\Titten ol pHrchiucnt. 
 
 '"^^^iW& 
 

 lr^^\r^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 Chapters XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. Pnges 53, 
 78, 79, 111, 12.3, 137, 138, 151, 152. 
 Tlie fourCliapters wliich are next to l)e oonsirlcredhat'e 
 one principal aim, the regnI;ition of Purveyance, and tlie 
 dutif^s to be taken for the maintenance of Castles ; and were 
 intended to remedy tlie lieavy oppressions inflicted by the 
 Goyernors of Castles upon the snrrounding- tenants, and even 
 on the military, as well in peace as in war. Some notice of 
 the evil practices of these Castellans has already been g-iven 
 on paofe 205, but previously to entering upon a particular 
 illustration of the text in this place, it will be proper to give 
 some notice of the nature of Purveyauee in general. The 
 term itself is derived of tlie French Powruoir, to Provide, and 
 its leg-al acceptation was a providing- for the King's house- 
 hold by his officers, wiio exercised his prerogative of buying- 
 provisions, &c. at a certain rate, to the preference of all 
 others, and even without the owner^s consent. It embraced 
 also, the power of impressing- the horses and carriages of 
 the subject to execute the King-'s business on the public 
 roads, in the conveyance of timber, bag-g-age, &ic. however 
 iuconvenient to the proprietor, upon paying- him a settled 
 price. In the more ancient periods, when money stood at a 
 very high valuation, the royal household, as well as those of 
 inferior lords, was supported by certain renders of provision, 
 from the tenants of the respective Lordships j and there was 
 also a market held at the Palace g-ates. So long as the 
 King-'s Court was kept in any one place, this plan was suf- 
 ficient, but when it was frequently in motion, the Purveyors 
 were despatched before It to make provision; and in order 
 that the unusual demand should not increase the price, they 
 were furnished with the powers above mentioned. As the 
 Purveyors not unfrequently abused their commissions, the 
 Crown received all the odium with little benefit ; and in 
 1660, Charles II. by the Statute before cited, resigned en- 
 tirely this part of his revenue. Such was Purveyance, and 
 Lord Coke in commenting- on the first of these Chapters, 
 says, that the Constable of a CHstle had no right to make 
 Purveyance at all ; though the fortress were to be kept for 
 the defence of the realm, as it niioht be taken for the houses 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 of the King- and Queen only. "Constables,''' says the Au- 
 thor of the Mirror, " shoulr] defend the rig-hls of all persons 
 around them; for there is no difference hetweeu taking ill 
 care of them, and robbery j the which is this seizing^-of their 
 horses, provisions, merchandise, carriages, lodging, or any 
 kind of their goods." By Stat. 1. of the 13th of Charles 
 II. 1661, Chap. viii. this portion of Magna Charta was in 
 part retained in an altered form, since it was there stated, 
 that although Purveyance was taken away by the famous act 
 of the preceding year, yet the Royal progresses weje still to 
 be provided for by warrant from the Board of Green Cloth, 
 and the prices at which provisions, carriages, &c. were to 
 be hired were therein regulated. Stat, at targe. The intent 
 of Chap. xxix. is to restrain the service of Ca^tk-guard and 
 fines for non-appearance within due limits. The technical 
 signification of the expression, is an imposition called Cas- 
 tle-guard Rent, laid upon such persons as dwelt within a 
 certain compass of any Castle towards the maintenance of 
 such as watched and kept it; and it was sometimes used to 
 specify the circuit itself wherein those persons resided who 
 were subject to this service. Castle-guard was an essential 
 part of Knight's Service, but it did not extend to the fortress 
 of any other than the peculiar Lord, nor even to that if it 
 were alienated j and the part to be watched, as a door, 
 tower, bridg'C, or sconce, was to be specitied in the tenure. 
 Theduty of watchingjhowe ver, might bed ischarg-ed either by 
 the tenant or his deputy ; but though there Mas not any certain 
 term ordained by law for the performance or duration of it, 
 the tenant was to receive, says Littleton, Lib. II. Cap. iv. 
 Sect. 3, a reasonable notice, when his Lord hears that the 
 euemies will come, or are come into England; and Lord 
 Coke adds, that he was not bound to attend until such notice 
 was given. If any damage happened to the fortress from 
 careless keeping^ the Lord was entitled to distrain for it and 
 recover satisfaction from his tenant. The same Chapter also 
 provides for the easier performance of this office by deputy, 
 or otherwise; as well because lands were formerly held by 
 such persons and bodies as could not discharge their tenure 
 of Knight's Service, as to defend such from being fined for 
 
 N^^ 
 
 212|g.J?J^ 
 
P^S^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Castle-guard, as were already doing- military duty with the 
 King-'s army. The same circumstance also freed thorn from 
 finding' a deputy, for serving' the King in his person in one 
 place, would, according- to tlie old Common Law of Eng- 
 land, discharge a tenant from his service in any other. 
 Chapters xxx. and xxxi. again return to the reg'ulation of 
 Purveyance, as it relates to the taking' of carriag-es and wood. 
 Tn these divisions it is to he ohserved, iirslly, that the pri- 
 vilege of Purveyance was limited to the Sovereig-n, for other 
 than the King's Bailiffs were not to seize the carriag'es, even 
 thoug'h they offered payment: secondly, the Demesne Cartj 
 or that which was more immediately employed upon a Lord's 
 demesne lands, was to be free from hecoming- the King's 
 carriag-e by the old Law of England. The wood is pro- 
 tected on the ground that being' part of the subject's inheri- 
 tance, it could therefore no more be taken than the inheri- 
 tance itself. Coke — Statutes at large. 
 
 Chapter XXXU. Pag-es &3, 79, 112, 12&, 138, 152. 
 The prerogative mentioned in this division of Mag-na 
 Charta, that the Sovereig-n should hold the lands of a feion 
 for a year and a day, exists also in the Fiench and Danish 
 Laws. The ancient custom was, that in detestation of the 
 crime committed, the felon's property, if it were Iield of a 
 subject, was to he destroyed: as tlie iiouscs to be thrown 
 down, the g-ardens extirpated, the woods eradicated, and the 
 meadow land ploughed up. This was termed waste, and of 
 rlg-ht belonged to the King- as part of the felon's forfeiture ; 
 but for the common benefit, the Lords of estates were af- 
 terwards contented to resign such lands to be retained by 
 the King- for a year and a day, in consequence of which 
 waste was omitted in this Chapter of Magna Charta, and no 
 waste could be made after they returned to the Lord of the 
 fee. The word felony in this Chapter signifies that kind 
 which is punished by death j though nearly all felonies 
 carry with them forfeiture of estates, and thus Sir William 
 Blackstone supposed the word to have been derived of the 
 Teutonic terms fel, an estate, and Ion, the price or value; — 
 that is to say, the consideration for which the land has been 
 resigned, according to the common expression, "suqh an 
 
 ^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 act is as iimch as your life, or your estate is worth." It is 
 also to be remarked, that those crimes anciently termed 
 feloviay are at the present day generally forfeitures of copy- 
 liold estates. Coke — Barrington — Blackstone . 
 Chapter XXXIII. Pages 53, 79, 81, lie, 125, 13ft, 153. 
 The intent of this brief frag-ment of the old Common 
 Law, was to prevent any persons from appropriating- to them- 
 selves a fishery of any part of the River Thames which was 
 common property; and thereby committing a Purpresfure, 
 as it was anciently called, from the French pourpris^ an en- 
 closure. Every public river or stream, says Lord Coke, is 
 the King's high way, which cannot be privately occupied ; 
 and Glanvill adds, iu his definition of Purprestures, that to 
 erect any obstruction over public waters across their regular 
 course, was to be considered as such. Such too, are Wears 
 in general, which are large dams made across rivers for the 
 taking of fish or the conveyance of water to a mill ; and the 
 peculiar kind mentioned in the text, called Kydells, were 
 dams having a loop or narrow cut in them, and furnished 
 with wheels and engines for catching of fish. They are now 
 called Kettles, or Kettle-nets, and are still in use on the sea- 
 coasts of Kent and Cornwall. The removal of these instru- 
 ments from the Thames and Medway is directed in several 
 ancient Charters, beside the present; as in 1197 by King 
 Richard I.; in 1199 by John; in 1226-27 hy Henry III.; 
 in 1333 by Edward III.; and by numerous Acts of Parlia- 
 ment, of which there is a particular account in Strype's 
 edition of Stow's Survey, Book I. Chap. viii. Henry III. 
 banished Wears from the Thames under the enormous penalf j'^ 
 of £10 ; but it was afterwards enacted that if they were not 
 removed within three months from the Sherifi^''s notice, the 
 forfeiture should be 100 Marks, or £66 13^. 4(/. 
 Chapter XXXIV. Pages 53, 81, 112, 126, 13S, 153. 
 A Writ, in the legal acceptation of the word, is g-enerally 
 taken to signify the King's precept in writing under seal, 
 and issuing out of some Court to the Sheriff or other person ; 
 and either commanding something' to be done, or giving- 
 commission to have it performed. A Writ too, is considered 
 to be a formal letter of the King's on parchment, sealed and 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS, 
 
 directed to some Judge, Sec. at the suit of a subject^ reqniring' 
 to have a thing' done for the cause expressed, which is dis- 
 cussed in the proper Coui't. The word Writ, is derived of 
 the Saxon WrUaitj to write; and its Latin name, Breve, 
 was adopted, as Bractou states, because its object is related 
 iu very brief terms, and its contents are narrated in few 
 words. There are many different kinds of Writs; some 
 grounded on rights of action, and others being- in the nature 
 of commissions ; some mandatory and extra-jndicial, and 
 others for granting- of remedies. Some Writs are jiatent oi' 
 open instruments, directed to all, and others are close or 
 sealed up, and addressed to one person only. The Writmen- 
 tioned in the text, is of that class properly termed Writs of 
 Rig-ht, its ancient name o{ Prcec'ipe in Capite^ being' derived 
 from the first words of the instrument. The intent of this 
 Writ, is to provide a great and final remedy for any one who 
 Is injured by privation of his freehold; but when one of 
 tiie King's Tenants in Chief was dispossessed, the precept 
 was called a Writ of Preecipe in Capite. The insertion of 
 this Chapter as an article of the Great Charter, appears to 
 have orig-iuated from the custom of some Tenants suing- out 
 the Writ in the King's Conif, for lauds which were holden of 
 some other Loi'd, by which, says the Mirror, he lost the cog-- 
 nisance of his estates and the advantages of his Courts and 
 Feudal Services. Lord Coke observes, thutbefore granting- 
 this Writ, oath should be made that the lands are holden of 
 the King in Chief; and if the contrary be proved, then a 
 Writ of Disceit issues against the party demanding- the es- 
 tate, and the real Lord recovers it by a petition of right and 
 an action against his tenant. The chief intent of the present 
 Chapter appears to be, to prevent any false transfer of pro- 
 perty under colour of this Writ, from one Lord to another, by 
 which the former lost , both his fee and his tenant's services ; 
 or, according' to the alteration in the Third Great Charter of 
 Henry 111. which first inserted the words *'(/« copi/f," — it 
 might have been to prevent lands from reverting to the King 
 which in reality belonged to some other Lord. The Writ of 
 Right should be first brought into the Court Baron of the 
 Lord of whom the lands are held, but if he do not hold any, 
 
NOTES ON THE GREx\T CHARTERS. 
 
 for have waived his rig-ht, then it might he hroug-ht into the I' 
 ' Kmg-'s. As in this instance, also, it was sometimes falsely! 
 pietended that a Lord had waived his right, the presenf^ 
 jChapter of Magna Charta restrains any improper use of the ;! 
 Writ PrEeci|)e, by which a Lord might be dispossessed of ^'^'^ 
 his rig-ht of Court of jurisdiction over his tenants. Slack- ^ 
 st07te — Fitzherbert — Home . 
 
 Chapter XXXV. Pages 51, 81, 113, 120, 139, 153. 
 The uniformity of Weights and Measures provided for 
 by this act, is traced by Lord Coke to the Mosaic Law re- 
 corded in Deuteronomy, Chap. xxv. 13-15 : '* Thoushalt not 
 have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou 
 slialt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and 
 a small. But thou shall have a perfect and Just weight, 
 and a perfect and just measure shalt thou have, that thy 
 days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord tliy God 
 giveth thee." lu the Laws of Canute and William I. it is | 
 
 ordained that the good weights and measures formerly es- 
 tablished in the Common Council of the realm, should be 
 faithfully used throughout the same ; and by the Statutes of 
 King Edgar, made nearly a century befoi"e William I. came 
 to the throne, it was enacted that the standard at Winchester 
 was to be obser\ed tliroughout the whole realm. In the 
 time of King Henry I. the standard of the ancient ell, which 
 answers to the modern yard, was, according to William of 
 Malmsbury, the length of the King's arm : and standards of 
 weights were originally taken from grains of wlieat, whence 
 the smallest modern weight is still called a grain. As these 
 standards were first fixed by the crown, so their subsequent 
 reg-ulations were made by the King- in Parliament; and in 
 1197, in a Parliament at Westminster under Richard I. held, it 
 was ordained that there should be only one weight and one 
 measure throughout the realm: and that the custody of the 
 Assize, or standard weights and measures should be com- 
 mitted to certain persons iu every City and Borough. From 
 this ordinance, says Sir William Blackstono, the office of 
 King's Aulnager seems to have been derived, his duty beino- 
 to measure all cloths mode for sale for a certain fee, until 
 it was abolished in 1700 by Stat. 11 and 12 of Kino- William 
 
 ^^>t5l 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Ill Chap. XX. Sect. 2. The cause of the insertion of the 
 picsent Chapter in Magna Charta, appears to have heen tjje 
 evasion of King- Uicliard's Assise for money, as HoveJeu 
 1 elates in his Annals, last part, pag-e 822, under the year 
 1201. He tliere states, thai llngh Bardolf and certain otlier 
 of the King's Justiciaries came to St. Botolph's, to seize 
 certain cloths which were not according to the statute, two 
 ells wide within the lists j but instead of taking them in the 
 King-'s name, the Merchants prevailed on the Justiciaries to 
 leave them for a sum of money, to the damage of many, adds 
 Hoveden, in concluding- the passiige. By the same statute of 
 1198 it was ordered, that dyed cloths should he of equal 
 quality ihroug-hout, as well in the middle as at the sides ; 
 thatone kind of yard should he used throug-h the realin j and 
 that the Mercliants who sold such goods should not hang- up 
 red or black cloths at their windows, nor darken them hy 
 penthouses to prevent any from having- a g'oodlig'ht in buying- 
 their cloths. Lord Coke remarks, that the manufacture of 
 broad cloths in England was but limited in the time of Henry 
 III.; but in 1337, early in the reign of Edward III., it was 
 broug-ht to such perfection, that an act was passed to en- 
 courag-e it, prohibiting any foreig-n cloths from being brought 
 into England. Two peculiar kinds of cloth are mentioned 
 in thisdivisionof Magna Charta,Halberjects, or Haubergets, 
 and Russets. The first was a kind of very coarse and thick 
 mixed English cloth of various colours, sometimes used for 
 the habits of monks; and its name was probably derived 
 from the German words Al, all, or haltzj or haby the neck, 
 and hergeuj to cover. Russetts were also a monastic dress, 
 made nf an inferior kind of cloth sometimes spun by rustics, 
 and dyed by them of a dull reddish hue with bark. John 
 de Neville in the year 1386, ordered by his will that his 
 coffin should be attended by twenty-three paupers in russet 
 cloaks, bearing torches, and carried by as many more in 
 cloth of russet wool, bearing a red cross. The name of this 
 material is doubtless derived of the Latin russus, a kind of 
 red. With regard to the ancient state of English Weights, 
 Fabyan shews in his Chronicle, that during the reign of 
 Henry III. it was customary for scales to be suspended in 
 
■■"-s^i 
 
 W} 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 i such a manner as to give the buyer the nflvantaofe often or \W 
 twelve pounds in the hundred weight; but the City of Vt 
 London, by a hye-law made nhout the same time, ordained 
 that tlie scales should hang- even, allowing- only four pounds 
 to the buyer: this regulation, however, the Corpoi-ation was 
 oblio-ed to defend before the Ring' in Council. The statutes 
 coDlirming- and amending this Chapter of Magna Charta 
 have heen upwards of twenty in number; hut Barringtnn 
 observes, that althongli an luiifnmiity of weights and measures 
 is greatly to be desired, it has hitherto been imprarticahle, 
 and all such regulations inefteetual. TlnveJeu — Coke — Ho- 
 liitshed — Blaclcstone — Barriiu)tuH. 
 
 Chapter XXXVI. Tages 51, SI, 113, 126, 139, 153. 
 The intent of tliis short but important Chapter, was to 
 prevent the long Imprisonment of a person chargetl w ith a 
 crime, without examining into his guilt or innocence; for 
 the intent of imprisoning such, says Lord Coke, is only for 
 their security that they may be duly tried. There is a striking 
 similarity between this division of the Great Charter, and 
 the act of Habeas Corpus, of which it may in some measure 
 be considered as the ancient prototype; for the purpose of 
 each was to bring an accused person to trial without an ex- 
 tended con6nement. The Writ of Inquisition or enquiry 
 mentioned in the text, was denominated ^ Odio et Acia^'' of 
 hatred and malice, and was anciently called ^ Breve de bono 
 et MaJo' — the Writ concerning good and evil — from those 
 words appearing in it ; and it was assigned by the 
 Common Law to any imprisoned person, to prevent his re- 
 maining in prison until the arrival of the Justices in Eyre 
 when be should be tried. The former was available, says 
 Lord Coke, for tlie most odious cause, even for the death of 
 a man, which without the King's Writ could not be baited : 
 but in that instance a Writ of Inquisition was issued to the 
 Sheriff of the County, that he slioiild assume the holding of 
 a Court of Pleas of the Crown, and, in full County, by the 
 oath of true and lawful men, enquire whether the accused 
 person were guilty of hatred and malice ; unless he liad been 
 previously indicted or called befoie the Justices in Eyre, 
 because then lils accusation became matter of record, against 
 
of 
 
 lid not stand, lieirig- groinided on a surmise. l^i'iM 
 iientioncd libove, was issued wheu any ^O 
 tted to jirison for the death of a man, and '"®^^ 
 lie Justices of Goal-delivery. It set forth fij^t 
 
 taken and detained in prison for the death ^^ 
 
 -, l>e ^\illing' to place himself upon his eountry for 
 
 good and evil, anrl fur this occasion, atul for no other, is 
 detained in the same, and not hy any special mandate of 
 
 our'sjlhen let be delivered from the prison aforesaid, 
 
 according- to the laws and customs of England."" Without 
 this Writ the Justices of Goal-delivery would not anciently 
 proceed to trial. Tiiis statute was altered and amended by 
 three others passed in the reign of Edward 1.; and in 1354, 
 the 28th of Edward III. Chapter ix. the Writ " D^ Odio et 
 j4ci4" was taken away, because the Sheriffs of Counties 
 made inquests for the iujicting- of the people, and then took 
 fines and ransoms for their delivery witliout ever bringing- 
 them before the King-'s Justices. Lord Coke, however 
 observes, that as it was enacted in 1237 that all statutes 
 contrary to that of Mag-na Charta should be void, the Writs 
 still remained; and therefore, adds he, the King's Justices 
 in g-eneral, have not suffered the prisoner to remain long' in 
 prison, but liave speedily broug-ht him to ti'ial at their uext 
 coming'. This practice is also commanded und described in 
 the Statute of Gloucester, Gth Edward I. Chapter ix. CoH 
 — Statutes at Large. 
 Chapter XXXVII. Images 54, SI, 113, 126, 139, 153. 
 There are five different species of tenures mentioned in 
 this division of the Great Charter, of which it will he proper 
 to g-ive some explanation previously to considering- the in- 
 tent of the statute itself. Fee^Farm is when the Lord of an 
 estate, on creation of a tenancy, reserves to himself either 
 the rent for which it was before let, or was reasonably 
 worth, or at the least a fourth part of the value without any 
 extraordinary services. The term Socage Is derived of the 
 old French word Soc^ a plough-share ; and signifies a portion 
 of lands held by tenure of certain inferior offices in husbandry, 
 or any conventional services that were not military. It was 
 anciently the most popular English tenure, and was ot so 
 
^3-. 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 wide an extent, that Littleton states that all the tenures which 
 were not held by Knight's Service, were held hy Socage. 
 Teiuive by Burgage bears a very close resemblance to Socage, 
 and it is defined to be where the King- or any other person, 
 is Lord of an ancient borough in which tenements are held 
 hy a rent certain; whence it has been called a species of 
 Town Socage, as Common Socage is generally rural. Petit, 
 or Petty Serjeaniry, consisted, according to Littleton, in 
 holding lands of the King by the service of giving him some 
 small weapon of war, as a bow, a sword, a lance, an arrow, 
 &c. as it is stated in the text of Magna Charta ; and hence, 
 as it was the payment of a certain rent, it has also been con- 
 sidered as a species of Socage. The intent of the present 
 Chapter of the Great Charter, was to prevent the King from 
 claiming by virtue of the tenure of Petty Serjeantry, which 
 could be held of him only, the profit attached to the Ward- 
 ship of the heir and his lands. The famous Statute of the 
 12th of Charles IL rendered this portion of the Great Charter 
 obsolete, by taking away Wardship and most of the Feudal 
 tenures ; although the honorary services belonging to Grand 
 Serjeantry were not wholly abolished by it. Coke — Black- 
 stone — Statutes at Large, 
 Chapters XXXVllI, XXXIX, XL. Pages -M, 55, 81, 
 83, 113, 114, 126, 127, 139, 140, 153, 154. 
 The three divisions of Magna Charta now about to be 
 explained, form the most important privileges, and constitute 
 the principal glories of that instrument: for the protection 
 given by the 39th Chapter, would alone have procured for it 
 the title of the Great Charter. In considering, therefore, the 
 benefits conferred in this part of the text, it will be proper 
 to furnish a short historical account of the ancient English 
 Laws regarding Trials, which will illustrate the whole of the 
 above clauses, at the same time that the particular intent of 
 every Chapter is carefully considered. It has already been 
 shewn on pages 204 — 206, that the term Bailiffs embraces all 
 degrees of the King's officers, including Judges of Courts, 
 &c.; in which sense also the word is to be accepted in the 
 first of the present Chapters. The intent of the text iu this 
 part of the Great Charter, is to regulate that kind of trial 
 
 .^<£--' 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHAPTERS. 
 
 ivhich (lepciuled upon llie oatliy of witnesses and the nr- 
 cuscd ; and therefore the present Chaptevs with great pro- 
 priety are in close connection • for as the first shews hy what 
 means a man might be put upon his oath ; the next declares 
 that until after his trial he shall not be treated as a guilty 
 person; and the third engan^es that the right of the law shall 
 neither be bought, sold, delayed, nor denied. The ex- 
 pression used in the 38th Chapter, to be put to his Law, is 
 equivalent to putting a person upon his oath, which is the 
 medium furnished him by the law of proving himself innocent 
 of any charge. The trials which were anciently used hy the 
 Saxons were by Wager of Law, by Ordeal, and hy Jury : of 
 which the first and the concluding ones properly helono- to 
 the present Chapters, the Trial by Ordeal l>eing referable to 
 the 54th division of the Great Charter. 
 
 The Wager of Law received its name from the similarity 
 it bore to that proof which is called the Wager of Battle; 
 for, as in the latter instance the defendant gave a pledge or 
 gage to try the cause hy combat, so in the former he put in 
 sureties, or vadiosj tliat at a certain day he would take the 
 benefit whicii the law had provided for him. This Trial is 
 closely connected with the 38th Cliapter of the Great 
 Charter; for the putting of one to his Lex Manifestay or 
 Open Law, was to force him to the making of the Wager of 
 Law to prove himself innocent. The expression, Wager, is 
 derived either from the old French Gager^ to pledge, or from 
 the German Wagerij to attempt any thing dangerous. Before, 
 however, the Wager of Law could be demanded of the de- 
 fendant, the accuser was obliged, beyond his own declaration, 
 to produce his secta, suit, followers, or witnesses, whose tes- 
 timony was to be consistent, and by whom a probable case 
 was to he made out. The actual production of these 
 witnesses became antiquated in tiie time of Edward IlL, and 
 the names of John Doe and Richard Hoe, the common 
 pledges of prosecution, are all that remain of the "faithful 
 witnesses" required by this Chapter of tlie Great Ciiarter. 
 When the charge was complete, and tlie defendant had given 
 security to make his law, he came into Court with eleven of 
 his neighbours, and standing at the end of the bar on tlie 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 rig-lit liand of the Chief Justice, was asked by tlic Secondary 
 
 whether lie would waj^e his law, and admonished by the 
 
 Judges of the dang-er of a false oath. If he persisted, an oath 
 
 j similar to the following- form was administered to him. 
 
 Hear this ye Justices ! thnt I do not owe to the sum 
 
 of nor any penny thereof, in manner and form as the 
 
 said hath declared against me, So help me God !" 
 
 The defendant's eleven neig-hbours or compurgators, then 
 avowed upon their oaths, that they believed, in their con- 
 sciences, that he had spoken the truth : thus, whilst he was 
 sworn to faithfulness, tiiey were sworn to declare as faithful a 
 belief. Previously to these oaths being- administered, the 
 plaintiffwns thrice called into Court; if he did not appear 
 he was nonsuited, though he inigJit bring a new action ; but 
 if he appeared, and the defendant, kc. made the oaths, his 
 claim was barred for ever, the Wager of Law being- equal 
 to a verdict against him. This species of Trial was never 
 permitted, but in cases Avhere the defendant bore a fair and 
 irreproachable character ; and it is supposed to have had its 
 original in the Mosaical law, mentioned in Exodus xxii. 
 V. 10, 11. *'If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an 
 ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep ; and it die, or be liurt, 
 or driven away, no man^seeiug it : Then shall an oath of the 
 LoRO be between them both, tliathe hath not put his hand unto 
 his neighbour's goods ; and the owner of it sliall accept there- 
 of, and he shall not make it good." It is also to be traced 
 in the legal codes of most of the Nortliern nations ; and its 
 intent was, that an innocent man of good credit might find a 
 reme<ly when hp was overborne by a multitude of false 
 witnesses. Sir Edward Coke supposed that the number of 
 compurgators required fur the defendant, must be eleven, 
 because the Wager of Law being equal to a verdict, his in- 
 nocence ought to be established by a similar testimony, 
 namely, the oaths of twelve men ; for he states, that " every 
 Wager of Law doth countervaile, or is eqnivalen-t to a Jury :" 
 and the defendant shall make his law, by twelve hands or 
 persons, ^namely, an eleven and himself. The most common 
 purposes for wliich this ancient frag ineot of English Common 
 Law was used, were actions of debt; where a debt might 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 have been priviitcly disclmroed, or tlif witnesses to its pay- 
 ment nil dend. It was also adopted in actions of del urn e 
 for goods lent or left with the defendant, vvlio may swear on 
 a book that he does not di'tain them, and his conipurg'atois 
 must swear that they believe his oath tol)o true. The Warmer 
 of Law is now eonsidered for the most part obsolete, Itccause 
 it threw too many temptations in the way of dishonest men ■ 
 new forms of action were therefore introduced, in whieh no 
 defendant is at liberty to wiig-e his law, as in Actions of 
 Trespass, but this ancient privileg-e is not yet out of force, as 
 it is usual to excejit ai;ainst it in the more modern statutes. 
 The 39tii Chajiter of Mag-na Charta is the most cele- 
 brated and important portion of that instrument, and provides 
 for the le;:;-{il and continual use of Trial by Jury. This most 
 ancient and excellent branch of English Common Law, has 
 been used to s') ^ery remote an antiquity in this nation, tJiat 
 it appears to have been coeval with its tiist civil oo^ern- 
 ment. By some the original of Juries has been traced up to 
 the time of the Britons, the first inhabitants of this island; 
 but other authors state that they ^vere first introduced into 
 Denmark by Regncr, snrnamed Lodbrog-, who beg-an to 
 reig-n in tiie year 820, and from him the Saxon King- 
 Ethelred is said to have derived the institution of Trial by 
 Jury. As tliere are traces of this custom in the laws of all 
 those nations which adopted the Feudal System, as Germany, 
 France, and Italy, Bishop Nicolson attributes its establish- 
 ment to Odin or Woden, wlio led forth and governed the 
 earliest colonies of Goths, in Sweden. In the law of Den- 
 mark the twelve Jurors are called Sande-mern, true, or right 
 men, but whilst in England they were inipannelled to try a 
 particular cause, they there determined all law-suits within 
 the jurisdiction of their Court. In France and other nations, 
 the Jurors were commonly formed of twehe of the vassals 
 or tenants in chief of the Lord, being- the equals or peers of 
 the disputing- parties who \vere tried in the Lord's Courts: 
 whilst the Ring-'s Courts was formed of the tenants in chief, 
 or the King's own vassals, who also lieing equal, rried each 
 otiier. In Scotland, the Trial by a Jury of twelve is mentioned 
 in the laws of King David 1., who began his reig-n in 1124 j 
 
 :-b v-^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 and an early notice of it filso occurs in the statutes of the 
 Welsh. In Eiig-land there is actual mention of Jurors as 
 being; customary in the reign of King Ethelred, in the tenth 
 century: and in the time of Henry III. the Mayor and Al- 
 dermen of London claimed the privilege, that for a trespass 
 against the King, a Citizen should be tried by twelve Citizens; 
 for murder, by thirty; and. for trespass against a stranger, 
 by the oaths of twelve and himself. Such is a general his- 
 torical account of the ancient use of the Trial by Jury, and 
 it now remains to state the manner in which it is conducted, 
 and its particular connection with the present Chapter of the 
 Great Charter. 
 
 Trial by Jury, called also the Trial per PaiSj or by the 
 Country, is the examination of a cause, civil or criminal, 
 before a Judge, who has the jurisdiction of it, according to 
 the laws of the land, and by a certain number of men, who are 
 sworn to try It and declare the truth upon such evidence as 
 shall be delivered to them. Trials of this nature are, in civil 
 causes of two kinds. Extraordinary and Ordinary. Of Ex- 
 traordinary Trials b)*" Jury, the most noted is that called the 
 Grand Assize, which was instituted by King Henry II. in 
 Parliament, as an alternative to the Trial by Battel, to the 
 defendant of a Writ of Right. It was formed by a Writ of 
 Election for the Grand Assize^ being addressed to the Sherifi", 
 by virtue of which he returned four Knights, who elected 
 twelve others to be joined with them; the sixteen forming 
 the Grand Assize, or Great Jury, by which matters of right 
 were to be tried. A second kind of Extraordinary Jury is 
 that impannelled to try an attaint, or a process commenced 
 against a former Jury for delivering a false verdict: it con- 
 sists of twenty-four of the best men in the County, who are 
 called the (irand Jury, to distinguish them from the tirst, or 
 Petit Jury. 
 
 An Oi'dinary Trial by Jury Is brought on by the parties 
 at issue joining to put themselves "upon their country;'" 
 and the Sherifi" of the County then receives a Writ tosummon 
 on a certain day twelve free and lawful men of the County, 
 to examine into the matter. By the ancient English law, 
 the Jury was to be composed of persons from the neighbour- 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 hood of the place where the cause of action was declared to 
 be laid J and if none were retnroed from the Hundred in 
 which the vill was situate, the whole Jury mig-ht be chal- 
 leng-ed for the defect. As it was supposed, however, that 
 these persons might permit their prejudices or partialities to 
 interfere with the Trial of Right, the number of men of the 
 Hundred to be impannelled upon a Jury has been gradually 
 decreased. In the time of Edward III. six were always 
 required, but in that of Elizabeth they were reduced to two : 
 by a Statute of the 4th and 5th of Anne — 1705 — Chap. xvi. 
 Sections 6, 7, they were abolished in all cases but penal 
 Statutes, and by the 24tli of King- George II., 1751, Chap, 
 xviii. Section 3, it is ordained that the Jury shall come 
 from the body of the County, but not of consequence, from 
 the vicinity. As the Jurors appear, if they are not chal- 
 lenged by either party, they are sworn well and truly to try 
 the prisoner, and to bring in a true verdict. The indictment 
 is then recorded, and the Jury is acquainted with the crimes 
 laid to the prisoner's charge by the Clerk of the Peace, who 
 adds, **To which indictment he hath pleaded Not Guilty, 
 and for his trial hath put himself upon God and his Country, 
 which Country you are; so that you — the Jury — are to en- 
 quire whether he he Guilty of the felony, &lc. whereof he 
 stands indicted, or not? If you find him Guilty, you are to 
 make enquiry into what goods and chattels he had at the 
 time that the said felony, iicc. was committed, or at any time 
 since: And if you find him Not Guilty, you shall enquire 
 whether he did fly for it; and if he fled for it, what goods, 
 &c. he had at the time of his flight; but if you find him 
 Not Guilty, and that he did not fly, you shall then say no 
 more." The witnesses are then sworn to give true evidence, 
 to speak the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; and 
 when their evidence has been given, the Jury, if they lea\ e 
 the Court to consider of their verdict, are to be kept in a 
 room by a sworn Bailifl'appointed, without meat, drink, fire, 
 or candle, until they bring in their verdict. The word 
 verdict is derived of the Latin veredictum^ a true saying, and 
 it requires unanimity in the whole Jury, otherwise it is no 
 verdict. Barringtou states, that by the Scottish law the 
 
Iv^y^^^lJ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 [unanimity of a Jury is not required excepting- in revenu 
 causes before the Court of Exchequer j and that the chan- 
 cellor, or foreman, gives the verdict even upon the majority 
 
 pof a single Juror, for which reason tliey consist of an i 
 equal number, namely, fifteen selected out of forty-five 
 returned by the Sheriff. It would seem too, in the time of 
 Henry III., and perhaps in the next reign, that this unanimity 
 was not required from the first twelve Jurors who were 
 impanelled- since Bracton states, that if they could not 
 agree as to their verdict, the number of Jurors was to he 
 increased. As this, however, was found to be equivalent to 
 a uew trial, the unanimity of a Jury was insisted on ; and 
 probably it was so in criminal cases at least, from compassion 
 to the prisoner, against whom, says Banington,"if the offence 
 were not proved beyond all possibility of doubt in the most 
 scrupulous Juror, it was thoug-ht to be erring oo the most 
 merciful side for his single vote to acquit him." When the 
 verdict has been delivered it is recorded, and if it be (luilty, 
 sentence is most commonly pronounced, and a warrant made 
 for the execution of the criminal. Such are the genera! 
 forms of Trial by Jury. 
 
 Sir Edward Coke in commenting upon this Chapter, 
 shews that the evils from wlilch the laws of tlie land are to 
 protect any person, are recited in the order in which they 
 most affect him; as, firstly, loss of liberty — "no free man 
 shall he taken or imprisoned;''* hecause the freedom of a 
 man's person is more precious to him than all the succeedino- 
 particulars, and the word ** taken," which occurs in this 
 clause, signifies being restrained of liberty hy petition or 
 suggestion to the King or his Council. Secondly, the 
 Chapter declares, that none "shall be disseised of his free 
 tenement, his liberties, or his free customs;" meaning tbat 
 the King nor others shall not seize upon any of his posses- 
 sions, and that a man shall not be put from liis livelihood 
 without answer. Against this law it seems even a Royal 
 Patent could not stand; for when Henry VI. granted to the 
 Company of Byers in London, the privilege of searching for, 
 nnd seizing upon any cloth dyed with logwood, it was de- 
 cided that the forfeiture was contrary to the Law, as it cannot 
 
V V V V 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 n-rdw out of Letters Patent. The word Liberties has several 
 si<^nifications ; as the Laws of the realm, pri vileg-es bestowed 
 by the King-^ and the natural freedom possessed by tlie 
 subjects of Eng-land, for which cause monopolies in g-eneral 
 are ag-ainst the enactments of the Great Charter. The 
 present Chapter ordains, thirdly, that none shall be outlawed, 
 exiled, or in any way destroyed. By Outlawry^ is sig-nified 
 the ejecting- of a person by three public proclamations from 
 the benefit of the Law, which, from the time of Alfred until 
 long' after the reig-n of William I., could be done for felony 
 only, for which the penalty was death, and therefore an 
 outlaw being- considered as a wolf, might be slain by any 
 man. In the beginning- of the days of King- Edward III,, 
 however, it was enacted that none but the Sheriff should put 
 an outlaw to death 5 or else that they siiould be considered 
 guilty of felony, unless he was slain in an attempt to take 
 him. The expression being- Exiled^ is equivalent with 
 Transportation ; and it sig-nifies to be banished, or forced to 
 abjure the realm ag-ainst an individual's consent. For this 
 cause, Sir Edward Coke observes, that the King- cannot send 
 any subject of England into foreign parts on pretence of 
 service as an Ambassador, Deputy of Ireland, &c. unless he 
 be willing- to go. But though Exile was known and pro- 
 hibited in the times of the Great Charter, Transportation was 
 not introduced into the English Laws until the 39th of 
 Elizabeth, 1597; when a Statute was enacted for the ba- 
 nishment of such rogues as were dangerous to the inferior 
 people. In 1680, the 18th of Charles II,, a power was 
 given to the Judges, at their discretion to execute, or trans- 
 port to America for life, the Moss-troopers of Cumberland 
 and Northumberland. Bfackstone reiuarks, that tliis is pro- 
 bably the only instance where the legislature has extended 
 the term of Transportation beyond fourteen years j although 
 in capital cases the King- offers a pardon to those who con- 
 sent to be transported for life. "Many," says the same 
 author, "have at first rejected this g-racious offer ; and there 
 have been one or two instances of persons so desperate as to 
 persist in the refusal, and who in consequence sufl'ered the 
 execution of their sentence." The Chapter next declares 
 
 ^m^^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 that none shall be "in any manner Destroyed contrary to the 
 Law of the land," which Sir Edward Coke interprets to 
 signify beiuE^ '* fore-judged of life or limb, disherited, or 
 put to torture or death." He also observes, that the words 
 "in any manner" are added to the expression " destroyed," 
 and to no other in the sentence, because they prohibit any 
 means being- used by which this destruction may be brought 
 about- thus, if an individual be accused or indicted of 
 felony, his goods or lands can neither be seized into the 
 King's hands, nor granted, nor even promised to another, 
 before his attainder. For, until he be attainted, he ought 
 to derive his subsistance from liis own possessions; and 
 when they have been previously granted, it often followed 
 that more undue means and violent prosecutions were used, 
 for private interest, tlian the ordinary course of Law would 
 justify. In the original Latin of this Charter, the above 
 engagement is followed by the words ^^ vec supar eum ihimiis, 
 nee super eum rnittemns,^^ of which the literal translation is — 
 nor will we pass upon him, nor commit him, iicc, but as the 
 margin of the Statutes at Large ob.serves, these words do by 
 no means express the sense of the original ; and Sir Edward 
 Coke states, that they signify that none shall be condemned 
 at the King's suit, either before the King in his hench, 
 where the pleas are supposed to be held in his presence, or 
 before any Judge or Commissioner whatever. The last 
 clause of this Chapter provides for the trial of an individual 
 by his peers or equals. The word Peer was probably 
 originally derived of the Latin Par^ an equal; but was 
 afterwards used to signify the vassals or tenants of the same 
 Lord, who were equals in rank and were obliged to attend 
 him in his Courts. They were also called Peers of Feesj 
 either because they held their fees or estates under him, or 
 because they sat in his Courts to judge with liim of disputes 
 arising- upon fees; and if there were too many in one Lord- 
 ship, the Lord selected twelve of his tenants who received 
 the title of Peers by way of distinction, whence it is said that 
 Juries have been derived. The Trial by equals is of g-reat 
 antiquity, and Sir Edward Coke cites an instance of its use 
 in the year 1074. Indeed, so tenacious were the Lords of 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Parliiimeut of this privileg-e, that in 1330, -when Edward 
 III. demanded judgment of his Barons against Simon de 
 Beresford, who had hecn a notorious accomplice m tiie 
 treasons of Roger, Earl of Mortimer, they declare*! to the 
 King; that they nere not bound to judge Simon, because he 
 was not their Peer. During the same Parliament, however, 
 they were induced to receive tlie oharg-e and give judgment 
 against him, in consequence of tlie magnitude of liis crimes; 
 but it was entered upon the Parliament-Roll with the pro- 
 vision, that it should not be considered as a precedent 
 hereafter. Without entering- into the peculiar privileges of 
 the Peerage in trials, whicli form a principal part of Sir 
 Edward Coke's Commentary upon this portion of the Great 
 Charter, it may be observed, that the words '* legal judg- 
 ment of his Peers," imply that the Trial by Jury was lawfully 
 existing- and customary befiue this Statute; and that by the 
 term "judgment" being- made use of instead of verdict, is 
 shewn that Peers on a trial are not sworn, but give their 
 jndg-ment upon their honour and alleg;iance. To be judg'ed 
 according- to "the Law of the Land," is the last privilege 
 secured by the present Chapter; which expression Sir 
 Edward Coke interprets to sig-nify the Law of England, in 
 its most extensive sense, binding- both tlie Sovereign and 
 the subject, for which cause it is not written in the name of 
 either. It also indicates that there are places and crimes to 
 which this law does not extend, as to offences committed 
 upon the liigh-seas, which belong- to the cognisance of the 
 Lord High Admiral. It likewise signifies, that none of the 
 foreg'oing' penalties were to be imi)osed, but after due process 
 of the Common Law. 
 
 Having- ordained that tlie Laws of England shall be 
 faithfully observed, the 40th Chapter of the Mag-naCharta of 
 Ring- John, provides that they shall be administered without 
 expence, denial, or delay; and Lord Coke observes, that tlic 
 Chapter is spoken in the person of the K-ing-, who is sup- 
 posed to be present in all his Courts of Law ; wliercfore all 
 his subjects, of every profession and degree, and for all kinds 
 of injuries, may have immediate and perfect justice. The 
 intent of this Chapter, which in the Third Great Charter of 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 King- Heury TIL, vide page 140, was added to the preceding^ 
 was to abolish those fines which were anciently paid to 
 delay or expedite law proceedings and to procure farour 
 Madox, who in his History of the Exchequer, Chap, xii, 
 o-ives numerous instances of these fines, states that tlie 
 County of Norfolk used to pay an annual composition at the 
 Exchequer that it mig-ht'^be fairly dealt with." In 1219, 
 the 3rd of Henry III., the men of Portsmouth gave two casks 
 of wine, for the King- to command some of the Itinerant 
 Justices to hold the plea of that town, according- to the 
 Charter of Ricliard I; and in 1214, the 16th of John, Ro- 
 bert de Ellestede fined in six fox-dogs of one sort aud six of 
 another, to have a. pone y or writ for removing- his cause into 
 the Court of Common Pleas. In some cases, the parties 
 litigant offered a portion of what they were to recover to the 
 crown, as a half or a fourth; for Madox states, that in 1222, 
 the 6th of Henry III., Theophania de Westland fined half of 
 her debt of 212 marks, to recover it from James de Fughele- 
 ston. Fines for delaying of pleas, judgments, &c. were also 
 very numerous; and the same authority records that in 
 1156, the 2nd of Henry II., the men of Southwark paid £8 
 to have respite in their complaint against the men of London. 
 In the loth of the same King, Hamelin the Dean fined one 
 Norway hawk, and one Iceland Gerfalcon, that his plea 
 iTiight be adjourned to the Exchequer. From these instances 
 may be seen the full intention and force of the present 
 Chapter of Magna Charta. By the expression **tonone will we 
 56?/," were abolished those excessively high fines paid for 
 procuring of right or judgment; the words ** to none will 
 we denyj^ referred to the stopping of suits or proceeding's, 
 and the denial of writs; and in the engagement "to none 
 will we delay right or justice,", provided against those 
 delays which were caused by the counter-fines of defendants, 
 who would sometimes outbid the plaintiflT, or by the will of 
 the Prince. This Statute is observed by Madox, so far to 
 have effected its intended purpose, that although fines for 
 law proceedings had even from the reign of William I. 
 formed a part of the Crown revenue, they became more mo- 
 derate after the making of the Great Charter: whilst the 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 evils ubove-nieutioned were either wholly taken away or fcl 
 into disuse. The custom, however, of sending- presents, and 
 interceding with the Judges by parties engag-ed in law- 
 suits, was known long- after this period, althoug'h it was 
 not considered dishonourable either for the giver or the re- 
 cipient. Lord Bacon states that evca Sir Thomas More 
 accepted certain gifts ; hut Bishop Burnet has recorded it of 
 Sir Matthew Hale, that he not only refused all private in- 
 terference concerning any causes, but that he paid for those 
 local compliments which were made to the Judges whilst 
 they were upon the circuit. The same authority also states, 
 that during appeals to the House of Peers, Charles TI, would 
 go about to stdicit particular Lords for the appellant or de- 
 fendant whilst the cause was in bearing'. Bulstvode White- 
 lock, likewise, when a Barrister, solicited the Judges with 
 regard to a prosecution for a libel ou his deceased father, 
 who had been formerly on the bench j for which the party 
 ■was afterwards indicted and committed: and Oliver Crom- 
 well, during his Protectorate, interfered with the decision of 
 the Scottish Judges. The concluding words of this Chapter 
 are now all wiiich remain to be noticed, namely, "right and 
 justice." The former, according to Lord Coke, signifies 
 the Law, because it guides as a right line, discovers that 
 ■which is wrong, is the best birthright of the subject, and is 
 supposed to allude to the Writ of Right, which must be g-iven 
 without fine. The passage then ordaius, that right, nor Law, 
 which forms the means of procuring justice, nor justice 
 itself, which is the end of the Law, shall be either bought, 
 sold, or denied. Such are the contents of these important 
 Chapters, which admit of the most extensive commentary 
 and analysis, for it is aptly, though quaintly, observed by 
 Lord Coke in concluding his minute illustrations of these 
 passages, " As the gold-finer will not out of the dust, threds, 
 or shreds of gold, let passe the least crum, in respect of the 
 excellency of the metal! ; so ought not the learned reader to 
 passe any syllable of this law, in respect of the excellency 
 of the mattei'," 
 
 Chapters XLT. XLIL Pages 55, 83, 114, 127, 140, 154. 
 The privileges granted by the first of these Chapters, 
 
 ^■"^^^^^ 
 
^^ 
 
 g^^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 were intended for the protection of Merchant strangers; 
 but they were at the same time only a declaration of the 
 Common Law of Eiiohind ; thoug:h being- an article regard- 
 ing- foreig-n commerce, it is, as Sir William Blackstone ob- 
 oj( ^v» s^^^^s, somewhat extraordinary to meet with it in Mag-na 
 ^f^ Charta, an interior treaty between the King- and his own 
 native subjects. Montesquieu remarks upon this Chapter, 
 with a degree of admiration, *' thai the English have made 
 the protection of foreign Merchants an article of their 
 national liberty;" and in another part of his "Spirit of 
 Laws," he has asserted, that they know better than any 
 other nation upon earth, how to value the three great advan- 
 tag-es of Relig-ion, Liberty, and Commerce. In the time of 
 Alfred, the laws concerning foreign Merciiants provided that 
 they should come only to the four fairs, and not remain in 
 Eng-land more than forty days. King- Ethelred, however, 
 in his law, enacted that the ships of Merchants or of enemies 
 from the high seas, not being wrecked by tempests, coming- 
 with goods into any port, should be at peace: and that if 
 they were cast on shore by the waves on the estate of any 
 nobleman, he was to receive them in peace, and protect them 
 and their goods to the utmost of his power. Such are some 
 of the ancient English laws, but Lord Coke observes, that 
 the present Chapter, by its liberal provision, was intended 
 for the encouragement and increase of trade, and also for the 
 well-using of Merchant strangers. The commercial privi- 
 leges which were granted, are considered by the same 
 learned commentator to be seven in number: to come into 
 England ; to depart out of England ; to remain in England : 
 to travel through England by land or water; to buy and 
 sell ; to be free of evil tolls ; and to enjoy the ancient customs. 
 The admission of foreign Merchants into the realm in the time 
 of war, is of considerable nntiquity; and they enjoyed this 
 freedom in common with the clergy and husbandmen; in 
 order that those who prayed, ploughed, and trafficked, 
 might be at peace. At a later period, however, Merchant 
 strangers who were found in any country after the com- 
 mencement of a war, might be treated as open enemies; 
 but the reciprocative principle introduced in the text, is 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 founded upon the rights of war, of which great care is to be 
 observed in ail g-overninents. The protection from "evil 
 tolls," is a security from paying- so large a custom or im- 
 position upon any goods, that the fair profit is lost therein 
 and the trade thereby prevented. The original, word ex- 
 pressive of this, \sMalaTohtetaj the word toll, or tolt, heincr 
 derived of the Saxon Tolnetuittj or Theohmium^ which sio-_ 
 nifies a payment in Markets, Towns, and Fairs, for goods and 
 cattle bought and sold. It also stands for any manner of 
 custom, subsidy, imposition, or sum of money taken of the 
 buyer for the importing or exporting- of any wares- and 
 the present Chapter of Magna Charta uses the word in its 
 most extensive meaning-. The compound word Mala-tolneta 
 which appears in the text, signifies bad, or evil tolls, or 
 unjust exactions; and in other Statutes it is rendered into 
 Frencli by the ancient term Malelout. After the present 
 Chapter of the Great Charter has declared that such evil 
 tolls shall not be levied, it is stated that Merchants shall be 
 allowed to buy and sell by ancient and right customs ; or by 
 those old and lawful duties, which the former policy of 
 England instituted to encourag'C Merchants strangers. Of 
 the expensive signification of the word customs, some notice 
 has already been taken on page 186; and in the present 
 place it remains to be observed only, that the provisions of 
 this act referred as well to new tolls and customs, as to those 
 which existed previously: and in 1332, the 6th of Edward 
 III., it was ordered that no new customs could he levied, nor 
 the ancient ones increased without the authority of Parlia- 
 ment, because it would be against the enactments of iVfagna 
 Charta. The present Chapter was considerably altered and 
 amplified from the Articles which preceded the Great Charter 
 of King- John in the instrument itself, vide pages 55 and 
 83; but in 1216, in the first Magna Charta of King Henry 
 III., it received the addition of a clause expressing- that 
 Foreig-n Merchants could notclaim its privileges, if they had 
 before been jmblicly prohibited : vide page 114. Lord Coke 
 observes, that this public prohibition must be hy Act of Par- 
 liament, and that it referred to Merchants strangers of 
 countries at peace with England. 
 
 wm 
 
mm 
 
 NOTES Oisr THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 The 42nd Chapter of the Magna Charta of King- John,' 
 ' is to be found only in that instrument and in the Articles 
 
 vhich preceded it, being reserved for farther consideration < 
 ji in the first grant of Henry III. page 116, and never after- 
 wards alluded to. It has been connected with the foregoing 
 Chapter in the present illustrations, because it contains a 
 similar privilege for persons leaving the kingdom. Lord 
 Coke in his Commentary on Pleas of the Crown contained 
 in his Third Institute, Chapter 84, shews that there were 
 certain orders of men under a continual prohibition of 
 quitting the realm, without the King's previous license j 
 though, by the Common Law, every one had liberty to go 
 when he would, provided he was under no injunction to re- 
 main at home. Some of the persons who w^ere not to depart 
 without the King-'s licence, were Peers, because they were 
 the Councillors of the Crown; Knights, because they were 
 to defend the kingdom from invasions: all Ecclesiastics, 
 because they were confined by a special law on account of 
 their attachment to the See of Rome; and all Archers and 
 Artificers, lest they should instruct foreigners how to rival 
 the manufactures of England. Such was the law in the 
 reign of King Edward I., and instances of its use are cited 
 by Sir Edward Coke of the time of Edward III.; when a 
 general proclamation was sufficient to declare the offence of 
 such as infringed it, and the King's writ, under the Great, 
 or Privy Seal, was issued to command their return. ITpon 
 contempt of this writ, their goods and lands were seized upon 
 by the Crown until they came home. In 1381, the 5th of 
 Richard II. Chap. ii. an Act was passed prohibiting all per- 
 sons whatever to go abroad without licence, excepting only 
 the Lords, and other great men of the realm, true and notable 
 Merchants, and the King's soldiers ; which was not repealed 
 until 1607, the 4th of James I. Chap. i. In the same reign, 
 however, as a particular guard against popery, were passed 
 various Acts against the sending of any children out of the 
 kingdom, or to any seminary beyond sea-, as well as one 
 making it felony for any person leaving the realm to serve 
 a foreign Prince. Licenses for travelling might be granted 
 under the Great Seal, Privy Seal, or Privy Signet, and 
 
 ■^i^j 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 without such a permission Ecclesiastics coultl not anciently' 
 even go on pila^rlma^e. In illustration of this, Lord Coke 
 g-ives the license granted to an Abbot to visit beyond sea the 
 head of St. John the Baptist at Amiens, the bodies of the 
 three King-s of Cologne, and the coffins of St. Francis and 
 St. James of Galacia, in which is inserted a saving clause, 
 that he shall do nothing-, nor procure anything to be done 
 contrary to his allegiance, or in prejudice of the King-. By 
 the writ called *^ Ne exeat regnOy'' the Sovereig-n has still tlie 
 power of confining- his subjects within the kingdom, under 
 severe penalties, because every man ought of right to defend 
 the King- and his realm • and to this reason Magna Charta 
 has a reference, when it states that in time of war persons 
 may be restrained from going- abroad, " for some short space 
 for the common good of the kingdom." The principal modern 
 use of this writ in Chancery, however, is exactly the same 
 as an arrest at law in the commencement of an action; 
 namely, to prevent the party from withdrawing his person 
 and property beyond the jurisdiction of the Court, before 
 judg-ment and execution have been obtained. So where there 
 is a Suit in Equity for a demand, for which the defendant 
 cannot be arrested in an Action at Law, an affidavit must be 
 made that there is reason to apprehend that he will leave the 
 kingdom before the conclusion of the suit; and containing* 
 sufficient proof of his intention. The plaintiff must also 
 swear that the defendant is indebted to him a certain sum, 
 marked on the writ, for which security must be found j and 
 the defendant must likewise either produce sufficient sureties 
 that he will abide the event of the suit, or the Chancellor by 
 this writ will commit him to prison. Lord Bacon observes 
 of it, that the writ ^^Ne exeat regno,'''' was, towards the latter 
 end of the reign of King- James I., notooly granted in respect 
 of attempts against the King and state, — where, upon evi- 
 dence of weight the Chancellor granted it upon application 
 of any of the principal secretaries, without shewing cause — 
 but also in cases of interlopers in trade, great bankrupts, 
 duels, See. The exercise of this writ as a branch of the 
 King's prerogative, has long since been disused. Co^e— «■ 
 Blackstone — Christian . 
 
NOTES ON THE GRdT CHARTERS 
 
 Pag-es 55, S3, 114, 127-129, 140- 
 142, 154-156. 
 The famous Statute of the 12th of Charles II., which '^t, 
 was at the least eejual to a second Mag-na Charta to Englaod, -:, 
 rendered obsolete the whole of this Chapter; thoiig-h its 
 privileges had been confirmed and enforced by severnl pre- 
 vious Acts. Like the whole of the Charter of Liberties, it 
 does but provide for a restitution of the Common Law ; and 
 its principal intent was to regulate the service due to the 
 King-, from those Honours whicii belonged to the Crown. 
 The signification of the title Honour, is a more noble sort of 
 Lordship, oh which other inferior estates depend, by per- 
 formance of certain services to the superior chief, who is 
 called the Lord Paramount; and his seignory is frequently 
 termed an Honour, not a Manor, especially if it have ever 
 belonged to the King- or to an ancient feudal Baron, To 
 constitute an Honour, however, it was essential that it should 
 have been originally created by the King ; and that it should 
 be hoi den of the King ; for thoug-h the King might grant it to 
 a subject, yet if it were assigned to another, it could not be 
 holden of a subject. The custom of dividing- estates into a 
 multitude of parts, and the restraining Statute which was 
 enacted in consequence, have been already noticed on page 
 195; but before this the Second Magna Charta of Heniy 
 III. Chapter xxxix. page 128, had provided some remedy 
 by ordainiTig, that no man should g-ive or sell any more of 
 his land, but so, that out of the remainder his Lord might 
 have the service which was due to him. The word Escheat, 
 which also occurs in thi^ Chapter, is derived of the old 
 French word, Esdieoir^ to feturn or happen : and it signifies 
 the return of an estate to a Lord, either on failure of issue 
 from the tenant, or upon account of such tenant's felony. 
 The nature of reliefs paid to the chief Lord at the entry of a 
 new heir, has already been particularly described on pages 
 162-164; and it was usual for Honours to be let out to the 
 Sheriffs to farm, in the manner already stated on paoes 206- 
 207. Madox in \^^ History of (he Exchequer enters into all 
 the peculiarities of Honours and Escheats, wilh numerous 
 instances and lists of those wluLh were in the King's pos- 
 
 ;?^«^" 
 
 
session fluriiig' several reigns. Vide Chap. x. pag-es 202- 
 209. Another emendation in tlie Second Great Charter of 
 Henry III., vide pag-e 128, was, that the King- should derive 
 no benefit of any Escheat or tenants, unless tliey reverted 
 from one who held of him in chief: this is in accordance 
 with the xxxviith Chapter of the Great Charter of John, 
 which also distinguishes between the right of the King- and 
 that of a Lord, who have each an interest in the same fee. 
 
 With regard to the now Chapter which in tlie Second 
 Great Charter of King- Henry III. was added to the preceding, 
 its general intent will be understood from the foregoing 
 particulars; and its legal peculiarities and ])rocess are ex- 
 plained in Lord Coke's Commentary: vide Second Instit. 
 Magna Chart. Cap. 32. It was altered and explained in 
 1290, by the 18tb of Edvv. I. Statute 1. Cap. 2., and finally 
 made obsolete by the 12th of Charles II. Cap. 24. Statutes 
 at Large. 
 Chapters XLIV. XLVII. XLVIII. LIII. Pages b7, .^9, 
 85, 89, 114, 115. 
 
 The above appear to liave been the only regulations 
 for the English Forests enacted under King John, and some 
 of their principal features have been considered and ex- 
 plained in the preceding Essay, pages 4-8. The first two of 
 these Chapters appeared in the First Charter of Henry I., 
 and witli respect to the others in the close of the same in- 
 strument it was ordained, that they should he regarded until 
 a full council of the kingdom should be summoned, when 
 they were to be provided for. It has been shewn, however, 
 on pages 37, 38, of the foregoing Essay, that with King- 
 Henry's Second Charter in 1217, another appeared, confined 
 exclusively to the liberties of the Forest- which afterwards 
 became a Statute of no less importance than the Magna 
 Charta itself. This edition was probably first supposed the 
 original one, by Sir William Blackstone in his Introduction 
 to the Charters, pages xxii. xli.; where also he disproves the 
 usual belief that a Forest Charter was granted by John. 
 That such a deed was now for the first time drawn up, is 
 evident from the word Forestariis in the direction of the 
 Charters, being for the first time omitted in that of 1217, 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 ivide pages 105 and 118; and the few Forest clanses which 
 remained in the Charter of Nov. 12th, 1216, pag-es 114, 115, 
 were then omitted, evidently because the Foresters possessed 
 a separate Charter of their own. Another arg-ument against 
 the existence of such an instrument by King- John, is, that 
 in the xvth Chapter of that by Henry, the outlawry of those 
 persons is reversed which had taken place before the Iving-''s 
 first Coronation, ail others being- left at the mercy of the 
 Crown. It is scarcely to be imag-ined, however, that when 
 the Barons had prevailed against John by insurrection, those 
 persons would be excluded front the benefits of the liberties 
 they procured, who for the last sixteen years had felt the 
 oppressions of the Forests. If, however, this provision be 
 referred to the Charter issued by King' Henry's Ministers, 
 the Coronation, Oct. 28th, 1216, would be within a year of 
 its appearance; and the safety granted, in Chapter iv. to 
 other Forest offenders, down to the beginning- of the second 
 yearof theKing-'s Coronation, exactly coincides with the 6th 
 of Nov. 1217, the time when it may be supposed that the 
 Charta de Foresta was first g;ranted. In the time of Sir 
 William Blackstone, however, the originals and all authentic 
 records even of this Charter were lost; and its only traces 
 were an entry in the Patent Rolls of the 2iid of Henry IT. 
 part ii. membrane 2, dated July the 24th, 1218, directing- the 
 Forest perambulations to be made and its boundaries to be 
 settled, ** according- to the tenor of the Charter of Forest 
 Liberties which the King- had granted." In the same year 
 too, Madox cites the Great Roll of the Exchequer, shewing 
 that the expenses of this perambulation were charg-ed and 
 levied on the Counties concerned ; which record also refers 
 to the King's Charter : the inhabitants of Dorset and 
 Somerset were rated at £100. Hist. Excheq. page 285, 
 note g'. The conjectures of Sir William Blackstone con- 
 cerning this Charter, have, however, recently been verified, 
 since the Archives of Durham Cathedral have been found to 
 contain an original of the Forest Charter of the second year 
 of Henry III., endorsed in Latin "The general Charter for 
 the Forests: the fourth general Charter of the whole king- 
 dom, and the first for the Forests; under the seals of the 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Leofate, and William Earl of Pembroke." An account of 
 this instrument will be given hereafter in the descriptipe list ^j 
 of original copies of the Great and Forest Charters ; and an ^• 
 explanation of the clauses placed at the head of this note, 
 will be found in the illustrations of the various Charters of 
 the Forests. 
 
 Chapter XLV. Pag-es 57, 85. 
 Some bintatthe probable reasons for the insertion of this 
 clause has already been cited from Sir William Blackstone, 
 on page 17 of the preceding Essay ; and the Chapter never 
 appeared in any subscriuent copy of the Great Charter. Dr. 
 Brady supposes that the office of Chief Justiciary was 
 originally derived from Normandy, where he believes him 
 to have been the same as the Grand Seneschal ; in England 
 he had extensive power over all the inferior officers of the 
 law, took cognisance of all crimes, and was often General, 
 Viceroy, and Guardian of the kingdom. Theancient Judges 
 and Lawyers, were, usually, superior Ecclesiastics, — which 
 was also according to the Norman custom, — famous for their 
 honesty and piety j and in the year 1070 William I. displaced 
 many of the English clergy from their livings, putting 
 Normans into their places who were well acquainted with 
 this peculiar law; hence in the ensuing reign these Eccle- 
 siastical Lawyers grew so numerous, as to occasion William 
 of Malmsbury to remark that there was no clerk who was not 
 a pleader. The legislature of England then, being thus 
 conducted by Normans, the laws and the language in which 
 they were administered were also in their own tongue, and 
 this continued down to the 36th year of Edward III., 1362, 
 Chap. XV. when it was enacted that pleas should be held in 
 the English tongue and enrolled in the Latin. This latter 
 custom continued to last until the time of Cromwell, when 
 enrollments were began to be made in English; they were 
 altered again under Charles II., but by a Statute of the 4th 
 of George II. 1730, Chap. xxvi. law proceedings were 
 ordained for the future, to be recorded in the national 
 language. The use of the Norman tongue in the Courts of 
 England, was, however, commonly essential because the 
 Judges and officers understood no other ; the Chief Justiciary 
 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 being- frequently a military person, and suits being" often 
 decided by Peers and Lords of manors to whom the English 
 was not known. From these circumstances it probably was, 
 that the peculiar code of English Law was neglected oi' un- 
 known by the Justices appointed to administer it; and the 
 Norman customs or absolute injustice were too often sub- 
 stituted in its place. The Common Law of Eng-land, says Sir 
 John Davis, is right not written, and more excellent than 
 our written Laws, as Statutes or Acts of Parliament ; it being 
 a peculiar invention of this nation, delivered over from age 
 to age by tradition, and even a tradition itself, so learned 
 aud communicated. Dr. Brady endearours to prove, however, 
 that the ancient English Law was actually derived of the 
 Normans rather than the Saxons, and that the followers of 
 William I. judged causes by it immediately after he became 
 King, even before they were acquainted with the English 
 language. Ignorance of the Laws cannot be effectually 
 pleaded by any person, but in the Statutes of King Ethelred 
 it is ordained, that "a Judge who shall give any unjust 
 judgment, shall pay to the King cxx. shillings; unless he 
 be heard to swear that he did not know how to judge 
 rightly." The Laws of Canute add that he shall be dis- 
 missed from his legal dignity, if he do not redeem it from 
 the King, according as it shall be allowed him. The 
 transgression of the Laws by Judg'cs is punishable by loss of 
 oflfice, fine, and imprisonment; aud it is related that in the 
 time of Richard II. Earl Typtoft, a Chancellor, Avas even 
 beheaded for acting- on the King^s Warrant against the Law. 
 A Judge who iguorantly condemns a man to death for felony, 
 wlien his crime is not felony, is liable to be fined, im- 
 prisoned, and lose his office : and if one wiio has no 
 jurisdiction of a cause give judgment of death and award 
 execution, the Judge and the officer who executes the 
 sentence are both guilty of felony. Brady s Complete Hist, 
 of Eng. Pref. to the Norman Hist. II. 154. Jacob and 
 Toiftlins — BkicksUniQ. 
 
 Chapter XLVI, Pages 58, 85, 114, 128, 141, 155. 
 The intent of this division of the Great Charter was to 
 secure to the founders and tenants of Abbies the possession 
 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 of their rents, &c. during- the absence of a superior; and the 
 principle of law upon which the Chapter was written, has 
 already been explained in the Note on Chapter V., to which 
 the concluding clause — originally added in the First Great 
 Charter of King- Henry I. vide page 115, — has a particular 
 reference. This right is claimed by the Barons in the text, 
 pages 114, 128, four different ways. As the founders or 
 patrons who originally received the right of presentation, by 
 having been the builders and maintainers of Abhies, &.c. by 
 holding a charter of presentation from the King, and by 
 ancient tenure and possession in them annexed to an estate. 
 The person who first erects and endows the building is the 
 founder* for Lord Coke observes, that if a common person 
 foundan Abbey or Priory with possessions of small value, and 
 the King afterwards endow it with great possessions, yet the 
 common person is the founder. If a common person found a 
 Chantry, and afterwards the King translate it and make it a 
 Monastery, and endow it with possessions, yet the common 
 person is in law the founder, because he gave the first living-. 
 The whole of this Chapter is now rendered obsolete, as well 
 by the act of Charles II. as by that of the 31st of Henry 
 VIII., 1539, for the Dissolution of Religious Houses. 
 Chapters XLIX, L, LI, LII. Pages 57, 87. 
 The greater part of the remainder of the Great Charter 
 of King John, is peculiar to that instrument only ; and alludes 
 to circumstances connected rather with the history and pro- 
 ceedings of the Monarch, than to any restoration of the 
 ancient laws and liberties of England. In consequence of 
 this, the whole of the Chapters cited above were omitted in 
 all the subsequent copies of Magna Charta; and instead of 
 them were inserted several new and more important clauses, 
 which rendered the third grant of King Henry III. the most 
 valuable instrument of the whole series. On this account it 
 stands the first article in the English Statute books, whilst 
 the preceding Charters are left unnoticed, and even the 
 subsequent confirmations are considered only as useful re- 
 petitions. Such being the character of the present Chapters, 
 it will be seen that much of their illustration may be 
 referred to the historical parts of the foregoing Essay, but 
 
 -P^ 
 
• + 
 
 agf?!^ 6Ca f; 
 
 l^^^j^y^t^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 that their particular intention may be rendered perfectlyf 
 clear. A few of their principal features will now be ex- 
 plained. 
 
 The first Chapter promises a restoration of the hostages C 
 and charters which had been delivered to the English in 
 security of the peace, Sec. These hostages were first taken 
 about the year 1208, during the time of the Interdict j when 
 King John fearing that the Pope might absolve all his 
 subjects from their allegiance, demanded pledges of all the 
 Barons, Sec. whom he suspected, to be delivered to him as 
 securities for their future fidelity. Many of them, says Dr. 
 Brady, gave their sons, their nephews, or their nearest re- 
 lations to the messengers whom be sent for them. In July 
 1211, when he marched into Wales and subdued it, he 
 received twenty-eight hostages from the nobles of that 
 nation, who were executed on account of a revolt in the 
 year following. A conspiracy being also formed in England 
 in 1212, whilst he was re-marching towards Wales, caused 
 him to demand other pledges from his Barons; but Eustace 
 de Vesci and Robert Fitzwalter both fled, the former into 
 Scotland and the latter into France. After the conclusion of 
 Magna Charta, on the 18th of June, 1215, King John by bis 
 writ directed to Stephen Harengod, dated from Runnemede, 
 informed him that a firm peace had been made between the 
 Barons and himself, on the Friday following the Feast of the 
 Trinity, when he received their homage. He commanded 
 him also to do no injury to the Barons on account of the 
 former discord; to release all prisoners and hostages detained 
 by reason of it ; and that such of the fines and penalties im- 
 posed for it as had not been paid, should not be levied. The 
 Charters mentioned in this Chapter as having been delivered 
 for security to the King, may be considered as Grants of 
 Estates, Privileges, Sec. both corporate and personal. 
 
 History appears to be nearly silent as to the particular 
 reason why the dismission of those persons named in Chapter 
 50, was considered so essential as to be made an article of 
 the Great Charter. It may with great probability be sup- 
 posed that they were all foreigners, since the next clause 
 relates to the sending of the foreign soldiers out of the 
 
 jif^. 
 
 rV-Vii, 
 
 
y '^ V '-^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Ikingdom. The only Informalion which can be procured off 
 ilthem is collateral, and more from the evidence of national j'z 
 pecords than from actual history, by which they are shewn^ 
 to have been in possession of considerable wealth, being- ^ 
 probably great favourites of the King-. Madox states, in his 
 Hist, of the Exchequer, pag-e 264, that in 1210, tlie 11th of 
 John, Engelard de Cigony received the sum of 10, 106 marks 
 8Jrf., or £6737 7^. 4^d. for that Monarch, by Letters under 
 the Great Seal addressed to Robert de Braibroc. The same 
 authority also prints some particulars of an aid granted for 
 the Kings's passag-e to Ireland in the following- year, in which 
 the office of Eng-elard de Cigony seems to be referred to- 
 as he is there said to place 225 marks, or £150, in the King's 
 Treasury at Bristol : vide page 421. In the same year too, 
 see page 640, he appears to have been Sheriff of Glouces- 
 tershire, and a Justice Itinerant of that County j but in 1226, 
 the 11th of Henry III., he was in debt to the Crown, and had 
 a respite for payment by the King's command until the Feast 
 ofSt. Michael : page 682. In the Testa de Nevill, ova record 
 of the Royal estates, heirs, fee. made in the time of Henry 
 III. and Edward I,, Engelard de Cygony is stated to hold 
 the Manor of Bensiuton with four hundreds and a half, in 
 Oxfordshire, at the King's pleasure, hut his service was not 
 known. Vide the printed edition of this record, Lond. 1807, 
 folio, pages 118, 120, column i. lu the Patent Rolls of 
 the eighth year of the same Sovereign, 1223-24, the custody 
 of the lands and heirs of Henry de Bertlay was committed 
 to Oliver, the son of Eugelard de Cigony; and in his 19th 
 year, 1234-35, Eugelard himself was made Keeper of the 
 King's Forests of Windelsore and Odiham, the former of 
 which he held in 1235-36, according to the Patent Rolls. 
 The Park or Forest of Odiham, in Hampshire, however, seems 
 to have been taken from him iu the 20th year of Henry 
 III., since the Original Rolls contain an order to demand it 
 of him; and soon after a notice that both the Forests of 
 Odiham and Windesor, with the Manor and Castle of Odiham, 
 were committed to Reginald de Whitchurch. He appears to 
 have died in 1243-44, the 28th of Henry III., since the 
 Patent Rolls contain an order that "Engerard de Cigony 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 may freely make his Will," Membrane 7; and in the Original 
 Rolls of the Exchequer, for the same year, is entered an 
 order to the Sheriff of Hampshire, that the carriag;es and re- 
 plenishing which were received at Odiham from the executors 
 of the will of Engelard de Cygoin should he delivered to 
 William de Montfort. Calendarium Rotulorum Patenttnm, 
 Lond. 1802, Folio, pages 13, 17, 18, 20. Rotulorum Origi- 
 nalium^ Lond. 1805, Folio, pages 1,6. Of Gerard de Athyes 
 there does not appear to be any notice in the records, but the 
 calendar to the Patent Rolls mentions one John de Athy, 
 who in the 10th, 11th, and 12th of Edward II., 1318-1319, 
 was Captain and Admiral of the Ring's fleet against the Irish 
 andScots. In 1319, the 12th of his reign, he gave the same 
 person in fee*' all that hereditament in the Island of Raghery 
 in Hibernia, lately belonging to Hugo Byset one of the ad- 
 herents to the Scots." Vide Calend. Rotul. Patent, pages 82, 
 85, Membranes 22, 4, 1, 29. Neither Andrew nor Peter 
 de Chancell, occur in any of the ordinary historical records, 
 but Guy de Chancell, who is also mentioned in Magna 
 Charta, is stated by Madox in his Hist. oftheExchegver, 
 page 445, as accounting in 1214, the 15th of John, for the 
 Honour of Gloucester, both of the ancient and novel feoff- 
 ment, in the amount of 327 Knights Fees, and a 10th and 
 20th part of a fee. The same authority also states, page 497, 
 that he was at the same period, farmer, or keeper of the 
 Barony of William de Beauchamp, and accounted to the King 
 for £458 4^. Sd. arising hy Taillage within the space of two 
 years past, as well as for 100 marks — £66 13s. 4d. — more, 
 being the Taillage of the men of the suburb of Worcester. 
 Although the name of Geoffrey de Martin be not mentioned 
 by Madox, nor in the ordinary printed records, yet in the 
 Hist, of the Exchequer , page 304, Elyas Martin, who was 
 probably one of his brothers, likewise mentioned in the text, 
 in 1206-7, the 8th year of John, gave the King 20 marks, or 
 £13 6s. 8J., with 2 marks— £1 6s. 8rf.— to the Queen's 
 Gold, that certain rolls of the Justices at York might be pro- 
 duced, to convict Vives, the son of Aaron, of false charters. 
 Philip Mark and his brother, and Geoffrey, bis nephew, are 
 the last persons whose dismission is insisted on in this 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Chapter, Of the former there is but little informatioa 
 extant; but Madox shews, pag-e 502, Note q. that iu 1222- 
 23, the 7th of Henry III. he paid the King- 100 shillings 
 as a farm rent during- pleasure: and in the 10th of the 
 same reig-n, 1225-26, Ernald, servant to the Bishop of Car- 
 lisle, broug-ht an appeal against him for robbery and breach 
 of the peace, which he was to answer before the Justiciaries 
 of the Common Bench within the Octaves of St. Hilary. Hist, 
 of the ExcJiequer, page 542. Philip Mark also held the office 
 of Sheriff of the Counties of Nottingham and Derby in the 
 reign of King John — see Madox, p. .59, — and in his account 
 in the Exchequer, he is stated to have paid 145 marks, £96 
 14s. in part of a debt of 200. The same authority, page 683, 
 mentions one Peter Mark, who might possibly be one of the 
 brothers, who in 1226-27, the 11th of Henry III., had 
 respite by writ of the Chief Justiciary for a debt due to the 
 King of 1050 marks — £700 — until the Octaves of St, Hilary. 
 Such then are a few of the slight and scattered particulars, 
 which are yet extant concerning the persons whose names 
 appear in this Chapter of the Great Charter ; but even from 
 these limited notices it may be imagined, that extortion in 
 their bailiwicks, added to their having been foreigners, 
 formed the principal grounds of the charg'es against theui. 
 The 51st Chapter of John's Charter provides for the 
 dismission of certain alien soldiers, distinguished hy the 
 names of foreign Knights, Cross-bowmen, and stipendaries, 
 who had been probably hired by the King' to assist him 
 against his Barons. The use of these foreign forces it is 
 probable came in with the Normans, for Captain Grose 
 observes, in his Military Antiquities^ Vol. I. Chap. iv. that 
 from William Rufus to John they were employed in the 
 English army. Even under the Feudal System, paid, or 
 stipendary troops, both national and foreign, were engaged 
 by the Monarchs, with the sums given by such as commuted 
 for their services; and their duties were castle-guards, 
 foreign garrisons, or the protecting of the marches, or 
 borders of the kingdom, adjoining Wales and Scotland. 
 Their pay was sometimes out of the privy-purse, or else they 
 were suffered to live at free quarters; and, being actually a 
 
 •U 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 party of wandering brigands of all nations, ready to em- 
 brace any side for hire, they gare rise to that cause 
 of complaint alledged against them in the text, that 
 they came with horses and arms to the molestation of 
 the kingdom. The name by which they are occasionally 
 desioned in the barbarous Latin of their time is Ruptarii, 
 Breakers ; but they are also called Brabanjons, Provenf ales, 
 Coterelli, and Flemings, from their countries ; or Router or 
 Ryter, from the German Ritter, a horseman or knig-ht. One 
 of the principal causes, however, of these forces being added 
 to the national army, was when the Sovereign had any dis- 
 pute with his Barons; but so early as IVIay the 27th, 1202, 
 King John wrote to the Knights of Flanders, Hainault, and 
 Brabant, to come into his service ready with horses, arms, 
 and armour, that they might possess an honourable rank in 
 his troops, promising' them rewards both in lands and money 
 according to their service. Rymer's Fwrfera, edit. 1816, 
 Vol. I. Part i. page 86. Sometimes, however, there was an 
 agreement made with a foreign leader who was to furnish 
 certain forces for a stipulated sum ; as in the covenant 
 between Henry I. and Robert, Earl of Flanders, on May the 
 17th, 1101, the former was to pay 400 marks of silver yearly, 
 for which the latter was to provide 500 soldiers for the 
 King's service, either in England or Normandy, with three 
 horses for each. On November the 14th, 1308, Edward II. 
 issued an order to the Constable of Burgundy, to pay the 
 arrears due to several officers, particularly to Elias de Ponte 
 and William Alarde, for their stipends and those of their 
 followers. As the Cross-bow, or Hand-Arbalisfy is said to 
 have been introduced into France by the first Crusaders, and 
 to have been used early in the reign of Louis le Gros, which 
 began in 1108, it may probably account for the Balistariiy 
 or Cross-bowmen, being foreigners; and on April the 2nd, 
 1322, the Seneschal of Gascony was directed to raise 200 
 Cross-bowmen, and 200 Lancemen, both foot, and to brino- 
 them to Newcastle upon Tyne, that they might be ready to 
 march against the Scots in the following October. Fcedera 
 Vol. I. Part i. page 6. Vol. TL Part ii. pages 61, 482. 
 Mil'd. Antiquities, Vol. I. pages 58, 148. Such then was the 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 entertainment of foreig-n soldiers in the English army; and 
 with regard to the dismission of those employed hy King John, 
 it appears that even some time previously to the conclusion 
 of the Magna Charta he had dismissed all the foreign merce- 
 naries who were in his troops hy the adviceof the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, as he relates in a letter to the Pope, containing 
 an account of the conduct of his Barons. Blackst, Introd. 
 page xii. Towards the end of the convention on Runne- 
 mede, however, John issued the following writ, previously to 
 his retiring to Odiham,in Hampshire. "The King to Hugh 
 de Bova" — a French exile and one ofhis foreign Captains— 
 *' GreetingjWe command you, by that 6delity which ye have 
 held to us, not to retain any of the foreign Knights or 
 servants which were at Dover j but to make them depart 
 without delay to their own country. In testimony of which 
 thing, Witness myself at Runimede, Tuesday, the 23rd day 
 of June, in the xviith year of our reign." 1215. Blackst. 
 Introd. page xxiv. In the new disputes, which as it is stated 
 in the preceding Essay, pages 32-34, followed even the actual 
 grant of Magna Charta, King John retired to the Isle of 
 Wight and afterwards to Dover, where he met the messengers 
 whom he had despatched beyond sea to collect a large body of 
 troops from Poictou, Brabant, and Flanders. To this army 
 and to the King himself, Matthew Paris attributes the most 
 inhuman cruelties, almost equalling those inflicted upon the 
 Martyrs; and he calls them "the Soldiers of Satim," — "Men 
 of Belial," and "the Ministers of the Devil.'* So great, 
 however, were the advantages which these forces enabled 
 John to gain over his Barons, that they had recourse to the 
 desperateexpedient of inviting aforeignPrince into England; 
 — vide the preceding Essay, page 37, — and in the middle of 
 their successful civil war their Sovereign died suddenly. 
 Blackstone's Introd. page xxvi. Brady's Hist, of England^ 
 pages 503, 505. 
 
 The 52nd Chapter of King John's Great Charter, pro- 
 vides for the restoration of any possessions which had been 
 unjustly seized on during his dispute with the Barons; 
 though at the same time it has a retrospective effect by re- 
 ferriug to such as were seized in the reigns of Henry II. and 
 
NOTES OM THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Richard I., then remaining- in the King;'s hands. Th 
 demand, however, appears to have been already, in some 
 deg^reCj complied with ; for about February or March 1214, 
 John assumed the cross as a protection, and the present clause 
 refers to some estates concerning- which pleas had before 
 been moved and inquisitions previously taken. The text 
 observes that all others were to be respited for the usual 
 term of the Crusaders, by which was signified the space of 
 three years, allowed to all who took the cross, during- which 
 time their debtsbore no interest, even from the day on which 
 they joined the Crusade; nor could a crossed debtor be 
 cited before any court, until his return from beyond the 
 seas. On account of these privileg-es, and from their sus- 
 picions that King- John had assumed the Cross only to secure 
 himself and his possessions, the Barons probably inserted 
 that peculiar clause in the text, providing that if he did not 
 go upon the Crusade, he would immediately grant them 
 their petitions. The same method of restoring such lands, 
 &c. as had been seized by King John, appears to have been 
 put into practice upon former occasions of a similar nature. 
 In 1208, he seized upon the temporalities of all those 
 Ecclesiastics who published or complied with the Interdict 
 of Pope Innocent III. ; and forced many of them to quit the 
 kingdom. In 1213, as it has already been related in pao-e 
 10, of the preceding Essay, they were recalled, and the day 
 following his absolution, he sent, says Dr. Brady, in his 
 History of England, Vol. II. page 487, his precepts to all the 
 Sheriffs of England, that they should cause to meet at St. 
 Alhans, on the 4th of August, four lawful men, with the 
 Steward of every town, which they kept in their own hands, 
 that enquiry might be made of what damage the Bishops 
 had sustained, what had been taken from Ihein, and what 
 was due to them. Of the former seizures referred to by this 
 Chapter, there occurred several instances iu the unquiet 
 days of King Henry II.; and in the year 1170, he sent 
 certain itinerant Barons to travel through England and 
 to enquire what the Sheriffs and Bailifi's had taken of his 
 subjects during his excursion to Normandy : for what 
 forfeitures and possessions had been seized, and whether 
 
^^f^ 
 
 NOTES OM THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 with or without judgmeot. But by this inquisition, says 
 Benedict the Abbot, who gives an account of it — the nation 
 received much damage; for the King restored the Sheriffs 
 to their places, and they used greater extortion than before. 
 As King Henry II. is known to have been of a covetous 
 disposition, to avoid the frequent taxation of his subjects, 
 he was accustomed to retain the vacant Archbishoprics 
 and Abbies in his own possession, which procured him 
 the dislike of the Clergy. During the civil commotions too, 
 which took place between the King and his Sons, many 
 possessions were seized upon, and several castles were 
 destroyed. Early in the reign of Richard I. when he was 
 preparing to go upon the Crusade in 1189, he sold many of 
 the Crown-lands, Manors, Castles, &c. to furnish supplies 
 for liis expedition J but after his return in 1194, he dis- 
 seised Godfrey, Bishop of Winchester, of two manors and 
 the Castle and County of Southampton, which he had for- 
 merly bought of him. He also demanded back the other 
 Crown-lands from their various possessors, asserting that 
 they had been mortgaged only and not sold: and Hugh, 
 Bishop of Durham, was obliged to surrender the Castle 
 and County of Northumberland, by the King's order to 
 Hugh Bardolf. In the September of the same year, how- 
 ever, Richard sent his Justices Itinerant through all the 
 English Counties, to enquire, by the inquest of twelve men 
 belonging to each, concerning all offences which had been 
 committed against him, of forfeitures and escheats, and of 
 the lauds of Wards, to whom they were let out to farm and at 
 what value; the articles of which, were nearly similar to the 
 Chapters on Ward-lands in King John's Magna Charta. 
 Tyrrell's Bist. of England^ Vol. II. Part i. For the illus- 
 tration of Chapter LIII. Vide page 237. 
 
 Chapter LIV. pages 89, 115, 128, 141, 155. 
 The present statute, which was retained in its original 
 form throughout all the preceding instruments, was in- 
 tended to provide a remedy for the old Common Law, by 
 which a woman, as well as a man, might have an Appeal of 
 Death for any of her ancestors. An Appeal, in the sense in 
 which it is here used, does not imply a complaint to any 
 
 f'^z^.^ 
 
i?^ 
 
 m* 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 '^\ 
 % 
 
 higher Court for injustice done by an inferior, but signifies 
 an accusation, from the Law Latin AppeUuirtj a call; and/ 
 'denotes an orig-inal suit at the time of its first commence- 
 nent, or a cbarg-e by one private subject ag-ainst another, 
 on account of some considerable crime, demanding^ for it - 
 &^p^^ a penalty, rather because of bis own peculiar damage, than 
 for an offence against the public. The particular species of 
 action indicated in this Chapter, is called an Appeal of Death, 
 which is of two kinds, murder, properly so named, and 
 manslaug'bter ; these being" the only crimes for which an 
 Appeal can be brought for a relation, all others referring- to 
 the parties themselves. The Appeal of Death, however, can- 
 not be broug-ht by every relation, but only by a widow for 
 the death of her husband ; and by the heir male for that of 
 his mother or ancestor, which heirship was extended, by an 
 ordinance of Kiog Henry I. to the four nearest deg^rees of 
 blood. The Writ of Appeal is a natural consequence an- 
 nexed to the widowhood of a woman like her quarentine, 
 and is allowed her on account of the loss of her husband; 
 if therefore, she marry before, or during, her Appeal, it is 
 entirely lost; and if after judg-ment, he cannot demand 
 execution. Nor can she have execution unless she per- 
 sonally pray it; an instance being on record in which a 
 Judge visited a pregnant woman, to know if she would have 
 execution, and on her desiring it the Appellee was hanged. 
 With respect to the Appeal of an heir, it is essential that 
 he be an heir male in the ordinary course of Common Law 
 at the time of his ancestor's death : but even to this rule 
 there are tliree exceptions. If the deceased leave an in- 
 nocent widow, she only, and not the heir, shall have the 
 Appeal; if there be no widow, and the heir be accused of 
 the murder, then the next heir-male shall bring the Appeal ; 
 and if the wife kill the husband, the heir may Appeal her 
 of his death. The principal value of Appeals of Murder can 
 hardly be estimated at the present day; though anciently 
 there were reasons for thus prosecuting offences rather than 
 by indictment. Blackstone and Barrington suppose, that 
 they had their origin in those times when a pecuniary satisfac- 
 tion was paid for the expiation of great crimes ; and Princes 
 

 ^r^ 
 
 A 
 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 were accustomed to pardon even murder, considering- it as 
 homicide— for a certain sum entitled a Weregildy to be paid 
 to the nearest relation. This custom was derived from the 
 Northern nations j and the Saxon laws contain the several 
 Wereg-ilds established for homicide, from the death of a 
 peasant to that of the Kin^ himself. That of the former 
 amounted to 266 thrysmas, and the latter to 30,000; each 
 thrysma bein^ about the value of a modern shilling-. The 
 Weregild of a subject was paid entirely to the relatives of 
 the deceased, whilst that of the King- was equally divided 
 between the public and the Royal family. Eveu the laws of 
 Henry I. contain an account of such offences as were, or 
 were not, redeemable by Weregilds j and Blackstone sup- 
 poses, that as they fell into disuse, the private process which 
 was used to secure their payment, was still continued to 
 ensure satisfactionfrom the offender, whence Appeals might 
 have had their origin. An acquittal in the case of an Ap- 
 peal, protected the party from being- afterwards indicted for 
 the same offence; and it was provided by the Statute of 
 Westminster, Chap. XII., that in such a case, the Appellor 
 or prosecutor should suffer a year's imprisonment, pay a 
 fine to the King-, and make restitution to the defendant for 
 his imprisonment and infamy: which provision was of con- 
 siderable effect in discourag-ing the common use of Appeals. 
 If, on the contrary, the Appellee were found guilty, he 
 suffered the same judgment as if he had been convicted by 
 indictment; the King having no power to pardon him, any 
 more than he had to remit the payment of the Weregild. 
 A concurrence of all parties, however, might produce a re- 
 mission of punishment, since the intent of an Appeal was to 
 compel the defendant to make a pecuniary recompense; 
 "And," adds Sir William Blackstone, "the antient usage 
 was, so late as Henry the Fourth's time, that all the relations 
 of the slain should drag the Appellee to the place of exe- 
 cution;'' a custom derived from the same barbarous nations 
 as first introduced the law itself. An Appeal of Death must 
 be brought within a year and a day after the murder, and 
 the count must set forth the fact, the length and depth of 
 the wound, the weapon with which it was effected, and the 
 
ye'\r, day, place, and hour of its commission. The Lord 
 Ch ei Justice Holt has called this right of Appeal, '*aniost 
 noble birthright of an Englishman, " because it is one, of 
 ■which It has been shewn that the Crown cannot deprive him. 
 One of the consequences of an Appeal of Death or Treason, 
 w is the Trial by Battel, duel, or sing-le combat, a Norman 
 custom Introduced into England by William I. ; but a spe- 
 cies of vindictive justice, which was common to almost ail 
 nations, and a presumptuous call upon Providence to give 
 the victory to the right party. In the Trial by Battel which 
 followed an Appeal, the parties were obliged tofiglit in their 
 own persons, excepting the Appellant or prosectitor were a 
 woman, a priest, an infant, one of the ag-e of 60, or lame or 
 blind, in which cases they might counterplead the Battel, 
 and compel the defendant to put himself upon Trial by his 
 Country. It was perhaps from this cause of the Appellee 
 losing his right of defending himself by combat, when a 
 woman prosecuted an Appeal, that Bracton says her Appeal 
 is confined to the death of her husband murdered within her 
 arms, if she could declare it from having seen it. The 
 Trial by Battel remained in force long after it had fallen 
 into disuse: and one of the last times It was awarded in 
 England was in 1631, the 7th of Charles I., in the case of 
 Lord Rae and Mr. Ramsay, *'The King," says Christian, 
 in his Notes to Sir William Blackstoiie's Commentaries^ Vol. 
 IV". page 348, "by his commission appointed a Constable 
 of England to preside at the Trial, who proclaimed a day 
 for the duel, on which the combatants were to appear with 
 a spear, a long sword, a short sword, and a dagger: but 
 the combat was prorogued to a further day, before which 
 the King revoked the commission." Rushworth's Historical 
 Colhctions^ Vol. II. paije 112. Another of these Trials oc- 
 curred in the County Palatine of Durham, in 1638 ■ but the 
 most eminent of latter times was that ht;ld in Totblll Fields 
 Westminster, in 1571, the 13th of Elizabeth, and even of 
 that, Sir Henry Spelman remarks, that it was " not without 
 great consultation and disputation of the right." On No- 
 vember the 17th 1817, a Writ of Appeal was tried in the 
 Court of King's Bench, against Abraham Thornton for the 
 
 
 ^, 
 

 ^^^ 
 
 -^^ 
 
 I NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 supposed i-app and irnirder of Mary Asliford • ^vhen he de-. 
 manded a Trial by B;ittel fig-ainst the Appellant, Mr. Ash- 
 ford, the brother of the deceased. After time bad Ijcen^ 
 g'iven for due consideration of the novel circumstances of 
 the case, the Appellant represented by bis counsel tlmt he 
 did not feel justified iu accepting; the cballenge^ and tbe 
 defendant was discharged without bail ou Monday, April 
 tbe 20th 1818. The particular forms of Appeals for Mur- 
 der, &-C. and Trials by Battel, will be found in Sir William 
 Blackstone's Commentaries, Vol. IV. pag;e 314, — III. p. 337, 
 — IV. pag;es 346, 418, 421, 424 ; and with respect to tbe 
 last instance, vide an interesting- work, entitled, ** An Ar- 
 gument for constrning largely the right of an Apeltee of Murder^ 
 to insist on Trial by Battle; and also for abolishing Appeals.'''' 
 By E. A.Kendall, Esq. Lond. 1818, Second Edition, Octavo. 
 See also tbe Gentkmans Magazine, Vol. LXXXVII. part ii, 
 pag-e 464. LXXXVllI. part i. pag-es 172, 365. This an- 
 cient frag-ment of tbe Common Law, was taken away by a 
 Statute of the 59tb of Georg-e III.— 1819, June 22nd.— 
 Chap. xlvi. entitled " An Act to abolish Appeals of Murder, 
 Treason, Felony, or other offences, and Wag-er of Battel, or 
 joining- issue, and Trial by Battel, iu Writs of Rig-bt." 
 Statutes of the United Kingdom, Vol. VII. page 723. 
 
 Immediately following- this Chapter concerning- Ap- 
 peals, in tbe Second Great Charter of King; Henry III., 
 another was first inserted for regulating- tbe County Courts 
 held by the Sherifis, vide pages 128, 141,155; and its 
 g-eneral intention was to prevent thent from interfering- in 
 those which belong-ed of right to tbe estates of the Barons. 
 The whole Chapter, as it is observed by Lord Coke, is but 
 a declaration of tbe ancient Common Law and custom of 
 the Realm; for County Courts were first founded by King- 
 Alfred, when he re-modelled tbe Legislature of Eng-land, 
 and in tbe time of King- Edward tbe Elder, who died about 
 the year 925, they were held monthly according- to the 
 present ordinance of the Great Charter. Tbe original 
 County Court of the Saxons, however, assembled twice in 
 the year, or, if there were occasion, more frequently ; and 
 it was called tbe Sliire-gemote, or Folemote, signifying the 
 
V/J — ^''^'c^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 meeting- of the Shire or of the people. In it presided the 
 Bishop of the Diocess and the Earl of the County^ but in 
 the absence of the Earl, the Hi^h-Sberiff or Viscount sup- 
 plied his place. The County Court was only inferior to the 
 King^'s Court in power, being- above the Tything- Court, the 
 Hundred Court, and the Trything- Court, from all of which 
 Appeals might be made to the present, and in it were 
 first tried Ecclesiastical causes 5 secondly, such as related 
 to the King-; and tliirdly, those which concerned private 
 persons. In the reign of William I. the King's Court was 
 separated into several divisions, as it has already been re- 
 lated on pag'e 197; and when that Sovereign parted the 
 Civil and Ecclesiastical jurisdictions, he dispensed with the 
 Bishops sitting' in the County Courts, and granted them the 
 privileg-e of holding- Courts of their own, for the determin- 
 ation of Ecclesiastical matters. In 1267 too, the 52nd of 
 Henry III., the Statute of Marlebridg-e, Chapter x. declared 
 that it was not essential for either the Barons or the Clerg-y 
 to attend the Sheriffs Toura; and when they became thus 
 independent, the Earls wholly neglected them, and their 
 dignity was considerably diminished ; Pleas of the Crown 
 were ordained to be held only by the King-, or by his special 
 authority; and the County Court is now intended for the 
 trial of litde causes, not exceeding- the value of 40*. to be 
 held every month or oftener by the Sherift'. By virtue of a 
 special writ, however, entitled a Justicics^ the County Court 
 may hold pleas of many real actions, and of all personal ones 
 to any amount; since this writ empowers the Sheriff fortlie 
 sakeof dispatch, to do thesame justice in his Court, as might 
 otherwise be had at AVestminster. The real judges in this 
 Court are the freeholders of the County, and the Sheriff is 
 the ministerial officer. The great concourse of freeholders 
 supposed to attend at it, is the leason that all Acts of Par- 
 liament were used to be read there by the Sheriff at the end 
 of every Session : why all outlawries of absconding- of- 
 fenders are there proclaimed : and why all popular elections 
 which the freeholders are to niako,^as formerly of Sheriffs 
 and Conservators of the Peace, and still of Coroners, Ver- 
 derors, and Knights of the Shire, — must ever be made iu full 
 
 kM- 
 
 \^ 254 
 
 \ri 
 
 
 -k^. 
 

 W^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 County Court. Having- explained the nature of this as- 
 sembly, it is next to be observed that the present Chap- 
 ter of the Mag-na Charta, first provides that it shall be 
 held monthly, accordinof to the ancient Saxon custom ; 
 but the clause following-, stating- that where a long'er terra 
 had been customary, a longer term should still be usedjWas 
 altered in 1548, the 2nd year of Edward VI. Chap, xxy, 
 which made the holding- of County Courts uniform through- 
 out England, 28 days being- accounted for every month. 
 The rcg-ulation of the times for holding the Sheriff's Tourriy 
 is also a restoration of the old Common Law ; " forasmuch," 
 says Lord Coke, "as the Bishop with the Sheriffe did goe 
 in Circuit twice every yeare, by every Hundred within the 
 County, — it was called Tour, or Tourn, which signitieth a 
 circuit or perambulation." The original establishment of 
 this Court of Record, is also attributed to King Alfred, and 
 it is actually no other than the turn^ or rotation of the 
 Sheriff, keeping a Court Leet in every Hundred of the 
 County. It may therefore be considered as the principal 
 County Court Leet, being held twice every year, within a 
 month after the Feasts of Easier and St. Michael : and if it 
 were held in any other than the accustomed place, manner, 
 and time, the Sheriff lost his Turn for that season and the 
 profits of the Court, whilst the proceedings of the Court 
 itself were entirely void. The power and advantages which 
 were derived by the Sheriff, from the holding of his Courts 
 in general, were the causes of their being held more fre- 
 quently than they were entitled to be, to the great incon- 
 venience and even vexation of the tenants; and hence this 
 restraining- Statute which confines them within the ancient 
 and legal bounds. The new Chapter contained in the 
 Second Great Charter of Henry III., next proceeds to de- 
 clare the manner in which the View of Frankpledge should 
 be taken by the Sheriff, which consisted of a Court of Re- 
 cord formed out of that lastmentioned,and was the Court Leet 
 for a particular Hundred, Lordship, and Manor, held once 
 in the year only, before the Steward of the Leet, being the 
 King's Court granted by Charter lo the Lords of those Hun- 
 dreds or Manors. The Court Leet was originally divided 
 
i8^' 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 from the Sheriff's Tourn by thp King, that the tenants of 
 particular Manors might have their complaints heard and 
 speedily redressed hy their own Lords, without either 
 ill' the expense or the delay of the Tourn ; for which privilege, 
 however, Lord Coke ohserves, that a duty was paid to the 
 Lord towards the charge of procuring the grant. The^woid 
 Leety is supposed to have heen derived from the Saxon Leodj 
 the people, of whom it signifies a general meeting or Folk- 
 mote, as the Sheriff's Tourn was anciently called. As this 
 assembly is open to all the tenants of a manor, it was usually 
 held in the open air; and Spelman considers it in contra- 
 distinction to the Hall-mote, or Court Baron, which consisted 
 of the Free Tenants only and met in the Lord's hall. The word 
 Leet also signifies a Law-day, in several of the ancient 
 English statutes 3 but the Court Leet as well as the Sheriff's 
 Tourn has long been declining, the affairs connected with 
 them having gradually devolved upon the Quarter Sessions. 
 The View of Frankpledge, which is likewise mentioned and 
 regulated in this Chapter of the Great Charter, relates to 
 the view or examination of the free-pledges, of which, every 
 man not particularly privileged was anciently obliged to 
 provide nine, or be sent to prison, as well for security of his 
 truth to the King, as that they should be bound for his con- 
 tinual appearance to answer any complaint. This custom 
 was derived from the Lombards, and it affected every free- 
 born person beyond the age of fourteen, religious persons 
 excepted, whence the securities were called Frank-pledges, 
 or sureties for the faith of freemen. When King Alfred 
 regulated the divisions of the kingdom, of which some par- 
 ticulars have already been g-iven on page 207, each County 
 was divided into Hundreds, containing ten towns, and each 
 of these was again separated into ten families of freeholders 
 called a Tt/thiiig, the heads of which reciprocally became 
 bound and responsible for each other; so that of every ten 
 householders throughout the kingdom, each individual had 
 nine pledges or sureties for his good conduct. Upon this 
 this account, therefore, no person was anciently suffered to 
 remain in England more than 40 days, unless he were en- 
 rolled in some Tything; and for this purpose, the Sheriffs 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 used at every County Court to take the Oaths of Alleg-iance, 
 fiom young persons as they reached the age of fourteen, and 
 to see that they were entered in one or other of these So- 
 cietie<i, whence the expressioQ View of Frank-pledge, In 
 the c\ent of any transgression, it was first ascertained in 
 what pledge the offender was, and then those of that pledg-e 
 either produced him within 31 days, or satisfied for his of- 
 fence. One of the principal inhahitants of the Tything- was 
 called the Headborough, or Tything-man, who was annually 
 appointed to preside over the rest; he was also in some 
 places denominated the Borsholder, or Borough^s-Ealder, 
 heing- supposed the discreetest person in the whole division. 
 From these Tything-s of Frank-pledg-es is imagined to have 
 heen deduced another Saxon institution of Guild Companies, 
 which is derived from the word Guildaii to pay, inasmuch as 
 every person was obliged to pay somewhat towards the sup- 
 port of his company; which common fund was for the pur- 
 pose of making a compensation, when an offence was com- 
 mitted by a Brother of the Guild. This also was the origin 
 of modern Trading Companies; but as Sir William Blackstone 
 observes, tbe great and genei'al security of the Tything 
 having fallen into disuse, it was succeeded hy the method 
 of causing suspected persons to find particular and special 
 securities; a custom mentioned so early as in the Laws of 
 Edward the Confessor. For the proper keeping of this 
 View of Frank-pledge, the present Chapter of the Great 
 Charter makes several important provisions. It was firstly, 
 to be that " the King's peace might be kept, and the Tything 
 might be wholly kept as it was accustomed to he;" and Lord 
 Coke observes, that by the due execution of this law, the 
 realm was preserved in such entire concord, that "no injuries, 
 homicides, robberies, thefts, riots, tumults, or otlier offences 
 were committed ; so as a man with a white wand might safely 
 have ridden hefore the Conquest, with much money about 
 him, without any weapon throughout England.'' Keeping 
 the Tything, the same authority interprets to signify the 
 ascertaining, that no person above the proper age was 
 omitted to be enrolled in some pledge or other. It was also 
 provided here, as well as in the former clause of the pre- 
 

 ent Chapter, that the SheriiF hold his Courts ^'withoutii 
 seeking- occasions," which was a restoration of the Coinmonii 
 L^\A , that no Sheriff, Coroner, Goaler, or other of the King 
 ministers, should take occasion to demand any reward foru. 
 doing of his office hut of the King- only; or else they 
 were to restore twice as imich, and he farther punished at 
 the King's pleasure. See tlie iSVr/iu/e? at iarj/e. Vol. I.pag-e 
 56. Third of Ednard I. 1275, Chapter xxvi. <' But," con- 
 tinues Lord Coke, "after that this rule of the Common 
 Law was altered, and that the Sherife, Coroner, Goaler, 
 and other of the Kino-''s ministers might in some cases 
 take of the suhject, it is not credihle what extortions and 
 oppressions have thereupon ensued." And it is lastly 
 farther to he observed, that the Chapter states that the 
 SheriiF "be content with so much as he was wont to have 
 for his view-making- in the time of Henry II.:" by which 
 is signified the profit arising' from the Conrt of Tourn. The 
 reason and force of the peculiar references to the reig^n of 
 Henry II. in this Chapter, have been already noticed and 
 explained on page 203. 
 
 In the Second Great Charter of King- Henry III. vide 
 pag-e 129, appears a new Chapter, the general features of 
 which, greatly resemble the 39th division of the same in- 
 strument on page 128, already explained on page 236. 
 The Hon. Daines Barrington in his Observations on the A71- 
 cient Statutes y page 29, states that the device of giving lands 
 to a Monastery and afterward resuming them again by tacit 
 consent, was intended to defraud the secular lord of his 
 suits and services; for which the Religious House had 
 doubtless a proper consideration. There was also the chance 
 of succeeding to the estate in ease of defect of heirs, which 
 anciently was not an uncommon occurrence ; for the owner 
 had not power to make a will but by custom, and even when 
 he was empowered, there was considerable difficulty in 
 finding any person who could reduce it to writing. The loss 
 arising from the bestowing of lands upon Monasteries, &i.c. 
 was two-fohl : firstly, the services due from such estates, ori- 
 ginally created for the defence of the realm, were unlawfully 
 with-drawn ; and secondly, the chief lords were defrauded 
 
 h?f^ 
 
 \v> 
 
 t^--4^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTEUS 
 
 f their viglits to esch 
 '&c. for which cause 
 of feofl'nient had a clause statin 
 
 cheats or reversions, wardships, relicls,^y -^ 
 
 ie, says Lord Coke, many ancient decJs - ~ 
 
 clause stating-, that it should be lawful >.ji- 
 
 to give or sell the lands to any, exceptlnjf Religioi 
 
 |K-rsoQs and Jews. The former of these exceptions, hov 
 
 ever, discovered several means of evading this Statute. —. 
 the huying of lands holden of themselves, the taking of 
 leases for "very extended terms, as 1000 years or more, and 
 several classes of Ecclesiastics conceived themselves to have 
 no interest in the meaning of the Statute. These deceptions 
 gave rise to the Statute of Mortmain, which was passed in 
 1279, the 7th of Edward I., by which it was ordained that 
 gifts, alienations, &c. reverting to Religious persons by any 
 art or contrivance, should be forfeited. To avoid the ex- 
 pression of the Statute, says Lord Coke, they next pretended 
 a title to the land, commenced an action, and procured a 
 writ that the tenant should surrender, he having by collusion 
 made default, whereupon they recovered the estate; en- 
 tered by judgment of law ; and so committed fraud by Sta- 
 tute. When this new deception was discovered, it was 
 taken away by the Statute of Westminster the Second, made 
 in 128.J, the 13th of Edward I. Chapter xxxii.; which 
 ordained that enquiry should be made into the title of the 
 demandant, and if it could not be proved, the estate should 
 revert to the true Lord. But even then, when all posses- 
 sion of lands by gift, lease, buying, or recovery was pre- 
 vented, they were conveyed by feofl'ment, or otherwise, 
 to various persons, for the use of certain Ecclesiastics 
 and their successors, by which they received the profits. 
 This, however, was declared to be within the Statute of 
 Mortmain, by an Act passed in 1391, the 13th of Richard 
 I. Such were the foundation and general progression of 
 all Statutes of Mortmain, which derive their name from the 
 French words ilort, dead, and Main, a hand ; since estates, 
 &c. granted for pious purposes, were as it were in a dead 
 hand as to their profits. Sec. and could never revert to the 
 donor, nor to any common or temporal uses. Sir William 
 Blackstone, however, supposes the most probable derivation 
 of the term Mortmain to be, that the members of EcclCsj. 
 
 W^*^---^. 
 
^^. 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 astical bodies, — by which estates were usually bought, were 
 prufpssed to God, and considered as dead persons in law ; 
 and therefore lands boldcn by such, might with great pro- 
 priety be said to be held hi morlua manu. The insertion 
 of the present Chapter of Magna Charta, and the enactmont 
 of the various Statutes whicb restrained the establisliment 
 of Mortmains, were little more than a restoration of the 
 Common Law, as it existed In the time of the Saxons, about 
 60 years before the reign of William I.j at which period, it 
 was essential to procure a license from tbe King and the 
 intermediate Lord, before estates could be alienated to any 
 cominunity by which tlie rents, services, Sec. should be en- 
 tirely lost. And if no such license were obtained, the King, 
 or other Lord, might enter upon the lands so alienated in 
 Mortmain as a forfeiture. It is related by Speed, that Wil- 
 liam I. demanding tlie cause why he gained the realm by 
 one battle, which the Danes could not do by many ; Frederic, 
 Abbot of St. Alhans, replied, " because the land whicb was 
 for the maintenance of military men, was given to Religious 
 persons for the support of holy votaries." To this, William 
 answered, " that he would assist the kingdom, if, through 
 the strength of the Clergy, it were weak, unprovided of 
 soldiers, and subject to foreign invasion :" and he therefore 
 took away many of the revenues of the Abbot, and of others 
 also. Within two centuries after this period, however, the 
 largest and most considerable endowments of Religious 
 Houses happened ^ and the several schemes already noticed 
 for avoiding the various Statutes of Mortmain Mere resorted 
 to. After the Dissolution of Religious Houses by Henry 
 VIIL, the Statutes of Moj-tmaln remained suspended for 20 
 years, by Stat, of the Ist of Philip and Mary, Chapter viii.; 
 during which time, lands, or tenements, were allowed lobe 
 granted to any Spiritual Corporation, without any license 
 whatsoever. An extended history of the Law of Mortmain, 
 with the privileges respecting it annexed to various com- 
 munities, and the Statutes relating to it, will be found in 
 Lord Coke's Instiiutesj Vol. I. Book i. Sect. i. page 2*^ ; 
 Sir \V. Bluokstone's Commentaries y Vol. I. Book ii. page 
 2fi8-, Jacob'^s and Totnlins' Law Dictionary; and in The 
 Statutes at Larye, Vol. L page 9. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Another new Chnptcr, first inserted in the Second 
 Great Cii;irter of Kino- Henry IIT., vide page 129, related 
 to the manner of taking- Eseuag-e- though, as in other in- 
 stances, it only restored the ancient custom used in the 
 reign of King Henry II. The ^vliole of this new Chapter, 
 however, may he viewed as an improvement of tlie ancient 
 law on Sontage, contained in the I2th Section of the Mar.na 
 Charta of John, vide pages 55, 73 ; wiiich was reserved for 
 consideration in the First Charter of Henry III ., vide page 
 116, and iuseited in liie present form in all the suhsequent 
 instruments. The word Escuage, says Littleton, in his 
 Tenures, Book ii. Chapter iii. Section 95, is called in Latin 
 Scutagium^ and signifies the Service of the Siiield; a spe- 
 cies of Kniglit's Service, though not incident to every 
 Knight's fee. Several particulars concerning it, have 
 already been given in the Notes on Chapter XII. pages 179, 
 180, and the reference to the time of King Henry II. has 
 been explained in a former Note on page 203. Scutage, as 
 well as evei'y other species of Feudal aid, was taken away 
 by the Statute passed in the 12th year of Charles II. Chap, 
 xxiv. Section 4. 
 
 Chapters LV, LVI, LVII, LVIII, LIX. 
 Pages 55, 58, 89, 91, 93. 
 
 The whole of these Sections are to he found only in the 
 Great Charier of King John, and the Articles which pre- 
 ceded it -J and like some other sections of those instruments 
 are connected more with the historical events of the times, 
 than with any restoration of the ancient laws and liberties 
 of England. 
 
 The contents of Chapter LV. of King John's Magna 
 Charta, very much resemble the privileges restored by 
 Chapters XX-XXII. of the same instrument, vide pages 75- 
 77, the intent of which has been explained on pages 200- 
 202, of tlie present annotations. Some difference, however, 
 exists between them j since the former were inserted for 
 the regulation of ordinary and legal amerciaments, \\hilst 
 the latter referred only to unjust fines and amerciaments, 
 contrary to the law of the land, meaning particularly those 
 which had been imposed in coasequeuce of the discords 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 between the Kin^ and bis Barons. Dr. Branly and Tyrrell, 
 in their account of the taxes, &e. levied by King John, 
 mention several amerciaments, both of his Bai'ons and Ec- 
 clesiastics, imposed as penalties either for their qnitting' 
 him, or not assisting- him during- liis wars in France and 
 other places. Vide Dr, Brady's CoinpL Hist, of Engl. Vol. 
 ii. pag-e .520 ; Tyrrell's Gm. Hist, of Engl. Vol II. Part ii. 
 pag-e 807. Some of these taxes were, however, granted to 
 him; but several others which were particularly remark- 
 able for their enormons amount, were exacted against the 
 consent of those by whom they were paid, according- to the 
 histories of Matthew Paris, and his Continuator Roger 
 Wendover. Thus, about December, 1^03, when the whole 
 of Normandy, excepting the City of Rouen, had revolted 
 from King- John, lie attributed the loss of it to the desertion 
 of his Barons J and consequently seized npon a seventh part 
 oftheir goods, by Geoffrey Fitz-Peter,his Chief Justiciary, 
 without having- had a Parliamentary grant of them. At the 
 same time too, Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 levied a similar tax upon the whole Clergy in the Con- 
 ventual and Parochial Churches. In 1205, when the Arch- 
 bishop and William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, dissuaded 
 the Ring- from going with his army into Poictou, he exacted 
 a considerable fine from the whole of his subjects, on the 
 ground that they would not follow him to assist in reco- 
 vering his French dominions. This was the second time he 
 had taken an aid against the consent of the nation; and 
 Matthew Paris terms it ** infinitam pecunianij^ an immense 
 sum of money. A third, also asserted to have been an illcg-al 
 one, was levied about February, 1207 ; and it amounted to 
 a thirtieth part of the g-oods of all his subjects both Clergy 
 and Laitj. The truth, however, appears to have been, that 
 although it was granted by the Common Council of the 
 king-dom then assembled at Oxford, yet it was taken against 
 the consent of the Ecclesiastics, wlio were privileg;ed not 
 to be taxed in such a manner ; and even the Barons had no 
 choice but to grant it. Vide Tyrrell's History, page 731; 
 where the fact is particularly examined : this aid was also 
 for the recovery of the English possessions in France. At 
 
$ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 the close of Kinn- John's vfuvs in Ireland, when he expected 
 an invasion of the Welsh, about September 1210, be 
 summoned all the Ecclesiastics and Relii^ioiis Orders of 
 England to meet bim at London * upon whom he levied 
 considerable fines, nbicli were reported to amount to 
 £100.000. The White, or Cisterian, Monks, alone, paid 
 £40.000 of silver additional ; and their Order became so 
 much reduced, that it was dispersed throughout all the other 
 Monasteries of Eng'land ; the King having- a particular 
 hatred to it, on account of the continual opposition made by 
 its members to the payment of his taxes. In 1211, King- 
 Joljn amerced a Soutag-e of two marks of silver upon every 
 Knight's Fee of such as had not attended him irito Wales; 
 and in 1214 he took three marks of those vacant Bishoprics, 
 Knig-ht's Fees, Winds, and Escheats, whicli did not furnish 
 assistance towards his expedition to Poictou. These, then, 
 were probably some similar *' unjust and illeg-al fines 
 and amerciaments," to those alluded to in the present 
 Chapter of the Great Charter- but as King- John's reign 
 temiinated so very soon after its conclusion, it is likely 
 that nothing- was effected beyond the remission of all 
 amerciaments then actually pending;. 
 
 The 56th, 57th, and 58th Chapters of King- John's 
 Great Charter, refer to his proceedincrs against the Welsh 
 during- the wars with that nation, which disturbed a con- 
 siderable portion of his reig-n ^ but the second clause has 
 also a retrospective power, in providing for the restitution 
 of unlawful forfeitures made under Henry II. and Richard I. 
 In 1157, the Welsh having made several incursions into 
 England, the former of these Sovereigns raised a considerable- 
 army, and at leng-th overcame them ; made open ways into 
 Wales through the woods, had the chief places of strength 
 delivered up to him, and received homage of all the Welsh 
 nobility. During his absence, however, in France, in 116.5, 
 tlieir invasions of the King's possessions were renewed, 
 though after an arduous campaign, Henry and his army 
 returned to England without gaining any advantage against 
 them, and with considerable lossj which he revenged upon 
 their hostages by castration and the putting out of their 
 
 
 f'^ 
 
i<rv^(^-v"y-~'^'^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 I eyes. The seizures and forfeetures in Wales under Richard I.' 
 ^vere perhaps oriofinally produced by the conduct of Rliys ' 
 ^Fitzg-riffyn, Kin^ of South-Walesj who, in October 1189, 
 3being; conducted by Prince John into England, was so W 
 much displeased that Richard did not meet him as his ^ ' 
 father bad done, that he suddenly left Oxford and returned 
 into Wales, without so much as speaking- with the King-. 
 This contempt was followed by a Scutage throughout Wales 
 of lOs. upon every Knight's Fee. Perhaps, however, the 
 particular injuries referred to in the text, were those in 
 1198, levied partly to supply two expeditions into Wales 
 in that year. One of these was by Hubert, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, and Chief Justiciary, when he dispossessed the 
 Constables of the Castles of Hereford, Bridg-enorth, and 
 Ludlow; and put in others to keep them for the King's 
 use. The other expedition was by GeoflVey Fitz-Peter, for 
 the assistance of William de Brausc, an English Baron; 
 whom Gwenwynwyn, son of Cadwallan, had besieged in 
 Maud Castle, where upwards of 3000 Welshmen were de- 
 feated or slain. Aihled to these, Richard is also recorded 
 to have levied considerable sums by seizures, fines, composi- 
 tions, &c.in which the Welsh must have largely participated ; 
 and Ralph de Coggeshale reports of him, that none of bis 
 predecessors raised so much money upon the people as he 
 did within five years after his return to Engl-inr!, Brady''s 
 Hist, of Engh Vol. II. page 459. Of King John's conduct 
 towards the Welsh, some particulars will be found in other 
 places in this work. The text of King John's Great Charter 
 declares, that all these disputes shall he decided by a three- 
 fold law, peculiar to that place to which they might refer: 
 as the law of England, for English tenements; that of 
 Wales, for Welsh possessions ; and that of the Marches, for 
 those estates situate on the borders of the two countries. 
 The term Marches, is derived either from the German 
 word Marchy a mark, limit, or boundary, or from the old 
 French Marque ^ sitjnum ^ and it signifies the line of distinction 
 between two territories, considered as enemies countries, 
 whicb was anciently the case betwixt England, Wales, and 
 Scotland. The Welsh Marches are situate on the AVostern 
 
 ^,. 
 

 ^^^.^' 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 land Northern sides of Shropshire. Tliey were noverned by 
 Jcertain of the Nobility called Lords Marchers, or Mar- 
 quesses of the Marches of Wales, who possessed a kind o 
 ' Palatine authority in their I'espective territories; admi- 
 nistered justice to tlie inhabitants in their own courts; 
 and were gifted with several privileges and immunities, 
 particularly, under certain circumstances, with an exemp- 
 tion from the Royal Writ. The dignity of Lords Marchers 
 is supposed to have originated in the grants issued by the 
 Kings of England, that their Barons should possess such 
 estates in Wales as they could win from the Welshmen; 
 they having found the attempt of reducing the country by a 
 great army almost impracticable. At a later period, several 
 strong towers having been established on the frontiers of 
 Wales, for the protection of England, the lands in their 
 vicinity were subdued, and the Barons were permitted to 
 exercise such a government as would preserve them, hold- 
 ing them of the Kiitg in Chief, by Knight's service, and 
 thus by deg-rees introducing the English laws and tenures. 
 That the English, too, might be the more encouraged to 
 conquer Wales, they were made 'Barons of the places which 
 they acquired; and atone period they amounted to twenty- 
 one in number. Tiiey maintained a castle, with a force 
 sufficient to suppress any attack, for which cause the Eng- 
 lish towns were erected close to them, and were gifted 
 with considerable privileges ; there being about 143 
 castles in the country of Wales. The Council of Lords 
 Marchers also anciently held a Court, called the Court of 
 the Marches of Wales, where pleas of debts and damages, 
 not above the value of £50, were tried and determined ; 
 but any suits concerning their titles were to be pleaded by 
 the Common Law, in Westminster Hallj where, likewise, 
 fines on their possessions were levied, and on no others in 
 Wales. According to the Red Book of the Exchequer, the 
 Lords of the Marches claimed to provide silver spears for 
 supporting the Canopy of purple silk, used at the Coro- 
 nation of the Sovereigns of England ; but this pi'obably 
 soon fell into disuse. Their number continued to increase 
 until 1282, when Llewellyn, the last Prince of Wales, was 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 slain, and tlie title was given to the son of Edward I.; after 
 which, no more Lords Marchers were created, as the Welsh ' 
 in general submitted to the English Sovereig-ns. In 1354, 
 the 2Sth of Edward III., the Marches of Wales were an- 
 nexed to the Crown by Stat. I. sect. 2 5 and in 1535, 27th of 
 Henvy YIII. Chap. xxvi. Wales was united with Eng-land, 
 and the Laws of the Marches abolished. The Law of Wales 
 which is also mentioned in this part of tlie Great Charter, 
 refers to that code which was left to the ancient inhabitants, 
 with such parts of the country as were not taken from them. 
 It consisted of the Statutes drawn up by Howel Dha, King- 
 of South Wales, in 940, and his Conncil at "the White 
 House on the River Taf-'' which were formed of the ancient 
 laws and customs of the country, then fallen into decay, 
 amended and increased. An interesting- account of the 
 older laws and the formation of ibis code, may be seen in 
 Percy Endcrbie's " Cambria Triumphans^'''' Lond. 1661. Fol, 
 pages 33, 236. In 1284, the 12th of Edward I., however, 
 by the" Statute of Wales," the laws of this Principality were 
 reduced much nearer to the English standard; and their 
 peculiarities were still farther altered by subsequent Sta- 
 tutes, until the Union Act of Henry VIII. already cited, 
 entirely connected the Welsh with the Laws of England. 
 Coke's Fourth Institute, Chap, xlvii.-xlviii.: Blackstone's 
 Commentaries, Introd. Sect. 4.: Camden's Britannia, edit. 
 Gougb, Vol 11. page 395* : Pennant's Tour in Wales, Vol. 
 H. Appendix, No. ii. : iStatufes at Large : Jacob's and 
 Tomlins' Law Dictionary. 
 
 The 58th and 59th Chapters of this Charter rehite to 
 two events in the life of King John, and bis connection 
 with the Princes of Wales and Scotland. In 1211, the 
 Lords of the Welsh Marches made several heavy com- 
 plaints to John against Llewellyn the Great, Prince of 
 North Wales, concerning his ravages and incursions into 
 England, and the King assembling an army marched to- 
 wards the country, whence, however, he soon returned, with 
 considerable loss. In 1212 he entered Wales, and, as 
 many of the Welsh nobility were on bis party, Prince 
 Llewellyn, who bad married Joan, the King's natural 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 dang-Iitcv, sent her to him to make terms of peace, ^vliich^ 
 were afterwards confirmed between the Prince and the Kins 
 Ilostag-es were then given, and Llewellyn promised thcKino-^ 
 
 ^ towards his cbarg-es 20,000 head of cattle and 40 horses. 
 
 ■ The Patent iioU of the 16th of John, 1215, Membrane 
 records a warrant for the delivery of certain Welsh hos- 
 tages, probably some of those mentioned in the text, in the 
 following terms: — ** That the Hostages of LewcUyn should 
 be restored to !iis Messenger, at the entreaty of the King's 
 illegitimate daugliter, Tbe King; to Engelard de Cygony, 
 Greeting-, Know ye, that at tbe petition of onr daughter, 
 the wife of Llewellyn, we have restored to tbe same, Llew- 
 ellyn Kcuvret, Blenm' Tbeg-waret, and Merwyth, pledges 
 of the said Llewellyn. And therefore we command you, 
 that those certain securities be liberated to his messenger, 
 in conformity with these Letters Patent. Witness, myself, 
 at Munemouth, tbe 18th of December." Rymer's Fcederuy 
 Vol I. Part i. pn.g"e 126. There does not appear any farther 
 notice of the restitution of these hostages, or of the son of 
 Llewellyn, who was probably David, afterwards Prince of 
 South Wales. 
 
 John''s agreement with Alexander II. King of Scots, 
 which occupies tbe 59th Chapter, refers to the capture of 
 his father, William I., in 1173, a-t Alnwick, in Northum- 
 berland -J when be covenanted to restore all that be bad 
 taken from England, to do homag-e for bis crown, and give, 
 as security, the Castles of Roxburgh, Berwick, Sterling, and 
 Edinburgh. On November tbe 22nd 1200, the same King- 
 did homage to John at Lincoln, and then demanded of him 
 the restoration of tbe counties of Northumberland, Cum- 
 berland, and Westmoreland, with all their Appurtenances, 
 as his ancient right and inheritance j but as they came to 
 no agreement, William returned discontented into Scotland. 
 But though this claim remained unanswered until the 
 King's death, in December 1214, he had entered into such 
 a friendly compact with John, as to send his son Alexander 
 over to England, where he was knig-bted in 1212. In the 
 civil wars of tbe Barons, they invited Alexander to join 
 them, after tbe conclusion of Magna Chatta; and in 1216 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 he entererl England, where Norham Castle was surrendered 
 to him upon terms. As he marched farther into the country, 
 he took homage of the men of Northumberland, and the 
 Barons of Yorkshire fled to him for protection from John's 
 advancing- army, before which, however, he was at length 
 forced to retreat into his own king-dom. He afterwards 
 married Joanna, King John's eldest daughter, by his third 
 Queen, Isabella of Angouleme, at York, on June the 25th 
 1221. It will be o\.served that in the articles of Magna 
 Charta, pages 58, 59, the last two Chapters have the pro- 
 vision afterwards inserted in the text attached to them by a 
 brace. Its intent was, that none of the engagements which 
 the King had entered into should be broken by his resti- 
 tutions to the Princes of Scotland, or of Wales. 
 
 Chapter LX. Pages 59, 93, 115, 129, 142, 156. 
 The insertion of this clause of the Great Charter, by 
 which all the engagements and limitations between the 
 King and his Barons, &;c. are made binding on them towards 
 their own dependents — has been sometimes attributed to 
 John himself. "For," says Dr. Henry, in hh History of 
 Great Britairiy n^tev mentioning this probability, Book iii. 
 Chap. iii. Sect. 2, "though the great Barons were very de- 
 sirous to prevent the tyrannical exercise of the feudal au- 
 thority towards themselves; many of them were much in- 
 clined to exercise it in that manner towards their vassals, 
 and continued to do so after this Charter was granted. 
 This," he continues, '* both enconrag'ed our Kings to violate 
 all its limitations, and furnished them with a ready answer 
 to all the complaints of their Barons." Lord Coke, how. 
 ever, views this clause in a very different aspect, since he 
 says of itj "This is the chiefe felicity of a kingdome, when 
 good lawes are reciprocallj'^, of Prince and people — as is here 
 undertaken — duly observed." Dr.Lingard in his History of 
 England, Vol. H. Chap. xiv. page 257, seems to believe, 
 that as the great body of freemen was composed of the sub- 
 vassals of the immediate tenants of the crown, the clause 
 was inserted for them, because they had assisted in pro- 
 curing the Charter itself. On page 4 of the History of 
 South Britain, by Saumel Hcnshall, M. A. 1798, 4to. it is 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 asserted that John himself caused this passage to be in- 
 cluded in the Articles of the Great Charter; and it is ob- 
 served to be the only clause which aflects the whole body 
 of the people. 
 
 Dr. Lingard, in the same Chapter of his work above 
 cited, page 255, note 75, has also a singularly happy illus- 
 tration of an obscure passage iu the original Latin of the 
 Great Charter of King John, Chapter xxxix, wliich has 
 already been noticed on page 2-2S. The words may 
 literally be rendered, "Nor will we go upon blni^ nor will 
 we send upon him," &c. Vide the original text, pa"e 82 
 of the present volume. The real signification of these 
 expressions may be learned from John himself; for by a 
 Patent dated Windsor, May the lOtli 1214, he engaged not 
 to take, nor dispossess the Barons, nor their tenants; "Nee 
 super eosy" adds the instrument, '■^pervim.y velper armaibimus:^^ 
 that is to say, neither to pass on them by force, nor by arms, 
 excepting- by the law of the land, &e. "He had 
 bithertOj^'saysDr.Iiingard, " been in the habit of *7(j('h(/ with 
 an armed force, orscndiug an armed force on the lands, and 
 against the castles, of all whom he knew, or suspected to 
 be his secret enemies, without observing any form of law." 
 See also Brady's Hist, of Engtaud, Vol. II. page 501; Ap- 
 pendix, page 153, No. 124. This particular passage re- 
 mained unaltered throughout all the future copies of the 
 Great Charter. 
 
 The Second Great Charter of King Henry III., page 
 129, also contains another addition, providing- tliat all the 
 privileges of certain orders of men should be free fiom any 
 damage arising from its ordinances. Lord Coke observes, 
 that the English translation of this passage, " saving to the 
 Archbishops,'" &c., is very improper ; because there is in 
 reality no saving to them, butonly an act that their liberties 
 should safely be enjoyed. No extension of rights, but, like 
 the saving clause of an Act of Parliament, those privileges 
 are preserved entire, which, by the words of the Act, might 
 otherwise have been taken away. Thus, although the ex- 
 pression in the text " all the liberties and free customs which 
 they formerly had," be very comprehensive, it yet preserves 
 
 2^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHAllTERS. 
 
 the peculiar characteristic of Mag-na Charta, noticed by?Mr(|| 
 Edward Coke, that it is declaratory of the ancient law and 
 liberty of England, not adding any new freedom, nor 
 takino' away any lawful duties, but only a repetition of 
 former privileges, which time or oppression had broug-ht 
 into disuse. 
 
 Chapters LXI, LXIT, LXIII. Pages 59, 61, 93, 99. 
 On pages 29-30, of the preceding Essay, some account 
 has been given of the election of the twenty-five securities, 
 for the performance of the engagements of the Great Char- 
 ter, mentioned in the first of the above Chapters- which 
 opens with nearly the same declarations as those contained 
 in the commencement of the instrument, vide pages 62, 160. 
 The Charter of King John, and the Articles pvecedino- it, 
 are the only instruments which provided these securities; 
 since in all the subsequent grants and confirmations, the 
 three Chapters relating to the election and powers of the 
 25 Barons were entirely left out: Sir William Blaokstone 
 supposes,^ that the omission was probably occasioned by a 
 conviction that the provision was derogatory to the rights of 
 the crown ; and that on the succession of the young Henry 
 III., he had as yet given them no reason to distrust him. 
 The names of the 25 Barons elected in 1215, have already 
 been given on pages 29 and 30 ; and are partly recorded 
 in the Covenant succeeding Magna Charta, T\hich resigned 
 to them the custody of the City and Tower of London, until 
 all the King's engagements were fulfilled, see page 102. Of 
 these celebrated peers, however, it will be proper to add a 
 few additional memorials, not only because many of the most 
 eminent families of the present day are descended from them ; 
 but also because it is interesting to learn somewhat of those 
 by whom the Great Charter was procured and supported. 
 Their principal and leader was Robert Fitz-Walter, 
 Baron of Dun mow, a memoir of whom will be found on another 
 page. The name of Richard de Clare, Eavl of Clare, ap- 
 pears in the Covenant already alluded to, see page 102, and 
 Matthew Paris mentions two other Barons of the same title, 
 
 " Introduction sxxi. 
 
 

 NOTES 0\ THE GRE^T CIURILRS 
 
 called Henry and Robert, who were lu that party which 
 went to the Kino's deputies at Stamford, as it has been 
 related on page 27. It is, however, extremely uncertain, 
 what Richard de Clare is alluded to in the Baronial Cove- 
 nant j the Richard who was living- nearest to the time, died 
 in 1206,a the 8th of John; and in 1215, the title was held 
 by his eldest son, Gilbert de Clare, who was also one of the 
 witnessing- Barons. Milles, in his Catalogue of Honour^ 
 Lond. 1610, Folio, page 334, states that this Richard died 
 "the 3rd of the Calends of December,"— the 30th — "in the 
 yeare after Christ, 1218." That this account is probable, 
 may be shewn from the following- circumstances. All g-e- 
 nealogical historians agree that he married Amicio, 2nd 
 duug-hter and heir of the Earl of Gloucester, by whom he 
 liad Gilbert, his successor, and a daughter, Rose. Milles 
 adds a previous daughter, Maud ; and Banks observes from 
 Hornby's Remarks on the defects of DiKidaWs Baronage ^ Lond. 
 1738, 8vo. pag'e QQy that the daughter should be named 
 Joan, instead of Rose. Now, in the Patent Rolls for the 15th 
 of John, 1213, Membrane 10, is a license '*for R. Earl of 
 Clare, concerning the custody of his daughter Matilda." 
 Other references to this Baron, who was doubtless the same 
 as the witness to the Great Charter, are to be found in the 
 Patent Rolls for the 17th and 18th years of King- John; 
 Membranes 13 and 12. Calend. Rotul. Patent, pages 4, 6, 
 9. Dug-dale asserts that he was buried at Clai'e, in Suffolk ; 
 but Milles says, he was interred in the middle of the Choir 
 of the Priory of Tunbridge, in Kent, which he founded, and 
 that Maud, his daughter, lay beside him. Dngdale's au- 
 thority for the death and burial of this Baron, is contained 
 in the Chronicle of Tewksbury, printed in the Monasticon 
 AngUcanumj Vol. I. page 156, column i. line 25. The arms 
 usually assigned to him arc, Or, three Chevrons, Gules; 
 but in a manuscript copy of Cook's Baronage, in the Har- 
 leian Collection, No. 4223, fol, 43, there is the addition of 
 an escutcheon of pretence, Argent, charged with a Canton, 
 Gules. The place whence the title of Clare took its origin. 
 
 a Dugdale'sBaroiiai 
 
 .211. Banks' Extinct Peerage, iii. 181. 
 
 f^Z^'^ 
 
■r 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 is stated by Heylin, to be an ancient town on the borders of 
 Suffolk, where it joins to Essex, not far from the banks of/ 
 the Stoiir, which divides the Counties ; the Castleand Church 
 being- both in ruins. Upon the deatli of Richard de Clare, 
 the title merged in the Earldom of Gloucester, and in 1362, ■ 
 it was chang-ed into the Dukedom of Clarence, upon the mar- 
 riag-e of Lionel Plantagenet, 2nd son of Edward III., with 
 Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of William de Burg-h, 
 Earl of Ulster, son of John de Burgh, who married Eliza- 
 beth, one of the sisters of Gilbert de Clare, the last of that 
 name Earl of Clare and Gloucester. After the murder of 
 of George, Duke of Clarence, in 1478, the title lay dormant 
 until Tuesday, May the 19th 1789, when it was revived in 
 Prince William Henry, son of the late King George III. 
 The Earldom of Clare, however, did not remain so long- 
 unenjoyed; for in 1624, the 22nd of James I., it ^vafi be- 
 stowed upon Sir John Holies, of Haughton in Nottingham- 
 shire. His male issue failing in 1711, the title again he- 
 came extinct; and was again revived in 1714, in favour of 
 Thomas Pelham, who, in the year following-, was created 
 Marquis of Clare and Duke of Newcastle. 
 
 William de Fortibcs^ 7th Earl of Aumerle, or Albe- 
 marle, was the son and heir of Ha^vyse, daughter and co- 
 heiress of William le Gros, 3rd Earl of Aumerle, and her 
 second husband, William de Fortibus, who possessed the 
 title in her right. Although he was at tirst one of the 25 
 elect Barons, yet he afterwards quitted tlieir party^ and at- 
 tached himself to the King, who granted him all the lands 
 belongi,ng to liis sister Alice, then wife of William Marshall, 
 the younger: whilst in 1218, he was made Governor of the 
 Castles of Rockingham, in Northamptonshire^ Sauvey,near 
 Ouston Abbey, in Leicestershire; and Botliam in Lincoln- 
 shire ; " with strict command," adds Dngdale,^ ** to destroy 
 all the honses, parks, and possessions, of those Barons who 
 were in arms against the King. Although he generally 
 adhered to Henry III., and was one of his chief commanders 
 at the raising of the siege of Lincoln Castle, yet he was 
 
 n Baronage i. G4. 
 
HEAT CHARTERS. 
 
 more than once in arms against him, his I'apactous excur- 
 sions being- opposed by the King, and his submission was 
 procured only by an Excommunication from Cardinal Pan- 
 dulpb. He appears to have possessed cansiderable pro- 
 perty- since in 1221, he paid £40 as a Scutage for 20 
 Knights' fees, and £6 IO5. for the Barony of Skipton in 
 Craven. lu 1230, he was one of the commanders of the 
 royal troops in Normandy; and in 1241, having set out on 
 a pilgrimage to Palestine, with several other eminent per- 
 sonages, he died on the Mediterranean Sea on Good Friday, 
 March the 29th. The title of Aumerle, or Albemarle, is 
 derived from a small town and territory in Upper Norman- 
 dy, now commonly called Aumale, and was originally given 
 about the year 1097. In 1293, it passed out of the 
 family of De Fortibus, by the death of the Countess Ave- 
 line; and after being revived in the house of the Planta- 
 genets, it became extinct in Richard Beaucbamp, Earl of 
 Warwick, in 1439. In 1660, the title of Duke of Albe- 
 marle was bestowed upon the celebrated Royalist, General 
 Monk, with ivhose descendants it remained until 16S8 ; 
 when it again became extinct, and the Earldom of Albemarle 
 was given in 1695-96 to Arnold Jost Van Keppel, in whose 
 ancient family it still remains. The fac-siniile of Magna 
 Charta, engraven by John Pine, is surrounded by the ar- 
 morial ensigns of the 25 elect Barons ; but thougdi he was 
 for several years Blue-Mantle Pursuivant of Arms, and pro- 
 fessed to give these decorations from the records of the 
 Heralds'" College, they are frequently erroneous. In the 
 present instance, the Arms assigned to William de Fortibus, 
 are Bendy of six Argent and ^ules, a Chief Or- which 
 formed the coat of Baldwin de Betune, his mother's third 
 husband. Those belonging to the Baron himself, were Ar- 
 gent, a Chief Gules; but be sometimes is made to bear the 
 Arms of bis Earldom, Gules, aCrossPatonce, Vairee, which 
 he derived from his mother. Such a coat was delineated for 
 him in the North Aisle of Westminster Abbey, as one of the 
 benefactors to it after it had been refounded by King Henry 
 III. This shield, inscribed "Gulielmus de Fortibus, Comes 
 Albemarlce,"' with several others, is yet remaining j and an 
 
 ^:^^> 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 engrfiving- of it will be found in The History and Antiquities 
 of Westminster Abbey, by J. P. Neale and E. W. Bvayle^ 
 Lon.!. 1823, 4to. Vol. II. plate xxvii. page 27. T}iPs,e 
 shields orig-inally consisted of 20 in each Aisle, including 
 the Arms of King- Edward the Confessor; and they -were 
 placed two in every compartment, in the spandrils under 
 the great windows. They were of different kinds, those in 
 the ancient part of the Church being much larger than the 
 others, and projecting^ from the wall, to which they appeared 
 attached by bands or labels, fastened to human heads, with 
 the exception of that of Edward the Confessor, which was 
 affixed to the heads of birds, probably of martlets, in allu- 
 sion to his Armorial Ensig-ns. The other shields were all 
 flat, and had no labels ; over each was the name of the 
 bearer in Saxon characters which, in some places, may still 
 be traced. Several of these escutcheons have been de- 
 stroyed, and others are hidden by different monuments. 
 Such is the account given in the very excellent work above 
 mentioned, page 26. It may also be proper in this place, to 
 notice an erroneous, but popular impression, that King 
 John and the Barons all signed and sealed the Great Char- 
 ter ; whereas the fact is, that there was only the Great Sea!, 
 and not any signature. The mistake doubtless arose from 
 abetter acquaintance with modern customs than with ancient 
 ones : and, perhaps, from the shields round Pine's fac-simile. 
 It is however confidently adopted in a paper in the Gen- 
 tlemans Magazine for October, 1821, Vol. xci. part. ii. page 
 293; the numerous errors of which are properly rectified, 
 in another article contained in the Supplement to the same 
 Volume, page 601. The custom of ratifying instruments 
 without a signature, will be considered and illustrated here- 
 after. 
 
 Geoffrey de Mandevillb, Earl of Gloucester, was 
 the eldest sou of Geoffrey Fitz Piers, first of those names, 
 Earl of Essex and Justiciary of England. About 1213, the 
 15th year of King John, be succeeded his father and did 
 homage, when he received the whole Barony of Earl Wil- 
 liam de Mandeville, or de Magna Villa. In the same year 
 the King married him to Isabel, third daughter and co- 
 
heiiess of William Earl of Gloucester, from whom he had 
 heen divorced for want of i-ssue, and for whom, Duo-dale^ 
 asserts, that Geofirey gave tlie King- 20,000 marks, £13 333 
 6s. S(t. as a line. In her right he became Earl of Glouces- 
 ter, and in 1215 he \vas put in possession of all the liberties 
 belong^ing- to it. His wealth may be estimated hy the above 
 immense fine, and also by his payment of £196 IS*. 4<1. 
 upon a collection of Scutage Jn Poictou, in 1214. As he 
 adhered to the Barons' party, he was one of those excornma- 
 nicated by the Pope. His deatli took place in 1216, in Lon- 
 don, at a tournament with some of the French soldiers who 
 attended Louis the Dauphin into Eng-land ; the lance of one 
 of them mortally wounded him, and he was buried in the 
 Priory of the Holy Trinity, in the suburbs of the City, leav- 
 ing' no issue. The Arms of the family of Fitz Piers, are 
 Quarterly Or and Gules, a Bordure Vairee ; but those as- 
 signed to this Baron are Quarterly Or and Gules, an Escar- 
 buncle Sable. As Geoff'rey de Mandeville died without 
 issue, the Earldom of Gloucester was next enjoyed by 
 Almeric de Eureux; and the title, afterwards elevated to a 
 Dukedom, passed into the families of Clare, Spencer, Aud- 
 ley, Plantag-enet, and Stuart j and is now enjoyed by Prince 
 William-Frederick, cousin to his Majesty, King- Georg-e IV. 
 The family of the present Marquess Townshend is sup- 
 posed to have descended from that of Geoffrey de Mande- 
 ville, since Collins'^ states, that the founder of the former 
 was Lodovic, a Norman, who came into England intbereig-o 
 of King- Henry I., and who first assumed the present name, 
 which sig-nifies in Saxon the bolder or possessor of a town. 
 He married Elizabeth, daug-bter and heiress of Sir 
 Thomas de Havile, through whom he became possessed of 
 the manor of Havile, othei-wise called Hautville, Alta-villa, 
 or High-town, in Rainham in Norfolk, whence the surname 
 had been derived. The Arms of Mandeville, however, 
 were brought into this family by the marriage of Sir Roger 
 Townshend with Joan, daughter and heir of Sir Robert 
 Lunsford, about the middle of the 15th century; which 
 
 ^ Baronage i. 706. *» Peerage, Vol. vi. 36. 
 
-.-^^^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 match also brought In the quavtering's of Lunsford, Bar- 
 ring-ton, Belhouse, Marcy, &c. Morant, in his History of 
 Essexj Vol. li. pag-e 123, Note B, gives the Arms of Mande- 
 ville, Arg:ent, on a Chief indented Gules, three Martlets 
 couped at the leg-s, Or. The name of Mandeville was de- 
 rived from a territory in Normandy, belonging- to Geoffrey 
 de Mandeville, who came into England with William I. • 
 it signifies a great tow n, and in ancient Charters is usually 
 written Magna-villa. 
 
 Saher de QuiNcy was, according- to Brooke, created 
 Earl of Winchester by King- John; and bore that title in 
 1207, the 8th year of bis reig-n : but Dug^dale states, that 
 in 1210, bis 10th year, he g-ave the King a courser, and '* a 
 good pled brache, having- then the title of Earl of Winches- 
 ter, but not before, for aught that I have seen,*' Matthew 
 Paris relates, that in 1203, bein^ Governor of the Castle of 
 Ruil in Normandy, he observed that King- John and the 
 Nobles then at Caen, and about that country, "minded 
 nothing- but feasting-, luxury, and lyin^ in bed till dinner- 
 time," which encouraged the King' of France to enter his 
 territory with an army, and, after capturing- various places, 
 upon the approach of some of bis forces before the Castle of 
 Ruil, it was surrendered to them without any resistance. 
 He opposed the King-'s concession to the Pope's Leg-ate, 
 because Matthew Paris assigns that as the cause of John's 
 g-reat hatred to him and some others- but in 1214 he was 
 employed, under Letters of Safe-Conduct, to pass between 
 the Barons and the King-, with terms of accommodation. 
 He %\as also joined in commission with the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury and others, to see that all those going- to Lon- 
 don, about the Feast of the Epiphany, immediately follow- 
 ing- the relaxation of the Papal Interdict ; or to Northamp- 
 ton, to petition John for a redress of g-rievances, should 
 have safe conduct until Easter. But though the King made 
 bini, ill 121.^, Governor of Mountsorell Castle, be was one 
 of the Barons to whom the City and Tower of London were 
 resigned; and elected of the 25 who were to govern the 
 Kingdom, being excommunicated with the rest in the fol- 
 lowing year. He was also sent with Robert Fitz-Walter, 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 to invite the Dauphin of France to assume tlie ciowu of 
 England; and even after the death of King^ John, he kept 
 a strong- g-arrison in Mouutsorell Castle, on the hehalf of 
 Prince Louis. The fortress being- besieg-ed, and nearly 
 captured, by the troops of Henry III., the Earl of Winches- 
 ter and Louis gathered a large foree in London ; and having 
 raised the siege, mnrchetl to Lincoln, then also surrounded 
 by the King-^s army. In the battle which followed, the 
 Barons were speedily defeated, and Saher de Quincy, with 
 numerous others, made prisoners. In the following- Octo- 
 ber, his immense forfeited estates were restored upon Jiis 
 submission -, and iu 1218, he went with the Earls of Ches- 
 ter, Arundel, &c. to Palestine: but, after having- been 
 present at the siege of Diuuietta, he died in 1219, on his 
 farther journey towards Jerusalem. He married Marg-aret, 
 youngest sister and co-heiress of Robert Fitz-Parnell, Earl 
 of Leicester, by whom he acquired a very considerable in- 
 heritance; since in 1204, the 6th of John, he gave 1000 
 marks, £660 13s. 4(/., to have custody of his English 
 lands on the death of the Earl, with certain exceptions. In 
 1205 he paid a fine of 5000 marks, £3333 6s. Hd. for the 
 Honour of Giantmesnil ; in 1206 iie received certain otJier 
 lands and rents in the County of Leicester; and in 1208 he 
 gave the King- three Coursers for livery of a part of the 
 suburb of Leicester. The Arms of this Barou ure commonly 
 blazoned Arg'ent, but sometimes Or, a Fesse Azure, and a 
 File of eleven points Gules; but the last two colours are 
 occasionally transposed. The File in chief also, does not 
 appear to have had any certain number of points; since 
 Pine makes them 12, on the escutcheon on the obverse 
 of iiis seal there are 8, on the caparisons of the flanks 
 of his horse there are 9, on those of the fore-part there are 
 5, and on the shield on the reverse of the seal tliere 
 are 7. Saher de Quincy was succeeded in his Earldom 
 by his son Rog-er, on whose deatti iu 1264, his estates 
 were divided; hut the Earldom does not appear to have 
 been revived until 1322, when it was conferred on Hugh 
 Despencer. In 1473 it was held by Louis de Bruges, a 
 native of Burgundy, who surrendered it in 1499; and in 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 1551 William Paulctt was made first Marquess of Win- 
 chester, with whose descendants the title still remains. It 
 is probahle that the sing-ular christian name of Saber, or 
 Saier, home by the ancient Earl of Winchester, is a cor- 
 ruption either from the Hebrew Zalr, affliction; or the 
 SaXOD Segher, Sig-ber, or Seagar, a Conqueror. The lat- 
 ter yet exists in the names Sayer and Segar. 
 
 Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, was in reality the 
 first of his family who could properly be said to enjoy that 
 title, since it was conferred upon him by King John, by a 
 charter dated Porchester, April 28th 1199, the 1st year of 
 his reign. He was the son of the 4th Humphrey de Boliun, 
 whose family came into England with William I. ; and 
 Margaret, daughter of Milo, Earl of Hereford, who, at the 
 division of her father's estates, received the office of Con- 
 stable of England and the Lordship of Hereford, and from 
 whom they descended to the present Baron. With the ciiarter 
 of the Earldom, Henry deBohuu;ilso received a grant of 20 
 marks, £13 6s. Qd. yearly, from the County tax, called the 
 Third Penny ; and in 1204, the 6th of John, he paid the 
 King 50 marks, or £38 6s. Sd. and a palfrey, to have the 
 possession of 20 Knights' fees, belonging to the Honour of 
 Huntendon, given by Henry II. to his mother. As he was 
 one of the Barons iu arms against King John, his lands were 
 seized; but in 1215, he received them again, iind was 
 elected one of the 25 Securities of Magna Charta. Having 
 been excommunicated by the Pope with many of the other 
 Barons, he did not return to his allegiance on the decease 
 of King John ; but was one of the commanders in the army 
 of Louis, the Dauphin, at the battle of Lincoln. Milles^ 
 observes of his death, that being a young man, he went with 
 Saier de Quincy to Palestine, and died on his passage thither 
 on June the 1st 1220, the 4th of Henry 111. ; hut his body 
 was removed to the family burial-place in the Chapter-House 
 of Lanthony Abbey in Gloucestershire. His usual Armorial 
 Ensigns are blazoned Azure, a Bend Argent, between two 
 Cottises and six Lions rampant, Or ; and he married Maud, 
 
 I Catalogue of Honour, pype lOfi-l. 
 
L^ 
 
 f^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. ! 
 
 daughter of GeofiVey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex and Chief 
 Justiciary of Eiig^land, father of the Baron already men- 
 tioned. A son by this inarriag-e, Humphrey de Bohun, who 
 succeeded to the Earldom, was also for some time opposed 
 to Henry III.; and was present at the famous reading of 
 the Charters in Westminster Hall, in 1253. He was, 
 however, taken prisoner at the battle of Evesham in 1265; 
 received into the royal favour; and dying- in 1274, was 
 huried at Lantliony. The Earldom of Hereford remained in 
 in the family of Bohun until the year 1371; and in 139S, 
 Henry of Bolingbroke, afterwards King' Henry IV., was 
 created Duke of that County. Upon the extinction of his 
 line, the Lordship passed into the houses of Staftbrd and 
 Devereux ; in which latter, Walter was made Viscount 
 Hereford, on February the 2nd 1549, and witii his descend- 
 ant! it yet remains. 
 
 Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, was the son of Hug-h, 
 Steward to the Kings Henry I. and II,, who was deseended 
 from Rog-er Bigod, or Bigot, who in the time of William I. 
 held several Manors in Norfolk ; 6 Lordships in Essex ; and 
 and 117 in Suffolk. Camden, in his Remains^ Lond. 1636, 
 4to. page 123, states the name to be Norman, signifying 
 Superstitious, or a Bigot; a word of which the Etymology 
 remains yet uncertain^ though it is allowed to have been 
 adopted from that language. Cotgrave and Roquefort con- 
 sider its meaning to be the adjuration By God, derived either 
 from the old French or the German ;^ and an instance of its 
 contemporary use in that sense, has already been g'iven on 
 page 43 of the foregoing Essay. Camden adds, that the 
 people of France used to call the Normans Bigods, because 
 at every other word they would swear by God ; and hence 
 the family of Bigod coming from Normandy, was known by 
 this national characteristic name. In 1189, the 1st of 
 Richard I., a charter was issued, dated Westminster, Nov. 
 27th by which Roger Bigod was constituted Earl of Nor- 
 folk ; the office of Steward was also confirmed to him, to- 
 gether with several Lordships, for all which he gave the 
 
 a Todd's Joliiisoii'3 Dictiouary. 
 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 %t 
 
 King tlie sum of 1000 marks or £666 ISs. Ad. In the same'P 
 year he was one of Richard's Ambassadors to Philip, King- of," 
 France, to procure aid for the recovery of the Holy Land-"; 
 laud about 1190, he became one of the sureties for William^ 
 de Longchanip, Bishop of Ely, then Lord Chancellor, for 
 the due performance of those Articles of Peace concluded 
 between John, Earl of Moretnn, and that Prelate, for the 
 King-, who was then in Palestine. When it was known 
 that Richard was imprisoned in Germany, he appears to 
 have gone thither with the Bishop- and after the Kiug-'s 
 return in 1194, this Baron attended his great Council at 
 Nottingham, and was one of the four Earls who carried the 
 silken canopy at his second Coronation. In 1200 he was 
 sent by John as one of his messengers to summon William, 
 King- of Scotland, to do homage to him in his Parliament 
 at Lincoln. In the 15th year of the same King, he attended 
 him into Poictou ; in 1215 he was one of the Baronial 
 party which exacted from him the Great Charter; and was 
 appointed one of the 25 Securities of that instrument, for 
 which he was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III. He 
 married Isabel, daughter of Hameliue, Earl of Warren and 
 Surrey, and his son Hugh succeeded him in his estates in 
 1220-21, the 5th of Henry III., in which year Roger Bigod 
 is supposed to have died. The Armorial Ensigns, which 
 Milles in his Catalogue of HonouVy page 502, attributes to 
 this Baron, are Gules, a Lion passant Or; but, perhaps, 
 the more authentic coat is that given by Dr. Heylin, in his 
 Help to JEnglish Histonjy Lond. 1773, 8vo. page 302, namely, 
 Or, a plain Cross Gules. A shield bearing this charge, with 
 the superscription *' Rogerus Bigod, Comes Norfolciae," will 
 be found in the North Aisle of Westminster Abbey. The 
 E;^rldom of Norfolk passed from this family on tlie decease 
 of Roger Bigod, third of that name, and 5th Earl, in 1307 ; 
 after which it went into the houses of Brotlicrton and Mow- 
 bray, until both were united in that of Howard, in which it 
 now remains. The present Duke of Norfolk is also a de- 
 scendant from three of the witnessing Barous of Magna 
 Charta, namely, Roger Bigod, Roger de Mowbray, and 
 William de Albini, Earl of Arundel. 
 
 T 
 
:-^_-f^ 
 
 
 NOTES ON TdE GREAT CHAllTERS. 
 
 Robert de Vfre, Earl ofOxford, was the brother and heir 
 of the 4th Alberic who held that title, and whombe succeedec 
 in 1214; paying- 1000 marks to the King for delivery of hi 
 lands, &c. Alberi<; himself had been considered one of tlie^^^^ 
 evil eounsellors of King Jobn, but in 1215, Earl Robert was 
 one of the principal Barons in arms against bim ; a member 
 of the 25 who were to govern the kingdom ; a party to that 
 Covenant, which resigned to tbem the custody of tlw City 
 and Tower of London; and one of those excommunicated 
 by Pope Innocent. He appears, however, to have been re- 
 ceived into the favour of Henry III.-, since in 1220-21, tbe 
 4th and 5th of his reign, be was one of tbe King's Judges ; 
 in which latter year be died, and was buried in tbe Priory 
 of Hatfield Broad-Oak in Essex. His monumental effigy, 
 of which the following engraving is a representation, 
 
 is yet in good preservation, excepting the features, and is 
 erected on tbe North of the Altar within the rails, though 
 it was originally placed in a wall, on tbe South side of the 
 Church. The figure is carved in free-stonCj measuring 
 about 6 feet, 11 inches, from the top of the pillow, to the 
 bottom of tbe lion couchant beneath its feet ; and it exhibits 
 this Baron armed in a round belmet, with chain mail and a 
 surcoat, in the act of drawing bis sword, having his legs 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 I crossed. His shield is on his left arm, suspended by a belt 
 ^passing" over tlie right shoulder. The head foruierly rested 
 on two cushions supported by ang-els, and two more ang-els 
 , kneeling- before desks with books, were at the feet. Weever, 
 in his Funerul Monuments, Lond. 16.3], Folio, pa^e 631, 
 states, that round the effigy there was originally the following 
 inscription written in Norman French. "Sire Robert de 
 Veer, the first, and third Earl of Oxford, lieth here. God, 
 if he please, have mercy on his soul ! Whosoever shall pray for 
 his soul shall have xl days of pardon." Even in AVeever's 
 time the above was almost worn out; and at present only a 
 few letters are leg-ible. He married Isabel, daug-hter of 
 Hug-h de Bolebec ; and his property may be estimated by 
 the circumstance, that in 1222 his widow paid to the King 
 the fine of £2228 2s. O^d. for the wardship of Hiig-h, her sou 
 and heir, beside a debt of £1780 lis. The Anns attributed 
 to this Baron, are Quarterly Gules and Or, in the dexter 
 Canton a Mullet Avg-ent ; but Gough has published an en- 
 graving of the effigy of Alberic de Vere, surnamed the Grim, 
 first Earl of Oxford, who bears a shield Quarterly, in the 
 1st and 4th quarters a Mullet in chief, 2nd and 3rd fietteej 
 and the Arms have also frerpiently heen erroneously hlazoned, 
 Or, on a Quarter Azure, seme-de-lis, a Star of 6 points of 
 the first. This mistake is supposed to have arisen, from an 
 imperfect examination of the shield borne by his sepulchral 
 effigy where he lies interred ; since the escutcheon is evi- 
 dently quartered, though the rich diapered pattern which 
 is carved all over it, is ornamented with fret-work, enclos- 
 ing fleurs-de-lis in the 1st and 4th quarters, which have 
 been engraven by Pine as Heraldical charges. The other 
 two quarters are decorated with octagons and circles, having 
 quatrefoils within them, as they are represented in the pre- 
 
 Vere, introduced in the head-piece first inserted on page 
 18 of the present volume. See also C. A. Stothard's Mo- 
 numental Effigies: Gong'h's Sepulchral Monuments, Vol. I. 
 Part i. pi. viii. pages 32, 39: and Memoirs of the late C. A, 
 Stnthard, F.S.A . Lond. 1823, 8vo. pages 126-27. The Earl- 
 dom of Oxford remained in the house of Vere, descending 
 
 .'I'^^i 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Jilmost in a right line, until the 12thof March, 1702-3 ; when 
 it expired, as it commenced, in Aubrey, or Alberic, de Vere, 
 the 20th Earl, who died without surviving- male issue. The 
 only one of his daughters who married, was Diana, who 
 was united to Charles, 1st Diike of St Albans, natural son of 
 Charles II. by Eleanor Gwjnii, and ancestor of the present 
 Diike, who still bears the iinme of De Vere. The title of 
 Earl of the City of Oxford, was given to Sir Robert Harley, 
 Secretary of State, &c. May24ih, 1711. 
 
 As several members of the powerful family of Marshall, 
 were engaged in the public events of tliis period, it is usual 
 to find the next Baron entitled John Marshall instead of 
 WiUiam ; and for him to be called the Nephew, instead of the 
 eldest Sony of the famous William Marshall, Protector of the 
 Kingdom to Henry III. William Marshall, or Mare- 
 sciiALL, commonly named the Yodnger, second Earl op 
 Pembroke, even in the life-time of his father, — a loyal, va- 
 liant, and virtuous, nobleman, — was one of the principal Ba- 
 rons who took up arms against King- John ; a member of 
 the 25 Governors j a party to the Covenant for holding- the 
 City and Tower of London ; and one of those excommu- 
 nicated by the Pope. Upon the death of John, the Pro- 
 tector procured the Barons to consent to the Coronation of 
 the young- Henry, and wrote to all the Sheriffs and Go- 
 vernors of Castles throughout the realm, requiring- their 
 alleg-iance, and promising them large rewards. One of the 
 Peers whom he reduced w^as his own Son, William Marshal), 
 the Younger, who, in 1217, the first of Henry III., received 
 a grant of the lands of Saherde Quincy, Earl of Winchester, 
 David le Scot, Earl of Huntingdon, William de Mowbray, 
 and Gilbert de Gant, tlien in arms against the King-, with 
 the fees of all such as held of them and adhered to the re- 
 bellious Barons. In 1223, whilst he was in Ireland, Llew- 
 ellyn, Prince of Wales, captured two of his castles and put 
 his soldiers to death ; but on his return, he not only invaded 
 that kingdom with fire and sword, but gained a complete 
 victory over the Prince in battle, 9000 of his troops beiag: 
 slain or taken. The following- year he was made Governor 
 of the Castles of Caerdigan and Caermarthen 5 and in 1230, 
 
 mm'^s^ 
 
^?^^ 
 
 ?y ''•-,. I 
 
 1 ^V^ i 
 
 h 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Captain-General of all the King-'s forces in Bretag^ne, on his 
 retui-n whence be wns sent with the Earls of Chester and 
 Albemarle, and a considerable power ag-ainst the Irish, to 
 quell the invasions which they had made into Eng-land. His 
 estates were, doubtless, very considerable, since Dug-dale^ 
 shews that in 1223, he received Scutag-e from his tenants 
 dwelling- in 20 Eng-lish Counties, beside Manors and Castles 
 both in Eng-land and Wales; he also gave certain forest- 
 grounds to theMonks of Tinterne, in Wales, and he founded 
 the House of Pieaching-Friars at Kilkenny in Ireland. He 
 married Eleanor, sister of King Henry III,, who survived 
 him, and he died without issue in 1231, being buried near 
 his father, in the New Temple Church, London, on the 18th 
 of the Calends of May, April 14th. The Armorial hearings 
 which are assigned by Pine to this Baron, in the coloured 
 copies of his fac-simile of Magna Charta are. Parted per 
 Pale Gules and Azure, a Lion rampant Ermine; which 
 are the coat of the family of Norwich : but those really be- 
 longing to William Marshall, the Younger, who was Earl 
 of Pembroke, and Lord Marshal,^ were. Parted per pale 
 Or and Vert, a Lion rampant Gules, armed and langued 
 Azure; which bearing was not assumed until this family 
 came to be Lords Marshals of England in the time of King 
 Henry II. This latter title, however, was partly derived 
 from the Manor of Hempsted-Marshal in Berkshire ; which 
 was anciently held by Grand Serjeantry of the Kings of 
 England. The last Lord Marshal and Earl of Pembroke, 
 was Anselm Marshal, 6th and last Earl of his surname, 
 brother of the preceding, and youngest of the five sons of 
 the famous William, who all remarkably succeeded him, 
 without intervening issue. The Earldom of Pembroke then 
 passed through the houses of Valence, Hastings, Plan- 
 togenet, and Herbert, in which lust it finally settled in 1551, 
 where it still remains. Tlie title of Lord Marshal, was 
 changed by Richard II. into that of Earl Marshal, by Let- 
 
 » BaronajTP.Vol I. 603. 
 b Rev. J. Dallowav's Inquiries iuto the Origin and Progress of 
 Heralili7, Glouc. 1793, Quarto, page 1. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 ters Patent, dated June 20th 1397, granted to Thomas 
 Mowhray, Earl of Notting-ham and his heirs, in Tvhose fa- 
 mily it continued until 1475. The office was tlieii held hy 
 various Nohlemen, until 1603, after which, it was for a con- 
 siderable time executed by Commission ; hut in 1622, King- 
 James I. g^ranted it by Letters Patent, dated Aiig-ust 29th 
 to Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, for life. 
 On the 19th of October, 1672, Charles II. granted It to 
 Henry, Lord Howard, and his heirs, with power to execute 
 it by deputy ;^ and in this house, which frequently enjoyed 
 the appointment in ancient times, the dignity of Earl Mar- 
 shal still remains an hereditary honour belonging to the 
 Duke of Norfolk. 
 
 The present part of these memoirs, seems to be an ap- 
 propriate place for giving some account of that William 
 Marshall^ Earl of Pembroke ^ who was Protector of the king- 
 dom during the minority of Henry III. ; some particulars of 
 whose conduct have lieen given in the preceding Essay, 
 page 37. He was the son of John, surnamed Marshal!, and 
 brother and heir to another John, both of whom held the 
 office of King's Marshal; and the latter of whom he suc- 
 ceeded in the lime of King Richard I. The first notice of 
 Williamoccurs in 1181-82,the28thofHenryII.,when Henry, 
 son of that Sovereign, who had been in rebellion against his 
 father, was lying on his death-becj, he delivered to him with 
 great contrition, his cross, as to his best frieud to carry to 
 Jerusalem. When Richard I. came into England, upon the 
 death of Henry II., this Baron obtained from him Isabel, 
 daughter and heir of Richard Strongbow, Earl of Striguil, 
 or Pembroke, in marriage, together with the Earldom it- 
 self; by which dignity he bore the golden sceptre and cross at 
 the Coronation of Richard I. When that Prince was about 
 to depart to Palestine, William Marshall was constituted 
 one of the Governors of the kingdom ; and he also became 
 security to the King of France, that Ricliard would actually 
 perform the Crusade at the following Easter, From 1189 
 to 1205, he was Sheriff of Lincolnshire, and of Sussex 
 
 ■ Dallaway, pages l.-liii. 
 
 -T^ 
 
during- the whole of King- Richard's reign, as well as in 1199, 
 the 1st of John j heing- also Sheriff" of Gloucestershire from 
 that year until 1207. In the great dispute between Prince 
 John and the Bishop of Ely, he adhered to the former; and 
 upon his accession, he was sent before him from Normandy 
 to keep the peace until his arrival. His property appears 
 to have been very considerable both in England and in Nor- 
 mandy, as may be supposed from the fees he paid into the 
 Exchequer. Thus, for the Manor of Boseham, he gave £42 
 yearly J for the lands of the Earl of Buckingham, he g-ave 
 the King a fine of 1000 marks, £666 13s. 4J.; he held 
 Goodrich Castle by the service of two Knights Fees of 405. 
 each ; for the Honour of Striguil he was rated at sixty-five, 
 amounting to £65 10*.; and for the grant of the Province 
 of Leinster in Ireland, he answered for 100. He also gave 
 1000 marks more for delivery of the Castle of Haverford, 
 and he was Governor of tbe fortresses of Caermarthen, Caer- 
 digan and Goher; beside which, on his second marriage 
 with Alice, daughter of Baldwin de Bethune, Eavl of Al- 
 bemarle, in 1203, he received several additional Lordships. 
 In 1215 he was made a CommissioDer by King John, then 
 in Poictou, for making- restitution of what had been taken 
 from his subjects during the late Interdict; and the Civil 
 War breaking out the same year, he and William, Earl of 
 Warren, &c. were united to give safe-conduct to all going 
 to the Court at Northampton. King John also employed 
 him with the Archbishop of Canterbury, to go to the Barons 
 at the Brackley meeting, and inquire into the nature of their 
 demands. Some of tlie acts of this Baron after the death of 
 King John, have been already referred to in the preceding 
 Essay. He successfully opposed the Dauphin and his re- 
 bellious supporters : first besieging their strongest foitress 
 of Mount-Sorrell, and then marching his forces to Notting- 
 ham, Newark, and Lincoln, where a battle took place in 
 which he was victorious, many of the adverse party heing 
 slain and more made prisoners. His next care w;is to be- 
 siege London, and so eti'ectually did he secure it from re- 
 ceiving any supplies, that a peace was at length concluded 
 with the Barons about 1217, the beginning of the second 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHAKTERS. 
 
 year of Henry III. He was Slieriff" of Essex and Hertford, 
 for some part of that and the following- year, in which latter j 
 he died at an advanced ag-e, at his Manor of Caversham, 
 near Reading-. His body, being- carried to that Town, was 
 received hy the Abbey-Monks in full procession, and placed 
 in the choir whilst Mass was sung^- after which it was 
 carried to Westminster, where service was again performed. 
 and then, being- taken on the morrow to the New Temple, 
 it was solemnly interred there on Ascension Day, the 24th 
 o'f May. His interesting effigy, measuring about 6 feet 9 
 inches, is yet extant in the Temple Church, London, repre- 
 senting-, says Gough, a Knight in mail, with a sureoat, his 
 helmet jnore completely rounded than the adjoining- one, 
 and the cushion, as in all the rest, laid straiter under his 
 head. He is drawing his short dagger, or broken sword, 
 with his right hand, and on his left arm is a short pointed 
 heater shield carved with his Armorial Ensigns. Below his 
 knees arc bands, as if intended to separate the cuisses and 
 greaves; his legs are crossed, be is armed with spurs, and 
 under his feet is a lion coucbant. Vide Stothard's Monu- 
 mental Effigies ; Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, Yo\ 1. Part 
 i. pi. V. fig. 2, pages 24 and 37: and a representation of 
 the fig-ure is also j^^^*^^^^^rt g'iven in the ensuing- 
 engraving, Notwith- ttj [ii^^i' ^H standing the great 
 estates of this Earl, j^g^^^^^B his lust Will consti- 
 tutes theAbbot of St. ^^fiv\ 'liT^^^ Augustine's Bristol, 
 and Henry Fitz-Ge- ^mI^^^^ raid, his Executors, 
 
 leaving them bis l^^^^'^^1^^'^if| Manor of Caversham 
 until his debts were ^^^^^fflul'l P^i'tl. His acts of 
 piety, however, ac- ^ar^^ A^^^a ''&i wording to the cha- 
 racter of his time, ^^J,^\\^^ffl appear to have been 
 very numerous. For M^^iv^^d ^^^ health of the 
 souls of King Henry ^^^M^i^^H II., of King Henry 
 the young'er, whom ^^^P^^^^B ^'^ terms " his 
 Lord," of King ^Hf^^y^^B Riehardl., of Isabel 
 bis wife, his own, ^^P^^^^® andall his Ancestors, 
 he founded tlie Ab- ^^^^^^^H bey of Kertmele, in 
 Lancashire 5 "and conferred," says Dugdale, "upon the 
 Canons of that House, all the liberties and privileges as 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 tong-ue could express or heart devise-^*" To the Monks of 
 Gloucester, he gave his Mill at Castle Goodrich, with the 
 service belonging- to it j and the service of the whole Town 
 of Huiiston : to the Monks of Pembroke, three other Mills, "wj 
 with several acres of land to the Chapel of Our Lady at ^ 
 Caversham, lying- in its vicinity, for the health of his own 
 soul and that of Isabel his wife : to the Canons of Braden- 
 stoke in Wiltshire, the Church of Stone: to the Knig-hts 
 Templars, the Advowson of Spene Church, for the yearly 
 pension of 5 marks, £3 6s. 8d., the Church of Castellan- 
 Emlyn, and 80 Acres of land in Echirmanhir : and to the 
 Monks of Stanley in Wiltshire, a place in Ireland called 
 St. Saviour's, to which certain of them removed. He 
 also commenced the foundation of an Abbey of Cisterians 
 at Downysken in Ireland, which was completed by his 
 Widow, and Geoffrey Fitz-Robert, his Steward, according 
 to his Will. He likewise established the Priory of Canons 
 of St. Augustine at Kilkenny ; that at Kilrush, which was 
 a Cell to Kertmele in Lancashire: and that for Knights 
 Hospitallers at Lough-Garnon in the County of Wexford. 
 The Earl of Pembroke has received a noble character from 
 all the historians who have mentioned him. He was termed 
 through the world a most renowned and powerful Knight j 
 Governor both of the realm and the King's person^ a man 
 of such worthiness, both in stoutness of stomach and martial 
 knowledge, as England had few then which might be com- 
 pared with him. *'I am," said his Latin Epitaph, — which 
 will be found given by Sir William Dugdale, on the au- 
 thority of the famous historian of this period — "he who 
 displayed himself Saturn in Ireland, the Sun in England, 
 Mercury in Normandy, and Mars in France;" for he was 
 always, adds Matthew Paris, the tamer of the mischievous 
 Irish, the honour and glory of the English, the negotiator 
 of Normandy, in which he effected many affairs, and a war- 
 like and invincible soldier in France. Such was the eminent 
 character of one of the very few loyal Barons of this period, 
 and the firmest friend attached to the cause of King John. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 His nephew, John Marshall^ surnaiued of Henffham, is 
 frequentlyjliut very erroneously, supposed to liuvebeen one of 
 the Securities foi- Ma^na Charta ; and Sii- William Bl ick 
 stoiie^ notices the confused manner in which Mattliew Pans 
 g-i ves the names of some of the 25 elected Barons ^ and parti- 
 cularly his making William Marshall, junior, an Earl. John 
 Marshall, however, on the contrary, received many gifts from 
 the King-, to whom he remained firm during the great con- 
 test between him and his Barons; and iji 1216-17, the first 
 year of Henry III. was Sheriff of Hampshire, and Governor 
 of the Castle of the Devizes. He married Aliva, eldest 
 daug;hter and co-heir of Hubert de Rie, Baron of Hengham, 
 in the County of Norfolk; he died in 1234-35, the 19th of 
 Henry III.; and his Armorial Ensigns were the ancient Coat 
 of the family, which had been used before the Earldom of 
 Pembroke was given to it, namely, Gules, a bend Lozengy, 
 Or. The present Earl of Egmont, Baron Lovell and Hol- 
 land, as head of the very noble house of Perceval, is de- 
 scended from that of Marshall, through Robert, eldest son 
 of Sir Richard de Perceval, who died about 1201: this Ro- 
 bert, as it is stated in Lodge's Peerage of IrelawJ, Edit, by 
 M. Archdall, Vol. II. Dublin: 1789, Octavo, page 220, 
 being- nearly related to Richard Marshall, Earl of Pem- 
 broke, second son of the great William, and younger brother 
 to that William who was really the Security to Magna 
 Charta. Vide also Anderson's Genealogical History of the 
 House of Yvertj. Lond. 1742, 8vo. Vol. I. Book ii. chap. iv. 
 in the Table succeeding page 196. After the Earldom of 
 Pembroke had terminated in the family of Marshall, in 
 1247 the title was bestowed upon William de Valence, half- 
 brother to Henry III., and it afterwards passed into the 
 houses of Hastings, Plantagenet, Tudor, Boleyn, and Her- 
 bert, in which latter it still remains. 
 
 Gilbert de Clabb, was the first Earl who held the 
 titles both of Gloucester and Hertford ; and he was the 
 eldest son of Richard de Clare, probably the same person as 
 the Baron mentioned on pag-e271, whose Armorial Ensigns 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 lip also bare. He likewise seems to have been one of the 
 Peers to whom the Welsh Lordships were granted , since in 
 1210-11, the 12th year of King- John, he fortiHed the Castle of 
 Buelth, in Wales, where he had lost many of his men but a 
 shorttime previously. Matthew Paris states of him, that he 
 was one of the principal of those Barons who were in arms 
 ag-ainst King John; one of the 25 elected to govern the 
 kingdom, and to whom the City and Tower of London were 
 committed, though his name does not appear in the Covenant 
 on page 102; one of those excommunicated by Innocent 
 III.; and one, who, adhering to Louis the Dauphin, was 
 made prisoner at the Battle of Lincoln by the Earl of Pem- 
 broke, who sent him to Gloucester. After the conclusion 
 of the Civil Wars, however, he married Isabel, one of the 
 daughters, and at length co-heirs of that celebrated Baron, 
 His property may be estimated by the circumstance that in 
 the expedition into Wales, in 1222-23, the 7th of Henry 
 III., he took scutage of his military tenants in 19 counties; 
 and in 1226-27, the 11th of the same King, he gave a fine 
 of 2000 marks, £1333 6s. Qd. for license to marry his eldest 
 daughter to Baldwin de Rivers, having £200 yearly of 
 lands in custody until his son-in-law should become of age. 
 He died in 1229, the 14th of Henry III., at Penros in Brit- 
 tany, on his return to England, and he was buried in the 
 choir of Tewkesbury Abbey, to the Monks of which he had 
 given his wood of Muthe, which lay by the side of the Se- 
 vern. 
 
 It has already been noticed on page 16 of the preceding- 
 Essay, that tlie name of Eustace de Vesci was ititiniately 
 connected with the rise and progress of the Baronial insur- 
 rections of the time of King John. He was the son of 
 William de Vesci, sometime Sherifl"of Northumberland ; and 
 becoming of full age in 1190, the second year of Richard 
 I., he gave 2300 marks, £1531 6s. Scl.y for delivery of his 
 lands and leave to marry, in which year he also paid £12 
 3s. 4rf. for the Scutage of Wales. At another Scutage 
 made for Normandy in 1196-97, the 8th of Richard I., he 
 rated liimself at £24 6s. 8(/. ; which however he was ac- 
 quitted of at that of Scotland, the 13th of John, 1211-12, as 
 
w 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 well as of the payment for 12 kiiiyhts-fecs in the Scutage fur I 
 VValrs. In the early part of the rei^n of John, Enstace de i 
 Vesci appears to have been employed by the Sovereig-n, 
 since in 1199 he was one of the Ambassadors sent to Wil- 
 liam, King- of Scotland ; bnt in 1212, his 14th year, he fled 
 into that kingdom with Robert Fitz-walter, upon their being- 
 required to give securities for their faithful allegiance. The 
 reason alleo-ed for their conduct was, that John was then 
 an excommunicated man ; hat though the English posses- 
 sions of De Vesci were seized upon, and his Castle of Aln- 
 wick ordered to be destroyed, the whole of his lands were 
 restored, upon the King's reconciliation to the Cardinal Pan- 
 dulph. Henry Knighton, a Canon-Regular of Leicester 
 Abbey, who lived in the time of Richard II., relates an im- 
 probable circumstance, particularly connected with this 
 Baron, wherein he affirms that the incontinence of John 
 was the real cause of the general insurrection of the Peer- 
 age against him, charging hini with vitiating their wives, 
 and then deriding them. He adds too, that Eustace de 
 Vesci having married a very beautiful M'oman, — Margaret, 
 daughter of William, King of Scotland — whom he kept far 
 distant from the Court, John became enamoured of her, 
 and carefully considered how he might possess her. Sitting 
 one day at table with the Baron, King John observing a 
 ring which he wore, took it from him, and said that he had 
 a similar stone, which he would have set in gold of the 
 same pattern ; and having thus procured it, he immediately 
 sent it in De Vesci 's name to his wife, charging her by that 
 token instantly to come to him, if she ever expected to see 
 him alive. Believing this message, she speedily departed 
 to the Court, but on her arrival there she met her husband, 
 who happened to be riding outj and an explanation having 
 taken place, a disguised courtezan was sent to the King as 
 her substitute. Upon John's discovery of this deceit, he 
 was so enraged, that De Vesci fled into the North, destroy- 
 ing some of the King's houses in his passage ^ whilst many 
 of the Nobles who had experienced the same treatment 
 going with him, they seized upon the King's castles, and at 
 length were joined by the citizens of London. As this 
 
^{ 
 
 4) 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 nron was so inveterate an enemy to King- Jolin, it is not 
 surpiisino- to find him u principal leader in the insurrection 
 that followed : he was one of the Peers who met at Stam- 
 ford and Brackley, one of the 25 elected X.o g-overn the 
 king-dom, one of those to whom the City and Tower of Lon- 
 don were committed, one of those excommunicated by the 
 Pope, and one of those who invited Louis the Dauphin over 
 from France. His own death was, however, intimately con- 
 nected with this last rebellious and unpatriotic action. In 
 attending- his hrotlier-in-law, Alexander, King- of Scotland, 
 to welcome the Dauphin, and to do horaag-e to him for that 
 king-dom, they passed by Barnard Castle in the Bishopric 
 of Durham, then kept by Hugh de Baillol; and approach- 
 ing- too near to see if it might easily be captured, Eustace 
 de Vesci was shot through the head with an arrow from the 
 g-arrison, in 1216, the last year of the reign of King- John. 
 The Armorial Ensigns which Pine attributes to this Baron, 
 are Quarterly Or, and Gules j those assigned by Banks 
 are Gules, a Cross Arg-ent; those quartered by the house 
 of Clifford, as heirs general of that of Vesci, were changed 
 into Or, a Cross Sable; but perhaps the most authentic 
 bearing is Gules, a Cross Patonce, Argent. The male line 
 of this family terminated in William, commonly called Wil- 
 liam de Vesci of Kildare, ^vho was slain in the Battle of 
 Bannocksburn, July 25th 1314, the illegitimate sou of 
 William, tlie grandson of Eustace. The female line ended 
 in Margery, sole daughter and heir to Warine de Vesci, 
 brother of Eustace, who married Gilbert Aton, of Aton in 
 Pickering-Lithe, in the County of York. In 1315, the 9th 
 of Edward II , Gilbert Aton, her great-grandson was found 
 to be the right heir of William de Vesci, and to bim the 
 family estates in Yorkshire descended : the marriage of his 
 great grand-daughter Margaret, with Tliomas BromtletP, 
 brought the title of Vesci into the house of Clifford, by the 
 union of Margaret her grand-daughter, with John, Lord 
 Clifford, who was slain in the Battle of Towton, March 
 29th, 14t>l ; from wiiom the present Lord de Clifford of the 
 family of Southwell, is descended. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Of William de Hardell, the Lord Mayor of Lon- 
 don, tlie information now extant is npitber so partioiilar nor 
 yet so authentic, as that which has been brought forwan) 
 concerning' the other Barons j and it has even been conjec- 
 tured that the name has been corrupted from that of Mauri- 
 tius de Londonio, or Maurice dc London. The Arrnorial 
 Ensig-ns, which are commonly assig-ned to William de Har- 
 dell, are Vert, a Fesse flory and coiinterfiory, Or; but 
 Richard, or Ralph Hardell, a Draper, who was Mayor for 
 several successive years in the time of Henry IIL, is stated 
 to have borne Or, a Bend between two Cottises, Sable : but 
 armorial bearings for a Civil Officer of so early a period, 
 should be received with considerable caution. There do 
 not appear to be any particulars extant, from which may be 
 compiled an authentic account of William de Hardell, but 
 he probably was one of the same family as that William, 
 who was Clerk of the Wardrobe in 1245-46, the 30th of Henry 
 in. -y Vide Madox's History of the Exchequer^ Chap, xxii., 
 pag-es 621, Note a, 622, Note k, Chap, xxiii. page 674, 
 Note w, 690, Note d. The same authority also mentions 
 Ralph Hardell, the Lord Mayor of London, who was sum- 
 moned to the King's council at Merton, concerning- a dis- 
 puted Taillage of the City: vide Chap. xvii. pag-e 491^ 
 see also Chap. xxii. page 606, Chap, xxiii. pag-e 632. A 
 roll of the 55th of Henry IIL, 1270-71, likewise quoted by 
 the same authority. Chap, xvii, page 516, Note b, mentions 
 one Juliana Hardel ; and in 1246-47, the 31st of Henry III., 
 John Hardel was elected on the King-'s writ to ))e Keeper 
 of the Die of the Mint of Loudon. Vide Chap, xxii, pag;e 
 604, Note f. An eminent family also of this name, held 
 several estates in Essex, as the Inquisitiones Post Mnrterfty 
 for the 13th of Edward I.— 1284-85— No. 28^ record the 
 possessions of a Laurencius Hardell ; and some account of 
 the family after this period, will be found in Morant's His- 
 tory of Essex, Vol. i. pag-es 276, 288, 320. 
 
 William de Mowbray, whose name is sometimes cor- 
 rupted into Mumhray, was the son of the first Nig-el de 
 Mowbray, and in 1194-95, 6th of Richard I., he paid £100 
 as the relief of an EarPs Barony, and £88 more in the same 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 year, wheu a Scutag-e was levied for the King's ransom, for 
 the payment of wliich he was one of the securities. His 
 name is not less remarkable for the active part which he 
 took ill the public events of his lime, than it is for his dis- 
 pute with William de Stuteville, concerning the Barony of 
 Fronteboeuf ; for the equitable determination of which, he 
 g-ave King- John 1000 marks, £666 135. 4d. It was then 
 decided that Stuteville should resign the Barony, for which 
 William de Mowbray gave him nine knights'-fees, and £12 
 of yearly rent; and the parties were reconciled at Lue, a 
 house belonging to the Bishop of Lincoln, in the Ppovince 
 of Lindsey, on Septuagesima Sunday, January 21st. 1201, 
 the 2ud year of King John. In 1215, he was made Gover- 
 nor of York Castle, and joined the Barons in arms for 
 Magna Charta; for which he was one of the twenty-five 
 Securities, being also a party to tiie Covenant for holding the 
 City and Tower of Loudon, and one of those whom Pope In- 
 nocent III. excommunicated by name. Matthew Paris, and 
 after him, Sir William Dugdale, states that Roger de Motv- 
 braijj the third brother of this Baron, was also one of the 
 twenty-five witnesses, inserting his name instead of that of 
 Uoger de Montbegon ; hut the latter authority observes,^ 
 that the series of Borons given in the preceding Essay, in 
 which Roger de Mowbray does not appear, was taken from 
 a iTianuscript of great authority, preserved in the Harleian 
 Collection, Perhaps, however, he might have been elected 
 to supply the place of Roger de Montbegon, \vho soon 
 withdrew himself from the society of the Barons. William 
 de Mowbray still continued in arms after the decease of 
 King John, and was made prisoner at the battle of Lincoln, 
 his lands being- given to William Marshall, Junior j but the 
 Lordship of Benestede in Surrey, being given to him by 
 Hubert de Burgb^ then Chief Justice, he soon recovered 
 them, and attended Henry III. to the siege of Bitham Castle 
 in Lincolnshire. About the 2nd year of Henry III., 1217-18, 
 he succeeded his brother Roger, and received his lands 
 upon paying the proper Relief; and died about the 8tb of 
 
 " Introcliiclion page XX, note u. See also Dugtiale's Baronage, Vol. 
 i. pac;e ll!i. 
 
 
 ^^,^i&>^4- 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 the same reign, 1223-24, in the Isle of Axholnie, and was 
 buried in the Abbey of Nevvbar;4h, in Yorkshire. This 
 Baron founded a Chapel at Threske, dedicated to St. 
 Nicholas; and he married Agnes, daugbter of the Earl of 
 Arundel. The Armorial Ensigns of Roger de Mowbray 
 are yet extant in the South Aisle of Westminster Abbey, as 
 one of the benefactors to that edifice ; and they were Gules, 
 a Lion rampant Arg'ent, but it is by no means certain that 
 he bore the same arms as his brother William. The house of 
 Mowbray has been extensively connected %vith nearly all the 
 most eminent persons contemporary with its history in every 
 period ; but its most noble and actual descendants, are the 
 members of the family of Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and 
 Earl of Carlisle. 
 
 Geoffrey de Say, the son of Geoffrey de Say, had 
 delivery of his estates about 1214-15, the 16th year of King- 
 John, for which be paid 4000 marks, or £2666 13^. 4d. Tie 
 married Alice, one of the daughters and coheirs of John de 
 Cayneto; but his extensive lands and possessions situate in 
 10 different Counties, were taken from him and given to 
 Peter de Crohun, in consequence of his having" joined the 
 Baronial insurrection. They were, however, restored to 
 him in the reign of Henry III., and in 1223-24 the 8th of 
 that reign, he answered for 42 Knights' Fees in the Scutage 
 of Montgomery. He died in Gascoigne, on the Monday 
 preceding the Feast of St. Bartholomew, August 24th, in 
 the 14th year of Henry III., 1230. The Armorial Ensigns 
 of this Baron were Quarterly Or and Gules. Upon failure 
 of male issue in the family of Say in 1248, the Lordship 
 passed into the houses of Clinton and Fiennes; and in 
 1404-5, the 6th of Henry IV., William, Lord Clinton, had 
 livery of his share of the lands of William de Say, and 
 thereupon bore the titles of Lord Clinton and Say, which 
 his posterity have ever since continued to enjoy. John 
 Clinton, however, his son and heir, by a deed dated No- 
 vember 1st 1448, 27th Henry VI., granted and confirmed 
 to his kinsman, Sir James Fiennes, Knight, then called 
 Lord Say and Sele, and to his heirs and assigns for ever, 
 the name, title, and arms, of Lord Say; he being de- 
 
 ^5^?^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GKEAT CHARTERS. 
 
 '^' sopiided from Joan, young-est sister and coheir of William 
 de Say, before mentioned. The present representatives of 
 of Geoffrey de Say, are, his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, 
 
 i^i who bears the ancient names both of Fiennes and Clinton; 
 and Lord Say and Sele, whose family name is likewise 
 Fiennes. 
 
 It has already been remarked that Matthew Paris, in 
 his list of the 25 Securities, elected for the preservation of 
 Magna Charta, has inserted the name of Roorer de Mun- 
 bray, for that of Roger de Montbegon j or, as it is printed 
 by Sir William Blackstone, from an ancient list in the Har- 
 leian Collection of Manuscripts, Roger de Mumhezon. In 
 the Covenant, however, for giving np the City and Tower 
 of London into the hands of the Barons, he is properly 
 called Roger de Monle B eg on is ; vide page 102, in the pre- 
 ceding- translation. This Baron was the successor of Adam 
 de Montbegon, whose principal lands were situate in the 
 County of Lincoln. Dugdale mentions, however, that the 
 issue and heir of Adam de Montbegon, and Maud Fitz 
 Swaine, was named Robert, though he afterwards proceeds 
 to state that his successor was the present Baron Roger, 
 ^vhose Christian name is confirmed by its being inserted in 
 the Covenant already referred to. During the imprison- 
 ment of Richard I. in Germany, Roger de Montbegon 
 seems to have favoured Prince John's designs on the throne, 
 since he was one of those who held out the Castle of Not- 
 tingham against the Bishop of Durham, Vicegerent of the 
 realm; but when the King on his return advanced to he- 
 siege that fortress, he came out and submitted himself, and 
 in 1197-98, the 9th of Richard I., paid 500 marks, £333 
 ds Sd.j to be reconciled to the King, and have restoration 
 of his lands, which had been seized on for his trangression. 
 In 1199-1200, the 1st of John, he paid a similar sum for 
 liberty to marry Olivia, widow of Robert de St. John, but 
 though several Lordships were g'ranted, or confirmed to him 
 by that Sovereign, even so late as 1215-16, the 17th year 
 of liis reign, he was one of the Barons who took amis against 
 him, upon which his possessions were seized and given to 
 Oliver de Albini, whilst he himself was excommunicated by 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 tlie Pope. He quitted the Barons, however, hefore the end 
 of 1316, which, perhaps, accounts for another name ap- 
 pearing- in the list of the Securities of Magna Charta fur- 
 nished by Matthew Paris ; and in 1217, he had letters of 
 safe-conduct to attend William Marshall, Earl ofPemhroke, 
 to be reconciled to the young King Henry III. In 1219-20, 
 the 4th year of the same Sovereig'U, his lands were again 
 confirmed to him; and he also attended the King- at the 
 siege of Bedford Castle. He died in 1225-26, the 10th of 
 Henry 111., and was succeeded by his cousin Henry de 
 Montbeg-on in the year following. His Armorial Ensigns 
 were Paly of six. Argent and Gules, fourteen Ro undies in 
 Orle, countercbanged. 
 
 William de Huntingfield bore for his Armorial 
 Ensigns, Or, on a Fessc Gules, three Plates ^ and being in 
 1203-4, the 5th of John, Constable of Devon Castle, he took 
 an oath before the King that he would keep it faithfully 
 and safely, and not resign it to any person excepting the 
 Sovereign himself, or Hubert de Burgh, then Lord Cham- 
 berlain : at the same time delivering his son to the Earl of 
 Arundel, and his daughter to the Earl Ferrers, as hostages 
 for bis good faith. In 1206-7, the 8th of the same reign, 
 he procured the wardship and marriage of the heir and land 
 of Osbert Pitz-Hervei, for which he paid a fine of 200 marks, 
 £133 0s. 8(/., and two palfreys; and in the following year 
 he had a grant of all the possessions of his brother, Roger 
 de Huntingfield, which bad been seized into the Kino-'s 
 hands during the Interdict. In 1208-9, tlie 10th of John, 
 he was one of the Itinerant Justices at Lincoln, and for a 
 part of the next year he executed the office of Sheriff of 
 Norfolk and Suffolk. He also subsequently held the same 
 appointment until the end of 1213-14, the 15th of John, 
 when he paid a tine of "six fair Norway Goshawks," to 
 the King, for liberty to marry Alice, his daughter, then a 
 widow, and to have assignment of her dowry. The last 
 office which this Baron seems to have held, was that of Go- 
 vernor of Sauvey Castle, in Leicestershire j after which he 
 joined the party of the Barons who were in arms against 
 King John, and being elected one of the twenty-five ap- 
 
JUu;J 
 
 mm 
 
 —f^TV^T^V JT V'WJUtr 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 I pointed to g-overn the kingdom, was excommunieatecl by' 
 'the Pope, and his lands in Lincolnshire g-ipen to Nicholas 
 de Haya, to hold during the King-'s pleasure. He seems, ^ 
 ^however, partly to have returned to his alleg'iance, since i 
 in 1216, John sent his precept to the Sheriff of Hants, 
 commanding him to restore to him the Manor of Clayford 
 in that County. Under Henry 111. his possessions in Nor- 
 folk, SatFolk, Cambridgeshire, he. were, for some new act 
 of rebellion, transferred by the King to John Marshall ; 
 but they were probably restored at the general amnesty. 
 He died in 12.^6-57, the 41st of Henry III. 
 
 The name of Robert de Boys is erroneously inserted 
 for that of Robert de Ros, in the Harleian Manuscript 
 from which Sir William Blackstone printed his list of the 
 25 Witnessing Barons, which, however, is rectified by the 
 text of Matthew Paris ; and it may be remarked in addition 
 that the latter Baron was also a Witness to the Great and 
 Forest Charters of 1224, vide ante, pages 38 and 144. 
 Robert de Ros succeeded to his estates at the age of 13, in 
 1190-91, the 2nd of Richard I. and paid 1000 marks, £666 
 13s. id. for his livery. In 1196-97, the 8th of the same 
 King, he was committed to the custody of Hugh de Chau- 
 mout, though for what reason is not known; but he was 
 charged to keep him safe as his own life. This duty being 
 transferred to William de Spiney, his escape from the Castle 
 of Bonville was procured by bribes and promises; when the 
 King made his guardian discbarge his ransom of 1200 marks 
 £800, and afterwards executed him. In 1199-1200, the 1st 
 year of King John, however, Robert de Ros received the 
 Barony of his ancestor, Walter Espec, and was one of the 
 Ambassadors sent to William, King of Scotland. In 1204-5 
 the 6th of the same Sovereign, a precept was sent to the 
 Sheriffs of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Cum- 
 berland, and Westmoreland, to seize all the lands of this 
 Baron; though they were restored within two years after 
 with some additions. In the 14th of the same reign, 1212, 
 he assumed a religious habit, and the custody of his 
 possessions was transferred to Philip de Ulcote ; but in the 
 year following he seems to have beeii Sheriff of Cumber- 
 
 g^^^Ssss*^"^ 
 
 ^-^-s^g 
 
^^-^Jm 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 ■land, as he also was in the 16th of John, 1214-15. He wasjj 
 »at first one of the few Barons who remained attached tofi 
 ' King- John during- the Civil Wars; but in the 17th of hisi 
 reign, being Governor of Carlisle, he refused to yield It on™ 
 summons, when he was promised safe-conduct for himself, 
 and all wliom he should bring with him provided he would 
 retuili to the King. This invitation, however, he disre- 
 garded, since he was one of the Barons who met in arms at 
 Stamford, &c. in 1215; and was afterwards made one of 
 the 25 Governors of the kingdom, the County of Northum- 
 berland being allotted to him. Matthew Paris also adds, 
 that this Baron was one of the chief of those who engaged 
 to compel the King to the observance of Magna Cbarta, if 
 he should at any time ofTer to recede from it. He appears, 
 however, to have returned to his allegiance on the accession 
 of Henry III. — probably through the interference of the 
 Earl of Pembroke, — and in 1217-18, the 6tb of that reign, 
 theSheriffof Cumberland was directedtorestore his Manors : 
 in addition to which he was discharged of a Scutage for 
 two Knight's fees in 1223-24,— 8th Henry III ;— and in 
 1225-26, his Manor of Bovvelton in Northumberland, was 
 gifted with a Market. Robert de Ros married Isabel, 
 daughter of William, King of Scotland; he erected the 
 Castles of Helmesley, or Ham lake in Yorkshire, and of Werke 
 in Northumherland ; and he confirmed some possessions to 
 the Knights'-Templars, of whicli Order he was also a mem- 
 ber. He died in the 11th of Henry III., 1226-27, and was 
 buried in his proper habit in the Church of the New Temple 
 at London, where his tomb is yet extant. Mr. Gough, who 
 has inserted his effigy in his Sepidchral Monuments, Vol. I. 
 Part i. Plate v, No. 3, pages 24 and 41, calls it ** the most 
 elegant of all the figures in the Temple Church, represent- 
 ing a comely young Knight in mail, and a flowing mantle 
 with a kind of cowl ; his hair neatly curled at the sides, his 
 crown appears shaven . His hands are elevated in a praying 
 posture, and on his left arm is a short pointed shield charged 
 with three water-bougets. He has at his left side a long 
 sword, and the armour of his legs, which are crossed, has 
 a ridge or seam up the front continued over the knee, and 
 
v/T/q 
 
 "1 I 
 
 4miI 
 
 I 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 forming a kind of garter below the knee." At his feet is 
 a lion- and the whole figure measures 6 feet 2 inches from 
 the top of the head to the bottom of the animal. An engraving* 
 of the effigy of Robert de Ros, is also to be found in C. A. 
 Stothard's Monumental Effigies; and it is exhibited in the 
 
 annexed 
 siffns are 
 
 wood-cut. 
 
 the same 
 upon his shield, 
 Water-boug-ets, Ar- 
 delineated on the wall 
 Westminster Abbey, 
 perfect. The direct 
 rons of Ros, ternii- 
 descent from Robert, 
 Roos, who died with- 
 24th of Henry VII. 5 
 Isabel, and Marg-a- 
 heirs. The two latter 
 sue J hut the former 
 Robert Manners, the 
 from abeyance in that 
 
 His Armorial En- 
 as those sculptured 
 namely, Gules, three 
 gent, which are also 
 of the North Aisle of 
 though now very im- 
 male line of the Ba- 
 nated in the seventh 
 in Edmund Ros, or 
 out issue in 1508-9, 
 his sisters Eleanor, 
 ret, becoming his 
 also died without is- 
 being married to Sir 
 Barony was raised 
 family, from which the 
 
 Dukes of Rutland are lineally descended. The title after- 
 wards passed into the houses of Cecil and Villiers, and subse- 
 quently, for want of male issue, again fell into abeyance. In 
 the year 1803, however. Lady Charlotte Boyle, otherwise 
 called from her marriage with the son of James, Duke ofLein- 
 ster, Lady Henry Fitz-Gerald, being one of the co-heiresses, 
 on whom the Barony devolved, presented a petition to the 
 King, praying His Majesty to terminate the abeyance by de- 
 claring and confirming the right to the Barony of Ros in her 
 favour. Her petition being- referred to the Attoi'ney-Genera], 
 upon his report to a Committee of Privileges of the House 
 of Lords, it was resolved May, 7th 1806, that the Barony 
 was in abeyance between Sii" Henry Hunloke, of Wino-er- 
 worth-Hall, in the County of Derby, Baronet- George 
 Capel-Coningsby, Earl of Essex ; and Lady Henry Fitz- 
 Gerald, in whose favour His Majesty terminated the abey- 
 ance on May 9th, 1806, when she became Baroness De Ros^ 
 bearing the ancient Arms already described. 
 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 It has sometimes been imagined that the name of John 
 DE Laci, Constable of Chester^ and Baron of Halton, has 
 been erroneously inserted in the list of these Baronial Secu- 
 rities, instead of that of Hanulph Blmtdeville, Earl of Chester ; 
 who, however, was one of the few Peers remaining loyal to 
 Kings John and Henry III. during the whole of the rebel- 
 lion. John de Laci was married to Alice, daughter of Gil- 
 bert de Aquila, and was the son of Roger, who died in 
 1211, the 13th of John, and on coming to his estates two 
 years after, he engaged for the payment of the immense 
 sum of 7000 marks, £4666 13s. 4rf. as his livery, to he paid 
 in four years ; for which also he was to be discharged of 
 his father's debts in the Exchequer. There does not 
 appear to have been any charge of disloyalty upon Roger 
 de Laci, but his son John obliged himself by oath, that in 
 case he should ever fall from his allegiance and adhere to 
 the King's enemies, all his possessions should revert to the 
 crown. At the same time, too, he also engaged that he 
 would not marry witliout the King's license; in security of 
 which, the Castles of Dunnington and Pontefract, still re- 
 mained in the hands of John, £40 per annum being allowed 
 for their custody: the former of these, however, was soon 
 after restored to him upon hostages. In the Baronial In- 
 surrection, John de Laci appears to have been one of the 
 earliest who took up arms, and in the division of the go- 
 vernment of the realm, by the 25 elected Peers, Yorkshire 
 and Nottinghamshire were appropriated to him. After 
 his excommunication, however, this Baron appears partly 
 to have returned to his allegiance, receiving letters of safe 
 conduct both from John and Henry III.; and in the 2od 
 year of the latter Sovereign, 1217-18, he departed to 
 the Holy Land with several other English Nobles. His 
 good services at the Siege of Damietta, were rewarded by a 
 second marriage with Margaret, daughter of Robert de 
 Quincy, by Hawjse his wife, 4th sister of Ranulph, Earl 
 of Chester and Lincoln; through whom he received the 
 latter title about the year 1232, with the sum of £20 per 
 annum, by charter both from the Earl of Chester and the 
 King- himself. During the dispute between Henry III. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 and Richard, Earl Marshall, when several of the Barons 
 adhered lo the latter^ John de Laci remained attached to 
 the King' ; partly, as it is supposed, in consideration of the 
 g-rant of his Earldom, and partly for the sum of 500 
 marks, £333 6s. 8rf. g-iven him by Peter de Riipibus, 
 Bishop of Winchester. In 1233, this Baron was constituted 
 Governor of Blankniinster Castle; and received the ward- 
 ship and marriag-e of Rog'cr, brother and heir of Nig-el de 
 Mowbray, for which he paid the sum of 1000 marks, £6G6 
 13s. 4rf. In 1237, he was one of the Barons sent by Henry 
 III. to that g-reat Council of the English Prelates, which 
 was summoned by Otto, the Pope's Leg'ate, they being; com- 
 missioned to prohibit the establishment of any thing- con- 
 trary to the King's Crown and Dig'nity. He was also ap- 
 pointed, with the Earl Marshal, the Earl of Leicester, and 
 a strong- guard, to protect the Legate as he went to, and 
 returned from, the Council. In the same year he had a 
 grant of the Slieriffalty of Chester, and was made Governor 
 of Chester and Beeston Castles. He was also promised the 
 marriage of his eldest daughter to Richard, Earl of Clare, 
 iu the event of the King not marrying him to a daughter of 
 the Earl of March; and for this grant he engaged to pay 
 5000 marks, £3333 6s. 8rf., 2000 of which were remitted 
 him. This agreement, however, having been made without 
 theconsent of the Baronage, excited considerable discontent, 
 especially in the elder Earl of Clare. In 1240, John de 
 Laci was again Sheriff of Cheshire, and he also had the re- 
 turn of the Royal Writs for part of the County of York; 
 but he died on St. Mary Magdalen's day, July 22nd in the 
 same year, and was buried in the Cistercian Abbey of 
 Stanlaw in the County of Chester. Sir Peter Leyccster's 
 account of this Baron, with his seal, arms, and several 
 deeds, will be found in The History of the County Palatine 
 and City of Chester^ by George Ornierod, LL. D. &c. Lond. 
 1819, Pol. Vol. I. pages 506, note a, 512-513. The Armo- 
 rial Ensigns attributed to this Baron are, an official coat 
 which he bore on his private seal, namely. Azure, three 
 Garbs Or ; being those of Blundeville, Earl of Chester, 
 used by the Constables of the Earldom, the descendants of 
 
NOTES ON THE GKEAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Nigel, first Baron of HaltOD. It h supposed, however, that 
 this John cle Laci introduced the latter coat home by the 
 Barons of Haiton, Or, a Lion rampant Purpure; hut the 
 effigy on his seal wears a heater-shield charged with the 
 bearing- used by the Lacies of Blaekburnshire, namely, 
 Quarterly, Or and Gules, a Bend Sahle. The male line of 
 the house of Laci appears to have terminated in Henry, the 
 g-randson of this Baron; whose only surviving- issue was 
 Alice, who married firstly, Thom-js Plantagenet, Earl of 
 Lancaster; secondly, Eubolo le Strange; and thirdly, 
 Hu^o de Frenes, with whom she was interred, her death 
 taking- place in 1348-49, the 22nd year of Edward III. 
 
 William de Albini, Albany, Albiniac, or D'Aube- 
 ney, for his name is to be found spelled with many varia- 
 tions, was the son of William de Todeni, Baron of Belvoir, 
 who first adopted this surname, though his reason for doing- 
 so has never been ascertained. The younger William 
 appears to have remained longer faithful to the King, as 
 well as more moderate in his opposition to him, than most 
 of the Barons who were concerned in the insurrection. 
 Wlien his father died in 1167-68, the 14th of Henry II., he 
 was in ward to the King, and it does not appear when he 
 succeeded to his estates; but in 1194, the 6th of Richard 
 I., he was in the royal army which was then in Normandy. 
 During part of the following year, he was made Sheriff of 
 the Counties of Warwick and Leicester; and he also held 
 the same oflfices for those of Rutland, Bedford, and Bucking- 
 ham, at various times between 1196 and 1199, or from the 
 8th to the 10th year of Richard I. His property may be 
 estimated by the circumstance of his paying 500 marks 
 £333 6s. 8rf., ill the latter year for the inheritance of Ao-atha 
 Trusbut, whom he married; and a similar sum in the first 
 year of King John. From that Sovereign he received 
 however, two very important grants; one in 1201-1202 
 the 3rd of his reign, being a special license to make a Park 
 at Stoke, in Northamptonshire, within the precinct of the 
 King's Forest of Rockingham, with liberty to hunt the fox 
 and hare ; and another charter dated at Alenfon in Nor- 
 mandy, January 15th in the year following, giving him tlie 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Lordsliip of Oskynton, or Ouston, in the County of Not- 
 ting'liam, with 100 shilling's of Socag'e land lying- near his 
 park at Stoke, f n 1201, the 3rd of John, when the Barons 
 refused to attend him into Normandy, the King de- 
 manded that their castles should be g-iven up to him as 
 security for their allegiance, beginning- with William de 
 Albini, of whom he claimed BelvoJr Castle, instead of 
 which, however, he gave his son William as a hostage. He 
 appears not to have joined the insurg-ent Barons, until he 
 could no longer with safety either remain neuter or adhere 
 to the King J but so late as January 1215, he w^as one of 
 John's Commissioners appointed for the safe-conduct of 
 such as Avere travelling to the Court at Northampton. And 
 although he soon after became one of the 25 Securities for 
 the Great Charter, it may almost be questioned whether he 
 were not even then more on the part of the King than of 
 the Barons J for when he was summoned by Robert Fitz- 
 Walter to attend the tournament adjourned from Stamford 
 to Hounslow-Heath, upon the Monday after the Feast of St, 
 Peter and St. Paul, June 29th, he never attended, and it 
 was not until after the other Barous had alarmed him by 
 their messages and censures, that he fortified Belvoir Castle, 
 and joined them at London. He was, however, received 
 with considerable joy, and Rochester Castle having been 
 delivered up to them by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, he was appointed Governor- when, though he 
 found it so utterly destitute of provision, as almost to induce 
 his forces to abandon it, he recruited and held it out until 
 famine, weakness, and midnight watching, obliged them to 
 surrender to the King. Matthew Paris relates of this Baron 
 that during the siege, as John and some of his commanders 
 were one day viewing the Castle, an excellent Archer asked 
 him if he should shoot at the King with an arrow which he 
 then held I'eady; and upon his answering, No, ** Whv," 
 rejoined the bowman, *' he would not spare us if he had the 
 advantage:" — *' God's will he done V answered De Albini, 
 '*for He, and not the King, will dispose of us." The sie«e 
 having lasted three mouths, and being attended with con- 
 siderable loss, John ordered that all the nobles in the Castle 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 should be hang-ed; but the sentence bein^ resolutely op- 
 posed by Savaricus fie Maloleone, one of his own chief 
 commanders, William de Albini and his son Odouel, with 
 several other Barons, were committed to the custody of 
 Peter de Mauley, and sent prisoners to Corfe and Notting- 
 ham Castles. Whilst he remained in the former of these 
 fortresses, on the morrow of Christmas-day, 1216, the King 
 marched from Nottingham to the Town of Langar, whence 
 he sent a summons for Belvoir Castle to surrender; adding, 
 that if any conditions were insisted on, "the lord of it 
 should nerer eat more." Upon this, Nicholas de Albini, 
 one of the Baron's sons and a Clerk in Orders, delireredthe 
 keys to John, upon provision that his father should be mer- 
 cifully treated, and they remain in quiet with their horses 
 and arms : the fortress was then committed to the custody 
 of Geo rey and Oliver de Buteville. After having been 
 included in Pope Innocent's Excommunication of the in- 
 suro-ent Barons, William de Albini at length paid a fine of 
 eOOO marks to the King, £4000, for his liberty, the sum 
 beino- raised from his own lands by his wife, on their being 
 delivered to her expressly for that purpose, with power of 
 alienation and a particular precept to all his tenants. After 
 John's death, though he quietly submitted himself to Henry 
 III., he was forced to give his wife Agatha and Nicholas 
 his son as hostages; but in 1217 he was one of the King's 
 commanders at the Battle of Lincoln. Shortly after too, 
 he received the lands, &c. of Thomas de Muleton, and the 
 wardship and marriage of Ilngh de Nevill. William de 
 Albini was twice married, his first wife being Margery, 
 daughter of Odenel de Umfranvile, a great Baron of Nor- 
 thumberland ; and for the good of their souls and his own, 
 he gave the Monks of Belvoir one sheaf of every kind of 
 grain taken from five of his Lordships, and he founded and 
 liberally endowed, the Hospital of Our Lady at Newstead 
 in Lincolnshire. He died at Offington, on May 1st, the 
 morrow preceding the Nones of May, 1236, the 20th of 
 Henry III., his body being buried at Newstead, and his 
 heart under the wall opposite the High-altar at Belvoir. 
 William de Albini bore for his Armorial Ensigns, Gules, a 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 Lion rampant, Or, armeil and langued Azure. The house 
 of Albini as connected with this Baron, terminated in Henry 
 de Albini, created Earl of Bridg-ewater, July 19th, 1538, 
 30th Henry VIII., who married Catherine, daiig-liter of 
 Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, afterwards 5th Queen of 
 Henry VIII., by whom he left no issue. 
 
 The Armorial Ensig-ns which Pine attributes to 
 Richard de Percy, are erroneous, inasmuch as they are 
 the Ancient Coat borne by his family — namely. Azure, tire 
 Fusils in fesse, Or, — instead of that more honourable device 
 introduced by Josceline de Lovaine, Or, a Lion rampant, 
 Azure. This change was originally caused by Ag-nes de 
 Percy, who, with her sister Maud, was co-heiress to their 
 four brothers who died without issue ; and on being courted 
 by Josceline de Lovaine, son of Godfrey, Duke of Brabant, 
 and brother to Adeliza, Queen of Heniy I., — slie consented 
 to marry him, provided he and his posterity would assume 
 either the surname or arms of Percy, reliiiquisliing- his own. 
 He agreed to the former, retaining his own paternal ensign, 
 which has eversince been marshalled in the Percy atchieve- 
 ment, as the first coat quarterly with that of Lucy, tiie more 
 ancient bearing- immediately following- it. The eldest son 
 of this marriage was Richard, the Baronial Witness to 
 Magna Charta ; who, after the death of Maud, Countess of 
 Warwick, his mother's sister, without issue, entered, by the 
 King's advice and his mother's licence into her part of the 
 Percy inheritance. In 1204-1205, the 6th of John, he had 
 delivery of all those lands in the Counties of York and War- 
 wick belonging to the late Agnes and Maud de Percy; but 
 in 1211-12, the 13th of the same King, his estate was con- 
 siderably increased, because he was then acquitted of the 
 Scutage on 15 Knight's-fees, being half the Honour be- 
 longing to William de Percy his ancestor. Beside being- 
 one of the 25 principal Barons connected with Magna Charta, 
 Richard de Percy was included in the Excommunication of 
 Innocent III. ^ and was appointed with Robert de Ros and 
 Peter de Brus to subject "Yorkshire to the allegiance of 
 Louis, the Danpliin of France. He appears to have been 
 reconciled to Henry III. in 1216-17, the first year of his 
 
.^^^_fe 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 reigfn, wlieri he had letters of safe-conduct to William Mar- j 
 shall 5 and in the year following he was in arms for the 
 Sovereign. The time of his death is not recorded, but he 
 seems not to have left any issue ■ and tlie line of this family 
 terminated in Josceline de Percy, 11th Earl of Northumber- 
 land, who died without male issue 21st May, 1670. His 
 only daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, married Charles 
 Seymour, Duke of Somerset, whose son Alf^ernon, was, 
 Oct. 2nd. 1722, created Barou Warkwortb and Earl of 
 Northumberland, with remainder in default of male issne to 
 his son-in-law. Sir Hugh Smithson, Bart., who succeeded 
 outlie Duke's death, Fehruary2nd, 1750. On April 12th, 
 1741, this Earl and Elizabeth his Countess, were qualified 
 by Act of Parliament to take the name of Percy, aud bear 
 and quarter the family Arms. The title was elevated into a 
 Dukedom Oct. 22nd, 1766, and their g-randson, Hugh Percy, 
 the present Duke of Northumberland, is the third wlio has 
 enjoyed the peerage. 
 
 William Malj^t, appears to be first mentioned as a 
 minor, in 1194, the 6th of Richard I., in an expedition then 
 made into Normandy^ and in the ensuing year he paid an 
 Earl's relief of £100 for delivery of his inheritance. His 
 estates, including tlie principal one of Curry, or Curry- 
 Mallet in Somersetshire, were held by the service of 20 
 Knight's-fees J and in 1203-1204, the 5th of John, he ap- 
 pears to have felt the value of the famous 40th Chapter of 
 the Great Charter, vide pages 230, 231, by g-iving 100 
 shillings to the King- for license to proceed at law against 
 William de Evermue for the Lordship of Swinton. In part 
 of 1210-11, the 12th of the same reign, and the three years 
 succeeding, he was Sheriff" of Somerset and Dorset j and in 
 1213-1.5, the 15th of John, he served the King- with 20 
 soldiers in discharge of a debt then due by him. As he was 
 one of the Barons in arms against the Sovereign, his lands 
 in the Counties of Somerset, Dorset, Surrey, aud Oxford, 
 were committed to the care of Hugh de Vivion and his 
 father-in-law, Thomas Bassett. He was also included in 
 the Excommunication of Pope Innocent, though he became 
 reconciled to the King before his death 3 but after his de- 
 
 -T^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 cease, in 1224-25, the 9th of Henry III., Hii^h deVlvion^ 
 and Robert de Mueegios, the husbands of his daughters and 
 lieirs, were obliged to pay the fine of 2000 marks, £1333 
 6s. Sd. which had never til! then been discharg-ed. One ^ 
 thousand marks, or £666 13s. 4d. however, were remitted, ' 
 being due to him for former service in King- John's army in 
 Poictou; namely, for ten Knights at two shillings per day, 
 and twenty servants at twelvepence. The Armorial En- 
 signs attributed to this Baron, are commonly blazoned 
 Azure, tbree Escallop Shells, Or ; but this was the coat of 
 Hamelyon de Deaudon, of Deaudon in Devonshire, whose 
 heir, Mabel, married Sir Baldwin Malet, which brought the 
 estate of St. Audries in Somersetshire, into the family; and 
 the proper bearing for this Baron is Gules, a Lion rampant 
 Or, debruised with a Bendlet, Ermine. The Escallops, 
 however, are said to have been first adopted by a Crusader 
 of the family ; and in the Church of Shepton-Mallet in So- 
 mersetshire, in the windows of the North Aisle, are the 
 mutilated effigies of two Kuiglits-Teraplars in complete ar- 
 mour and cross-legged, said to represent some of this name, 
 who went to the Holy Wars. That in the lowermost window 
 has a ferocious countenance, his ri^ht arm crosses his body 
 and reclines upon his shield, which is of an oblong form 
 and placed over his left ; and between his legs is his sword. 
 The other effigy has also an oblong shield on his left arm, 
 and the remains of a dog at his feet. Another Coat of Arms, 
 supposed to have been borne by the Malets is, tbree Buckles, 
 being that retained by the house of Greville in Normauily ; 
 and the family motto now used of *' Ma force d'eit /rawf," My 
 strength is from on high, appears to have been assumed by 
 Sir Baldwin Malet, Solicitor-General to Henry VIII., to 
 whose power it probably contained an allusion. The sur- 
 name of Malet is supposed to have been originally derived 
 from some ancient member of the family, famous either for 
 bis valour, or for his dexterity in the use of the mail, or 
 hammer of Iron, carried before the invention of fire-aruis. 
 The Barony of Mulct was divided between Hugh de Vivion 
 and Sir Hugh Pointz, who had married Mabel and Heloise 
 the daughters and heiresses of William de Malet: but two 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHAKTERS. 
 
 jotlier branches of tlie family, those of St. Audries and of 
 j En more in the County of Somerset, still flourislied in wealtli 
 and importance. The latter estate became alienated by tlie 
 r marriageof Elizabeth Malet to the celebrated Earl of Roches- 
 ter; and from the proprietors of the other is descended the 
 present Sir Alexander Malet, the representative of this most 
 ancient family. Several particulars of the three different 
 lines of the name, will be found in The History and Antiquities 
 of the County of Somerset ^ by the Rev. John Collinson, Bath. 
 1791, Quarto, Vol. I. pa^es 32, 90. III. 463, 496. 
 
 It is generally supposed from the Armorial Bearing's 
 used by John Fitz-Robeht, namely, Or, two Chevrons 
 Gules, that be was nearly related to the families of Clare 
 and Fitz-VValter, the ancient members of which latter, in 
 common with others, frequently varied their surname, ac- 
 cordinfr to the Christian name of their immediate progeni- 
 tor ; Robert Fitz-Walter being- the son of Walter Fitz-Ro- 
 bert. There is, however, a considerable deg"ree of obscurity 
 connected with this peison, — who never appears to have 
 received any summons to Parliament, his Barony being- held 
 by Tenure, — as well concerning' his actual identity, as con- 
 cerning- the house from whicli he was descended. The 
 name frequently occurs in the records of the Exchequer, as 
 that of various persons called Guy, Philip, Edward, William, 
 Nicholas, Richard, and Ranulph j and in the Calendarium 
 Rotulorum Chartarum et Inquisitionum ad quod Damnum^ 
 Lond. 1803, Fol. pa^e 236, column 2, appears a John 
 Fitz-Robert, of Rothewell, in Lincolnshire, entered as i^e^o 
 or criminal: 7th of Edward II., 1313-14. No. 6. The 
 Abhreviatio Placitornm, l^o]\A.\%Wy Fol. also contain several 
 references to some persons of the name of John Fitz-Robert, 
 Thus, one is noticed as holding lands in Chadlington in Ox- 
 fordshire, in the 2Gth of Henry III., 1241-42, page 117, 
 col. 2, Rot. 13. Another Fitz-Robert, of Estgate, is men- 
 tioned as having held by fee-farm, and having- recovered 
 possession of a messuage and eleven acres of land in Bern- 
 bam, near Berested, in Norfolk : 24th Edward L, 1295-96, 
 page 236, col. 2, Rot. 44. Another entry of a plea takea 
 in 1300-1301, in which a John Fitz-Robert was concerned 
 
:.^-^4^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE (^REAT CHARTERS. 
 
 relates to tlie County of York : page 343, col. 1, Rot. 30. 
 A fourth notice speaksof a John Fitz-Robert, of Grimessone, 
 in Lincolnshire, who paid £5 damages for ill-treating the 
 persons collecting- toll of his goods for sale in Swineshead 
 market: 1302, 30tli Edward I., page 246, col. 1, Rot. 15. 
 Whether all these persons, however, were of the same fa- 
 mily, or connected with that of the Witness to Magna Cliarta, 
 cannot now be ascertained. 
 
 William de Lanvallei is supposed to have been the 
 sou of a Baron of those names whom he succeeded about 
 1210-11, the 12th year of King John ; though his estates do 
 not appear to have been of any very considerable extent, 
 since his widow paid only 200 marks, £133 Gs. 8d. for tbeir 
 delivery. In 1212-13, the 14th year of the same Sovereign, 
 Alan Basset of Wycombe gave the King a similar sum and 
 an excellent pnlfrey, that his daughter might inarry William 
 de Lanvallei, who also was to be discharged of his relief 
 upon doing his homage. In 1215-16, the 17th of John, 
 this Baron was Governor of Colchester Castle, but about the 
 same time he appeais to have joined the insurgent Nobles, 
 who constituted him one of the 25 elected to govern the 
 kingdom, and he was likewise a party to that Covenant which 
 yielded to them the City and Tower of London. He appears 
 to have been reconciled to Henry III. at the great Treaty in 
 1217 -J but there are no farther particulars extant concerning 
 him, excepting that his daughter and heiress, Hawise, was 
 married to John de Burgh, son of Hubert, Earl of Kent, and 
 Justiciary of England. The issue of this marriage was John 
 de Burgh, from whom descended two daughters, who were 
 co-heiresses to their father; one of whom, Hawisa, married 
 Robert de Greslei in 1279-SO, the 8th of Edward I., the an- 
 cestor of the present Sir Roger Gresley, of Drakelow, in the 
 County of Derhy, Baronet. The Armorial Ensigns which are 
 frequently, but erroneously, delineated for William de Lan- 
 vallei, are those of the house of Delaval, namely. Ermine, 
 2 Bars Vert j instead of Gules, a Lion passant Or. This 
 mistake has probably arisen from the circumstance that 
 Gilbert de la Val was one of the Barons in arms against 
 King John in the 17th year of his reign 1216-17 j from 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 whom, in tlie nineteenth deo-iee, descended Jolin Hussey 
 J Delaval, created Baron Belaval of Delaval in tlie County of 
 Norlhunilierland, August 21st, 1786. He bore tlie ancient 
 V Armorial Ensig'ns of tlie family ; and, to commemorate the 
 actions of his ancestor, his supporters were two Barons in 
 complete armour, but without their helmets, all proper, the 
 dexter one holding in his right hand a sealed deed in- 
 scribed Mao-na Charta, and in his left a drawn sword resting- 
 on the shield : and the sinister holding a spear with a banner 
 Gules, fringed and charged with a Lion passant guardant, 
 Or, being the Arms of William I., cousin to one of the an- 
 cient Barons of this name, who also carried one of his head 
 banners when he invaded England. The title of Delaval 
 became extinct in May, 1808, by the death of the first Lord 
 without male issue. 
 
 Of the family of Hugh Bigod, or Bigot, some account 
 has already been given on pages 279, 280, of the present 
 work -y since he was the eldest son of Roger, Earl of Norfolk, 
 whose Arms, Or, a Cross Gules, he bore, though probably, 
 difl'erenced with a label during the life of his father, but the 
 coat of the family of Norwich, namely. Parted per Pale, 
 Gnles and Azure, a Lion rampant, Ermine, is also frequently 
 and erroneously assigned to him. Hugh Bigod succeeded 
 to his father's estates in 1220-21, the 5th year of Henry 
 III. There are but few particulars of this Baron's life ex- 
 tant, for he enjoyed the title of Earl of Norfolk but a very 
 few years, since he died iu 1224-25, the 9th of Henry III., 
 leaving three sons, Roger, Hugh, and Ralph, by Maud, 
 daughter of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. 
 
 Richard de Montfichet, the last of the Baronial 
 Witnesses, was the son of a Baron of the same name, who 
 was Forester of Essex, and Keeper of the King's houses at 
 Havering and elsewhere in the Forest- and who died in 
 1203-1204, the 5th of John. At this time the younger 
 Richard was under age, and his wardship was committed to 
 Roger de Lacy, Constable of Chester, who gave 1000 
 marks, £G6G I3s. 4d. for it; but in 1210-11, the 12th of 
 John, Miliseut, the mother of Richard de Montfichet, paid 
 1100 marks, £733 6s. Sd. to have the wardship herself. As 
 
 -^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 M 
 
 this Baron did not become of age until the latter end of 
 King- John's reig-n, bis first act appears to have been joining 
 the party then in arms for Magna Charta ; and he was ap- 
 pointed one of the twenty-fipe who were to govern the 
 realm. He also went over into France with Robert Fitz- 
 Walter in 1216 to collect more aid, and continued one of 
 the most turbulent of the Barons, until he was taken pri- 
 soner in the Battle of Lincoln, June 18th, 1217. Eren after 
 he was released, he attended the Tournament at Blithe in 
 1222-23, 7th Henry III., contrary to the King's prohibition, 
 for which his lands were seized ; but in the 21st of the same 
 Sovereign, 1236-37, he was constituted Justice of the 
 King's Forests for nineteen of the Counties of England. In 
 1241-42 he was made Sheriff of Essex and Governor of 
 Hertford Castle ; and in 1257-58, he was summoned to 
 attend the King at Chester on the Monday preceding the 
 Feast of John the Baptist, to oppose the hostilities of the 
 Welsh. As Richard de Montfichet died without issue, his 
 lands, being chiefly the Barony of Stanstead in Essex, 
 were divided between his three sisters : Margaret, married 
 to Hugh de Bolebec ; Aveline, to William de Fortibus, Earl 
 of Albemarle- and Phillippa, to Hugh de Playz. His 
 Armorial Ensigns were Gules, three Chevrons, Or, which 
 had been assumed by his great-grandfather Willi;im, on his 
 marriage with Margaret, daughter of Gilbert Fitz-Richard, 
 Earl of Clare, they being those of that family liaving the 
 tinctures reversed. 
 
 Such then, are a few memorials of the Barons of Eng- 
 land, who were principally engaged in procuring and esta- 
 blishing the Magna Charta of King John. It would not be 
 less interesting, nor less proper to this work, now to proceed 
 in oiving a similar account of all the other Peers engaged 
 in the same cause, as well as of the few who remained 
 faithful to the Sovereign during the whole rebellion. From 
 the specimens, however, which have been already given, it 
 is evident that this would occupy too great a portion of the 
 volume ; to which it may be added, that a certain degree 
 of likeness prevails throughout all such Baronial memoirs, 
 and that fall information may be procured from the works 
 

 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 IS^ 
 
 from which the foreg-oing- have been compiled. These are, 
 in addition to those cited on former pag-es, The Baronage of 
 England, by Sir William Dug-dale, Lond. 1675-76, folio. 
 
 2 vols. ; A Help to English History, by Peter Heylyn, D.D, 
 Continued and Improved, by PanI Wright, B. D. F. S. A. 
 Lond. 1773, octavo; The Dormant and Extinct Baronage 
 of England, byT.C. Banks, Esq. Lond. 1807-1809, quarto, 
 
 3 vols.; A Synopsis of the Peerage of England, exhibiting, 
 under Alphabetical Arrangement, the date of Creation, Descent, 
 and present state of every Title of Peerage which has existed in 
 this country since the Conquest, by Nicholas Harris Nicolas, 
 Esq. F. S. A. Lond. 1825, 12ino. 2 vols.; A Genealogical 
 History of divers Families of the Ancient Peerage of England, 
 by T. C. Banks, Esq. Lond. 18'26, quarto; Dehrett's Peer- 
 age of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 Lond. 1826, 12mo. 2 vols.; Debreft's Baronetage of Eng- 
 land, Lond. 1826, 12mo. 2 vols. To these, however, 
 should be added a work of continual and excellent refe- 
 rence, entitled I^^o/icia Historica : containing Tables, Calen- 
 dars, and Miscellaneous Information for the use of Historians, 
 Antiquaries, and the Legal Profession, by Nicholas Harris 
 Nicolas, Esq. Lond. 1824, octavo. 
 
 Bnt before entirely conclnding- these Baronial memo- 
 randa, having' already g-iven some account of Kino- John's 
 firm supporter William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, his 
 next most faithful friend and relative, William Longespee, 
 Earl of Salisbury, ought certainly not to be omitted, 
 since his name is repeatedly mentioned in the course of this 
 volume. He was the natural son of King- Henry H. by 
 Rosamond Cliiloid, usually called Fair Rosamond ; and he 
 derived h is surname of Longespee from a massive sword which 
 he usually wore. From 1199 to 1207 he executed the office 
 of Slie'rifF of Wiltshire ; in 120S he was constituted Wardeu 
 of the Welsh Marshes ; and in 1212-13, the 14th of John, he 
 became Sheriff of Cambridge and Hunting-don, for one half 
 of the year. His fidelity to his Sovereign, appears very early 
 to have procured him from the rebellious party the reputa- 
 tion of one of his evil counsellors ; tliough in a single instance 
 he appears to have forgotten his fealty. In 1213-14 he 
 
 •^i^^^z^^y 
 
pf-^si.^ 
 
 
 k 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS 
 
 'I. 
 
 was ag-ain made Sheriff of Wiltshire, and continued so 
 until 1225-26, the 10th year of Henry HI. ; baving- also a 
 grant of the manor of Eye, in Suffolk. It has already been 
 related, that this nobleman was one of John's securities to 
 the other Barons; and his name likewise appears in the 
 same character in the commencement of the Great Charter. 
 Nor were his fidelity and allegiance less evinced in his 
 Sovereign's conflicts with his foreign enemies j for the 
 King of France liaving-, in 1214, invaded the possessions 
 of Ferdinand, Earl of Flauders, he constituted the Earl of 
 Salisbury one of his principal commanders, both of the 
 land forces, which he sent forward immediately, and after- 
 wards of a powerful fleet, with which William de Louge- 
 spee entered the harbour of Damm, and cutting out the 
 French vessels broug-ht them to England. In a third ex- 
 pedition, for the retaking of the English possessions in 
 France, this Baron was one of the three leaders of John's 
 soldiers; but in an attempt to surprise King Philip whilst 
 he was at mass, on Sunday, July 20th, the feast of St. 
 Margaret, he was himself made prisoner, tog-ether with 
 the whole of his party. He was, however, soon exchanged 
 for Robert, son of the Earl of Breux, a near kinsman of 
 the King of France, on the particular recommendation of 
 King John himself. After his liberation he was made 
 Sheriff of the Counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon, in 
 1214-15, the 16th of John, and in the year following he 
 received the Manor of Audover, in the County of South- 
 ampton. As the Baronial wars had at this time grown to 
 their greatest height; King John raised two bodies of 
 troops, one of which he marched to subdue the Northern 
 parts of the kingdom, whilst the other was left under the 
 charge of several noble and worthy commanders, one of 
 whom was the Earl of Salisbury. Their first care was to 
 prevent the carriage of provisions to London, where the 
 rebel forces were then chiefly placed ; and next to march 
 into the adjoining Counties of Essex, Hertford, Middlesex, 
 Cambridge, and Huntingdon, to cut off farther supplies, 
 and strengthen the Royal party. The cause can hardly be 
 imagined, which made this valiant nobleman, uniting with 
 
 --^i: 
 
nearly all tlie Eng-lish Baronag-e, g-o over to Louis, the 
 D.iupjiin of France ; but immediately upou the accession 
 of Henry III., he again returned to his allegiance, and did 
 homage to his Royal kinsman, of whom lie Lecame the 
 stcdfast friend. Walter of Coventry, Iiowevcr, observes, 
 that at this period many great families became divided in 
 their interests, the fathers and elder branches adhering to 
 tlie King', vihilst the sons and junior members took ])art 
 with the Barons, A remarkable instance of this has already 
 been given in tlie biographical notice of William Marshall, 
 the younger. Earl of Pembroke. Other Barons too, out of 
 respect to their relations, or else in the hope of advantage 
 often changed their parties, in a manner similar to the Peers, 
 ■ fitc. during the Civil Wars of Charles I.; whilst many who 
 had been opposed to the King during the vvhole of the reig^n 
 of John, were entirely subdued, or else returned to their 
 alleg'iancc on the accession of Henry III. William Long- 
 espee, tben, having- at that time quitted the Baronial party, 
 ill conjunction with William Marshall, Earl of Peml)roke, 
 raised the Siege of Lincoln, for which he was made 
 Sheriff of the County and Governor of the Ciistlcj as well 
 as of the County of Somerset, and Castle of Sherburne. In 
 1219 he went with the Earl of Chester on an unsuccessful 
 expedition to the Holy Land, where he fought at the Siege 
 ofDamietta; and in 1223-24, the 8th of Henry III., he be- 
 came SherifJ'of Soutlmmpton and Governor of Porcliester 
 and Winchester Castles. The rank of William de Longespee, 
 is marked by two aids g-iven to him by his military tenants, 
 although their amount be not specified. One of these was 
 a Scutage for attending Henry III. into Wales in 1222-23, 
 the 7th of his reign ; and the other was levied by special 
 mandate in 1224-25, the 9th of Heury III., when he was 
 sent with Richard, Etirl of Cornwall into Gascoig-ne, for 
 besieging the Towns and Castles of those who had refused 
 homage and fealty to the Sovereign. There are several 
 romantic incidents to be found in the memoirs of this Earl, 
 and one of these occurred during- his return from this latter 
 expedition. In crossing the sea, relates Sir William Dug- 
 dale after Matthew Paris, there arose so great a tempest, 
 
 ^P^i. 
 
 -^^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 L that despairing of life, he threw all his property out of the 
 vessel; but wheu all hopes were past, they discerned a 
 laige waxen taper, hvig-htly burning- upon the ship's prow, 
 having- a beautiful female standing- beside it, defending- it 
 troni the storm. Unconscious of what the holy vision might 
 allude to, all in the barque were entirely convinced of their 
 safety J hut the Earl attrihuted it to the benig-nity of the 
 Blessed Virg-in, since on tlie day when he received the 
 g-irdle of Knig;hthood, he carried a taper to her altar, to be 
 lighted every mass to her honour. Whilst their preservation 
 was thus miraculously effected, it was confidently reported 
 to tlie King- that all were drowned • upon the slight faith of 
 which, Hubert de Burgh, the King's Justiciary, with great 
 indecency solicited Henry III. tliat Raymond, his kinsman, 
 might marry Ela, the rich and veidowed Countess of Salis- 
 bury, under pretence of an hereditary right to the Earldom. 
 The King, being then about 18 years old, gave his consent, 
 and Raymond, in splendid arms, began his suit; but after 
 he had entreated her with many courtly expressions, she 
 indignantly said that she had received letters from her 
 husband, and messengers who assured her of his life and 
 safety. To this, being a woman of an exceedingly lofty 
 spirit, she added, that had the Earl been really dead, yet 
 would she never have accepted his suit, since his birth 
 was too inferior- and that he must look elsewhere to 
 match himself, since to her he came l>ut in vain. Soon 
 after, the Earl of Salisbury having with great difficulty 
 landed in Cornwall, came to King- Henry at Marlborough, 
 where he was received with considerable joy. He now 
 made a formal complaint against Hubert de Burgh for his 
 treachery, adding, that unless the King would do him 
 speedy right thercoit, he would vindicate himself even to 
 the disturbance of the public peace. The Justiciary, how- 
 ever, who was present, acknowledged his crime, and paci- 
 fied him with costly gifts; but in partaking of a reconci- 
 liation banquet at Hubert's table, it is supposed that William 
 de Longespee was poisoned, as he soon after removed 
 dangerously sick to his Castle at Salisbury. Here lie pre- 
 sently scut for the Bishop of his Dioccss to confess himself. 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 receive the Sacrament, and make his Will, which, as it hasi 
 alrfiifly been shewn on pag-es 208-210, it was usual to do 
 l)y the advice of I'elig'ious men. Whether, however, it were 
 '^K from the deleterious effects of the poison, some concealed 
 crime festering upon his conscience, or the remembrance 
 of his occasional disloyalty to his Sovereign is not re- 
 corded J hut when the Prelate entered his iipartincnt bearing- 
 the Host, he leaped from his bed, having- a halter about his 
 neck, and falling- prostrate on the floor, he cried ont whilst 
 he londiy lamented and wept, "that he was a traitor to 
 Almighty God," and could not be induced to rise until he 
 bad received the Sacrament. After persevering- in g-reat 
 penitence for some days, he at leng-th died upon the Nones 
 of March — the 7tb — in the 10th year of Henry 111., 1226. 
 A circumstance which occurred at bis funeral, and is related 
 by Matthew of Westminster, is in perfect unison with his 
 vision on the sea already mentioned : since it is stated that 
 whilst the Earl's body was being- carried to the New 
 Church of Salisbury, about a mile distant from his Castle, 
 the tapers which were borne with the cross were not ex- 
 ting'uished, notwithstanding- the violent storm of rain and 
 wind which then took place. He was interred on the North 
 side of the Lady Chapel in Salisbury Cathedral, in a wooden 
 tomb richly covered with fine linen, prepared with aground 
 of stucco and painted, diapered, and gilt, an eng-raving" of 
 which with bis effigy, will be found in A Genealogical His- 
 tory of the Kings and Queens of England^ by Francis Sandford 
 and Samuel Stebbing, Lond. 1707, Fol. Book ii. Chap. xi. 
 pag-e 115; in Gough''s Sepnlchral Memorialsj Vol. I. Part i. 
 nag-e 41, plate xiii. Fig-. 1 • in C. A. Stothard\'^ Monumental 
 Effigies of Great Britain; iu W. Do(isv.'orth''s Historical Ac- 
 count of the See and Cathedral of Salisbury^ Salisbury, 1814, 
 Quarto, pag'cs, 192, 201, plate 2; and in The History and 
 Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Saiishury^ by Jolin 
 Brittou, F.S.A. Lond. 1814, quarto, plate 3, No. 2, pag-e 92. 
 The sepulchral effigy of William deLongespee, lying on this 
 tomb, is sculptured in grey marble, and is represented in 
 the following engraving. 
 

 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 It measures 6 
 p(ngtli, and exhi- 
 [ of mail glided, Wis 
 ■iglit, and covered 
 "soiiiewliat flattened 
 lower part of itco- 
 like those of the 
 Temple Church, 
 and armed with 
 his body is covered 
 which, in Sand- 
 six lions painted 
 they were much 
 numerous folding's; 
 that when he saw 
 whole was painted 
 
 feet 9 inches in 
 bits him in his coat 
 face turned to the 
 with around helmet 
 on the top, the 
 vering' bis mouth, 
 Knights in the 
 Hisfeetare pointed 
 prick-spurs ; and 
 with a surcoat, 
 ford's time, had 
 upon it, thoug-h 
 concealed by its 
 but Goug-h states 
 the monument the 
 blue : they are still 
 
 to be traced, howeyer, on a close examination, as well as 
 some few^ remains of gilding- and painting, both on the ar- 
 mour and the tomb. On the left arm the figure wears a 
 heater-shield, embossed with those Armorial Ensigns, which 
 he adopted from his father-in-law, William Fitz-Patrick, 
 Earl of Salisbury, Azure, six Lions rampant, three, two, 
 and one. Or ; which were also delineated in the South Aisle 
 of Westminster Abbey, and are still remaining nearly perfect, 
 with the title of *'GulieImus de Longaspata, Comes Saris- 
 burife," inscribed above them. From beneath the shield ex- 
 tends the lower part of that long sword from whence this 
 Baron derived his name. The altar tomb beneath this e^gy, 
 was originally ornamented in front with six demi-quarterfoil 
 arches in relief, the ground of which was diapered in two 
 patterns ; but Gough shews that these decorations were con- 
 siderably defaced and painted blue like the figure. Be- 
 tween the spandrils of these arches, were once inserted 
 small shields charged alternately with the Arms of England 
 and Fitz-Patrick; and the slab on which the figure is laid, 
 is ornamented with a border of trefoil foliage. There does 
 not appear to have been any inscription or epitaph, but two 
 punning Latin verses are given by Matthew Paris, which 
 liavc been thus translated by John Speed: 
 
 
 :^P. 
 
— (i^-^lil 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 "Royal-born William, flower of Earls, lies here, 
 A sheath thus short, doth Long Svmrd serve to bear." 
 
 During- those alterations of Salisbury Cathedral, which 
 wore executeH under the care of Mr. VVyatt, when the 
 Lady-Chapel was restored and thrown open as a chancelj 
 the above monument, with several others, was removed 
 from its orig-inal situation to the South side of the Nave, 
 where it joins the Great-Transept. At that time his skele- 
 ton was found entire enclosed within the tomb. The chari- 
 table donations of this nobleman, and the bequests contained 
 in his will, g-ive some idea of his estates and actual wealth. 
 Thus, to the Canons of Bradenstoke, he g-ave pasturage for 
 100 sheep in his lordship of Cettrey ; with one yard land — 
 that is to say from 20 to 30 acres — in Ambresbury, and 
 another Cettrey: to the Carthusian Monks he gave his 
 manor of Uethorp, whence, not being' a place proper for their 
 settlement, tliey were translated by his widow to Henton, 
 where she erected a Church in 1227 : for the building- of a 
 monastery called God's House, belong-ing- to the same 
 Order, he left all the profits of the wardship of Richard de 
 Camvil, until his own heir came of age: and to the same 
 house he bequeathed a cup of gold, set with emeralds aud 
 rubies; a pix of gold ^ two goblets of silver, one of which 
 was gilt; forty-two shillings j a cheslble and cope of red 
 silk J a tunicle and Dalmatique of Yellow Sendal J an Alb, 
 Amice, and Stole 3 a Fa.von and Towel; all his Reliques ; 
 1000 sheep, 300 muttons, 48 oxen, and 15 bulls. The 
 whole of this princely bequest was ratified by King Henry 
 III. in the 3Sth year of his reign, 1253-54. 
 
 The memoirs of the famous Countess of this Baron are 
 scarcely less than his own connected with the public events 
 of the time; and the first features of them have something 
 remarkably romantic in their character. She was the 
 daughter and heir of William Fitz-Patrick, Eavl of Salis- 
 bury, and Aliunmorc de Vitrei, at whose decease she appears 
 to have been in Normandy; since it is reported that one 
 William Talbot, an eminent English soldier, fearing that 
 her great wealth might expose her to danger, assumed the 
 habit of a pilgrim, and after wandering about for two 
 
 '"'^iz--- 
 
'\f 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 months, at leng'th arrived at the Court where she resided. 
 He then chang-ed his hahit for that of a harper or minstrel, 
 and heing-, as the narrative relates, practised in mirth and 
 jesting-, was well entertained there, became acquainted with 
 her, and brought her over into England, presenting- her to 
 Richard I. who received her very courteously, and gave 
 her in marriage to his natural brother as it has been already 
 related. The issue of this union was four sons and five 
 daughters J but though the title of Earl of Salisbury was 
 claimed by the eldest son, William, it is observed by Dug- 
 dale, that he never enjoyed it. After the decease of Wil- 
 liam de Longespee, his widow assumed so much of bis sex, 
 as to execute the office of Sheriff of Wiltshire for parts of 
 the years 1226-28, 1230-31, the 11th, 12th, and 15tb years 
 of Henry III. J when also she gave a fine of 200 marks, 
 £133 6s. Sd- to have the same custody of the Castle aud 
 County for the remainder of her life. Her devotion, ac- 
 cording to the character of her time, appears to have lieen 
 not less eminent than her spirit. She made abetter provision 
 for the Carthusians, as it has been already related; and 
 having lived for seven years in widowhood, she entertained 
 a desire of founding some monastery for the health of her 
 own sonl, and those of her ancestors and husband. It 
 having-, then, been revealed to her that she should perform 
 this in a certain place called Snails-mead, near Lacock in 
 Wiltshire, she commenced the foundation in the morning of 
 the 16th of the Calends of May,— 16th April, 1233, the 
 17th of Henry III ;— and in 1238, the 22nd of the same 
 reign, when probably the building- was completed, she en- 
 tered it as a nun, though in 1240 she was elected Abbess. 
 Whilst she held this dignity, her eldest son was slain in tlie 
 Holy War at Cairo, in the year 1250; and the night before 
 his death she saw in a vision the heavens open, and her son 
 armed at all points, but distinguished by his shield, joyfully 
 received by the angels. Upon her asking '•'Who is this?" 
 she was answered " Do yon not know your son William and 
 his armour r^ to which when she bad replied in the affir- 
 mative, was added, **It is he whom thou his mother now 
 beholdest.'" Having carefully observed the time, when the 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 actnfil tidinns of liis Heath arrived about half a year after, 
 she lifted up her hands, and with a cheerful countenance 
 said, "I thiue handmaid, give thanks to thee, Oh Lord! 
 that out of my sinful flesh, thou hast caused such a cham- 
 pion to be born." She continued to be Abbess of Lacock 
 for eig-hteen years, but five years before her death, she re- 
 sig-ncd her government from infirmity; and she deceased 
 about the year 1263, in the 75th of her age, heing interred 
 in the choir of her own Abbey. Her seal.s, which bear her 
 effigy, represent her as a tall woman, with flowing hair, 
 drest in a robe, chapeau, and collar, holding a bird upon her 
 left hand. The middle tower of Lacock Abbey is at present 
 used as a muniment-room, and in it is preserved an original 
 copy of the Second Great Charter of King Henry III. 
 granted in 1224, described upon a future page, which Sir 
 William Blackstone supposes to have been deposited there 
 by the Countess Ela, for the benc6t of the military tenants 
 of Wiltshire." An interesting account of Lacock Monas- 
 tery, with a view, will be found in The Beauties of Wiltshire, 
 by John Britton, F.S.A. vol. iii. London, 1825, octavo, pp. 
 235-242. 
 
 The Barons, then, whose memoirs have occupied the 
 foregoing pages, were, as it was provided by the Great 
 Charter of King John, chapter Ixi. pages 92-95, to be 
 elected out of tlie great body of the Peerage, as the guar- 
 dians of those privileges which it granted to the nation; 
 though it does not appear that the whole of the Nobility 
 was at any one time quite unanimous. But even when they 
 had brought over to their cause nearly the whole of the 
 Peers, they would not of themselves remedy any grievance; 
 though they had in vain represented it to the King and his 
 Chief Justiciary. The process contained in their Charter, 
 however, was yet more crafty and unlawful ; vide pages 94, 
 95, and it stated that if their complaints were not redressed 
 within 40 days after they had petitioned the King or his Jus- 
 ticiary, they should be at liberty — or rather, it should become 
 their positive duty^— to levy war upon the Sovereign, aided by 
 
 » Introd. pago xhii. A copy of this Charter is give: 
 sent volume. 
 
 1 pag:c US of the pre- 
 
lifeS= 
 
 ^^^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 the whole nation ; *' to distress and harass" him to the utmost 
 ■ of their power ; to seize upon his castles, lands, and pos- 
 sessions, and to stop only at the act of confining- the per- 
 sons, or shedding the blood, of himself, his Queen, and his 
 family. This clause amounted to a permission to commit 
 that species of High-Treason, called levying war upon the 
 King, under pretence of reforming laws, religion, remoring 
 of evil councillors, &c.; but it was omitted in all the suc- 
 ceeding Charters, for the reason already given on page 270, 
 of its being derogatory to the rights of the crown, and, per- 
 haps, from its positive illegality. The narrative of the 
 Barons' wars and the Sovereign's retaliation, belongs to the 
 broad stream of English history ; though it may be observed 
 in conclusion of this passage, that in all demands which the 
 Securities made for redress, the Justiciary was to be con- 
 sidered as the second person in the kingdom, as it has been 
 stated in the account of his olfice on pages 198, 239. It is 
 next ordained that the Barons were to be supported in their 
 depredations on the King, by the whole power of England ; 
 that such as would might voluntarily swear allegiance to 
 them, whilst such as were unwilling, were to be compelled 
 by a royal command, of which the greatest contempt had 
 been already evinced. Beside the notice of this command 
 in Magna Charta, when the King had left Runnemede for 
 Odiham and Winchester, it was renewed in the more formal 
 style of the following Writ, as it is entered on the Patent 
 Rolls. 
 
 " The King to llie Sheriff of Warwick and tlie Twelve Kniglits 
 eleclej in tlie same County, for enquiring into and abuli.^hing the evil 
 customs of SlieriiTs and their Officers, Forests and Foresters, Warrens 
 and Warreners, Rivers and their Keepers, Greeting. We command 
 you, tliat instantly and without delay, you seize into our hands the 
 lands, tenements, and goods, of all those of the County of Warwick, 
 who swear contrary to the twenty-five Barons, according to the form 
 contained in our Cliarter of Liberties, whether they have done so by 
 themselves or by an appointed Attorney. And if they will not forth- 
 witji swear after the completion of fifteen days, let their lands, tene- 
 ments, and goods, be seized into our hands : and of all the seized goods 
 let sale be made, and the money produced by the same accounted for 
 to the subsidy for safe-conduct to the Holy Land. And for the lands 
 and tenements, retain them in our possession until they shall have 
 sworn. And this provision is made by thejudgment of the Lord Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, and the Barons of our Kingdom ; and in testi- 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 mony thereof Witness myself, at "Winchester, the 27th day of June, 
 in the 17th Year of our Reign. (The saaue mandate 13 sent to all the 
 Sheriffs of England.") 
 
 Before this Writ was issued, another had been published 
 throughout Eng-Iand, commanding; the election of those 
 Twelve Knig-hts, to whom it is secondarily addressed, and 
 whose duties of examining into, and abolishing* evil customs, 
 are mentioned in King' John's Mag-oa Charta, chapter xlyiii, 
 pag-es 84, 85, and in the subsequent Covenant, pag-e 103. 
 These Writs have been already noticed on pag-e 32 of the 
 preceding Essay ; their form is preserved on record in the 
 Tower, and as they are dated June 19th— four days after 
 the Charter, — Sir William Blackstone supposes that the 
 several copies of that instrument, which were to be distri- 
 buted in every County and Bishopric, were not completed 
 until that time, when the peace between the King and his 
 Barons was concluded, and. John received their homage. 
 The Writs for electing- the Twelve Knig-hts, was in the fol- 
 lowing- form : 
 
 "The King to the Sheriff, Foresters, Warreners, Keepers of 
 Rivers, and all his Bailiffs in the same County, Greeting. Know ye, 
 that a secure peace is lienceforth to be renewed, by the grace of God, 
 between us, and the Barons, and the free-men of our kingdom, as ye 
 sliall be Informed by our Charter, which we at tliis time have caused 
 to be made, and which we also command to be read in public through- 
 out the whole of your Bailiwick, and steadfastly to be observed: willing 
 and straitly instructing, that you, the Sheriff, according to the form 
 of the aforesaid Charter, do cause all of your Bailiwick to swear unto 
 the twenty-five Barons, of whom mention is made in the Charter 
 aforesaid; at their cummand, or at that of the greater part of them, 
 before him or them who have been appointed for Attornies by their 
 letters patent ; and at the day and place on which they have fixed it 
 to be done. We also will and command you, that Twelve Knights of 
 your County shall be elected by the same County, whjch shall be held 
 after the receipt of these Letters, who shall be sworn for enquiry into 
 the evil customs of their districts, as well of the Sheriffs as of their 
 Ministers; of Forests, Foresters, Warrens and Warreners, Rivers and 
 their Keepers, and to abolish them as itis contained in this Charter. 
 You, therefore, and all such as have respect for us, for our honour, 
 and for the peace of our kingdom, shall inviolably observe, and cause 
 to be observed by all men, everything which is contained in that. 
 Charter; nor shall any defect of your's, nor any transgression of 
 year's upon the peace of our kingdom — which God avert l.—again 
 disturb the matters it concerns. And you, the Sheriff, shall cause 
 our peace to be proclaimed throughout your Bailiwick, and direct it 
 to be steadfastly observed. And in testimony of this matter we send 
 
 jf^j 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 to you. Witness myself, at Rimnemede, the 19th day of June, in the 
 Seventeenth Year of our reign." 
 
 After the appointment of the Twenty-five Barons, the 
 CJiarter goes on to provide, that no means shall he em- 
 ployed to render it void; but it may be observed, tliat in 
 the original Articles, Chapter 49, page 61, it is expressly 
 declared, that the King shall not procure any rei^ocation of 
 it from the Pope, who is not so particulaily specified in the 
 corresponding division of the perfect instrument, see page 
 99. Even before the meeting of Rnnneniede, however, 
 John bad sent a letter to the Pontiff, acquainting him with 
 his Barons' proceedings; and another messenger was pro- 
 bably dispatched immediately after with a c^py of the 
 Charter, which procured a Bull, dated August 24th, 
 vacating the whole instrument, as being unjust and extorted 
 by compulsion; alike prohibiting the King from observing 
 and the Barons from demanding of it. 
 
 Chapter LXII. Pages 61, 98, 99. 
 After the extended and violent hostilities between the 
 King and his Peers, the Great Charter properly contains 
 one section, as an act of oblivion and reconciliation ; which, 
 it may be observed, has so much of a retrospective view, as 
 to commence at the preceding Easter, April 29th, 1215. The 
 peace was actually concluded on Friday, June 19th, and it 
 ^vas announced to the King's party by the following letter, 
 which is entered on the Patent Rolls; and which, in re- 
 ferring to the Fines and TensericSj — a military tax or con- 
 tribution — may be thought to have some allusion to the 
 taking away of unlawful amerciaments, provided by Chap- 
 ter Iv of King John's CJiarter; see pages 56, 89, 261. 
 
 "The King to Stephen Harengud, &c. Know ye, that a firm peace 
 was, by the grace of God, made between us and our Barons, on the 
 Friday next after the Feast of tlie Holy Trinity, at Riinnemede near 
 to Staines, and that there we took homage of the same. Wherefore 
 we steadfastly command and instruct you, as ye have respect 
 unto us and our honour and the peace of our kingdom, that you shall 
 no farther disturb nor du any evil to ourBaions, nor to others, for the 
 future; nor permit any occasion to be taken from the former discord 
 between us and them. We also command you that of the Fines and 
 Tens(rri(B taken by us nn account of that discord, if any remain to be 
 paid aftertheaforesaid Friday, notliing shall be taken. And the bodies 
 of the prisoners, and ln^stages, and such as are detained on account 
 of those Wars, or Fines, or Tcwseri^e, aforesaid, shall be liberated 
 
 m^^ 
 
 "■>- ^*i!» 
 
 'V^ 
 
NOTES ON THE GREAT CMARTERS 
 
 witliout delay. All Llie aforesaiJ shall be tlone, as ye have respect lo 
 our person. And in tesirmony uf this matter we send to you: Wit- 
 ness, myself, at Rmineniede, the 18tli day of June, in the Seventeenth 
 Year of our Reign.'" 
 
 A second branch of this Chapter mentions certain Let- 
 ters Testimonial, which were to be framed by the King-'s 
 command, by the Archbishops, Legate, &c. concerning the 
 Liberties and security g-ranted by the Great Charter. A copy 
 of these Letters, merely reciting the whole Charter, in the 
 form of an Inspeximus, is preserved in that very ancient 
 and authentic record, called the Red Book of the Exchequer 
 at Westminster, with which Sir William Blackstone collated 
 the Cottonian copy of Magna Charta, adding- the various 
 reading's beneath it. 
 
 Chapter LXIH. Pages 98, 99. 
 This section consists only of a repetition of the two 
 principal features of Magna Charta, freedom to the Church, 
 and civil liberty to the subject; similar to the clauses con- 
 tained in Chapter i; and it may he observed that the close 
 of this instrument contains no mention of signing, contrary 
 to the popular conception, as it has been stated on page 
 274. It should he remarked, however, that in the time 
 of King- John, the sea! was considered as the most im- 
 portant attestation to a deed, as may be seen in the Char- 
 ters of Heury III. on pages l']6, 130, 332, which were 
 sealed with the impresses of Cardinal Gnalo, the Legate, 
 and William Marshall, the Protector; the Great Seal of 
 John having been lost with all his treasure, in the Washes 
 of Lincoln, and his son had no new Seal, until two years 
 afterwards. Some notices of Runnemede, the place where 
 this Charter was concluded, will be found in a future note; 
 and it now remains only to add a few illustrations of the 
 concluding passages of the other Charters of Liberties. 
 
 The first instance of a different termination is to be 
 found in Chapter xlii of the First Great Charter of Henry 
 II[., vide pages 115, 116. It takes notice of almost all the 
 
 " UlftfUst. In trod, xxiii. The tiate o[ this instrument is erroneous, probably from 
 the clerk having written xviii. for xxiii; since the Letter on the Patent Roll Imme- 
 diately before it is witnessed on the 23rd of June. 
 
-t- - +« 
 
 'rrrr^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 ( omissions from the grant of King John,— excepting- the 
 ' clauses relating to Intestacy and the making of Judges,— 
 iand then states that the Prelates and Barons had agreed to 
 lespite the other particulars for farther deliberation. This 
 respite, says Sir William Blackstone, may he considered as 
 a kind of engagement on the part of the young King, that 
 these Articles should he reviewed, and a new Charter 
 granted, whenever public tranquillity should be restored. 
 
 The termination of the Second Great Charter of Henry 
 III. chapter xlvii, pages 129, 130, provides for the de- 
 struction of those unlawful, or Adulterine, Castles, which 
 had been erected during the Baronial Wars. It was an- 
 ciently unlawful to erect a Castle, without license from the 
 King, vide page 203; since there were several high powers 
 and officers connected with them, derived from the King, of 
 which some particulars have been given on pages205, 211 ; 
 and they were restrained also from the dangers which would 
 arise if every person might erect a fortress at his own plea- 
 sure. In times of civil commotions, however, when depre- 
 dation or defence were almost the only sources of action, 
 bulwarks appear to have been erected in Eugland without 
 license, and to have been supported without sovereign, or 
 constitutional authority ; and at the Treaty of Wallingfurd, 
 in 1146, after the domestic wars between King Stephen and 
 the Empress Matilda, one of the Articles was, that "the 
 Adulterine Castles which have been constructed in the 
 Kino-'s time by any person whomsoever, shall be destroyed." 
 It can scarcely be doubted but that the oppressions of Cas- 
 tellans and their officers, would make the dismantling of 
 these unlawful forts a very important clause in the first 
 Charter of Liberties after the Civil Wars were ended; and 
 accordingly in the following Writ for the publication of 
 that Charter, this part of it is particularly mentioned :— 
 
 " The King to the Slieriff of York, Greeting. We send to you 
 the Charters of Liberties, granted to all of our Kingdom, as well of 
 the Forests as of others, commanding you concerning them that you 
 cause them publicly to be read in your full County-Conrt of Barons, 
 Knights, and all the free-tenants of the same County, who shall 
 swear to us faithfully for the same. And you shall diligently attend 
 to every particular throughout the whole of those Charters, and cause 
 it to be performed and observed; and chiefly that which is inserted 
 
-V-**S^^J5<>* 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 near Uie end of the Great Charter, concerning Adulterine Castle; 
 which have been erected or re-edified eirice the beginning of the war 
 tu be on all occasions destroyed and laid aside as it is contained intl c 
 same Ciiarter; because that provision was made and inserted in the 
 Charter, by the advice of the Lord Legate and our faithful subjects, for 
 the great benefit of iis and tranquillity of our Kingdom. Witness, 
 the Earl at Slurminster, on the. 22ad day of February. (The like 
 Letters wtresent to every Sheriff of England.)'* 
 
 This order was probably carried into fall effect, since 
 there is no farther provision concerning it in the Third 
 Charter of Henry III., which contains the standard text 
 printed in the Statutes. The variations in the concluding" 
 division of Chapter xxxvii of this instrument are an ac- 
 knowledgement of a Fifteenth, paid by the whole king-dom 
 for re-granting- the Great andForest Cliarters, a new eng-ag'e- 
 ment for the King- and his Peers, to protect and observe them, 
 and the number of witnesses names, concluding- the whole : 
 vide pag-es 142-144. This Fifteenth has already been noticed 
 on page 38 of the preceding^ Essay, and at the period when it 
 was granted, it was an uncertain sum rated upon the value 
 of every person's possessions g-iven by Parliament, as in this 
 instance also, were the Charters themselves. In 1332, 
 however, the 6th of Edward III, on Membrane 26 of the 
 Second Patent Roll for that year, is an entry of the "Tal- 
 lages made of the Cities, Boroughs, and Lordships, through- 
 out England," which were recorded in the Exchequer as 
 fixing this levy at a fifteenth part of the value of every town, 
 being a certain rate, though even that can be assessed by 
 Parliament only. When the Fifteenth has been thus granted, 
 the inhabitants of a town divide the payment of it for them- 
 selves - and if two towns be joined together and dispro- 
 portionately rated, a Writ may be sued from the Exchequer 
 for equalising the subsidy. 
 
 The number of Witnesses with which this Instrument 
 concludes, is expressive of the King's Council by which it 
 was granted J whence Erasmus supposes that Sovereigns first 
 adopted tlie plural style, to give their Councillors part of 
 the merit of their actions. In the commencement of the 
 reign of Richard II. the expression of "by these Wit- 
 nesses," was altered for that of "in testimony of which 
 thing we have caused these Letters to be made Patent," — or 
 
w 
 
 NOTES ON THE GREAT CHARTERS. 
 
 open, — "Witness myself;"" but even anciently those instiu- 
 ments which retained the former words were called Char- 
 ters, whilst the others were denominated Letters Patents. 
 
 The Inspeximus Charter of Edward I. hasaconcluding- 
 clause, providing" that if any of the eng-agements contained 
 in it should not hitherto have hecn kept, they shall still he 
 considered as inviolahle. As the whole instvnment, how- 
 ever, was only a rehearsal of the Charter for Confirmation, 
 it is secured by the King's Letters Patent, and is witnessed 
 only by Prince Edward : vide pag-e 158. 
 
 Such, then, is a brief and imperfect commentary on the 
 series of the Great Charters of Liberties, intended only to 
 convey a general idea of their nature and powers, to those 
 ■whom Law-books are either repulsive or not familiar. 
 Enoug-h of illustration, however, has been g;iven to shew 
 the great extent of the subject, and the ancient value of the 
 Charters ; and the works whence this has been derived, will 
 supply the enquiring- reader with more elaborate judicial 
 discourses, and more ample historical information. 
 
 
ENRY, by the Grace of 
 God, King- of England, 
 Lord of Ireland, Duke ' 
 of Normandy Acqui- 
 taine, and Earl of An- 
 jou, to all his Arch- 
 bishops, Bishops, Ab- , 
 bots. Priors, Earls, ' 
 Barons, Justiciaries, 
 Foresters, Sheriffs, Governors, Officers, and all 
 his Bailiffs and faithful subjects; — Greeting.! 
 " Know ye, that We, for the honour of God, and for^ 
 the health of our own soul and the souls of our 
 'i. ancestors and successors, to the exaltation of the : 
 
FIRST FOREST CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 Holy Church, and the reformation of our king- 
 , dom, have granted, and hy this present Charter 
 have confirmed for us and our heirs for ever, hy 
 the counsel of our venerable father the Lord /'pb 
 Gualo, T. T. Cardinal-Priest of St. Martin, and 
 Legate of the Apostolical See, the Lord Walter, 
 Archbishop of York, William, Bishop of London, 
 and other Bishops of England, and of William 
 Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, Governor of us and 
 of our kingdom, and of others our faithful Earls 
 and Barons of England, the underwritten liberties 
 to hold in our kingdom of England for ever. 
 
 (L) hiprimis. All the Forests made by our 
 grandfather King Henry, shall be viewed by good 
 and lawful men, and if he turned any other than his 
 own proper woods into Forests, to the damage of 
 him whose wood it was, it shall forthwith be dis- 
 forested. And if he afforested his own proper 
 woods, they shall remain so, saving the common 
 of pasturage, and of other things in the same Fo- 
 rest, to those- who were formerly accustomed to 
 have them. (11.) Men who dwell without the 
 Forest, from henceforth shall not come before our 
 Justiciaries of the Forest, by a common summons, 
 unless they are impleaded there, or are pledges for 
 any others who were attached for something con- 
 cerning the Forest, (in.) Also all woods which 
 were afforested hy King Richard our uncle, or by 
 King John our father, until our own first Corona- 
 tion, shallforthwith be disforested, unless they shall 
 
FIRST FOREST CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 '- WP ^^ °"'' Demesne woods. (IV.) The Archbishops 
 Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, Knights 
 and free tenants who have their woods in Forests, J/' 
 shall have their woods the same as they held them Ij}' 
 at the time of the first Coronation of our ^and- 
 father King Henry, so as they shall be discharged 
 for ever of all Purprestures, Wastes, and Assarts, 
 made in their woods after that time, until the 
 beg-inning of the second year of our Coronation. 
 And those who for the time to come shall with- 
 out our license make Wastes, Purprestures, or 
 Assarts within them, shall answer for such 
 Wastes or Assarts. (V.) Our Regarders shall 
 go through the Forests to make a view, such 
 as was accustomed to be made in the time of 
 the first Coronation of our grandfather King 
 Henry, and not otherwise. (VI.) The inquisi- 
 tion or view for Lawing of Dogs living within 
 the Forest, for the future shall he when the view 
 ought to be made, namely, the third year in three 
 years ; and then it shall be done by the view and 
 testimony of lawful men, and not otherwise. And 
 he whose dogs shall be found then unlawed, shall 
 give three shillings for mercy, and for the future no 
 one's ox shall be taken for lawing. Such lawing 
 also shall be done by the Assize commonly used ; 
 which is, that three claws shall be cut off without 
 the ball of the fore-foot. Nor shall dogs be lawed 
 from henceforth, excepting in places where it bath 
 been customary to expeditate them from the time 
 
 -«E'--3»'- 
 
£%-g 
 
 FIRST FOREST CHARTER OF KING HENRY III. 
 
 of the first Coronation of King- Henry our grand- ' ' 
 father. (VII.) No Forester nor Bedel shall 
 for the future make any ale-shots, nor collect 
 sheaves of corn or oats, or any grain, or lambs, or 
 swine , nor shall make any gathering hut by the view 
 and oath of twelve Regarders ; and when they shall 
 make their view : so many Foresters shall be 
 appointed to keep the Forests, as they shall think 
 reasonably sufficient for the purpose. (VIII.) 
 No Swainmote for the future shall be holden in our 
 kingdom, excepting thrice a year; namely, in the 
 beginning of fifteen days before the Feast of Saint 
 Michael when the Agistators meet for the agisting 
 of our Demesne woods ; and about the Feast of Saint 
 Martin, when our Agistators ought to receive our 
 Pannage : and in those two Swainmotes the Fo- 
 resters, Verderers, and Agistators shall meet, and 
 no others by distraint; and the third Swainmote 
 shall be held in the beginning of the fifteen days 
 before the Feast of Saint John tlie Baptist concern- 
 ing the fawning of our does ; and at that Swain- 
 mote the tenants shall meet the Foresters and Ver- 
 derers, and no others shall be distrained to be there. 
 Moreover every forty days through the whole year, 
 the Foresters and Verderers shall meet for seeing 
 to Attachments of the Forests, as well of ^'^ert as of 
 Venison, by the presentment of the Foresters them- 
 selves and before those who are attached. And 
 the aforesaid Swainmotes shall not be holden, ex- 
 cepting in those Counties where they were ac- 
 
customed to be held. (IX.) Every Freeman may 
 agist his own woods in the forest at his own 
 pleasure, and shall have his pannage. We grant 
 also, that every Freeman may drive his swine 
 through our Demesne woods freely and without 
 impediment, to agist them in his own woods or else- 
 where as he shall be willing. And if the swine of 
 any Freeman shall remain one night in our forests, 
 he shall not on that account lose any thing of his 
 for it. (X.) No man for the time to come, shall 
 lose life or limb for taking our Venison ; hut if 
 he shall be seized and convicted of taking Venison, 
 he shall be grieviously fined, if he hath where- 
 withal to pay, but if he hath not the means to pay, 
 he shall be thrown into our prison for a year and a 
 day ; and if, after one year and one day, he can find 
 sureties, he shall come out of prison, but if not he 
 shall abjure the kingdom of England. (XI.) 
 Whatever Archbishop, Bishop, Earl, or Baron, 
 shall be passing through our forest, it shall be 
 lawful for them to take one or two Deer by the view 
 of the Forester, if he shall be present, but if not 
 he shall cause a horn to be sounded, lest it should 
 seem a theft. (XII.) Every Freeman for the 
 future, may, without danger, erect a mill in his 
 own wood or >ipon his own land which he hath in 
 the forest; or make a warren, or pond, or marle- 
 pit, or ditch, or turn it into arable land, so that it 
 be not to the detriment of any of the neighbours. 
 (XIII.) Every Freeman may have in his own woods 
 
FIRST FOREST CHARTER OF KING HENR\ III 
 
 the Eyries of Hawks, of Sparrow-Hawks, Falcons, 
 Eagles, and Herons; and he shall likewise have 
 the honey which shall be found in his woods. 
 (XIV.) No Forester from henceforth, who is not 
 a Forester in Fee-farm, giving to us rent for his 
 bailiwick, shall take any Cheminage, within his 
 bailiwick; but a Forester in Fee, paying to us 
 rent for his bailiwick, shall take Cheminage ; tliat 
 is to say, for every cart two-pence for the one half 
 year, and two-pence for the other half year; and 
 for a horse that carries burdens, one half-penny 
 for the one half year, and one half-penny for the 
 other half year : and not that excepting of those 
 who come out of their bailiwick by license of their 
 bailiff as dealers, to buy underwood, timber, bark, 
 or charcoal ; to carry it to sell in other places where 
 they will : and of no other carts nor biu'dens shall 
 any Cheminage be taken; and Cheminage shall 
 not be taken excepting in those places where an- 
 ciently it was wont and ought to be taken. Also 
 those who carry wood, bark, or coal, upon their 
 backs to sell, although they get their livelihood by 
 it, shall not for the future pay Cheminage. Also 
 Cheminage shall not be taken by our Foresters, 
 for any besides our Demesne woods. (XV.) 
 All persons outlawed for forest offences from the 
 time of King Henry our grandfather until that of 
 our' first Coronation, shall be reconciled to us 
 without impediment ; and they shall find securi- 
 ties that for the future they will not trespass unto 
 
 ffi^'"'^^?^*^ "^^^'"^Ww 
 
FIRST FOREST CHARTER OF KING HENRY III 
 
 Sus in our forests. (XVI.) No Castellan, nor^ 
 J other person, shall hold Pleas of the Forest 
 iwhether coiicerning Vert or Venison, but every 
 Forester in Fee shall attach Pleas of the Forest as 
 well concerning of Vert as of Venison, and shall 
 present them to the Verderers of the Provinces ; 
 and when they shall be enrolled and put under the 
 seals of the Verderers, they shall be presented to 
 our Chief Forester, when he shall come into those 
 parts to hold Pleas of -the Forests, and before 
 him shall they be determined. And these Forest 
 liberties we have granted to all men ; saving to 
 the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, 
 Barons, Knights, and others, as well ecclesiasti- 
 cal persons as secular ; Templars and Hospitallers, 
 their liberties and free customs in Forests and 
 without in Warrens, and other places which before 
 had them. Also all those customs and liberties 
 aforesaid, which we have granted to be holden in 
 our kingdom , for as much as belongs to us ; all 
 our whole kingdom shall observe, as well of the 
 Clergy as of the Laity, for as much as belongs to 
 them. But because We have now no seal. We have 
 caused the present Charter to be sealed with the 
 seals of our venerable father, the Lord Gualo, 
 T. T. Cardinal-Priest of St. Martin, Legate of the 
 Apostolical See ; and of M'illiam Marshal, Earl of 
 Pembroke, guardian of Us and of our Kingdom, 
 Witness the before-named and many others. 
 Given by the hands of the aforesaid Lord Legate, 
 
 =a?;^l®i£ 
 
"ISV 
 
 FIRST FOREST CHARTER OF KING HENRY III 
 
 and of William Marshall, at St. Paul's, London, 
 on the sixth day of November, in the second 
 year of our reign. 
 
 l^ 
 
 
 ■^^y^y 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTES 
 
 artft-e of tf^t dFove^H, 
 
 HE copy of the Forest Charter which , 
 occupies the preceding- pa^es, i.s in- 
 terestiiifr^notonly as having' heen the 
 very earliest granted hy a Sovereign 
 of the Norman line, but also on ac- 
 count of its recent recovery, after 
 Sir William Blackstone, nearly se- 
 venty years since, supposed that all 
 traces of it were irretrievably lost. His reasons for assig-uing- 
 a priority to this edition, rather than to the supposititious 
 one whioli Matthew Paris attributes to King- John, having- 
 heen already mentioned on pages 37, 38, 237, 238 j it may 
 firstly be observed, in illustrating its contents, that there are 
 but few variations between this instrument and the later C 
 Inspeximijs usually printed in the Statute Books, which is, 
 in general, either that granted in the 9th of Henry III., 
 1224; the Inspexinms of the 25th of Edward I., 12117; or 
 his last Confirmation issued in 1299, the 28th year of 
 reign ; concerning which, vide the preceding Essay, pages 
 38-46. The more important additions, however, will be 
 sufficiently distinguished by referring to them in the pre- 
 sent Notes, though they are much less copious than those on 
 the Great Charters, which form the principal subject of this 
 volume. 
 
 As the arrangement of the Introduction of this Charter 
 very similar to tliat of Magna Charta, the Reader is re- 
 ferred to page 160 for some remarks on the opening of that 
 instrument. It may he observed, liowever, that the address 
 of the Second Forest Charter of Henry III. granted In 1224, 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 ihns the words "to all his faithful sahjects ivho shall see this , 
 Chmler^'" which certainly allude to the extensive dispersion 
 of It hy Commissioners, who carried copies into every 
 County to enforce its execution : and they may also have a 
 latent reference to the private issuing- of the First Charter, 
 the circulation of which was prohably mucli more limited : 
 these words were also 6rst inserted in the Mag-na Charta 
 published in 1217: vide page 118. Another variation, 
 which is likewise common to both instruments, is the de- 
 claration that the Charters were granted by the King' spon- 
 taneously Olid of his own free will, instead of by the advice 
 of Cardinal Gualo, the Earl of Pembroke, and his Council. 
 This diS'erence will, perhnps, he most particularly remarked 
 by comparing the First and Second Charters of Henry III. 
 with his famous third one, issued after Hoiiorious HI. declared 
 hiin of full age, when the Barons suspected that he would 
 recall the liberties he had granted them about seven years 
 before. Vide pages 106, 119, 132 j and 38 in the preceding 
 Essay. 
 
 Chapters I. III. Page 330. 
 The intent of these Chapters of the Forest Charter 
 being' to take away the illegal extension of the Royal 
 Woods, it will he proper to introduce them by some account 
 of their history and boundaries, that the nature and value 
 of these clauses may be more perfectly understood. 
 
 The greater part of Britain originally consisted of 
 Woods filled with wild animals, which were gradually 
 cleared as the land became inhabited and dwellings were 
 erected; the beasts retiring to those coverts which were 
 still left standing', and lay remote from human habitations. 
 The Saxons called these large remains of Forest-lands, 
 Wealds or Wolds^ signifying Woodsj which term is still 
 used to express the woody parts of a Count}', as in the in- 
 stances of Kent and Sussex. For some time these coverts 
 sheltered great numbers of wolves and foxes, but the former 
 having- been destroyed by King Edgar, between the years 
 961 and 964, and the other ravening' animals being also re- 
 duced, the remainder were preserved as beasts of chase or 
 luxurious food, whence originated the first protection of 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 certain places for their residence, which were afterwardsj 
 constituted Royal Forests. Even in the times of the Saxon ^ 
 Heptarchy, however, about four centuries previous, it is ■ 
 supposed that Forests were appropriated by all the inferior 
 Princes of Britain ; and that when one Sovereign took pos- 
 session of the throne, he also became lord of the numerous 
 Woods which lay scattered over the whole country. The 
 first authentic notices of the Royal Limits of Forests, occur in 
 the Constitutions, or Charter of Canute, made in a National 
 Asseuably at Winchester, in the year 1016, Articles 27, 31, 
 33; but the antiquity of the Eng-lish Forests is so remote, 
 that there is no record of their orig-inal establishment, though 
 they are repeatedly mentioned in ancieni authors and sta- 
 tutes. The New Forest in Hampshire, made by William I,, 
 and the Forest of Hampton Court, erected in l.'>39, the 31st 
 of Henry VIII., are the only two of which there is any au- 
 thentic history; and even many of the additions made to 
 the former, appear to liave been on the borders of an anterior 
 Forest, called Ytene. To these ancient Forests, however, 
 several of the early Sovereig"ns of England made larg'e 
 additions, both fur preserving- of the game, and increasing 
 their sport and jurisdiction ; though such extensions were 
 particularly oppressive to those who resided in tlieir vicinity, 
 not only by the spoliation of their property, but by the en- 
 larged spread of the Forest-Laws, and the vexatious in- 
 fluence of their peculiar oflScers. These ancient additions of 
 Wood-lands were so great, that it has been computed that 
 nearly 17,000 acres were aflbrested in Hampshire, between 
 the reigns of Edward the Confessor and William I.; by which 
 a piece of land, amounting under the former Sovereign to 
 £363 19s. 10(/., was reduced under the latter to £129. In 
 extenuation of this oppressive practice it may be observed, 
 that anciently a King of England could seldom divert 
 himself by reading, or the encouragement of the more ele- 
 gant arts; and, as he could not converse with common 
 society, his principal recreation was removing- his Court 
 from one palace to another, each being surrounded by a 
 vast Forest for the chase, which, in the view of a sportsman, 
 could never be too spacious, whilst at the same time it was 
 
^?\^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 supposed that larg-e uncultivated tracts contributed to mao^- 
 nificence. To reduce the Royal Forests, however, to their 
 ancient limits, and g-ive hack all the common rights of their 
 tenants, is the purpose of the above Chapters of the pre- 
 ceding- instrument; -which, like the Charters of Liberties, 
 is only declarative and restoring-, neither giving- any new 
 freedom, nor conferring- any additional privileg-rs. 
 
 Such, then, having- been the causes of extension in the 
 English Forests, it will next be proper to give a few par- 
 ticulars of their leg-al establishment and limits, as well as of 
 the proceedings for disforesting- them according- to the 
 ordinances of the Charta Foresta. 
 
 The word Forest is said to be derived from the Latin 
 words Fera sfafioj an abode for wild animals, and should 
 properly consist of eight principal features, as Soil, Covert, 
 Laws, Courts, Judg-es, Officers, Game, and Bounds j a slight 
 explanation of which will materially elucidate the provisions 
 of the foreg'oing Charter. For the SoUy then, a Forest is a 
 certain territory of woody grounds and fertile pastures to 
 shelter and feed the deer, which could be established only 
 in places naturally fitted for their formation. The Coveris 
 of a Forest technically signify, thickets full of trees touching- 
 each other, those places wherein they are scattered and stand 
 apart, being- only termed Woods; and the importance of 
 preserving- these Coverts is esteemed so g-reat, thafeven the 
 Chief Justice of the Forests cannot license a tenant cutting; 
 his own Woods, unless there be enoug-h left to shelter the 
 wild animals. His license, also, extends only to felling, 
 not to destroying- these Woods, since the springs must bo 
 left in the ground that they may grow to be Coverts again : 
 these retreats are called Coverts of Vert^ which include 
 every thing- bearing of g-reen leaves in a Forest. The Fo- 
 rest Laws, Courts, Judges, and OflBcers, will be explained 
 in the subsequent Notes ou this Chartei-; but it may be no- 
 ticed that they are all peculiar, belonging to no other place, 
 and that Forests differ from all other places since they are 
 governed by laws, &;c. of their own. The object of this 
 constitution is the preservation of the place, the Vert, and 
 the Venison; under which term is included all the Game 
 
 i 
 
tig*=g>; 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 belnnging to Forests; which consists of wild beasts and 
 fowls of Forest, as the Haitj Iliud, and Hare ; of Chcisej ns 
 ' the Buck, Doe, and Fox j and of Warren, as the Ralthit, 
 Pheasant, and Partridge. It is the disting-uisliing- aiark of 
 a Forest from all other Woods, that these animals are privi- 
 ledg-ed to reside in it under the Kinof's protection for his 
 delight and recreation 5 hut though no other creatures are 
 protected in it by royal authority, no person may presume 
 to hunt or hawk there without license from the Sovereign, 
 or the Chief Justice in Eyre. Strictly speaking, a Forest 
 must always be provided with beasts of chase, for when 
 there are no animals to shelter, it is no Forest, and the te- 
 nants may fell their Woods, destroy their Coverts, and con- 
 vert their pastures into arable laud, which otherwise cannot 
 be done without special license. Lastly, the Bounds of a 
 Forest are irremoveable Marks, or objects ascending in 
 height, which mark its extent, as a tower or tree; Meers, 
 or tlje distance between the Forest, and the land of other 
 men, whereon a mark is placed; and other boundaries 
 known either by prescription or matter of record : these 
 surround a circuit of woodland which has a liberty within 
 itself, and lies open, though it may contain several en- 
 closures, and many persons hold property within it. These 
 boundaries sheiv how a Forest is known from other lands, 
 for though it remain open, it is as securely enclosed by them 
 as by a stonewall. 
 
 Such are the liujits and characteristics of a Forest, the 
 ancient manner of establishing whicli, was by tiie King 
 issuing a Commission in Chancery under the Great Seal, 
 directed to certain persons, declaring his intention of 
 making one in a certain place and County, commanding- 
 them to perambulate and view it within a coujpuss of so 
 many miles, and to bound and meet off" so much as they 
 should consider sufficient, surrounding it with boundaries 
 that he might know it; all which proceedings were to be 
 certified to the Court of Chancery before an appointed day. 
 The ground being viewed, and a proper extent of territory 
 considered, the perambulation was made and boundaries 
 fixed of bridges, rivers, hills, highways, and, sometimes, 
 
U"'i/v"ry^^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 I particular trees, till the route returned to the spot whence S 
 
 it set out ; all which circumstances were certified and re- 
 iturncd to the Chancery, when the King- hecame entitled to 
 ahis Forest as matter of record. Another Writ was then Cj 
 issued from the Chancery to the Sheriff of the County where 
 the Forest stood, reciting-all the Commissioners' proceeding's, 
 with the circuit fully descrihed, commanding' him to pro- 
 claim it a Forest throughout the Shire, in Boroughs, Towns, 
 Fairs, Markets, &c., in which, after a certain time no one 
 should presume to hunt. The ground, however, was con- 
 sidered only as a Chase, until the King" appointed its officers, 
 and it was protected hy laws. In estalilishing; of these Fo- 
 rests in woody districts, the residents on such spots became 
 enclosed with them ; and, since all lands were originally in 
 the Crown, when the King- was possessed of the greatest 
 part of the wood-country and waste land, he might make 
 any of them Forest for want of inhabitants, though at a 
 future time his Forests might stand upon the grounds of 
 other proprietors. 
 
 The throe periods referred to in these Chapters for un- 
 lawful afforestations, embrace a period of sixty-two years; 
 since the general expression alluding to the time of Henry 
 II. is explained in the fourth Chapter of this Charter, as 
 extending- to tlie date of his ^^ first Coronation," which took 
 placeat Westminster on Sunday, December 19th, 1154, being 
 performed hy Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury. The 
 Sovereign was also crowned a second time at Lincoln, on 
 August 30tb, the Sunday after St. Bartholomew's day; and 
 a third time at Worcester, with Eleanor of Aquitaine, either 
 on Thursday, December 25th, 1158, or, as Roger Hoveden 
 states, on Easter Sunday, April 12th, 1159. The other term 
 which includes the Woods to be disforested, is the first 
 Coronation of Henry III. by whom this instrument was 
 issued, which Sir William Blackstone regarded as a strong 
 reason for believing the present to have been the original 
 Forest Charter; vide page 238 of the preceding Notes. 
 King- Henry III. was twice crowned ; firstly^ at Gloucester, 
 on Friday, Oct. 28th, the day of SS. Simon and Jude, 1216, 
 by the Bishops of Winchester and Bath, when he was only 
 
rr^^TTTiniVWm 
 
 V V V V 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS 
 
 about nine years old; nnd a second time at Westminster, by j^ 
 Stephen Lang-ton, Arclibisbop of Cantei-bury, on Wblt Sun- 
 day, May 17th, 1220- "to the end," says Holinshed, "itV 
 niijiht be said, that now, after tbe exting-uishment of 
 seditions factions, he was crowned by tlie general consent 
 of all the estates and subjects of bis realm." Between these 
 periods, all unlawful afibrestations were to be taken away, 
 and the following- Writ was issued for viewing- and reporting- 
 on tbe increase of tlie Englisb Forests. 
 
 "Tlie King to all llie Sheriffs of England, through whose baili- 
 wicks Juhii Marshall, Chief Justiciary of tiie Forests of England is to 
 pass, Greeting. We eoininanj you, that immediately, with ourfaith- 
 ful and beloved John Marshall, our Chief Justice of the Forests of 
 England, you sJiall make a progress through your bailiwick for dis- 
 foresting, by our precept, those Forests which ought to be disforested 
 and separated from such as ought permanently to be kept as Forests, 
 ai;cording to tbe tenor of our Charter of Liberties of the Forests, 
 which we have granted unto our faithful subjects, throughout our 
 kingdom of England : for which ye shall every one of yuu call unto 
 you in every County, four lawful and discreet Knights, who shall 
 elect Twelve of the most lawful and discreet Knights of the whole 
 County, to make a Perambulation by the view of the aforesaid John 
 Marshall, nur Forester, through those parts which are to be disforested 
 and those Forests which ought permanently to remain : and likewise 
 clearly to enroll the measures and boundaries of the Forests, and the 
 parts to be disforested with their measures and boundaries, and also 
 the names of the Knights making the Perambulation to which they 
 have set their hands, to us. under your seal and the seals of those 
 who were making the inquisition. Witness, the Earl at Leicester the 
 24th day of July, in the second year of our reign.'* (1218.) 
 
 However little might liave been done in tbis Peram- 
 bulation, its expenses were the same year charg-ed and levied 
 on the Forest Counties as may be seen by the following- 
 memorandum enteied on tbe Great Roll of tbe 3rd of 
 Henry IH. 
 
 " The men of Dorset and Somerset jClOO, for making a Perambu- 
 lation in those parts in the Counties of Dorset and Somerset, which 
 are to be disforested, and those parls which are to remain Forest, ac- 
 cording to the tenor of the Charter of Liberties of the Fi>rest, and for 
 the measures and bounds to be plated in them on both parts; and for 
 the disforestaiion of those parts which are to be disfoi'ested as afore- 
 said, according to the aforesaid meets and boundaries." 
 
 Upon the renewal of the Charters in 1225, about a 
 month after Easter, the ordinance of the First Chapter 
 of the Charta Foresta was carried into effect by tbe visi- 
 
^8^' 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 ?3-- tation of Hugh cle Neville, Bryan de Lisle, Scc. though it 
 
 seems that their Perambulations extended to the old Forests 
 
 , only, many of which, however, were disforested, and the 
 
 jU lands built upon and cultivated by the proprietors. After- -^310*^0- 
 wards, indeed, some steps were taken towards perambulating- ^d;^ 
 the new-made Forests, but they were conducted so slowly '~'^'-''' 
 that most of them remained standing- at the death of Henry 
 III.; but in the reig^n of Edward I., three Bishops, and as 
 many Earls and Barons, were appointed to be Perambulators 
 by a commission under the Great Seal. By their report and 
 decision, boundaries were then set up in them to fix their 
 extent by law, after which, the King- confirmed the whole 
 of their proceeding's : vide the preceding- Essay, pages 45- 
 47. The warrant by which these Perambulators surveyed 
 the Forests, was according- to the following- form, issued in 
 1301, the 29tb year of Edward I. 
 
 "The "King to liis beloved and faithful Roger de Brabazon, Greet- 
 ing. Whereas we have assigned you as one, with certniii others of 
 our faithful subjects, for making a Perambulation in our Forests 
 within our County of Salop, &c. We command you to be at Lich- 
 field on the Morrow of the Ascension uf our Lord next approachidg, 
 (Friday, May 12tli,) ready from that time, with our said faithful sub- 
 jects, to proceed in making that Perambulation, which we liave com- 
 manded should then personally be made through all the boundaries 
 which are in that place. And of this order you may neglect nothing; 
 and therefore that which through default of dispatch in the said 
 affair is left undone, shall not remain so iii any place or manner wliat- 
 soever. Witness the King at Westminster, the 1st day of April." 
 
 The enrolled proceedings of these Perambulators, are 
 still preserved under the title of the Forest Rolls, and con- 
 tain particular descriptions in Latin of all the boundaries 
 surrounding- the Forests which were thus surveyed; a spe- 
 cimen of the report on those viewed in Oxfordshire in con- 
 sequence of the above Writ, may be seen in Sir William 
 Blackstone's Introduction to the CharterSy pag-e Ixxii. note i. 
 and a translation of another, made in the same year, on the 
 New Forest, is printed in Mr. Lewis's Historical Inquiry 
 concerning Forests, pp. 174-177. The general form of these 
 records is the following: 
 
 "The Perambulation made in the County of Southampton in the 
 presence of John de Berewykand hi^ fellows, assigned on this account 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS 
 
 by the Writ of our Lord the King, as appears in the Uoll of the Per- 
 ?\ ambulation of the Forest of Wolvemere and Alsyesholt, in tlie 
 jiresence of John de Romesy, Lieutenant of the Justice of tlie Forest, 
 and in the presence of John Randolf, and in the presence of Gilbert 
 Teye, John de Caiiz, and William de Buttesthorn, Verderor of the 
 Forest aforesaid. And the Forest begins," &c. 
 
 Thp Roll of Perambulation, however, conclndcs by 
 stating-, tbat the survey was Tiiade upon oath, both as to 
 what is within and what is " without the Forest, accordino- 
 to the tenor of the Great Charter of the Forests." The whole 
 proceedings were closed by a short Patent in the ensuing- 
 form : 
 
 "The King to all to whom the present Letters shall come. Greet- 
 ing: Know ye, that we will and grant for us and our heirs, that the 
 
 Perambulations made before by those appointed to the same 
 
 for our Forests in the County uf York, shall, for the future, be held 
 and observed throughout all the metes and boundaries contained in 
 the same Perambulatiuns, the tenor of which shall be followed word 
 for wurd, and in the same manner." 
 
 Such, then, were some of the proceedings for disfo- 
 resting- the illegal boundaries of the Royal Woods, which 
 were also farther amended in 1304-1305, the 33fd of Ed- 
 ward I., by the enacting- of that Statute entitled Ordinaiio 
 Forestce, regulating- those disforested precincts, called Pur- 
 lieus. The limits fixed by these Perambulations, Sec. were 
 again commanded to be observed, by an Act passed in 
 1327-28, the 1st of Edward III.; and they seem to have 
 remained unquestioned and unbroken for nerirly three cen- 
 turies, until 1622-23, the 20tb of James f., when, it is 
 stated ill an Act of his successor, some new enquiry and 
 disforestation took place in the Forest boundaries : thoug-h 
 as no other notice of it appears on record, it might have 
 been only some slight examination by private commission 
 from the Crown. In 1634-35, King Charles I. attempted a 
 revival of the Forest Laws, in the hope, as it is supposed, 
 of drawing thence a revenue independent of Porliament; at 
 which time Henry Rich, Earl of Holland, was Chief Jus- 
 ticiary of the Forests, and is said to have executed the of- 
 fice with g'reat severity. The Royal Woods themselves, too, 
 appear once more to have bad their boundaries considerably 
 increased: the Forests in Essex were extravagantly said to 
 reach from Stratford-Bow, to Colchester, and the limits of 
 

 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 Rockinghnm Forest^ere extended from six miles to sixty. 
 Enormous fines w^iwalso imposed on trespassers in them j 
 Sir Christopher H^ton was amerced in £12,000, Lord 
 Westmoreland in £19,000, and the Earl of Salisbury in 
 £20,000', though it is probable that much of these fines 
 was subsequently remitted. In 1641-42, the 16th and 17th 
 years of Charles I., Chap. 16., these evils were again reme- 
 died by " An Act for the Certainty of Forests, and of the 
 Meets, Meers, Limits, and Boundaries of the Forests;'' 
 which recited the Act of Edward III., ordering- the ancient 
 Perambulations to be observed, annulled all subsequent 
 proceeding's for enlarging- the Forests, and determined for 
 ever their boundaries and extent. The last circuit of the 
 Chief Justiciary of the Forest, was made in 1670, by Au- 
 brey de Vere, Earl of Oxford ; since which time the office 
 has been fiUed by tlie Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. 
 Having provided for the taking away of unlawful Fo- 
 rest Land, — in whicl^ it may be observed, that this Charter 
 follows the ordinances of the Magna Charta of King John, 
 Chapters xlvii, liii. vide pages 59, 84, 85, 88, 89,237, 
 238, — the first Chapter proceeds to secure the rights of 
 Common, &:c. in the remaining Forests to such as were 
 anciently accustomed to have them. The Common of Pas- 
 turage in the Royal Forests of England, is a liberty granted 
 to the tenants to feed certain of their cattle on any waste 
 soil, as a kind of compensation for the free and unlimited 
 range which the King's wild beasts have through the whole 
 Wood. In the Pleas oj Parliament made in 1304-1305, the 
 33rd of Edward I., Chap. 5, this Common is explained to 
 signify the disforested parts; so that the tenants, who by 
 disforestation are put out of the Forest, had no claim to 
 Common in Woods, wdiich still remained within the lawful 
 bounds of a Forest. — Mamvood, Barr'mgton^ Blackstone, 
 Lewis. This explanation is also supported by the last pro- 
 vision of the third Chapter, which excepts from the Common 
 of Pasturage the King's Demesne Woods, or those more 
 immediately belonging to his own estate, and retained in 
 his own possession : which is, in fact, only allowing to the 
 Sover<Mgu the same right of property as the most ordinary 
 
 
 346 ^41^5 
 
 --^p* 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 freeholder. The respect, however, which the Charters of 
 Liberties shewed to a person's own nattiral possessions, has 
 already been noticed on pages 201, 202, 213. 
 Chapter II. Pa^e 330. 
 Like the preceding- division of the Charta Forest£e,this 
 Chapter is also one of those originally inserted in the Great 
 Charteiof King Job u,and is expressed in the very same words 
 as those in which it was tirst written- vide Chapter xliv. 
 pag-es 57, 84, 85 : and it is also one of those reserved for 
 consideration in the First GreatCharter of King- Henry IH., 
 vide pag-es IIG, 237. Before the granting- of the Forest 
 Charter, all deg'rees of persons residing in a County con- 
 taining' a Forest, were obliged to appear before the Justice- 
 seat whenever it was held, according to the strictest letter 
 of the comm'on,or general, summons, of the Court, the form 
 of which was, ** I command that you Summon, by honest 
 Summoners, all the Archbishops, Bishops, Earls, Barons, 
 Knights, and their Free-Tenants, who have lands, or tene- 
 ments within the metes of the Forest of the Lord the King," 
 &c. As many of these persons, however, had only pos- 
 sessions in the Forests whilst their residences were at a 
 distance, the inconvenience of merely attending for cere- 
 mony at the Court was often extremely great- but Man- 
 wood remarks, that the present Chapter was Intended chiefly 
 to beaelit those who lived In the disforested parts of the 
 Royal Woods, by exeuipting them from any ordinary sum- 
 mons to the Justice-seat. There were, notwithstanding, 
 certain exceptions, both to residents without the Forests not 
 appearing on a Common Summons; as well as to dwellers 
 within the Forests attending when it was issued. In the 
 first instance, if a party possessed any lands or liberties 
 within the Forests, on account of which any claim was to 
 be preferred before the Justice-seat, he was then to appear 
 on the tirst day of the Session, or the liberties might be 
 seized by the King, and forfeited for non-claimer. The 
 Reve or Steward, also, of every Forest Town, should appear 
 on the first day of Session with four men of the same place, 
 or be amerced. Those cases In which persons dwelling 
 within the Forest were not bound to appear at the Justicc- 
 
 -^2:; 
 
 \ 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS 
 
 7 seat on a General Summons, ^vere when they wcrf under 12 
 ypais of "ige, although they had lands of inheiitance in tbej^: 
 Foieit , those v.\io were sick, blind, or 70 years old, ov up- 
 J wards , and especially those wlio were in the King's serv^icee 
 in another place. Archbishops, Bishops, Earls, Barons, 
 and Knights, having- lands witliin the Forests, but dwelling 
 without, were also exempted from appearing- at the Justice- 
 seat upon a General Summons, excepting- in cases of claim ; 
 and even then, tliey might attend by Attorney. — Manwood. 
 As all Forest offences required a certain number of pledges 
 or securities for the due appearance of the attached persons, 
 the text of this Chapter exempts such from the benefit of 
 non-attendance upon an ordinary summons; as well as par- 
 ties otherwise involved in a Forest Flea. 
 
 Chapters IV., IX., XII., XIII. Pages 331, 333. 
 The intent of these Sections is nearly similar, being 
 intended to restore and to preserve the rights of private 
 Woods in the Royal Forests. What is implied by the term 
 Woods in Forests, has been already explained on page 340 ; 
 but as the text includes as well those which belonged to the 
 King, as those appertaining to his subjects, and as even 
 private property in Forests is bound by such laws as are 
 proper for preserving the existence of the Forests them- 
 selves, the first of these Chapters contains a clause of in- 
 demnity for Forest-trespasses already past, and a provision 
 of penalty for those which should be committed in future. 
 The English Forests, as it has been stated, were for the 
 most part originally the King's property 5 but various parts 
 of them having at different times been granted to private 
 persons, they cleared them from the Wood, and made the 
 land arable or pasture. The cleared parts, however, still 
 retained the name of Forest, and being held of the Crown, 
 were a source of continual disagreement as to the respective 
 rights of the King and the tenant, which the Charta Foresta; 
 was permanently intended to decide. The fourth Chapter 
 of this instrument recites three kinds of trespasses which 
 possessors of those lands could not commit either on their 
 own estates or in the King's Forests-, Purprestures, Wa^teSy 
 and Assarts. The first of these is derived from the old 
 
 ^^^^s -^isS^S^I 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 French words Pour pris^ to have taken; and it tecbnically' 
 sig^nifies any encroachment, or unauthorised approprialio 
 of land in a Foiest, by building- houses, or niakino; en 
 closures. Now, although any one might possess a freehold 
 within a Wood, yet if he erected houses upon it, he was 
 guilty of a Purprestiire, and sabject to a fine according to 
 the nature and extent of his offence ; since every assumption 
 of a privilege without license, is considered as a Purprestnre 
 in Forest Law. Of the nature of a Waste, some notice has 
 already been taken on pages 166, 213 : the word is derived 
 from the French Gaster, and the Latin Vastarey to spoi\-j 
 and itsignifies any wilful and unauthorised mutilation of the 
 Woods or Coverts for sale, &c. even on a freeholder's own 
 property. The penalty for this trespass was also a fioe, 
 and the wasted place, as in all other instances, reverted to 
 the King until it was paid. An Assart, from the French 
 AssartiTy to grub up, signifies the destruction of any Forest 
 ground to convert it into Arable land: but all these of- 
 fences were of much greater magnitude when they were 
 committed within the boundaries of a Royal Forest. Thus, 
 a Purprestnre would convert it into a farm or a village 3 a 
 Waste would deprive the Venison of their Lairs and Coverts j 
 and an Assart would destroy the Vert and Warren by the 
 plouglisJiare or harrow. 
 
 The property of private Woods in the King's Forests 
 having been thus secured and protected, the otiier three 
 Chapters of the Charter cited at the bead of this note, pro- 
 vide for certain liberties belonging- of right to the possessors 
 of those Woods. Thus, by Chapter IX. a Freeholder is entitled 
 to the Agistment audPannageof his own Woods, to arrive at 
 which, he is permitted freely to pass through those belong- 
 ing to the King's own Lordship; and if his swine remained 
 one night in them on the road, they fed free of penalty, 
 which, probably, ^vas supposed a sufficient time for them to 
 reach any part of the Forest. The privilege of Agislment, 
 signifies enjoying the pasturage of any purt of a Forest, and 
 with the law verb, to Agist; it is derived sometimes from 
 the Latin Ager, 0. field; Agito^ to drive or feed; and the 
 French Gesir^ to lie, or Gile, a lodging ; because, says Lord 
 
 ^^^- 
 
s^ A ^1 ^ » ■i' ^ & 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 j'i Coke, the beasts are levant and couchant%vhilst tbcy are on 
 , the land: both words are also used to sig-nify the money 
 received for pasturing' the cattle of strangers. In the pre- 
 sent instance, however, the Ag-istment of a free Forest-te- t.' 
 nant, even in bis own Woods, is confioed to bis own Com- 
 monable cattle feeding- on the herbage, so that the Woods 
 and Under-woods may grow again for Coverts • since if those 
 of a stranger were admitted, it is presumed that the lands 
 and pasture would be eaten so closely, that the Venison 
 would be left in want of foodj it is, therefore, not per- 
 mitted without a particular privilege, and a trespass on this 
 law is fineable tatbe King at the next Justice-seat. Agist- 
 ment in a Forest, is of two kinds; namely, of herbage of 
 Woods, lands, and pastures, or of Woods alone, that is to 
 say, the mast of trees, which is more properly Pannage. In 
 Ap"istment of the llrst kind, Goats, Sheep, Geese, and 
 Swine, are not considered as commonable cattle, or such as 
 may be admitted to feed upon the herbage of a Forest : since 
 the first two are said to taint the pasture with their breathy 
 so that Venison will not eat after them, and sheep bite it so 
 closely as to destroy it; but both were sometimes allowed 
 by prescription or license. The food of swine in a Forest 
 forms the second kind of Agistment, or Pannage^ which is 
 variously written in ancient Charters, as Pathnage, Pawnagej 
 Sec. being derived from the old French Pasiiagey and pro- 
 perly signifying both the price paid for Swine feeding in 
 the King's Forests, and the mast of woods and hedge-rows 
 forming their food. The present Chapter of the Charta 
 ForestcC, also provides that a Forest-freeholder shall have 
 the Pannage of bis own woods ; but if bis woods or hedge- 
 rows are near, or adjoining, to the Royal Demesne Woods, 
 then his Agistment of Swine cannot take place until after 
 the King''s shall be over, — which is about the Feast of St. 
 Martin, Nov. 10th, — lest be should interfere with the Sove- 
 reign's Agistment. Although the feeding of Swine in 
 Forests is at present but little attended to, their Pannane 
 was anciently considered of great profit to such as resided 
 in Woodland districts; since tlie people of this nation, and 
 even the households of the Baronial Castles, generally used 
 
 '^:H^:y^i 
 

 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 salted meat as a winter provision, for wliicli reason tlie 
 /Boiiiesday Survey commonly records the number of Swine 
 which an estate will snpply with Mast and Pannaf»-e. It 
 may he proper to observe, tliat the word Mast is derived 
 from the Saxon Mmstdy nuts, including; also, every kind of 
 Forest fruits j — and by transposition from the Gothic, Mats, 
 food. Manwood. — Barrington. 
 
 The 12th Chapter of the Charta Forestce, contains a 
 recital of the various ways in whicli a Forest Freeholder 
 may employ his own Woods, *' vi ithont danger,''' as it is 
 translated by Rufl'head, thono^h the words sine occasione may 
 rather be rendered '* without being- fined," or, '',without 
 trouble" for doing- so, which ■will include both fine and any 
 other le^al proceeding-. The proprietor, then, mig-ht occupy 
 his land with Mills, Springs, Pools, Marl-Pits or Dykes, or 
 turn it into Arabic laud ; provided he did not enclose them, 
 kept -without the Covert, and did nothing- which was in- 
 jurious to the public Forest or to his neighbours. Thus, if 
 a Mill were erected on a Forest-river, or a Dam formed, or 
 a Water-course stopped, so that tiie water overflowed and 
 drowned the meadows, pastures, or any common highway, 
 it became a matter of com plain tat the Justice-seat; and ^vas 
 fined at the discretion of the Chief Justiciary in Eyre, in a 
 great sum, with sureties to amend the default bet'ore a limited 
 time. The liberty of having- a private Warren in a Forest 
 is an erroneous insertion in this Charter; since it was per- 
 mitted only to a Freeholder in a Free Chase, by prescription, 
 o^rant, or allowance in Eyre, which pre-supposes a g-rant; 
 and any other assumption of it is proceeded ag-ainst as a 
 trespass. The digg-ing- of Marie-pits in ground not belong- 
 ing- to the King-, in the purlieus or vicinages of Forests, as 
 it occasioned danger and inconvenience to the hunters, was 
 atone period frequently prosecuted in the Forest-Courts, 
 which imposed heavy fines for the offence. The liberty of 
 procuring Marie, however, -was an important privilege to 
 all the ao-ricultiiral tenants, since it was in g-eneral use 
 through England as a manure; and was probably known 
 in Britain before the time of Pliny. In the Statute of Wales 
 issued in 1283-84, the 12th of Edward I., the Sheriffs and 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 oners are ordered to enqiiireconcerning^ Marie-pits lyings 
 the public road; which is a proof of early attention and 
 owled^e in the improvement of British lands. 
 From the provisions concerning; Hawks, Falcons, &:c. 
 contained in the first clause of the 13th Chapter of this in- 
 strument, it would seem that the King- claimed them where- 
 ever they were found ; as the word Eyries signifies rather 
 the natural, than the artificial, places for hreeding- them, it 
 being- derived of the French .^ire, the nest of a bird of prey. 
 To persons of only ordinary property, however, this resto- 
 ration of the old English Common Law, could scarcely have 
 been of very considerable importance; for hawking; was a 
 costly sport, best fitted for Royalty and the greater Barons, 
 but though the birds themselves were of great value, they 
 required much care and time to tame, were useless durino- 
 the spring- and summer, when they devoured a great quan- 
 tity of food, and wanted several attendants to keep them in 
 order. Some tenants, however, were, by the g-rants of their 
 lands, obliged to procure Hawks, &c. for their lords. 
 Ethelstan II., who reigned over England from 925 to 940 
 exacted birds "which knew how to hunt others along- the 
 atmosphere;'' and it has been already shewn on page 207 
 that part of the farm of the Royal Demesne Towns was paid 
 in Hawks. The second part of this Chapter secures to the 
 woodland proprietor, all the Honey found in his Woods • 
 which was certainly a much more important gift than it would 
 at first appear, since the Hon. Daines Barringtou remarks 
 that perhaps there has been no law-suitor question concern- 
 ing it for the last 300 years. In the middle ages, however 
 the use of Honey was very extensive in Eng-land, as Suo-ar 
 was not brouglit hither until the 15th century, and it was 
 not only a general substitute for it in preserving, but many 
 of the more luxurious beverages were principally composed 
 of it, as Mead, Metheglin, Pigment, and Morat, and these 
 were famous fronj the Saxon days, down even to the time 
 of the present Charter. In the old Danish and Swedish 
 Laws, Bees form a principal subject; and Honey was a con- 
 siderable article of rent in Poland, in which it was a custom 
 to bind any one who stole it to the tree whence it was taken. 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 The BaroD de Mayerberg- also relates, that when ho tra- 
 velled in Muscovy iu 1661, he saw trees there expressly 
 adapted to receive bees; which, even those who felled 
 their own wood, were enjoined under a penalty to take 
 down in such a manner, that they who prepared them should 
 have the benefit of the honey. Nor was the wax of less im- 
 portance to the woodland proprietors of Eng-land, since 
 candles of tallow are said to have been first used only in 
 1290, and those of wax were so g-reat a luxury, that in 
 some places they were unknown ; but a statute concerning 
 wax-chandlers, passed in 1433, the 11th of Henry VI. ^ 
 chapter 12, states that wax was then used in g;reat quanti- 
 ties for the images of Saints. Only referring, however, to 
 the well-known use of larg-e wax tapers by King- Alfred in 
 the close of the ninth century; it maybe observed, that in 
 the Laws of Hoel Dha, King- of South Wales, which are 
 acknowledged as authentic historical documents, made 
 about A.D. 940, of much older materials, — is mentioned the 
 rio-ht of the King's Chamberlain, to as much wax as he 
 could bite from the end of a taper. Coke — Manwood — Bar- 
 rlngion — Statutes of the Realm. 
 
 Chapters V. VII. VIII. XIV. XVI. 
 Pages 331, 332, 334, 335. 
 As these sections were all intended to restrain the oppres- 
 sions of the keepers of the Forests, and exactly to define 
 their real duty, it will perhaps form a more connected illus- 
 tration, if they be all considered in the same note: intro- 
 ducing- iu their proper places, some notices of those officers 
 and customs which are not mentioned in the Charter itself. 
 The Mb Chapter provides for the time of the view of 
 the Eegarders, who were officers of the Forest so early as 
 the reign of King Canute, being" mentioned in Chapter 2 
 of his Charter, when they were 16 in number, and were 
 known by the Saxons under the name of Middle-men, and 
 by the Danes by that of Young-men ; until, in the Assizes of 
 the Forest, made by Henry II,, twelve Knights were elected 
 on the King's Writ, who took the modern title of Re^ar- 
 ders, from the French Regardeur, a viewer or looker. At 
 the commencement of this Monarch's reign, the Forests 
 
no attentio 
 were instituted to survey the whole of it every third year, 
 previously to the meeting- of the Justice-seat, as well to lay 
 before it an account of the territory, as of the offences 
 which had been commited within it; their duty, according 
 to Lord Coke, being to see, enquire, enroll, and certify. 
 In all this, their proceedings were very similar to those of 
 a Jury in Common Law: since their number was to be 
 made up twelve, if any of them were sick or dead ; their 
 view and certificate could only be made by the w^hole of 
 them together ; and unanimity was required in their ver- 
 dict. The manner of their view referred to in the text, was 
 ordained in the Assises Forestaruvi of Henry II., being- the 
 ancient Engdish Forest Law, upon which many parts of this 
 Charter are founded. It provided that the Kegarders 
 should go through the whole of their Forest and bailiwicks, 
 and carefully enquire into the state of the King''s wild 
 beasts, and the Forest in general ; but they were to be 
 strictly confined to their own bouudaries, since there might 
 be places within the metes of a Forest, and yet out of re- 
 gard ; and those who had woods in such places where the 
 wild beasts sheltered, or those who had them especially 
 privileged to be out of regard, were not to be impeached 
 by these officers. The King's Forests only can be dignified 
 with Regarders, who were originally Knights, made by 
 Letters Patent from the Sovereign, or the Chief-Justice in 
 Eyre, directed to the Sheriff, who selected them in his 
 County-Court. The attention of the modern Regarders is 
 confined to the woods and timber belonging- to the Crown; 
 and any ordinary lawful person may be put into the office. 
 Another officer of uearly the same rank as a Reg-arder, was 
 that called a i?an(;er, whose duties originally arose out of 
 the Chartae Foresta; since those parts of a Forest which 
 had been illegally made and disforested were under his 
 superintendance. These were known by the various names 
 of Povralliie, from the French pour allery to go, alluding to 
 their perambulations; Purlieu^ from pour lieuy for the place. 
 
-<r 
 
 s%^^ 
 
 m^M 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHAllTERS. 
 
 rcfeiTingf to its particular privileges; and Pourltpjy from > 
 pour luij for liiin, namely the tenant of such a place. Bu 
 althoug'h these parts were no longer Forest lands, yet the ^ 
 \ King" had still an interest in all game which strayed into 
 them, excepting- against that person in whose lands it 
 might be found. The Rangers, however, were to chase it 
 back to the Forest, though if the tenant held lands and 
 fj-eehokls to the amount of 40s. he might keep greyhounds 
 and hunt the animal on his own grounds, towards the 
 Forest, but in no manner preventing- its return, either by 
 its own act, or that of the keeper. A tenant, whose pos- 
 sessions were not 405. yearly, was to hunt with '^'^ little dogs''' 
 only; and the whole privilege of hunting in the outskirts 
 of a Forest, was guarded by many restrictions and limita- 
 tions. Thus, game could be pursued by a Pnrlieu-tenant, 
 only when it started in his own lands, when he was to go 
 after it himself, assisted by his own servants only; the 
 dogs were to be called ofl', so that they should not enter the 
 Forest, and if they had wounded the game, so that it died 
 upon reaching it, the body belonged to the King; though 
 if the hounds had fastened upon a Deer, which drew them 
 into the Forest, they having- been in vain called off, the 
 Purlieu-tenant might enter and take the venison ; no cross- 
 bow, nor other engine was to be used, in preventing the 
 return of game to the Forest; and in 1428-29, the 7th of 
 Henry VI., Judge Cokaine held, that the King had even a 
 ric'ht in a strayed hart, by sending a Forester after it to 
 the next town, to make proclamation that no man might 
 touch it. There were also certain seasons when hunting in 
 the Pouralk'es was prohibited, as in the night, on the Sun- 
 day, in the Fence-month, more than three days in the week, 
 within forty days after the King''s general bunting, and 
 when the Forester had given notice of serving warrants in 
 the Pourallees. Offences against these points were to be 
 presented at the next of any Forest Court; and it was the 
 Ranger's duty to enforce their observance. 
 
 A very principal part of the oppressions of the Forest 
 Laws, consisted in the number and extortion of the Forest 
 Officers, which the 7th Chapter of this Charter was intended 
 
^^^. 
 
 A. 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 partly to abolish; firstly, by taking- away illegal collections 
 of the officers, and secondly, by reducing' their number. With 
 respect to the unauthorised g-aiherings of the ancient Fo- 
 resters and BedelSj the Scot-ak, or Ale-shot, mentioned in 
 the text, ^vas one of the most common. This was, when 
 any Forest-officer, under colour of keeping- a house of en- 
 tertainment, used his authority to procure custom from the 
 tenants : but if the fact were proved before twelve Jurors 
 at the Court of Swanimote, and General Sessions of tlie 
 Forest, the officer was fined and dismissed from his office. 
 The word Scot is Saxon, and sig-nifies o gathering or con- 
 tribution, whence Lord Coke explains the Scot-ales of the 
 Forest Charter, to be a collection made for liquor for the 
 Forest officers, '^wben they come to the house of any 
 whereunto others are contributary within the Ferambuhition 
 of the Forest, which was then called Potura, a drinking." 
 A famous Itinerary, made in 1331, the 5th of Edward 111., 
 shews, howeyer, that this demand had increased to a much 
 g-reater oppression before it was finally removed. It is there 
 called Fillenaley an ale-feast, or filling- of ale; and it also 
 asserts, that *' it is a custoiri claimed by the Foresters, and 
 also by the Bailiff of the Hundred, to receiie provisions, as 
 well for themselves as for their men, horses, and dogs, of 
 the tenants and inhabitants within the perambulation of 
 the Forest or the Hundred to which they belong-, and to pay 
 nothing for tlie same." The Statute of Purveyors made 
 in 1350, the 28th of Edward III., Chapter vii, at length 
 abolished these illeg-al gatherings, and restored the ancient 
 fees of the Foresters, as allowed by the view of the twelve 
 Regarders. The present Chapter, however, provides 
 against another kind of unlawful demand made by Foresters, 
 namely, the taking of corn, sheep, or swine, as pretended 
 dues of their office ; clandestinely compelling them from such 
 as have right of Common in a Forest. Yet as a Forester, 
 if he were reduced to poverty, might sell ale, and have 
 charitable gatherings made for him, without incurring a 
 penalty for Scot-ale ; so he might also collect any other 
 things, provided he did it by Tenure, Grant, or Prescrip- 
 tion. As by Tenure, if land were held in the King's 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS 
 
 Forest, to pay 55. or one slieep, or lamb, or corn, &c. to a 
 Forester yearly; it is lawful by g-raiit, whetlier issued by 
 the King- or a Forest-tenant iti support of his office, in both 
 of which cases, if the right were denied, thou'j'h the Fo- 
 rester could not compel it, the King might; and by Pres- 
 cription collections became legal, where a Forest and officers 
 have existed time out of memory; and a Forester in Fee 
 may prescribe in himself, lawfully to have and collect l^d. 
 daily throughout the year. The first division of the present 
 Chapter of the Forest Charter, was founded upon Chap, 
 xlviii. of the Magna Charta of King John, for takin*j- away 
 of evil customs in Forests, afterwards reserved for farther 
 consideration, vide pages 84, 85,116; but another pro- 
 vision of almost equal importance is added in the text, 
 namely, that the number of the Foresters appointed shall be 
 reasonably sufficient for keeping the Forest. Before this 
 regulation, the Forest tenants were extremely oppressed by 
 these officers being very numerous; who had no other mainte- 
 nance than that which they could procure by exaction. The 
 Ordlnatio Forestm of 1304-1305, the 33rd of Edward I., 
 Chap iii. also provided against this supercharge of the Fo- 
 rests, by causing them to be enquired into at the Swanimote 
 meeting, and if found, to be certified from thence to the 
 Justice-seat, and removed. The proper number of Fo- 
 resters, appears from this Charter, to be regulated by the 
 quantity of ground contained iiithe Forests to which they be- 
 long ; as, if they be divided into Walks and Bailiwicks, there 
 should be one or more appointed to each. A Forester is a 
 sworn officer, whose duty is the preservation both of Vert 
 and Venison, and to attend upon the wild animals within 
 his district, in which he is also to attach and present Forest 
 offences. He is usually made by Letters Patent under the 
 Great Seal, though some Foresters held their offices in Fee- 
 Farm, or by payment of a certain rent for them, as it is 
 stated in Chapter xiv. of the present instrument; and in 
 acknowledgment of their tenure, every Forester, when he 
 first appears at the Justice-seat, which he is always bound 
 to attend, ought to deliver his horn to the Chief Justice in 
 Eyre, kneeling; upon which it is given to the Marshal, and 
 
>^i-p 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 a 6ne of 6s. Sd. is paid for his returning- it. Another officer 
 of this class was called a Riding Forester ; whose duty was, i 
 • nevertheless, merely ceremonial, and consisted in leading; 
 the King- whenever he hunted in person. The word Fo- 
 restarius, however, occurring- in this Chapter, does not - 
 simply imply a Forester, hut may also he interpreted a 
 Wood-ward, or officer whose duty \vas especiall3' to pre- 
 serve the Woods of a Forest, as well within its lawful 
 boundaries, as on the estate of any tenant. He was, pro- 
 hahly, at one period, oblig-ed to reside in the Forest- and 
 on no account was he to fail of attending- the Justice-seat, 
 where he presented all offences within his charge, and, if 
 called upon, resigned his hatchet to the Lord Chief Justice 
 in open Court. For some time past, this office has been 
 executed by deputy, though its importance has increased 
 from the King-'s Dock Yards being- supplied with timber 
 from the Royal Forests. It remains only to be observed, 
 that the present Chapter notices another officer of inferior 
 rank, who is also prohibited from practising- the exactions 
 of the Foresters: this is the Bedel, a person employed to 
 summon Forest Courts, execute processes, and make pro- 
 clamations, whence his name is derived either from the 
 Saxon Bydder, to call, or the Norman French Bedeav, a 
 Bailiff, or Apparitor. Before entirely quitting- thesubjectof 
 Foresters, it will be proper to mention the right conferred 
 by Chapter xiv. of Foresters in Fee Farm, or those who 
 paid any part of the value of the land without personal ser- 
 vice, taking- C/iti»Wrtf/«'. This expression is derived of the 
 French Avord Chemin, a way, and signifies a toll due by 
 custom for having- a way through the Royal Forests to the 
 alarm of the venison • which is sometimes called Pedngium, 
 or payment for foot-passage. The provision contained in 
 tlws Chapter, that Cheminage should bo taken only in the 
 King's Demesne Woods, was omitted in the succeeding- Fo- 
 rest Charter and Confirmations. 
 
 The duty of these officers, was also most importantly 
 declared in another point by Chapter xvi. of this instrument, 
 which seems to have been modelled on the 24th section 
 of the Great Charter of King- John, see page 77, and pjo- 
 
vides that Castellans shall not hold Pleas of the Forest, as 
 that ordinance took away their power of holdin^j Pleas of 
 the Crown. The oppressions used by the keepers of these 
 fortresses, have already been noticed on pag-es 204-20G; and 
 the additional influence which the Forest Law would have 
 g-iven them, is by the present Charter very properly trans- 
 ferred to the King-'s Chief Forester, or Justice in Eyre for 
 the Forests, for the same reasons as those already g-iven for 
 confining crimes cognizable by the Crown, to the inves- 
 tigation of the Judges of the realm. The power assumed 
 by the keepers of castles, probably arose principally from 
 their being" considered by Forest Law as the Chief Wardens 
 of Forests, when their fortresses stood in the woodland dis- 
 tricts ; and the Lord, or Chief Warden, was a g-veat officer 
 next to the Justices, to hail and discharge offenders, thoug-h 
 his duty was not judicial. The trial of Forest offences being 
 thus limited, the Foresters are directed to attach and pre- 
 sent them to the V erder or s, whose oflice was judicial, and 
 who "were chosen in full County Court by the King's Writ. 
 They, however, were only to receive and enroll these de- 
 positions, putting them under their own seals, until the 
 Justice in Eyre made his circuit, when they were to be de- 
 termined. The title of Verderors was originally derived 
 from the Latin Viridij the green hue 5 it being- the duty of 
 this officer to look after and protect the Vert, which has 
 been already explained ; and he was required to be an Es- 
 quire, or gentleman of good estate, learned in the Forest 
 Law, since his power greatly resembled that of a Coroner, 
 excepting that his enquiries were into the destruction of the 
 Woods and Venison, instead of the death of a human being. 
 To the Royal Forests usually belonged four Verderors, who 
 presided at the Court of Swanimote, an assembly composed 
 of the freeholders and inhabitants of the Forest, for ex- 
 amining into those offences which were afterwards deter- 
 mined at the Justice-seat. The Verderor could formerly 
 claim the fee of coursing aod taking such deer as he might 
 start in going to and returning from these Courts j but 
 it is now changed into the annual gift of a buck and a 
 doe : his power at the present time, however, is nearly 
 
 'iX^ 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 similar to that which he possessed by the ancient Forest 
 Law. 
 
 The Eig-hth Chapter of this Charter is the first which 
 refers to those peculiar Courts of the Forests, by which 
 theirownlaw is administered within themselves; anditwas 
 inserted principally to provide for the times of meeting" 
 and the occupation of the Court of Swaaimote. The fre- 
 quent holding- of inferior Courts was one of the great op- 
 pressions of the Norman Barons, &c.- and this clause was 
 intended to remedy such a practice in the ancient Wardens 
 and Foresters, who summoned the sylvan Courts as often 
 as they thought proper, without any regard to the conve- 
 nience of the Forest inhabitants who composed them. They 
 were at length held so often, that many persons could not 
 attend ; in consequence of which, they were excused only 
 on the payment of certain fees. The statute in the text 
 has provided against the continuance of such a custom, by 
 appointing only one Swanimote, at which the tenants were 
 to meet the Forest officers- and the following was the rou- 
 tine of matters belonging to them. At the first, held on Holy 
 Rood day, (14th Sept.) fifteen days before St. MichaePs 
 day, (29th Sept.) the Agistators met to receive the money 
 for the pasture, or herbage of the King'^s Woods, and to 
 take account of the state of the Vert. These were persons 
 appointed by Letters Patent to attend upon the King's 
 Woods and Forests, to take in cattle to pasture, and to 
 watch that they committed no damage to the Vert. An 
 account of their Agistment has already been given on pages 
 349, 350; and the money which they received for it was 
 to be given up to the Chief Justice in Eyre, at his Court. 
 At the same Swanimote, also. Swine were taken into the 
 Forests to feed upon the mast until the next, which was 
 held forty daysafter. The second meeting' took place upon 
 St. Martin's day, (11th November,) when the Agistators met 
 to receive the Pannage, or money for the Swines' pasturage 
 in the Woods since the last assembly, which was done in the 
 presence of the other Forest officers and entered upon the 
 Verderors' roll. The third convocation was about the fes- 
 tival of St. John the Baptist, (24th June,) and fiifteen 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 days before Old Midsummer. The officers then met con- 
 cerning- the defence of the King's does during- their fawnino-, 
 whicli time was technically called *' the Fence month." It 
 lasted 31 days, and if during- that period, any swine, sheep, or 
 goats were found in the Forest, they \vere forfeited to the 
 King : the fawning time ended on St.CyrilTsday, (6th July,) 
 fifteen days after Midsummer. At these Swanimotes, al- 
 though in the text only three kinds of Forest officers are 
 directed to be present, nevertheless, by an alteration of 
 this law by the Kings Edward I. and Edward III., all 
 the officers were ordered to be present, with all free- 
 holders and lawful men of the Forest. Oilences committed 
 against the Vert, were, by the same statute, directed to be 
 produced at the next Swaniniote after their commission. 
 Before quitting this subject, it may be proper to observe, 
 in illustration of the succeeding clauses, that theie was no 
 specified time for the free tenants of the Foresis, feeding- their 
 own, or other's cattle upon their own pastures: and that 
 the term Swanimote, is derived of the Saxon words Swettiy 
 a minister, and Mote^a meeting- because it consisted of 
 the Forest officers. 
 
 For the more effectual enforcement of the Forest Laws, 
 however, these officers were directed by Chap. viii. of this 
 Charter, to meet every forty days throughout the whole 
 year, whence the assembly was called the Forty-days Court, 
 or Court of Attachment. The legal verb to attach, is de- 
 rived from the French Attacker, to take, or apprehend j and 
 a Forest attachment signifies the taking- of some security, 
 that an offender shall be produced at the proper tribunal to 
 answer for his offence. In Forest law, this security, or at- 
 tachment, may be made three different ways ■ firstly, by the 
 offender's g-oods being taken and detained until he shall 
 give sureties that he will appear to answer for his fault at 
 the next Justice-seat : secondly, by the offender being 
 obliged to procure some who ^vill be pledges for his ap- 
 pearance, whilst he himself is mainprised,^ or a prisoner at 
 large until the time of the next Court: thirdly by taking 
 
 , taking by tht baud, sig:iiif"ring 
 
 B Derived froiu the Fr^ii 
 El gi;iJtle reatrtxint, 
 
 h Mjiii and Pri 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 W9 
 
 the oiFender to prison without bail, until he be liberated 
 by the Kiag'''s special warrant, or by one from the Chief 
 Justice in Eyre, or the Chief Warden. Each of these 
 methods of attachment were enacted for the punishment of 
 peculiar crimes ; as far instance, the first was for any of- 
 fence committed on the underwood, bushes, furze, &;c. tech- 
 nically called the Nether Vert ; this attachment might also 
 be made for all Forest misdemeanours : the second was for 
 enclosures, or g-rubhing' up of woods in the King's Forests : 
 and the third was for the Forest offences geoeially, after the 
 offender had continued in his crimes contrary to his sureties, 
 mainprise, and pledges. The word Presentment, which 
 occurs in the same clause of this Charter, signifies, in the 
 language of Forest law, a formal declaration made in 
 writing', from the Foresters to the Verderers in the Court of 
 Attachment, of any Forestoffence which hadbeencommitted. 
 The presentment was then enrolled and transferred to the 
 Swanimote, before which the criminals underwent trial and 
 conviction • but the determination, judgment, and fine, be- 
 longed to the Court of Justice-seat only. 
 
 This was the highest tribunal of the Forests, and the 
 Chief Justice in Eyre^ who presided at it, was at the head of 
 this division of the English legislature. Some particulars 
 of his office have already been given on pages 345, 346 ; 
 and it may be obseived in addition that it was one of great 
 trust and dignity, which may be traced to so ancient a pe- 
 riod as the reign of Henry II., 1184. Manwood states, that 
 so high were the honour and the authority connected with 
 it, that it could not be executed by any other than a Peer, 
 who was one of the Privy Council. The title, in Eyre, al- 
 luding to the circuits, or journies of these English Jus- 
 ticiaries, is derived from the French word, Erre, a course ; 
 for which reason, in the ancient law books they are de- 
 Qorn'msited Justiciarii Itinerantes, or Travelling Justices, and 
 they were originally created by the King's writ. The 
 Court of the Chief Justice in Eyre was a Court of Record- 
 that is to say, a Royal tribunal held in right of the King's 
 dignity and Crown, having power to hold Pleas of the 
 Crown, and to fine and imprison j the acts and procccdiugs 
 
^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 of which were enrolled in parchment for perpetual memo- 
 rial and testimony, becoming Records of indisputable au- 
 thority.' In this Court were to be tried and determined all 
 trespasses, pleas, and causes of the Forest, which had been 
 presented and enquired into at the inferior Courts ; and with 
 the Chief Justice in Eyre, were associated other magistrates 
 who were called Chief Justices of the Forests. 
 
 Such were the peculiar Courts and officers, belonging; 
 to this branch of the ancient English law : but it may also 
 be noticed, that there were several inferior persons attached 
 to the Royal Forests, whose duties were expressed in tlie 
 names of their offices ; as Bow-hearers, Keepers, Marksmen, 
 Verminer, and Sub-vermiiier. Some Forests also have pe- 
 culiar employments and officers, of which others are wholly 
 destitute. 
 
 Chapter VI. Page 331. 
 
 For the safety of those who used formerly to be Forest 
 teuants, they were allowed to keep certain dogs in their 
 houses, provided they were lawed, or expeditated, according 
 to the Forest customs. The dogs which might legally be 
 retained were mastiffs, and a kind which in King Canute's 
 Constitutions, and the Assizes of the Forests are termed "little 
 dogs :" in the latter laws, Article 16, it is enacted, that they 
 shall be allowed to attend on mowers in the pastures instead 
 of great mastiffs, which might frighten the King's deer. 
 With the exception of particular instances, where the King 
 granted a dispensation, mastiffs were to be expeditated or 
 lawed, which was the cutting off three claws from the 
 fore-foot, in order to disable them from running at the 
 Venison, and for this purpose at the Court of Regard, which 
 was held once iu every three years, all dogs dwelling in 
 the Forest were brought up for examination. There were, 
 however, some especial instances, wherein the Kings have 
 granted Charters for the retaining of mastiffs unexpeditated, 
 as well as for the keeping of greyhounds and spaniels, which 
 was otherwise attended with a very heavy fine. The pe- 
 nalty for having dogs unlawed,as the Forest Charter states, 
 was then three shillings, vvliich would be equal to about £3 
 of modern money, and prove almost beyond the payment 
 
Mill 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 /of an ordinary labourer j since it was the general price fo 
 IX quarters of ivheat, and in 1198 bad been the established 
 line of an ox. In a subsequent period of English history, 
 
 5 the keeping- of dogs became so general, that by a statute of=^ 
 1389-90, the 13lh of Richard 11., stat. i., chap, xiii., no arti- 
 ficers, labourers, nor other secular persons, not having- pos- 
 sessions to the yearly amount of 40s., nor any clerical person 
 not holding' a living- to tlie value of £10 annually, should 
 keep any greyhound, or other dog- to hunt: nor use ferrets, 
 keys, nets, hare-pipes, cords, &.c. for taking or destroying 
 deer, hares, conies, or other game, under penalty of a year's 
 imprisonment. But though this may be considered as the 
 foundation of the present system of the game laws^ yet it 
 appears to have been established, at least in part, for the 
 improvement of the manners of the common people; since 
 the Act sets forth that "divers artificers, labourers, ser- 
 vants, and grooms, keep greyhounds and other dogs, and 
 on the holidays, when good christian people be at church, 
 hearing divine service, they go hunting in parks, warrens, 
 and connigries of lords and others, to the very great de- 
 struction of tiie same; and sometimes under such colour, 
 they make their assemblies, conferences, and conspiracies, 
 to rise and disobey their allegiance.'" 
 
 Chapter X. Page 333. 
 Tlie present division of the Forest Charter was the first 
 enactment whlcli efl'ectually softened the severity of the an- 
 cient feudal game laws; of which some notice has been 
 taken in the preceding Essay, pages 5-7. In the Consti- 
 tutions of Canute, many of the Forest ofiences were to be 
 expiated by fines; though the penalties for others were 
 characterised by great cruelty, and the whole were modelled 
 upon the peculiar principle of tlie ancient Northern laws, 
 that of making the forfeiture depend upon the quality of the 
 thing ofiended against, as well as the rank of the criminal 
 and tlie nature of his crime. Tlius, if violence were offered 
 to one of the chief men of the Forest, a freeman was to be 
 fined in all he had, a villein was to lose his rig-ht hand, and 
 either of them for a second offence was to be put to death. If a 
 bondman, whether casually or wilfully, chased a Forest ani- 
 
 ^^^^^^J 
 
.^^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 mil so as to make it pant, lie was to lose his skin ; trespasses' 
 against such beasts in general, as well as on the Vert of a 
 wood, were punished by fines, as an iiifring-eincnt of the 
 Royal chasej but killing- a Royal beast was considered a 
 capital Clime, for which a freeman lost his freedom, one 
 who was unfree became ahondman, and abondman lost his 
 life, Edward the Confessor, tlioug-h he instituted many 
 excellent laws, had one upon this subject of equal cruelty 
 with the preceding-, which is recorded in a volume in the 
 Exchequer, and declares "I will that all men do abstain 
 from hunting- in my woods, and thatmy will siiall beobeyed 
 under penalty of life." Tiiat clause of the Forest Charter 
 now under consideration, provides that an offender should 
 be seized in, and convicted, of taking- Venison, before he 
 could be sentenced to outlawry or fine. In Forest law, 
 there are four ways of being taken in the manner^ as it is 
 technically denominated. The first of these is termed Do^- 
 draWj which is when any one has wounded a wild beast, 
 and is found drawing a dog- after him to recover it: the 
 second is called S table-stand ^ and signifies a standing- 
 ready to slioot at deer, or being concealed by a tree with 
 hounds ready to slip : the third is denominated Baclc-hare^ 
 which is when a wild beast has been killed by any one in 
 the Forest, and he is found carrying it away: and the 
 fourth is named Bloody ■ hand , which is when a man is found 
 in the Forest in a suspicious manner and bloody. All these 
 methods of being taken with the manner, subjected the 
 criminal to the fige mentioned in the text. 
 Chapter XI. Page 333. 
 The present division of this Charter is in some degree 
 connected with the preceding, since it is intended to de- 
 clare at what times, and by what persons deer might law- 
 fully be taken in the Royal Forests. The ancient privilege 
 of the Verderors, to course and kill such Venison as they 
 might start in going to, and returning from the Swanimotes, 
 has been already referred to; but the ordinance of King 
 Henry's First Forest Charter limits thischaseto the superior 
 Clergy and the Baronage; whilst his second granted in 
 1*224-25, farther confines it to such times as they shall have 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 been going- to, or coniingbaok from the Court, by tbeKing*'s 
 command; allowing- them the same privileg'e in returning'. 
 Lord Coke remarks on this Chapter of the Forest Charter, 
 that the personages mentioned in it are Peers of Parliament, 
 and that the King's command, above referred to, alludes to 
 the writ of summons calling- them to Council, the liberty of 
 hunting- being- then conceded to them as a recreation, before 
 and after the discharge of their duty, for which reason it is 
 permitted to the spiritual persons mentioned in the text, 
 though against the Canon Law. It is also added, that a 
 Forest officer cannot at any other times permit a nobleman 
 to hunt in the Forest; though the King can do it out of his 
 own grace ; but in attending- and departing from the Par- 
 liament it is done by law, and the deer may be killed by 
 his own dogs and his own bow, Barrington observes, that 
 from the privilege being confined to the Peers, the Com- 
 moners of Parliament could not be considered of much im- 
 portance. On this point, however, it may be remarked, 
 that it is by no means certain, that Citizens and Burgesses 
 were at this period summoned to Parliament at all : though 
 the want of Writs calling them thither before 1294-95, the 
 2'3rd year of Edward L, (see page 184 of the preceding 
 Notes,) is no proof that they never existed, and ought never 
 to have been so considered. It may also admit of a doubt 
 whether this Chapter does positively refer to the Peers and 
 Prelates as Lords of Parliament ; since the earliest Writ of 
 Summons now extant is supposed to be one to the Arch- 
 bishop of York, dated in the 26th of Henry III., 1241-42, 
 though the general notion of Parliamentary representation 
 is connected with the famous one first cited by Dugdale, of 
 1265, the 49th of the same Sovereign. The presence 
 of the Forester is a natural and proper provision ; but 
 the order for sounding a horn, lest their chase of the doer 
 should appear a theft, from its silence, probably arose from 
 that cautious and peculiar feature of the Ang-lo-Saxon law 
 which suspected all strangers and persons who travelled 
 without giving public notice of their journies. It was there- 
 fore ordered by these institutions, that if a stranger went 
 out of the road, or through woods, he was to blow a horn, 
 
NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 or shout aloud, under penalty of being- considered and pu- 
 nished as a thief. It has already been mentioned that 
 another limitation of hunting- permitted in the Kin'j-^s Fo- 
 rests, was that it should not take place in the ni^ht: ivhich 
 appears to have been the remote original of two acts for 
 preventing- persons hunting- in the English woods in dis_ 
 guise in the night season j though they were also intended 
 to preserve the national tranquillity and morals. The first 
 of these statutes was passed in 1485, the 1st of Henry VII., 
 chap, vii., which set forth that numbers of individuals were 
 accustomed to hunt in the Forests, &c. of Kent, Surrey, and 
 Sussex, arrayed in a warlike manner, and having- tbeirfaces 
 painted or covered with visors j under the disguise of which 
 were committed murders, robberies, insurrections, &c, &c. 
 Another act to the same effect, though of wider extent, was 
 that passed in 1722, the 9th of George 11., Chap, xxii., for 
 the suppression of evil-disposed persons going armed in 
 disguise ^ section i. of which, was especially directed against 
 disguised hunters. 
 
 The conclusion of the Forest Charter, in its pro- 
 visions of mutual observance throughout the kingdom, 
 and saving of the rights of other Lords, greatly resembles 
 the termination of the Second Magna Charta of King Henry 
 III., see page 129, Chapters xlv. xlvi. ; the inteut and na- 
 ture of which, will be found explained on pages 268, 269, 
 of the preceding Notes. It has also been mentioned, that 
 the Great Seal of King John having been lost in his last 
 fatal retreat in Lincolnshire, the early Charters of his son 
 were authenticated by the impresses of William Marshall, 
 the Protector, and Cardinal Gualo, the Papal Legate; see 
 page 325. Of that excellent Baron, some account will be 
 found, on page 285; and it will be remembered, that the 
 ecclesiastic performed the Coronation of the youthful Henry 
 III. James Gualla^ or GnalOy which is said to be the mo- 
 dern orthography of the family of Galon, was born at Be- 
 cheria, a town of Lombardy. He was educated in a Society 
 of Canons Regular near Pavia, and was elected Bishop of 
 Vercelli, though he was unwilling to accept of the dignity. 
 Iq 1205, Pope Innocent III. created him a Cardinal, and 
 
'\- 
 
 NOTES ON THE FOREST CHARTERS. 
 
 1 employed him in France ag-ainst ihe Albigenses, and for| 
 
 preaching- his projected crusade. After the death of King- \i| 
 5 John he became Legate to Eag-Iand, and contributed g-reatly 
 Uo the establishment of a peace between this country and ' 
 France. Honorius' HI. commissioned him to reform the 
 Clerg-y at Vevcelli, and he was also Legate to Puglia in 
 Naples to the Emperor Frederic II. He died there about 
 the year 1235, in the Pontificate of Gieg-ory IX., hairing- 
 the reputation of great piety, and having- founded the Mo- 
 nastery of St. Andrew in Vercelli. 
 
 It has been already shewn that thesubse(|aent editions 
 of the Forest Charter, were issued as a compensation for a 
 fifteenth by the whole kingdom ; though the first appeared 
 without any condition attached to it. In 1224, however, 
 Louis, King- of Fiance, being; willing- to take advantag-e of 
 Henry's minority, seized upon all the possessions of the 
 English in that kingdom- under pretence that the young* 
 Sovereign, as Duke of Guienne, should have assisted at his 
 Coronation. To enable him to recover those territories, 
 Henry applied to his Parliament, and his request was 
 answered by a demand for the renewal of the Charters, which 
 was performed as it has been already related 
 
"^fe. 
 
 CONFIRMATION CHARTER 
 
 Ming IStitoarlr tibc dFiret; 
 
 Granted November 5f/i, 1297 > 
 
 IN THE TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF HIS REIGN 
 
 THE BBITISH MUSEUM 
 
 pWARD, by the Grace of ;6|yifj 
 God, King' of England, 
 Lord of Ireland, and Duke . „ - 
 of Acquitaine, to all those slft%'*" 
 whom these present let- j 
 ters shall hear or see ; — ^^'^ 
 Salutation. Know ye, that "^J 
 We, for the honour of_ 
 ||i God, and of the Holy Church, and for the (^-i' 
 kL benefit of our whole kingdom, have granted for us -^^^ 
 '^ and our heirs.— (1.) That the Great Charter of Li- 'f 
 berties, and the Charter of the Forests, the which ^M^ 
 SbAi were made by the common assent of all the king- 
 
 1 369 i 
 
CONFIRMATION CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I 
 
 dom, in the time of King Henry our father ; shall 
 be held in all their parts, without any blemish. 
 And we will that these same Charters under our 
 seal, be sent to our Justices, as well to those 
 of the Forest, as to others ; and to all the Sheriffs 
 of Counties, and to all our other ministers ; and 
 to all our cities throughout the land, together 
 with our Writs, in the which shall be contained, 
 that they shall make public the aforesaid Charters, 
 and declare to the people, that we have granted 
 to them to hold them in all their particulars : and 
 to our Justiciaries, Sheriffs, Mayors, and other 
 ministers who are of the !aw of this land under 
 us, and from us having the care of it, the same 
 Charters in every part shall be allowed in Pleas 
 before them, and in their giving of judgment; 
 that is to wit, the Great Charter of Liberties as 
 the Common Law, and the Charter of the Forest 
 for the Assizes of the Forests only, to the amend- 
 ment of our subjects. 
 
 IL And we will, that if any judgment shall 
 be given for the future, against the ordinances of 
 the aforesaid Charters by the Justices, or by 
 others our officers, who, contrary to the par- 
 ticulars of the Charters, do hold Pleas before 
 them, it shall be done away with, and held by 
 none. — (III.) And we Avill that these same Char- 
 ters under our seal, be sent to the Cathedral 
 churches throughout our kingdom, there to re- 
 main ; and that they shall be twice in the year read 
 
 
CONFIRMATION CHARTER OF KING EDWARD 1 
 
 before the people . — ( I V. ) And that the Archbishops 
 and Bishops shall pronounce the Sentence of Great 
 Excommunication against all those who shall offend 
 against the aforesaid Charters, by word, deed, or 
 counsel, or in any point break or infringe them. 
 And that these Sentences shall be denounced and 
 published twice in the year by the aforesaid Pre- 
 lates ; and if the same Prelates, Bishops, or any 
 of them, shall be remiss in the denunciation of 
 the aforesaid, the Archbishops of Canterbury and 
 York" for the time being-, shall compel and dis- 
 train them, that the denunciation shall be made 
 intheform aforesaid. — (V.) Andforasmuch as that 
 divers people of our realm are in fear, that the 
 aids and tasks the which they have givcTi to us 
 before time, for our wars and other business, of 
 their own grant and good will, in whatever way 
 they were made, might turn into bondage to them 
 and their heirs, because they might at another 
 time be found on the rolls ; and likewise for the 
 taxes which have been taken throughout the realm 
 by our officers in our name : We have granted for 
 us and our heirs, that we shall not draw such aids, 
 tasks, or taxes, into a custom for any thing that 
 hath been done heretofore, be it by roll or in any 
 other manner that can be found. 
 
 VI. And also we have granted for us and our 
 
 ' The orlg-inal instrument proscivps the ancient Anglo- 
 Saxon name of this city, namely, Eveiwyk, 
 
 

 CONFIRMATION CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I. fii 
 
 m 
 
 heirs, as well to Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, 
 ■ Priors, and to other persons of the Holy Church, 
 as to Earls and Barons, and to all the Commonalty 
 of the land; that for no business from henceforth, 
 shall we take such manner of aids, tasks, and taxes 
 of our kingdom, but by the common consent of 
 all the realm, and for the common profit thereof ; 
 saving the ancient aids and taxes accustomed. 
 VII. And forasmuch as that all the greater 
 part of the Commonalty of the kingdom find them- 
 selves hardly oppressed with the Maletout of 
 wools, that is to wit, for every sack of wool a toll 
 of forty shillings, and have prayed us that we 
 would release them from it. We to their petition 
 have fidly released it, and have granted that we 
 shall not take that, nor any other without their 
 common consent and good will ; saving to us and 
 to our heirs the customs of wools, skins, and 
 leathers, before granted by the Commonalty of 
 the realm aforesaid. In witness of which things, 
 we have caused these our letters to be made pa- 
 tent. Witness, our son Edward at London, the 
 tenth day of October, in the twenty-fifth year of 
 our reign. 
 
CONFIRMATION CHARTER OF KING EDWARD I. 
 
 %Mm 
 
 And be it remembered, tbat tbis same Cbar- 
 
 ter, in the same terms, word for word, was sealed 
 
 ^, in Flanders under the King's Great Seal ; tliat is 
 
 > "-iS to say, at Ghent, the fifth day of November, in the 
 
 ■xJOp^ twenty-fifth year of the reign of our aforesaid Lord 
 
 the King-, and sent into England. 
 
THE LAST 
 
 CONFIRMATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CHARTERS OF LIBERTIES, pMj 
 
 Granted Fehritary Uth, 1300-1301, 
 
 IN THE TWRNTV-NINTH YEAR OF HIS REIGIS. 
 
 VUl' tlic precediuL.'' Essay, paj^e 47. 
 
 TRANSLATED FR(IM THIO ORIGINAL IN THE HODt.ElAN LIT)Il/\RY, 
 AT OXFORD. 
 
 DWARD, by the Grace of 
 God, King- of England, $ 
 Lord of Ireland, and Duke 
 of Acquitaine, to all to ,- 
 whom the present Letters 
 shall come, Greeting. Know 
 ve that we have granted ' 
 and confirmed the Great ■ 
 Chaiter of the Liberties of England, with a Charter 
 also for the Forests, of the Lord Henry, formerly ; 
 King of England, our father, which we have re- 
 newed by our Charter; and we command, that'' 
 those Charters in all their articles shall be firmly 
 held and observed : We also will, and have granted 
 
 
 \v- 
 
CONFIRMATION CHARTER OF KINO EDWARD I 
 
 for us and our heirs, that if any statute shall be 
 contrary to the said Charters, or to any article 
 contained in the said Charters, the same shall be 
 amended, or even annulled by the Common Coun- 
 cil of our realm. In testimony of which thing we 
 have caused these our letters to be made patent. 
 Witness, myself, at Lincoln, the fourteenth day of 
 February, in the twenty-ninth year of our reign. 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTES 
 
 Confirmitiott^ 
 
 cri^artrrsi of ILilJertir^* 
 
 HE preceding- Charters of Liberties' 
 appear to ha^e been establisbed by 
 Four Instruments of Confirmation; in- 
 dependently of some other covenants, 
 and several g-rants of Inspeximus and 
 separate editions of the orig-iuals, 
 whicb are fully described in the suc- 
 ceeding- article of this volume. The 
 First Confirmation Charter, properly so called, was issued 
 by Henry III. at Westminster, January 28th, 1236-37, in 
 the 21st year of his reig-n. It was in Latin, very short, 
 and without reference to any particulars contained in either , 
 of the principal instruments: only stating, that by it the '^ 
 King- had granted and confirmed to the Ecclesiastics, No- 
 bles, and Freemen, of England, the liberties and free-cus- ^ 
 toms contained in those Charters which had been issued 
 to his faithful subjects during- his minority, as well in 
 Magna Chai'ta, as in the Chavta Forestaj commanding that 
 they should he held and observed for ever, notwithstanding- 
 their having' been granted when he was underage. This 
 was probably inserted, because, as it will be reniembereil, 
 he had in 1226, recalled the Forest Charters under this very 
 pretence, vide the preceding Essay, p.ige 39. The original 
 of this Confirmation Charter, is yet preserved in the Bod- 
 leian Library at Oxford, with the Manuscripts of Richard ' 
 Furney, Esq. No. 6, having the Great Seil of Henry HI. 
 attached to it. It measures 93- inches, by 6-|, including- 
 the fold for the label. An ancient entry of it occurs in the 
 
:T?Eg^ 
 
 
 NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 Cottonian Manuscripts, ia a volume marked Galba, E IV. 
 
 fol.57;^ beside which it is recorded on the Charier RoU^ 
 
 for the 21st year of tliis reigiij membrane 7. 
 
 The next establishment of the Charters of Liberties, 
 
 was by that solemn meeting- in Westminster Hall, May 
 13th, 1253, vide the preceding Essay, pages 39-41, \vhen 
 the Papal Sentence of Excommunication upon those who 
 
 infring-ed them, which had been more privately denounced 
 in 1224 and 1237, was declared openly. This instru- 
 ment, however, will be described in a subsequent pag-ej 
 the next regular Charta Confirmationis being- issued at 
 Westminster, March 14th, 1264-65, in the 49th year of 
 Henry III. It is entered on the Charter Roll of the same 
 date, membrane 4j in addition to which there are ancient 
 copies of it preserved in amanuscript, in the Library of Cor- 
 pus Christi College Cambridge, No. 70 i and in the Cottonian 
 MSS. in the volume marked Claudius, D II. ^ article 44. fol. 
 137 or 142 a, where it is called " the Charter of Henry III. 
 which he made with the Barons, after the troubles in his 
 kingdom." It was issued when King Henry and his sou 
 Edward, were in the custody of Simon de Montfort, Earl 
 of Leicester, to procure the liberty of the Prince ; who had 
 also sealed with his father a contract in French for his deli- 
 very, dated at London on March 10th, four days before the 
 
 B The Manuscript referred to, is a Register of Henry dc Estria, who -whs made 
 Prior of Christ Church Canterbury, in 1285, and tilled the office 47 years. It is a 
 large folio volume, written on vellum, in the strong black character of the time 
 of Edward II,, with rubrics and blue paragraphs ; and is probably of fre^t authority. 
 
 b Tlie Charter Rolls are a colleetioii of records preserved in the Tower of 
 London, extending' from 1199, the 1st of John, to 1483, the end of the reii;n of 
 Edward IV. Lilfe ill the other national Record Rolls, tbcy are formed of several 
 membranes, or skins of parchment sewed together, numbered from one end, 
 and are referred to by naming each Roll according to its respective year of the 
 King's reign, and the particular Dumlier of its membrane ; to which is sometimes 
 added d, or darso, for entries made on the back, or '" ctdula, when it is wTitten on 
 n separate piece of parchment like a schedule, and attached to the Roll. They 
 comprise royal grants for creation of Nobility, and of privlle<„'es to religious houses, 
 cities, towns, bodies corporate, and private trading companies; of markets, fairs, 
 free-«'arren, ie. &c, 
 
 c This volume consists of a very fine and authentic collection of ancient En- 
 glish Statutes and Charters, carefully WTitten on vellum, in the court-hand of the 
 14th century, and beautifully illuminated. It has been used repeatedly for various 
 readings of the Charters, &c. both by Sir W. Blackstone and the Commissioners 
 of Records ; and from the armorial ensigns with which it is profusely decorated, 
 appears to have been executed for the family of Bruce, through which it descended 
 to Sir Robert Cotton. 
 
y^ M\ 
 
 NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 ^^■^y^ 
 
 present one. The Confirmation Charter commences with 
 stating-j that Prince Edward, and Henry, the King-^s nephew, 
 son of Frederick II. Emperor of Germany, had been host- 
 ^^^^ ag-es to the English Barons, and it recounts the reconcilia- 
 tion between the King and his Nobles, which had taken 
 place in Parliament, on June 23rd, 1264, whereby a new 
 form of g-Qvernment was established, until the treaty of May 
 15th, known by the name of the Mise^ or taxation of Lewes, 
 were carried into fall effect. Its principal features were, 
 that Henry should dclcg-ate thr^ power of nominating his 
 councillors to a committee of three persons, who were also 
 to appoint his officers and governors of the royal castles; 
 that no foreigner should be employed in the government; 
 that all past offences should be mutually forgiven ; and that 
 the provisions of Oxford for reforming the nation, drawn 
 up in June 1258, and established and amended in August 
 1263, should be confirmed and inviolably observed ; 
 together with the Charters of Liberties, and the ancient and 
 laudable custo-ms of the realm. These particulars have been 
 related on account of their intimate connection with the 
 present Charta Confirmationis, in which they are repeatedly 
 referred to; and which states, that at the reconciliation of 
 the King and his Barons, the former swore upon the holy 
 Evangelists, not to prosecute any of those whom he had dis- 
 trusted as his enemifs under the Earls of Leicester and 
 Gloucester, or other adherents of the Barons, with the citi- 
 zens of London and the Cinque Ports. But the most re- 
 markable part of this Confirmation, is a clause which was 
 evidently formed upon part of the 61st Chapter of the Great 
 Charter of King John; seepages 94-97, 321,322; ex- 
 cepting, that it contains no provision for the safety of the 
 royal family. It states, that if the King or his son should 
 not keep the preceding' conditions, or should damage, or 
 cause to be damaged, any of the party which had been hos- 
 tile to them in the preceding troubles, ** it shall be lawful 
 for all of our kingdom to rise against us, and to harass us 
 and our possessions by all the means in their power; to 
 which by our present precept we will oblige all and every 
 one, notwithstanding the homage and fealtj which they 
 
 ~^. 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 have done to us: so that they observe us in nothing-, but 
 that all consider how to distress us, as if they held of us in 
 nothing-, until proper satisfaction be made for what has io 
 that part been transgressed or oiTended in the appointed 
 conditions, according- to our aforesaid Ordinances and pro- 
 visions, and the form of the oath, and when it hath been re- 
 formed, they shall behave to us as before." The actions of 
 Kin^ John, and the subsequent liistory of the Baronial wars 
 under Henry HI., in both of which instances these provi- 
 sions were disreg-arded when the Sovereign was set at 
 liberty, form the best comments upon such dishonourable 
 terms, so disloyally and compulsively extorted. **So im- 
 practicable is the attempt," says Blackstone, '^to restrain 
 even limited monarchs, by any express provisions which 
 argfue a degree of distrust inconsistent with monarchy 
 itself." The Charter next proceeds to provide, that any 
 person acting- contrary to the foregoing- ordinances, whether 
 procured by the King or his son, or not, shall, upon con- 
 viction, lose all his inheritance both for himself and his 
 heirs, be made g'uilty of felony, and, the Cottonian Manu- 
 script adds, "shall be declared an outlaw." — "In addition 
 to this," continues the instrument, "by the unanimous con- 
 sent and will of Edward our son, our Prelates, Earls, Ba- 
 rons, and Commons of our Kingdom, it is with one accord 
 provided that the ancient Charter of g-eneral Liberties, and 
 the common Charter of the Forests of our kingdom, lately 
 g-ranted by us, (viz. the third Magna Charta, dated Feb. 
 11th, 1224-25, the 9th of Henry III.) against the violators 
 of which, at our request, a Sentence of Excommunication 
 was recently published, and specially confirmed by the 
 Apostolic See, and also all the articles which by common 
 consent were lately provided between us and our Nobles at 
 Worcester, remaining in every County whither we have 
 sent them under our seal, shall be perpetually and inviola- 
 bly observed: to the observance of which we have bound 
 ourselves by an oath on the holy Evangelists of God, before 
 the Host; — and all the Justiciaries, Sherifl's, and Bailiffs 
 whatsoever, of our kingdom, as well belonging to us as to 
 others, we will shall be bound by a like oath, so that 
 
 -q^ 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 none shall hold any bailiwick until he shall have duly pei 
 formed it. And if any person shall have conceived aoy 
 thing- against these Charters, or the articles aforesaid, 
 Ibeside being' arraigned for perjury, and incurring- the Sen 
 teuce of Excommunication, he shall be grievously punished 
 by the award of our Courts ; saving- in these premises the 
 clerical rights." After directing- theSherifl', &c. of York, 
 to whom the copy of this Confirmation on the Charter Roll 
 is addressed, to observe all the preceding-, and cause the 
 oaths to be taken, it is added that the aforesaid Ordinances 
 and Charters, with the present Letters Patent under the 
 King-'s seal, were sent into the County, that the memory of 
 the matter mig-ht remain in safe keeping-, under the custody 
 of the most worthy of the Electors. It is then directed that 
 the Ordinances, See. shall for the future be published twice 
 in each year, that none mig-ht pretend ig-norance; once at 
 the first County Court after Easter, which, in the year of 
 this Confirmation, beg;an the 5th of April, and at the first 
 County Court after Michaelmas. 
 
 In addition to this Charter of Confirmation, it appears 
 that the Great and Forest Charters were at the same time 
 renewed and confirmed by instruments in the nature of 
 Charters of Inspeximus; in which they were respectively 
 recited at leng-th, such deeds being- transmitted to tiie seve- 
 ral Counties. It is not known, however, if any of them 
 have been preserved, or are now in existence; though the 
 Manuscripts at Cambridge and in the Cottouian Library, 
 already cited, contain the introductory and concluding^ forms 
 of the Inspeximus of Magna Ch.irta, as deposited in the 
 County of Middlesex, dated like the preceding- Confirmation, 
 March 14th, 49th Henry III., 1264-65. It will be found in the 
 latter authority at fol. 125 b., though the Charter of 1224-25, 
 which it w:is to confirm, is not fully recited. The few 
 words of Confirmation with the witnesses nauies then follow, 
 the luspeximus of the Forest Charter being altogether 
 omitted; but in the Harleian Manuscript, No. 489, fol. 4 a — 
 10 b, are ancient copies of both instruments; forming- part 
 of a collection of old English laws, &c. oa vellum, in the 
 hand-writing- of the time of Edward II. The Charters 
 
 -^g?fc- 
 
fe?'_&_feJI>l 
 
 M^^S 
 
 NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 there inserted, are those sent into the Counties of Dorse 
 find Somerset J and are remarkable for being- dated on^ij^:; 
 Marcli 13th, one day previous to the time of the preceding' 
 Confirmation and copies. ^^^^, 
 
 The last provision made for the establishment of tbe ^?^ 
 Charters of Liberties under Henry III., is contained in 
 Chapter V. of the Statute of Marlebridge, supposed to be 
 Marlboroug-b, in Wiltshire, at a Parliament held there No- 
 vember 18th, 1267, the 52nd year of his rcig-n ; when the 
 principal instrument probably first received its name of 
 IVlag-na Charta, which it has ever since retained. "The 
 Great Charter," says this Act, ** shall be observed in all its 
 articles, as well in such as appertain to the King- qs to 
 others; and that shall be enquired into before the Justices 
 in Eyre in their Circuits, and before the Sheriffs in their 
 Counties, when it shall be required. And Writs shall be 
 freely g-ranted against those who off'end, before the King-, 
 the Justices of the Bench, or the Justices in Eyre, when 
 they come into these parts. Likewise the Charier of the 
 Forest shall be observed in all its articles- and the ofi'en- 
 ders when they are convicted, shall be g'rievously punished 
 by our Sovereig-n Lord the King-, in the aforesaid manner." 
 In commenting- upon this passage, the principal points no- 
 ticed by Sir Edward Coke are, that Mag-na Charta was 
 actually a Statute of Parliament before it was established 
 by this low, althoug-b some have thoug-ht otherwise ; but as 
 it had been passed for a fifteenth in the 9th year of Henry 
 III., (see page 327,) the authority of the Parliament which 
 imposed that levy, extended to the Charter itself in the 
 uames of the witnesses. He also remarks, however, that 
 the words of the Statute of Marlebridg-e, *'sliaU be observed 
 in all its articles," is a passag-e of estahRshmenty as being; 
 more secure than one o^ confirmation ; that the free g-rauting- 
 of writs against offenders, was to encoiirag-e the prosecution 
 of such as infringed the Charters; that the expressions, 
 "before the King-, or the Justices of the Bench,'" signified 
 the Courts of Kingf's Bench and Common Pleas; and that 
 one of the principal causes of tbe summoning- of the Parlia- 
 ment, was the establishing of the Great and Forest Char- 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS 
 
 ters; which, he adds, were never afterwards attempted to 
 be impugned or questioned. The Statute of Marlebridge 
 ^): was written in Latin, it was the last leg'al act passed in the 
 long- reign of Henry III., and several ancient entries of it ' 
 are extant, especially in the Red Book of the Exchequer at 
 Westminster, the Close and Patent Rolls of Henry III., and 
 the Cottonian Manuscript Claudius D II. already cited. 
 
 Before either the first Inspeximus or Confirmation of 
 the Charters had been issued by Edward I., appeared a 
 Statute in Latin, entitled, "The Form of Confirmation of 
 Charters,'" which was importantly connected with both. 
 It comprehended six sections, beside the opening-, which 
 stated that the King having been solicited to confirm the 
 Charters which his subjects possessed from his ancestors, 
 had ag'reed witb his Council upon an established form for 
 doing so, A renewal of a Charter of Liberties, therefore, 
 probably at this time first received the name of Inspeximus, 
 since it is stated, that they are to beg-in " ' Edward, &c. We 
 have inspected the Charter of gift, grant, or confirmation, 
 which the Lord King Henry our father,' &c.— and the 
 Charter to be confirmed shall be written word for word, 
 without addition, change, transposition, or diminution. 
 And at the end thus : ' We, therefore, the aforesaid grant 
 ratifying and approving, for us and our heirs, &c. these 
 being witnesses.'' " Such, upon reference to the translations 
 already given, will be found to have been nearly the form 
 adopted seventeen years after, in the first Inspeximus of the 
 Charters of Liberties, granted by Edward I. ■ the Act above 
 cited being passed in 1285, the 13th of his reign, stat. 65 
 and his earliest renewal of Magna Charta appearing in his 
 25th year, 1297. 
 
 The first Confirmation Charter of this King was also 
 issued at the same time, by bis son on his behalf, in a Par- 
 liament which assembled at London on October 6th: the 
 Writs of Summons to which expressly declared that it was 
 principally to confirm the two Charters of Liberties, and to 
 grant a security that the late levy of an eighth, which was 
 iu some points illegal, should not be made a precedent to 
 the hurt of the kingdom. A Statute in the form of a Char- 
 
 %' 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS 
 
 ter, was then passed, which is usually called Confirmatio 
 Chartarum^ being dated at London, Oct. 10th, and witnessed 
 by Prince Edward, who eiigag-ed to procure his father's ra- 
 tification of his proceedings. This Confirmation is in 
 French, and is recorded on the Statute Roll, for the 25tli 
 year of Edward I,, membrane 38, preserved at the Tower 
 of London. On Oct. 12th, the Great and Forest Charters 
 were ag-ain recited and confirmed by grants of Inspeximus, 
 also witnessed in the name of Prinro Edward ; and as soon 
 as tVie Parliament was dismissed, the instruments weie sent 
 over to the King- at Ghent, where, after some days delibera- 
 tion, he sealed the Confirmation Charter of November 5th, 
 1297, — printed on pag-es 369-373, of the present volume, — 
 as appears by the memorandum attached to the enrollment 
 of it. The original instrument, however, without the con- 
 eluding' clause, is still preserved wilh the Cottoulan Char- 
 ters in the British Museum, marked vii. 9. It is written 
 across the parchment, in the small court-hand of the time, 
 and contains 16 lines : the seal is gone, and, though the con- 
 tents are perfectly legible, the deed is very much shrivelled 
 by the fire which took place at tlie Cottonian Library, in 
 1731 ; it now measures 16^ inches by Q\ including the fold 
 for the label. From this original the preceding translation 
 was made, and the copies were taken published by Sir 
 W. Blackstone and the Record Commission. The French 
 text was also printed by Lord Coke, and the following is 
 an abstract of his Commentary upon its contents. 
 
 Firstly, then, it is to be considered as a Statute of Par- 
 liament drawn up in the form of a Royal Charter, accord- 
 ing to the ancient English custom, interpreting- the law as 
 it existed when it was made. It is entitled in Latin, "the 
 Confirmations of the Charters of Liberties of England and 
 the Forest J*" but as it enacts nothing which is not provided 
 for in those instruments, it is also to be considered as an 
 excellent interpretation of them. The causes for which it 
 was granted, are the same as those declared in the com- 
 mencement of Magna Charta, vide pages 62, 63, 160 j and 
 the Parliamentary authority by which the Cliarters of Liber- 
 ties had been established, is expressed iu Chapter I., see 
 
 ^i*.,-^ 
 
irg-j-^^T^g^ 
 
 fW^ 
 
 NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 I pag"e 369j by the words *' common assent," or commons of 
 oil the kingdom, which could not be but by the assembled 
 sParliament; for it is a law-maxim that every man in Eng-- 
 3 land is party to its acts, being- present by his representa- 
 tives. The publication of the Charters is next provided for; 
 and the ancient custom in England before the invention of 
 printing", was, that at the end of every session of Parlia- 
 ment, a transcript of all the acts which had been made in 
 it, was sent to the Sheriff, togpetlier with the King's Writ, 
 commanding biin **that those Statutes, and all the articles 
 contained in them, should be publicly proclaimed, and 
 caused to be firmly held and observed in every place to 
 which they were sent." They were therefore read in the 
 County Court, vide Notes on the Great Charters, poge 254, 
 and then preserved there by the Sheriff, that whoever was 
 desirous might read, and take copies of tliem. The Statutes 
 of England passed in 1483, the first year of Richard ITI., 
 and those made in the 1st and 2nd Parliaments of Henry 
 VII., were originally printed by Caxton in two thin folio 
 volumes without date ; which practice was slightly con- 
 tinued by John Lettou, William Machlinia, and Wynkyn dc 
 Worde, and was at length effectually established by the nu- 
 merous excellent productions of Richard Pynson, who was 
 appointed King's Printer. The oldest of tiie printed laws 
 of the kingdom now extant, and preserved in the Statute- 
 books, is the Magna Charta of 1224-25, the 9th of Henry 
 III., the acts before it being lost. It may be farther re- 
 marked in noticing this subject, that at present a Statute of 
 Parliament requires no formal promulgation; but when 
 it has passed in the ordinary manner, the parchment roll on 
 which it is engrossed is laid up with the Records of the 
 Realm ; though it is usually printed, published, and soldat 
 the King's press, at 3d. per sheet for public and local acts, 
 and Is. per sheet for private bills, being printed at the ex- 
 pence of the parties concerned : this custom commenced in 
 the reign of Henry A'll. In closing these observations upon 
 the First Chapter of King Edward's Confirmation, the strong 
 expression providing that all Judges should allow the Char- 
 ters of Liberties for the law of the land, should not be un- 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 I noticed. Lord Coke calls it "a clause worthy to lie written 
 lin letters of gold." The Second Chapter, jiagc' 370, also^ 
 ircsts upon and strengthens the declaration of the first; and ' 
 provides that judgments pronounced :igainst the Charteib 
 should he made void, and reversed hy a Writ of Error. 
 Chapter III. Page 370. 
 Sir Edward Coke remarks, that this Section sheivs the 
 care wliieh w:is used to preserve the instruments uow con- 
 firmed. The propriety of the manner of recording men- 
 tioned in the text, is at the present time particularly evi. 
 dent; since some of the finest originals of the ancient En- 
 glish Charters of Liberties now extant, have hcen preserved 
 in the Archives of the Cathedrals and Religious Houses, to 
 most of which attested copies appear to have lieen sent, ac- 
 cording to the custom of registering records, introduced hy 
 the Anglo-Saxons. It was long before they used any sort of 
 entries in rolls or hooks, and perhaps the earliest inserted 
 in a volume, were notes or abstracts of their pleas or law- 
 suits, though they kept no regular account of their pro- 
 ceedings. It was usual, however, to draw up a summary 
 statement of tlie case, as a certificate to be given to the 
 successful party, at the close of which were added the 
 names of the witnesses and the principal persons pres-ent at 
 the trial. That this decree might be the better known and 
 preserved as an important luemoria!, the owner usually had 
 it copied into the Evangelisterium, Missal, or some other 
 Monastic and sacred volume belonging to any Relig'iotis 
 House in the vicinity, to give sanctity to it and protect it; 
 whence possibly arose the custom not quite obsolete, of en- 
 tering births, marriages, and deaths in a blank leaf of a 
 Bible. In the course of time, however, not only judicial 
 pleas, but other puhlic acts of notoriety were recorded in 
 these religious voluujes; as conveyances of land, sales and 
 manumissions of slaves, ordeals of persons accused of 
 criminal actions, testamentary bequests, bargains and gifts 
 of every sort, general and personal acquittances, the insti- 
 tutions of guilds and fraternities, &c. Such was the origin 
 of the practice of depositing records in religions establish- 
 ments, which was afterwards farther extended by placing 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 in them sealed copies of the origfinal instruments. The^order 
 in the text for their being- publicly read twice in the year, 
 was perhaps as well gronnded upon some ancient custom of 
 declaring' the law to the people who could not read ; as in- 
 tended to prevent any loss, forgetfulness, or destruction of 
 the Charters themselves; as in the case of the Charter of 
 Henry I.; vide the preceding- Essay, pag-e 10. It is, how- 
 ever, possible, tliat the practice originated in the frequent 
 declaration of ihe Mosaical law to the Israelites. 
 Chapter IV. Page 371. 
 The singular subjection of the Ecclesiastical to the ju- 
 ridical government contained in this section, is observed by 
 Lord Coke to be because the Sentence of Exconinumication 
 concerned temporal matters, and that therefore it could not 
 be pronounced but by the authority of Parliament. The 
 famous ceremony at which this Sentence was first openly 
 declared, has been described in the preceding- Essay, pages 
 39-41 ; and there are spvejal authentic copies of it extant, 
 both in the ancient English historians, and in the manu- 
 script collections of Statutes in the Public Libraries. A 
 transcript of this Sentence is also still preserved in the Ar- 
 chives of Wells Cathedral, with the labels and some frag- 
 ments of the seals of the Archbishop and fourteen Bishops, 
 still attached to it; and an abstract of it in the form of a 
 Public Writ, sealed by the King, is entered on the Patent 
 Roll of the 37th of Henry HI., membrane 12 d. Perhaps 
 the best copy is that contained in the Red Book of the Exche- 
 quer at Westminster, which was used by Sir William Black- 
 stone, the Commissioners of Records, and for the ensuing- 
 translation ; in which, however, the witnesses names are 
 «^iven at length. 
 
 ''.SENTKNCE OF CORSI-; GIVEN BY THE BISHOPS AGAINST THE 
 BREAKERS DV THE CHAKTfiRS. 
 
 "The j^ ear of our Lord mccliix. the third of (.he Idis uf May, 
 (!3th day,) in the Great Hall of the King at Westminster, in the pre- 
 sence and hy the assent of tlie Lord Heiii"j', by the grace of God King 
 of England, and of tlie Lords Richard, Earl of Cornwall, his brother ; 
 Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, Marshal of England; Hum- 
 phrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford; Hugh de Vere, Earl of Oxford, John, 
 Earl of Warren, and others of the chiefest of the realm of England; — 
 
 j:^-^ 
 
 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 We, Boniface, by the mercy of God Archbishop of Canleiburj', Pri- 
 mate of all England, Fulk Basset, of London, Hugh Northwold, of 
 Ely, Robert Groslete.of Lincoln, Waller de Cantilupe, of Worcester, 
 Waller de Suffield, of Norwich, Peter de Aquablanc, of Hereford, 
 William of Salisbury, Walter de Kirkliam, of Durham, Richard 
 Blondy, of Exeter, Silvester de Everdon, of Carlialc, William Button, 
 of Bath, Laurence of Rochester, and Thomas Wallensis of St. David's, 
 Bishops; arrayed in Pontificals, with tapers burning, against the 
 Breakers of the Liberties of the Church, and of the liberties or free- 
 customs of the realm of England, and especially of those which are 
 contained in the Charters of the common liberties of England, and 
 Forest Charter,--have solemnly denounced the Sentence of Excommu- 
 nication in thia form. By the authority of God the Father Almighty, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and of the glorious Mother of 
 God, and perpetual Virgin Mary ; and of the blessed Apostles, Peter 
 and Paul, and of all the Apostles; and of the blessed Thomas, Arch- 
 bishop and Martyr, and of all the Martyrs of God; of the blessed Ed- 
 ward, Kingof England, and of all the Confessors and Virgins, and all 
 the Saints of God; We Excommunicate and Anathematise, and so ■ 
 quester from the benefits of our Holy Mother the Church, all those 
 that hereafter shall willingly and maliciously deprive or spoil the 
 ('hurch of her right. And all those who by any arts or craft do vio- 
 late, break, diminish, or exchange, the Church's Liberties and free- 
 customs contained in the Charters of common Liberties and of the 
 Forest, granted by oui- Lord the King to the Archbishops, Bishopa, 
 and other Prelates of England; as well as to the Earls, Barons, 
 Knights, and free-tenants wlialsoever : and all that secretly or openly 
 by deed, word, or counsel, do make Statutes, or observe them being 
 made; or introduce customs, or observe them when they are brought 
 in, against the said liberties, or any of them ; the writers, law-makers, 
 counsellors and executors of tliem, and all those who shall presume 
 to judge according to them ; all and every which persons before men- 
 tioned, that wittingly shall commit anything of these premises,"-lwt 
 them well know, that by that act they incur the aforesaid Sentence. 
 And for those who commit aught ignorantly, and be admonished, ex- 
 cept they reform themseWes within fifteen days after the time of the 
 admonition, and make full satisfaction for what they have done, at 
 the will of the Ordinary, --shall be from that time henceforth involved 
 in the same Sentence. And with the same Sentence we burthen all 
 those who shall presume to disturb the peace of our Sovereign Lord 
 the King, and of the realm. For perpetual memorial of which thing, 
 we have attached our seals to these presents." 
 
 Chapter V. Pag-e 371. 
 It has been already stated that the Parliament at which 
 tliis Confirmation was passed, was summoned partly to pre- 
 vent an illegal aid from being- established as a precedent; 
 and the present Section provides, that no record of such sub- 
 sidies should ever make tliem lawful. Of the nature of Aids 
 and Taillages, — which latter term is expressed in this in- 
 
 (.t. 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 strumentby the old Norman word MiseSy sig-nifyiog-, literally, 
 expenses or charg^esj but here placed for tasks, taxes, &cc. — 
 of these .levies some account has been given in the Notes on 
 the Great Charters, pag-es 181-185. In the i>resent instance 
 it remains only to be observed, that in 1297, Humphrey de 
 Bohnn, Earl of Hereford and Essex, Lord Hig"h Constable, 
 and Roger Big-od, Earl of Norfolk, and Marshal of England, 
 pieviousiy to the issuing' of this Confirmation, presented a 
 petition to Edward I. on the behalf of the Commons, con- 
 cerning- tlie aids which had been g'ranted, whereupon the 
 King consented to the present provisions, vide the preceding- 
 Essay, pag-e 44. The subject, however, was not entirely 
 settled for nearly a century after the date of this Charter, 
 in the reign of Henry VII.; duriuj^ which time several 
 other Acts of Parliament explained it, and provided no man 
 should be charged to arm himself, or provide any armed 
 men, but those who held by such services, excepting; by 
 common consent and Parliamentary grant: no man should 
 be compelled to go to the King's wars, hut upon sndden in- 
 vasion : and that no man should be charg-ed with any mili- 
 tary payments for the King-'s army g'oing nut of Eng-land. 
 These were only declarations of the ancient la^is of Eng-- 
 land ; and in 1413 and 1419, t!ie 1st and 7th years of Heniy 
 v., iit his wars with France, the Commons protested that 
 they were not bound to maintain them in any foreign lands. 
 Their protestations were entered on the Parliament Roll, 
 where they yet remain, and accord with the declaration 
 made in tlie text. 
 
 CH-^PTER VI. Page 371. 
 The subject of Aids, &c. is continued in the present 
 Section, \vhich was inserted because the King in his recent 
 tax of an eighth, levied upon it his Ecclesiastics as well as 
 Secular subjects. Their claim of immunity, and subsequent 
 proceedings, have been related in the former part of this 
 volume, page 42 ; and for their resistance of the King, Sir 
 Robert dc Brabazon, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 
 declared openly that from thenceforth no justice should be 
 done for them at their suit, though it should against them on 
 the suit of any other. The present Contirmation, however, 
 
 ■-■^t^ 
 
 &^- 
 
 p^ 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. ,.aiK 
 
 satisfied aJl, for the Section not only provides that aids, &c. p^t^ 
 sliall be levied "by the common consent of all the realm," ri>-?i|j^^ 
 • but that they shall be employed for its common profit; ex- '^'^wM^' 
 cepting- the three ancient feudal aids allowed of by Mag-na fcwiiJfe> 
 Charta, (Chapters xii., xv. pages 72-75, 181, 182,) and the ''^M\ 
 old rights of reliefs, waifs, strays, possessions of felons and ;'i^"' 
 
 outlaws, (see pag-e 213,) deodands, heriots, &c. i 
 
 Chapter VU. Pag-e 372. | 
 
 The spirit of tViis Section, so far as it relates to illeg-al J 
 
 tolls has been explained in the Notes to the 30th Chapter of \ 
 the Third Great Charter of Henry III., page 233, to which \ 
 
 place Lord Coke also refers it. The custom of wools ,&i.c. for < 
 
 which there is a provision in the latter clause of this Chap- ( 
 
 ter, he asserts to have been granted by Parliament to Ed- / 
 
 ward I. in 1274-75, the 3rd of his reign, under the title of j 
 
 "a certain new custom.'" It amounted to a half mark, 6,9. \ 
 
 SfZ., for every sack of wool weighing; 26 stone; a half mark J 
 
 upon every 300 wool-fells, or undressed slieep-skins ; a > 
 
 whole mark on every last of leather, &c. The great Com- I 
 
 mentator observes, however, that some considered these ^ 
 
 duties to be taken by the King in right of the Common ? 
 
 Law, both of the English and strangers, under the name of > 
 
 Antiqua Custuma j and it is, perhaps, possil>le that the ^ 
 
 words cited from the record of Edward I., might refer to < 
 
 the revival of the tax, and not to the tax itself. Inclosing- 
 these remarks on the Confirmationes Chartarum, it should 
 be observed, that the customs last mentioned are attributed 
 to the Commonalty only; which has been explained to sig- 
 nify, that they form the greater part of a Parliament, that 
 subsidies coninience with them, and produce from them 
 most benefit to the King, or that the word includes all the 
 subjects of the realm, both Lords and Commons. 
 
 In 1297 the Confirmationes Chartarum were also 
 guarded by another Ecclesiastical Sentence, of which an 
 ancient copy is contained in one of the Ilarlcian Manu- 
 scripts, No. 667, fol. 14. The form of it is as follows: 
 "the sentence of the clergy G[ven on the confirmation 
 
 Of THE charters. 
 
 " In the name of the Father, and of tbe Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost : Amen, Wliereas our Sovereign Lord the King, to the honour 
 
 •y^, . 
 
 ; 
 
nrm 
 
 i^iMu 
 
 NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 I of God and tlie Holy Cliurch, and for tlie common profit of his realm, 
 ]j hath granted for himself and his heirs, to hold in his realm for ever, 
 pall the tilings under-written. (The Charters of Liberties were to he 
 I read in this place.) Robert of Winchelsea, by the grace of Gud, 
 
 Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of all England, admonish- _ 
 '^ eth all those of the realm of England, and every one of them, of ^ 
 wliat condition soever they be, once, twice, and thrice,-"becau3e tlie 
 brevity of time will not permit a longer delay .--that all and every of 
 them as much as in tliem is, do support and maintain those things 
 granted by our Lord the King aforesaid, in all their particulars. And 
 that they, nor none of them, do in no point or time resist or break 
 them ; nor procure, nor counsel it, nor in any manner consent to con- 
 trovert them, neither by word or deed, or any pretence or colonr. We 
 the aforesaid Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of all 
 England, by our authority expressed in this writing, do Excommuni- 
 cate such, and separate them from the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and all the company of Heaven, and all the Sacraments of the Holy 
 Church. So be it! eo be it ! Amen." 
 
 The ancient Act of Parliamentj wliich is known l>y the 
 name of " The Statute of Fines levied," made in the year 
 1299, the 27th of Edward I,, was also in part a general 
 Confirmation of the Charters of Liberties, as well as an In- 
 speximns of a g-reat portion of theCharta Foresta ; though, 
 strictly speaking, they formed no part of it, and are omitted 
 in some of the printed editions of it. In the Cottonian 
 Charters, liowe^er, marked vii. 11. is a contemporary ex- 
 emplification of this Statute, under the Great Seal, directed 
 to the Sheriffs of London, and marked as having- been ex- 
 amined with the City Records. The openin;;- states, that 
 before tlae King- went into Flanders, to reward his subjects 
 for their Urge contributions both in peace and war, be re- 
 granted tiie Great and Forest Charters, and caused his 
 concessions to be declared by the Archbishop of Canteibury 
 at Westminster ; renewing' his ordinance for their general 
 observance under seal at Odimere. The wars having oc- 
 cupied the King until the present tiuie, prevented him fioni 
 knowing the state of his realm; but his intention being- 
 still unchanged, for the honour of God and the Church, and 
 the good of all the realm, the Great and Forest Charters 
 are commanded to be observed; the latter being- recited 
 from Chapter vi. to the beginning- of Chapter xvi. A clause 
 then follows, directing that its ordinances shall be esta- 
 blished, with a provision that the expected Forest Peram- 
 
NOTES ON THE CONFIRMATION CHARTERS. 
 
 bulations sliall beheguu directly the King"'s affairs at Ronif 
 u^sliould be concluded; and the Confirmation is then con- 
 necled with tiie immediate object of the Statute, by a state- 
 ment that the King- haping- thoug-ht upon certain defects in 
 the law, and many g-rievances and oppressions of the people, 
 being- willing- to provide a remedy for those at present oc- 
 curring-, establishes it by the succeeding- ordinances: It 
 may, perhaps, be proper to notice that the Statute of Fines 
 levied, was intended to provide that they should be a se- 
 curity, and an end, as the word implied, of all matters for 
 which they were paid in the King's Court. 
 
 The Statute entitled, " Articuli super Chartas,'' or the 
 Articles upon the Cliartcrs, was the next instrument by 
 which they may be said to liave been confirmed, tliough it 
 can scarcely be denominated a Confirmation ChLuter. It 
 has been already noticed in the preceding- Essay, pag-e 4G, 
 and it was issued from a Parliament which met at London, 
 on March 16th, 1209-1300, the 28th year of Edward I. 
 One cause of it being; made is stated by Lord Coke to have 
 been the provision of taking- the ancient feudal aids, kc. in 
 Chapter vi. of the Confirmationes Chartarum, already g-iveii 
 and explained on pag-es 372, 389 ; under colour of which tlie 
 King-'s officers and ministers evaded the true law when the 
 Parliament was dismissed. Upon which several of the 
 Barons petitioned the King- ag-ain to confirm the Charteis, 
 but when he would have inserted a clause saving- the right 
 of tlie crown, the Lords protested ag-ainst it, and desired 
 an absolute renewal of the Charter of Henry III., which he 
 at length g-ranted in the Act variously entitled, "the Ex- 
 planations upon the Charters:"" — "^^ the New Articles upon 
 the Charters :'" and, more commonly, " the Articles upon the 
 Charters.'^ The ordinances contained in it occupy twenty 
 Chapters written in Norman Fiench ; and it opens by de- 
 claring- that the Charters of Liberties were not observed, 
 notwithstanding- the several confirmations of them, which is 
 attributed to there being- no certain penalties attached to 
 their violation ; they are, therefore, re-established by this 
 Act, and the following provisions made for their protection 
 and snpport. Copies of them under the King's Seal were 
 
 V^'^:^.-' 
 
 /^ 
 
 --^^^^P'^ 
 
.M 
 
 ^^T^- 
 
 NOTES ON THE CONriRMATION CHARTERS 
 
 to be sent to every Sherifl' in England, to be read four times 
 yearly to the people in full County-Court; at ihe first 
 nieetino-s after the feasts of St. Michael, Christmas, Easter, 
 and St. John the Baptist. For the puuiahing- of offenders, 
 the Conimonrilty was to elect three able men in every County- 
 Court; Kniglits, or other lawful, wise, and well disposed 
 persons, who were to be sworn as Justices under the King's 
 Great Seal ; to hear and determine, without any other Writ 
 than their Commission, such complaints as should be made 
 of those who offended in any point against the Charters, 
 within the County, as well within franchises as without, and 
 as well of the King's officers out of their places as of others. 
 They were to hear such complaints from day to day, without 
 admitting' any of those delays which were alloweil by the 
 Common Law; and to pnnisli all those who were attainted 
 of any trespass against the Charters, by imprisonment, ran- 
 som, or amerciament, according- to the trespass. The Sta- 
 tute expressly declares, that this special proceeding shall 
 be only in ca.es where there was no remedy by the Common 
 Law ; and that if the three Commissioners could not attend, 
 two should be sufficient. Sir Edward Coke, observes, that 
 out of the appointment of these persons, arose that of the 
 Justices of Trail baton; so called from their rapid proceed- 
 ings wiiich " were as speedy and ready as one might draiv a 
 staff.''' The King's Sheriffs and Bailiffs were to be attendant 
 on these Justices. 
 
 Like the Statidnm de Finibus levatis, the present Act 
 now turns from establishing the Charters of Liberties, and 
 states, that for the voluntary aids and service of his sub- 
 jects, the King had granted in it other articles for their 
 bf nefit and amendinent of the law. Some of these were in- 
 tended to remedy cei'fain defects in the Great Charter, as 
 Chapter II. for the regulation of Purveyance, vide Chap- 
 ters XXVIII. kc. pages 78, 79, 2U-'213: Chapters IV. V. 
 on holding of Courts of Common Pleas, &.c. Chapter XVII. 
 pages 74,75, 197 : Chapter XII. on distraining for debts of 
 the Crown, Chapter IX. pages70, 71, 174: Chapter XVIII. 
 for the protection of the King-'s ward lands, Chapters IV. V. 
 pages 66-69, 165-167. All the Chapters, however, of the 
 
 ^ 
 
noticed, was thatdaterl at Lincoln, February 14tli, 1300-1301, 
 
 iu the '39tb year of Ed\vard I. 
 
 Such were some of the Acts and Confirmations, by 
 which these instruments were finally established; from 
 which, and from the other contents of this volume, it will 
 he seen that the only first stone of their foundation was laid 
 liy King" John, that Edward I. became truly famous for his 
 g-rants of Inspeximus and Confirmation, as well as for his 
 Statutes explaining- and protecting them ; but that the most 
 copious and valuable text of Maona Charta, as well as the 
 very tirst Charier of the Forests, appeared under 
 
 THB Great Seal of He.vry the Third. 
 
IIIE Great Charter as granted 
 by King John in 1215, though 
 far more popular in its name, 
 is actually less familiar in its 
 contents, than the same in- 
 strument as repeatedly altered 
 and confirmed by Henry III. 
 and Edward I.; which is 
 usually prefixed to the va- 
 rious editions of the English Statutes. Those collec- 
 tions which include the national laws previously to 
 1327, the 1st year of Edward III., contain the very 
 full copies of the Great and Forest Charters of the 
 9th of Henry III., Feb. 11th, I224-2S; printed either 
 ' from the Inspeximus Charter of Oct. 12th, 1298, the 
 25t.h of Edward I., as entered upon the Statute Roll, 
 which has been already inserted in the present volume, 
 . pages 145-158, — or from his second, and last Inspexi- 
 mus, dated March 28th, 1300, in the 28th year of his 
 ■ reign. Tlie former is the first appearance of these 
 Charters upon the Statute Rolls,' and was first pub- 
 
 " These registers are records of Chancery of llie bigtiest authori- 
 ty, preserved in the Tower of London, on wliich were entered the 
 
«~g 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 lished by Serjeant William Hawkins, in his edition of 
 the English Statutes, Lond. 1735, fol. 6 vols. It was 
 not, however, until the publication of the " Statutes of 
 the Realm," by the Commissioners of the Records of 
 England, that they were preceded by an entire series 
 of the Charters of Liberties, printed from the ancient 
 originals themselves : to effect which, searches were 
 made through the kingdom in the summer of 180G, 
 by two of the Sub-commissioners, for ancient Char- 
 ters, &c. not found upon the Statute Rolls; wherever 
 such instruments were supposed to be preserved, ac- 
 cording to the Record Report of 1 800. In treating 
 of these originals, therefore, it is not possible to pro- 
 ceed with greater accuracy or more minute investiga- 
 tion, than are displayed in the accounts of these re- 
 searches, and those of Sir William Blaekstone ; and 
 the principal of the following notices have in conse- 
 quence been compiled from those authentic sources : 
 the intent of the present article being to give some 
 
 several Statutes wlien drawn up in form, for itie purpose of being pro- 
 claimed and pubiislied. Tlie earliest Statutes now inserted in col- 
 lections, are those of Henry TH,, but no Parliamentary Record of 
 them exists before those of the 6th of Edward I., 1278, the Statute of 
 Gloucester, which commences the Rolls, They extend from tliia 
 period to 1468, the 8th of Edward IV., inclusive; though there is an 
 interval after 1429-30 to 1444-46, from the 8th to the 23rd year of 
 Henry VI., inclusive. They consist of six se[.arate Rolls arranged in 
 regular scries, each Roll consisting of several membranes, or skins of 
 parchment tacked together, by the number of which, and the year of 
 the Roll, the record is cited. Though the Roll of 1468 be the last now 
 known to be extant, there is evidence that later ones did exist, and 
 that this method of recording the Statutes ceased with the Parlia- 
 mentary Session of 1488-89, the 4th of Henry VII., no notice of any 
 later one having been discovered. In the next Session, 1491-92, the 
 7th of Henry VH., public acts were printed from the several bills 
 passed in Parliament, and not according to the ancient manner, as 
 parr of one Statute drawn into a general form. The present custom 
 is, after all the Public-general Acts of a Session have received the 
 Rnyal Assent, a transcript of the whole, engrossed on parchment, and 
 signed and certified by the Clerk of Parliament, is sent to the Rolls 
 Chapel, where it is deposited and arranged with the other Records. 
 
 J::-'-^"^^ 
 
.^SfiJi 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHAUTEUS, 
 
 account of the whole series of the English Charters of 
 Liberties, which are now extant in any form; incliul- 
 ino- those granted both before and after the time of 
 King John, which have been only slightly referred to 
 in the preceding imges. Previously to commencing, 
 however, it will be proper to give a distinct notion of 
 those ancient English laws,' the obser\ance of which 
 they were principally intended to restore. 
 
 This judicial code, then, consisted of that collec- 
 tion -which had probably been commenced by ^'Elfred, 
 continued by Canute and Edgar, and completed and 
 established by Edward the Confessor, upon whom 
 they have ever since conferred the character of an 
 eminent legislator. When the Danes were first sup- 
 pressed by /Elfred, about A.D. 877, or 890, that part 
 of England in which they settled, (Northiimberlanrl,) 
 was governed by a peculiar law called Dane-Lage: 
 whilst the Sovereign compiled another code, entitled 
 West-Saxon-Lage, for the province of Wessex; and 
 the local constitutions of the Kingdom of JNIercia were 
 observed in the Counties nearest to AVales, and called 
 Mercen-Lage. These systems, then, being in use in 
 difterent parts of England in the reign of Edgar, about 
 A.D. 966, he publiclv declared to the Witenagemote 
 at York, his design of forming them into one body 
 common to all England. "It is my will," said he, 
 " that the Danes select for themselves such laws as are 
 best adapted to their particular circumstances; and 
 that the English observe the Statutes, which I and my 
 coimcillors have added to the ancient dooms." The 
 Statutes thus established, were confirmed at Oxford 
 by Canute, ivhen he persuaded the English and Danes 
 to enter into a mutual agreement of reconciliation and 
 
 " Tlie Bntisli Laws ure suppused In luwe been first tr.^nslated into 
 Saxon about A. D. .'lyO, and tu have been first published about tile 
 year 610 under .^thelbert. 
 
DESCIUI'IIVK ACCOUNT OC 'HIE Cll A llTKItS. 
 
 friciidHtiip; but, in 101 o a new i:i)IIff:fion uC Laws or 
 ConstitutiofiB wuH druHT] n|) in a national asni:nil)ly at 
 WinchcBter, vvljicli forrunanilinl iIjc, faitliful adiiiinii*- 
 tration ofJuHtice IjlcmJcd with infancy; f'ortiad tin; acll- 
 in;f of christian »lavi;8 ahrnad ; denounced l'a;(ani:sin 
 in witchcraft ; confirmed the three kinila of Jin}f!i-h 
 law; and relieved Home of the lendal services, which 
 W(-re then ofi the increase thronjrhout Europe. 'I'he 
 fortunate situation in v/hich lidward the (Jonfessor 
 was placed, hetvvccn the' l>anisl] and Norma;] inva- 
 hioris, and his revival of the Anj^lo-Saxoii Judicature, 
 ahout A.l>. 1005, have caused his character to he re- 
 garded with f.rr(tat partiality, and the lejral code which 
 ill- oidy r-cjoiplcted, to be called "the Ijaws of Ed- 
 ward." The (genuine book of thcBe laws docs not 
 exist, thouf^h a spurious scries has been printed with 
 IjIh nairie; but they are said to have consisted of two 
 (irincipal divisions, one containin/r the civil and the 
 other the (triminal ordinances, by which were esta- 
 blished a ffreat part of tlje ancient customs I'di- the, 
 discovery of murder, Sfc. It was, however, the lirst 
 of these which the lin^flish were most desirous of 
 liaviiif^ restored, as it secured their ('Slates by the old 
 tenures of IlixiUind and Si>rl(ind. The forn](;r of these, 
 expressions litirrally si'iiifics, l5ool<-Iaiid, or land h(dd 
 by book, cir chartr'r in writiji^-; ln'in;,' free and here- 
 ilil,arv |)ro|)erly, which nji);lil be disposed of by the 
 own(;r, thou^^b held under a superior lord. Estates of 
 this kind were possessed by the Nobles and principal 
 persons of the nation ; but the tenure of Soclaud was 
 most eomtrjon with those ol a lower (dass, b<un>,'' held 
 by payment <j|' an aimual rcrjt, with the addition of 
 sonie personal hcjviec Iron] I hi', tenant. Vide the ac- 
 iMiuiit of Socafje in tlje Not,ea to th(; Great Charter, 
 pa/fi; 211). 'I'he must aucieiit series of English f,(aws 
 now extant, an^ thos.; of King /I'ltbelbert, who reigned 
 
 ■( ''-'7 
 
 •4,^ 
 
 mp- 
 
 
 'cA 
 
 V 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOdNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 (from A.D. 561 to 636, which are also said to be thop 
 'oldest in modem Europe ; but all the preeedincr col- 
 lections of Statutes may be consulted in Dr. Wilkins'sJ 
 ' Leges Anglo-SaaionicfE . Those attributed to the Con- 
 fessor are divided into thirty-nine Chapters, and are 
 entitled "the Laws of the good King Edward, which 
 William the Bastard afterwards confirmed." Such 
 were the ancient English ordinances which the Char- 
 ters of Liberties were intended to secure. 
 
 It does not appear that there was any separate 
 Charter, properly so called, issued for the restoration 
 of this Common Law of England, until the famous 
 one granted by Henry I. ; which is said to have been 
 the foundation for all that succeeded. That which is 
 sometimes attributed to William L, is only part of 
 his collection of the Laws of Edward the Confessor, 
 with his own alterations, contained in seventeen Chap- 
 ters, with four additional relating to Pleas of Courts, 
 which he ordered to be observed throughout the realm. 
 They are, however, drawn up in tlie form of a Char- 
 ter in Latin, and are addressed by the King " to all 
 his men in France and England," to which latter, 
 section xiii, confirms the laws of Edward the Con- 
 fessor. In the procuring of these concessions from 
 William, however, the conduct of both parties greatly 
 resembled that of the Kuig and his Barons concern- 
 ing Magna Charta, nearly a century and a half after- 
 wards : and a short account of the proceedings for 
 establishing the ancient English laws, will, perhaps, 
 be the best method of carrying on the present nar- 
 rative until the appearance of the first great Charter. 
 
 Wmiam's dispossessions of the English land- 
 holders, and his oppressions of the Clergy, produced a 
 revolt so early as 1 069-70, the fourth year of his reign ; 
 when Frederick, Abbot of St. Alban's, brought forward 
 Edgar Atheling of the Saxon line, whom the insur- 
 
 5.'=^3S>. 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 gents proclaimed King. Alarmed at this, William' 
 consulted Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, who 
 advised him to treat the English with more modera- 
 tion ; and an interview at length taking place between 
 the two parties at Berkhamstead In Hertfordshire, he 
 swore upon the Holy Evangelists and reliques of St. 
 Alban's Abbey, that "he would observe the good, 
 approved, and ancient laws of the kingdom, which the 
 holy and pious Kings, his predecessors, and chiefly 
 King Edward, had ordained." To this he was also 
 entreated by the council of his Barons, who acquainted 
 him with some part of the Saxon judicature; upon 
 which he issued writs, directing that twelve wise and 
 noble Saxons in every County, should enquire and 
 certify what the ancient laws really were. Being 
 sworn that they should neither add nor diminish, they 
 commenced with the rights of the Church, and drew 
 up a series of ordinances preserved by Roger de Hove- 
 den ; of which Mr. Tyrrel observes, that though they 
 may be genuine in the most material points, they have 
 yet received many later additions by some copjists ; 
 since two ancient manuscripts of the historian in the 
 Cottonian Library and at Lambeth, are without se- 
 veral of the additions in the printed copy. The in- 
 clination of William was principally towards the Danish 
 laws, akeady stated to have been observed in Norfolk, 
 Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Deira, or Northumber- 
 land, where the greatest part of the Danes and Nor- 
 wegians had been established. His own ancestors, and 
 most of the Norman Barons, had originally come from 
 Norway, and he was therefore desirous of establishing 
 their customs throughout the whole of this kingdom. 
 When the English Barons, who had acquainted him 
 with the Saxon laws, heard of it, they were greatly 
 alarmed, especiaUy at those ordinances concerning 
 fines and forfeitures ; and they besought the King not 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 to impose them. Upon his appearing reluctant to 
 comply with their wishes, they conjured him " by the 
 soul of Kinn- Edward, who had be(|ueathed him the 
 kingdom, and whose laws these were," not to establish 
 any others. To this he at length consented, and in a 
 general council ordained that the Laws of the Con- 
 fessor, with sucli alterations and additions as he liiin- 
 self had made in them, should be observed in all 
 things. He soon after, however, not only broke this 
 covenant, but was also revenged on those who led 
 him to conclude it; continuing to dispossess the Eng- 
 lish and enrich the Normans ; upon which many of 
 his subjects fled to Denmark and others into Norway. 
 
 On the decease of this King, September 9th, 
 1087, though the friends of William Rufus pro- 
 mised to the people of England, that he would govern 
 them in a perfectly different manner, and abolish se- 
 veral severe Forest laws, if he were nominated to the 
 crown in preference to his brother Robert, — yet when 
 Archbishop Lanfranc recalled this to his recollection, 
 he only replied, "who is he that can perform all he 
 promises ?" and left him out of favour for the rest of 
 his life. In fact, this Sovereign extended the Forest 
 laws ; and it has been supposed that many of the op- 
 pressions attributed to William I., were rather intro- 
 duced by his son. It appears, therefore, that neither 
 a Charter of Liberties, nor any amendment of the law- 
 was established by this Monarch. 
 
 About the year 1100 in the next reign, was pub- 
 lished tlie celebrated Charter of Henry I.; who, on 
 ascending the throne, proceeded as if he wished to 
 efface the actions of his ancestors from the memory of 
 the people. He first reformed several evil practices 
 about his own court, and then issued the First Charter 
 of Liberties. He also abolished the Coiivrc-feu ; for 
 though it is mentioned in the English laws for a full 
 
 ■^ 
 
 ^1^^ 
 
 -^^ 
 
 s?- 
 
century afterwards, yet it is rather as a known time of 
 nij!;ht, than as an existing- custom. There is extant a 
 collection of laws bcarina; his name, consistini; partly 
 of those of the Confessor, with fjreat additions and 
 alterations of his own ; and cliieflv calculated for regu- 
 lating the County Courts. It also contains some direc- 
 tion^ as to crimes and their penalties, theft being made 
 capital in this reign; and some ordinances concerning 
 estates and their descent. The Saxon laws distributed 
 them equally to all the sons, which is one of the features 
 of the ancient custom of Gavel-kind, and not yet 
 entirely obsolete. The feudal Normans gave the an- 
 cestor's inheritance to the eldest son only ; but Henry 
 directed that he should have the principal estate, the 
 remaining lands being equally divided. Such were 
 some of the early juridical improvements of this Sove- 
 reign; but it appears irom history that prosperity in 
 some degree changed his disposition concerning his 
 o-WTi Charter, and that after his victories in France, 
 in the year 110/ he became equally arrogant to his 
 nobles and his subjects. Of this Charter, or Insti- 
 tutions of Laws of Henry I., the text appears now to 
 be preserved only in some ancient manuscript col- 
 lections of Charters ; especially in that most authentic 
 record entitled the Red Book of the Ejcchequer at 
 Westminster, which is supposed to have been written 
 about 12-16, in the time of Henry III. ; and in a 
 Chartulary at Rochester, called the Texliis Ruffensk, 
 compiled by Ernulphus, Bishop of that See, between 
 1116 and 1125. From these sources were printed the 
 copies of King Henry's Charters, published by Sir 
 William Blackstone and the Commissioners of the 
 Records of the Realm ; as well as the following trans- 
 lation, which is inserted to furnish the means of com- 
 paring it with the Magna Cliarta of King John. It 
 will also be found published in the Hhiaria Major of 
 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNr OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 Matthew Paris, the collections of ancient English 
 laws, by Lambard and Wilkins, the life of King 
 Stephen, by Richard of Hexham, and the Histories of 
 England, by Dr. Brady, Mr. Tyrrell, and M. Rapin. 
 In several of these copies, the opening and conclusion 
 of the Charter are materially different, some com- 
 mencing in the usual form of a writ to the Sheriff of 
 the County, and others like a histoi7, but the body of 
 the instrument is in general the same. The reader 
 will observe that the ensuing translation is divided 
 into sections by Roman numerals, to which are at- 
 tached Arabic figures referring to the parallel chapters 
 in King John's grant, contained on pages 62-101. 
 
 **THE INSTITUTIONS OF KING HEMtY. 
 
 " In the year of our Lord's Incarnation M. C. I., Henry, 
 the SOD of King William, after the deatii of his brother 
 WiUian),by the Grace of God, King of the English, to all his 
 faithful subjects, Greeting. Know ye, thatbecause through 
 the mercy of God and the Common Council of the Barons 
 of all I'ng'Iand, I was crowned King- of the same, and be- 
 cause the kingdom hatli heen oppressed by unjust esac- 
 tions,— for the honour of God, and the love which I have 
 towards you all, (I. 1. paoes 64, Go, 160, 161.) I hare 
 firstly set at liberty the Holy Church of God, so that I will 
 neither sell, nor let out to farm, (see pages 167, 16S,) nor 
 upon tlie death of any ArchbiahopjOrBishop, or Abbot, will 
 I take any thing from the lordship of the Church or its 
 tenants until a successor shall have been admitted to it. — 
 (II.) And I also take away all evil customs with which the 
 kingdom of England has beeu unjustly oppressed, and which 
 are here in part set do\vn. — (III. *2, pages 66, 67, 163, 
 164.) If any of my Earls, or -Barons, or others who hold 
 of me, shall die, his lielr shall not redeem tiie estate as he 
 was wont to do in the time of my brother ; but shall relieve 
 it by a just and lawful relief. — (IV. 60. pages 9'2, 93.) In 
 like manner sliall the tenants of my Batons relieve their 
 lands of their Lords by a just and lawful relief. — (V.) And 
 ifany of niy Barons or other tenants, ^vill give his daughter 
 
i 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 ?^ sister, niece, or kinswoman in marriage, he shall treat with 
 ^ me about it; hut I wil! neither take anything- of his for C 
 that lieense, nor will I prevent him giving- her in rnarria^'e J)^; 
 unless he he willinoto join her to my enemies. — (VI.) And ''^§. 
 if upon the death of a Baron, or other of my tenants, there <yji 
 remain a daug-hier and heir, I will g-ive her in rnarriatve, ^ 
 tog-ether with her lands by the counsel of my Barons. — ■ 
 (VII. 7, 8. pages 68, 69, 172, 173.) And upon the death 
 of a man, if his wife be left without children, she shall have 
 lier dower and marriag-e-portion j and I will not give her 
 again in marriage excepting by her own consent. — (VIII, 
 as above.) But if the wife be left with childien, she shall 
 then have her dower and marriage-[Jortion whilst she law- 
 fully preserves her body; and I will not dispose of her in 
 marriage, but according to her own will. — (IX. 4, 5, 6. 
 pages 66-69, 165-167.) And of the lands and children, 
 there should he appointed guardians, being either the wife 
 or some near kinsman, who ought to be just. — (X. 60. pages 
 92, 93.) And I also command that my Barons conduct 
 themselves in like manner towards the sons, daughters, and 
 wives, of their tenants. — (XI.) The common mintage of 
 money which uas accustomed to be taken in cities and 
 counties, though not paid in the time of King Edward, I 
 do wholly forl^id to be taken for the future. — (XII.) If any 
 coiner or other person shall be taken with false money, ^ 
 due justice shall be done upon him. — (XIII.) All pleas and 
 debts which were due to my brother, I forgive, except- 
 ing my just farms; and excepting those things which were 
 covenanted for concerning the inheritance of others, or for 
 those which properly concerned other men. — (XIV.) And 
 if any have engaged any thing for iiis own inheritance, that 
 I forgive; with all reliefs wJiich were agreed upon for law- 
 ful inheritances.— (XV.) And if any of my Barons or te- 
 nants lie sick, and he will give, or designs to bequeath his 
 money, I grant that it shall be disposed of accordingly. — 
 (XVI. 27. piiges 7S, 79, 208.) But if, being prevented by 
 
 a Perhaps tliis passai^e refers to a law of jEtheislan, that ilacuiner 
 were found guilty of fraue^ his hand was to be cut oft' and fastened tu 
 the mint-smithi-iy. 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 n-fii- or sloknesSj lie slionld neitlirr give nor dispose of his 
 money, his wife, cliilHren, or relations, and his lawful te- 
 nants, slnill divide it hetween tlieni for the g-ood of liis soul, 
 as it shall seem best to them. — (XVII.) If any (of my Ba- 
 ron'; or tenants) &\\^\\ forfeit, he shall not g-ive a pledge in 
 forhearaoce of the fine, as was done in the time oi my 
 father and brother, excepting according- to the manner of 
 the fine: so that it shall be satisfied as it was wont to be 
 before the time of my father, in the time of my other an- 
 cestors. But if he he convicted of perfidy or any other 
 wickedness, lie shall make a due satisfaction far it. — 
 (XVIII.) Also I pardon all murders, from the day in which 
 1 wa,s crowned King: and those whicli shall hereafter be 
 committed shall have satisfaction according to the laws of 
 King Edward. — (XIX.) I have, by the Common Conncil of 
 my Baroiis, retained in my hanrls all Forests in the same 
 manner as they were held l>y my fiither. — (XX.) I also grant 
 of my own free-will ti> Knights who defend their lands by 
 their habergeons, (that is to saij^ Tenants by Military Ser- 
 vice,) that tlieir demesne lands and carriages shall be free 
 from all giiiUls and payments to works ; {see Notes on the 
 Great CharterSj page 213y) so that being- so greatly relieved, 
 they may the more easily provide themselves \\ith horses 
 and arms, better fitting my service and the defence of my 
 kingdom. — (XXI.) I also establish fii'm peace in the wliole 
 of my realm, and command it to be liehl for the fntiire. — 
 (XXII.) I also restore to yon the law of King Edward, 
 with those amendments with wliich my father improved 
 it by thr connsel of his Barons. — (XXIH.) If any man 
 hath taken any thing of mine, or the goods of another, 
 since the death ef King William, my brother, the whole 
 shall speedily be restored without any other satisfaction : 
 but if he shall retain any thing, lie shall pay a heavy re- 
 compeBse for it. — Witnessed by Manrice, Bishopof London, 
 and Bishop Gundnlf, and William, Bishop elect of Win- 
 chester ; and Earl Henry, Earl Simon, Walter Clifford, 
 Robert de Montfort, Roger Bigot, and Henry de Port; at 
 London, when 1 was crowned.'^ 
 
 Stephen, iLarl of Blois, succeeded to the throne 
 
 
 

 t^^. 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHAF<TERS, 
 
 oil Monday, December 2iid, 1 1 35 ; and, like the former 
 Sovereigns, seemed to consider that the best method 
 of securinfj' the kingdom, was by promisinir the Ba- 
 rons greater privileges than they had enjoyed under 
 the three preceding reigns. He was crowned at West- 
 minster by William Corbois, Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, on St. Stephen's day, Thursday, December 26th 
 in the same year; when, as ^Mlliam of Malmesbury 
 relates, the terms of his Coronation Oath made it 
 almost a Charter of liberties. The import of it was, 
 that he would within such a time till all the vacant 
 Bishoprics, leaving their temporal possessions in the 
 charge of some ecclesiastic until they were presented : 
 lluit he would not seize upon the woods of any clerk, 
 or layman, upon slight pretences, a3 his predecessor 
 had done, but be content with the Forests which be- 
 longed to ^^'iiliam I. and II., and make restitution of 
 such as had been usurped by Henry : and lastly, that 
 he would abolish Dane-gelt, a tax which was hisup- 
 portable to the iialion, and taken away by Edward the 
 (Confessor, though restored by the Normans. The 
 Bishops, on their part, took an oath to the King, 
 which was no less C-xtraordinary than his own ; for 
 they swore allegiance to him no longer than he shoidd 
 inaintain the privileges of the Church. The Barons, 
 also, seem to have proceeded with the same caution; 
 since Robert the Constd, Earl of Gloucester, and na- 
 tural son of Henry I., sware fealty if Stephen would 
 preserve his estates, &:c. entire, and observe the cove- 
 nant made with the Barons. The Kmg promised 
 whatever was required of liim, as well as to secm'e the 
 liberties of the Church and nation by a proper instru- 
 ment ; which he performed by two Charters yet ex- 
 tant, issued in 1136, the first year of his reign. 
 
 One of these interesting relicjues of history, has 
 been discovered through the meritorious and successful 
 
••4&J., 
 
 rTW^' 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 exeitions of the Record Commission; preserved in ihe 
 ^.irthives of Exeter Cathedral, with part of the Great 
 heal still remaining attached to it. The parchment 
 containing it, measures lOf inches, by 4f , the seal is 
 attached to a thin cord, and the writing- is comprised 
 in nineteen lines of a small kind of Norman running- 
 hand with numerous contractions, the following being 
 a fac-simile of the commencement. 
 
 E^o St^ph(//i?;s d^l gralfd assensu cleri & popwli in — 
 regew Anglor^^m elect^^v, & a W. Canto^nr'/ ens is — 
 
 M.C.XXXVJ. 
 
 This Charter principally regards the ecclesiastical 
 liberties of England, and the folluwing is a translation 
 of its contents. 
 
 ''the CH.^RTER of king STEPHEN CONCERNING THE t.l- 
 BERTIES OF THE CHURCH AND KINGDOM OF ENGLAND. 
 
 "I Stephen, by the grace of God, and by constant of 
 t]ie elrrg-y and people, Kiiiof of Englaad, and consecrated 
 by William, Arcbbisliop of Canterbury, and Legate of the 
 Holy Roman Church- and afterwards confirmed by Iiino- 
 ceuf, Pontiff of the Holy Roman See; — do hereby g-rant, in 
 respect and love of God, that the Holy Church shall be free ; 
 and I confirm all reverence due to it. I promise to act 
 nothing- in the Church, nor in ecclesiastical affairs, simo- 
 niacally, nor will I permit it to be done. I defend and con- 
 firm that the power, justice, and dignities, of ecclesiastical 
 persons and all clerks, and the distribution of their g'oods, 
 shall be in the hands of the Bishops. I grant and establish, 
 that the dignities of Churches confirmed by their privileges 
 
 
V V V ^ 
 
 ^-r^-^jr-r^-' 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 iind llie customs held by ancient roiiure, shall remain in- 
 _ violahle. All the possessions and tenures of Churches, which ^ 
 3£j y they held on that day when King- William my grandfather 
 was alive and dead, I grant to be free aiidabsolutc to them, 
 without any false leclaination ; but if tlie Church sliall here- 
 after claim any of tiiosc tilings which were possessed or 
 enjoyed before the death of the King-, and which it now may 
 want, I reserve that to my indulgence and dispensation, to 
 he either discussed or restored. But whatsoever hath bpen 
 bestowed upon it since the King-'s death, eitiier by the libe- 
 rality of the King-, or the g-ift of g-reat persons, or the ob- 
 lation, purchase, or any exchange, of faithful men, I confirm, 
 and shall be conferred upon them. I promise to preserve 
 peace and justice in all things to the utmost of my powei-. 
 The Forests which William, my grandfather, and William, 
 my uncle, have made and held, 1 reserve to myself: but all 
 the rest, which King- Henry hath superadded, I restore, and 
 grant, quit and discharg-ed to the churches and the king- 
 dom. Ifany Bishop, or Abbot, or other ecclesiastical person, 
 shall reasonably distribute his goods befin-e his death, or 
 appoint them to be so distributed, I grant that it shall re- 
 main firm : but if he be prevented by death, distribution of 
 them shall be made by consent of his cluircb for the good 
 of his soul. Whilst Episcopal Sees shall remain vacant of 
 pastors, both they and all their possessions shall be com- 
 mitted to the power and keeping- of clerks, or other honest 
 men of the same ciiurcli, until a pastor shall be canonically 
 substituted. All exactions, injustice, and miskennings, 
 wickedly introduced either by Sherifls, or by any others, 
 I totally abolish. The good and ancient laws and just cus- 
 toms in murders, pleas, and other causes, I will observe, 
 and do hereby establish and command to be observed. But 
 all this I g-rant, saving- my royalty and just dignity. Wit- 
 nesses; VVilliam, Archbishop of Canterbury, Hugh, Bishop 
 of Rouen, Henry (de Blois,) Bishop of Winchester, Roger, 
 Bishop of Salisbury, Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, Nig-el, 
 Bishop of Ely, Everard, Bishop of Norwich, Simon, Bishop of 
 Worcester, Bernard, Bishop of St. David's, Audoen, Bishop 
 of Evreux, Richard, Bishop of Avranches, Robert (de 
 
 ^"'-■'^^^ 
 
 "^^ 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 JBethun,) Bishop of Hereford, jEthelwulf, Bishop of Carlisle, jIL 
 and Ro^er, the Chancellor, and Henry, tlie King-^s nephew, 
 and Robert, (Consul,) Earl of Gloucester, William, Earl of 
 Warren, Ranulph, (Handle de Gernons,) Earl of Chester, 
 Robert, (Roger de Ncwburgh,) Earl of Warwick, Robert 
 de Vere, and Milo de Gloucester, Bryan Fitz-Earl, Robert 
 D'Oyly, the Constable, William Martell, Hugh Bigod, 
 Humphrey de Bohun, Simon de Beauchamp the Sewer, Wil- 
 liam de Albini,Eudonius Martell the Butler, Robert de Fer- 
 rers, William Penr\ of Nottingham, Simon de Sainttiz, 
 William de Albain, Payne Fitz-John, Hamon de St. Clare, 
 and Ilbert de Lacy. At Oxford in the year from the In- 
 carnation of our Lord, 1136, namely the first of my reign." 
 On the number of witnesses names contained in 
 this instrument, William- of Malmesbury, a contem- 
 porary historian remarks, that it wonld be wearisome 
 to repeat them because they were so many; and be- 
 cause the King had so violated every thing therein 
 promised; as if to shew the kingdom, that he bad 
 sworn only to break his oath to the ecclesiastics. He 
 adds, however, in palliation, that his doing so was less 
 to be attributed to himself, than to those evil coun- 
 sellors, who insinuated to hira that he had no occasion 
 to want money, whilst the monasteries possessed such 
 treasures. The first infringement of the King's con- 
 tract, is stated l)y the same historian to have been his 
 holding of Forest-picas, concerning his Barons hunting 
 in their own woods : and on the death of the Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury seizing upon his property and 
 the revenues of the see, as the right of the crown. 
 This conduct occasioned a division in the kingdom; 
 the Barons revolted from their allegiance, fortified 
 their castles to oppose their monarch, and the whole 
 realm was involved in the distractions of a civil war 
 for the remainder of his reign. The other Charter of 
 Liberties granted by this Sovereign, was a short ge- 
 neral one for the whole realm ; it was also written in 
 
 ;i5*S- 
 
m. 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. '§)\ 
 
 w 
 
 Latia, without date, and is preserved in an ancient ';» 
 entry in the Cottonian Manuscript, Claudius D. II., -^I 
 Art. 25, fol. 75, or 68 b, whence the following tran 
 slation has been made. 
 
 "Stephen, by the grace of God, King- of England, to 
 the Justiciaries, Slieriffs, Barons, and all his officers and 
 faithful subjects, French and Englisb, Greeting-. Know 
 ye that 1 have granted, and by tbis present Charter bave 
 confirmed to all my Barons and people of England, all 
 tbe liberties and good laws and customs, wbich Henry, my 
 uncle, gave and granted to tbem, wbich were had in the 
 time of King Edward. Wherefore I will, aud strictly com- 
 mand, that tbey bave and bold all those good laws and 
 liberties of me and of my beirs, forthem and for their heirs, 
 freely, fully, and securely, and prohibit any one to cause 
 any molestation or impediment upon them, — upon my for- 
 feiture. Witnessed by William Mattel at London.^' 
 
 As Henry II. succeeded quietly to the throne, 
 October 25th, 1154, he seems to have made none of 
 those promises concerning charters and liberties which 
 had so much involved his predecessors. His first ac- 
 tions were to destroy the fortified castles of the Barons, ■ 
 disband his foreign soldiers, and resume the lands 
 alienated from the croivn ; some of which measures 
 were well calculated to restore tranquillity to the king- 
 dom. He then convened the National Assembly at 
 WalHngford in Berkshire, when it was decreed that 
 the ancient laws of England should be restored; and 
 he also confirmed the Charter of his grandfather Henry 
 I., of which the following is a translated copy, from 
 two ancient entries in the Red Book of the Exchequer, 
 and the Cottonian Manuscript, Claudius D II., already 
 cited, article 25, fol. 75 or ()8 b, published by Sir 
 William Blackstone and the Record Commission. 
 
 " Henry, by the grace of God, King of England, Duke 
 of Normandy and Acquitaine, and Earl of Anjou,to his Barons 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 land faithful subjects in France and England, Greeting-. — 
 (I.) Know ye, that for the honour of God and the Holy 
 Church, and for the genera! aineudmentof all my king-dom, 
 'JWi^^^^ '''"* granted and restored, and by my present Charter 
 "*^ have confirmed to God and the Holy Church, and to all 
 Earls and Barons, and to all my tenants, all the customs 
 which Henry, my grandfather, g-ave and granted to them. 
 In like manner, also, all evil customs which he abolished 
 and remitted, I grant to be remitted and abolished for me 
 and my heirs. Wherefore I will, and do strictly command, 
 that the Holy Church, and all Earls and Barons, and all my 
 tenants, do have and hold all their nsag-es, gifts, liberties, 
 and free customs, freely and quietly, safely, peacefully, and 
 entirely, of me and my heirs, to them and their heirs, as 
 freely, fully, and secui-ely in all things, as King Henry, my 
 grandfather, gave and granted to them, and confirmed to 
 them by his Charter. Witnessed by Richard de Lucy.'* 
 
 In 11/5, King Henry appears again to liave con- 
 firmed the Laws of Edward the Confessor, after which 
 all great proceedings upon the Charters of Liberties 
 seem to have been suspended until the time of King 
 John ; since the reign of Richard I. was too much 
 occupied with foreign hostilities, to allow of any op- 
 portunity for either their consideration or revival. 
 Indeed the time of Henry II. seems to have been 
 thought a very memorable periodfor the administration 
 of the law in England ; and even the Great Charters 
 of Henry III. refer to it as a precedent for the future. 
 Vide the foregoing Notes, pages 203, 258. The series 
 of the more ancient Charters which is now terminated, 
 exhil)its the peculiarity of the royal style before the 
 time of Kini;' John, already referred to on page 160; 
 namely, that of using the first person singular instead 
 of the first person plural. 
 
 Before proceeding to nolice the several ancient 
 originals which are still extant of the celebrated 
 Jlaiina Charta of King John, it should be observed 
 
 ^S^ '^^^Sl^iS^ 
 
 fe 
 
->Ja^., 
 
 
 " — ■-■ ''^ '''f.L ^^.' • i.r .- rj .' ^-l'^yF^^-'y ^^^ Z'^^ ~L.-:i-> ■':^Ll S'^''7-y -'' t ''*--'i ~ a 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 tbat the first Chapter of that instrument has reference 
 to a preceding f^rant confirminfr the liberties of the 
 English Church: vide pages 64, 65, 161. An ancient 
 copy of this Charter, dated at the New Temple, Lon- 
 don, November 21st, 1214, the 16th of his reign," is 
 yet preserved in the Register-books in the archives of 
 Canterbury Cathedral ; and another is in the Records 
 of the Treasurer of the Exchequer ; whence the in- 
 strument has been printed in the national editions of 
 Rymer's Foedera, Vol. I. Part i. page 126; and the 
 Statutes of the realm, Vol. I. page 5. The principal 
 privileges desired by the Clergy, were, firstly, that 
 religious societies shouldhave the right of immediately 
 electing their own Prelates ; and secondly, that the tem- 
 poral possessions belonging to the vacant dignity might 
 be placed in the hands of an ecclesiastic, and not in 
 those of the King or a secular Baron. The latter of 
 these, it has been shewn, was granted by Stephen, 
 though he afterwards infringed his promise : and the 
 conduct of other Sovereigns, in the same matter, has 
 been noticed on pages 167, 168, of the present volume. 
 The liberty of free ecclesiastical election was, how- 
 ever, the most important demand of the Clergy; and 
 its nature, as well as the instruments referring to it, 
 will, perhaps, be better understood, by a few historical 
 particulars concerning it, and an outline of those cir- 
 cumstances which led to the Charter issued by King 
 John. 
 
 In the appointment of Archbishops and Bishops, 
 the ancient way of proceeding was by election : in the 
 
 a Some ancient copies of til is Chaiter are dated Jan. 1.3tli, 1214-15; 
 which Sir William Black-stone supposes might have been a le-sealing 
 or new publishing of the former grant, issued for traTismission to the 
 Pope, about tlie time that King John granted to the Archbishop of 
 Canierbury, the entire and absolute patronage of the See of Rochester. 
 The Pope confirmed the above Charter March aOth, 1215. 
 
 f^i^^^^ 
 
t^ 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CLIARTERS. 
 
 primitive Church by the votes of the Clergy and 
 people of the diocess ; and after the establishment of 
 provinces, by approval of the metropolitan and his 
 suffragans, who consecrated the new Prelate. By 
 degrees, this right of election became attached to the 
 Clergy only ; the people being excluded first in the 
 Greek, and afterwards in the Western, Church ; though 
 in the latter they seem to have retained their ancient 
 privilege so late as the twelfth century. The influence 
 of the crown on these elections, is supposed to have 
 originated in the tumultuous manner in which they 
 were performed; the violent competitions for some 
 of the great Pati'iarchial Sees ; and the decision of 
 contested appointments. It may be observed, how- 
 ever, that the early Christian Emperors seem always 
 to have had some kind of voice of confirmation in the 
 disposal of the principal Bishoprics, as those of Rome 
 and Constantinople. The same practice was followed 
 by the Gothic and Lombardic Kings of Italy ; and in 
 France a Constitution of Clothaire II. in 615, decrees 
 that "upon the death of a Bishop, one should be 
 elected in his place who ouglit to be an ordinary me- 
 tropolitan of the provincials, by the votes of the Clergy 
 and the people : and if he be a worthy person, he 
 should be ordained upon the Prince's command." 
 This custom was also adopted by the Emperor Char- 
 lemagne, and allowed him in A.D. 77•'^, by Pope 
 Adrian I. and the Latei an Council ; but the actual 
 powers of the several parties concerned in ecclesias- 
 tical elections are particularly defined by Ivon, Bishop 
 of Chartres in the year 1100, to be "election (pro- 
 bably nomination) of the Clergy, voting of the people, 
 the gift of the King, the administration of the metro- 
 politan, and the approval of the Roman Pontiff." But 
 though the people ceased at length to have an interest 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHAPTERS. 
 
 in these elections, tlie Sovereigns of France and the 
 German Emperors of the Saxon line, continued to 
 confer Bishopries either hy direct nomination, or the 
 more regular method of letters of recommendation to 
 the electors; and before the Norman invasion the 
 English Bishops were appointed by the Witenagemote, 
 or National Council. Even in the reign of William I., 
 also, in 10/0, the King made Lanfranc Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, with the consent of his Barons. In the 
 instances of Cathedral churches, however, which had 
 been originally established in monasteries, and still 
 continued to be served by monks, they claimed and 
 exercised the rights of Chapters. The election of 
 Bishops was thus committed to men, who, by their 
 seclusion from the world, were wholly unqualified to 
 estimate the merits of the candidates ; and though in 
 the minor Sees this was of less importance, yet the 
 monks of Christ-Church vehemently insisted on an 
 exclusive, or at least, on a concurrent, election of the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, who held so influential a 
 dignity both in the Church and State, that his election 
 alike interested the King, the Prelates, and the nation. 
 On this account a dispute between the monks and the 
 voting Bishops of the province, arose at almost every 
 election for the See of Canterbury, in which the latter 
 supported by the Sovereign were in general successful ; 
 but the matter was at length referred to the Pope, and 
 on November 20th, 120C, Innocent III. gave a de- 
 finitive sentence in favour of the monks. 
 
 The crown, however, still remained possessed of 
 an absolute negative in episcopal elections, because 
 the right of Confirmation was in effect, though not 
 in form, a power of complete donation. This was 
 strengthened still more by the privilege of Investiture, 
 which consisted in endowing the new Prelate with the 
 temporal estates and dignities belonging to his olfice ; 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOaNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 which, as they partook of the nature of all feudal pro- 
 perty, were to be received of the chief lord with the 
 same feudal ceremonies. The introduction of this 
 practice is attributed to Charlemag-ne, and it com- 
 prised an oath of fealty from the priest, and pre- 
 sentation of a ring- and crosier by the King, as visible 
 symbols of his investing his tenant with the church- 
 lands, &c. of his office. This practice continued for 
 upwards of 200 years unopposed by the clergy ; but 
 in the tenth and eleventh centuries, the Sovereigns, 
 the lay-patrons, and the Prelates, corrupted their 
 privileges of nomination and investiture witli the most 
 notorious rapacity ; though the ancient canons pro- 
 vided that a benefice became vacant upon any simo- 
 niacal payment or stipulation. In 1046, Boniface, 
 Marquis of Tuscany, by far the greatest Prince in 
 Italy, was disciplined at the altar by an Abbot for 
 selling of benefices. Numerous Bishops had posi- 
 tively no valid tenure in their sees, from their agree- 
 ments with princes, or customary presents to their 
 wives and ministers : and in the Church of Milan, 
 which was notorious for this corruption, the Arch- 
 bishop exacted a small fee for the admission of every 
 ecclesiastic to a benefice. The influence and advan- 
 tage of temporal lords in ecclesiastical elections 
 being thus extensive, the Court of Rome 'eized the 
 hint for deriving a new source of profit to the Holy 
 See; and its authority over all chui'ch-preferments 
 having been established in Italy, at length spread 
 itself over England. One of (he earliest points in 
 dispute appears to have been the Sovereign's right 
 of Investiture by the ring and crosier, which was at- 
 tended by the performance of homage — vide Notes 
 to the Great Charters, page 165, — and an oath of 
 fealty. Now, the Pontiffs contended, that the ring 
 and pastoral staff were emblems of spiritual juris- 
 
 fc<=5^ 
 
 s^lJ!ll^g5. ^>-^s: 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 diction, with wliich lay-men had no right to interfere ; 
 and in 1098, Urban II. issued a canon at Bari, de- 
 nouncing excommunication against all who gave in- 
 vestiture to, and took homage of priests, as well as 
 those ecclesiastics who yielded to either ceremony. 
 "What," exclaimed the Pontiff, according to fiadmer's 
 account of this circumstance, "shall those hands 
 which can create the Divinity," alluding to the transub- 
 stantiation of the Host during mass, "be pressed be- 
 tween such as are stained with blood and polluted by 
 obscenity ?" the conclusion of which speech the con- 
 clave received with a loud and repeated Amen. Henry 
 I., however, strongly contested this privilege, since 
 it secured to the ecclesiastics an entire independence 
 of the laity; upon which Anselm, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, went again to Rome^ and William Wad- 
 wast was sent to oppose him. The latter so irritated 
 the Pope by his powerful reasoning, that he swore 
 aloud "before God!" he would not commit to lay- 
 men the privilege of investiture. A reconciliation 
 took place only by the interposition of Adela, the 
 sister of King Henry, from her fear of his eternal 
 condemnation, when giving of the ring and crosier 
 was yielded to the Church, and the right of homage 
 was reserved to the temporal lord. 
 
 The Pope, says Blackstone, thus became a feudal 
 lord ; and all ordinary patrons were supposed to hold 
 tlieir right of patronage under this universal superior. 
 Estates held l)y feudal tenure, being originally gra- 
 tuitous donations, were at that time called benefices, or 
 benefits ; and both their name and constitution were 
 adopted, the care of souls in a parish being thence 
 denominated a benefice. Lay-fees were conferred by 
 investiture or delivery of corporal possessions ; and 
 spiritual benefices, which were at first universally 
 donative, now received a spiritual investiture by in- 
 
 T^ 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCODNr OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 I stitution from the Bishop, and induction under his | 
 ' authority. As lands escheated, or returned, to tlie 
 I lord, in defect of a lefjal tenant, so benefices lapsed 
 i to the Bishop upon non-preseutation by the patron, 
 in the nature of a spiritual escheat. The annual tenths 
 collected from the clergy were equivalent to the 
 feodal-render, or rent reserved upon a grant ; the oath 
 of canonical obedience was copied from that of fealty 
 required from the "vassal by his superior ; and the 
 primer-seisins of military tenures, whereby the first 
 profits of an heir's estate were extorted by his lord, 
 was the origin of the exaction of first-fruits from the 
 beneficed clergy. Finally, the occasional aids, &c. 
 levied by the Prince upon his tenants, probably first 
 induced the Pope to collect the Peter-pence and other 
 taxations, by means of his legates. The Pontiff next 
 extended his authority beyond the example of any 
 Emperor or feudal lord; and claimed the right of 
 presentation to all benefices which became vacant, 
 whilst the incumbent was attending the Court of 
 Rome, or on his journey thither or back again .- and 
 also those which be left by promotion to an Abbey 
 or Bishopric. Dispensations to avoid these vacancies 
 produced that license called a Commendam, namely, the 
 commending or committing a benefice to the charge 
 of some ecclesiastic, until it should be provided with 
 a pastor: but the previous nomination to such bene- 
 fices, was made by instruments from the Pope, called 
 Provisors, even before they were actually void. The 
 same title was afterwards applied to any right of pa- 
 tronage exerted or usurped by the Pontiff; who was 
 thus enabled to fill the best livings of England with 
 Italian and other foreign Clergy. Such were the 
 limitations of ecclesiastical elections at tlie com- 
 mencement of the reign of King John. So early as 
 1200, however, his second year, commenced those 
 
 WSS^""^ 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 disputes witli his clerg-y, \vhich in 1207 laid the whole 
 kinfrdom under an Interdict, and lasted until 1214, 
 when it terminated in the resignation of his crown to '. 
 the Papal legate, and the grantina^ of the following 
 Charter for an absolute freedom in the choice of 
 Prelates. 
 
 "the CHABTKR of king JOriN, THAT KI,ECTIONS SHALL 
 HE FKEli TimOUGHOUT ENGLAND. 
 
 "John, hy the grace of God, King- of Eng-Iand, Lord 
 of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Acqiiitaine, aad Earl of 
 Anjou, to the Archb'islmps, Bishops, Earls, Barons, Knig-hts, 
 Bailifls, and all who shah see or hear these letters ; Greet- 
 ing. Forasmuch as between us and our reverend fathers, 
 Steplien (Lang-ton,) Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of 
 all England, and Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, 
 William (de St. Maria,) of London, Eustace, of Ely, Giles 
 (de Branse,) of Hereford, Joceline, of Bath and Glastonbury, 
 and Hugh (Wallys,) of Lincoln, Bishops- at the time of 
 tlieir taking- off the Sentence of Interdict, it was by the 
 g-race of God fully, purely, and spontaneously, covenanted 
 on both sides, that we should not only make them satis- 
 faction as far as we might according- to God ; but also that 
 we should forever provide for the health and benefit of the 
 Church of England. Fro^m henceforth, therefore, it shall 
 he, that whatever customs have been observed in the Church 
 of England, in the time of us and our predecessors until 
 now, aud whatever rights we unto this time have claimed 
 in the elections in any of her Prelates soever, we at their 
 petitions, for the health of our own soul, and for the souis 
 of our predecessors and successors of this kingdom of En'r_ 
 land, — have freely, truly, and voluntarily, granted and or- 
 dained, by the common consent of our Barons, and by this 
 our present Charter we have confirmed, that for the future 
 in all and every of the churches aud monasteries, cathedrals 
 and convents, tliroughout our kingdom of England, there 
 shall be freedom in all elections whatsoever, both of greater 
 and lesser Prelates 3 saving to us and our heirs the custody 
 of those vacant churches and monasteries which are be- 
 
 '^"^^z^^ . 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 longing- to ns. We promise, also, that none shall hinder 
 tliein, nor shall any impediment be permitted by us, nor 
 we procure any question; but in oH and every of the 
 s;iid churches and monasteries, after that they have become 
 vacant of Prelates, the electors shall he free to set apart their 
 pastors whensoever they will : so that they first petition us 
 and our heirs for leave to elect, which we will neither deny 
 nor defer. — And if, perchnnce, we should depart from this, 
 or deny or defej- our licence^ the electors shall nevertheless 
 proceed to make tlieir canonical election ; and in the same 
 manner after making- their election, they shall require our 
 consent to it, which, in like manner, we will not refuse, un- 
 less we have any reasonable purpose or lawful proof, by 
 reason of which we ought not to consent. Wherefore we 
 will and do strictly command, that nothing shall be pre- 
 sumed to be made or done against the vacant churches and 
 monasteries contrary to this our g-rant aud ordinance, in any 
 thing"; and if any thing should ever be so brought by the 
 course of time, it shall incur the malediction of Almighty 
 God and of ourselves. Witnesses to this, P(etcr de Rupihus,) 
 Bishop of Winchester, William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, 
 William, Earl of Warren, R(aiiul|di de Meseliiues,) Earl of 
 Chester, S(aher de Quincy,) Earl of Winchester, Geoffrey 
 de Maudevilk, Earl of Essex and Gloucester, U iiliam, Earl 
 of Ferrars, William Brewere, Warine Fitz Gerald, William 
 de Cantilnpe, Hugh de Nevile, Roger de Vere, William de 
 Hiintingfield. Given at the New Temple, by the hand of 
 Master Robert de Marsh, our Chancellor, the fifteenth day 
 of Janirary, in the sixteenth year of our reign. ^' 
 
 Out of this Charter, tlien, arose tlie modern 
 Cong'^ d^ Elire^ or license for the election of Pre- 
 lates ; though it resigned the Crown's ancient right 
 of nomination. This grant was expressly recognised 
 and confirmed in the Great Charter of King John, 
 and was again established by Statute in 1297, the 25th 
 of Edward III., Stat. 6. sect. 3. The Pontiff of Rome, 
 however, still continued to possess a very considerable 
 influence in the election of English Prelates ; and in 
 
,^ 
 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 1232 an association was formed, includino' several 
 persons of rank for the expulsion of his foiT.ign clero-y. 
 Thounli the attempt was popular, it was unavail: 
 for whilst Cardinal Otho was Legate at the Court of 
 Henry III., three hundred more Italian monks were 
 provided for between 1236 and 1240. In 1533-34, 
 however, the 25th of Henry VIII., Chap, xx., the 
 privilege of nomination was, in effect, restored to the 
 Crown ; it being enacted that at every future vacancy 
 of a Bishopric, the King may appoint the Dean 
 and Chapter thereof, his usual license to elect, to- 
 gether with his letter-missive containing the name of 
 the person whom he would have elected, and if the 
 election be delayed niore than twelve days, the 
 nomination shall devolve to the King, who may then 
 appoint whom he will by his letters-patent. This 
 election, or nomination, if it be of a Bishop, must be 
 signified by those letters to the Archbishop of the pro- 
 vince ; and if it be of an Archbishop, by letters f o the 
 other Primate, and two or four Bishops, requiring 
 them to confirm, invest, and consecrate the person 
 so elected : which they are bound immediately to 
 perform, without any application to the See of Rome, 
 After which the Bishop elect shall sue the King for 
 his temporalities, shall make oath to him, and to none 
 other, and from his hands onlv shall receive his tem- 
 poral possessions. If the Dean and Chapter onjit any 
 part of this ceremony of election, or refuse to conse- 
 scrate the person appointed, they are held to have in- 
 curred the penalties of a.prism?jnire, or the acknow- 
 ledgement of a foreign authority. This Statute was 
 repealed in 1547, the second year of Edward VI., but 
 is held to have been reflectively revived and to be still 
 in force. It does not apply, however, to the Bishoprics 
 of Bristol, Gloucester, Cliester, Peterborough, and 
 Oxford, created in 1541 and 1546, subsequently to the 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 passing of this Statute, since they have always been 
 pure donatives in form as well as in substance. — Having- 
 thus given an account of the Charter of ecclesiastical 
 liberties granted by John, the narrative returns to the 
 description of the ancient originals, &c. of Magna 
 Charta itself. 
 
 An undoubted original of the Articles, contain- 
 ing the heads of that instrument, with a fragment 
 of the Great Seal in brown wax, still suspended 
 to the lower part by a parchment label, is yet preserved 
 in the Library of the British Museum. When Sir 
 William Blackstone printed this instrument in 1759, 
 it was in the possession of David Mitchell, Esq. the 
 executor of Sir Thomas Burnet, sou of the celebrated 
 Dr. Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, from whom 
 it was originally received. In 1769 the autograph 
 manuscript was presented to the national repository 
 before mentioned, by Philip, 2nd Earl Stanhope ; and 
 is now marked Donation MSS. 4838, being pasted on 
 a cloth and preserved heneath a frame and glass in tlie 
 room, containing the Royal Library, No. VII. Like 
 the Charters themselves, these Articles are written on 
 parchment, and measure lOJ inches in breadth, by 21 J 
 in length, inclusive of the fold for receiving the label. 
 The seal is considerably damaged, but the writing is 
 well preserved, excepting some letters which have 
 been worn out by the folds of the parchment. The 
 character is a very small Norman running-hand, with 
 many contractions, and a specimen of it is repre- 
 sented in the annexed engraving, which has been 
 copied from the commencement, and contains the 
 following words, the contractions being supplied in 
 Italic letters ; — 
 
 Ista smit Capitula q?(od Baronos petunt 
 Post decessum Antecessor!/;); heredes 
 ss. Heredes qui infra etatera sunt & fuo-int. 
 
 'V 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 41 il: 
 
 
 An excellent fac-simile of this highly interesting 
 deed, has been engraven for the Record Oommission, 
 and is inserted in several of the volumes published by 
 its authority. Some account, with a translation of 
 these Articles has already been given in the present 
 volume, vide pages 30, .31, 49-61; the Englisli text 
 being divided into the same sections as the original, 
 though they are not numbered in the manuscript. 
 The entire instrument is eighty-nine lines in length, 
 and the liand is generally the same throughout the 
 whole, though some parts appear to have been added 
 some short time subsequent to the rest. Thus, after 
 sections xlv. and xlvi., each of which composes only 
 one line not extending the whole breadth of the parch- 
 ment, an exception is subjohied at the end of them 
 written in a more hasty hand, and connected \\'ith them 
 by a kind of angular brace ; as if added at the instance 
 of the King's Commissioners upon more mature de- 
 liberation, vide pages 58, 69, 268. Of the Articles of 
 Magna Charta, there are also some entries yet extant 
 in ancient manuscripts ; one of which, contained in the 
 Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, (3 Selden 1995,) 
 was inserted by Sir Heniy Spelman in his Codex ve- 
 lerum Legtim, printed by Dr. \A'ilkins in his Leges 
 Angh-Suxmiicce, already cited. The above original, 
 however, having been referred to l)y Bishop Burnet, 
 in his famous Pastoral Letter cuiiccrnbig tlie Oath of 
 
 
 421 
 
 K^- -3^1 
 
Allegiance to William III. and Queen Mary, Lond. 
 1689, 4to., the extract was doubted by some of his 
 antagonists ; upon which the Lambetli copy was agaui 
 prin) ed, though some^-hat incorrectly, in tlie Appendix 
 to a tract, intitled, Reflections upon the opinions of 
 some modern Divines, concerning- the nature of govern- 
 ment in general, and that of England in particular. 
 Lond. 1689. 4to. 
 
 Though tlie famous copy of King John's Magna 
 Cliarta, preserved in the Cottonian Library in the 
 British Museum, has been considered of inferior au- 
 thority to some otliers brouglit forward by tlie Record 
 Commission, on account of its deficiency in several 
 words and sentences, which are added for insertion 
 beneath the instrument ; yet the same circumstance 
 may very probably be aproof of its superior antiquity, 
 as having lieen the first which was actually drawn into 
 foTm and sealed on Runnemede, the original whence all 
 the most perfect copies were taken : on which account, 
 the notices of it may he placed before those of the 
 several other originals of the same edition. The whole 
 Charter consists of eighty-six lines, including one of the 
 additions, which are referred to by certain marks to 
 be inserted in four different places. These are, firstly, 
 in Chapler xlviii., see pages 84, 86, of the preceding 
 copy, where a clause is to be added after the word, 
 "deleantur," providing that the King or Justiciary 
 should be previously acquainted u-ith the destruction 
 of unlawful Forests. The second occurs in Chapter 
 liii., sec page 88 after the word " habebimiis" and 
 extends to the word, " deafforestandis." The third 
 addition is to Chapter Ivi., see page 90, and consists 
 of the passage,''/;;, Anglid, vel in fralUu i" and the 
 fourth insertion comprises the words, " in perpctuum," 
 in Chapter Ixxi., see page ,92. This very ancient copy 
 ot the Great Charter is written on a ,skin of parch- 
 
 ^ 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 merit, measuring 14j incJies in breadth, by 20i- in 
 length, including the fold for the label: but it was 
 'ft very much shrivelled and mutilated, and the seal re- 
 duced to an almost shapeless mass, by the fire which 
 took place at Westminster, on Saturday, Oct. 23rd, 
 1731, and destroyed the building containing the Cot- 
 tonian and Royal Libraries. The character in which 
 it is written is nearly similar to that of the preliminary 
 Articles already mentioned, though somewhat coarser 
 and stouter; and it is perhaps a curious circumstance, 
 that the passages of this Charter, which still remain 
 the most legible, are the two most famous sections in 
 the whole instrument, which wouldalone have procured 
 it the title of the Great Charter. These are Chapter 
 xxxix., which preserves the liberty and property of 
 the subject until after trial, which has been copied in 
 the following fac-simile ; and (,'hapter xl., which pro- 
 vides for the free and immediate dispensation of jus- 
 tice to all. The words of these passages will be found 
 on pages 82, 83, of the preceding copy. 
 
 piit^lSwvWU 
 
 •(wWlotiet 
 
 tnob&iW;YM&t:WU JuuP toflu ittmul m«? (u-M ctitti 
 
 The mutilated original Charter is now exhibited 
 within a frame and glass, with Pine's admirable fac- 
 simile, — of which an account is given in another part 
 of this article — placed opposite to it, printed on vellum 
 and emblazoned, in the manner represented in the 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 initial letter on pag-e 394. The preservation of this 
 invaluable relique of Enijlish history, is commonlj' 
 considered as one of the most remarkable instances of 
 the recovery of ancient manuscripts; since it is stated 
 in the fragments of Paul Coloniies, published in the 
 volume of Anas, by Pierre Des Maizeaux, Amsterd. 
 1711- 12mo. — to have been accidentally seen by Sir 
 Robert Cotton at his tailor's, just when he was about 
 to cut it up for measures. He bought the singular 
 curiosity for a trifle, adds Coloniies, who long resided 
 and died in England, and thus preserved it to posterity. 
 But as there are some objections against the truth of 
 this anecdote, it may, perhaps, be regarded rather 
 as a popular tradition than the relation of a fact. The 
 instrument is said to have had all its appendages of 
 seals and signatures ; whereas it is well known that this 
 Magna Charta had only the Great Seal attached to it, 
 and no signature \vhatsoever. It may be observed, 
 too, that a copy of King John's Charter preserved in 
 the Cottonian collection, appears by the following ex- 
 tract of a letter addressed to Sir Robert Cotton, and 
 still contained in a volume of his correspondence in 
 the Library marked Julius C. III., fol. 191, to have 
 been derived from a very different source. 
 
 "Sr 
 
 I liave lieerc ye Charter of K. Jotin diir. ntt Running- 
 Meade: by y*^ first safe and sure messenger itt is your's. 
 So ai'e yi Saxon Charters, as fast as I can coppy them : 
 but in ye mean time I will close K. Jolm in a boxe and send 
 him. * * * * 
 
 Your afFeetionate friend and servant, 
 Dover Castle, May 10, 16.30." Edward Dering." 
 
 It is possible, however, that the copy referred to 
 in this letter, might not have been the ancient Charter 
 
 'W 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 which is usually exhibited at the British Museum • 
 since another is also preserved in the Cottonian col- 
 lection, and contained in a port-folio of various retfal 
 and ecclesiastical deeds, marked Augustus II., Article 
 06 : which is described in the Catalogue of Manu- 
 scripts, as "K. John's Charter of Liberties, called 
 Magna Charta, (Lat. Original,) Ronimede, June 15th, 
 1215." It differs from the other in point of appear- 
 ance, being extremely fresh and fair, and it measures 
 17 inches by 21 ; though contrary to other originals 
 the writing extends across it, the longest way of the 
 parchment. The fold and label are now cut off', though 
 it is said once to have had slits in it for two seals, for 
 which it is almost impossible to account; but Dr. 
 Thomas Smith, in his Preface to the Cottonian Cata- 
 logue, Oxford, 1695, folio, states that they were those 
 of the Barons. The character is similar to that of 
 the other copies, being a small Norman running-hand, 
 occupying fifty-two lines, including one of the former 
 additions ; and it has also the titles of several Chap- 
 ters inserted in a somewhat later hand in the left-hand 
 margin. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon custom of registering im- 
 portant writings in Religious Houses, having been 
 already described, it is not surprising to learn that 
 some of the finest originals of the Charters of Liber- 
 ties were discovered by the Record Commissioners, 
 in the Archives of the English Cathedrals. That copy, 
 in particular, of King John's Mai^-na Charta, to which 
 they appear to attach the greatest degree of credit, is 
 mentioned in the following manner. " In Lincoln Ca- 
 thedral, an original of the Great Charter of Liberties ; 
 granted by King John, in the seventeenth year of his 
 reign, is preserved in a perfect state. This Charter 
 appears to be of superior authority to either of the two 
 Charters of the same date, preserved in the British 
 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 Museum. From the contemporary indorsement and 
 the word Lincolnia on the folds of the Charter, this 
 may be presumed to be the Charter transmitted by the 
 hands of Hugh, the then Bishop of Lincoln, who is 
 one of the Bishops named in the introductory clause; 
 it is observable tliat several words and sentences are 
 inserted in the body of this Charter, which, in both the 
 Charters preserved in the British Museum, are added 
 by way of notes for amendment, at the bottom of the 
 Instrument." A very fine fac-simile of it has been 
 engraven by James Basire, for the publications of the 
 Record Commission; and it represents the character 
 to be a small Norman running-hand, with many con- 
 tractions, but more carefully and delicately written 
 than the former copies, as if executed at more leisure. 
 The following is a specimen of the opening lines : — 
 
 ^t*X. 
 
 Joha»es dei graYia Rex Anglifp Do?/(inws llib^niie — 
 
 dei & exaltacionem sancte ecc}es\e & emendationem — 
 suhdi aconi & familioris. k Frafris Eimerici Maoi^/ri — 
 Alani Basset. Philippi de Albiniaco. Rober/j de — - 
 
 The whole instmnient occupies fifty-four lines, 
 and measures \7l inche:^, by 17^ exclusive of the fold 
 
 loi)c9 Hi^nhisj^^VXxig 
 
 :icioneriv 
 
^M ':-€ 
 
 ^ ' ^m 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS, 
 
 i for the label. It is endorsed in Latin in a hand-' 
 writing more modern than tlie dceditsclf, "The agree- 
 ment between the King and the Barons, by a grant ot 
 liberties to the church and kingdom of England." 
 
 After a lapse of nearly eighty years, another 
 original of this Charter has been recovered in the Ar- 
 chives of .Salisbury Cathetkal; being probably that 
 intrusted either to Herbert Poore, the Bishop, or 
 William Lougespee, the Earl. The copy above-men- 
 tioned at Lincoln, appears to ha\ e been unknown to Sir 
 William Blackstone, and tohave been first found out and 
 published by the Record Commissioners; but though 
 both were acquainted with the existence of the Salisbury 
 record, as having been that which Tyrrell collated 
 for his History of England) vol. ii. page 821, Append. 
 9, — yet when Blackstone searched the Records of the 
 Dean and Chapter in AprU' 1769, it was not to be 
 found, and was even said to have been missing then 
 thirty years.. Its concealment at that time, was partly 
 attributed to some repairs making in the Cathedral 
 Library, which had thrown the books and MSS. into 
 some disorder; but it was also overlooked in the more 
 acem'ate researches of the Record Commissioners in 
 1806; and tlie popular notion seems to have been 
 that Bishop Burnet had conveyed it away. In Dods- 
 worth's Historical Account of Salisbury Cathedral^ 
 page 202, however, published in 1814, it is again 
 mentioned as being preserved there; and as written 
 in a character similar to the other originals. See 
 Gents. Mag. June 1815, vol. Ixxxv. i. page 524. The 
 reason for suspecting Burnet of secreting it, appears 
 to have arisen chiefly from his possessing the Y\rticles 
 of Magna Charta already mentioned, and the following 
 anecdote in the First Book of the History of his Own 
 Times. When the impeachment of William Laud, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, was brought to the bar of 
 
 W 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 i the House of Lords, December 18th, 1 640, apprehend- 
 king- the termination, he sent Dr. Jolm Warner, Bishop of 
 Rochester, to Lambeth with the keys of his closet and 
 [cabinet; that he mioht destroy or put out of the way 
 all papers which mio-ht hurt either himself or others. 
 He was thus employed for tliree hours ; till upon Laud 
 being committed to the custody of the Black-Rod, a 
 messenger was despatched to seal up his papers, who 
 came, however, after every thing had been removed. 
 One of the writings taken away, is supposed to have 
 been the original Magna Charta, passed by King John 
 at Runnemede;" which being found by the executor 
 of Bishop Warner, descended to Col. Lee, his son and 
 executor, who jjresented it to Dr. Burnet. A note 
 on this passage, by William Legge, first Earl of 
 Dartmouth, and first published in the recent excellent 
 edition of Burnet's History, remarks that "there was 
 reason enough for the Bishop's giving an account of 
 how he came by this most valuable piece of antiquity: 
 his having been trusted, (especially since the publi- 
 cation of the History of the Reformation,) in searching 
 all records, private and jjublic, gave good grounds 
 to suspect he had obtained it in a less justifiable 
 manner." 
 
 These, then, are the originals of the Great Char- 
 ter of King John which are now extant ; but there are 
 also numerous ancient entries of it, which have been 
 collated by Sir William Blackstone and the Record 
 Commissioners. One of these is preserved in the 
 
 " sir William Blackstone suggests tlie fullowing reason for this 
 document being found at Lambeth. Tlie treaty of peace between 
 Louis the Dauphin and Henry IIL was dated there on Sept. lltli, and 
 one of the printed copies of it contains a provision tliat Louis sliould 
 restore to tlie King, all the Records of the Exchequer wltich he pos- 
 sessed, and the Charters of Liberties made by King Jolin at Runne- 
 mede. These writings liad probably been placed in his hands by the 
 insurgent Barons, and were perhaps deposited in the Archbishop's 
 palace after the coinpact was concluded. 
 
 ^<&^^^ 
 
•j> V ■J' -* t 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CIIARIERS 
 
 Archives of Gloucester Cathedral, in a Rci^istcr sup 
 posed to have been compiled in 1397; and anothei is 
 in a volume of the Harleian MSS.in the British Mu m 
 seum. No. 746. It consists of a collection ot Laws " 
 and Charters of Edward the Confessor, Willuin I , 
 Henry I., &c. fairly written on parchment, probably 
 in the time of Edward I. In the margin of John's 
 Charter, (Article 10, fol. 59 b, 64,) are the names of 
 the 25 Barons who were securities to that instrument, 
 and parties to the succeeding Covenant; in which 
 names, as recorded by Matthew Paris, it has rectified 
 several errors. A^ide the preceding Notes, pages 294, 
 296, 298. But, perhaps, the most authentic record 
 of this Charter is contained in the Red Book of the 
 Exchequer at Westminster, to which is added a copy 
 of the Letters-Testimonial mentioned in Chapter 
 Ixii. see pages 98, 99, 325. The commencement of 
 this ecclesiastical registration is as follows 
 
 *' To ull the faithful in Christ to whom the present 
 writing- shall come, Stephen, by the ;>Tace of God, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbnry, Primate of all England, and Cardinal 
 of the Holy Roman Church ; Henry, by tlie same grace, 
 Archbishop of Dublin, Peter of Winchester, Joscelin of Bath 
 and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, 
 William of Coventry, and Benedict of Rochester, by the 
 Divine Mercy, Bishops ; and Master Pandulph, the sub- 
 deacon and familiar of our Lord tlie Pope, ---Salutation in 
 the Lord. Know ye, that we have seen the Charter which 
 our Lord John, the illustrious King-of England, hath made 
 to his Earls, Barons, and free-men of England, concerning 
 the freedom of the Church, and their own liberties and free- 
 customs granted to them under this form following; John, 
 &c." 
 
 The whole Charter is then recited at length, and 
 it concludes with, " And that notliing is added to the 
 aforesaid form, and not any thing in the least taken 
 
 
 "^ 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 I from it, to this \vriting we have affixed our hands and 
 
 ' seals." 
 
 All the preceding- records of King John's Great 
 
 ' Charter, are in the Latin Language, but in the Spici- 
 leg-iirni" of Luc D'Acheri, there is a translation of it 
 into French ; the original of which. Sir William Black- 
 stone supposes, might have heen carried into France 
 by Louis the Dauphin, though it is doubtful if it were 
 promulgated in that language in England. 
 
 Pages 31, 102-104, of the present volume, con- 
 tain an account and translation of the Covenant of 
 Security given by King John to his Barons after the 
 conclusion of the Great Charter; the only ancient re- 
 cord of ^vliich, appears to be on the Close Rolls of the 
 17th of John in the Tower, membrane 27 d. 21 d. 
 
 The Fir/St Great Charter of Henry IIL, which 
 is the next of this series of instruments, has been no- 
 ticed and printed on pages .37, 105-1 Iti of the present 
 volume. Until it was printed by Sir William Black- 
 stone, its very existence seemed to be unknown, even 
 to historians, antiquaries, and lawyers. Prynne and 
 Tyri-ell apiiear to have lieen the only persons who had 
 noticed it ; the former referring to it only incidentallv, 
 and the latter sometimes confounding it with the grant 
 of King John, or that of Henry HI. in 1217. It is, 
 however, exipres-ily mentioned in a letter from the 
 Sovereign to the Chief Justiciary of Ireland, entered 
 on the Close Rolls ; and an original copy of it was 
 
 " Vul. XII. p, .^)73. Tliis wurk was the must cunsiderLible pro- 
 tiuctinii of its author, who was a Benedictine of St. Maur, born in 
 1609. lE consists of a curious collection of ancient documents relating 
 to ecclesiastical affairs, as acts, canons, councils, chronicles, lives of 
 saints, letters patent, diplomas, charters, &c. taken from the French 
 monastic libraries, but principally from those of the Benedictines, 
 ll was originally puljlished in 1653-77, 13 vols. 4to., the author dying 
 in 1685; but in 172.^, a new edition, in 3 vols, folio, was printed bv Lutiis 
 Francois Joseph de la Barre; which was improved in arrangement, 
 though many liberties were taken with the text and prefaces. 
 
»p?^ra^Ei 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 iound preserved in the Archives of Durham Cathe- 
 <1 dl, where it still remains. It is dated Bristol, No- 
 ^clnbe^ li'th, 1st Henry III., 12ir), and is indorsed in 
 Latin, '* Tlie Great Charter of King- Henry III./' and 
 " The Charter of Liberties of Kinj^- Henrv, ^'ranted to 
 the men of his kingdom." The pareliment on which it 
 is written, measures 17 inclies by somewhat more 
 t]ian 16; but though it still contains labels for the 
 seals of William Marshall and Cardinal Gualo, both 
 the impressions are *,^one. An ancient entry of this 
 Charter is in the Dome?day-Book of York Cathe- 
 dral f and a copy of the grant of the same date sent 
 to Ireland,— see pa^^es 37, 1 16', is recorded in the Red 
 Book of the Exchequer of Dublin. 
 
 The Second Maffna Charta of Henry III., — see 
 pao-es 37, SS, 118-130 of the present volume, — was 
 issued in 1217,^ and is also unnoticed by all the Eng- 
 
 " This record is an ancient Ledger-book or CliartuUiry, preserved 
 in the Archives of the Cathedral, and apparently written ubuut the 
 time of Edward I. or II. 
 
 ii As none of the copies uf this Cliorter contain any kind of date, 
 the actual time when it was granted is matter of great uncertainty ; 
 which is increased by tlie few notices existing concerning it. A ma - 
 nuscript Clironick* of London preserved in the City Archives, assigns 
 it to a Parliament at Merton, September 23rd, 1217 : whilst the Annals 
 of Waverley Ahhc^y, which are a contemporary authority, state that 
 after Michaelr/ias, A- D. 1 JI8, the Council met at London, and renewed 
 the Charter of King John under the seals of the Legate, William Mar- 
 shall, &c. the instrument bt'ing written in the maniierof a Chir^igraph, 
 which piactice is explained liereafter. The Chronicle of Robert of 
 Gloucester, who is supposed to have died in 1280, also fixes the grant- 
 ing uf the Great and Forest Cliarters to 1218; thiuiL,^[i there are extant 
 many ancient copies of both, dated at St. Paul's Londun, Nov. 6th, 
 in the second year of King Henry IlL To reconcile these statements, 
 Sir William Blackstune supposes, tiiat the King's ministers in pur- 
 suance of their engagement at the close of the former Cliarter, (see 
 page 1 16,) reconsidered the whole, and granted tJiat of the following 
 year, under the Legate's and Protector's seals at Merton on Sept. 23rd, 
 as mentioned in the Chronicle of London ; since the Adulterine Castles 
 are ordered to be destroyed by authority of the Common-council of 
 the whole kingdom. There are also several arguments adduced for 
 assigninglheyear 1217 to this Charter, though the period of the King's 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 lish historians but TyrreU, who likewise speaks of it 
 very imperfectly. The original Charter itself, whence 
 Sir William Blackstone first published it, is, however, 
 yet preserved in tlie Bodleian Library at Oxford ; 
 marked MSS. Furacy, No. 5. Ji measures 17 inches 
 by 23, including the fold for tlie label ; and is en- 
 dorsed in a contemporary hand. Magna Carta, Caps, 
 w'mj, de Lane, te ^ which seems to have been a mark 
 denoting the capsule, or drawer, wherein it was de- 
 posited at the Abbey of Gloucester, to which religious 
 house it is supposed once to have belonged. It is also 
 endorsed in an ancient hand, though somewhat later 
 than the Charter itself, Carta H. regis, de Ubertatibus 
 magne carte H. reg. avi nostri. Registratur JF . . . .at. 
 There still remain attached to it parchment labels with 
 the seals of Cardinal Gualo in white wax, and of Wil- 
 liam ]\'1arshall, in green; engravings of which will be 
 found on pages 1 17, 130, of the present volume. There 
 are also many ancient entries of this Charter in the 
 
 reign cannot bf so certainly known ; fur if it were granted in Sep- 
 tember, as assumed above, it was in the close of the^rs( year of Henry 
 in., and if in November, with the Forest Charter, it was in the com- 
 mencement nf liis second. Tt cti'lainly cannot be placed earlier-than 
 the peace between Henry and Louis, September 12th.; nor later than 
 the !?2nd of February following, since iliereare writs of that date upon 
 iheCluseRolls, addressed to all the Sheriffs of England, directing them 
 to publish the twi. Cliarlers in full County C"urt, and to cause them 
 tobeobstrved in al! points, especially those relating to the destruction 
 of the Adulterine Castles. Another argument is derived from the 
 report of a doubtful case decided in Easter Term, A. D. 1221, 5tli 
 Henry 111., which was adjudged by the Court to be "according to the 
 Stamte of Magna Cbarta. that what is not done at the Assises shall 
 be determined before the Justices." Now it is evident that, from the 
 date, tliis passage cannot refer to the Charter of 1224-25 ; nor yet to 
 that of Jolm, or the 1st of Henry 111., since the provision alluded to 
 first appeared in the instrument iiuw under consideration : see page 
 123, Chapter xiv. It is worthy of remark that there is a blank in the 
 close of the Oxford original of tliis Charter, see page 130, as if the 
 scribe had been doubtful liuw lo entitle it ; whence it has been sug- 
 gested that it was only the very first draught of the instrument, issued 
 in September, which was afierwards more fully attested and dated in 
 the November following. 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CIIAaTERS. 
 
 Domesday-Book of York ; and in manuscripts pre- 
 served in the Archives of Gloucester Cathedral; in 
 the British Museum, Harl. MSS. No. 74fi, art. 12, 
 fol. 65, b.; in the Bodleian and Inner-Temple Lihraries; 
 in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; 
 in the Public Library of the same University ; a French 
 translation in the Library of Trinity College there; 
 and in a very old record in the Town-Clerk's Office of 
 London, commonly entitled, Liber Custumarum. Most 
 of these entries, however, want the clause on page 
 129, concerning the destruction of the Adulterine 
 Castles ; and the latter entry, is not a contemporary 
 one, as supposed by Sir W. Blackstone, the book 
 itself affording internal evidence, that it was certainly 
 not made before the 14th year of Edward IL, 1320. 
 
 With this edition of the Great Charter appeared 
 the First Forest Charter of Henry IIL, dated at St. 
 Paul's, London, November 6th, 1217, in the 2nd year 
 of his reign. When Sir W. Blackstone published his 
 collection of the English Charters, this instrument 
 and all authentic records of it were lost; and the 
 popular belief was, that the original grant of Forest 
 liberties was issued by King John, as stated by Roger 
 de Wendover, or Matthew Paris, who asserts that those 
 privileges being too extensive for insertion in the Great 
 Charter, thev were contained in a separate instrument. 
 This erroneous notion appears to have been first 
 questioned and disproved by Blackstone, some of whose 
 arguments against it will be found on pages 237,238, 
 of the preceding Notes. To these it may be added, 
 that notwithstanding the above assertion of the ancient 
 historian, the original heads of Magna Charta contain 
 no clauses concerning the Forests, which are not en- 
 tered and amplified in the instrument itself. It ap- 
 pears also, that the existence of the Forest Charter of 
 1217 was scarcely suspected, though it was positively 
 
%^-_ 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 refeiTed to on the Patent Rolls ; but the researches of 
 the Record Commissioners have at length discovered 
 an original aiitograpli of it in the Archives of Durham 
 Cathedral, which appear to be singularly rich in au- 
 thentic copies of the Charters of Liberties. On a re- 
 aiTangement of these manuscripts, about sixty years 
 before the Commissioners' visit in 1806, the Forest 
 Charta was not found in its proper drawer, and ivas 
 considered as lost; but on a diligent search then made, 
 it was discovered in a box in a closet in the Chapter- 
 Room, with several deeds concerning the possessions 
 of the Chapter. It measures 13 inches by 15, inclu- 
 sive of the fold for the parchment labels, to one of 
 which, the seal of Cardinal Gualo is yet suspended, 
 more perfect than that alreadv mentioned in the Bod- 
 leian Library ; but the seal of William Marshall is 
 gone. The lower part of this instrument on the right 
 hand, is destroyed either by time or accident, but its 
 deficiencies have been supplied in the Rerord Com- 
 mission publications, by ancient entries in lib. x. in 
 the Exchequer at Westminster, the Black-book in the 
 Cathedral of Christ-Church, Dublin, and the Domes- 
 day-book of York. The whole Charter contains 48 
 lines, written in a hasty Norman running-hand with 
 many contractions, a specimen of which is given in 
 the ensuing copy. 
 
 
 TV? rOr^^ 
 
 W^yJ-iSe^m j^b< 
 
 
 ----'.^' 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHAETERS 
 
 Omwes autem Bosci qui fuerant affo- 
 restati per Regem Ricardiim Anum 
 dilectam nostram. Vel per Rejfem Johaiiiiem. 
 This passage forms part of Chapter i. which will 
 be found in the translation of the Charter printed on 
 pages 329-336 of the present volume ; on the latter of 
 which is also an engraving of its fine remaining seal. 
 An excellent copper-plate fae-simile of the whole in- 
 strument, by J. Basire, will be found in the publications 
 of the Record Commission. In this most interesting 
 document, is contained a passage which was omitted in 
 the succeeding Forest Charter of Henry III. It occurs 
 at the end of Chapter xiv., page .334, and is "Also 
 cheminage shall not be taken by our Foresters for any 
 beside our Demesne Woods." See likewise the Notes 
 on the Forest Charters, page 358. 
 
 The Third Great Charter of King Henry III., is 
 the famous instrument granted in the 9th year of his 
 reign, and dated at Westminster, February 1 1th, 1224- 
 25 j on which all the subsequent Charters were formed, 
 and ivhich usually commences the collections of Sta- 
 tutes. It will be found printed in the foregoing series, 
 pages 131-144, translated from an original preserved 
 in the Archives of Durham Cathech-al, with a fine 
 specimen of the Great Seal in green wax, attached to 
 it by silk twist and a parchment label. It measures 
 14J inches by 211, and it contains 65 lines of writing, 
 the character being a Norman running-hand with 
 many contractions, as may be seen in the following 
 fac-simile from the conclusion. 
 
 b. 
 
 -S/oh 
 
 ■<£.jl 
 
 imv^ Xane 
 
 ■t^O 
 
 m^^^^^7A$f^ 
 
 i^'w 'V—<'^\''^^-' ^^^0 
 
Datum apud Westmonasterium vndecimo die Februarii 
 Anno Regni iio5(ri Nono. 
 A very fine engraving of this interesting Charter 
 has been executed by Basire for the Record Com- 
 mission, in wliich is shewn the part obliterated by a 
 bottle of inlc having been accidentally thrown over it, 
 whereby some words and letters are rendered nearly 
 illegible. For the Record publications this deficiency 
 was supplied, by an ancient entry of the same Charter 
 in a Ledger-book belonging to the same Cathedral ; 
 but the copy printed by Sir William Blackstone, was 
 taken before its defacement. That copy, however, 
 was collated with another fine original preserved at 
 Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, already alluded to on page 
 321 of the present volume. It measures 12| inches 
 by 20^, including the fold for the label, and the seal 
 is of green wax suspended to a skein of silk of the 
 same colour. From the indorsement, — Ea: deposito 
 militum IViltesir' Hcnrici Regis filxi Johannis Regis, 
 de Ubertatihus et quibusdam consnetudinibus per An- 
 gliam, constilutis — iu a contemporary hand, it has 
 been thought to be the copy of Magna Charta sent to 
 the Knights, or military-tenants in Wiltshire ; and to 
 have been deposited in the Monastery of Lacock by 
 Ela, Countess of Salisbury, its founder. After the dis- 
 solution of Religious Houses, this edifice was granted 
 to Sir William Sharrington ; who, probably, converted 
 it into a dwelling, and erected the tower at the South- 
 east angle, the middle apartment of which is used as 
 a record-room, and contains the original of Magna 
 Charta now described. The property afterwards de- 
 scended to the family of Talbot, which communicated 
 the document to Sir William Blackstone ; and the 
 present proprietor is Henry Fox Talbot, Esq. but the 
 Abbey is occupied by John Rock Grossett, Esq. — 
 An ancient entry of the IMagna Charta of this date, is 
 
 ' ) 
 
 %s 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 :5^=^ 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 in tlie Red Book of the Exchequer at Westminster, 
 fol. clxxxiij. 
 
 With the last-mentioned Great Charter, was 
 also published the Second Charta Foresta of Henry 
 III., likewise dated at Westminster, February 11th, 
 1224-25. An original of this, printed by Blackstone, 
 is still preserved in the Archives of Durham Cathedral, 
 which, though very much mutilated, has the Great 
 Seal in green wax still perfect. Its deficiencies were 
 supplied, however, both for the Record Commission 
 and Sir William Blackstone, principally by an ancient 
 entry iu a Ledger-book belonging to the same Church ; 
 and the learned commentator was also favoured with 
 the collation of a very curious and apparently con- 
 temporary roll, containing the Great and Forest Char- 
 ters of the 9th of Henry III., formerly belonging to 
 the Abbey of Hales Owen in Shropshire, and then in 
 the possession of the celebrated Sir George, Lord 
 Lyttleton. This record was remarkable for containing 
 the passage concerning cheminage in the King's de- 
 mesne woods, already noticed as being preserved in 
 the original Forest Charter, and omitted in all others 
 excepting that which Matthew Paris has attributed to 
 King John. 
 
 The next instrument of this series was the First 
 Confirmation of the Charters, granted by Henry III., 
 and dated at Westminster, January 28th, in the 21st 
 year of his reign, 1236-37, which has been described 
 in the preceding article, page 376. 
 
 Another original of Magna Charta, both the 
 granting and existence of which seem to have been 
 unnoticed by Sir William Blackstone, is preserved 
 with the Cottonian MSS. in the port-folio marked 
 Augustus II., Art. 5 1 , containing a collection of an- 
 cient Charters, Papal Bulls, &c., and has been al- 
 ready noticed on page 144 of the present volume. It 
 
 ^ ^37 gs^,^ 
 
DESCraPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 is dated Westminster, Febrnaiy 11th, the 36th of 
 Henry III., 1251-52; and is written on a page of 
 parchment, measuring 10 inches by 19j, in 83 lines, 
 iu a small elegant Norman running-hand with many 
 contractions. It contains several apparent errors and 
 readings which vary from all other copies of the Great 
 Charter; of which, perhaps the most remarkable, is 
 directing one hundred pounds to be paid for the relief 
 of an Earl's barony instead of a hundred marks, as in 
 all other editions. The differing passages will be 
 found inserted in the copy published for the Record 
 Commission, by which this original seems to have been 
 first noticed. The indorsements upon tliis Charter 
 would probably shew where it had Iieen originally de- 
 posited, but it is firmly pasted down upon stout old 
 paper, with other parchment deeds on the reverse of 
 the leaf, so that only em indication of the ivriting can 
 be discerned. 
 
 Tlie re-pubVwation of the Charters, with the Sen- 
 tence of E.ccummiimcat'iiiii on such as sliould infringe 
 them, opcnlv pronounced in Westminsler Hall, May 
 13th, 1253, have been already noticed and recited. 
 The Second Confirmation Charter of the 49th of 
 Henry III., 12(i-l-65, dated Westminster, Alarch Utli; 
 has been already described in the preceding article; 
 as well as the Inspeximns of the Great and Forest 
 Charters of the same year connected with it. These 
 instruments were the last issued by King Hcnr\' the 
 Third. 
 
 The First Magna Charta of Edward I., was dated 
 Westminster, Oct. 12th, in the 25th year of his reign, 
 1 297 ; and was an Inspeximus of that granted in the 9th 
 year of the preceding reign, 1224-25, which it recites at 
 length and confirms, as may be seen in the translation 
 already given in the present I'olume, pages 14.5-158. 
 Tlie various readings contained in this edition of the 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 Great Charter were printed by Blackstone from the 
 
 ^ entry on the Statute-Rolls in the Tower : but the Record 
 
 0: Commissioners have discovered and published a very 
 
 ■v"' fine original in the Archives of the City of London, with 
 
 the Great Seal yet remaining- suspended to it by a skein 
 
 of twisted silk. It is written in the Court-hand of the 
 
 period, and on the fold for the label is inscribed R. de 
 
 Scard. examvimnt London. There is also attached 
 
 to it a small schedule, contauiing a Writ to the Sheriffs 
 of London for proclaiming and observing the Charter," 
 and on the back the following indorsement, written in 
 Latin in the time of Edward IL " King Henry's 
 Great Charter of the Liberties of England, confirmed 
 by our Lord King Edward, father of the present King." 
 A fac-simile engraving of the commencement and ter- 
 mination of this document, with the seal, has been 
 engraven by Basire for the publications of the Record 
 Commission. 
 
 Of the Cliarta Foresta Inspeximiis, issued with 
 the preceding, and like it dated at Westminster, Oc- 
 tober 12th, 25th of Edward L, 1297, it is not known 
 that there is any original extant ; but ancient entries 
 of both are recorded on the Statute-Roll for the year, 
 which have been printed by the Record Commission, 
 with an engraved fac-simile. They are also registered 
 
 • Oftliis Writ tlie foUowingis a translated copy : "EDWARD, 
 by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Dulie of 
 Acquitaine, tothe Sheriffs of London, Greeting :— Whereas in llie re- 
 liefs of all the inhabitants and people of this our kingdom, for the 
 subsidy of a ninth granted from the laity of our kingdom, in defence of 
 the same kingdom,— We have granted and confirmed, for us and for 
 our heirs, the Great Charter of the Liberties of England, and have re- 
 newed them, willing and granting that the Charter in all and singular 
 its articles, shall be firmly and inviolably observed, --We e.nnmand 
 you that the aforesaid Charter be published in the aforesaid City 
 without delay, and that you cause, as much as in you lieth, all and 
 singular of its articles to be firmly held and observed. Witness, 
 Edward, our son, at Westminster, the Twelfth day of October, in the 
 twenty-fifth year of our reign." 
 
 '""«^, 
 
w, 
 
 in a Manuscript in the Archives of Gloucester Cathe- 
 dral ; and a French translation %vill be found in the 
 HarleianMSS.No. 5326. 
 
 The Conflrmatwnes Chartarum of 1297, the 25th 
 of Edward I., passed by Prince Edward at London, 
 Oct. 10th, and afterwards sealed by his father at Ghent, 
 Nov. 5th., have been printed with a full explanation 
 and description on pp. 369-373, 383-389, of the present 
 volume. Ancient entries of it are on the Statute Roll, 
 membrane 38, and in the Harleian M.'^S. No. 5326. 
 
 It has Ijeen sireatly disputed whether this Charter 
 be not the same Statute as that enacted in 1305-6, 
 the 34th of Edward I., Stat. A., and called, De Tal- 
 lagio non concendendo. It had a similar origin, in the 
 King requiring every freeholder of lands amounting to 
 .£20 yearly, to attend him into Flanders, or pay him a 
 compensation instead, for carrying on his wars with 
 the King of France, in behalf of Guy, Earl of Flan- 
 ders. To this the High-Constable and Marshal, who 
 had distinguished themselves on the former occasion, 
 — see page 43 of the preceding Essay, — renewed 
 their opposition; and, being powerfully supported, 
 at length compelled the King to pass another sta- 
 tute against the unlawful levying of money, if indeed 
 it were not the Confirmationes Chartarum translated 
 into Latin. Though shorter, and comprising only five 
 Chapters, its contents are very similar; and provide 
 that taillages and aids should not be taken but by con- 
 sent of the national council ; that the King's officers 
 should not take purveyance of corn, hides, &c. with- 
 out the owner's permission ; that the maletoute of 
 wool shoidd be abolished ; that all the people of Eng- 
 land shoidd enjoy their liberties; that the High-Con- 
 stable and Marshal, and their adherents, shoidd have 
 a free pardon ; and that the Statute should be read by 
 the Prelates in their Cathedrals with a Sentence of Ex- 
 
 -*^:^, 
 
 Ji 
 
 Vi 
 
Tifm 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 commimication against its violators. There were, 
 however, some differences between this Statute and 
 the Conflrmationes Chartanim, as in the omission of 
 the restrictive word tieh', such, — in tlie clauses relating 
 to aids ; and in not providing any exception in favour of 
 the three allowable feudal aids ; thus fixing an abso- 
 lute prohibition against the raismg of any taxes, &c. 
 without the consent of the realm. As a point of his- 
 tory the separate identity of these two instruments is 
 perhaps scarcely proved ; since Sir WUliani Blackstone 
 considered, that there were strong reasons for sup- 
 posing the Statutum De Tallagio non concendendo to 
 be only a kind of alistract, or translation of the Conflr- 
 mationes Chartarum by some contemporary hand, 
 which might have been inserted at the end of the Great 
 Charter in some of the monastical registers ; whence 
 it was transcribed into the histories of Nicholas Trivet 
 and \¥alter de Hemingford, and thence copied by 
 Henry Knyghton and Thomas de Walsingham. Its 
 period in the Statute-books and Coke's Institutes is 
 that of 1305-6, the 34th of Edward I., though it can 
 never be of so late a date ; since Humphrey Bohun, 
 Earl of Hereford, whose pardon is gTanted in it, died 
 December31st, 1298, the 27th of the above Sovereign. 
 In addition to this, the old historians who insert it, 
 suppose it to have been granted by the King in Flan- 
 ders in the close of 1297, when the similar French 
 Charters were certainly sealed; of which, and which 
 only,' Matthew of Westminster takes notice. It is not 
 to be found upon any authentic roll or record of the 
 years 1297 or 1298, nor elsewhere; and perhaps the 
 first time of its appearance in print, is in Thomas Ber- 
 thelet's second part of the Old Statutes 1532, 8vo. 
 fol. 39, since it is never noticed in the Abridgment of 
 the Old Statutes, printed by Lettou and Machlinia, 
 about the time of Edward IV., or probably earlier. 
 
 ^ 
 
^ r^ Ir^ — -"vMi MTi-rtvJ'S? 1 IHaaCr 
 
 DESCRIPTTVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 ] since the latest Statute therein abridged is the 33rd of 
 , Henry VI., Chap., xiii., 1454-55. In that same Abridf;- 
 iient, however, there is an abstract of the Statute De 
 I Confirmntione Cartantm, nUas diet' superad'w'w Car- 
 tarum, in which the emphatical word tieu, or tjelx is 
 left out. It may be observed also, that notwith- 
 standing' the supposed Statute De Tallagio non con- 
 cendeiido, is construed to have abridged even the 
 three allowable feudal aids permitted by Chapter xv. 
 of King John's Great Charter, yet in 1.30(3, actually in 
 the very year when this Act is said to have passed, 
 King Edward himself imposed an aid for knighting 
 his eldest son ; claiming it iu right of his crown in the 
 writs of summons for the Parliament which was to 
 levy it. Lastly, it should be noticed that though the 
 Confirmationes Chartanmi allow the King and his 
 heirs the custom of exported wool, skins, and leather, 
 which is omitted in the supposed Statute De Tallagio, 
 yet there is no doubt but that they remained in the 
 crown for ages after Edward I, See Dyer's Reports, 
 43, 165. Coke's 2nd Instit. 59. From all these cir- 
 cumstances, then, the historical authenticity of this 
 Act is at least doubtful, otherwise than as a contem- 
 porary Latin abstract of the two French Charters. 
 As a question of law, however, it was very learnedly 
 debated in the famous ship-money case of Colonel 
 Hampden, in 1637; when the Judges determined it 
 to be a separate Act of Parliament, though princi- 
 pally because it had been recited as such in the com- 
 mencement of the Parliamentary Petition of Right, 
 presented to Charles I., March 17th, 1627-28. 
 
 In 1299-1300, the 28th year of Edward I., was 
 issued the last Inspeximus of Magna Charta, in a Par- 
 liament holden at Westminster, J\'Iarch 8th, the first 
 Sunday in Lent ; though it is dated on the 28th of that 
 month. Its enactment is only slightly noticed by 
 
 ^^^^'"^...^^^^^'442 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOU^T OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 Blackstone, but there are originals of it under the 
 Great Seal, yet preserved in the Arehives of the City 
 of London, Durham Cathedral, and Oriel College, 
 Oxford; the latter of which is quite perfect, and in a 
 fair and legible hand. Sir Vt'illiani Blackstone was 
 also informed of an extremely good copy in the Town- 
 chest of Appleby in Westmoreland, with the seal : and 
 which had the usual local mark of Exam.' Weslmed.' 
 written on the fold near the seal. A similar copy is 
 likewise preserved in the Archives of the Collegiate 
 Church of Westminster, of wliich, however, the seal 
 is lost, though the slit for the label is remaining. The 
 instrument is now pasted on cloth for its better pre- 
 servation, the fold cut being cut off, upon wdiich was 
 written the word JFilts. These originals generally 
 agree with each other in their various readings, ex- 
 cepting the King's style, transpositions of words, and 
 different spellings of the witnesses names. They also 
 accord with the ancient entries of this Charter in the 
 Red Book of the Exchequer at Westminster, and on 
 the Statute and Charter Rolls in the Tower. A French 
 translation of this Inspeximus will be found in the 
 HarleianMSS.No. 5326. 
 
 Sir William Blackstone does not particularise 
 the originals now extant of the Inspeximus Forest 
 Charter dated at Westminster, March 28th, 28th of 
 Edward I., 1300; but observes that some under the 
 Great Seal, still remain in the Archives of Westminster, 
 Durham Cathedral, and Oriel College, Oxford; the 
 latter being somewhat worn in the folds, though still 
 in fair preservation. There is also a contemporary 
 entry on the Charter Roll for tlie year. No. 25, with 
 which they generally agree ; and a French translation 
 will be fomid in the Ilarleian MSS. No. 5326. 
 
 The last Confirmation Charter of this Sovereign, 
 dated at Lincoln, February 14th, 1300-130), in the 
 
 W%^^ 
 
ia^,_ v>>-(k 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 29tli year of his reign, is printed in tlie present vo- 
 lume, pages 374, 375. Of this instrument an original 
 still remains preserved with the Furney Manuscripts, 
 No. 8, in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, having the 
 Great Seal in white wax still suspended to it, and 
 measuring 9i inches by 5J ; whence were printed the 
 copies published Ijy Su- William Blackstone and the 
 Record Commission. There is also an ancient copy 
 of it preserved in the Archives of Christ Church in 
 Oxford; and four others in the Tower of London. 
 Its contents are short, and the spirit of them is to 
 provide for rectifying anything which had been enacted 
 contrary to the intent of the Charters of Liberties : vide 
 the Instrument itself, and the preceeding Essay, p. 47. 
 This instrument, obser\"es Sir William Black- 
 stone, seems to have been the final and complete es- 
 tablishment of tlie two Charters, after their having 
 been fluctuating and endangered for nearly a centurv. 
 The only circumstance which seems to have affected 
 the Charters after this period, was when King Edward 
 procured a bull from Clement V., auaulling all the 
 concessions which had been extorted from him, both 
 concerning the forests and other liberties. It is re- 
 corded in Rymer's Fcedera, and is dated December 
 2,9th, 1305, his 33rd year, releasing him from the 
 oaths and other spiritual engagements by which he 
 stood bound to observe them. Dr. Brady and Carte, 
 in their Histories of Eijgland, observe, however, that 
 the only use he made of this freedom was to establish 
 the Statute called Ordhiutxo Forestce, which contained 
 some regulations concerning Forest purlieus. Such 
 features of this law as altered or amended the 
 Charta Foresta, have been referred to in the Notes 
 upon that instrument ; but it may be observed, that 
 Chap. V. absolutely revoked and annulled the deaflfo- 
 restation which had been so solemnly agreed to. It 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 nevertheless docs not appear that any thing was sub- 
 sequently attempted against the series of grants which 
 was thus terminated. 
 '»« Before closing these notices of the ancient re- 
 
 ^! liqucs of the Charters of Liberties, a few additional 
 particulars may be mentioned in illustration. Tliey 
 are in general \vTitten across the shortest way of the 
 parchment; and, like the Statute Rolls and records of 
 Chancery, seldom broken into separate paragraphs, 
 though the manuscript entries of them are often so 
 divided, and the Articles of King John's Magna Charta 
 were originally written in distinct Chapters. The an- 
 cient Acts of Parliament, however, were always con- 
 sidered as one entire law, which passed either under 
 the name of the place where it was made, as the Sta- 
 tutes of Merton ; the nature of the subject, as the Jr- 
 ticuli super Cliurtas ; or the opening words, as the 
 Statute of Quia Einptores. About the time of Ed- 
 ward II., such ordinances were frequently cited by 
 the year of the King's reign when they were esta- 
 blished, the particular acts being entitled and num- 
 bered into Chapters. The utility of such Sections 
 was obvious, and perhaps they were originally adopted 
 from the titles and heads used by the ancient Chris- 
 tians in theii- Greek Bibles, to point out the contents 
 of the text, rather than to divide it. Many of the an- 
 cient Anglo-Saxon laws printed by Dr. Wilkins have 
 such titles, and one original copy of Magna Charta, 
 described on page 425. The use of distinct titles, 
 however, appears not to have become general or re- 
 gular until the time of Henry VII. ; and they are even 
 mentioned as one of the principal improvements intro- 
 duced in William Rastell's Ahregement of tlie Statutes, 
 1533. 8vo. 
 
 It has been already shewn that all the Charters of 
 Libifrtics, and other instruments connected with them. 
 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 
 were drawn up in either Latin or French ; the very 
 g-eneral use of which in the Statutes of this nation, 
 though many have attempted to explain, is still only 
 imperfectly understood. The former, however, is the 
 most common language of the present class of instru- 
 ments ; since even those which exist in French, were 
 originally written or entered on the Record Rolls 
 in Latin. The use of the two was, nevertheless, fre- 
 quently indiscriminate, and in the Statute called 
 Westminster Second, passed in 1285, the 13th of 
 Edward L, Chapter xlix. is in French, whilst all the 
 remainder is Latin. Sir Edward Coke attributes this 
 to the two Chapters of William I., to which the latter 
 Statute made additions, having been originally pub- 
 lished in French; and Daines Barrington observes, 
 that the laws were written in Latin when the Clergy 
 were particularly concerned. 
 
 As to the adoption of Norman French in tlie Eng- 
 lish law, some rational causes for it are mentioned in 
 the preceding Notes on the Great Charters, pages 239, 
 240 ; but it has also been considered an oppression of 
 the Norman invasion, introduced that the English 
 might transgress the law, and forfeit their estates 
 through igi.orance. Ingulphus, however, declares 
 that William L expressly recommended the Con- 
 fessor's laws to his justices, in the same language in 
 which they were written, that they might avoid that 
 very consequence ; and Matthew Paris states, that the 
 King was particularly desirous of learning English, 
 that he might know the law, and judge accordingly. 
 Sir Nathaniel Bacon, from whose Historical nnd Po- 
 litical Discourse of the Lairs a/id Government of Eng- 
 land, Lond. 1760. 4to. page 101, these particulars are 
 derived,— supposes, that anciently all verbal pleas 
 were in the English tongue, a^ the Saxons understood 
 no Norman ; but that all records, &c. were made in 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 ' Latin, both as being a general language, and proper 
 to the Clergy, who were the lawyers of the time. It 
 ■ has also been supposed, that for a considerable length 
 of time, the laws of England were drawn up indis- 
 criminately in French or Latin ; and generally tran- 
 slated from the one to tlie other before they were pub- 
 lished, when they appeared in both. Such is thought 
 by some historians to have been the case \vith the 
 renewal of the Anglo-Saxon laws, granted by William 
 L ; since they have been published by Selden, Lam- 
 barde, and Wilkins, from the history of Ingulphus, 
 both in the Latin, and in the Romance, or French. 
 The two texts agree so closely as to prove them copies 
 of each other ; and it is argued that the latter was the 
 original, which has been regarded as a full proof of 
 William's intended extirpation of the English tongue, 
 even whilst he established the laws of the Anglo- 
 Saxons. There are, however, many circumstances 
 which oppose this statement. At the period referred 
 to,' no law in France, was written in the colloquial and 
 rustic Romance language; audits idiom and ortho- 
 graphy are but little ditFerent to those used in England 
 ill the time of Edward I., and perhaps have really not 
 a greaterantiquity than that of Henry III., before which 
 period, deeds or charters in French are not to be dis- 
 covered. 
 
 The use both of French and Latin, though chiefly 
 the latter, in the Charters and Statutes of England, 
 seems to have continued at intervals down to 1488-89, 
 the 4th year of Henry VII. ; whence, to the present 
 time, they have been written in English. The earliest 
 appearance of the national tongue in any parlia- 
 mentary proceeding, is in 1362-65, the 36th, 37th, and 
 38th years of Edward III.; for though the style of tlie 
 Statute Roll is recorded in French as usual, it is ex- 
 
 G 
 
w;% jMsaiegajaL 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 I pressed that the causes of summoning' that Parliament j 
 were declared in English. 
 
 The jjopular, thouo-h erroneous notion, that the " 
 jjreccding Charters, and especially that of King John, |i 
 ivere signed by the Sovereigns who granted them, yet 
 remains to be rectified. A mere inspection of the 
 various originals already described, will prove that 
 there is no a[)pearance of either name or signature : 
 and the words of the Charter, — " Data per manum 
 nostram ;" — which seem to sanction the notion of 
 signing, by being translated " Given «/i^^(- our hand," 
 properly signify that the instrument was given by the 
 King's hand, as a confirmation of his own act. In the 
 times of the Anglo-Saxons, signatures were much 
 more general than they were in the thirteenth century. 
 Their regal Charters and grants were commonly single 
 instruments attested by the crosses or signs of the 
 King, and principal persons present when they were 
 made :" which were either written by themselves, or by 
 the scribe in columns, for such as were unable, to which 
 a cross was athxed, and sometimes he drew even this 
 
 " Tngiiljjliiis slates in tlie Saxon Cliarters, these signs were fre- 
 quently of gold; and tliat in the tire at Croyland Abbey in 1091, some 
 of the treasures then lost were the ancient Chirograph Deeds and 
 Charters of the Mercian Kings, adorned with illuminations. That 
 iiistriiment, also, whicli purports to he King jEthelbald's Foundation- 
 Charter of Croyland, about A D. 71G, is richly adorned and called the 
 Golden Charter; but Wanley supposed it to be little older than the 
 time of Henry IT., and it is now considered that Saxon deeds of this 
 description are manifestly spurious. The custom of signing with plain 
 crosses, was, however, indisputable; and it has been supposed that 
 the more splendid decorations were sometimes invented by the Monks 
 to confer value upon their supposititious Charters. They were fre- 
 quently led to -this, merely in defence of their own property ; for lands 
 belonging to the Church being often held by prescriptive possession, 
 without any instrument, wlien such territories were disturbed by the 
 Normans, it has been thought that a Charter was sometimes devised 
 or extended to prove the right. But instead of imitating the plain- 
 ness of the ancient deeds, ihey were made more imposing by the 
 modern custom of illuminating them, or attesting them with gold, 
 azure, and Vermillion, crosses, which now serve only to awaken an 
 antiquary's suspicion.— gtiorfer/y Review, xxxiv. 2fi7. 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CIlAftTEriS. 
 
 yrabol, the witness tracinif it with a dry pen. The 
 ross ivas regarded as aii emblem of true faith in. the 
 arties to a deed, and frequently preceded the names 
 of those who wrote for themselves; but hence arose 
 the custom of illiterate persons still using such a mark. 
 Such ivas the practice until the time of Edward 
 the Confessor, when these instruments were called 
 Chirograplia, or hand-writings; Ijut after the Norman 
 invasion tlie name was changed to Charta, and thev 
 were confirmed by an impression of a seal in wax fur 
 every person witnessing them, without any signature. 
 The Charter of King Edward the Confessor, to 
 Westminster Abbey, about A. D. 1065, has been sup- 
 posed to l)e the oldest specimen of a sealed instrutnent 
 in England; since, having been brought up in France, he 
 adopted the custom long before it came into general use 
 in this country. There are, ho^vever, genuine charters 
 of the Saxon Kings Offa and iEthehvulf, between A . D. 
 757, and x\.D. 857, yet preserved in the Abbey of St. 
 Denis in France, sealed witli their seals bearing their 
 effigies; and the signet of /Ethelwald, Bishop of Dun- 
 which from 830 to 879, was discovered some years 
 since. But after all, seals appear to have been little 
 used bv the Anglo-Saxons, and were probably not re- 
 quired to authenticate an instrument. Even after the 
 Norman invasion, also, they sfcm to have made but 
 slow progress, since William I. frequently confirmed 
 his Charters by across; andunii] thereignof Henry II., 
 the use of seals hardly extended beyond the Greater 
 Barons. 
 
 In the time of Edward I. seals had multiplied to 
 so great a degree, that every free-man, and even the 
 higher sort of villeins had their distinct devices, ar- 
 morial ensigns being used upon them in the twelfth 
 century, about the time of the Crusade under Richard 
 I. ; the earliest instance being said to be a seal of King 
 
 fe^^v^' 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 John when Earl of Mortaif,Tie. But during this 
 period, the custom of si^ming- had almost entirely dis- 
 appeared, and the Enn'lish Soverei;;ns authenticated 
 their Charters hy their seals only, until the time of 
 Richard II.; when royal sitfoatures, called Signs-Ma- 
 nual, from being written hy the King's own hand, 
 came into use. It was a common law maxim, how- 
 ever, and as such remained upon the books, that 
 sealing was of itself sufficient to authenticate a deed; 
 though it was also essential that it should be delivered 
 before witnesses, whence the expression in Magna 
 Charta already referred to. 
 
 In addition to the various copies of the Charters 
 inserted in the works above cited, may be mentioned 
 the following 
 
 PRINTED EDITIONS OP MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 I. Magna Charta. Aniiolncaniationls Doininicemillesimo 
 
 quingeiitesslmo xiiij, deciino sexto idibils Marcus. 
 London 1514. Dtwdecimo . Printed by RiCHAHD Pynson. 
 
 Although the various editions of this volume are 
 supposed to contain some of the earliest printed copies 
 of Magna Charta, yet it seems that it is the Confir- 
 mation of that grant by Edward I., to which the title 
 alludes. The first edition of Pynson's Statutes, ap- 
 peared in 1508, in wdiich it was deiiommated, " Paruus 
 code.x, qui Anticjua Statuta vocatur :" the editions fol- 
 lowing were those of 1514, 1519, 1526, and 1527. 
 
 II. Magna Carta. 162.5. Duodeciitw. Robert Redman. 
 
 The contents of this volume are similar to the 
 preceding, with the addition of three new Statutes ; 
 which gave rise to the following expressions used in 
 the colophon : " Ad laudem & gloriam cuncti potentls 
 Beatse Virginis Mariie totaq; celestis cm'ife, Paruus 
 codex, qui Anti([ua Statuta et iioiia vocatur. Explicit." 
 This edition was followed in 152;) and 1539 by another. 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHAUTERS. 
 
 with additional Statutes, in Ifimo.; and in 15.34 by the 
 first Translation into English, with the title of "The 
 boke of Magna Charta,with diners other Statutes, whose 
 names ai>pere in the next lefe followynge, translated 
 into Engiysshe. Facessat Calumnia." The ensuing 
 colophon gives the name of the translator: "Thus 
 endeth the boke called Magna Charta, translated out 
 of Latyn and Frensshe into Engiysshe, by George 
 Ferrerz." Elizabelli Redman, the widow of Robert, 
 reprinted this translation in octavo without date, 
 under the title of " The Great Charter, called in latyn. 
 Magna Carta, with diners old Statutes, whose titles 
 apere in the next leafe, newly corrected." A similar 
 reprint was likewise produced from the press of 
 Thomas Pf.tyt, in 1542. 
 
 III. Magna Carta, cuin aliis Statiitis, quorum Catalogus 
 in fine operis. London 1531. Thomas Behthelet. 
 Octavo. 
 
 This appears to have been the first part of a col- 
 lection of English Statutes, which was again printed 
 by Berthelet in 15.32, 1.540, and 1541. The second 
 part was denominated, "Secunda Pars veterum Sta- 
 tutorum," and issued from the press of the sameprinter 
 in 1532 and 1540; and from that of Richard Tot- 
 tell in 1555-56. The contents of these volumes were 
 similar to those o( Pi/iison's edition of the Statutes,1508. 
 IV. jMaona CuAliTAjCuni Statutis qui vocautur, jam recens 
 excnsa, et suninia fide eniendata, jnxta vetusta exeui- 
 plaria ad Parlianientl rotulos exauiinata; quibus ac- 
 cesserunt noniilla nunc priniuni typis edita: apud 
 RiCARDUM ToTELUM. 12 Jun. 15.56. Conferre and 
 then preferre. Cum priuilegio ad imprimenduni solum. 
 Octavo. 
 
 Other editions of this collection were produced 
 by Tottell, in 1557, 1569, 1565, 1574, 1576, and 
 
 
I 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS 
 
 1587- The first four of these were in English, andj 
 ds the work declares, were edited by " William Rastell, J 
 Serjeant at Law" : they bore the following title ; " A- 
 OoUection of all the Statutes, (from the begynnyngof 
 Magna Carta unto the yere of our Lord 16S7,) which 
 were before that yere imprinted." The two latter 
 editions had a Latin title again, to this effect : " Magna 
 Charta, cum Statutis, turn antiquis turn reccntibus, 
 maximopere animo tenendis, nunc demum ad unum 
 typis edita perRicliardumTottell; anno domini 1576." 
 
 V. Magna Carta et cetera Antiqiia Statuta, nunc novitur 
 
 per divcrsa exemplaria esaminata et sunima dilig-entia 
 castigata et cunecta, Tuomas Marsha, 1556. Octavo. 
 
 VI. Magna Charta, cum Statutis turn antiquis turn recen- 
 tibus maximopere animo tenendis, jam novitur exeusa, 
 et simiuia dilig-entiaeinendata et correcta. Cui adjecta 
 sunt nouuUa Statuta nunc demuni typis edita. Tno.MAS 
 Wight, 1602. Stalioneis' Company, 1608, 1618. 
 Octavo. 
 
 Beside these Collections of Statutes, to which 
 some edition of Magna Charta, or its Confirmation 
 was prefixed, it was published at various other periods 
 in a similar manner ; as in tlie year 1 543, by Berthelet, 
 in 1564, by Henry Wykes, from 1579 to 1621, by 
 Christopher Barker, and the practice is still preserved 
 in several of the modem editions of the English laws. 
 The most beautiful and accurate of these, however, is 
 "The Statutes of the Realm, printed by command of 
 his Majesty, George the Third. In pursuance of an 
 address of the House of Commons of Great Britain." 
 1810. Folio. Lr this elaborate publication, as it has 
 been already noticed, many Charters of the early So- 
 vereigns are given by engraved fac-similse as well as 
 by printed copies, and the foniicr convey to the mind 
 a much more lively idea of the originals. These fac- 
 
 &Mp5fe- ■i3£»-> 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 simil<e are also inserted in the Reports from tlie Com 
 missioiiers respecting- the Public Records of the king-' 
 dom and their other publications. /'«//(). 1812, &c. The 
 collection of Charters contained in the former work is 
 superior to all others, since it exhibits a complete series 
 of twenty of these grants, embracing six unknown to 
 Blackstone, and extending from the Institutions of 
 Henry I., to the last Confirmation of Edward I. They 
 were also printed either from the originals themselves, 
 or from contemporary authorities, with types represent- 
 ing the contracted characters, and the greatest attention 
 to punctuation, collation, various readings, &c. &c. 
 
 In 1642 appeared Sir Edward Coke's "Second 
 part of the Institutes of the Laws of England," which, 
 being devoted to an explanation of the ancient Sta- 
 tutes, commenced with an excellent and extensive 
 commentary on the Magna Charta of the 9th year of 
 Henry III. ; whence all subsequent explanations have 
 been derived, and which has been chiefly followed in the 
 preceding pages. 
 
 The separate printed editions of this instiiimentand 
 the Charta Foresta, are very few in comparison with those 
 of the former class; the following Ijeing the principal, 
 
 I. Magna Chauta matte in the ninth year of K. Henry the 
 
 Thiril, and confirmed by K. Edward the First, in the 
 tvventy-eifrhth year of his Reig-ii. With some short 
 ot)servations, from the Lord Chief Justiee Coke's com- 
 ments upon it. Faithfully translated for tlie h*jnefitof 
 those that do not understand tlit Latine. By Edw. 
 Cooke, of the Middle Temple, Esq. London, 16S0. 
 Quarto. 
 
 II. A Declaration of the Libertyes of the English Nation, 
 
 principally with respect to Forests. Loudon 1681. 
 Quarto. 
 
 III. English Liberties in the Free-born subject's inherit- 
 ance; containing- Magna Charta, the Charta de Fo- 
 
resta, the Statutum non Taillagio concendendo, the 
 Habeas Corpus Act, and several other Statutes with 
 
 ^^ ^ comments on each of them. By Henry Care, London 
 
 fj*? 1719. Oc/ntio. Fourth Edition. 
 
 "^j IV. MAGffA Charta, cnoraven upon a fb/io s/iee(, as a fac- 
 
 i simile of the orig-inal in the Cottonian Lihrary. 
 
 ; Sold by J. PmE,^ Enfjraver, against Little Britain in Al- 
 
 \ dersg-ate Street, and by the Booksr Hers of London and 
 
 J Westminster. Published in 1733. 
 
 \ Tliis etigravhin- is dedicated to the Tnistees of the 
 
 J Cottonian Library, and is certilied to be a correct 
 
 S copy by the keeper of that collection and other literary 
 
 I characters. The Charter is bordered by coloured 
 
 i Arms of the twenty-five witnessing Barons as already 
 
 ; noticed, pages 273, &c. and a representation of the 
 
 S seal as mutilated by the fire at the above-mentioned 
 
 ! librar)', is attached to the lower part. The copy in 
 
 i the British Museum, which is placed opposite the de- 
 
 ; faced original, is on vellum, having the border, seal, 
 
 ; and Armorial Ensigns coloured and gilded. The num- 
 
 \ ber of such impressions cannot now be ascertained, and 
 
 < it probably depended upon the choice of the original 
 > subscribers, or presentations to public establishments, 
 ; &c.; of which the following extract from the Gentle- 
 \ mail's Magazine, Vol. IV,, 1734, page 103, is a curious 
 / notice. " Tuesday, February 5th, 1734. — Mr. Pine, 
 S an eminent Engraver in Aldersgate Street, presented 
 ; to the Court of Aldermen a copy of the Magna Charta 
 I granted by King John, from the Original in the Cot- 
 
 < a Juhn Pine was tirsL known as an Engraver, by his series ofprinis 
 5 of tlie Ceremonies at Uie revival ut tlie Order of the Batli, by George L 
 J published in 172.'); thongh his reputation was establisiied by his leu 
 • plates of the Spanish Armada lapesti-y in the House of Lords. He 
 \ was made Blue-Mantle Puisuivanl of Anns in Deeember 1743, and 
 ; died in 1756. See the Kcv. Mark Noble's Hisi. oj the College of Arms. 
 ', Lond. 1804. 4to. p. 395; and the Hon. Horatio Walpule's Jnerdores 
 I of fainting, by the Rev. J,Dalla\yay, Lond. l82S.2S.8vo. Vol. V. p. 263, 
 5 where will be found his portrait, and hischaraoLer as an Artist. 
 
 4 
 
 %. 
 
 *^ 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 toniaii Library, tonether with the Arms and names of 
 the Barons then appointed to decide any cause be- 
 tween the King and the people, the whole being 
 printed on a skin of vellum from a copper-plate, cu- 
 riously engraved and embellished, and set in a frame 
 and glass; for which the Co\u-t returned him thanks, 
 and ordered him a present of twenty guineas." 
 
 The original price of this engraving was 10.?. (id- 
 but as it is now not very common; it has sometimes 
 been sold for upwards of ^^5 5s. Tliere are, how- 
 ever, two other editions of the same plate, differing 
 only in the Engraver's address beneath; which are 
 less rare than the first. Tlie imprint of one is, " Sold 
 by J. Pine, Engraver, in Old Bond Street, near Picca- 
 dilly, and by the Booksellers in I/ondon and West- 
 minster ;" and the other, published after his death, is 
 marked, "Sold l)y R(i)bert) E(dge) Pine, Albemarle 
 Street, Piccadilly." With the original ])late appeared 
 a pamphlet of 8 pages, cojitaining the Great Charter 
 in Latin and English, probably printed from Tindal's 
 edition of Rapin's History of England ; and designed 
 to facilitate the reading of the fac-simile; which, as it 
 was observed by Sir William Blackstone, was not 
 fitted for general perusal on account of the antif|uity 
 of its character. 
 
 Since the appearance of this engraving, several 
 accurate and bcautifnl fac-similte of the Charters of 
 Liberties have been executed for the Record Com- 
 missioners by Mr. James Basire, as already referred to 
 in the preceding list. To these plates are added copies 
 of the several instniments in letter-press, printed line 
 for line and letter for letter, having types cast to imi- 
 tate the mmierons contractions of the originals, which 
 both facilitate the reading of them, and induce the 
 study of the ancient records of England. Under this 
 class of copies of Magna Charta, may be mentioned 
 
1- 
 
 'mi 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 a litho-^raphic fac-simile, published in 1319, of the 
 preliminary Articles and the Cottonian Charter, taken 
 from the engravinsrs of Basire and Pine, and published 
 with a corresponding- sheet of letter-press, containing 
 a translation of the Charter, and some general His- 
 torical Observations and particulars. 
 
 But notwithstanding these printed editions of the 
 Great Charter, its contents, nature, and history, were 
 so little known previously to the appearance of Sir 
 William Blackstone's e.xcellent and interesting volume, 
 that he commences it by observing, that no full or 
 correct copy of King John's Magna Charta was ex- 
 tant excepting Pine's : though he might have added 
 Dr. Brady's, Tyrrell's, and the more popular one in 
 Rapin, pnblidicd in 1732. He states also, as it has 
 been noticed in the commencement of tliis Article, 
 that even the Charters of Henry HI., printed in the 
 Statute-books, were not taken from originals, but 
 from the Inspeximus grants of E(hvard I. ; which want 
 of authentic materials, or of making use of such as 
 were in existence, had often led the best historians 
 and antiquaries into gross and palpable errors. To 
 point out and remedy these, appeared 
 
 V. The Great Charter, anil tlie CnAUTER of tlie Forest, 
 T\'ith otlipc iiiitlientic Instniments : to ^vbicli is prefixed 
 an Introdiietoi y Discourse, cont-lining- the History of 
 the Charters. By William Bi.ackstone, Esq. Bar- 
 rister at Liiw, Vinerinn Professor of the L;nvs of Eng-- 
 lancl,i>nj D.C.L. 
 
 Oxford, :it the Clarendon Press. M.ncc.Li.x. Qimifn. 
 
 This beautiful and rare edition of the English 
 Cartae, is usually supposed to have been executed 
 under the duection of the celebrated Baskerville; but 
 was actually produced under the superintenilance of 
 Dr. Prince, and constituted one of these volumes, 
 
^f 
 
 DESCRIl'TIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHAR 
 
 which afforded him most pleasure in having (printed. 
 The elegance of the typography is very great, and Mr. 
 Chalmers, in his Biog-raphical Dlctmiary, thus men- 
 tions it nnder the article Blackstone. " In No- 
 vember, 1759, he published a new edition of the 
 Great Charter, and Charter of the Forest; which 
 added much to his former reputation, not only as a 
 great lawyer, but also as an accurate antiquary, and 
 an able historian. It must also be added, that the 
 external beauties of the, printing, the types, &c. re- 
 flected no small honour on him, as the principal 
 reformer of the Clarendon Press, whence no ^vork 
 had ever before issued, equal in those particulars 
 to this." It is inscribed to the Earl of Westmor- 
 land in an engraved dedication, surmounted by his 
 armorial ensigns. The historical Introductiou im- 
 mediately follows, and occupies 7(> pages, this is suc- 
 ceeded by the Charters of John, Henry the Third, and 
 Edward the First, and other statutes connected with 
 them, contained in 8.5 pages more. This part of the 
 volume is decorated with ten engravings of the royal 
 seals attached to the instruments, of their original 
 size : the whole of the initial letters used in the work 
 are copper-plate engravings of various public build- 
 ings in Oxford; and two historical vignettes are 
 placed on pages Ixxvi. and 73. The contents of this 
 volume were reprinted in Sir William Blackstone's 
 Law Tracts, Octavo 1762, Quarto, 1771 ; the former 
 of which contains some few revisions and additions. 
 
 Next to the volume of Sir William Blackstone, 
 may be noticed the short, but exceedingly curious 
 and learned remarks on Magna Charta, contained in 
 tlie Hon. Daiues Barrington's Observations on the more 
 ancient Statutes, from Magna Charta to tlie 2\st year 
 of James 1.; the volume being originally pul)lished 
 in 1766, Quarto. It was the first work of its author, 
 
 "^^^Ir^ 
 
IsMIf" descriptive account of the charters. 
 
 '"^W5S:- and has always mniutained its rank, having passed 
 "^TfrSi throug'h several editions, eaeh reeeiving some ini- 
 "^r^^M^A provements nntil that of 1795. The Ijook originated 
 ■^fSjriy'' i" 'lie perusal of the older and more useless English 
 'Wl§P Statutes, with a view to their consolidation or repeal, 
 a scheme for which is contained in an Appendix to it ; 
 in reading these many observations occurred on the 
 laws of every reign, as they illustrated the manners 
 and liistory of the country when they were published. 
 These remarks, however, were confined to the acts of 
 the thirteenth and three following centuries, which 
 were compared with the contemporary Statutes of 
 most other European nations, and found to be con- 
 siderably superior. 
 
 VI. A History and Defence of JMagna Charta, contain- 
 ing- a copy of the Original Charter at large: with an 
 Eiigbsh translation ; the manner of its being ohtained 
 from John; with its preservation and final establish- 
 ment in tlie sncceeding reigns. London 1769. Octavo. 
 
 VII. An Historical Ti-eaiise on the Feudal Law, and on the 
 Constitution and Laws of England, with a Commentary 
 on Magna Charta. By Francis Stoughton Sullivan, 
 LL.D. London; 1770. Quaito. 177-2,1776. Edit, by 
 Dr. Gilbert Stu:irt, 1777. 
 
 VIII. The Chartns of London complete, with Magna Charta 
 and the Bill of Rights, with explanatory notes and re- 
 marks. By John Luft'man. Lend. 179-2. Octavo. 
 
 IX. Magna Carta, printed in Letters of Gor.n, by John 
 
 W'niTTAKF.R. 
 
 Magna Carta Regis Joiiannis, .\\'. Die Junii, Anno Regni 
 xvii. A.D. M.ccxv. LoNDlNl, apnd Johannem Whit- 
 taker, M.nrrcxvi. 
 
 CoNVENTiO inter Regctu Joiuurnenl et Barones, A.D. 
 m.ccxv. Londiul, apud Johannem Whittaker, 
 
 M.DCCCXVII. Folio. 
 
 This very splendid edition of the Great Charter 
 was projected about fourteen years since by Rlr. John 
 
 ■22-, 
 
 4^ -¥^ 
 
 % 
 
-%^S4\ tSJi 
 
 M^FlL^_3 
 
 THE CHARTERS. "^* 
 
 Whittakcr, of Westminster, for tlie display of a beau- 
 tiful invention of Printing in Letters of burnished 
 Gold ; and a small portion of the preceding pages was 
 originally intended as a popular inlrnduction to it, 
 though the design was afterwards laid aside, and the 
 materials luue since been extended to the present \o- 
 lume. It was at first intended to have printed the 
 Cottoniaii Charter for the above edition, but it, appears 
 from a notice attached to it, that the original was 
 that deposited in the Archives of Lincoln Catliedral, 
 with some of the abbreviations tilled up: a passage 
 taken from the Introduction to the "Statutes of the 
 Realm," is also inserted in support of the authenticity 
 of the Lincoln copy; which has been referred to in 
 the former part of this Article. The present volume 
 consists of seventeen leaves printed on the recto only, 
 iu black-letter ; wdiich, whilst it is exceedingly well cal- 
 culated for shewing the beauty of the Golden Typo- 
 graphy, gives it at the same time a rich hue of 
 antiiputy combined with much delicacy of form 
 and character ; the text of each page measures 7 s 
 inches, by b'l The work is dedicated to liis present 
 Majesty, when Prince Regent, in English, but the 
 remainder of its contents arc wholly iu Latin. Some 
 copies of this superli publication were printed upon 
 purple satin, and others on white, or purple, vellum, 
 the size of a super-royal folio. These were decorated 
 with the most elegant emblematical and herahlical 
 designs, chiefly by Mr. Th(Hnas Willement, intro- 
 ducing the arms of the twenty-five Barons, who be- 
 came sureties for the due performance of this Charter. 
 In addition to these decorations, which occupy the 
 borders of the various pages, the portraits of the Prince 
 Regent and King John, painted on vellum, were some- 
 times placed opposite the dedication and title pages. 
 This work was also printed in folio of a smaller 
 
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE CHARTERS. 
 
 size, on Bristol drawing-paper, with illuminated initial . 
 letters ; and to these was attached an additional page, 'ff 
 containing- tlie names of those Barons wliose arms were -^ 
 painted in the large edition. At the end of the Charter 
 is the Covenant of security between King John and his 
 Barons ; and the arrangement of the whole volume is 
 as follows: Title, Dedication, Names of the Barons, 
 Magna Charta 11 pages. Title to the Covenant, Cove- 
 nant 2 pages. 
 
 Such, then, are the principal lAlanuscript and 
 Prmted copies of the Charters of Liberties ; the most 
 important and extensive of which, though posterity 
 has generally coimected them with the name of King 
 John, were in reality passed under the 
 
 Seal op IJexry the Third. 
 
7i.^;^^ 
 
 HE life of this Monarch in al- 
 most every point of view, was ; 
 marked with an extraordinary 
 tatdlity of ill-fortune, and dis- 
 t\iibed by perpetual storms 
 tiom his discontented sub- 
 )ttts. The offspring of a weak, 
 tlioiigh valiant Sovereign, it 
 would seem as if the courage 
 of Henry had descended witli his khigdom to Richard ; 
 whilst his misfortunes and his vices became the por- 
 tion of John. With all his faults, however, and with 
 5?' a far greater degree of popular hatred than is attached 
 I'Sl'M to tl'e character of any Prince in the extended line of ' 
 English Sovereigns, his life and reign form a subject 
 of very considerable interest ; and from their intimate , 
 e£il?, connection with the famous story of this volume, the 
 ■iH[1\ following rather copious Memoir, has been added to 
 \Jit illustrate and to complete the narrative. 
 mW" JOHN, af.erwards King of England, was the fifth ' 
 'life son of Henry II. suiTiamedPlantagenet; and he was 
 ' '''^ born on Satiirday, the 24th of Decenjber, 1 1 66, in the 
 King's Manor-house at Oxford, his mother being . 
 Eleanor, daughter and heir of William, ninth Duke - 
 of Acquitaine. From the ampleprovisiun whichHenry ^ 
 made for his elder sons, and the limited possessions 
 devolving upon John, he received from his father the ^ 
 surname of Sans-terre, or Lack-land : the usual ap- 
 
 
"^ 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 pelldtion of younger sons, whose fathers died durina^ 
 their minority; and who coukl not possess estate^ 
 until they were of age to do the feudal service required 
 foi tliem. To remedy this want, however, when he 
 Mas about seven years ohl. King Henry gave liim 
 certain rents and lands, both in England and in Nor- 
 mandy. Near the same time, also, as well with the 
 view of improving the young Prince's fortunes, as of 
 securing another territory to the throne of England, a 
 marriage was formed for him at Mtjntferrat in Au- 
 vergne, ivith Alice, eldest daughter and coheir of 
 Humbert 11., Earl of Savoy; through whom, had it 
 not l)een for her untimely death and the re-marriage 
 of her father, he would ultimately have enjoyed the 
 sovereignty of that province. 
 
 Pope Urban III. having granted to Henry the 
 liberty of crowning one of his sons King' of Ireland, 
 that Sovereign in a Great Council held at ©xford in 
 May 1177, bestowed it upon John ; who was knighted 
 at Windsor, the Pontiff's gift being presented to him, 
 consisting of a coronet of peacocks feathers interwoven 
 with gold. After the subjugation of Ireland, in 1175, 
 Henry made a treaty with Rodcric, King of Connaught, 
 that he should reign in that country under the Engdish 
 crown, and possess his own lands in peace, as he did be- 
 fore the invasion, so long as he paid tribute, and per- 
 formed his due services ; whilst his authority was to ex- 
 tend over the ivhole island, excepting the proper lands 
 of Henry and his Barons, including Dulilin, Meath, 
 Wexford, and Watcrford, to Diuicannon. But though 
 Roderic gave up one of his sons as a hostage for his 
 good faith, the natives of the coimtry seized every 
 opportunity of revenging themselves upon the Eng- 
 lish, &e., who were in great part soldiers living by 
 plunder and hostility. Upon the nomination of John 
 as Lord of Ireland, Henry cancelled his former grants 
 
 ^^ 
 
 &0^ 
 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 _, ill thut country; takias for his own peculiar property 
 'I the Irish sea-ports and adjoiiiiii!^' districts, and dividing- 
 the rest of the English possessions Ijetween his prin- 
 cipal followers, to be military tenures held of him- 
 self and his son. The Prince's Lord-Deputy was an 
 excellent officer, named Hugh de Lacy, and he was 
 attended by Glraldus De Barri, the famous historian, 
 and a powerful force, with which lie arrived in Ireland, 
 March 31st, 1 185 : but his counsellors and favourites 
 were unhappily Normans, who held the Irish chief- 
 tains and the Welsh settlers in equal contempt. He 
 was supported by the Archbishop of Dul)lin and the, 
 Irish nobility ; but the ridicule with which himself and 
 his attendants treated the Milesian chiefs, by deriding- 
 their dress and plucking their beards, and their of- 
 fending- the Welsh adventurers, by removing them 
 from the garrison-towns to serve in the marches, — 
 were fatal to this Prince's establishment in Ireland. 
 A continuance of these imprudent measures produced 
 him numerous and powerful adversaries ; his Council 
 was inflamed and divided, and, after losing much trea- 
 sure, several of his best leaders, and the flower of his 
 army, Henry recalled him to England uncrowned, on 
 the 17th of December. 
 
 This was a display of his folly and weakness, but 
 the first actual stain upon John's character, was that 
 insurrection against Henry II., which all his legitimate 
 sons alike partook of; though, perhaps, this Prince 
 might be considered tlie most guilty, because he was the 
 most beloved of his father. The King had indiscreetly 
 raised them to honours and power, before they had 
 ceased to be children, and they disputed between 
 themselves as well as with him ; though for a time 
 there had been a suspension of hostilities by the death 
 of Henry, the eldest, in 1183, who had been made 
 King. Richard and Geoffrey, however, still continued 
 
 §s:^ 
 

 "<U 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 their rebellion, until the latter was killed in a tour- 
 ' nament at Paris, August 19th, 1186 ; after which the 
 former concluded a truce witli his father, and aided 
 him against the King of France, until he began to hear 
 reports, and to suspect that Henry intended the crown 
 of England for John. In a conference on Richard's 
 claims before the French Sovereign, he asserted his 
 right to the succession, to which his father made an 
 evasive answer, whereupon he instantly offered his 
 homage to Philip, who received it, and invested him 
 ivith the possessions of King Henry in France. Hos- 
 tilities soon after recommenced between Richard and 
 his father, who retreated before him ; but still trusting 
 in the fidelity of John, he caused the Seneschal of 
 Normandy to swear that in case of his death, the for- 
 tresses of that province should be delivered to the 
 Prince. At length, however. King Henry was per- 
 suaded to meet Philip of France on a plain near Tours, 
 when a peace was concluded, by the former yielding 
 to every demand which \vas made upon him. But he 
 had previously stipulated, that a list should be given 
 him of the Barons who had joined the French King, 
 at the head of which appeared the name of his son 
 John. He read no more, but returning the scroll de- 
 parted for Chinon, where he sank into a deep melan- 
 choly, which was followed by a violent fever, wherein 
 he cursed all his children, and died in July, 1189, 
 though he would never be persuaded to retract his exe- 
 crations. 
 
 At this time, although John's revenues might 
 have been considerably increased by the favour of his 
 father, he was possessed rather of titular, than of real 
 power: which consideration acting on the mind of 
 Richard, who next succeeded to the throne, he be- 
 stowed upon him the Counties of Cornwall, Dorset, 
 Nottingham, Derby, and Lancaster; the castles of 
 
 .-j|a. 
 
 ^rpv 
 
M 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 Marlborough and Lutgaishal] ; the towns of ^Valling- 
 ford and Tickliill, and several other lands, and seemed 
 almost to admit liim as a sharer in his kingdom as 
 well as in his affections. The generosity of Richard, 
 however, met with an ungrateful return from John 
 in his notorious insurrection against him, whilst the 
 former was engaged in the wars of Palestine, and im- 
 prisoned in- Austria. But these proceedings were the 
 occupation of years, since they appear to have com- 
 menced when the right of Artliur, DidvC of Bretagne, 
 and son of John's elder lirother, Geoffrey, was first 
 sanctioned by Richard, in his treaty with Tancred, 
 King of Sicily, in 11 89 ; and also in his letters to Pope 
 Clement VII., wherein he ^vas declared heir to the 
 crowu. 
 
 Upon Richard's departure on the Crusade, the 
 government of England was committed to the Chan- 
 cellor, William de Longchamp, Bishop of Ely; a 
 Norman of obscure birth, and a man of equal talent, 
 industry, and immorality. This minister was secretly 
 directed by Richard to support the cause of Arthur, 
 and even to engage the assistance of William, King of 
 Scots ; though it has been pretended that the Chan- 
 cellor's only object in this treaty, was to per- 
 petuate Ids power in England by the succession of a 
 minor. The confederates of John, however, who were 
 with Richard at Messina, soon acriuainted him with 
 Lougchamp's real purposes, and he determined to 
 make use of every effort for his removal. 
 
 After much exertion this was effected about the 
 period when the nation was anxiously looking for the 
 arrival of the Sovereign, and when it was discovered 
 that he had been sold by the Archduke Leopold to 
 Henry VI., Emperor of Germany, for the sum of 
 ^60,000 to be paid out of his expected ransom. This 
 opportunity John seized to commence his designs 
 
 ^^^^%^.^ 
 
 ^}^ 
 
 :t?i:>^ 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 upon the crown ; for which purpose he first hastily 
 travelled to Paris, where he resio'iied to Philip a part 
 of the English possessions in Normandy, and, doing 
 him homage for the rest, returned again and assembled 
 an army to support his desiffns. He besieged and 
 took the Castles of Wallingford and Windsor ; and, 
 coming to London, he gave out that Richard was dead, 
 and required Walter, Archbishop of Rouen, the Chief 
 Justiciary, with the Council of Regency, to swear fealty 
 to him, and proceed to his coronation. But on the 
 contrary they not only disregarded his assertions and 
 desires, bnt assembled their forces, repulsedhis band of 
 foreign soldiers, and at length compelled him to agree 
 to a truce, when he returned again to his confederate, 
 Philip of France. 
 
 In the meantime a treaty was in progress for the 
 restoration of Richard, by a ransom of 100,000 marks 
 of pure silver, and hostages to the amount of 50,000 
 more; though his deliverance was delayed by tlie in- 
 trigues of Philip and John. When he was informed 
 of these, he was at first shocked and looked gravely ; 
 though presently recovering his cheerfulness, he said, 
 "My brother John is not made for conquering king- 
 doms ; for he is not a man to succeed by force, where 
 force is opposed to him." Wien the ransom of 
 Richard had been concluded on, the King of France 
 sent a letter to Prince John, telling him to take care 
 of himself, "the devil being imchained" ; and with 
 some difficulty and murmurs the amovmt was raised 
 in three collections throughout England. It was then 
 entrusted to Eleanor of Acquitaine the King's mother, 
 and the Archbishop of Rouen, who set out with it for 
 Germany a short time before Christmas, in 1193; 
 upon which Philip and John are accused of having 
 made their last great elfort for the King's farther de- 
 tention, by offering the Emperor a larger sum than 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN, 
 
 that which had been fixed for his ransom, to detain 
 hiiu only one year longer, or paying him ^20,000 a 
 month for his imprisonment. It is ])robable that the 
 avarice of Henry would have agreed to this, had not 
 several Princes of the Empire, who were securities to 
 the covenant, insisted upon its fulfilment, and King 
 Richard was set at liberty at Mentz, on February 4th, 
 1194. 
 
 He landed at Sandwich on Smiday, March 20th ; 
 and after having taken possession of .John's Castle at 
 Nottingham, he held a Council there, consisting of 
 Queen Eleanor, and fifteen Prelates and Barons. On 
 the second day John and his adviser, Hugh, Bishop of 
 Lincoln, were accused of treason, and summoned to 
 appear before the King and his Court within forty 
 days, or to be outlawed and forfeit their estates. 
 Neither of them, however, attended at the term ; but 
 as the Prince was then in France, and held lands in 
 Normandy, three Barons were sent over to Philip as 
 his lord, to demand judgment against him for con- 
 tempt. At length, Richard himself led an army into 
 France ; when .John, having in the interun secured the 
 powerful intercession of Queen Eleanor, met him on 
 his landing, threw himself at his feet, confessed his of- 
 fences, and with many tears implored his forgiveness : 
 upon which the King was so much affected, that he 
 raised him from the ground, kindly embraced him, and 
 received him again into his favour. He, nevertheless, 
 did not immediately restore to him his possessions ; 
 and observed concerning him, "May I as easily 
 forget your offences, as you will that you liave ever 
 offended." 
 
 Such, then, were the rise and termination of 
 John's memorable rebellion against Richard ; but ui 
 the wars with France which occupied that Sovereign 
 till his death, his brother is said to have rendered him 
 
 SSa 
 
7VT 
 
 ''/'J^T'WF^^ 
 
 MEMOER OF KING JOHN. 
 
 many noble services. To this condunt may be attri- 
 liuted the King's favourable testament at his decease ; 
 since he beijueathed to him all his dominions and 
 three-fourths of his treasure, and recjuired all present 
 to do him homage. 
 
 As John was now at the summit of his hopes, 
 to prepare against all attempts which might be made 
 to oppose him, lie engaged in hi^ cause Hubert Walter, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, William Marshall, and his 
 mother, Eleanor of Acquitaine. Having by these 
 zealous friends secured for a time the realm of Eng- 
 land, the King next proceeded to France, in order to 
 seize upon his brother's possessions in that country : 
 and partly by deeds of gift from Eleanor, who was 
 acknowledged to be rightful Lady of Acquitaine and 
 Poictou ; partly by the treasures of Richard which he 
 found there ; and partly by the forces which he car- 
 ried with him, he procured himself to be presented 
 with the ducal sword of Normandy, and to be croivned 
 with a coronet of golden roses in tlie Cathedral of 
 Rouen, by the hands of Walter the Archbishop, April 
 25th, 1199. 
 
 Thus was he succeeding in France, when William, 
 King of Scotland, sent to demand of him the Counties 
 of Northumberland and Cuml)erland, with the appur- 
 tenances belonging to them ; but John's agents were 
 too politic to involve his infant cause in war, and 
 therefore dismissed the ambassadors with the assurance, 
 that when he returned from France William should 
 receive every satisfaction. On ]May 2.5tb, John landed 
 at Sherborne in Sussex, after havhig burned the town 
 of Mans in France, to which may be attributed much 
 of his success there. The day following his lantling 
 he proceeded to London, and was crowned at \\'est- 
 minste'r on Thursday, May 27th, being Ascension-day, 
 by Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 'p'^mi, 
 
MEMOIR OF KING .JOHN. 
 
 It was at this first ceremony, in which Jolni thrice 
 [received the Sacrament, that the Archbishop pro- 
 f nounced his memorable speecli, which is snpposed to p 
 establish the ancient practice of the election of the 
 Sovereigns of England. It was evidently a compo- 
 sition of sophistry and error, which was as likely to 
 injure the King's cause as support it; and, as it sub- 
 sequently appeared, was even against the Prelate's 
 own sentiments. As recorded by Matthew Paris the 
 ceremony was as follows : 
 
 '*Then came unto liini the asseinlily of Archbishops, 
 Bishops, Earls, and Biirons, as well as all others who should 
 he concerned in his Coronation ; whereupon the Archbishop, 
 standing- in the midst of them all, said, *Hoar ye, nni- 
 versally! Your discretions ought to understand, that none 
 can upon any previous reason succeed unto tlie possession 
 of this kingdom, excepting he be first unanimously elected 
 for his own eminent virtues by the whole of the people, 
 having' invoked the grace of the Holy Spirit; iind then 
 anointed after the similitude and likeness of Saul the first 
 King, whom the Lord placed over liis people, although he 
 was neither son to a King, nor descended fi'oni the royal 
 line. Afterwards, in like manner, wns elevated David, the 
 son of Jesse : the one because he was strong and fitted for 
 the royal dignity, and the other because he was pious and 
 lowly J that those in the kingdom, who were altogether 
 eminent for their magnanimity, might have also the power 
 and dignity. Therefore, if out of the race of tiie deceased 
 King, one is more excellent than another, we should quickly 
 and readily consent to his election; and we have uttered 
 these things in favour of the nobleEarl John, — who is here 
 present, the brother of our most illustrious King Richard, 
 who deceased without any heir of liis body, — whom, he 
 being valiant, prudent, and of manifest nobility, as well by 
 reason of such merits, as hy his royal blood; we do now, 
 calling upon the Holy Spirit of Grace, unanimously consent 
 to elect for King-.' — Now the Archbishop was a man of 
 great soul, and stood in the kingdom as a pillar of singular 
 
till'! iiicninparablo wisdom ; Nd 
 wvre some of the assembly who much i 
 he lull) spoken, kiiowinn' tliat h<! li'.ul not 
 ;1_J nut a reason. Btit Eiirl John and alltlie r 
 liad saifl; anil the said Earl waseleeted 
 n-alm, they shouting' and sayin;>-, 
 However, Hubert was afterwards questii>ned as to \vlier(Tore 
 he had said these thinys, to which he replied, that he had 
 a presage on itis mind to conjecture, and was even made 
 sure hy certain mattei's, that .loliu winilil at leufith destroy 
 the crown of Eng-hmd, and overthrow the realm into f;reat 
 confusion: and that therefore hr had boldly aflirmcd, Ihiit 
 the Prince came not to the tiironehy hereditary succession, 
 hnt only by the election which ouyht lo he niadi-," 
 
 But few remarks will be rcciiiired lo shew that 
 tliis ])assage is not at all suiricicnt to prove the rijfhts 
 of popular eleetion to the Enolish erowii. The chief 
 arf>UTnenls of tlioae who support it are, that the Arch- 
 bishop declared it on so solemn an occasion wilhotitariy 
 opposition ; and that the ek'cted Prince was silent, 
 whi'n he must have been oli'ended at so bold an as- 
 sertion, if he had not been satisfied that Ihc |>eople had 
 such a rii^ht. To this it may be answered, that iiot- 
 withstandiiif;' IJnberl's declaration, the states never 
 appear to have eoiisnlled on .John's election, since 
 he was crowned immediately upon the |)copl(\'s excla- 
 mations; and it is also to be remendicred that he had 
 some claim lo the erowii by his brother's will, and 
 that all liufflaml had already sworn fealty to him. 
 The Archbishop's examples, also, were not those of 
 former elccleil Kini;s of this icalm; but were nmre 
 fitted to establish anew ripjlit than prove the anticpiity 
 of one. Nor were the private reasons for his s|)eeeh 
 at all retpiiiTd, if the rif^'lil liad been established; but 
 perhaps the real motives for this address were, as Hu- 
 bert was entirely in John's interest, to secure for him 
 the crown to which the Duke of Uretaone had some 
 
 i^S$^ 
 
 %}fe£. *>?,»■-■ = 
 
ij' _^ jf ; , ■ 
 
 MEMOIR OF KINO JOUS. 
 
 prf'tiTisiotw, tlioiifjh the Ei]<(lisli had accepted John. 
 It would, therefore, have tieen iii]|iroper to have elaiiried 
 the throne for liirn hy heredilary riglit, since the 
 question hetween him and Artlinr had not iieen en- 
 tirely decided ; and it would have heen contrary to 
 John's interest to liave revived it. Bnt ascendirjf^ to 
 the throne hy a sort of eh'ction, was advantaf>eon3 to 
 him ; not only as f(iving him a title to his c(jronation, 
 hut also hy securinff to him the support of the people, 
 who were more likely to maintain their own choice, 
 than a disputed hereditary claim. However, in a law 
 foi' re^^ulatinff the fees in Chancery, published in the 
 June following John's coronation, he united both his 
 claims ; stating that (iod had raised him to' the crown 
 by hereditary right, through the unanimous consent 
 and favour of the Clergy anil the people. On the very 
 day of his coronatior], John shewed his gratitude to 
 those; who had most contributed to his quiet accession, 
 by makhig the Archbishop Chancellor of England, 
 and creating William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, 
 and Geoffrey Fitz-Piers, liarl of l''saex. 
 
 Almost every thing connected with tliis Prince 
 seems matter of doubt or dispute, and even the very 
 time when his reign began to be computed, has been 
 the subject of discussion and uncertainty. King 
 Richard died on Thursday, April 6th, iVM, which is 
 the ordinary period assigned for the accession and 
 date of John : but notwithstanding his natural right to 
 commence from that time, it appears that until his 
 coronatioii, the Ikrons considered him as cujly Duke 
 of Normandy ; and perhaps he had neither the style of 
 King, e.\ercised no acts of royal aulhority, nor was 
 entitled to receive the regal revenues. His reign and 
 privileges, therefore, actually began from May 27th, 
 the day when he was crowned by consent of the Ba- 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 ronai^'e f because, not beiii^ next heir in point of 
 descent, — a subject quite undetermined at this period, 
 — he was not regarded as King" until he became so by 
 right; and those documents, the dates of which fall 
 ^between April 6th, and Ascension-day in each year, 
 have been referred to a wrong period of time.'' 
 
 John had thus far proceeded in safety in his own 
 country, but his opposers in France were making every 
 effort to check his progress in Normandy. At this 
 time the Duke of Bretagne was about tliirteen years 
 old, and his mother, Constance, finding him deprived 
 of his English possessions, entreated the French Sove- 
 reign to take up arms in his cause, and secure to him 
 his rightful inheritance in both countries. Philip, 
 like the other French Kmgs, having long desired pos- 
 
 " The reign of Edward I. was also influenced by a similar circum- 
 stance; since, though it is usual to calculate it from November IfJth, 
 1272, the day of tlie death of Henry III., yet it did not actually com- 
 mence until the 20th, when at the funeral of the late King at West- 
 minster, the Earl of Gloucester came forward before the Prelates and 
 Nobles attending it, and, laying his hand on the royal body, swore 
 fealty to Prince Edward, His example was followed by all the sur- 
 rounding spectators, and the new Sovereign was immediately pro- 
 claimed as King of England. 
 
 '' The calculation of his actual year thus becomes a matter of 
 great difficulty and uncertainty, to obviate which several tables have 
 been compiled; and the most accurate of them, by Mr.Nicholas 
 Harris Nicolas, will be found printed at the end of this volume. This 
 doubt concerning John's true accession, has caused a passage in 
 Roger de Hoveden's History to be misunderstood and suspected : but 
 tiie common error of computation, was originally painted out in the 
 "First Report of the Committee appointed to search for documents 
 on the Dignity of a Peer of the Realm," presented to the House of 
 Lords in July 1819: pages 65, 455, Note'IO. The subject was after- 
 wards farther illustrated in the Quarterly Review, Vol. xxxiv. page 
 297, and subsequently in the Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. xcvi. part 
 ii. page 27, wherein the table was inserted, which is attached to tlie 
 present work. A statement of this curious circumstance was then 
 printed in Vol. xxii. part i. of ilie Arcliaeologia, in a very interesting 
 paper by Mr. Hardy, consisting of an Itinerary of the movements of 
 KingJoim's Court, from his coronation until his death, compiled 
 from the Tower record Rolls ; an excellent account of whicli, with a 
 revision of some inaccuracies, will be found in Vol. 11. part ii. of the 
 Retrospective Review, New Series, pages 224-229. 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN 
 
 session of the English provinces in France, broke with 
 this pretence an unconcluded truce wliich he liad made 
 with Ricliard I., raised an army, and had already se- 
 cured to Arthur, Anjou, Evreux, and Maine. He was 
 proceediiif5' to invade Normandy, when King John ar- 
 rived in that province, June 18th, 1 199, and soon after 
 concluded a truce with him until August 16th, when 
 they were to meet and arrange their differences. In 
 this interim, which seems to liave been proposed by 
 Philip to deceive the King of England, the latter 
 was engaged by the funeral of his sister, Joanna, 
 Countess of Thoulouse and Queen of Sicily; and by 
 his consequent inattention to the French King's move- 
 ments, he gave him opportunity to take possession of 
 those places m France which had formerly appertained 
 to John. At the appointed interview, however, which 
 was held near Gailloa, Philip conducted himself with 
 so much haughtiness, and made such extraordinary 
 demands both for himself and Arthur, that John re- 
 jected them, and war immediately commenced be- 
 tween them. 
 
 In the months of September and October, Philip 
 seized upon several places in Le Maine, in the name 
 of Arthur, keeping some himself and destroying others ; 
 upon which William de Roches, the general of the 
 Duke's forces, began to suspect the King's selfish 
 views : he therefore by a stratagem conveyed Arthur 
 to Mans, of which he was4,'Ovemor, and concluded a 
 treaty for him with John; whereby Constance and 
 her son withdrew from Pliilip's Court, and became 
 reconciled to the King of E]igland. Had this alliance 
 continued, the power of John would have been com- 
 plete and the ambition of France entirely defeated : 
 but the very next day the governor was informed of 
 the King's design to'destroy his nephew, whereupon 
 he escaped with the Duke and his mother, to An- 
 
 473 §^-j:^ 
 
,.gers, and restored them to the power of Philip Au- 
 gustus. 
 
 At length, at the solicitation of the Cardinal Peter 
 ^^^ of Capua, the two Sovereigns agreed to a suspension 
 ^'; of hostilities, and afterwards to a peace concluded on 
 May 23rd, 1200; when Philip acknowledged John 
 for the rightful heir of his Ijrother, aad made Arthur 
 do homage to his uncle for the Duchy of Bretagne. 
 In return. King John resigned Evreux to Pliilip ; paid 
 him 20,000 marks as a Relief for his succession ; and 
 gare his niece, Blanche of Castile, in marriage to 
 Louis the Dauphin of France, with several rich fiefs 
 as her doivry. Tliese proceedings, however, were 
 greatly disliked by the English Barons, and Philip, 
 Earl of Flanders, who had revolted from the French 
 King's army to that of John ; but the discontent was 
 greater when a tax was laid upon the plough-lands of 
 England to furnish the sum required by his compact. 
 The assessment was opposed by GeotFrey, Arclibishop 
 of York, who excommunicated the coUecting-otficer ; 
 and it was not mitil both ecclesiastics and peers inter- 
 fered as mediators, that the ditFerences between the 
 King and his' subjects were concluded. 
 
 As the Englisii Barons had already made a de- 
 mand for the privileges of Magna Charta, which were 
 not yet granted, in the year 1201, at the Feast of 
 Whitsuntide, May Idth, they refused to attend John 
 into France for the consummation of the Dauphin's 
 marriage, until the liberties they desired should be 
 confirmed. Tlie Kuig in return, seized upon tlieir 
 castles, and with Isabella of Angouleme, xiliom he had 
 lately married, left England for Paris, where Philip 
 entertained them in the most magnificent manner. 
 
 It seems to have been King John's fatal mistake, 
 that in almost every action of his life, some friend 
 was to be alienated from his cause, or some ne\v enemy 
 
 - y 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOIIX. 
 
 was to be made. The Queen whom he last received 
 to the throne, and with whom he was a second time 
 crowned at Westminster, on Sunday, Oct. 8th, in the 
 year 1200, was Isabella, daughter and heir of Aymar, 
 Earl of Ang-oulGme; for love of whom he divorced 
 Hadawisa of Gloucester, as being- unlawfully related 
 to him. Isabella, however, had been previously con- 
 tracted to Hugh Brun, Count of La Marche, who be- 
 came so enraged by John's conduct that he joined the 
 cause of Arthur, and received tlie support of Philip to 
 proceed against the English territories in France, in 
 which expeditions they were very successful. At this 
 time King John's mother, Eleanor, ivas dwelling in 
 the Castle of Mirebeau in Poictou, of which both the 
 defences and garrison were of inconsiderable strength ; 
 so that when it was attacked by her grandson, Arthur 
 of Bretagne, and the Barons of the province, the gates 
 were easily forced, though the Queen retiring into the 
 keep refused to capitulate, and found means to ac- 
 quaint King John with her situation. He hastened 
 to her relief with an army of English and Brabanters, 
 and on August 1st, 1202, the besiegers advanced to 
 meet them ; when they were overcome by the King's 
 superior force, and, retreating to the fortress, were all 
 either killed or made prisoners. In this battle King 
 John captured many Barons, and upwards of 200 
 Knights, who were loaded with irons and sent to va- 
 rious prisons both in France and England ; and he 
 also got possession of his two greatest enemies the 
 Count of La Marche, and the Duke of Bretagne, then 
 sixteen years old, whom he placed under a strong 
 guard in the Castle of Falaise. 
 
 Perhaps it is from the King's conduct after this 
 battle, that his memory receives its darkest stain ; 
 since it is affirmed by the Annals of Margan, that 
 twenty-two of his captives and hostages were starved to 
 
 M 
 
 h SS<i:. 
 
 ""^^ 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 death in Corfe Castle, and tliat several were executed, 
 but above all that he murdered his nephew Arthur. 
 Of romantic rumours upon this circumstance, of which 
 there is now no provini^ either the truth or the false- 
 hood, — there are several; but of certain narrative 
 nothing can be stated, but that the Duke died suddenly 
 whilst in the custody of King .Jolin. At any rate, 
 however, his death does not appear to have been 
 originally intended : since Matthew Paris relates, that 
 some time after his capture the King went to Falaise, 
 and ordering Arthur to be brought before him, ad- 
 dressed him with some kindness ; and remonstrating 
 with him on the folly of trusting to Philip, offered him 
 great honours to quit the French Sovereign and adhere 
 to himself. To this he replied disdainfully, by de- 
 manding all the dominions of which Richard I. had 
 died possessed, as his right by inheritance ; swearing 
 that John should never enjoy peace until he restored 
 them. The King left him thoughtful and incensed, 
 and he was soon after removed to a dungeon of the 
 New Tower in the Castle of Rouen, imder the custody 
 of Rol)ert de Vipount, from which in a few weeks he 
 disappeared. Matthew Paris adds, "the manner of 
 his death is unknown to all. I wish it may not be as 
 envious fame reports" ; implying that he was made 
 away with by his uncle's orders. 
 
 Another account of Arthur's death, is that given 
 by Ralph, Abbot of Coggeshalle, who is supposed to 
 have died in 1228, which more resembles the story as 
 dramatised by Shakspeare. It states that whilst the 
 Prince was at Falaise, the nobles of Bretagne and 
 Anjou, made gi'eat offers for his liberty, which being 
 refused they combined anew against King John ; 
 whereupon he was advised to castrate and put out the 
 eyes of Arthur, because he would have no rest whilst 
 the Duke was alive and in a capacity to govern. This 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 lie at length yielded to, and three trusty servants were 
 commissioned to see it performed; but two of them, 
 abhorring- such cruelty, concealed themselves, though 
 the tliird went to Falaise, and delivered his orders to 
 Hubert de Burgh, the King's Chamberlain, then Con- 
 stable of the Castle, at the barbarity of which he and 
 the whole garrison were greatly concerned. The 
 Prince for some time wept, until at last, being tran- 
 sported with rage, he with his own hands fell upon him 
 who had brought the message, liut as they were grap- 
 pling together, Hubert de Burgh and the guards ran 
 in and parted them. They subsequently not only re- 
 fused to execute the King's commands, but consoled 
 the young Arthur as much as they might; though, to 
 escape John's anger and take away the liopes of the 
 Duke's adherents, they caused it to be rumoured 
 through the province, that he had died under the exe- 
 cution of the sentence. The Bretons were thereupon 
 so exasperated, that they swore for the future never 
 to desist from making war upon the King of England 
 for his cruelty, and to quiet them the truth was at 
 length acknowledged. Upon this John's fears re- 
 turned to him, since King Philip and the Bretons 
 pressed for Arthur's restoration; andthinkinghe should 
 have no tranquillity so long as Arthur lived, he re- 
 solved to despatch him privately as soon as he was 
 removed to Rouen, where it is unknown how he died. 
 A third, and the most popular and particular ac- 
 count of this matter, is given in a Latin heroic poem, 
 written by Guillermus Brits, a native of Bretagne, 
 about the year 1230, and called the Philippidos; be- 
 cause it recites the actions of Philip H. of France, ad- 
 dressed to his son. It is, however, to be received 
 with much caution, as it is evident, from the narrative 
 itself, that very few persons could have been trosted 
 with the secret. It states that Kin"- John solicited 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 some of his confidants, and in particular William de 
 Bray, to murder his nephew ; but none would nniler- 
 take it, and the Baron replied he was of gentle blood, 
 and not an executioner. Upon which the King, con- 
 sidering the importance of the matter, and the re- 
 proach which its discovery might bring upon him, 
 resolved to trust the secret to as few as possible ; and 
 therefore going one night in a boat beneath Rouen 
 Castle, he ordered Arthur to be brought down to him 
 in the vessel, where, notwithstanding the Duke's en- 
 treaties, he stabbed him twice, cut off his head, and 
 threw the body into the Seine three miles below the 
 prison. It was then reported, that the Duke had been 
 drowned in endeavoiu'ing to escape from the Castle 
 which overhung the river. 
 
 The Annals of Margan, a Cistercian Monastery 
 in Glamorganshire, which are also a contemporary 
 authority, state, that some time after Arthur's im- 
 prisonment, the King came much intoxicated to Rouen 
 Castle, and having murdered him there ^vith his own 
 hand, he caused a great stone to be fastened to the 
 corse, and had it thrown into the river. It was soon 
 after dragged out by a fisherman, when some persons 
 havmg recognised it, the remains were deposited in 
 the Abbey of St. Mary des Pres. 
 
 Lastly, Matthew of '\^'estminster, who did not 
 flom'ish until the middle or latter end of the thirteenth 
 century, says on this subject, — "Throughout France 
 and the Continent, John was suspected by all to have 
 killed Arthur with his own hand, llcnce many, 
 averting their minds from the King, pursued him till 
 his death with an inexorable hate. The King of 
 France charged him with the murder." At all events, 
 the latter part of this assertion is true; for the Bishop 
 of Rennes accused John of Arthur's death at Paris, 
 and Philip gladly summoned him thither to prove his 
 
WM 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 innocence before the French peers. He, however 
 would not attend, and the C(mrt pronounced judgment, f^' 
 that "whereas John, Duke of Norjnand\', in violation 
 of his oath to Philip his Lord, liad murdered the son 
 of his elder brother, a homager of the crown of France, 
 and near kinsman to the King, and had perpetrated 
 the crime within the Seignory of France, — he was found 
 guilty of felony and treason, and was therefore ad- 
 judged to forfeit all the lands which he held by 
 homage-" — But notwithstanding the formality of this 
 instrument, the interest which Philip had in making 
 out John to be guilty, woidd render it very sus- 
 picious evidence in the present case. Yet, though 
 all the preceding accounts of this supposed murder 
 are at variance with each other, it is now generally the 
 custom to regard this King as stained with Arthur's 
 blood, and rather as a monster than as a man. It has, 
 however, been lately brought forward, as an additional 
 argument, in Mr. Hardy's paper in the Archieologia 
 already referred to, that John was actually at Rouen 
 on April 3rd, 1203, the very day when the murder is 
 affirmed to have been committed; and that it was 
 scarcely ])ossible for it to have happened there without 
 his knowledge. 
 
 Beside the possession of Arthur, King John also 
 secured that of his sister Eleanor, usually called " the 
 Maid of Bretagne" ; whom he confined in England, 
 that she might not, by marriage with any foreign 
 Prince, raise up a new rival to his throne and power. 
 The Bretons and French were, nevertheless, deter- 
 mined upon revenging the death of their Duke, in 
 place of whom they elected Alice, the daughter of 
 Constance,'' the mother of Arthur, by her second 
 husband, Guy of Thenars, whom they appointed her 
 
 8 CoTibtance, Ducliess of Bretagne, died at Nantes, Aug. 3lst, 120!, 
 
 m. 
 ^k 
 
''dt^Wtr g'^'<*''fU<i"- The French army also marched against 
 '■ ''fvi King- John's territories in Normandy with the greatest 
 'mflf success, at wliich time the contemporary Historians 
 ^ta* accuse him of passing his time in slumber and fes- 
 tivity at Rouen ; receiving tidings of Philip's nu- 
 merous captures, with a horse-laugh, observing with 
 menaces and oaths, "Let him take them, I will in one 
 day recover them : the English sterlings will restore 
 all things." His last effort in defence of these foreign 
 possessions, was a brave, though unsuccessful, attempt 
 to relieve the strong fortress of Chateau Gaillard, by 
 his general the Earl of Pembroke; and on December 
 fith, 1203, he retreated to England. Before the end 
 of the summer, Philip had subdued all Normandy; and 
 nearly the whole of Poictou, Aujou, and Maine, fol- 
 lowed with equal ease. 
 
 Of all the possessions of bis father in France, the 
 King now retained only Guienne, whence it is said that 
 he received the surname of Lackland from all his con- 
 temporaries ; though it was probably only a revival of 
 the same title formerly given him by Henry II. But 
 his deprivations certainly exposed him to public cen- 
 sure and scorn ; and the sou of Bertrand de Bom, a 
 Troubadour, openly condemned him in the following 
 poem. 
 
 '*Iwi!l make a sharp-edged Sirvente, which I will 
 send to tlie Kin^ of Ent;'laiid, to cover him with sharae. 
 IWuch indeed he ought to have, if he remetiiber tlie deeds 
 of l)is forefathers ; if he compare them with his indolence, 
 in thus leaving- Poictou and Touraine in the possession of 
 Philip. — All Guienne regrets Richard, who spared no trea- 
 sure to defend it. But this man has no feelino-. He loves 
 jousts and hunting- ; to have hounds and hawks ; to drawl 
 on a life without honour; and to see himself plundered 
 without resistance. 1 speak but to correct a King, who 
 loses his subjects because he will not assist them. — Yes, 
 Sire! You suffer your honour to fall into the soil; and, 
 
 -4^^^ 
 
 -m 
 
such is your infatuation, that, far from lieing- spiisiljlc to re- 
 proach, you seeui to take pleasure in the iuvectives with 
 "vviiich you are loaded !" 
 
 During these events, the Barons of England ap- 
 pear to have heen wholly passive ; and, in consequence 
 of their inactivity, the King on his return fined the 
 whole realm a seventh ; which proving insufficient for 
 his purpose, a second assessment was made, and even 
 a third, when Geoffrey, Archbishop of York, solemnly 
 cursed the royal collectors, and then departed out of 
 the kingdom. From this period arose the contentions, 
 which so perseveringly continued until Magna Charta 
 was granted and confirmed ; and from 1205 to 1207, 
 the disputed election of Cardinal Langton to the See 
 of Canterbury, shewed the extent of the Papal power 
 in England : for in the latter year all Britain passed 
 under the Interdict of Innocent." The Pope on his 
 part pronounced the King, his followers, and his pos- 
 sessions accursed ; and the King, in return, seized on 
 Abbies, Priories, and Bishoprics for his own purposes, 
 and banished their ecclesiastical possessors from the 
 kingdom. Nor were these rigorous proceedings 
 wholly confined to the Clergy ; for to prevent the 
 Barons from arming in their defence, hostages were 
 demanded from them, and those who refused, met 
 
 a Some notices of this Interdict, witli an account of its relaxation, 
 have already been given in the preceding Essay, pages 10, 11. Itwas 
 pronounced on March '23rti, 1207, the day after Passion Sunday, by 
 the Bishops of London, Ely, and Worcester, after they had vainly 
 attempted to move the King by describing its terrors. The English 
 Prelates then fled to Scotland and the Continent, only one, the 
 Bishop of Winchester, remaining in this realm; upon which the 
 churches were closed, no bell was tolled, and no service solemnly per- 
 formed ; the Sacraments were administered only to infants, or the 
 dying; the dead were buried silently in unconsecraled giound ; mar- 
 riages were performed, and women were churched, at the doors of the 
 holy edifices; and prayers and sermons were pronounced to the 
 people in the Church-yards. Ecclesiastical interdicts are supposed 
 to have existed as early as A. D. 660, though they were not perfectly 
 understood, or generally used until the eleventh centiuy . 
 
 'ms. 
 
-w vA'>'<'t»M'<i"'T»i ll }~i 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 with the heaviest vengeance of the King. So many 
 i disappointments, losses, and distresses, on every side, 
 seem to have had a great effect on the mind and temper 
 of John: they appear to have misettled his reason, 
 and perhaps imparted to some of his actions that de- 
 gree of cruelty which every one must condemn. 
 
 But notwithstanding- his losses in Normandy, and 
 the fickle plans by which he attempted to recover 
 them, he appears to have been more successful in pre- 
 serving to his crown the supremacy over Scotland, 
 AVales, and Ireland. In June, 1209, when John ad- 
 vanced in arms against William, King of Scots, he 
 compounded for his safety by agreeing to pay 1500 
 marks, for "the good will of his lord," and gave up 
 tlie custody of his two daughters ; leaving also several 
 of his nobles as hostages for payment. In 1210 John 
 led a powerful army into Ireland, and received the 
 homage of twenty native Princes at Dublin ; whilst 
 his residence in that country contributed greatly to its 
 civilisation, since he divided the English jirovdnces 
 there into Counties, establishing in them the laws and 
 coin of his own realm. The next year the King car- 
 ried his arms and victories into Wales, as far as 
 Snowdun, where he prescribed to Prince Llewellin the 
 terms of peace ; receiving twenty-eight nol)le youths 
 as hostages, all of whom were the next year executed 
 at Nottingham, upon a new insurrection which had 
 arisen on the borders. 
 
 But « hilst his anns were thus successfid, his dis- 
 pute with the Pope was making a much more serious 
 and unfavourable progress. After the Interdict had 
 continued a year, and the King had not yielded, in 
 November, 1209, Innocent issued against him a Bull 
 of Excoramvmication; but as it was held to be of no 
 force until it should be olHcially publislied in England, 
 the ports wore so strictly watched that the Pontiffs 
 
 
 ■ ^yi^'fy'^is 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 , messenirers could not land with it. John was well 
 '' aware that excommunication would be ultimately fol- 
 lowed by deposition, wlieu Philip of France woidd be 
 overjoyed to invade his dominions ; added to which, 
 the disaffection of his Barons was hourly inereasJntf. 
 lu this most anxious and harrassins' state, Kina; John 
 attempted to protect hhnself from Philip, by retaining 
 in his service several of the inferior Princes, whose ter- 
 ritories lay on the Northern or Southern parts of 
 France. 
 
 But to guard against the Pope, Matthew Paris 
 accuses him of a most abandoned design; on the au- 
 thority of an ill-formed and dark-looking ecclesiastic, 
 called Roliert of London, who was a monk of St. 
 Alban's, contemporary with Matthew, and one of the 
 messengers sent on a private embassy to Mohammed 
 Al Nassir, usually called the Emu- Al Moumenim, 
 whose conquests in Spain had greatly depressed 
 Christianity in Southern Europe. With the Priest 
 were associated two Knights, Thomas de Erdington 
 and Ralph Fitz-Nicliolas ; and when they had arrived 
 at the Moor's palace, they were conducted through 
 several apartments lined with guards, whose arms, 
 habits, and manners, greatly excited their wonder. 
 The Emir himself was a man of moderate stature and 
 grave aspect, who kept his eyes fixed upon a book 
 which lay before him ; and to him the King's letter 
 was presented and interpreted. It was a,fterwai-ds 
 absurdly reported, to have contained an offer of the 
 English crown to IMohammed, and an engagement 
 that John should apostatise to the Emir's Faith. The 
 Moor made several sensible enquiries of tlie ambas- 
 sadors concerning the kingdom of England, and dis- 
 missed them with fair words; but, as they were re- 
 tiring, he recalled the ecclesiastic, being struck by 
 his strange figure and countenance, and demanded of 
 
 '^^4^5- 
 
^■&^'-^^ f^S^^ 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 him by his reverence of the Christian Faith, to tell him 
 what kind of man John really was: to which Robert 
 replied, that he was a tyrant, whom his subjects would 
 soon depose. The Emir bestowed several gifts upon 
 Robert, though lie called John a delirious dotard, and 
 the ambassadors had no other audience with him : but 
 the King gave the priest on his return, the custody of 
 St. Alban's Abbey during the Interdict. Matthew 
 Paris places these events in 1213; but Dr. Lingard, 
 from whose interesting account of them the preceding 
 has been copied, considers them to belong rather to 
 the year 1209, because they occurred during the In- 
 terdict, and before the Emir's power was broken at 
 the great battle of Muradel in 1213. 
 
 At length, in 1213, after a strong remonstrance 
 from the Clergy upon theu own sufferings and the 
 vices of John, the Pope exerted his power over the 
 King as a traitor against God : and, solemnly deposing 
 liim from the realm which he held of God, absolved 
 all his vassals from their oaths of fealty. He ex- 
 horted too, all Christian Princes and Peers to unite 
 in dethroning an impious King, and in elevating 
 another more worthy, on the Pontifical authority. 
 As it was to be expected, Philip of France was re- 
 joiced to put this sentence in execution, and not 
 only hoped to succeed by a strong army which was ap- 
 pointed to assemble at the mouth of the Seine, but also 
 by the infamous disatFection of some of the Eng-lish 
 Barons, who promised him their assistance ! Some 
 military preparations were likewise made by John ; 
 every ship in his kingdom capable of carrying six horses 
 was brought to Portsmouth harbour, and the Sheriffs 
 of Counties summoned to the coast of Kent, all persons 
 who were able to bear ai'ms. The King, however, 
 had not the means of maintaining the vast forces thus 
 collected from fear of invasion; and they were re- 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN 
 
 duced to G0,000 men; out of whom, Matthew Paris 
 observes, tliero was scarcely one on whose fidelity he 
 could depend, though the same historian calls them 
 enough to have defied all the powers of Europe, if they 
 had felt any loyalty towards their Sovereign. 
 
 But though possessed only of this mockery of 
 power, it is customary to pass a violent censure upon 
 John, when supported by such an army, for resigning 
 himself to the proposals for reconciliation made by the 
 Pope's confidential Nuncio, Pandulpli; who visited 
 him at Dover, May 13th, 1213, and in an artful speech 
 represented to him his danger. At the same time, 
 Matthew Paris assigns four reasons for the King's 
 conduct ; his despair of salvation ; his dread of the 
 King of France ; his doubts of his own Barons, some 
 of whom he knew to be perfidious ; and his fear of 
 a prediction uttered by Peter the Hermit of Pomfret, 
 that by the next Ascension-day at noon, he should lose 
 his crown, to which fatal time it wanted l)ut three 
 days. The ceremonial of King John's resignation of 
 the crown and realm on Ascension-Eve, Wednesday, 
 May 15th, 1213,' has been described on pages 18-20 
 of the preceding Essay. As soon as the Feast of As- 
 cension had past, the King ordered Peter and his son, 
 who had been kept ui confinement, to be dragged at 
 the tails of horses, and hanged for false prophets ; 
 though many contended that he had actually lost his 
 crown, and that the kingdom ^vas no longer liis. 
 
 The present is another of those points, wherein 
 
 " Tire above is the date usually assigned for this event, but the 
 tables in Mr. Nicolas's Nntitia Histurica, make out Ascensjou-day to 
 have fallen on May 23rd ; perhaps t!ie truth is, that though the in- 
 strument of conveyance is dated on May 15th, the public ceiemony 
 of delivering it did not take place until Ascension-Eve, the :^2nd. The 
 above tables also point out a discrepancy in the ordinary date of Pas- 
 sion, or Palm Sunday, when the Interdict was relaxed as already 
 related. March 23rd, 1207, was on a Friday, and Passion Sunday that 
 year fell upon the 15th of April. 
 
 ^ 
 
sS.##^ 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN 
 
 the very name of John becomes a sign for 
 of infamy and obloquy; and Dr. Lingard is one of the 
 very few Historians who have ventured to find some 
 extenuating features even in the King's resignation 
 of the crown to Pandulph. The summary of his ar- 
 guments is, that vassalage in the thirteenth century 
 was not very degrading ; since it was the condition of 
 many Christian Princes, the King of England being 
 feudal lord to the King of Scotland, and himself vassal 
 to the King of France, each being so for the territories 
 held in the othei^'s realm. Hence it was not un- 
 common to see them doing public homage to their 
 feudal superiors; and there were also numerous con- 
 temporary instances of such a subjection of do- 
 minions. Thus, only nine years before this period, 
 Peter, King of Arragon, had voluntarily become the 
 vassal of Innocent; binding himself and successors to 
 pay the Holy See 250 ounces of gold yearly : Henry 
 n., the fatlicr of John, made himself the feudatory of 
 Alexander HI., and even Richard I., during his cap- 
 tivity, had resigned his crown to the Emperor of Ger- 
 many, consenting to hold it of him by paying a yearly 
 rent.' In his own difficulties, therefore, John appears 
 to have followed these examples; beside which, there 
 is reason to believe, that the disaflected Barons had 
 themselves promoted this resignation for the weaken- 
 ing of John's power, and, at the least advised and 
 consented to it For, from that time, as their demands 
 for their liberties became more absolute, u|.)on the 
 King's refusal to grant them, they appealed to the 
 Pope as superi(u- lord ; renjinding him that "it was 
 not to the good-will of the King, but to tliem, and the 
 com/jiilsion irhieh the;/ had emp'uyed, he was indelited 
 for his superiority over tlie English crown." 
 
 From England the Papal Legate proceeded to 
 France, and commanded Philip and his son to desist 
 
 ^r*^;:- 
 
SJ2»«- 
 
 "■f^eS 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 ^- from their intended invasion of England, as it had now 
 become the patrimony of St. Peter ; to which tlie 
 King- of France replied that he had spent .^60,000 to 
 J enforce the Pontiff's sentence, but that ho would turn 
 y his power upon Flanders for some indemnity; swear- 
 ing that France should become Flanders, or Flanders 
 France. In the meantime John had landed in Poictou, 
 and had advanced to Anglers and Bretagne; but his 
 progress was first checked by Louis the Dauphin, and 
 subsequently he, wilh his allies, the Emperor of Ger- 
 many, and the Earls of Flanders and Boulogne, 
 was defeated by Philip at the famous battle of Bou- 
 vines, on July 27th, 1214, after which he retiu-ned to 
 England. 
 
 Almost all the remainder of John's life, was con- 
 nected with his memorable disputes with his Barons, 
 on the subject of Magna Cliarta, and as such has been 
 fully related in the preceding pages of this work. 
 After he had issued that famous grant, the King's mind 
 was so distracted, and he considered his regal powers 
 to be so circumscribed, that he desired the few friends 
 who yet remained with him privately to fortify their 
 castles, and make provision for his defence ; since they 
 had counselled him rather to seek revenge, than to 
 give way to useless pas-ion. He also despatched from 
 England two parties, one being to collect forces from 
 Flanders, Poictou, Picardy, &c. ; and the other to im- 
 plore aid from the Pope, for the indignity offered to 
 him in the person of the King. For John hin}self, 
 Matthew Paris asserts, that the very day after Rlagna 
 Cliarta was concluded, he left \^'indsor for the Isle of 
 Wight, where he spent three months in maturing his 
 plans of revenge ; passing much of his time at sea, 
 and even practising piracy. It is argued, however, 
 from the dates of public writs still extant, which have 
 been printed to illustrate this portion of history, that 
 
 ■*^^ 
 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN 
 
 leven on June the 19th he was still at Runnemede," 
 iat Winchester on the 27th, at Oxford on July 21st J 
 land that he resided at Dover during the month of ] 
 I September. It is, nevertheless, scarcely possible, to 
 know the real value of these authorities, until the 
 question be decided, as to whether the King was always 
 ill reality at the place where such documents were 
 dated and witnessed ; although that probably was the 
 case, excepting when it was Westminster, the Sove- 
 reign's usual residence. 
 
 However, after a season of such close seclusion, 
 that his subjects knew not were he was, and doubted 
 whether he had turned pirate or fisherman, — even 
 those who most wanted him being unable to discover 
 him, — he appeared again at Dover in September, to 
 meet his foreign forces and ambassadors from the 
 Pope. His intercourse with Innocent embraces a long 
 series of instruments, wherein the Great Charter was 
 annulled by the Pontiff, and which terminated wth a 
 Special Excommunication of thirty-two of the Eng- 
 lish Barons thereux named, dated on December ] 6th, 
 1215. The Peers were, notwithstanding, less affected 
 by Innocent's anathemas than by the victories the 
 King gained over them with his foreign soldiers ; of 
 which, with the dreadful devastations committed in 
 that unnatural war, some account has been already 
 given in the Baronial Memoirs contained on pages 
 270-319, of the present volume. But whatever honour 
 may be attributed to the Barons for having' procured 
 the Great Charter, they certainly sullied it for ever 
 by the unpatriotic letters of allegiance, and offer of 
 the English crown to Louis, the Dauphin of France, 
 whom they invited over upon condition of his con- 
 firming to them their lilierties. Louis, however, de- 
 manded hostages, and having received twenty-four 
 
 '^ Vide Notes on the Great Cliarters, pages 322-325. 
 
 bS? 
 
 lW\f 
 
 fr-^i'S-'^. ' 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 young men, sons of the noblest English families, he 
 sent over a fleet with a numerous band of French 
 'Knights, and a letter that he would lead hither a 
 ' powerful army at Easter. At this time Cardinal 
 Gualo chanced to be travelling through France to 
 England, and, foreseeing that if Louis were successful, 
 the Pope would lose his interest in this kingdom, he 
 first endeavoured to suspend the expedition by soli- 
 citations, and then forbade it, upon the penalty of Ex- 
 communication, as belonging to the Holy See. 
 
 But the Dauphin had already determined upon 
 the attempt, and, after making a haughty reply to the 
 Legate, sailed for England with a fleet of six hundred 
 and eighty ships, and after some losses landed at 
 Sandwich, May 30th, 1216, when the unfaithful Peers 
 of Johnjoined his standard, He recaptured Rochester 
 Castle, and thence marching to London on June 2nd, 
 was met in procession by the Barons and Citizens, 
 who conducted him to St. Paul's ; where he prayed, 
 received the homage of his new subjects, and took a 
 solemn oath to govern them by good laws, protect 
 them against their enemies, and reinstate them in their 
 former rights and possessions. The Baronial enter- 
 prise was now attended with rapid success, ^vhilst the 
 cause of King John declined in proportion. The 
 Counties round London, the King of Scots, and the 
 men of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, declared in favour 
 of Louis ; even several of the royal Barons hastened 
 to ofi'er him their homage and fealty ; and the foreign 
 soldiers of John either revolted to the Dauphin, or 
 returned to theii- homes. Some of the King's friends, 
 however, remained so to the last ; as Cardinal Gualo, 
 who defended him with the weapons of the Church;" 
 the inhabitants of Lynn in Norfolk ; and Hubert de 
 
 • Ths King's other powerful ecclesiastical friend, Pope Iimoctnt 
 III,, had died at Perugia, July Ifith, 1216. 
 
FW 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 tfBurffh, Earl of Kent, who maintained Dover Castle" 
 fur him, dming a seige of four months, which the 
 Dauphin was finally obliged to raise. 
 
 The conduct of the French Prince at length began- 
 to excite the suspicion of the Barons, who privately 
 discovered what would be their fate if he succeeded in 
 his enterprise ; since it was reported that the Viscount 
 De Melun, a French Peer in the service of Louis, had 
 confessed onhisdeath-bed, that the Dauphin had sworn, 
 if ever the sovereignty of England became his, that 
 he would treat the Barons as men of whose perfidy 
 he was convinced; that he would banish them the 
 kingdom, and wholly extirpate their remaining kindred. 
 Partly, therefore, from fear, and perhaps partly from 
 remorse for their country, torn by the factions which 
 they had created, and wasted liy an enemy which they 
 had invited, — several Barons and Knights actually 
 returned to the King, and forty more sent letters of 
 submission, to come back to him upon promise of 
 pardon ; but before the messenger could arrive in his 
 presence, — he had expired. 
 
 John's last expedition had been against Lincoln, 
 which he reduced, and distributed to his followers the 
 lands there belonging to the disaffected Barons. He 
 left that place October 2nd, and on the 9th arrived at 
 Lynn, where his supplies and treasures were deposited. 
 He next marched to Wisbeach, and afterwards, whh 
 his army, had passed over the Wash, from the Cross- 
 keys to the Fossdike; when, on looking back, he saw 
 a long train of horses and carriages laden with his 
 money, jewels, and regalia, swallowed up in a wliirl- 
 pool formed by the tide and the cuiTent of the Wel- 
 land. In this most distressing state the King went 
 forward to the Cistercian Abbey of Swineshead, where 
 he fell into a violent fever, of which fatigue, anxiety, 
 or poison, are assigned as the cause ; though he is 
 
 ■^^li^ 
 
 I^^S. -»S§?^.*!^^ 
 
esut^^JM 
 
 MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 sometimes charged with having' brought on a surfeit 
 or dysentery, by an hnmoderate repast of peaches and 
 new ale. 
 
 That account of his death which attributes it to 
 poison, although it casts an additional stain upon the 
 conduct of his subjects towards him, was, however, by 
 far the more po]iular tradition, and is recounted in some 
 of the later English Chronicles. It states, that when 
 the King stopped at Swineshead, he prophesied that, 
 if he coutin\ied to reign, bread should rise in an im- 
 measurable proportion above the value it then bore ; 
 which excited the impious zeal of Simon, a Brother of 
 that Abbey, to rescue England from such a fate by 
 involving both the King and himself, in a painful and 
 untimely death. After receiving absolution, as well 
 for this uncommitted crime as for those of his former 
 life, he prepared a cup of wine, in which he infused the 
 venom of a toad; and presenting it to John, told liim, 
 with a detestable ambiguity, that he never before par- 
 took of such a beverage, and he doubted not that the 
 contents of that cup would cause all England to re- 
 joice. It was the custom of that period, when a King 
 received any thing of this nature at a subject's hands, 
 that they should first partake of it, in order to prevent 
 that deceit which was now practised upon him. 
 Simon having drank thereof by the King's command, 
 John also did the same ; the issue was, that in a short 
 time the Monk died in the most violent agonies, and 
 the King survived him only three days. In this time 
 he journeyed to Sleaford Castle, and afterwards to 
 Newark upon Trent : whence he was not removed, 
 until his body was deposited in Worcester Cathedral, 
 where but few tears were shed upon his tomb. 
 
 King John died on Wednesday, October 19th, 1216, 
 in the 49th year of his age, after a most unhappy reign 
 of seventeen years, seven months, and ten days. He 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 was thrice married, firstly, to Alice of Savoy ; secondly, 
 to Isabel, or Hadawisa, daughter of William, Earl of 
 Gloucester ; and thirdly, to Isabella of Angouleme. 
 By the last he had issue Henry, who succeeded him 
 as King, and was nine years old at his death ; Richard, 
 Earl of Cornwall, commonly called King of the 
 Romans ; and Edmund : with three daughters, Joan, 
 married to Alexander II., King of Scotland ; Isabella, 
 to the Emperor Frederic II.; and Eleanor, who was 
 united firstly to William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, 
 andsecondly, to Simon De Montford, Earl of Leicester. 
 Isabella, of Angouleme was, however, an unfaithful 
 consort, for which Matthew Paris relates that John 
 hanged her gallants over her bed; but the King is 
 also accused of being licentious in his amours, and 
 historians attribute to him nine illegitimate sons and 
 one daughter. 
 
 One of his last acts, during the night that he lay 
 sick at Sleaford Castle, was to write to the new Pope, 
 Honorius III., earnestly recommending his children 
 to his protection; and when he arrived at Newark he 
 made his Will, which is yet preserved in the Archives 
 of Worcester Cathedi"al, and of which the following is 
 a translation, — 
 
 *'I, John, by the g^raceof God, King- of Eng-land, Lord 
 of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Acquitaine, and Earl of 
 Anjou, being- prevented by g^rievous sickness, and having 
 not sufficient space in tliis time of my weakness, now has- 
 tilypassing- away, — thatmy Testamentshould be adapted to 
 every one and for all my affairs; the ordering and dis- 
 position of my WiUjof my faith and lawful disposal, I commit 
 to my faithful subjects underwritten ; without whose coun- 
 sel, they being- appointed when in healthful state, these pre. 
 sents may in no wise be ordered : that what they shall 
 faithfully ordain and dispose concerning' my affairs, as well 
 as in making satisfaction to God and the Holy Church for 
 damages and injuries brought upon them ; as in their giving 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 aid to the land of Jerusalem ; and in providing- of the sup- 
 port to bo enquired after for the inheritance and defence of 
 my sons ; and in making recompense to those who have 
 served us faithfully ; and in making distribution of alms to 
 the poor and Religious Houses, for the health of ray soul ; — 
 shall he established and made sure. — I pray, also, that those 
 who shall give tliem counsel and aid, to the ordering of this 
 my Testament, may partake of the grace and favour of God; 
 but that such as shall break through their ordinance and 
 disposition, may incur the malediction and indignation of 
 Ahnighty God, and the Blessed Mary, and of all the Saints, 
 Imprimis: 1 will, therefore, that my body should be se- 
 pultured in the Church of St. Mary and St. Wulstan of 
 Worcester.— I also constitute these persons as managers and 
 disposers for me : — The Lord Gualo, by the grace of God, 
 entitled Cardinal-priest of St. Martin of the Holy Apostolic 
 See; the Lord P(eter deRupibus,) Bishop of Winchester; 
 R(ichard Poore,J Bishop of Chichester; S(ilvester de 
 Evesham,) Bishop of Worcester ; Brother Aimeric de Sancta 
 Maura; William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke; R(anulph 
 Blnndeville,) Earl of Chester; William, Earl of Ferrers; 
 William Bruwne; Walterde Lascy, and John de Monemut; 
 Savary de Maleou ; Fulke de Breante." 
 
 Beside these testamentory instructions, the King 
 desired that his son Henry should succeed him. 
 
 It is melancholy to reflect on the character of King 
 John, since most of his biogTaphers have given it in 
 the darkest and worst of terms : representing him as 
 stained with meanness, dissimulation, contempt of 
 religion, cruelty,* perjury, and murder; an ambition 
 
 • Of his cruelty theie are probably the most authentic proofs, 
 some of which have been mentioned in the preceding pages. Beside 
 these, Matthew Paris has recorded it of him, that he confined the 
 wife and children of a Baron who had offended him, in Windsor 
 Castle until they died of famine. He states also, that during the In- 
 terdict, when Geoffrey, Archdeacon of Norwich, left his seat at the 
 Exchequer, the King ordered him to be confined, and sent him a 
 cope, or large mantle, of lead, to keep him warm in prison ; in which 
 garment his head only was left at liberty, and he remained without food 
 
 r 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 k reckless of crime, and a weakness, or even cowardice, 
 which shrank at the very semblance of opposition. 
 His virtues, if ever he possessed any, have been swal- 
 lowed up in the fiercer picture which Historians have 
 delighted to paint of his vices ; and he who should now 
 attempt to bring forth the former or extenuate the 
 latter, would meet with far less credit than censure ; 
 though the apparently wavering character of the 
 King's mind has sometimes been attributed to insanity. 
 Perhaps, of all his biographers, Holingshed, when 
 summing up his life from the Monastic Chronicles, 
 has given the most favourable view of it; and it is 
 therefore attached to the present Memoir, on account 
 of its singularity and candour towards a Sovereign 
 whom all others have delighted in condemning. 
 
 "He was comelie of stature, but of looke and 
 countenance displeasant and aiigrie, somewhat cruel 
 of nature, as by the writers of his time he is noted, 
 and not so bardie as doubtful in time of perill and dan- 
 ger. But this seemeth to be an enuious report, uttered 
 by those that were given to speake no good of him 
 whom they inwardlie hated. Howbeit, some give this 
 witnesse of him, as the author of the booke of Beme- 
 welle Abbey and other, that he was a great and mightie 
 prince, but yet not very fortunate, much like Marius, 
 the noble Roman, tasting of fortune both waies : 
 bountifull and liberall unto strangers, but of his owne 
 
 or assistance till he died. In his persecution of the Jews, this King 
 was probably not worse than the times wherein he lived ; but on one 
 occasion he demanded from a rich Jew of Bristol a present of 10,000 
 marks, ordering one of his teetli to be drawn every moininj; until it 
 was paid. For some time he resisted, and seven of his double teeth 
 were extracted; but on the eighth day be solicited a respite, and gave 
 security for the payment. It can scarcely be imagined that John 
 possessed much devotion ; hut, perhaps, it will not at the present 
 time be considered as a proof of his abandoned immorality, that he 
 exclaimed when he saw a fat stag cut up after hunting, '* How hap- 
 pily bath this fellow lived, and yet he never heard mass !" 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 their dailie treasons practised towards 
 him) a great oppressor, so that he trusted more to 
 forreners than to them, therefore in the end he was of 
 them utterlie forsaken. 
 
 " Verilie, whosoever sliall consider tlie course of 
 the historic written of this prince, he shall find, that 
 he hath beene little beholden to the writers of that 
 time in which he lined : for scarselie can they afoord 
 him a good word, except when trueth in forcelh them 
 to come out with it as it were against their willes. 
 The occasion whereof (as some thinke) was, for that 
 he was no freend to the clergie. And yet vndoubtedlie 
 his deeds show he had a zeale to religion, as it was 
 tJhien accompted : for he founded the abbeie of Beau- 
 lieu in the New-forrest, as it were in recompense of 
 certaine pari-ih churches, wliich to inlarge the same 
 forrest, lie caused to be throwne downe and ruinated. 
 
 "He Imilded the Monasterie of Farendoii, and the 
 Abbei of Hales in Shropshire; he repaired Godstow, 
 where his father's concubine Rosamond laie interred; 
 he was no small benefactor to the Minster of Litch- 
 field in Staffordshire ; to the Abbeie of Crokcsden in 
 the same shire; and to the Chapell of Knaresburgh in 
 Yorkshire. So that, (to say what I thinke,) he was 
 not so void of deuotion towards the Church, as diners 
 of his euimies have reported, who of meere malice 
 conceale all his vertues, and hide none of his vices; 
 but are plentifull enough in setting foorth the same to 
 the vttermost, and interpret all his doings and saieings 
 to the woorst, as may appeare to those tliat advisedlie 
 read the works of them that write the order of his life, 
 which may seeme rather an inuective than a true his- 
 toric: neuerthelesse, sith we camiot come by the 
 truth of things through the malice of the writers, we 
 must content our selues with this vnfriendlie descrip- 
 tion of his time. Certelnlie it should seeme the man 
 
MEMOIR OF KING JOHN. 
 
 had a princelie heart in him, and wanted no thing but 
 faithful subiects to haue assisted him in reuenging 
 such wrongs as were doone and offered by the French 
 King and others. 
 
 "Moreover, the pride and pretended authoritie of 
 the cleargie he could not well abide, when they went 
 about to •(vrest out of his hands the prerogative of his 
 princelie rule and gouernment. True it is, tliat to 
 mainteine his warres, which he was forced to take in 
 hand, as well in France as elsewhere, he was con- 
 streined to make all the shift he could deuise to reco- 
 uermonie ; and because he pinched their pursses, they 
 conceiued no small hatred against him : which when 
 he perceived, and wanted peradventure discretion to 
 passe it ouer, he discouered now and then in his rage 
 his immoderate displeasure; as one not able to bridle 
 his affections, a thing verie hard in a stout stomach, 
 and thereby missed now and then to compasse that, 
 which otherwise he might verie well have brought to 
 passe." 
 
-'^ 
 
 'S^.w ' 
 
 oNsiDERiNG this Prelate as one j 
 of the most active members of ] 
 that confederacy, which pro- 
 cured from King John the 
 Great Charter of Liberties, 
 and even as the very individual 
 by whom the ancient prece- 
 dent was discovered, on which 
 that Chartermight be founded, 
 the ensuing account of his life seems properly to be- ■ 
 long (0 the subject of the present volume; as em- 
 bracing biographical notices of the principal persons, 
 ' engaged in effecting the establishment of that great J)!, 
 national covenant. 
 
 Stephen Langton was a native of England, al- _ 
 though none of his biographers assign with any degree ' 
 of certainty, either in what part, or at what period he 
 was born. He received his principal instruction in ^pi.:^ 
 ■ the University of Paris, where he ivas held in great 3i, ;( 
 esteem by the King and nobility of France, for his <t^J 
 %. literary acquirements, by whom he was principally .tes 
 employed as a teacher of divinity. Tliis also procured ^ f 
 his advancement to be Canon of Paris, Chancellor of -^ 
 the University in the same City, and Dean of Rlieims ; ^ 
 and the fame of his learning reaching to Rome, he ^e 
 was summoned thither by Innocent III., who con- 
 ferred upon him the dignity of Cardinal. 
 
MEMOIR OF CARDINAL LANGTON. 
 
 The predecessor of Langton in the See of Can- 
 terbury, was Hubert Walter, who died in July 1205; 
 and King John, who had long acted under his direc- 
 tion, felt more inclined to rejoice at his death, and the 
 liberty which he seemed to have gained by it, than to 
 lament the loss of that excellent counsellor. "Me- 
 thinks," said he, "I am now indeed King of Eng- 
 land;" but, adds an ecclesiastical Historian of the 
 sixteenth century, "had he knowii either how ill he 
 might lia\'e missed him, or great trouble his death 
 Avould have caused him, he would rather have said. 
 Now 1 begin to lose my kingdome." Upon the death 
 of Hubert, John immediately seized upon his posses- 
 sions for his own use ; although they were otherwise 
 bequeathed by the Prelate's will. The Monks of 
 Canterbury, being now very desirous of exercising 
 their privilege of electing another Archbishop, to 
 prevent any direction of the King's from interfering 
 with it, met at midnight, nominated Reginald, 
 their Sub-Prior to the otBee; and, sending him to 
 Rome to have his election confirmed, made him swear 
 to conceal his dignity till he arrived in the presence of 
 Lmocent UI. The vanity, however, of the Archbishop- 
 elect overcame his honour, for he had scarcely passed 
 the seas, when he proclaimed his ecclesiastical dig- 
 nity, and displayed his testimoaial of election; which 
 so excited the resentment of his brethren, that they 
 rendered void their former election, and petitioned 
 the King for liberty to make a second. As the first 
 proceeding had been wholly without John's consent, 
 he gave his permission, and nominated John Grey, 
 Bishop of Norwich; a Prelate singularly well quali- 
 fied for the otfice, and then in the King's emphjyment, 
 as successor to the vacant Archbishopric. After his 
 election had been solemnised in the most splendid 
 and public manner, both that and the former were 
 
MEMOIR OF CARDINAL LANGTON. 
 
 presented to the Pope, only for the usual ceremony of 
 his confirmation; but Innocent perceivinn- the division 
 that had already taken place, overcame the ar<(uments 
 and scruples of the monks who were then at Rome, 
 and, settinfj aside both elections, brought forward 
 Stephen Langton, who was still remaining at that City. 
 Of this ecclesiastic Bishop Godwin remarks, that 
 he was "a man in regard of gifts of mind and body, 
 very fit for the place, and no way to be misliked, if he 
 had orderly obtained the same." 
 
 The close of this disputed election has already 
 been related : after King John became acquainted 
 with Innocent's duplicity, they remained in a state of 
 mutual violence and enmity, until the fonner resigned 
 his kingdom and his crown to Pandulph. Langton, 
 however, had but little interest in these dissensions. 
 After receiving consecration from the hands of the 
 Pope at Viterbo, about 1207, he took possession of 
 his Archicpiscopal dignity in England, about 1213, 
 and soon became attached to the Baronial party ; and 
 he is usually stated, upon the authority of Roger de 
 Weiidover, to have been the original discoverer of that 
 grant of Henry I., on which the Great Charter was 
 afterwards founded. 
 
 In 1214, the Archbishop summoned a Provin- 
 cial Synod of his suffragans and clergy, at Dunstaple, 
 when various complaints were made of the Legate's 
 arbitrary manner of interfering in ecclesiastical affairs ; 
 and it was resolved that a deputation of that Council 
 should signify to him, that Langton had appealed to 
 the Pope concerning him, and at the same time had 
 inhibited his institution of priests in the Province of 
 Canterbury. 
 
 In 1215, the conduct of Langton in supporting 
 the demands of the Barons upon King John, brought 
 upon him a sentence of Suspension from Innocent; 
 
 .s^^^.i 
 
mm 
 
 ;fi><r 
 
 n«„% 
 
 MEMOIR OF CARDINAL LANGTON. 
 
 but the following year he assisted at a General Coun- 
 cil held at Rome, and during his absence from Eng- 
 :,land the King died. In 1223, at the head of the No- 
 P bility of the nation, he required of Henry III., then 
 declared of age by the Bull of Honorius III., the con- 
 firmation of King John's Charter of Liberties; and 
 when one of the Sovereign's Councillors answered for 
 him, that, having been extorted by force, it was not 
 binding on him, he replied, "If you loved the King, 
 Sir, you would not prevent the peace of the realm :" 
 which convinced Henry how much he would hazard 
 by a refusal. The royal castles which had been seized 
 on and retained to enforce King John to perform the 
 engagements of Magna Charta, were by the same 
 Bull ordered to be restored, though the Earls of Ches- 
 ter and Aumerle, and several other Barons who held 
 them, not only refused to obey it, but even proceeded 
 to raise forces to support their denial, and another 
 civil war seemed inevitable. It was here that Lang- 
 ton shewed his loyal and prudent spirit; for upon his 
 proceeding to excommunicate those who remained 
 refractory, the fortresses were at length given up to 
 the King. The other acts of this Prelate were the 
 passing of a Canon in 1222, against the adulterous 
 conduct of his Clergy, and the division of the Sacred 
 Writings into chapters, is also ascribed to him. He is 
 likewise said to have erected the Archbishop's Palace at 
 Canterbury ; and, on July 7th, 1220, he translated the 
 remains of Thomas k Becket from his plain, yet adored, 
 place of burial, in the undercroft of the Cathedral, to 
 a costly altar-tomb in the centre of Trinity Chapel 
 there; and deposited it within the new Shrine, which 
 was covered with plates of gold, chased and embossed, 
 adorned with broaches, images, angels, chains, pre- 
 cious stones, and orient pearls. The expences attend- 
 in"- this Translation, at which the King, Cardinal Pan- 
 
!= BJ=JLJ=L .=^' 
 
 MEMOIR OF CARDINAL LANGTON. 
 
 dulph, the Archbishops of Canterbury and Rheims, 
 ^veral Prelates and Ahbots, and the greater part of 
 ' the English Nobility were present, was undertaken 
 Langton; who provided free entertainment and 
 forag-e along the road from London, for all who would 
 attend, beside wine to flow in various parts of Canter- 
 bury, and a magnificent banquet for his illustrious 
 visitants : he thus, however, incurred so heavy a 
 charge upon the See, that neither himself, nor three 
 of his successors were able to defray it. 
 
 This Prelate also held a Convocation at Osney, 
 in the County of Oxford, which was principally cele- 
 brated for the decrees which were there instituted, 
 and for the appearance of three extraordinary im- 
 postors, who professed to be Jesus Christ, the Vu-gin 
 Mary, and Mary Magdalene ; the former of whom 
 shewed several wounds in his hands, feet, and side, in 
 proof of his assertion : they were condemned by that 
 Council to be immured within four walls until they died. 
 In John Bale's Scriptures lUnstres Mnjoris Britan- 
 nia!. Wesal. 1 549, 4to. fol. 102 b, will be found a short 
 memoir and list of the works of Cardinal Langton ; 
 the latter consisting of Commentaries on the Penta- 
 teuch, Joshua, Judges, Kings, the Psalms, and the 
 lesser Prophets; the Lives of Thomas, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, and King Richard L ; Annotations on 
 the whole Bible and Testament by distinct chapters, 
 and some other religious tracts. A more extended 
 catalogue, together with almost a literal copy of Bale's 
 account of Langton, are inserted in the Lives and 
 Acts of the Popes and Cardinals of the Holv Church 
 of Rome, by Alphonso Ciaconio, Rom. 1630, Fol. 
 page 647. It is not now to be discovered whether all 
 of these works are extant ; but Langton's account of 
 the Translation of Becket's Remains is attached to the 
 Letters of that Archbishop, printed at Bruxelles in 
 
MEMOIR OF CARDINAL LANGTON. 
 
 in 1682, 4to.; and iiiD'Acheri's Spicili'gitim, Fol.Edit 
 Vol. III., page 268, may be found copies of two Letteis 
 which passed behveen King John and Langtoa, on the 
 subject of the Archbishop's election. Beside these 
 writings, the Cardinal has also left behind him some 
 specimens of his poetry ; although in a work not the 
 most likely to contain such a production. In a com- 
 munication from the Abb6 De la Rue, printed in the 
 Archceologia, Vol. xiii., page 231, it is stated that in 
 the Duke of Norfolk's library there is a manuscript, 
 containing a Sermon and two other pieces, written by 
 Langton ; and that in the course of the Sermon, which 
 is upon the Holy Virgin, there occurs the following 
 stanza: 
 
 Bele Aliz matin leva 
 Sur cors vesti et para, 
 
 Fair Alice arose in the morning, 
 And put on her vest and made her i 
 
 ady; 
 
 enz un verger s'en entra, Then she went into her bower, 
 cink fleurettes y' truva, And found there five flowerets, 
 Un chapelet fit en a Which she made into achaplet 
 
 De Rose flurie With the blooming rose; 
 
 PurDeutrahezvousenala And you will betray God herein 
 
 Vus ki ne amez mie. Ifyou do not love nie. (Alice.) 
 
 " The orator, then," continues this account, " en- 
 forces each particular verse, and applies it mystically 
 to the Holy Virgin. The allegorical turn which he 
 gives the whole of the above stanza is very happily 
 handled, and the preacher in speaking of his subject 
 cries out at frequent intervals with enthusiasm, 
 
 'Ceste est la Bele Aliz, This, this is Alice, fair to see, 
 
 Cest est la flur, ceste est la lis. The flower, the lily, this is she.' " 
 
 It may appear somewhat singular that, at a 
 period when elegant literature was so perfectly un- 
 known, poetical allegories and allusions should be 
 introduced into the pulpit, but they were very fre- 
 quent in the older nionastical sermons, which often 
 partook of a highly mystical character ; and the author 
 of the above account states that, in the twelfth century 
 the life of Thomas k Becket was delivered in French 
 
B-TV5-5~g 
 
 d^i-iri~>t4 
 
 + 
 
 i(fi^5J 
 
 MEMOIR OF CARDINAL LANGTON. 
 
 verse in Canterbury Cathedral. M. De la Rue con-| 
 sillers Cardinal Langton to have been the best of the ' 
 -•Aiifflo-Normau poets of the thirteenth century, and , 
 jpcontinues to remark that, in the manuscript containing ^ 
 the Sermon, there are two other pieces, which he at- 
 tributes to the same Author. The first is a fine reli- 
 gious drama on Morality, in which Truth, Justice, 
 and Mercy, consider what should be the fate of man 
 after his fall; the idea of which is taken from Psalm 
 Ixxx. 10, and the other is a poem of upwards of 600 
 verses, on the Passion of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Cardinal Laugton died on July 9th, 1228, at his 
 Manor of Sllndon in Sussex, after reigning twenty-two 
 years as Archbishop ; and his remains were deposited 
 in a Chapel, called St. Michael's, or the Warrior's, in 
 Canterbury Cathedral, which stands on the South side 
 against the Western Transept. His tomb, which is 
 represented in the initial letter and tail-piece of this 
 Memoir, is a plain stone sarcophagus, having a rich 
 patriarchial cross sculptured on the cover. It ori- 
 ginally stood under the altar, and is now partly fixed 
 beneath an arch, and partly projecting into the Chapel. 
 This Prelate is considered to have been an elegant 
 and learned Author for the age in which he lived ; 
 since his explanations of the Scriptures even in his 
 youth were very greatly esteemed, and none of his 
 contemporaries were better acquainted with the logic 
 of Aristotle, or superior to him in adapting it to the 
 doctrines of Scripture. 
 
ADDITIONAL 
 
 Not^«6 an6 Illustrations, 
 
 The following biographical notices are inserted in this part of the 
 i present Volume, to furnish the reader with a few particulars of cer-E 
 j tain eminent personages, whose names have become familiar in t)ie 
 [preceding pages; and of whom it miglit be desirable to possess some ^ 
 ''additional information. 
 
 I. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF 
 ROBERT FITZ-WALTER, BARON OF DUNMOW. 
 
 Vide Notes to the Great Charters, Page 270. 
 
 ^K 
 
 f^ 
 
 H 
 
 HE family of this very celebrated leadei- 
 of the English Barons, was both an_ 
 cient and also of very considerable 
 rank, as the first members of his house 
 ^■vere connected with the Earls of 
 Brion, BLickiDoham,and Hunting-don ; 
 ind the celebrated Lonls of Clare 
 spring from i scion ot the same stock. Robert, Buron of - 
 Dunmo\i, wis the fiist of his line who bore the surname of« 
 Fitz-Walter, in allusion to the christian appellation of his 
 father, Walter Fitz-Robert : his mother was Maude de St. 
 Liz, or Lucy, who died in 1140, being the first wife of bis 
 father. In the year 1111, William Baynard forfeited to the 
 crown the honour of Castle-Baynard and the Barony of 
 Dunniow, on being found guilty of felony ; and King Henry 
 1. presented these Lordships to his Steward, Robert Fitz- 
 Ricbard, through whom they descended in aright line to his 
 grandson, Robert Fitz-Walter. He was admitted to the livery ~ 
 of such lands as descended to biin from his uncle, Geoffrey "^'5?/^ 
 de St. Lucy, Bishop of Winchester, in 1204-5, the 6tb of "^ " 
 John, upon payment of 300 marks, £19S. 
 
 The first act which is recorded of him, conveys an un- 
 amiablc specimen of his mind and oliaracter: — *' Robert 
 Fitz-Walter,'' says Dugdale, *' in the 5th of John,— 1203,- 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 being trusted, together Tvitli Saier de Quincy, to keep tlie 
 Castle of Ruil in France, delivered it up to the King- of 
 that realm so soon as he came before it with his army." 
 This appeared to imply not less of disloyalty than of 
 cowardice, a vice which certainly could never he charged 
 on the character of fitz-Walter- but a short time after, 
 proved to which of these motives It was to be assigned: 
 the Barons were prepared for tumult, and, in the 14th year 
 of King John, 1212, several conspiracies were discovered, 
 wherein tiiis peer was materially concerned. A mind 
 formed upon the principle of Fitz-Walter's, hardy, resolute, 
 and liaughty, would entertain a natural contempt for the 
 weak motives which governed the actions of John- and to 
 this mental antipathy may he attributed much of the enmity 
 which that Baron conceived for his Sovereign. On the 
 di'^covery of Fitz-Walter's treasonable practices, he sought 
 with his wife, Gunnora de Valoines, and his children, an 
 asylum in France : the year following, namely, 1213, he 
 was recalled, and with the other Barons reconciled to John, 
 but this friendship was of short duration j in a liltle time he 
 was charged with the same crimes, and his mansion, de- 
 nominated Cas tie-Bay nard, was in consequence entirely 
 destroyed. Notwithstanding the hatred which existed be- 
 tween Fitz-VValter and John seemed violent in the greatest 
 deg'ree, yet tradition has assigned for it a cause as dis- 
 graceful to the Monarch to offer, as it was distressing for his 
 subject to sustain : Sir William Dugdale, when relating it, 
 thus speaks, *' The primary occasion of these discontents 
 is by some thus reported ; viz. that this Robert Fitz-Walter, 
 having a very beautiful daughter, called Maude, residingat 
 Dunmow, the King frequently solicited her chastity- but 
 never prevailing, grew so enraged, that he caused her to 
 be privntely poisoned, and tbatshewas buried on llieSimth 
 side of the Quire at Dunmow betwixt two pillars there." 
 
 An alabaster figure richly habited, which is said to re- 
 present this lady, is yet preserved on a grey altar-tomb in 
 the South wall of the Church of Little-Duumow ; opposite 
 to a monument and effigies ascribed to her grandfather, 
 Walter Fitz-Walter, who died in 1198, and his second wife, 
 
•^ ■¥• f C- ' k^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Mntilda Bohun. A copy of the former fig-ure is g-iven 
 tlie ensuing engrav- j^ ing- ; a larger 
 
 plate and descrip- /^^^^^^^^ tion of which will 
 hu found in Cough's g^3W^fc^^ Sepulchral Monu- 
 ments, Vol. i., Part ( fLwlK^^Mr/ '"If ' > P^^*^ ^^' P'^*^^ 
 vii. It is probable, \Mm^''^^p^^^/l^ however, that the 
 place in which ^^giAm^^SSj ^^^'^ tomb now 
 stands, though Mpff' \^S!¥^^ ag-ieeing with the 
 ancient account of |i||F | nlii|i|i Matilda Fitz-Wal- 
 ter's burial-place, 11 M Ift^M ^'^ ^*- regards the 
 
 presentchoir,isstiU wii / I'llfiili not in its orig-inal 
 situatioo; since Mr. \WMj j ' Ifl/H Gough observes, 
 that the present Mffil ( \Wm *^lioir of Dunmow 
 
 Church, is only the iHl I l|'llM Ei'^tern end of the 
 South aisle, all the \u/% I wl ^^^^ hein^ pulled 
 
 down; so that the lOj [<.(i|lii l jl ll^ bodies of the tombs 
 in it, are perhaps in f'fM'^i^^^fl ^^^ ploughed field 
 which occupies the 5Si*p site of the ancient 
 
 choir. The above effigy is supposed to have been originally 
 painted, the fingers being yet stained with a red colour; 
 which, however, has been absurdly pointed out as the effect 
 of the poison given by order of John; since the above ac- 
 count of her death has always been a very popular story. 
 It was originally taken from the Chronicle of Dunmow 
 Priory, and has been the subject of several poems and plays ; 
 in which, however, the heroine sometimes appears under 
 the celebrated name of Malkin, or Maid Marian, the Queen 
 of the May, and becomes the forest-mistress of Robiu Uood. 
 Ritson supposes, that this was first done in two very rare 
 plays, entitled *' The Downfall of Robert, Earl of Hunting- 
 ton, afterwards called Robin Hood of mcrrie Sherwoode ; 
 with his love to chaste Matilda, the Lord Fitz-Water's 
 daughter, afterwards his fuire Maid Marian,'''' Black-let- 
 ter, IGOl, 4to. The second part of this history is named, 
 '*The Death of Robert, Earle of Huntington, otherwise 
 called Robin Hood of merrie Sherwoode: with the lament- 
 able tragedie of chaste Matilda, his faire Maid Marian, 
 poysoned at Duninowe by Kiug John:" date as above. 
 See Ritson's Robin Hood. Lond. 1795, Vol. i. pp. li., Ixvi. 
 
 "-S-., 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Mr. Malonc, in his edition of Shakspeare's Works, Lend. 
 1790. Vol. i. Part ii. lias discovered that these dramas 
 wf!re written hy Anthony Mundy and Henry Chettle. All 
 the action in them connected witli Kohin Hood, is supposed 
 to take place during- the ahseace of Richard T. in Palestine, 
 hcfore John came to the throne; the ])oisoning- of the hold 
 outlaw is also added to the Prince's other crimes, and they 
 conclude with the popular legend of Matilda. The next 
 fictitious productions relating- to Fitz-Waltev's daughter, 
 were Michael Drayton's two letters in verse, between her 
 and King John, and his poetical Legend of Matilda the 
 Fair; first published in his Works in 1605, 8vo.j and in 
 1655 appeared Robert Davenport's play of "King- John 
 and Matilda," orig-inally acted by the Queen's servants at 
 the Cock-pit in Drury Lane. In this tragedy neither his- 
 torical truth nor dramatic arrang-ement are observed, and 
 much of the dialogue is of a very inferior character ; though 
 there are many passages of considerable excellence, which 
 may he most pleasantly perused, with an analysis of the 
 whole drama, in an excellent article upon it, in the Retro-, 
 spective Review, 1821, Vol. iv, pp. 87-100. The most re- 
 markable feature of this production is, that it preserves the 
 particulars of an act of cruelty charged upon Kiag John, by 
 Matthew Paris; namely, his imprisoning the wife and son 
 of William de Brewes, in Windsor Castle, under the Earl of 
 Chester; through whose revenge they are left to die of hun- 
 ger, which has been already noticed on a former page. The 
 poisoning of Matilda is effected by her kissiugan envenomed 
 glove, sent her by the King in token of his reformation. 
 
 Such are the slight authority, and strange romances, 
 which have perpetuated another charge of murder upon 
 the memory of King John: hut whether the preceding 
 relation be founded on truth or fiction, Fitz-Walter's op- 
 position was made under another plea, and the Barons 
 demands for Magna Charta formed the pretence by which 
 his actions were influenced. Here, however, the life and 
 conduct of a single individual melts into the wide and 
 agitated sea of history which opens at this period, and 
 the active endeavours of Fitz-Walter, Langton, and Inno- 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 cent, become blended witb each other. When Philip II., 
 about this time, had commenced an attack on the pos- 
 sessions nf the Eng-lish in Normandy, John retaliated on the 
 realm of the Fieuch King-; but upon a truce being- declared 
 between them, a tournament took place in presence of both 
 Monarchs, at which Fitz-Walter, concealed in his armour, 
 at the first course overthrew both horse and man, upon 
 which the English Sovereign swore "by God's tooth! he 
 deserves to be a King, who hath such a soldier in his train." 
 Upon this some friends of the Baron made him known to John, 
 who restored tohijn the whole of his forfeited estates, and per- 
 mitted him to repair his destroyed fortresses. After serving 
 John as Governor of Hertford Castle, in 1214-15, the 16th 
 of his reign, Fitz-Walter was again placed in opposition to 
 the King- : the Barons grew loud in their demands for Magna 
 Charta, and the active spirit of this peer made him a de- 
 sirable leader to their party. His lands were again seized 
 on, and those in Cornwall committed to the keeping of 
 Prince Henry, which effectually secured him to the discon- 
 tented Barons, who made him one of their Commissioners 
 to treat of a composure of differences at a meeting at Erith 
 Church ; to which he had letters of safe-conduct. But his 
 connection with their efforts for the procuring of Magna 
 Charta have already been related. 
 
 After the conclusion of that instrument, when John 
 endeavoured to elude bis promises, in 1216 a deputation of 
 the Barons was sent to France, to invite over Louis the 
 Dauphin; Fitz-Walter was one in this infamous commission, 
 and, on the Prince's landing, he assisted, with William de 
 Mandeville and William de Huntingfield, in reducing to 
 their authority the Counties of Essex and Suffolk. But 
 on John's deatli, after Louis had conquered the Castle of 
 Hertford, which Fitz-Walter had formerly governed, he 
 refused to render it again into the hands of that Baron 5 at 
 the same time observing, that the English nation, having 
 proved false to their own Sovereign, were unfit to be trusted 
 with such important privileges : he added, however, that 
 when the kingdom should be more at rest, their rightful 
 claims should be conferred upon all. 
 
 s,.^^ 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Louis, by such speeches, shewerl how wavering- was his 
 faith in the honour of the English Barons; hut his actions 
 were strong-er than even his words, which so wrono-ht upon ■^ 
 many of tliem, that joiningf themselves to Henry III., Louis 
 was at length compelled to form a truce with that King-^ 
 rtnd at the same time eng'ag-e to quit the kingdom. In con- 
 sequence of this ogreement, those Lords whom Henry's 
 party had made prisoners were set at liberty, and with 
 many others was Fitz-Walter. It might have been ex- 
 pected that the wounds of England would then have been 
 permitted to close for a space, if not finally to heal ; this at 
 least appeared to be the wish of several Barons, who became 
 faithful in their nllegiance to Henry. But some haughty 
 and ambitious spirits were stiU abroad, and their unyieldino- 
 ferocity continued to protract the civil conflict. Saber 
 de Qiiincy, Earl of Winchester, had yet retained his Castle 
 of Mountsorrel in Leicestershire, against the forces of Henry. 
 William Marshall, the young King's Protector, was at that 
 time besieging it ; and the Earl solicited Louis to assist him 
 in bis defence; upon which the Dauphin exciting the Citizens 
 of London in his cause, they raised a force of upwards of 
 20,000 soldiers for the same purpose, whilst Fitz-Walter, 
 again in arms, was made one of their generals. The siege 
 of Mountsorrel was, however, raised by the Earl of Chester, 
 the King's troops retired to Nottingham, and, after an ac- 
 tive conflict between the two armies, the royalists were left 
 victors, and Fitz-Walter was once more their prisoner. He 
 did not long continue in such a situation, for in 1218 he 
 assumed the cross and departed for Palestine; and in the 
 same year was at the siege of Damieta in that country. In 
 1234 Fitz-Walter died, though from what causes it is now im- 
 possible to discover; and was buried before the High-Altar 
 of Dunmow Priory. Christina, his daughter, married to 
 William de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, Roese, his second 
 wife, and Walter, his heir, by Gunnora de Valoines his 
 former one, were all living at that period. 
 
 Notwithstanding the enmity of Fitz-Walter to the Sove- 
 reigns under whom he lived, and the frequent confiscations 
 of his property, his possessions were stil) very extensive. 
 
To his Honour of Baynard's Castle, or the Castle of London, 
 as It was called, several feudal privileg-es were attached, 
 and the office of Banner-Bearer to the City, was inalienably 
 vested in it in fee for the Constable; and a particular de- cL ^^^ 
 scriptiou of the duties and privileg-es of this hereditary \^3 
 office, is g^iven both byStow and Sir William Dug;dale. Of 
 his other possessions some estimate may be formed by the 
 records, which state that in 1211-l'2j the 13tb of John, on 
 an assessment of Scutage for Scotland, be was acquitted by 
 the KinjU"'s special command of the payment for sixty-three 
 Knights-fees and a half, of bis own inheritance, and thirty 
 and one third more, held in rig-bt of his wife, Gunnora, the 
 daughter and heir of Robert de Valoines ; and also for two 
 others, which descended to her from Geoffrey de Valoines, 
 ber uncle. In the 16tb of John, 1214-15, at the Scutag-e of 
 Poictou, these estates were valued at the sums of £127 for 
 the 63^ Knigbts fees, £60 135. 4d. for the 30j, and £4 for 
 the two remaining-. 
 
 The name and Barony of Fitz-Walter continued in a 
 direct line to Walter, the seventh in descent, who was an 
 active soldier in theFrench wars of Henry V., and who died 
 in 1432, the 11th year of Henry VI. His heir is supposed 
 to have been bis daughter Elizabeth, married to Sir John 
 Ratcliffe, Knight, Lord Diuham j in which family the title 
 of Fitz-Walter continued until the decease of Robert, Earl 
 of Sussex, in 1629, without issue. The Earldom then re- 
 verted to bis cousin, Edward Ratcliffe ; but the Barony de- 
 volved upon the descendants of Frances, daughter and heir 
 of Henry, Earl of Sussex, father to Robert. She married Sir 
 Thomas Mildmay, Knight, who in 1640 claimed lo be Lord 
 Fitz-Walter in right of bis mother; wliicb, though the dis- 
 tractions of the time prevented an enquiry being then made 
 into bis right, was at length allowed bim in 1669. His 
 claim however, was, opposed by Robert Cbeeke, Esq. son 
 of Henry Cheeke, Esq. who bad married Frances, one of 
 the sisters and coheirs of the whole blood to Edward, the 
 last Earl of Sussex, who died without issue in 1641. His 
 objections being firstly, that of half-blood in Mildmay; 
 
 ^^s. •^sa&^-S^S 
 

 ^^^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 and, secondly, that the Barony of Fitz-Waller wus mer;^-ed|(; 
 and extinct with the Earldom. But upon full debate and, 
 mature consideration of this question, it was determined 
 that '* the half-blood could not he any impediment in the 
 rase of adig-nity, and that althoun-h a Baron in fee-simple be 
 created an Earl, the Barony shall descend to the heir-general 
 whether or not the Earldom continue or be extinct.'" In 
 November, 1670, was decided this Lord Fitz-Walter's claim 
 of precedency to all Barons then sitting' as such, when 
 it was adjudg'cd that he should be placed as the last Baron 
 in the reig'n of King- Edward I. The title, however, existed 
 but a short time long-er. On Mfiy 14th, 1730, Benjamin, 
 the son of the claimant, was created Viscount Harwich, and 
 Earl Filz-Walter ; hut dying in 1756 without surviving 
 issue, hoth titles became extinct, and the Barony fell into 
 abeyance between the numerous representatives of the five 
 daug^hters and coheiresses, of his sister Mary Mildmay. 
 
 The Arms borne by the ancient house of FItz-Walter 
 were Or, a fesse between two Chevrons, Gules ■ as they 
 are shewn upon the shield and horse-trapping's of an eques- 
 trian fig-nre, engraven on the beautiful silver seal of Robert, 
 fifth Baron Fitz- Walter, g-randson of the subject of the pre- 
 sent Memoir, a copy of which will be found at page 104 of 
 this volume. The Arms under the borse''s head of seven 
 Mascles conjoined, are tliose of his second wife, Eleanor, 
 daughter of Robert de Ferrers- which prove the seal to 
 have been executed between the years 1298 and 1304. The 
 drag-on beneath, probably alludes to another and smaller seal 
 used by this Baron, whereon are two such animals placed as 
 supporters. The original matrix weighs 7 ounces, 7 penny- 
 weights j it was found at Stamford in Lincolnshire, in the 
 reign of King Charles XL- and in 1777 was shewn to the 
 Society of Antiquaries, which published an engraving of it 
 in the Archaohgia, Vol. iv., with an interesting paper by 
 John Charles Brooke, Gent. Rouge-Croix Pursuivant, 
 particularly illustrating the Armorial ensigns which are de- 
 lineated upon it, 
 
Lothario Conti, the family name of this Pontiff, was bom 
 at Anag-ni, a City in the Campagna di Romti, about the 
 year 1161; and was descended from the noble House of 
 Conti, Lords of Segni. Being- intended for Holy Orders, 
 lie commenced his studies at Rome, and afterwards conti- 
 nued them at the University of Paris, where he received the 
 title of Doctor. He then proceeded to Bologna, where also 
 he distinguished himself by his talents and the knowledge 
 he displayed in philosophical, academical, and classical 
 learning; and, upon his return home from this scholastic 
 career, he received the office of Canon in the Church of 
 Anagni, and shortly after the same degree in that of St. 
 Peter at Rome. By the Pontiffs Gregory VIII., and Celes- 
 tine III. he was ordained into Cardinal-Deacon's Orders; 
 and, upon the decease of the latter in 1198, he was elected 
 to succeed him by a large proportion of the Conclave of 
 Cardinals : which dignity, after receiving the order of Priest, 
 he entered upon in the thirty-seventh year of his age, as- 
 suming the surname of Innocent the Third. 
 
 The glory and power of the Romish See now became 
 his principal object; aud the City of Rome, the Marche of 
 Ancona, the Dukedom of Spoleto, and several Cities of Tus- 
 cany, he subjected to himself as Sovereign, and to the 
 Apostolical outiiority, notwithstanding their allegiance to 
 their respective rulers, 
 
 He also demanded the liberty of the Archbishop of 
 Salerno, who had been detained by Henry VI., the late Em- 
 peror of Germany, as a traitor; aud through the powerful 
 declaration of interdicting the whole country, submission 
 was at length enforced. In some instances, however, his 
 arbitrary spirit was exerted in causes of real utility; for 
 Philip II. of France having put awny his Queen to espouse 
 another. Innocent pursued him with the denunciations of the 
 Cliuvch, until he again restored his former consort. 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 1^ Early in 1199 tins Pontiff was made Reg-ent of Sicily, 
 
 m ^y *''^ ^^'" **^ Constiintia the late Empress, and widow of J 
 Henry V., her son Frederick being" then a minor ; and in the ' 
 commencement of tlie thirteenth century, the king-doms of 
 Armenia, Bohemia, Arragon, and several smaller states, 
 with the City of Constantinople, became dependant on the 
 See of Rome. As at this period King- John ascended the 
 throne of Britain, the ambition of Innocent watchfully re- 
 garded the movements of tlie Monarch 5 and an opportunity 
 very soon occurred to prove the Pontiff's authority in Eng-- 
 land, in his nomination of Cardinal Langton to be Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, upon the death of Hubert Walter, as 
 it has already been related. He compelled the Monks, even 
 against their own inclinations and the directions of their 
 Sovereign, to make choice of that Ecclesiastic j and, having- 
 consecrated liim at Viterbo, he shortly after sent him to 
 John with the following letter, and four emblematical ring-s 
 to induce his compliance. 
 
 "concerning four rings sent bv pope innocent Ilf. 
 
 TO KING JOHN. 
 
 "To John the King of England. Of all the works of earth whicii 
 the eyes of mortals covet, and which the flesh desireth, the most pure 
 gold and precious stones iiave principally obtained our estimation. 
 Bui however tliese and the like riches are to be prized. Your Royalty 
 should abound with other excellencies : yet, nevertheless, in token of 
 our great love and favour. We liave prepared for You Four Gulden 
 Rings, with various precious stones, in which We desire you specially 
 to understand their Form, tlieir Number, their Material, and tiieir 
 Colour ; inasmuch as a more excellent meaning attends the gift. 
 
 "Their Roundness, therefore, signifies Eternity, which is without 
 beginning or end; and Royalty should have the virtue wliich is re- 
 quired by this form, consideiing tliat earth is the passage to heaven, 
 and tliat temporality proceedeth out of eternity. Their Number of 
 four, also, whose own number is a perfect square, signifies Firmness 
 of mind, v?hich is neither depressed by adversity, nor elevated by 
 prosperity; and what is praiseworthy to be accomplished, is com- 
 monly done with the /owr principal Virtues; namely, Justice, For- 
 titude, Prudence, and Temperance, Understand, therefore, firstly. 
 Justice, as exercised in judging; secondly, Fortitude, as shown in 
 adversity; in the third place, Prudence, as watchful in doubt; and 
 fourthly. Temperance, as nut discarded even in prosperity. 
 
 "For their Materials, by the fine gold is designated Wisdom; 
 which, as gold is pre-eminent over all metals, so doth the gift of 
 Wisdom surpass all others, as the Prophet witneiises, saying, The 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Spirit of WisdoHi sbaU rest upon him, &c. Indeed, nothing 
 more fitting that a King should have: and accordingly the pacific 
 King Solomon prayed of the Lord for Wisdom only, that he might 
 know how to govern the people committed to him. Moreover in the 
 precious stones, note that the green of the Emerald, signifies Faith ; 
 the mildness of tJie Sapphire, Hope; the redness of the Ruby, Cha- 
 rity ; and the brilliancy of the Topaz, good works; of which the Lord 
 Jiath said, Let your lights so shine. From these, therefore, you have 
 in the Emerald what you should believe ; in the Sapphire what you 
 should hope; in the Ruliy what you should love; and in the Topaz 
 what you should practise : so that you may rise from viitue to virtue, 
 until you come to the sight of the Lord of Lords in Sion, Given at 
 Rome at St. Peter's, the 4lh of the Calends of June." (May 29th, "th 
 of John, 1205.) 
 
 *' It is difficult,''* says Rapin, after detailing- the above 
 transaction, *' to g-uess nt the drift of this mysterious letter: 
 as to whetlier it was a witty conceit of the Pope^s, or an in- 
 timation to the King that he would require all the virtues 
 represented by the ring's to withstruid his attacks. However 
 this might be, lest John should mistake his nieaning-, he sent 
 him soon after a more intelligible brief; exhorting- him to 
 own Cardinal Langton for Archbishop of Canterbury." 
 How these circumstances ended has been already related. 
 
 But it was not to England alone, nor indeed to anyone 
 nation, to which the arrogance of this Pontiti" was confined ; 
 Philip King of Germany, Otbo Emperor of Saxony, and 
 Raymond Count of Tlioulouse, all felt its severity; and 
 even the Twelfth Lateran Council, which sat in the year 
 1215, served niore as a register of his decrees, than an as- 
 sembly convened for ecclesiastical deliberation. But Inno- 
 cent^s active and ambitious life was then drawing towards 
 a close: — when John had again submitted to his authority, 
 he excommunicated the English Barons for persevering in 
 arras against the King, which sentence was by them T^holly 
 disregarded. After this, in 1216, whilst on a journey for 
 the purpose of exciting the Pisans and Genoese to unite 
 against the Saracens, he fell sick at Perugia, the capital 
 City of a Province of that name near Rome, and there at the 
 age of fifty-five, he expired ; after a sway of eighteen years 
 and nbout six months. 
 
 With respect to his ecclesiastical acts, he passed a Canon 
 forbidding an increase of Religious Orders, and several la\vs 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ag-ainst heresy ; he is also said to have introduced the doc 
 triries of Transubstantiation and Auiicular Confession, and 
 he enoourajjed the Crusades both in Palestine and iigainst 
 the Alhig-eiises : the greater part of these decrees being- in- 
 stituted at tlje Lateran ConnciL The literary works of this 
 Pontiff are very numerous, and consist of tracts, &:-c. on a 
 variety of relig-ious subjects in Latin ; such as Sermons on the 
 Saints and Festivals for the whole year j a Commentary on 
 the seven penitential Psalms, six books on the mysteries of 
 tlie Mass, five books of Decretal Constitutions, a treatise on 
 Contempt of the World and Human Misery, in three books, 
 two books of Epistles, &c. &c. Of these, the last two 
 are perhaps the best and most popular, and his letters are 
 particularly valuable as giving; considerable information on 
 the Canon Law and Ecclesiastical history of his time. 
 Nearly all his works were published separately, and a col- 
 lected edition of them appeared at Cologne in 1575, folio- 
 From the circumstances of Innocent's life, his character 
 may readily be deduced ; ambition was its leading feature, 
 and few men were ever more pre-eminently situated for the 
 gratification of that passion. Pride was another vice which 
 powerfully influenced him j and to these some biographers 
 have added avarice and c-ruelty. To reverse the medal; his 
 learning was very extensive, as the writings he has left 
 will testify; his policy and knowledge of Canon law were 
 magnificent, and, in fine, as Mr. Berrington has observed of 
 him, ** the maxims of the age must not be forgotten. They 
 will throw some veil over the actions of Innocent; will ex- 
 tenuate the intemperance of his measures, and blunt the 
 edge of censure." 
 
 III. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF 
 PHILIP THE SECOND, KING Of FRANCE. 
 
 This very eminent Sovereign was the son of Louis VII., 
 King of France, surnamed the Young; by Alix, or Adela 
 de Champagne, daughter of Count Thibaud. As the birth 
 of the royal heir had been long expected, and still longer 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 wished for, some peculiar circumstances atteaded the con- 
 summation of this event, which Montfaucoii thus details, 
 *'AI1 France," says that learned Historian, "rejoiced at the 
 birth of Philip, who was called the gift of God. The Queen 
 Alix was delivered of this Prince on the nig-ht of Saturday, 
 in the Octave of the Assumption of our Lady, in the year 
 1165. The messen;Ter -who was sent to St. Germain des 
 Pres with the intellijj^ence, arrived whilst the first verse of 
 this canticle was sing-ino^ : 'Blessed be the Lord God of 
 Israel, who hath visited and redeemed his people j' which 
 was in perfect agreement with the birth of the child so long- 
 desired. On the morrow, the King caused him to be bap- 
 tised in the Church of St. Michael; when Maurice, Bishop 
 of Paris, performed the ceremony in his pontifical robes ; 
 Hug-h, Abbe of St Germain, held him at the font ; the Abbe 
 of St. Victor and the old Abhe of St. Genevieve were his 
 godfathers, Constance, sister of King Louis, wife of Ray- 
 mond, Count of Thoulonse, and two widows of Faris were 
 liis godmothers ; and these gave to him the name of Philip.^' 
 In 1180 Louis VII. was seized with a paralytic, which 
 finally put an end to his existence ; yet not till he beheld in 
 the young Philip, the symptoms of that greatness to which 
 he afterwards attained. During the languishing state to 
 which the King was reduced, he saw with satisfaction the 
 protection which his son aflbrded to the Church, by sub- 
 duing those of the French Lords who oppressed it. On 
 June 1st, being Ascension-day in the same year, Pliilip was 
 united to Isabella, daughter of Baldwin, Earl of Hainault, 
 a relative of Philip, Earl of Flanders, sword-bearer to the 
 King. When this marriage was solemnised, as the life of 
 Louis was trembling on the last frail chords of mortality, 
 the splendours of a coronation were added to tlie other cere- 
 monies, and Philip and Isabella \vere crowned and anointed. 
 Louis died on the 18th of Septemher following, attheage of 
 sixty, and Philip, then fifteen, though nominally under the 
 protection of the Count of Flanders, was made sole master 
 of the kingdom of France. The first act of his reign, was 
 the expulsion of all Jews from Lis realm, and the trans- 
 forming of their Synagogues into Churches ; which was oc- 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 casioned by their alledged brutal conduct towards the 
 Christians. This, however, vvas succeeded by 
 honourable employincnt, the decoration of Paris with the 
 most eleg;ant specimens of architectural composition, and 
 the formation of a forest for beasts of the chase-, towards 
 the furnishing- of which, Henry II., King of England, 
 caused a search to be made through his dukedoms of Ac- 
 quitaine and Normandy. 
 
 Stephen, Count of Chatillon upon the Loire, was the 
 first nobleman who opposed the young Kin^ 5 for, with the 
 view of rendering himself independant of Philip, he erected 
 so strong- a fortress that he believed it invincible j but that 
 Sovereign attacked it, rased it to tlie ground, and made 
 Stephen his prisoner; with whom, on his submission, he 
 became reconciled. But the first years of the young- Philip 
 were much harrassed by great outrae;es committed in his 
 country by the Brabanpons, and contests between his mother 
 Alix, and his father-in-law, the Count of Flanders- which 
 were concluded only through his firmness and activity. 
 
 In 1184 Philip was engaged in a war with the Count 
 of Flanders, relative to the Principality of Vermandois, 
 which had been ceded to his father's possession for a certain 
 period 5 the King- on the decease of the Countess of Flan- 
 ders re-dernanded it, and after many useless consultations 
 open war was declared between the contending- parties, in 
 which Philip's success was so great, that the Count at length 
 yielded the possession, receiving St. Quintin and Peronne 
 to hold for his life only. 
 
 In 1187 the Sultan Sabidin took the City of Jerusalem, 
 which awakened all the zeal of Henry II. and Philip, who 
 resolved to suspend the differences then existing between 
 them, and to unite against the Turks in the cause of the 
 cross. The violent temper of Prince Richard, caused him, 
 however, to attack the territories of Raymond, Count of 
 Thoulouse, in consequence of some pretensions which the 
 Dukes of Acquitaine held in that country. Philip, who was 
 the superior lord of Raymond, lirst endeavoured to dissuade 
 Richard from the enterprise, and then retaliated by invading 
 the possessions of Henry II. in France. That King imme- 
 
 '^t^ iV 
 
tj^r'r^jt 
 
 MSlUmUM 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 (iiately marched against him, and some battles ensued ; but 
 Richard at last sullied his iji'lory by concluding- a peace with 
 Philip, and joining- the French forces ag-ainst his father, is J 
 it has been already related in the Memoir of King- John 
 On the succession of Richard I. to the Crown of England, 
 the tvpo Sovereigns were once more in connection to cai ry 
 on the war in Palestine: some differences, howeverj arose 
 between them, bnt the City of Acre was at last taken by 
 their exertions, when Richard made considerable slaac^hter, 
 in consequence of Saladin's disagreement to his terms of 
 capitulation. 
 
 After this, Philip who was as much affected by jealous 
 emulation, as by bodily infirmity, left the English Kino- in 
 Palestine and returned to Fiance, wliere, his first consort 
 having died in May 1190, he married Ingelburga, sister of 
 Canute, the reigning King of Denmark, at the City of 
 Amiens. Whilst Richard was left alone in Palestine, his 
 brother John entered into that dishonourable compact with 
 Philip for seizing upon the crown of England, of which 
 the reader has had anaccount upon a former page. Whether 
 the charms of the King of Denmark's daughter had declined, 
 or Philip desired another, is now uncertain ; but after the 
 Tvedding-night such was the dislike he entertained against 
 her, that he procured a sentence of divorce on account of a 
 distant afBuity, and whilst lugelburga retired to the solitude 
 of a convent, Philip, by virtue of this instrument, was 
 married to Agnes, the dnnghter of the Duke of Merania. 
 The powerful authority of PopeCelestine was then interposed 
 on the behalf of the divorced Quren, and this last marriage 
 was pronounced void. When Innocent III. was elected to 
 the See of Rome, Philip still refused to receive the Princess 
 of Denmark to the throne; but as that Pontiff was of too 
 hauohty a temperament to brook any opposition, even from 
 a Sovereign, he interdicted the whole kingdom of France, 
 and at length obliged Philip to allow lugelburga the title 
 of Queen, although she enjoyed its honours in the retire- 
 ment of a distant chateau. 
 
 The compact which cemented John and Philip together 
 in Kinr- Richard's vcign,wasnow dissolved; their interests 
 
 m^^^^^ ^9? 
 
^HJ^^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 were no loripi-er tlie same, and Normanrly, whicli John was so 
 ready to resign before it was in iiis possession, was now too 
 desirable to be yielded to the demands of another. One 
 method of securing- it in the Plantagenet family yet re- 
 mained, and this was efl'ected by the union of Blanche of 
 Castile, a near relation of John's, to Louis the Dauphin, the 
 son of King' Philip. In 1202 a new cause of difference 
 arose between the Freiichand English Sovereigns, in John's 
 supposed murder of Arthur, Duke of Bretagne ; which was 
 succeeded by that series of wars and truces between them, 
 of which the story has been already recited, wherein 
 Philip was g-enerally victorious by land, although the 
 English were in a great measure successful by sea. A 
 peace for five years was at leng;th concluded, but during- this 
 period, Prince Louis was invited to join the English Barons j 
 which deceit, whilst Philip affected to disconnienance, he 
 secretly encourag-ed and supported. When the five years had 
 expired, a renewal of hostilities took pkice with King- Henry 
 III.; this^ was succeeded by another truce, and shortly 
 after, in 1223, Philip died, whilst his son Louis was engaged 
 in a Crusade. 
 
 It is usual to assign to this Monarch, the g-reat virtues 
 and honour whicli were so conspicuous in the reign of Au- 
 gustus Cursar ; but if nationality be allowed for, Montfaucon 
 has g-iven as fair and moderate a character of the Prince as 
 can now be drawn, with whicli this sketch of his life may well 
 be eonelnded. "Philip," says he,*' was one of the greatest 
 Kings whicli France has had ; wise,deliliei-ate, of brave de- 
 portment, and enter|irising. He expelled the English from 
 Normandy, Aiijou, Maine, aTid the greater part ot Acqui- 
 taine, and by so doing- extended the boundaries of bis king- 
 dom. But fortune had a material part in these conquests; 
 for if Richard the Lion-hearted, had not died young, there 
 seems much fear that, through the violence of so po\verful 
 an adversary, some of his undertakings would have failed. 
 Historians accuse him of having- been oppressive to his 
 people. He reigned forty-four years, begluniog at the time 
 when he was declared King by his father." 
 
 
But little is now known concerning- this once celebrated 
 religious ambassador; and, indeed, the lives of the eccle- 
 siastics of his period, present scarcely any thing- beside 
 the monotonous acts of conventual seclusion, or the more 
 inconsistent histories of clerical ambition. But although 
 Pandulph certainly partook of these g-eneral characters of 
 his ag-e, yet he ^vas at th* same time well qualified, both by 
 his natural and acquired abilities, to fill the most important 
 political offices with honour to his own country. From 
 those authors who have had occasion to mention the Car- 
 dinal, such as Ciaconius, Vossius, Auberi, Moreri, and 
 Bloniefield, the following- brief notices have been collected. 
 Piindulphus, or Pandulfo, surnamed Di Masca, was a 
 native of Pisa, and was created Cardinal-Priest iu the year 
 1182 by Pope Luke III., by the title of Cardinal of the 
 Twelve Holy Apostles. It would appear that he was con- 
 siderably employed as a Leg-ate ; for in 1196 he was sent to 
 Genoa by Celestine III,, to compose the differences between 
 the Pisans and the Genoese: iu 1198 he was sent by Inno- 
 cent III., in conjunction with another Cardinal, to Tuscia, 
 to annul the lengue made by the Tuscan cities without the 
 Pope's consent : and in 1207 he was sent by the same Pon- 
 tiff with one Durand, a Knight-Templar, as Nuncio into 
 England;^ and whilst iu this country he received the 
 Bishopricof Norwich. After Pandulph was elected to that 
 See, he preferred so many Italians to benefices in his own 
 Diocess, and was otherwise so arbitrary in his proceeding's, 
 that Archbishop Langton at last appealed to the Pope con- 
 cerning- him, and inhibited his institution of priests in the 
 Province of Canterbury. It is farther related of him that he 
 died in Italy on September 16th, 1226, and that his body 
 
 n Vitle a Copy of the lostnictious i^'iven to tlicKC Ambassadors, in Ryiier 's 
 Fopdcra, new eJUion, Volume I., Part i., page .09. 
 
 "-c^' 
 
 '^4 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 was brought to Eng-land, and buried in Norwich Cathedral, 
 although the particular spot is now unknown. He died 
 rich, and is said to have been covetous ^ but he was, never- 
 theless, a benefactor to his Monks, and deposited in that 
 Church several reliques which he had broag-ht with him from 
 Italy. With respect to his literature, it is supposed that 
 he was employed upon a History of the Popes of Rome. 
 
 V. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF 
 HUBERT DE BURGH, THIRD EARL OF KENT. 
 
 This Baron, whose name has been frequently referred to 
 in the preceding- pages, was descended from a brother of 
 William Fitz-Adelme, Steward to King" Henry II., and 
 Governor of the City of Wexford in Ireland j and the 
 earliest notice of bim relates, that he was employed in the 
 service of King- Richard I., although the office which he 
 held under that Monarch is now wholly unknown. In the 
 the 6rst year of the succeeding- reig-n, whilst John was 
 streng-thening- his interests at Rouen, De Burg-h was sent on 
 an embassy to Portng-al to demand of King- Sancho one of 
 his daughters in marriage to the Eng'lish Sovereig-n. John 
 appears always to have entertained a hig-h sense of Hubert's 
 value j for having constituted him Chamberlain of his House- 
 hold, about the year 1201 he placed him in the important 
 office of Warden of the Welch Marches, with 100 soldiers 
 under his command to support his authority in the Western 
 provinces. In the same year the King- also made him 
 Sheriff of Cornwall, Governor of Landstaneton and Dover 
 Castles, and commanded him to fortify that of Dunster, in 
 the County of Somerset. He was likewise Sheriff of Dorset, 
 Somerset, and Herefordshire, from 1201 to 1205 j for Berk- 
 shire, for half of the King'*s fourth year 1203 to 1205; and 
 for Lincolnshire for the fourth part of his tenth year, 1209, 
 to the end of 1214, bis fifteenth. Although the honours 
 which Hubert de Burg-h derived from King John, were of a 
 nature that benefitted his Sovereign and his country rather 
 
 ^^=%r 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 than himself, yet upon an assessment of Scutag-e in the king- 
 dom of Scotland, be became responsible for fourteen Knig-hts 
 fees and a fourth part of the ancient feoffment, in his own 
 right, for the Honour of Wirmegay ; beside a fourth part 
 more of the new feoffment, belonging' to him by marriage 
 with the relict of Dodo Bardolf, and two others brought 
 to him by his second wife, diiughter and heir of William de 
 Norwich, In 1215 he was made Steward of Poictiers, and 
 in the same year was constituted one of the King's Commis- 
 sioners at the assembly of Runnemede; indeed John held 
 Hubert's services in such great esteem, that after that event 
 he raised him to the situation of Chief Justiciary of England, 
 the same day on which Magna Charta was concluded, in 
 presence of the Earls Warren, Ferrers, and many others of 
 the nobility. On June 25th, De Burgh was made Sheriff of 
 Kent and Surrey, and Governor of Canterbury Castle j 
 within five days after Constable of Dover Castle ; and on 
 July 19th, Sheriff of Hereford, and Castellan of the for- 
 tresses of Norwich and Oxford. He was also entrusted with 
 the custody of the Honour of Reyleigh on August 13th, and 
 in October he had a grant of the Lordship and Hundred of 
 Hoo in Kent, formerly belonging to Hugb Bardolf ; and on 
 November 19th, he was appointed one of the King's Com- 
 missioners to treat with Richard, fourth Earl of Clare, and 
 the Barons at Erith Church, upon a peace to be concluded 
 between the King and themselves. In the Baronial Civil 
 Wars, De Burgh was wholly devoted to the King's cause, 
 and when Louis the Dauphin of France attacked Dover 
 Castle, of which he was Governor, with a few servants and 
 about 140 soldiers, Hubert not only maintained that fortress 
 for his forsaken master, but obliged Louis to retreat with 
 considerable loss. 
 
 These were the actions and important services he ren- 
 dered to his Sovereign, and in the succeeding reign, the 
 bonest integrity of his character was not less conspicuous. 
 After Henry III. had ascended the throne of England, the 
 Castle of Dover was still beseiged by Louis; who then 
 urged its surrender to Hubert, alledging that King John 
 being deceased, he was no longer bound by any ties to 
 
 5^r" 
 
defend it in his cause; at the same time addinc;, that 
 he would reward him witli great honours, and advance 
 him to he chief of his council. De Burg-h, however, re- 
 plied, that althou;:^li the King- his master was no more, yet 
 he had left issue to succeed him ; though when he had related 
 the Dauphin's proposal to his fellow-soldiers he would 
 speak farther with him. All attempts to shake De Bnrg-h''s 
 loyalty were in vain; the siege of Dover was raised, and 
 the Barons and Louis returned to London, to pursue their 
 purposes in parts more attached to their interests. 
 
 Though DO victory was gained hy this honest conduct, 
 yet a mateiial damage was effected to the opposing party ; 
 Dover Castle was an important post to aid the designs of 
 Louis, and the sequel proved that hy leaving it ifl the pos- 
 session of the enemy, a considerable shock was given to 
 their cause. A short time after the Dauphin and the Ba- 
 ronial army had returned to London, Lord Eustace de Moyne, 
 with ten other French peers, came with a large fleet to the 
 assistance of Louis ; De Burgh with a trifling armament of 
 eight ships put to sea, and, encountering the expedition, 
 made their chief prisoner and then heheaded him. The 
 minority of Henry IIL had hitherto been under the pmdent 
 careand government of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke; 
 in the year 1219, however, that excellent Baron died, and 
 Hubert de Burgh was appointed to succeed him in the exe- 
 cution of this important charge: in 1220, he was united at 
 York, to Margaret, sister of Alexander IL, King of Scot- 
 land ; which ceremony took place in presence of the Eng- 
 lish and Scottish Sovereig-ns. In the same year he sup- 
 pressed a great and dangerous insurrection in London, 
 begun by one Constantiue, a principal person in the City; 
 and in 1223-24, the 8th of Henry 111,, he was made Go- 
 vernor of Arundel and Rochester Castles. 
 
 Trusted and trustworthy as De Burgh had proved, it 
 is not surprising that the other Barons of England should 
 display mucli discontent at his increasing power in the state, 
 but it should at the same time he observed, that as Hubert 
 was well acquainted with his own importance in Britain, 
 he might have assumed, especially after having entered 
 

 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 into an alliance with King; Alexander, a greater degree of|\ 
 dig-nity towards his fellow peers, than the equality of theii 
 rank allowed. But whether this haughtiness were real o 
 [imaginary, there was at any rate somewhat which inflamed I 
 the ardent minds of the impetuous Barons. Henry III. was 
 at this period holding his Christmas at Northampton, when, 
 says Dug-dale, the Earl of Chester and Barons of his party 
 signified to him, " that unless he did forbear to require their 
 castles, and to hearken to the counsels of this Hubert, (who 
 then carried himself higher than any Nobleman of England,) 
 they would rise up against him, as one man. Wherennto 
 though the King yielded not, this spark did not then break 
 out into a flame: for the next ensuing year, (solemnising 
 the Feast of Christmas at Westminster,) this same Hubert, 
 by his special appointment, proposed to the Lords Spiritual 
 and Temporal then present, an Aid for vindicating the in- 
 juries done to the King and his subjects in the parts beyond 
 sea.'^ Although it appears singularly strange that the anger 
 of the Barons should sleep even for a moment, yet it is more 
 surprising to find that by their advice in the year 1227, the 
 King invested Hubert with the title of the Earl of Kent: 
 but notwithstanding these symptoms of good will, their in- 
 veteracy to De Burgh was not in the le;ist abated, and al- 
 though Henry in a moment of passion and disappointment 
 accused him of disloyal practices, yet his enemies waited 
 for a more successful and remote period, when five principal 
 articles, and several minor ones were charged against him. 
 The ambitious star of Peter de Tlupihus, Bishop of Win- 
 chester, which had occasioned so much contention in the 
 reign of King John, had once more gained the ascendancy 
 in the English Court; he first, in 1231, procured that Hu- 
 bert should be removed from his offices of Chief Justiciary 
 of England and Governorship of several castles, and then 
 instituted against him so minute and unreasonable an enquiry, 
 that hehajja respite from prison, only until his answer to these 
 charges should be prepared. The accusation of De Burg'h 
 by the Bishop of Winchester, seems to have been the signal 
 for complaints of his oppressive conduct, deceit, and cruelty, 
 from the whole kingdom ; he was torn at various times from 
 
 ■^i%»^, 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 tlie different Religious Houses and cliapels, where he had 
 endeavoured to shroud his defenceless head, and had it not 
 been for the friendly interference of Ralph, Bishop of Clii Ches- 
 ter, the Archbishop of Dublin, and Rog'cr, Bishop of Lon- 
 don, in restoring- liini to these sanctuaries, his enemies would 
 have carried their triumphs to an extent much more fatal. 
 
 It could not but happen that Henry should have some 
 intervals, between these fits of his iin'trateful anger- and 
 when such occurred, he would reverse his decree of out- 
 lawry upon Hubert, set him again at liberty, and hear the 
 strongest testimony to the loyalty and prudent government 
 of this faithful subject. But when difficulties once more 
 surrounded Henry, the enemies of De Burgh found it easy 
 to persuade the King- into tlie belief of his dishonesty ; and 
 thus, from the time he was first attainted, his life contained 
 little more than the history of their triumphs. In 1239 he 
 resigned into the King's own hand the greater part of his 
 once immense possessions, and by this act again procured the 
 approval of his royal master; but after this period till the 
 time of his death, which took place in 1243, he appeared no 
 more in the public services of a politician and a soldier. 
 ■^^ After many troubles and interchanges of fortune," says 
 Milles, in his Catalogue of Honour, ** being full of dayes, 
 and in good reputation, he departed this life, the fourth day 
 of the Idcs of May, in the year of our Lord, 1243, the 27th 
 of Henry III., at his Castle of Berkhampsted in Hert- 
 fordshire. His body was honourably conveyed to London, 
 and intomhed in the Church of the Friars-Predicants, unto 
 whom he in his life time had been an especial benefactor.'' 
 
 Hubert de Burg-h was four times marrif d : firstly, to 
 Joan, daughter of Vernon, Earl of Devon, and relict of 
 William de Briwere; secondly, to Beatrice, daughter of 
 William de Warren, and relict of Dodo Bardolf; thirdly, to 
 Isabel, daughter and coheir of William, Earl of Gloucester, 
 and relict of Geoffrey de Mandeville, who had formerly been 
 divorced from King John, from his desire for Isabel of 
 Angouleme; and lastly, as already related, to Margaret, 
 daughter of William, King of Scotland. By tliis lady he 
 had two sons, John and Hubert. 
 
The famous j)Iaiii of Runnemede, upon which the First 
 Magna Charta was concluded, is situate on the South-west 
 banks of the Thames, between Staines and Windsor, in the 
 Hundred of Godley or Cliertsey, and the County of Surrey. 
 The name of litis meadow is sometimes derived from the 
 river running' beside it; but as it is affirmed by Leland to 
 have been anciently used for national assemblies, and called 
 Council-Mead, the title was probably adopted from the 
 Saxon Kuney Council. The field itself contains 160 acres 
 of strong- g-ood soil, let at 20,s. per acre, and tithe-free; and 
 is the property of ten persons, who have the sole use of it 
 from March to August 12th, when it becomes common to 
 all the Parish of Egham, which turns on an indefinite number 
 of cattle. The last week in August it is used foi- races, with 
 some enclosed lands adjoining, which are then thrown open 
 to make a two-mile course. These amusements, with the 
 erection of tents, trampling of horses, &c., destroy the 
 herbage for the time, though it soons springs up again 
 much improved and in great abundance. But though the 
 name of Runnemede be usually connected with that of 
 Magna Charta, it is supposed that only the Baronial army 
 was encamped upon it; and that the King and prin- 
 cipal parties to the covenant on both sides, withdrew to a 
 small island, where it was actually concluded. This spot is 
 still called Miigna Charta Island, and stands in the Thames, 
 not far beyond Ankerwyke in Buckinghamshire, to which 
 there is a ferry from it for foot-passeng'ers. The ferry- 
 keepcr^s house stands on the isluud, ahnost bidden by the 
 osiers with which it is covered; and iin interesting- view of 
 it, engraven by Mr. W. B. Cooke, may be seen in Mr. James 
 IlakewilTs Histon/ of Windsor^ London, 1813, 4to. page 
 336. The preceding particulars of Runnemede have been 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 derived from The History and Antiquities of Surrey ^ by the 
 Rev, Owen Mi\nniiig and W. Bray, Vol. III. pag-e 249. 
 LoudoTi, 1814, folio ; and Edw. Lye's Dictionarium Saxonico 
 et Gothico Lalinum. London, 1772, fol. Vol. II. in voce 
 Rune. 
 
 With the present illustrations may also be noticed 
 another remarkable spot in the County of Surrey, which 
 popular tradition has likewise connected with Mag-na Charta; 
 as having- been the place where the Barons secretly met to 
 consult upon their proceedings. This is the celebrated 
 cavern and ball beneath the site of Reygate Castle; of 
 which a ground-plan and description may he seen in the 
 History of Surrey, already cited. Vol. I. London, 1804, 
 pages 293, 294. The excavation is formed under the 
 Castle-bill, from the top of which jt is entered by a flight 
 of steps to the depth of 18 feet, covered with a building of 
 a pyramidical shape. The passage then descends with a 
 regular declivity, without steps, for 26 feet farther; and 
 the whole length of the avenue leading to the principal cave 
 is 235 feet. Its shape is angular, consisting of two unequal 
 arras; one leading to the entrance on the summit of thebill, 
 and the other, passing through the dry fosse of the Castle, 
 is supposed originally to have communicated with the town 
 of Reygate, but the avenue is now broken down, and the 
 arch and cavity are stopped up. Out of this passage, which 
 forms the longest arm, a narrow entry 27 feet long, issues 
 at an obtuse angle, and leads into a chamber, or hall, 123 
 feet in length, 13 feet wide, and 11 high ; of a curved form 
 and octangular at the end, in one part of which Js a crypt, 
 50 yards in length, surrounded by seals of stone. All these 
 excavations are vaulted with pointed arches. 
 
 Reygate Castle was anciently one of the principal seats 
 of the Enrls of Warren and Surrey, in England; and in the 
 time of King John was held by William Plantagenet, the 
 sixth Earl of the County. In the Civil Wars of the time be 
 remained neuter, and was one of the Barons w ho were forced 
 by the others to take arms agaiust the King, see the pre- 
 sent volume, pages 28, 321 ; but his name appears on John's 
 party in tlie opening of Magna Charta, vide pages 64, 65. 
 
.#Wi\-:'A< 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 K^' 
 
 1 
 
 3j 
 
 
 
 
 
 i i-\ 1/ 
 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 |His leluctance in joining- the insurgents, lost him his Castle 
 in 1215; though it was restored to him again in June, 1216, 
 sooD after the landing- of Louis the Daupliin. These cir- 
 cumstances almost entirely disprove the tradition hefore-men- 
 tioned concerning- the Reyg-ate excavations; tliough they 
 douhtless might have heen occasionally used for private 
 deliherations in times of public discontent, as well as de- 
 positories for treasure and military stores, or the security of 
 prisoners. 
 
 VII. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 
 
 OF THE SEVERAL 
 CHARTERS OF LIBERTIES, W^RITS, ACTS OF PARLIAMENT, 
 ANP CONFIRMATIONS, CONNECTED WITH THE AN- 
 CIENT LAWS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 The Descriptive Account of the Enu;liBli Charters, .ic. on pp. 39-l-4r0, having 
 shcivn that they were verymimerous, it has heen considered an important addition 
 to it, to furnish the reader with an abridged list of thusc instruments, their dates, 
 orig'inal laugiiage, depoKitories, &c. &:c. which may be more easily consulted and 
 referred to. 
 
 INSTITUTlOiVS OF THE ANCIENT ENGLISH LAW. 
 
 A D. 
 
 TjOO The Ldw of the Lnod translated from the British into Saxon. 
 610. Englisli Laws first publislied- 
 
 877, or 891). 19th year of ALFRED, who begins compiline the Anglo- 
 Saxon Coitimou Law, Written in Saxon. See VVilkiiis' Leges 
 Aoelo-SaxoiiicEe, p. 28, and the present volume, p. 396. 
 9G6. 9tb EDGAR who extends and establishes iL Saxon. Wilkins, p. 
 
 70, and p. 3% of the present volume. 
 1015. 2nd CANUTE, whose Constitutions are established at Winchester 
 in form of a Charter. Saxon. Wilkins, p. 126, and pp. 396, 397 of 
 the present volume. 
 1065. EDWARD tbe CONFESSOR, who establishes his combined Laws 
 tbrnughout England. Probably originally composed in Saxon 
 Wilkins p. 197, and p. 397 of the present volume. 
 1069. 4lh WILLIAM I, who recites and confirms them. Saxon, Latin, 
 and also supposed in Romance French. See pp. 398-100 of the 
 present volume Wilkins, pp. 197, 211 231. Printed in Rymer's 
 Foedera, new edit. I part i. p. 1., from the Red Book of the Ex- 
 chequer at Westminster, Rapin'a History of England, I. 282. 
 Tyrrell's History of England, H., part ii., appendix i. 
 
 1^ a 
 
^fw^^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 fUNKirtMATlONS AND AMENDMENTS OF TlIK PRECEDING LAWS 
 nv CHARTERS OP LIBUIITIICS. 
 
 ))m. 1st or 2i:id HENRY I. Institutions of tlie ancient Enelisli Laws. 
 Paled Loudon, at his Cornnalion, (Sunday, Aug. 5lli,) Lalin. 
 En ered in ller( Book of Exclieq. Westm. fol. 10: Texins Rnf 
 fpnsis, Rncliester. Printed in Vita Recris Stephani, Ity Richard 
 nf HextiJim, p. 310; Historia Major, liy Matthew Paris: Lam" 
 bartle's Anliaionomia, p. 175: Wilkiiis, p. 231: Histories of 
 England, hy Tyrrell, ii.part i., 114. append. 5, amlRapin. L,2S3. 
 Blackstone's Introduction to the English Chartiirs, Siatntes of 
 the Realm, 1., p. 1., and the present volume, pp. 400-'I04. 
 
 1130. Isl STEPHEN. Charier oj General Liberfies. AtLondon. Latin. 
 Entries in Cottonian Manusrripts in Ihf British Museum, Clau- 
 dius D.H., fol. 08 b. I'rinted in Tyrrell, Rap'r. Blackstnoe's 
 lntrod.,Stats. of Rea]m,r4., Wilkiiis 310, and tlie prtsent vo- 
 lume, p. 409. 
 
 ...../., Charier of Ecclesiastical lAherties. Oxford. Lalin. 
 Originalin Archives of Exeter Cathedral. Entries in records of 
 Canterbury Cathedral Reg. v. fol. 14, ix. fol. 72. Printed in T. 
 Hearne's Gulielmus Newbrigensis. p. 711.; Rich, of Hexham, 
 p. 314; Tyrrell ii.p.i.203.App.7.i Rnpini.2S4; Slats, of Realm, 
 I. 3. Blackst. Infrod., and the present volume, pp.404408. 
 
 Iir.l. IstHENRY IL Confirmanouof the Charter of Henry I. Westm. 
 Latin. Entries in Cotton. MSS. Claud. D. II. fol. 75 b. Prinfed 
 in TyiTetl ii. part i. 29D, App.8. Wilkins p. 318 : Blackstone's 
 Introd., Stats, of Realm, I. 4. and the present volume, ji. 409. 
 
 117j. 2lHt Henry JI. Law .s of Edward the Confessor confirmed. Seethe 
 present volume, p. 410. 
 
 12M. IfilhJOHN. Charter for the freedovi of Ecclesiastical Elections. 
 New Temple, London, Jan. 15th, and Nov. ?lst. Latin. Entries 
 in Records of Cant. Cathed. Re?, v., fol. 14b.: Red Book of 
 Eic.heq.\Vcstm.fol.273h,i?fi7b. Rymer'sFced. L i., 126; Stats, 
 of Realm, I. 5. Confirmed by Papal Bull, 30th March, 1215, see 
 Rymer as before, and the present volume, pp. 410, 411, 417, 418. 
 
 1214 Ifith John. Letters Patent declaring that neither the Kin? nor 
 Ills officers shall forcibly capture or dispossess any of his Barons, 
 excepting by the legal judgment of their peers and the law of the 
 land ; (vide Ma?n. Chart. Reg. Joh. chap, xxxix. pp. 82, 83,) that 
 all disputes shall be rf-ferred to the Holy See and 8 arliitrators, 4 
 on each part ; and naming the Bishops of London, Worcester, 
 Chester, Rochester, and William Earl of Warren, to act in the 
 interim. Windsor, 3Iay lOlh. Lalin, Entered on Patent Rolls, 
 17th John, part i., membr. 3d, No. 2- Printed in Blackst. Introd. 
 
 1215. 17th John. Letter from Ihe King (o Pope Innocent HI., relating 
 the dispute betweec himself and bis Barons, concerning liberties 
 and grievances. Odiham. May 2yth. Latin. Entered on the 
 Close Rolls I7(h Joh. membr. 24 d. Printed in Rymer's Feed. I. 
 i. 129: Prymieii.^5. 
 
 - Writ of Safe-conduct to the Barons assembbng at 
 
 Runnemede. Merton, June 8th. Latin, Entered on Pat. Roll 
 of the year, membr. 24. Continuation of ditto, deferring the 
 meeting to Trinity Monday. Windsor, June lOlh. Latin. 
 Pat. Roll as above. Printed in Rymer\s Foed. I. i. 120. Blackst. 
 iDtrod. 
 
 '€5^*" 
 
 %< 
 
 Arfen 
 
 &$-^ '£^^m^^ 
 

 1215. Mh JOHN. Articles of Mag?m Charla. Latin. Ori^ncr/ in Brit. 
 Mus. Donation MSS. No. 48.'!S. Entries in Archiepiscnpal Li- 
 brary, Lambeth Palace, 3 Splden 1905. Printed inRymer's Foei. i,fl 
 I.i. i29,Blacbst. Infrod. Stats, of Realm, I. 6, and tbe present 'M 
 volume, pp. 4!), 420 422. fj 
 
 ....'.■ MAGNA CHARTA. Rnnnemede, June loth. Latin. .4) 
 Originals, iwo in Cott. MSS. Brit. Mus, one being contained in y., 
 Augustus II. 106; others in Archives of Lincoln and Sali.'ihury 
 Cathedrals. Printed in Latin in Brady's, Tyrrell's, and Rapin's 
 Hist, of Eng-lfind, Blackstone's Charters, Rymcr's Feed, new 
 edit. Stats, of Realm. Copies and Translations in Brady, Tyrrell, 
 ii., 821, and append. 9, Rapin, Stats, of ReWm, and the present 
 volume, p. 63. A French translation is contained in D'Acheri's 
 Spicilegium, xii., 573, though it is ver>' doubtful if John's Magna 
 Charta were ever publi-shed in that language. See Ibe present 
 volume, p. 430. Ancient Manuscript Entries of this Charter are 
 very numerous, being in the Charter Rolls, tbe Red Book, of the 
 Exclieq. Weslm. a Register in Gloucester Cathedral, Coft BISS. 
 Claud. D.II.andHarl. MSS. No. 746, Brit. Mus. &c, &c. See 
 also the present volume, pp. 422428, for a farther account of 
 them. 
 
 Letters Testimonial of the Clergy, reciting Magna Charta. 
 
 Latin Entered in Red Boek of Escheq. Westm., and collated 
 in Blackst. Charters. See also the present volume, pp. 325, 429. 
 
 Covenant of Security with the Barons. Latin. Entered 
 
 on Close Rolls, membr. 27 d,21 d. Printed in Blackst. Charters, 
 Ryraer's Foed. and the present volume, pp. 102, 430. 
 
 Protest of the Bishops conceriting the Forest Clauses in 
 
 Magna Charta. Lalin. Close Rolls, as above. Printed in 
 Blackst. Charters, Rymer's Feed, and the present volume, p. 7. 
 
 King''s Writ for electing Knights to enquire into Forest 
 
 franchises. Rnnnemede, June 19tli. Latin. Entered on Pat. 
 Roll.memhr. 23 d. Printed in Blackst. Introd- Rymer's Feed, 
 and the present volume, p. 323. 
 
 ■ King's IVrit for dismissing his foreign soldiers, accordms 
 
 Cbap. li. of Magna Charta. Runn' mede, June 23rd. Latin. 
 Entered on Pat. Roll, menibr. 23, No. 110, Printed in Blackst. 
 Inlrod. and the present volume, p. 247. 
 
 King's Writ for causing all persons to swear to the "^ 
 
 Barons. Winchester, June 27tb. Latin, Pat. Rolls, 17th John 
 membr. 21,No. 105. Printed in Blackst. Introd. Rymer's Foeii. 
 and the present volume, p. 322. French translalion in D'Acheri's 
 Spicilegium, xii. 573. 
 
 Bull of Innocent III. vacating Magna Charta. Anagna, 
 
 Sept. 24th. Latin. Printed inRymer'sFoed.,Prynne's Records, 
 ii.,342. Blackst. Introd. 
 
 121^. istHET^RY Ul. Magna Charta. Bristol, Nov. 12th. Latin, Ar- 
 chives of Durham Cathed. Orig. Domesday Book of YarkCathed. 
 Blackst. Charters, Stats, of Realm, and the present volume, p. 
 30j. a Latin Letter from the King to the Chief Justice of Ireland , 
 entered on the Close Roll of this year, membr, 14 d, 25 d, and 
 printed by Blackstone, contains an account of this grant, a copy 
 of which was sent to Ireland with a Writ dated Gloucester, Feb. 
 6th. Entered on the Pat. Roll, memhr, 13, The Irish Charter 
 is entered in the Red Book oi the Excheq. at Dublin, and was 
 
 &^'^ 
 
ff:^^ 
 
 ^WV^^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 collaleti l»y Blnckstone, and the Writ is pritited in Rymer'sFce'l. 
 I.,i., 140, Blnckst. Introd.. and in the present volume p 116 
 See also p. ^30. 
 
 1217. Isl Henry III. Writs for the pnlilication and estaMishment of 
 Mftpnn Charts thronphoutEntrland. Chertsey. June 23rd. Close 
 Roll, ineuibr. 10. d. Printed in Black-it. Fntro'l. 
 
 Magna Chart a. Latin. Or?*/, in Bodl. Libr. Oxf. 
 
 MSS. Furney No.5 Anc Entries in Dnmesd. Book. York; MSS. 
 in Archives of Gloucester Cathed. and City of London, Lilier- 
 Custmnavum. fol. 27, b.; Bodl. Libr. Laud. F. ] 19., Marsh 132., 
 Hattnn28..N. E.F. 2,4,i.,PublicLibraryCainbridee,E. e I 1 
 E.e.2 9..H.h.3.1l..L.l.l,I0..4.]8; Harl MSS. Brit Mas No' 
 493,fol. 42; 746. fol. 59; 867,81)9, 946,1033, 1120. '197r>; Inner Temple 
 Libr. MSS.Petyt,9; Libr. Trinity and Corpus Chriati Colleges, 
 Cambridge, D 1. Printed in Blackst. Cliartersi, Stats, of Realm, 
 and the present volume, p. 118- See ttlso p. 431. 
 
 First FOREST CHARTER. St, Panl's Loud. Nov. 
 
 fith. Latin. Orif/. in Archives of Durliam Cathed. Entered in 
 Black Book in Cathed. of Christ Church Dublin, Domes. Book 
 of York,Lib.x. in Excheq. and the MSS. above cited. Printed 
 in Stats, of Rfalm, and the present volume p. 329. 
 
 1217-18. 2nd Henry HI, King's Writs (lirecdiig observance of the Char- 
 ters. Sturminster, Febr. 22nd. Latin. Entered on Close Roll, 
 membr. 1) d. Printed in Blackst. Introd., and the present vo- 
 lume, pp. 237, S20. 433435. 
 
 1218 2nd Henry HI. Writ for Forest Perambulations. Leicester, July 
 24th, Lnlin, Entered on Pat. Roll, part ii. membr. 2. Printed 
 in Black.st. lutrnd,, and the present volume, p. 313. 
 
 1219, 3rd Henry llf. Entry of the expenses of the preceding Perambu- 
 lation, charged on the Counties of Dorset and Somerset. Latin. 
 Great Roll of the Exchequer, 14 b. Printed in Madox'a Hist, of 
 Exclieq. p. 285, note g. Blackst. Introd., and the present volume, 
 p. 343. 
 
 1222. 7th Henry HI. Writs to (be Sheriffs of England, to make enquiry, 
 by the oath of twelve Knights in each county, wliat liberties, &c. 
 belonged to King John. Jan. 30(b. Latin. Close Roll, membr. 
 14, d. Printed by Dr. Brady, i. Append. 1(58. 
 
 ]221-2.'>. 9th Henry HI. Magna Charta. Westminster, Feb. Jlth. Latin. 
 Originalsm Durham Cathed., Lacock Abbey, Wilts. Entered 
 nn the Littleton Roll, Ledger Book, Durh. Cath. Cart, I. fol. 194. 
 Red Book Excheq. Westm. fol. clxixiij. Printed iuElackstone's 
 Chart., Stats, of the Realm, and the present volume, p. 13], 
 See also pp. 435, 430. From a passage in a Latin letter from 
 Henry III. to the Archbishop of Dublin, printed by Pi-j-nne, iii. 
 04. it is supposed by Blackstone, that this and the following Char- 
 ter were both transmitted to Ireland. 
 
 Forest Charter, same date. Latin. Origiiial at 
 
 Durham Cathed, Entered in Ledger Book in same Arch. cart, iii, 
 fol. 211. Printed in Blackst. Chart. Statutes of the Realm. See 
 pane 437 of the present volume . 
 
 1236-37. 2l3t Henry III. Confirmation Charter. Westminster, Jan. 28th. 
 Lalin. Original in Bodl. Libr. Oxf. MSS. Furuey, No. 6. Entries 
 in Cott. MSS. Brit, Mus. Galba E iv. 57. Chart. Roll, membr. 7. 
 No. 4. Printed in Blackst. Chart. Stats, of Realm, and the pre- 
 sent volume, p. 3G9. See also pp. 376, 437. 
 
 -^^^ 
 
 tA 
 
; ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. i 
 
 J2V 21.st Henry III. Wrifs to ShcriD's of England, commandwr/ the '■ 
 Charters 10 he ohserved. Westminster, May 2f)tli. liatin. Eu. ■' 
 tered on Close Roll, membr. 15. Printed in Blackst. Introd, ' 
 
 12'i] '2 :^fitli Henry III. Magna Charta. Westminster, February Iltli . 
 Latin. Originaliu Cott. MSS. Augustns II. Art. 51. Printed iu 
 Stats, of the Realm, and referred to in the present volume, pp. 
 1-1-1,437. 
 1253. 3711] Henry III. Sentence of Excommunication Westminster, 
 31ay l?.th. Latin. Entered in Red Book of the E\cbeq, Westm- 
 Printed in M. Paris, Matt, of Westm. Annals of Burton, \V niter 
 Hemingford, Stats, of the Realm, and the present volume, pp. 
 377,438. 
 
 1264 65, -ISth Henry III. Confrmolion Charter. Westminster, HIarrh 
 Uth. Latin. Charter Roll, membr. 4., Libr. Corp. Christi Coll. 
 Camb. No. 70,, Cotton. MSS. Brit. Mus. Claud. D. II. fol. 137. 
 Printed in Blackst. Char!". Stats, of Realm, and described at pages 
 377-380, 438, of the present volume. 
 
 I}ispex!?7rjts grsiwis of Mag?ia Charta and Charta 
 
 Foresta,ii3.m(i date. Latin. Harleian MSS. Brit. Mus. No. 489, 
 fol. 4 »-10b, and the Manuscripts cited in the last article. See pp. 
 380.438, of the present volume. 
 
 1267. 52i)d Henry III. Statute of Marlebridtre, Novemh. I8t"n. Chap. v. 
 Latin. Red Book Exchen. Westm., Clo.sc and Pnlent Ro!h at 
 theXower, Cott. MSS. Claud. D. II. Printed in Blackst. Chart. 
 Stats, of Realm, and pa?e 3HI, of the present volume 
 
 I2Sj. l."?!!! EDWARD I. Form of CoufinnationofCharters. Latin. Close 
 Roll, membr. 7, in cedula. Printed in Stats, of Realm. See also 
 page ;^2, of the present volume. 
 
 1297. 2alh Edward I. The Earis of Hereford and Norfolk publish a kind 
 of manifesto in the names of the other Barons and Prelates, com- 
 plaining of grievances, and the neglect of ihe two Charters. 
 Histories by H. Kuyehton and Tho. Walsingliara, and Blackst. 
 Introd. To this the King replied by a Patent, dated Odyraere, 
 near Winchilsey, Aug. 12tli. (Latin) promising to amend these 
 grievances, and confirm the Charters, if an aid were granted for 
 the war in Flanders. Entered on Patent Roll, part ii. membr. 7. 
 Printed in Brady's Hist. ii. Append. 20. To efftct these inten- 
 tions, a Parliament was summoned to meet on Oct. f'tb, the Writs 
 of Summons to which stated that it was to confirm the Charters, 
 and grant an aid which should not be made a precedent. 
 
 Patent from the King in answer, promising lo 
 
 amend those grievances and renew the Charters, on condition of 
 an aid. Odymere, near Winchilsey, Aug. 12th, Latin. Entered 
 on Patent Roll, part ii, membr. 7. Printed in Brady's Hist. ii. 
 Append. 20. 
 
 Writs of Summons to aParliament for contirm- 
 
 ingthe Charters, and granting the foregoing aid, to meet at Lon- 
 don, Oct, 6tii. St, Paul's, London, Sept. 16th. Latin. Etitered 
 on Close Roll, membr. 1,1. Printed ia Rymer's Foed, I. Prynne 
 iii. 730, tind Blackst. Introd. 
 
 Statute called Confirmatio Chiirtanim. London, 
 
 Oct. 10th. French. Entered on Stat. Roll, membr. .38. Printed 
 in Statu, ofthe Realm, Blackst. Chart, and the present volume, 
 pages 369-373. 38;US9. 410-442. 
 Lispexhui's of Magna Charta Ol/i of Henri/ III. 
 
n^^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLHSTRATIONS. 
 
 Westminster. Oct. ]2tli. Latin. Original iu AvcLives of City of 
 liOiKlon, Kntered on Stat. Roll, niembr. 3S. Printed in Blackst. ,; 
 Chart. Stats. Realm. Seethe presentvolume, pp. 1-15-158,383,438- 
 1?97. 25tli Edward 1. Inspeximus of the Forest Charter. Same date. 
 Latin, Entered on Stat. Roll. MS. in Archives of Gloucester 
 Cathed. and a French translation in Harl. MSS, No. 5326. See 
 the present volume, p 439. 
 
 Covfinnation Charter. Ohe'ni,l:io\.b\]i. French. 
 
 OH(/iH«/with Cotton. Charters Brit. Mus. VII. 9. Harl. MSS. No. 
 5320. See the present volume, pp. 369-373, 383 389 
 
 Sentence of the Clergy on the Confirmationes 
 
 Chartarum. Latin. Hart. MSS. No. 667, fol. 14. Seep. 389 of 
 the present volume. 
 
 129D. 27th Edward I. Writs to the Sheriffs of England commandwg the 
 Charters to be observed, reciting the Forest Charter, and pro- 
 mising a Perambulation of the Forests. Latin. London. 
 March 26th, April 2nd. Entered on Close Roll, meinbr, 17d. 
 Stat. Roll, membr. 37. Printed in Pryune, iii. 8^12-844. 
 
 A Confirmation ot" the two Charters, recorded to 
 
 have "been issued at a Par^ament helrl about the be^nnlng: of the 
 ensuing May. See Brady',>i Hiat. ii. 65; and those by N. Trivet, 
 T. WalsiuKham, au'l W. Heuiingford. 
 
 , . Writs to tite Sheriffs of England, psslponiiig the 
 
 Forest Perambulations until after the harvest, and promising 
 that the Perambulators should meet at Northampton by Michael- 
 mas day at the farthest. Sune^fAh. French and Latin. Entered 
 on Bundel. brev, for the year. Printed in Prynne, iii. 810. See 
 also page i'i of the present volume. 
 
 Statiilurade Finibus levatis. Latin. Original 
 
 withCritt. Charlers,VH., II., Cok.e'3 Institutes. Slats, of Realm. 
 See p. 390 of the present volume, 
 
 12091300, 28th Edward I. Confirmation Charter. Lincoln, Feb. 14th 
 Original iw^OfW.Tuihv. Osf. MSS. Farney, No. 8. See the pre- 
 sent volume, pp. 374, 375, 393. 443. 
 
 Statute of Articuli Super Cartas. London, rth 
 
 March. French. Original in Oriel College, Oxf. Entries on 
 Stat. Roll, mrmbr.35. Printed in Coke'slnstit., Black.st. Introd. 
 Statg. of Realm. See also pages 46,391, of the present volume. 
 
 nOO. 28th Edward I. Inspeximus of Magna Charta. Westminster, 
 March 28th. Latin. Archives of the City of London, Durham 
 Cathed, Oriel College, Oxf- Town Records of Appleby, West- 
 moreland. Collepate Church of Westminster, Originals. En- 
 tered in Red Book of Excheq., Westm., Stat, and Charter Rolls 
 for the year French translation, Harl. iWSS . No. 5326. Collated 
 by Blackst. Stats, of the Realm. Seep. 4-12 of the present volume. 
 
 Inspeximus of the Charta Foresta. Same date. 
 
 Latin. Archives of Westm., Durham CHthed,,and Oriel College, 
 Oxf. Originals. Chart.RoUfor the year.No. 25. French tran.s- 
 lation, Hari. MSS. No. 5326. Collated by Blackst. Stats, of the 
 Realm. See p. 443 of the present volume. 
 
 Writs for electing 12 Knights in each Count)/ to 
 
 carry the Charters into effect. London, March 27th. Latin. 
 Entered on Close Roll, membr. II d. Printed in Prynne, iii. 848. 
 
 Writs directing the Sheriffs of England to read the 
 
 Charters publicly four times every year. Westminster, March 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 -" 28[h, Latin. Close Roll of the year inembr. 8 d,, Prynne, in. 
 
 ^^ ■ S48. 
 
 1301). 2Sth Ertwardl. Writs to the Slieriffs of England for proclaiming the 
 Artictdi super Cartas. 15th April. Lalin. Close Roll of the 
 year, membr. 7 d. Prynne. iii,, 848. Rymer's Feed. ii..803. 
 Writs to the Perambulators of the Foreat for com- 
 mencing their view. Westm. April 1st. Latin. Close Roll, 
 membr. 8 d, III. Prynne. 849. Blackst. Introd. 
 
 Commissions to the Twelve Knitrhts elected on the 
 
 Articuli superCartas. May 10th. Latin. Entered on Pat. Roll, 
 raembr. 14. Printed in Prynne, iii. .850. 
 
 Writs of Summons to the Sheriffs of England, for a 
 
 Parliament to meet at Lincoln Jan. 26tb. for receivinirthe report 
 of the Forest Commissioners. La Rose, Sept. 26th, Latin. En- 
 tered on Close Roll, membr. 3 d. Printed in Blackst, Introd. 
 UOO-l.^ffi. 29th Edward I. Rolls of Perambulations of the Forests, with 
 Patent establishing them. Lincoln, Feb. Hth. Latin. Patent 
 Roll. A Specimen from membr. 8. is printed in Blackst. Introd. 
 Under this Article it may be noticed, that in the Tower Re- 
 cords are also some distinct rolls of Forest Perambulations; 
 a few of which relate to the reign of Henry III., and others 
 to the 7th, 28th. and 29lh years of Edward I., 1279, 1298- 
 1301. In general, however, these Perambulations are en- 
 tered on the Patent and Close Rolls, which contain grants 
 of public and private privileges. The Rolls of Forest Pleas 
 held by the Justiciaries in Eyre, are also preserved in the 
 Tower, and extend from the 10th jear of Juhn, 1208, to the 
 end of the reign of Edward III., 1.377. 
 1305. 31th Edward I. Bull from Pope Clement V,, annulling all conces- 
 sioDs extorted from the King on account of the Forests and other 
 liberties, and releasing him from the engagements by which he 
 was held to observe them. Lvons, iv Calends of Janaary, (Dec. 
 29tb.) Latin. Original with Treasurer of Escheq. Printed in 
 Rymer's Foed, I., part ii.. p. 978. 
 1305130fi. 3Ith Edward I. Statute De Tallagio non Concendendo, sup- 
 posed to be a translation of the Confinnationeg Chartarnm of 
 12W, concerning aids, &c, Latin. Printed in Cokes 2iid Insti- 
 tute, 532. Stats, of Realm. 
 130Q. ^th Edward I. Statute of Ordinatio Forestje. Westrainst. May 
 27th, 28th. Latin. Entered on Great Stat. Roll in Tower, mem- 
 brane 34. Printed iu Stats, of Realm, I. 147. Chap v. of tnis 
 Statute is remarkable for containing a revocation of the deatfo- 
 restations, and Sentence of Excommunication against such as 
 opposed them. 
 1311. I5th EDWARD I[[. Greatand Forest Charters confirmed, with an 
 ordinance that none be arrested contrary to Magna Chnrta, in 
 Stat. I. of this year, Cbap.i., iii.. iv. I5th of Easter Term. French. 
 This Statute is partially revoked by an entry of Session i. on the 
 back of the Roll, membr. 19. Printed in Stats, of Realm, I. 295. 
 13fi8- 42nd Edward III. Confirmation of the Great and Forest Charters, 
 with repeal of Statutes made to the contrary, in Stat, of this year. 
 Chap. I. Westm. May. French. Entered on membr, 3 of the 
 Roll. Printed in Stats, of the Realm, I ,, 3SS. 
 
 ms, ^4fiR«s*i5^ 
 
 M^, 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 VIII. TABLE SHEWING THE COMMENCEMENT AND 
 TERMINATION OF EVERY YEAR DURING THE 
 REIGN OF KING JOHN, CALCULATED FROM AS- 
 CENSION-DAY TO ASCENSION-DAY IN EACH YEAR. 
 
 
 Vidd Memoir 
 
 of liing Johi 
 
 , PUBC 
 
 472. 
 
 
 Istfv 
 
 om May 27th. . . 
 
 . .1199 to 
 
 May 
 
 .17th .. 
 
 . . . 1200 
 
 2nd . 
 
 ISth... 
 
 .1200 . . 
 
 
 . 2nd.. 
 
 ..1201 
 
 3ld. 
 
 3rcl... 
 
 .1201 .. 
 
 
 ,22nd.. 
 
 . . . 1202 
 
 4th. 
 
 23ril.. . 
 
 . . 1202 . . 
 . . 1203 . . 
 . . 1204 . . 
 
 Mth .. 
 
 .June 2nd . . 
 . May IStll . . 
 
 .1203 
 
 5th. 
 
 15th . 
 
 1204 
 
 6th.. 
 
 . . June 3i(i.. . 
 
 ...1205 
 
 7th. 
 
 . .May 19th... 
 
 ..1205 .. 
 
 
 .10th .. 
 
 ...1206 
 
 8th. 
 
 lltli... 
 
 ..1206 . 
 
 
 .30ih.. 
 
 . . . 1207 
 
 9th. 
 
 31st ... 
 
 . . 1207 . . 
 
 
 . 14tli . . 
 
 ...1208 
 
 10th . . 
 
 15th... 
 
 .1208 . . 
 
 
 . 6th . . 
 
 . . . 1209 
 
 lltli. 
 
 7th... 
 
 . 1200 . . 
 
 
 .26th .. 
 
 ...1210 
 
 12th. 
 
 27th... 
 
 .1210 . . 
 
 
 .11th .. 
 
 ...1211 
 
 13th.. 
 
 12th... 
 
 .1211 .. 
 
 
 . 2nd.. 
 
 ...1212 
 
 14th.. 
 
 3i-.l... 
 
 .1212 . . 
 
 
 .22nd.. 
 
 ...1213 
 
 15th. 
 
 23rd. . 
 
 .1213 .. 
 .1214 . . 
 
 
 . 7th . . 
 .27th .. 
 .18th .. 
 
 . . .1214 
 
 16th. , 
 
 8th . . . 
 
 28th... 
 
 ...1215 
 
 17th.. 
 
 .1215 . . 
 
 
 ...1216 
 
 18th.. 
 
 19th 
 
 .1216 .. 
 
 .Oct 
 
 llUh .. 
 
 . .1216 
 
 
 
 
 IX. HISTORICAL EXAMINATION INTO THE SUPPOSE 
 DEATH OF KING JOHN BY POISON.. 
 
 Vide tile preeeding Essay hiid Memoir, prtyes 34, 35, 400, 4;il, 
 
 . i 
 
 Tub very doubtful circumstances^ attending the decease of 
 tliis Sovereign, and the several causes assigned for it, have 
 beeu already more than once referred to in the preceding 
 pog-Gsj and the present article is intended to give a more 
 particular account of the arguments and aulhorities, which 
 have been adduced to support each side of the question. 
 
 &^-^. 
 

 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The subject seems to have been first a|;itated in tliit 
 series of pnblicatious concerning- the evil intentions of the "^ 
 Jesuits, which appeared about the end of the sixteenth and ^ 
 beginning- of the seventeenth centuries ; when the narrative 
 of the poisoning- was recited by Sir Francis Hastings, in his "N" 
 tract, entitled *^ A watch-word to all rellg-ious and t up 
 hearted Engdishmen." Loud, 1598, 8vo. This was answered 
 by the celebrated Jesuit Father Robert Parsons, in a work 
 called, "-^The temperate waid-word against the seditious 
 ward-word of Sir Francis Hastings in behalf of the Popish 
 cause ;"" in which he considers the story as cited from Cax- 
 ton''s Chronicle to be a novelty, not older than the puhlica- 
 tion of that work in 1483, — though there was an edition of 
 it printed in 1480; — and, being very unwilling^ to acknow- 
 ledge the poison, viewing it as a reproach on Monachisni 
 and the Catholic faith, he accuses his antagonist and the 
 Protestants witli malice and forgery: though Caxton, 
 John Major, and George Lilly, also Papists, do not hesi- 
 tate to record it. He also charges the same upon John 
 Fox for relating the story in bis "Acts and Monuments j" 
 and particularly censures the malignancy of the latter, 
 for having represented the whole transaction in a larg-e 
 wood-cut of six compartments, though a perfectly ficti- 
 tious design, all the figures being- dressed in the costume 
 of the Author's own times, and King- John wearing- his 
 crown, even after he had hist it in tlie Washes at Lincoln. 
 Upon the publication of Speed's "History of Great Britain," 
 in 1611j Dr. John Bavkhani, Dean of Booking, who wrote 
 the lives of Henry 11. and King John for tJiat work, again 
 brought forward the different accounts of the latter Sove- 
 reign's death, and particularly noticed the recent discussion • 
 affirming tliat there was no malice in affixing- to the story of 
 the poisoning, pictures of it "to move hatred of the Monks 
 and their religion." He adds, also, that such persons 
 "were the very first who not only so depictured it, but also 
 li vely and richly depainted it in their goodliest manuscripts;" 
 of which he particularly refers to one of the St. Alban's 
 Chronicle in the Library of the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 See the Rev. H. J. Todtl's account of it in bis Catalogue of 
 
 
 ^' V 
 
1 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILH SI K \^IO^S 
 
 tliat <;ol!ectionj page 1, No. VI., wherein he states that it is 
 {■'' "enriclied witli miniature p^intino-s of the most exquisite 
 heaiily." Anotlier Manuscript coiitaininj^- a representation 
 of tiiis circumstance, firobably of greater antiquity and of 
 almost equal elegance, is preserved in the Cottonian Lilirary, 
 marked Vitellius A. XIII., and was, perhaps, written and 
 illuminated about the thirteenth century, or within a hun- 
 dred years after King- John's death. It consists of eight 
 pages of yell um painted on hotli sides, witii large effigies of 
 the Englis.h Sovereig-ns, from Edward the Confessor to Ed- 
 ward I., liaving- very brief notices of their reig^ns written 
 beneath them in French, in letters of azure and gold. In 
 the memoir attached to King- John, it is stated that tie was 
 poisonerl at Swineshead by a Brother of the House, and the 
 illuniinatiou above represents the Monk kneeling- and pre- 
 senting- the King- with the cup whilst the whole convent is 
 observing- them. This subject, as well as the other draw- 
 ings of the manuscript, has been engraven by Stvutt 
 in Iiis Regal and Ecclesiasiical AnliquitieSy and a copy 
 of it is also introduced in the initial letter to the Memoir 
 of King' John in the present volume. A third Manu- 
 script containing an illumination of this event, also of 
 the time of Edward I., is observed by Dr. Barkhara to 
 have been in Selden's Library, wherein the King is repre- 
 sented at a banquet richly habited, and four Monks coming- 
 to him, one of whom presents him with tlic poisoneil cup. 
 The real cause of this Sovereign's death seems next 
 to have became a subject of discussion, in M. Rapin's 
 History of England ^ particuUirly in the edition of 1732- 
 36, translated by the Rev. Nicholas Tindal and Philip 
 Morant, whose objections to the story of his poisoning 
 have been already noticed. From this period the popular 
 tradition seems to have been set aside, until it was re- 
 vived by several arguments in favour of it, which ap- 
 peared in the Rev. John Lewis's Life of William Caxton, 
 Loud. 17:37, 8vo.^ in his catalogue of that Printer's works, 
 
 a This rare and curious vulunie, is said tu ijavL' hc-ea limited tu a 
 private impression of ISO copies, all upon thick ruyal paper, but not uf 
 very superior typography. TIk- Life of Ciixion is incorporated \y\t\i a. 
 
h^^V 3j 
 
 Z^^^..-^ hVu^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLl STRATIONS. 
 
 under the article of The Chronicle of England; which con- 
 tains a very full account of the circumstance. Most of these 
 observations will also he found in the Notes to the Memoir 
 of Caxton in the Biographia Brit annua ; and their historical 
 value and credihility were, iu December 1772, considered 
 by the Rev. Samuel Pegge, in a paper printed in the Ar- 
 chcsoIogia-jVo]. IV., pages 29-46, entitled, "An Enquiry 
 iuto the nature and causes of King- John's Death, wherein 
 it is shewn that it was not effected hy Poison.'"' In laying- 
 before the reader a short account of this curious discussion, 
 the following- notices will shew, firstly, the narratives, ar- 
 g-uments, and evidence, adduced against the King's death hy 
 Poison* and', secondly, those T\hich have been broug-ht 
 forward to support it. 
 
 To commence, then, with Mr. Pegge's narrative. The 
 reader will remember that when King John left Lynn, on 
 October 11th, 1216, his treasures, &,c., were all swallowed 
 up by the tide iu the river Wellstreani, overflowing the 
 Washes between Lincolnshire and Norfolk, even before 
 himself and his army had entirely crossed over. He passed 
 that nig-ht at Swineshead-Abbey, a small Monastery of 
 Cistercians, near Boston in Lincolnshire j where he was 
 first taken ill. Those who givecredit to his murder, affirm 
 that his disease was the effect of poison; but Mr. Pej^ge 
 argues that it was actually a fever and dysentery, or flux, 
 produced partly by fatigue, anxiety, and sorrow, and partly 
 by his making- an immoderate repast tiie same night on 
 
 descriptive list of his woiks ; whicli embrfiL-es mucli usl'TuI anliquiiiiau 
 research, though it often confuses the ■ rigmul subject, and tlie 
 whule volume is rather rlull in its cum position. Tlie Cfiroiiicle of 
 Engla^nd, mentioned above, was printed by Caxton at Westminster 
 in 14S0, and has tlieiice been called "Caxtun's Chronicle;" ihough 
 the earlier part uf it was founded apun a woik by Douglas, a Monk 
 of Glastonbury Abbey ; the Printer having only continued it to the 
 defeat of Henry VI., at the Battle of Towtun in YoriisUire, on Palm 
 Sunday, March 29lh, 1-161. It was so popular a work, as to be printed 
 four times in the fifteenth century, and the edition o( 1483 having 
 been prepared by a schoolmaster of St. AlbdU's, il received the name 
 of "The St. Alban's Chronicle"; but its narratives have been very 
 mucli suspected and censured, and it is, perha[:.s, most celebrated 
 for its very circumstantial account of the poisoning of King John. 
 
 1^ 
 

 '^^^f> 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 peaches and new cyder, of which lie was extremely fond, 
 and hod often partaken without dang-er. The King- de- 
 parted from Swineshead ou horseback, as some say on the 
 following- morning-, though others affirm that he remained 
 there two days- but on his way to Sleford Castle he was 
 forced to remove to a litter, in which he was carried to 
 Newark Castio, where he died in a few days after. At this 
 place he first saw his physician, the Abbot of Croxton, — 
 perhaps Ralph de Lincoln, — who had not been with him at 
 Swineshead to control his appetite, and now his malady 
 was past cure: the Abbot after John's death embalnied bis 
 remains, when his bowels were buried atCroxton in Leices- 
 tershiie, and his body in Worcester Cathedral. 
 
 The arguments used by Mr. Peg-ge, to prove that such 
 really were the prog-ress and causes of the King-'s disease 
 and death, are, firstly, the very natural and probable cha- 
 racter oftiie circumstances themselves; and the general use 
 of the word dtjsenteria ^ by the contemijorary Historians to ex- 
 piess the King's disease: secondly, a comparison with the 
 decease of Cardinal Wolsey, who died of a dysentery, also 
 produced by grief and vexation, though it was likewise 
 strongly suspected that he had been poisoned : thiidly, that 
 on the body being- embowelled, no historian notices the ap- 
 pearance of any sign of venom, or of any suspicion enter- 
 tained by King John's physician ■ although such as relate 
 the ordinary tradition affirm that the corse was swelled by the 
 poison : fourthly, the absence of all allusion to the subject 
 in the King's will, where the only notice of his sickness is, 
 that he was prevented being- more particular *'by grievous 
 infirmity;" though it shiiuld be remembered that this in- 
 strument was certainly written by an ecclesiastic, and there- 
 fore mlgJd be suspected. And fifthly, Mr. Pegge observes, 
 that no sort of revenge for the supposed murder at Swines- 
 licad ever appears to have been taken, nor even an enquiry 
 made into it; although Henry lil., with the Earl of Pem- 
 broke and otiiers of his powerful friends and followers, 
 were, in the very year afier John's death, all triumphant at 
 Newark, the very place where it liappened, and but a short 
 distance from the Abbey: which foundation, however. 
 
si 
 
 XL-JJ- 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 continued to exist and flourish until the dissolution of Mo- 
 nasteries. 
 
 Witli respect to the evidence brought forward to prove^ 
 thnt King- John did in reality die a natural death, the best^ 
 and most authentic historian of this period, was Matthew 
 Paris, whose narrative exactly agrees with the foregoing, 
 and was that on which Mr. Peg'ge founded his arg-uments. 
 This author was probably about fifteen years old at King- 
 John's decease in October, 1216; since he was professed a 
 Monk of St. Alban's Abbey in 1217. It is, however, 
 doubted whether the former part of his work, the Historia 
 Mo/or, were not written to the year 1235, by one Ro(jer de 
 Wendover, Prior of Beauvoir, and one of Matthew's prede- 
 cessors at St. Alban's, who was certainly contemporary 
 with the event, Ralph de Coggeshalle^ a learned Cistercian 
 Monk and English Historian, who is supposed to have died 
 in 1228, states that John's sickness and death arose from 
 excessive gluttony ^ adding- that his stomach was always in- 
 satiable, and that having- devoured to surfeiting- at Swines- 
 head, his repast terminated in a dysentery. After the flux had 
 somewhat abated, he adds that the King- was blooded at Lat- 
 ford, a town in Lindsey, whitlier came to him the messengers 
 of those besieged in Dover Castle ; but his sickness soon re- 
 turning- lie sent for his chaplain, and after a few days more 
 of disease, he died intestate at the Castle of Newark. This 
 assertion, however, the reader will remember to be an error ; 
 since the original of John's w ill is still preserved in the Ar- 
 chives of Worcester Catliedral, and a translation of it has 
 been g-iven on a former page. Another author contemporary 
 witli this event, was Richard de MorinSy compiler of the 
 Annals of Dunstaple^ wlio was elected Prior of his House 
 in 1202, and died in 1242; but he merely states, that the 
 King- expired at Newark Castle on the morrow of St. Luke. 
 Similar information, or a statement that John deceased of 
 sorrow of mind or a dysentery, is also given in the Annals 
 of Margan^ a Cistercian Monastery in Ghmiorganshlre, 
 ending- in 1232 : in the Anitah of Burton y an Abbey in Staf- 
 fordshire, wliicli extend to 12()3 : in the Chronicle of Mailrosy 
 terminating in 1270: in the Annals of Waverley Abbey in 
 
 r. -^>.- 
 

 "^^m^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Surrey, concliidiog in 1291 : in the History of the English 
 King's by Nicholas Trivef^who was born in 1260, and con- 
 tinued his work to 1307 : in tha Flowers of MistorieSyhy 
 Matthew of Westminster, who flourished about 1307: in the 
 Historia Major Wintonienseshj Thomas Rudhorne^^ Monk 
 of VViodiester in the fifteenth century : and in the Con- 
 tinuation of the Chronicle of Croyland, ivhich was written 
 about the time of Edward IV. — Such are the arg-uments and 
 authors in favour of the King- having- died a natural death. 
 In briefly referring- to the narratives of the poisoning, it 
 should be noticed that it is said to have been effected in 
 several different ways. That by the venom of a toad infused 
 in wine, has been already mentioned in the preceding- Me- 
 moir of John; but another tradition states, that the King 
 hearing- that the Abbot of Swineshead bad a fair sister, a 
 Prioress in the neighbourhood, sent to her; which causing 
 the Abbot some anxiety, (he Hospitaller of the House said 
 to him, ** Do but absolve me, father, and pray for me, and 
 I will rid the earth of this monster." The Abbot made 
 some scruples, because he was the King; but the Hospi- 
 taller knowing that John liked fresh pears, proceeded to 
 provide some that were poisoned, excepting three which 
 were marked, and presented the fruit to the Sovereign. 
 It was supposed at one period, that certain precious stones 
 had the power of detecting poison, and this narrative states, 
 that the gems of the rings which the King then wore,=^ per- 
 spired at the approach of the envenomed repast; upon which 
 he demanded of his host, " What is this you have brought 
 me? poison?" — *' Not poison," replied the Hospitaller, 
 " but excellent fruit." John then bade him eat some, which 
 he did, taking one of those previously marked, and at the 
 Sovereign's command, ate the two others also; after which 
 the King took one and died the same night. The Hospitaller, 
 
 8 It will be observed in the engravings of King John's monumental 
 effigy* inserted on future pages, that it has royal gloves upi_>n the 
 hands with jewels on the backs; but the gold and gems iiaving been 
 long since taken away, it is said that some of the Vergers of Wor- 
 cester Cathedral who exhibited the tomb, used formerly to point to 
 the vacant sockets, as the places wheie the vcnum first made its ap- 
 pearance 
 
 5 
 
 %l^^<^- 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 however, was not put to death for this act, but escaped by 
 assistance of those who were uDfriendly to the King". 
 
 In noticing- this narrative, Mr. Pegge's objections are, 
 that as the relator of it was resident at Gisborough Abbey 
 in Yorkshire, he was too far away to know much of the 
 private transactions at Swineshead, above an hundred miles 
 distant: that some circumstances of the story are purely 
 leg-endary : that there was no Nunnery near Swinesliead 
 which could so easily be sent to ; and that the fruit could not 
 well be so soon poisoned, excepting by arsenic, which ope- 
 rates by tearing- and lacerating- the coats of the stomach and 
 bowels, and not by a flux, of which the King- died. He 
 observes, farther, that this account of John's death contains 
 many gross errors, such as its taking place the same night 
 at Swineshead, instead of eight days after at Newark ; and 
 that the King was bnried October 18th at Winchester, in- 
 stead of Worcester : the enumeraliou of John's issue which 
 follows it, contains also several mistakes. 
 
 It should next be observed, that the relator of this nar- 
 rative was Walter de Hemingford^ox Hemingburgh, a Canon- 
 Regular of St. Austin ; whose history extends to the year 
 1308, and who died in 1347 : and his account of the Ring's 
 decease was copied by Henry de Knighton^ into his book of 
 the Events of England, which was also written in the 
 fourteenth century. It is asserted by Mr. Morant, that the 
 story of the poisoning is not mentioned by any Author who 
 lived within sixty years of the time when it is said to have 
 taken place, or before 1276 ; but Lewis declares it to be first 
 noticed in the Chronicle of Peterborough ^ the Abbot of which, 
 it being a neiglibouring House of impoitance, would be 
 likely enough to know the event so recorded. But although 
 the first part of that register terminates in 1259, and the 
 Abbot John, (de Caleto or de Caux,) who is said to have 
 compiled it, and under whose name it went, died in 12G2, — 
 yet it is affirmed that the book is in reality the work of 
 the fourteenth century; and that it has either been inter- 
 polated, or was called, "the Book of the Abbot John," 
 from a later governor of the House named John de Deep- 
 ings. The passage cpntained in this Chronicle is, however, 
 

 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 not very decisive, since it states only that the King- *^' being- 
 at leisure from destroying and burning- Norfolk, came to 
 Swineshead, wbere, according- to some, he was poisoned, and 
 removed toSlafford." Having- thus discarded the authority 
 of the Chronicle of Peterborough as contemporary, Mr. 
 Tegge proceeds to assert ttiat no Author has mentioned the 
 poison within eighty years after the event -^ Bartholomew de 
 Colton, a Monk of Norwich, who flourished about 1298, 
 being- the first who notices it. He says, ''In the year 
 1216, on St. Luke the Evang-elist's day, King- John died, 
 being killed by venom at Swineshead, by a certain Hos- 
 pitaller of the said House, and he is buried at Worcester ;" 
 but this statement is erroneous, inasmuch as John was at 
 Newark on the ISth, and deceased there. The doubtful 
 expressions " as it is said," — "as it is asserted,'" — ."it is 
 yet reported by vulg-ar fame," and "the common fame 
 telleth," are used in speaking- of the King's murder by 
 Thomas Wikes^ wliose history ends in 1307 ; John of Tyne- 
 mouthj who flourished in 1386; the Scalt Mundi; and a 
 manuscript account of the acts of King John in the Cot- 
 tonian Library, the Author of which died in 1336. Nor are 
 the metrical Chronicles of Robert of Gloucester and Peter de 
 Langtoft more particular. The first of these Authors is con- 
 sidered to have flourished and died about 1280, the begin- 
 ning of the reign of Edward I., and when speaking of the 
 fatal Civil Wars of the Barons and Louis under King John, 
 his words are as follow : 
 
 "And everrubb'd the King John, and the North-country wide : 
 And did the land woe enow and more by het, (promised,) 
 He brought not all to noueht ere he his life let. (left.) 
 At Newark he died, upon Saint Luke's day, 
 He was so hasten'd that scarce three days sick he lay : 
 If any man thereto did help, God it kimforgive ! 
 F<ir he had ere this land tu much wretchedness ydrive. 
 In the year of Grace he died, twelve hundred and sixteen. 
 And seventeen yi.-ar he was King, and five months I ween, 
 And five days, and that thought many men long I wis, 
 At Worcester in the Minster fair yburied he is,'* 
 
 Peter de Langtoft was a still later Historian, being sup- 
 posed to have died in the time of Edward II., though the 
 Chronicle which passes under his name wos really a tran- 
 
 ^, 
 
 
■'fi;^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 'million from Robert fie Brunne, termiDating" io the end of 
 the reio-n of Edward I. The passag-e in it concerning- John 
 IS as follows, and it is remarkable for perpetuating a tradi- 
 tion contrary Io the report of all other authors, that this 
 King- died at Haugh in Lincolnshire, instead of at Newark: 
 but the circumstance is not recorded in theFrench orig"inal. 
 
 " And John reigned in his estre eighteen year. 
 At the Abbey of Swyneslieved there he drank poyson, 
 At Haugli his life he left, so men say of ihat town : 
 A thousand and two hundred, the date was, & sixteen, 
 His time was all forwondred, & ended all with tcne !" (loss,) 
 
 ■ Such are the very brief and uncertain reports of the 
 Historians down to this perioil, thoug"h as they become later 
 in date, the story is made more full and particular, and first 
 Walter Hemingburg'h gives the statement already referred 
 to- after which appeared the account f)y Ralph Hiyden in 
 his PoJychronicony and that attributed to William Cfixton in 
 the St. Albans Chronicle, or Fructus Tempomm. Higden was 
 a Benedictine of the Monastery of St. Werburg- in Chester, 
 where he died at an advanced age in 1360, his work being- 
 translated into English and increased by John de Tievisa, a 
 Cornish Divine, upwards of a century afterwards. "The 
 common fame telleth,'' says this chronicler, " that the King 
 swore there at meat, that the loaf of bread, that was then 
 worth an halfpenny, should be worth twelve-pence within 
 the year, if he mig-bt live. A Monk of the House heard 
 that, and made him drink of venom, and shrove him (self) 
 and was houseled, and drank to the King- as it were his 
 tastor : and so the King and he died both at once.'' The 
 narrative attributed to Caxton, is, however, more circum- 
 stantial, and is as follows, according to the most familiar re- 
 cital of it in the Chronicle of Richard Grafton. 
 
 "And in the self-same year, King John came to Swinuslede 
 Abbey, nut far from Lincoln ; he rested there two days, where, ascer- 
 tain writers report, he was most traitorously poisoned, by a Moiik of 
 the same Abbey, being of the Order of Saint Barnard, called Simun 
 Swinested. And as Caxton saith in his book called Fructus Tempo- 
 rum, and Polychronicon also saith the same, the aforesaid Munk, 
 named Simon, hearing tlie King upon an occasion to talk of bread, 
 should say tliat if he lived a year longer, he would make that loaf of 
 bread, being then of the value of one half-penny, worth twelve-pence; 
 meaning that he would so prosecute his rebellious people, that he 
 
 ,.r-f^Z^ 
 
 ^■<^-' 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 would not leave one nf them to be the owner of a plnugh. The Monk i 
 hearing the King thus^peak.conceivedof tlieKiiiga very evil npinion, , 
 insomuch that forthwith tlie Monk went to his Ahliot shewing him the a1 
 whole matter, and what he waa minded to do. He alledged for him- "" 
 self the prophecy of Caiaphas, saying, ' It is better that one man die, 
 than all the people should perish: lam well content,' saith he, * to 
 die, and to become a martyr, so that I may utterly destroy this ty- 
 rant.' With thatthe Abbot wept for gladness, and much commended 
 hia fervent zeal, as he took it. The Monk, then, being absolved of his 
 Abbot for doing of this act beforehand, went secretly into a garden 
 upon the backside, and finding there a most venomous toad, he so 
 pricked him, and pressed him viih his penknife, that he made him 
 vomit all the poison that was within liim. Tliis done he conveyed it 
 into a cup of wine, and, with a smiling and flattering countenance, he 
 said thus to the King, * If it shall like your princely Majesty, here is 
 such a cup of wine as ye never drank before in all your life-time, I 
 trust this wassail shall make all England plad.' And with that he 
 drank a great draught, the King pledging him. The Monk anon after 
 went to the Farmory, and iliL-re died, his guts gushingout of his belly; 
 and had continually from thenceforth three monks to sing masses for 
 his soul, confirmed by their general Chapter. The Kingwithin a short 
 space after, feeling great grief in his body, asked for Simon the Monk; 
 and answer was made that he was departed this life: 'Then God 
 Iiave mercy upon me!' said the King, 'I suspected as much!* 
 With that he commanded his chariot to be brought, for he was not 
 able to ride. So went he from thence to Sleford Castle, and from 
 thence to Newark upon Trent; and there, within less than three days 
 he died, when he had reigned xvii years, vi months, and odd days, and 
 was honourably buritrd at Worcester, with his armed men attending 
 upon the burial.*' 
 
 This narrative is also recited by the honest, though 
 credulous, John Fox, in the fourth book of the first volume 
 of his "Acts and Monuments ;'' wherein he concludes that 
 the King- was certainly poisoned, though he admits that 
 those who have written of his death are at great variance j 
 some saying, '* tliat he died of sorrow and heaviness of 
 heart, as Pofydovus; some of surfeiting in the night, aa 
 Radulphus Niger; some of a bloody-flux, as Kog-er Hove- 
 don ; some of a burning" ague; some of a cold sweat; 
 some of eating" apples, pears, plums. Sec." 
 
 The principal argument in favour of any narrative 
 recording the poison, is, the hatred borne to King John 
 on account of his discourse at the Monastery; whether 
 that related to what he would hereafter do to revenge 
 himself on his subjects; or to his expression of anger, 
 against the invasion of Louis the Dauphin, at which Simon 
 
* y 
 W 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 the Monk was particularly offended, the members of his 
 society being inclined to support him. They are admitted 
 to iiave been inimical to John, who came to their Abbey for 
 a lodging- in the time of his distress, and not from choice as 
 to a party of his own friends ; though the force he had with 
 him was quite sufficient to ensure his entertainment. 
 Anotbei' argument in favour of the poison is grounded upon 
 a speech uttered by Henry III. to the Prior of Clerkenwell, 
 who boldly said to him, that as soon as lie ceased to do 
 justice to his Prelates, he should cease to be a Kiug 5 upon 
 which theSov^ereign answered in anger, " What! then, thou 
 wuuldest not cast me forth from my kingdom as my father 
 was formerly cast out, and afterwards suddenly destroyed?*" 
 But Matthew Paris, who relates this circumstance, remarks 
 that it was arasb and uncircumspectanswer • and Mr.Pegge 
 adds, that it was spoken in a passion in 1252, between 
 thirty and forty years after the event: the word in the ori- 
 ginal text, also, being necare^ to slay or destroy, which is 
 very indefinite; and, therefore, the King meant only that 
 his father's troubles were the cause of his death. The last 
 argument for the poisoning is, that certain Monks, some 
 stating three and others five, are actually have said to have 
 been long after employed to sing and pray for the soul of 
 him who had committed the murder. Mr. Pegge, however, 
 replies to this, that neither that circumstance, nor the use 
 of the toad, are mentioned by any historian older than the 
 author of the Eulogiuniy^ who died about 1366, or 150 years 
 afterward; and he therefore considers that tlie appointment 
 of tliese masses might have taken place long subsequent, 
 when the story had become cotnmou and generally believed. 
 In addition to these objections, Mr. Pegge derives 
 several othcrsfrom the various narratives themselves; though 
 
 u Tlie manuscript liistory so called, is preserved in tlie Cottonian 
 Collf ction in the British Museum, in a volume marked Galba, E. vii. 
 Art. ii. It is divided into five books, tlie last of which treats of 
 Britain and its Sovereigns from Brute down to Edward III., about 
 ]'i(i7r though itis continued down to the year 1413 by another hand. 
 The original Author is unccrtafn, but be is supposed lo have been a 
 Monk of Canterbury, named Ninianus, who died about 1366. 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 he properly questions Morant's assertion, tliat a man would 
 not destroy iiimself from reveng-e, or what he thoug-ht to be 
 relig-ious zeal for the puhlic good. He notices, however, 
 tlie different motives assig-ricd to the IMonk, and the several 
 reports conceraing the price to whicli Jolm affirmed that 
 tread sliould be advanced ; Ralph Higdeii stating it to he 
 12rf., Caxton 20*., the Polychronicon 20rf., and the MS. 
 Eulogiimi "a pound of bread as a pound of silver." He 
 notices farther, the discordance concerning the Monk's own 
 fate, Higden and Caxton afSrming- that he died from par- 
 taking of the poison, and Heminghurgh that he escaped and 
 survived . He adds, likewise, that the time required for his 
 confession, absolution, and preparation of the venom, would 
 be too long for the Kiug not to have risen from table; there- 
 fore the accounts which state that he was absolved only, are 
 the more probable. Mr. Pegge also refers to the different 
 materials said to have been used for the poison, and particu- 
 larly questions whether the liquid drawn from a toad would 
 be at all noxious. For he observes that Pennant states, tliat 
 it is well known that quacks have eaten toads, and have even 
 drank with impunity of their juices expressed into a glass; 
 which is said to have been the Tcnom employed ag-ainst 
 King John. This is, in some degree, conlirmed in Dr. 
 Shaw's Zoology, Vol. iii. part i. p. 143, where he says that 
 the limpid fluid which these animals suddenly discharge 
 when disturbed, is a mere watery liquor, perfectly free 
 from acrimonious or noxious qualities; and that the com- 
 mon toad may therefore be pronounced innoxious, or quite 
 free from any poisonous properties, at least with respect 
 to any of the larger animals. To this he adds, that the in- 
 numerable tales recited by the old writers of its supposed 
 venom, appear to be either gross exaggerations, or else to 
 have related to the effects of some other species mistaken 
 for the common toad ; it being certain that some of this 
 genus exude from their skin a highly acrimonius fluid. 
 
 Lastly, it is objected, that the story of the poison took 
 its rise and became popular, from the King's death having 
 happened at a critical time, and in an enemy's quarter; of 
 a very short illness when he was in great perplexity, and 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 kuew not whom to trust, no where to be safe. Hence it| 
 would he iKitnra] for the common people to conjecture the 1 
 prohability of poison, since such suspicions have often fol- 
 lowed the deaths of great personages; and that which was C 
 at first only surmise, being afterwards frequently repeated 
 and embellished by Monkish Historians who were opposed 
 to the King, Jtt length g'rew into positive assertion. 
 
 ACCOUNT OF THE INTERMENT AND DISCOVERY 
 OF- THE BODY OF KING JOHN IN WORCESTER 
 CATHEDRAL. 
 
 Viile the prececling Memoir, page 491. 
 
 It was for some time doubtful in what part of this edifice 
 the remains of King John were interred j for, it has been well 
 observed, that the perplexities which attended this Monarch 
 through his life, appear to have taken up their habitation 
 with him even in his grave. As it has, however, been a 
 point of posthumous interest in the memoirs of this King, 
 it will not be uninteresting to give some account of this 
 antiquarian discussion, and of the manner in which it was 
 at length decided. 
 
 Tocommence, then, with a description of the Monarch's 
 commonly-supposed place of sepulture, Dr. Thomas in his 
 Survey of the Cathedral Church of Worcestery London, 1736, 
 4to., has the following account of his tomb. — "In the 
 choir before the High-Altar, on a fair raised marble monu- 
 ment, lietli his portraiture in his royal ornaments, wearing a 
 crown on his head, wherein is written Johannes Rex An- 
 gliae; in his right hand a sceptre now broken, his left on 
 his sword hanging by his side, at his feet a iyon rampant. 
 Or, and below, in eiglit several panes, are shields cliarged 
 with Gules, 3 lyons passant guardant, Or. So shineth he 
 all in gold, between twi) Bishops censing him; signifying^ 
 I think, St. Oswald, Arclibishop of York, and St. Wulstan, 
 between whose two sepulchres or shrines he bequeathed his 
 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 body to rest 5 for, on the North side under the wall of the 
 choir, St. Oswald, Archbishop of York, and Bishop of Wor- 
 cester was buried, where there was a plain marble stone, 
 now g-one; unless that were his tomb or monument, vvhieli, 
 being- raised on the outside of the same wall, resenibleth a 
 Bishop vested for the altar, witb his mitre on his head, sup- 
 ported by two ang-els and a lyon at his feet, all under an 
 arch, and somewhat defaced. And on the South and out- 
 ward wall of the choir, answerable to this, is St. Wolston''s 
 raised monument, representing- a Bishop with a rich mitre, 
 and g-loriously vested in his pontificalibus ; at his head and 
 feet are ang-els, and on the side of the tomb, St. Peter and 
 St. Paul with other Saints, on several panes engraved.^' 
 The figure of the King-, which is exhibited in the an- 
 nexed wood cut, and in the eng-raving- at the end of 
 his Memoir, pag-e 496 of the present volume ; is, says Dr. 
 
 the life, and the two 
 in little, are carved 
 g-iey maible, which 
 ancient as the time 
 the altar-tomb on 
 of a modern fabric.'' 
 Green, however, 
 not to have been 
 From his statements 
 the King's monu- 
 between the choir 
 which was once si- 
 niity of the present 
 the great East vvin- 
 lates, in 1790 was 
 sepulchral stone, so 
 
 Thomas, " as big' as 
 Bishops at his head 
 in one stone of 
 seemelh to be as 
 of Henry III., but 
 which it is placed, is 
 Mr. Valentine 
 supposed this spot 
 the original grave, 
 it would appear that 
 nient formerly stood 
 and the high-altar, 
 tuate at the extre- 
 builtiing-, beneath 
 dow -J where, ho I'c- 
 reuiaining- a dark 
 perfectly agreeing- with the tomb near the choir, as left no 
 doubt of its having- formed the original base. In the year 
 1216, when the King's body was here deposited, the Ca- 
 thedral was undergoing- a repairfrom agreatfire which had 
 nearly consumed it in 1202. In 1218, the building- being- 
 completed, the Church was re-conseerated, and after this 
 time an alteration took place in the former disposition of it. 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 by the appropriation of the most Eastern part of the middle 
 aisle, to the service of a Chapel for the Virg-in. What was 
 formerly the liigh-altar, was then, it is supposed, dedicated 
 to other duties, and was called by the name of the Saint to 
 whom the Chapel was devoted, until the dissolution of the 
 Monastery belong-ing- to this Cathedral : and the royal re- 
 mains were considered to have received g-reat additional 
 sanctity, in bavliig- been left undisturbed in so holy a part 
 of the Church. 
 
 A short time before the surrender of the Monastic trea- 
 sures of this place in 1540, Leland^ relates that one Al- 
 church, who was Sacrist, re-edified the sepulchre of King^ 
 John, and the Chapel of Prince Arthur upon the South: 
 from which is gathered the fact, that this renovation related 
 to the site of the present monument, and not to that of the 
 ancient one. It is also supposed, that this memorandum fur- 
 nishes the time when the Cenotaph now existing was first 
 erected; and the King's remains, with his stone effigy, 
 transferred to it fiom the sepulchral base in the Lady-Chapel. 
 The situation of this Cenotaph is in the centre of the choir, 
 and immediately before the steps leading up to the altar, 
 beneath which, it appears, is the great vault; the space be- 
 tween the pavement of the choir, and the level directly 
 above the arches of the vault, is only one foot, consequently 
 any remains must be placed above the pavement, and within 
 the altar-tomb. 
 
 Such are Mr. Greenes principal arguments against the 
 body of King- John having been originally deposited where 
 his monument now stands 5 in whiclji he seems to be sup- 
 ported by the conjectures of other authors. Dr. Stukeley^ 
 says, "The Collegiate Church is stately enough: in it is 
 buried the restless King- John 5 not where now his monu- 
 ment stands in the choir before the high-altar, but under a 
 little stone before the altar of the Easternmost wall of the 
 Church : on each side of him, upon the ground, lie the ef- 
 figies of the two holy Bishops, and his chief saints, VVolstan 
 and Oswald, from whose vicinity he hoped to be safe from 
 
 « Itiiicrsry, Vol. VIII. pa^e 106, 3 Edit. Henriic, Oxoii. 17G9, Svo. 
 l> Itinerwariuiii Curiosuiii, Ceuuiria I. Lond. 1776, pane; 6S. 
 
 ^cSf 
 
£^ 
 
 1 ®o^ 
 
 'jyis!^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 barm : the imag-e of the King- likewise, I suppose, formerly 
 lay here upon the g-round, now elevated iipnn a tomb, In the 
 choir as aforesaid." Goug-h in his Sepulchral Moniimpnta^ • 
 (Part i.^) seems also to ag-ree with this notion, since, in his 
 description of John's Toinh, he says, "The royal body is sup- 
 posed to lie under Lady-chapel, in a stone vault, in a strong- 
 chest, in which, upon opening, was found a leaden coffin, 
 but without any marks or inscription. The tomb above- 
 ground being also opened was found quite empty. The 
 Annals of Worcester, publislied by Mr. Wharton, expressly 
 say, he was buried coram magna altari inter. SS. Oswaldum et 
 Wuhtanum. The then choir was afterwards converted into 
 the Lndy-chapel ; and when the high-altar was placed where 
 the communion-table now stands, and the floor of the new 
 choir had gained a considerable elevation by a subterraneous 
 vault made underneath, the King's Tomb, now hidden from 
 view, was taken down and erectedbefore the new high-altar, 
 as it had formerly stood between the sepulchres of the two 
 Bishops. From this relation, as well as from Green's his- 
 tory, it seems that the bodies of the Saints Oswald and 
 Wulstan, were not more stationary in their monuments than 
 that of King- John J as they were also translated from their 
 orig-inal burial-places into portable shrines for the purpose 
 of carrying in ceremonial processions. It is supposed, that 
 at last these shrines were fixed in the side-aisles of the 
 Lady-chapel, and that their tombs which lay before thealtar 
 in the middle one, were left undestroyed, but vacant. A 
 great degree of sanctity was, however, attached to both of 
 these resting-places, and, upon the destruction of those 
 shrines, a part of the devotion, formerly paid to the Saints, 
 was transferred (o the tombs of two Bishops which stood 
 near them." 
 
 Mr. Green** continues to observe, that the body of 
 King John is, in reality, supposed to be deposited in a deep 
 sepulchral vault in St. Mary's Chapel, between two grave- 
 stones, which bear the effigies of ancient Bishops. The 
 vault, he relates, was of stone, and contained a strong- chest. 
 
 fif?.. 
 
Missing Page 
 
Missing Page 
 
/>«tF 
 
 ft^ 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 t 
 
 ' tents, that it was found prudent to close them up on the | 
 ' following day. Notwithstanding^ this discovery of the royal 
 body, Mr. Green still held his own conjectures about its ^^^ 
 original place of burial j he however published a particular 
 account of this examination, with a plate representing- the 
 appearance of the corse, a copy of which is inserted beneath. 
 Statements by other hands have also been printed in theGen- 
 tUman's Magazine, for 1797, Part ii. and in the Supplement 
 to Dr. Nash^s History of Worcestershire, Vol. ii. page 88. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
j^Abbeya, when vacant to be held by tlie Barunial founders, or pa-| 
 
 trons, 58, an. xliii..84, 85, c/mp. xlv..88, 89, vhap. Ini-.IU, chap.} 
 
 xxxvii,. 128, chap, xxxix. .141, chap, xxxiii.. 155, chap. xxxiii..24I. 
 
 To be honestly kept when vacant and not sold, 108, cfiap. v. . ISl,'' 
 
 chop. v.. 134, chap. v. . 148, chap. v. 
 Abbots, liberties and free customs of preserved, 129, chap. xlv..l42, ^ 
 
 f/ia/j. xxxvii. . 156, chap, xxxvii.. ^35, chap. xvi.... Their woods i 
 
 Forests preserved, 331, chap, iv Power of distributing their own ' 
 
 property, 407. 
 Abbotsbury, the Abbot of, 143, 157- 
 
 Acliery, Luc D', his Spicilegium, 430, and note, 502, 530. 
 Acts of Parliament, ancient manner of publisJiing, &c. 384, 445. . . . 
 
 Present system of recording, 395, note. 
 Adeliza of Brabant, Queen of Henry I., 306. 
 Adolphus of Nassau, Emperor of Germany, 42. 
 Alfred, King of England, his laws concerning foreign merchants, 232 
 
 Establishes County Courts in England, 253 Sheriff's Tourn 
 
 appointed by, 255 His division of England, 256, (207).... His 
 
 code of laws, 396, 528. ) 
 
 jEthelbald, Kingof Mercia,hi3 foundation-charter of Croy land Abbey, 
 
 448, note. 
 ^thelbert, King of England, the law translated into Saxon under, 
 
 396, note. . . . His laws the most ancient extant, 397. 
 ^Lhelstan, King of England, law of against coiners, 403, note. 
 ^thelwulf, Bishop of Carlisle, 408. 
 Age, period of full age 21 years, 107, ciiap. iii. . 132, chap. in. .147, chap. 
 
 Agistators in Forests, when they shall meet, 332, chup.vVn Their 
 
 office, 
 Agistment in Forests explained, 349, 350, 360. 
 ^ Aids, to be taken for three causes only, 50, aTt. vi..65, art. xxxii. .72, , 
 
 73. chap, xii, XV, 442 Reserved for farther consideration, 116, i 
 
 c/io/). xlii. . .. Not to be imposed but by the Common Council of ^ 
 
 England, 56, art. xxxii. . 72, 73, chap. xii. . 276, chap. vi. 388, 389. .. . 
 
 Levied by Feudal Landlords, 181-183. ... Of the City of London, &c. 
 
 183. ... Levied by the Commnn Council of the kingdom, 184,... 
 
 Wherein they differ from Taillages, 185 Unlawful taken by King , 
 
 John, 262, 203.. ..Extraordinary given for wars, kc. not lo be made 
 
 precedents, 371, chap. v. 887, 532. 
 Albain, William de, 408. 
 
 Albini, William de. Earl of Arundel, 21, 64, 65, 297. 
 , or Albiniac, William de, 64, 65, 144, 158, 408. . . . One of the , 
 
 Baronial securities to King John's Great Charter, 30 Biographi 
 
 ^^ 
 
fiii^^ 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 cal account of, 303-306.... Anecdote of when besieged in Rochester 
 Castle, 304. ...Arms borne by, 805.... Descendants of, 306....— 
 
 Odonel de, 305. . . — ^ Nicholas de, 305. . . Henry de, created Earl 
 
 of Bridgewater, 306. 
 Albiniac, Philip de, 106. . . . Oliver de, 296. 
 Alchurth, Sacristan of Worcester, 550. 
 
 Ale, one measure of to be throughout England, 80, 81, chap, xxxv, . 
 113, chap. xxviii..l26, chap xxxi.. 139, chap. xxv. . 153, chap. xxv. 
 
 Ale-shots, not to be made by Foresters or Bedels, 332, chip, v'li 
 
 What is signified by, 356. 
 
 Alexander II., King of Scotland, 292 Treaty uf King John witii, 
 
 58,59,arr. xlvi. . 92, 93, cAup. lix. . 267, 268, 492. . .. His sister Mar- 
 garet married to Hubert de Burgh, 523, 624, 525. 
 Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, 407. 
 Alice of Bretagne elected Duchess, 479. 
 
 Ainerciaments, tu be according to crime and custom, 51, ir(. ix, x. . 
 74, 76, c/i«p. XX. . 110, cftap. XV. . 123, c/iap. xvi.. 136, cA,u/>, xiv. . 150, 
 cfiu/*, xiv. ... Not to be assessed but by oath, "6, 77, c/(Q/). xx. . 11 1, 
 chap. XV. . 123, chap. xvi.. 136, chap. xiv. . 160, chap, xiv. ... Of Earis 
 and Barons to be made by their Peers, 76, 77, c/m;?. xxi. . 11 1, c/iu/). 
 xvi. . 123, chap, xvii Of Ecclesiastics to be according to their lay- 
 fees, 61, art. X.. . 76, 77, chap. xxii. .111, chap. xvii. . 124, chap.-avVu.. 
 Unlawful, to be remitted, 56, art. xxxvii..88, 89, chup.U. . ..Deriva- 
 tion and history of, 200-203 Extent of fine allowed in, 201 . . ..Un- 
 lawful taken by John, 262, 263. 
 Ancient Assize explained, 199. 
 Ancient Demesne, lands in, 184, 206. 
 
 Anderson, James, his Hisionj of the House ofYverij, (1754,) 289. 
 Anne, Queen of England, Statutes of, 199, 225. 
 Anselm, St. Archbishop of Canterbury, 415. 
 
 Appeal, of a woman, not to cause imprisonment, but for the death of 
 her husband, 88, 89, chap. liv. .115, chap, xxxix. .128, c/iap. xl. . 141, 
 chap, xxxiv. . 165, chap, xxxiv. . . , Tlie term explained, 249. . ..Appeal 
 qf death, 250 Of a woman and heir-male, ibid Origin of Ap- 
 peals of murder, ibid. 251 Trial by Battel connected with, 252 
 
 Abolition of both, 253. 
 Appleby, Westmoreland, ancient copy of Magna Charta at, 443, 533' 
 Apulia, Simon de. Bishop of Exeter, 106- 
 Aquablanc, Peter de, Bishop of Hereford, 387. 
 
 Aquila, Gilbert de, Alice, 301. 
 
 Aquitaine, title of Earl of first taken, 160. 
 
 , Eleanor of, daughter of William, Duke of, 461. . . . Sent to 
 
 Germany with the ransom of Richard I,, 466 Reconciles John 
 
 and Richard, 467 Assists in securing the kingdom to John, 468.. 
 
 Attacked in the castle of Mirebeau, 476. 
 ArchtEologia, cited, 183, note, 472, note \ 479, 502, 611, 638. 
 Archbishops, liberties and free customs of preserved, 129, chap. xlvi. . 
 142, chap. xxxvii..l56, chap, xxxvii. .335-, chap. xvi. .To pronounce 
 Sentence of Excommunication against the breakers of the Char- 
 ters, 371, chap. iv. 386, 387 Their woods in forests preserved 331, 
 
 chap. \v Allowed to take a deer from the royal forests, in going 
 
 Scx^i^^ 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Historical 
 .. Modern 
 
 to, or returning from the King, 33, chap. xi. 365, 366. 
 accourit of the ancient manner of electing, 4I1-41( 
 custom of ditto, 419. 
 Arclibislioprics, to be honestly kept when vacant, and not sold, 108, 
 
 chap. V. . 121, chap. v. . 134, chap- v. . 148, chap. v. 
 Archers and arlificers not to leave the realm without tlie King's li- 
 cense, 234. 
 Argentine, Richard de, 144, 158. 
 Armorial ensigns first used on seals, 449. 
 
 Army, formatiun and support of the ancient English, 245, 246. 
 Arthur, Duke of Bretagne, his claim to the English crown, 3, 4C5, 
 470, 471.... Supported by Philip of France, 472, 473 Becomes re- 
 conciled to John, but soon returns to Philip, 473. ... Does homage 
 to John for his duchy, 474. . ,. Attacks the castle of Mirebeau, and 
 
 is made prisoner, 475 Reports and historical evidence on his 
 
 supposed murder, 476-479. 
 Articles of Magna Charta, notice of, 30. . ..Translated copy of, 
 49-61 .... References to tlie, 233, 234, 324. . . . Account, &c. of the ori- 
 ginal manuscript of the, and fac simile from it, 420-422, 445, 630. 
 Articuli super Chartas, account of the Statute of, 391-393, 533.. . Writs 
 
 for proclaiming the, 534. 
 Ascension-days in the reign of King John, Table of, 535.. .. Remarks 
 
 on an erroneous date in, 485, note. 
 Asliford, Marjs Trial by Battel demanded on her death, 253. 
 
 Assarts in Forests, 331, chap, iv Explained, 348, 349. 
 
 Assize, explanation of the term, 198, 199. 
 
 Assizes, to be held quarterly, &c. in the English Counties, 61, flri.vtii. 
 74, 75, c/tajo. xviii, xix.. ] JO, cAq/). xiii, xiv. . 123 chap. xiii..l35, 136, 
 c/(^p. xii.. 160, cA«;3. xii.. .. Difficult cases from the transferred to 
 the Justices of the Bench, 123, c/iap. xiv. .136, chap. xii. . 150, c^ap 
 
 xii Of Last Presentation, reserved to the Justices of the Bench, 
 
 123, chap. XV. . 136, chap. xiii..I50, chap. xii. 
 Astone, Walter de. Abbot of Hyde, 143, 157. 
 
 Atliyes, Gerard de, his followers, &c. to be removed from their baili- 
 wicks, 67, art. xl. . 86, 87, chap. I. . . . Athy, John de, notice of, 244. 
 Aton, Gilbert, 292. 
 
 Attachments in Forest-law, various kinds of, 361, 362. 
 Attaint, Trial of an, 224. 
 Audoen, Bishop of Evreux, 407. 
 Augmentation, Court of, 176, note. 
 Atila Regis, account of the, 197* 
 Aulnager, the King's, his office, 216, 
 Aumerle, or Albemarle, origin of the title of, 273. 
 Austria, Albert, Archduke of, 42. 
 
 Baalun, John de, 144, 158. 
 
 Back-bare, in Forest-law explained, 365. 
 
 Bacon, Sir Francis, Viscount Verulam, 231, 235. 
 
 , Sir Nathaniel, his Discourse o/ the Laws of England, 446. 
 
 Bailiffs, not to take a free-man's horses or carriages against his will, 
 53, art. xx. . 78, 79, cfta/). xxx. . 112, chap. xxiii..I25, chap, xxv, xxvi 
 
, . 138, chap. xxi.. 152, chup.xxi Rate of payment to be made by 
 
 Bailiffs for taking them, 112, chap. xxiii..l25, chap. xxv. . 138, chap. 
 xxi. .152, cftup. xxi,. ..Not to take a free-man's timber without his 
 leave, 53, or^. xxi. .78, 79, chap, xxx.,112, chap. xxiv..l25, chap. 
 
 xxvn.ASS, chap.xx\..\52, ckap. xxi Not to put any man to his 
 
 law or oath withotit witnesses, 54, art. xxviii..80, 8), chap, xxxviii 
 ..113, chup. xxxi..l26, chap, xxxiv. . 139, c/iop. xxviii..l53, chap, xxv 
 
 To be made only of those who know and will practise the law, 
 
 58, art. xlii..84, 85, chap, xlv Not to bold pleas of the crown, 
 
 76, 77, c/^ap. xxiv. . Ill, cftcjj. xix.. 124, chap. xxi. .137, chap. xvii.. 
 151, chap. xvii.. ..How they are to proceed in recovering the King's 
 debtp, 50, art. v. .70. 71, chup. ix..76, 77, chap. xxvi..l09, chap. ix. . 
 ill, cAflj?. XX. .122, chap. ix..l24, chap. xxii..l34, chap. viii..l37, 
 chap. xviii..l49, chap. viii..l51, chap, xviii. . . .Not to take any one's 
 corn, &c. witliout payment, 78, 79, chap, xxviii. .Ill, chap. xxi.. 124, 
 chap. xxn\. .\Z7, c/tQ/). xix. . 151, chap. xix....Of Sheriffs, to keep 
 their turn in the County only twice yearly, 128, chap. xlii,.14I, 
 chap. XXXV. . 155, chap. xxxv. . . . Name and office of explained, 205, 
 220. 
 Bale, John, his Scriptores Tllustres Majoris Britannice, (1549,) 501. 
 Balliol, Hugh de, 292. 
 Banks, T. C, Iiis Dormant and Extinct Baronage, (1807-1809,) 2/1, 
 
 292, 3i3 His Genealogical History of Families of the Ancient 
 
 Peerage of England, (1826,) 313. 
 
 Bardolf, Hugh, 249 Receives a bribe for not seizing illegal cloths, 
 
 217. .. . , Dodo, 526. 
 
 Barker, Christopher, his editions of the Statutes and Magna Charta, 
 
 452. 
 Barkham, Dr. John, his argument on the poisoning of King John, 53C. 
 Barking, Richard de. Abbot of Westminster, 143, 167. 
 Baron, Relief of, fixed at £100, 66, 67, c/iq/j. ii. . 107, c/uz/). ii. . ll9,c/ia/>. 
 ii. . 132, chap ii. . 146, chap. ii. . . . Ancient Relief of, 100 marks, 144, 
 146, chap. ii. 164. ...An ancient general name for all the English 
 Peerage, 163. 
 Baronies, escheating to the King not to have a greater relief nor dif- 
 ferent tenure to those held by Barons, 56, art. xxxvi. . 82-85, chap. 
 xliii..ll4, chap. xxxv. . .127, chap, xxxviii. . .140, chup. xxxi...l54, 
 chap. xxxi. . . , Not to be taken by the King but from his tenants in 
 chief, 128, c/iujo. xxxviii. . 140, chap, xxxi., 155, c/ifl/). xxxi. ... Divi- 
 sions of in consequence of the Statute of Quia Emptores, 195, 196. 
 Babons of England, (Constitutionalpurticularsof the) lhe\rhK\rs to 
 have their estates at the ancient relief, 66, 67, <:ftap.ii..]07, chap. ii.. 
 U9,chap. ii..l32, chap. ii..I44, 146, cJutp. n..A02, ch^p. iii..l64.... 
 Not to be licensed to take unlawful aids, 50, art. vi. .72, 73, c/iap. 
 
 XV Twenty-five to decide upon unjust dispossessions of Henry 
 
 II., Richard I., and John, 54, art. xxv. .429. ... Ditto upon unjust 
 fines and amerciaments, 56, art. xxxvii.,88, 89, chap. Iv.... In- 
 terested members of the to be superseded by others, 57, «rt.xxxvii. . 
 
 90, 91, chup, Iv Founders of Abbeys, to have their custody 
 
 when vacant, 58, arf. xliii. .84, 85, c/ia/i. xlv. .114, chap, xxxvii. . . . 
 (Not to be unlawfully dispossessed or captured ijy the King's offi- 
 
GENERAL INDEX, 
 
 cers, ,529, 82, 83, chop, xxxix)... .Twenty-five to be elected as securi- 
 ties for the ubservance of MagnaCharta,(30) 59, art. xlix. . 86, 87, chap. 
 Hi.. 92, 93, cftup. Ixi.-.'iSO.... To distrain the King to observe it, 60, 
 
 QTt. xlix. . 94-97, chap. Ixi How they are to be elected and vote, 
 
 61, art. xlix. .92-97, chap. Ixi (Historical, legal, and biographical 
 
 account of them, Sec. 270-312) .. To be amerced only by their Peers, 
 76, 77, chap. xxi.. HI, chap. xvi.. 123, cfta/j. xvii. . 136, chap.xiv.. 150, 
 chap. xiv. . ..Extent of their amerciament, 202, ...Their liberties 
 and free customs preserved, 129, chap. xlvi. . 142, chap, xxxvii. . 156, 
 
 chap, xxxvii. .335, chap, xvi Their right of sitting in Parliament. 
 
 195. . . . Constituted by the King's Writ of Summons, ifcid Divided 
 
 into greater and lesser, 196 Representatives sent by the latter, 
 
 ibid. . Privilege of Peerage claimed by the, 229. . . . Their engagement 
 with King John to extend the benefits of the Great Charter to their 
 vassals, 268. . Not to be dispossessed by force, 269, 529. . Tlieir woods 
 
 in Forests preserved, 331, chap, iv Allowed to lake deer from the 
 
 Royal Forests in going to and returning from the King, 333, chap. 
 xi. 365, 366. . . .Tenants of to pay only a lawful relief, 402, chup. iv, . 
 Regulations for mariying their female kindred, 402, chap, v, vi, x. . 
 
 ..Ordinances concerning their wills, 403, chap, xv, xvi Their 
 
 pledges for fines regulated, 404, chap, xvii To have all their 
 
 rights, &c. 410. 
 Barons op ENor.AND, (Historical Notices of the,) their meeting and 
 proceedings at St Paul's, 12. , .. Reasons for their rebellion against 
 
 the King, 16 Meeting of at Bury St. Edmund's, 23 Tlieir 
 
 demands at the New Temple Inn, 24 Assembly of at Stam- 
 ford, and message to King John, 26, 27 Fitz-Walter made 
 
 their leader, 27. ...They besiege Northampton Castle, and enter 
 that of Bedford, ibid. ... Enter the City of London, and send 
 letters to the neutral Peers, 28. ... Assembly of on Ruiinemede, 
 29. ... Custody of the City and Tower, demanded by and resigned 
 to, 3^.. .. (Covenant between them and the King to that effect, 
 
 102-104, 430, -WO) Royal Forest-Officers ordered to swear to, 
 
 32 Conduct of after the grant of Magna Charta, 34 And 
 
 to Henry TIT, 36, 39 They consent to his coronation, 37 
 
 Grant him a subsidy to confirm the Charters of Liberties, 38 
 
 Their message to him, 39. . ..Their meeting with trie King at West- 
 minster, 40 Refuse to serve under any but the King, 43 Their 
 
 remonstrance with him concerning the Great Charter, 44 Arti- 
 cles of that instrnment drawn up by the Barons, 30, 49. . . . Oppres- 
 sions of the in distraining for debt, 1/4 Unwilling to try Simon 
 
 de Kyme, not being their peer, 229 Their possessions and con- 
 duct on the borders of Wales, 265. ... Invite Alexander King nl' 
 Scots, to join them against King John, 267. . . . Historical, legal, and 
 biographical account of the Twenty-five securities to Magna Cliarta, 
 with notices of their descendants, 270-312. ... The Great Charter 
 
 not sealed by them, 274 Historical remarks on their conduct 
 
 during the Civil Wars, 315 Unlawful proceedings and auUioiity 
 
 assumed by concerning Magna Charta, 321, 322. . . . People of Eng- 
 land compelled to swear to, 322 Writs for ditto, 322, 323. . . . Pro- 
 visions for a peace with in Magna Charta, 324 Hostages taken 
 
^^ 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 by from Henry III. and their reconciliation with the Kingj 378. . . 
 Procure the Statute of Articles upon the Charters, 391. .. .Their ' 
 proceeding* with William I. fur restoring the ancient Saxon Laws, 
 
 399, 400 ...Their oath of allegiance to Stephen, 405 Revolt of 
 
 the, under Stephen, 408. . . . Use of seals anciently confined to the, 
 449 Discontent and opposition of on the proceedings of King 
 
 John in France, 474, 481 Assist Philip of France in deposing him, 
 
 484. . . . Probability that they caused King John to resign his crown, 
 
 486 Exconamunicated by the Pope, and defeated by John, 488.. 
 
 Their invitation of Louis the Bauphin, ibid. 489 Reception of 
 
 him and success, 489.. . Several return to the King on learning the 
 
 designs of Louis, 490 Their hatred to Hubert de Burgh, and 
 
 efforts against him, 524, 625. ... Supposed subterraneous meeting- 
 place of the, 527. 
 Barons of England, (Heraldical Notices of the,) Names of the 
 Twenty-five elected to preserve Magna Cliarta, 30 Armorial En- 
 signs of ditto, 43-70, in the borders; 271, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 
 
 280, 281, 282, 284, 289, 292, 293, 295, 297, 300, 302, 303, 305, 306, 308, 
 309, 310, 3] 1, 312. . Of their descendants, &c. 362-403, in the borders. . 
 Account, &c. of those Arms, 271, 273, 374,275,276,277,278,280, 
 
 281, 282, 284, 289, 292, 293, 294, 295, 297, 300, 302, 303, 305, 306, 308, 
 309,310,311, 312, 318, 511.... Aims of those mentioned in Magna 
 Cliarta, 71-84, in the borders. . Of those opposed to King John, 85-144, 
 ditto.... Of those on his party, 145-162, rf;i(o, 289, 318.. . . Of those in 
 arms against Henry III. and Edward I., 163-199, in the borders. ..Of 
 those on theii' party, 200-213, di(fo....Of other Barons living in 
 those reigns, 214-361, ditto. 
 
 Barons of the Cinque Porta, to have their liberties and free-customs, 
 109, cAaj). X. . 122, c7tap. X. . 135, c/tt/jj. ix. . 149, chap. ix. ... Claim of 
 the at a coronation, 193. 
 
 Bani, Giraldus de, 463. 
 
 Harrington, Hon. Daines, his Observations on the more Ancient Sta- 
 tutes, (1796,) cited, 172, 198, 201, 202, 215, 218,225, 226, 250,258,^46, 
 
 352, 353, 366, 446 Portrait of, 328 Descriptive account of the 
 
 w<,rk, 457, 458. 
 
 Basire, James, his engraved Fac-similse of the Charters of Liberties, 
 &c. 426, 435, 436, 439, 455. 
 
 Basset, Alan and Thomas, 64, 65, 106, 310 , Fulk, Bishop of 
 
 London, 387. 
 
 Basselt, Thomas, 307- 
 
 Batteil, Trial by, historical notices of in England, 252. . . . Abolished, 
 253. 
 
 Bayniird, William, 504. 
 
 Beauchamp, William de, 244. . . . Resigns the castle of Bedford to the 
 
 Barons, 28 , Simon de, 408 , Walter 
 
 de, 106, 144, 158, . . . , Richard, Earl of Warwick, 273. 
 
 Beaiiclerk, Charles, Duke of St. Alban's, 283. 
 
 Beaumoni, John, the first English Viscount, 163. 
 
 Becket, Thomas ^, Archbishop of Canterbury, translation of his re- 
 mains by Cardinal Langton, 500, 501. 
 
Bedels of a Forest, not to make Ale-shots, 
 
 332, chap. vii. 356. .. . Their office, 358. 
 Bedford Castle eiiteied by the insurgent Barons, 
 Bees in the forests of Muscovy, 353. 
 Beilo, or Battle, Robert de, Abbot of St. Augustitie's, Canterbury, I'JS 
 
 Bench, see Justiciaries. 
 
 Benedict, the Abbot, his account of the unlawful seizures of Henry 
 
 II., 249. 
 Berkshire, ancient farm paid for, 207. 
 Bernard, Bishop of St. David's, 407. 
 
 Berringlon, Rev. Jolin, his character of Innocent III., 515. 
 Berthelet, Thomas, his editions of the ancient Statutes and Magna 
 
 Ghana, 441, 451, 452. 
 Bertlay, Henry de, 243. 
 
 Beth line, Baldwin de, 286 Arms borne by, 273 , Robert 
 
 de, Bishop of Hereford, 408. 
 Bigod, Hugh le. Earl of Norfolk, 280 One of the Baronial Securi- 
 ties to King John's Great Cnarler, 30. ... Historical notice of, and 
 
 arms borne by, 311 , Hugh, 408, 
 
 , Roger, Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, 102, 31 1, 386, 388. .. . One 
 
 of the Baronial Securities to King John's Magna Charta, 30. . . . Ori- 
 gin of his name, 279 Biographical notices of, ibid.f 280. . . . Arms 
 
 borne by, 280, 311. 
 
 , , , Marshal of England, refuses to attend 
 
 Edward I. into Guienne, 43, +40, 532. 
 ■' — , Roger, Hugh, and Ralph, 311. 
 Bigot, Roger, 404. 
 Bishoprics, to be honestly kept when vacant, and not sold, 108, chap. 
 
 V 121, chap. V 134, chap, v 148, chap. v.. 407. 
 
 Bishops, their liberties and free customs preserved, 129, cAu;». xlvi. . 
 142, cfta7).xxxvii.. 156, c/(0/>. xxxvii. .335, chap.-K\i.. ..Amerciaments 
 
 of, 202 Separated from the County Courts, 254 Their woods in 
 
 Forests preserved, 331, chap, iv Allowed to take a deer from the 
 
 Royal Forests, in going to or returning from the King, 333, chap. 
 xi..365, 366.. .To pronounce Sentence of Excommunication against 
 
 breakers of the Charters, S7l,chap. iv..386, 387 Their oath of 
 
 allegiance to Stephen, 405 Ecclesiastical powers confirmed to 
 
 them by his Charter, 406 Right of distributing their own pro- 
 perty, 407 How their Sees are to be kept when vacant, z6w; 
 
 Historical account of the ancient manner of electing, 411-416. . . . 
 Modern custom of ditto, 418, 419. 
 Blackstone, Sir William, his Commentaries cited, 181, 182, 196, 197, 
 198, 204, 207, 214, 216, 218, 219, 220, 227, 232, 250, 251, 253, 257, 259, 
 
 260, 266, 415 His editions of the Great and Forest Charters, innd 
 
 Introduction to them, cited, 14-17, 237, 238, 239, 247. 270, 289, 294, 
 and note, 296, 298, 321, 323, 325, 326, 337, 342, 344, 346, 379, 383, 386, 
 409, 411 note, 416, 420, 428 note, 430, 431 not.e h, 432, 433, 436, 437, 439, 
 
 441, 443, 444,445, 529-534, various Descriptive account of tlie 
 
 %^ ork, 456, 457. .. . Portrait of, 328. 
 Blanche of Casrile, married to the Dauphin of France, 474, 519. 
 
Bocland, ancient Saxon tenure of, i 
 
 Bodleian Library, Oxford, original copies, &c. of Magna Charta in the, 
 
 118, 376, 531, 432, 433, 444, 531, 533. 
 Bohun, Henry de. Earl of Herefurd, 102. ... One of the Baronial Secu- 
 
 rities to King John's Magna Charta, 30 Biographical notices of, 
 
 278, 279. . . . Arms borne by, 278. 
 , Humphrey de. Lord High Constable, refuses to serve Edward 
 
 I. in Guienne, 63, 440, 441. 
 ,_ _ — „, 144,158,278,386,388,408, 532. ...Notices of, 
 
 279.... , Matilda, r,06. 
 
 Bolebec, Isabel and Hugh de, 282, 312. 
 
 Bolingbroke, Henry of, created Duke of Hereford, 279. 
 
 Boniface VIIL, Pope, his Bui! against ihe Clergy paying secular 
 
 taxes, 42. 
 of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury, reads an Excommuni- 
 cation against breakers of the Charters, 40, 386, 387. 
 
 , Marquis of Tuscany, simtmy of, 414. 
 
 Born, de, a Troubadour, his song of censure upon King John, 480. 
 
 Boroughs, and Free Boroughs, aids levied un, 183, 184 Cause of their 
 
 present wealth, 183. . . . Privileges of, 184, 
 Boandsofa. forest explained, 341. 
 Boulogne, the Honour of, 56, art. xxxvi.,84, 85, chap xliii. . 114, chup. 
 
 XXXV. . 127, chap, xxxviii. . 140, chap. xxxi. . 154, chap. xxxi. 
 — ■ -, Reginald, Count of, 21. 
 Bova, Hugh de, 247- 
 
 Boyle, Lady Charlotte, her claim to the Barony of Ros allowed, 300. 
 Brabason, Sir Robert de, Chief Justice of the King't. Bench, 388. 
 Brady, Dr. Robert, his History of England, (1684-85,) cited, 239, 2'JO, 
 
 242, 247, 248, 262, 264, 269, 402, 444, 530, 533. 
 Braibroc, Robert de, 243. 
 
 Braose, William de, 264 , Giles de, Bishop of Hereford, 417. 
 
 Bray, William de, refuses to murder Arthur of Bretagne, 478. 
 
 - — ■ — , Mr. William, his account of Ruimemede, and the caverns at 
 
 Reygate Castle, 526, 527. 
 Brent, Fulke de, 106, 493. 
 Bretagne, see Arthur, Duke of. 
 Bieve di Odio et Acid — De Bono et Malo, account of, 218 Form of, 
 
 219. 
 Brewer, William, Bishop of Exeter, 143, 157. 
 Briwere, or Bruer, William de, Sen. and Jun., 21, 106, 144, 158, 418, 
 
 526. 
 Bridges, towns not to be illegally amerced for, 51, art. x\. . 76, 77, chap. 
 xxiii..lU. cAa;;. xviii..l24, chap. xix. . 137, chap. xv..l51, chap. xv. 
 
 i^'4 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Brits, Guillermus, his account of the murder of Arthur uf Bretagne, 477.1 
 
 Britton, John, Beauties of Wiltshire, (lS2o,) 32]. ... History of Salis-^ 
 bnry Ca/ftedra/, (1814,) 317. \ 
 
 Bromflete, Thomas, 292. 
 
 Brooke, John Charles, Rouge Croix Pursuivant, his account of the [ 
 Seal of Robert Filz- Walter, 51 1 . 
 
 Btuce, Reginald de, 144, 158. . ..The wife and children ofWilliam de, 
 starved to death by King John, 493 note, 507. 
 
 Bruges, Louis de, 277. 
 
 Brun, Hugh, Earl of Marche, his opposition to, and capture by King 
 
 John, 475. . ..Bruwne, Willinm de, 493. 
 Brunne, Robert de, his French Chronicle, 544. 
 
 Brus, Peter de, 306. 
 
 Buckingham, ancient farms paid for, 207. 
 
 Bulwarks, erection of illegally enforced, 203. 
 
 Burgage, tenant in, .not to give the King propei'ty in tlie Knights' 
 fee of another ktrd, 54, art. xxvii..Sl, 82, chap, xxxvii.. 113, chap. 
 
 XXX. . 126, chap, xxxiii. . 139, cltap. xxvii. . 153, chap, xxvii Tenure 
 
 of, explained, 220. 
 
 Burgh, Hubert de, Earl of Kent, 64, 05, 106, 143, US, 294, 297, 310. . . 
 His proceedings against the consort and life of William de Longes- 
 p^e, 316. ... Keeper of Arthur of Bretagne, 477.. .His fidelity to 
 John and Henry at the siege of Dover Castle, 490, 522, 523 Bio- 
 graphical notice of , 521-525-. . ..Descent and employments of, 521, 
 
 522 Destroys tiie Dauphin's fleet, and becomes Protector to 
 
 Henry 111,523 Marries the King of Scotland's daughter, — En- 
 mity of the other Barons to him, ibid., 624. . . . Created Eai 1 uf Kent, 
 
 524 Ill-treatment of by the King and Bishop of Wnichester, 
 
 ]6id., 625.... His death and family, .^25. 
 
 Burgh, John de, 272,310.... , William de, Earl of Ulster, 272, . 
 
 , Hawisa, 310 , Raymond, 31(3 
 
 Buteville, Oliver and Geoffrey de, 306. 
 
 Burn, Dr. Richard, his Ecclesiastical Laic, (1797,) 161. 
 
 Burnet, Dr. Gilbert, Bishop of Salisbury, 231 Account of his Ori- 
 ginal of the Articles of Magna Charta, 420-422 Account of his 
 
 Original of John's Magna Charta, 427, 423- 
 
 Burton Abbey, Annals of, cited, 532, 540. 
 
 Bury St. Edmund's, meeting of the English Barons at, 23. 
 
 Button, William, Bishop of Bath, 387- 
 
 Byset, Hugo, 244, 
 
 Calendarium Rot.ulorum Patentium, (1802,) 244, 271. 
 
 Caleto, or Caux, John de, Abbot of Peterborough, 642. 
 
 Camden, William, Clarenceux King of Arms, quantity of a Knight's 
 
 fee mentioned by, 180. ... His I?rua7miu by Richard Gough, (1789,) 
 
 266.... His Remains, (1636,) 279. 
 Camvil, Richard de, 319. 
 Cantelow, William de, 106. 
 Canterbury, ancient records of Charters, &c. in the Archives of the 
 
 Cathedral of, 411, 529 Dispute concerning the election of the 
 
 Archbishops of, 413. 
 
 r5Q^^^- 
 
 ■<^^j 
 
Canute, King of England, his Constitutions cited, 5, 339, 353, 363, 364, 
 , 397, 528. . ..Weights and measures ordered by, 216 — His laws 
 against J udges, 240. 
 
 Care, Henry, his edition of Magna Charta, the Charta de Foresta, &.c. 
 {1719.) 453. 
 
 Carriages and horses, seizing of for purveyance, 211... , cans, and 
 
 horses, not to be taken for the King's stivice without consent and 
 payment, 53, art, xx. .78, 79, chap. xxx. . 112, chap, xxiii, . 125, chap. 
 XXV, xxvi. . 138, chap.yix]. . 162,c/iOjD. xxi. . Rate of payment to be made 
 for, 112, chap, xxiii. . 125, cfuip. xxv.. 138, chap. xxi..l52, chap. xxi. 
 
 Carte, Thomas, his History qf England, (1747-55,) 444. 
 
 Castellans, vide Constables, office and oppressions of, 205. . . . Power of 
 in Forests explained, 335, chap. xvi. .359. 
 
 Castle-guard, when Knights are to be free from, 53, art. xix. . 78, 79, 
 chap. xxix..ll2, chap. xxii. . 125, chap, xxi v. . 138, chap, xx, . 152, 
 cfmp. XX. . Duty of and regulations for, 212. 
 
 Castles, number of in England, 205. . .. Duties for tlie support of, 211.. 
 Limitation of widows dwelling in, 109, chap. \'\i..l2\, chap. vii. . 
 134, chap. vii. . 148, chap. vii. . . . Wood for the King's not to be seized 
 against the owner's consent, 53, ar(. xxi. . 78, 79, cAa/i. xxxi..ll2, 
 
 chap. xxiv. .125, xxvii..i88, chap. xxi.. 152, chap, xxi Number 
 
 erected in Wales and the Marches, 265. 
 
 ' — , Adulterine, to be destroyed by order of the Common Council 
 of the realm, 129, chap, xlvii. . 326, 
 
 Cathedrals, the Charters of Liberties to be preserved in, 370, chap, iii, 
 ..385,425 Custom of registering records in the Archives of, 385. 
 
 Caxton, William, his ancient editions of the Statutes, 384 His 
 
 Chronicle of England, and account of the poisoning of King John, 
 637, 538 note, 544, 547. 
 
 Cayneto, John de, , Alice, 295. 
 
 Cerne, the Abbot of, 143, 157- 
 
 Chalmers, Mr. Alexander, his account of Blackslone's edition of the 
 Great Charter, &c. 457. 
 
 Chancell, Andrew, Gyon, and Peter de, to be removed from their 
 bailiwicks, 57, art, xl. .86, 87, chap. 1. . . .Notices of Guy de, 244. 
 
 Chancellor, Lord, his authority in the King's Hall, 197. 
 
 Chapters, use of in the ancient Statutes, 445. 
 
 Charlemagne, Emperor, ceremony of royal Investiture established by, 
 414. 
 
 Charles I., King of England, his Charters of privileges to London, 
 
 190 Trial by Battel appointed by, 262 Attempts to revive the 
 
 Forest laws, 345. . . . Statutes of for limiting the Forests, 346. 
 
 II., , his Act for abolisliing the Feudal Te- 
 nures cited, 161 note, 165, 167, 168, 169, 171, 174, 182, 183, 186, 211, 
 212, 220, 236, 237, 241, 261. ... His Confirmation Charter to London, 
 
 1^1 City Charter seized by, and renewed in a mutilated slate, 
 
 ibid His Cliarter to the Cinque Ports, 193. .. .Statute of Trans- 
 portation, 227.. -. His solicitations of Peers in Appeal cases, 231.. .. 
 Language of law-pleadings and records altered by, 239. 
 
GKNEltAL INDEX. 
 
 Chmiter, ilie Great, See iMagna Chahta, and Forest Charter. 
 
 . for resigning England to the Pope, 18. 
 
 Charter Rolls, rclerred to and described, 377 and 7tole ^ 380, 443, 
 532, 533. 
 
 ChartL-rs, distinction between Chaiters and Patents, 328 Statute 
 
 nf the Form of Confirmation of, 382 Of the Anglo-Saxons and 
 
 Normans, historical notices of, 448 note, 449. 
 
 of Liberties, granted by Henry I., 3, 401 (Translated copy 
 
 of, 402-404'!. . . . Us discovery announced by Archbishop Langton, 
 12 Granted by Henry III., 37-39 Publicly read, 40 Ex- 
 planatory Notes on the, 159-328 Ancient superscription of, 16 
 
 ....To be publicly read, 326, 384, 386, 392.... To be preserved in the 
 English Cathedrals, 370, chap. iii..385 To be guarded by Sen- 
 tence of ExcomniuTiication, 371, c/inp. iv. .386 Statutes against 
 
 to be amended or annulled, 375 Judgments against the to be re- 
 versed, 385 Partly confiimed by the Statute of Fines, 390. . . . En- 
 forced by the Articuli Super Cbartas, 391-393.. ..Histonral and 
 Descriptive Account of the existing Manuscript and Printed Copies of, 
 
 394-460 First entry of on the Statute Rolls, 394 Printed with 
 
 the Statutes, 394, 395 Granted by Stephen, 405 Translated 
 
 copies of them, 406-408, 409 Issued by Henry 11., Translated 
 
 copy of, 409.... By John, for freedom uf Ecclesiastical elections, ac- 
 
 cuunt andTraiislaiion ol, 411 and no^e, 416-418 Manner of writing 
 
 the, language, &,c. 445 Chronological Table of the, 628-534. 
 
 Chase, beasts of explained, 341 When a Forest is so called, 342. 
 
 Cheeke, Robert, liis claim to the Barony of Fitz-Waltcr, 510, 511. 
 
 Chcminage in Forests, regulations for taking it, 334, ciap. xiv. .435, 
 437 Explained, 358. 
 
 Chertsey, Abbot of, 143, 157- 
 
 Chettle, Henry, his Dramas on Robin Hood and Maid Marian, 506, 
 507. 
 
 Chirographa, historical notices of, 448 note, 449- 
 
 Christ-churcli, Canterbury, dispute between the monks of and Bishops 
 concerning election of the Primate, 413. ... Secret election of an 
 Archbishop at, 498. 
 
 , Dublin, ancient records in the Archives of, 434, 531. 
 
 , Oxford, ancient records in the Library of, 444. 
 
 Christian, Edward, his Notes to Black-stone's Commentaries cited, 235, 
 252. 
 
 Church, the English to be free and have all her rights, 9, 64, C5, chap. 
 i. .98, 99, chap. Ixiii.. 106, c/m/i. i. . 119. chap.i. . 132, chap. i. . 146, chap. 
 
 i..406, 407, 410 Liberties anciently possessed by the, 161 
 
 Livings of the protected, 167 ^'acant churches to be honestly 
 
 kept, and not sold, 103, chap.v..]2\, chap. v. . 134, chap.x. . 148, chap. 
 
 V Set at liberty, and its livings not to be sold or farmed on the 
 
 death of the Clergy, 400, c/iap. i Charter of Liberties granted to 
 
 the by John, 411 and note, 416-418. 
 
 C;iiurcli-door, Dnwry at the, 121 , cfca;j. vii Nature of, 173. 
 
 CiaconiuG, Alphonso, his t'itcB et Res Gestee Pont{/icum Romanorum, 
 (1630,) 501. 
 
 Cinque-Ports, Barons of the, to have their liberties and free-customs, 
 
 6^ f^ 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 i09, chap. X. A22, chap. X.. 135, chap. ix..M9, chap.ix Privileges |J 
 
 and government of the, 192.. ..Ships furnished by tht, ibid 
 
 Nam es of th e, 1 93 Barons of th e, ibid. 
 
 Cistercians, aids levied on the by King John, 263. 
 
 Cities, Burghs, Towns, and Ports, to have their liberties and free-cus- 
 toms, 55 ur(. xxxii. .72, 73, c/iap. xiii. . 109, chap. X..122, chap. x. . 
 J35, chap. \x.. 149, chap. ix. 
 
 Cities and Towns of England, belonging to certain Lords, 206 Farm 
 
 of, 207. 
 
 Clare, Gilbert de, 143, 158, 271, 272. . . . One of the Baronial Securities 
 
 to the Great Charter of King John, 30 Biographical notices of, 
 
 289, 290. 
 
 , Henry and Robert de, 271. 
 
 , Richard, Earl of, 102, 302 One of the Baronial Securities to 
 
 King John's Great Charter, 30.'. . .Biographical notices of, 270-272.. 
 Arms borne by, 271- . .. Origin and descent of the title of, 272. 
 
 ^ --, Gilbert Fitz-Richard, Earl of, 312. 
 
 Clarence, origin and descent of the Dukedom of, 272. 
 
 Clement V., Pope, his Bull releasing Edward I. from his Charters, Sec. 
 444, 534. 
 
 Clergy, (See Ecclesiastics,) to be amerced according to their crimes 
 and lay -estates only, 51, art. x. .76, 77, chap. xxii..lll, chap. xvii.. 
 124, chap, xviii.. 136, cli/jp. xiv. . 151, cJiup. xiv... Ancient privileges of 
 
 the, 161 Amerciaments of the, 202, 203 Ancient gift claimed 
 
 by the at death, 208 How they became interested of in making of 
 
 Wills,ii!(i. .209. . . . Historical account of the freedom of election re- 
 quired by them, 411-414. 
 
 Clergy, Benefit of, 206. 
 
 Clerkenwell, Prior of, his haughty speech to Henry III., 546. 
 
 Clifford, Walter de, 106 , Arms of Vesci quart erc-d by ihe 
 
 House of, 292. . ■ . ' ' , John, Lord de, i6id , Rosa- 
 
 mond, 313. 
 
 Clinton, William, Lord, his connection with the family of Say, 295. . 
 
 , John, ibid. 
 
 Close Rolls referred to, 7 note ^ 382, -HiO, 529-534, various. 
 
 Cloth, uniform breadth of ordered in EnglaTid, 52, ar(. xii.. 80, 81, 
 cftap. XXXV. . 113, c/iop. xxviii. . 126, chap, xxxi, . 139, chap. xxv..]b3, 
 chap. XXV Regulations for the width and quality of, 217 Ma- 
 nufacture of in England, ibid. 
 
 Clothaire II., King of France, decree of concerning election of 
 Bishops, 412. 
 
 Coggeshate, Ralph, Abbot of, 2&4. . . . His account of the imprisonment 
 and death of Arthur of Bretagne, 476. . ,. Hisaccountof King John's 
 death, 540. 
 
 Coke, Sir Edward, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, various 
 references to and extracts from his Institutes, 9, 159, 161, 162, 164, 
 166, 167, 168, 173, 176, 179,180, 182, 193,196,197,198,200,2*1,202,203, 
 204, 206, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218,219, 220, 222, 226, 227, 
 228, 229, 231, 232, 223, 2*4, 235, 237, 241, 2,')3, 255, 256, 257, 25S, 259, 260, 
 266, 268, 269, 270, 350, 353, :J54, 356, 381, 383, 385, 386, 389, 391, 392, 442, 
 446, 533, 534, various Notice of the work, 453 Portrait of, 328. 
 
I Coiners of false money, law against, 403 note. 
 ifCollins, Arthur, his Peerage, (1779-84,) 274. 
 aCollinson, Rev. John, Hislorij of Somerset, (1791,) 309. 
 I Colnmies, Paul, anecdote of the original Magna Charta, related by, 
 424. 
 
 Commendam, ecclesiastical license uf explained, 416. 
 
 Common, privilege of in Forests, 346, 350. 
 
 Common Council of England, scutages, aids, &;c. to be imposed by, 
 6.%u«. xxxii..72, 73, cft<i;i.xii..372, chap, vi, vii. .389. .. .To amend 
 or annul Statutes against the Charters, 375 Orders for summon- 
 ing of the, 72, 73, chap, xiv Orders the Adulterine castles to be 
 
 destroyed, 129, chap, xlvii. 
 
 Common Law of England, its origin and ciiaracter, 240. 
 
 Common Pleas, not to follow the King's Court, 5], art. viii..74, 75, 
 cAop.xvii. .110, cAup. xii. . 122, chap. xii..l35, chap. xi..l49, chap. 
 xi. 
 
 — r- — , Court of, fixed in Westminster Hall, 197 Ancient- 
 ly followed the royal residence, i'Ad. 199 Justices of appointed, 
 
 198 Rendered moveable, 200. 
 
 Commons, when admitted to sit in Parliament, 194 Ancient re- 
 presentation of the, 3GS Extensive constitutional character of the, 
 
 384, 389 Petition Edward I. that extraordinary aids shall not be- 
 come precedents, 388. 
 
 Confirmation Charters, of Edward I., (1297,) 369-373, 382-.<i89, 633 
 ..Ditto, (1299), hXi.. Ditto, (1300-1301,) 374,376,393,443, 633.... 
 Explanatory Notes on the, 376-393. ... Of Henry TIL, (1236-37,) 
 370, 437, 631.. ..Ditto, (1264-66,) 377, 438, 632. ... Abstract of its 
 
 contents, 378-380 Dispersed through England, and ordered to be 
 
 publicly read, 380 Other Statutes of Confirmation, .534. 
 
 Covfirmatio Chartarum, account of the, 383, 440, 632. .. . Sentence of 
 Excommunication protecting the, 389, 533. . . . Historical discussion 
 Concerning the, 440-442. 
 
 CoJij^d'iiire, 418, 419. 
 
 Coniiigsby, George Capel, his claim to the Barony of Ros, 300, 
 
 Constables, not to take corn nor goods without payment, 63, art. xviii. 
 . . 78, 79, chap, xxviii. .111, chap. xxi. . 124, chap, xxiij. . 137, chap, xix 
 
 . . 161, chap, xix Time allowed for payment where goods are taken 
 
 from an inhabitant of the town where the castle is, 112, chap. xxi. . 
 
 12.5, cAap. xxiii.. 137, chap. xix. .163, chap, xix Not lo distrain 
 
 Knights to pay for Castle-guard, if they will perform it, &c. 63, art. 
 xix. . 78, 79, chap. xxix. .112, cluip. xxii. . 126, chap. xxiv. . 138, chap. 
 
 XX. . 162, chap, xx Not to hold Pleas of the Crown, 76, 77, chap, 
 
 xxiv.. Ill, chap. xix. . 124, chap. xxi. . 137, chap.xvii. . 161, chap.xvVi. . 
 Their name and office explained, 204 Of Castles, 206 Con- 
 stables of Fees, 205 Of Castles, had no right to take purveyance, 
 
 211 Duty of, 212. 
 
 Constance, Duchess of Bretagne, procures Ph'dip of France to take 
 arms for Arthur, 472 Becomes reconciled to John, but soon re- 
 turns to Philip, 473 Her death, 479 and note. 
 
 Consul, Robert the. Earl of Gloucester, 405, 408. 
 
 Contenement, to be preserved in a freeman's amerciament, 61, art. ix. . 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 74, 75, cliap. xx. , 110, chap. xv. . 123, chap, xvi 
 chap, xiv What it signifies, 201. 
 
 Cooke, Edward, his edition of Magna Charta, (1680,) 452. 
 
 Corbois, William, Archbishop of Canterbury, 405, 406, 407. 
 
 Corn, uniform measure of ordered throughout England, 51, art. xii.. 
 
 80, 81, chap. XXXV. . 113, chap, xxviii. . 126, cliap. xxxi. . 139, chap, xxv 
 
 ..153, chap. XXV Not to be seized by Bedels or Foresters, 332, 
 
 chap. vii. 
 Cornhull, William de, Bishop of Coventry, 7, 64, 65, 106, 429. 
 Coroners, not to hold Pleas of the Crown, 76, 77, chap. xxiv..Il], chap. 
 
 xix..l24, chap. xxi. . 137, cftap. xvii. . 151, c/mp. xvii Their name 
 
 and office explained, 20.'j. 
 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, MSS. ia the Library of, 377, 380, 
 
 433,531,532, 
 Corse- Present, gift to the clergy so called, 208- 
 Cotton, Bartholomew de, his account of King John's death, 543. 
 Cottonian ik?5S. and Charters referred to, 144, 377 and notes \ s 379, 
 
 380,382,383,390, 399, 409, bis. 421-425, 437, 529-533 various, 537, 
 
 543, 546 note. 
 Covenant between King John and his Barons, to resign the City and 
 
 Tower of London, as securities for the observance of Magna Ciiai ta, 
 
 102-104, 430, 530. 
 Coverts of a Forest explained, 340. 
 Counties of England, quarterly Assizes to be hcdd in, 51, art.Vui. .74, 
 
 75, c/iap. xviii, xix. . 110, c/taj). xiii, xiv. .To remain at the ancient 
 farm, b2, art. xiv. . 76, 77, chap. xxv. ... Reserved for farther con- 
 sideration, 116, chap, xUi Alterations of the Counties by William 
 
 I., 254. . . . King ^Elfred's division of, 256. . . . Farmed, 207. 
 
 County — Comitatns, signification of, 207. 
 
 County-Courts, to be held monthly, or according to the accustomed 
 
 term, 128, chup. xlii.. 141, chap. xxxv. . 155, chap, xxxv Historical 
 
 notices of their establishment and powers, 253 255 Charters, &c. 
 
 to be read at, 380, 384, 392. 
 
 Courtenay, Robert de, 106. 
 
 Courts of Justice, only one in England under the Saxons, 197.-. In- 
 stitution ofin the King's Hall, ifcid. ... Followed the Royal House- 
 hold, but at length fixed at Westminster, 198. 
 
 Couvre-feti abolished, 400- 
 
 Crementum, in the farm of Counties explained, 207. 
 
 Crohun, Peter de, 295. 
 
 Cromwell, Oliver, his interference with the Scottish Judges, 231 
 
 Law-enrollments made in English under, 239, 
 
 Cross, origin and custom of using the in signatures, 448, 449. 
 
 Cross-bowmen, foreign, to be sent out of the kingdom, 57, art. xli. . 
 
 86, 87, chap.li Employment of in the ancient English army 
 
 246. 
 
 Crown, debts to the, provisions fur recovering, 174, 209, 210. 
 
 Croxlon, the Abbot of embalms King John, 539, 553. 
 
 Croyland Abbey, ancient Saxon Cliarters at, A48note Continu-atwn 
 
 of the Chronicle of, 541. 
 
 Crusaders, Term of the to be allowed the King in restoring estates, 
 
i, 87, chap In, \\u..90, 91, cftap. Ivii That Term 
 
 &c. 54, art. xxv. 
 explained, 248. 
 Customs, explanation of tlie word, 166.... None to be levied or en- 
 forced without auihority of Parliament, 233, 372, chap. vii..38y 
 
 Notices of the Jntigua Custuma, 38^ Evil Customs to betaken 
 
 away, 402, chap. ii. 
 
 , Free, signification of, 18(J. . (See Free Customs.) 
 
 Cygony, Gyon and Engelard de, to be removed from their bailiwicks 
 
 57, an. xl.. 86, 87, chap. \ Vai ious notices of Engelard, 243, 244^ 
 
 247. .. . , Oliver, 243. 
 
 Dallaway, Rnv. jAmes, h\s Enquiries into the Orifrin and Progress of 
 
 Heraldry, (1793,) 284 His edition of Wulpole's Anecdotes of 
 
 Painting, 454 note. 
 Dalrymple, John, his Essay towards a History of Feudal Property, 
 
 (1767,) \G2noie, 170. 
 Danes, Laws of the in England, 396, 399. 
 Darrien Presentmejit, Assizes of, to be held quarterly, 74, 75, cfiap. 
 
 xviii Always to be taken before the Justices of the Bench, 123, 
 
 chap. XV. 
 Dartmouth, William Legge, first Earl of, his remark on Bisliop Bur- 
 net's Magna Charta, 426. 
 Davenport, Robert, his Drama of King John and Matilda, (1655,) 
 
 507. 
 David I., King of Scotland, 223. 
 
 , Prince of South Wales, 267- 
 
 Davies, Sir John, his character of the English Common-Law, 240. 
 Deandon, Hamelyon de, , Mabel, their Arms brought into 
 
 the Family of Malet, 309. 
 Deans and Chapters, election of Prelates by, 419. 
 Debrett, John, his Peerage and Baronetage of England, &c. 313, 
 Debts, of the King, how they shall be recovered after the death of a 
 
 debtor, 50, art. v. .52, art. xv..b6, art. xxxiv. . 70, 71 , c/iaji- ix. . 7C, 
 
 77, chap. xxvi.. 109, chap. ix. . Ill, chap. xx. .122, chap. ix. . 124, chap. 
 
 xxii.. 134, chap, viii., 137» chap, xviii.. 149, chap. viii. . 151, cJiap. xviii. 
 
 ..174,209, 210. 
 , to Jews, to bear no interest from minors, 65, art. xxxiv. . . . 
 
 70, 71 > chap X.. ..Reserved for farther consideration, 116, chap. xlii. 
 
 .... To be paid after the dower of a widow, &c. have been provided, 
 
 66, art. XXXV. . 70, 71, chap, xi Reserved for farther consideration, 
 
 116, cAa/). xlii.. ..Ancient regulations for recovering, 174, 177. 
 Deepings, John de. Abbot of Peterborough, 542. 
 Delaval, historical notice of the Arms borne by the Family of, 310, 311 
 
 , Gilbert de, 310 , John Hussey, created Baron 
 
 Delaval, 311. 
 Demesne Cart, of Ecclesiastics, Knights, and Lords, not to be seized for 
 
 the King's service, 126, chap. xxv. . 138, chap.xxi. . 152, chap, xxi 
 
 Explained, 213. 
 Demesne Woods of the King, 333, chap, ix Protected, 331, chap, iii. 
 
 ..346,350 Whentbeyare to be agisted, 332, c/iop. viii Che- 
 
 minage to be taken in only, 334, chap. xiv. 
 
'^^^ 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Bering, Edward, Letter of concerning Magna Charta, 424. 
 
 Despencer, Hugli,277. 
 
 Destruction, a free-man not to be illegally destroyed, 55, arf. xxix. . 
 82, Si, chap. xxxix..I13, chap. xxxii..l27, c?iap. xxxv. . 140, chap. 
 xxix. . 154, chap. xxix. . . . Explanation of the term, 166, 167, '228. 
 
 Devereux, Walter, created Viscount Hereford, 279. 
 
 Deuteronomy, uniformity of weio;hts and measures ordered in, 216. 
 
 Dignities, ecclesiastical, to be honestly kept when vacant, and not 
 sold, 108, chap. v. . 121, chap. v. . 134, chap. v. . 148, chap, v. 
 
 Disparagements in marriage, explanation of, 171. 
 
 Dodswortli, William, Historical Account of Salisbury Cathedral, (1814,) 
 317,427. 
 
 Dog-draw, what is meant by, 365. 
 
 Dogs, Lawing and View of in forests, to be performed in the ancient 
 
 manner, 331, chap, vi Regulation for keeping in forests, 355, 363 
 
 . . ..Act against keeping by inferior persons, 364. 
 
 Dorset, County of, charged for perambulation of forests in it, 238, 343, 
 531. 
 
 Dos Legitima explained, 172 
 
 Dower, to be freely given to widows, 50, art. iv. .68, 69, chap. vii. . 108, 
 
 109, cAap. vji.. 121, c/ia/). vii.. 134, chap. vii.. 148, chap, vii To be 
 
 paid to widows befoie debts to Jews, 56, art. xxxv Unjust fines 
 
 for, to be remitted, 56, art. xxxvii Fixed at a third of the hus- 
 band's lands excepting less were assigned, 121, chap. vii. . 134, chap. 
 vii. . 148, chap. vii. . . . Ancient laws on and nature of, 172, 173, 178. 
 
 Dower ad Ostium Ecclesia: explained, 173. 
 
 D'Oyly, Robert, the Constable, 408. 
 
 Drayton, Michael, historical poems of, on King John and Matilda 
 Fitz- Walter, 507- 
 
 Dublin, Henry de Loundres, Archbishop of, 7, 21, 62, 63, 98, 99, 429. 
 
 Dugdale, Sir William, Garter King of Arms, his Baronage, (1675-76,) 
 271, 272, 275, 276, 284, 294 and note, 296, 313, 315, 504, 505, 510, 524. . 
 His Monasticon Anglicanum, (1661-82,) 271. 
 
 Duke, title of first given, 163 Amerciament of a, 202. 
 
 Dunmow, Little, Essex, Tomb and Effigy of Matilda Fitz-Walter in 
 the Church of, 505, 506. 
 
 Dunstaple, Annals of, 640. 
 
 Durand, a Knight-Templar, 520. 
 
 Durham, original copies of Magna Charta, &c. preserved in the Ar- 
 chives of the Cathedral of, 105, 131, 431, 435, 436, 437, 443, 530, 531, 
 533.. . . Original of the First Charta Foresta in ditto, 238, 329-336, 4^, 
 435, 531 . 
 
 Dyer, Sir James, his Reports cited, 442. 
 
 Dyers' Company, privilege of searching for logwood by the, 226. 
 
 Earls, their heirs to have their estates at the ancient relief — its 
 amount fixed at £100, 66, 67, cfiap. ii.. 107, chap, ii..ll9, chap.u.. 
 \S2, \44, chup. ii.. 146, cftap. ii.. 164, 438. ...To be amerced only by 
 theirpeers, 76,77, chap. xxi..lll, chap. xvi..l23, chap. xvii..l36, 
 chap. xiv. .150, chap, xiv Their liberties and free-customs pre- 
 served, 129, chap. xlvi..l42, chap, xxxvii. . 156, chap. xxxTii..335, 
 
 ;<=S^- 
 
=^^ 
 
 GENERAL INDEX 
 
 ckap.xvi..4\0 Amerciament of, 202..,. Their wouds in forests pre- 
 served, 331, chap, iv Allowed to take a deer from the royal furests 
 
 in going to, or returning from the King, 333, cAap, xi. .365, 366. 
 
 Ecclesiastical guardianships, 167, 
 
 Ecclesiastics, (See Clergy,) liberties claimed by the English, 8 
 
 Recalled from banishment by John, 11. ...Conference between 
 Henry III. and their deputies, 40 Demesne-cart of an ecclesias- 
 tical person not to be seized by the King, 125, chap. xxvi. . 138, chap. 
 
 xxi.. 152, cAa;). xxi Their liberties and free-customs preserved, 
 
 129, chap. xlvi. . 142, chap, xxxvii. . 156, chap, xxxvii. . . . Ancient pri- 
 vileges of, 161 Not permitted to leave the realm without the 
 
 King's permission, 234. ... Licenses granted to fur foreign pilgrim- 
 ages, 235. ...The ancient lawyers and judges of England, 239. . .. 
 Seizure and restoration of theirpossessions by King John, 248, 481 
 
 and note Frauds of in procuring gifts of lands, 259, 260 Aids 
 
 levied on by King John, 263 Ditto by Edward I., 388 Privi- 
 leges confirmed to by Stephen, 406, 407 Historical account of 
 
 the freedom of election of prelates required by them, 411-414. 
 
 Edgar, King of England, Winchester measure ordered by, 216 
 
 Wolves destroyed by in the English Forests, 3138 His consolida- 
 tion of the ancient English Laws, 396, 528. 
 
 Edmund, a son of King John, 492. 
 
 Edward the Confessor, King of England, Laws of, 2, 257,397,398,528.. 
 Established, 403, chap. xxii. .409, 629. . . . Privilege of freedom given 
 by for serving in the City of London, 187. ... Severe forest law of, 
 365 His Charter to Westminster Abbey, 449. 
 
 Edward the Elder, King of England, County-Courts under, 253- 
 
 Edward L, King of England, tax levied for his expedition to Flan- 
 ders, and subsequent dispute with the clergy, 41, 42. ... With his 
 Barons, 43, 440 List of grievances against Magna Charta, pre- 
 sented to, 44., . . Seals two Charters of Liberties, ibid. . . . Writs issued 
 by concerning them, 45. ... Statute of, confirming them, 46.... 
 Perambulations of the Forests ordered hy, ibid, 47. .. .TransJ alio n 
 and account of his Inspeximus Great and Forest Charters, (1297,) 
 145-158, 328, 4;W-440, 442, 443, 532, 53;3. ... His alteration of the royal 
 title, 160. ... His Statutes against Jews and Uaury, 176. . , , Fifteenth 
 given to in consequence, 177. ... Other Statutes .if cited, 182, 183, 
 237, 268, 259, 266, ;i45, a46, 351, 446, 532-5^1. . . . Resumes the Charter 
 of London and re-grants it, 189. ... Permits the Mayor to be pre- 
 sented to the Constable of the Tower instead of the Barons of the 
 
 Exchequer, ibid Summons his Peers to Parliament, 195 His 
 
 Statute of Quia Emptores, ibid Statutes for amending the Writ 
 
 of Inquisition, 219. . .. Laws of for keeping his subjects within the 
 
 real m, 234 Forest Charters of, 337 Coronations of, 342, 343. . 
 
 Warrant for disforestations under, 344 His Ordinatio Forestce, 
 
 367, 444, 534 Ancient Parliamentary writs of, 366 Translation 
 
 of his CoTifirmation Charter, (1297,) 369-3/3 Memorandum of his 
 
 sealing it, 373 Account of it and Notes on, 382-389, 440, 532 
 
 Historical discussion concerning it, 440-442 Engravings of his 
 
 seal, 373, 375 ...Account and Translation of his last Confirmation, 
 (13001301,)374,375,393, 443, 444, 633.. . His Statute of the Form of 
 
 T^ 
 

 /;.->^;-- 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Confirmation of Charters, 382, 532.... His Statute of Fines levied, 
 390, 533. ...His Statute of Articles upon the Charters, S91, 533. .. . 
 
 Printed editions of his Charters, 394 His Statutes the earliest on 
 
 tlie Rolls, .395 note Writ of commanding the observance of Mag- 
 na Charta, 439no(e, 533. ... His Statute De Tallagio non concendendo, 
 
 440-442, 534 Final proceedings of concerning the Charters, 444. . 
 
 List of Writs, Patents, Statutes, Confirmations, and Charters, of, 
 
 connected with the Charters of Liberties, .^32-534 Real date of 
 
 the commencement of his reign, 472 note ". 
 Edward IT., King of England, seals two Cliarters of Liberties, while 
 Prince, on behalf of his father, 44, 328,369, 382,383, 440.... His 
 Cliarter of Indemnity to London against the citizens going out to 
 war, 189. . . . Foreign forces of, 246. 
 
 IIL, , assumes the title of King of France, 
 
 160. . . . Statutes of cited, 168, 183, 233, 239, 266, 345, 346, 356, 418. . . . 
 
 His Confirmation Cliarters to London, 139 Concerning the rivers 
 
 Thames and Medway, 214 Statute of encouraging English cloths, 
 
 217 Statute of abolishing the Writ De Odio et Add, 219 Laws 
 
 of for keeping his subjects within the realm, 234 His Statutes 
 
 confirming the Charters of Liberties, 534, 
 IV,, , his Corifirmation Charters to London, 
 
 189 Debts of to London released, 190. 
 
 Vr., . , Statutes of cited, 169, 173, 419.. . .Pri- 
 vileges to London given by, 190 County-courts made uniform 
 
 undtr, 255, 
 Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III, the first English Duke, 
 
 163. 
 Edwyii, King of England, title used in his charters, 159. 
 
 Eleanor, the Maid of Bretagne, King John's conduct to, 479 
 
 a daughter of King John, 492. 
 Election of Prelates, freedom of desired by the clergy, 411 Histo- 
 rical account of the ancient manner of, 411-416 Charter for the 
 
 freedom of in England, 417, 529. 
 Etecmosyna Rationibilia explained, 210. 
 Elizabeth, Queen of England, her Statute of Transportation, 227. .. . 
 
 Trial by Battell appointed under, 252. 
 Ell, ancient standard of the English, 216. 
 Ellestede, Robert de, fine paid by for removing his cause into the 
 
 Common Pleas, 2.30. 
 Embankments, See River-bonks. 
 Enderbie, Percy, his Cambria Triumphans, (1661,) 266. 
 
 England, proscrastination of its Kings concerning charters, 2 State 
 
 of under the Pope's Interdict, 10, 11, 481 and nofc Resigned to 
 
 the Pope, 19... .Tribute paid for it, 20. ... State of in the time of 
 Henry TIL, 37. . . . Titles used by the Kings of, 159, 327. . . . Originally 
 
 covered with forests, 338 Account of the ancient Laws of, 396- 
 
 398, 528. 
 English, use of in law-pleadings and records, 239, 446. 
 Erdington, William and Thomas de, 10 note, 483. 
 Ernaldus, his appeal against Philip Mark, 245. 
 
GENERAL IKDEX 
 
 Ernulpluis, Bishop of Rochester, 401. 
 
 Escheats, no extraordinary' relief to be paid for, 56 url. xxxvi. .82-85, 
 cftujD. jcliii. . 114, chap. xxxv. . 127, chafj. xxxviii, , 140, chap. xxxl.. 
 
 1.^4, chap, xxxi Nut to be takf n by the King but from his tenants 
 
 in cliief, 128, cJiap. xxxviii. . 140, chap. xx.\i. . 155, chap, xxxi The 
 
 name and nature of Escheats explained, 236. 
 Escuage, ]evying of, 179, 180, 182. ... When last assessed, 180. ... Es- 
 
 caage- Certain, 180 Abolished, 182 Tlie term explained, 261. 
 
 Espec, Walter. 298. 
 
 Essex, extensjun of the forests in, 345. 
 
 Estovers, a widow's to be assigned witliin a common term, 121, chap. 
 
 vii. . 134, chap. vii. . 148, chap, vii Explanation of the word, 172. 
 
 Estria, Henry de, Prior of Christ-clmrch, MS. Regis(er of, 377 note a, 
 Elhelred II., King of England, his institution of Trial by Juiy, 223, 
 224. . .. His Laws concerning foreign merchants, 232. , . . His penalty 
 for unjust Judges, 240. 
 Everard, Bishop of Norwich, 407. 
 Everdon, Silvester de. Bishop of Carlisle, 387. 
 Evermue, William de, 307. 
 
 Evesham, Silvester de. Bishop of Worcester, 106, 493. 
 Eulogium, a manuscript history so called, 643, 546 and note, 547. 
 Eureux, Almeric de, 275. 
 Eustace, Bishop of Ely, 417. 
 Eustachius. Bishop of Ely, 25. 
 
 Exchequer, Courts united to the, 175 Ditto for the Jews, ibid. . .. 
 
 Great Roll and other records of the cited, 2^38, 411. 
 Excise duties granted to Charles 11., 165, 170. 
 
 Excommunication, King John absolved from, 11. ... Papa! Sentence 
 of declared against breakers of the Charters, 39-41, 371, chap. iv. . 
 377, 379, 438, 532.. . .Translated copy of it, 386, 387.. .. Sentence 
 
 of, protecting the Confirmationes Cliartarum, 389, 533 Bull of 
 
 issued against King John, 4S2. ... Against the English Barons, 488. 
 Exeter, the Demesne City of William 1., 206. ... Original Charter of 
 
 Liberties in the Archives of the Cathedral of, 405, 529, 531, 534. 
 i'xife, freemen not to be exiled, 127, chap. xxxv. . 139, chap.xxix.. 
 
 154, chap- xxix. ... On estates, signification of, 167, 21^7. 
 Exodus, supposed origin of the Wager of Law in, 232. 
 Expeditalion of dogs in forests, 331, chap. vi. 
 Eyre, Chief Justice of, his power in forests, 336, chap. xvi..340, 341,, 
 
 Justices in, explained, 362. 
 Eyries in Forests, 334, chap. xiii. .352, 
 
 Fabyan, Robert, his Chronicles, (1559,) 217, 
 
 Fauconberg, Eustace de, Bishop of London, 143, 157. 
 
 Farm anciently paid for the Counties of England, 207, 
 
 Fee-farm, tenant in, not to give the King property in the Knight's- 
 
 fee of another lord, 54, art. x-xvii. . 80, 81, c/m;). x^^^n/ii. . 113, cftfy?. 
 
 XXX. . 126, chap, xxxiii. . 139, chap, xxvii. . 153, cimp. xxvii. 
 
 Fee-Farm Rent, explained, 184 Tenure of, 219, 
 
 Felons, lands of to be held by the King for a year and a day only, 53, 
 
 art. xxii.. 78, 79, chap, xxxii.. 112, chap, xxv, . 125, chap, xxviii. 138, 
 
 >^^ 
 
 S^"^- 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 chap. xxii..l52, chap, xxii Tlieir lands sei table iiy tlit- King, 213 
 
 .... Derivatiun of the term, ibitl. 
 Fence-month and Fawning-time in forests, 332, chap. viii..361. 
 Ferrers, William, Earl of, 21, 297, 418. 493. 
 
 William de, Earl of Derby, 106, 153, 158. 
 
 Robert de, 408, 511 . . . .- Eleanor de, 511. 
 
 ■ George, his ancient Translation of Magna Cliarta, 451- 
 
 Fiennes, Sir James, Lord Say and Sele, his connection will 
 
 142, 157,327,368.. 
 
 the 
 
 Amount of 
 
 House of Say, 295, 296, 
 
 Fifteenth, granted for the Chartei 
 permanently fixed, 327. 
 
 Filleiiale in forests, explained, 356. 
 
 Fines, not to be paid by wards on assuming their estates, 49, nrt. ii. . 
 66, 67, chap. iii..l33, chap. iii..l47, chap, iii Unjust to be re- 
 mitted, 66, art. xxxvii. .68, 89, cftap. Iv histances of illegal for 
 
 procuring justice, 23D. . . . Pledges for, regulated, 404, chap. xvii. . . , 
 To be paid fur unlaweddogs, 331, chap. vi.. . . Statute of Fines levied, 
 accountof the, 390, 391. 
 
 Fishery, private, prevented in public rivers, 203, 214. 
 
 Fitz-Adelme, William, 521. 
 
 Fitz-A!an, John, 144, 158. 
 
 Fitz-Earl, Bryan, 408. 
 
 Filz-Gerald, Warine, 21, 64, 65, 418. 
 
 ^ — , Lady Henry, her claim to the Barony of Boyle allowed, 
 
 300 
 
 Fitz-Griffyn, Rhys, King of South Wales, 2&i. 
 
 Fitz-Herbert, Peter, 21, 64, 65, 144, 158. 
 
 . , Matthew, (>4, 66, 107, 144, 158, 
 
 Fitz-Hervei, Osbert de, 297- 
 
 Fitz-Hugh, John, 64, 65. 
 
 Fitz-John, Payne, 408. 
 
 Fitz-Nicholas, Ralph de, 10 note, 483. 
 
 Fitz-Parnell, Robert, Earl of Leicester, , Margaret, 277. 
 
 Fitz-Patrick, Ela, Countess of Salisbury, wife of William Longesp^e, 
 436 Her conduct on til e Earl's supposed death, 316 Carthu- 
 sian Monastery established by, 319, 320 Romantic biographical 
 
 anecdotes of, 319-321. 
 
 , William, Earl of SalisbuTT,', 319. ... Arms borne by, 318 
 
 Fitz-Peter, or Fitz-Pieis, Geoffrey, 262, 264, 274.... Arms borne by, 
 
 275. ...Created Earl of Essex, 471. 
 
 , Walter, 21. 
 
 Fitz Richard, William, farm paid by for Buckinghamshire, 207- 
 
 , Robert, 504. 
 
 Fitz-Robert, Geoffrey, 288. 
 
 John, 102 One of the Baronial Securities to King 
 
 John's Magna Chaita, 30 Historical notices concerning, 309, 310. 
 
 Arms borne by, 309. .. . , Waller, ifcid., 504, 605, 510. 
 
 - Guy, Philip, Edward, William, Nicholas, Richard, Ra- 
 nulph, 309. 
 Filz-Swaine, Maud, 296, 
 Fitz- Walter, Robert, Baron of Dunmuw, 144, 158, 270, 276. 304, 309, 
 
s^ 
 
 m' 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 311 Made chief of tlie Baronial farces, 27, 102, 506 One r.f ihe 
 
 Barunial Securities tu King John's Magna Cliarta, ao Escapes to 
 
 France, 242, bOb... . Biographical Notice of, 504-51 1. ... Family and ijf^ 
 possessions of, 5H 509, 510.... His early opposition to King John, ■ 
 and tradition concerning his daughter Matilda, 605-507 His con- 
 duct at a tournament, and connection with the insurgent English 
 
 Barons, 507, 508 Attached to the Dauphin's party, 508 His 
 
 subsequent actions and death, 509 Descent of the name and Ba- 
 
 rony of, 510, 511 Arms borne by, 511 Engraving a.n(i account 
 
 of the Seal of Robert his grandson, 104, 511 , Christina 
 
 and Walter, 509. 
 
 Fitz- Waller, Matilda, reported murder of by King John, 505 £73- 
 
 graving of her sepulchral effigy, 506. . . .Traditionary romances con- 
 cerning, ibid., 607. 
 
 Fl-unbart, Ranulph, Bishop of Durham, his s^ile of church-livino-<;, 
 167.... Death of, 168. 
 
 Flanders, Philip, Earl of, 41. 
 
 , Ferdinand, Earl of, 314 ■ , Guy, Earl of, 440. 
 
 246. 
 
 Robert, Earl of, foreign forces supplied by to Henry I., 
 
 Folc-gemote of the Saxons explained, 253, 254. 
 
 Fontibu3, John de. Bishop of Ely, 143, 157. 
 
 Forest Charters, said to liave been granted by Canute, 5. ...By 
 Henry III., 6, 38, 39, 2;<7, 2.38. ... Discovered in the Archives of Dur- 
 ham Cathedral, 238 Descriptive account of, 433-435, 531.. .Trans- 
 
 lationof the latter, 329-336 ExplanatoTy Notes on the,;i37-368.. . 
 
 First granted by Henry 111., 337 Editions of printed in the Sta- 
 tute-books, iiiff. ... Original dispersion of, 838 Provisions of for 
 
 reducing unlawful woods, 340, 531. . . Partly carried into effect, MH, 
 344, 531. ... Concluding provisions and seals of, 367. ... Granted for 
 
 a fifteenth, 368 Writ for dispersing through England, 326 
 
 Ordered to be publicly read, ifii-J., 384,386,392. .. . Period when their 
 
 enactments were to be observed, 330, chap. i'u. .'JS], chap, iv To 
 
 be held pure in ail points, 369, c/^fl-;). i. .374, 379, 381 To be dis- 
 persed and published as law throughout England, 370, 379, 380, 38-1. 
 .... Protected by Sentence of Excommunication, 371, chap. iv. .336, 
 387.... Renewed by Inspeximus, &.c. 380, 382, 383, 439, 44:J, 532-534 
 variojis. . .. Partly confirmed by the Statute of Fines, 390 Penal- 
 ties for protecting the, 392.. .. Editions of printed with the Statutes, 
 
 394 Clause in Ihe first edition afterwards omitted, 435,437 
 
 Account of the Second Forest Charter, 437,531 Final proceed- 
 ings concerning the, 444. . . . Printed editions of and works relating 
 to the, 453, 4.56. 
 
 Forest clauses in the Great Charter of King John, 4-8, 237-239, 433- 
 
 Foresters, evil customs of to be abolished, 57, art. xxxix..84, 85, chap. 
 xlviii, ... Reserved for farther consideration, 116, c/tap. xlii. ., .Not 
 to make ale-shots nor illegal gatherings — to be appointed by the 
 Regarders, 332, cftap. vii. . ..To be present at all the Swanimotes, 
 
 and every 40 days, 332, chap, viii To \iitne39 the taking of deer, 
 
 by privileged persons in the royal forests, '6S3, chap.xi Regula- 
 tions for their taking of Cheminage, 6;^ chrip. xiv. .435, 437 To 
 
GBNERAL INDEX. 
 
 attacli Pleas of the Forests, for tfie Chief-Forester, or Justiciaiy, Jl 
 335, chap. xvi. 
 
 rarest Rolls, notice of the, 344, 534. 
 
 FouEsTs: {See Perambulations,) seventy of tlie Laws of, 4 Oppres- 
 sive Statutes of abolished, 6. . . . Protest in favour of tlieir preserva- 
 tion, 7, 530.. ..Election of Kiiiglits for amending evil customs 
 in, 31, 530.. ..Inhabitants of, not to attend tlie Courts ujion a 
 Common Summons, 67, art. xxxix. .84, 86, chap. xliv..n4, chap. 
 xxxvi,.3lj0, chap. ii. . . . Irregular customs of to be abolished, 57, art, 
 xxxix.. 84, 85, chap, xlviii, ... Reserved for farther consideration, 
 
 116, chap, xlii Unlawful ones tu be disforested, 59, art. xlvii. .84, 
 
 85, cJiap. xlvii. .88, 89, chap, liii,, 115, chap, xxxviii. .330, chap, i., iii. 
 .... Private woods in to be preserved, 331, cftaj*. iv. ...Time when the 
 enactments of the Forest Charter were to be observed, 331, chap. iv. 
 
 Historical m.tices of the English, 338-340 How they fell to 
 
 the crown, 3S9, 342. . . . Causes and evils of their extension, 339. . . . 
 
 Orders for reducing, 340 Derivation of the name, and properties 
 
 of a Forest, ibid Protection of woods in, ibid., 348. . . . Beasts of, 
 
 their names, 341 Protection of animals in, ibid... ..Manner of 
 
 establishing, ibid., 342 Writ of Henry III. for viewing and re- 
 porting their increase, 343 Partly disforested, ibid., 344. ... Far- 
 ther proceedings for viewing and taking away, 344, 345. , .Attempted 
 revival of their Laws by Charles I., 34'>. . .Extension of the English, 
 
 ibid Act for limitation of, 346 Right of common in, ibid.... 
 
 Form, &c. of Summons to the Courts in, 347 Cleared by persons 
 
 dwelling ill, 349 Officers of tlie, account of, 353-360. . . .Decayed 
 
 state of the English, on the accession of Henry I]., 353, 354 
 
 Hunting in tlie Purlieus of, 355 Oppressions of the by their nu- 
 merous officers and courts, 355, 356, 360. . . Feuce-moiuh and Fawn- 
 ing-time in, 361 .... Attachments and penalties for oifenoes in, ibid., 
 362. .Court of Justice- seat and Justiciaries of the, 362, 363., Inferior 
 
 officers of, 363 Keeping of dogs in, ibid. 364 Ani^itnt severe 
 
 Laws of the restrained, 364, 365.... License of hunting in explained, 
 
 365,366.. ..Ditto in the night. Sac. prohibited, 367 Regulations for 
 
 liolding Pleas of the, 335, chap, xvi Laws of extended by William 
 
 II., 400 To be kept by Henry T. in the manner his father held 
 
 til em, 404, chap. xix.... Those added by Henry I. to be given up, 
 407 List of Palents, Writs, Rolls, Sec. connec:ed with Perambu- 
 lations of the, and the Forest Charters, 530-634 uflrio?(5. 
 
 Forlibus, William de. Earl of Aumerle, 106, 144, 158, 312. ...One of 
 the Baronial Securities for King John's Great Charter, 30 Bio- 
 graphical notices of, 272, 273. . . . Arms borne by, 273. 
 
 Fony-days Court in forests, 332, chap. viii..361. 
 
 Founders and Patrons, See Abhies. 
 
 Fox, John, his account of*the poisoning of King John, 536, 545. 
 
 France, title of King of, first assumed by Edward III., 160 Trial by 
 
 Jury in, 223. . . . Ancient ecclesiastical elections in, 412. 
 
 Frank-pledge, order for keepingthe View of, 128, chap. xlii. . 141, chap. 
 XXXV.. 155, chap. xxxv.. Nature and account of the Court of, 265-257. 
 
 Fredeiick II., Emperor, 492. 
 
 — ■-, Abbot ol St. Alban's, 260, 3aS. 
 
 W^^^- 
 
 ^.s^ 
 
CENEilAr, INDEX. 
 
 free Borough, privileges of a, 184.. ..Taxes riiisedby the members of, 
 ibid. 185. 
 
 Free Customs, confirmed to London, &c. 72, "3, chap. xiii. . 109, chap. 
 
 x..'122, chap. X General, confirmed by Magna Charta, &.c, 9'2, 93, ■ 
 
 chap. 1X..115, chap. xli. . 129, chap. xlv.. 142, chap, xxxvii. . IftG, cJiap. 
 xxxvii. . 335, chap. xvi. . 410. . . . Nut to be illef;ally taken from a free- 
 man, 127, chap. XXXV- . 139, chap. xxix. . 154, chap. xxix. . . . Significa- 
 tion of the term, 186. 
 
 Freedom, personal, secured by Magna Cliarta, 2'2G. 
 
 Free-holder, extent of his Amerciament, 201. 
 
 Free-man, h'\3 Amerciament to be according to hia crime, 51, art. ix. . 
 74, 75, chap. XX. .110, chap. XV..123, c/m/). xvi. . 136, c/iap. xiv. . 150, 
 
 chap, xiv Not to lose bis cause by Writ of Praecipe, 53, art. xxiv. 
 
 . .80, 81, c/ttzp. xxxiv..ll2, chap. x:xvii..l26, chap. xxx. . 138, chap. 
 xxiv. . 153, chap- xxiv- 
 
 Free-men, not to be taken, imprisoned, disseised, exiled, or outlawed, 
 illegally or v/ithout trial, 55, art, xxix. . 82, 83, c/tap. xxxix. .113, 
 c/mp. xxxii. . 127, chap. xxxv. . 139, chap. xxix. . 154, c'mp. xxix,... 
 Not to alienate so much of their land ihat the lords cannot have 
 their due service, 128, chap, xxxix.. 141, cftap. xxxii. . 155, chap. 
 xxxii. . . .Nor to give it to Religious Houses without forfeiture, 129, 
 cftap, xliii. . 142, chap, xxxvi. . 156, cftap. xxxv'i. ... Clause of Magna 
 Charta supposed to relate to, 268 Their woods in forests pre- 
 served, 331, c/wp. iv To agist their own wooils and have their 
 
 pannage, 333, cftap. ix Liberties of in iheir own woods in the 
 
 royal forests, 333, chap, xii To have the eyries of liawks, &c and 
 
 the honey in their own woods, 334, cftap. xiii. 
 
 Free-tenements, extraordinary service not to be done foi-, 74, 75, chap. 
 xvi.. no, cftap. xi..l22, chap. xi. . 135, cftap. x. . 149, cftap. x. ... Not 
 to be illegally taken from a free-man, 127, cftu/^. xxx-v. . 139, cftop. 
 xxix. . 154, chap. xxix. 
 
 French, adupltd in law-proceedings and pleadings, 239 Ancient use 
 
 of in the Englisli Statutes and Charters, 445-448. 
 
 Frenes, Hugo de, 303. 
 
 Fugbeleston, Jsmes de, 230. 
 
 Furney, Richard, Origiial Charters of in the Bodleian Library at Ox- 
 ford, 37(5, 432, 444, 531, 53;:t. 
 
 Galloway, Alan de, Constable of Scotland, 64, 65. 
 
 Game, first protectimi of, ;H38, 339. ... Of what it consists, 340,34.1. 
 
 Gant, Gilbert de, 283, 
 
 Gaoler, Amerciament of for an escape, 202. 
 
 Gascony, foreign forces raised by tlie Senesclral of, 246. 
 
 Gates and tolls of London ciunmitted to the Citizens, 189. 
 
 Gentleman's Magazine cited, 253, 274, 427, 4W vote, 472 noteb, 552, 554. 
 
 Geoffrey, Archdeacon ofWorcester, cruel deatli of, 493 note. 
 
 George II., King of England, Statute of concerning: Juries, 225 For 
 
 law-proceedings to be recorded in English, 239. . . . Against disguised 
 
 hunters, 367. 
 III., , Act of, abolishing Appeals for Murder, 
 
 and Trial by Battel, 253. 
 
 •^--^■^se^r' ~ 
 
 
 s^^^ 
 
-, Milo de, 408. 
 
 -, Robert of, his Chronicle cited, 4^1 tiole 
 
 ; 543. 
 
 Glnucestershire, ancient farm paid for, 207. 
 Godfrey, Duke of Brabant, 306. 
 
 Godwin, Dr. Francis, Bishop of Landaff, liis Catalogue of English 
 Bishops, (1615,) 498, 499. 
 
 Governor of a Caetle, See Constable. 
 
 Gougli, Richard, his Sepulchral Monuments, (1786-96,) 282, 287, 299, 
 317, 318, .506, 551. 
 
 Grafton, Richard, liis account of King John's death, 544. 
 
 Grand Assiie, Trial of the explained, 224. 
 
 Granting to God, siRnification of the expression, 160. 
 
 Great Council of England, 194, 195 The only Saxon Court of Jus- 
 tice, 197. 
 
 Great Roll, charges for perambulations of forests on the, 343, 531. 
 
 Green, Valentine, his History and Antiquities of Worcester, (1796,) 
 
 549-554 uari37is \{'\?. Account of the Discovery of the body of King 
 
 John in Worcester Cathedral, (1797,) 554. 
 
 Gregory IX., Pope, his Bull in support of Henry III., 39. 
 
 Gresley, Robert, 144, 1.58, 
 
 ■ Robert de, ^ — , Sir Roger, their connection with the 
 
 Family of Lanvallei, 310. 
 
 Grey, John, Bishop of Norwich, 2], 498. 
 
 , Walter, Bishop of Worcester, 7, 64, 65, 439 , Archbishop 
 
 of ifork, 119,330. 
 
 Grose, Francis, his Military Antiquities, (1801,) 245, 2-16. 
 
 Grossett, John Rock, Esq., 436. 
 
 Grostete, Robert, Bishop of Lincoln, 387. 
 
 Gualo, Cardinal James, 106, 119, 3S0, 493. . . . His Seal attached to the 
 Great and Forest Charters. &c. of Henry IIT., 116, 117,130,239, 
 325,335,367,431 and note b, 4;i2, 4^.. .. Engravings of it, 117,336... 
 Biographical notice of, 367. . ..Attempts to restrain the invasion of 
 Louis, 489. 
 
 Guardian in Right, and Guardian in Fact, 166. 
 
 Guardians, to take only honest profits, and faithfully to preserve the 
 estates of wards, 49, 50, art. iii.. 66, Q7 , chap. iv. ,68, 69, chap. v. .403, 
 
 cfiop. ix To give np estates properly stt^cked and provided, 66' 
 
 arf. XXXV. .68,69, chap, v Their duties explained, 166. 
 
 Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, 404. 
 
 Guienne attacked by the Spanish Moors, 175. 
 
 Guilds, establishment of in England, 257. 
 
 Guy of Thouars, 479. 
 
 Gwenwynwyn, son of Cadwallan, 264. 
 
 Hadawisa of Gloucester, second Queen of King John, 475, 492. 
 
GENERAL INDEX, 
 
 Halberjects, uniform breadth of ordered, 80, HI, chap. xxxv. .-113, 
 chap. xxviii..l2G, chap. xxxi..I39, chap. xxv. .153, chup. xxv Ac- 
 count of tlie cloth so called, 217. 
 
 Hale, Sir Matthew, his conduct as a judge, 231. 
 
 Haltoii, Arms borne by the Barons of, 303. 
 
 Hameline, Earl of Warren and Surrey, 280. 
 
 Hamelin the Dean, fine paid by fur renewing his plea to the Exche- 
 quer, 230. 
 
 Hampsliire, vide Southampton, 
 
 Hampton Court, Forest of, 3.''*9. 
 
 Harden, William de, Mayor of London, one of the Baronial Securities 
 to King John's Great Charter, 30,293 Arms borne by, 293. .. . 
 
 ■ , Richard or R^ilph, Juliana, John, Laurenlius de, 2'J3. 
 
 Hardy, Mr. his Itinerary of the Court of King John, 472 note ^, 479. 
 
 Harengod, Stephen, 242, 324. 
 
 Harleian Manuscripts cited, 2/1, 296, 298, 380, 389, 429, 433, 440, 443, 
 531,532,533. 
 
 Harley. Sir Robert, created Earl of Oxford, 283. 
 
 Hastings, Sir Francis, his tract against the Jesuits, 636. 
 
 Hatton, Sir Christopher, forest-fine of, 346. 
 
 Havile, Thomas de, origin of his name, 275. 
 
 Hawkins, Serjeant William, his edition of the Statutes, (1735,) 395. 
 
 Hawka, Falcons, &.€. in forests, 334, chap. xiii..352. 
 
 Haya, Nicholas de, 298. 
 
 Heirs, to receive their estates for the ancient relief, 49, art. i. . 66, 67, 
 chap- ii. . 107, chap. ii. . 119, chap. ii. . 132, chap. ii. . 146, chap. ii. .402, 
 
 cAap. iii To be married without disparagement, 50, or/, iii. .68, 
 
 69, chap. vi. . 108, chap. vi..l2], chap. vi. . 134, chap. vi. . 148, cfiap.vi. 
 . . .. Not to give extraordinary reliefs for escheats, 56, «r^. xxxvi. . 
 84, 85, chap. xliii..U4) chap. xxxv....To receive their lands pro- 
 perly stocked and provided, 56, art. xxxv,.68, 69, chap. v. . ]08, chap. 
 
 v. . 120, cftap. V. .133, chap. v.. 147, chap, v Not be in ward until 
 
 after they have done homage, 107, chap. iii. . 120, chap. iii. .132, chup. 
 iii. . 147, chap, iii Privilege of Appeal belonging to, 250. 
 
 Helias, Abbot of Reading, 143, 157. 
 
 Herningford, or Hemingburgh, Walter dc, 441, 631, 533. ... His ac- 
 count of King John's death, 542, 547. 
 
 Henreth, Robert de. Abbot of Abingd.ni, 143, 157. 
 
 Heniiy I., King of England, First Charter of Liberties granted by, 3, 
 400. .(Translated copy of, Stc. 402-404, 529).. Copies of dispersed, 10. 
 
 ....Discovery of, 12.. ..His original Magna Cliarta, 168 His 
 
 Charter of Liberties to London, 187 Standard of his ell measure, 
 
 21G Foreign forces engaged by, 246. . . Extension of Wril s of Ap- 
 peal under, 250. . ..Weregilds, or fines in his Laws, 251 ... . Privileges 
 and laws established by, 400-404. ... His Charter, &c. confirmed, 
 409, 410. ...His dispute witli the Pope concerning Investiture of 
 Prelates, 415. 
 
 II., • , unlawful dispossessions by to be re- 
 stored, 54, art. xxv. .86, 87, c/ta/>. Iii. .Ditto of the Welsh in Eng- 
 land, &.C. 58, art. xliv. .90, 91, chap. Ivii Unlawful forests formed 
 
 by to be disforested, 88, 89, chap. liii..330, chap. i..407 His own 
 
 
GENEBAr- INDEX 
 
 q 
 
 ■54JS' 
 
 f^ 
 
 woods to be preserved as forests, 330, cfta/>. i.. .. River-banks kept 
 up under to be defended, 124, chap. xx. . 137, chap. xvi. .15], chap. 
 xvi...,View of Frank-pledge, Sac. to be kept as in his reign, 128, 
 
 chap. xlii..l41, 142, chap. xxxv..l56, chap, xxxv Scutage to be 
 
 taken as in his time, \29, chap. xliv.. 142, c/wzp. xxxvii, . 156, cftup. 
 
 xxxvii Assumes the title of Duke of Normandy and Earl of Ac- 
 
 quitaine, 160 His Confirmation Charter to London, 188.. ..Ex- 
 cellence of the laws and judges in his reign, 203, 258,261,410 
 
 Trial of Grand Assize instituted by, 224 Illegal fine paid to, 230. 
 
 Unlawful seizures by restored, 248, 249.. . . His dispossessions of 
 
 the Welsh, 263 His first coronation referred to. 331, chap, iv, v.. 
 
 332, chap, vi His accession Charter of Liberties, &C.409, 410, 529. 
 
 Coronations of, 342 His Assises Forestaram, 353, 364. . . . Pro- 
 ceedings of in Ireland, 462 Bounty towards his children, tftid. 
 
 463 Conduct of on discovering the rebellion of John, and death, 
 
 464 H is vassalage to Pope Alexander, 486. 
 
 Henry III., King of England, succeeds to the throne, 36... .Proceed- 
 ings of the Barons towards him, ibid Situation of England, 37. - . 
 
 His coronation, ibid., 330 Renews Magna Charta, 37, 38, 39 
 
 (Translation of his First Magna Charta, 1216, 105-116. . . Descriptive 
 
 account of it, 430, 530 Various chapters in King John's Charter 
 
 allowed in this, but reserved for fartlier consideration, 115, 116, 
 chap. xlii. . . . His Letter transmitting the above Cliarter to Ireland, 
 116)....Witbout a Great Seal, 116, 117, 130,239, 32d... .Translation 
 of his Second Magna Charta, 1217, 1 16-130. ... Descriptive account of 
 
 if, 431,531 Orders the Adulterine Castles to be destroyed, 129, 
 
 chap, xlvii. . . . Translation of his Third Great Charter, 1224-25, 131- 
 144. . . . Declaration that it was spontaneously granted, 132 (Ori- 
 ginals and ancient copies of it described, 321, 435-437, .^31. ...The 
 
 oldest printed Statute, 384 fifteenth granted to for Iiis Charters 
 
 of Liberties, 142, 157, 327 Account of his Fourth Great Charter, 
 
 1251-52, 144, 437, 438, 532. ...His third Charier recited in the In- 
 speximus Charter of Edward I., 145-168, 438, 531).. ..Declared of age, 
 38.. ..Assumes the government, 39.. ..Evades renewing of the 
 
 Charters, itit? Demands a large subsidy, ibid Calls a solemn 
 
 meeting in Westminster Hall to confirm tlie Charters, 40, 386. ., . 
 Seals a Confis mal ion and Inspcximus CItarters to procure his son's 
 liberty, 41, 377, 438. ... (Abstract of their contents, 378-380). ... His 
 death, 41 His alteration of the royal title, 160 Wjjt of for ex- 
 tending MagnaCliarla to Ireland, 161,631 Additions in his Great 
 
 Charter, 165, 167, 172, 173, 230, 233, 236, 237, 241, 253, 255, 258, 261, 
 269. ... Reservations in his Magna Charta, 116, 178,183, 196,206,209, 
 234,237,261,347.. (Variations in Charters of Liberties granted by, 
 270, 325, 326, 327,328).. ..Sialutes of cited, 171, 174, 178, 254.. ..The 
 
 Jews sold and oppressed by, 1/5 His Charters v( Liberties to 
 
 London, 188.. ..To the Thames and Medway, 214.. ..Banished 
 wears from the Thames, ibid.. ..Summons iiis Peers to Parliament, 
 
 after the battle of Evesham, 195 Illegal fines paid to, 230 His 
 
 Writ on the Charters of Liberties and Adulterine Castles, 326, 531. 
 ....First Forest Charter granted by, 237, 238, 337.. ..Translated 
 copy of it, 329-336.... Descriptive account of it, 433,435, 631..,. 
 
 rfA!&r 
 
 
 ^■m 
 
 ^w^ 
 
-4 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Writ" of for viewing and reporting unlawful afforestations, 343, 531. . . 
 
 License of hunting granted by to his Barons, 5cc. Sfi^, 360 Ancient 
 
 Parliamt-ntary writs of, 366 His Great and Forest Charters to he 
 
 held pure in all points, 369, chap. i..374, 379 To be dispersed and 
 
 published as law throughout England, 370. . Account, &c.of his First 
 Confirmation Charter, (1236-37,) 376, 437, b3\. . ..En^avings of his 
 Seal, 393, 460. . . . Printed edithms of his Charters, 394. ... His treaty 
 
 of peace with Louis the Dauphin, 428 note His Statutes the 
 
 earliest now printed, 39-3 note.. ..Account of his Second Forest 
 Charier, 437- . . . List of Writs, Letters, &c. issued by him connected 
 
 with the Charters, 531, 532 Time of his death, 472 nofe « His 
 
 capricious conduct towards Hubert de Burgh, 524, 525. . . . Supposed 
 allusion of to the poisoning of King John, 546. 
 
 Henry IV., King of England, Statute of concerning Constables of 
 Castles, 205. 
 
 , v., , tlie Commons refuse to maintain his 
 
 wars in France, ?88. 
 -VL,- 
 
 by to the Dyers' Company, 226. 
 
 -, Statutes of, 35.% 442. . 
 
 - VII,, 
 
 , Statutes of, 161,367. 
 
 .Privilege granted 
 . . Ancient printed 
 
 edition of them, 384. 
 Vlir., . . , takes the title of King of Ireland, 160. 
 
 ....Statutes of, cited, 168, 169, 174,208.241,260, 266, 419. ...His 
 
 Charters of Liberties to London, 190 Forest of Hampton-court 
 
 made by, 339. 
 Henry VI., Emperor of Germany, his conduct towards Richard I., 
 
 465-467. 
 
 , Enrl Lif Campaigne, nephew to King Stephen, 408. 
 
 , son of Frederick II., Empemr of Germany, 378. 
 
 , Prince, son of Henry II., liis insurrection against his father, 
 
 and deal)], 285. 
 
 , Prior of Abergavenny, Bishop of Landaff, 106. 
 
 , Dr. Robert, his History of Great Britain, 268. 
 
 Henshall, Rev. Samuel, his History of South Biitain, (1798,) 268. 
 
 Hereford, descenUof the Earldom of, 278, 279. 
 
 He-riot, what is meant by a, 163, 208. 
 
 Heylin, Dr. Peter, his Help to English History, by P. Wright, (1773.) 
 
 272, 280,313. 
 Hexham, Richaid, Prior of, his Vita Regis Stepbani, (printed in Sir R. 
 
 Twysden's Htstorits Anglicana; Scriptores Decern, 1652,) 402, 629. 
 Higden, Riilph, his PolychTonicon cited, 544, 547. 
 Hoel Dlia, King of North Wales, his Laws, 266, 3.53. 
 Holderuesse, Alexander de. Abbot of Peterborough, 143, 157- 
 Holinshed, Raphael, his Chronicles, (15S6,) 18, 3.3, 218, ;i43. ...His 
 
 character of King John, 494-496. 
 Holland, Earl of, 42. 
 
 Holland, Heni-y Rich, Earl of, Chief Justiciary of ihe Forests, 345. 
 Holies, Sir John, created Earl of Clare, 272. 
 Holt, Sir John, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, his praise of the 
 
 right of Appeal, 252. 
 Homage, to precede a landlord's claim of waidsliip, 107, chap. iii. . 132, 
 
 '.2Sfa^ 
 
GENERAI. INDEX 
 
 
 chap. [n.. 147, chap, hi Frequently taken of Sovereigns, 486" 
 
 Its nature and form, 165, 
 Honey in forests, 334, chap, xiii.,352. 
 
 Honurius III., Pope, 492. ... Declares Henry III. of age, and com- 
 mands his possessions to be given up, 38. 
 Honour, explanation of the lordships so called, 236. 
 
 Horn, Andrew, his Mirroir des Justices, 186, 196, 203, 212, 215. 
 
 Hornby, Charles, hie Remarks on DugdaWs Baronage, (1738,) 271. 
 
 Hospitallers, Knights, their liberties and free-customs preserved, 129, 
 chap. xlvi. . 142, chap, xxxvii. . 156, chap, xxxvii. .335, chap. xvi. 
 
 Hostages, Baronial, to be given up, 57, art. xxxviii. .86, S7, chap. xlix. 
 
 Of Wales to be resigned, 68, art. xlv..92, 93, chap. Iviii Ditto 
 
 of Scotland, 59, art. xlvi. .92, 93, chap. lix.. .Account of those taken 
 and restored by King John, 242, 297, 304, 481, 482. . . . Given by Henry 
 HI. to the Barons, 378. 
 
 Hoveden, Roger, his Annates cited, 217, 342, 399, 472 note ^. 
 
 Howard, Earldom of Norfolk brought into the House of, 280. . 
 
 Thomas, Earl of Arundel and Surrey. ,. . , Henry, Lord, title 
 
 of Earl Marshal given to, 285 Connection of the Family of, with 
 
 the House of Mowbray, 295 , Thomas, Duke of Norfolk.. 
 
 , Catherine, fifth Queen of Henry VIII., 306. 
 
 Hugh, Bishop of Rouen, 407. 
 
 Hundreds, to remain at the ancient farm, ^2, art. x'lv. .76, 77, chap. 
 XXV.... Sheriffs' Turn in, to be kept only twice yearly, 128, c/tu/i. xlii 
 . . 141, chap. XXXV. . . . 155, cliap. xxxv. . . . Division of explained, 207, 
 256. 
 
 Hunloke, Sir Henry, his claim to the Barony of Ros, 300. 
 
 Hunting allowed to llie Citizens of London, 188. ... In forests, license 
 of, 365, 366. .. . In the night, &c. proliibited, 367. 
 
 Huntingfield, William de, 418, 608 One of tlie Baronial Securities 
 
 to King John's Great Charter, 30. .. .Biographical notices of, 297, 
 
 298. . . , Arms borne by, 297. . . . , Roger de, ibid. . . . , 
 
 Alice de, fine for her marriage, ibid. 
 
 Hustings, Court of in London, established, 188. 
 
 James I., King of England, his Charters of privileges to London, 190. 
 
 Statutes of cited, 234 Use of the writ Ne exeat regno under, 
 
 235. . . . His enquiry into Forest-boundaries, 345. 
 
 II., ' , Charter of London restored by, 191. 
 
 Idiots, ancient laws concerning, 169 note. 
 
 Jeake, Samuel, his Charters of the Cinque Ports, (1728,) 193. 
 
 Jeal, Mr. his account of a search after the body of King John, 552. 
 
 Jewry, Statutes of, 177. 
 
 Jews, debts of minors to the, to bear no interest, 55, ar(. xxxiv. . 70, 
 71, cAap. X, .. .Widow and issue of a debtor to the, to have dower 
 and provision, 56, art. xxxv, 70, 71, chap. xi. . . . Ancient oppression 
 
 of in England, 176 Immense taxations paid by to the crown, 176 
 
 Emigrate from England, ibid Infamous murder of at sea, 177 
 
 Debts to, regulated, ibid Tax levied on tli-use in England, and 
 
 laws made for, 37B. . . , Cruelty of King John to one of Bristol, 494 
 note. 
 
GBNERAL INDEX 
 
 Illuminated manuscripts representing llie poison 
 536-, 5^7. 
 
 Impostors, tliree extraordinary, 501. 
 
 Imprisonment, a free-man not Lo be illegally imprisoned, -W, art. xxix 
 
 82, 8;i, c/ia;j. xxxix. . 113, chap, xxxii 127, cliap. xxxv 139. 
 
 chap. xyi\x.. .. AbA, chap, xxix Nut to lie upon the Appeal of a 
 
 woman excepting for her husband, 88, 89, c/iop. liv. . 110, chap, xxxix 
 . . 128, chap. xl. . 141, chap, xxxiv. . 155, chap, xxxiv. 
 
 Ingelburga, sister of Canute, King of Denmark, divorced from Philip 
 jr., 510, 518. 
 
 Ingulphus, his Histories cited, 446, 448 note. 
 
 Inheritanci\ ancient English laws concerning, 401. 
 
 Innocent HI.. Pope, 64, 65, 280, 413.... His Interdict of England, U\ 
 U, 481 and note Kingdom of England resigned to, 18 His Ex- 
 communication of the Barons, 294, 29(5, 306, 307, 488, 514 Ex- 
 communicates John, 482 Deposes liim, 484. . . . Correspondenct* 
 
 with him, 488 Deatii of, 489 note, 514 Bull of vacating Magna 
 
 Charta, 530. . .. Appoinis Langton to le Archbisliop of Canterbury, 
 449, 513, 514 Biographical Notice of, 512-515. . . . Family and edu- 
 cation of, election to the Popedom, 512.. ..Ambitious conduct 
 therein, i6?d., 513, 514 Letter of to Kuig John concerning Car- 
 dinal Langton, 613. , . . His ecclesiastical acts, writings, and cliarac- 
 ter, 514, 515. 
 
 Inns of Court, 198. 
 
 Inquisition of Life and Limb, Writ of, to be granted fieely, 54, art. xxvi 
 . . SO, 81, c/iop. xxxvi. . 1 13, chap, xxix. . 126, chap, xxxii. . 139, c/iop. 
 xxvi. . 153, chap. xxvi. ... Of dogs in forests, 331, chap. vi. . . . Calen- 
 da'rium Rotidoriim Ckartarum ct Inquisitionum ad Quod Damnum, 
 (1803,) 309. 
 
 Jnspei'iinus Cluirters of Liberties, 145-156, 382 When tiie title was 
 
 first adopted, 382. 
 
 Interdict, Papal over England, 10, 481 and Tioif. . . . Taken off, 11, 12, 
 18. . . . Erroneous dale assigned to, 485 note. 
 
 Intestacy, ancient provisions concerning, 208, 209, 210. . .. Omitted Iti 
 the Second Chaiter of Henry IIJ., 326, 
 
 Intestates, order for the distribution of their goods, 52, art. xvi. .78, 
 79, chap, xxvii. 
 
 Investiture of Prelates, dispute with tlie Pope concerning, 413-415. 
 
 Joan, natural daugliter of King John, 2C~. 
 
 Jiianna, eldest daugliter of King John, 208, 492. 
 
 JOHN, King of England, his extraordinary accession, 3. ... Seve- 
 verity of his Forest laws, 5. . ..Disputes with iiis Barons and Eccle- 
 siastics, is excommunicated and liis kingdom interdicted, 10,481, 
 482,499 Recalls his Ecclesiastics, )l....His oalli at his absolu- 
 tion, ihid.: . . His message to Mohainmcd al Nassir, 10, note a, 483.. . 
 
 His endeavoms to seduce tlie wife of Eustare de Vesci, 16, 291 
 
 Gives securities for granting the Charter of Henry I., 25 His 
 
 means for farther procrastinating, 26 His message to the Barons 
 
 at Stamford, ibid And reception of their answer, 27 Message 
 
 to the Barons from llie Tower, 28 Meets the Barons at Runne- 
 
 mede, and concludes Magna Charta, 29 Account and translated 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 , copy of the original Articles of that instrument, 30, 31, 49-61, 420- 
 422, 630. ... (Coi7fnufli with tliem for resigning tiie City and Tower 
 
 of London as security for observing it, 31, 102-104, 430, 530) His 
 
 regret for having done so, 32. . . . Supposed causes of liaLred given by 
 
 him to the Barons, 16 Resigns his crown, 18, 485. . . . Historical 
 
 remarks on that act, 486 His sudden deatli, and Historical Exa- 
 mination into his supposed poisoning, 34, .')35-548, (.See Pegge). ... Un- 
 lawful dispossessions by to be restored, 54, art. xxv. . . . Ditto of the 
 Welsh in England, &c. 58, ar(. xliv. .86, 87, chap. hi.. 90,01, chap. 
 
 Ivi.. 115, c/tap. xl Illegal forests, Slc. made by to be destroyed, 
 
 .^9, £/ri.xlvii..84, 85, cftc/). xlvii. . 115, chap, xxxviii. ..330, chap, iii 
 
 Crusaders' Term claimed by in executing Magna Chart a, 88,80, chap. 
 
 Iii, i iii. .90, 91, cfta/i.lvii Copy and Translation of his Great Cliar- 
 
 ter, 62-101 (Descriptive Account of the ancient Originals, ^-c. of it 
 
 now extant, 422-430, bSO) His reasons for granting it, 62, 63 
 
 Remission of enmity towards the Barons on account of Magna 
 
 Charta, 98, 99, chap. Ixii.. ..Great Seal of, 100, 101 Various 
 
 Chapters of his Magna Chan a allowed, ijut reserved for farther con- 
 sideration in the First Charter of Henry III., 115, 116, chap, xlii 
 
 Castles built in the wars in liis reign to be destroyed by order of 
 
 the Common Council, 130, chap, xlvii Made King of Ireland, 
 
 160, 462, 463. ...Plural title first used by, 160. ...His Clmrters uf 
 
 Liberties to LoJidon, 188 Privileges given by to the Cinque Ports, 
 
 192. . . .To the rivers Thames and Medway, 214, . . . Counties farmed 
 
 in iiis reign, 207 Illegal fine paid to, SiO. ... Various references 
 
 to liis Great Charter, 2.33, 'ZU, 237, 241, 261, 264, 268, 269, 270, 321, 
 
 .324 Remarks on the Forest clauses in it, 4-8, 237-239 Hostages 
 
 taken by from his Barons and the Welsh, 242, 267, 297,304, 482.... 
 
 Foieign forces engaged by, 246 His writ for dismissing them, 
 
 247.. ..Collects others, who commit great oulrages, ibid.. ..His 
 
 illegal seizures restored, 248 Unlawful amerciaments and aids of, 
 
 261, 262, 263... .Ditto from the Welsh, 264.. .. His treaty with the 
 
 Prince of Wales, and King of Scotland, 266, 267, 268 Said to have 
 
 inserted in Magna Charta the only |>as3age affecting the whole of 
 
 the people, 269 Careless revelry of in Normandy, and return to 
 
 England, 276, 480. ... His conduct towards William de Albini, 304, 
 305. . . . Cllausc of protection for in his Great Charter, 322. . .Writ of 
 
 compelling his subjects to swear to his Barons, ibid Writ of for 
 
 electing Knights of Counties, 323. ... Sends to the Pope to revoke 
 
 it, 324 Writ for making peace with his Barons and remitting 
 
 fines, ibid His Great Seallust, 325, '667...J^ngraving of an ancient 
 
 illumination of him, 368 Account and Translation of his Charter 
 
 for Freedom of Ecclesiastical Elections, 411 and note, 416-418, 529 
 .... Seal of as Earl of Mortaignc, 450. . . . Biographical and Historical 
 Mc?Hotro/, 461-496. ...Birth and surname of Lackland, 461, 462.... 
 
 Espoused to Alice of Savoy, 462, 492 His imprudent conduct in 
 
 Ireland and relurn, 463 Rebellion against Henry M ., ibid. 464. . 
 
 Richard's bounty to him, 464 Cause and account of his insurrec- 
 tion, and intrigues with Philip uf France against Richard, 465, 466, 
 518. .Accused of treason, but afterward reconciled to liim, 467- -Made 
 his heir and successor, 4(>8 His friends for securing the kingdom. 
 
 -T^ 
 
 
 --'gife^ 
 
and successful proceedinga in France, 468 Returns to England 
 
 and is Clowned, ibid Account of Uis supposed election and coro- 
 
 niition, 4fi9, 470 Remarks on his riglitto the tlirone, 471 . . ..Time 
 
 oi' tlie commencement of his reign disputed, ibid., 472, and note *"... 
 (Table shewing the beginning and end of every year uf his reign, 53S.) 
 . . Opposed by Constance, Arthur of Brelagne, and Philip of France, 
 
 472, 473 His consequent proceedings and war in France, 473. . .. 
 
 Makes peace with Pliilip, 474 Discontent and opposition of hie 
 
 Barons thereon, ibid. . . . His marriage with Isabella of AngoulCme, 
 
 and seco" d coronation, ibid., 475,492 Hia victory at the castle 
 
 of Mirebeau, 475 Cruelly to the prisoners taken tlierc, ibid 
 
 Reports and historical evidences relating to liis supposed murder of 
 
 Arthur of Bretagne, 476-479 Hia accusation thereof, and sum- 
 
 mous before Philip of France, 476 Sentence passed on him, 479, 
 
 618. ...Gels possession of Eleanor of Bretagne, 479 A Trouba- 
 
 dour*s song of censure on him, 480.. ..His successes in Scot- 
 land, Ireland, and Wales, 482 Deposed by Uie Pope, his pre- 
 parations to encounter Pliilip of France, 484 His invasion of 
 
 France and defeat, 487 Sends abroad for new forces and retires 
 
 to the Isle of Wight, ibid. 488.... Civil war witli his Barons, 488, 
 
 489 Several of his peers and knights return to him, 490 Loses 
 
 his treasures in the Wellstream, ibid. . . . His arrival at Swineshead, 
 
 sickness, lastjourniea, and death, jfiii^., 491 His marriages and 
 
 issue, 492. . .Translation of his Will, ibid. ... His character, 498, 494 
 
 .... Instances of his cruelty, 492, 493 note Holinehed's summary 
 
 of liis life, and acts of religious charity, 494-496 Account and 
 
 Engravings of liis Tomb, Effigy, and Remains, 496, 541 note, 548, 
 549, 553, 554.. ..Speech and proceedings of on the death of 
 Archbishop Walter, 498.. ..His reported suit to and murder of 
 Matilda Fitz-Walter, 505-507 Reconciled to her father at a tour- 
 nament, 508.. . . Innocent's Letter to, concerning Cardinal Langton, 
 613, 514. . .. His employment of and value for Hubert de Burgh, 621, 
 
 522 Chronological list of Patents, Writs, Letters, and Charters, 
 
 issued by connected with his Magna Chan a, 529, 530 Account oj 
 
 the Interment and Discovery of his Body in Worcester Cathedral, 548- 
 554. .(See Worcester.) 
 
 Josceline, Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury, 7, 64,66, 106, 143, 167, 
 417, 429. 
 
 Ireland, Kingdom of resigned to the Pope. 19.. ..Tribute paid to him 
 
 for it, 20 Magna Charla transmitted toby Henry IIL, with his 
 
 letters, 37, 116, 531.... Title of Lord of, first taken, 160.. . .English 
 
 Statutes extended to, 161 Proceedings of Henry H. and King 
 
 John in, 462, 463 John's victories there, 482. 
 
 Isabella of Angoulfime, third Queen of King John, 268, 474, 475, 492. 
 
 , a daughter of King John, 492. 
 
 , daughter of Baldwin, Earl of Hainault, Queen of Philip II., 
 
 516, 518. 
 
 fsiues, explanation of the term, 166. 
 
 Juliers, Earl of, 42. 
 
 I von, Bishop of Chartres, his definition of ecclesiastical elections, 412. 
 
 Jury, number of a, 222, 224, 225. . . . Historical account of the Trial by, 
 
 ■i^ 
 
 ■ 4' 
 
 ^^s<5^' 
 
223. .. . Of whom composed, 224. . 
 silion of a, 225. 
 .Justice, not tu be sold, delayed, or denied, 55, art. xxx. . 82, 83, chap. 
 xl.. U3, c/iay). xxxiii.. ]27, chap. xxxvi..l40, chap. xxix.. 154, chap. 
 
 xxix Remarks on these chapters, and instances of their foi mer 
 
 infringement, 230. 
 
 Justices of Assize, their circuits, 199. 
 
 Justiciary of all England, Chief, hie duties, rank, and office, 74, 75, 
 cAap. xviii....82, 83, c/jap. xli. . 86, 87, c/iap. xlviii. . 94, 95, chap. Ixi.. 
 110, chap. xiii..H4, c/iap. xxxiv. . 123, cftop. xiii. . 127, chap, xxxvii.. 
 
 135, chap. xii..l40, chap. xxx.. 150, chap. xii..l54, chap, xxx 
 
 198, 239, 322. 
 
 Justiciaries, to travel and hold Assizes, 51, art. viii. , 74, 75, chap, xviii 
 ..WO, chap. xiii..l23, chap, xiii, xiv..l35, 136, c/tup. xii, xiii..l60, 
 chap, xii, xiii. . . . To be made of those only who know and will prac- 
 tise the law, 17, 67, art. xiii. .84, 85, chap, xlv Historical account 
 
 of their establishment, Stc. in England, 239, 240 l^ws against 
 
 ignorant and unjust, 240. 
 
 of tile Bench, to decide difficult cases from the Assize- 
 courts, 123, chap. xiv..l36, chap. xii.. 160, cftap. xii Always to 
 
 hold Assizes of Last Presentation, 123, chap xv. . 136, chap. xiii. . 150, 
 
 chap, xiii Their office explained, 200 Decisions of contrary to 
 
 the Charters of Liberties to be set aside, 370, chap. ii. . 384, 386 
 
 To be appointed for enforcing the Charters, 392. 
 
 Justicies, Writ of tu a County Court, 254. 
 
 Kellesay, Richard de. Abbot of Selby, 143, 157. 
 
 Kendall, Edward Augustus, bis Argument on an Appellee of Murder 
 and Trial by Battel, {1818.) 253. 
 
 King, his Demesne Manors excepted from remaining at the ancient 
 farm, 62, ar(. xiv. .76, 77, chap. xxv. .. . How his debts shall be re- 
 covered after the death of a debtor, 50 art. v. .52, art. xv..56, art. 
 xx-xiv. .70, 71, chap. ix..76, 77, chap. xxvi.. 109, chap. ix.. HI, chap. 
 XX. .122, c/iop. ix.. 124, chap. xxii..l34, cAcp. viii.. 137, c/)a/f» xviii. . 
 
 149, cftcp. viii.. 151, chup. xviii.. 174 Not to bold the lands of felons 
 
 more than a year and a day, 53, ar(. xxii. . 78, 79, chap. xxxii..n2, 
 chap. xxv.. 125, chap, xxviii. . 138, chap. xxii..l52, chap, xxii Un- 
 lawful dispossessions by the to be restored, 54, art. xxv.. 86, 87, 
 chup. lii. . , . Not to have custody, &c. of the military fees of ■>ther 
 lords, held by bis own ordinary tenants, 54, art. xxvii. .80, 81, chup. 
 xxxvii.. 113, chap. xxx. . 126, cAop. xxxiii. . 139, c /tap . xxvii. . 153, chap. 
 xxvii. . . . Not to condemn nor commit a freeman to prison illegally 
 or without trial, 65, arr. xxix..82, 83, cAo/), xxxix. . 1 13, chip, xxxii 
 
 ..127, cAap, XXXV. . 140, chap. xxix. . 154, cftap. xxix Not to sell, 
 
 deny, or delay, right, 55, art. xxx.. 82, 83, chup. xl. . 113, c/iap.xxxiii 
 
 \27, chap, xxxvi, . 140, c/iap. xxix.. 154, cfiap- xxix Wood for liis 
 
 castles, &c. not to be taken against the owner's consent, ."SS, art. 
 xxi..78, 79, chup. xxxi. .112, chap. xxiv. . 126, chap, xxvii.. 138, chap. 
 
 xxi.. 152, chap, xxi Nut to ta^ie extraordinary reliefs for escheat!;, 
 
 56, art, xxxvi.. 82-85, c/iap. xliii. . 114, chap. xxxv. . 127, chap, xxxviii. 
 140, chap. xxxi. . 154, chap, xxxi Mutual agreement of with his 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 subjects to observe Magna Charta, 59, art. xWi'u. .92, 9Z, chap. \x\. . 
 I J 6, chap. xli. . 129, cltap. xlv. . 142, cfutp. xxxvii.. 156, chap, xxxvii.. 
 268. ... Not lu have any escheat or custody but from his tenants in 
 chief, 128, chap, xxxviii. . 140, chap. xxxi. . 155, c/iap. xxxi..To be 
 distrained by ihe Barons to observe the Great Charter, 60, arl.xlix. . 
 94-97, chap. Ixi. .321, 322 To enter into an engagement not to re- 
 voke it, 61, art. xlix. .98, 99, chap, Ixii...To liave no claim for endow- 
 ing or translating Religious Houses founded by others, 241 Saxon 
 
 fine established for the murder of the, 251. . . .Not forcibly to dis- 
 possess his Barons, &c. 269 Nut to make precedents of former 
 
 extraordinary aids, &c. on record, 371, clutp. v Nor to take any 
 
 but by the common consent of the realm, 372, cAop. vi Not to 
 
 take any customs but those granted by the commonalty, 372, chap. 
 vii, , . . His demesne woods in forests preserved, &c. 3.'il, chap. iii. , . . 
 ^2, chap. viii..333, chap. ix. . 334, cfta/*. xiv. .;346, 350. ... His wars 
 not to be maintained abroad, 388.... Interest of the, in the marriage 
 of the female kindred and widows of his tenants, lf)3, chap, v, vi, 
 vii, viii.. .. Interest and power of the in ecclesiastical elections, 
 412-414, 4)7-419.. . . Remarks on the supposed right of electing the 
 King in England, 470, .471. 
 
 King's Hall, account of its formation and officers ,197. .. . King's Jus- 
 tices, their duty in that Court, ibid. 
 
 King's Widows, who they were, J73. 
 
 Kingdom, persons to have liberty to go out of with certain exceptions, 
 
 55, ar(. xxxiii. .82, 83, c/ia/*. xlii Reserved for farther considera- 
 
 I'um, 116, chap. xlii. . . .The preceding chapters explained, 234, 235. . 
 Common Council of the to levy aids and scutagee, 55, art. xxxii. . 
 72, 73, cftcp. xiii. ... (Reserved fur farther consideration, i 16, cfio/*. 
 xlii.) 
 
 Kirkham, Walter de. Bishop of Durham, 387. 
 
 Knighthood, frees the body of a ward, 107, chap. iii. .120, chap. iii.. 
 133, chap. iii. . 147, chap. iii. . 166.. ..Aid for conferring it on a feudal 
 landlord's eldest son, 183. 
 
 Knighton, Henry de, his book Dt Eventibus AnglicE c\\eA, 16 and 
 note, 291,441,532,542. 
 
 Knights, when they are to be free from Castle- guard, 53, orr. xix. .78, 79, 
 chap.xxix. . 112, chap. xxii.. 125, cAa;^. xxiv. . 138, chapxx.. 152, chap. 
 
 XX The demesne cart of not to be taken for the King, 125, chap. 
 
 xxvi. . 138, chap. xxi.. 152, chap.xxi. . . . Of the Shire, to be elected for 
 holding Assizes with the Itinerant Justices, 51, art. viii,. 74, 76, chap. 
 
 xviii..lIO, chap, xiii, xiv. . 123, cftup. xiii Ditto for reforming the 
 
 forests, 57, art. xxxix. .84, 86, chap. xlviii..530 Not permitted to 
 
 leave the realm without the King's license, 234 Militan,' tenants, 
 
 to be free from all payments to guilds and works, 404, chap. xx. . . . 
 Their liberties and free-customs preserved, 129, chap. xlvi...l42, 
 chap, xxxvii.. 156, chap. xxx^'ii..335, chap. xvi... .Their woods in 
 forests preserved, 331, chap. iv. 
 
 of Shires, their origin, 196 Writ for electing, 323. 
 
 Knights' Fees, Relief of fixed at 100 shillings, G6, 67, chap. ii. . 10", chap. 
 
 ii.. U9, chap. ii.. 132, chap. ii. . 146, chap, ii Extraordinarj' service 
 
 not to be taken from, 51, art. vii. . 74, 76, chap. xvi. . 110, chap. xi. . 
 
 '-^^/ 
 
ttfc-:- 
 
 rr aa^.g^y uy rt itf w r 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 "7 ^^^ ' 
 
 }22, chap. Tc'i.AS^, chap. x. . 149, cftap. x Not lo be in the King's 
 
 custody when held of other lords, by his own ordinary tenants, 54, 
 
 or/. xxvii..80, 81, chap. xxxvii..]13, chap, xxx Not to folluw to 
 
 the King by a tenure of Petty Serjeanty, 54, art. xxvii. .80, 81, chap. 
 xxxvii. .113, chup.xxx. . 126, cftop.xxxiii.. 139, cftap. xxvii. . 153, chap. 
 xxvii. . Ancient value of, 164. ... Quantity of land in, 180.. ..Aid of "^ 
 fixed, 183. 
 
 Knights' Service, nature of, 163 Act for abolishing, 165, 169 
 
 Limitation of, 165. 
 Kydells, or Wears, to be removed out of the Thames, Medway, &c. S3, 
 art. xxiii..80, 81, chap, xxxiii. . 112 chap. xxvi.. 125, chap. xxix. . 13&, 
 
 chap. xxiii..l53, chap, xxiii Nature and illegality of in public 
 
 vraters, 214. 
 Kyme, Simon de, his trial, 229. 
 
 Lackland, surname of given to King John, 461, 480. 
 
 Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, foundation of, 320.. ..Original Magna 
 Charta preserved at, 321, 4.36, 531. 
 
 Lacy, John de, Constable of Chester, 144, 158, 315 One of the Ba- 
 ronial Securities to King John's Magna Charta, 30. . . . Biographical 
 notices of, 'M)\ 303.... Arms borne by, 302, 303.. .. Descent of the 
 
 Family of, 303. . . . — ^, Roger de, 301, 311 . . . . , Henry, — 
 
 Alice, 303.. ..- , Hugh de, 463....^ , Ilbert de, 408.. .. 
 
 , Walter de, 106, 493- 
 
 Lancaster, the Honour of, 56, art. xxxvi. .84, 85, chap, xliii. 114, ch^ap. 
 XXXV. . 127, chap, xxxviii. . 140, chap. xxxi.. 154, cluip. xxxi. 
 
 Lanfranc, St. Archbishop of Canterbury, 399, 400, 413. 
 
 Langtoft, Peter de, his account of King; John's death, 543, 544. 
 
 Langton, Stephen, Archbishop of Canterbury, 7, 11, 12, 25, 26,62, 63, 
 98,99, 143, 157. 304, 417, 429.. ..His spes-ch to the Barons at St. 
 
 Paul's, 12 Protest against King John's resignati-m of his crown, 
 
 32. . . . Biographical Memoir qf, 497-503 Birth and education of, 
 
 497 Appointed Archbishop by Innocent TIL, 499,513,514 
 
 Discovers the Cliarters of Liberties of Henry 1., 499 . . . Opposes the 
 
 proceedings of the Legate, ibid., 520 Suspended by the Pope, 499 
 
 Conduct towards Henry III. and tlie Barons, 500,. . . Other acts 
 
 of, and liis translation of the remains of Becket, ij^id., 501, . . . Ac- 
 count of his writings, 501-503 Specimen of his pt)etrj',502 His 
 
 death and monument, 503. 
 
 Larnbarde, William, liis Jrchiaonomia, (1644), 402, 529. 
 
 Lambeth, ancient MSS. in the Archiepiscopal Library at, 399, 421, 428 
 note, .530, 636, 637. 
 
 Lambs, not to be unlawfully seized by Foresters or Bedels, 332, chap, 
 vii, 
 
 L:invallay, William de, 102. ...One of the Baronial Securities to King 
 John's Great Charter, 30. . . Biographical notices of, and Arms borne 
 
 by, 310.. ..- — , Hawisa, married into the Family of Gresley, 
 
 ibid. 
 
 Last Presentation, Quarterly Assizes to be held of, 61, art. viii..74, 76, 
 c/ia;). xviii.... Always to be held by the Justices of the Bench, 123, 
 chap. XV. . 136, chap. xiii. . 150, chap. xiii. 
 
 ^^fe:. .-P^>. 
 

 =^ 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 iLatin, law-pleas of England enrolled in, 239. . . . Ancient use of in thefj 
 
 English Statutes and Charters, 446-448. 
 ^Laud, William, Archljishop of Canterbury, account of his Original of| 
 
 John's Magna Charta, 427, 428. 
 ^ Laurence, Bishop of Rochester, ^7- 
 
 Law of the Land, YTeemen to he tried, &,c. by, 56, urf. xxix. . 82, 83, 
 cJiap. xxxix. .113, chap, xxxii. . 127, chap. xxxv. . 139, c/iap. xxix. . ]5-i, 
 chap. xxix. . . . What is meant by, 229. 
 
 Law of England, languages used for pleading in and recording of the, 
 239,446, 447 Character and origin of the, 240 Historical ac- 
 count of the ancient, 396-398. 
 
 Law, Wager of, not to be tried upon a single accusation, 54, art. xxviii 
 . .80, 81, chap, xxxviii.. 113, chap.xxxS.. ]26, chop, xxxiv. . 139, chap. 
 xxviii. . 154, cftap. xxviii Trial by explained, 221, 222. 
 
 Law of Wales, account of tlie ancient, 266. 
 
 Lawing of dogs in forests, the view of, &c. to be in the ancient man- 
 ner, 331, chap. vi. 
 
 Leadenhall, weighing of woo! confined to, 190. 
 
 Leet Courts, explanation and account of, 255, 256. 
 
 Leiand, John, his Itinerary cited, 550. 
 
 Leopold, Archduke of Austria, sells Richard I. to the Emperor of 
 Germany, 466, 
 
 Le Strange, John, 106. 
 
 Letters Patent explained, 327, 328. 
 
 Letters Testimonial for the Magna Charta of King John, 61, art. xlix 
 ..98, 99,cft«73.1xiii..325, 429, 430, 530. 
 
 Lewes, account of the Mise of, 378. 
 
 Lewis, Mr. Percival, his Historical Ijiqtiiries cmtcerning Forests and 
 Forest Laws, (1811,) cited, 4, 5, 344, 346. 
 
 , Rev. John, his Life of William Caxton, (1737,) and defence of 
 
 the poisoning of King John, 537 and note, 538. 
 
 Lex Manifesta explained, 221. 
 
 Leycester, Sir Peter, Historical Antiquities concerning Cheshire, (1673,) 
 302. 
 
 Liberties, confirmed to London, &c. 72, 73, chap. xiii..l09, cJiap. s... 
 
 122, chap. X. . 135, chap. ix.. 149, chap, is Confirmation of general, 
 
 m, 67, chap. i..92, 93, chap, lx.,106, chap. i..ll5, c?iap. xl\..U9, 
 c/mj>. i.. 128, c/iap. xlii.. 129, c/iap.xlv..l32, chap. i..l41, chap, xxxv 
 . . 142, chap, xxvii. . 146, chap. i. . 155, chap. xxxv. . 156, chap, xxxvii. . 
 330, 335, cftop. xvi..409, 410 Not to be illegally taken from a free- 
 man, 127, chap. XXXV. . 139, chap. xxix. . 154, chap, xxix Significa- 
 tion of, 186. 227. 
 
 Lincoln Cathedral, Original copy of Magna Charta in the Archives of, 
 62, 425-427, 530. 
 
 Lingard, Dr. John, his History of England cited, 268, 269,484, 486. 
 
 Lisle, Brian de, 144, 158. 
 
 Littleton, Thomas, Justice of the Common Pleas, his Tenures, cited, 
 166, 167, 173, 179, 180, 212, 220, 261 . 
 
 Livery, what is meant by, 170. 
 
 Llewelliii ap Jorwerth, or the Great, Prince of North Wales, 280 
 
 '*^^^ --^S 
 
yiD^- 
 
 ^A. 
 
 SS^Aj 
 
 Pi 
 
 "%f 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 To be given up, 58, art. xlv. .92, 93, chap. Iviii. ... His incursiuns Intu j 
 England, and treaty with King John, 266, 267, 482. 
 
 Llewellyn Keuvret, 267. 
 
 Lodge, John, his Peerage of Ireland, by Mervyn Archdall, (1789,) 2i 
 
 London, City OF, entered by the Barons, 28. ...City and Tower of J 
 
 given to the Barons as a security, 31 ( Covenant resigning them, '• 
 
 102-104) The Taillage of to be imposed by the Common Council 
 
 of England, 55, ar(. xxxii. .72, 73, cAap. xiii All its liberties and 
 
 free-customs to be preserved, 55, art. xxxii..72, 73, chap. xiii.. 109, 
 cftap. X. .122, cAap.x. . 135, cftop. ix. . 149, c/tup. ix.. Quarter measure 
 of established for corn, 80,81, ehap. xxxv. . 113. c/iap. xxviii. . 126, 
 chap. xxxi. .139, chap. xxv. . 163, chap. xxv. . ..Original copies of 
 Magna Charta, &c. in the Archives of, 145, 431 note b, 433, 439, 448, 
 
 531,533 Feudal aids levied on, 183, 185 Its ancient Liberties 
 
 and Customs secured, 186 Notices of its customs, ibid., 187. . . . 
 
 Enumeration of its chartered liberties, 187-191 .... Privilege of 
 freedom given to the servants of by Edward the Confessor, 187. . . . 
 
 Charters of William L and Henry I. to, ibid Middlesex given to 
 
 the Citizens of in farm, ibid Election of Sheriff permitted to the 
 
 Citizens of, ibid. . . . Freedom of from tolls, ibid. . . . Citizens of to be 
 
 tried within it, ibid Debts of the Citizens of, 188 Charters 
 
 granted and confirmed by Stephen, Henry IL, Richard L, John, 
 and Henry IIL, ibid. . . . Resumed and re-granted by Edward I , and 
 the Mayor allowed to be presented to the Constable of the Tower, 
 
 instead of the Barons of the Exchequer, 189 Charters of Edward 
 
 TI., Edward III., Henry IV,, and Edward IV., ifrirf. ... Southward 
 
 annexed to, ifcid Keeping of its giites given to, i^id Judicial 
 
 government vested in its officers, ttid.. .. Privilege of Mortmain 
 given to, 190. . . . Debts of Edward IV. to, released in consideration 
 of his Charters, ibid.. ..Cliarlers o( Henry VTII., Edward VI., 
 James I., and Charles I., ifctrf. ... Charter of Charles II., 191..,. 
 Seized and restored imperfect after being petitioned for, ibid.. ..The 
 
 original Charter given back 'y James II., ibid Seizing of the 
 
 Franchises made illegal under William and Mary, and the City 
 rights and Charters confirmed and protected for ever, ibid. 192. . . . 
 
 Orders scales to be hung even, 218 Privilege of Trial claimed in, 
 
 224. 
 
 Longchamp, William de, Bishop of Ely, 280 Secretly supports Ar- 
 thur's claim tu the crown, 465. 
 
 Longesp^e, William, Earl of Salisbury, 21, 64, 65, 143, 168,427.... 
 
 Defeats the French fleet, 10 Biographical account of, 313-319 
 
 Birth and origin of his name, 3l3 Romantic anecdotes of, 315- 
 
 317... His tomb, and Engraving of his Monumental Effigy, 317, 318, 
 319.... His epitaph and bequests, 319. 
 
 ' , Ela, Counless of the preceding, (See Fitz -Patrick,) 
 
 , William, Jun vision declaring his death, 320, 321. 
 
 Lord Mayor, liberty of electing given to London by King John, 188., 
 Allowed to be presented to the Constable of the Tower, instead of 
 of the Barons of the Exchequer, 189. 
 
 Lords, the demesne-cart of not to be taken hy the King's Bailiffs, 126, 
 c/?op. xxvi.. 138, c/iup. xxi.. 152, chap. xxi... -Their dues to be pre- 
 
 
 H, 
 
GENEltAL INDEX. 
 
 served in the alienation of lands, \2S,ch'ip. xxxix. . 141, chap. xxxi.. 
 , 156, chap. xxxi.. 129, chap. xliii..l42, cli'ip. xxxvi..l56, chap.xxxvi. 
 Lords- Marclieis of Wales, historical notice of their office and court, 
 
 265. 
 Lovaine, Jodceline de, his marriage with Agnes de Percy, relaining 
 
 his own arms and taking lier surname, 306. 
 Louis, Daupliin of France, afterwards King Louia VIII., peace made 
 
 with, 37 War with, 38 Invited to England by tlie Eanms, 
 
 279,^92,306,315,488, 508, 519.. ..Seizes the Frencli possessions uf 
 
 Henry III., 368 His treaty t.f peace with Henry HI., 428 note .. 
 
 Marries Blanche of Castile, 474, 510. ... His expedition to and re- 
 ception in England, 489 Raises the siege of Dover, 490,522,523 
 
 ..His private designs against the Barons discovered, 490, 508, 509.. 
 At the siege of Mountsorrel, 509. 
 Loundres, Henry de, Archbishop of Dublin, 7, 21,64, 65,98, 99. 
 
 Lucy, Godfrey de, Bishop of Winchester, 249.. .■ , Kichard de, 410. 
 
 Luffman, John, his edition of Magna Charta, &c. (1792,) 458. 
 Lunsford, Sir Robert and Joan, 275. 
 Luxemburg, Earl of, 42, 
 
 Lyttleton, Sir George, Lord, liis ancient Roll of the Charters of 
 Liberties, 437, 531. 
 
 h- 
 
 Madox, Thomas, his History of the Exchequer, (1711,) 193, 198, 20 , 
 207,230,236,238,243,244, 245, 293, 343, 531.... His Firma Burgi, 
 (1726,) 206. 
 
 Magna Chabta,: (See Covjirniation and Forest Charter,) concluded 
 on Runnemede, 29. . . . Articles of, ]jieviously sealed, 30. . . . (Trans- 
 lated copy of them, 49-61 Descriptive account of them, 420-422, 
 
 630).. ..Baronial Securities of the, 30, 59, art. xlix. .92, 93, chap. Ixi. 
 .. Cot>enan( succeeding that granted by King John, 31, 4.30, 530. .. . 
 
 (Translated copy of ditto, 102104) Re-granled by Henry III., 
 
 37-39 By Edward 1., 44-47. . ..Address of, and causes of granting 
 
 expressed in, 62,63, 105, 118, 131, 145, 146, 160. ...Provisions against 
 
 the infringement of, 59, art. xlix, 92, 93, chap. Ixi Copy and 
 
 translation of that granted by John, (1215,) 62-101 Letters Testi- 
 monial for, 61, art. xlix.. 98, 99, chap. Ixiii. . 325, 328, 429,430.... 
 Descriptive account of it, 422-430, 530. .. .Translation of the First 
 granted by Henry III., (1216,) 105-126. ... Descriptive account of 
 it, 430, 530.. ..Various Ciiaplers in being John's allowed, but 
 reserved for farther consideration in that last-mentioned, 1J5, 
 116, chap. xlii..(See Henry HI,).. ..Copy of sent into Ireland 
 with the King's letter for its observance, 116, 117. . . .Translation of 
 
 the Second granted by Henry 111., (1217,) 118-130 (Descriptive 
 
 account of it, 431-433, 531.. ..Examination of the date of, 431 
 note •>.). . . . Saving clause in protecting the liberties, &c. of all per- 
 sons, 129, chap. xlvi.. 142, chap, xxxvii. . 156, chap, xxxvii. .269.. . . 
 Translation of the T/nrd granted by Henry HI., (1224-25,) 131-144. . 
 (Originals and ancient copies of described, 321, 435-437, 531) Ac- 
 count, &c. of his Fourth Charter, (1251-52.) 144, 437, 438, 532.. . . 
 Other publications of by Henry HI., 377-380, 438. ... Translation of 
 the First Charter of Edward I., (1297,) 145-158. ... Account of ditto, 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 438» 532 Account of his other Jnspexinius Great Charter, 442, 
 
 532, 63;^.... Explanatory Notes on allthe preceding, 159-328 
 
 Extended to Ireland, 16U. . . Only a restoration of rights, 16-1, 167.. 
 
 First act of grace in, 174 Only clause of affecting the whole of 
 
 the people, 269. . ..Explanation of an obscure passage in, i6i(/. ... 
 Remarks on the saving clauses of, ibid Only declaratory of an- 
 cient laws and liberties, 270. ... Sealed by the King only and not 
 signed, 274.. ..Copy of preserved at Lacock Abbey, 321, 4^36, &;il, .. 
 
 Treasonable clause in, 322 Distributed throughout England, 323. 
 
 Proceedings for establishing and revoking it, 324 Not signed, 
 
 325. . ..Variations in the termination of, ibid Ordered to be pub- 
 licly read, 326, 384, 386, 392. ...Text of printed in tlie Statutes, 327.- 
 
 Witnesses to, ibid To be held pure in all points, 369, chap. i. . 374 
 
 ....To be dispersed and published as common Law throughout 
 
 England, 370, 379 Penalties for protecting. 392 Sentence of 
 
 Excommunication against the breakers of, 371, chap. iv.. 377, 386, 
 632. . . . Renewed by Inspeximus, &,r. 380, 382, 383, 532-634 various. . 
 Established by the Statute of Marlbridge, 381. .. . Partly confirmed 
 
 by the Statute of Fines, 390 Editions of printed with the Statutes, 
 
 394 Descriptive Account of the ancient Originals of, 420-443, 630- 
 
 .533. . . . French translations of, 4;30, 440, 443, 530. . . . Writ of Edward 
 
 I. establishing, 439 note Manner uf writing, language of, &c. 445 
 
 .... Historical remarks, Sec. on the supposed signing of, 448, 449. . . . 
 
 Descriptive List qf Printed Editions of &c. 460-460 First English 
 
 translation of, 451 Engraved Fac-aivnlce of, 426, 436, 436, 439, 452, 
 
 454-466. ...Printed in Letters of Gold by Whittaker, 458-460.... 
 Various references to, 346, 347, 410, 411. 
 
 Maid Marian and Robin Hood, supposed origin of, 606, 607. 
 
 Mailros, Chronicle qf, 540. 
 
 Mainprise in Forest law explained, 361. 
 
 Maizeaux, Pierre Des, his Anas, (1711,) 424. 
 
 Mala Tolneta, or Maletout, explained, 233.. . . of wools, to be 
 
 released, 372, chap. vii..389. 
 
 Maleon, Savary de, 106, 306, 493. 
 
 Maler, William, one of the Baronial Securities to King John's Great 
 
 Charter, SO Historical notices of, 307.. ..Arms borne by and 
 
 monumental effigy of, 308 Origin and descent of the name, iiirf., 
 
 309..... , Sir Baldwin, , Mabel and Heloise, 308. . ^, 
 
 Elizabeth, , Sir Alexander, the present representative of the 
 
 Family, 309. 
 
 Malmesbury, William of, his work De gestis Regum Jnglorum, c'tieti, 
 
 216, 239 His account of the Coronation Oalh and Charter of 
 
 Libeities of Stephen, 405, 408. 
 
 Malone, Edmund, his edition of Shakspeare's Works, (1790,) 507. 
 
 Mandeville, Geoffrey de, Earl of Essex and Gloucester, 102, 143, 158, 
 418, 525.... One of the Baronial Securiiies to King John's Great 
 
 Charier, 30.. . . Biographical notices of, 274 Oiigin and alteration 
 
 of the name, 275, 276 Arms borne by, ibid. 
 
 , , Chief Justiciary of England, 279. 
 
 , William de, Earl of E=sex, 508, 509. 
 
 Manner, taking in the, in Forest law explained, 366. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Manners, Sir Robert, his connection wiih tlie F.imily of Ros, 300. 
 
 Mantcll, T. his Account of the Cimjue Ports meetings, (1811,) 193. 
 
 Manwond, John, his Treatise of the Forest Laws, (1717,) cited, 346, 
 a47, 348, 353, 362. ~ 
 
 Mapenure, Hugh ile, Bishop of Hereford, 143, IT)?. 
 
 Marches of Wales, disputes concerning Welsh dispossessions, 
 be tried in the, 58, art. xliv. .90, 91, chap. Ivi. . 115, chap. xl. 
 
 Marescbal, William, Farm paid by for Gloiicestersliiie, 207- 
 
 Margun, Annals of, cited, 475, 478, 540. 
 
 MariCag-ium, explanation of, 172. 
 
 Mark, Philip, to be removed from his bailiwick, 57, ur(. xi. . 8*5, 87, 
 
 chap. 1. . . . Various notices of him, 244, 245. . . . , Peter, noi ice 
 
 of, 245. 
 
 Marks of a Forest explained, 341. 
 
 Marlebridge, Statute of, cited, 174, 254 Charters of Liberties esta- 
 
 bli.ched by, 381.. .. Account of it, 381, 382,532. 
 
 Marie-pits in Forests, 3.':i3, chap, xii, ,351 , 
 
 Marquess, title of first given, 163. 
 
 Marriage, of Wards to be without disparagement, 50, ar(. iii..68, 69, 
 
 cfta/>. vi. .121, c/iap. vi.. 133, chop. vi..l48, chap, vi To be freely 
 
 given and permitted to Widows, 50, ur(. iv, .68, 69, cAap. vii..l08, 
 
 cAajD. vii.. 121, c/mp. vii. . 134, c/iop. vii,.149, chap, vii Of Heirs, 
 
 xmjust fines for, lo be remitted, 56, ar(. xxxvii, ... Ancient feudal 
 
 regulations for, 170-173, 403 Of the daughter of a feudal landlord. 
 
 Aid for, 182. 
 
 Marsh, Rnbert de. Lord Chancellor, 418. 
 
 Marshal, Earl, his authority in the King's Hall, 197. 
 
 , Lord and Earl, origin and descent of the office, 284, 285. . . . 
 
 King^s Marshal, 285. 
 
 Marshall, William, First Earl of Pembroke, 21, 25, 26. 28, &4, 65, 102, 
 106, 119, 262, 283, 290, 297, 807, 311, 315, 330, 336, 418, 492, 493, 508, 
 
 524 Assists in securing tiie kingdom to Jolin, 468.. ..Created 
 
 Earl of Pembroke, 471 Made Protector to Henry III , 37 His 
 
 Seal attached to the Great Charters, &c. of that King, 116, 117, 130, 
 239, 325,336, 367,431 and note b, 4:i2. ... Engraving of it, 130.... 
 Biograpliical notices of, 285-28S. ... ingruj-'ing- of his Monumental 
 Effigy, 287 His will and benefactions, ifcid., 283 Epitaph on. 
 
 Jun. Second Earl of Pembroke, 272, 204, 315.. 
 
 One of the Baronial Securities to King John's Great Charier, 30 
 
 Biograpliical notices of, 283, 2iii. . . . Arms borne by, 284, 
 
 , Ansel m, John, 283, 284,285,298.... , John, ofBcng- 
 
 ham, 64, 65, 106 Biographical nr'tices uf ditto, 289 , 
 
 Richard, 289. . . . , Isabel, 290. . . . , Maud, 311. 
 
 Marshe, Richard, his edition of the Statutes and Magna C harta, 452. 
 
 Martell, William, 408, 409.... , Eudonius, 408. 
 
 Martin, Matthew and Walter, de, ice. to be removed from their 
 bailiwicks, 57, art., xl. . 86, 87, chap. 1. . . . , Elyas, notice of, 244. 
 
 Mary, Queen of England, her Statutes cited, 175, 260. 
 
 Maseres, Francis, Cursitor Baron of the Exchequer, his J'iew of the 
 Ancient Constitution of the English Parliament, 183-185, 195, 196. 
 
Mast, in Forests explained, 351. 
 - Matilda Fitz-Empress, her Treaty ^ 
 "^audiiir, William, 144, 158. 
 Mauley, Peter de, 144, 158, ■■ 
 Maurice, Bishop of London, 404. 
 Measures, to be uniform tlirou 
 
 chap. XXXV. . 113, chap, xxviii. . 
 
 chap. XXV. 
 Medtvay, Wears to be destroyed in the, 53, art. xxiii..80, 81, chap. 
 
 xxxiii.. 112, chap. xxvi. . 126, chap. xxix. . 138, chap, xxiii,. 163, chap. 
 
 xxiii..214. 
 Meers of a Forest explained, 341. 
 Meets of a Forest explained, 341. 
 Melun, Viscount De, discovers to the English Barons the designs of 
 
 the Dauphin, 490. 
 Memory, Legal, its extent. 186. 
 Merchants, Merchandise of to be preserved in their amerciaments, 
 
 51, art. ix. . 74, 75, chap. xx. .11(1, chap. xv. . 123, chap. xvj. . 136, chu]>. 
 
 xiv. .150, chap. xiv. . . . To be safe in travelling, and without evil 
 
 tolls, 55, ar(. xxxi..82, S3, chap. xli..ll4, chup, xxxiv..l27, chap. 
 
 xxxvii.. 140, cAup. xxx. . 154, cftap. xxx. .. .Treatment of in time of 
 
 war, 82, 83, chap. xli. .114, chup. xxxiv. . 127, chap, xxxiv. . 140, chap. 
 
 XXX. . 154, chap. XXX. ... Extent of their amerciament, 201, ...Ex- 
 planation of the preceding chapters, 231-238. 
 Merchant-strangers proscribed in London, 189.. ..Ancient English 
 
 Laws concerning, 232, 233. 
 Merton, Statutes of, 178 and note. 
 Merwyth, a Welsh Hostage to King John, 267- 
 
 Meschines, Ranulph de, Earl of Chester and Lincoln, 106,143, 168,418. 
 Middlesex, given to the Citizens of London to farm, lf<7. 
 Middleton, the Abbot of, 143, 157. 
 Milan, corruption of the Church and Prelate of, 414, 
 Mildmay, connection and claim of tlie Family of, to the Barony of 
 
 Fiti-Walter 510, 511. 
 Milles, Thomas, his Catalogue (if Honour, (1610.) 271, 278, 280, 525. 
 Mills on Forest Rivers, 33'i, chap. xii..351. 
 Military-service, (See Knights' Fee,) explained, 163 Limitation of, 
 
 165. 
 Milo, Earl of Hereford, 278. 
 Mise of Lewes, Account of the, 378. 
 Misex, Tasks, Taxes, 5cc., 388. 
 
 Mohammed Al Nassir, King John's private embassy tu, 483, 484. 
 Monasteries, Act for dissolving, 168.. ..Aid of for knighting their 
 
 founders heirs, 183. 
 Money, the common mintage of nut to be paid, 403, chap.-Kt 
 
 Coiners of false money to be punished, 403, chap, xii and note. 
 Monk, (-ieneral George, created Duke of Albemarle, 2/3. 
 Monmouth, or Monemut, John de, 106, 144, 158, 493. 
 Montbegon, Roger de, 102, 294.... One of the Baronial Securities to 
 
 the Magna Charta of King John, 30. . . .Biographical notices of, 296 
 
 ....Arms borne by, 297. 
 
a^'f 
 
 Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, Baron de, his praise of the English 
 
 rnertantile law in Magna Charta, 232. 
 Montfaufun, P^re Bernard, his Monumens de la. Monarchie frangaise, 
 
 (1729-33,) 516, 519. 
 Montfirhel, Richard de, 144, 158 One of the Baronial Securities to 
 
 the Gieat Charier of King John, .30. . . . Biographical notices of, 311, 
 
 312... .Arms borne by, 312 , Milisent, 311... 
 
 Margaret, Aveline, Pliilippa, 312. 
 Montfort, Simon de. Earl of Leicester, 492. . . , Holds Henry ITI. and 
 
 Prince Edward prisoners, 41, 377. 
 
 , William de, 244.... , Robert de, 404. 
 
 Morant, Rev. Pliilip, his objections to the Euppnsed poisoning of 
 
 King John considered, 35, 537,542, 547 His History of Essex, 
 
 (1768,) 276, 293. 
 More, Sir Tiiomas, his conduct as a judge, 231. 
 Morins, Richard de. Prior of Dunstaple, 540. 
 Mart D'Ancestre, Quarterly Assizes to be held of, 51, art. viii..74, 76, 
 
 chap. xviii..l]0, chap. xiii.. ..Made yearly, 123, chap. xiii,.135, 
 
 chap. xii.. 150, chap. •xu.... To be shortened, 52, art. xiii. . . .Trial of, 
 
 199. 
 Mortimer, Hugh de, 106, 144, 158. 
 Mortmain, estates in permitted to the City of London, 190 Origin 
 
 and account of the Statutes of, 259, 260. 
 Mortuary, gift to the clergy so called, 208. 
 Mowbray, William de, 102, 283 One of the Baronial Securities to 
 
 King John's Great Charter, 30 Biographical notices of, 293-295. . 
 
 Arms borne by, 295. 
 
 , Nigel de, 293, 302. 
 
 , Roger de, 294, 302 Arms borne by, 295. 
 
 , Thomas, Earl of Nottingham, made Earl-Marshal, 288, 
 
 Moyne, Lord Eustace de, 523. 
 
 Mucegros, Robert de, 308. 
 
 Muleton, Thomas de, 144, 1.^8. 
 
 Mundy, Anthony, Dramas of on Maid Mariaii and Robin Hood, 606, 
 
 507. 
 Murder, origin, practice, and abolition, of Appeals for, 250-253.... 
 
 Fines lor in the Saxon laws, 251 Past murders remitted, 404, 
 
 chap, xvlii.. ..Ancient laws concerning established, 407. 
 MurmeliuB, King of Africa and Spain, message of King John to, 10 
 
 note ". 
 Muscovy, preservation of bees in, 353. 
 Museum, the British, Original of the Articles of Magna Charta, &c. 
 
 in the, 49, 383, 390, 420, 422-424, 437, 454, 530, 533. 
 
 Nash, Dr. Treadway, his History qf Worcestershire, (1781-99,) 554. 
 Neale, Jolm Preston, and Edward Wedlake Brayley, Histonj and An- 
 tiquities of Westminster Albey, (1823,) 274. 
 Ne exeat regno, Writ of, 235. 
 Ne injuste vexes, Writ of, 196, 197- 
 Nether f'ert of Forests, 362. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Nevil, Hugli ,1c, 64, 6.5, 418. 
 Neville, Walter de, 144, 158. 
 
 , John de, gift at iiis funeral, 217. 
 
 Newbur?li, Robert or Roger de. Earl of Warwick, 408. 
 
 New Forest in Hampshire, historical notices of, 339. 
 
 Nicholas, Bishop ofTuscuIum, relaxes the Interdict, 12 Receives 
 
 the iiomapeofKing John, IS. 
 Nicolas, Mr. Nicholas Harris, his Synopsis of the Peerage, (182.5,) .313. 
 
 .... His Nolilia Bistorica, (1824,) 313, 486 note. ... His Table of the 
 
 Years of King John, 472 vote b, 535. 
 Nigel, Bisliopof Ely, 407. 
 Ninianus, a Monk of Canterbury, 546 note. 
 
 Noble, Rev. Mark, his Hislori/ o/tfte Co;/ese o/^rms, (1804,) 4S4no(c. 
 Norfolk, County of, composition paid by the to the Exchequer, 230. 
 ' , descent of the Earldom of, the Duke of descended 
 
 from thiee of the ivitnessing Barons of Magna Charta, 280. ... Office 
 
 of Earl-Marshal helonging to the Duke of, 286. 
 Normandy, title of Duke of taken, 160. 
 Normans, Invasion of the, its consequences to England, 1... .Their 
 
 language and clergy introduced into the legislature, 239. 
 Northampton Castle besieged by the Barons, 27. 
 Northumberland, descent of the Earldcon and Dukedom of, 307. 
 
 , Hugh Percy, Duke of, ibid. 
 
 Northwold, Hugh de, Abbot of St. Edmundsbtirjs 143, 167. 
 
 , Hugh, Bishop of Ely, 387. 
 
 Notlingham, the Honour of, ,50, art. xxxvi..82, 83, chap. xliii..ll4, 
 
 chap. XXXV. .107, chap, xxxviii. . 140, chap. xxxi. . 164, chap. xxxi. 
 Novel Disseisin, Quarterly Assizes to be held of, 61, ar(. viii. .74, 76, 
 
 chap, xviii. . 110, chap. xiii. . . . Made yearly, 123, chap. xiii. . 136, 136, 
 
 chap. xil..l60, cfta;). xii....To be shortened, 62, art. xiii Trials 
 
 of, 198. 
 
 Oath, required in assessing amerciaments, 76,77, chap. XK..m, chap. 
 XV.. 123, cimp. xvi. .136, clap. xiv. . 160, cjap. xiv. . . . Not to be re- 
 quired from any without witnesses, 126, chap. xxxiv..l39, chap. 
 xxviii. . 154, chap, xxviii. 
 
 Odiham, Hants, Manor, Park, and Castle of, 24:?. 
 
 Oidinatio ForesttB, Statute of, 345, 444, 634. 
 
 Oriel College, Oxford, ancient MSS. in the Library of, 443, 533 
 
 Original Rolls cited, 243, 244. 
 
 Ormerod, Mr. George, bis History of Chester, (1819,) 302. 
 
 Oswald, St. Bishop of Worcester, his burial-place in Worcester Ci 
 thedral,649, 6.50, 561. 
 
 Otto, Cardinal, Legate to Pope Gregory IX-, 302, 419. 
 
 Outlawry, significatiou of, 227. 
 
 Outlaws, freemen not to be illegally outlawed, 55, are. xxix. . 82 &3 
 chap, xxxix. . 113, chap, xxxii. . 127, chap. x.xxv.. 139, chap. x.\ix.ri64,' 
 chap, xxix For forest offences, to be reconciled, 334, chap, xv 
 
 Oxen, not to be taken for lawing of dogs, !&\, chap. vi. 
 
 Oxford, Aubrey de Vere, Eari of, the last Justiciary of the Forests 
 346.... Descent of the Earidom of, 282, 283. 
 
GENERAL INDEX 
 
 Palm-Sunday, erroneous date assigned to, -ISS note. 
 
 Pandulphus di Masca, Caidinal, 64, 05,98, 99, 273, 429.. .. Receives 
 the crown and realms of King Jolin, 18, 485 Endeavours to re- 
 strain the inv^aiun of Philip, 487 Biographical Notice of, 520. 
 
 Pannage, in Forests, lirae for receiving of the King's, 332, chap, viii, . 
 
 For private woods to be taken by tljt'ir proprietors, 333, chap, ix 
 
 Explained. 349, 350, 360. 
 
 Paris, Maithtw, his Historia Major cilt-d, 24,40,210, 247,262,2/0, 
 276, 289, 290, 294, 296, 297, 298, 299, 304, 315, 318, 401, 433, 448, 469, 
 476, 483, 484, 485, 487, 493 note, 494 note, 629, 532, 540, 546, 
 
 Parliament of England, (Vidt- Common Council,) Historical notices 
 
 of the, 194-196 Ancient members of the, 194 The name first 
 
 adopted, 195 Weighls and ineasurtis fixed hy its auihority, 216. . 
 
 Privilege uf hunting allowed to the Peers of, 366. . . . Representation 
 
 of Lords and Commons in cimsidered, ibid Ancient and modern 
 
 manner ufpubliahing and receding the Statutes of, 384, 395 note. 
 
 ParUamcvt Rolls cited, 161, 388, 395. 
 
 Parsons, Father Robert, his answer to Sir F. Hastings, 536. 
 
 Patent Rolls referred to, 116, 238, 2^13, 244, 267, 271, 322, 323, 324, 327, 
 382, 386, 529-534 variona. 
 
 Paletns, for Peers adopted, 195 Letters Patent, how they differ 
 
 from Charters, 328. 
 
 Patrons and Founders, See Ahbics. 
 
 Paulelt, WiUiriTTi, created Marquess of Winchester, 278. 
 
 Peace established and commanded through the kingdom, 404, chap. 
 xxi. 
 
 Pedagium in Forests explained, 358. 
 
 Peer, derivation and meaning of the word, 228. . . . Peejs not to leave 
 the realm without the King's liceuse, 234. 
 
 Peerage of England, ancient titles of ihe, 163. 
 
 Pcgge, Rev. Samuel, Summary of his Ejiquiry into ihe causes of King 
 
 John's death, 538-548 His own narrative, 538 Arguments in its 
 
 favour, 539. . .. Authors supporting il, 540 Other narratives of tlie 
 
 poisoning, 541-545.. . Answers and objections to ditto, 542-548.. . Exa- 
 mination of the Authors who relate them, 643, 544,546... Arguments 
 in favour of them, 545, 546. 
 
 Pelham, Thomas, created Marquess of Clare, 272. 
 
 Pennant, Thomas, his ToiiT in Wales, (1778-81,) 266 His remarks 
 
 on the supposed venom of toads, 547- 
 
 Perambulations of Forests, 3-11,^43, 531,533, 534. ... General form of, 
 
 344 Patent for observing them, 345, 534. ... Notices of the Rolls 
 
 of, 634. 
 
 Perceval, the House of descended from the Family of Marshall, 289. 
 
 Percy, Richard de, one of the Baronial Securities to King John's 
 Magna Charta, 30. ... Change of the Arms of the Family of, 306. . . . 
 Biographical iiutice of, ibid., 307. 
 
 , Agnes de, her marriage with Josceiine de Lovaine, 306. , . . 
 
 , Maud de, ibid. . . . , William de, ibid. . . . , Josce- 
 iine de, 307 , Elizabeth, ibid. 
 
 , Algernon, created Baron Warkworth and Earl of Northum- 
 berland, 307. 
 
GENERAL INDEX, 
 
 ^ 
 
 Peter, King uf Arragon, his vassalage to Pope Innocent, 48t^. 
 
 of Capua, Cardinal, 474. 
 
 of Pdinfret, his prophecy on King John, 486, 
 
 Peterborough, Chronide of, 542, 543. 
 
 Petit Serjeant!/, (See Serjeanty,) Tenure of, 220. 
 
 Petyt, Tliomas, his edition of the Statutes and Magna Charta, 461. 
 
 Philip IT., King of France, his fleet defeated, 10, 314, 623- . . Interview 
 
 with Henry II. and his suns, 464 His intrigues with John against 
 
 Richard I., 466, 618 Conduct of to John on behalf of Arthur, 472, 
 
 473 Makes peace with John, 474 Latin heroic poem on his 
 
 actions, 477 Summons John to answer for Arthur's murder, 478 
 
 .... Sentence passed upon him, 479, 619 Captures all John's pos- 
 sessions in France, 480, 519. . . . Undertakes to dethrone him on his 
 
 deposition, 483, 484 His subsequent proceedings and victorj- at 
 
 Bouvines, 487. . . . Divorced from his Queen, who is protected by the 
 
 Pope, 512, 618 Biographical Notice of, 615-619 His descent 
 
 and birth, 615, 516.. ..Made Regent — Married andcrowned — Expels 
 
 the Jews from France, 516 His decoration of Paris, &c. — Wars 
 
 of, 517, 518, 619.... His deatli and character, 519. 
 
 IV., King of France, 41. 
 
 Pilgrimage, licenses granted for travelling on foreign, 236, 
 
 Pine, John, his Engraved Fac-Simile of Magna Charta, and Arms of 
 the Baronial Securities, referred to, 273,282,284,292,306,423.... 
 
 Descriptive account of it, 454,465 Biographical notice of him, 
 
 452 note. 
 
 Placita, derivation of the word, 204 Abhreviatio Placitorum, (1811,) 
 
 309. 
 
 Plantagenet, Geoffrey, his rebellion against Henry H., and death at a 
 tournament, 3, 463, 464. 
 
 , Geoffrey, Archbishoj) of York, his opposition to King 
 
 John's levies, 474, 481. 
 
 , John, Earl of Warren and Surrey, 386. 
 
 , Lionel, First Duke of Clarence, 272. 
 
 _ — , Richard, Earl of Cornwall, a leader of the Barons in 
 
 the time of King Heniy III , 39, 315, 386, 492. 
 — , Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, 303. 
 -, William, Earl of Warren and Surrey, 21, 64, 66, 143, 
 
 158, 286, 418, 627. 
 Playz,, Hugh de, 312. 
 
 Pleas, {See Common Pleas,) ancient laws concerning established, 407- 
 . of the Crown, not t<. be held by Sheriffs, &c. 62, ari. xiv. . 76, 77, 
 
 chap. xxiv. .111, chap. xix..l24, chap xxi. . 137, cftn/j. xvii. . 151, cftop. 
 
 xvii Explained, 204 Trial of limited, ibid., 200. 
 
 of Parliument cited, 346. 
 
 . . of thf Furesis, to be held only by the Chief-Forester, 336, chap. 
 
 xvi....KoUs of, 6;M. 
 Pointz. Sir Hugh, 308. 
 Ponte, Elias de, *J46. 
 Poore, Richard, Bishop of Chicliester, 106, 143, 157, 493. 
 
 , Herbert, Bislmp ol Salisbury, 427. 
 
 Pope, interest of the in ecclesiastical elections, 412, 413, 414 Dis- 
 
 Pi 
 
i&^&A 
 
 GENERAL IMJEX. 
 
 pute of the with Henry I., concerning Investiture, 415 His ex- 
 tended feudal authority over church-livings, ibid., 416. 
 
 Port, Henr>' de, 404. 
 ^(■. Ports, (See Citiei,) especially belonging to the Sovereign, 193.... 
 
 Privileges and Court of Portmote assigned to, ibid., 194 Surveyed 
 
 and regulated, 194 Sometimes expressive of inland towns, ilnrj. 
 
 Portsmouth, Town of, vvine given by for a plea to be lield in, 230. 
 
 Prtpci/ie, Writ of, not to be granted to the injury of a freeman, &3, 
 art. xxiv. .80, 81, chap. xxxiv..ll2, chap. xxvii..l26, chap. xxx. .138, 
 chap. xxiv. . 153, chap. xxiv. 
 
 PrtEcipe in Capite, Writ of, 215, 216. 
 
 PrcBmunire, Statute of, 419. 
 
 Presentations, Writ of enquiry into, 199. . . . (See Darrien Presentment 
 and Last Presentation.) 
 
 Presentment, in Forest law explained, 362. 
 
 Priors, their liberties and free-customs preserved, 129, chap, xlvi.. 142, 
 chap, xxxvii. . l.'J6, chap, xxjcvii. . . . Their woods in forests preserved, 
 331, chap. iv. 
 
 Priories, when vacant to be honestly kept and not sold, 108, chap. v. . 
 121, chap. V. . 134, chap. v.. 148, chap. v. 
 
 ProvisoTS, Papal instruments so called, 416. 
 
 Prynne, William, his Records, cited, 430, 529-534, various, 
 
 Pudsey, Hu^U, Bishop of Durham, 249. 
 
 Purlieu, PourulUe, Purluy, what is meant by in Forest law, 364 
 
 Regulations for hunting in, 355. 
 
 Parprcstures, in Forests, .331, chap, iv Explained, 214, 348, 349. 
 
 Purveyance, account and misuse of, 161 nofe, 211, 212, 213... . Act fur 
 abolishing, 164, 211. 
 
 Pynson, Richard, first King's Printer, 384 His editions of the Sta- 
 tutes and Magna Charta, 450. 
 
 Quarentine of Widows, its nature and origin, 1/2. 
 
 Quarter of London, ordered as a standard measure, 80, 81, chap, xxxv 
 .. 113, e/ta/J. xxviii. . 126, cAap. xxxi. . 139, chap. xxv. . 153, cftrt/i. xxv. 
 
 Quarterly Review cited, 448 note, 472 note ^. 
 
 Queensborougli, murder of Jews at, in 1289, 177, 
 
 Quia Emptores, Statute of, 195. 
 
 <;iuincy, Salier de. Earl of Winchester, 102, 278, 283, 418, 505, 509. . . . 
 
 One of tlie Baronial Securilies to King John's Greai Cliarler, 30 
 
 Biographical account of, 276, 277.. ..Arms borne by, 277 Signifi- 
 cation of his christian name, 278. 
 
 , Robert de, Margaret, 301 , Roger de, 277. 
 
 Raithby, John, his Index to the Statutes at Large, (IS\ 4,) 192, 193. 
 
 Randolph, Abbot of Evesham, 143, 157. 
 
 Rangers in Forests, account of their office, .354, 355. 
 
 Rapin de Thoyras, M. Paul, his History of England, (1732,) cited, 3, 
 
 35, 175, 176, 402, 514, 528-530, various, 537. 
 Rastell, William, his ancient editions of the Statutes and Magna 
 
 Charta, 445, 452. 
 

 Records, Anglo-Saxon method of registering, 385, 426. . . . Commis- 
 
 fiioners of the, their searches for ancient Charters, 395, 406, 421,422, '% ^ 
 
 425, 426, 427, 434, 435, 436, 437, 439, 444, ^f^ 
 
 Red Book of the Exchequer, cited, 265, 325, 382, 386, 401 , 409, 423, 437, ^ -^ 
 
 443, 528-533, various. ^^ 
 
 , of Dublin, 431, 530. 
 
 Redman, Robert and EUzabeth, their ediiiuns of tlie Statutes and 
 
 Magj>a Charta,4hO, 451. 
 Regardeis in Forests, to make their ancient view, 331, chap. v. . Tu view 
 and certify the gatherings of Foresters and Bedels, 332, c/ia/) viii. 
 
 Account of their office, 353, 354. 
 
 Reginald, Suh-Priur of Christ-Church Canterbury, privately elected 
 
 Archbishop, 498. 
 Regner Lodbrog, King of Denmark, 223. 
 
 Reliefs, the ancient ordered to be paid, 49, art. \. .66, 67, chap. ii.. 107, 
 chap. ii. . 119, chap. ii.. 132, chap. ii. . 146, chap. ii. .402, chap iii. . , . 
 Not to be paid by wards when they come of age, 49, art. ii. .66, 67, 
 chap. iii. . 107, chap. iii. . 120, chap. iii. . 133, chap. iii. . 144, 147, chap, iii 
 . . For Escheats not to be extraordinary, 56, art. xxxvi. .82-85, chap. 
 xliii. . 114, chap, xxxv, . 127, chap, xxxviii. . 140, chap, xxxi, . 154, chap. 
 xxxi Remission of, 403, cAap. xiv. ... Ancient amount and regu- 
 lation of, 162, 163, 164. ...Abolished, \m. ... Aide de Relief, 181. 
 Religious Houses, not to receive lands to lease them again under pain 
 of forfeiture, 129, chap, xliii. .142, chap, xxxvi. . 126, c^iq/j. xxxvi. - 
 Fraudulent evasions of this law, 258, 259. . Statutes to prevent thern, 
 
 259 Custom of registering Records in the Archives of, 3.95. 
 
 Retrospective Review cited, 472 note b, 507. 
 
 Reygate, Surrey, account of the ancient excavations under the Castle 
 
 of, 527. 
 Reyner, Bishop of St. Asaph, 106. 
 
 Richard I., King of England, unlawful dispossessions by to be re- 
 stored, 54, art. XXV Ditto of the Welsh in England, SiC. 58, art. 
 
 xliv..86, 87, chap. lii..90, 91, chup. Ivii. .2&4.. .. Unlawful Forests 
 
 formed by to be disforested, 88, 89, cftap. liii. . 330, cAop. iii His 
 
 Charters of Liberties to London, 188 To the Thames and Med- 
 
 way, 214. ... His Assize for weights and measures, 216 Evaded, 
 
 217 Extortion and unlawful seizures of 248, 249 His rebellion 
 
 against Henry II., 463, 464, 518. .his bounty to Prince John, 4^4 
 
 secretly supports tlie claim of 4rv!iurto tlie crown, 465 account 
 
 ofhis imprisonment in Austria, John's scliemes and insurrection 
 against him, and iiis ransom and return to England, 465-467, 518... . 
 
 Is reconciled to John, 467 Makes him his heir and successor, 
 
 468. , . .Time of his death, 471 Resigns his crown to the Emperor 
 
 of Germany, 486. .Attacks the lands of the Count of Thoulouse, 
 517. ...Conductor on the Crusade, 518. 
 ■ 11.,^ , Parliament Roll of cited, 161 Sta- 
 tutes of, 234, 3&4 Changes the office of Lord Marshal into Earl 
 
 Marshal, 284. 
 
Rchard III., King of England, alters the superscription of Royal 
 Charters, 160. His Statutes anciently printed, 384. 
 
 Plantagenet, King of the Romans, Farm paid by for Berk- 
 shire, 207. 
 
 , Bishop of Avranches, 407. 
 
 Abbot of Battle, 143,157. 
 
 Rie, Hubert de, Baron of Hengham, — Aliva,— Arms borne by, 289. 
 
 Right, (See Liberties,) not to be sold, delayed, or denied, 55, art. xxx 
 . .82, 83, chap. xl. . 113, 114, chap, xxxiii. . 127, chap. xxvi. .140, chap. 
 xxix..l54, cJiap. xxix Writ of, return of the, 215, 216 Signi- 
 fication of ill Magna Charta, 231. 
 
 RiparicE, signification of, 203. 
 
 Ritson, Joseph, his Robin Hood, (1795,) 506. 
 
 River-banka, Towns not to be illegally amerced for, 51, art. xi. . 76, 77. 
 chap, xxiii. .111, chap, xviii.. 124, c/tup. xix.. 137, chap. xv.. 151, ciuip, 
 XV. .None to be defended but those kept up under Henry 11., 124, 
 chap. XX.. 137, cftup.xvi..l51, chap. xvi.. Ordinances concerning, 203. 
 
 Rivers, Baldwin de, 290. 
 
 , Keepers of, their evil customs to be abolished, 57, art. xxxix.. 
 
 84, 85, cfta/». xlviii.... Reserved for farther consideration, 116, cftup. 
 
 xlii Unlawful ones to be unfenced, 59, art. xlvii. .84, 85. cAa;). 
 
 xlvii..U5, c/iap.xxxviii. 
 
 Robin Hood, connection of with Matilda Fitz-Walter, 506, 507- 
 
 Roches, William de, his protection of Constance and Arthur of Bre- 
 tagne, 473. 
 
 Rockingham Forest, extension of, 346, 
 
 Roderic, King of Connaught, his treaty with Henry II., 462. 
 
 Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, 407. . . -. the Chancellor, 408. 
 
 Roppel, Robert de, 64, 65. 
 
 Rofi, Robert de, 144, 158, 306, one of the Baronial Securities to King 
 John's Great Charter, 30.. Biographical notices of, 298-300. ...De- 
 scription and Engraving of his Monumental Effigy, 299, 300. . . Arms, 
 Barony, and descendants of, 300. 
 
 , or Roos, Edmund, Eleanor, Isabel, Margaret, 300. 
 
 RotiiloTum Originalium, (1805,) 244. 
 
 Royal Library, Original Articles of Magna Charta in the, 420. 
 
 Rudborne, Thomas, his Historia Major jVintonienses, 541. 
 
 Rue, Abb6 de la, his account of poems by Cardinal Langton, o^'-Jv^^J^- 
 
 Ruffus, William, Farm paid by for the County of Buckingham, 207. 
 
 Ruiinemede, Surrey, Topographical notices of, 526. 
 
 Rupibus, Sir Peter de. Bishop of Winchester, 7, 17, 64, 65. 106, 14.*, 
 157, 302, 418, 429, 493, 524, 525. 
 
 Rushworth, John, his Historical Collections, (1721.) 244. 
 
 Russets, uniform breadth of ordered, 80, 81, chap. xxxv..ll3, chap. 
 xxviii. . 126, chap. xxxi. . 139, chap. xxv. . 153, chap. xxv. . . . Account 
 oflhe cloth so called, 217. ^ 
 
 Rymer, Thomas, his F<^dcra, (1816,) 116, 246. 247, 411, 444, 520 uotr, 
 b'^-SM various. 
 
 Sakesof London protected, 188. ^ ,„h cffitr 
 
 Salisbury Cathedral, Account and Engrmmg of the Tomb and btngy 
 
•V 
 
 iifvr-mrv^ 
 
 =^i,r'^trv^4 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 of William de Longesp^e in, 317, 318 Original Charter of Liber- 
 ties in the Archives of, 427, 530. 
 . Salisbui-y, William Cecil, Earl of, Forest fine of, 346. 
 3SaIup, County of, Warrant for perambulation of Forests in, 344- 
 ^Sancto-Mauro, Almeric, Master of the Knights-Templara in England, 
 64, 65, 493. 
 
 Sandford, Franci3, Lancaster Herald, his Genealogical History qf 
 £ngland,hy Samuel Stebbing, (1707,) 317. 
 
 Sansetun, Benedict de. Bishop of Rochester, 64, 65, 106, 143, 157, 429, 
 
 Savoy, Alice of, daughter of Duke Humbert 11., espoused to King 
 John, 462,492. 
 
 Saxons, Anglo, their method of preserving records, 385, 425. ... An- 
 cient Laws of the, 396, 399, 528 Historical notices of their Char- 
 ters, &c., 448 and note, 449. 
 
 Say, Geuffrey de, one of the Baronial Securities to King John's Great 
 
 Charter, 30. .. .Biographical notices of, 295 Arms borne by and 
 
 descendants of, ibid., 296. 
 
 , William de, 295, 296.... , Joan de, 296. 
 
 Say and Sele, Lord, hia descent from the preceding, 295, 296. 
 
 Scaccarium Judtzornm, 175. 
 
 Scales, ancient custom in suspending, 217, 218. 
 
 Scot, David le. Earl of Huntingdon, 283. 
 
 Scot'Jle, or Jle-Shots, in Forests, 332, diap. vii. . Explained, 356. 
 
 Scotland, treaty for giving up the Hostages of, 69, art. xlvi. .92, 93, 
 chap, lix Trial by Jury in, 223. 
 
 Scutage and Scutagium, to be imposed by the Common Council of 
 England, 55, art. xxxii. . 72, 73, chap, xii Reserved for farther con- 
 sideration, 116, cfta/). xlii. ... To be taken as in the time of Henry 
 IL, 129, cha/). xUv.. 142, chap. xxxvii..l56, chap, xxxvii.. .. Service 
 of, 179.. ..The terms explained, 261. 
 
 Seals, historical notices of the use of, 449, 450. 
 
 to Magna Charta, 325. 
 
 Securities, {See Debts,) not to answer for the King's debts until afier 
 the principal, 60, art. v. . 70, 71, chap. ix. , 109, chap. ix. . 122, chap, ix 
 . . 135, chap. viii. . 149, chap. viii. 
 
 Sees, Episcopal, how they are to be kept when vacant, 407. 
 
 Selden, John, quantity of a Knights* Fees mentioned by, 180. 
 
 Sentence, See Excommunication, 
 
 Seijeanty, Petty, Tenant in not to give the King property in the 
 Knights' fee of another lord, 54, ar(. xxvii. . 80, 81, chap, xxxvii.. 
 1 13, cJiap. XXX. . 126, chap, xxxiii. . 139, chap, xxvii. . 163, chap, xxvii. 
 
 Services, explanation of the term, 166, 
 
 Seymour, Charles, Duke of Somerset, his marriage into the Family of 
 Percy, 307. 
 
 Sharrington, Sir William, 436. 
 
 Shaw, Dr. George, liis remarks on the supposed venom of toads, 647. 
 
 Sherburn, the Abbot of, 143, 157- 
 
 Sheriffs, honeally to keep ward-lands entrusted to them, 66, 67, chap. 
 
 ir. .107, chap. iv. .120, chap. iv. . 13.S, c/iop. iv. . 147, cftap. iv Not 
 
 to hold Pleas of the Crown, 52, ar(.xiv..76, 77, cJiap.xxiv. . Ill, chap. 
 xix..l24, chap. xxi. . 137, chap. xvii. . 151, chap, xvii.. .. How they aie 
 
wvw 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 to proceed in recoveririg the King's debts, 52, an. xv. . 7G, 77, chap. I 
 xxvi.. Ill, chap. XX.. 124, c/i.a/).xxii.. 137* cTiap. xviii. . 161, chap, xviii j 
 
 ..174,210 Not to take a freeman's iiorses or carriages against? 
 
 his will, 53, arf. XX. .78, 79, chap. xxx. .112, chap. xxiii..l25, chap. 
 
 ■x-xv.ASS, chap. ^sx'i.. 152, chap, xxi Rate of payment to be made ' 
 
 by for taking them, 112, c^p. xxiii.. 126, chap. xxv. .138, chap, xxi 
 
 . . 152, chap, xxi Evil customs of to be abolished, 57, art. xxxix. , 
 
 84, 85, chap, xlviii To be made only of those who know and will 
 
 execute the law, 58, art. xlii,.84, 85, chap, xlv.. .To keep their Turn 
 in the Hundred only twice yearly, and take their ancient fees, 128, 
 chap. xlii.. 141, cAap.xxxv. . 155, chap, xxxv.. .. (Historical account, 
 &c. of their Tourn, 256, 256.). . . . The Citizens of London permitted 
 
 to elect one, 187 Of London, allowed to use maces, 189-... Their 
 
 name and office explained, 204... .Those who farmed the English 
 
 Counties so called, 207 Their connection witli County Courts, 
 
 254 To publish the Statutes and Charters at those Courts, 264, 
 
 384, 392. . . . Extortions of in holding their Courts restrained, 258. . .. 
 Unjust proceedings of abolished, 407. 
 
 Shield-penny, Aid of, 179. 
 
 Shire-gemote of the Saxons explained, 253, 264. 
 
 Signatures, historical particulars relating to, 448, 449, 4'jO, 
 
 Signs-Manual used by the English Sovereigns, 450. 
 
 Simon, Bishop of Worcester, 407 Simon of Swineshead, a Monk, 
 
 his supposed poisoning of King John, 491, 637-547. 
 
 Smith, Dr. Thomas, his Catalogue of the Cottonian Library, (1696,) 
 425. 
 
 Smithson, Sir Hugh, succeeds to the Dukedom of Northumberland, 
 307. 
 
 Socage, Tenant in, not to give the King properly in the Knights' fee 
 of another lord, 54, ar(. xxvii.. 80, 81, cftap, xxxvii..l]3, chap, xxx 
 
 ..126, cfto/'. xxxiii. . 139, c/iap. Kxvii. . 163, chap, xxvii Tenure of, 
 
 219 Town Socage, 220. 
 
 Socland, ancient Saxon Tenure of, 397* 
 
 Soil of a Forest explained, 340, 
 
 Soldiers, Foreign, to be sent out of the kingdom, 57, art. xli. .86, 87, 
 c/wp. li.. 530.. ..Ancient employment of in the English army, 246, 
 246 Dismissed from it by King John, 247. 
 
 Somerset, County of, charged for perambulation of Forests in it, 238, 
 343,631. 
 
 Somner, William, his DictionaTiumSaxonico-LatinO'Jnglicum, (1669,) 
 163. . His Treatise qf the Roman Ports and Forts in Kent, 192. 
 
 Southampton, County of, value of land in reduced by the great in- 
 crease of Forests, 339 Perambulation of the Forests of, 344- 
 
 Southwark, granted to London by Edward III., 189 Fair granted 
 
 to and other privileges of, ] 90 Fine paid by the men of for delay 
 
 in their cause against the Citizens of London, 230. 
 
 SDjted,_JohnLhis Theatre qf Great Britain, (1611,) 260, 318. 
 in their cause against the Citizens o 
 in their cause against the Citizens o 
 in their cause against the Citizens o 
 in their cause against the Citizens o 
 in their cause against the Citizens c 
 
 ^603 
 
i St. John, Robert de, Olivia, 296. 
 
 1 St. Lis, Simon de, 408.... , Maude de, 
 
 Lucy, Bishop of Winchester, &04. 
 St. Maria, William de, Bishop of London, 7, 64, 65, U9, 330, 417. 
 St. Paul's, Meeting of Ecclesiastics and Peers at, 12. 
 Stable-stand, in Forest law explained, 365. 
 Stamford, meeting of the English Barons at, 26. 
 Stanhope, Philip, Earl, 420. 
 Statute- Rolls rcfen-td to and described, 394 and note, 439, 440, 443, 
 
 447, 532, 533. 
 Statutes, See the names of the English Sovereigns. Statiitum de 
 Judaismo, 176. . Statute of Gloucester cited, 229, 395 note. . ; . Statute 
 
 qf Wales cited, 266, 351 Ancient manner of publishing, 264, 
 
 384 Statutes against the Charters to be amended or annulled, 
 
 375.. ..Ancient and modern printed editions of, 384, 441, 442, 445, 
 
 450-453 De Finibus Zeuafii, 390, 533 Of Articuli Super Chartas, 
 
 391, 533 Charters included in the printed editions of the, 394, 
 
 395 De Tallagio 7ion concendendOf historical and legal discussion 
 
 concerning, 440-442, 534.. ..Manner of writing, entitling, dividing, 
 language of, &c. 445-448, 
 Statutes at Large, by Owen Ruffhead, referred to, 170, 212, 213, 219, 
 
 220, 237, 258, 260, 266. 
 Statutes of the Realm cited, 178, 253, 395, 411,529-534 various.... 
 
 Account of that work, 452. 
 Stephen, Earl of Blois and King of England, 326. . . . His Confirma- 
 
 tion-Cliarter to London, 168 His accession and coronation-oath, 
 
 404, 405.. ..Description and translated copies of his Charters of 
 Liberties, 406-409, 529. 
 
 , Count of Chatillon, 517. 
 
 Stothard, Cliarles Alfred, his Monumental Effigies referred to, 282, 
 
 287, 300, 317. ... His Memoirs, (1823,) 282. 
 Stow, John, his Survey of London, by the Rev. J. Strype, (1754,) 187, 
 
 188, 192, 214, 510. 
 Strange, Eubolo Le, 303- 
 
 Strongbow, Richard, Earl of Pembroke, , Isabel, 2a5. 
 
 Strult, Joseph, his Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities, (1793,) 537. 
 Stukely, Dr. William, his account of Worcester Cathedral, and the 
 
 Tomb of King John, 550. 
 Stuteville, William de, 294. 
 
 Subsidies given to King Henry IIL for the Charters of Liberties, 38. 
 Suffield, Walter de, Bishop of Noiwich, 387. 
 
 Sullivan, Francis Stoughton, his Treatise on the Feudal Law and Com- 
 mentary on Magna Charta, 458. 
 Summons, to Assizes, to be to the parties and jurors only, 51, art. viii 
 To Forest Courts, 347 To Parliament, first sent to the En- 
 glish Commons, 194 Origin of for the Peers, 195... Of the greater 
 
 and lesser Barons, 196. 
 Surveyors, Court of erected, 174, 210. . ..Dissolved, 1/5. 
 Swanimote Court in Forests, its times of meeting appointed thrice 
 yearly, 532, chap, viii. . Account of. Sec., 359, 360, 361. .. . Derivation 
 of itt name, 361. 
 
 .,j^/> 
 
GENEHAL INDEX. 
 
 Swine in Forests, 333, chap, ix.. 350, 351.. . .Not to be seized by Fores 
 
 ters or Bedels, 332, chap. vii. 
 Swineshead, Abbey of, King John taken sick at, 4^.. ..Supposed 
 
 poisutiing of him there, 491, 637-547. 
 
 TaiUage, of London and other Cities, to be imposed by the Common 
 Council of England, 55, art. xxxii..72, 73, chap. xiii.. . . Levying of, 
 184, 185, 388. ,. . Signification of, 186. 
 Talbot, William, romantic anecdote of, 319. 
 
 ■ — -, Henry Fox, Esq. 436. 
 
 Talley of the Exchequer explained, 210 and note. " 
 
 Tasks and Taxes, extraordinary performed for wars, &c. not to be 
 made precedents, 371, chap. V..388. . ..None to be taken but by 
 common consent of the realm, 372, chap. vi..388. 
 Templars, Knights, House of the near Dover, King John resigns his 
 crown at, 21.. ..Tlieir liberties and free-customs preserved, 129, 
 cAop. xlvi..l42, chap, xxxvii.. 156, chap, xxxvii. .335, chap. xvi. 
 Temple Church, Monumental Effigies of Barons in the, 287, 299, 300, 
 
 , Inn, New, demands of the Barons at the, 24, 25. 
 
 , Inner, MSS. In the Library of the, 433, 531. 
 
 Tenants in Chief, (See Barons,) their nature and reliefs, 163. . . . Act 
 
 for abolishing, 165 Could not be taxed but by the Great Council, 
 
 186 Original members of that assembly, 195. ... Considerable in- 
 crease of, ibid., 196. 
 Tenants of Forests, when they should attend the Swanimote, &c. 
 
 330, chap. ii. . 332, chap. vii. . 347, 360, 361. 
 Tenement, (See Free Tenement.) 
 TenseritB, a military tax, 324. 
 Testa de Nevill, (1807,) 243. 
 Tewksbury , Chronicle of, 271. 
 Textns Rofensis, cited, 401, 629. 
 
 Thames, Wears to be destroyed in the, 63, art. xxiii. .80, 81, c^iop. 
 xxxiii.. 112, chap. xxvi. . 126, chap. xxix. . 138, chap, xxiii.. 153, chap. 
 xxiii..214. 
 Thomas, Abbot of Winchcombe, 143, 157- 
 
 , Dr. William, his Survey of the Cathedral of Worcester, 
 
 (1736,) 548. 
 Thornton, Abraham, Trial by Battel demanded by, 252. 
 Timber, not to be taken for the King's service from a freeman's estate 
 without his leave, 53, arr. xxi. .78, 79, c/mp. xxxi. . 112, cftap, xxiv. . 
 125, chap, xxvii. . 138, chap, xxi. . 152, chap. xxi. 
 Tiptoft, John de, Earl of Worcester, beheaded, 240. 
 Title, historical notices of the King's, 159, 327 Of those of the No- 
 bility, 163. 
 Toads, enquiry into their noxious qualities, 547. 
 
 Todd, Rev. Henry John, his edition of JohnsoTi's Dictionary, 279 
 
 His Catalogue of the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth Palace, 
 (1812,) 536, 537. 
 Todeni, William de, Baron of Belvoir, 303. 
 
 Tolls, (Afai« Tolneta, Toln€tum,Theolonium,) ev'il, or unjust, exactions 
 not to be imposed on merchants, Sec. 55, ur(.xxxi. .82, 83, chap. xli. 
 
 P^=^^ 
 
1^ 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 114, chap, xxxiv. . 127, chap, xxxvii.. 140, chap.'xxx... 164, chap. xxx.. 
 372, chap. vii. .Explanation of those Chapters, 233, 389. 
 
 Tbmtin, Sir Thomas Edlyn, his edition of Jacob's Law Dictionary 
 cited, 174, 179, 183, 186, 191, 193, 194, 197, 198, 203, 204, 205, 207, 240, 
 260,266. 
 
 Tottel, Richard, his editions of the Statutes and Magna Charta, 451, 
 
 .452. 
 
 Tourn, or Turn, historical account, &c. of the Sheriff's, 255, 266. 
 
 Tower of London resigned to the Barons as security for the observance 
 of Magna Charta,31, 102-104. 
 
 Towns, (See Cities,) not to be amerced for Bridges or River-banks 
 against ancient custom, 51, arf. xi..76, 77, chap. xxiii..lll, chap. 
 xviii, . 124, chap. xix.. 136, cliap. xv. . 151, chap. xv. 
 
 Town Socage, 220- 
 
 Townshend, Sir Roger, Marquess, descended from the Fami- 
 ly of Mandeville, 275. 
 
 Trail-bdton, Justices of, 392. 
 
 Transportation introduced into the English Law, 227. 
 
 Treasurer, Lord, his authority in the King's Hall, 197. 
 
 Trethings, to remain at the ancient farm, 76, 77, c/«jp. xxv. ...Divi- 
 sion of country so called, 207. 
 
 Trials, ancient English Laws concerning, 220, 221. .. . Wager of Law, 
 222.... Trial hy Jury, 223-226.. Trial by Peers, or equals, 228.... 
 
 Trial by Battel, 262 Abolition of ditto, 253 Anciently attended 
 
 with unjust expense and delay, 229, 230. 
 
 Tribute paid to the Pope for England and Ireland, 20. 
 
 Trinity College, Cambridge, MSS. in the Library of, 433, 631. 
 
 Trivet, Nicliolas, his Jnnales Regum Aiiglice, 441, 533.. . . His Historia 
 de Regit as Angliae, 541. 
 
 Troy, ancient custum of permitted to London, 187. 
 
 Trumpington, William de, Abbot of St. Albans, 143, 167. 
 
 Trusbut, Agatha, 303, 305. 
 
 Turn of Sheriffs, to be kept in the Hundred only twice in the year, 
 128, chap. xlii,.141, chap. xxxv. .156, chap.xxxv Historical ac- 
 count, &c. of, 255, 256, 
 
 Tynemouth, John of, notice of, 64S. 
 
 Tyrrell, James, his General History of England, (1698-1704,) 249, 252, 
 399, 402, 427, 430, 628-630 various. 
 
 Tythings, the English Counties divided into, 256 Officers of, 257... 
 
 Keeping the Ty thing explained, 267. 
 
 Valence, Aymerde, created Earl of Pembroke, 289. 
 
 Robert and Geoffrey 
 
 Valoines, Gunnora de, 506, 509, 510. . 
 
 de, 510. 
 Vautort, Reginald de, 106. 
 Vavasor, his degree and relief, 164. 
 Venison, penalties for killing, 5 note \ 6, 333, chap, x 
 
 336, cJiap. xvi. 
 Verderors in Forests, to be preeent at all the Swanimotes, :ind meet 
 
 every forty days, 332, cftap. viii To receive and register Forest 
 
 Pleas, 335, chap.xv'i Their office, 359. 
 
 .Pleas of, 
 
 Xt:-.^£3^ 
 
GBNEBAL INDEX 
 
 Verdict, derivation and account of the term, 225. 
 
 Vere, Robert de, Earl of Oxford, (See Ox/ord,) 102, 386, 408.... ^n- 
 graving of his Tomb, 18.. ..One of the Baronial Securities to King 
 John's Great Charier, 30. . .The first English Earl, 163... Biographi- 
 cal notices of, 281, 282 Engraving of his Monumental Effigy, 281 
 
 ..Figure of, and remarks un the shield of Arms borne by, ibid., 
 ..282. 
 
 , Albericde, notices of, 281,282,283.... , Diana, S 
 
 Roger de, 418. 
 
 Vernon, Joan, 625. 
 
 Fert in Forests, Pleas of, 335, chap, xvi Explained, 340. 
 
 Vesci, Eustace de, 102. . . . Attempt on his wife by King John, 16, 291 
 ....His conduct towards the Barons, ibid.. ^.Ona of the Baronial 
 
 Securities to King John's Great Charter, 30 Escapes to Scotland, 
 
 242 Biographical notices of him, 290-292. . ..Arms borne by, 292.. 
 
 . William de, 290.... , Warine de, 292.. ., , Mar- 
 gery de, 292. 
 
 Vetusta Momimenta, (1747,) view of the Court of Wards in the, 169 
 note. 
 
 Villein, his Amerciament to be according to his crime, 51 , art. ix. . 74, 
 75, chap. XX. . 1 10, chap. xv. . 123, chap. xvi. . 136, chap. xiv. , 160, ckap. 
 xiv. ...Degrees of Villeins in England, and extent of Amerciament 
 allowed on, 201. 
 
 Vipount, Robert de, 144, 158. 
 
 Viscount, title of first given, 163. 
 
 Vitrei, Alianmore de, 319. 
 
 Vives, the son of Aaron, 244. 
 
 Vivion, Hugh de, 307, 308. 
 
 Ulcote, Philip de, 298. 
 
 Umfranvile, Odonel de, ■■- — ■ Margery, .305. 
 
 Upcott, Mr. William, his Bibliographical Catalogue of English Topo- 
 graphy, (\8\8,) 192. 
 
 Urban H., Pope, his dispute with Henry I. concerning Investiture of 
 Prelates, 415. 
 
 ' '■■ III., Pope, gives the kingdom of Ireland to one of the sons of 
 Henry II., 462. 
 
 Usury, anciently unlawful, 175. . . . Statutes against, 176. 
 
 Wadwast, William, sent to Rome from Henry I., 416. 
 
 Wager C{f Law, Trial by, 221 , 222. . . . Obsolete, 223. 
 
 Ffaina^e, to be preserved in a Villein's Amerciament, 51, ur(. ix..7C, 
 
 77, cltap. XX. . 110, XV.. 123, chap. xvi. . 136, chap. xiv. . 160, chap. xiv. . 
 
 What is meant by, 201, 202. 
 Wales, Marches of, their situation and history, 264, 265. . . . Annexed 
 
 to the English crown, 266. . . . King John's victories in, 482. 
 Wallensis, John, Abbot of Malmesbury, 143, 157. 
 
 , Thomas, Bishop of St. David's, 387- 
 
 Wallingford, Berks, the Honour of, 56, art. xxxvi. .82,83, cfuip. xliii. . 
 
 114, chap. XXXV.. 127, c/iup. xxxviii..l40, chap. xxxi.. 164, chap, xxxi 
 
 ..Article of the Treaty of, 326. . ..Liberties confirmed at a National 
 
 Assembly at, 409. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Wallys, Hugo, Bishop of Lincoln, 7, 64, 65, 143, 167, 417, 429, 467- 
 
 Walsingham, Thomas of, 441, 532, 533. 
 
 Walter, Abbot of Cirencester, 143, 157. 
 
 , Archbishop of Roiien, 
 
 of Coventry, 315. 
 
 , Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, 264 His taxation of the 
 
 Clergy, 262 Assists in securing the kingdom to John, and crowns 
 
 him, 468. . . . His singular speech at the coronation, 469 Remarks 
 
 on it, 470, 471.... Made Chancellor, 471. ... His death, 498. 
 
 Wanley, Humphrey, his remarks on King .ffithelbald's Foundation 
 Charter of Croylaud, 448 note. 
 
 Waponlakes, to remain at the ancient farm, 76, 77, chap, xxv Divi- 
 sion of country so called, 207- 
 
 War, provisions for foreign merchants in lirae of, 82, Si!, chap.xh. . 
 J 14, cliap. xxxiv. . 127, chap, xxxvii. . 140, chap. xxx. . 154, chap. xxx. . 
 
 333 Restraint of coming into, and going out of the kingdom 
 
 during, 55, art. xxxiii..82, 83, chap, xlii (Reserved for farther 
 
 consideration, 116, chap. xUi Not to be maintained for the King 
 
 out of England, 388. 
 
 Warden, Lord, or Chief in Forests, hie office, .369. 
 
 of the Cinque Ports, 192. 
 
 Wardens of the lands of heirs, See Heirs and Wards. 
 
 Wards, to receive their estates without relief, 49, art. ii.. 66, 67, chap. 
 
 'ill.. 120, chap. iii.. 133, chap. iii..l47, chap, iii Their lands, &c. to 
 
 be honestly kept, 49, ar^. iii. .66, 67, chap.iv. .GS, 69, chap. v. . 107, 
 chap. iv. . 108, chap. v. . 120, cliap. iv, v. . 133, chap, iv, v.. 147, chap, iv, 
 T. ... To be married without disparagement, 50, art. iii. . 68, 69, chap. 
 vi. . 108, chap. vi. . 134, chap. vi. . 148, chap. vi. . . . Duties of the guar- 
 dians of, 165, 166, 402, chap. ix. 
 
 Wards and Liveries, Act for abolishing, 165, 169 Account of the 
 
 Court of, 168, 169....Ancient Viewof, 169, note. 
 
 Wardship, homage to precede a landlord's claim to, "[07, chap. iii.. 
 132, cftup. iii.. 147, chap. iii. ... Ecclesiastical, to be honestly kept, 
 and not sold, when vacant, 108, chap. v. . 121, chap. v. . 133, chap. v. . 
 
 148, chap.v Its nature and origin, 162, 166, 167, 169.. .Abolished, 
 
 166. 
 
 Warham, Ralph de, Bishop of Chichester, 143, 167. 
 
 Warner, Dr. John, Bishop of Rochester, 428. 
 
 Warren, William de, Earl of, 408, 525 Ancient Castle of the Earls 
 
 ofin England, 527. 
 
 .William Plantagenet, Earl of, 21, 64, 65, 143, 158, 286, 418, 527. 
 
 IVarren, animals of explained, 341. 
 
 Warrens in Forests, 333, chap. xii. .351. 
 
 Warreners and Warrens, evil customs of to be abolished, 57, art. 
 
 xxxix. .84, 85, chap, xlviii Reserved for farther consideration, 
 
 116, cAap. xlii. 
 
 Waste, explanation of the term, 116 On a Felon's land, 213.. . . In 
 
 Forests, 331, chap, iv Explained, 348, 349. 
 
 Waverley Abbey, Annals of, cited, 431 note b, 540. 
 
 Wax, ancient use of in England, 353. 
 
 Wealds, or Wolds, their signification, 338. 
 
GENERAL IKHEX. 
 
 Wears, to be destroyed in the Thames, Medway, &c. 53, ur(, xxiii. . 
 80, 81, chap, xxxiii.. 112, chap. xxvi.. 125, chap. xxix. . \t^, chap.xxui 
 153, chap. xxiii..214 
 
 Weavers, Guild of removed from London, 188. 
 
 Weever, John, his Funeral Monuments, (1631,) 282. 
 
 Weights, to be iinifovm throughout England, 52, arf.xii..80, 81, chap. 
 XXXV.. 113, c/ia/5. xxviii. . 126, cfta;). xxxi. . 139, c/ia/>. xxv. . 153, chap. 
 
 XXV. . .Ancient English standards nf, 216 Old custom concerning 
 
 scales, 217, 218 Numerous Statutes respecting, 218, 
 
 Wells Cathedral, ancient copy of the Sentence of Excommunication 
 against breakers of the Charters, in the Archives of, 386. 
 
 Welsh, unlawful dispossessions of the by Henry 11., Richard J., and 
 John, to be restored, 58, ar^. xliv. .90, 91, c/tap. Ivi, Ivii.. 115, cfta;). 
 
 xl..2(i3, 264 Prince and hostages of the to be given up, 58, art. 
 
 xlv. .92, 93, chap. Iviii. .242, 267, 482. 
 
 Wendover, Roger, notices of his Continuation of the History of Mat- 
 thew Paris, 262, 540. 
 
 Weregild, account and value of in the Saxon laws, 251. 
 
 Westlaiid, Theophania de, fine paid by for recovering her debt, 230. 
 
 Westminster, First Statute of, 183, 204, 205, 210, 261, 259. 
 
 Second ditto, 446. 
 
 Westminster, Matthew of, his Flores Historiarum cited, 5 note b, 317, 
 441, 478, 532, 541. 
 
 Westminster Abbey, Arms of BaroTiial benefactors in, 273,274,280, 
 
 295,300,318 Ancient Originals of Charters of Liberties in the 
 
 Archives of, 443, 633. 
 
 Westminster-Hall, solemn meeting at to ratify the Charters, 40, 386 
 Courts of Justice fixed there, 198. 
 
 Westmoreland, Mildmay Fane, Earl vf, Forest fine of, 346. 
 
 Whitby, the Abbot of, 143, 157. 
 
 Whitchurch, Reginald de, 243. 
 
 Whitelock, Bulstrode, his interference with the Judges, 2.'^1. 
 
 Whittaker, John, descriptive account of his edition o^ Magna Chartu, 
 ^c. printed in Letters of Gold, (1816-17,) 458-460. 
 
 Widows, to have their dower and marriage freely, 50, art. iv. .68, 69, 
 chap. vii.. 108, chap. vii. . 121, chap. vii.. 134, chap. vii. . 148, chap, vii 
 
 ..403, chap, vii, viii Not to be forced to marry;— to give security 
 
 not to marry without the consent of their landlords, 52, art. xvii. . 
 68, 69, chap. viii. . 109, chap. viii. . 132, chap. viii. . 134, chap. vii. . 149, 
 cAa/j. vii.. 403, chap, viii, .Their dower to be provided before any debts 
 
 to Jews, 56, ar(. xxxv, .70, 71, chap.x\ May remain in their late 
 
 husband's house forty days after his decease, 68, 69, chap. vii. . 108, 
 
 cftap. vii. . 121, chap. vii.. 134, chap. vii. .148, chap, vii Dwelling 
 
 to be provided for them if the husband's house be a castle, 109, 
 
 chap. vii..l21, cftap. v'li.. 134, chap. \u.. 148, chap, vii Provision 
 
 for them and their children inpayment of debts to the King, &c. 78, 
 79, chap. xxvi.. Ill, chap. xx. . 124, chap. xxii..l37, chap. xviii..l51, 
 
 cAop. xviii Their dower to be a third of the husband's lands if 
 
 not endowed with less, 121, chap. vii. . 134, chap. vii. . 148, chap. vii. . 
 Ancient Laws concerning their marriage, 171, 172, 173.. .Ditto abo- 
 lished, 174.. . Dower of, 178. . . . Privilege of Appeal belonging to, 250, 
 
y 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Wight, ThojTias, liis edition of the Statutes and Magna Charta, 452 
 f , Tale of. King John's retreat to the, ^7, 488, 
 
 Wikes, Thomas, his Chronicon, b43. 
 
 Wilkins, David, his Leges Anglo- Saxonicce, (1721,) cited, 164,398,402, ' 
 421, 445, 528, 529 various . 
 
 Willement, Mr. Thomas, his H lumiiiations to Magna Charta, 459, 
 WjLLiAM 1., King of England, effects of liis invasion of England, 1. . 
 
 Encloses the New Forest, 5,339 Severity of his Forest Laws, 5 
 
 note !>.... Laws of concerning Reliefs, 164. . .. His Charter of Liber- 
 ties to London, 187 Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of 
 
 the Cinque-Ports first made by, 192. ... King's Hall formed by, 197 
 His Demesne-City of Exeter, 206 Weights and measures or- 
 dered by, 216. .. . Norman judges and lawyers established by in Eng- 
 land, 239 Trial by Battel introduced into England by, 252 His 
 
 alterations in the King's and County Courts, 254. ... His conduct 
 towards the Ecclesiastical landholders of England, 260 His an- 
 cient system of laws ia form of a Charter, 398.. His dispossessions of 
 the Clergy, and subsequent disputes on the English Laws, ibid., 399 
 
 Ordains those of Edward the Confessor, 400 Forests made by 
 
 to be preserved, 407 Encourages the English Language, 446. .. . 
 
 Used a cross in signing his Charters, 449. 
 
 II., , title used in his Charters, 159 His- 
 torical notice of his reign, 400 Illegal Reliefs of taken away, 402, 
 
 chup.ui Dehts to remitted, 403, chap, xiii His Forests to be 
 
 preserved, 407. 
 
 Ill,,- — . 
 
 — , Franchises of London restored and es- 
 tablished under, 191, 192 Statute of regulating the return of Par- 
 
 ment, 194 Statute of abolishing the King's Aulnager, 216. 
 
 I., King uf Scotland, 280, 298. ... His treaty with King John, 
 
 267, 482. .. . His daughter Margaret, 291, 523, 524, 525. ... His daugh- 
 ter Isabel, 299 His claim to Northumberland and Cumberland, 
 
 , Bishop of Salisbury, 387. 
 
 William-Henry, His Royal Highness Prince, created Duke of Cla- 
 rence, 272. 
 William-Frederick, His Royal Highness Prince, created Duke of 
 
 Gloucester, 275. 
 Wills, ancient English Laws concerning, 403, chaj). xv, xvi. . 208-210 ; 
 
 Power of the Clergy in framing, 209. 
 Winchester, absolution of King John at, 11. 
 , Earldom of bought of King John, 276. . . . Descent and 
 
 present state of that title, 277, 2/8. 
 
 : measure ordered throughout England, 216. 
 
 Winchilsea, Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury, his fine to Edward I., 
 
 42.... His Sentence of Excommunication on the Confirmationes 
 
 Chartarum, 389, 390, 
 Wine, uniform measure of ordered in England, 51, art. xii..80, 81, 
 
 (.hap. Kxx7..\VS, chap, xxviii. . 126, cAaja. xxxi. , 139, chap. xxv. . 153, 
 
 chap. xxv. 
 Witnesses to ancient deeds and Charters, 327, 328, 408, 448-450, 
 Wodeatoke, Thomas de, Abbot of Croxton, 653. 
 
 £-*^S^ 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 I Wolaey, Cardinal Thomas, his death, 539. 
 •> Women, See Appeal, Widows. 
 Wood, not to be taken for the King's Castles, &c., against the owners^ 
 
 consent, 53, art, xxl. . 78, 79, chap. xxxi.. 112, chap. xxiv. . 125, eft. 
 
 xxvii.. 138, chap. xxi. . 152, chap. xxi... Seizing for purveyance, 213. -■ 
 Woods, {^ee Forests,) character and protection of in Forests, 331, cJiap. 
 
 IV. .340, 348 Of freemen, to be agisted by themselves, 333, cftap. 
 
 ix. . . . How they may be occupied, 35J , 
 Woodward, in Forests, office of, 368. 
 Wools, Maletout of, to be released, 372, chap. vii. . . . Account of the. 
 
 Worcester, Cathedral of. King John buried in the, 491, 539, 541 note, 
 
 543 Engravings of his Tomb and Effigy there, 496. . . . Account of 
 
 the Interment and Discovery of his Body there, 548-654 Enquiry 
 
 and conjectures as to the original place of his burial, 649-552. .. . 
 Tombs opened in search of the body, 552. . . . Discovery and descrip- 
 tion of it, 553, 654 Engraving of it i n the Tomb, 554. 
 
 Writ, signification of the term, 214, 215 Of Inquisition of Life, &c. 
 
 218 Form of, 219 See Im/msition, Pnxcipe. 
 
 Wulstan, St. Bishop of Worcester, his burial-place, in Worcester 
 Cathedral, 549,550,551. 
 
 Wykes, Henry, his editions of the Statutes and Magna Chartu, 452. 
 
 York Cathedral, ancient records in the Archives of, 431 and note *, 
 433, 434, 630, 531. 
 

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