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This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: NICHOLAS, NICHOLAS HARRIS TITLE: PUBLIC RECORDS PLACE: LONDON DATE: 1831 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT Master Negative # ?A'.^J.1L BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET Restrictions on Use: Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record p» ri'WiTirriTi-wriir fiin .942 AN543 , Nicolas, A/V Nicholas Harris, 1700-1848. Public records. A description of the contents, objects, nnd u f m IBnWt 3aecorti0. DOMESDAY BOOK ; SEtr LIBER CENSUALIS WILLIELMI PRIMI, REGIS ANGLIE. Domesday Book.^2 vols, folio, 1783. Addltamenta and Indtces.'^2 vols, folio, 1810. DOMESDAY BOOK/ which is the most ancient and one of the most important records in the Kingdom, affords highly valuable antiquarian and historical information. It contains the only authentic account of the state of property in England immediately after the Conquest; and was the Register from which judgment was to be given upon the value, tenure, and service of the lands described therein. Though the exact time when the Survey was commenced IS unknown, it is certain that it was finished in 1086. Blackstone upon the authority of a passage in the Saxon Chronicle thus explains the cause of its being undertaken : " We learn from the Saxon Chronicle th^^at in the nine- " teenth year of King William^s reign an invasion was *' apprehended from Denmark ; and the military constitution *^ of the Saxons being then laid aside, and no other intro- " duced in its stead, the kingdom was wholly defenceless : *' which occasioned the King to bring over a large army of 2 Normans and Bretons, who were quartered upon every "landowner, and greatly oppressed the people. This ' Domesday Book k also Icnown by the following designations :— ROTULUS WlNTONI^, SCRIPTUBA TlIESAUBI RegiS, LiBER DE WiNTONiA, and Liber Regis; and, according to Spelman, Libeh JuDiciARius, Censualis Angli^, Ancli^ Notitia et Lustrat^o, »nd RoTULus Regis. i ..i ]''H a u 2 DOMESDAY BOOK. " apparent weakness, together with the grievances occasioned by a foreign force, might co-operate with the King's remonstrances and the better incline the nobility to listen *' to his proposals for putting them in a posture of defence. " For, as soon as the danger was over, the King held a great " Council, to inquire into the state of the nation ; the imme- '' diate consequence of which was, the compiling of the " Great Survey called Domesday Book, which was finished " the next year ; and in the latter end of that very year the " King was attended by all his Nobility at Sarum, where all " the principal landowners submitted their lands to the yoke " of military tenure, became the King's vassals, and did " homage and fealty to his person. This seems to have " been the sera of formally introducing the feodal tenures by " law." The Survey was executed by certain Commissioners called the King's Justiciaries, probably with the assistance of some of the principal persons in each Shire, upon the oaths of the Sheriffs, Lords of Manors, Presbyters of Churches, Reeves of Hundreds, Bailiffs, and six villans of every village, who made the following inquiries: — " The name of the place; of " the person who held it in the time of King Edward the " Confessor ; who was the present possessor ; how many *< hides there were in the Manor ; how many carrucates " in demesne ; how many homagers ; how many villans ; *' how many cotarii ; how many servi ; what freemen ; " how many tenants in socage ; what quantity of wood ; ** how much meadow and pasture ; what mills and fish- " ponds ; how much added or taken away ; what was the •' gross value in King Edward's time ; what was the present " value ; and how much each freeman or sochman has or " had. All this was to be triply estimated : first as the " estate was held in the time of the Confessor ; then, as it " was bestowed by King William ; and thirdly, its value as " it stood at the formation of the Survey. The Jurors " were moreover to state whether any advance could be made " in the value." •*'^n '^ Introduction to " Domesday Book." DOMESDAY BOOK. s The following observation of the writer of the Saxon Chronicle proves the minuteness and fidelity with which the Inquisitors performed their task, and the indignation which was naturally felt on the subject. Anno 1085. " The King *' had a great Council and spoke very deeply with his Witan *^' concerning this land, how it was held and what were its ^" tenantry. He then sent his men over all England, into *^^ every shire, and caused them to ascertain how many 2 hundred hides of land it contained, and what lands the '' King possessed therein, what cattle there were in the "several counties, and how much revenue he ought to ^" receive yearly from each. He also caused them to write " down how much land belonged to his Archbishops, to his '^'^ Bishops, his Abbots, and his Earls, and that I may be "brief, what property every Inhabitant of all England ^^' possessed in land or in cattle, and how much money this " was worth. So very narrowly did he cause the Survey to " be made, that there was not a single hide nor a virgate of " land, nor (it is shameful to relate that which he thought " no shame to do) was there an ox or a cow, or a pig passed " by, that was not set down in the accounts, and then all " these writings were brought to him.'' It has been conjectured, however, that the Jurors in numerous instances framed returns of a more extensive nature than was absolutely required by the King's precept, and that it is on this account that there are different kinds of descriptions in different Counties. The following notices of the contents of the returns in Domesday Book are abridged from the " General Intro- duction" prefixed to the third volume, where a valuable account of the record is given, written by Mr. Henry Ellis, the present Principal Librarian of the British Museum. Persons,— The classes of persons mentioned in Domesday Book are Bishops, Abbots, Barons, Taini or Thanes, Vavassores, the Aloarii or tenants in allodium ; Milites^ which is sometimes used for a soldier or military servant, and sometimes for individuals of higher rank ; Liberi Homines, b2 ■>f I \i\ t^amma l\ 4 DOMESDAY BOOK. Signifying not merely the freemen or freeholders of a Manor, but occasionally including all the ranks previously men- tioned, and indeed all persons holding by military tenure ; SocHEMANNi OF SocmenJ, the inferior landowners who had lands in soc or franchise of a great Baron, being privileged villans, who, though their tenures were absolutely copy- hold, had an interest equal to a freehold; Rachenistres or Radafanni, tenants of a similar description to the Sochemanni; Villani, people whose tenure were held in villenage; Bordarii, who according to Lord Coke were Boors who held a little house with some land of husbandry bigger than a cottage, while other authorities consider that they were drudges, and performed vile services, reserved by the Lord on a poor little house and a small parcel of land, and others, again, that they were Cottagers. Coscets, who were apparently the same as the Cottarii and Cotmanni. BuREs or Burs, a term used synonymously with Coliberti, 'who are described by Coke as tenants in free soccage by free rent. Servi, supposed to be the pure villanes and •villans^ in gross, who were subject to the arbitrary pleasure of their lord, and appointed to perform servile works. Ancille, who were females very similarly circumstanced to the Servi. Censarii, or Censores, who were occupiers of land, and appear to have been free persons. Porcarii, who, although they appear to have been in some instances mere swine-herds, yet are generally mentioned as free- occupiers who rented the privilege of feeding pigs in the woodlands. Homines, which includes all sorts of feudatory tenants, who claimed the privilege of having their causes and persons tried only in the court of their lord. Angli and Anglici frequently occur among the under tenants holding in different capacities. Among the Offices attached to names are Falconers, Bowmen, " Biga,^' an officer wlio provided carriages for the King's use ; Chamberlains, Constables, Stewards, Foresters, Mechanics, Interpreters, Law-men or Lesser Thanes, " Latinarius,'' " Legatus," " Liberatores,'' " Marescal,'' ^' Medici," " Monitor," " Pincerna," " Rector navis Regis," DOMESDAY BOOK. s " Scutularius," "Stalre," " Stirman" or « Stiremannus Regis," "Thesaurarius," and "Venatores" of a higher descrip- tion. The trades and offices of an inferior kind are numerous ; but neither of them are remarkable, excepting, perhaps, the '^Joculator Regis" and " Jcculatrix," or minstrels. Among Ecclesiastical offices are "Capicerius ^Ecclesiae Wintoniae," the Sacrist ; and " Matricularius ^cclesiae, S. Johannis Cestriae." " Buzecarls" were Mariners, " Hos- pites" occupiers of Houses. Lands. — The four principal descriptions of lands are Terra or arable land, as distinct from wood, meadow, and common pasture ; Silva and Nemus, the usual terms for wood ; Pastura, Pasture ; and Pratum, Meadow ; Maresc,' Marsh or Fen land. Only four Forests, besides the New Forest in Hamp- shire, are alluded to, viz. Windsor Forest, the Forest of Gravelinges in Wiltshire, Wimburne in Dorsetshire, and Whichwood in Oxfordshire. There are no less than thirty- eight notices of Vineyards in different Counties. Mills and Salt Works' frequently occur. No notice is to be found of Tin, but Iron and Blomes, Masses and Plumbse of Iron are several times mentioned as rents. The only Lead Works alluded to were upon the King's demesne in Derbyshire. Land was measured by the Hide, Carrucate, Virgate, Bovata or Oxgang, the Ferding, the Acre, and the Perch, and in Kent by the Solin or Jugum. The Leuga, which seems to have consisted of 480 perches or twelve Quaran- teinis, and Quarenta, were most commonly applied to Wood Land. Fisheries form an important source of rent in the Survey,andconsistedchiefly of Eels, Herrings, and Salmon. The rent in Eels appears to have been sometimes paid numerically and sometimes by stiches or sticks, every stick having twenty-five. The Herring Fisheries occur in Kent and Sussex, once in Norfolk, and very numerously in Suffolk. Salmon are mentioned in the Survey, by name, but in few entries. The " Pisciniae," or " Vivaria," were stews or fish- f 4 n 6 DOMESDAY BOOK. pools, and the " Heiemaris'' was a sea hedge, now called a pitched net or choll net. Money. — The different computations of money in the Survey are by the Libra or Pound, the iVIark, the Ora, the Shilling, the Penny, the Halfpenny, the Farthing, and the Minuta. The Librae or Pounds appear to have been of three kinds, the "Libras ad numerum," the " Libras ad pensum/' and the " Librae ad ignem et ad pensum.'" The " Libra ad numerum'' was the pound of ready money made up not of shillings, but of Orae, and was valued at the rate of twenty pence to the Ora. The '' Librae albae,'' " de albo argento,'' "bianco," "candidse,'' "de albis denariis," " denariorum candidorum," "alborum " nummorum," et '* candidorum nummorum," appear to have been the same with the " Librae ad numerum," and were iralued at twenty pence to the Ora. The "Librae ad "pensum" were by weight. The "Librae ad ignem et ** pensam," " arsae et pensatae,'' or " ad pensam et arsuram/' formed the payment when the coins offered at the Exchequer were defective in fineness as well as in weight, in which case the Receivers either melted a sample of the money paid, or received sixpence or a shilling over every twenty in lieu of actual combustion. The half mark both of silver and gold occurs in numerous passages. Both the mark and the half mark were computations of money only ; and such also was the " ora," whatever it might have been in other parts of Europe. In many articles of bargain and sale it is used for the ounce, or twelfth part of the nummulary pound. The Shilling of the Domesday Survey, like the Pound, the Mark, and the Ora, was only money of account. The Saxon Shilling consisted of five pence : that of Domesday Book is always twelve pence. The Penny was the only coin known in England till long after the date of Domesday Book. In the Survey it is usually called Denarius : but in a few instances nummi occur for denarii. The Obolus or halfpenny, and the Ferding Ferdinc, Ferting or Quadrans, were literally frac- tions, or broken parts of the penny. The Minuta occurs once only. From the circumstance of its being mentioned DOMESDAY BOOK. 7 in Cheshire, it is suspected to have been the small copper coin used by the Northumbrian Kings, called the Styca. The Aurum Reginse or Queen Gold is thrice mentioned. MONEYERS AND THE LiBERTY OF CoiNAGE. In the Domesday Survey payments " de Moneta," for the privilege of coining, are mentioned at Pevensey, Lewes, Malmesbury, Bath, Taunton, Oxford, Gloucester, Roelent, Nottingham, and Thetford : and " Monetarii " occur at Lewes, Walling- ford, Dorchester in Dorsetshire, Bridport, Wareham, Shaftesbury, Oxford, Worcester, Hereford, Huntingdon, Leicester, Shrewsbury, Chester, Nottingham, Y^ork, Lin- coln, Colchester, Norwich, Tingohu, Sudbury, and Ipswich. " At Hereford there were seven moneyers, one of whom *' belonged to the Bishop. On a re-coinage the royal " moneyers paid twenty shillings to the King, and the " Bishop had the same sum from his moneyers. When " the King went there the moneyers were to make as many " pennies of the King's silver as he pleased. The seven moneyers had their own soc and sac. If any one of the King's moneyers died the King had twenty shillings for " a relief, and if he died without having disposed of his *' effects the King became possessed of his property. At " Shrewsbury the King had three moneyers, who after " they had purchased their dies like the other moneyers of " the country, on the fifteenth day gave each twenty shil- " lings to the King ; and this was done while the money " was coining. At Chester there were in the time of " Edward the Confessor seven moneyers. At Norwich the " Bishop was allowed a moneyer if he wished for one." Counties. — The greater subdivisions of the Shires or Counties in the Domesday Survey appear to have been Tredings or Ridings, Lests, Rapes, Wapentakes, Hundreds, Half Hundreds, and Half Lests. Cities and Burghs. — " The Services, Charges, and " Customs of the Cities and Burghs noticed in the Survey, " form a valuable illustration of the Saxon Laws. A com- " parison of the two shows in how small a degree the Nor- " mans interfered with the ancient institutions of the people.*" « lder than the 9th of " Edward II., and is, of course, discharged by its evidence *' from Tithe." " On the discharge of Abbey lands from tithes, as proved *» by Domesday, it may be proper to state, that Pope Paschal " the Second, at an early period, exempted generally all the DOMESDAY BOOK. 15 <^ religious from paying tithes of lands in their own hands. ^« This privilege was afterwards restrained to the four fa- " voured orders, the Cistercians, the Templars, the Hospi- " talers, and the Premonstratensians. So it continued till *' the fourth Council of Lateran in 1215, when the pri- *' vilege was again restrained to such lands as the Abbies " had at that time, and was declared not to extend to any " after-purchased lands : and it extends only to lands " ' dum propriis manibus coluntur." From the paucity of " dates in early documents, the Domesday Survey is very " frequently the only evidence which can be adduced, that " the lands claiming a discharge were vested in the Mo- " nastery before the year expressed in the Lateran " Council.'' Domesday Book was published in 1783 in two volumes, in consequence of an address from the House of Lords in 1767. In 1816 a volume of Indices was printed by the Record Commission, to which a very valuable " General Introduction" was prefixed. Those " Indices" consist first of an Index Locorum according to the order in which the Counties occur in the original : secondly, a general Index Locorum, with the nature of the land, the County, the Hundred or Wapentake, and the name of the possessor : thirdly, an Index Nominum of Tenants m capite ; and lastly, a general Index Rerum praecipuarum ; but, unfortunately, there is no General Inde.v Nominum. In 1816 another volume appeared, containing the Exon Domesday, the Inquisitio Eliensis, the Liber Winton, and the Boldon Book, which require to be separately described. ' ..11 i M PI, THE EXON DOMESDAY.— This record, which is preserved among the muniments of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, "presents a description of the Western parts of " the Kingdom, comprising the counties of Wilts, Dorset, " Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall ; and it is supposed, so " far as it extends, to contain an exact transcript of the " original Rolls or Returns made by the Conqueror's Com- I* I* 16 DOMESDAY BOOK. iC * Since the Peace numerous copies of the Hague edition have been imported. K THE FGEDERA. 3^ « <( «( <( it ii a it (( a Some Creations of Peerages will, however, be found on the Charter and Close Rolls. Copies of all Patents or Charters of Creadon of Peers, from the earliest on record to the end of the reign of Edward the Fourth, have been lately printed by command of the House of Lords, and form the Appendix to the Fifth Report of the Lords' Committees on the Dignity of a Peer of the Realm. « Report of the Select Committees on the State of the Public Records, 1001 p. 53. * l» CALENDAR OF THE PATENT ROLLS. 37 with the history or government of this country, or with the most distinguished personages of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, which is not illustrated by them ; and they yield only to the Clause or Close Rolls in the variety and importance of their contents. An explanation of the difference between the documents entered on the Patent, and those entered on the Close Rolls, may be useful. The King's Letters Patent were delivered open, having the Great Seal, from which they derive their legal existence, attached to the bottom. They are presumed to be of a public nature, addressed to all the King''s sub- jects ; and carry with them whatever extent of privilege, or power, or rank, or property, the Crown may think proper to bestow. The Close Rolls, on the contrary, are records of such instruments as were despatched closed, or sealed up, and were of a more private nature, being addressed to one or two individuals only, and were, in many cases, the autho- rity to the Chancellor for issuing the Letters Patent. To these documents the King's Privy Seal was attached : they were folded up and tied round with a piece of silk. In using the printed Calendar, it is particularly necessary to bear in mind the following observation, which is prefixed to it ; namely, that " it is only a Selection, and that various " entries appear on the Patent Rolls which are not here " described ; and therefore, although the work will be found " to afford abundant information, no one is to be deterred " from an examination of any record referred to elsewhere, " as being on the Patent Roll, because it is not to be dis- ** covered here.'' The cause of this fact may be thus explained. No per- fect Calendar to the Patent Rolls has yet been compiled ; and the printed volume was taken from a copy which was procured in the year 177^ by Mr. Astle, late Keeper of the Records in the Tower, for public use, but collated with two manuscripts in the Cottonian Library, marked Titus C. it. and C. III., which is supposed to have been compiled in the reign of James the First from the Records, by some clerk i |! i jk ^\mi g jif »- If» Ik t 38 CALENDAR OF THE PATENT ROLLS. who has selected from them what appeared to him most useful and interesting. ^ The volume contains copious Indexes, and will be found to comprise much information, as well for legal as for biogra- phical, antiquarian, and historical purposes. The work was ordered to be printed on the 22nd of July, 1800, and ap- peared in 1802. It was edited by the Rev. Samuel Ayscough and John Caley, Esq. The original price was 1/. 166\, now reduced to 15*. CALENDAR OF THE PATENT ROLLS. 39 SPECIMENS OF THE ENTRIES ON THE CALENDAR OF THE PATENT ROLLS. A*. 3 Joh.— Liberatio terrarum Willielmi de Warenna filii Comitia H. de Warenna. Juramentum pads factum inter Regem et Sanctum Regem Navarre apud Eugol. 5« Februarii, 120L A*. 16 Joh. — Compositio inter Regem et Baronea suos adversantes viz*, quod starent judido quatuor Baronum ex parte Regis, et quatuor Baronum ex parte Baronum electorum, et quod Papa erit superior in qua adversantes »unt coram Judices apud Mlndesor 10« IMaii. A». 19 Hen. III. — De navibus providendis pro transfretatione Isabella sororis Regis apud OrweU, die Lune in Crastino Pasche. Apud Hecham, 24" Martii. A«. 21 Hen. III.— Matriraonium inter Petrum fUium et heredem Petri de Brus et Hillariam primogenitam filiam Petri de Malolacu, ac matrimonium inter Petrum filium et heredem Petri de Malolacu et Johannam filiam predicti Petri de Brus primogenitam. A«. 29 Hen. III. -David filius Lewelini castrura Regis de Dissard obsessus est ; ad quod rescutiendum Rex destinavit mittere potentem et bellicosam gentem, apud Wodestoke 1 1 " Julii. Ad quod exerdtus Regis sit paratus apud Cestriani die Jovis in festo Sancte Margarete Virginia, &c. A". 48 Hen. Ill— Quod Alianora, uxor Edwardi primogeniti fiKi Regis, cum fiUa sua, ac omni familia sua indilate recedant a castro de Windesor. Apud Sanctum Paulum London, 18« Junii. Galfridus de Nevill, qui est de navigio Edwardi primogeniti Regis, captus fuit apud Lewes per Barones, et deliberatus pro Roberto Newington, nuper capto per Regem apud Northampton. A*. 9 Edw. I— Quod Johannes Gifford de Brymmesfeld possit fugare lupo« in omnibus forestis Regis infra. Regnum. * A*. 22 Edw. I. — De separatione inter Edwardum Comitem Comubie, et Mar- garetam uxorem ejus, in qua eadem Margareta coram Episcopo RofFensi coacta fuit vivere vitam coelibem. A». 18 Edw. III.— Exemplificatio cujusdam Judicii per breve de Quo War- ranto, per quod Rogerus Duckett tenet unum messuagium, &c. in Nottingham de Rege in capite per servitium suspendendi probatores et capiendi appellatosa probatoribus in comitatu Nottinghamie, et ad executionem brevium Regis faci- endam in eodem comitatu et ad debita Regis levandum in comitatu predicto per preceptum Vicecomitis ejusdem pro defectu aliorum ballivorum, et ad custodi- endum averia pro debitis Regis capta in Comitatu predicto antequam venditioni exponantur ac per servitium capiendi pro quolibet averio pro die et nocte unum denarium. A*. 31 Edw. III. Rex in auxilium pauperum prisonariorum en le Fleete concessit eis denarios vocatos Godspence coUecturos de certis custumis. A". 35 Edw. III. — Rex concessit Johanni de Sully, pro vita sua, in singulis forestis parcis chaceis, &c., infra Regnum semel per annum in seisona cum sibi placuerit unum tractatum de arcu suo, unum cursum cum leporariis suis, et unam sectam pro cane suo vocato Bercelette. A*». 3 Hen. IV. — De arrestando omnes personas in Comitatibus Cumber- landie et Westmorlandie qui divulgaverint Ricardum secundum vivum esse in Scocia, &c A«. 1 1 Hen. IV. — De cantaria fundanda infra Dominium de Albrighton Husce juxta Salopiam, in quodam campo vocato Halely field, in quo bellum inter Regem et Henricum de Percy et alios rebelles extitit, ubi Rex trium- phavit, &c *!i l^ j| Remarks prefixed to the printed Calendar, t I ] n CALENDARIUM ROTULORUM CHARTARUM, ET INQUISITIONUM AD QUOD DAMNUM. One Volume^ Folio, £ Calendar of the Rolls of Charters, and of the InquU sitions " Ad quod Damnum:' In their more important features the Charter RoUs differ little from the enrolments of the King^s Letters Patent. They consist of grants of privileges to cities, towns, cor- porations, and private trading companies or guilds ; grants of manors, lands, markets, fairs, free -warrens, fisheries, and other manorial rights to individuals ; concessions of privileges to religious houses ; in a few early instances copies of treaties with foreign princes ; and, after the 11th year of the reign of Edward the Second, of creations of nobihty. Charters, like Letters Patent, passed under the Great Seal ; and the principal distinction between a Charter and a Patent is, that the former was witnessed by such persons as were present when it was executed, whose testimony to its execution was necessary for its validity, and that the latter was executed by the King himself There is also a sUght variation in the address. A Charter usually com- mences in these words : " The King to all his Archbishops, « Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earis, Barons, Justices, Sheriffs, « Reeves, Ministers, and all his faithful subjects, greeting ;'' but a Patent commences thus : " The King to all to whom " these presents shall come, greeting/' Charters are some- times confirmed by Letters Patent. The Charter Rolls in the Tower of London begin in the first year of the reign of King John, 1199, and end with the reign of Edward the Fourth, 1483. After the accession of Richard the Second in 1377 few entries, comparatively speakmg, occur on the Charter Rolls ; and ten pages only ^^*. CALENDAR OF THE CHARTER ROLLS. 41 of the Calendar contain a notice of all which are granted in the reigns of Henry the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth, and Edward the Fourth. The Charter Rolls cease in the 12th Jac. I., 1614, and after that period all Charters are en- rolled, promiscuously with Patents, on the Patent Rolls, which are preserved in the Chapel ot the Rolls, Chancery Lane, At the end of the Calendar to the Charter Rolls is a calendar to the miscellaneous Charters and Confirmations of Liberties, from the reign of Henry the Third to that of Henry the Sixth. Although the exact purport of the different Charters cannot always be gleaned from the printed Calendar, it nevertheless affords much information with respect to lands and individuals ; and, notwithstanding that it was only in- tended as a reference to the records themselves, the purport of the instruments may sometimes be learned from the Calendar, subject of course to the chance of mistakes from the very brief manner in which the documents are abstracted. In using this volume it must be remembered, that the lands, liberties, or franchises, mentioned under each name, were then granted by the King to the respective parties. The Calendar to the Charter Rolls was ordered to be printed on the 24th of March, 1802, and appeared, under the editorship of John Caley, Esq., in 1803. It was printed from three manuscript volumes in the Tower, apparently compiled in the time of James the First. It may be convenient to state, that in 1772, Sir Joseph Ayloffe printed a quarto volume, entitled " A Calendar of '' the Ancient Charters, and of the Welsh ^ and Scotch " Rolls in the Tower of London. Calendars of all the " Treaties of Peace, &c. between England and Scotland, " Letters, and of other Documents connected with Scotland, " in the Chapter House at Westminster ; " to which were » The Welsh Rolls extend from the 4th to the 23rd of Edward the First, 1275-1295. '^ The Treaties, Letters, &c., which extend from the reign of Richard the First to that of Elizabeth, 1081) to 158U, are unportant to historians. Ml yi 42 CALENDAR OF THE CHARTER ROLLS. « added, Catalogues of the Records brought to Berwick from I' Edinburgh by King Edward the First, and the Transac- ^^Mions of the Parliament of Scotland from May, 1639, to « March, 1650; together with Memoranda concerning 'the 1^ Affairs of Ireland, extracted from the Records in the « Tower." 3 An introduction was prefixed, giving some account of the state of the public records from the Conquest to the time of the pubUcation of the work. The only parts of this useful volume that have been superseded by subse- quent publications are the Calendar of the Scotch Rolls, which RoUs have been printed at length by the Record Commission, and the Catalogue of Scotch Records which Edward the First removed from Edinburgh, which was re- pnnted with notes in Robertson's " Index," as wiU be pointed out in a subsequent page. The Ancient Charters in the Tower were granted by King William the Conqueror, Henry the First, Henry the Second, John and Henry the Third, and consist of grants of lands, hberties, and privileges. An Index Locorum is appended to the last of them. SPECIMENS OF THE CALENDAR OF THE CHARTER ROLLS. A^ 1 Job, — Galfridus »e Veeb, No. 218. Serjantia de Cadomo _ ***********'*"****••*•••••......«« FranciA. EccLEsiA DE Saham, 217.-Datur Domui Beate Marie de Pynn cum Capella de Bewen. A*. 1 Joh.P.L— CoNVENTio inter Regem Ano*i^ et CoMiTEM Flandri^. Treuga perpetua Flandri Rex Anglic et Comes BoLONi^. Treuga quod* 'nullus conim faciei Treugam cum Rege Francis. A". 37Hen.IIL— Henricus Apeldorefeld,65. Apel. dorefeld Mercatum et Feria , |^ . A-. 39 Hen. Ill — Compositio inter Electum Win- TONIE et BuRGENSEs WiNTONiE. De emptione v-ictualium &c., m nundmis, &c, in villa Suthamptonie gm^^^ JhTl!^T''°'''T^.' r"'"' "^ ^"'^' ^"' "^^^^^' "«*^^^ ^^'^'ords connected ri ^''°' "^^ ^^ '^ "'''• "• "^ '^' 7th of Edw. IV. -■. J^:'-.aW4||KW INQUISITIONES AD QUOD DAMNUM. 4$ A*. 43 Hen. III. Pars 1» Episcopus Exoniensis. Penrin Manerium mercatum et feria et libera Warenna in omnibus domi- nids terris suis, quas in present! habet in Episcopatu Cicestrie, Wintonie, et Exoniensi Comubia. A«. 26 Hen. III. — Bertramus de Criole — Croxton Manerium ) concessa eidem Bertram© et j Leicester. Lechton J heredibus suis \ • • • • Sussex. CALENDARIUM INQUISITIONUM AD aUOD DAMNUM. Calendar of the Inquisitions " Ad quod Damnum^* In the same volume with the Calendar of the Charter Rolls is a Calendar of the Inquisitiones ad quod Damnum, a judicial inquiry which still occasionally takes place, arising from the necessity of protecting the rights, property, or revenue of the Crown and of the subject from injury or en- croachment. This process occurred whenever a request was made to the King for licence to alienate lands in mortmain, or to hold a market or fair, or to possess any other peculiar privilege, in case a doubt existed whether the favor sought would not be to the detriment of the Crown or of some of its subjects. For example : by the alienation in mortmain of lands for which service was due to the Crown, and thereby depriving it of that service ; by the grant of a market or fair, or of a mill too near to a place where one already existed, so that its tolls might be affected ; or by the concession of any other new privilege which might interfere with vested rights, whether of a public or private nature. In these cases a writ was addressed to the King's Escheator in the county where the place was situated, commanding him to assemble a jury and to ascertain by their verdict whether it would be to the damage of the King or of others, if the privilege so- licited were to be granted : thence called Inquisitions " ad " quod Damnumr The Inquisitions to which this volume is a Calendar extend from the first year of the reign of Ed- \\ 44 i 'A INQUISITIONES AD QUOD DAMNUM. ward the Second, 1307, to the thirty-eighth year of that of Henry the Sixth, 1460. Though the result of the inquiry IS not to be gathered from this Calendar, for which the original record must be consulted, it is nevertheless of much utility ; for it generaUy proves that the parties mentioned were seised of the lands alluded to, and occasionally presents genealogical facts and curious Antiquarian and Historical information. The Calendar of the Inquisitiones Ad quod Damnum was ordered to be printed on the 24th of March, 1802, from a MS. prepared by Mr. Robert Lemon, late chief clerk in the Tower, and appeared in 1803. The original price of this volume was 2/., but the present price is 18*. SPECIMENS OF THE CALENDAR OF THE INQUISITIONES AD QUOD DAMNUM. Essex. Dorset. A^.lEdw. II. No. 1 — Abbas de CoGGEsHALE. Debet reparare pontem de Stratford, inter Branketree et Coggeshale. A®. 8 Edw. II. No. 181.— Abbas de Abbotsbuhy. Habet crassos pisces et orane wreccum maris apud Abbotsbuiy A". 1 Edw. Ill — Johannes Cavenatur. Compulsus fuit venire ad Castrum de Porcestre, et in eodem morari quousque viginti et quinque dolia vini pro municione Castri cepisset, &c.. . South. Baldwinus Damart, Mercator Flandri*. Navis ejus capta fuit per piratas juxta insulam Vectam et marinarii interfecti. A". 2 Edw. Ill — Henricus Comes Lancastrie et alii venerunt ad Civitatem Wintonie, non armati versus Novam Sarum, causa Parliamenti, et pacifice morabantur, &c A-. 4 Edw. Ill — RicARDus le Purser de Scocia. In quodam loco vocato Folecroft, juxta Nottingham, fuit insultus et vulneratus in capite usque cerebrum, unde obiit, per Ricardum filium Willielmi Bullok, et Ricardum fihum Simonis Bullok. A". 4 Edw. Ill — Johannes de Insula. Habeat custodiam maneriorum de Loughborough et Beau manor, devastatorum per guerram Wiltes. Nottingham. Leicester. PLACITORUM IN DOMO CAPITULAR! WESTMONASTERIENSI ASSERVATORUM ABBREVATIO TEMPORIBUS REGUM RIG. I., JOHANNIS, HEN. III., EDW. I. ET EDW. II. — One Vol. FoUo. An Abbreviation of the Pleas during the Reigns of King Richard /., John, Henry III.^ Edward /., and Ed^ ward II,y preserved in the Chapter House ^ Westminster. In variety and importance the contents of this volume are superior to those of most of the works published by the Record Commission, and it well merits a place in every His- torical, Legal, and Antiquarian Library. It consists of Pleadings before the Justices of the King's Bench, before the King and his Council, Pleadings remitted from the King's Bench to Parliament, together with some Petitions to that Assembly ; and, besides throwing light on the early Constitution of Parliament and the Concilium Regis, these Records abound in curious matter illustrative of the general History of the country, of the descent of landed property, and of the manners and state of society in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. An excellent *' Index Rerum,'' together with " Indices " Nominum et Locorum," afford a direct reference to the numerous subjects adverted to ; but, singular as it may appear, this very useful volume has, comparatively speak- ing, been but rarely consulted. Among the points on which information may be found are the following : ^ — Appeals of Murder and other Felonies, Assise, Attaint, Bridges and Sewers, Charters and Grants to Corporations, Concords and Fines in real actions. Enrolments of Deeds, Damages and Costs, Dictum de Kenilworth,^ Error, Fines, Gavelkind, * Introduction to the volume. ' Some valuable remarks on the " Dictum de Kenilworth," which was the award made by Commissioners appointed by Henry the Third after the battle of Evesham, for the good estate of the realm, and for the provision of certain disinterested persons, will be found in the " First Report of the Lords' Com- *< mittees on the Dignity of a Peer of the Realm."— P. 158, et seq. f 46 ABBREVIATION OF PLEAS. Heirs and the Proofs of their Age and Pedigrees, Historical Facts relative to the Rebellion and Insurrection under Simon de Montfort, the Despensers, Andrew de Harcla, Thomas Earl of Lancaster, and others ; as also to the battles of Lewes and Evesham, and the incursions of the Scots into Durham and Yorkshire ; Honours and Baronies, Judgment, Jurisdiction, Juries, Liberties and Privileges to Corporations, Towns, and Villages ; London, Customs of, and historical Facts relative to ; Measures of Land, Obsolete Words, Prac- tice of the Courts, Prerogative, Privilege of Courts, and Punishment for Contempts ; Quo Warranto, Records of the Kingdom, Statutes and Ordinances, Trial by Domesday, by the Roll of Winton, by Duel and by Ordeal, Writs of Right and other real actions. It is observed by Mr. Illingworth, the editor, in the Intro- duction to the volume, that " from the commencement of " these Pleadings in the reign of Richard the First to the " end of the reign of King John, the abstract has been " formed, for the most part, from Rolls of the Curia Regis ; ** but as it is difficult to decide now when the proceedings in " the Curia Regis finished, and the component branches of " that Court became distinct and permanently severed, the « whole of the work has therefore been printed under the " title of « Abbreviatio Placitorum."' During the reigns of " Edward the First and Second, far the greater part of the « abstract is collected from Rolls of Pleadings in the King s " Bench ; there are, however, numerous Pleadings before " the King in his Parliament at Westminster, before the *' King and his Council, before the King's Council, before " the King and his Lieutenants, before the King's Lieu- " tenants, before the Queen and the King's Council, before " the Archbishop of York and the King's Council, and '• before H. le Bygod, Justiciary of England ; as also from " the Pleas of the Army, and Pleas before the Justices " Itinerant and Justices of Assize." " The work was printed under the immediate direction, superintendance, and revision, of the Right Honorable George Rose, Keeper of the Records in the Chapter (C u ABBREVIATION OF PLEAS. 47 " House, Westminster, from abstracts of the before-men- « tioned Pleadings, made by Mr. Arthur Agard and other « Keepers of the Records during the reign of Queen Eliza- « beth." It was directed to be published on the 22nd of July, 1800, under an Order of the Board of Commissioners, « That the Calendars and Indexes to the Records of the « Court of King's Bench, from the 1st of Edward I. to the « 10th of Henry V., and of the Common Pleas, from the « 1st of Edward I. to the 18th of Edward I., and of the « Placita Exercitus, 24th of Edward I., preserved m the « Chapter House, Westminster, be printed." The latter part of the order has not, however, been executed. The price of the volume, which also contains three fac- simUe engravings of the Records, was originally \l. 16^., but is now 18*. SPECIMENS OF THE PLACITORUM ABBREVIATIO. ko 5 Joh.-Radulphus de Lutelhaie fugit, cum aliis malefactoribus utlagis ; . • A,.r^^ .,m kc ' et aula fecit se comitem uUagis gerat quos receptaverat m domo sua, ccc. , ec quia ici^n. o -o o caput lupinum de cetero. _ . ^ ,. i A- 9 Joh -Agnes, uxor Odonis MercatotU, appeHavit Galienam de aorcena, et ipsa liberata est per judicium fern. Et ideo Agnes remanet in m«ena. ?en,p. Joh-vLome, significavit quod inquisirit, &c, 1»od A'"«^"^ fiUus Ivonis, qui habuit uxorem Susannam, primogenitam ffl.am RoberU Fohot, St Wmidmo. filio Radulphi. in maritagio cum Albreda filia s«a med>«ate,n de Caldebir, et dicit, quod Gaufridu, Foliot frater predicte Susanne dedtt Bnano de Buterie terram de Buterle, pro cruce sua ferenda lerusolymam, &c. A" 26 Hen. Ill.-Preceptum fuit Vicecomiti, quod assumptis secum duo. decim discretis, et legalibu. militibus, et xn di«=retis et legaUbus mubenbu, in propria persona «:cederet ad Isoldam, que fmt uxor Hennc. de Turr. que iZ se dieit impregnantem de predicto Henrico ad exhered.UJ;onem I n,^n de Turn consanguLi ipsius Henrici, et ipsam Isoldam a pred.cus muher.bus coram predictis mUitibus videri et diHgenter tractari per ubera et per ventrem faceret J et si ipsam pregnantem invenissent diUgenter inquirerent de tempore quo ipsa conceperit, et de tempore quo cederent ipsam panturam. t I ' r 4i ABBREVIATION OF PLEAS. !i A". 20Edw. I — Ob quamplurimos excessus more hostili cum vexillo displicato per Gilbertum de Clare Comitem Gloucestrie et Herefordie, et homines suos de Morganuon iUatos contra Humfridum de Bohun, Comitem Herefordie et Essexie, et homines suos de Brekenocke, Dominus Rex assignavit Episcopum Eliensis, et alios commissionarios ad inquirend., &c. A". 22 Edw. I. — Johannes de Radewell querens, et Henricus filius Beatricis deforciens, in assisa pro uno messuagio, &c. in Radwell. Dictus Henricus invenitur esse natum per xi dies post xl septimanas, quod tempus xl est usitatum muHeribus pariendi. Ideo dictus Johannes recuperat terram suam et dampna ad xxx libras. Et deforciens summonitus fuit per nomen matris sue et non per nomen patris sui presupposititii qui esset Bartholomajus Radewell. Et in judicio reddito hoc pro lege dicitur quod ex quo dictus Bartholomaeus non habuit accessum ad predictam Beatricem per unum mensem ante mortem suam majus presuraitur dictum Henricum esse bastardum. A\ 33 Edw. 1 — Rogerus de Hecfham monstravit domino Regi quod cum esset Justiciarius ad querelam inter Mariam, que fuit uxor Willielmi, de Brewes querens, et Willielmum de Brewes, de octingentis marcis quas eadem Maria a prefato Willielmo exigebat, audiendam et terminandam, &c. et judi- cium per ipsum Rogerum contra predictura Willielmum pronunciatum esset. Idem Willielmus statim post pronunciationem judicii predicti contemptabiliter barram ascendit et ab ipso Rogero peciit verbis grossis et contemptibilibus si judicium ilium advocare vellet. Et postea eidem Rogero per medium domus Scaccarii versus dorainum Regem eunti verbis acerbioribus et grossioribus insultavit dicendo eidem sic. " Rogere, Rogere, modo habes voluntatem tuam " de hoc quod a multo tempore quesivisti : " cui idem Rogerus dixit.—** Et quid ** est hoc ad quod idem Willielmus pudorem meum et dampnum et ego hoc re- ** munerabo vel regraciar vel inde cogitabo." Et super hoc idem Willielmus coram ipso domino rege et consilio suo arrenatus, &c. cognoscitquod ipsa premissa fecit et dixit, &c. Que quidem contemptus et inobediencia tam ministris domini legis quam sibi iijsi aut curie sue facta ipsi Regi valde sunt odiosa et hoc ex- presse nuper apparuit cum idem Dominus Rex filium suum primogenitum et carissimum Edwardum principem Wallie pro eo quod quedam verba grossa et acerba cuidam ministro suo dixerat ab hospicio suo fere per dimidium anni amovit nee ipsum filium suum in conspectu suo venire permisit quousque dicto ministro de predicta transgressione satisfecerat, &c. Et quia, &c., per ipsum Dominum Regem et consilium suum concordatum est quod prefatus Willielmus discinctus m corpore, capite nudo, et tena deposita, eat a banco ipsius domini regis ubi placita tenentur in aula Westmonasteriensi, per medium aule predicte cum curia plena fuerit usque ad scaccarium et ibidem veniam petet a prefato Rogero, et gratum suum faciat de dedecore, et transgressione sua factis, et postea pro contemptu facto Domino Regi, et curie sue committatur Turn ibidem mora- tunim ad voluntatem domini Regis, &c. A«. 33 Edw. I — Thomas Capellanus de Edinburgh attachiatus quia excom- Wunicavit dominum Regem Anglie publice campanis, et candelis, et hoc con- cedit coram marescallo se fecisse in despectu Regis. Ideo ad voluntatem domini Regis. Et Ricus Gulley eo modo quia pulsavit campanam in despectu Regis. Postea delxberati sunt ad Archiepiscopum de lioues. per preceptum Regis. ABBREVIATION OF PLEAS. 49 A*. 17 Edw. II.— Stephanus de Segrave attachiatus fuit pro eo quod 6um dominus Rex commisisset illi custodiam Turris Londinensis, et prisonariorum ibidem existencium, &c., inter quos Rogerus de Mortuo Mari le neveu, qui pro seditione fuit convictus, et turn adjudicatus extra turrim predictam evasit, &c. Stephanus dicit evasionem dicti Rogeri non fuit per assensum suum, &c. ; set dicit quod ipse seductus fuit per quendam valectum suum in quo fiduciam habuit, et se confidit ut de seipso, et qui fuit de eonviria ipsius Rogeri ad pre- dictam evasionera faciendam, &c. qui quidam Rogerus et valectus quendam potum inter se fecerunt ingeniosum quem dederunt custodibus sub ipso Ste- phano infra turrim predictam bibere, occasione cujus potus iidem custodes talem dormitionem sumpserunt quod vigilias suas et custodias super ipsum Rogerum «cut debuerunt facere non potuerunt, dum predictus Rogerus, et similiter valectus «uus predictus cum eo extra turrim a custodia dicti Stephani evaserunt, &c. "f a % n E h ■mi l > ■ ■ ■ ■ Il l I! \ TESTA DE NEVILL; SIVK LIBER FEODORUM IN CURIA SCACCARII TEMP. HEN. III. ET EDW. I. Testa de Nevill ; or Book of Fees in the Court of Ewche- quer in the Time of Henry III. and Edward I. This volume, which was printed from two ancient Books, called the " Testa de Nevill,"^ or " Liber Feodorum,'"' m the office of the King^s Remembrancer of the Court of Ex- chequer, contains principally an account of " Fees holden " either immediately of the King, or of others who held of " the King in capite, and if alienated, whether the owners " were enfeoffed ab antiquo, or de novo ; as also Fees holden " in frank almoigne, with the values thereof respectively : " of Serjeanties holden of the King, distinguishing such as " were rented or alienated, with the values of the same : of " widows and heiresses of Tenants in Capite, whose mar- " riages were in the gift of the King, with the values of *' their lands : of churches in the gift of the King, and in " whose hands they were : of Escheats, as well of the lands *' of the Normans as of others, in whose hands the same were, and by what services holden : and of the amount of sums paid for scutage and aid, &c. by each Tenant.'*' " The Books appear to have been compiled towards the " close of the reign of Edward the Second, or the com- " mencement of that of Edward the Third, partly from *' Inquests taken on the presentments of Jurors of Hundreds *' before the Justices Itinerant, and partly from Inquisitions " upon Writs awarded to the Sheriffs for collecting of *' Scutages, Aids, &c.'' *' From what circumstance they have obtained the name " of ' Testa de Nevill ' is not ascertained : there are, how- ever, two persons, to either of whom they may be assign- able, viz. Ralph de Nevill, an Accountant in the Ex- chequer, and Collector of Aids in the reign of Henry the « €i «i CC « I" TESTA DE NEVILL. 51 «""^b-I>i^«nt quod Rogerus Maloysel Balhvus Walhngfordie cepit de Ada de Oxonia de Wycoumb unum par sotula. norum precu vj denariorum pro eo quod suo tempore non poneret eum in assisas. Item dicunt quod idem Rogerus in ultimo itinere Justiciariorum apud Wycoumb maliaose extorsit de Agnete Bordwad vj marcas dum fuit in prisona in hospicio Symonis de Hibernia et recognovit eciam multis horainibus quod tradidit medietatem dicto Simoni. Com. DEVON—Veredictum Hundredi de Wonford.^Rogenis de Pridiaus Vicecomes Devonie, cepit per Willielmum Bedellum de Halsford octo vaccas Roberti de Boxlond et fugavit ad Castrum Exoniensis et de Castro usque ad nuncbnas per proprio. servientes suos et ibi iUas veudiUit injuste ct sine judicio Lomitatus. ROTULI HUNDREDORUM. 75 BuBous DE BiDEFORD-Jurati iffius burgi dicunt quod Ricardus de Greyvill habet assisas panis et cervisie in burgo de Bideford per auod jarrantum nee quo tempore nesciunt. Item dicunt quod idem Ricardus habet foram m burgo de Bideford per diem Lune et nundinam in vigilU Sancte Margarete et m d.e per quod warrantum nee quo tempore nesciunu BuEous BE T.vEETOK._J„r«ti illius hundredi dicunt quod Amicia Comiussa Deyonie habet assisam panis et cerrisie fuicam tumbexeUum et piUonam quo warranto ignorant nisi nomme dotis. i t PLACITA dp: quo WARRAxXTO, TEMPORIBUS EDW. I. II. ET III. IN CURIA JIECEPT.E SCACCARII WESTM. ASSERVATA. One Vol Folio, 1818. The Pleas o/" Quo Warranto'''' in the Reigns of Edward 1. II. and III. preserved in the Court of Receipt of the Exchequer at Westminster. It was stated, in the notice of the " Hundred Rolls,'*'' that on King Edward the Firsts return from the Holy Land, he found that during the reign of his father, Henry the Third, the revenues of the Crown had been considerably diminished by tenants in capite alienating without licence, by persons withholding from the Crown its just rights, claiming the privilege of holding courts, and oppressing the people by pretending rights of free warren, free chase, &c. ; and that the measures adopted by the King to remedy these abuses gave rise to the Inquiries which form the " Hundred Rolls." The first Chapter of the Statute of Gloucester, which passed in the 6th Edw. I. relating to liberties, franchises, and Quo Warranto, is presumed to have been founded upon the inquiries under that Commission. Immediately after the passing of that statute, " the stated period of the " circuit in Eyre returned ; and on the Justices going their " Iter, Writs of Right and of Quo Warranto issued very " generally against such persons as claimed Manors, '* Liberties, &c., where the Jurors had previously said upon " oath before the Inquisitors, A^. 3 Edw. I, « nesciunt " Quo Warranto,' the parties held or claimed ; and again, " where they said the party held or claimed ' sine warranto," " in such case a writ sometimes issued ; but the party usually came in upon the general proclamation (directed by the statute) without any special writ of Quo Warranto. *' The entry in the former case being * A. B. summonitus " fuit ad respondendum domino Rcgi Quo Warranto,' &c. ; (( « PLACITA DE QUO WARRANTO. 75 ^ " and in the other, ' Presentatum fuit alias coram Inquisi- '^ toribus Domini Regis quod A. B. clamat, &c. sine " Warranto; "' *' The Judgments do not appear in all cases, the same " being sometimes adjourned * coram Rege," and at other " times ' coram Rege in Parliamento,"* &c. &c., and fre- " quently no Judgment whatever was given, the King's " Attorney not chusing further to prosecute his writ. It " may, however, be material to notice, that at the end of the " Pleadings in several counties are to be found ' Placita '* Forensica,'' or Pleadings in other counties ; and amongst *' these are not unfrequently cases wherein Judgments have ^' been adjourned from the county where originally tried " into another or foreign county, and there given." " It is also observable, that the titles to some of the Rolls " run thus :— ' Placita de Quo Warranto et Ragemannis,'' " the Justices being assigned by the King and his Council, " in pursuance of the Statute called ' Rageman,' said to have " been made A^. 4 Edw. I., to hear and determine all Com- " plaints of Injuries done throughout the Realm, within the " twenty-five years next before the feast of Saint Michael, «' in the fourth year of his reign. The proceedings in these " cases were by Indictment in what was termed the " ' Rageman,' and were chiefly against Sheriffs, Escheators, " Bailiffs, and other Officers, for extortions and oppressions " under colour of Law. These, however, form but a very " small portion of the Pleadings when compared with those " of the ' Placita de Quo Warranto.' " " The frequent reference in Courts of Law to the latter " Pleadings, in modern times, afford a strong proof of their *' great importance and utility, as not only the boundaries " of many free chases, free warrens, and fisheries, and the " allowance in eyre of various franchises and liberties, but " many royal charters, as well to ecclesiastical as to lay " corporations, not to be elsewhere found on record, are " very frequently set out at large therein ; the descents of " manors, advowsons, &c., from the earliest period, are " every where apparent ; many obscure passages and ob- \ ^fii (: 76 PLACITA DE QUO WARRANTO. iirl • i • i( (£ solete words in charters are repeatedly explained; and much learning illustrative of the laws and customs of the ** country, both useful and interesting to the Lawyer and *' the Antiquary, will be found dispersed throughout the « work." The Rolls are arranged under Counties ; and Cardigan in Wales, as well as the Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, is included ; but nothing occurs relative to the Palatinate of Durnam. A fac-simile of the manuscript is prefixed, and copious Indices Nominum et Locorum are appended to the volume. The original price of this work was 2L 12«. 6d.y now reduced to eighteen shillings. '■ ' CALENDARIUM INQUISITIONUM POST MORTEM, SIVE ESCAETAEUM. Four Vols. Folio. A Calendar of the Inquisitions ^^post Mortem,^'' or Escheats. During the prevalence of the feudal system the greater part of the lands in England was held either mediately or immediately of the Crown. On the death of each tenant in capite, a tax, called a " relief," was due to the King ; and before the heir could take possession, he was not only bound to pay it, but also to perform homage, after which ceremony livery of his inheritance was given him. In the cases, how- ever, where the heir was a minor, or the last tenant had been attainted of treason or felony, the lands in the former case escheated to the Crown, until the heir attained his majority, made proof of his age, and performed homage ; but, in the latter contingency, absolutely and for ever. In each County an officer was appointed, called the " Escheator,'''^ whose duty it was to seize into the King's * A history of the office of " Escheator " is a desideratum in antiquarian literature. Many notices for the purpose will be found on the Rolls of Fjarlia- ment and in the Statutes of the Realm. By Stat. 34 Edw. III. c. 13. it was provided that escheators should take their inquests, by creditable persons in good towns, openly and not privily. By Stat. 23 Hen. VI. c 16. they were compelled to hold their inquests within one month after receiving the King*8 writ of ** Diem clausit extremum." It is evident from these enact- ments, that the office had been much abused. Escheators were usually appointed during the King's pleasure ; though it was forbidden by Stat. 14 Edw. III. that any Escheator should continue in his office more than a year, and enacted that they should be chosen in the same manner as Sheriffs, namely, by the Chancellor, Treasurer, and Chief Baron of the Exchequer, with the assistance of the two Chief Justices, with a salary of 10/. per annum. A copy of the oath taken by them occurs in the Red Book of the Exchequer, and is printed in the First Report on the Public Records, p. 234-5, as well as in the authorised edition of the Statutes of the Realm, yoI. ir p. 249. X I 78 CALENDARIUM INQUISITIONUM. hands all lands held in capite of the Crown, on receiving a writ entitled a Writ " de diem clausit extremum," com- manding him to assemble a jury to inquire, 1 . Of what lands the party died seised. 2. By what rents or services the same were held. 3. Who was his next heir, and of what age the said heir then was. The inquest was taken on oath, and the verdict returned under the seals of the Jury, and upon that report the Crown acted. It is thus evident that Inquisitiones post Mortem, or, as they are sometimes incorrectly termed, " Escheats," contain valuable information connected with the descent of lands and families, and are of the first importance to topo- graphical writers, and for genealogical evidence. The earliest- Inquisitiones Post Mortem on record are of the reign of King Henry the Third, and they were continued until the Restoration of Charles the Second, when the Court of Wards and Liveries, which had been established by Statute 32 Hen. VIII. c. 15, to controul the abuses to which the system had given rise, was abolished. The printed Calendar refers only to the Inquisitions Post Mortem in the Tower, which end with the reign of Richard the Third, the subsequent Inquisitions being preserved in the Rolls Chapel. Vol. i. contains the Inquisitions from the reign of Henry the Third to the end of the reign of Edward the Second. Vol. ii. contains the Inquisitions in the reign of Edward the Third. Vol. iii. contains the Inquisitions in the reigns of Richard the Second and Henry the Fourth. 2 A very curious record, afFording similar information, about thirty years before any Inquisitions Post Mortem are preserved, has been recently published by Stacey Grimaldi, Esq., entitled " Rotulide Dominabus, et Pueris, et Puellis, *' de donatione Regis, in xii comitatibus de Itinere Hugonis de Morewich, et " aliis, anno 31 Hen. II. 1185." (4to. 1830, Pickering.) This roll is ex- tremely curious : it states the number of children of the parties mentioned, and their ages ; it gives a minute account of their landed property and farming- stock ; and affords many very interesting facts illustrative of the state of society in the twelfth century. . CALENDARIUM INQUISITIONUM. 79 Vol. iv. contains a list of the Inquisitions in the reigns of Richard the Fifth, Henry the Sixth, Edward the Fourth, and Richard the Third ; and an Appendix, with a list of a " large portion of the Inquisitions which are noted in the " preceding volumes as lost ; " as well as of " upwards of " three thousand other Inquisitions Post Mortem, in the " several reigns from King Henry the Third to James the " First, inclusive," which have been recently discovered. It is not generally known, that transcripts of the Inqui- sitions Post Mortem, from the reign of Edward the First to that of Charles the First, exist in the King's Remembrancer's Office in the Exchequer, which are in good preservation ; and that similar Inquisitions, which were taken by escheators, virtute officii, without writ or commission, are in the same repository. The volumes of the printed Calendar are chronologically arranged, and present the number of the Inquisition, the name of the party on whose death the Inquisition was taken, the names of all the lands mentioned therein, with generally a notice if the tenant was a felon or an idiot. To each volume copious Indices Locorum et Nominum are appended ; but, in using the Calendar, some caution is necessary, and the following hints may prevent mistakes. In many instances, and most commonly with respect to the " second numbers,"" notices occur of Inquisitions which were not Inquisitions post Mortem, but proceedings con- nected with alienation, or enfeoffment of lands to trustees, often for religious or charitable uses. It does not always follow that the lands mentioned were the property of the person to whom the Inquisition relates, though it is certain that they are mentioned therein ; for they may be lordships, of which he held only a trifling tenement, or to which he was bound to pay a customary rent. The Calendar was ordered to be printed on the 24th of March, 1802, and was taken, it is said, from " a transcript " of the Official Calendars, revised and corrected with the '' originals by Mr. Robert Lemon, Chief Clerk in the Tower." Vol. i. appeared in 1806; vol. ii. in 1807; vol. iii. in 1821 ; W 80 CALENDARIUM rNQUISITIONUM. and vol. iv. in 1828 ; and were edited by Messrs. Caley and Bay ley. The original price of vols. i. ii. and iii. was five guineas, and of vol. iv. 21., being, for the set, ^L 5s. The present price is, for vols. i. ii. and iii. 3/. 3^., and for vol. iv. 1/. 4«., or for the set, 4/. 7^?. Vols. ii. and iii. may be pur- chased separately. SPECIMEN OF THE CALENDAR OF THE INQUISITIONES POST MORTEM. :.] A*, 40 Hen. 3.~N». 7. Galfrid* Tregoz :— ' Bellingford maner*, Peverell honor, Redelesworth maner', N». 8. Joh'es de Dokington.— Salop 2 acr' dimid* .... N°. 9. Walterus Wodekok — Haghele 20 acr' terr' N". 10. JuLiAKA DE CuLTURA.— Orchardlegh terr' NO. 11. RoBERTusDE Petit brwe tantum.— Redford* tcir' NO. 12. Prior de Breutone.— Bri'eton hundr* terr*, &c. N". IJ. Rad*us Bryan.— Manherebrian maner' dimid' N". 14. Joh'es de Sancto Claro tenuit terr% &c DE HOKORE DE BotONYE IN COM. EsSEx'. A". 5 Edw. I. N".2. Joh'es filiusWill'Boydel. Cestr' com' 4 feod' Cestr'. A". 19 Edw. I. ^\ 9. Matilda uxor Will' i de Hardreshull, Saleby maner' extent' A*. 10 Edw. II. N'. 67. RoBERTus de Brus et Alia- nora uxor ejus postea nupt' Ric' le Wale ys— [various lands.] A". 12 Edw. II. N". 20. Rob'tus de Welle et Joh' A uxor essus et Ada et Joh'es fr'es Robti.— Wyber- ton maner* Norfolc'. Salop*. Suffolc'. Somerset'. Netting'. Somerset'. Hereford'. Lincoln'. I •« ••'•■•• •"«•< Lincoln'. I itit NONARUM IxXQUISITIONES IN CURIA SCACCARII TEMP. REGIS EDWARDI III. 0?ie Volume^ I8O7. The Inquisitions of the Ninths in the Time of King Ed^ ward the Third, in the Court of Exchequer. In the Parliament which met at Westminster on Wednesday next after Mid-Lent, in the Uth Edw. III., 29th of March, 1340, It was enacted, that in consideration of the " grants' 1^' releases, and pardons, of the chattels of Felons and " Fugitives, and many other things underwritten, which the " King had granted to the Prelates, Earls, Barons, and all " the Commons of his Realm, for the ease of them perpetu- " ally to endure, the said Prelates, Earls, Barons, and all " the Commons of the Realm, wilhngly of one assent and " good will, having regard to the will that the King their I' hege Lord hath towards them, and to the great Travailes ^" that he hath made and sustained, as well in his wars of " Scotland as against the parts of France and other places, " and to the good will which he hath to keep his realm, and " maintain his wars, and to purchase his rights : they have II granted to him the ninth Lamb, the ninth Fleece, and the 11 ninth Sheaf, to be taken by two years then next to come. 2 And of Cities and Boroughs the very ninth part of all II their goods and chattels, to be taken and levied by lawful " and reasonable tax by the same two years, in aid of the " good keeping of this Realm, as well by land as by sea, and II of his wars, as weU against the parts of Scotland, the parts " of France, Gascoyne, and elsewhere. And in right of " merchants foreign, which dwell not in the Cities nor " Boroughs, and also of other people that dwell in forests " and wastes, and all other that live not of their gain nor " store, by the good advice of them which shall be depr.t3d *' Taxers, shall be set lawfully at the value of the Fifteen, G !SR 'I I I NONARUM INQUISITIONES. *« without being unreasonably charged. And it is not the •« intent of the King, nor of other great men, nor the Com- " mons, that by this Grant, made to the King, of Fifteens, *' the poor boraile people, nor other that live of their bodily " travail, shall be comprised within the Tax of the said *' Fifteens, but shall be discharged by the advice of them " which be deputed Taxers, and of the great men which be " deputed Surveyors." ' By Statute 2, in the same year, it was provided that this grant should not be considered a precedent ; that no future aid should be granted, excepting by the common assent of the Peers and Commons in Parliament ; and that the pro- ceeds of this aid should be wholly expended on the safeguard of the realm, and in maintaining the wars of Scotland, France, and Gascony. " Assessors and Venditors were accordingly appointed for " every county in England, to assess and sell the ninth and " fifteenth, and three Commissions were issued, directed to " Assessors and Venditors named under the Great Seal by " the King and Council.'' " The execution of the first Commission was confined to " a few parishes only within a county, and within the assess- " ment and sale the ninth of the religious was included. " The second Commission was likewise imperfectly exe- « cuted : but it was done in a way different from the first, " by assessing and selling the ninth of the articles to be " levied according to the tax or valuation of churches, com- " pleted in 1292, 20 Edw. I., called ' Pope Nicolas's Tax- « ation.' '' " A third Commission was issued on the 26th of January, " 15 Edw. III., 1341, addressed to the Assessors and Ven- " ditors, whereby they were instructed to levy the ninth of " corn, wool, and lambs, in every parish, according to the " value upon which churches were taxed (this means Pope " Nicolas's Valor and Taxation), if the value of the Ninth " amounted to as much as the tax, and to levy more where • Stat. 1. c. 20. NONARUM INQUISITIONES. 83 " the true value of the Ninth should be found to exceed the " tax ; but should the value of the Ninth be less than the " tax, they were directed to levy only the true value of the ^" Ninth and to disregard the tax ; and to gain correct '' mformation of these facts, they were directed to take ^1 Inquisitions (the Records now published) upon the oath " of the parishioners in every parish.'' These records present the finding of the Juries, which were appointed in each parish, to determine the true value of the ninth of the corn, wool, and lambs ; and their Returns state the amount of the ancient tax of the Church, and the causes of the Ninth not amounting to the tax or value of the Church. When the Ninth did not exceed the tax it was attributed to other articles, such as Dos or Glebe of the Church, tythe of hay, and other tythes being included therem. If any Abbey, Priory, or other religious Corpora- tion, had property within any parish, the ninth arising from such property was estimated and returned. The principal utihty of these Rolls is in Tythe cases. The names of the Assessors and Venditors are prefixed to the volume. They usually consist of an Abbot or Prior, and three or four lay persons of the best families in each county. The volume was ordered to be printed in December, 1804, and appeared in I8O7. The original price was 2/. 2*., but it is now reduced to 186\ SPECIMENS OF THE INQUISITIONES NONARUM. Com. Berk. Fynchamsted.-Rogerus Est, Johannes atte Belle, Johannes atte Hawe, et Robertus le Marchaunt parochiani dicte viJle dicunt, &c. quod nona garbarum lanarum et agnorum ville antedicte, nihU se extendunt ultra extentam ecclesia, nee magis, nee minus, que quidam ecclesia se extendit ad vj marcas et dimidium. Item dicunt quod nuUi catallater. nee mercatores sunt Ibidem, sed omnes vivunt de terris et laboribus suis, &c. Com. Suth. Parochia de Bromdene.-Jur. dicunt, &c. quod nona gar. barum vellerum et agnorum predicte parochie valent anno xiiij". li. s. vj Ialling, in Kent, about the year 1536, with an annual fee of 53«. 4d., being then an Esquire; a fact which, however trifling, escaped the extensive researches of his biographer. Dr. Notu VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS. 89 the value of lands, provisions, and other commodities ; and the record presents a complete view of the value and de- scription of all Ecclesiastical property in the reign of Henry the Eighth. In a few cases Commissions for a similar pur- pose issued by Edward the Sixth and Queen Elizabeth occur. A " General Introduction" and "General Map"" will, it is said, be delivered with the last volume ; but neither is to be found in the fifth volume, which it must be inferred is the last, since all the Dioceses of England are now published, with ample Indexes. The omission of that Introduction is much to be regretted, for the accurate knowledge which the Editor must possess of the contents of the work which he superintended would doubtless enable him to point out the value of the " Valor Ecclesiasticus" for legal purposes, and the claims which it possesses to the notice of Antiquaries and Historians in a more satisfactory manner than can be done from casual inspection. Vol. i., published in 1810, contains the Dioceses of Can- terbury, Rochester, Bath and Wells, Bristol, Chichester, and London. Vol. ii., published in 1814, Winchester, Salisbury, Oxford, Exeter, and Gloucester. Vol. iii., published in 1817? Hereford, Coventry and Lichfield, Worcester, Norwich, and Ely. Vol. iv., published in 1821, Lincoln, Peterborough, Llandaff, St. David's, Bangor, and St. Asaph's. Vol. v., published in 1825, York, Chester, Carlisle, and Durham. In the Appendix to each volume a list of the Pecuhars in the respective Dioceses is given. The " Valor Ecclesias- " ticus'' also contains Maps of the Dioceses, marking the Ecclesiastical Divisions. Indices Capitum, Locorum, et Nominum, occur in each volume. The original record is deposited in the First Fruits'* Office, and was edited by Mr. Caley. It was first published at 12/. 10s., but the price is now reduced to 51. 9«. Volumes i., iii., iv., or v., may be purchased separately at 1/. 5s. each. I « 90 FALOR ECCLESIASTICUS. SPECIMENS OF THE VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS. HOSPITALE DOMUS Dei DoVOHR. Perpetual Charges by the Foundacon of the seid House. First for the sustenaunce of the poure people to the same House resortyng, amountyng yerely to ^q q Also on the daye of Seynt Pancre yerely for the soul of Hugh de Burgo one quarter of whete q g Also the same daye if it be flesshe day one oxe, and if it be fisshe daye two barrells of white heryng q oq Also in the daye of the anuncyacion of our ladye for the soule of Kyng Henry the thirde, like almes q 26 Also in the daye of Seynt Luke for the soule of Margarete, daughter of the seid Hughe, Uke almes as is expressed for her seid father, amountying yerely to q cq Also to be distributed in drink at every of the seid dayes as moche drink as shall susteyn the seid persones that the seid almes shall be distributed unto ^ « Also for the finding of two lampes in the seid Churche of Meason dieu burnyng contynually by foundacion o 10 Mersshe Scottes. Also paide yerely for mershe land scottes and waterying scottes for the defence of Romeney Mershe and saving of it agenst the see 20 Rents resolute. To oure sovereigne lorde the Kyng for blauncherent yerely 16 2 To the Castell of Devour for Castell warde oute of the maner of Pysyng every xxiv wykes v? which is by the yere o 10 6 Alsoto the Maire and CominaltyeofDovour for rent yerely.... 4 2 d. 8 8 CALENDARS Of the Proceedings in Chancery in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth ; to which are prefiwed, Eooamples of earlier Proceedings in that Court, namely^ from the Reign of Richard the Second to that of Queen Elizabeth inclusive. From the Originals in the Tower. — Two Volumes, Folio, Vol. /., 1827; Vol II., 1830. These Volumes contain Calendars stating the names of the Plaintiffs and Defendants, the object of each Suit, and the name and situation of the lands or tenements in dispute, with a slight account of the nature of the Claims in the Proceedings in the Court of Chancery during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 1558 to 1603, alphabetically arranged under the names of the Plaintiffs. This Calendar is useful to topographical writers: it affords much genealogical information ; and is of consider- able value for legal purposes. Prefixed to each volume are numerous specimens of Proceedings in Chancery from the 17th Ric. II., anno 1393, when they commenced, pursuant to the statute in that year, which enacted that " when the " suggestions of the Plaintiff were proved to be untrue, the *' Chancellor should be enabled to award costs and damages " to the defendant, according to his discretion."* Upon the utility of these proceedings with respect to the early history of the Court of Chancery, some observations are made in the preface to the first volume ; and, judging from the specimens there given of various Bills and Answers from the reign of Richard the Second to that of EHzabeth, these records are not exceeded by any that have been given * Stat 17 Ric. II. c. vi— " Item. Forasmuch as people be compelled to " come before the King's Council, or in the Chancery by Writs grounded upon *' untrue suggestions, that the Chancellor for the time being presently after that " such suggestions be duly found and proved, shall have power to ordain and " award damages, according to his discretion, to him which is so troubled *' unduly, as afore is said." \ 9e PROCEEDINGS IN CHANCERY. PROCEEDINGS IN CHANCERY. 93 a i< to the public in valuable illustrations of the state of Society at the periods to which they respectively refer; and they are likewise redundant in information relative to the descent of property, and in materials for Family history. " These specimens,'' it is said in the preface, " throw considerable light on the origin of the Court of Chancery, as a Court of equitable jurisdiction; and, whilst they " point out the variations that have taken place from time " to time in the course of proceeding in that Court, and " show under whose authority or administration those « alterations have been introduced, they afford also consi- " derable insight into the manners and customs of the times, " and the orthography and phraseology of the English lan- « guage when it first came into frequent use in Chancery and " diplomatic proceedings.*" " From these Proceedings it appears that the chief business of the Court of Chancery in those early times " did not arise from the introduction of uses of land, " according to the opinion of most early writers on the subject ; very few instances of applications to the Chan- " cellor on such grounds occurring among the proceedings " of the Chancery during the four or five first reigns after " the equitable jurisdiction of the Court seems to have been •• fully established. Most of these ancient petitions appear *' to have been presented in consequence of assaults and " trespasses, and a variety of outrages which were cognizable " at common law, but for which the party complaining was " unable to obtain redress, in consequence of the mainte- " nance or protection afforded to his adversary by some " powerful Barons, or by the Sheriff or other officer of the « County in which they occurred. The Petitions in the " reign of King Richard the Second are very numerous ; " they are all in the French language ; and, from some of " the few examples which are here introduced, it will be " seen that, even at that early period, the practice prevailed *« for the Plaintiff to find sureties to satisfy the defendant " for his costs and damages, in case he failed to prove the " matter contained in his Bill/^ u l I I n ,,:• 1 A CATALOGUE t)F THE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE COTTONIAN LIBRARY, DEPOSITED IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. One Vol. Folio, 1802. The manuscripts in the British Museum form the most im- portant materials for Historical literature in Europe ; and it is therefore highly desirable that the Catalogue of their contents should be extensively known. The three principal collections of Manuscripts deposited in the British Museum are those of Sir Robert Cotton, Robert Harley Earl of Oxford, and William first IVf arquess of Lansdowne, which are generally known as the Cottonian, Harleian, and Lansdowne Manuscripts. The other MSS. in the Museum are all styled the " Additional Manuscripts/' with the exception of a small collection formed by the late Francis Hargrave, Esq., which bear his name, and of which a Catalogue has been printed ; and an extensive collection, entitled Cole's Manuscripts, of which a MS. Catalogue is placed in the reading-room. The Additional Manuscripts, which have been chiefly acquired by purchase from various individuals, particularly from Sir Hans Sloane, and Dr. Birch, extend to above 7,000. Of that number a classed cata- logue of 5071 MSS. was compiled by the late Rev. Samuel Ayscough, and was printed in two quarto volumes in 1782. Of the remainder a manuscript Catalogue, extending from No. 4324, to No. 67I8, will be found in the Reading- Room, together with a MS. catalogue of the papers of the late Sir Andrew Mitchell, lately bought by the Museum. THE COTTONIAN MANUSCRIPTS were collected by Sir Robert Cotton, in the reigns of Elizabeth and James the First, and consist chiefly of ancient Chronicles, Biblical MSS., State Papers of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries ; Chartularies ; early copies of the Scriptures and of other works; transcripts of, and extracts from, Records; Col- lections relative to various Courts, Offices, &c., forming one COTTONIAN MANUSCRIPTS. 99 of the chief sources from which historians and writers on constitutional subjects, topographers, antiquaries, biogra- phers, and, in short, all persons interested in the literature or history of past ages have derived their materials. It is a remarkable fact, that the government twice took possession of Sir Robert Cotton's Library, on the pretence that the information it contained was too dangerous to be disseminated, or that he had allowed it to be used by the enemies of this country. On the last occasion the venerable founder declared, that " by locking his books up from him " they had broken his heart ; "" and he caused it to be sig. nified to the Privy Council, that their " detaining his books " from him, without rendering any reason for the same, had " been the cause of his mortal malady.'^ This great national benefactor died in May, 1631, without having recovered possession of his property ; and it was some time before it was delivered up to his only son, Sir Thomas Cotton, from whom the library descended to his son, Sir John Cotton. In 1700 a Statute passed for the better settling and pre- serving the Library kept in the House at Westminster, called Cotton House, in the name and family of the Cottons, for the benefit of the public. This act, after doing justice to Sir Robert Cotton, for forming a most valuable collection of manuscripts, papers, records, &c. " of great use and service " for the knowledge and preservation of our constitution in *' Church and State, and generally esteemed the best of its " kind now anywhere extant ;" and reciting that " the same '* had been carefully preserved, and much augmented and " enlarged by Sir Thomas the son, and Sir John the grand- " son of the said Sir Robert Cotton,'' declared, " that the " said John Cotton, in pursuance of the desire and intentions " of his father and grandfather, is content and willing that his " Mansion House and Library should continue in his family " and name, and that it be kept and preserved by the name " of the Cottonian Library, for public use and advantage.*" By Statute 5 Anne, c. 30, entitled " An Act for the better " securing her Majesty's purchase of Cotton House, in " Westminster;' in which, after stating that the Library, H 2 -np 100 COTTONIAN MANUSCRIPT& II ^ the Lord Chancellor, the Speaker of the House of Commons, or any other of the official Trustees will at once obtain redress. Upon a person^s receiving a ticket of admission, which endures for six months, and is renewable at the expiration of that term, he has only to present himself in the reading-room, and to write, upon pieces of paper kept for the purpose, the title of the printed book or the number of the MS. which he requires, signing the ticket with his name, and affixing the date. Withm a reason- able time the volume is brought to him, and he is permitted to make any extracts he pleases. He may obtain two or more books together, and change them as often as he thinks proper, writing for each in the manner just pointed out, the attendants taking them and bringing him others. At the entrance of the reading-room is placed a stand containing the various catalogues ; and, in case of difficulty, it is only requisite to state what is desired to the librarian in waiting, to ensure prompt and obliging attention. The Library is open from ten until four every day, excepting on Sundays, and for one week at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide ; excepting, also, on the 30th of January, Ash- Wednesday, Good Friday, the 5th of November, and any Fast or Thanks- giving-day. The following rules are the only ones which are necessary to be remembered : " Readers are allowed to take one or more extracts from " any printed book or manuscript ; but no whole or greater '* part of a manuscript is to be transcribed, without a par- " ticular leave from the Trustees. The transcribers are not " to lay the paper on which they write on any part of the " book or manuscript they are using ; nor are any tracings " allowed without particular permission of the Trustees. " No person is, on any pretence whatever, to write on any " part of a printed book or manuscript ; but if any one " should observe a defect therein, he is requested to signify " the same to the officer in waiting." Upon the regulation that no entire manuscript, or the greater part of one, is to be transcribed without leave of the Trustees, it is right to observe that this rule is no impedi- ment whatever to a student. The Trustees, with the most praiseworthy liberality, encourage the publication of manu- scripts, so that permission is rarely, if ever, denied ; and it 3)0 BRITISH MUSEUM. is seldom, indeed, that any remark is made upon the quantity that is copied. The Reading-room of the British Museum is, in truth, an establishment of which every Englishman has reason to be proud. It does honour to the country ; and, in the liber- ality of its regulations, as well as in the facility and continuity of access to its contents, it challenges a comparison with the public libraries of any other nation, and serves as a model by which all public institutions in Great Britain, containing materials for the illustration of British History, ought to be regulated ; but to most of which, however, it forms, alas ! a striking and melancholy contrast. REC ORD S OF SCOTLAND. •'■"•vMiliiHUlli THE ACTS OF THE PARLIAMENTS OF SCOTLAND. Vol II. to Vol. XL ^HE great importance of an authorized and authentic edition of the Acts of Parliament of Scotland is sufficiently manifest ; and, from the care and ability with which this edition has been prepared by Thomas Thomson, Esq., the Deputy Clerk Register, it possesses the strongest claims to the attention of those who are interested in the History and Antiquities of Scotland. The second volume commences with the Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland in the reign of King James the First, anno 1424. The eleventh and last volume terminates with the Session of 1707? immediately preceding the Union of the two Kingdoms, and in the Appendix to that Volume the proceedings of the Commissioners relative to that event, printed from authenticated copies preserved in the General Register House, are given. To the Acts of the Parliaments of each reign an Appendix has been annexed of certain Acts and Instruments which could not with propriety be blended in the preceding series ; but, in the chronological table of the contents of the volume, these articles are set down in the order of time, and the particular sources from which they have been derived are there specified. A chronological table of the contents, together with com- parative tables showing the Statutes contained in former editions, and included in the respective volumes of this edition, as well as Indices Nominum et Locorum, occur in each volume. The first volume, which is nearly ready for publication, will, it is believed, contain observations on the Parliamentary History of Scotland, with many illustrative Historical documents, and an account of the age, authority, and f I 114 ACTS RELATING TO SCOTLAND. contents of the several Manuscripts which have been used for collations, of which MSS. five plates, with fac-similes of the hand-writing, will be found in the second volume. The Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland were ordered to be published in December, I8O7, under the following order of the Record Commission : — " Resolved, that, in pursuance " of a plan proposed by Thomas Thomson, Esq., Deputy <' Clerk Register, the publication of the Parliamentary " Records of Scotland shall commence with the reign of King James I., and be carried on progressively ; and that it shall be divided into two separate series, — the Statutes " and all other Proceedings held in full Parliament to form ** one of these ; and the Judicial Proceedings in Civil " causes, held before Committees of different kinds, to form *' a separate series : the first of these to be printed as a " second volume, in order to leave room in the series of " volumes for the more ancient Parliamentary Proceedings " prior to the reign of King James the First/"* The original price of the ten volumes already published was 15/. 155., which is now reduced to 9/. u c< REGISTRUM MAGNI SIGILLI EEGUM SCOTORUM, iN ARCHIVIS PUBLICIS ASSERVATUM A. D. 1306—1424. One Vol. Folio, 1814. The Register of the Great Seal of the Kings of Scotland^ preserved amongst the Public Archives, a. d. 1306 to 1424. This volume contains copies of various Charters granted by the Kings of Scotland from the accession of Robert Bnice in 1306, to the return of James the First in 1424, consisting of grants of Dignities, Offices, Lands, Churches, Regalities, Fisheries, Liberties, Privileges, Rents, Annuities, &c., and was edited by Thomas Thomson, Esq., the Deputy Clerk Register of Scotland in 1814, pursuant to the recommenda- tion of the Deputy Keeper of the Records in the General Register House in Edinburgh, " that it would be highly " proper to print the twelve existing Rolls and the first " Book of Royal Charters, because the writing of those " Rolls and of that Book is much decayed ; " and in conse- quence of the recommendation of the Select Committee of the House of Commons, " that it might be expedient to " print the earliest of the Royal Charters of Scotland.'"' '* In the progress of this work,""* it is said in the preface, *' it has appeared to be expedient and proper to extend the '* measure beyond the limits originally prescribed, and to " give to the public a collection of select Royal Charters, " from the earliest period of authentic record to the Union " of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England in the year " 1707;' *' The nature and objects of this more enlarged collection *' of Charters, and the relation of the present volume to the *^ general design, may be sufficiently understood from the *' statement in the fourth Annual Report of the Deputy i2 n§ REGISTRUM MAGNI SIGILLI. REGISTRUM MAGNI SIGILLI. 117 I n '' Clerk Register of Scotland for the year 1810.'' That statement is remarkable for showing the lamentable devas- tation which has occurred in the Royal Charters of Scot- land. It appears that the Registers of the Great Seal of Scot- land were originally of great extent and importance, com- prehending, probably, a record of Grants from the time of Alexander the First, or David the First, to the death of Alexander the Third, i. e. from a. d. 1108, or 1125, to 1285. In the subsequent period, from " the accession of Robert " Bruce, in 1306, to the return of James I., in 1424, a part " of the record of Royal Charters, or, as it is technically " called, the Register of the Great Seal, has been pre- " served ; but that part plainly bears a small proportion to " what has been lost or destroyed within the last two hundred " years. Of about fifteen rolls, containing nearly seven " hundred Charters of Robert I., which were extant at the ** beginning of the seventeenth century, and of which official *< Calendars are preserved, there is now only one Roll to be found, containing ninety-four Charters, or somewhat less than one-seventh part of what were probably lost in the « removal of the Public Records to England in 1651. Even *< those fifteen Rolls can be considered as but the remains ** of a more extensive series of records ; for the great num- « ber of authentic Charters of Robert I. still preserved, of " which no entry is to be found in the official Calendars « above alluded to, leaves little room for doubt that many « other rolls of the Charters of that Sovereign had been « lost at a still earlier period. In the subsequent reign of « David II., the loss is httle less considerable. Of about " twenty-eight rolls of various magnitude, containing nearly " six hundred Charters of that King, of which official " Calendars are extant, not one has been saved ; but in a " Book, now called the First Book of the Great Seal, nearly " three hundred Charters of David II. are recorded. In ** the two succeeding reigns of Robert II. and Robert III., " and in the regency of the Dukes of Albany, the injuries ♦* which this record has suffered are comparatively smaller ; u €( " yet the number of existing original Charters, not entered " in that record, is such as to indicate its very imperfect " state. The same is equally true of the reigns of James I. " and James II., and even in that of James III. the " apparent defects are very considerable ; nor is it till about " the commencement of the sixteenth century that the series " of Registers of the Great Seal begin to be tolerably com- " plete.'' ** If the design of collecting and printing such Royal *' Charters of the Scottish Monarchs as can be recovered " from the archives of public bodies or private individuals ** should ever be carried into execution, this volume will *' form the first part of the second volume of the Select " Royal Charters of Scotland ; but in itself it is also a com- ** plete work, and as such, there have been here added to it *' very copious Indexes of the names of persons and of " places.'' It is material, in reference to the Royal Charters of Scotland, to allude to a quarto volume by William Robert- son, Esq., entitled, " An Index of many Records of Charters " granted by the different Sovereigns of Scotland between <« the Years 1309 and 1413, most of which Records have " been long missing," and published in 1798, because it notices many of the Charters granted within the period em- braced by the " Registrum Magni Sigilli," but which are no longer extant. That " Index" contains a copy of an Inven- tory which was compiled about the year 1629 of Charters granted by Robert I., David I., Robert II., Robert III., and Robert Duke of Albany, as Regent of Scotland, between 1309 and 1413. An Index Nominum is given for each reign, instead of one general Index of Names; but the Index Locorum is a general Index of all the places mentioned throughout the volume. Of this Catalogue it is observed in the preface, "On an " attentive examination, this Index was found to comprehend " twelve Rolls and one Book of Charters, which now exist, " and have always been kept with the other Public Records '* of Scotland. But besides these, it comprehends and m ■991 ■ese 'IH REGISTRUM MAGNI SIGILLI. ^ relates to a much greater number of Rolls and Books of ** Charters which are not now to be found in the Public " Records of Scotland. The number falling under this " description is no less than fifty-one Rolls of Royal « Charters, and three Books, consisting partly of Charters, •* |iartly of Decrees in Parliament.'** *' These fifty-one Rolls and three Books, together with *' two Rolls of Decrees in Parliament, though proved by " this Index to have been known and patent in 1629, have •* been mislaid or disappeared during so long a period, that ** neither the Editor, nor any person known to him, had any *' knowledge of their having ever existed, till he had access " to, and perused the Index which makes the subject of the ** present publication." " The fifty-one Rolls and three Books above mentioned " as not now existing in the Public Records of Scotland, " seem to have contained about 1845 Charters and 30 *' Decrees in Parliament, exclusive of the contents of the *« two Rolls of Decrees in Parliament, which do not appear ^^ to be particularly stated in the Index." Upon comparing the "Index'' with the " Registrum **- Magni Sigilli," it appears that none of the Charters men- tioned between page 1 and page 4 of the " Index " occur in tlie •* Registrum," the first Charter printed in the latter being the one thus described in line 5 from the bottom of page 4 of the '' Index,'' — " a Charter whilke cannot be read," which is followed by a Charter to James Lord of Douglas. The " Registrum" and " Index" then correspond until page 18 of the former, and page 9 of the latter, that is, to the Charter No. 94 of the Roll now marked I. of the Charters granted by Robert the First. Of the list of Charters in the " Index" from page 9 to page 70, containing notices of many hundred instruments, part of which were granted by Robert I., and part by his successor David II., not one occurs in the " Registrum,'^ and the enrolments of them are presumed to have perished. The next Charter which is printed in the " Registrum" is the Confirmation Charter to John dc Graham, dated in the REGISTRUM MAGNI SIGILLI. 119 23rd year of that monarch's reign, A^. 1361, which is men- tioned in page 7O of the " Index," and is printed at length in p. 21 of the « Registrum." The « Index" and " Regis- " trum" again correspond from those pages until page 98 of the former, and page 93 of the latter. The eight Charters mentioned in p. 99 of the " Index" do not appear to be in the " Registrum." The pages of the " Index" between p. 100 and p. 112 are occupied with an account of the contents of an ancient and valuable MS. found in the State Paper Office, and delivered to the Lord Clerk Register in November, 1793.^ At page 113 of the *' Index," the Catalogue of Charters is resumed, and the seven documents noticed therein seem to be those which are again noticed in p. 128 of the " Index," and are printed in pages 153, 154, and 155 of the " Regis- trum." Page 114 to page II7 of the " Index" correspond with the pages from p. 95 to p. Ill of the " Registrum." Page 118 to page 123 of the " Index" correspond with the pages from p. 127 to p. 152 of the " Registrum." Page 123 to page 125 of the " Index" correspond with the pages from p. 161 to p. I67 of the " Registrum." Page 125 to page 126 of the " Index" correspond with the pages from p. 177 to p. 180 of the "Registrum." Pages 126, 127 of the "Index" correspond with p. 183 to p. 191 of the "Registrum." Page 128 to page 129 of the " Index" correspond with the pages from p. 153 to p. 160 of the " Registrum." Page 130 to page 132 of the " Index" correspond with the pages from p. 119 to p. 128 of the "Registrum." Page 132 to page 134 of the " Index" correspond with the pages from p. 169 to p. 176 of the " Registrum." Page 134 to page 136 of the " Index" correspond with the pages from p. 113 to p. 117 of the "Registrum." The two hundred and ninety-seven Charters noticed from page 137 ^o page 150 of ' See preface, p. iv. and v. The documents in this MS. are said to be " the ** most ancient book of Scottish record now known to exist," and consist " chiefly <' of Papal Bulls, Treaties, Commissions, Proceedings of divers Parliaments, and *' other documents illustrative of the History of Scotland in the 13th and 14th " centuries." 120 RECnSTRtJM MAGNI SIGILLI. I the " Index" do not appear to be printed in the " Regis- *' trum,"'* and are presumed to be lost. Page 150 to page 158 of the " Index*" correspond with the pages from p. 193 to p. 214 of the " Registrum." The fourteen Charters noticed from page 159 to page 160 of the " Index" are not in the " Registrum." Page 161 to the end of the " Index" cor- respond with page 217 to the end of the " Registrum." It must be evident, from the preceding statement, that the utility of Robertson'^s " Index," in reference to the Royal Charters of Scotland between 1306 and 1424 is very great; but it has also other claims to attention. The Introduction to the volume presents much information on the records of that Kingdom,- and contains — I. A copy of the Catalogue of the Muniments removed from Edinburgh by King Edward the First, in 1292, when he undertook to decide upon the claims of the Competitors for the Scottish Crown.^ II. A Catalogue of the Records which were delivered by King Edward to Alexander Baliol, the Chamberlain of Scot- land, after he had pronounced his decision in favour of Edward Baliol.^ III. Copies^ of Schedules of Bulls, Charters, and other Muniments found in the Treasury of the King of Scots, at Edinburgh, 20 Edw. I., of which records Edward the First obtained possession in September, 1296. Upon these docu- ments many valuable remarks occur, which are inserted as " Notes," ^ together with some " Observations on the Act of ** Settlement of the Crown of Scotland in the first Year of " the Reign of Robert the Second, 1371." In a notice of works relative to the Royal Charters of Scotland, it is impossible to omit the " Diplomata Scotiae,"'' ' See particularly the postscript to p. xlvi. and p. liii. ' Introduction, p. x. to p. xiii. * Ibid. p. xiv. to p. xvii. ^ Ibid. p. xviii. to p. xxv. ^ Ibid. p. xxviii. to p. xli. ^ Sdectus Diplomatum et Numismatum Scotis Thesaurus, in duas partes distributus; prior Syllogen complectitur veterum Diplomatum sive Chartarum Regum et Procerum Scotiae, una cum eorum Sigillis, a Duncano II. ad Jacobum I. id est ab anno 1094 ad 1412. Adjuncta sunt reliquorum Scotis et Magnae Britannia; Regum Sigilla, a praedicto Jacobo I. ad nuperam duorum REGISTRUM MAGNI SIGILLI. 121 which is alluded to in the preface to the " Registrum Magni " Sigilli Regum Scotorum." This splendid volume was pre- pared, at the expense of the Parliament of Scotland, by James Anderson, a writer to the Signet, of whose learning and indefatigable industry several imperishable monuments remain.® As Anderson did not live to witness the publication of the " Diplomata Scotiae," which appeared in 1739, the preface to it was written in Latin by Thomas Ruddiman, of which a translation, with notes, was printed in 12mo. in 1783. The '* Diplomata Scotiae" contain — I. Fac-simile engravings of numerous Charters granted by the Kings, or other illustrious persons in Scotland, from the reign of Duncan the Second, in 1094, to 1412, with beau- tiful engravings of the seals attached thereto ; together with one Charter of Mary Queen of Scots, and of her husband, Francis the First. II. Engravings of the Great Seals of the Scottish Monarchs, from James I. to Queen Anne. III. Plates explanatory of the hand-writing of, and abbreviations which occur in, early records. Regnorum in unum, anno 1707? coalitionem; item Characteres et Abbreviatura in antiquis codicibus MSS. instrumentisque usitatae. Posterior continet Numis- mata tarn aurea quam argentea singulorum Scotiae Regum, ab Alexandro I. ad supra dictam regnorum coalitionem perpetua serie deducta ; subnexis quae reperiri poterant eorundem Regum Symbolis Heroicis. Omnia summo artificio ad Pro- totyporum similitudinem tabulis aeneis expressa; adjectis singulorum Diplo- matum, recentiore scripturaB forma, aeri itidem incisis exemplis. Ex mandato Parliamenti Scotici collegit, digessit, et tantum non perficienda curavit egregius ac patriarum antiquitatum calentissimus vir Jacobus Andersonus Scriba Regius. Quae operi consummando deerant supplevit, et praefatione tabularum explica- tione, aliisque appendicibus, rem Scotias diploma ticam, nummariam et genealo- gicam baud parum illustrantibus auxit et locupletavit Thomas Ruddimannus, A. M. Suppedidante sumptus clarissimo viro Thoma Patersono Armigero. Edinburgh, 1739. 8 Anderson, besides various other works, compiled that most laborious and useful volume entitled " Royal Genealogies, or the Genealogical Tables of *' Emperors, Kings, Princes, from Adam to these Times,*' folio, 1732. For his Essay showing that the Crown and Kingdom of Scotland is imperial and in- dependent," he received the thanks of the Parliament of Scotland, and was voted a pecuniary reward. (( C( i 1 122 REGISTRUM MAGNI SIGILLI. l^ IV. Plates of the Coins of the Kings of Scotland, from Robert the Third to Queen Anne. V. Plates of the " Symbola Heroica Regum Scotiae/'' or Medals of the Sovereigns of Scotland. The preface, which consists of 126 folio pages, contain* much information on the Records and History of Scotland, the nature of Charters, and on the usage of Seals. The dissertation on the coins of that country is likewise very valuable. The " Registrum Magni Sigilli" was published at 2/., but the price is now reduced to 15^. ROTULI SCOTIA, IN TUREI LONDINENSI, ET IN DOMO CAPITULAEI WESTMONASTERIENSI ASSERVATI. Two Vols. Folio, The Scotch Rolls^ preserved in the Tower of London^ and in the Chapter House, Westminster. The Scotch Rolls consist of documents which arose from the public affairs between this country and Scotland for nearly three centuries, namely, from June, 19 Edward I., 1291, to May, 8 Henry VIII., 1566, and afford important historical, biographical, and antiquarian information. These Records have been thus classed in the Introduction to the second volume. I. Political transactions of the reign of Edward THE First. — This class of documents relates to the disputed succession to the Crown of Scotland, on the death of Mar- garet of Norway ; to the claims of King Edward as superior Lord of Scotland ; and to the contest between Baliol, Bruce, and other competitors for the Scottish throne ; the attempts of the King, and many of his successors, to conquer Scot- land ; safe Conducts to Ambassadors; Negotiations and Treaties of Peace ; Truces ; Precepts to the Lords Marchers respecting the keeping of the Marches ; and orders to other persons for the same purpose. II. Naval and Military transactions. — The records in this department comprise. Preparations for War with Scotland; Precepts to the Lords Marchers, and to the Sheriffs of Counties, for levying Men ; Orders concerning their Pay and Provision ; Instructions to Officers ; Orders for garrisoning, fortifying, and victualling Castles; Ex- emptions in favour of particular persons from serving in the Wars, or in Garrisons ; Impressment of Ships and Seamen for various Expeditions, together with notices of the par- 194 ROTULI SCOTIiE. ROTULI SCOTIiE. 125 ticular classes of soldiers employed, and of their arms and other equipments. III. The proceedings relative to Prisoners of War in- clude Negociations for ransoming them ; Licences and Safe Conducts to the families and agents of Prisoners of War, to pass and repass ; Especial Negociations for the ransom of David Bruce, King of Scotland, and Acquittancies for the same. IV. Rewards to Partisans. — This class of instruments comprehends Grants of Estates, &c., generally to persons in Scotland, who had rendered essential aid to the Kings of England in their claims to the Crown of Scotland. V. Attainders of persons for having acted against Ed- ward the First or his successors, and grants of Pardon to them. VI. Revenue. — Under this head are contained Orders for raising Money by various means ; particularly by Cus- toms to be levied on merchandise, especially at Berwick, the grants and orders concerning which are exceedingly nu- merous. VII. Trade. — In this class are comprised Licences to Scottish merchants to trade in certain Enghsh ports, and to English and Scottish merchants to trade with Foreign ports. VIII. Ecclesiastical Documents. — These include Grants of Benefices ; Licences and Safe Conducts to per- sons going on pilgrimages to reputed Holy places in Palestine and elsewhere. IX. The Miscellaneous Papers which cannot, with propriety, be referred to any of the preceding classes, consist of materials for forming lists of State Officers ; Licences to particular persons to fight Duels in Scotland ; Licences to Students in Scotland to prosecute their studies in England, particularly at Oxford and Cambridge ; Grants of Wardships, &c. &c. " These important national documents may,"" it was justly added, " enable future historians to correct errors, and supply " defects, and to clear up many obscurities in the Histories ** of England and Scotland ; the orders for levying forces, " and also those for collecting provisions for victualling for- " tresses, may furnish grounds whereon to estimate the ** comparative population and fertility of the respective " English counties in early times ; and these records will, " in various respects, furnish much other curious information " relative to the state of England, its manners and usages, '* during the period they embrace."" For early biography, also, these records present highly valuable materials. In the middle ages almost every person of the rank of a gentleman served in the field ; and it is from documents connected with political and military affairs, that the lives of eminent individuals must be mainly com- posed. Of many of the most distinguished characters of the fourteenth century not a word is said by any contemporary historian ; and the little which can be collected respecting them must be wholly gleaned from records. The poet Chaucer is a memorable example of this remark; for scarcely a circumstance is known of his life, excepting what is derived from the Patent or Clause Rolls. Between Scot- land and this country there was always a constant connexion, either of a warlike or pacific nature ; and it must be at once obvious, that the Scotch Rolls are of the utmost utility to persons who are interested in the history of either kingdom. These records are preserved in the Tower, with the exception of those of the 13th and 34th of Edward III., which are in the Chapter House, at AVestminster. They were ordered to be printed on the 16th of December, 1807, under the editor- ship of Mr. Macpherson, who compiled the first, and the greater part of the second, volume ; but, on his death, the task devolved on Mr. Caley and Mr. Illingworth. The Indexes were compiled by the Rev. T. H. Home, who also furnished the Introduction. A Chronological Table of the various documents, with a fac-simile of the records, are pre- fixed to each volume ; and, at the end, are Indices Nominum et Locorum. The present price of the Scotch Rolls is 2/. 2*. ; the original price having been 51. 10s. i% I i INQUISTtlONUM AD CAPELLAM DOMINI REGIS RETORNATARUM Q,VJE IN PUB- LICI8 ARCHIVIS SCOTLE ADHUC SERVANTUR ABBREVIATIO. Three Volumes, Folio. Ail Abbreviation of the Inquisitions returned into the King's Chapel, which are preserved in the Public Ar- chives of Scotland. The Record, of which an abridgment is here given, com- prehends all those proceedings by " Inquest,'" or the verdict of an " Assize,'" which originate in certain writs issuing from Chancery, and which are ultimately transmitted or " retoured"' to that office. Of these Proceedings the most considerable in number and importance originate in a Writ issuing from Chancery in the King's name, sometimes called the " Brieve of Mortancestry,"" but, more properly, the *' Brieve of Suc- cession;"" the purport of which is, to establish a claim by inheritance, or to be " served nearest lawful heir"" to those lands of a feudal nature, in which the alleged ancestor of the claimant was vested at the time of his death. According to the law of Scotland, the complete and effective right to such property does not pass immediately and spon- taneously from the ancestor to the heir, but is said to remain " in hereditate jacente "" of the deceased owner, until the claim of the heir has been formally recognised and estabhshed by the procedure under a Writ of Succession. By that writ, the Judge to whom it is addressed is autho- rised and required to ascertain, by the verdict of a jury, 1. In what lands and annual rents, within the limits of his jurisdiction, the alleged ancestor of the claimant died vested and seised as of fee, at the faith and peace of the King. 2. If the claimant be the nearest lawful heir of the deceased in these lands. 3. If he be then of lawful SCOTI.E INQUISITIONUM ABBREVIATIO. 127 age. 4. What is the annual value of the lands, according to certain valuations, usually called the Old and the New Extent. 5. Of whom, as feudal superior, the lands are held. 6. By what feudal service or species of tenure. 7- In whose possession the lands now are, and on what account, and how long they have been so possessed. The Judge is directed to transmit the result of these inquiries, duly authenticated, to Chancery, together with the original Brieve. The Proceedings, which are held in pursuance of a " Brieve of Succession,'" are usually denominated a " Ser- *' vice." Those which have relation to a particular estate of inheritance are denominated the " Service of an Heir in " Special,'" or a " Special Service,"' in contradistinction to those other Proceedings, which are denominated the " Ser- « vice of an Heir in General,"" or a " General Service.'' These Proceedings sometimes involve much of judicial dis- cussion ; but whether in a special or a general service, it is only the ultimate verdict of the jur)-, framed in a certain " technical form, that is transmitted to Chancery. It is " there entered on record by the Director of Chancery, or " his deputies : an extract of that record is given to the " claimant ; and, in this completed state, it is commonly " termed the ' Retour of the Service." " It is presumed that it was the ancient practice of Chan- cery to preserve some record or memorandum of the Inqui- sition " retoured,"" and to deliver the original, instead of an extract, to the private party. " Of the original Inquisitions retoured to Chancery, the " present series begins in the year 1547 ; and no original " retours of prior date have been found, but such as have " been preserved in the custody of individuals, and after- " wards deposited and recorded in the Office. The imper- *' fections in the series subsequently, even to the period " above mentioned, are very great."" " Of the present series of Inquisitions retoured to Chan- " eery, commencing in the minority of Queen Mary, no " record appears to have been made until about the year , 1 4 128 SCOTIiE INQUISITIONUM ABBREVIATIO. C6 iC CC C6 CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC €€ CC CC C( CC CC 1630, when they were recorded in a series of books ; and, from that period, the practice of recording Inquisitions has been regularly continued. The whole of the series, ending in March, 1811, consists of one hundred and two volumes in folio. The fifth volume, relating to the years 1611 — 1614, is lost, and many original Retours have been discovered, which are not contained in any of the existing volumes of the record." " The importance of the record of Retours, independently of its primary purposes, is too well known to require illus- tration. With certain limitations, it may be considered as exhibiting an authentic history of the transmission, by inheritance, of the far greater part of the landed property in Scotland, as well as that of the descent of the greater number of its considerable families during the course of the last two centuries. That part of the record which precedes the date of the Scottish statute of 1681, ' con- cerning the Election of Commissioners for Shires,'' derives a peculiar importance from its affording the appropriate evidence of a certain class of freehold qualifications. But, in all these respects, the usefulness of this record has been hitherto greatly diminished by the difficulties of research ; and a methodized abridgment of its contents must there- fore be considered as an important public work, by which the value of the original record will be greatly enhanced." " In the Abridgment of the Retours of Special Services, a local arrangement has been adopted, according to the several counties in which the lands are situated ; sub- dividing the complex Retours, and arranging their dif- ferent portions under the counties to which the lands respectively belong. In arranging the Retours of each county, the order of time has been exactly observed ; and, in framing the abridgment of each retour, whether simple or complex, there is given the date of the service ; the names of the heir and the ancestor ; their natural relation to each other ; the specific description of heirs to which the former belongs; an exact enumeration of the lands and annual rents to which the claimant has been ' served CC CC (C CC CC SCOTIiE INQUISITIONUM ABBREVIATIO. 129 " heir;' and a statement of the valuation of the whole, or " of its different portions, according to the old and new " Extent. There is subjoined a reference to the volume and "folio of the record ; and, where the Retour is of a complex " kind, there is added a reference to the other counties, under " which, in their chronological place, the other portions of " the Retour are to be found. In connexion with this part " of the work there are given alphabetical Indexes, both of persons and of places ; and, for the sake of easy reference to these Indexes, the successive articles of the abridg- ment under each county are regularly numbered. " In the arrangement of the Retours of General Services " the order of time has been observed ; and, in framing the " abridgment of each, nothing more has been necessary than " to specify the names of the heir and the ancestor ; their " natural relation to each other ; and the particular descrip- tion of heirs to which the former belongs. In like manner as in the Abridgment of the Special Retours, there is sub- " joined a reference to the original record ; and, in connexion " with this part of the work, there is given an alphabetical " Index of Persons, in which the references are likewise " made to the numbers of the successive articles of the " Abridgment," " The other classes of Inquisitions retoured to Chancery, " and there recorded, are the ' Brieve of Tutory,' for the " purpose of ascertaining who is the person that, by law, " ought to be appointed to the office of Tutor to a minor " under the age of puberty, as being the nearest agnate or " paternal relative of the age of twenty-five years ; and the " « Brieve of Idiotcy, or Furiosity,' for the purpose of ascer- " taining the mental incapacity of the individual alluded to, " for the management of his own affairs, and who is the " nearest agnate of proper age and capacity, on whom that " management is to devolve. These have been arranged " together in the order of time, under the general title of " ' Inquisitiones de Tutela."*" Two other sorts of Retours have been found in these records, namely, Inquisitions of the Extent or estimated •I 4m SCOTIA INQUISITIONUM ABBREVIATIO. value of the whole of the lands of a county or other district ; and Inquisitions taken under an Act of the Scottish Parha- ment, 1584, c. 2, for the purpose of ascertaining the real estates of which persons, forfeited for treason, were in pos- session for five years preceding their forfeiture. These are few in number, and are printed in the Appendix. The present work has been brought down to the end of the seventeenth century. It embraces the contents of about forty-nine volumes of the Record : as also those more ancient Retoinrs which have been deposited in Chancery at a later period ; and an abridgment of those original Iletours, of which the existing books contain no record. " Throughout the whole of the Abridgment the names of •* places, as given in the record, have been exactly followed. m Where the record was known to be grossly erroneous in " this respect, the true name or spelling has been frequently " added, within brackets ; and where a gross error was sus- f* pected, a conjectural reading, followed by a point of inter- ** rogation, has sometimes been inserted. But there is good ** reason for believing that many other errors of the same " kind exist in the Record, and have been unavoidably trans- ♦♦ fcrred into the Abridgment, of which only a minute local •* knowledge could possibly have afforded the means of •• detecting." To this satisfactory explanation of these use- ftil volumes, which is prefixed to them by the editor, Thomas Thomson, Esq., it is only necessary to add, that there is a close resemblance between the " Retours"' and the " Inqui- •* sitions post Mortem,*" in England. The object with which they were taken was the same, and arose from the interests which the feudal system gave the Sovereign in the greater part of the lands of both countries. The three volumes of " Inquisitionum Retornatarum " were published at ^l. l^s. 6d. ; but the present price is ai. I3s, 6d. SCOTLE INQUISITIONUM ABBREVIATIO. 131 SPECIMENS OF THE ABBREVIATIO INQUISITIONUM RETORNATARUM. Apr. l6. 1546 Aberdeen. Thomas Chartrous haeres Thomae Cliartrouss de Kynfawnes, au»,— in terris et Baronia de Lunfannan, in Baronia deOneill.— A. E. ^10. N. E. ^50 i. 67. Oct. 3. 1683. — IssoBELLA Douglas, sponsa Arthuri Udney, Mercatoris Burgensis de Edinburgh, hares Margarete Jack, relictae Joannis Douglas, mercatoris Burgensis de Aberdein, matris, in piscaria unius retis salmonum piscium de lie rack et stells, super aqua de Dee infra libertatem Burgi de Aberdein. A. E. =£"4. N. E. =£16 xxxvii. 194. Nov. 26. 1646 — Banff. Alexander Hay de Munktoun, hares domini Alexandri Hay de Quhytburgh militis aliquando designati Alexandri Hay, filii legitimi Alexandri Hay, directoris cancellariai, patris^ — in manso cum acris ter- rarum nuncupatis Clerks croft, et ruid terraj vocato Buidrig, cum decimis, in dominie de Fordycc. A. E. 10*. Qd. N. E. 32* xviii. 302 k2 I EXPLANATIONS OF THE CONTRACTIONS USED IN RECORDS. As the volumes published by the Record Commission are printed with the contractions which occur in the originals, it is desirable to append the table explaining those con- tractions, which is inserted in the first volume of the authorized edition of the Statutes of the Realm. A straight line over a vowel denotes the omission of the letter m or w following : qua antiq^ hoiu no quam comun commun antiquam avaudiz , avaunditz hominum stati . . statim non volutate . voluntatem The straight line over m in the middle of a word denotes the omission of the letter n following : omes omnes I omia omnia A crooked line over some letter, or a line through some letter of the word contracted, denotes the omission of one or more letters of the word : CO, to, dns . . dominus diet . . dictum, &c. {cio or tio cion or tion coronacois, coronacionis expeditaco, expeditacio malicose . maliciose A small superior letter denotes an omission, of which such letter forms a part : gra . . gratia baitis . . ballivis nob . nobis heat . . habeat sal? . . salutem epis . episcopis ouis . omnes libtates . libertates } occ'^onc, occasione imp'sonet', imprisonetur p'mis •£> s* . n' . pnmis prius sibi nisi 134 CONTRACTIONS USED IN RECORDS. § The following characters or abbreviations have certain explicit significations, viz. : — At the end of words in the dative or ablative plural : abbatib} . abbatibus quib) . . quibus S3 . . set (sed) poss5 . . posset Or as a comprehensive mark of ahbre- viation : quil} - . quilibet qn5 . • quandocunque videl} . . videlicet Not being the dative or ablative plural: hui^modil huj dedim^ . Character. Signification. s • us sometimes " et 9 above the line 1 us '' , - <• ti" sometimes - OS or ost 9 com or con even with the line qor q^ que "T er sometimes re f rum «. ii % and 1'" eciam hujusmodi huj us dedimus .} exc sare p tea ptenta 9muni absq, usq excusare post postea contenta communi absque usque Frequently used also for quod and quia: exercitum exj citum itiSe . infreglint devs egj ssum transgj essum itmere infregerint devers egressum transgressum antecessorum nostrorum antecessor nrox Sometimes to mark on abbreviation beginning with r : cox . . coronacionem Character. CONTRACTIONS USED IN RECORDS. 135 ? p ? z Signification. est cer mer ser ter sometimes tre ver uer perl pro J also for par and por pre tz IS or s fc2it ctum amcietur mcator . svicium '^ • svir ceta tram tspasours cstoviu . ovtes fSit huit fecerit certum amercietur mercator servicium servir cetera terram trespasours estoverium overtes fuerit habuerit As the prepositions per and pro in forming words : cepit pbfi aptement pmisit . PP'a psone pfit pmisit . pchein . patus tempe . pceles corpum . psentem . fJdcm ^iatz pndront . fiz establisementz fez tenaunz , ceperit probum apertemcnt permisit propria persone profit promisit prochein persona paratus tempore parceles corporum presentcm predictum prelatz prendront fitz establisements fetz tenauntz scottf . . scottis lordC . . lords Also the Savon Characters : 1^ th 5 y Published by Baldxvin and Cradock, N O T I T I A H I S T O R I C A, Containing Tables, Calendars, and IVIiscellancous Inforaiarion, for the Use of Historians, Antiquaries, and the Legal Profession. BY NICHOLAS HARRIS NICOLAS, ESQ., BARRISTER AT LAW. /« octavo, price I2s. boards. C. Baldwin, Printer, New Bridge-street^ London. I / ■-#!*» V >■>■ COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES This book is due on the date indicated below, or at the expiration of a definite period after the date of borrowing, as provided by the rules of the Library or by special ar- rangement with the Librarian in charge. DATE BORROWED -"'-* ►^---ir