R?mHfciiiltiil*ii-r. '

YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

AN
ACCOUNT OF
THE MOST IMPORTANT
PUBLIC RECORDSOE
asivmt I3tttatn,
AND
THE PUBLICATIONS OF
2'HE RECORD COMMISSIONERS.
TOGETHER WITH
OTHER MISCELLANEOUS, HISTORICAL, AND
ANTIQUARIAN INFORMATION.
COMPILED FROM VARIOUS PRINTED BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS.

By C. p. cooper, Esq.

VOL. I.

LONDON:
BALDWIN AND CRADOCK.
1832

, nOWOUTH AND SONS, BELL YARD,
TEMPLE BAU.

" 'Tis from these Records, then, that we are to derive the
surest accounts of the conduct of our Princes, and the manner
of their government ; 'tis by these we see how the Prerogative
was exercised in wise and good, or abused and stretched in
weak and bad reigns ; 'tis by going regularly through these, then,
that we shall be enabled to clear up the rights and privileges of
the subject, — to discover what encroachments have been made
from time to time upon them in any instance, — and by what steps,
or under what pretences, this hath been done, — and to trace up to
the beginning the various changes, that have happened in our
Courts of Judicature — in our maxims of Law — in our methods,
or forms, of Justice — and in received usages and practices, which
served once for barriers to our liberties." — Carte, Collection of
Papers in relation to his History of England, p. 37.
" Ces Archives entassees, que le cours des 4ges rendra de
plus en plus inlisibles, sont les debris de notre ancienne histoire.
11 faut done se hater de ranimer cette poussifere avant qu'elle
ne perisse."
" L'homme instruit dans la science de nos chartres et de nos
manuscrits est sans doute bien inferieur k I'historien, mais il
marche k ses c6tes, il lui sert d'intermediaire avec les tems an
ciens, et il met a sa disposition les materiaux echappes k la
ruine des siecles."
" Que ces utiles secours manquent a I'homme appele par son
gfenie a ecrire I'histoire, une partie de sa vie se consumera dans
des etudes toujours penibles et souvent steriles." — Rapport de
M. Simeon, Ministre Secretaire d'Etat au departement de Vlnte-
rieur, sur le Projet de l' Ecole des Chartes — Fevrier, 1821.

PREFACE.

It was the intention of the Compiler to prefix to
the ensuing sheets a statement of the various
facts and circumstances connected with the Public
Records, under the different heads of " Access,"
" Calendars," " Transcripts," " Security," " Em
ployment of Clerks," &c., which are scattered
through the numerous and unwieldly volumes,
both printed and manuscript, that owe their birth
to the Parliamentary Inquiries, instituted during
the last century, into the state of the Archives of
the Kingdom. The utility of such a statement is
evident; and it is probable that it would prove not
less instructive than useful, as it would show that
abuses are as inveterate in the subordinate, as in
the superior, departments of the Government, and,
when concealed from the public eye, are often
propagated and increased by the very measures,
that were designed for their diminution, or destruc
tion. Every passage of the Report of 1800 ex
hibits evils, to which the lapse of thirty years has
only served to give a more luxuriant and a more
vigorous growth; and even the ancient Reports of
1719 and 1732 indicate many corrupt practices,
that still exist, in despite of " Recommendations"

VI PREFACE.
and " Orders" made and reiterated by Committees
and by Boards, and with which, notwithstanding
the long-continued efforts of their predecessors,
the present Commissioners on the Public Records
are compelled now to grapple.
Some progress had been made in this statement,
when the Compiler found that it would swell the
present volume to a most inconvenient size; and
he has therefore determined to reserve it for a
separate work, which will be exclusively devoted
to the important branch of the labours of the
Record Board comprehended by the foregoing
titles. This work he does not altogether despair
of being able to complete in the course of the next
long vacation, the only period during which his
professional avocations afford him the leisure re
quisite for such an undertaking. In the mean
time, should the reader have entertained the hope,
that the present work would embrace a more
general view of the proceedings of the Record
Board, he is entreated to accept the assurance,
that if the following pages are silent respecting
the abuses in question, it is not, at least, because
they are less known than those, which are there
exposed to his observation.
The Compiler cannot, however, permit these
volumes to appear unaccompanied by the declara
tion, that his enlarged acquaintance with the state
of the Public Records has produced no change in f
the opinions, which he ventured to express before
his reluctant acceptance of the troublesome and

PREFACE. vu

most unprofitable office, that he now holds, had
brought within his reach a mass of unpublished
materials, until then unexplored and inaccessible.
His conviction has for many years been, and it
still is, — that the genuine materials for the History
of this Country lie buried in the sepulchral vaults
and chambers of the Tower, the Chapter House,
the Pipe Office, and the Rolls Chapel— that the
dark cloud, that has so long rested upon those
repositories, conceals the origin and early progress
of our judicial institutions and our Parliament —
and that the most esteemed general and local
histories, that we possess, abound with number
less and the grossest errors, and as little resemble
the truth, as the pleasing, but fanciful, theories of
Montesquieu, Blackstone and Delolme represent
our actual constitution.
The Compiler, too, cannot refi'ain fi-om hazarding
a few very brief remarks upon the course, which it
appears expedient, that the existing Commissioners
on the Public Records should pursue with reference
to the two grand objects of their work, premising
only that such remarks must be considered as
those of an individual writer, and entirely void of
official authority, or sanction.
The two great objects, without the attainment
of which, the labour of the Commissioners must be
unprofitable and useless, are — I. More ready access
to the Records. II. Preservation of their contents,
by means of the press, or transcription.
I. More ready access to the Records, — That the

vm PREFACE.
mouldering obscurity, in which the most precious
archives of the kingdom have so long reposed, has
not been favourable to their preservation, is ob
vious from a comparison of the present contents
of the principal offices with the numerous Calen
dars framed during the course of the 16th and
17th centuries. Many thousands have decayed
and perished in the catacombs in which they were
entombed, and no inconsiderable number have
been purloined. Early measures then should be
taken for carrying into effect the recommenda
tion, so often, and hitherto so uselessly, made, for
the demolition of the barrier, which the necessi
ties, or the avarice, of the keepers, or their
clerks, has interposed between the Records and
the public. Of the precise nature of the measures,
the best adapted to effectuate this design, it is not
possible at present to speak with certainty. The
following, however, appear to be those, which are
the most hkely to lead to a successful and safe re
sult — Istly. To separate documents chiefly literary
and historical from those of a purely legal nature,
and to transfer the former to the British Museum.
Such transfer must, of course, be accompanied by
such modification of our present absurd law of
evidence as would be necessary to prevent any
inconvenience, that might otherwise result from
the change of custody. 2dly. To require that the
clerks should attend in the different offices six, or
seven, hours a day, and should devote their whole
time to the arrangement of the Records and the
formation of Indexes, and to fix their emoluments

PREFACE. IX

upon a scale proportioned to their new duties.
Sdly. To concentrate the Records of a certain age
and description in some repository of convenient
access, to be erected after the manner of the
General Register House, Edinburgh. The Rolls
Estate presents a most convenient situation for
such a building; and it would not perhaps be diffi
cult td show, that this valuable and extensive
property is capable of affording sites not only for a
General Record Office, but for two Equity Courts,
Chambers for the Judges, for Barristers, &c. It
is not impossible, too, that the sum of money re
quisite for the completion of the different edifices,
large as it must be, might be raised by mortgage
ofthe estate: a most important circumstance at a
period when all hopes of parliamentary aid are
said to be chimerical. The more modern and
bulky Records, to which reference is most fre
quently made, should be preserved in some place
adjoining the offices where the daily business of
the Courts, to which they belong, is ordinarily
transacted. II. Preservation of the Contents of the Records
by Printing, or Transcribing. — Under this head the
Compiler ventures to make the following brief
suggestions and remarks : — Istly. Measures should
be adopted that all the most rare and important
Records in the different Offices be accurately
transcribed. Transcription is more economical
than printing, and in numerous cases it is fortu
nately as efficacious, at least for all useful pur-

X PREFACE.
poses. Valuable as our Records are, they are
valuable only to those persons, who have made
them the object of peculiar study and pursuit, and
industriously acquired the keys to the various
ciphers in which they are composed. Such per
sons form a distinct, but not a numerous, class ;
and it would be easy to show that to them a
faithful transcript of a Record placed in the Mu
seum, would be frequently more acceptable than
a printed volume. 2dly. In order to ensure a
succession of skilful transcribers, a school should
be established for teaching young men the lan
guages and the characters in which our ancient
rolls are written, who should be employed as
Copyists in the offices, and should eventually be
promoted to the situation of Clerks, Deputy
Keepers, &c. as vacancies might occur (1). The
(1) Such a school (denominated the Ecole des Chartes) was, in
1821, founded at Paris, by virtue of an Ordinance of Louis
XVIII. M. Pardessus, the very learned Editor of the Collection
de Lois Maritimes, lately communicated to the Compiler several
valuable manuscript documents connected with this institution,
and particularly the report of a Committee of the Academic des
Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, " sur le projet de rSglement relatif
d VEcole des Chartes," which was prepared by M. Pardessus
himself. The published Ordonnances and these papers contain
many regulations and suggestions, which may be very serviceable
in perfecting such an establishment in England. Ministers have,
^^ with the permission of the French Government, recently directed
the formation of Catalogues (so long desired by literary men)
of all the Manuscripts in the General Repositories of France
connected with the early history of this country. With the
details of this important work, it will shortly be requsite to make

PREFACE. XI
enormous sums paid for the copies (teeming with
errors) from which the published works were
printed, leave no doubt that an immense saving
would have been effected in the expenditure of
the Record Board, had such an institution been
founded by the Commissioners of 1800. The ex
ertions too of the present Commissioners would
not have been paralyzed from the dearth of per
sons, competent to perform the humble and unex-
pensive, but most important and useful, task of
correct copyists. Sdly. It should be remembered
that the arrangement of Records, the compilation
of Calendars, the investigation of the duties and
emoluments of the officers, and the reform of some
notorious but deeply-rooted abuses, constitute the
great and primary object of the Commission, and
that " the printing of certain of the more ancient
" and valuable amongst the Records,'' is enjoined
only as a secondary work. The rule should there
fore be adopted, that no publication, which cannot
be terminated in a reasonable time, and at a
moderate expense, should for the future be under
taken without the express authority of Parliament
— an authority, which the debate upon the Mate
rials for the History of Britain leaves no doubt,
would always be granted upon a proper represen
tation. With regard to works of a less bulky and
costly description, it is obvious that those should
the public acquainted ; and advantage will be taken of that oc
casion to print such particulars respecting the Ecole des Chartes
as are likely to be useful, or interesting, here.

xn PREFACE.
be selected, which are not likely to become the
subject of private enterprise, or speculation. One
point remains — the incomplete works — and these
present a difficult question, in the solution of
which, it is hoped, the present volumes will be
found to afford some assistance.

It is necessary to state — that the Additions and
Notes made by the Compiler to the different
articles, comprised in the ensuing pages, are uni
formly distinguished by brackets, and are pur
posely restricted to certain details respecting the
Records and the publications of the Record Board,
which, whatever utility they may possess, will
certainly not contribute to the entertainment of
the reader — that the Compiler has carefully ab
stained from all remarks of a historical, or literary,
character, even in those instances where his read
ing would have enabled him to correct inaccura
cies — that from the nature of the work, the nu
merous references are necessarily printed without
alteration and without, verification — and that the
frequent and manifest discrepancies, contradictions,
and errors, in fact, construction, and language,
appearing in the books, or manuscripts, that have
furnished the materials, are equally preserved.
C. P. C.
Lincoln's Inn,
Z9th February, 1832.

( xiii )
[MS. Lansd, No. 1039, Art. 61, fol. 199.]
Notes of Bishop Kennett's Speech in the House of Lords,
Dec. 9tk, 1718, respecting the Preservation of the
Public Records. In his own hand-writing.
Memorand. — On Tuesday, Dec. 9th, a Committee of
Lords having been appointed to take a view of the place
wherein the Parliament Records are reposited, and to
examine into the state of the said Rolls, Records, and
Papers, and to consider of ways and means for the better
preservation of them, one of the said Committee moved
for a longer time ; upon which another noble Peer spoke of
other, offices and places of Records, especially the Rolls,
that deserved the like view and care to be taken of them.
In which debate the Bishop of Peterborough spoke as
near as he can recollect in these words :
My Lords, I have been such a lover of Public Papers and
Records, that I take liberty to speak somewhat on this
subject. I cannot but express myself mightily pleased
that a Committee is appointed for so good a purpose.
I doubt not but they will very honourably discharge the
trust committed to them, and deserve thanks for the ser
vice they shall do to this House, — for the service and
honour they'll do to the nation and all posterity. My
Lords, I will presume to say that no nation has been so
happy in preserving so vast a multitude of their Muni
ments and Records as our English nation has been.
From the time of the Norman Conquest (as they call it),
which is near 700 years, we have more original Manu
scripts and Papers of our political and historical affairs,
than any one nation, perhaps than all the nations in
Europe have. And we should have had many more, if,
my Lords, your noble ancestors had frequently taken the
same care, tliat your Lordships are now taking, to examine

( xiv )
into the state and condition of your Public Records, and
into the strength and safety of the places wherein they
are reposited.
My Lords, for want of that due care, how many of
those precious reliques have been embezzled — have been
sunk and lost? At one time, a whole ship-load of them,
pick't up by the Pope's collector, Polydore Virgil, was
said to be sunk about Rochester Bridge, when he had
ransack't the nation for them, and put them up in chests
and barrels in order to transport them to Rome. And
after that shipwrack, my Lords, when that cargo was lost
in the river, as tradition and some historical intimations
say (Dr. Gale (1),) very many of our deeds and evidences
were stolen away and carried off to Rome, especially those
relating to our religious houses, to be ready there for a
papal Act of Resumption. They plundered our Monas
teries and Churches, they broke into our Royal Closets
and Cabinets, — it will make your Lordships smile — they
. stole away the very Love Letters of our Princes, and
shew them in the Vatican, for an insult upon our Refor
mation, (published in Svo. by Mr. Will. Burnell.)
My Lords, besides what we have lost to Rome, we
have been losers to all Popish countries. There is no
English seminary abroad but what has too many of our
Manuscripts and loose Papers in them, especially the
Jesuits' colleges, where they best know the arts, and what
they call the pious frauds, of stealing. And I doubt,
my Lords, they still employ their missionaries to seek out
(1) [" Non est dissimulanda monasteriorum subversio, quae brevi subsecuta
est : — Haec libros omnes dispersit. Nee fieri potuit, in tanta hominum fuga, ac
tunc temporis facta est : in tanta rerum pretiosissimarum distractione, quin
boni etiam codices (nam malum fatum eos semper urget) aut corruraperentur
domi, aut in longinquas ten-as amandarentur. Certe si famae receptaB et in-
veteratae credere licet, unus Polydorus Virgilius, Quaestor tunc apud nos Pon-
tificius, navem istis spoliis onustam a ponte Rhoffensi Romam misit." -^
HiitoriiE Brita7inic(E Scriptores, tom. 3, Pracfatio.]

( XV )
and lay hands upon all they can find of our old writings,
and so by degrees they will exhaust the nation of a trea
sure inestimable, because, I doubt, in their hands irre
coverable. But, my Lords, the more we want, the more necessity
we have to preserve what is left to us. There has been
in this House a noble spirit of that kind. 'Tis well known
that the greatest, and we would have thought the safest,
repository of our Public Deeds and Evidences was in the
Tower of London, and yet there was a just complaint of
some loss and damage in them. Upon which this House
appointed a Committee to look into them, and, alas ! in
what condition did they find them ? The Parchments
and Papers in the White Tower were like damaged goods
in a grocer's shop, matted together with wet and spoil.
If they took up one paper, three, or four, more came up
sticking to one another, till the weight of one tore off a
piece of another. But, my Lords, that noble Committee
took care to redress that mischief, — that scandal, I may
justly call it. They took care to have the Bulls and Re
scripts, the Charters, Patents, Claus Writs, and other
curious remains, to be cleaned, to be sorted, to have new
apartments for them, to be laid up in such order, and to
give such an easy access to them, as is very much for the
honour of the Crown, and the liberty of the subject.
My Lords, I expect the like good service will come of
the Committee now appointed. I am glad to hear it
moved that some larger powers shall be committed to
them. I could wish they would examine into all our pub
lic offices of Record — the Rolls, the Remembrance Office,
and any others. Nay, that they would look into the
noble Hbrary here adjoining, full of our public Memoirs —
the Cotton Library — that has been settled under autho
rity of Parliament, and is worthy to be still under the care
and protection of this House.

( xvi )
My Lords, I am afraid I am so much a stranger in
this House as not to know how to form a regular motion
in it. But I have framed some good wishes at least. My
wishes are, that the care of this Committee may extend as
far as possible, and do all the good that's possible. And
I have one concluding wish, that came into tny thoughts
this very morning. I was this morning, my Lords, in a
public office of Record, (First Fruits Office,) where I saw
a very large trunk filled with parchments and papers,
and was informed that all those old writings were lately
pick't up in several parts of the town and country, and
sent in that trunk for a present to the office by the Re
membrancer of it, (Sir Thomas Hanmer,) to be sorted and
laid up there as the most proper place for them. From
that good example I cannot but wish that all private per
sons who have any deeds, or writings, that properly belong
to any public office, might be, I would not say obliged,
but might be encouraged to some public place of receipt,
from which they might be distributed into those several
offices. This would soon enrich every office, and improve
every where this part ofthe public treasure ofthe nation.
But I am afraid, my Lords, I am saying too much. I
beg pardon. I say no more.

CONTENTS
OF
VOL. I.
CHAPTER I.
Introduction  Pages 1 — 8
CHAPTER II.
Parliamentary Measures for the better Preservation
AND Arrangement of the Public Records . . 9 — 27
Reports from Committees of the House of Lords and
House of Commons  14. 15
Early instances of Directions given for Arranging the
Records and providing for their better Security . 17.237
Registration  , 20—24
Importance and Utility of a Knowledge of the Public
Records  24. 25
Different Record Commissions  26
CHAPTER III.
Account of the Formation, Contents and Catalogues of
the Collection of Cottonian MSS  28 — 43
CHAPTER IV.
Account of the Formation, Contents and Catalogues of
the Collection OF Harleian MSS  44 — 115
Letter written by Mr. Nares, March, 1803  103
CHAPTER V.
Account of the Lansdowne MSS. and Catalogues 116—123
CHAPTER VI.
The Statutes of the Realm  124 — 206
Former Printed Collections, Translations, and Abridge
ments of the Statutes  1.24
VOL. I. ^

XVlll contents.
Plans heretofore proposed for an authentic Publica
tion, or for the Revision, of the Statutes . . . page 139
Of the Charters prefixed to the Authentic Collection
of the Statutes  149
Of the Matters inserted in the Authentic Collection of
Statutes, and their arrangement  155
Statutes— Ordinances  160
Of the Sources from whence the several matters were
taken  163
Statute Rolls  166
Inrolments of Acts of Parliament  169
Exemplifications and Transcripts by Writ  171
Original Acts  174
Rolls of Parliament  175
The Close, Patent, Fine, and Charter, Rolls  177
Books of Record  178
Books and Manuscripts not of Record  180
Of the Mode used in searching for, transcribing, col
lating, noting, and printing the Text of the Statutes , 184
Ofthe Original Language ofthe Charters and Statutes . 187
Of the Translation in the Authentic Collection of the
Statutes  192
Of the Collection of the Statutes of Scotland and Ire
land, heretofore published by Royal, or Parlia
mentary, Authority  195
Ofthe Methods successively adopted for promulgating
the Statutes, before and since the Union of Great
Britain and Ireland  201
Revision and Consolidation of the Statute Law  206
CHAPTER VII.
The Exon Domesday — The Inquisitio Eliensis — The Win
ton Domesday — and the Boldon Book . . . 207 — 231
Publication of Domesday Book  207
Domesday of North Wales  230. 395
CHAPTER VIII.
Ancient Placita — Rolls of the Curia Regis . 232 — 257
Account of the Publication entitled Abbreviatio Pla
citorum  232
Ancient Placita of Ireland  ; . . . 240

contents. xix
Description ofthe early Pleas ofthe Crown— Sugges
tions for Printing the same in English — List —
Extracts  pages 243—257
CHAPTER IX.
Account of the Exchesuer Rolls called Testa de Nevill,
OR Liber Feodorum  258 — 266
CHAPTER X.
Account of the Hundred Rolls and Rolls of Quo War
ranto  267 — 282
CHAPTER XI.
Account of the Ecclesiastical Taxation of Pope Nicho
las IV  283—285
Pope Nicholas the Fourth's Ecclesiastical Taxation of
Ireland  284
CHAPTER XII.
Account of the Non^e Rolls  286 — 293
CHAPTER XIII.
Account of the Calendars of the Charter Rolls and op
the Inquisitions Ad Quod Damnum .... 294 — 296
Inquisitio ad quod damnum  296
CHAPTER XIV.
Account of the Calendar of the Patent Rolls . 297 — 300
The Charter Rolls— Patent Rolls— Close Rolls— Rolls
of France, Rome, and Almain — Liberate Rolls —
Norman Rolls and Gascon Rolls — Welch RoUs-*^
Fine Rolls — Redisseisin Rolls — Confirmation Rolls 300 — 311
Ayloffe's Calendars of Ancient Charters  306. 307
Patent and Close Rolls of Ireland  311
Chartce, Privilegia, et Immunitates (Ireland)  311
Rotulorum Patentium et Clausorum Cancellarice Hiber-
nice Calendarium  312
Rotuli Annales— Grea.t Rolls, or Pipe Rolls . . .312—317
Pipe Rolls of Ireland  315

XX CONTENTS.
The Cartce Antiquce  P«ge 318
Short Statement of the matter to be collected from the
Parliament Rolls  ' • 319—322
Rolls of Parliament— Writs of Election— Statute Rolls
— Parliamentary Petitions, Writs, and other Pro
ceedings consequential thereon  322 — 331
CHAPTER XV.
The Inquisitions Post Mortem  332 — 341
Account of the Calendar of the Inquisitions post
mortem  332
Office of Escheator  335
Inquisitions ad quod damnum  336
The early Wills  338
Sir Thomas Plomer's Proposal to make certain Copies
of Records legal Evidence  340
The Irish Inquisitions post mortem  341
Inquisitionum in Officio Rotulorum Cancellarice Hibernice
asservatarum Repertorium  ibid.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Originalia  342—347
Account of the Publication of the Abstract of the Ex
chequer Rolls called Originalia  342
Powell's Direction for Search of Records, (PomelUs)
Repertorie of Records  346
CHAPTER XVII.
Account of the Valor Ecclesiasticus .... 348 — 353
Appendix and General Index to the Five Volumes of
the Valor Ecclesiasticus  351
Irish Ecclesiastical Documents  352
CHAPTER XVIII.
Account of the Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery
IN the Reign of Queen Elizabeth .... 354 — 385
State of the Records of the Court of Chancery pre
served at the Tower  355

contents. xxi
Some Particulars respecting the Numbers of the Suits,
instituted in the Court of Chancery at different
periods  page 355
Correction of an error in the Lettres sur la Cour de
Chancellerie  356
Early Irish Chancery Proceedings  357
Early Depositions, Masters' Reports, and Affidavits . . ibid^
The Calendar of Chancery Proceedings, printed by
the late Mr. Lysons, in octavo  384
Increase in the number of Searches at the Tower
since the publication of the Calendars  385
CHAPTER XIX.
Account of the Publication, entitled, Ducatus Lancastri.*;
Calendarium Inquisitionum Post Mortem, &c. temporibus
Regum Edw. I. Edw. III. Ric. II. Hen. V. Hen. VI.
Edw. IV. Hen. VII. Hen. VIII. Edw. VI. Regin. Mar.
Phil, et Mar. Eliz. Jac. I. Car. I. A Calendar to the
Pleadings, Surveys, Depositions, &c. in the reigns of
Hen. VII. Hen. VIII. Edw. VI. Queen Mary, and Phil.
AND Mary. Pars Prima — Pars Secunda — Pars Tertia. 386—388
ADDENDA.
Catalogues of the Cottonian, Harleian, and Lans
downe MSS  389
The Statutes of the Realm  391—393
Correction of passages in the Report from the Com
mittee upon Temporary Laws, May, 1796, and in
the Lettres sur la Cour de Chancellerie  391
Collection of Sessional Publications  393
The Statutes of Ireland  * . . 393. 394
Analysis of the Rolls of Placita from which the Abbre
viatio Placitorum was printed  396 — 401
Analysis of Roll of Placita, 27 Hen. Ill  402
The Reasons and Causes of Judgments  403
Analysis of the Number of Folios contained on the
ancient Placita Coronee  404. 405

XXII contents.
Nature of the Presentments made by the Jury to the
Justices Itinerant, which appear upon the Rolls of
Placita Coronee  page 406
Hundred Rolls and Rolls of Quo Warranto .... ibid.
Pope Nicholas' Taxation  407 — 409
Proposal for the Publication of the Close RoUs . 409 — 414
Subjects which occur upon the Close Rolls  412
Transcript of portion of the Close Rolls, 36th
Hen. Ill  414—435
The Close Rolls  435
Carte — Catalogue des Rolles Gascons, ^c  ibid.
Ancient Records of Ireland  436
Catalogue of the Great Rolls of the Pipe  437
The Inquisitions post mortem at the Rolls Chapel . . . 438
Proposal for the Publication of the early Wills . . 439 — 445
Records — Law of Evidence  445
Indexes to Records  447
Indenture between William de BurstaU and John de
Waltham, respecting the custody of the Chancery
Rolls, 5th Rich. II  449  454
Ecclesiastical Survey of the Possessions of the Bishop
of St. Davids  454,
Earliest Chancery Petitions, or BiUs  ibid.
Instructions of Edward IV. to Robert Kirkeham when
appointed Master of the Rolls  455
Calendars of Chancery Proceedings  455  458
Letter of Mr. Lysons respecting the early Chancery
Bills, or Petitions  457
Messrs. Hoole and Cossart's MS. Calendars of Chan
cery Proceedings  453

ERRATA.

The errors of the press are probably numerous. — The following have been
discovered upon casual reference only during the progress of the work : —
VOL. I.
Page 13, note 7. — The wise and pnident provisions, &c. The Compiler is
not the Author of this note. It should have been marked as
drawn from the Mamtscript Collection,
 171, line 20, notes, for Ancient Collection, read Authentic Collection.
 207, note 1. The first division of this note is extracted from thefSene-
ral Introduction to Domesday, and ought to have been inserted
between inverted commas. Postfix to line 18, " General Intro
duction to Domesday, pp. 185, 186, 4to edition."
 311, line 12, notes, for 19th July, 1829, read 19th June, 1829.
 312, line 19, notes, far 19th July, 1829, rmd I9th June, 1829.
.  337, line 19, efter ihe words Rolls Chapel, introduce a semicolon,
 339, line 7, notes, for completion read compilation.
VOL. II.
Since this Volume was printed, the Extract from the Red Book of the Ex
chequer, pages 324 and 325, has, by the Compiler's desire, been collated with
the original manuscript. The following is the result :—
Page 324, line 9, for gruerre read guerre.
 line 18, /or mutuavit read mutavit.
 line 21, for mutuavit read mutaf.
 line 24, fi/r mutuaf read mutaf.
 line 28, /or etat sui read etat sue.
 line 29, for Brabauc" read Brabanc".
 line 31, /or Fria read Cola.
 line 33, /or mutat^ read mutat^
 325, line 13, for tunc sequen read tunc p'x' sequeii.
Some words too are printed at length, which are written with contractions,
and vice versi. It may be remarked, that carelessly as the foregoing corrections
show that the transcript of the Red Book has been made, yet the extract ia
question exhibits no error which is not obvious upon the most cursory glance.
Page 336, line 16, postfix a bracket,
 361, line 13, notes, for Alien Records, read Alien Priories.

CHAP. I.
INTRODUCTION.

[From Manuscript Collection,^
The preservation and arrangement of the Records and
Muniments of a kingdom, is a public duty of the highest
importance. They are the great foundation of its history
and its laws, the most indisputable evidence of all public
and private rights, and must become the final resort for
determining all great constitutional and international ques
tions. It is apprehended, therefore, that no apology will
be expected for calling the attention of the reader to our
interesting Archives, and the measures which have been
adopted for rescuing these treasures from decay, facili
tating the access to them, and promoting a knowledge of
their contents.
It is asserted by Bishop Nicolson, that " our stores of
Public Records are justly reckoned to excel in age, beauty,
correctness, and authority, whatever the choicest archives
abroad can boast of the like sort." (1) He adduces,
indeed, no evidence in support of a proposition which, in
the absence of all proof, appears somewhat to savour of
national partiality. Nor is the writer aware of any of our
antiquaries who have made any researches in illustration
of so interesting a comparison. The assertion, however,
though probably made at random, is, it is beUeved, sub-
(1) Preface to the English Histm-ical Library, This sentence, as well as
many others from the body of the work, has been copied verbatim by Mr. Astle,
in his preface to Ayloffe's Catalogue of Antient Charters,
B

2 INTRODUCTION.
stantially correct. For although the ecclesiastical archives
on the continent, as Saint Denis, Cluni, Mont Cassin, and
others, contained documents of great value and antiquity,
yet the various imperial, royal, and national collections of
Europe, are, in almost all respects, inferior to our own.
We are informed by MafFei (2), that no instrument in the
public repositories was of a date anterior to the thirteenth
century, although there were many preserved in the
monasteries of the sixth and seventh centuries (3).
The archives ofthe Empire were formed by Eginhard,
the secretary and historian of Charlemagne. The suc
cessors, however, of that monarch, like the Caesars of the
Roman empire, (who were attended in their wars and
their journeys by the scrinia viatoria (4),) transported
their records with their courts, and the consequence was,
that they were frequently lost and dispersed. According
to Wagenselius (5) the imperial archives contained no
instrument of the time of Rodolph of Hapsburg, or even
ofthe succeeding century; and he states, that, except the
(2) Del Arte Critic. 96. Muratori also bears testimony to the same effect.
Istor. Diplom.
(3) Mabillon de Re Diplom. 429. Hickes, Dissertatio Epistolaris, 9, 10, 29.
According to Gregory of Tours, princes used to conjure the prelates, with tears
in their eyes, to permit them to place their deeds and instruments in these repo
sitories. Hist. Fr, lib. ix. c. 42. In later times the monks were violently sus
pected of forging deeds, charters, and other instruments. The accusation was
brought forward by Papebroc, Hardouin, Germon, and others, which excited
several furious diplomatic controversies. The champions on the opposite side
were Ruinart, Contal, and, above all, Mabillon, with whom all Italy ranged
itself. Nouv. Traits de Dipt, Pref. 25.
(4) According to Buddeus, besides the distinction of scrinia palatii, sacra
scrinia, and sometimes scrinia Augusta, the imperial archives were divided into
the designations of scrinia viatoria and scrinia stataria. Annot, ad Pand, 162.
(5) This author is cited from the Nouveau Traits de Diplomatique, and
the Dictionnaire de Diplomatique, No copy of his Dissertation upon the Impe
rial Archives is to be found either at the British Museum or in the Bodleian
Library.

INTRODUCTION. 3
Golden Bull (6) of Charles the Fourth, the Code des
Rech de I'Empire comprised no constitution more ancient
than the reign of Frederick the Third, (A. D. 1442.) It
was not until the end of the 15th and the beginning of
the 16th century, that, under the reign of MaximiUan the
First, the celebrated repositories were formed of Mayence,
Vienna, and Spire.
In France, the sovereigns of the two first races, and
some of those ofthe third, adopted the same evil practice
of carrying their archives with their courts. A signal
instance of the danger attending this custom occurred in
the course of the invasion of France by Richard I. in
1 194, when he surprised Philippe Auguste at Belle Foye,
and, besides a considerable treasure, captured the whole
of his archives (7). This loss, which is but shghtly noticed
by the English historians, has been represented by le Pere
Daniel, and several French antiquaries, as almost irrepar
able. It had, however, the good eifect of suggesting to
the celebrated Gu6rin, Bishop of SenUs, and afterwards
chancellor, the expedience of establishing the Tresor
des CJiartes, for which the office was subsequently created
of Garde des Ctiartes, Great abuses, however, having
been at various times committed, by persons in office sub
tracting the originals, for the purposes of consulting them,
and neglecting to return them, the situation of keeper was
attached to the place of Procureur- General. And we find
(6) The original of this celebrated instrument is preserved at Frankfort on
the Maine. Its date is 1356. It is kept with such religious scrupulosity, that
in 1642 the Elector of Mayence could with difiiculty obtain permission to renew
the silk ribbon to which the seal is attached. Charles the Fourth had pre
viously granted two other bulls, which have each been honoured with the same
title, the Golden Bull of Bohemia in 1348, and that of Brabant in 1349.
(7) The Histoire de la Maison d'Auvergne states, that Henry V. lost the
great seal of England at Agincourt. This is probably a mistake, though it is
certain that, during the battle, his camp was pillaged, which caused him to
issue the hasty order for killing the prisoners.
B 2

4 INTRODUCTION.
those eminent magistrates, M0I6, d'Aguesseau, and Joly de
Henry, when they held this office, distinguishing them
selves by the order and arrangement which they intro
duced into the department. We are told, however, by
Dupuy, that there was no article in the collection more
ancient than the reign of Louis le Jeune (8).
In England, on the contrary, the national archives have,
from the earliest periods, been preserved in fixed reposito
ries, and no foreign enemy has, for the space of seven cen
turies, been in possession of our capital. In the troubles,
indeed, in the reigns of Stephen and John, in the Barons'
wars, and afterwards in the conflict between the Roses,
these sanctuaries are supposed to have been violated:
and Prynne accuses the respective parties, as they pre
vailed, of having embezzled and suppressed such instru
ments as made against their interests. With this incon
siderable exception we are in possession of authentic and
valuable instruments from the time of the Conquest, and of
parliamentary records and proceedings from a period but
little subsequent to it.
Of the immense value and importance of these treasures
the reader will at once be satisfied, upon considering that
they comprise the various Acts of the Legislature; the
Decisions and Judgments of the several Courts of Law and
Revenue ; Negotiations and Treaties with Foreign Nations ;
Papal Bulls and Royal Letters; Proclamations of the
Crown ; Grants of our Sovereigns ; all documents relating
to our Coinage, our Trade, and our Manufactures, or to
the state of our Army, MiUtia, or Navy; an immense col
lection of important instruments concerning our Monastic
Institutions, and the countries anciently under the do
minion of the Crown of England (9). If we add to aU
(8) Traits des Droits. du Roi, 1005. Louis le Jeune came to the throne in
1137. (9) In the year 1764 the Due de Praslin, who was then Minister for Foreign
Affairs, commissioned M. de Brequigny to examine our principal repositories

INTRODUCTION. O
these the invaluable Collections of Charters and other
Manuscripts contained in our public libraries, the British
archives must be allowed to form the most universal repo
sitory of every species of Legal, Historical, Constitutional,
and Antiquarian Information.
It is, however, remarkable how much the investigation
of Public Records has been neglected by those whose duty
it was to make themselves best acquainted with them.
Our early chroniclers (for they cannot be honoured with
the name of historians) display the greatest ignorance of
their contents, and even of their existence. Confined to
their cloister, they knew little more of the afiairs of which
they undertook to treat, than what they derived from hear
say and tradition; and possessed neither the industry, the
talents, nor the opportunities of obtaining information of
any real value or authenticity (10). Later historians, it is
true, have sometimes gone to the best source; yet, with a
few honourable exceptions, how sparing have even these
been of their labours ! How frequently content to receive
their knowledge at second hand, and to spare themselves
for documents relating to our former possessions in France ; and particularly to
search for a celebrated charier of Philippe Auguste, lost at Belle Foye, and
which Carte supposed might be found among the records in the Exchequer.
Though unsuccessful in the main object of his mission, M. de Brequigny de
rived very extensive information from his researches, an interesting account of
which will be found in the 37th volume of the Memoires de V Academic des
Inscriptions. That collection also contains several disquisitions upon points of
the history of France, which he has ably elucidated by his researches among
our English records. It will fce impossible to write a complete histoiy of either
country without diligently consulting the archives of both. [See a subsequent page.}
(10) And yet our law, which is strict almost to pedantry in most ofits rules
as to the admissibility of evidence, permits general histories to be admitted in
evidence, to prove matters relating to the kingdom at large. The absurdity of
this docirine cannot be better pointed out than by noticing the discrepancy of
historians as to a point of no less importance than the commencement of the
formation of the Domesday Survey. Of fifteen histories that mention it, four
place it in the year 1083, one in 1084, one in 1085, seven in 1086, a,nd two
in 1807.

6 INTRODUCTION.
the drudgery of personal research ! Even Burnett, who
in his History of tJie Reformation is in general so remark
able for his exactness in referring to the original records,
is clearly in an error with respect to an instrument of no
less importance than the Act for dissolving the lesser
Monasteries (11). After this we shall not be surprised at
the errors, omissions, and deficiencies of more elegant
and philosophical, but less laborious historians. Well
might Sir W. Blackstone remark, that a general and com
plete History of England was a desideratum which there
was little hope of seeing adequately supplied.
It is remarkable also how frequently doctrines have been
advanced by the greatest constitutional lawyers, which a
careful perusal of original records has proved to be erro
neous. Thus the knowledge and research of Lord Coke
are proverbial. Acute, learned and laborious, an inde
fatigable inquirer into the most abstruse antiquities ofthe
constitution, he has justly earned the title of the Oracle
of the Common Law. Yet the errors and omissions which
have been discovered in his writings by Prynne are at
once numerous and important, and seem justly attributed
by that great antiquary to Lord Coke's preference of
abridgments, indexes, and copies, to the original records
themselves — a violation of his own most favorite maxim(12),
by pursuing the stream in quest of that knowledge which
he should have drawn from the fountain-head itself. We
also find noticed (13) a remarkable error of a person pre-
(11) He accuses both Lord Herbert and Fuller of citing the statute without
having read the record, and after stating that there is a particular statute of
dissolution distinct from the 28th chapter, he asserts that the preamble set down
by Fuller belongs not to the 28th chapter, but to the 18th, which was never
printed. This is entirely a mistake ; the 18th chapter relates to quite a dif
ferent subject, and the preamble is as stated by Fuller, whose only mistake is,
that he has cited the chapter as the 27th instead of the 28th.
(12) Satius est petere fontes quam sectari rivulos.
(13) Report cfthe Committee of tlie House of Commons on the Public Records,
(printed 1802,) Appendix, 44.

INTRODUCTION. i
eminently distinguished for his deep researches into the
History of Parliament, namely. Sir Robert Atkyns, who
had been a Judge, and was afterwards Chief Baron of the
Exchequer, and Speaker of the House of Commons (14).
By the laborious industry also of private individuals we
have been occasionally led to a more intimate acquaintance
with the contents of our public records. Many of the
most distinguished persons in our history have been emi
nent for their researches into them. It is sufficient to
mention merely the names of Camden, Spelman, Cotton,
Usher, Burnet, Tanner, Kennett, Hickes, Wilkins, Nicol
son, Hale, and, lastly, the profoundly learned and consti
tutional Selden, a man whose transcendent knowledge was
only equalled by his private virtues and public integrity.
Nor, in such a list, must the name of Sir W. Blackstone
be omitted, who would have well deserved the gratitude
of his country for having illustrated her legal and historical
antiquities, although nothing had remained of his works
(14) In his argument in 1680, upon the information by the Attorney-General
against Speaker Williams, he asserted that the Speaker of the House of Com
mons, in the Slst of Edward III. and the Ist of Richard II. was termed Speaker
of the Parliament — a position which is now clearly proved from the records to
be erroneous. [See a subsequent page.] Lord Coke is convicted by Prynne of
two capital mistakes: 1st, in advancing that the Lords and Commons sat toge
ther late in the reign of Edward III. and till the Commons had a perpetual
Speaker : 2dly, that if an act states that the King enacts and the Lords assent,
without naming the Commons, the omission cannot be supplied by any intend
ment. A singular mistake of Prynne himself is also recorded by Lord Clarendon.
In 1667, upon the alarm caused by the Dutch fleet in the Medway, it was
determined in council, against Clarendon's opinion, that Parliament should be
called together, although under prorogation, Prynne, who had been privately
carried to the King the night before, having satisfied him that upon so extraor
dinary an occasion it might be done. " The mistake is the more remarkable,''
observes Mr. Hatsell, " as Prynne had published, in his edition of Cotton'i
Abridgment, a Record of the I2th and 13th of Edward IV. which is conclusive
against his opinion." 2 Hats, 315.

8 INTRODUCTION.
except the edition of the Charters, and its elegant and
learned introduction.
These gloomy and uninviting regions have also been
explored by a class of persons who, though inferior to the
last in the higher qualifications of mind, and in the uni-
versaUty of their knowledge, have nevertheless, by the
mere force of labour and by the prodigious extent oftheir
researches, made the most valuable discoveries. To Lam
bard, Dugdale, Ryley, Powell, Brady, Tyrrell, Rymer,
Madox, Petyt, Carte, Ayloffe, Bowyer, and Holmes, we
owe the most valuable parts of our knowledge of the early
history of our constitution ; and, above all, to the volumi
nous and indefatigable Prynne (15), an enthusiast in this
species of learning, who devoted the greatest portion of
an intensely assiduous life to what he repeatedly terms
" the heroic study of Records."
(15) This laborious man was born at Swanswick, near Bath, in 1600 ; entered
as a Commoner at Oriel College, Oxford, in 1616, and took the degree of B.A.
January 22, 1620; after which he removed to Lincoln's Inn, where he was
successively barrister, bencher, and reader. The courage with which he endured
two Star-Chamber sentences of enormous severity, his triumphant retum from
Jersey, where he was imprisoned, and his subsequent confinement by Crom
well, are well known. After the Restoration he was made keeper of the Tower
Records, and a commissioner of excise. He died October 24, 1669. Wood
gives a catalogue of his works, which amount to near 200. The principal are.
The Histrio Mastix, The History of King John, A Short Demurrer to the Jews' long
discontinued Remitter into England, and Brevia Parliamentaria, But his most
laborious and extraordinary effort is his book in favour of the King's Ecclesias
tical Supremacy, commonly known by the title of Prynne's Records, It is
very scarce, most of the copies having been consumed in the great fire : of the
second volume, it is said, only 23 were saved.

CHAPTER II.
PARLIAMENTARY MEASURES FOR THE BETTER
PRESERVATION AND ARRANGEMENT OF
THE PUBLIC RECORDS.

[From Manuscript Collection.]
The PubUc Measures, which have been at various times
adopted for the preservation and arrangement of our
archives, though in general well directed, have for the
most part been inoperative and abortive. The more
successful have left much undone, to which the gradual
ravages of time and the accession of new matter have
been constantly adding. As they, however, inspired
the design and formed the plan of the great national
work, the superintendence of which has been confided
to His Majesty's Commissioners on the Public Records
of the Kingdom, a short sketch of their origin and pro
gress will, it is hoped, prove not unacceptable to the
reader. The practice of making Enrolments, though known in
the remotest ages, (1) was, according to Madox, first in
troduced into England by the Normans, who framed a
court on the model of their own Exchequer, and brought
with them the various modes and customs which were

(1) The Nouveau Traiti de Diplomatique traces the custom to the Jews,
Greeks, and Romans, vol. i. 431.

10 PRESERVATION AND ARRANGEMENT
observed in it. Amongst these was the usage of entering
the Accounts of the Revenue, and the Proceedings of the
Court, upon vellum roUs.
The benefits which resulted from this practice gave
such weight and importance to the Public Records and
Muniments, that we find the royal authority, at a very
early period, interposing for their preservation. In the
Preface to Sir Joseph Ayloffe's Calendar of Antient Char
ters, (which, as it has been before observed, was written
by Mr. Astle,) several writs of Privy Seal in the reign of
Edward II. are referred to, in which that monarch directs
proper persons to be employed to superintend, methodize,
and digest all the Rolls, Books, and other Writings, either
in the Treasuries of the Exchequer, the Tower, or other
places of security. In subsequent reigns, numerous writs
are to be found, not only for their safe custody and pre
servation, but also for the regular sorting and arrange
ment of them. And in some of the very first Petitions
upon the Rolls of Parliament, the PubUc Records are
called the People's Evidenc'es ; and it is ordained that
they shall be accessible to all the king's subjects.
We are told by Mr. Astle, that " the keeping of the
Rolls was confessedly vested in the Chancellor ever since
the first separation of his Court from the King's Exche
quer ; but that in process of time, as his duties increased,
it was thought necessary to relieve him from the imme
diate keeping of the Chancery Records, and to place
them under the custody of an officer to be appointed for
that particular purpose." He then proceeds to state, that
" William de Armyn was accordingly, with the consent
of the Chancellor, appointed Master or Keeper of the
Rolls, and had the custody of them committed to him in
the twentieth year of Edward the Second." It is surprizing
that so gross an error should be discovered in a person

OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS. 11
of such research : for whatever doubts may have been
entertained as to the judicial authority of the Master of
the Rolls, the great antiquity of his ministerial duties
had, it is believed, never been questioned. In a manu
script treatise upon tbe Court of Chancery, ascribed to
Sir Robert Cotton, it is expressly laid down, that " the
Custos Rotulorum has been an officer in the Court of
Chancery of as long continuance as the Chancellor hath
been a magistrate." In the great controversy in the last
century, between Lord King and Sir Joseph Jekyll, se
veral entries were produced from the Close Rolls of
admissions upon record long prior to the twentieth of
Edward the Second. And it is remarkable, that in the
earliest admission of a Master of the Rolls now extant,
(which, by the way, is nearly forty years previous to the
time mentioned by Mr. Astle,) the custody of the Rolls is
committed to him " to have as other heepers were accus
tomed to have in times past."
Mr. Astle is, perhaps, more fortunate in his next asser
tion, viz. that in the fourteenth of Edward the Third,
the earliest transmission took place of the Chancery Re
cords to the Tower of London. At this time, also, the
office of Keeper of the Tower Records was instituted, and
the same king soon afterwards, for the better preserva
tion of the Chancery and Parliament Records, until such
time as they should be removed to the Tower, annexed
the house of Converted Jews in Chancery Lane to the
office of Master of the RoUs, having previously appointed
an apartment in the Tower, caUed Wakefield's Tower, to
be the repository of those records after every transmis
sion of them from the custody of the Master of the RoUs.

12 PRESERVATION AND ARRANGEMENT
[From the First Report of the Select Committee of the
House of Commons appointed in 1800 to inquire into
the State of the Public Records, and of such other
Public Instruments, Rolls, Books, and Papers as they
should think proper.]
The greater part of the Public Records, beginning with
the Books of Domesday, have been preserved to us for
more than seven hundred years, although many have
undoubtedly been lost or destroyed, and particularly
during the reigns of King Stephen, King John, and
Henry III. and the wars between the houses of York and
Lancaster; and it is also probable, that during those
times of turbulence, the persons whose duty it was to
have recorded public transactions may have neglected so
to do.
The attention of Parliament appears to have been
directed very early to this object.(2) In some ofthe very
first petitions upon the rolls of Parliament, the Public
Records are considered to be the people's evidences,
and it is ordained that they shall be accessible to aU the
King's subjects. In subsequent ages, sometimes the
Sovereigns alone, and sometimes the King and Parlia
ment conjointly, interposed to make special provisions
and regulations for their due preservation and arrange
ment. (3) In the reign of Elizabeth an inquiry was insti
tuted concerning the Records of Parliament, and of the
Courts of Chancery and Exchequer. James the First
projected a State Paper Office, and an office of General
Remembrance for all matters of Record ; (4) and a com
mission was issued by Charles the First for searching
(2) Rot. Pari. 46 Edward III. vol. ii. p. 314.
(3) Ayloffe's Introd. Calendars Ancient Charters, p. 27, &c.
(4) Patent, printed 4to. 1617.

OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS. 13
after all Records belonging to the Crown.(5) Statutes
also were enacted at various times, to protect them from
falsification, erasure, and embezzlement. (6)
Unfortunately, however, almost all the provisions estab
lished by the vigilance of preceding reigns were broken
down by the Civil Wars of the seventeenth century ; (7)
and although some useful steps were taken in the reign of
Charles the Second, by founding the present office for
State Papers, and reforming the treasuries of the Com
mon Law Courts, yet no effectual measures were adopted,
to retrieve the general mischiefs produced by those times
of confusion, until the reign of Queen Anne. (8)
At that aera, under the sanction of the Royal authority,
and by the advice of Lord Halifax, and the then Speaker
ofthe House of Commons, Mr. Harley, afterwards Earl of
Oxford, the design was formed and executed of publishing
that magnificent compilation of State Papers and Records,
which the public now possess under the name of Rymer's
Fcedera.(9) And as that great national work chiefly
related to the Foreign Transactions of this country, the
(5) Ayloffe's Introd. p. 35.
(6) Stat. 8 Rich. II. c. 4, II Hen. IV. c. 3.
(7) [The wise and prudent provisions mentioned in the Report were not only
suspended in the confusion of the Civil Wars, but the whole body of our
Records themselves narrowly escaped destruction. The wild enthusiast, Hugh
Peters, in a pamphlet intituled " Good Work for a Good Magistrate," after a
scheme of a short new model for the law, subjoined the following plan : — " This
being done, it is very advisable to burn all the old Records, yea, even those in
the Tower, the monuments of tyranny." The better sense, indeed, of the nation,
rejected this wicked and insolent proposal, yet no public steps were taken for
their preservation; and it is asserted, that Bradshaw, Thurloe, Whitlocke,
Milton, Scobell, and other persons attached to the Usurper, took advantage of
the opportunities which they possessed of embezzling and carrying off a great
number of documents. See the Measures adopted by the House of Lords and
afterwards by the King for the recovery of them.]
(8) Ayloffe's Introd. p. 36.
(9) Ayloffe's Introd, p. 37. Madox's Prefatory Epistle to his History of
the Exchequer ; and Dissertatio Epistolaris, prefixed to the Dialogus de Scaccario.

14 PRESERVATION AND ARRANGEMENT
House of Lords afterwards, at the instance of Lord
Halifax and Lord Somers, set on foot an inquiry into the
state of our Domestic Records, as connected with its
internal Laws and Government. That inquiry was pro
secuted without intermission, and with many salutary
consequences, through the reigns of Queen Anne and
George the First, down to the commencement of the
reign of George the Second.(lO)
By an event which took place in 1731, namely, the fire
which happened at the Cottonian Library, the House of
Commons was induced to set on foot another inquiry by
its own authority, still more extensive and effectual than
the former ; and a very elaborate and ample Report,
made at the conclusion of that proceeding, together with
an earnest and unanimous Address of the House in sup
port of the measures which it recommended, was laid at
the foot of the Throne.(ll)
The scope of these several inquiries, made by the
authority of the two Houses, comprehended some of the
principal repositories of the kingdom ; (12) and in the
(10) Lords' Journals, 10 Dec. 1703 ; 30 March and 31 Jan. 1704 ; 15 Dec.
and 17 Jan. and 4 March, 1705 ; 8 April, 1707 ; 20 April, 1709 ; 31 May,
1711, &c.; 26 Feb. 1716; 4 July, 1717; 16 April, 1719; 1 and 22 May,
1725 ; 25 and 28 May, 1728. [There are several short Reports from the
Lords' Committees, to be found on the Journals of the House, which it is not
altogether useless to consult. Many evils and defects which were the subject
of complaint more than a century ago, still remain to be corrected and supplied.
See Lords' Journals, vol. xvii. p. 555. 637 ; vol. xviii. p. 69. 318. 715 ; vol. xix.
p. 314 ; vol. xxi. p. 134—144 (the Report of the I6th April, 1719) ; vol. xxiii.
p. 281. So much of the Report of the 16th April, 1719, as relates to Records,
with the Address of the House of Lords and the King's Answer, was ordered
to be printed in an Svo. volume. — Lords' Joumals, vol. xxi. p. 150. See also
The Report of the Lords' Committees, appointed by the House of Lords to view and
camider the Public Records, as also in what manner and place the same are now
kept. London. 8vo. 1719.]
(II) 15 Feb. 1731, and 9 and 10 May, 1732 ; Com, Joum. vol. xxi.
p. 917,913.
(12) The Record Offices examined by the Lords between the years 1703 and

OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS. 15
Report made to the House of Commons by the Com
mittee in 1732, after stating, that under their direction
some of the principal Record Officers had compiled a
Table of the Records of the Kingdom, digested in a
regular series of time, and distinguishing the repositories
in which the several Records are contained, they pro
ceeded to state, "That they had laid the foundation for
a very necessary and noble work, which must be of sin
gular advantage to particular persons, an honour to the
nation, and bring to light many valuable remains of
antiquity, which, for want of an easy and proper access to
them, had long been concealed from public notice."
1728, were — the Pailiament Ofiice, the Tower, the State Paper Office, the
Chapter House, the Court of Wards, the Court of Requests, the Crown Office
in the Court of King's Bench, and some few Offices in the Courts of Chancery
and Exchequer. In addition to these, the Committee of the House of Com
mons, in 1732, reported upon the Rolls Chapel, the Treasury of the Common
Pleas, the Duchy of Lancaster, and the First Fruits Office. See Joumals cf
Lords und Commons, [The Report of 1732 is not inserted in the Journals.
It was, however, printed at the time by order of the House. Report from the
Committee appointed to view the Cotton Library, and other Public Records cf the
Kingdom, containing an Account cf the Damage done by the Fire at Cotton House,
with a Catalogue, by Mr. David Casley, of the MSS,, Records, Sfc. defaced or
destroyed ; also an Account of the Nature and Condition cf the Records deposited
in each of the Public Offices; and a general Table ofthe Records, under the Heads
of Chancery, Common Law, Exchequer, and Dutchy Court cf Lancaster, drawn up
by Mr, Lawton, folio, 1732. Mr. Casley's Account has been reprinted in his
Catahgue of the Manuscripts of the King's Library, p. 313. This Report is
also comprised in the Collection of Reports from Committees of the House of
Commons not inserted in the Journals, (vol. i. p. 445.) It was principally from
the materials afforded by this Report, and the Report from the Lords' Com
mittees of 1719, that Mr. Strachey compiled his Index tOkthe Records, with
Directions to the several Places where they are to be found, and short Explanations
cfthe different Kinds of RoUs, Writs, <Sfc., which was published in 8vo. in 1739,
and has been reprinted, with a variation in the arrangement of the work, at the
end of Newnam's Conveyancer, vol. iii. p. 616 — 664, folio edit, and vol. vi. Svo.
edit. : Mr. Strachey also consulted the works of Powell, Prynne, Bishop
Nicolson, and other Authors, together with some manuscripts of Lambert,
Agard, and Le Neve. See Bibliotheca Legum Anglice, Part. II. p. 93, com
piled by Edward Brooke. See also Part I. p. 14, compiled by Edwaid Worrall.]

16 PRESERVATION AND ARRANGEMENT
This was the last great Parliamentary proceeding upon
this subject, previously to the appointment in 1800 of the
Select Committee of the House of Commons to inquire
into the State of the Public Records of the Kingdom, and
in the period that had elapsed, being nearly seventy years,
some of the measures recommended by the Committee of
1732 had been adopted effectually ; (13) others, however,
had not been fully executed ; and the intermediate lapse
of time had progressively superadded a large accumula
tion of materials in every department : besides which, the
change which had taken place in the language and written
character of judicial proceedings, had increased the
difficulties of methodizing these repositories, or applying
their contents to purposes of practical use. (14) It was
apparent also that no Parliamentary inquiries had been
hitherto extended to the Courts Maritime or Ecclesias
tical, nor to any of the Cathedral or University Libraries ;
that the Royal, Sloanian, Harleian, and other CoUections,
which now constitute the British Museum, had never
been subjected to such a visitation, and that no such
proceeding had ever been extended to any of the Public
Repositories in Scotland. (15)
(13) On the 20th May, 1772, a Committee of the House of Commons was
appointed to view the Rolls Chapel, &c. and upon the 26th of May they made
a Report upon it. See Com, Joum. vol. xxxiii. p. 775 and 791. See also an
Address for repairing the Rolls Chapel, &c. 10th Aug. 1784, Com. Joum.
vol. xl. p. 427.
(14) Stat. 4 Geo. II. c. 26.
(15) [The measures for the better preservation and arrangement ofthe Public
Records of Scotland, which were executed or planned prior to the year 1800,
are detailed in the different valuable Reports of the Deputy Clerk Register of
Scotland, but principally in the Fourth Annual Report. — See Appendix to First
General Report from the Commissioners on Public Records; see also the First
Repbrt from the Select Committee on the Public Records, Appendix (Va.)
Similar measures with regard to the Public Registers of Ireland are noticed
in the Reports from the Commissioners respecting the Public Records of Ireland, —
Vol. i. pp.^8. 399. 447, et seq.]

OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS. 17
The following are Instances of Directions given for arranging
the Records and providing for their better Security : —
[From Manuscript Collection,]
King Edward the Second, by his writ to the Treasurer and
Barons of the Exchequer, dated at Westminster the 7th August,
anno 14 of his reign,(16) commanded them forthwith to employ a
competent number of able clerks to superintend, arrange, and
methodize the Rolls, Books, and Memoranda of the times of his
Progenitors, then in his Treasury and in the Tower of London,
touching his Exchequer, which he states were not then so pro
perly arranged for his and the public weal as they ought to be.
In the 16th of his reign, the same king, by letters-patent to
the said treasurer and barons, dated at York the 3d December,
commanded that all Papal Bulls, Charters, Writings, and Memo
randa, touching his state and liberties in England, Ireland, Wales,
Scotland, and Ponthieu, then remaining in his Treasury under
their custody, in the Wardrobe, and elsewhere, (17) should be
calendared and arranged at the king's expense by certain com
petent clerks, to be for that purpose appointed by the treasurer,
who was thereby directed to reward such persons out of the
treasury for their so doing (18).
In the 19th year of the reign of the same king, Robert de
Hoton and Thomas Sibthorp, whom the king had then lately
appointed to examine, arrange, and methodize all the Charters,
Writings, and other Muniments in the castles of Pontefract,
Tuttebury, and Tonebrigge, also such as had newly been brought
into and were then in the custody of the Warden of the Tower,
and those in the House of the Friars Preachers in the city of
London, were by the king's writ, dated at Shene 'the 14th Oc
tober, commanded to deliver all the Rolls of their arrangement,
and the keys in their custody of the chests and coffers, to the
treasurer and chamberlains ofthe Exchequer (19).
(16) Rot, Claus, 14 Edw. II. m. 22.
(17) These Records were in the Tower. Rot, Claus, 33 Edw. I. m. 3.
(18) Rot. Claus. 16 Edw. II. m. 19. d.
(19) Rot, Claus, 19 Edw. II. m. 26. C

18 PRESERVATION AND ARRANGEMENT
King Edward the Third, in the 34th year of his reign, by a
writ dated at Westminster, the 20th August, and directed to
WiUiam Lambhith, clerk, surveyor of his works in the Tower of
London, commanded him to survey, repair, and amend aU
defects in the roof, doors, and windows of the house in the
Tower of London, which the king had provided for the safe
custody of the Rolls and other Memoranda of the Chancery, of
himself and his progenitors, (the Rolls being then hkely to
sustain material damage by such defects unless speedily re
paired,) and also to make three new closets in the same house
for the better security of such Rolls and Memoranda, the ex
penses whereof the king directed should be allowed in his
account (20).
And on the 10th June, in the 36th year of Edward the Third,
the king, by a like writ, directed to William Sleford, clerk of
his works within the Tower of London, commanded that he
should forthwith repair and amend all defects in the roof, doors,
windows, locks and keys of the Tower, wherein the Rolls and
other Memoranda of his Chancery were reposited, the ex
penses whereof were (in like manner) to be aUowed in his
account (21) (22).

[See the First General Report from the Commissioners
appointed by the King to execute the Measures re
commended by a Select Committee of the House of
Commons, respecting the PubUc Records,]
Towards the end of the same session of Parliament in
which they were appointed, the Committee presented to
the House the result of their labours, in the form of two
connected Reports ; wherein, after setting forth a brief
(20) Rot, Claus. 34 Edw. III. m. 15.
(21) Rot. Claus. 36 Edw. III. m. 25.
(22) [Copies of three of the above-mentioned writs and letters-patent, and
of several others having a similar object, may be seen at the end of the Report
from the Commons' Committee, 9th Mau, 1732.]

OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS. 19
account of the measures taken upon this subject under
the authority of the Crown and Parliament in former
times, and also relating the course of proceeding by
which their own inquiries had been conducted, the Com
mittee finally submitted to the judgment of the House
certain measures for the better preservation, arrangement,
and more convenient use of the contents of all the
various Public Repositories; together with systematical
and alphabetical enumerations of all the recorded memo
rials of the History, Laws, and Government of England,
from the period of its Conquest by the Normans, to the
year in which the Union took place between Great Britain
and Ireland.
The Committee conclude their First Report by ex
pressing a wish that the House of Commons would bear
in mind the following considerations ; namely, the acknow
ledgement of all times that our general histories (23) show
abundant marks of ignorance and incorrectness with re
gard to the existence and contents of our Public Records :
a fact to which there is uniform testimony from the days
of Lord Bacon and Lord Coke to our own times ; and to
(23) Lord Bacon says, " Versatur infelicitas quaedam inter Historicos vel
optimos, ut legibus et actis judicialibus non satis immorentur ; aut si forte
diligentiam quandam adhibuerint, tamen ab authenticis longe varient." — De
Augmentis Scientiarum, Lib. viii. u. 3. Aphorism xxix.
Lord Coke, in the Preface to his Third Report has this passage : — " I. pray
thee beware of Chronicle Law reported in our Annals, for that will undoubt
edly lead thee to error ; for example, they say that William the Conqueror de
creed that there should be sheriffs in every shire, and justices of peace to keep
the counties quiet, and to see offenders punished ; whereas tlie learned know,
&c." Blackstone, in his Introduction to the Great Charter, says : " In consequence
of those facts and Records (appealed to) he hath been obliged to differ very
frequently, not only from the Monastic Writers, and such as have implicitly
followed them, but also from later historians of a very different character, who
were endued with more learning and industry, and wrote from more authentic
materials." He adds, afterwards, that a general and complete History of
England is still wanting.
c2

20 REGISTRATION.
this, the Committee observe, may be added, the manifest
importance of our having the most ready knowledge of the
Records of the country, in the daily concerns of govern
ment, legislation, and jurisprudence.
With respect to legislation, it is clear that many of
our PubUc Statutes and Parliamentary Forms were un
known to the most learned men of former times,(24) as we
now find by reference to the Parliament RoUs ; and many
of those laws are even now not engrafted into the ordi
nary CoUections in the printed Statute Books. Upon the
celebrated Conferences ofthe House of Commons with the
House of Peers in the last century, when the exclusive pri
vilege of the Commons respecting Money Bills was dis
cussed and established, the important uses to be derived
from a knowledge of Parliamentary Records were signally
and successfully displayed on the part of the Commons by
Sir Heneage Finch (25) (then Attorney General, and after
wards Lord Nottingham), for which he received their
unanimous thanks : so when the constitution of the Ex
chequer came into question upon the Bankers' Case, in
the reign of King William, it was by the test of Public
Records alone that Lord Somers was enabled to settle its
Umits: and again, when the right of manning the Navyby
pressing was disputed, (26) the legality of that practice was
(24) Lord Coke says that the two Houses of Parliament sat together till late in
the reign of Edward the Third, and till the Commons had a perpetual Speaker
See 4 Inst. c. 1. p. 2, and c. 51, p. 255; but it appears by the Rolls of Par
liament, that they sat, or at least acted, separately, long before that period,
9 Edw. II. Rot. Pari. vol. i. p. 351 ; 13 Edw. III. Rot. Pari. vol. ii. p. 104,
107; 14Edw. III. p. 112; 15 Edw. IIL p. 127; 17 Edw. IIL p. 136; 18
Edw. III. p. 15(1, &c. The Lords are directed to meet " en la Chambre
Blanche," and the Commons " en la Chambre de Peinte, 40 Edw. III. p. 289.
On the opening of the Parliament, the Commons were directed by the king to
return to their ancient place, " en la Maison du Chapitre de t'Ahbeye de Westm'."
51 Edw. III. Rot. Pari. vol. ii. p. 363 ; see also, Prynne, 4 Inst. p. 9.
(25) State Trials, vol. ii.
(26) Foster's Crown Law, Alex. Broadfoot's Case, 1743.

REGISTRATION. 21
established by Sir Michael Foster, on the authority of
recorded precedents : and to this same standard of au
thority have both Houses of ParUament found it expe
dient to resort at no very distant period, (27) and upon oc
casions ofthe most solemn concern, for the safest guide to
their joint proceedings. (28) (29)
(27) Com, Rep. of Precedents on the Regency, 12 Dec. 1788 ; and Rep, on
Continuance cf Impeachments, 19 Apr. 1791.
(28) [It is remarkable that the following recommendation of a Committee,
of which the late Lord Colchester was the Chairman, together with the
details to which it alludes, should have escaped the notice of all those who,
during the last two years, have ransacked our libraries for authorities in
favour of a General Registry of Deeds relating to land.
" In concluding this Report, your Committee feel it also to be their duty
to call the attention of the House to the policy of establishing hereafter
some system of general registration for all Public Records and instruments
whatever, or at least for such as affect landed property. The whole details
of such a system, its structure and its operations, are exempUfied in the
Returns, collected in the progress of these inquiries.* And your Committee
desire to suggest, for the future consideration of Parliament, whether it
may not he a measure of the soundest wisdom to extend throughout all
England that plan which has been tried so satisfactorily in the populous
counties of Middlesex and York,f for nearly a century past, — tried also,
¦with singular advantage, for an equal period throughout the whole king
dom of Ireland, J with whose laws, on this point at least, it must be pecu
liarly desirable to establish a similarity ; and tried, for ages, upon a stiH
more perfect and extensive plan, throughout Scotland, with the most
complete success, and the most salutary consequences."
See First Report from Select Committee on the Public Records, page 20.
The advocates for registration have also overlooked the Report on the
Irish Register Office, made by the Sub -Commissioners in the month of
July, I81I, to his Majesty's Commissioners on the Publife Records of Ire
land. In that Report will be found the foUowing passages :
"The enrolment and registry of Deeds and WiUs, to perpetuate evidence
of Titles, and render notorious all transfers and incumbrances of Landed
? Appendix (M. 1, 2, 3, 4, and V. a.)
t Stat. 7 Anne, c. 20, Middx.— and Stat. 2 & 3 Anne, c. 4 ; 6 Anne, c. 25 ;
8 Geo. II. c. 6. Yorkshire.
t Irish Statutes, 5 Geo. II. c. 4.

22 REGISTRATION.
Upon the foundation of these Reports, an Address
from the House of Commons was immediately presented to
Property, was practised centuries ago, both in Great Britain and on the
continent; but a tract of Sir Matthew Hale seems to have produced the
EngUsh Acts of 2d and 5th Anne, from whence oin-s are chiefly copied,
perhaps with improved precision."
" The Saxons executed their conveyances in the County Court, and
entered memorials of them in Monastic Chartularies. Richard the First
projected a general Register of the Jewish Mortgages (called by them
Shatars or Starrs) ; and in Scotland every transfer of land is regularly
recorded. In France Henry the Second ordained, in 1553, that aU Sub
stitutions should be registered. And in Flanders an Edict of 1588, (re
cited in the code of its laws and customs, " Keuren ende costumen van
den landen van den vryen") directs that aU sales, exchanges, releases or
other aUenations of land, shaU be registered within one month (and a cer
tificate of registry subscribed), orbe void as against third persons, so that
the first registered deed, &c. shall prevaU : " By ghehreke yan t' zelve
overdraghen in der manieren, voorseyt, te wesen van gheender weerden,
kracht, nochte effect; jeghen ofte in prejudicie van eenen derden; so dat
den gonen die ten zelven Registre eerst bekent sal zijn (al waere hy oock
van jongher date) voor den anderen gaen, ende gheprefereert sal worden,
in het ghesagh van de proprieteyt," &c.
" As a new Register Office is already almost indispensable, we shall con
clude with briefly suggesting some particulars, which appear to us mate
rial, for its construction and arrangement. To guard against malicious
mischief, the light should only be admitted through the upper part of the
buUding ; and to provide the utmost space for arranging the books dis
tinctly, it should be surrounded internally with projecting partitions, hav
ing shelves on both sides, lettered and numbered (as in great public
Ubraries) to obviate the extreme inconvenience of too long a numerical
series. The Books (especially Indexes) to have two inches clear margin,
and^ three at the bottom; and the parchment to be good, and dressed on
both sides. The Land Index to contain a column for the next Town, and
the number of every Town-house : and the Index of Names to contain
columns for the County, Barony, date, and nature of the Instrument.
Affidavits accompanying Memorials, to specify which are the two or three
chief denominations, and their computed distance from the next town
(naming it) ; but the Transcript Books to be no longer sweUed with copies
ofthe Affidavits and common Covenants at length."
" In a Commercial counti-y it is essential that Land should he easily

REGISTRATION. 23
His Majesty George the Third, humbly representing, that
the Public Records of the Kingdom were in many offices
negotiable, to prevent its being monopoUsed, and render it instrumental
to trading enterprise. All transfers or incumbrances of land should there
fore be notorious, that the opvilent may lend or purchase secure from
fraud, and the indigent mortgage or seU unoppressed by exactions."
"It might considerably diminish the trouble and risk attending pur
chases, if registering (not only statutes, recognizances, and judgments,
but) aU wiUs, conveyances, and decrees affecting lands and premises (within
a certain time) were made essential to their validity (at least against third
persons) ; and if all marriage settlements, and other trust deeds, and,
perhaps, all deeds of great importance, were to be also either deposited,
or enroUed at length, (being first duly acknowledged by the grantors or
their attornies, before a judge of some court of record, or provincial
register, and certified by him,) so that attested copies of them should be
evidence, under proper restrictions, and that (in the language of Lord
Hale) ' the purchaser or lender may not be as much in the dark as before,
and cheated under the credit of a pubUc office erected to prevent it.'
" Persuaded, however, of the general correctness and utility of the
Registry Office, we abstain ftom extending further this inevitably long
Report, by hazarding more proposals to improve a plan, matured by the
experience of a century, and repeated efforts of legislative wisdom."
See Reportsfrom the Commissioners appointed by the King to execute the mea
sures recommended in an Address of the House qf Commons respecting the
Public Records of Ireland, pages 23 and 25.
The remarks of the very learned and enlightened Deputy Clerk Regis
ter of Scotland upon the same subject, which are to be found in his Fourth
Annual Report to the Commissioners on the PubUc Records, have not
attracted more observation than the recommendation of the Select Com
mittee and the Report of the Irish Sub-Commissioners. Mr. Thomson
observes that Fabian PhiUipps, an EngUsh writer of considerable note,
who has left behind him several Treatises on the impolicy of estabUshing
in England a Registry of Deeds and Conveyances, has, in his zeal to
counteract the pestilent example of Scotland, bestowed a great deal of
pains in endeavouring to explain and expose the Scotch, in a tone of vio
lence and prejudice which can now only excite a smile. Mr. Thomson
adds, — " From the general style and spirit of his Work on Registration,
a reader of the present day wUl not be disposed to rate his understanding
very high ; at the same time it should not be forgotten, that even in
Scotland similar prejudices were then but lately exploded. In the year
1609 the Scottish Convention of Estates passed an act abrogating the

24 IMPORTANCE OF
unarranged, undescribed, and unascertained ; that many of
them were exposed to erasure, alteration, and embezzle-
Register of Seisins (which had been first estabUshed by statute in 1600)
— ' the same Register serving for little or na uther use then to acquire
ga3Tie and commoditie to the clerkis keiparis thairof, and to draw His
Majesties good subjects to neidles, extraordinarie, and most unnecessair
trouble, tormoyle, fasherie, and expenss, howsover the generaU weie and
benefite of the hole estaite was pretendit, at the making of that statute.'
This clamorous denunciation of a record, which was re-established by Act
of Parliament in 1617, and which has been since regarded as an object of
national pride, must be ascribed in part to poUtical animosity against the
Secretary Elphinston (Lord Balmerino) by whom its original establishment
had been promoted, and who had then recently faUen from his official
power and influence."
See Appendix to First General Report frorn ihe Commissioners on Public
Records, pages 253 and 254.]
(29) [The several Reports already cited furnish numerous other examples
and testimonies of the utiUty and importance of a knowledge of the
PubUc Records. Some of the most remarkable occur in the elaborate
Report made to the Select Committee by the Right Hon. George Rose,
formerly Keeper of the Records at the Chapter House, " whose talent
and learning in records," a competent judge has declared, " were such as
would exceed aU beUef in those unacquainted with it ; and whose great
knowledge of the law and constitution of the land was," it is said,
" equally remarkable." The reader wiU probably not be displeased to
peruse the foUowing extracts from Mr. Rose's retm-n :
" Our Records, exclusive of Domesday Book, begin at an earUer period
perhaps than those of any other country in Europe ; that we have some
of as early, a date as the twelfth century, (notwithstanding the probable
destruction of some of them dming the troubles in the time of King Ste
phen, King John, and King Henry the Third, and the disputes between
the Houses of York and Lancaster,) is probably the consequence of no
foreign enemy having got possession of the capital, or indeed having
invaded this country for seven centmies ; for what passed in the reign of
King John, and the predatory incursions in the reigns of Richard the Se
cond, or Henry the Sixth, can hardly be called invasions. Yet with this
advantage of antiquity in our records, historical writers have not always
derived the clear light fi-om them which a more ready access to their
authority could hardly have faUed to produce. This observation is indeed
applicable even to those in whose custody the Records were.''
" Several of these were men remarkable for their talents and learning;

KNOWLEDGE OF RECORDS. 25
ment, and were lodged in buildings incommodious and
insecure; and that it would be beneficial to the Public
among whom were Petyt, TyiTel, Sir Robert Filmer, Doctor Brady,
Prynne, Rymer, &c. &c. &c.''
" Petyt and Prynne were Keepers of the Records in the Tower ; and
Rymer, who was the King's Historiographer, had a warrant not only to
search the Records in every office in the kingdom, but to make copies of
such as he should select for publication. How diligent he was in using
this authority is evident from the invaluable coUection of Records, &c.
pubUshed by him ; and from a large collection of others in manuscript
now in the Museum."
" Petyt makes a direct charge (not unfounded) against Prynne, for an
intended omission of a reference to the Rolls of ParUament (2 Hen. V.
p. 2, No. 10) in the Abridgment of the RoUs made by Sir Robert Cotton,
and printed by Prynne.''
" Even Sir Robert Atkyns, a man eminently distinguished for his inte
grity and his learning, as weU as for his deep researches into the ancient
history of Parliament, (who had been a Judge of the Common Pleas, and
was afterwards Chief Baron of the Exchequer and Speaker of the House
of Lords,) in his learned and elaborate argument in the year 1680, (in the
case of an information by the Attorney General against Williams, Speaker
of the House of Commons,) in asserting the antiquity of that House feU
into some mistakes from not having resorted to the original Records ; he
states, and insists much on it, that the Speaker of the House of Commons,
51 Edw. III. Sir Thomas Hungerford, was Speaker of the ParUament:
Whereas the words in the Record are, " Monsieur Thomas de Hunger
ford, Chivaler, q'i avoit les Paroles pur les Communes d' Engleterre." —
Rot. Pari. vol. U. p. 374, a. The 1 Richard II. the Speaker (Su- Robert
says again) was termed the Speaker of the Parliament : The words in the
Record are, ' Mons"' Peres de la Marc Chivaler q' avoit les Paroles de par
la Commune.' — Vol. ui. p. 5, b.''
" The same with respect to Sir John Bussey, 20 Richard II. The words
in the Record are, ' les Communes presenterent Mons"' John Bussey pur
leur Parlour.'— P. 338, a.— 339, b."
" Our constitution is too weU settled now to render an investigation of
any of the earliest Records of real importance, with regard to its Umits, or
its form : but it may not be unworthy the attention of the pubUc, as an
object of laudable curiosity at least, to trace the progress of our eariy
ancestors towards the state which is now our comfort and our boast. It
is the great praise of the British Constitution, that it was formed, or rather
formed itself, progressively, at different periods, by the slow and scarcely

26 RECORD COMMISSION,
Service that the Records and Papers contained in many
of the principal offices and repositories should be me
thodized ; and that certain of the more ancient and valua
ble amongst them should be printed; and humbly beseech
ing His Majesty, that be would be graciously pleased to
give such directions thereupon, as his Majesty in his royal
wisdom should think fit. And, accordingly, by commission
under the sign manual, dated the 19th of July, 1800,
Commissioners were appointed for giving effect to the
measures recommended by the Address of the House of
Commons; and as the Commissioners have died or have
become less able to attend to the duties required of them,
renewed commissions have from time to time been issued,
appointing other Commissioners, with like powers and un
der like instructions. (30)
perceptible gradations to which the situation of the country gave rise.
It grew to its present form by energies not perceived in their immediate
operation, but gradually unfolding themselves. Its ordinances were sanc
tioned by experience, cautious of change, and yielding even to improve
ments only from a conviction of a strong necessity for adopting them.
No rash or visionary speculation created, of a sudden, new powers in the
government, or new privileges in the people ; they flowed from the com
mon and deliberate consent (taught by long experience of their want)
calling for their adoption, to produce, or evidently to promote, the free
dom, the security, and the happiness of the community. A constitution
thus cautiously adopted, was jealously and firmly preserved; formed for
the public good, it has been guarded by the pubUc spirit of the nation ;
and like that invisible power, which is known by the exercise of its bene
ficence, it has been revered, obeyed, and loved."
See First Report from the Select Committee on the Public Records, Appendix
(A. 1. a.), pages 44, 46 and 47. See also, ante, pages 7 and 19.]
(30) [The following are the dates of the different commissions : — the 19th of
July, 1800; the 23d of May, 1806; the 25th of June, I8I7; the ISth of June,
1821 ; the 7th of April, 1825 ; and the 12th of March, 1831. This last com
mission confers more ample powers for the regulation of the Record Offices and
Repositories than any of the preceding commissions. It enjoins the commis
sioners to inquire into the duties of the several officers, clerks, and other mini
sters, having the care, custody, or management of the Public Records in all
their several departments, and into the salaries, fees, and other emoluments and
perquisites received by such officers, clerks, ministers, and other persons ; and

12th MARCH, 1831. 27
It is not the aim of this compilation to notice the mea
sures which have been carried into execution either by the
Commissioners themselves, or by Government in confor
mity with the views of the Commissioners, or by the autho
rity of Parliament, with respect to buildings, arrangement,
transfers, the estabUshments of office, and the duties and
emoluments of Record officers. (31) The compiler's prin
cipal object is, to diffuse a knowledge of the contents and
importance ofthe different Works which have been printed
under the direction of the Commissioners : a knowledge
which, it is presumed, will contribute to increase the cir
culation and the utUity of such publications. (32)
also into the rules, usages, and regulations of the several Record Offices, and
other Repositories of Public Records, and the general course of business therein,
and all matters connected therewith ; and also to inquiie whether any and what/
reforms, alterations, amendments, and improvements may be beneficially introi
duced therein ; and more especially with a view to the better arrangement^
preservation, and more convenient use of the Records and Papers ; and how
such reforms, alterations, amendments, and improvements may be best carried
into effect.]
(31 ) [It is worth while to mention, that the Commissioners, in their First Re
port, enumerate, amongst the consequences of a more general nature resulting
from the operation of the commissions, the instruction of persons, who, by their
employment under the same, might acquire and transmit to others that peculiar
species of knowledge which is requisite for the right understanding of Records.]
(32) [Nearly the whole of the works that have been printed were planned and
commenced prior to the First General Report of the Commissioners. By that
Report, made in 1812, they announced that it was not then their intention to
direct the printing of any other work beyond those already directed, and there
enumerated. In their Second General Report, made in 1819, they observed,
that their proceedings were then drawing to a close : and they added, " It
will be for the wisdom and vigilance of future times to maintain what has
been now done, and to go further where it may be judged necessary ; but what
ever may be the result of future determination, it must be of unquestionable
utility that there should always subsist, nnder the authority of the Crown, some
specific commission of superintendence and controul, which may be called into
action from time to time, for enforcing the due arrangement and preservation of
the . Public Records of the realm, so important also to the private rights of the
subject, and for ensuring the diligence and fidelity of the officers employed in
the various repositories."]

CHAPTER III.
ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION, CONTENTS, AND
CATALOGUES OF THE COLLECTION OF
COTTONIAN MSS.

[From the Preface to the Catalogue, printed by the
direction of the Record Commissioners.]
The high estimation in which the Cottonian Library has
ever been held by all persons competent to .appreciate its
value, is amply evinced, not only by the multitude of testi
monies of learned men, who have had opportunities to
notice its intrinsic value, and real importance, but more
so by the great solicitude that has at all times been shown
by the Legislature for its safe custody and preservation,
as well whilst it continued in the possession of the illus
trious family from whom it had its origin, as since it
became the property of the Public.
To enumerate tbe many unequivocal encomiums which
have from its first establishment been bestowed upon this
Library by men of the first eminence in raost branches of
literature, would not only exceed the limits of this com
pilation, but also prove in some measure superfluous, since
an ample detail of them has already been laid before the
public by the learned compiler of its Catalogue, published
in the year 1696. (1) In addition, however, to those
honourable testimonies, it may not be improper to suggest,
that during the above-mentioned period scarce a writer on
the antiquities, the laws, the constitution, and the history
(1) Dr. Thomas Smith. [Catalogus Librorum Manuscriptorum BibliotheccR
CottoniuntE, with a Life of Sir Thomas Cotton, Oxon. 1696, folio.]

THE COTTONIAN MSS. 29
of this country, has neglected to avail himself of the many
authentic documents deposited in this important coUection ;
and tbat among our contemporaries, no one hardly ever
thinks of engaging in any work or inquiry of that nature,
without having recourse to the abundant information he
is likely to derive from the contents of this repository.
Independently of these claims to general approbation,
it is also to be observed, that a great number of legal
evidences are here preserved, which have often contri
buted, and will no doubt hereafter be frequently called for,
to determine important questions concerning titles, ho
nours, descents, estates, prerogatives, and immunities ;
and cannot hence be considered as trivial by numbers of
individuals, who may be involved in causes of the above
description, especially in a country where the security of
property is one of the main pillars of the state.
Had not Dr. Smith at the beginning of his above-men
tioned Catalogue, the editors of the Biograptiia Britan
nica, (2) the ingenious author of the History and Antiqui
ties of Leicestershire, (3) and various other late biogra
phical writers, (4) given very circumstantial accounts of
the life of Sir Robert Cotton, the founder of this Library,
and of the origin, progress, and most eminent merits of his
collection, a circumstantial detail of these particulars would
no doubt have been expected in this place. But although
an ample statement of this nature may now be deemed
superfluous, yet as most of those who may have occasion
to consult this Catalogue will probably think, that a very
short epitome of what has already been delivered on that
subject may be necessary, as an introduction to the addi
tional facts which are to be here stated respecting the
History of the Library, and the motives of the present
(2) Biographical Dictionary, voce Cotton.
(3) Vol. ii. p. ii. pag. 834, seq.
(4) Neiv and General Biographical Dictionary ; Gentleman's Magazine, &c.

30 THE COTTONIAN MSS.
publication, the foUowing very concise sketch of the
Founder's hfe wiU, it is hoped, not prove wholly unaccept
able to the reader.
Sir Robert Cotton, a descendant from a very ancient
family, which in the reign of Edward the Third flourished
in the county of Chester, was born at Denton, near
Conington, in Huntingdonshire, on the 22d of January,
1570. He was entered at Trinity CoUege, Cambridge,
where, in 1585, he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts,
and where he early imbibed a taste for, and laid the
foundation of his pre-eminent learning in the history and
antiquities of his country. This bias, on his leaving col
lege, was greatly increased and confirmed by the free
intercourse he immediately commenced witb the celebrated
antiquaries, Joscelin, Lambard, Camden, Noel, and seve
ral others, who about that time (though as yet unsuccess-
fuUy) attempted to establish a Society for the Investigation
of British Antiquities. Animated by the example of
these assiduous collectors, he neglected no opportunity (of
which abundance offered at that time) to acquire a num
ber of chronicles, chartularies, and other original muni
ments, which at the late dissolution of the monasteries had
found their way into the hands of private persons, who in
general were by no means aware of their real importance.
In these endeavours he was surpassed by none, nor was
he, in fact, equalled by any of his emulous contempora
ries, most of whom ultimately co-operated to increase the
stock he was accumulating for the benefit of his country.
Iji 1599 he accompanied his friend William Camden in
a journey to the north of England, where they jointly
explored the whole extent of the Picts' wall, and brought
away several inscriptions and monuments, which, after
having been some time deposited at Sir Robert's seat at
Conington, were presented to Trinity College, Cam
bridge, where they are still carefully preserved.

THE COTTONIAN MSS. 31
At the accession of King James the First in 1603 he
was knighted ; and one of his female ancestors, Maria de
Weshenham, the wife of WiUiam Cotton, his fifth proge
nitor, being descended from the family of the Bruces in \f
Scotland, the king usually honoured him with the appeUa
tion of Cousin, And we accordingly find that he ever
after usually subjoined the name of Bruce to that of Cot
ton, and caused the royal arms of Scotland to be added
to his own armorial bearings.
In the year 1608 he was appointed one of the Commis
sioners for inquiring into the State of the Navy. And in
1611, having been the principal promoter of the plan for
the establishment of the order of Baronets, he was himself
raised to that rank, being created the thirty-sixth in suc
cession at the first nomination.
After having been, during upwards of thirty years, a
distinguished ornament to his country, and the principal
oracle to which men in the highest stations recurred for
accurate information and advice in all matters relating to
the history, the rights, and the constitution ofthe kingdom,
during which period he produced upwards of thirty tracts
or dissertations, chiefly on political and constitutional sub
jects, most of them written at the desire of men in power,
if not at the express command of his sovereign ; it is no
doubt greatly to be lamented that a life so meritorious
should, towards its close, have been embittered by base
calumny, and the arbitrary proceedings of those from
whom he had an undoubted right to expect distinguished
favour and protection.
When in the year 1615 Robert Carr, whom the king's
favour had rapidly raised to the rank of Earl of Somerset,
became implicated in the charge of having been accessary
to the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, the earl, having
ever since his exaltation been in habits of intimacy with
Sir Robert Cotton, had immediate recourse to him both

32 THE COTTONIAN MSS.
for advice and assistance in his perplexity, and thereby
drew upon his friend a suspicion of connivance, if not of
interference, from which he was called upon to clear him
self before the Privy Council. He was even committed to
the custody of an alderman of London; nor, although
nothing could be proved against him, was he released from
this confinement till five months after, when the whole
affair was terminated by the pardon the king was pleased
to grant to the Earl, and to the Countess of Essex.
About the same time the unpardonable inadvertency, or
rather the execrable perfidy of Gondemar, the Spanish
ambassador, drew on Sir Robert Cotton another imputa
tion, of which, however, the calumniator soon found it
necessary to acquit him by his own unqualified confession.
A list he suff'ered to go abroad of persons who had secretly
received pecuniary gratuities at his hands for sinister pur
poses, was found to contain the ever-venerable name of
Sir Robert ; but being called upon from authority either
to prove or contradict the opprobrious charge, he revoked
his declaration by asserting that one of his secretaries had
unawares inserted the name in the list. Although Sir
Robert's honour was perfectly vindicated in both these
instances, yet such transactions, in a mind so upright as
his, could not fail to cause much agitation, and to disturb
the tranquillity of a life addicted to none but useful and
laudable pursuits. On one of these occasions this excel
lent character had the mortification of seeing himself for a
time excluded from his own library ; the Privy CouncU,
by whose order it was locked up, deeming its contents of
too great importance to be exposed in the manner in which
the liberal owner suffered them to be inspected. From a
commission of James the First, dated Oct. 26, 1615, for
the examination of Sir Robert Cotton, on a charge of
having communicated the valuable state papers in his
library to the Spanish ambassador, who had caused them

THE COTTONIAN MSS. 33
to be copied and translated into the Spanish tongue, we
have reason to conclude that this circumstance happened
on the latter of these occasions. (5)
The anxiety to which these transactions must have given
rise was, however, trifling, compared to what he must have
felt when, either by the neglect or the dishonesty of per
sons in whom he bad placed confidence, another suspicion
arose against him, which for a time deprived him of the
favour of his sovereign, once more excluded him from the
use of his library, and, according to his own declaration,
greatly contributed to abridge his days. (6) In 1629 a tract
was handed about in MS. entitled, " A project how a
Prince may make himself an absolute Tyrant." The
inquiries that were immediately made for the author of so
pernicious a performance led, at length, to the Cottonian
Library. Sir Robert, perfectly conscious of his innocence,
made strict inquiry into the transaction, and soon found
that a copy of this tract, written at Florence in 1613, by
Robert Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, under the less
exceptionable title of " Propositions for his Majesty's
service to bridle the impertinency of Parliaments," had,
unknown to him, found its way into his library ; that, like
wise without his knowledge, his librarian or amanuensis
had, as is suspected for pecuniary considerations, suff'ered
one or more copies of it to be taken under the former of
these titles, and thus drew the fatal imputation to fall upon
one who, though perfectly free from guilt, could not long
survive a suspicion so injurious though so . groundless.
Although he completely vindicated his innocence of hav
ing written or disseminated a tract so destructive to the
liberties of the people, of which he had ever shown him
self a most zealous friend and advocate, yet, under the
(5) [A copy of this Commission is prefixed to the Catalogue of 1777 men
tioned in a subsequent page.]
(6) [See Rymer, Fa:deru, vol. xix. p. 198.]
D

34 THE COTTONIAN MSS.
renewed pretence that his library was not of a nature to
be exposed to public inspection, it was again put in
sequestration, and himself once more excluded from aU
access to it. What effect this must have had upon his
wounded mind may easily be gathered from the visible de
cline of his health ever after. Sir Robert frequently declar
ing to his friends, " that they had broken his heart who
had locked up his library from him." Shortly before his
death he caused to be signified to the Privy Council " that
their so long detaining his books from him, without ren
dering any reason for the same, had been the cause of his
mortal malady." He died on tbe 6th of May, 1631, aged
sixty years, three months and fifteen days, and was buried
on the south side ofthe church of Conington, where a suit
able monument was erected to his ever-revered memory.
That his library continued in sequestration some time
after his death, appears manifest from the petition of Sir
Thomas Cotton, his only son and heir, wherein he states
that his study had been a long time locked up, and himself
debarred from the use of it ; and that it appearing from a
schedule of the contents of the said library prepared for
the purpose, (7) that there were no books or papers
therein but such as were the undoubted property of the
petitioner, he therefore humbly prayed that he might
henceforth have the free use of his study, it being the best
room in his house. (8)
(7) A large roll on vellum now extant in the library, which contains a com
pendious Catalogue of the same, digested in a systematic order, is probably the
above-mentioned schedule, which is said in the petition to have been compiled
by Mr. Dickinson. Prom a transcript of this Roll, given him by Mr. Astle,
Mr. S. Hooper printed the Svo. edition of the Catalogue, which, he pubHshed
in the year 1777. \_A Catalogue of the MSS, in the Cottonian Library, toith
Emendations und Additions, an Account cf the Damage sustained by Fire in 1731,
and a Catalogue cf the Charters in the said Library, Svo. 1777. The Catalogue
of Charters was published from the MSS. of the Rev. Mr. Widmore, who had
for many years the care of the Collection.]
(8) [The Petition is printed p. ix. of the Catalogue mentioned in the pre
ceding note.]

THE COTTONIAN MSS. 35
Although no record appears to be extant that the
prayer of this petition was complied with, yet there is
every reason to believe that it was soon after granted ;
and that Sir Thomas, to whom the property had devolved,
continued to the day of his death, which happened in
the year 1662, in quiet possession of his library.
We are informed by Stukeley that  Bromsall, Esq,
of Blunham, in Bedfordshire, high sheriff" for the county
of Bedford in the year 1650, was greatly instrumental in
preserving this inestimable treasure during the convulsions
of the civil wars, in which all documents of a constitutional
and legal nature were industriously sought after, in order
to be destroyed (9).
Sir Thomas Cotton was succeeded by Sir John, his
eldest son, and he, too, appears to have been never
molested in the free enjoyment of his library. During the
latter part of his life he readily permitted Dr. Thomas
Smith to compile the Catalogue of the Collection, which
was printed at Oxford in the year 1696 (10).
The next, and respecting the public the most important,
transaction concerning this library is recorded in the
statute made in the year 1700, (11) entitled, " An Act for
the better settling and preserving the Library kept in the
house at Westminster called Cotton House, in the name
and famUy of the Cottons, for the benefit of the public."
This act, after doing ample justice to Sir Robert Cotton
for forming a most valuable collection of manuscripts,
(9) V. Stukeley, Itin. Curios, p. 74. The library appears to have been then
deposited at Stratton, in Bedfordshire, to which place it was probably removed
for the sake of security ; Sir Thomas's eldest son, afterwards Sir John Cotton,
having married Dorothy, heiress of Edmund Anderson, Esq. of that place.
(10) The books were deposited in fourteen presses, over which were placed
the busts of the twelve Caasars, and of Cleopatra and Faustina, whence the
press-marks given to the volumes in its several Catalogues, which have neces
sarily been retained to this day.
(11) r2&13 Will. III. c, 7.

36 THE COTTONIAN MSS.
papers, records, &c. (12) " 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
any where extant ;" and reciting that the same had been
carefuUy preserved, and much augmented and enlarged
by Sir Thomas the son, and Sir John the grandson of the
said Sir Robert Cotton, declares " that the said Sir John
Cotton, in pursuance of the desire and intentions of his
father and girandfather, 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."
After this preamble, so honourable to the collectors,
and so decisive in favour of the utility and importance of
the collection, the statute enacts, that after Sir John Cot
ton's death, the said library, together with his mansion-
house and its appurtenances, be vested in trustees; the
house for the use of the descendants of Sir Robert Cot
ton, the founder, for ever ; and the library to be carefully
preserved for the public use, without suffering any aliena
tion or embezzlement upon any account whatever.
The first concern of the trustees appointed by this act
was to cause the library to be carefully inspected, in order
to ascertain and identify its contents, that they might ren
der the keeper, whom they were to appoint to the care of
it, responsible for the security of the same. For this pur
pose they named Matthew Hutton, John Anstis, and
Humphrey Wanley, three of the most eminent antiquaries
of those days, to examine carefully into the state of it, and
report to them concerning its extent and state of preserva
tion. This report, dated June 22d, 1703, is extant in
(12) Besides the Library of Manuscripts, this repository contained also a con
siderable number of valuable Coins, chiefly Saxon and old English, and several
antiquities, Roman and English, all which are now incorporated in the Collec
tions of the British Museum.

THE COTTONIAN MSS. 37
manuscript in the British Museum, from which it appears
that they compared all the volumes in the library with the
entries in Dr. Smith's Catalogue, and ascertained the
number of pages in each volume ; but that, being limited
for time, they did not make any material corrections in
the said Catalogue, which they acknowledged to be in
several places materially defective. They likewise repre
sented many of the volumes to be in a state of decay, and
tbe place where the library was kept not altogether calcu
lated for its preservation.
The solicitude of the legislature to have this important
collection effectually secured for the use of the public,
induced them soon after to frame a new statute, entitled
" An Act for the better securing her Majesty's purchase
of Cotton House in Westminster," (13) in which, after
reciting that the library, in its present situation, was by
no means in the state of security, nor of the degree
of utility it was intended to be : and that " to the in
tent so great a treasure of books and manuscripts, so
generously given for the public service, might not remain
any longer useless ; and that it might be in her majesty's
power to make this most valuable collection useful to her
own subjects, and to all learned strangers;" an agreement
had been made with Sir. John Cotton, grandson to the
donor, for the purchase of the inheritance of the house
where the Ubrary was deposited, (14) for the sum of
.^4,500— which purchase could not have been made with
out an act of parliament, the preceding act concerning
this library having directed that the house should not be
sold or aUenated — it was provided, that the said house
be henceforth vested in the queen, her heirs and succes
sors for ever.
(13) 5 Anne, u. 30.
(14) This house, situate behind a part of the House of Commons, is still
called Cotton House, and is now converted into a residence for the chief clerk
of the House of Commons.

38 THE COTTONIAN MSS.
Whether it was for the purpose of erecting a new buUd
ing for the reception of tbe Ubrary on the site of the said
house, which indeed was directed by the last-mentioned
act, or for what other reason, does not at present appear ;
but we are informed, in a subsequent Report of a Com
mittee of the House of Commons, that the library was, in
the year 1712, removed to Essex House, in Essex Street,
Strand, where it continued to the year 1730, when it' was
conveyed back to Westminster, and deposited in a house
in Little Dean's Yard, purchased by the crown of Lord
Ashburnham, Here shortly after, viz. on the 23d of October, 1731, in
the morning, a fire broke out, which destroyed several,
and damaged many of the manuscripts, and was near
proving fatal to the whole library; what remained was
removed, by permission of the dean and chapter, into a
new building designed for the dormitory of Westminster
School ; and the trustees (particularly Mr. Speaker On
slow, who instantly, upon hearing of the fire, hastened to
the spot, and personally assisted in rescuing aU that could
be saved from the flames) immediately took the most
effectual steps in their power for retrieving as much of the
damage as could be repaired. They took the opinion of
several of the most experienced officers entrusted with
public records, concerning the best expedients in this
emergency, and proceeded in the manner suggested by
them in redressing the injury. Nor was the House of
Commons inattentive to this misfortune, since we find a
Report of a Committee appointed by them to view the
Cottonian Library, and other public records of the king
dom, dated May 9, 1732, in which an ample account is
given of the accident itself, and of the measures that were
adopted in consequence of the damage it occasioned. (15)
To this report is likewise added an Appendix, showing
(15) [See ante, p. 14.]

THE COTTONIAN MSS. 39
at large what manuscripts had been wholly destroyed or
materially injured, that persons, who might be possessed of
copies of them, might have an opportunity of contributing
to the reparation of the loss by communicating those
transcripts. When at length, in the year 1753, the legislature was
induced by the will of Sir Hans Sloane, Bart, to purchase
his extensive collection of Natural and Artificial Curiosi
ties, and to establish a national repository under the name
of the British Museum, it did not escape them how valu
able and important an addition the Cottonian Library
would be to an establishment of such great public utility.
The Act, therefore, made in that year, after reciting the
weighty motives that prompted them thereto, directed
that the said library should be deposited in the above-
mentioned Museum ; and that two trustees, to be nomi
nated in succession by the representatives of the Cotton
family, should be for ever added to those appointed by
this Act for the execution of the purposes thereof.
It remains now to state what steps the Curators of the
British Museum took in order to fulfil the intentions of
the founder, the donor, and the legislature, respecting
this important part of their trust. After causing the li
brary to be carefully deposited in a safe and conspicuous
part of the department of manuscripts, they, heing aware
that much remained to be done, in order to render it as
useful as the nature of its contents would admit of, in
the year 1793, directed the keeper of that department to
take every step that might be deemed advisable to restore
such of the damaged volumes as were thought yet capa
ble of some further repairs, and the imperfection of
Smith's Repertory having been repeatedly complained of,
to prepare a new and more accurate Catalogue without
delay. The following account of the manner in which
the keeper endeavoured to acquit himself of this task wiU,

40 THE COTTONIAN MSS.
at the same time, convey the best idea that can be given
of the present state of the library.
This library, which originally consisted of 958 volumes,
was by the above-mentioned fire, in the year 1731, reduced
to 861 volumes, of which, when brought to the Museum,
105 were damaged bundles preserved in cases. Many of
the volumes in bindings were not paged at all ; and few,
indeed, were paged with accuracy. In several of them
there were evident marks that leaves had been purloined;
and some had been bound up with much irregularity and
disorder. Concerning the bundles in cases, the Commit
tee of the House of Commons, who, in the year 1732, ex
amined into the damage occasioned by the fire, reported
that several of them might, in careful hands, be so far
restored as to be rendered useful. But this was after
wards rendered a task of much greater difficulty; the
persons, by whom they had been occasionaUy handled,
having thrown them into great, and in many instances
irretrievable confusion.
With respect to Dr. Smith's Catalogue, the number of
articles entered in it does not much exceed 6,200, which,
it will be seen hereafter, is not a fourth part of the con
tents of these 861 volumes. The chief omissions are in
the State Papers and Collections of small detached Tracts,
of which there are no less than 170 volumes. Most of
these are entered only as single articles, whereas, upon
an average, each of them contains at least 100 distinct
pieces. About 80 of these volumes, as Sir William Dug
dale informs us in his Life, (16) were by him found in loose
bundles, and caused to be bound up, but unfortunately
without any order as to persons, times, or matter ; whence
it follows that they have been hitherto little used, because
little known, and almost inaccessible for want of proper
calendars. (-16) P. 22.

TIIE COTTONIAN MSS. 41
Many of the other articles, especially the Biblical
Books, Liturgies, Chronicles, &c. have, it must be owned,
been described with sufficient accuracy, so as to leave little
room for emendation. But, in other instances, the learned
compiler has inadvertently suffered such mistakes to
escape him, as rendered a careful examination of the whole
Catalogue indispensably necessary. These defects were
noticed, and in a few instances supplied, by Mr. David
Casley, in an Appendix to his Catalogue of the King's
Library of MSS. (17) The learned Humphrey Wanley,
observing in how jejune and superficial a manner the Saxon
MSS. had been described, drew up very ample accounts
of them, which have been published in the second volume
of Hicks's Thesaurus, -{iS) and several other men of learn
ing have since pointed out and lamented many instances of
omission and inaccuracy, which greatly diminish the utility
of the Catalogue. Among the more striking of these im
perfections are the ascribing to Chaucer a volume of poems
by Hampole and others; the entering Lydgate's Siege of
Troy as an anonymous poem ; Comestor's Bible Histo-
riaux as a common French version of the Bible ; Marbo-
dcBus de Gemmis as a work of Evax, King of Arabia, &c.
The first care of the editor of the Catalogue, on enter
ing upon his task, was to cause all the volumes to be regu
larly paged, or at least the old paging to be accurately as
certained, without, however, obliterating the old numbers,
since that would have proved fatal to the many references,
that have been made to these MSS. He then proceeded
to examine the bundles in cases, and found means, after
many repeated and not a few unsuccessful attempts, to ar
range several volumes and parts of volumes of State Papers.
(17) [Catalogue of the Manuscripts of the King's Library, with an Appendix to
the Catalogue cf the Cottonian Library, Lond. 1734, 4to.]
(18) [Page 183. Catalogus Cod, MSS, Anglo-Saxonicorum Bibliothecce Cot-
toniance quce est Wtstmonasterii.]

42 THE COTTONIAN MSS.
Some of the shriveUed MSS. on vellum he likewise found
capable of being restored, though not without great care
and dexterity on the part of tbe bookbinder. Fifty-one of
the above 105 damaged MSS. have been restored, which
are now bound in 44 volumes ; and though several of these
be still defective, especiaUy where parts have been con
sumed or defaced by fire, yet, upon the whole, it wiU be
found that much useful and authentic information is still
preserved in them. The remaining 61 bundles have
appeared irretrievable ; and indeed most of them seem to
be obscure tracts and fragments of little or no importance.
They are now contained in 62 cases.
This done, the editor appUed himself to the compilation
of the Catalogue. And here each separate article has
been entered in its successive order, (19) under as short
and yet comprehensive a title as could be devised, which,
especially in the multitude of letters and tracts in a great
variety of antiquated languages and hand-writings, and
without either argument or rubrics, was attended with no
small degree of difficulty and labour. Particular pains
have been taken to discover the true authors of anonymous
and pseudonymous works ; in many instances, especiaUy
in anonymous poems, the first lines have been transcribed
in the Catalogue in order to identify the piece. Notice
has been taken of those works that have been published,
and references have been made to the titles of the pubh
cations, or to the collections in which they have been
edited. All possible endeavours have been used to ascer
tain the dates of the Letters and State Papers, where (as
(19) It was with great reluctance that the intention of digesting the Catalogue
into a systematic order was relinquished ; the number of articles that could not
possibly be reduced under particular classes being so great, that nothing more
satisfactory in this respect could have been produced than what is afforded hy
Hooper's above-mentioned Catalogue. A copious Index, on which more than
ordinary pains have been bestowed, will, it is hoped, in some measure supply
this want of systematic arrangement.

THE COTTONIAN MSS. 43
has but too often been the case in the last and the pre
ceding century) the writers have omitted them ; and even
approximations, with marks of interrogation, have been
inserted, where the exact dates could not be obtained.
The folio of each article has been entered ; and the num
ber of folios in each volume has been noted, both in the
Catalogue and at the end of the volume, in hopes thereby
to prevent all future mutilation, or at least to lay it open to
detection. The form of each volume, the material on
which it is written, and its age, if prior to the fifteenth
century, when it could be ascertained with any degree of
probabUity, have likewise been described in the Catalogue.
The Catalogue was drawn up by Mr. Planta.

CHAPTER IV.
ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION, CONTENTS, AND
CATALOGUES OF THE COLLECTION OF
HARLEIAN MSS.

[From the First Preface to the First Volume of the Cata
logue printed by the direction of the Record Com
missioners,] (1)
The great repute in which the Harleian CoUection of
Manuscripts has for several years past been held, not
only in England but throughout Europe, the many
useful materials already drawn from its stores, as well
by foreigners as our own countrymen, and the rank it
justly claims amongst the most celebrated Libraries at
present subsisting, have induced the learned world to ex
press an impatience for a more intimate knowledge ofits
contents. In order therefore to give the requisite satis
faction, and that every student may, with as little incon
venience to himself as possible, be informed with what
helps this treasury of erudition will furnish him in pro
moting his researches, the Catalogue, together with a
copious Index, has been submitted to the public.
This Collection of Manuscripts was begun towards the
latter end of the last century, by Robert Harley, of
Brampton Bryan, in the county of Hereford, Esq., who,
on the llth February, 1700-1, was chosen Speaker of
the House of Commons; on the 24th of May, 1711, was
created Earl of Oxford and Mortimer ; and five days
(1) [This is the Preface to the Catalogue ofthe Harleian Collection of Manu
scripts, published by order of the Trustees of the British Museum, in 1759.
2 vols, folio. It is said to have been written by Mr. Astle, who also compiled
the Index to the Catalogue. See Watt, Bibliotheca Britannica, Art. Astle.']

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 45
afterwards promoted to the important station of Lord
High Treasurer of Great Britain. An innate love of
science, the exemplary attachment of several of his an
cestors to literature, (1) and a strong propensity to search
into the transactions of former ages, had determined him,
in the early part of his life, to purchase whatsoever curi
ous Manuscripts he could meet with, more especially such
as in anywise tend to explain and illustrate the History,
Laws, Customs, and Antiquities of his native country —
Mr. Harley, in this respect, adopting the plan ofthe great
Sir Robert Cotton, whose name must always be mentioned
with honour, and whose memory cannot fad of exciting
the warmest sentiments of gratitude, whde the smaUest
regard for learning subsists amongst us.
A design so truly noble and commendable, was worthy
of a person of that rank and fortune, to which Mr. Harley
arrived. His extensive learning, and the correspondence
which he had cultivated, and constantly carried on with
the literati, both at home and abroad, were happily
adapted to his executing it with success.
But amongst the several difficulties which occurred to
his obtaining any considerable number of rare Manu
scripts, a very material, and seemingly insurmountable ob
stacle, offered. The reapers had already been in the
field, and gathered in a plentiful harvest, so that little, if
any thing, seemed to be left to reward bis researches, ex
cept a few gleanings accidentaUy scattered in obscure
corners. That sucb a presumption was not altogether iU founded,
will appear by a short review of the principal Manuscript
(1) Many of the family had" shown a remarkable fondness for books. His
grandfather. Sir Robert Harley, Knight of the Bath, had, at his seat at Brampton
Bryan Castle, a library of manuscripts and printed books, collected from one
descent to another, and valued at £1,000. This, together with the Castle and
Church of Brampton, &c. was, during the troubles of King Charles the First,
destroyed by the Parliament army, and renewed by his son Sir Edward Harley,
Knight of the Bath.

46 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
Libraries now extant, and of the labours of preceding col
lectors of Manuscripts, as also by the manner in which
they respectively disposed of their literary acquisitions.
It is well known, that until the reign of King Henry
the Eighth learning had been several ages at a low ebb,
especially among tbe laity in England, where the tumul
tuary state of the nation, and the long wars between the
houses of York and Lancaster, had found them employ
ment widely different from the pursuit of letters. Hence,
in this kingdom, the two Universities, the Cathedral
Churches, the Abbeys, and other Religious Houses, be
came the only repositories of books of erudition. Even
they were but scantily supplied: and it is probable that
the greatest part of such books as their libraries were
then furnished with had been picked up with difficulty,
and by slow degrees only, by ecclesiastics, in their occa
sional journies to Rome and divers parts of Europe.
We have no account transmitted to us of any considerable
number of valuable books being, at any one time, preced
ing the Reformation, introduced into England ; except
the collections made by order of Humphrey Duke of
Gloucester, for his library at Oxford, and the curious
Greek books brought hither by the prelates and other
dignitaries of that Church after the taking of Constanti
nople, which Archbishop Warham soon after purchased
and presented to New College.
King Henry the Eighth, soon after the general dissolu
tion of religious houses, founded the Royal Library, for
the use of the princes of the blood, placing therein many
choice MSS. collected by John Leland and others, out of
the spoils ofthe monasteries. (2)
Towards the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Sir
(2) This library was afterwards considerably augmented by his successors,
and is now preserved in the British Museum, by order of his late Majesty King
George the Second.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 47
Thomas Bodley turned his thoughts to the reinstating of
the public library at Oxford, then in a ruinous condition,
and to the adorning of it not only with printed books, but
with whatever Manuscripts could at that time be pro
cured. To this end he quitted the Court, and dedicated
the remainder of his life to the searching after and pur
chasing books and manuscripts at home, while his agents
abroad ransacked almost every part of Europe for the
like literary supplies. By these means he had the satis
faction of furnishing that library with one thousand two
hundred and ninety-four rare MSS. which by the subse
quent liberality of William Earl of Pembroke, Sir Kenelm
Digby, Archbishop Laud, Mr. Selden, Sir Thomas Roe,
Lord Fairfax, Bishop Barlow, Franciscus Junius, Dr.
Huntington, Sir Henry SaviU, Dr. Pocock, Mr. Dodsworth,
and others, were increased to six thousand eight hundred
and eighteen volumes, exclusive of eighteen hundred and
ninety-eight deposited in the Ashmolean Museum.
Bodley's great cotemporary. Sir Robert Cotton, had
been equaUy diligent in collecting ancient MSS. The
study of antiquities, particularly those of this kingdom,
bad engaged his attention, though he always showed a
high regard for every part of philological learning, in all
which he was extremely conversant. He had observed
with regret, that the History, Laws and Constitution of
Britain, were in general very insufficiently understood;
and being fully convinced, that the preservation of such
monuments of antiquity, and other documents, as were
conducive to render the knowledge of them, and their
deductions from their primary state, more accurate and
universal, would necessarUy redound to the advantage of
the pubhc, he had, in an expensive and indefatigable la
bour of upwards of forty years, accumulated those nu
merous and inestimable treasures which compose the
Cottonian Library, and now remain an indisputable testi-

48 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
mony of his benevolent disposition towards his native
country. But happily, these patrons of literature lived in an age
peculiarly favourable to the completion of their respective
purposes, and more especiaUy to those of the latter. The
late dissolution of religious houses had dispersed an infi
nite number of curious MSS., many of these were secured
by the nobiUty and gentry; (3) but no inconsiderable
number falling into the hands of peasants, mechanics, and
other persons ignorant of their importance, and totally
inattentive to their preservation, were easily to he pur
chased. From this source Sir Robert Cotton had sup
plied his library with a multitude of rare MSS. and to
them Mr. Camden, Mr. Lambert, Dr. Dee, and Sir
Christopher Hatton, had kindly contributed their stores.
Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, had be
fore taken the same opportunity of repositing a good
number of exceUent MSS. both in the Public Library
and in that of Corpus Christi CoUege in Cambridge; and
many considerable augmentations of the like kind had
been made to the libraries of the several coUeges in the
two Universities, as also to those of our Cathedral
Churches, the Palace at Lambeth, and the CoUege of
Arms. Thomas Earl of Arundel had made large collections of
MSS. which afterwards were presented to the Royal So
ciety, by his grandson Henry Duke of Norfolk.
The Inns of Court had procured, for their respective
libraries, divers excellent ancient Manuscripts, relating to
the municipal laws of this and the neighbouring king
doms ; and Mr. Vaughan of Hengwrt had hoarded up,
and perpetuated to his family, most ofthe valuable Manu-
(3) See Leland's New Year's Gift to Henry the Eighth.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 49
scripts relating to the principality of Wales, and the
history of the ancient Britons.
The possessors of lands heretofore belonging to Abbeys,
Priories, &c. being apprised that the ancient Chartularies,
Registers, Ledger-Books, and other Muniments of those
Religious Houses, might be of infinite use in discovering
and evincing the various rights, privileges, and immuni
ties annexed to those estates, had been industrious in
coUecting them, in order to their being religiously pre
served amongst their other family evidences: and as a
taste for letters increased, many curious persons were
vying with each other in the curiosities and other literary
furniture of their respective libraries.
A similar passion for collecting MSS. and forming as
well private as public libraries, had long displayed itself
in many other parts of Europe. Pope Sixtus the Fifth,
on his rebuUding the Vatican Library, in the year 1588,
had used his utmost efforts to improve it, by the addition
of the most valuable MSS. His influence had procured
it large supplies, and most of the succeeding pontiffs, par
ticularly Pope Clement the Eleventh, (4) having in that
respect followed his example, their agents and dependents
had, from time to time, interested themselves, and that
with great success, for its further augmentation.
Large collections of MSS. had been placed in the ar
chives of the Church of St. Peter, and in the foUowing
Libraries, viz. ofthe Fathers of St. Basil, the Dominicans
of Sancta Maria Sopra Minerva, and the Palaces of Ot-
toboni, Chigi, Barberini and Altieri, at Rome ; the Con-
(4) Pope Clement the Eleventh purchased and added to the Vatican most
of the oriental MSS. which were to be found in Egypt, when the Coptic Patri
arch made an overture for an union between the Romish and Eastern Churches.
See Father Asseman's Bibliotheca Orientalis Clementina Vaticana. Romae, 1719,
&c. Folio. E

50 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
vents of St. Severini, Monte Cassini, Monte Oliveto,(5)
and St. John de Carbonara, at Naples; the Royal Palace,
and the University of Turin; the Ducal Palace at Mo
dena; the Ambrosian CoUege at Milan; the Laurentian,(6)
Benedictine, and Dominican Convents at Florence; the
Ducal Palace at Parma; St. Mark at Venice; the Canons
Regular at Bologna; and in other libraries in Italy.
Most of the Manuscript collections made by the Ger
man literati had been swallowed up by the Imperial Li
brary at Vienna, (7) which, after all the monasteries in
Austria, by the special order ofthe Emperor Maximilian
the First, bad been, as it were, pillaged of their Manu
scripts, for its enrichment, was further increased by the
acquisition of a great part of the once celebrated Buda
Library. (8)
Plentiful supplies of the Uke kind had been thrown into
the Clementine College at Prague, the Ducal Library at
Gotha, the Magistrates' Library at Leipsic, and the Li
braries ofthe Universities of Jena, Leipsic, and Leyden.
The Heidelberg Library, very famous on account of
the many fine MSS. wherewith it was replete, had been
further greatly enriched a little before the disturbance in
Germany occasioned its being removed into the Vatican.
No small number of Manuscripts bad been purchased
for the increase of the Royal Library at Dresden. Queen
Christina had not only possessed herself of the rich MS.
Library of Petavius, and many choice Manuscripts taken
(5) This library was founded by Alphonso the Second.
(6) Founded anno 1570, by Cosmo de Medicis, first great duke of Tuscany,
and dedicated to public use by Pope Clement the Seventh.
(7) Vide Lambecii Bibliotheca l^indobonensis.
(8) This library was collected by Matthew Corvinus, king of Hungary, who
died in the year 1490, but was afterwards partly destroyed, and partly dis
persed, by the Turks, when, under the command of Solyman, they sacked Buda
in the year 1526.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 51
by her father, the great Gustavus Adolphus, from the
library of the royal palace at Prague, and many towns in
Germany ; but had even drained Sweden and the north
of those numerous Manuscripts, that she carried with her
to Rome, and which, after her death, were divided be
tween the Vatican and Ottoboni Libraries. (9)
The French King's Library, from its first institution by
Francis the First, had been continuaUy and wonderfully
increasing, and afterwards received an augmentation of
no less than ten thousand MSS. by the procurement of
Cardinal de Fleury, who incessantly exerted his utmost
endeavours for its further supply.
The religious houses in Europe had always shown a
particular zeal for the possession of Manuscripts, and
continued indefatigable in soliciting and encouraging their
patrons and benefactors to search out the like valuable
treasures, and present them to their libraries.
Such rare books as were found in the several famous
seminaries of literature in Africa, and brought into Spain,
had, together with a great numher of Eastern Manu
scripts, been collected, and lodged in the Escurial. Con
stantinople and Greece had been nearly exhausted of
their Manuscripts by the European traveUers in those
parts; particularly by John Lascaris, (10) for the Lauren-
tian Medicean at Florence, by Cardinal Bessarion, for
those numerous MSS. which he left by his will to the

(9) The library of Queen Christina came, after her death,- to the family of
Ottoboni, of which Pope Alexander the Eighth was the head. He, in the year
1691, placed nineteen hundred of her MSS. in one of the galleries of the
Vatican Library, and gave it the appellation of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in honour
to the memory of Christina, who had the additional name of Alexandrina given
her by Pope Alexander the Seventh, when she abjured, before him, the Lutheran
religion. (10) He was sent by Lorenzo de Medicis twice into Greece in search of an
cient MSS.
e2

52. THE HARLEIAN MSS.
public library at Venice, (11) by Leo AUatius, for the
Barberini Library, and by the Abbe St. Sevin and others,
for the Royal Library at Paris. (12)
After so many Manuscripts had been thus secured in
pubhc libraries, and such a variety of industry used for
the supply of those sacred magazines of learning, the
prospect of furnishing a new library with any considerable
number of choice MSS. was very unpromising. But
whatever discouragements it might suggest to Mr. Harley,
they were far from checking his attempts. He resolved
to persevere and steadily pursue his plan. He soon had
the satisfaction of finding his endeavours attended vvith.
remarkable success ; for although the first considerable
collection which he purchased was in August, 1705, we
are assured by a learned prelate of our Church, (13) (who
well knew,) that in less than ten years he had got together
near 2,500 curious and rare MSS. in different branches of
literature ; amongst which were those of Sir Simon
D'Ewes, the Suffolk antiquary, Mr. John Stow, author
of the Survey of London, Mr. Charles, Lancaster Herald,
and John Fox, the Marty rologist.
These unexpected and pleasing acquisitions would
alone have sufficiently encouraged a person less devoted
to the love of antiquity, than Mr. Harley, to continue the
pursuit with vigour; but he met with stiU further and
irresistible inducements. Dr. George Hicks, the great
(II) They consist of 9S0 volumes, whereof 625 are Greek, and were fot the
most part collected in Greece and Constantinople. We are told by Ciacconius,
.lovius, and Fabricius, that the Cardinal was better skilled in ancient MSS.
than any other person of his time. And the Cardinal himself, in one of his
letters, mentions that he spent all his time and fortune in collecting and tran
scribing the most scarce MSS. See the preface to Grceca S. Marci Bibliotheca
Codicum Manuscriptorum. — Venetiis, 1740. Folio.
(12) He travelled into the East, by order of Cardinal Fleury, to buy MSS.
for the French King's Library.
(13) Bishop Nicholson.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 53
restorer of northern learning, Mr. Anstis, Garter King at
Arms, Bishop Nicholson, Colonel Worsley, Sir Gilbert
Dolben, Mr. Prior, Dr. Stratford, Canon of Christ Church,
Sir Thomas Hoby, Peter Le Neve, Esq., and other
eminent antiquaries, not only offered him their assistance
in procuring MSS., but presented him with several which
were extremely valuable. Thus excited, he determined
to lose no time in bringing to maturity a design which he
had so successfuUy begun ; and therefore whilst engaged
in the service of the state, he was constantly attentive to the
enlarging of his collection ; and after his retirement from
public business, spent the remainder of his days in an un
wearied application to the gaining of further accessions to
his library, not sparing any costs necessary for that pur
pose. He likewise kept many persons employed in pur
chasing Manuscripts for him abroad, giving them such
written instructions for their conduct in that respect, as
sufficiently manifest the exact knowledge he had acquired
as well of every curious Manuscript, as of the person,
circumstances, and residence of its possessor. (14) By
these means the Manuscript Library was, in the year
(14) The reader, perhaps, will not be displeased with the perusal of one of
these instmctions ; it is as follows, viz. : —
" Mr. Andrew Hay,
" You being upon your departure towards France and Italy, by my noble
lord's order, I give you this commission ; not now expecting that you can exe
cute every part of it in this journey, hut yet hoping that you will dispatch those
articles which are of the greatest importance, and put the others into a proper
posture, against the time of your next return thither. *•
" In Paris, Father Bernard Montfaucon has some Coptic, Syriac, and other
Manuscripts worth the buying. Among them is an old leaf of the Greek
Septuagint, written in uncial or capital letters. — Buy these, and the leaden
book he gave to Cardinal Bouillon, if he can procure it for you, or direct you
to it. " In the archives of the Cistertian monastery of Clervaulx (or Clara-valle),
I am told there are some original Letters, or Epistles, written by the hand of

54 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
1721, increased to near six thousand Books, fourteen thou
sand Original Charters, and five hundred Rolls. (15)
St. Hierome upon phylira, or bark.— One or more of these will be acceptable, if
not too outrageously valued.
" The Duke of Savoy has many Greek MSS., as also the Egyptian Board,
or Table of Isis, adorned with hieroglyphics ; being that which have been ex
plained by Pignorius, Kircheius, &c. — Let me have some account of these.
" At Venice, buy a sett of the Greek Liturgical Books printed there; I mean
a sett all of the first edition, if they may be had : if not, let us have the other.
Buy also Thomassini Bibliothecce Venetie, in quarto. Get a catalogue of Mr.
Smith's MSS. there, and inquire how matters go about Giustiniani's Greek
MSS. In the bookseller's shops, &c. you may frequently pick up Greek MSS.
which the Greeks bring from the Morea, and other parts of the Levant.
" Remember to get the fragments of Greek MSS. you left with the book
seller, who bought Maffeo's library.
" The family of Moscardi, at Verona, have many valuable antiquities; and
among the rest, four Instruments of the Emperor Theodosius, junior, (now im
perfect) written upon phylira. — These must be bought, and especial care taken
of them. The first begins, — dem relectis. The second — ius vir in Ast, The
third ius vir in, — The fourth — ni Siciliensis,
" At Florence, the Dominicans, or Franciscans, have a large collection of
Greek MSS. — You may see them, and get a catalogue of them, if you can.
Buy Ernstius, or some other catalogue of the Grand Duke's MSS.
" At Milan, in the Ambrosian Library, is a very ancient Catullus ; part of
Josephus in Latin, written upon bark. A Samaritan Pentateuch in octavo,
part of the Syriac Bible, in the ancient, or Estrangele characters; divers Greek
MSS. in capital letters, being parts of the Bible ; with other books of great an
tiquity, both Greek and Latin. — You may look upon them and send me some
account. " At Monza (about ten miles from Milan) is an imperfect Antiphonurivm
Gregorii I. Papcz. It is all written upon purple coloured parchment, with
capital letters of gold — Buy this if you can.
" The family of Septata, at Milan, have a Latin writing upon bark. Buy
this, if it will be parted with.
" In the archives of the Church of Ravenna, are divers Instruments written
upon bark. — You may see them.
" At Rome, the Greek Monks of St. Basil have very many old Greek MSS.
written in capitals, particularly a book of the iv Gospels, and some pieces of
St. Gregory Nazianzen upon St. Paul's Epistles. — Buy as many as you can, for
I hear they are poor, and therefore they may sell the cheaper. They have like
wise a Greek Charter of Roger, King of Sicily, in five pieces, together with

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 55
This great encourager of hterature died on tbe 21st of
May, 1724.(16)
some other Instruments in Greek, written upon bark or vellum. — Buy these also,
if you can.
" The Fathers of the Oratory at Rome (Monasterium VaUicellanum') have
many very ancient MSS. both Greek and Latin.— See them at least, even sup
posing that they will not sell.
" In the Cathedral Library at Pisa are many ancient MSS.' — Let me have
some account of these also.
" The monks of Bovio (in Monasterio Bobiensi, near, if not in Pavia) have
many very ancient MSS. and among the rest a Book of the Gospels in Latin,
wherein St. Luke is written Lucanus. They have many old deeds in their
archives. — Buy what you can.
" At Cava (about a day's journey from Naples) is a Benedictine monastery.
In the archives, or treasury, is a Greek Deed of Roger, king of Sicily, with his
golden seal appendant. — Buy this, if you can. In the library are some old
MSS. — See them at least, if you cannot buy.
" At Naples, in the library of the Augustin friais of St. John de Carbonara,
is a Greek MS. of the Gospels (or of Homilies upon the Gospels) all written
in capitals with letters of gold, upon purple parchment. — ^This must be bought.
There is also a Dioscorides in Greek capitals ; being a large book with figures
of the plants, &c. — This must also be bought. There is also a good number of
other ancient MSS. both Greek and Latin, among the latter is an Hieronimus
de Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis in Saxon letters ; and the Gospels in Latin,
where St. Luke is called Lucanus. — Buy of these what you can.
" If the Greek Manuscripts of the Monastery of St. Savior, near Messina in
Sicily, or any of them, do remain there yet, or in that neighbourhood, as it is
probable they may, notwithstanding the late wars, they will doubtless come ex
ceeding cheap. — You will inquire, however, how this matter stands.
" Pray, sir, all along in your journey, endeavour to secure what Greek MSS.
and Latin Classical MSS. you can, provided they come at reasonable prices ;
and let me be favoured with an account of your proceedings as often as may be
convenient. " Mr. Hay, ,
" In executing this commission, my noble Lord cannot give you positive di
rection how to bid upon every occasion, by reason of this his great distance
from those parts ; and must therefore rely upon your fidelity, your prudence,
your usual dexterity in business, and your personal affection to him. You will
be sure always to buy as cheap as you can, for I foresee that some of the things
his lordship chiefly wants, or is desirous of, will not come for a small matter.
In most of the monasteries you will be able to buy for ready money ; but it raay

56 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
His son Edward, Lord Harley, the inheritor of his
honours and fortune, with equal firmness and perseve
rance, pursued the plan; and with incessant assiduity, and
at an immense expense, enlarged the collection, so that at
his decease, which happened on Tuesday, the 16th of
June, 1741, the Manuscript Library consisted of near
eight thousand volumes. But many of them ^eing com
posed of several distinct and independent treatises, the
number of books, separately considered, may be reckoned
to amount to upwards often thousand; exclusive of seve
ral curious loose papers, which have been since sorted
and bound up in volumes; and above forty thousand ori
ginal Rolls, Charters with their Confirmations, Letters
Patent, Signs Manual, Privy Seals, Grants, Feofments,
final Concords, Exchanges, Warrants, and other Deeds
and Instruments of great antiquity, for the most part re
lating to Great Britain and Ireland.
That the principal point, which the noble founders of
this treasury of learning had in view, was the establish
ment of a MS. English Historical Library, and the
be at a cheaper rate with the Greek monks of St. Basil's monastery at Rome,
whose MSS. are good, and themselves in want.
" I beseech God to bless and prosper you all along in this so long a journey,
and to bring you back again with safety and good success ; and you may be sure
that you will be more welcome to but very few, than to
" Good Sir,
" Your very hearty well-wisher, v
" And most humble Servant,
*' Humphrey Wanley."
(15) Father Montfaucon's Letter to Mr. Wanley, dated the Nones of July,
1721. See Harleian Library, No. 3777.
(16) On a spare leaf of one of the Manuscripts in this library, Mr. Wanley
hath made the following remarkable entry: — "21st of May, 1724. To-day
about ten of the clock, it pleased Almighty God, to call to his mercy from this
troublesome world, the Right Honourable Robert Earl of Oxford, the founder
of this library, who long had been to me a munificent patron, and my most
kind and gracious lord aud master.''

THE HARLEIAN MSS. Ot
rescuing from oblivion and destruction, such valuable
Records of our National Antiquities, as had escaped the
diligence of former collectors, is indubitable. But it can
not be inferred that they confined their views to that ob
ject alone, or were in the least respect inattentive to
others. The contrary is evident. The great number of
Bibhcal, Theological, and Philological Books wherewith
the collection abounds, are instances of their Lordships'
plan being more extensive. An inspection of the Cata
logue will afford other unquestionable proofs of the laud
able efforts which were exerted, in order to furnish the
Harleian Library with Manuscripts in every useful
science. To give a critical account of the rare and curious MSS.
preserved in this admirable repository; to point out their
respective excellencies; to select their most remarkable
passages; and to enter into a circumstantial detaU oftheir
several histories, would not only exceed the proper bounds
of this work, but prove a task infinitely too difficult for
any one person who should presume to attempt it. Here
therefore it must suffice — to give the reader a general idea
ofthe contents of the collection, briefly and occasionally
only particularizing some books of the most approved
value and curiosity.
I. Bibles and Biblical Books, of which the Library
furnishes upwards of three hundred copies in the Hebrew,
Chaldee, Greek, Arabic, and Latin, many of them of
good note for their great antiquity, and in other respects
extremely valuable. Amongst these are: — A Hebrew
Bible several hundred years old; to which are prefixed
the various readings ofthe Eastern and Western Copies,
a Syllabus of the Parashoths and Haphtaroths for the
whole year, and two remarkable drawings in gold, highly
embossed, ofthe sacred vessels and utensils ofthe ancient

58 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
Jews [1528]. (17)— A Hebrew Bible, with tbe smaU Ma
soretic notes, iUuminated and adorned with miniature
paintings; written in the 14tb century [5710, 5711].
Another copy of the Hebrew Bible, coeval with the
former; most elegantly written in three quarto volumes
[5773, 5774, 5775].— A Latin Bible, with St. Paul's Epis
tle to the Laodiceans, finely illuminated ; written in the
llth century, and formerly belonging to the Cathedral
Church of Anjou [2833, 2834]. — Two pompous volumes,
containing a Latin Bible, with St. Jerom's Epistle to
Paulinus, De omnibus divince Historice Libris, his Pro
logues, and Prefaces, and the Canons of Eusebius; written
in the 12th century, and formerly kept in the Church of
St. Mary and St. Nicholas, at Arinstein [2798, 2799].
The Old and New Testament of the Vulgate edition,
elegantly written in the 13th century, with the Psalter of
the Galilean version; Rabanus Maurus's Prefaces to his
Commentaries on the Books of the Maccabees, and an in
terpretation of the Hebrew Names ; ornamented with
most beautiful miniatures, executed in a taste far superior
to what is usually found in Manuscripts of that age [1297.]
The reading of the Sth verse of the 5th chapter of St.
John's first Epistle, in this MS. is, Et tres sunt qui testi
monium dant in terra, Spiritus, Aqua, et Sanguis; et
hii tres unum sunt. A transcript of the books of the Old
and New Testament, written in the same century, and
contained in two pompous and illumined volumes, for
merly belonging to the Capuchin Convent at Montpelier.
In this MS. the 7th verse of the 5th chapter of St.
John's first Epistle is wanting; and the legend of the 8th
verse is, Quoniam tres sunt qui testimonium dant in terra,
Spiritus, Aqua, et Sanguis, et tres unum sunt [4772,

(17) N. B. This, and the following numbers, refer to the MSS. as they are
entered in the Catalogue.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 59
4773]. A copy of the Old and New Testament, with St.
Jerom's Prologue to the Book of Job, written in capitals,
and of the 13tb century [2822]. Another copy, which
heretofore belonged to the Church of St. Mary at Worms,
finely iUuminated and augmented with the Canons of Eu
sebius, St. Jerom's Epistle to Paulinus, and the usual
Prologues, &c. written in the 13th century [2803, 2804].
The most complete copy now extant of Peter de Riga's
Versification of the Latin Bible, written in the 14th cen
tury [747]. A double RoU, containing the Hebrew Pen
tateuch, written with great care in a very large character,
and without points, or any horns or flourishes on the tops
of the letters, on forty brown African skins of different
sizes, some containing more columns than others, and
having a space of about four lines left between every two
books [7619]. The Hebrew Pentateuch, with a Chaldee
Paraphrase ; and the Books of Canticles, Ruth, Lamen
tations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther; with the Commentaries
of R. S. Jarchi, and part of the Chaldee Interpretation of
the Canticles ; elegantly written in the 14th century [5709].
A small RoU, containing the Book of Esther in Hebrew,
finely written in a very small character, and by a Spanish
hand. [This Roll is not mentioned in the Catalogue].
Part of the Book of Psalms, and the entire Books of
Proverbs, Job, Daniel, Esdras, Nehemiah, Chronicles,
Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Esther, and Lamentations, in Hebrew,
written in the 12th century [5715]. Part of Exodus, and
the whole Books of Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
Esther, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, and* Ecclesiastes,
in Hebrew, with ,the Haphtaroths ; of the 14th century
[5706]. A most pompous copy of the first part ofthe Latin
Bible, as far as the Psalms; of the 9th century [2805.]
Tbe Books of Leviticus, Joshua, and Judges, in Latin,
of the 10th century [3806]. Two copies of the Book of
Job in Latin, one written in the llth century [2817], the
other, with a Gloss, in the 12th century [5233]. A very

60 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
fine copy of tbe Books of Tobit, Judith, Ruth, and Wis
dom, in Latin, with a Gloss, written in the 13th century
[4985]. Two very noble Biblical Books, upwards of five
hundred years old ; being part of a most richly illuminated
Manuscript, the first volume whereof, beginning at Genesis,
and ending with Job, is preserved in the Bodleian Li
brary (Arch. A. 154). They consist of texts according to
the vulo-ar Latin, selected from the Books of the Macca-
bees and New Testament, with the subject of each text
represented in an iUuminated picture, included in a pretty
large circle placed opposite thereto. Underneath each
text is likewise set down, in Latin, the meaning of the
same, according to the opinion of the author, who gene
rally applies such text to demonstrate tbe benefits of a
good life, and the punishments attending a bad one.
These explications are also represented in historical paint
ings placed under the other ; all columnatim, and the
whole adorned with iUuminated ornaments [1526, 1527].
Three very fair copies of the New Testament, of Wick-
liff"'s Translation, all written in his time, and one of them,
as is supposed, by his own hand. To one of these copies
is prefixed a Calendar ofthe Lessons and Gospels, of all
the Zeere. At the end thereof are the Epistles of St.
Paul to the Laodiceans, and the Lessons and Epistles of
the old " Lawe, that ben red in the Chirche aU the Zeer
after the use of SaUsbury" [4027, 2309, 327, 6333]. The
four Gospels in Greek, with the Canons of Eusebius,
said in a note, at the end of the MS. and in a hand nearly
coeval with it, to be the proper hand-writing of King
Theodosius the Great [5567]. A most august copy ofthe
Greek Gospels, in capitals, written in the llth century
[5684]. An ancient transcript ofthe Greek Gospels, orna
mented with great variety of historical paintings, and ac
companied with an explanatory treatise on the EvangeUsts
and EvangeUcal Lessons, a Menology, the Canons of
Eusebius written in Uluminated blue and gold letters, his

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 61
Epistle to Carpian, the Preface of Irenaeus, and another
Preface taken from Cosma the Egyptian's Christianorum
Opinio de Mundo, sive Topographia Christiana; allowed
to be at least as old as the 12th century [1810], and stUl
more remarkable, in regard, that neither this MS. nor
Cosma's Book, had ever been seen by Dr. Mill, before he
published his edition ofthe Greek Testament. (18) It is
said in a note written on a spare leaf, at the end of this
MS. that it formerly belonged to a monastery, which took
its appellation from the prophet Elias. A fair copy of the
Greek Gospels, written in the llth century, with the pic
tures ofthe Evangelists painted on gold grounds, and their
names written on the margins in Arabic characters [5647].
Two other copies of the Greek Gospels, written in the
12th century [5777, 5776] ; and another of the same age,
adorned with the pictures of the Holy Virgin, and of the
Evangelists [5731]. An elegant transcript of the Four
Gospels in Greek, written in the 13th century; illuminated
and adorned with paintings [5790], and two others of the
same century [5559 and 5784]. A most venerable ex
emplar of the Four Gospels of St. Jerom's Version, with
the Prefaces and Canons of Eusebius; the whole written
in capitals, and allowed to be twelve hundred years old
[1775]. In this MS. it is observable, that the genealogy
of our blessed Saviour appears to be distinct, and sepa
rated from St. Matthew's Gospel. The following words
in two independent lines, occurring after the 17th verse
of that chapter :
Genealogia Hucusque
Incip, evangl. seed, MATTh.
(IS) Since the printing of Dr. Mill's edition of the Greek Testament, the entire
works of Cosma have been published, together with some pieces of St. Athana
sius and Eusebius, by Father Montfaucon at Paris, in the year 1706. Mr.
Wanley hath given a very particular account of this curious MS. in the Cata
logue, which see.

62 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
So that the Gospel begins at the 18th verse of the first
chapter, in the same manner as we likewise find it distin
guished in the famous Copy of the EvangeUsts written in
Ireland, and in another MS. ofthe same kind, and ofthe
12th century; wbich MSS. are both preserved in this li
brary [1802, 2795]. (19) It is also observable, that the
like distinction or separation of the genealogy of our
blessed Saviour, from the other part of St. Matthew's
Gospel, is made in the famous Copy of the Four Gospels,
formerly belonging to King Athelstan, and now pre
served in the Cottonian Library (Tiberius, A. II.) which
book was by him appointed to be used by the succeeding
kings of England, at the time of their taking the corona
tion oath. A noble exemplar of the Four Gospels, in
capital letters of gold, which in point of antiquity (being
written in the 8th century) as well as elegance, greatly
surpasses the Codex Aureus of the Escurial Library. (20)
This Manuscript, for which Edward Earl of Oxford paid
five hundred pounds, may be said to vie in many respects
witb any MS. of its kind in the world. Every page of
the sacred Text of this inestimable Manuscript, consist
ing of two separate columns, is enclosed within a broad
and beautifully iUuminated border. The pictures of the
Evangelists, with their symbolic animals, are curiously
painted in the front of their respective Gospels; the ini
tial letter of each Gospel is richly iUuminated, and so
large as to fill an entire page. To the whole are prefixed
the Prologues, Arguments, and Breviaries ; two Letters of
St. Jerome to Damasus, the Canons of Eusebius, his
(19) See the Catalogue, where Mr. Wanley treats largely on this MS., gives
specimens of the writing, and compares the reading with that of the Vulgate.
(20) The Spaniards hold the Codex Aureus in great veneration, and look
upon it as the finest copy of the Gospels now extant; it is never shown but
with lighted flambeaux and' other ceremonies. It appears to have been written
in the reigns of the emperors Conrad and Hemy the Second, his son. Fran, de
los Santos Hist, Escurial,

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 63
Letters to Carpian, and a Capitular of the Gospels for the
course of the year, all of them written in small golden cha
racter [2788]. A transcript of the Latin Gospels, with
their usual accompaniments; ofthe same age with the last-
mentioned Manuscript, written in letters of gold, but of a
small alphabet; and remarkable for the singular manner
in which the genealogy of our Saviour is placed [2797].
An exemplar of the Holy Gospels, likewise written in
the 8th century, and formerly belonging to the church of
St. Ciricius at Soissons. To this Manuscript are prefixed
the Epistle to Damasus, and the usual Arguments, Pro
logues, &c., together with an interpretation of Hebrew
names, a catalogue of the books and vestments belong
ing to tbat church, and a list ofits saints [2790]. Two
other copies of the Four Latin Gospels, also written in
the Sth century [2823 and 2826]. In the latter of these
the reading of the 23d verse of the last chapter of St.
John's Gospel is. Si sic eum volo manere donee veniam ;
and that of the 24th verse is, Si eum volo manere. The
Four Gospels of St. Jerome's version, together with his
Prologues, Arguments, &c., the Canons of Eusebius, and
the paraUel passages, written in letters of gold, in the
tenth century. This MS. is most gloriously illuminated
and adorned with pictures of the foUowing subjects,
painted on purple grounds, viz. before the Gospel of St.
Matthew, in a circle, are, first, the representation of our
Saviour, sitting as enthroned; holding in his right-hand
the book of the new Law, that of the old Law lying
in his lap ; with the four Evangelists in the angles kneel
ing. Secondly, our Saviour standing with St. John rest
ing his head on his bosom. Thirdly, the portrait of St.
Matthew. And fourthly, the salutation of the Virgin.
Before St. Mark's Gospel are the portrait of that Evan
gelist and tbe dormition of the Virgin Mary. At the be
ginning of St. Luke's Gospel are his portrait, and the

64 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
crucifixion of our Saviour. Before the Gospel of St.
John, are the picture of that Evangelist, and the ascen
sion of our Lord [2821]. Two other Copies written in
the same century ; one of them finely decorated with the
pictures of the Evangelists and St. Jerom; and having
the rubricks written in silver letters [2820, 2830]. A
very fair and valuable exemplar of the Latin Gospels
of the Vulgate edition, once belonging to the Abbey
Church of St. Edmund's Bury ; elegantly written in the "
10th century, but unhappily despoiled ofthe initial leaves
of the Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Luke, and St. John,
by some flagitious hand, probably for the sake of the
iUuminations with which they wei-e embeUished, as may be
supposed from the enrichments of the initial words of St,
Mark's Gospel stiU j-emaining. At the beginning of this
volume is a Syllabus of the Evangelical Lessons, accord
ing to- the usage of the Roman Church : and at the end
are inserted the memorable contest between Gundulphus,
Bishop of Rochester, and Picote, Sheriff" of Grande-
bruge ; William tbe Conqueror's grand Charter to the
Abbey of St. Edmund's; a Bull of Pope Alexander;
and various other Charters granted by King Canute, and
William the Conqueror, to that Abbey [76]. The Latin
Gospels written with red ink about the beginning of the
llth century, and in the Anglo Normanic character. In
this MS. the genealogy of our Saviour is also detached
from the other part of St. Matthew's Gospel ; as is Uke
wise the first part ofthe eighteenth verse ofthe first chap
ter, Christi autem generatio sic erat. All the rubricks are
written in gold capital letters; and the initial letter of
each Gospel is also of gold, and fiUs an entire page [2795].
The Four Evangelists, written in the Irish character,
by Brigidianus, or Maol Brigbte, for the use of GiUa,
Coarb, or Vicar of the Church of St. Patrick, supposed
by Father Simon to be eight hundred years old; though

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 65
Mr. Wanley will not allow it an earlier date than the 12th
century. But whatever difficulties may have arisen in as
certaining the exact date of this curious MS. it is on all
hands acknowledged to be one of the most authentic
copies of the Latin Gospels, which the Irish have ever
sent out of their island. To this exemplar are added,
St. Jerome's Prologue of the Canons of the Four Gos
pels, an explanation of such Hebrew and Syriac names
as occur in the Gospels, a Hebrew, Latin, and Irish
Vocabulary, and the usual Prefaces, an interlineary
Gloss, and a Catena Patrum [1802]. The singularity of
this MS. has induced Mr. Wanley to favour us, in the
Catalogue, with a very accurate account of it; and in a
laborious and judicious criticism to fix its true age, and
explode the opinion of Father Simon, as well in regard
thereto, as to the characters in which it is written. (21)
A transcript of the Four Evangelists of the Latin Vul
gate, with various readings, is likewise written in Irish
characters, but not quite so old as the preceding, and
wanting the prefaces and beginning of St. Matthew's
Gospel, as far as the 25th verse ofthe 23d chapter [1023].
The Epistles of St. Paul, the Catholic Epistles, and the
Apocalypse, in Latin, with the Arguments, &c. above one
thousand years old ; and from its version differing in many
places from the modern Vulgate and St. Jerome's Trans
lation, this MS. is supposed to be one of the old Latin
copies before the corrections of St. Jerome were intro
duced. It is further observable, that the reading of the
Sth verse of the 5th chapter of the first Epistle to St.
John is in the Manuscript, Et tres sunt qui testimonium
dant in terra, Spiritus, Aqua, et Sanguis, et tres unum
sunt [1772]. (22) The Book of Canticles, the Gospels
(21) See also Bishop Nicholson's Preface to his Irish Historical Library,
p. 11, 12, &c.
(22) See a full account and extract of this MS. by Mr. Wanley, in the
Catalogue.

66 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
of St. Matthew and St. Luke, St. Paul's Epistle to the
Romans, the Epistles of St. James and St. John, and
the Apocalypse of the Latin Bible ; written for the most
part in the 9th century [7551]. A fine copy of St. Paul's
Epistles in Latin [2829], and another transcript of the
same, with the Acts and CathoUc Epistles, both of the llth
century [5557]. St. Paul's Epistles in Arabic [5474]. The
Canonical Epistles of St. Paul in Latin, with a Gloss, his
Epistle to the Laodiceans, and an Exposition of the Gos
pel of St. John, written in the 12th century [3131]; and
another copy of tbe Epistles of St. Paul of the same age
[5140]. A Roman Psalter of St. Jerome, written about the
time of our King Edgar, iUuminated ; and each Psalm ele
gantly embellished with a most curious historical drawing
illustrating the text [603]. A Psalter, with the Litany,
Calendar, &c. elegantly written; illuminated and deco
rated with beautiful miniature paintings, of the llth cen
tury [2895]. A most curious and finely preserved Psalter,
in Greek, Latin, and Arabic, written in the 12th century,
as appears by the foUowing inscription on the back ofthe
leaf: — DMI. MCLIII. Lnd, vij. January die Octavo die
Mercurij [5786]. King Henry the Third's Psalter, curi
ously iUuminated ; and written for his use by Thomas de
Langley [745]. A Greek Psalter, with sacred Hymns, ofthe
1 1th century [5570]. An extremely fine Greek Psalter of
the 12th century [5582]; and another of the same age,
one belonging to the monks of Monte Oliveto [5571]. A
Latin Psalter, with sacred Hymns, written in the 13th
century [5563]. Two Arabic Psalters, to one whereof
are subjoined a Psalm composed on the slaying Goliah,
and ten sacred Canticles extracted from the Scriptures
[5469, 5476]. A Greek and Russian Psalter [5723]. A
Sclavonic Psalter [3389]. An Exposition of the Psalter
in Latin, illuminated, and most accurately written in a
hand of the 10th century [4860] ; and a great variety of

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 67
Other valuable transcripts of the different Bibhcal Books,
written in the 10th, llth, and 12th centuries.
II. Cabalas, Talmuds, and Talmudical Books,
Targums, Expositions, Glosses, and Commentaries
on the Pentateuch and other Books of the Old Testa
ment, in Hebrew, Chaldee, &c. compiled by the most
celebrated ancient as well as later Rabins. Amongst
these are, a very fine Copy of Maimonides de Lege, in
Hebrew, and without points, written in the year of our Lord
1472, by Salomon Ben Alzuk, [5698 and 5699]; and the
Sepher a Misvot of Rabbi Moses Ben Jacob de Cosi,
written in the beginning of the 15th century [5700]. A
very beautiful transcript of Maimonides's Moreh Nebu-
chin, in Hebrew, without points, written in small charac
ters by a Spanish hand, and finely iUuminated [5525]. An
exemplar of three tracts of Maimonides's, viz. de Fee-
minis, de Sanctitate, and de Votis et Juramentis, written
by a German hand in the 13th century [5702]. A tran
script of R. Moses Maimonides's Sepher Moreh Nevo-
chim, with R. Aben Tibonis Exposition of several words
therein ; Sepher Messaret Moseh, Aben Ezrae Sepher,
Arujat Amesima we Pardesa Hochma ; and Sepher
Aathalot le Abunatsar Alparachy or Abunatsar Al-
parachy Principia ; the four last of which have not
hitherto been printed: all elegantly written in small He
brew characters [5507]. R. Levi's Hebrew Commentary
on Job, written in the 14th century [5526]. An exem
plar of R. Moses Nachmanides, on the Pentateuch, in
Hebrew, of the 13th century [5702]. Sundry very ele
gant and ancient copies of the Liturgies of the German
and other Jews ; particularly a Liturgy, &c. of the Ger
man Jews, written in the 13th century [5701]. The
Machazor, or Office of Prayers, composed for their
greater Feasts, diflfering from the common printed Li
turgy, and written in the 14th century [5714]. The Ofder
f2

68 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
of Prayer, in which the rubricks are more ample than in
the printed books. Two pompous volumes in Hebrew, the
one containing penitential Prayers for Forty Days before,
and the other consisting of Prayers to be repeated on the
Day of Expiation [7618, 7197]. With these are likewise
most noble transcripts of R. Jacob Ben Asher, and R.
Ben Ezra's four Orders, containing all the rites, cus
toms and ceremonies as used by the Jews in their present
dispersion [5716, 7198].
III. Near 200 Volumes of the Writings of the
Fathers of the Church: particularly a Copy of Partof
the Works of St. Hilary, written in the 9th century, and
formerly belonging to the Church of St. Mary and St.
Nicholas of Arinstein [3115]. A fine transcript of Au
gustine's Sermons on the Gospel and first Epistle of St.
John, written in the 12th century, likewise belonging to
the same Monastery [3114]. A beautiful exemplar of
the same Father's Discourses on the Book of Genesis,
written in the 12th century [3113] ; and another, containing
his Books De civitate Dei, et de Trinitate, written in the
13th century [3111]. St. Chrysostom's Greek Homihes
on the Epistle to Timothy, written in the 13th century
[5689]. The Works of St. Athanasius in Greek, of the
14th century [5579]. The Homilies of St. BasU, Ephraim
Syrus, and John Chrysostom, in Greek, written in the
14th century [5639]; and another Copy ofthe same, with
St. Gregory's Encomium on Sts. George and Marina,
likewise ofthe same age [5576]. As also ancient Coun
cils, Canons and Constitutions Ecclesiastical, great variety
of Annotations, Commentaries, Expositions, Harmonies
of the Four Gospels, Paraphrases, Histories of the Old
and New Testament, &c. with a multitude of Theological
Treatises, many of which, notwithstanding the pious la
bours of modern Divines, are highly worthy to be con
sulted.

the harleian MSS. 69
IV. Liturgies and Liturgical Books, as the Litur
gies of SS. Chrysostom, BasU, and Nazianzen, of which
there are in this collection two very fair copies in Greek ;
one with the Prayers and Evangelical and Epistolical
Lessons, written in the llth century [5561], and the
other written in the 14th century [5669]. The Liturgy
of the Church of Syria [5460]. Two fair volumes, con
taining the Samaritan Liturgy [5481, 5495]. The Rus
sian Liturgy [5462]. The Liturgies of the Roman [2431,
2432] and Greek Churches; particularly a most valuable
exemplar of that of the latter ; wherein the several
Offices, Chants, Hymns, and Antiphones, are marked with
Greek musical notes, according to the present usage of
that Church [1613]. This truly valuable MS. was pre
sented to Colonel Worsley by Notara, who was at that
time Metropolitan of Caesarea, and afterwards Patriarch
of Jerusalem. (23) A curious Liturgy, adorned with
beautiful paintings and illuminations; which, from the
Calendar of German Saints inserted in it, is supposed to
have formerly belonged to some Church in Germany
[1211]. The several Liturgies ofthe Church of Eng
land, &c.
V. Missals, Breviaries, and Hours of the Holy Vir
gin, according to the use of the Roman [2972], English
[2846], and GaUican Churches [2929], Rituals, Ordinals,
Books of Offices, Processionals, and Graduals ; many of
them curiously iUuminated, and richly adorned with fine
historical paintings. The most remarkable of these are,
a Missal of the Church of Soissons, in two volumes,
written in the 9th century [2991, 2992]. The Missale
Augustinae Ecclesiae, finely painted and illuminated, of
the 10th century [2908]. A very ancient Missal written
in large capitals, with the Chants, Antiphones, and Re-
(23) Mr. Wanley has in the Catalogue of the Harleian MSS. given a very
curious account and extract of this Liturgy.

70 the harleian mss.
spouses pricked with musical notes; and containing spe
cial Masses for sundry Saints' Days, and other particular
occasions, not to be met with in any other book of that
kind [1229]. A Roman Missal in Latin, but written in
Syrian characters; with the Rubrics in those of the
Arabic [5512]. The Missal of the Church of Toul,
in Lorrain, which, besides the exquisite paintings with
which it is ornamented, is remarkable for having in the
Litany of Saints, after the three holy Archangels, one to
the Angel Uriel; notwithstanding several Councils had
strictly forbid the invocation of more than the three first
[2999]. A fine copy of the Missale Moissiacense [2893];
and Missals according to the use of sundry other
Churches, as SaUsbury [2785, 1797], St. Paul's, London
[2787], Durham [5289], Paris, &c. A Missal adorned
with exquisite paintings, wherein the figures are repre
sented of a larger size than usual ; and to which is added
a Calendar, ornamented with several curious miniatures,
wherein the several labours of the farm and vineyard,
throughout the year, are curiously delineated [2936]. A
fine transcript ofthe Ordo Romanus, written in the llth
century [2906]. The Office of the Holy Virgin, with a
Calendar finely illuminated, and decorated with pictures,
particularly those of Saints Michael, John Baptist, Chris
topher, Sebastian, Jerome, Martin of Tours, Agnes, Bar
bara, and Margaret [2948]. Two Breviaries painted in a
most exquisite manner ; to each of which is prefixed a
Calendar finely decorated with miniatures, of saints,
country sports, and employments, &c. [2950, 5049]. As
also many others. See [2787, 2989, 3000, 2974, 2835,
2975, 2985, 928, 5780, 2971, 2969, 6563, &c.]
VI. Ancient Evangelistaria & Lectionaries, amongst
which are an Evangelistarium, written in Greek capitals
in the 9th century [5787]. An Evangelistarium, in
Greek capitals, written in the year 995, by Constantine,

the harleian mss. 71
Presbyter. The first page thereof, and the references to
the chapters, are in letters of gold [5598]. Another
Evangelistarium, adorned with pictures of the four Evan
gelists finely painted, and the Rubrick in letters of gold.
At the end is a certificate, signed on the 10th of March,
1699, by Laurence Alexander Zacagnius, principal li
brarian of the Vatican, to testify that this MS. was then
upwards of 700 years old [5785]. Three Evangelistaria,
written in the llth century [2994, 2970, 5650]; one
whereof belonged to the Canons of St. Simon at Treves,
and hath inserted on the back ofthe 16th page thereof the
Oaths usually taken bythe Canons, Dean, and Provost of
that Church; and another of them is remarkable for being
written on parchment, from whence the words of some
other book have been erased. A Lectionarium of the
10th century, with Hymns, CoUects, &c. in which the
Responses are pricked to musical notes [2961]. A very
fair exemplar of the Lectionarium Moissiacense, with the
Responses set to music, and finely written in the llth
century [2914]. Another Lectionarium of the same age,
enriched with the pictures of SS. Peter, Paul, James, and
John ; as also with the figure of Jesse lying in his tomb,
witb the seven spirits issuing from his body [5787]. As
also an elegant Uluminated transcript of " Wickliff"s
GospeUs and Epistolis of all pe Festis in fe Zeer, by
Order as f ei ben red in the Messe Book' after fe Use of
Salisbury [1710]."
VII. Store of Menologies, Martyrologies, and Lives
OF Saints, which, though they are to be read with great
caution, yet, when divested oftheir fabulous and miracu
lous parts, furnish genuine matter of good note, and not
readily to be met with elsewhere. The assistance which
the collections of this sort, made by Bollandus, Papebroch,
Tinmouth, Surius, Mabillon, and others, have afforded.

72 THE harleian mss.
is frequently acknowledged by the gravest and best
writers on Church affairs. Amongst these are a Greek
Menology, written in the llth century [5557], and ano
ther in the 12th [5581]. A most noble Passionate in three
very pompous volumes, written in the 13th century, and
once belonging to the Church of St. Mary and St. Ni
cholas of Arinsteyn ; containing, exclusive of the Life of
Lewis Count of Arinsteyn, founder of that Abbey, the
Lives and Actions of no less than three hundred and
thirteen Saints [2800]. Two exemplars ofthe celebrated
Martyrology of Usuardus the Monk, (24) compiled by the
express command of the Emperor Charlemagne. (25)
One of them is a very pompous volume, with a Calendar
prefixed, written in the 13th century [3047]; the other,
though of much meaner appearance, yet is of more vene
rable antiquity, being written in the 9th century [3062] :
this last-mentioned copy differs in several respects from
the former, and is probably the oldest transcript of
Usuardus now extant. In it the Martyrology begins on
the Vlllth of the Calends of January, with the Festival
ofthe Holy Virgins of Antioch ; whereas the other [3047]
sets out with the Festival of St. Almachius on the Ca
lends of January. It likewise contains a Prologue pre
fixed to the Dedication of the Work to Charlemagne,
(24) He is sometimes called Usuardus. Trilhemius and other German
writers call hira Isuardus.
(25) The Emperor Charlemagne, being displeased that Jerome and Bede
had, in compiling their Martyrologies, studied too much brevity, and left several
days in the Calendar unnoticed, ordered Usuardus to supply those defects; and
he accordingly noting down the Festivals of Saints for every Day in the Calen
dar, compiled an entire new Martyrology, which he dedicated to that Emperor.
In this work, he in great measure followed Florus ; but was at the same
time extremely careful in correcting his mistakes, and supplying his omissions ;
as well as those of Jerome, Bede, and other Martyrologists. — Sigeburtus Gem-
blace7isis de Viris illustribus, cap. 85. Usuardus in his Preface. Trithemius in
his Catalogue.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. to
wanting in the other, is throughout the whole much more
correct than the former, and appears to be the genuine
Work of Usuardus, (26) before the introduction of those
interpolations, which, soon after its being published, be
came frequent.
VIII. A variety of other Books of Religion and De
votion ; particularly a very fine copy of the Passio
Christi secundum Evangelistas, with Prayers to God and
several Saints, neatly written in Saxon characters, and in
the Sth century [2965]. A Book of Prayers, Benedic
tions, and Exorcisms, in Latin, written in the 10th cen
tury [2892]. Wickliff's Summary of the Books of the
Old and New Testament, with their authority and use to
Christian men [1666]. His PostUs [1 730] ; and his Notes
on \\\e Pater Noster, with sundry other Discourses [2385].
A miscellaneous Collection of distinct Pieces bound to
gether ; containing a Horology and Calendar, the Rules
of St. Benet, ancient Statutes promulgated at Rome in
the year 917, and a Directory for conversing in Monas
teries, all written in the 10th century; and some other
Tracts in a hand of the 13th century [5431]. A miscel
laneous volume of Prayers, Hymns, Litanies, &c. written
in the llth century, and ornamented with curious paint
ings [2928]. A Book in the Armenian Tongue, contain-
(26) Usuai'dus's Martyrology being more generally used in the Churches
than those of Jerome and Bede, every Church added something thereto ; espe
cially concerning the Saints and Festivals more particularly belonging to them.
This gave rise to what was afterwaids called Jerome's fullej Martyrology ; in
the obtaining a Copy whereof, the Cronicon Cassinense informs us, that Theobald,
Abbot of Monte-Cassini, in the llth century, thought himself happy. Yet his
copy was no more than Usuardus augmented. It was from some of these aug
mented copies, that the editions of Usuardus, printed at Lubeck in 1475, and
at Cologn in 1521, were published ; but the edition of Molanus, printed at
Antwerp in 1533, wherein he hath endeavoured to separate the genuine work of
Usuardus from the interpolations, is the most correct. Had he seen the Har
leian copy, his edition would have been more exact.

74 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
ing the Apostles Creed, a History of tbe Bible, and a
Form of proper Confession to be used before taking the
Holy Sacrament [5459]. A translation into Persic of
the History of our Saviour ; written originally in the Por
tuguese Tongue, by Father Jerome Xaver [5455]. Prayers,
and Manuals in the Hebrew, Latin, EngUsh, French,
German, and Low Dutch. Ethiopic Prayers [5471]. Se
veral transcripts of the Alcoran, in Arabic, Persic, &c.
and Commentaries thereon. A Collection of Mahomedan
Prayers, written in the Persic and Turkish tongues.
The Nadham, or Connection of Sentences contained in
the Alchoran; with the Apoththegms of Mahommed
[5511]. Three Books of Prayers in Arabic, two of them
written in the African character [5464, 5470, 5479]. To
gether with other Tracts on the Mohammedan religion.
IX. So amazing a number of curious and authentic
Manuscripts, relative as well to the Topographical De
scription AND Antiquities of Britain, as to the Civil
and Ecclesiastical History of the Kingdom, its Laws,
Constitution, and Government, that the mine appears
truly inexhaustible, and every vein fully replete with the
richest stores.
First, For the Topographical Part ; Histories and Sur
veys of several Counties, and the Customs of their Inha
bitants; Memorials ofthe Founding and Incorporation of
Cities, Towns, Boroughs, and ViUages, with the most
remarkable events that have happened to each; their Anti
quities and other Curiosities. Accounts of the Erections
of Temples, Castles, and other Buildings; and ofthe Re
mains (if any) of such as have been destroyed. The
Establishment and Endowment of Parishes, Foundations
of Religious Houses, Books of ancient Tenures, Inquisi
tions post mortem. Escheats, Customaries, Terriers of
Manors, Perambulations of Forests, Accounts of ancient
Coin, monumental Inscriptions, Forts, Camps, Roads,

the harleian mss. 75
Military Ways, and other Antiquities, which have been
casually discovered in particular places. Notes concern
ing the most rem.arkable Rivers, Mountains, Mines,
Minerals, and other Curiosities. A variety of Tracts,
and Memoranda relating to particular parts of England,
as well in its pristine state, when separated into petty
kingdoms, provinces, and principalities during the times
of the Britons, Romans, and Saxons, as subsequently,
when under the dominion of one monarch; divided into
counties, ridings, rapes, wapentakes, &c. As also the
laborious Collections made by Sir Simonds D'Ewes,
John Fox, the Martyrologist, Mr. Erdeswick, honest
John Stow, Mr. Charles, Lancaster Herald, and others.
Secondly, For the Civil and Ecclesiastical History;
valuable Copies of our ancient Historians and Chroniclers,
as Gildas, Nennius, Asserius Menevensis, ^Elfred of
Beverley, Abbot Benedict, Castoreus, or John Beaver, J.
Brompton, Raulf Boun, Douglass, Monk of Glastonbury,
Edmerus, Florence of Worcester, Robert of Gloucester,
WiUiam Giseburn, R. Hovenden, Henry Huntingdon,
Peter de Ickham, John Joselyne, R. Higden, Peter
Langtoft, I. Lewis, Adam Murimuth, Geoffry of Mon
mouth, Robertus Montensis, John Pyke, Sir Walter
Raleigh, Robert de Reading, Thomas Rudburne, Simeon
of Durham, Richard Sporte, Nicholas Trivett, John
Wallingford, Thomas Walsingham, Walter of Coventry,
Gotselinus de Sancto Bertino, and sundry anonymous
Authors of good value. A finely illuminated copy of
John Harding's Chronicle, much more perfect than the
edition published by Grafton, and containing the Letter
of Defiance sent to King Henry the Fourth, by the old
Earl of Northumberland, Henry Hotspur, his son, and
the Earl of Worcester, his brother, before the battle of
Shrewsbury; some Discourses of the same old Earl,
touching John of Gaunt ; a Map of Scotland, from Car-

76 the harleian mss.
lisle to the Water of Tay ; and another from thence to
Sutherland and Caithness; with sundry other Matters
omitted likewise by Grafton [661]. A transcript of
John de Trevisa's Translation of Higden's Polycronicon,
differing from the account given of that Work by Bale
and Pitts ; together with several other Translations and
Compositions of Trevisa, not to be met with in any other
book [1900]. No less than four ancient copies of
the Polycratica Temporum of Roger Cestrensis ; from
whence R. Higden stole his Polycronicon [1707]. The
famous and very ancient copy of William Malmsbury's
elaborate Treatise de Gestis Regum Anglorum, which
was formerly preserved with great religious care at
Rochester [261]. An exemplar of his four books, de
Gestis Pontificum, written in the 12th century [3641],-
and several transcripts of the Dunstable Chronicle, one
whereof is most beautifully illuminated [1568], and ano
ther adorned with the blazon of the arms of divers em
perors and kings [24]. Chronicles and Histories of Ab
beys, and other religious Houses ; as those of Abingdon,
St. Alban's, Alnewick, Bermondsey, St. Edmond's Bury,
St. David's, Hales, Lichfield, Ely, St. Paul's, London and
Peterborough. Lives of particular Kings, and Histories
of their Reigns. As of Edward the Confessor. King
Harold ; of whose life and miracles here is a very fair copy,
written in the 12th century [3776]. Henry the First,
Richard the First, Henry the Third, Edward the First,
Edward the Second, and Edward the Third. The His
tory of Richard the Second, written by Francis de
Marque, a French gentleman, attendant on the Court
in the Queen's service ; adorned with sixteen admirable
paintings, wherein the principal persons and habits of
those times are most accurately represented [1319]. As
also those of Henry the Fourth, Henry the Fifth, Henry
the Sixth, and Edward the Fourth. Many original In-

THE harleian MSS. 77
structions to Ambassadors, and Letters which passed
between them and the chief Ministers of their Courts ;
together with authentic copies of an immense number of
others. Letters to and from foreign Princes and States,
Negotiations, Alliances, Leagues, Truces, and Treaties
of Peace, Commerce, and Navigation. Summonses to
Parliament from the 49th of Henry the Third, to the
21st year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth, in many
places larger and more correct than the work published
under that title, by Sir WiUiam Dugdale [778]. Tran
scripts of the RoUs, Journals, and Memoranda of Par
liament; particularly a copy of the Parliament Rolls, be
ginning at the 4tb year of King Edward the Second,
and continued to the end of the last parliament of King
Henry the Eighth, in thirty volumes ; amongst which are
the Parliament RoUs of the 5th, Sth, and 9th years of
King Edward the Second, which are, with others, omitted
by Sir Robert Cotton, in his Abridgement of the Tower
Records, and by him supposed to have been lost [7057].
Journals of the House of Lords, from the 1st year of
Henry the Eighth to the end of the year 1740, in sixty-
nine volumes [7077 to 7155]. As also one hundred and
eleven other volumes ; containing the Journals of the
House of Commons from the 1st year (inclusive) of King
Edward the Sixth to the Sth day of March, 1701 [7202,
&c.]. A numerous Collection of Privileges and Orders
of Parliament ; and sundry papers relative to parliamen
tary affairs. Proclamations, original Letters, Journals,
and other Books of the Privy Council. Books of Aids,
Subsidies, Reliefs, Taxes, granted to sundry particular
Kings of England ; and Accompt Books of the Product,
Disposal, &c. ofthe ancient Demesne Lands ofthe Crown.
Letters, Papers, Books of Dockets, &c. relative to the
Offices of the Privy Seal, Signet, Ordnance, Admiralty,
Navy VictuaUing, Customs, and Excise ; particularly a

78 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
most curious and valuable volume, once belonging to
Lord Treasurer Burleigh, being a Register ofthe Grants,
&c. which passed the privy seal, signet, or sign manual,
during the reigns of King Edward the Fifth and King
Richard the Third, consisting of no less than two thou
sand three hundred and seventy-eight articles [433]. (27)
Three volumes of very interesting original Papers and
Letters which belonged to John Holies, Duke of New
castle, as Lord Privy Seal to Queen Anne; giving a
better insight into the transactions of those times, and the
immense sums issued on account of the forces employed
under the Duke of Marlborough, than can easily be met
with elsewhere [2262, 2263, 2264]. Accounts of the
public Revenue, and national Expenses. Journals of
Commissioners for stating tbe public Accounts of the
Kingdom. The black Books of the King's House, and
other Books and Papers of the Household, Treasurer of
the Chamber, &c. Inventories and Indentures of the
Jewel Office and Wardrobe. Orders, Proceedings, and
Accounts of the Office of Works. Laws and Ordinances
for Management of the Mint ; with other original Papers
concerning the Mint Coinage and Money Matters. Se
veral large Collections of Letters and Speeches of our
Kings, their chief ministers and other persons of emi
nence ; particularly four volumes, containing original Let
ters by the Royal Fainily of England, from King Henry
the Eighth to the end of King Charles the First [1760,
6986, 6987, 69S8]. Eighteen volumes of original Letters
of divers considerable Persons, relating to public Affairs,
from the year 1307 to 1716 [6989, 7006]. And two
volumes, containing Letters written to Henry, Prince of
Wales; together with original draughts of his own Let-
(27) See the Catalogue, where an extract is given of each Article contained
in this Manuscript.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 79
ters [7007, 7008]. The above volumes afford interesting
anecdotes, particularly relative to Queen Elizabeth, James
the First, Charles the First, and Charles the Second, un
noticed by the most elaborate writers of the English his
tory; and may be justly deemed inestimable remains of
the times to which they relate. Histories of the first
planting and propagating of Christianity in Britain, and its
growth and increase under the British and Saxon Prela
cies. The lives and successions of English Archbishops
and Bishops ; particularly a most noble iUuminated Copy
ofthe Lives ofthe Seven First Archbishops of Canterbury,
by Gotselinus de Sancto Bertino, Monk of St. Augustine's
at Canterbury, in the time of St. Anselm [105]; and of
which the first part only, containing the Life of St.
Augustine, is published by Mr. Wharton. (28) Saxon
and EngUsh CouncUs, and the Canons promulgated by
them. Provincial and Diocesan Canons and Constitutions.
The Forms and Manner of Election, and Consecration of
Archbishops and Bishops ; their Jurisdictions, Privileges,
and Courts. Surveys, Terriers, and Rentals of their Pos
sessions ; Taxations of their Spirituals and Temporals,
and Inquisitions relative to the State of their respective
Dioceses. Lives and Canonizations of sundry British,
Saxon, and English Saints ; as St. Anselm, by Eadmerus.
St. Adan and St. Alban. St. Thomas Becket, by an
anonymous author, under the title of Quadrilogus. Ano
ther Life of St. Thomas Becket, written within five years
after his death, by Garnerius de Ponte S. Maxentii.
Venerable Bede. St. Cuthbert, tutelar Saint of Durham.
St. David, by Giraldus Cambrensis. St. Dunstan. St.
(28) Anglia Sacra, vol. ii. p. 56. Mabillon hath also published in his Act.
Benedict, (see Ist P. 499,) this Life of St. Augustine by Gotseline, but swelled
into a larger bulk by the insertion of abundance of Miracles and Legendai-y
Tales. An Abridgement of this Life of St. Augustine is to be met with in the
Calendarium Annuale Benedictinum, vol. v.

80 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
Elphege, and Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, by Osbern,
Monk and ^Praecentor of that Church. St. Edmund,
King of the East- Angles, by Abbo Floriacensis ; and his
cousin and companion St. Fremund, son of King Oft'a, by
Burchard of Dorchester, both translated into old English
by Lidgate of Bury. St. Edmund, Archbishop of Can
terbury and Confessor ; and St. Edward, King and Con
fessor, by JE\red, Abbot of Rievaulx. St. Guthlac, of
Croyland. St. Goodric, the Hermit of Finchale. St.
Gilbert, founder of the English Order of Gilbertines.
St. Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, by Giraldus Cambrensis.
St. Marcellinus, of York. St. Mildred, by Gotseline de
Sancto Bertino. St. Oswald, King and Martyr. St.
Oswald, Archbishop of York. Sir Robert, Bishop of
Hereford, by William of Lanthony. St. William, Arch
bishop of York. St. Wulfric, Anchorite of Hasleberg, by
John, Abbot of Ford. St. Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester,
&c. As also an ancient Calendar, in which the Festivals
of all our northern English Saints are duly noted [1804].
Authentic Papers and Memorials relating to the Disso
lution of religious Houses, and the Establishment of the
Reformation ; as original Letters to and from the Visitors
appointed to examine the Abbeys, &c. and from the
Abbots, Priors, &c. of those Houses to Cromwell, and the
visitors. Visitatorial Certificates of the value of several
churches belonging to those Ecclesiastical bodies ; and
draughts of Acts of Parliament for their dissolution ; some
in the hand-writing of King Henry the Eighth. Inven
tories of plate, jewels, and other valuables, belonging to
dissolved abbeys, priories, colleges, free chapels, chantries,
and gilds. Inquisitions, with the state of several Epis
copal Dioceses, and the returns made thereunto by the
bishops. Accounts of the erection and proceedings of
the Court of Augmentation; more especially four ori
ginal and very valuable volumes belonging to that Court ;

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 81
and containing, first, transcripts of the surveys of the
possessions belonging to divers gUds and fraternities
granted by Parliament to the Crown, with warrants for
leasing them. Secondly, Registers of Entries, and de
scriptions of the several houses, manors, lands, &c. sold
by the Commissioners under two several commissions in
the reigns of PhiUp and Mary; with their rates, and the
names of the persons to whom they were sold [605, &c.J.
For the ancient state of particular Churches and reli
gious Houses ; Foundation and other Charters. His
torical Accounts of the Successions, Rights, Forms, and
Instruments, of Elections of Abbots, Priors, and other
Superiors, and their Officers. Chartularies, Registers, and
Ledger Books of sundry Monasteries and other religious
Houses, viz. Aberconwey, St. Alban's, Alnewick, Barne-
well, Blythe, St. Bees, Bittlesden, Battel, Castel-Acre,
Clare, Deeping, and Dunmow. The most accurate and
greatly valuable Register of Dunstable, begun by Richard
de Morins, the Prior of that House, on a plan unusually
copious, and regularly carried on from the foundation of
the Priory by King Henry the First to the Reformation
[1885]. Those of Evesham, St. Edmund's Bury, Holme,
Cultrum, Hagmond, Holme, Kenelworth, Lancaster,
Leigh, Lichfield, Messenden, St. Mary's at York, Newn
ham, St. Paul's in London, Ramsey, Rufford, Reading,
Roncton, Shaftesbury, Selleya, Southwike, Spalding, St.
Wereburgh's in Chester, Welbeck, Waltham, and Walden.
Those of the Hospitals and Gilds of Holy Cross near
Winchester Chrich in Derbyshire, St. Giles in London,
Christ Church at Boston in Lincolnshire, Ewelme, Clun,
and Jesus at Chipping Barnet. The Statutes of Cathe
dral and Collegiate Churches ; as Winchester, Wells,
Westminster, Durham, Ely, Exeter, and London. Char
ters, Endowments, Extents, Terriers, and Rentals of
Church Lands. Extracts and collections from ancient

82 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
Chartularies and Registers. Statutes of the two Uni*
versities, and of their several Colleges and HaUs, and
a vast mass of other materials relating to their History
and Antiquities ; with a noble transcript of the Proceed
ings ofthe Convocation upon the Divorce of Ann of Cleves,
authenticated under tbe hands of public notaries [1061].
For the Laws, Polity, and Civil Government of the
realm of England; divers copies ofthe Laws of several of
the Anglo-Saxon, Danish, and Norman Kings. Tran
scripts of divers of the Magnce Chartce of King Henry
the Third, and an Inspeximus and copy of his confirma
tion, both of the great Charter, and of the simUar one,
sealed by Prince Edward, at London, on the 10th Day of
March, in the year 1264 ; and which Inspeximus is dated
13th of March, in his 49th year ; and witnessed by Simon
Montfort, Earl of Leicester, Hugh le D'Espencer, the
Chief Justiciary, nine Bishops, and fifteen Temporal
Lords [489]. Transcripts of sundry ancient Statutes,
some whereof have not been printed. Learned readings
on those and other Statutes ; and extracts of all the pri
vate Acts of Parliament, remaining in the Chapel of the
Rolls. Exact copies of some parts of Domesday Book,
and extracts from other parts ; as also from the Red and
Black Books of the Exchequer. Transcripts of the
Chartce Antiques, and other Records remaining in the
Tower of London, the Exchequer, the Chapel of the
Rolls, and other public repositories ; with divers expla
natory and other papers relative thereto. Several excel
lent copies of Breton, Bracton, Fleta, GlanvUle, Heng
ham, Home, and other writers on the ancient Municipal
Laws of this kingdom. — Sundry ancient Registers of
original Writs, Formulce Placitandi, Year Books, Re
ports, and Adversaria of eminent Lawyers. Historical
Accounts of, and Memoranda relating to. Baronies, Ser-
jeancies. Knights-fees, and other Tenures. Copies of

THE HARLEIAN MSS. S3
Escheat Rolls, Inquisitions post mortem, Pleas of the
Crown, &c. together with other law books in great abun
dance. Plenty of Treatises on the institution, establish
ment, and jurisdiction of the Exchequer, Curia regis.
Common Bench, Courts of Wards and Liveries, Star
Chamber, and Chancery, as also of the Courts Leet,
Baron, Pye Powder, and other inferior Courts ; the
forms and methods of proceedings in them respectively,
and accounts of their several officers, registers, and re
cords. Discourses on the Antiquity, Jurisdiction, and Au
thority of the ancient great Officers of the Kingdom ; to
wit, the Marshal, Steward, Constable, and Admiral. The
forms, ceremonies, and proceedings used in their Courts ;
and extraordinary Trials had before them. Original
Charters of our ancient Kings, as Edward the Elder,
Edgar, Hardicanute, and Edward the Confessor. The
famous Charter of King Edgar, wherein he is stiled
Murium Brit. Dominus [7513], on which great stress has
been laid, by several writers, in support of England's
superiority over the four seas; but which Charter Dr.
Hicks (29) hath evidently demonstrated to be spurious ;
and to have been, (as many others in the same language
likewise were,) forged after the Norman conquest. A
most noble and curious book, covered with crimson velvet,
and richly adorned with bosses and hasps of silver gilt
and enamelled; the cover and all the leaves indented at
the top ; containing four original Indentures of Covenant,
illuminated and embellished with historical miniatures,
dated the 16th of July, in the 19th year of King Henry
the Seventh, and made between that king and the abbot
and convent of St. Peter's, Westminster, for certain
Masses, Collects, &c. to be for ever after said in the
Chapel of the Virgin Mary, then determined to be built
(29) Thesaurus Lit. Septentrion, fol. 85, et Dissertatio Epistolarius, 152.
g2

84 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
at the east end of that church, as a place of reception of
the bodies of the king, queen, and royal family, after their
respective deceases ; for providing chantry monks there;
for founding anniversaries in that and other chapels and
churches ; for converses and scholars in the University;
for maintaining almsmen ; for the livelihood amortized to
the Abbey of Westminster for those foundations ; and for
various other purposes. To this Indenture Book, five
broad seals of King Henry the Seventh, preserved in
silver boxes, parcel gilt, and ornamented with his badges
of the Portcullis and Rose Springs, are appendant hy
strings of silk and gold and silver thread [1498]. (30)
Another book, with its cover of blue velvet, and the
tops of all the leaves indented ; containing an illuminated
Quadrupartite Indenture, dated the 20th of November,
in the 20th year of tbe reign of King Henry the Seventh,
made between the king, the abbot, and convent of West
minster, the abbot and convent of St. Alban's, and the
mayor and commonalty of London; whereby the abbot
and Convent of St. Alban's oblige themselves to hold a
solemn anniversary in their church for ever, and to pray
there for the king, the royal family, and the realm. (31)
Likewise numerous transcripts of Letters Patent, Signs
Manual, Privy Seals, Charters, and sundry historical Law
(30) See in the Catalogue a very minute and accurate account of this elegant
and curious Book of Indentures. The counterpart of which indentures, under
five seals of the abbot and convent of Westminster, bound and decorated in all
respects as the original, is preserved amongst the Records in the Chapter House
at Westminster.
(31) On the top of each leaf of this book are part of three letters of the al
phabet, the other parts of them being in the counterparts of the Indenture. To
this book was formerly appendant a seal, which is now lost, but part of the
silken string remains : two ofthe counterparts of this Indenture, bound and orna
mented in the same manner as the original, and with a seal to each, are still re
maining ; one in the archives of the Church of St. Peter, at Westminster ; the
other amongst the public Records in the Chapter House there.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 85
Tracts, and Treatises on the Antiquities, Excellence, and
Usefulness of the Municipal Laws of the Kingdom.
X. Heraldical and Armorial Books, as Forms of
appointing and crowning Kings at Arms, and of the esta
bUshment oftheir subordinate Officers, Grants, Alphabets,
Ordinaries, and Tricks of Arms and Ensigns Armorial.
Multitudes of Visitations of Kings at Arms throughout aU
tbe counties of England, partly originals, and partly fair
transcripts. Tracts on the Order of the Garter. La
boured and other Pedigrees of most of the NobUity and
Gentry of England, in which frequently occur notes,
monumental and fenestral Inscriptions, copies of Ancient
Charters, Grants, and other Deeds, illustrating their
Family Histories.
XI. Register Books, Chartularies, and other Evi
dences of the Estates of our ancient Nobility; as, the
famous Liber Niger de Wigmore [1240], which contains
transcripts of almost aU the Family Deeds and Evidences
of Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, temp, Richard the
Second, and his ancestors. The Evidence Book of John
NevU, Lord Latimer [4781]. The Chartulary of the
Honour of Segrave [4748], and those of other great
families. XII. Ceremonials, Pomps, and Solemnities ; as the
Coronations of most of our Kings and Queens, from the
time of the Anglo-Saxons to that of King George the
Second. Several transcripts of the Liber Regalis, and
other Books of Claims of Office to be performed by sun
dry persons at those solemnities [41, 561, 2091]. Royal
and Princely Births, Christenings, and Marriages. — Public
Entries, Introductions, Receptions, and Feastings of Royal
and Princely Visitors, Foreign Ambassadors, &c. with the
forms of their departures, and accounts of the presents
made to them on those occasions. Tilts, Tourneys, Justs,

86 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
Royal Masks, and other Public Entertainments, Pubhc Pro
cessions and Cavalcades. Creations of Princes, Nobility,
and Knights of several Orders, &c. Funerals of Kings,
Queens, Princes, and great Personages allied to the Royal
Family, and also of Persons of Quality and Distinction.
And lastly, an infinite number oi Adversaria, collected by
various eminent Antiquaries out of old Histories, Records,
Chartularies, Register Books, &c. The utiUty of all
which is acknowledged by every student.
Tbe Principality of Wales, and the Kingdoms of
Scotland and Ireland, make no inconsiderable figure
in the Harleian Collection.
XIII. In regard to Wales, here are Topographies,
Descriptions and General Histories of the Princi
pality. Natural and Civil Histories of several of its
Counties ; Surveys of Commotes, and Extents of Lands.
Statutes touching the Lords Marchers, and Orders for
the Observance of the Council of Wales. Transcripts of
the Laws of Howel Dha ; collections of particular Laws
and Customs prevailing in diff'erent parts of the Princi
pality; Accounts of the Revenue arising from the Prin
cipality; Lists of Fee-Farm Rents; and Pleas of Qm
Warranto upon Liberties claimed. Transcripts of the
Acts, Statutes, and Constitutions ofthe Bishops of St.
David's; Taxations and Extents of Lands belonging to the
Bishoprick of Bangor ; and Catalogues of the Parishes,
Chapels, &c. within the same. Taxations of the Lands
annexed to the See of St. Asaph, and the Judgment given
in Parliament on the Claim made by John de Warren,
Earl of Surry, of the custody of that Bishoprick when
vacant. State, Value, and Taxations of the Bishoprick
of Landaff. Episcopal and other Charters, Letters Patent,
and Confirmation thereof, Conventions, Popes' Bulls,
and other Instruments, from the year 1224, to the 32d

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 87
year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth [1249].
The Histories of Welch Heroes, by Threes, and a plen
tiful supply of Pedigrees and Genealogies of Families;
together with three volumes of useful materials, extracted
by Mr. Hugh Thomas, from a multitude of PubUc Re
cords, and Private Evidences, in order to his compiling a
Genealogical History of the Nobility and Gentry of
Wales, and the several Families descended from them,
now living in England [6870].
XIV. The Materials relative to the Civil and Eccle
siastical History of Scotland are still more numerous
and important; amongst them are Descriptions, Histories,
Chronicles, and State of the Kingdom. A remarkable
transcript of John Fordun's Scotochronicon, with the alter
ations, interpolations, and continuation, made by Patrick
Russel, monk of Scone, at the request of Sir David
Stuart, of Rossith ; and Baston's Verses on the Battle
of Bannocks Bourne, written in the year 1484, and not
in 1482, as Dempster (32) and from him Bishop Nichol
son (33) have asserted, for the use of William Schevez,
Archbishop of St. Andrews, by his domestick chaplain,
Nagnus Maculloch, a priest of the Diocese of Ross ; sup
posed to be either the famous Black. Book of Scone, or
the St. Andrew's Copy, or perhaps it is the original from
which both of them were taken [712]. Another copy of
the same, but written in a hand somewhat more modern
[4764]. The Chronicle of Andrew Wyntone, in verse.
Ker's, Lindsey's, and other Chronicles. A fine copy of
the Chronicle of Mailros. The Life of King David the
First, written by Aired, Abbot of Rievaulx [3846]. In
ventories of the Rolls or Records of Charters granted by
the Scottish Kings. Extracts from the Register of the
Exchequer and Acts of the Privy Council. Authentic
(32) Append, to Hist. Scot. lib. i. b. 2.
(33) Scottish Historical Library, p. 32.

88 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
copies of Treaties between the Scottish and French Kings,
and accounts ofthe several privileges granted by the latter,
to the subjects of the former. Fair transcripts of sundry
public Instruments concerning the vassalage of Scotland
and the sovereignty of England over it, which are omitted
by Mr. Rymer, in his Foedera, and have escaped the
dihgent eye of John Harding [1294]. Ancient copies of
the Regiam Majestatem, and transcripts of Acts of Par
liament and other Laws of Scotland. Atchievements,
Arms, Pedigrees, &c. ofthe NobUity and principal Gentry
of Scotland. The Journal of the Treaty of Union ; and a
vast multitude of truly valuable and interesting Papers of
State, partly originals, and partly ti'anscripts. Particu
larly, a transcript of divers public Instruments concern
ing the Marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to the Dau
phin of France [1244]. (34) Letters on sundry occa
sions from Mary Queen of Scots, Lord Burleigh, Sir
Francis Walsingham, Sir Thomas Smith, the Earl of
Murray, Queen EUzabeth, &c. [260, 290, 291, &c.] And
other authentic pieces, most of them unnoticed hy the
writers of those times, but extremely useful in settling
many controversial points of the history of that un
fortunate princess, and conducive ' to the disclosing and
clearing up the mysterious intrigues carried on during
her troubles in France, Scotland, and England, in a
better and more true manner than hath hitherto been
done either by the oppugners of her conduct, or by her
late advocate Mr. Goodall, or any other of her apologists.
(34) Two of these instruments, (viz.) Don fait par Marie Reyne d'Escosse du
dit Royaume d'Escosse au Roy de France, advenant le Cus qu'elle decidde san Hctirs
proc^ez de son Corps. Dat 4 Jour d'Avril, 1557, and Traitte du Marriage d^
Francois de Francefils du Roy Henry II. avec Marie Reyne d'Escosse du 19 Jour
d'Avril, 1558, are printed (though very faultily) in the 6th volume of a collec-
ion published at Paiis, in the year 1693, under the title of Recueil des Trailis
de Paix, &c.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 89
Historical Accounts of the State of the Church of Scot
land. Exact transcripts of the BuUs of Popes Innocent
the Second, Alexander the Third, Calixtus the Third,
and Adrian the Fourth, enjoining the Scots Bishops to
pay obedience to the Archbishop of York as their Metro
politan; and of the Kings of Scotland's recognitions of
that Archbishop's right. (35) Rentals of all the great
Benefices in Scotland ; Tax RoUs of the Abbey Lands ;
and copies of the ancient Book of Taxations of all the
Ecclesiastical Benefices in the kingdom, called Bagimont's
Roll, compiled about the same time with that taxation
which was made of the Lands of England, by King
Edward the First.
XV. The assistances that may be had from this Li
brary for illustrating the History and Antiquities of
Ireland are likewise equaUy valuable. As, Chorogra-
phies of the Kingdom, and Topographical Descriptions
of its Provinces. Ancient and other Histories, Chron
icles and Annals as well Ecclesiastical as Civil, more par
ticularly, A venerable copy of the History and Prophe
cies of that Country, written in the 10th century and in
the old Irish language [5280]. A vast number of original
Charters and Grants of Lands, given to the several Mo
nasteries and Religious Houses in Ireland, and which F.
Staflford, the publisher of Carew's Pacata Hibernia, had
taken infinite pains in collecting. (36) Many curious Pedi
grees, with tbe Arms and Histories of the principal No
bility. A very ancient transcript of two remarkable pieces
of the old Municipal Laws of Ireland, with Commentaries
(35) Another copy of these Bulls is in the Cottonian Library [Cleopatra,
C. IV.], from whence they are incorrectly printed in the 3d volume of Dugdale,
Monasticon, and again in Bishop Nicholson's Appendix to his Scottish Historical
Library, p. 137.
(36) Athene Oxon, vol. i. Col. 452, and Preface to Nicholson's Irish Histo
rical Library, p. vi.

90

THE HARLEIAN MSS.

of and Gflosses thereon. The text in this Manuscript is so
very ancient as to be coeval with the times the pieces re
late to. The one being seemingly part of the Bretanime,
or Judicia Ccelestia, with the Trial of Euna, brother to
Legarius, chief King of Ireland, for the murder of Orane,
chariot-driver to St. Patrick, before Dubhthac, the Chief
Fila dha, or King's Bard ; who, on that solemn occasion,
acted as sole brehon, or judge : with the sentence passed
thereon in. the year 430. The other, the great Sanction
or Constitution of Nine ; made in favour of Christianity
in Ireland, anno 439, by three kings, three bishops, and
three sages [432].
XVI. Many ancient copies of the Greek and Latin
-Classics and Historians. Amongst these are, two
copies of Terence, written in the 10th century [2670,
2750]. Another written in the llth century [5443]. A
¦ third written in the 12th century [2656]. Another ofthe
13th century [2475]. Tully 's Paradoxa Stoicorum, and
his first book De Natura Deorum, written in the Sth cen
tury [2622]. His Orations against CatUine, written in the
9th century [2716]; and a fine copy of his books De Ora
tore, written in the same century [2716]. A copy of his
books De Inventione Rhetorica, et Rhetoricorum ad He-
rennium, ofthe 10th century [2623]. Another ofthe same
books written in the llth century [2624]. A tran
script of his Epistles, and of several other of his Works,
written in the 10th century [26S2] ; and a copy of his
Epistles, written in the llth century [2591]. A frag
ment of VirgU's .^neid, written in the 9th century [2772].
His Bucolics, Georgics, and part of the iFneid, of the
12th century [2668]. The Bucolics and Georgics, ofthe
13th century [2533] ; and a transcript of the intire ./Eneid,
written in the 12th century [2770]. Two copies of Livy,
one ofthe 10th century [2672], and the other ofthe 13th
century [2492]. An exemplar of L. Florus, of the 10th

the harleian mss. 91
century [2620]. Ovidii Metamorphosexv, libri 12, et
Fastorum, libri 6, written in the 10th century [2737.]
Epistolae of the 12th century [2709]. Fastorum Libri
of the 12th century [2655] ; and a copy of the same book,
written in the 13th century [2654]. A copy, of Quin-
tillian, of the 9th century [2664]. A transcript of Lucan's
Pharsalia, written in the llth century [2728]. An ex
emplar of all the Works of Horace, except the Odes,
written in the 10th century [2725]. A copy written in
the 12th century [3534]: and two others, written in the
13tb century [2609, 2724]. A transcript of SaUust, in the
llth century [5412]; and another of the 12th century
[2643]. A copy of Statius, of the 12th century [2720];
and three others of the 13th century [2608, 2636, 2665].
A copy of Macrobius, written in the llth century [5204];
and another of the 12th century [2633]. A beautiful
transcript of Pindar, made in 1724, by Thomassen, in imi
tation of the Oxford edition of the works of that great
poet [6611].
XVII. Lexicons, Glossaries, and Dictionaries of
the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Welch, Chinese, Persic,
Arabic, German, Courlandic, Saxon, English, Spanish,
and Turkish languages ; particularly, a beautiful copy of
a Lexicon, Greek and Latin, and Latin and Greek;
written in capital letters in the 7th century [5792] ; and a
most grand copy of a Greek Lexicon, written in the 14th
century [5572]. A Latin and Saxon Glossary, written in
the 10th century [3376]. The Arabic Dictionary of Abu
Nasr Ismael, filius Hemad al Farabi, Al-Turki, with the
Supplement of Sherfo'ddin Al-Hasan filius Mohammedis,
sumamed Al-Sagani, written in the- beginning ofthe 13th
century [3446]. A Greek and a Latin Nomenclature, of
the 9th century [5642].
XVIII. Chorographies, Antiquities, Histories,
Chronicles, &c. of France, and other countries. Ela-

92 the harleian mss.
borate Genealogies of their Kings, Princes, and iUustrious
Houses, and a multitude of Tracts and authentic Papers,
explanatory of their Laws, Customs, Revenues, PoUty,
and Government. Amongst which are, Gesta Fran
corum in Bello Sacro, written in the llth century [3904].
A Chronicle from Adam, ofthe 9th century [5251]. Liud-
brandi T'iciensis Chronicon, written in the 10th century
[3713]. As also a beautiful transcript of the fourth and
last part of Froissart's Chronicle, in two folio volumes, ele
gantly Uluminated, and having the subject of each chapter
represented in an historical miniature painting, highly
finished, and placed at the head thereof [4379, 4380]. The
other volumes of this curious work are preserved in the
French King's Library, and are esteemed amongst its
principal ornaments.
XIX. Histories of Popes and the Transactions ofthe
See of Rome. Accounts of Conclaves held, and In
trigues carried on for the Elections of Popes. Papal
Decretals, Bulls, Absolutions and Indulgencies. Forms,
Practices, and Registers of their several Courts ; as also
three remarkable volumes [1850, 1851, 1852], being the
original Registers of the Roman Chancery, secretly
brought from thence, upon the death of Pope Innocent
the Twelfth, by Mons. Aymone, who was Apostolic Pro
thonotary of that Court. They contain, amongst other
things, the Rules to be observed by the Clerks, and
Obedientiaries of the Roman Chancery, expediting Papal
Bulls, Briefs, Mandates, Dispensations, and Grants, in aU
causes whatsoever; a List of Fines payable by Eccle
siastics to the Roman See, in all countries under its sub
jection, on their being admitted to Patriarchal, Metropo
litan, Cathedral, or Conventual Churches ; Fees and Fines
payable to the same Chancery, for obtaining Indulgencies,
Licenses, and plenary Absolutions in all cases, as well
criminal as civil ; and a variety of other interesting matters

the harleian mss. 93
evidently demonstrating the impositions practised in order
to fiU the coffers of the Roman Pontiff. (37)
XX. A great number of Poems, Essays, Ditties,
Ancient Ballads, Plays, and other poetical Pieces, in
almost every modern language ; many of them hitherto
unpublished, though truly worthy ofthe press, and others
extremely useful to sucb as shall undertake to give new
and correct editions of the works of such poets, particu
larly those of our own country, as have been already
printed. Amongst them are: — A very ancient and fair
transcript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales [1758] ; and a
copy of his History of Troilus and Cressida, the Knight's
Tale, the Man of Law's Prologue and Tale, the Wife of
Bath's Tale, and the Clerk of Oxenforde's Tale, neither
of which MSS. seem to have been used by the editors of
Chaucer ; the text in both differing in many places from
all other MSS. of that author, as well as from the printed
copies of his Poems. A large volume, being a collection
of ancient and valuable Poems on curious Subjects, by
Chaucer, Lydgate, and other English Poets [2251] ;
amongst these is a Poem of Chaucer's addressed to his
empty Purse, and consisting of twenty stanzas, though no
more than the three first have been published ; probably
for want of the editors of that author's works knowing of
this Manuscript. This Poem is still the more curious, as
it informs us of some circumstances of Chaucer's life little
known ; particularly in those lines which contain an ac
count of his imprisonment upon false accusations, and of
great part of his other personal sufferings. A fair transcript
or translation of Lydgate's Paraphrase, into English verse,
of Boccace's Treatise De Occasu Principum, illuminated
and embellished with historical miniature paintings; being
the author's Present-Book to Humphrey Duke of Glou-
(37) See the Account given of these Registers by Mr. Wanley, in the Cata
logue ; as also Tableau de la Cour de Rome par M. Aymone, p. 176.

94 the harleian mss.
cester, by whose command he undertook the work [1766],,
Lydgate's Lives of St. Edmund and St. Frcemund,
together with divers of his other Poems, illustrated with
1 20 very elegant historical pictures of different sizes ; be
sides other embellishments of illuminated letters, &c. so
as to render it the finest Manuscript of the English lan-.
guage, written in the time of King Henry the Sixth,
whose book this was, being presented to him by its au
thor [2278]. A large and beautifully illuminated copy of
the Confessio Amantis of John Gower [7184]. A very
pompous volume, containing a collection of the principal
pieces of Chaucer and Gower, finely written and or
namented [7333]. An Historical, Political, and Moral
Poem, consisting of 320 stanzas ; the subject whereof is
the unfortunate reign of King Edward the Second, whose
ghost is introduced as relating his transactions and dis
asters. The author, who is supposed to be Mr. Edmund
Spenser [2395], addresses this Poem to Queen Elizabeth.
Also the same Poem revised and corrected by many altera
tions, and fitted up for the perusal of King James the First
[2393, and 588]. A very fair and beautiful transcript ofthe
celebrated Poem, intitled, Le Roman de la Rose [4425],
began in French verse by William de Lorris, continued
and finished by John Clopinel, alias John Moone, or de
Mehun, of Meun, upon the river Loire. (38) This Manu
script is so richly ornamented witb a multitude of minia
ture paintings, executed in the most masterly manner,
(each chapter of the book having prefixed to it a picture
explanatory of the subject,) that it is not to be exceeded
by any known Manuscript in this or any other library,
and is probably the copy which was presented to King.
Henry the Fourth, the blazon of his arms being intro
duced in the illuminations, witb which the first page of
(38) Molinet, sur le Moralite de la Roman de la Rose.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 95
this work is embellished. (39) Many original Poems by
John Lydgate, Gower, Trevisa, &c.
XXI. A very large collection both of ancient and mo
dern Musical Compositions, with curious Anecdotes
relating to their authors ; written for the most part by
Mr. Wanley, by whom they were amassed, he being not
only a great judge of music, but a very able composer.
XXII. Books of Architecture, Geometry, Gun
nery, Fortification, Ship-Building, and Military
Affairs. Amongst these are, a fine transcript of Vitru
vius, de Architectura ; written in the 9th century [2767].
A copy of Vegetius, de re Militari ; written at Paris, by
Peter de Pass, in the year 1297 — [2475]. As also a large
volume, written in higb Dutch, soon after the invention of
fire-arms ; being a Treatise on Military Affairs, illustrated
with a great number of fine drawings, in water colours,
representing the proper forms of Marches, Encampments,
and Dispositions of Armies ; Orders of Battle, Attacks,
Sieges, and Storms of Forts, Towns, Castles, Draughts
of Ships of War, Fire- Ships, and Fleets, Bridges of
Timber and Stone, Hydraulic Engines, Tools, Instru
ments, and warlike Machines of every kind ; the Form of
the ancient British Chariot, &c. [1413].
XXIII. Natural History, Agriculture, Voyages,
Travels, &c. particularly, an Herbarium, written in
Saxon, and in the 10th century [5066]; and a very
valuable volume of Geoponics in Greek, with Schoha,
(39) A part only of this Poem is translated into English metre 1)y Chaucer.
The author exposes and inveighs so bitterly against the then reigning hypocrisy
of the clergy, that he became odious to that body, insomuch that Gerson, chan
cellor of Paris, says, that if there was no more than one copy of the Romaunt of
the Rose in the world, and he was possessed of it, in case he might have five
hundred pounds for it, he would rather bum it than take the money. And that
he thought, that if the author did not repent him of the book before he died, he
would vouchsafe to pray for him no more than he would for Judas Iscariot. —
Urry's Chaucer,

96 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
not hitherto pubhshed ; written upon silken leaves, and
near 500 years old [1868].
XXIV. Many rare MSS. in Astronomy, Cosmo
graphy, AND Geography; more especially, a copy of
Hyginus's Astronomy, written in the 10th century [2506].
Two very large and beautiful copies of Ptolemy's Cos-
mographia [71S2, 7195]; with the Maps accurately laid
down and coloured. The initial letter of Jacobus Angelo's
Dedication of the Work to Pope Alexander the Fifth (in
one of these copies) contains a fine miniature painting, re
presenting Angelo on his knees presenting his book to
that pontiff; and in the initial letter of the book itself, is
the portrait of Ptolemy, in a graceful attitude, surveying
the heavens.
XXV. A vast variety of Alchymical, Chymical,
Chirurgical, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Tracts ;
one whereof [3469] being a Treatise, in High Dutch, on
the Process for finding the Philosopher's Stone, formerly
belonged to the famous Mr. Cyprianus, from whose niece,
Mrs. Priemer, it was purchased, and presented to Ed
ward Earl of Oxford. (40) This book is divided into a
great number of chapters ; on the back of the last leaf of
each chapter, the subject thereof is represented in an em
blematical picture, in which the beauty of its colouring,
the disposition of the figures, the elegancy of their atti
tudes, and tbe propriety of composition, is scarcely to be
equalled. XXVI. A great number of volumes of Original Let
ters and authentic transcripts of others, written as well by
sundry persons which have been eminent for their high
stations in the state, as by those who were remarkable for
their literary accomplishments. Of these, the foUowing
may be deemed invaluable : The Letters of Foreign Kings
(40) See the note written on the back of the last miniature but five in this
MS.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 97
and Princes [1716]. The 18 volumes of original Letters,
from considerable Persons [6989 to 7006]. The Collec
tion of Letters to and from Archbishop Sandcroft, in
three volumes [3783, 3784, and 3785]. The Collection
of Letters, written from learned men to Mr. Humphrey
Wanley, from the year 1692 to the year 1725 [3777].
The two volumes of Letters from the most learned Men
of the Age to I. G. Vossius, many of them being in ^the
modern Greek, Armenian, and Dutch tongues [7012,
7013]. The Letters which passed between learned Men
towards the end ofthe 16th and the beginning ofthe 17th
centuries [7011]. Three volumes of original Letters from
the Royal Family of England [6986, 6987, 6988]. Four
volumes of original Letters, chiefly upon literary subjects,
to Robert and Edward, Earls of Oxford [7523 to 7526].
Lastly, a prodigious variety of MSS. which, exclusive
of their importance in other respects, are highly valuable
on account of the many beautiful illuminations and excel
lent paintings wherewith they are embellished; those
pictures being not only useful for illustrating the subject-
matter of the books in which they are respectively placed,
but furnishing excellent lessons and useful hints to
painters, perpetuating the representations of the prin
cipal Personages, BuUdings, UtensUs, Habits, Armour,
and Manners of the Age in which they were painted;
and very probably preserving some pieces of eminent
Painters, of whose works no other remains are extant.
Some of these MSS. have already been occasionally men
tioned, and to them must be added — a most noble copy
of Bishop Grosthead's Speculum Humana. Salvationis,
every page whereof is decorated with admirable pictures
explanatory ofits contents [2838]. A translation of Vale
rius Maximus into French, by Simon de Hesdin, and
Nicolas de Gonesse, comprised in two large volumes,
with fine historical paintings placed at the head of each

98 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
book, representing the principal subjects treated of therein
[4372, 3]. [A more modern copy of the same work, no
less beautifully painted, but in a different style, 4374 and
5]. (41) Together with another copy of the four last
books of the same work, embellished with paintings in the
like manner, and by the same hand as the former [4430].
A most noble volume, consisting of the Antiquities of the
Greeks and Romans, represented in paintings [4376]. A
volume, intitled, Le Tresor de Maistre Jehan de Mehun,
with paintings [3999]. The Four Elements and Four
Seasons, painted by J. Bailly, and intended as patterns of
tapestry for the French King [4377];
The great and constant accession of rare Manuscripts
to tbe Harleian Library, soon pointed out to its noble
possessor the necessity of having a catalogue of them
drawn up ; but the finding a person properly qualified for
such an undertaking, was, as well as the task itself, ex
tremely difficult. Lord Oxford, however, proved happy
in his choice ; the person he pitched upon for that em
ployment being Mr. Humphrey Wanley, whose extraor
dinary genius first showed itself when he was scarce
twenty-three years of age, (42) in his compiling the Co
ventry and Warwick Catalogue, (43) and occasioned him
to be recommended to Archbishop Tenison, by Dr.
Charlet, then Master of University CoUege in Oxford. (44)
Mr. Wanley 's learning and abilities were afterwards fur
ther made known to the world, by his incomparable Cata
logue of the Saxon, Anglo-Danish, and Norman Manu
scripts, preserved in all the public and private libraries of
England, and which accompanied Dr. Hicks's famous
(41) These four numbers were erroneously mentioned before as one copy of
the work.
(42) See his letter to Mr. Keith.
(43) See Cat. MSS. Angl, &( Hib. fol. 32 and 203.
(44) See Dr. Chariot's Letter to Archbishop Tenison.

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 99
Thesaurus, under the suitable title of Antiquce Litera-
turcB Septentrionalis Liber alter, (45)
As tbe collection was in the year 1708 (the time when
Mr. Wanley first entered upon his compiling the Cata
logue) grown very numerous, it may have been expected
that his primary care would have been that of arranging
the Manuscripts under proper classes, according to the
particular species of literature to which each is more im
mediately related; but the pursuit of such a method
would have been attended with inconveniences, and
amongst others, have laid him under the disagreeable
necessity of unbinding many of the volumes, which con
tain a variety of articles. For, though most of those
volumes are composed of tracts on one and the same sub
ject, yet there are others, and those not a few, which con
sist of miscellaneous pieces, entirely foreign to each other.
The method, therefore, which he seems to have followed
in the first instance, was that of entering the books into
his catalogue in the same order as he found them placed
in the library. However, it is highly probable that he
would have been more methodical, as he is more copious,
in his intended " greater Catalogue" (46) [which he began,
and takes frequent occasion to mention] had he lived to
complete that and the present, called by him his " smaller
Catalogue." But death deprived us of him on the 6th
day of July, 1726, when he had proceeded no further than
Number 2407 of the present printed Catalogue.
Although Mr. Wanley has, in his part of the present
printed Catalogue, made every volume a separate number,
(45) Nicholson, Hist. Library, p, 107.
(46) This greater catalogue consists of two volumes in folio, and is now
preserved in the Harleian Librarj', although not entered as an article in the
present printed catalogue. It begins at Numb. 306, is continued on as far as
Numb. 1 146, and is of the proper hand-writing of Mr. Wanley, as far as the
middle of Numb. 433. TJ o

100 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
yet he has subdivided each into different articles, accordmg
to the number and variety of Treatises contained therein.
So that there is scarcely a Tract, however minute, com
prised in any one volume, which underwent his inspection,
that is not taken notice of. In his entry of some ar--
tides, he contents himself with inserting the bare title; in
others, he mentions the purport of the piece. Of some
again (particularly original Letters, and State Papers, of
greater importance) he gives an abstract ; and when any
book of extraordinary value or curiosity presents itself, he
gives the reader a full and critical account of its contents,
endeavours to ascertain its author, and sometimes extracts
its most remarkable passages. Throughout the whole of
bis observations, he shows his extensive learning, and the
solidity of his judgment. His strictures are so just, that
we have great reason to lament his not having lived to put
the finishing hand to a work, for which he was in every
respect so well qualified.
Some time after the death of Mr. Wanley, the Cata
logue was resumed and continued from Number 2480, to
Number 5797, inclusive, by Mr. David Casley, Keeper of
the Cottonian Library, and well known to the learned
world, by his Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Royal
Library, which he published in the year 1734. Unfor
tunately Mr. Casley's other engagements did not allow
him sufficient leisure to consider the MSS. so fully as his
predecessor had done; so that the entries of such volumes
as fell under his examination are extremely concise. But
he has made some amends by assigning the age of every
Manuscript, adding in capital numbers at the end of the
first line of the title of each book, the century after
Christ's nativity, in which he supposes such book to have
been written, in the same manner as he has done in his
Catalogue of the King's Manuscripts — an omission in
Mr. Wanley's part of this Catalogue, which is the more

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 101
to be lamented, as from his having been many years con
versant with ancient Manuscripts, he was perfectly able
to distinguish and ascertain the age of every amanu
ensis. (47)
In the year 1741, the trustees of Edward Earl of Ox
ford engaged Mr. Hocker, who was afterwards Deputy
Keeper of the Records in the Tower, to complete the
Catalogue ; but his leisure did not permit him to carry it
on further than Number 7355.
After the Collection was brought to the British Mu
seum, the Rev. Doctor Brown, Professor of Arabic at
Oxford, and Doctor Kennicott, Fellow of Exeter College,
in that University, kindly assisted in drawing up titles to
such of the Arabic and Hebrew Manuscripts as wanted
them ; and Mr. Gomez, a professed Jew, was employed
to give titles to such as are Rabbinical; the remainder
was added by the Under Librarian ofthe British Museum,
to whose care the department of Manuscripts is com
mitted. Mr. Hocker, in his part of the Catalogue, differs both
from Mr. Wanley and Mr. Casley. In his entries of
articles, he follows Mr. Wanley's method, by giving a full
and explanatory title to every separate Tract contained in
each volume ; but he avoids all criticism and dissertation,
and likewise never attempts to ascertain the century in
which any ofthe Manuscripts were written.
(47) Of this we are likewise assured by Mr. E. Llhwyd, an excellent judge
in these matters, in whose letter to Mr. Wanley, dated 6th January, 1702-3, is
the following passage :
" I find by your censure of Kolam Kil's Gospel, that you have acquired
a more critical skill in distinguishing the date of our oldest MSS. than I thought
attainable." See Numb. 3777 in the Harleian Library.

102 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
[From the Second Preface to the First Volume of the
Catalogue, printed by the direction of the Record Com
missioners,]
This Catalogue was begun, in the year 1708, by the
learned Mr. Wanley, who was librarian to Robert and
Edward successively Earls of Oxford; and he appears,
from several entries in various parts of his Manuscript
Work, to have been employed herein till his death, July
6tb, 1 726. From that time the work seems to have been
laid aside, till about the year 1733 ; when it was resumed,
where Mr. Wanley had left off", at Number 2408, by the
late Mr. Casley, Keeper of the Cottonian Library, and
well known to the learned world by his Catalogue ofthe
Royal Manuscripts. In about the space of three years
Mr. Casley continued the Catalogue to Number 5709.
In June, 1741, died Edward Earl of Oxford, the great
enlarger of this Collection of Manuscripts, and soon after
his Lordship's trustees ordered the catalogue thereof to
be taken up a third time by Mr. Hocker, the Deputy
Keeper of the Records in the Tower, who in less than
two years completed it as far as Number 7355 ; and what
remained was added by the librarians belonging to this
particular department of the British Museum. (48)
It is propet to observe, in justice to Mr. Casley and
Mr. Hocker, that the circumstances under which they
drew up their respective parts did not allow them the
time necessaty to complete' the Catalogue upon so exten
sive a plan as that of Mr. Wanley ; whose part of the
Work contains an abstract of most ofthe historical Manu
scripts, and a critical account of many of the rest. (49)
In this state the Caitalogue remained tUl the year 1800,
(48) [The librarians of the MS. department made occasional corrections as
any errors were discovered in the Catalogue of 1 759, but nothing was done by
them to any extent.]
(49) [The preceding part of the Second Preface is taken from the Adver
tisement to the Catalogue of 1759.]

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 103
when, at the suggestion of His Majesty's Commissioners
for the arrangement and preservation of the Public Re
cords of the Kingdom, (50) the trustees of the British
Museum engaged the Under Librarian of the Manuscript
department (51) to revise and correct the latter part ofthe
Catalogue, beginning from Number 3100. It was not at
first supposed that any great length of time would be re
quired for the purpose of revision ; but, as the work pro
ceeded, it soon became manifest that, to obtain the neces
sary degree of correctness, and to make that latter part
of the Catalogue bear any kind of proportion to the
former, would be a matter of much labour, and must
occupy more time than could be easily defined by antici
pation. It might indeed have been calculated, that, as
Mr. Wanley, by the above account, had employed eighteen
years in describing 2408 Numbers ; Mr. Casley and Mr.
Hocker, three and two years respectively, in making their
additions, in the very brief and inadequate way in which
they were executed ; (52) the complete revision, and con-
(50) As appears by their Report, page 8.
(51) [Mr. Nares.]
(52) [The defects in the labours of some of the former compilers may best
be understood from the perusal of the following extract from a letter written by
Blr. Nares in March, 1803 :—
" The cori'ection and extension of the Catalogue of the Harleian MSS. has
now been carried on and completed as far as No. 5544. The most remarkable
deficiency which I have lately observed was at No. 5537, which was described
only in these words, * Apostolos, cum Lexico, Scriptus, A.D. 1087. Gr.'
" This book is, in fact, a very valuable MS. collated by Mill, and called by
him ' Codex Cuvellinnus secundus,' having belonged to Dr. John Covell, Master
of Christ's College, Cambridge, about 1679, &c. It is undoubtedly ofthe llth
century, and contains the Acts ofthe Apostles, all the Apostolical Epistles, and
the Book of Revelations, in Greek, with marginal illustrations and lists of chap
ters, and arguments to some of the books peculiar to itself: with a Lexicon of
the remarkable words, which a learned foreigner, to whom Covell had lent it,
has transcribed entirely, on some papers subjoined, and illustrated with re
ferences to Hesychius and other authorities. He has added also a compli
mentary inscription to Dr. Covell, dated 1710. I judged it absolutely neces
sary to number the leaves of this important Manuscript, to note the order of the

104 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
siderable augmentation of near 5000 numbers could not
be performed in a very short space. It employed, in
fact, all the time and dihgence that could be given to it hy
the compiler, till May, 1806, when the beginning of vo-
*'lume the third was sent to press.
Nor could even this progress have been made without
the following assistance. In the beginning of 1801, the
Rev. Stebbing Shaw, then engaged in writing the History
of Staffordshire, offered his services in examining the
topographical, genealogical, and h-?raldical Manuscripts,
and the librarian, by permission of the trustees, engaged
him, at his own expense, for that purpose. This aid,
however, was not of long duration, on account of the
iUness of Mr. Shaw in the summer of 1802, and his
death, on the 28th of October, that same year ; but his
diligence had performed as much as could be expected
books, the chasms, marks, and other peculiarities of it ; so that the present
account amounts to nearly three pages of folio paper, yet contains, I believe,
nothing that is at all superfluous.
" This is the latest instance of deficiency that has occurred, of much import
ance ; but the whole of the former account, from the place where I began, is so
defective, that scarcely a number occurs which does not require some additions,
and few that do not demand a large quantity. In general the accounts are de
fective, but they are often also erroneous. Thus No. 5299 is described ' Pocnw
Gallicum Delphino inscriptum,' whereas it is a French translation, line for line,
of the five first Books of the Orlando Furioso. No. 5372, in the old Catalogue,
mentions six Tracts, by old Latin Grammarians, Servius, Donatus, and others.
There are, in fact, ten of them, and some not contained in Putschius's valuable
Collection. Of the six articles there enumerated, two are described as quite
diff'erent to what they are, and attributed to wrong authors, so that only four are
rightly mentioned out of the ten. The MS. is a fine one, and well preserved, of
the I5th century.
" This is a very fair specimen of the manner in which this latter part of the
Catalogue was executed before. In drawing up the new account, I have made
it, as nearly as I could, on the plan of the first 3000 Numbers, so admirably
described by Mr. H. Wanley, who collected a large part of tlie MSS. for Lord
Oxford ; and in doing this, I have found it necessaiy not only to fill an inter
leaved Catalogue, from the place where I began, but also more than 400 pages
of folio paper, closely written. A large part of the MSS. have also required to
have their leaves or pages numbered."]

THE HARLEIAN MSS. 105
whUe he was employed. Mr. Shaw was fond of the part
for which he engaged, it was coincident witb his other
pursuits, and auxUiary to them ; and if there was a fault
in what he did, it was on the side of redundance rather
than deficiency.
After the printing of the third volume was begun, it
was discovered by the compUer, that the numbers from
2408 to 3100 also wanted revision, and required many ad
ditions, to make them at all uniform with either the first
or the last part of the work. This task was therefore
voluntarily taken up, and continued till the summer of
1807, when other views induced him to resign the office of
librarian, and retire to a country residence. At this
period he had not advanced beyond 2700, having been
much impeded by attention to the part which was then
printing. The chief part of what remained was afterwards taken
in hand and revised by Mr. Douce, who showed great
skill in executing the small part which he undertook. (53)
It should not, however, be omitted, that some additions to
this part, which now forms the latter end of the second
volume, had been made by Mr. Planta, while he was the
librarian of that department.
The very extensive additions which it was found neces
sary to make, without at all approaching to the degree of
minuteness observed by Mr. Wanley, will be estimated at
once, by comparing the bulk of the present third volume
with that part of the original second volume, which was
occupied by the description of the same numbers. But
it will be more important to point out, following the divi
sions of tbe former preface, some valuable MSS. which
have been brought into notice by this second research.
(53) [Mr. Douce principally revised that portion of the Catalogue then in
the progress of printing, which contained the Breviaries, Hors, and other Ser
vice Books of the Romish Church.]

106 THE HARLEIAN MSS.
I. Bibles, and Biblical Books. Also, VI. Evan
gelistaria, &c. Under these heads, no notice was taken
in the former preface, nor any sufficient description given
in the Catalogue, of the five Codices called by Dr. Mill
CovelUani, being then in tbe possession of Dr. Covell,
Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, from whom they
were purchased by the Earl of Oxford. 1. Codex Co-
vellianus primus [5776], This valuable copy ofthe Four
Gospels in Greek was not known to Griesbach, who has
described most of the rest, probably from its not being
properly noticed in the Catalogue. It appears not to be
less ancient than the thirteenth century, and was given to
Dr. Covell, when Chaplain to the Embassy at Constanti
nople in 1764, by Daniel, Archbishop of Proconnesus, as
is described in the book itself. It is described at § 1481,
in Dr. Mill's Prolegomena. 2. Codex Covellianus se
cundus [5537]. This volume, which was written in the
1 1 th century, contains the Acts of the Apostles, the Epis
tles, and the Apocalypse. Dr. Covell purchased it at
Constantinople in 1679. It has been described by Mill in
his Prolegomena, § 1482; and by Griesbach, in his
Symbolce Criticce, vol. 2. p. 148 and 184. He has also
collated it. 3. Codex Covellianus tertius [5557]. This
also contains the Acts and Epistles, but has not the
Apocalypse. Dr. Mill describes it in § 1485. Griesbach
does not seem to have known it. By some unaccountable
mistake, this book appears to be mentioned in the former
preface as a transcript of 2829, which is in Latin. (54) An
ancient Menology, prefixed to it, is properly introduced in
§ VII. (55) The Manuscript in general seems to be of the
llth century ; the Menology, probably, a little later. 4.
Codex Covellianus quartus [5620]. Its age is uncertain;
a Greek has inserted a note as if he wrote it in 1663, but
the hand is very different, and it is possibly somewhat
(54) See page 65. (55) Page 70.

the HARLEIAN MSS, 107
older. Mill and Wetstein have supposed it a transcript
of Wetstein's 35. It is described by MiU. Prol. 1487;
and by Griesbach, Symb. Crit. tom. 2. p. 151. It con
tains the Acts of the Apostles, and all the Epistles. 5.
Codex Covellianus quintus [5778] vel Sinaiticus. This
MS. originally contained the Acts of the Apostles, all the
Epistles, and the Apocalypse, but has been much injured
by damp, and much of it lost. MiU has described it in
§ 1488. Griesbach does not seem to have known it. But
the parts that remain are valuable, being probably of the
12th century. An ancient volume, containing the Four
Gospels and a Menology [5777] was considered by Dr.
Covell as a transcript of his Codex 1. [5776]. A few
other Manuscripts belonging to this class deserve further
notice. Among these is a more modern Hebrew Roll,
similar to 5619, but very finely written. A Manuscript
containing the Acts and Epistles in Greek, written on silk
paper, probably in tbe 13th century. It has been collated
and described by Griesbach [5588], A copy of the Four
Gospels, probably as old as the llth century, written in
Greek, on vellum, with Scholia somewha:t more modern
than the text, but stUl ancient [5540]. A Paper Manu
script of the Acts and Epistles in Greek, but containing
four vellum leaves as old as the 10th or llth century,
which, as well as the volume itself, have been carefully
described by Griesbach. That critic considers the four
ancient leaves as having belonged to a MS. of particular
excellence [5613]. A memorable copy of the Four Gos
pels in Greek, a large quarto written in uncial or capital
letters, probably as old, at least, as the middle of the 10th
century, and highly esteemed both by Woide and Gries
bach [5684].
As it appeared desirable to mention the principal
Codices CovelUani together, the first and sixth classes of
the former preface have here been united. It may pro-

108 the harleian mss.
perly be mentioned that an engraved specimen of the
valuable Evangelistarium, 5598, wiU now be found in the
plate prefixed to Woide's Edition of the Alexandrine MS.
of the New Testament.
IV. Liturgies, and Liturgical Books. Among these
may be mentioned a curious Psalter, with Grotesque or
Arabesque Illuminations. The book contains also some
Offices and Prayers [5764]. A Psalter in Greek, Latin,
and Arabic, disposed in parallel columns, and dated in
the middle of the 12th century [5786].
VII. Martyrologies, &c. Amagnificent copy ofthe
Golden Legend in English, belongs properly to this head.
It is written on 264 leaves of vellum, of the largest size,
and is of the 15th century [4775]. Extraneous to the
book and its contents, is inserted a modern print of the
Fair on the Thames in 1716. The Gesta Romanorum,
being undoubtedly composed with religious views, may
also be here introduced, and of this there is a fine copy
on vellum [5259]. Seventy Stories of an English Imita
tion of this Work appear in another MS. with various
other matter [7333]. On these Works and MSS. several
valuable remarks appear in Mr. Donee's Illustrations of
Shakespeare, vol. 2. p. 363, &c.
IX. English Topography, Antiquities, and His
tory, &c. Six curious volumes, containing very copious
historical Collections, from the year 1662 to 1672, had
by some means been separated and overlooked in this
Library. They wUl now be found at Numbers 4060,
4061, 4062, 4728, 4729, 4730. An imperfect, yet re
markable copy of Bishop Burnett's History of his own
Times, differing in many respects from the printed edi
tions ; and occasionally well illustrated by the remarks of
Dr. Gifford [6584]. A Description of England, written
by Mich. Soriano, an Italian, probably a Venetian, in
1556 [3473 3]. Some historical Notes written in an inter-

the harleian mss. 109
leaved Ephemeris, chiefly remarkable for being the pri
vate observations of a man so much the object of notice as
Partridge the Almanac-maker [6200]. On the subject of
English Law, under this head very large additions might
be made, and particularly under the title of Readings on
the several Statutes a very considerable class might be
formed. It shall suffice, however, to mention the single
Manuscript of Lord Coke, containing his original Notes
on Littleton's Tenures, formerly one very large volume,
but now, for the sake of preservation, bound in four. It
contains, besides the legal Notes, many private Memoraur
dums concerning the author, his various promotions, and
his family [6687].
X. Heraldical, &c. The most remarkable Gene
alogies of the Shirley Family, written in Latin and Eng
lish by Thomas Shirley, who translates his own names
whimsically into Greek, Thomastos Caloleimon, (56) [4023,
4028, 4928]. Also a splendid book of the Arms of
Knights of the Garter, from the foundation of the order,
blazoned in colours, but not continued so far as intended
[5831]. XIV. History of Scotland. The Continuation of
Hector Boethius's History, from 1437 to 1586, written by
Robert Lindsay, of Pitscotties ; assisted by other re
spectable men of his own country [4687].
XVI. Greek and Latin Classics. Under this head
much remains to be remarked, in addition to the former
notices. Among these the first that deserves notice is the
valuable copy of Homer's Odyssey, coUated by the late
Professor Porson, with great diligence, for the Grenville
edition [5674]. Several other copies of Homer might be
mentioned, but this is the most important ; they wiU be
found distinctly described in the Catalogue. Another
(56) Printed by mistake Cololeimon, at No. 4023.

1 10 the harleian mss.
most remarkable volume is tbe Lucian, a beautiful Manu
script of the lOtb century, which, as well as the preceding,
once formed a part of the hbrary of Cardinal Antonio
Seripandi, a celebrated collector of classical Manuscripts.
It is the very volume which was presented by the famous
John de Witt, to Jensius ; whose collation of its readings
may be found in the edition of Hemsterhusius. Though
it is imperfect, and contains only a part of the works of
the author, it is, from its age and beauty, of the highest
value [5694]. A volume containing a part of the Morals,
or smaller Works of Plutarch, remarkable for containing
two Tracts, numbered 17 and IS in the book, which had
never been printed, till they were copied for that purpose
by Mr. Tyrwhitt [5612]. Several copies, more or less
perfect, of the Orations of Demosthenes, some known to
Dr. Taylor, and some not [5670, 5724, &c.]. The Or^
ganon, or logical Works of Aristotle, fairly written on
paper, with the Isagoge of Porphyry [5599]. A noble
copy of the Bibliotheca of Photius, which was formerly
the property of Henry Stephens, and contains many
Annotations by him. It is now bound in two volumes
[5591 — 3]. Besides these, are many copies of various
parts of the works of Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and
all the Latin classics ; there are also many important
volumes of modern critics, illustrative of the classics ; par
ticularly two, which appear to have been the collections
of Jo. Michael Dilherr [3521 and 3837]. Lectures,
or dictata on Petronius Arbiter, by J. F. Gronovius
[5739] ; Lectures of John Meursius on the Works of
Theophrastus, whether lost or extant [5384]. Notes on
Cicero's Epistles, on Petronius, Tacitus, &c. [5379^ 5385].
A complete and very laborious Commentary on the Alex
andra of Lycophron, by Ambrose Fisher [4067], and, by
an anonymous writer, most laborious and entensive Col
lections to illustrate the History of Dion Cassius [6351].

THE HARLEIAN MSS. Ill
To these we may add some early Translations of the
Greek Classics, written in the most splendid and beautiful
manner : such as a large part of Plato's Works by
Ficinus [3481], followed by a Digest of the Platonic
Theology, as understood by that commentator, in eighteen
books [3482]. Few Manuscripts are more splendid than
the two here mentioned. They are rivalled, however, if
not surpassed, by a Collection of 26 Lives from Plutarch,
translated into Latin by L. Aretino, Guarini, Francis
Philelphus, and other literati of that period [3485]. Of
equal if not superior splendor are the four volumes con
taining a Translation of the Works of Josephus [4960,
61, 62, and 63]. Several early French Translations of
Classics also appear, in the most magnificent form, in this
Collection. Of these the most remarkable, the two copies
of Valerius Maximus [4372 — 4375], have been mentioned
in the former preface, on account of their illuminations,
which are, in their respective styles, as beautiful as any
that can be named; but it was not observed that each
contains the complete version of Simon de Hesdin and
Nicolas de Gonesse, with Notes and supplemental His
tories by those translators. In these there may be also
variations. The Translation of Boethius de Consolatione,
by John de Meun, the continuer of the Roman de la
Rose, in five elegant volumes, with illuminations, must
not be omitted [4335, 6, 7, 8, and 9]. There is also a
Spanish Translation of some Works of Cicero, very ele
gantly written [4796]. Not to extend this article too far,
there shall only be noticed, in addition, the laA)orious In
dex Latinitatis, or Index Verborum, to Pliny's Natural
History, by A. de Grau, which amounts to 1501 pages
of writing [4837]. The same laborious person also com
piled Indexes to Seneca and Rutilius [4823].
XVII. Lexicons, Vocabularies, &c. Among these
the most remarkable is a Greek Lexicon, mentioned in-

1 12 THE harleian MSS.
deed in the former preface ; but it may be useful to add,
that it seems exactly to agree with one in the French
Royal Library ; and contains the initial inscription, more
correctly written [5572]. It is of the 13th century. A
very ancient Greek and Latin Vocabulary, conjectured hy
Dr. Morton to be as old as the 7tb century, but certainly
of venerable antiquity [5792]. An Etymologicon Linguae
Latince, compiled from the Notes of Donatus on Terence
[4738]. An Abridgment of Somner's Saxon Dictionary,
which appears to have been the work of Mr. Humphrey
Wanley [3317].
XVIII. French History and Antiquities. The
great stores of this kind which the Harleian Collection
comprises have been hitherto overlooked, but they are
very extensive. They consist of many volumes, contain
ing a vast number of papers, collected by the Chancellor
Seguier, which extend from Number 4435 to 4472 ; in
quarto and folio ; and again commence in 4489, and many
subsequent Numbers, as far as 4530. These are foUowed
by the Collection of the Count de Brienne, who appears
also to have possessed the former. It extends to 4551,
and appears again in subsequent parts of the Catalogue.
These collections, which consist of State Papers, and Let
ters from persons in the highest situations, cannot fail to
contain very important materials towards the history of
the times to which they belong. In addition to these,
mention should be made of the splendid volume on the
Ordinances and the Knights of the Golden Fleece [6199].
XX. Poems, &c. Of poetical works in various lan
guages, a great number wUl now be found to be described,
which were either not ascertained before, or noticed in a
very slight manner. Among these, some of the most re
markable are the following. The Life ofthe Virgin Mary,
by John Lydgate, of which there are two copies [3862,
3952]. Some fine and ornamented copies of the Poetical

THE harleian MSS. 113
Works of Petrarch, either entire or in parts [3410,
3411]. Also a volume of his Works, professedly tran
scribed from a very ancient copy [3264]. Of ancient
Poems in the French language, not to mention the tran
scendent copy of the Roman de la Rose, with its beautiful
illuminations [4425], as it was noticed in the former pre
face, the most remarkable is the large and splendid volume
of the works of Christine de Pisan, containing, in some
of the Uluminations, the portrait of the author [4431].
This magnificent and curious volume was only marked
before, as Une volume des Balades, Virelais, Sfc. A
beautiful copy of a Prose Tract by the same author ap
pears at No. 4605; also her Corps de Policie, No. 4410.
Some of the Poems of Mary, the Norman poetess, which
have been the subject of dissertations in the Archseologia,
are preserved in this collection ; particularly her Transla
tion of the Fables of ^sop [4333]. The verses of Sanson
de Nanteuil are also curious [43SS]. Likevi'ise several
other French Poems or Romances [4390, 4399, 4401,
4404]. XXI. Music. The most remarkable treasure of this
kind is contained in six folio volumes [7337—7342]. It is
a collection of Anthems, Services, &c. used in the Church
of England, from the Reformation to the year 1720. Dr.
Tudway, organist and composer to Queen Anne, collected
these productions, with great care, for the Earl of Ox
ford ; and appears to have transcribed them himself into
the books. The work was gradually continued for several
years, and contains Introductory Dissertations, in>the form
of Dedications, to the several volumes, by the collector.
XXII. Architecture, &c. Under this head may be
noticed a singularly curious Tract, of a mechanical nature,
in which the first discovery of the principles and practice
of the Steam Engine seems to be fully announced, by
Sir Samuel Morland, who styles himself Master in Me-
I

114 the harleian mss.'
chanics to his Majesty the King of Great Britain, Charles
the Second. The book contains not only the plan and
the diagrams, but the calculations for tbe work, and was
presented to the French King; possibly because it did
not meet with sufficient attention at home [5771].
XXIII. Natural Philosophy. Here we should not
pass over an unpublished Tract on Optics, by Hobbes,
fairly written, as for the press [3360].
XXIV. Letters, &c. Too distinct a notice cannot
be taken of four inestimable volumes of original Letters,
which passed between the most celebrated scholars and
critics of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They
are not transcripts but the very letters, in the hand-writing
of their respective authors, whose names will at once ex
plain their value. Among the writers are these. I. Fred.
Gronovius, N. Heinsius, I. I. Chifletius, Js. Vossius,
I. Geo. Grffivius, Hadr. Valesius, M. Meibomius, Petrus
Victorius, Joach. Camerarius, Obertus Gifanius, Justus
Lipsius, CI. Salmasius, Ehas Putschius, Erasmus, Js.
Casaubon, Jan. Gruterus, and very many more ; insomuch
that hardly any celebrated man of that class can be named,
whose autograph is not in those four volumes [4993,
4, 5, 6].
It is evident that an enumeration of this kind might be
carried to a much larger extent. But it shall now be
closed, with the hope that the public may derive, from
this fresh examination of so large a part of the Harleian
CoUection of Manuscripts, aU the advantage which the
care and labour bestowed upon it were intended to secure.
That many things are still imperfectly described is cer
tain, and that they must have been so, unless twice or
three times the length of examination had been bestowed
upon them. Some errors also will doubtless appear, in a
work of such extent and variety ; but it is trusted that,
with the aid of the ample Indexes of Persons, Places, and

THE harleian MSS. 115
Matters, now subjoined to this Catalogue, such a key to
this inestimable repository has at length been put into the
hands of the learned, that nothing of great value or im
portance can long escape the researches of the diligent
inquirer. (37)
(37) [The Indexes of Persons, Places, and Matters, were compiled by Mr.
Home, upon an improved plan, which is explained in a short Preface to the
Fourth Volume, the whole of which they fill.]

CHAPTER V.
ACCOUNT OF THE LANSDOWNE MSS. AND
CATALOGUE.

[From the Preface to the Catalogue printed by the direc
tion of the Record Commissiotiers,]
The Collection of Manuscripts which forms the subject of
the above-mentioned Catalogue, was purchased in 1807,
by a vote of Parliament, of the representatives of the then
late Marquis of Lansdowne, for the sum of £4,925.
It is divided into two parts ; the first division or class
consisting of the Burghley Papers only ; the second, com
prehending the remainder of the Manuscripts in general,
including the Caesar and Kennett Papers.
Of the Burghley Papers, one volume contains copies of
Charters and other Documents of an early period; but
the remainder, amounting to one hundred and twenty-one
volumes in folio, consist of State Papers, interspersed with
miscellaneous correspondence, during the long reign of
Queen Elizabeth ; and among these is the private memo-
Tandum-book of Lord Burghley. The Burghley Papers
descended from Sir Michael Hickes, Lord Burghley's
secretary, to his great grandson Sir William Hickes, who
about 1682 sold them to Richard Chiswell, a stationer in
London, who again disposed of them to the Reverend
John Strype, Vicar of Low-Leighton in Essex. On
Strype's decease his representatives sold them to Mr.
James West. — Strype, it need scarcely be added, had
made an extensive use of these papers in his different

THE LANSDOWN'E MSS. Il7
¦rtrorks on English ecclesiastical history.— After Mr. West's
death, they came into the possession of Lord Lansdowne.
To this part of the Catalogue, on account of the impor
tance of the papers, a separate Index has been added.
Of the remaining manuscripts, in a series of more than
fifty volumes, are comprised a large portion of the papers
and correspondence of Sir Juhus Cffisar, Judge ofthe Ad
miralty in Queen Elizabeth's time, and Chancellor of the
Exchequer and Master of the RoUs in the time of King
James the First and King Charles the First. Sir Julius
Caesar's Manuscripts, consisting originally of one hundred
and eighty-seven volumes, were dispersed by auction in
1757, when nearly one-third of the collection was pur
chased, in single lots, by Philip Carteret Webb, Esquire ;
after whose death they were again purchased, together
with other manuscripts, by Lord Lansdowne, at that time
Earl of Shelburne. Of the volumes purchased by Mr.
Webb, and now in the Lansdowne Collection, thirty-one
relate directly or in part to Admiralty concerns ; ten to
Court of Request, Treasury, Star-Chamber and Exche
quer business ; three to Ecclesiastical matters ; two con
tain copies of Treaties ; one relates to the state and go
vernment of Ireland ; and the rest are historical, parlia
mentary, &c.
Tbe Papers of Dr. White Kennett, Bishop of Peter
borough, extend through a hundred and seven volumes of
different sizes ; the greater part written by the Bishop's
own hand. Of these, many relate to English Eccle
siastical history, containing coUections from ecclesiastical
records, notes from cathedral and abbey registers, tran
scripts from old manuscript tracts and printed books.
Collections for the History of Convocations, &c. An im
mense volume, entitled, Diptycha Ecclesice Anglicance,
contains an account of the regular succession of all the
principal dignitaries of the different cathedrals of England

118 THE LANSDOWNE MSS.
and Wales, from the time of the Nofman conquest to the
reign of King WiUiam III, together witb an attempt at a
series of the abbots, priors, and prioresses of different
monasteries alphabeticaUy arranged; the whole abstracted
from patent rolls, chartularies, chronicles, &c. Eleven
volumes contain Bishop Kelinett's biographical Memorials,
mostly ofthe English Clergy, from 1500 to 1717. Eight
volumes contain collections for a register and chronicle
ofthe Church of England from 1660 to 1679 (1). Four
volumes contain materials for an Ecclesiastical history of
England from 1500 to 1717. Eight or ten contain cob
lections for a History of the diocese of Peterborough ; and
one is filled with Etymological collections. Some of these
manuscripts have been the materials for the Bishop's
printed works; but the larger and mOre miscellaneous
quantity, particularly in biography and local history, have
been unused.
Exclusive of these larger series, the Lansdowne Col
lection of Manuscripts comprehends many valuable Works
on different subjects.
In British history. Topography, and Jurisprudence, for
the limited extent of the collection, it is particularly rich ;
and here, a beautifully illuminated fiiamiseript of Har-
dyng's chronicle, as it was presented by its author to King
Henry the Sixth, in tbe middle of his feign, deserves es
pecial notice. It was formerly Sif Robert Cotton's; and
differs from the printed copies of the Chronicle (which
come down to King Edward the Fourth's time) so much
as not even to admit of collation. Here also may be no
ticed, a fair transcript of the Chronicle of Andrew of
Wyntownt A CoUection of Laws, Statutes, Orders,
Commissions, and Treaties, relating to the Marches or
(I) A portion of these volumes, including the period from 1660 to 1663, was
published in folio in 1728, under the title ofthe first volume of Bishop Kennett's
Register and Chronicle.

THE LANSDOWNE MSS. 119
Borders of Scotland, as made and agreed on by the re
spective Sovereigns of England and Scotland, from 1249
to 1597; A Collection of Royal Proclamations, from the
19th of Henry VII. to the 17th Cha. I. and three vo
lumes of Original Correspondence, the first containing
Letters written by royal, noble, and eminent persons of
Great Britain, from the time of King Henry the Sixth to
the reign of His present Majesty ; the second and third.
Letters written by Foreign sovereign Princes, and other
eminent strangers, during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and
eighteenth centuries; amongst the more important docu
ments in the first of these volumes is the memorable letter
of Lady Jane Gray, as Queen of England, to the Marquis
of Northampton, requiring the allegiance against what she
calls " the fayned and untrewe clayme of the Lady Mary,
bastard daughter to our great uncle Henry th'eight of
famous memorye."
Three Portfohos contain original letters written in the
years 1655, 1656, 1657 and 1658, by various persons, to
Henry Cromwell, when chief governor of Ireland, being a
part of those used by Dr. Birch, the editor of Secretary
Thurloe's State Papers ; two volumes of papers also,
formerly belonging to William Bridgeman, Esq. under
secretary to the Earl of Sunderland in the time of King
James the Second, and secretary to the Board of Admiralty
in the time of King William the Third, contain the prin
cipal depositions taken before the Privy Council at the
time of Monmouth's rebeUion. In topography, exclusive
of Mr. Warburton's collections for Yorkshire, and a large
and very curious assemblage of epitaphs and arms, draw
ings of monuments, painted glass, &c. chiefly collected by
Nicholas Charles, Esq. Lancaster Herald in the time of
James the First, are numerous abbey and other registers
or chartularies. Amongst them are registers of the Priory
of St. John of Jerusalem, of Harewood Priory in York-

120 THE LANSDOWNE MSS.
shire, of Lunda, Monk Bretton or Brecton Priory, in the
same county, of Gerondon in Leicestershire, of Malmesbury
Abbey, of the Abbey of Melsa or Meaux in Yorkshire,
two registers of Chertsey Abbey, and one of the prebendal
church of Edyndon in Wiltshire, Registers of the Almoner
of St. Alban's, and of the Infirmarer of St. Edmundsbury
Abbey ; a Register of the muniments of Oriel College,
Oxford, compiled in 1397 ; a Register-book of the Arch
bishop of York, written about 1309 ; and a rental of the
Priory of Coventry. There is also a fragment of a Re
gister of the Priory of Christ Church or the holy Trinity,
in London.
Five volumes contain Mr. Petyt's Parliamentary collec
tions, beside several other manuscripts relating to Parlia
mentary history and proceedings. There is likewise a
very valuable treatise on the Court of Star Chamber,
written in the time of King James the First and Kmg
Charles the First, by WiUiam Hudson, Esq. of Gray's Inn;
an ancient transcript of the Testa de Nevil : numerous
manuscripts of the Antiqua, and Nova Statuta, and fif
teen volumes of selections from the Patent Rolls in the
Tower of London. Above fifty volumes contain Reports
of Law Cases, from the time of King Henry the Eighth
to the time of King Charles the First, beside numerous
other volumes of Law collections, readings, entries, plead
ings, &c.
The Heraldical and Armorial manuscripts in this coUec
tion are rather numerous, by Segar, Lee, the St. Georges,
Dugdale, Harvey, Le Neve, &c. together with a curious
volume of papers, chiefly of the 15th century, iUustrating
the institutions of Chivalry in England, the greater part of
which once belonged to Sir John Paston, of Norfolk^
There are also several manuscripts relating to Coronations.
Upon Coin and Coinage there is a valuable work, which
seems to have been intended for publication by its author.

THE LANSDOWNE MSS. 121
entitled, " Brief memoires relating to the Silver and Gold
Coins of England, with an account of the corruption of
the hammer'd moneys and of the Reform by the late
grand coynage at the Tower and the five Country Mints,
in tbe year 1696, 1697, 1698 and 1699;" by Hopton
Haynes, Esq. Assay Master ofthe Mint, A. D. 1700.
In Biblical learning, the Lansdowne collection possesses
two volumes of particular interest. One is a fine manu
script of part of the Old Testament in English, as trans
lated by Wicliffe ; the other is a volume elegantly written
on vellum and iUuminated, containing part of a French
Bible, translated by Raoul de Presle or Praelles, at the
command of Charles the Fifth of France ; a version of
extreme rarity even in that country. Among the few
manuscripts in Theology also are five volumes of Saxon
homUies, transcribed by Mr. Elstod and his sister.
Of Classical Manuscripts, there are copies of Cicero
de Rhetorica and de Officiis of the fifteenth century;
a copy of Martial of the fourteenth ; Virgil, Suetonius,
and the works of Boethius of the fifteenth ; a manuscript
containing part of Horace, with the Satires of Juvenal and
Persius, which formerly belonged to Matthias Corvinus,
King of Hungary, of the fifteenth century ; a fac-simile of
the celebrated Virgil in the Vatican Library, made by
Bartoli in 1642. There is also a French translation of
the first ten books of Livy, by Pierre Berceure or Bercheur
of the fourteenth century.
In Poetry, beside two beautiful manuscripts of the
fifteenth century on vellum, one containing tbe Sonnets
of Petrarch, the other the Comedia of Dante, is a very fair
and perfect copy, also on vellum, of the Canterbury Tales of
Chaucer, written about the reign of Henry the Fifth ; in
tbe initial letter of which is a fuU-length portrait of the
author. In this department of literature also may be
named, a volume, partly on vellum and partly on paper,

122 THE LANSDOWNE MSS.
containing a Collection of the poems of John Lydgate,
monk of Bury, many of wbich have never been printed;
an unpubhshed poem by Skelton entitled, " The Image of
Ypocresye," believed to be the author's autograph ; and a
translation by Hugh of Caumpeden, of " The History of
King Boccus and Sydracke the philosopher."
There is likewise a volume containing near twenty very
interesting Treatises on music of the fifteenth century,
originally belonging to John Wylde, precentor of Waltham
Abbey, and afterwards to Thomas TaUys, organist to
King Henry the Eighth ; a manuscript which has been
particularly commented upon by Sir John Hawkins and
Dr. Burney, in their respective Histories of Music.
Among articles of a miscellaneous nature may be noticed
eleven volumes of the papers of Dr. John Pell, Envoy from
Oliver Cromwell to the Protestant Cantons of Switzerland,
between 1654 and 1658 ; five volumes of Sir Paul Rycaut's
papers, containing not only Letters, &c. of a public nature,
while Sir Paul Rycaut was secretary to the Earl of Cla
rendon in Ireland, in the reign of James the Second, but
also his letters and papers relating to public transactions
while resident at Hamburgh, and the other Hanse towns ;
three volumes of the Earl of Melfort's letters during his
negotiation at Rome in 1690; a volume of original letters
from Mr, Thomas Hearne, of Edmund Hall Oxford, to
Mr. James West, principaUy on subjects of literature, and
two volumes of a Diary kept by Humphrey Wanley of
occurrences relating to the Earl of Oxford's library and
collections, whilst under his care, from 1715 to 1726; a
Chinese Map of the country of China; a hundred views
in the interior, and a hundred and eighty-two drawings of
the diff'erent trades, plants, fruits, and vessels of that
country, all executed by native artists of the first abiUty,
complete the present enumeration.
It may be pToper to add, that the Burghley papers, with

THE LANSDOWNE MSS. 123
a very large portion of the numbers in the second part of
the first volume, were catalogued by Francis Douce, Esq.
the late Keeper ofthe Manuscripts in the British Museum.
The remainder, including the Csesar and Kennett Papers,
with about two hundred other volumes, together with the
revision of the whole of the second part, was made by Mr.
ElUs, the present keeper of the Manuscripts. (1)
(I) [Bibliotheca Manuscripta Lansdowniana, a Catalogue of the Entire Col
lection, on Paper and Vellum, of the late Most Noble William Marquis of Lans
downe. London, 2 vols. Svo. 1 807. This Catalogue was framed in part from
the Papers of Mr. Matthews, Secretary of the Marquis. It was printed by order
of that Nobleman's Executors, preparatory to the intended sale of the Manu
scripts, in single lots, by public auction.]

CHAPTER VI.
THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.

[From the Introduction to the Authentic Collection of the
Statutes printed by the direction of the Record Com
missioners,]

I. Former Printed Collections, Translations and
Abridgments of the Statutes.
An historical enumeration and description of antecedent
publications of the Statutes, will best contribute to a right
understanding of the necessity and origin of the Authen
tic Edition of the Statutes ; and of the principles upon
which it was planned and executed. (1)
The Statute RoUs, previous to the beginning of the
reign of Henry VII., being sometimes in Latin and some
times in French, and from that time uniformly in EngUsh,
the printed editions, according to their several periods,
contain the statutes, either, 1st, in the languages in which
they were respectively passed, proclaimed, or printed;
during various periods, from the time of Hen. III. to the
end of the reign of Rich. HI., without any translation;
or, 2dly, translated for the whole or some part of those
(I) All the publications in print of General Collections, Translations, and
Abridgments of the Statutes, and of the Acts of particular Sessions, which have
been discovered, are specified in two Catalogues subjoined to the Introduction
to the Authentic Collection of the Statutes.

THE STATUTES OF TIIE REALM. 125
periods ; and during subsequent periods in English ; or,
3dly, in Latin and in French respectively, to the end of
Edw. IV. or Rich. HI., inclusive, with or without a
translation ; and in English from the beginning of Rich.
IH. or of Hen. VIL
The earliest of the printed editions or collections is an
Alphabetical Abridgment of Statutes, as weU previous
as subsequent to Edw. III. in Latin and French, the
latest statute in which is 33 Hen. VI. a. d. 1455. This
is supposed to have been pubHshed before 1481. Ano
ther very early edition, but supposed to be later than
the preceding, and to have been printed about 1482, is
a Collection of the Statutes, not abridged, from 1 Edw.
III. to 22 Edw. IV. in Latin and French. This and the
preceding article are attributed to the joint labours of the
printers, Lettou and Machlinia. The statutes passed in
the only parliament holden by Rich. III. were printed in
French, by Caxton or Machlinia, or both, soon after they
were passed, this being the first instance of a sessional
publication. The like course was observed in the reigns
of Hen. VII. and Hen. VIIL; from which time the sta
tutes appear to have been regularly printed and published
at the end of each session. The collection printed by
Pynson, probably about the year 1497, 13 Hen. VII.,
but certainly before 1504, 19 Hen. VIL, contains the
statutes from 1 Edw. III. to 1 Rich. III. inclusive, in
Latin and French respectively; and those from 1 to 12
Hen. VII. in English. The small edition of the Antiqua
Statuta, first printed by Pynson in 1508, and afterwards
frequently reprinted, contains Magna Charta, Charta de
Foresta, the Statutes of Merton, Marlbridge, Westminster,
1 and 2, and other statutes previous to 1 Edw. III. in
Latin and French respectively. These are the earUest
printed copies now known of those statutes. The Abridg
ment of the Statutes, in EngUsh, to 1 1 Hen. VIIL, trans-

126 THE STATUTES OE THE REALM.
lated and printed by John Rastall, is preceded by a Pre
face on the Propriety of the Laws being published in
English. This appears to be the first English abridg
ment of the statutes : and it helps to ascertain the period
when the statutes were first " endited and written" in
English; as the preface ascribes that measure to Hen.
VII. Subsequent English abridgments were published
at various times by Rastall and other printers. Various
editions of the Alphabetical Abridgment of the Statutes,
abovementioned as published before 1481, were from
time to time printed, enlarged by the abridgment of
subsequent statutes. Of these, the Edition by Owen,
including the Statutes of 7 Hen. VIIL, was printed in
1521. An Appendix, containing the abridgment ofthe
Acts of the next ensuing Session, 15 Hen. VIIL, was
printed in 1 528, when a title was added. These collec
tions form an exception to tbe general description of the
Edition of the Statutes ; for not only the statutes previous
to and in the reign of Rich. III. are abridged in Latin or
French, but the abridgment of the statutes of Hen. VII.
and Hen. VIII. is in French, although they were origin
ally passed and printed in English. In 1531 Berthelet
printed an edition of the Antiqua Statuta, similar to the
editions by Pynson, with some additions. In 1532 Ber
thelet also printed a collection of the statutes previous
to 1 Edw. III. not included in the Antiqua Statuta.
This collection he intituled Secunda Pars Veterum Sta
tutorum, and it is always so distinguished. It was fre
quently reprinted. The statutes contained in it are in
French and Latin respectively. Neither in the Antiqua
Statuta by Pynson, nor in the Secunda Pars Veterum
Statutorum, were the contents arranged with any chrono
logical accuracy. In the Antiqua Statuta the Two Char^
ters, and the Statutes of Merton, and Marlbridge, and
Westminster 1 and 2, are placed first, and the other

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 127
matters follow in a very confused manner. No better
order is preserved in the Secunda Pars. These two
parts of the Vetera Statuta were frequently reprinted
together. The edition of them byTotteU, in 1556, is the
most known : this varies from Pynson's and Berthelet's,
in some readings of the text of the statutes ; and it is
enlarged by tbe addition of " certain Statutes, with other
needful things taken out of old Copies examined by the
Rolls," printed at the end of the First Part. Editions by
Tottell, in 1576 and 1587, and later editions by various
printers, insert only a partial selection of ancient statutes,
with further various readings, and add some modern sta
tutes. On a comparison, made for the purpose of ascer
taining the fact, there is reason to conclude that the copy
used by Lord Coke in his Second Institute, was that of
1587. The earliest printed translation, not abridged, of the
Charters, and of several Statutes previous to 1 Edw. III.
appears to have been made by Ferrers, a member of
parhament, from the Editions of the Vetera Statuta and
Secunda Pars before noticed. It was first printed in
1534, and contains the greatest part, but not all, of the
matters included in those editions, but does not arrange
them in chronological order. In 1540 and 1542, other
editions of this translation were published, with some
amendments and additions. In 1543, the Statutes in
EngUsh, from the time of Hen. III. to 19 Hen. VIL
inclusive, chronologically arranged, were printed by Ber
thelet in one volume folio. It has not been satisfactorily
ascertained that any complete chronological Series of the
statutes from Magna Charta to 1 Edw. III., either iii their
original language or in EngUsh, or that any translation
of the Statutes from 1 Edw. III. to 1 Hen. VII. had been
pubUshed previous to this edition by Berthelet; though
some books refer to editions by Berthelet, as of 1529 and

128 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
1540. It appears probable that the translation in this
edition by Berthelet was made from the small editions of
the Vetera Statuta and Secunda Pars, and from Pynson's
Edition of the Nova Statuta, 1 Edw. III. to 1 Rich. III.
inclusive. This edition contains some translations, par
ticularly of the Dictum de Kenilworth, not included in
either of the editions of Ferrer's Translations : with re
spect to the others previous to 1 Edw. III. it agrees in
general with the second edition of Ferrar's Translation :
and Cay, in the preface to his edition of the Statutes, con
jectures that the whole of the translation in this edition
was made by Ferrars. No translation ofthe Statuta Wai-
lice, 12 Edw. I. is given either by Ferrers or in any sub
sequent edition. Several other statutes also have been
always printed without translations. The Great Boke of
Statutes commences with 1 Edw. III. and ends with 34
Hen. VIII. It is entirely in English. It appears to
have been published at different times, in separate parts ;
and it seems not unlikely that the earliest part may have
been published previous to the English edition printed
by Berthelet in 1543, from which it differs in some par
ticulars. Of such difference one instance is the inser
tion of cap. 7 of 2 Rich. II. stat. 1, respecting Pope
Urban, which is omitted in Berthelet, 1543, and subse
quent editions ; from whence it seems probable that this
part was published before the severe prohibitions by the
acts of Hen. VIII. against acknowledging Papal power.
WiUiam RastaU (or Rastell), who, in 1557 published
his first edition of a collection of all the statutes which
were before that year imprinted, was a serjeant at law;
and was made a judge in 1558. In this collection the
statutes are distributed under apt titles in alphabetical
order, the preambles for the most part being' omitted, and
a brief mention only made of such statutes as were expired
or repealed, or of a private or local nature. It gives aU

.THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 129
the statutes to the end of Rich. III. in Latin or in French,
as they were at first published ; (2) and aU the subsequent
statutes in English. The same collection, having the
statutes prior to Hen. VII. translated into English, in
stead of being inserted in their original language, was
printed about 1579, and reprinted very frequently after
wards, until 1621. In these successive editions, the new
statutes were from time to time abridged, and inserted
under their proper titles. The translation contained in
this collection appears to have been executed with supe
rior care and industry ; where it borrows from foregoing
versions, it occasionally amends what was faulty: trans
lations are inserted in it of some matters not before
translated ; of others, translations entirely new and more
faithful are given ; and the whole was sedulously revised
from time to time ; the later editions, particularly those
of 1591 and 1603, correcting errors which had escaped
notice in the earlier editions. Rastall died in 1565,
and it is not known by whom these English editions of
the coUection bearing his name were prepared or edited.
The edition of the statutes in Enghsh, by Barker, in
two volumes, folio, frequently bound up in one, ending
witb 29 EUz., the title to which affords tbe earUest in
stance of the term " Statutes at Large," agrees in general,
as to the Statutes previous to 1 Hen. VII. with the Eng
lish edition by Berthelet in 1543.
After the edition of Rastall's Collection, in English, in
1579, it does not appear that any of the statutes from
(1) Herbert's Ames, 417 ; Brady's History of England, vol. i. p. 658.
(2) " I have put every Statute in the tonge that it was first written in. For
those that were first written in Latin or in Frenche dare I not presume to trans
late into English for fear of misseinterpretacion. For many wordes and termes
be there in divers Statutes, both in Latin and in Frenche, which be very hard to
translate aptly into English." — Epistle or Preface prefixed to W. Rastall's Col
lection; edit. 1557. In the edition of 1579, and the subsequent editions, this
sentence is omitted from the Preface. K

130 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
1 Edw. III. to 1 Hen. VII. were printed in Latin or
French, until some of them were so printed in the edition
by Hawkins in 1735. The English edition, 1618, which
in the title page is said to contain all the acts at any
time extant in print until 16 Jac. I., published by the
King's printers, Norton and Bill, in two volumes, large
folio, is usually called Rastall's Statutes ; although the
editor of the coUections before noticed had been long
deceased. The latest acts inserted in this edition are
of 7 Jac. I. being the last session preceding the publica
tion. The translation of the statutes previous to Hen.
VII. does not follow the improved translation adopted
in the editions of Rastall's collection in English ; it agrees
with the translations of Berthelet, 1543, and Barker,
1587; except that it is not so correctly printed. In the
same year, 1618, a collection, in English, of sundry sta
tutes frequent in use, ending with 7 Jac. I. was pub
lished by Pulton. Several statutes, not included in the
edition called RastaU's, 1618, are for the first time trans
lated in this edition, and are so noted to be in the pre
face ; the most important of these are, Ordinatio pro
Statu Hibernie, as of 17 Edw. I., but being in fact of
17 Edw. II. ; Ordinatio Forestce, 34 Edw. I.; De As-
portatis Religiosorum, 35 Edw. I. ; De Terris Tempio-
riorum, 17 Edw. II. Several subsequent editions of
this collection were printed after the death of Pulton.
Those of 1635 and 1640 are remarkable for giving the
progressive Answers to the Petition of Right, 3 Car. I.
and the King's Speech, on pronouncing the Assent,
Soit droit fait come il est desire, which are not con
tained in any other general collections, though they were
printed by authority in the sessional publication of the
statutes of that year. As this EngUsh edition by Pulton
has been much copied by subsequent editors of the sta-

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. * 131
tutes, it deserves particular notice. (3) The original edition,
published in 1618, contained many corrections of the
then existing translation, by rendering it more conform
able to the Records in the Tower ; and further correc
tions were from time to time made in the subsequent
editions; but several errors and inconsistencies were suf
fered to remain, in consequence of the translation foUow
ing the old printed copies of the Latin and French text,
which frequently differ from those Records.(4) Some of
the corrections made in the various editions of the Eng
lish collection called RastaU's were indeed adopted ; but
several matters translated in Rastall's English collection
are not included in Pulton's, particularly several of the
statutes of uncertain date, usuaUy classed together after
the reign of Edw. II. A change of phraseology also is
occasionally made in Pulton, not always to the improve
ment of the translation. Titles are put at the heads of
tbe several chapters, which are in fact intended as abridg
ments of their contents, and which were not given in
former editions to the chapters of any statute previous to
Edw. IV., though in the chronological table of statutes
subjoined to RastaU's Collection titles of a similar kind
occur from tbe beginning of the reign of Edw. III.
Several parts or chapters of the statutes subsequent to
1 Edw. III. are omitted, and only noticed by the titles or
abridgments. (3) See further as to this edition by Pulton, and its defects as a General Col
lection, post, p. 147. >
(4) See 4 Inst. 51 , as to errors in the printed editions of the Statutes extant
at that time, in consequence of their differing from the Kecords ; and see the
volume usually called Cotton's Abridgement cfthe Recoi-ds in the Tower, but which
in factis an Abridgement of the Rolls of Parliament from 5 E. II. to I Ric. III.,
made by Bowyer, Keeper of the Records : in these, many variations between the
Statute, as printed, and the Parliament Roll, are stated, but without adverting
to the circumstance how far the printed Statutes agreed with the Statute RoU.
See also Prynne's Preface to Cotton's Abridgement, fo. 3, 4.
k2

132 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
From 1618 to 1735 the great body ofthe statutes conti
nued to be published entirely in English ; but the small
coUections of the statutes previous to 1 Edw. III. in
French and Latin, were frequently reprinted till after
1618, and these were succeeded by the collection in Lord
Coke's Second Institute, The editions bearing the name
of Pulton were continued from time to time from 1618
to 1670; tbe last, by Manby, who had previously edited
the statutes passed in the time of Car. I. and Car. II.
During the Usurpation, partial collections of acts for dif
ferent series of years were published, from 1646 to 1654;
and an authentic collection by ScobeU, the clerk of the
parliament, from 1640 to 1656. After the Restoration,
editions of the statutes Car. I. and Car. II. were published
by the King's printers and others. In 1676, Keble's edi
tion of the Statutes at Large, ending with 27 Car. II. was
published by the King's printers, " carefully examined by
the Rolls of Parliament.'' This edition is in many in
stances more correct, as to the statutes subsequent to
Hen. VII. than the editions by Barker or Pulton, or that
called Rastall's, 1618. It was from time to time reprinted,
and continued by additional volumes. The translation of
the statutes previous to Hen. VII. contained in all the edi
tions called Keble's was copied from the latest edition of
Pulton. The edition of the statutes by Serjeant Hawkins,
published in 1735, in six volumes folio, ending with 7 Geo.
II. contains the respective Latin and French texts of most
of the statutes to 8 Edw. IV. with translations of such as
had been before translated, and as appeared to him to be
in force or use : of some of these statutes a translation
only is given, without the original text. Of the statutes
and parts of statutes considered by him as obsolete, or
which are expired or repealed, the original text is given
without a translation, and occasionally an abridgment
without either the text or translation. From his preface

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 133
he seems not to have been aware that the early statutes
bad never been printed in Latin or French, in any collec
tion except the Second Institute of Lord Coke ; and he
gives the text from the Statute Rolls in the Tower, from
ancient manuscripts, or from the Second Institute ; all in
many instances varying from the earliest printed editions.
An appendix is subjoined to the sixth volume, containing
the text of some of the more ancient statutes, which are
omitted, or of which translations only are given in the
body of the work ; " together with some ancient Records
of Statutes omitted in the Statute Roll, but entered in
other Parliamentary Records." Upon the subject of the
translation, Hawkins thus expresses himself in his pre
face : " It was proposed to make a new translation of the
French and Latin statutes, and it must be owned that
there are some mistakes in the old translation ; but it
having, by its long use, obtained a kind of prescriptive
authority, and seeming for the most part to have been
done with greater learning and accuracy than can be ex
pected from any modern hand, willing to undertake a
work of such difficulty, and it being easy for the reader
to correct the mistakes in it by the help of the original, it
was judged most proper to retain it."
Cay's Edition ofthe Statutes, published in 1758, in six
volumes folio, ending with 30 Geo. II. , is very much
upon the plan of Hawkins's Edition, with the following
additions : In cases where the statutes are printed from
the Statute Rolls in the Tower, the numbers of the re
spective membranes of the Rolls are quoted; and in
other cases the several manuscript authorities from which
they are printed are distinctly cited. The Latin and
French text, respectively, of several statutes prior to Edw.
III., and the French text of the statutes 23 Hen. VL,
12, 14, 17, and 22 Edw. IV., which had been omitted by
Hawkins, are given from manuscripts. Several instru-

134 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
ments, not included in the previous editions by Hawkins,
Pulton, and others, are inserted from the early printed
copies; and some matters not contained in any former
edition of the statutes are printed from the Parliament
Rolls. The translation of the statutes previous to Hen.
VII. is tbe same as Keble's and Pulton's. In his preface,
Cay attributes the whole of that translation to George
Ferrers, in the time of Hen, VIIL, and speaks thus of it:
"It is not a good one, and the mistakes in it are very
numerous and considerable. It has often been desired
that a new translation should be made ; but as this has
been used for some ages, not only by the pubhc in gene
ral, but even by the Parliament, and many statutes are
recited in subsequent acts in the words of this translation,
it seems to be too much authenticated for an editor to
presume to reject it." The editions by Hawkins and Cay
were for some time continued by several volumes contain
ing the statutes of subsequent years. In 1762 was printed
the first volume of an edition of the Statutes at Large,
which was completed in 1765, by Ruff head, in nine vo
lumes quarto, ending with the statutes of 4 Geo. III. In
this edition is included all that was comprehended in
Cay's. Several matters, however, which by Cay were in
serted in the body of his work, were printed by RufiTiead
in an appendix subjoined to the ninth volume ; and in this
appendix are also introduced some acts of Hen. VII. and
of subsequent reigns, taken from former printed copies,
and also from the Parliament RoUs, and the Inrolments
of Acts in Chancery. This edition was reprinted in 1769,
&c. and has been regularly continued from time to time
by volumes containing the statutes of subsequent years.
Pickering's Edition of the Statutes at Large, in twenty-
three volumes octavo, ending witb the statutes 1 Geo. IU-
was printed at Cambridge, and published at various times
between 1762 and 1766. A twenty-fourth volume, con-

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 135
taining the preface and mdex, was published in 1769.
This edition contains the same matters, and for the most
part in the same order, as Cay's Edition ; with the addi
tion of the statutes afterwards passed, and also of some
instruments and translations from former printed copies,
and other sources, which, " though deemed antiquated,"
were added " on account of their public or constitutional
importance." In an appendix subjoined to the twenty-
third volume, some of the matters are inserted which are
contained in Ruffhead's Appendix. This edition also has
been regularly continued by subsequent volumes published
from time to time.
It should be observed, that the matters for the first time
introduced by Hawkins, Cay, Ruffhead, and Pickering,
respectively, are few in number ; and that some of them
are clearly not entitled to the character of statutes. (5) It is
evident, also, that Ruffhead and Pickering took, each,
advantage of the circumstance of their editions being in
the course of publication during the same period ; and
that, in the insertion of new matters, they by turns bor
rowed from each other. Neither Hawkins, Cay, Ruff
head, nor Pickering, take any notice of the French text
of the statutes of Rich. III. which have been stated by
some writers (6) to have been originally in English ; whereas
the editions of the Nova Statuta by Pynson, RastaU's
Collection, and the Sessional Publication of the Statutes
of Rich. HI. prove that the statutes of that reign were
originally published in French : although, in and after the
reign of Hen. VI. many bills, in the form of acts, are en
tered on the Parliament RoU in Enghsh. The transla-
(5) See note on the Ordinance 46 Edw. III. relative to lawyers and sheriffs
being returned to parliament, printed in Authentic Collection cf the Statutes,
vol. i. p. 294.
(6) See Reeves's History ofthe English Law, cap. 26, and Christian's edition
of Blackstone's Commentaries, lib. i. cap. 2, in the notes.

136 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
tion now chiefly in use, which was first inserted in Pul
ton's Edition, 1618, and thence copied, with a few cor
rections, into subsequent editions, and afterwards into
those of Keble, Hawkins, Cay, Ruffhead, and Pickering,
successively, does not answer wholly, either to the text
as given from the Records or Manuscripts, or to the
text of any of the old printed editions, the translation
having been in part altered by Pulton and other editors
to suit it to the text, as taken from the Record, and
being in part suffered by them to remain as in the earhest
editions, without making the alterations necessary to re
medy errors, which were equaUy repugnant to the old
printed copies and to the Record. Throughout the
whole translation, also, sentences are frequently inserted
or omitted, contrary to the authority of the Latin or
French text, as given from the Record or Manuscript,
in the opposite column of the book ; and the translation,
thus varying from the text of the Record or Manuscript,
is sometimes consistent with, and sometimes contrary
to, the old printed copies, which are not at all noticed.
Many palpable errors and omissions have been allowed
to remain, without notice, in all the translations. Correc
tions, comparatively very few in number, were silently
made in the progress of the editions called Pulton's and
Keble's. Those made from time to time in Rastall's
English Collection were numerous and important, but
they have not been fully adopted in any editions of the
Statutes at Large. The suggestions of corrections by
notes in the margin of Cay's Edition are very rare, com
paratively with the numerous errors actually existing ; but
the number of these suggestions was somewhat increased
in the edition by Ruffhead, though not to any consider
able extent. The like observations apply to Pickering's
Edition, respecting which, however, it is material to no
tice, that of many ofthe obsolete, expired, or repealed sta-

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 137
tutes, or parts of statutes, a translation only is given by
Pickering, from the edition by Pulton, and that called
Rastall's, 1618, with some amendments, while the Latin
or French text, or an abridgment in English, is given in
the editions by Hawkins, Cay, and Ruffhead.
Upon the whole it is ascertained, that no complete
collection has ever been printed containing all the mat
ters which at different times, and by different editors,
have been published as statutes. The earliest editions of
entire statutes were printed at the latter end of the fif
teenth century, and began witb the statutes of Edw. III.
in their original language. The statutes of Hen. III.
Edw. I. and Edw. II. were not printed entire until the
beginning of the sixteenth century, and then in small
collections by themselves in their original language ; and
none of these printed copies quote any Record or Manu
script as an authority for the text which they exhibit.
Later editions of the statutes, which combine the pe
riod previous to Edw. III. with that of Edw. III. and
subsequent kings, omit the original text of the statutes
previous to Hen. VII. ; giving translations only of those.
statutes and the subsequent statutes in English : and
the most modern editions, which, in some instances, in
sert the original text of the statutes previous to Rich.
III. from the Statute RoU and ancient manuscripts, omit
the translation of many parts of them, and in other in
stances give a translation without the text, and also omit
many acts in the period subsequent to Hen. VII. Fur
ther, it is to be observed, that the several printed edi
tions differ materially from each other in the text of the
statutes previous to Hen. VIII. The copy of the Statute
of Gloucester, 6 Edw. I. in the edition printed by Tot
tell in 1556 and 1587, and by Lord Coke in his Second
Institute, varies most materially not only from that in the
earlier printed editions by Pynson in 1508 and 1514, and

138 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
by Berthelet in 1531, but also from that in the edition
by Marshe, in 1556, the same year in wbich the first
edition by Tottell was printed. The copy of this statute
printed by Hawkins from the Statute Roll in the Tower
varies as well from those printed by Tottell and Lord
Coke, as from those by Pynson, Berthelet, and Marshe.
This instance is mentioned, as the Statute of Gloucester
is the earliest now existing on any Statute Roll.(7) Many
other instances occur, even in cases where the necessity
of correctness was most peculiarly requisite : such are
the ancient statutes relating to the assize of bread, the
composition of weights and measures, and the measuring
of land. In all these the calculations in the several
printed copies vary from each other, and are all incor
rect, some in one particular, some in another. It may
be noted, moreover, tbat many verbal variations occur
between the several editions which appear essentially to
agree with each other. Thus the copies in Tottell, 1556,
1587, and the Second Institute, though generally ac
cordant, are not precisely so ; and the same observation
applies to tbe editions by Pynson, Berthelet, and Marshe.
These verbal variations may be said to be innumerable,
and though for the most part minute, they are occasion
ally important. After the commencement of the reign
of Edw. III. a greater degree of correctness and unifor
mity prevail ; but so late as the reign of Hen. VII. some
instances of material variation continue to be met with.
The acts of Rich. III. were printed in French, first by
Caxton, and afterwards in Pynson's Edition of the Sta
tutes from the commencement of the reign of Edw. III.
In the editions by Berthelet, Barker, and others, these
acts of Rich. III. were printed in English, agreeing in
(7) There is reason to believe, from the appearance of the great roll of Statutes
in the Tower, that the membranes which contained the Statutes preceding the
Statute of Gloucester, have been detached from those which now exist.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 139
substance with the French text ; but in tbe editions by
Pulton and subsequent editors, there are essential va
riances in the translation, not only from the sense of the
French text, but also from the former English editions ;
and even of the statutes of Hen. VII., though always
printed in English, the copies in the editions by Pulton
and subsequent editors differ in several instances from
those in tbe earlier printed coUections.
It is moreover ascertained, that no one complete
printed translation of all the statutes previous to Hen.
VIL exists. Some, which are omitted, from Berthelet,
1543, and the other early editions, including that called
RastaU's, 1618, are inserted in Pulton, 1618, and in edi
tions since published. On the contrary, several parts of
the statutes, from 1 Edw. III. to 1 Hen. VIL, translations
of which are inserted in Berthelet, Rastall, and other
editions, are omitted, and merely abridgments thereof
given, in Pulton and subsequent editions. All the sta
tutes, therefore, which have been hitherto translated, can
be found only by uniting Pulton, 1618, and Rastall,
1618, together with RastaU's English Collection, and the
English editions by Berthelet, Middleton, and Barker.
Many errors and inconsistencies occur in all the transla
tions, resulting either from misinterpretation, or from
improper omissions or insertions ; and there are many
ancient statutes of which no translation has ever yet been
printed.

II. — Plans heretofore proposed for an Authentic
Publication, or for the Revision of
THE Statutes.
No Complete and Authentic Edition of the Statutes has
hitherto been undertaken by Authority ; nor has the de-

140 the statutes of the realm.
sign itself ever been suggested, simply, and without con
nection with other schemes of reformation or improvement.
A general revision of the Statute Law has been often
recommended from the Throne, and has been petitioned
for by both Houses of Parliament; it has engaged the
labours of successive Committees, and has been under
taken by individuals sometimes with, and sometimes with
out, tbe sanction of Royal or Parliamentary authority;
but has never yet been carried forward to any degree of
maturity. In Queen Elizabeth's reign, A. D. 1.557, Sir N. Bacon,
Lord Keeper, drew up a short Plan for reducing, ordering,
and printing the Statutes of the realm. The following are
the heads of this plan(l) : " First, where many Lawes be
made for one thing, the same are to be reduced and es
tablished into one Lawe, and the former to be abrogated.
— Item, where there is but one Lawe for one thing, that
these Lawes are to remain in case as they be. — Item, that
all the Actes be digested into Titles, and printed accord
ing to the Abridgment of the Statutes. — Item, where part
of one Acte standeth in force and another part abrogated,
there should be no more printed but that that standeth in
force. — The doing of these things maie be committed to the
persons hereunder written, if it shall so please her Majestie
and her Counsell, and daye wolde be given to the Com
mittees until the first dale of Michaelmas Terme next
coming for the doing of this, and then they are to declare
their doings, to be considered of by such persons as it
shall please her Majestie to appoint." Then follow hsts
of twenty Committees of four each, in which the Judges,
Serjeants, Attorney and Solicitor General, &c. are named:
One Judge, &c. and three Counsel forming a Committee,
to each of which it was proposed that a title or division
of the Statute Law should be referred. Tbe subject was
(1) MS. Harl, No. 249.

THE statutes OF THE REALM. 141
afterwards taken into consideration, so far as related to the
Penal Laws, at subsequent periods in the reign of the
same Queen, viz. Anno 27, A.D. 1585. (2)— Anno 35, A.D.
1593.(3)— Anno 39 and 40, A.D. 1597.(4)— Anno 43, A.D.
1601.(5)— In the proceedings in 1593 and 1597 Sir Francis
Bacon took part, and upon them he appears to have
founded his sketch or plan of a general revisal of the
Statute Law. (6)
King James the First, upon his accession to the throne
of England, 1603-4, and in subsequent periods of his
reign, recommended also to parliament a reform of aU the
Statute Law, and of the Penal Laws in particular. (7) In
the year 1610 a digest and repeal of the Penal Laws
was expressly stipulated for by the House of Commons,
and acceded to by the House of Lords, in their joint
transaction of the great contract with the crown ; (8) and
in the same reign Sir Francis Bacon, Lord C. J. Hobart,
Serjeant Finch, Mr. Noy, and others, by the King's com
mand, made considerable progress in the general work of
reforming and recompUing the Statute Law, which Lord Ba
con describes (9) as " An excellent Undertaking, of honour
to His Majesty's times, and of good to all times;" and re
commends, in imitation of the Statutes of 27 Hen. VIII.
c. 15, and 3 and 4 Edw. VI. c. 11, for appointing Commis
sioners to examine and establish Ecclesiastical Laws, that
commissioners be named by both Houses for this purpose
also, with power not to conclude, but only to prepare and
(2) Dewes's Joum. 345. (3) Dewes's Joum. 469. 473.
(4) Dewes's Joum. 553. (5) Dewes's Journ. 622.
(6) See the following articles in Baccm's Works, viz. Epistle Dedicatory to
Queen Elizabeth, prefixed to Elements of the Law ; — Proposal for amending the
Laws of England, to King James; — Offer to the King of a Digest : 4to edit.
vol. ii. p. 326. 546, 547, &c.
(7) See Lcfrds' Journals, i. 144, ii. 661, iii. 81, and Preface to Coke's Fourth
Report, (8) Lcn-ds' Journ. ii. 661. (9) Works, vol, ii. 4to. 547.

142 THE STATUTES OF THE REAI.M.
propound the matter to Parliament. In the British Mu
seum is preserved a manuscript volume, (10) containing the
plan of an elaborate Report, particularising the several Sta
tutes, from the Statute of Westminster the First, 3 Edw. I.
to 7 Jac. I. 1609, then actually repealed or expired, and
also the Statutes thought fit either to be absolutely re
pealed, or to be repealed and new Laws to be made in
their place. Possibly this may be the very work spoken of
by Sir Francis Bacon.(ll) It is drawn up as by authority,
with detailed reasons for every proposed measure ; but it
is not signed by, or addressed to, any one. A Table is
subjoined to it, exhibiting the result of the Report.
Among the papers of Mr. Petyt, in the Inner Temple
Library,(12) is a Letter of Lord Bacon's, dated 27th
February, 1608, which shows that he had the advantage of
using, for his proposed plan, a Manuscript Collection ofthe
Statutes, made witb great labour by Mr. Michael Hene
age, Keeper of the Tower Records, in five large volumes,
which it is feared has been lost. Lord Bacon's disgrace,
at the latter period of the reign of King James the First,
and the distractions of the government in what related to
Parliament, were probably the causes of the failure of
these measures, and ofthe silence that ensues respecting
them in parliamentary history.
During tbe usurpation the same undertaking was rC'
sumed with ardour. In 1650 a committee was named,
one of the members whereof was Bulstrode Whitelock,
then First Lord Commissioner for the Custody ofthe Great
Seal: the purpose was " to revise all former Statutes and
Ordinances now in force, and consider as well which are
fit to be continued, altered, or repealed, as how the same
may be reduced into a compendious way and exact me
thod, for the more ease and clearer understanding of the
(10) MS. Harl. No. 244. (II) Wcn-ks, vol. ii. p. 546.
(12) Miscell. xvii. p. 279.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 143
people." And the committee were empowered " to ad
vise with the judges, and to send for and to employ and
call to their assistance therein any other persons whom they
should think fit, for the better effecting thereof, and to pre
pare the same for the further consideration of the House,
and to make report thereof. "(13) But no such report bas
been preserved. In 1651-2, Matthew Hale, Esquire, after
wards Lord Chief Justice Hale, Sir Anthony Ashley
Cooper, afterwards Lord Shaftesbury, and Rushworth, tbe
author ofthe Historical Collections, with other persons out
of the House, were appointed to report to the committee
their opinions upon the inconveniences ofthe Law ; and a
revised System of the Law was reported to the House in
the course of the same year.(14) The same labour was
afterwards transferred to other hands, but the work was not
abandoned; and in 1653 a committee was appointed to
consider of a new model or body of the law.(15) But of
this committee no proceedings are now discoverable.
After the restoration. Finch, SoUcitor-General, after
wards Earl of Nottingham and Lord Chancellor, Serjeant
Maynard, Sir Robert Atkins, Mr. Prynne, and others,
were appointed, in 1666, to be a committee " to confer with
such of the Lords, the Judges, and other Persons of the
Long Robe, who have already taken pains and made pro
gress in perusing the Statute Laws ; and to consider of
repealing such former Statute Laws as they shall find
necessary to be repealed ; and of expedients for reducing
all Statute Laws of one nature under such a method and
head as may conduce to the more ready undegstanding and
better execution of such Laws. "(16) This, however, was
as ineffectual as any of the former measures ; and it is the
last recorded instance of the interference of Parliament on

(13) Commons' Joum,, vi. 427. (15) Ibid, vii. 304.
(14) Ibid, vii. 58. 74. 249, 250^ (16) Ibid, viii. 631.

144 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
the subject, previous to those proceedings which gave
rise to the commissions under the authority whereof the
work now under consideration was executed.
The earliest instance of the exertions of any individual,
without the sanction of parliamentary authority, towards
making a Collection of Statutes from authentic sources,
appears to have been afforded by Pulton. — He was a
learned barrister, of great age and experience, and was
employed for several years in the consideration of the
Statute Law. He published two useful books upon that
subject: first, an Abridgement of the Penal Statutes;
and afterwards a Calendar or Abstract of all the Statutes
in use, chronologically arranged ; together with an alpha
betical Abridgement of them, in the manner of Rastall's
Collection. He appears to have been encouraged and
assisted in his first work by Sir WilUam Cordell, then
Master of the Rolls, to whom it is dedicated; various
editions of this were published from 1560 to 1577. His
Calendar, first published about 1606, is distinguished by
the following expression in the title-page; viz. Editum
per mandatum Domini Regis. But nothing else, either
in the book or elsewhere, has been found to confer any
marks of royal authority upon the contents of the book.
After the publication of these works, without any pubhc
patronage or recomn;iendation beyond a permission to use
the Records, he conceived the plan of copying from their
original Records, and printing for general use, all the
Statutes supposed to be in force. The papers containing
Mr. Pulton's original scheme, are preserved among Sir
Robert Cotton's Manuscripts in the British Museum. (17)
In one of these papers the design is set forth : it is indorsed,
in a hand frequent among the Cottonian Manuscripts,
" Concerning Mr. Pulton's Suite;" and has no other title,
(17) MS. Cott. Titus, B. V. p. 269.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 145
mark, or description at the beginning or end ; though by
another article referring to it, there is proof of its date
being in or previous to 1611. " Mr. Poulton seeketh to
print the Statutes at Large. He promiseth to set down
which Statutes or parts of Statutes are repealed, and
which, being at the first but temporary, are since expired
and void, because not revived. This he hath already done
in his late Abridgement, for which he had a recompence
of the printer. Now, to make this new book at large sale
able, he promiseth to print the Statutes first in the lan
guage tbe same were first written; and such as were
originaUy in French or Latin, he wiU translate and print
likewise in English. Where the Statute has no title, he
wiU devise a title out of the body, and print it with the
Statute. He will set down which Statutes are warranted
by the Record, and which not. He will correct the printed
book by the Record. For which purpose he requireth
free access at all times to the Records in the Tower.
Being very aged, viz. almost fourscore, he desireth that
for his ease and better enabling in his work, the Keeper
of the Records within the Tower of London may every
<iay deliver unto him, when he shall so require, one Par
liament Roll, to be by him and his clerk perused and
viewed, in a lodging which he hath taken near unto the
said office ; the same afterwards to be redelivered by them
to the said keeper thereof. That the clerk do help, fur
ther, and assist him in this service by all the means he
can." Several Objections to the Prosecution of this plan
were made by Bowyer and Elsyng, Keepers ofthe Tower
Records ; among others, that they and their Predecessors
had actually prepared materials for the Work in question,
and that they then had ready written Five Volumes of
Statutes copied from the Records. These were perhaps
the Volumes alluded to in Lord Bacon's Letter before

146 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
mentioned.(18) The Dispute between the parties was con
tinued for^some time : but there remains among the Cot
tonian Manuscripts(19) a draught of an award for its deter
mination by Sir Robert Cotton himself, to whom they
referred their differences ; and from a Paper in the
British Museum, among the Manuscripts of Mr. Madox,(20)
it appears, that an Order of Council passed on the 24th
of October, 1611, granting license to Pulton to have the
use of the Records in the manner asked. It recites, that
he undertook the work by persuasion of the Judges and
others learned in the Laws, and requires the keepers of
the Records, on account of the importance of the work,
and for the benefit of the learned, to assist and further
him all they can.
Pulton lived to publish this proposed edition in 1618;
which is the Work already spoken of as Pulton's English
Statutes. In his preface, after noticing the redundancies
of former editions, containing Subsidy Acts and other
Acts " expired, repealed, altered, and worn out of use,"
and his intention to publish such only " which be now in
life, force, and general use," he gives the following state
ment of the means he had employed in compiling his col
lection. " First, with as great means, care, and industry,
as possibly I could use, so many of the old Statutes here
tofore printed in the English tongue, made and published
in the reigns of tbe first Ten Kings (accounting from 9 of
Hen. III. unto 1 of Rich. III. inclusive), as be chiefly in
use and practice, and which are the foundation of pro
ceedings both legal and judicial, have been by me truly
and sincerely examined by the original Records thereof
remaining in the Tower of London ; and the residue with
the Register of Writs, being the most ancient Book ofthe
(18) See page 142, note 12. (19) Vesp. F. IX. p. 279.
(20) Miscell. Vol. XCIV. No. 4572. Plut. 19 C. p. 82.

TIIE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 147
Law, the old and new Natura Brevium, the Books of
Entries, the Books of Years, and Terms of the Law ; the
best approved, printed, and written Books; and by aU
such other circumstances as might best give probability of
truth unto the learned. By reason whereof, the foresaid
defects, imperfections, and emblemishments being reformed
in this edition, as it is a collection of the most usual Laws,
gathered from out the grand Codex of aU the Statutes, so
it may serve as a correction to the former impressions."
The defects of Pulton's publication, as a general Col
lection of Statutes, are chiefly these: 1st, As to the
Statutes preceding Henry VIL, it is a translation in
English, and does not exhibit the text in the original
language of the Records, as might have been expected
from his proposal : 2dly, Though it had the permission, it
had not the authority of the King, by whom all Acts of
Legislation are to be communicated to the subject; and
was only the private work of an individual for his own
benefit ; 3dly, It is a partial selection of such Statutes as
in the judgment of the author were fittest to appear in his
book ; their authority and use, whether in force or re
pealed, depending on his opinion ; 4thly, It is not, nor
does it purport to be, a correct and examined copy from
the original Records, of all those Acts which are given at
large ; but of such only as the author thought necessary
so to examine and correct: and it is left uncertain, which,
and how many of them, were taken from printed or written
books. It has, therefore, though in a less degree, the
same faults as all the collections and editions of "Statutes
printed before ; and it was particularly unfortunate that
the author did not execute that part of his proposals
which made their greatest merit, namely, the giving an
accurate copy of the original text of the ancient Statutes
from tbe Record.
These objections are no less applicable to the editions
l2

148; THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
by Hawkins and Cay, as falling short of the character of
a complete and authentic CoUection of the Statutes. They
professed indeed to have copied their text from original
Records, or other Manuscripts, in Latin and French; but
by printing some Statutes and parts of Statutes, with the
translation, and some without it, and giving only a trans
lation of others, they have rendered their editions liable
to still further objections, for which no subsequent editor
has hitherto attempted to offer a remedy.
From the preceding statement, the necessity and use of
an authentic publication of the Statutes of the Realm wiU
appear: for, although the defects of all former collections
had been long complained of by learned and eminent
men, and although various propositions had been offered
at different times, for an authentic publication of the
Statutes, none such had been executed. At length,
however, the Select Committee, appointed by the House
of Commons of Great Britain in the year 1800, to inquire
into the state of the public Records of the kingdom,
having reported upon this branch of the matters referred
to their consideration, that in their opinion it was " highly
expedient for the honour of the nation, and the benefit of
all his Majesty's subjects, that a complete and authoritative
edition of all the Statutes should be published;" in pur
suance of their recommendation the Authentic Collection
of the Statutes was undertaken and executed, under the
authority and direction of commissioners specially ap
pointed by the Crown to carry into effect the several
measures which were by that Committee recommended to
the attention of Parliament.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 149
III. Of THE Charters prefixed to the Authentic
Collection of the Statutes.
A series of the Charters of the Liberties of Eng
land is prefixed to this Collection of the Statutes:
namely. Charters of Liberties; 1 Hen. I. a.d. 1101:
1 Stephen, a.d. 1136: of Stephen and Hen. II. without
date: Charter for free Elections in Churches; 16 John,
A.D. 1214: Articles or Heads of Magw« CWte ,• 17 John,
A.D. 1215: Magna Carta; 17 John, a.d. 1215: 1 Hen.
IIL A.D. 1216; A.D. 1217:(1) 9 Hen. IIL a.d. 1224-5;
36 Hen. III. a.d. 1251-2.: Carta de Foresta; 2 Hen.
IIL A.D. 1217: 9 Hen. IIL a.d. 1224-5: and Charters
confirming Magna Carta and Carta de Foresta; 21 Hen.
III. A. D. 1236-7: 49 Hen. III. a.d. 1264-5: 25 Edw. I.
A.D. 1297: 28 Edw. I. a.d. 1300: 29 Edw. L a.d.
1300-1.(2) Magna Carta and Carta de Foresta, granted
in the 9th year of King Henry the Third, have, in every
Collection of Statutes which contained the Statutes previous
to 1 Edw. III. been printed as the first in order. In all
editions previous to Hawkins's, they were printed as from
Charters of Inspeximus of 28 Edw. I.: by Hawkins and
subsequent editors they were printed from the Charter of
Inspeximus entered on the Statute Roll of 25 Edw. I. :
but in no edition hitherto have they been printed imme
diately from any Charter of 9 Hen. III. ; and it is not
known that any Statute Roll of that date ever existed. In
the present collection, these Charters are inserted according
*
(I) It is not ascertained whether this Charter was granted in the first or
second year of the reign of Hen. III. See Blackstone's Charters, Introd. 4to.
p. xxxviii — xl : Svo. p. lix— Ixiii. A Manuscript, No. 70, in Benet College
• Library, Cambridge, attributes this Charter positively to the first year.
(2) See more fully the Table prefixed to the Charters, specifying the Original
or Entry from which each Charter is respectively printed, and the place where
such Original or Entry is preserved. Authentic Collection ofthe Statutes, vo]. i.
p. xciii.

150

the statutes of the realm.

to their place in the above series, and are printed from
Charters under the Great Seal: they are also printed
again amongst the Statutes 25 Edw. I. from the entry on
the Statute RoU of that year, being the earliest Parlia
mentary Record upon which they have been found.
For the purpose of examining all the Charters, and
authentic copies and entries thereof, and also of searching
for ancient copies and entries of Statutes and Instruments
not now to be found on the Statute Roll, two sub-com
missioners were employed during the summer of 1806, in
making a progress through England and Ireland to every
place where it appeared from the Returns to the Record
Committee of 1800, or from other intelligence, that any
such Charters, copies, or entries were preserved: and
searches were made successively at every Cathedral in
England which was known to possess any such Charters,
copies, or entries ; and also at the Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge ; at Trinity College, Dublin ; at the
Courts of Exchequer, and other Public Offices in Dub
lin ; and wherever else information could be obtained on
the subject. The result, so far as relates to the Charters,
may be thus briefly stated. In Rochester Cathedral is
preserved the Textus Roffensis : this is a Chartulary, or
Collection of Charters and Instruments, compiled by
Ernulf, who was Bishop of Rochester from a.d. 1115 to
A.D. 1125. In this Chartulary is an entry of the Charter
of Liberties, granted in the first year of King Henry I.
A.D. 1101.(3) In Exeter Cathedral is preserved an ori
ginal Charter granted in the first year of King Stephen,
A.D. 1136, De Libertatibus Ecclesie Anglie ^ Regni.
In Canterbury Cathedral are several chartularies or re
gisters, of very ancient date. In these are entered the
(3) Of this Charter two ancient copies are enteied in the Red Book of the
Exchequer at Westminster ; a copy in MS. Cott. Claud. D. II. is comparatively
modern, and very incorrect.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 151
Charter of King Stephen, of which an original is in Exe
ter Cathedral, and the Charter of King John, granted in
tbe sixteenth year of his reign, for free elections of pre
lates, &c. in churches and monasteries. In Lincoln Ca
thedral, an original of the Great Charter of Liberties,
granted by King John in the seventeenth year of his
reign, is preserved in a perfect state. This charter ap
pears to be of superior authority to either of the two
charters of the same date, preserved in the British Mu
seum. From the contemporary indorsements of the word
Lincolnia on two folds of the charter, this may be pre
sumed to be the charter transmitted by the hands of
Hugh, the then Bishop of Lincoln, who is one of the
bishops named in the introductory clause ; and it is ob
servable that several words and sentences are inserted
in the body of this charter, which, in both the charters
preserved in the British Museum, are added, by way
of notes for amendment, at the bottom of the instrument.
In Durham Cathedral, several charters of the liberties
of England are preserved with great care ; namely.
Magna Carta, 12 Nov. 1 Hen. III. ; Carta de Foresta,
2 Hen. III. ; Magna Carta ^ Carta de Foresta, 9 Hen.
III. The Carta de Foresta, 2 Hen. III. is the earUest
Charter of the Forest ; the original and all authentic Re
cords of which were supposed by Blackstone to be lost. (4)
It is remarkable, that in this original is inserted a clause
which occurs in an entry of this charter on a roU, for
merly belonging to the Abbey of Hales Owen, in Shrop
shire, communicated to Blackstone by Lord Lyttelton;(5)
and which is not inserted in the Carta de Foresta,
9 Hen. III. A charter of the date of 12 Nov. 1 Hen. III.
(4) See Blackstone's Charters, Introd. 4to. edit. p. xlii: Svo. edit. p. Ixv.
(5) " De boscis autem aliorum nullum detur chiminagium foristariis nostris
preterquam de dominicis boscis nostris." See Blackstone's Charters, 4to. p. xlviii.
note w; p. li. notes: 8vo. p. Ixxiv. and Ixxviij.

152 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
was transmitted to Ireland ; and entry thereof is preserved
in the Red Book of the Exchequer at Dublin. In se
veral other cathedrals are chartularies, registers, or col
lections, of ancient date, containing entries of the Great
Charters and Charters of the Forest. The most valuable
of these are at York, Gloucester, and Christ Church, Dub
lin. The Magna Carta of 9 Hen. III. under seal, from
which Blackstone printed a copy in his edition of The
Charters, and which he suggests was the charter designed
for the use of the knights or military tenants of Wiltshire,
is still preserved by the family of the Talbots, of Lacock
Abbey, in that county. In the Bodleian Library at Ox
ford are Magna Carta, a.d. 1217; and the Charters of
Confirmation, 21 Hen. III. and 29 Edw. I. In the British
Museum is the original of the Articuli Magne Carte
under the seal of King John, from which Blackstone
printed the copy in his edition of the Charters. Two
of the Great Charters of King John, one of 36 Hen. III.
and the Charter of Confirmation granted by King Ed
ward I. at Ghent, in the 25th year of his reign, are also
preserved in the same repository. On the Statute Roll
of 25 Edw. I. are entered Charters of Inspeximus of
that date, reciting and confirming Magna Carta and
Carta de Foresta of 9 Hen. III. Entries of similar char
ters, dated 28 Edw. I., are made on the Charter Rolls of
tbat year ; the only difference between these several Char
ters of Inspeximus, is, that those of the 25th year are
tested by the king's son, and those of the 28th by the
king himself. Original Charters of Inspeximus of these
respective dates, agreeing with the entries on the Statute
and Charter Rolls, are still in existence. Of these char
ters, one of 25 Edw. I., confirming Magna Carta, is in
the Town Clerk's office, London. Others, of 28 Edw. I.,
confirming Magna Carta, are in the same repository, as
also in Durham Cathedral, Westminster Collegiate Church,

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 153
Oriel College, Oxford, and in the Town Clerk's Office
at Appleby in Westmoreland. Others of the same date,
confirming Carta de Foresta, are in Durham Cathedral,
and Oriel College, Oxford.
From these materials, and others previously obtained,
transcripts and collations w^ere made and examined by
tbe Sub-Commissioners. The text ofthe several charters
inserted in the present collection is printed from these
transcripts ; a collation of the printed text with the tran
script was made by one of the Sub-Commissioners, who
himself assisted in making the transcript, and in examin
ing it witb the original ; and where an engraved copy has
been made of any charter, the printed text was collated
with such engraved copy. This collection of charters will
be found to differ from Blackstone's Edition of the char
ters, and other printed copies, in the following particulars :
first. In exhibiting a complete Series of the Charters of
Liberties, granted by the Kings of England ; in which
their original and progress may be traced until their final
and complete establishment in the twenty-ninth year of
King Edward I. Secondly, In affording in every instance
a transcript from original charters or entries thereof; in
characters representing the manuscript with its contrac
tions or abbreviations, (6) so far as the same could be ac
complished by printing types : engraved fac-similes are
also subjoined, which were made from several ofthe char
ters ; namely, the Charter of Liberties granted by Stephen,
in Exeter Cathedral; the Articuli Magne Carte of John, in
the British Museum; the Magna Carta of John, in Lincoln
Cathedral ; the Carta de Foresta, 2 Hen. III. and the
Magna Carta, 9 Hen. III., in Durham Cathedral; the
entry ofthe Charter of Confirmation, 21 Hen. III. on the
(6) An explanation of the contractions is given in a table in Appendix D.
subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection of the Statutes, vol. i.
p. Ixiii.

154

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.

Charter RoU of that year in the Tower of London ; and
the Charter of Inspeximus, 25 Edw. I. in the Town
Clerk's Office, London. Thirdly, In inserting the stops
or points, which Blackstone omitted, but which are justi
fied by the originals, and which are material to the sense;
and in avoiding many errors which had crept into all
prior editions, even that of Blackstone himself, in conse
quence of the transcripts and examinations being en
trusted, at different places to different persons, not aU
equally competent to the task, and from the collation
of unauthenticated manuscript copies, supposed to be
of a date much more ancient than in truth they are.(7)
Fourthly, In inserting charters not before printed, viz,
1. The Charter of the sixteenth year of King John, for
the free election of prelates, &c. which is particularly ad
verted to in the Magna Carta granted by that king;
2. The First Charter of the Forest, granted in the second
Year of Henry III. now preserved in Durham Cathedral;
the existence of wbich escaped the researches of Black
stone : 3. The Confirmation Charter of 36 Hen. III. which
accounts for some alterations in the Charters oi Inspeximus
and Confirmation of Magna Carta, granted by Edward I. :
4. The Charter oi Inspeximus and confirmation oi Magna
Carta, 25 Edw. I. from the original preserved in the
Town Clerk's Office, London, being of the same date
as that entered on the Statute Roll: the authenticity
of this last-mentioned Charter is evinced pecuUarly by the
Writ which is annexed to it ; and no other such Original
Charter of this date is now known to exist : 5. The Charter
of Inspeximus and Confirmation of Magna Carta, 28
(7) The entry of Magna Carta, A.D. 1217, in the Liber Cmtumarum, in the
Town Clerk's Office, London, is said by Blackstone to be written by a contem
porary hand. See Blackstone's Chartei-s, Introd. 4to. edit. p. xxxviii : Svo. p. lix.
But the book aflibrds internal evidence that this entry was certainly not made
before 14 Ed. II. A.D. 1320.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 155
Edw. I. : and, 6. The Charter of Inspeximus and Con
firmation of Carta de Foresta, 28 Edw. I. ; both from the
Charter Roll of that year in the Tower of London. From
the Charters of Inspeximus , 25 and 28 Edw. I. as entered
on the Statute and Charter Rolls, Blackstone gave only
various readings as notes to the Charters of 9 Hen. III. ;
but did not print the Charters themselves at length.

IV. Of the Matters inserted in the Authentic
Collection of Statutes ; and their Arrangement.
1 . All instruments whatever, comprehended in any of
the several collections of Statutes printed previous to the
edition by Hawkins, are inserted in this work ; these
having for a long series of years been referred to, and
accepted as Statutes in Courts of Law : together with
these are inserted all matters of a public nature, pur
porting to be Statutes, first printed by Hawkins or any
subsequent editor ; and also new matters of the like
nature, contained in any Statute Rolls, Inrolments of Acts,
Exemplifications, Transcripts by Writ, and Original Acts,
although not heretofore printed in any general Collection of
Statutes. All these are placed in the Body of the work
as Text. But it is to be particularly observed, that any
decision upon the degree of authority to which any new
instrument may be entitled, as being a Statute or not, is
entirely disclaimed. At the foot of the text in each page,
there are added such Various Readings as appeared ne
cessary to correct its errors, or to supply its deficiencies ;(1)
(I) Many instances of errors and deficiencies exist even in the Statute Roll;
it may be sufficient to quote the clause in chapter v. of the Statute Westmin
ster the Second, respecting damages in Writs of Darrein Presentment and Q.uare
Impedit, In this clause, the words which give the patron damages to the amount
of two years value of the Church, in case of lapse to the Bishop, by reason of

156 the statutes of the realm.
or to reconcile any material contradiction or repugnancy
between the text and the translation ; or between different
copies of the text, where they were of equal or of nearly
equal authority. In the earlier reigns, or in the absence of
any authentic source for the text, such Various Readings
are noted with much greater freedom than in later times,
or where authentic sources exist. Writs and other Instru
ments, having direct or material reference to the several
Statutes, are occasionally subjoined by way of Notes.
These Various Readings and Instruments are taken from
the following sources : Inrolments of Acts ; ExempUfi-
cations ; Transcripts by Writ ; Original Acts ; RoUs of
Parliament; Close, Patent, Fine, and Charter Rolls ; Books
containing Entries of Record ; Ancient Books and Manu
scripts not of Record, but preserved in the Repositories
of Courts of Justice, and Corporation Offices ; or in
the Libraries of Cathedrals, Universities, Colleges or Inns
of Court, and at the British Museum. Various Readings
have been also admitted from the printed editions ; occa
sionaUy in confirmation of the Manuscript sources, and
more' frequently in cases where those sources have been
found deficient. Every thing heretofore printed in any
former Collection of Statutes, is in this volume printed in
an uniform type; and all new matters, whether Various
Readings, notes, or entire Statutes or Instruments, are
distinguished by a smaUer type. The entire matters, whe
ther old or new, of which the dates are ascertained, are
placed in Chronological order ; and all, during the reigns
of Hen. III. Edw. I. and Edw. IL, the dates of which
are uncertain, are classed together, after the manner of
former editions, at the end of the reign of Edward II.
the disturbance of the presentation, are omitted on the Roll. In chapter xxviii.
of the same Statute, the Statute of Gloucester is quoted instead of the Statute of
Westminster the First, See p. 77, note 6 — 8, and p. 85, note 5, of Authentic
Collection of the Statutes, vol. i.

the statutes of the realm. 157
A complete enumeration of all matters included in this
CoUection, whether as text or in the notes, is exhibited in
a general Chronological Table of Contents prefixed to
the body of the Statutes ; specifying the source or au
thority from whence the Text, Notes, and Various Read
ings, are respectively taken.
2. Other Matters of a Parliamentary form and cha
racter have been recognized at different periods of our
history, as appearing to have legislative authority. It
has been observed by Lord Coke, that " Acts of ParUa
ment are many times in form of Charters or Letters
Patent ;" (2) and many such have been inserted in all
editions of the Statutes : and that there are " many Acts
of Parliament that be in the Rolls of Parliament and never
yet printed :"(3) In the Report also ofthe Select Committee
of the House of Commons, in the year 1800, upon the sub
ject of the public Records, it is stated, that many Statutes
and Ordinances in the Rolls of Parliament are not inserted
in the printed Statute Books ; and it is certain that many
acts and matters not found on any Statute Roll, nor con
tained in any printed editions of the Statutes, are found
(2) 2 Inst. 525 ; and see also the Prince's Case, 8 Rep, 13, throughout. The
creation by Edward IIL of his eldest son to be Duke of Cornwall, was by. the
King's Letters Patent, dated at Westminster, 17th March, in the llth year of
his reign, and therein recited to be " de eoi assensu & consilio Prelator', Co-
mitii, Baronii, & alior' de consilio n'ro in p'senti p'liamento n'ro apud Westm'
die Lune p'x' post festii Sc'i Mathie Apl'i p'x' p'terito convocato, existenciii."
The Parliament Roll of that year is not now known to exist; but the Letters
Patent are inroUed on the Charter Roll of that year, m. 28, nu. 60: other Let
ters Patent, relating to the Duchy and its Rights, dated at Westminster, 18th
March, in the same year, are entered on the same Charter Roll, m. 26, nu. 53 ;
and others, dated at the Tower of London, 3 January, in the same year, m. I,
nu. I, of the same Roll. These Letters Patent are briefly recited in Rot, Purl,
5 Hen. IV. nu. 22, and fully in Rot, Pari, 38 Hen. VI. nu. 29. For other
ancient grants relating to the Duchy, see Rot, Cart, II Edw. III. m. 7, nu. 14 ;
m. 1, nu. I ; and 16 Edw. III. m. 1, nu. 1.
(3) 4 Inst, 50 ; and see also Co. Litt, 98, a, b ; and the Year Book, 7 Hen.
vn. 14, 15, 16.

158

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.

on the Parliament Rolls, which appear to have received
the threefold assent of King, Lords, and Commons, or to
have such qualities, as have been allowed by Courts of
Law to imply that assent. (4) With a view therefore to a
(4) Ou the trial of the Earl of Macclesfield, in 1725, before- the House of
Lords, OQ an impeachment for extortion in his office of Chancellor, the entry in
Rot, Pari, II Hen. IV. nu. 28, of the Petition of the Commons, " that no
Chancellor, Judge, &c. should take any gift or brocage for doing their office,"
to which the King's Answer, Le Roy le veut, is subjoined, was produced in
evidence on the part of the managers of the impeachment, as a statute or public
act of parliament, although not entered on the Statute Roll ; aud it was also
urged in argument, as " common learning," that the Parliament Roll was the
voucher to the Statute Roll. See State Trials, vol. vi. p. 760, the Earl of Mac
clesfield's Case ; and 3 Inst. 146. 224, 225, where this entry is printed at length,
and considered by Lord Coke as an act of parliament. See also the argument
on the Jurisdiction of Chancery, annexed to vol. i. of Reports of Cases in Chan
cery, where the necessity and propriety of consulting the Petition and Answer,
or the entry thereof on the Parliament Roll, as the warrant for the Statute Roll,
is much insisted on, upon the authoiity of Sir Francis Bacon, and other eminent
lawyers, with reference to the Statute 4 Hen. IV. cap. 22. In Rot. Pari.
10 Hen. VI. nu. 20, is a Petition of the Commons, for settling the payment of
the Fees and Salaries of the King's Justices, Serjeants and Attorney, to which
is subjoined the King's Answer, Fiat prout petitur : in the oldest Abridge
ments of the Statutes, title Justices, this is abridged as an act of 10 Hen. VI.
and called Statutum per se; and the Abridgement is copied into Rastall's
Collection, and it is there noted that " this is not in the printed Book of Sta
tutes." The whole is inserted in Cay's edition of the Statutes, as Statute 2. of
10 Hen. VI. It is observable also, that the Statute 25 Edw. IIL, pro hiis
qui nati sujit in partibus transmarinis, p. 310 of vol. i. of Authentic Collection of the
Statutes, is in the old Abridgements called Statutum per se ; and that in those
Abridgements, title Excommengement, reference is made to an instrument cited
in the earlier editions as of 9 Edw. III., and in later editions, as of 8 Edw. III.,
called Ordinatio per se, whereby writs were ordained for excommunicating dis
turbers of the peace of the Church and the Realm. In the later editions it is
alleged that such writs were framed on a Statute 5 Edw. III. st. 2, 1. 1. Rastall,
in the early editions of his Collection, quoting these Abridgements, adds, " But
I cannot find anie of these Statutes." See further, Rot. Pari. 35 Edw. I.;
5 Edw, II. ; 14 Edw. II. nu. 5, 33 ; 5 Edw. IIL nu. 3. 5, 6; 6 Edw. III.
P. 2, nu. 3 ; 14 Edw. III. P. 2; 20 Edw. III. nu. 11. 45; 23 Edw. III.
nu. )0. 16; 28 Edw. III. nu. 13; 36 Edw. IIL nu. 35; 38 Edw. IIL nu. 9;
40 Edw. IIL nu. 8 ; 42 Edw. III. nu. 9 ; 46 Edw. III. nu. 13. 43; 2 Ric. IL

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 159
consideration of the question, whether matters of this
nature should be comprehended in the present work, lists
of a great number of them were prepared, not only from
the Parliament Rolls but also from other Records, par
ticularly the Close Rolls and Patent Rolls, which were
examined for the purpose witb great care and diligence,
and transcripts and collations of many of them were made
for the examination ofthe Commissioners. In the progress
of this labour, however, it appeared that the matters wbich
came within the description above mentioned were so nu
merous that the indiscriminate insertion of all of them would
constitute a mass, the very bulk of which would prove in
convenient. But, what was of still greater importance, upon
examination it became, with respect to many of them, a
subject of discussion, from which no certain conclusion
could be derived, to what extent they had in fact received
sanction, and whether therefore they were, in any degree,
entitled to be considered as of legislative authority ?(5) It
was obvious, at the same time, that to have made a selection
nu. 62 ; 3 Ric. II. nu. 39 ; 6 Ric. II. nu. 53 ; 8 Ric. II. nu. 31 ; 20 Ric. II.
nu. 29; 5 Hen. IV. nu. 22. 24. 41; 8 Hen. IV. nu. 36; 11 Hen. IV.
nu. 23.63; 6 Hen. V. nu. 27; 8 Heu. VI. nu. 27 ; 9 Hen. VL nu. 24 ;
33 Hen. VI. nu. 43 ; 38 Hen. VI. nu. 29 ; and very many other articles, all of
which appear to have the same qualities as those of 1 1 Hen. I V. nu., 28, and
10 Hen. VI. nu. 20, above particularly noticed. See also the instances quoted,
post, p. 176, note (21). In the old Reports of Statutes, from 3 Edw. I. to
I Jac. I. MS. Harl. No. 244, mentioned in p. 142 of this Introduction, the in
strument intituled Articuli de Moneta, usually ascribed to 20 Edw. I., is con
sidered as a Proclamation, not as a Statute ; and this and some other instru
ments classed among the ancient Statutes aie reported therein as fit to be
repealed, on account of the uncertainty of their validity as Statutes.
(5) For a statement of the difficulties upon the terms Concilium, &c., as de
scriptive of Parliament in the early Records, according to the doctrine laid
down in the Prince's Case, 8 Rep. 20, 2 Inst. 267, and elsewhere, see Prynne's
Plea for the Lards and House of Peers, sect 2, and Prynne, first part of an His
torical Collection qf the Ancient Parliaments of England ; Lm'd Hale's Treatise qf
the Jurisdiction of the Lords' House of Parliament, Hargrave's edit. chap, iii., and
Luders, Tract IV. published in 1810.

160

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.

only of such matters as in the opinion ofthe Commissioners
were the least doubtful, was in effect encountering the
same difficulty, only in a smaUer degree : and the sources
from which they were to be taken, not being in themselves
conclusive evidence(6) that the matters contained in them
were Statutes, the selection in each instance, necessarily
could be nothing more than the result of private judg
ment ; without the authority of that " general received
tradition," which, as Lord Hale observes,(7) attests and
approves those Statutes which are not properly extant of
Record. Acts also which received the Royal Assent,
and which were entered only on the Parliament Roll, and
not on the Statute Roll, have been frequently termed Or
dinances; and various distinctions have ineffectuaUy been
attempted to be made between an Ordinance and a Sta
tute, with regard to the nature and validity of each respec
tively. (8) But whatever has at any time been written on
this subject is contradictory and indistinct; and in the
reign of Charles I. the information on this point, then
of some importance, appears to have been very unsatisfac-
tory.(9) From these considerations therefore, upon ma-
(6) See p. 176, and note (21) there.
(7) Hale, H. C, L, ch. i. ad fin. And in the Prince's Case, 8 Rep. 20 b, it
is said, upon the alleged authority of 7 Hen. VII. 1 4 a, b, and 34 Edw. III. 12,
" multa sunt statut', que scribunt', domiii Rex statuit; si tamen Rotulo Parlia-
mentario intrentur et semp' ut Act' Parliament' approbentur, intendetur haec au-
thoritat' Parliamenti fuisse."
(8) See Co. Litt. 159 b, and the note thereon, in the last edition; and 4 Inst.
25. (9) In tbe British Museum are two copies. Donation Manuscripts, No. 4489
and 5668, of a Manuscript Treatise, entitled Expeditionis Billarum Antiquitas,
drawn up apparently by Elsyng, who was Deputy Clerk of the Parliaments in
1620, and for several years afterwards. See also MSS. Hari. 305. 4273. 6585.
This work professes to give an historical account of the ancient mode of passmg
Bills in Parliament. It appears from internal evidence to have been written
between 1628 and 1640, and to have been designed as a Second Partof the
I'reatise on Parliaments. It is vouched throughout by reference to original
Petitions and Rolls of Pailiament, from 4 Edward III., the earliest known to

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 161
ture deliberation, it was deemed advisable that this col
lection should include all such instruments as have been
the writer to exist, to 27 Henry VI. In this Treatise, the form and validity of
Ordinances, as distinguished from Statutes, are stated much at length ; and
amongst other things it is asserted, that an Ordinance cannot make new or perma
nent law, nor repeal any Statute, but that temporary provisions, consistent with
the law in force, may be made by way of Ordinance ; and that an Ordinance
may be repealed by a subsequent Ordinance without Statute. See Rot. Parl^
21 Edw. III. nu. 13. 47. 52 ; 22 Edw. III. nu. 20, 21 ; 37 Edw. III. P. 1,
nu. 37, 38, 39 ; 45 Edw. III. nu. 24, 25, 37. 40 ; that the King did forbear to
grant those Petitions which demanded novel ley, when he had no intent to make
a Statute. See also Rot. PorZ. 22 Edw. III. nu. 30, that the laws had and
used in times past could not be changed without making thereon a new Statute;
and see Rot. Pari. 11 Hen, IV. nu. 63 ; 13 Hen. IV. nu. 49, that Ordinances
of Parliament which introduced novel ley were not of any force. In the Par
liament 37 Edw. III. it was precisely demanded by the Chancellor, whether the
matters then agreed on, being new and not before known or used, should be
granted by way of Ordinance or Statute, and that of Ordinance was preferred
by the Parliament, for the purpose that if any thing were to be amended it might
"be amended at the next Parliament. The Ordinance was accordingly entered
on the back of the Parliament Roll, and was termed an Ordinance in the sub
sequent Parliament. It is very remarkable, however, that this Ordinance is also
entered on the Statute Roll, and has always been received as a Statute of this
year ; that penalties inflicted by former Statutes were repealed by it ; and that
words of enactment for Statute are expressly used therein. See Rot. Pari,
37 Edw. III. part I, nu. 38, 39 ; 38 Edw. III. nu. 11 ; 1 Ric. II. nu. 15 :
Rot, Stat, 37 Edw. III. m. 5, 6 ; 38 Edw. III. m. 6 d: chapters 16 and 19 of
the Statute 37 Edw. Ill; and chapter 2 of Statute 38 Edw. III. ; Statute I as
printed in Authentic CoUection ofthe Statutes, vol. i. p. 378. 382, 383 : and fur
ther. Rot. Pari. 38 Edw. III. nu. 9, and the Ordinances there recited, which
were entered on the Statute Roll, and are printed as a Statute of that year in all
editions, and in Authentic Collection of the Statutes, vol. i. p. 385. See also
Prynne's Irenarchus Redivivus, p. 27, &c., in which, contrary to Lord Coke's
authority, 4 Inst. 25, he lays it down that Ordinances and Acts of Parliament
were one and the same.
In Clarendon's History ofthe Rebellion, sub an. I64I-2, vol.i. part 2, p. 431,
(8vo edit. Oxford, 1707,) it is stated that " An Ordinance for settling the Militia
was agreed ou by both Houses, and sent to the King for his approbation."
The form of the Ordinance follows. It is entitled " An Ordinance of both
Houses of Parliament for the ordering of the Militia," &c. After a short pre
amble the formal words are, " It is ordained by the King, the Lords and Com
mons, now in Parliament assembled, that," &c. In the first Answer which the
M

162 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
inserted in any general Collection of Statutes printed
previously to the edition by Hawkins ; witb the addition
only of such matters of a public nature, purporting to be
Statutes, as were first introduced by him or subsequent
editors, and of such other new matters of the like nature,
as could be taken from sources of authority not to be con
troverted ; namely. Statute RoUs, Inrolments of Acts, Ex
emplifications, Transcripts by Writ, and Original Acts.
In the 31st Year of Henry VIII. the distinction between
Public Acts and Private Acts is for the first time specifi
cally stated on the Inrolment in Chancery. No Private (10)
Acts passed after that date have been admitted into this
collection : it was thought sufficient to notice them by the
insertion of their titles only.
King sent, he said, " that to avoid all future doubts and questions, he desired
it might be digested into an Act of Parliament rather than an Ordinance; so
that all his subjects might thereby parricularly know, both what they were to do,
and what they were to suffer for their neglect." — p. 437, 438. Afterwards the
King, in answer to a Petition presented by the Commons, says, " For the
Militia  We never denied the thing  We only denied the way. You ask
it by way of Ordinance - - - We tell you We would have the thing done  but
desire a Bill, the only good old way of imposing on Our subjects. We are ex
tremely unsatisfied what an Ordinance is, but well satisfied that without Our
consent it is nothing, nor binding." — p. 70. A Bill was afterwaids prepared
by the King's order, and submitted to both Houses, who made several altera
tions in it. In the King's Message, refusing the royal assent to the Bill so
altered, his Majesty told them, " He was pleased they had declined the unwar
rantable course of their Ordinance, to the which he was confident his good
subjects would never have yielded their consent, and chosen that only right way
of imposing upon the people." — p. 503. In the King's Declaration in answer
to that made by the two Houses, whereby they assumed the power of the Mili
tia, " He said it was true that he had, out of tenderness of the constitution of
the kingdom, and care of the law, which he was bound to defend, and being
most assured of the unjustifiableness of the pretended Ordinance, invited and
desired both Houses of Parliament to settle whatsoever should be fit of that na
ture by Act of Parliament." — p. 524.
(10) See Appendix E. subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection
ofthe Statutes, vol. i. p. Ixv.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 163
V. Of THE Sources from whence the several
Matters were taken.
I. The Sources from which the materials have been
taken for this Collection are necessarily of a different cha
racter and description in different periods of our history.
The earliest Statutes contained in the several CoUections
are those of Henry III. ; but no Parliamentary Record of
Statutes is now known to be extant, prior to the Statute
Roll 6 Edw. I. To this interval nevertheless belong the
statutes of Merton, Marlborough, Westminster the First,
and several others, always included in the printed editions.
For this early period, therefore, recourse must be had to in
ferior sources for the text of our Statute Law : and even
in subsequent times, there is not only an interruption in the
series of Statute RoUs, namely after 8 Hen. VI. until 23
Hen. VI. inclusive, during which the like recourse must
be had to sources of an inferior degree of authority ; but
the Statute Rolls themselves do not, within their own
period, contain all the Instruments which have been ac
knowledged as Statutes. After S Edw. IV. the Statute
Roll is not preserved ; after 4 Hen. VII. it ceased to be
made up; and ultimately it was succeeded, for practical
purposes, by tbe Inrolment in Chancery ;(1) though,
during a short period, the Statute Roll and the Inrol
ment appear to have been contemporary. The materials
for the several periods during which no Statute Rolls
or parliamentary Records exist, can only be collected
from Records, on which Copies or Extracts of Statutes
have been entered ; or from other Manuscripts not of
Record ; or, in default of other authority, from the oldest
printed editions in which such matters were first in
serted. Witb respect to entries of Record in these
periods, that has been judged to be the most authentic
(1) See post, p. 168, as to Inrolments in Chancery,
m2

164 the statutes of the realm.
evidence of a Statute which has been preserved as a
record or authentic copy from ancient times, in the cus
tody of the highest Courts authorized for that purpose.
Such are copies or extracts of particular Statutes found
in the Close, Patent, Fine and Charter Rolls, being Records
of Chancery : such also are the Red Books of the Ex
chequer of Westminster and Dublin. On failure of
these Records, recourse has of necessity been had to
Manuscripts not of Record, preserved in the custody of
Courts of Justice, Public Libraries, or other Public Re
positories : sucb are some ancient Books of Statutes in
the Exchequer at Westminster, in the Town Clerk's
Office, London, in the several Cathedrals, in the Pubhc
and other Libraries of the several Universities of Oxford,
Cambridge, and Dublin, and in the British Museum:
when all these sources have proved deficient, and in such
case only, a copy has been admitted, from the oldest printed
edition, with various readings from subsequent printed
editions. During tbe periods in which Statute Rolls or
other Parliamentary Records do actually exist, the au
thentic evidence of Statutes, (and of other Proceedings in
Parhament, before the commencement of the Journals,)
must be searched for upon Statute Rolls ; Inrolments of
Acts; Exemplifications of such Statute Rolls or Inrolments;
Transcripts by Writ into Chancery for the purpose of
such Exemplifications ; Original Acts ; and Rolls of Par
liament. — These are the only authentic sources from
whence, during those periods, a knowledge can be ob
tained of the different occurrences in Parliament, whether
important or minute. Witb the exception of some RoUs
containing Proceedings in Parliament from 18 to 35 Edw. I.
which are in the Chapter House at Westminster, such
of the Original Statute Rolls, Inrolments of Acts, and
Parliament Rolls, as are stUl preserved, are deposited in

the statutes of the realm. 165
the Tower of London,(2) or at the Chapel of tbe RoUs,(3)
places appropriated to the custody of the Records of the
King's Chancery, which has ever been deemed the proper
repository of the Statutes of the kingdom.
II. The Nature and qualities of the several Records
(2) With respect to the depositing the Records of Chancery in the Tower,
see Rot. Pat, 9 Eliz. part 6, on which is recorded a Precept from the Queen, dated
1 May, which passed under the Great Seal, to Francis Spilman, Esq. Clerk of
the Parliaments, requiring him to remove all Rolls of Parliament, Petitions,
Judgements, Attainders, and other Records of Parliament in his custody, from
22 Edw. IV. to I Mary, into the Tower, to be delivered to William Bowyer, the
Keeper of the Records there. On part 9 of the Patent Roll of the same year is
recorded a Precept under the Sign Manual, dated 18 June, to Sir William
Cordell, Master of the Rolls, for the like removal of the Parliament Rolls,
Patent Rolls, Charter Rolls, Close Rolls, Fine PioUs, and all other Rolls and
Records of Chancery for the same period. In Leland's Collectanea, (edit. 1770,)
vol. ii. p. 656, is the copy of a Warrant of Queen Elizabeth, without date, re
quiring a like removal of the Records of the Chancery, which warrant is intro
duced by the following recital : " Forasmuch, as it is not meet that the Records
of Our Chancery, being accompted as a principail Membre of the Threasure
belonging to- Ourself, to Our Corone and Realme, should remain in private
places and houses, for doute of such danger or spoile as heretofore hath hap
pened to the like Recordes in the time of King Richard the Second and King
Henry the Sixth, Our progenitours; but rather to remain in Our Towre of
London, under the custody of the Keeper of Our Recordes there for the time
being, as not only by due custome of our progenitors from time to time used
raay appeare, for that (as Wee are informed) all the Records of Our said Chan
cery, from the time of Our progenitour William the Conqueror, until the last
year of the reign of King Edward the Fourth, Our progenitour, have been from
time to time thereunto brought, and now there at this time doe remain ; but also
(as Wee are informed) the same is by Recorde manifeste and apparante." The
Parliament Rolls, however, as also the Close, Patent, Fine and Charter Rolls,
from the time of Ric. III., still remain in the Chapel of the Rolls ,>but many
bundles of Bills, Answers, Depositions, and other proceedings in Chancery,
have, at the instance of the Six Clerks, been from time to time removed from
their Record Room to the Tower ; and Examinations taken by the Examiners
of the said Court, have, at their instance, been also removed to the Tower.
(3) For Letters Patent of Edw. IIL, annexing the Domus Conversorum, now
the Chapel of the Rolls, to the Office of the Master of the Rolls, and the con-
fiimation thereof by Ric. IL, see Rot. Pat. 51 Edw. III. m, 20; 6 Ric. II.
part 3, m. 12.

166 the statutes of the realm.
and Manuscripts from whence all the Statutes, as well
those of an earlier as of a later period, have been taken
for insertion or collation in this work, and the place where
each original record and manuscript is kept, wiU more
fully appear from the following detail.
1. Statute Rolls. — These are Records of Chancery, of
the highest authority, on which were entered the several
Statutes when drawn up in form, for the purpose of being
proclaimed and published ; these Statutes being framed
upon such original Petitions and Answers, or entries thereof
on the Parliament Rolls, as related to Public concerns. (4)
The earliest Statute Roll now known to exist, is that which
commences with the Statute of Gloucester, 6 Edw. I. A.D.
1278. From that period to 8 Edw. IV. inclusive, A.D.
1468, with an interruption, after S Hen. VI. until 23 Hen.
VI. inclusive, the Statutes are preserved in the Tower of
London in a regular series, on six separate Rolls, each
Roll consisting of several membranes tacked together.
Tbe contents of each Roll are as follows ; viz.
Of the Great RoU ; Statutes from 6 Edw. I. to 50 Edw.
III. But this Roll does not contain all the Statutes which
have been printed as of that period. (5) — Second RoU;
(4) See p. 170, note 12.
(5) Lord Hale, H. C, L, chap. 1, says this Roll " begins with Magna Carta
and ends with Edw. III." This is erroneous ; for though part of the Roll an
tecedent to 6 Edw. I. may have been lost since the time of Lord Hale, there is
no reason to conclude that it ever began with Magna Carta: Magna Carta and
Carta de Foresta axe not entered on this Roll prior to 25 Edw. I., and they are
accordingly printed as Statutes of that year in Authentic Collection of the Statutes.
There are not wanting authorities which seem to consider the Great Charter as
possessing the validity of a Statute from the 1st or the 9th of Henry III. ; be
fore tbe confirmation of it by the Statute of Marlborough, 52 Henry III. It is
so considered by Coke in 2 Inst. 65 ; I Inst. 43 a, 81 a ; in the Prince's Case,
8 Rep. 19 ; and elsewhere: by Hale, H. C. L. chap. I ; and by Blackstone in
his Introduction to the Charters, 4to. p. xl. : 8vo. p. Ixi. It is also expressly
called a Statute by Littleton, sect. 108; but this may be referable to its subse
quent confirmation by Parliament. Hale's idea may probably have arisen from

the st.\tutes of the realm. 167
Statutes temp. Ric. II. There is also a separate Roll, of
one membrane, containing a duplicate of the Statutes 21
Ric. II. Third RoU ; Statutes temp. Hen. IV. and V.
—Fourth RoU ; Statutes 1 Hen. VI. to S Hen. VL— Fifth
RoU ; Statutes 25 Hen. VI. to 39 Hen. VL— Sixth RoU;
Statutes 1 Edw. IV. to 8 Edw. IV. This is the last Sta
tute Roll now known to exist, none of a later date having
been found. These have ever had the reputation an
nexed to them of being Statute Rolls. Some of them are
cited by that name upon the Close and Patent Rolls ;(6)
and referred to by great law writers, Lord Coke, Lord
supposing it to be on the Statute Roll before 6 Edw. I. And Coke and Black
stone founded their opinions chiefly upon two judicial decisions cited from Fitz
herbert's Abridgement, (pgrt 2, fo. 120 b, tit. Mordaunc, pi. 23, and part 1,
fo. 188 a, tit. Briefe, pi. 881,) the one as of 5 Hen. III., the other as of
21 Hen. III.; to which may be added another of 23 Hen. III., Fitzherbert's
Abridgement, part 1, fo. 90 a, tit. Assise, pi. 436. These, if of those years re
spectively, certainly prove that the Great Charter was then considered as the
Law of the Land, but not absolutely that it was previously of Parliamentaiy
Enactment. In the instances of 5 Hen. III. and 23 Hen. III., the phrase
lestatut de Magna Carta is merely used incidentally by Fitzherbert in stating the
points adjudged; and there is some ground to think also that the former deci
sion was possibly of a much later period. See the Year Books, 38 Hen. VI. 18,
and 39 Hen. VI. 19. In the instance of 21 Hen. 111. the Great Charter is re
ferred to, not as a Parliamentary Act, but as a Grant, concessum being the word
used to denote its authority; which construction the Preamble of the Articuli
super Cartas, Stat. 28 Edw. I. and the beginning of chapter I of that Statute,
confirm; though in the Confirmatio Cartarum, Stat. 25 Edw. I. c. 1, which
passed during the absence of the King from the realm, it is recited of the two
Charters, " les queles furent faites p' comun assent de tut le Roiaume." In an
Admiralty Record, quoted by Prynne (Aninuid. 120) as of 23 H^n. VI., the
Laws of Oleron are recognised by the term Statutum.
f" Vacal" quia no fueriit cosignate ; set alit' in rotulo de Statutis." Rot.
Claus, 27 Edw. I. m. 17 d ; D' q'busdam, artic'lis Magne Carte &
Carte de Foresta. See Stat. 27 Edw. 1., Authentic Collection cf the
(6) <J Statutes, vol. i. p. 126.
Le quel Estatut est enroulle en le rouUe destatutz." Rot, Pat,
15 Edw. II. p. 1, m. 17. See Stat. 15 Edw. II., Authentic Collection
I qf the Statutes, vol. i. p. 187, and note b there.

168 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
Hale,(7) and the editors of Statutes, Pulton, Hawkins, Cay,
&c. There is evidence also tbat Statute Rolls have existed
of a subsequent time ; for tbe statutes after 8 Edward IV.
untU 4 Henry VII. inclusive, are inserted in the early
printed editions in a form manifestly copied from complete
Statute Rolls ; and they are found in the like form in hb.
xi. in the Exchequer at Westminster, MS. Cott. Nero, C. I.
in tbe British Museum, and in several other Manuscript
collections. But there is reason to conclude, that the
making up of the Statute Roll entir-ely ceased with the
session 4 Henry VII. as no such roll of a later date, nor
any evidence thereof, has been discovered; and it is ob
servable tbat in the next session, 7 Henry VII. Public
Acts were, for the first time, printed from the several BiUs
passed in Parliament, and not as part of one general
Statute drawn up in the ancient form.
2. Inrolments of Acts of Parliament. — These are
Records, containing the Acts of Parliament certified and
delivered into Chancery. They are preserved in the
Chapel of the Rolls, in an uninterrupted series from
1 Ric. III. to the present time ; except only during the
usurpation. By the officers of Chancery they are com
monly termed " Parhament RoUs ;" and they are variously
endorsed, some with the phrase " Inrolments of Acts."(8)
From 1 Ric. III. to 3 Car. I. inclusive, they comprehend
several other Proceedings of Parliament besides the Acts
inrolled (sometimes, for instance, the Commissions for
giving the Royal Assent to BUls are found entered on
(7) Lord Hale speaks of Statutes extant of Record either " in the proper and
natural Roll, viz. the Statute Roll, or entered in some other Roll, especially the
Close Rolls or Patent Rolls, or in both." — Hale, H, C. L. chap. I.
(8) See Appendix E, subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection of
the Statutes, vol. i. p. Ixv. ; as also the First Repm-t of tlie Select Committee of the
House of Commons on the Public Records, ordered to be printed 4 July, 1800, and
the Appendix thereto, D. i. a. page 84. And further, as to Rolls of Parlia
ment, seo post, p. 176.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 169
tbem);(9) thus partaking of the qualities of RoUs of Par
liament, and including nearly the same contents : until, the
miscellaneous matters disappearing by degrees, the Acts
inrolled only occur. After 5 Hen. VII. they may be
considered, in effect, as coming in the place of the Statute
Roll.(lO) To 25 Hen. VIII. they contain aU Acts pubhc
and private, which were passed in every session, each with
an introductory and concluding form of their being pre
sented and assented to. From 25 Hen. VIII. to 35 Eliz.
several of tbe Private Acts, and afterwards to 3 Car. I. all
the Private Acts, are omitted, their titles only being noticed.
From 16 Car. I. to 31 Geo. II. tbe Inrolments contain
nothing but the Public Acts, and the titles of the Private
Acts, with the several Forms of Assent, without any other
Parliamentary matter. And from 32 George II. their con
tents are the same, witb the omission of the titles of the
Private Acts. At present, after all the Public-General
Acts of the session have received the Royal Assent, a
transcript of the whole is certified by the Clerk of the Par
liaments, and deposited in the Rolls Chapel : On that occa
sion the Clerk of the Parliaments sends the Roll, or RoUs,
containing such transcript, apparently in a complete state,
engrossed on parchments, signed, and certified by him as
Clerk of the Parliaments ; and it is thereupon arranged
with the other Records ; and thus becomes the Inrolment
of the Statutes of that session of Parliament. For this
Transcript the Clerk of the Parliaments is paid every

(9) No notice is taken at the present day, on the Inrolment of Acts in Chan
cery, of any Commission by which Acts are passed. It is believed that no in
stance of the entry of any such Commission on that Inrolment has occurred
since the time of Charles I. See in Appendix F, subjoined to the Introduction
to Authentic Collection of the Statutes, a further account of these Inrolments,
and a copy of the earliest Commission for giving the Royal Assent.
(10) See ante, p. 166, and Appendix E, subjoined to the Introduction to
Authetitic Collection of the Statutes.

170

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.

session out of the Hanaper, on a receipt by the Clerk of
the Records in the Rolls Chapel, stating that the RoH is
delivered there. It may be further observed upon this
subject, tbat the proceedings which took place in the
House of Lords in Ireland in 1758,(11) for the better pre
servation of the Records of ParUament in that Kingdom,
where the constitution and law of Parliament were in all
essential points conformable to those of England, afford
a strong iUustration of the practice of certifying Statutes
and recording them in Chancery. (12)

(11) See an account of these proceedings in Appendix E, subjoined to the
Introduction to Authentic Collection of the Statutes,
(12) The following Minute respecting the mode of framing Statutes is ex
tracted from the treatise intituled Expeditionis Billarum Antiquitas, quoted in
p. 160, note (9).
The Statute was made by the King and a Council of Judges, and others, who
were called to assist herein. " The usual time for making a Statute was after
the end of every Parliament, and after the Parliament Roll was engrossed, ex
cept on some extraordinary occasions." " The Statute was drawn out of the
Petition and Answer, and penned in the form of a Law, into several Chapters,
or Articles, as they were originally termed." " The Statute being thus drawn
up into divers Heads or Articles, now called Chapters, it was shown to the
King, and upon his Majesty's approbation thereof, it was engrossed, (sometimes
with a Preamble to it, and a clause of Observari Volumus at the conclusion, and
sometimes without any Preamble at all,) and then by Writs sent into every
county to be proclaimed." See Rot. Pari, 14 Edw. III. nu. 7 ; 15 Edw. III.
nu. 42; 17 Edw. III. nu. 19. 23; 18 Edw. III. nu. 12. 23,24; 22 Edw. IIL
nu. 4. 30; 25 Edw. III. m. 5, nu. 12, 13; m. 4, nu. 43; 27 Edw. III. nu. 42;
28 Edw. III. nu. 16; 37 ESw. III. nu. 39; 1 Ric. II. nu. 56; 2 Ric. IL
nu. 28; 3 Ric. II. nu. 46. 50 ; 6 Ric. II. nu. 34. 52; 7 Ric. II. nu. 40;
2 Hen. IV. nu. 21 ; 7 & 8 Hen. IV. nu. 31. 37. 48. 60. 65; 13 Hen. IV.
nu. 17; 2 Hen. V. p. 1, nu. 22 ; 8 Hen. V. nu. xvi.; 9 Hen. IV. nu. 17;
2 Hen. VI. nu. 46 ; 10 Hen. VI. nu. 17; 15 Hen. VL nu. 33 ; Hale,H.C.L.
chap. I ; and 3 Keble's Rep, 587.
" Many inconveniencies happened to the subject by the ancient form in
framing and publishing of the Statutes, viz. — Sometimes no Statute hath been
made, though agreed on ; many things have been omitted, many things have
been added in the Statute ; a Statute hath been made to which the Commons
did not assent, and even to which neither Lords nor Commons assented." See

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 171
3. Exemplifications ; and Transcripts by Writs. — Ex
emplifications are copies sent out of Chancery under the
1 Hale, P. C. 394; 3 Inst. 40, 41 ; 12 Rep. 57; Rot, Pari, 18 Edw. III.
nu. 32—39 ; 3 Ric. II. nu. 38 ; 6 Ric. II. nu. 53.
" Les ditz coes prierent a n~re s' le Roy, q les bosoignes faites & affaires en
cest p'lement soient enactez & engrossez dev"nt le dep'tir des Justices tantcome
ils les aient en leur memoire; a quoi leur feust responduz q" le Clerk du P'le
ment ferroit son devoir pur enacter & engrosser la substance du P'lement p'
advis des Justices, & puis le monstrer au Roy & as s''^ en P'lement pur savoir
leur advis."— Rot. Pari, 2 Hen. IV. nu. 21.
As to the inroUing of the Statute in Chancery, see Rot. Claus, 12 Edw. II.
m. 22 d, where the proceeding is thus explicitly stated. " Le Roi voet &
g'unt . . . . q tutes les choses desusescrites soient enrouUez en rouUe de Parle
ment, iSc de illoesq"s envoie en sa Chauncellerie, & illuesqs enrouUez, & de
illusqes per bref de son g^nt seal envoiez a les places del Escheker & de lun
Baunk & del autre, od comandement de enrouller les illoeqs & a tenir les & a
garder en la fourme avantdite.''
And in conformity with this proceeding, Statutes made in England and re
quired to be proclaimed and observed in Ireland, were sent to the Chancellor
there, to be inrolled in the Chancery of that Kingdom, and thence exemplified
and sent to the Courts of Justice, &c. See Stat. 12 Edw. II. and the Writs at
the end thereof. Ancient Collection of the Statutes, vol. i. p. 179; and for other
instances illustrative of thus inroUing Statutes in Chancery in England and Ire
land, see Appendix E, subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection of
the Statutes,
The distinction between such BiUs as were common and such as were parti
cular, or in the more modern phrase. Public Acts and Private Acts, with respect
to the practice of inroUing them, was thus certified by Kirkby of the Rolls,
33 Hen. VI. " Sir, le cours del Parlem'nt est tiel  si ascun bill, soit p'ti-
culer, ou aut' bill cf soit primerm't dellvr" a les Comus, et sil passe eux, ils
usent endosser le bUl en tiel forme; cest assavoir, ' soit baill' as seigniors;' et
si le Roy et les seigniors agreent a m' le bill, et ne voilloit alt' ne changer le
bill, adonq' ilz ne usent endosser le bUl, mes est baill' al Clerk del Parlement
pour ee enroUe ; et si ce soit un come bill, il serra enroUe et enacte ; mes si
soit un p'ticuler bill, il ne serra enroUe, mes sera file sur le filac" et est assez
bie ; mes si la p'ty veut suir pur letr~ pour estre le mieux seur, il purroit estre
enroulle." — Year Book, 33 Hen. VI. 17; Fitsh. Abr, tit. Parliament, pi. 1 ;
Bro, Abr, tit. Parliament and Statutes, pi. 4. See also Rot, Claus. 6 Hen. VI.
nu. II, for the proceedings towards the InroUment of a Particular Bill or Pri
vate Act.
In the 14th year of James I., Lord Hobart, speaking of a Private Act then
under consideration, said, " That very Bill is filed with the rest of the Bills, and

172

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.

King's Seal; either to sheriffs of counties and cities in
England, or to the Chancellor or Chief Justice of Ireland,
the King's Assent unto it, and labeUed with the rest, whereunto the Great Seal
is set, as the course is in Private Acts, which are not inrolled without special
suit, as General Acts are; for General Acts are always inrolled hy the Clerk of
the Parliament, and delivered over into Chancery, which InroUment in the
Chancery makes them the Original Record (as it was resolved iu John Stuhbs's
Case) : but in Private Acts the very body of the first BiU filed and sealed as
aforesaid, and remaining with the Clerk of the Parliament, is the Original Re
cord."— ifo6. 109. The following account, given also in the reign of James I.
by Bowyer and Elsyng, in the written objections which they made to Pulton's
having access to and printing the Original Records of Acts in the Tower, (see
ante, p. 145,) appears to be more accurate with respect to Private Acts than that
of Lord Hobart, and agrees with that given by Kirkby in 33 Hen. VI. " At
the end of every Session of Parliament, all the Public Acts are engrossed into
one great Roll by Bowyer, as Clerk of the Parliament; and the same Roll
being by him subscribed, he deliveieth into the Chapel of the Rolls ; which is
thereupon there received, and placed among the Records of the Chancery, heing
the highest Record of the kingdom, without any other warrant than his hand :
which Acts or Statutes so by him transcribed, do bind his Majesty's subjects of
all degrees for ever. If any Private Act be at any time to be certified into the
Chancery, a Writ of Certiorari is directed to Bowyer, who thereupon doth cer
tify the same under his hand; which accordingly is received, without any
allowance or warrant of any other person, and is thereby made a Record, and
bindeth the party whom it concerneth, and all others." MS. Cott. Titus, B. V.
p. 69. See further, Hale, H. C. L. chap. 1 ; 3 Keb. Rep, 587 ; Dewes's Jour
nals of Parliament, I Eliz. p. 35 ; and the instances in Appendix E. and F,
subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic CoUection of tlie Statutes.
All the Statutes passed in each session are now classed in three distinct
series. The first series contains the Public-General Acts, such as in their na
ture are public and general, which are certified into Chancery, and printed by
the King's printer for general circulation. The second series contains Acts re
specting particular places and persons : of these the Road Acts, Canal Acts,
and all others by which Felonies are created. Penalties inflicted, or Tolls im
posed, have a clause annexed to each, " That the Act shall be deemed and taken
to be a Public Act, and shall be judicially taken notice of as such by all judges,
justices and others, without being speciaUy pleaded." Other Local or Personal
Acts, which are not required to have this public clause annexed, have each a
clause inserted, at the suit of the parties, " That the Act shall be printed by the
King's printer, and that a copy thereof, so printed, shall be admitted as evidence
thereof by all judges, justices and others." AU the Acts of this second series
arc printed together in one collection. The third series contains such Local and

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 173
or to Other courts or places, for the safe custody and for
tbe proclaiming or confirming of the statute ; or in other
cases for affording authentic evidence of the statute. In
the Tower of London, copies of the Statutes 9, 10, 1 1, 14,
15, 18, and 20 Hen. VI. (for some years to the number of
two, three, six, or seven copies) are preserved on separate
skins of parchment, which appear to have been prepared
as Exemplifications, for the purpose of proclaiming the
several Statutes ; and these serve to supply the deficiency
ofthe Statute Roll during that period. One similar copy of
the Statutes 13 Ric. II. is also preserved in tbe Tower. (13)
It is not irrelevant to remark, that an Exemplification
differs from an Original Grant under the Great Seal, oran
Original Act of Parliament, in this ; that an Exemplifica
tion is a copy, and can be made only from the Record. (14)
At the present day every Exemplification, being first
made out in form by the proper officer, is examined with
the Record by two Masters in Chancery, who not only
subscribe a Certificate on the Exemplification, of their
having examined it witb the Record, but also sign a

Personal Acts as are without either of the above clauses, and are therefore not
printed. See Reports of the Committee qf the House of Commons on the Pro
mulgation of the Statutes, in 1796 and 1801 ; and Resolutions of the House cf
Commons, 7 May, 1801, and 18, 22 and 24 March, 1803.
(13) See also Rot, Pat, 2 Edw. III. p. 2, m. 15; ihe Articuli Cleri,
9 Edw. II., exemplified at the request of the clergy of Sarum; Rot, Pat,
2 Ric. II. part 2, m. 20; Assisa Panis, &c., exemplified at the request of the
bakers of Coventry ; Rot. Claus. 5 Ric. II. m. 13 d ; the Recital and Confirma
tion in Parliament of the Statute of Wynton, 13 Edw. I. : and further, the
Notes and Writs subjoined to the following Statutes, viz. Stat. Wynt. 13 Edw. I. ;
Stat, de Mercatoribus, 13 Edw. I. ; Stats. 22 Edw. I. ; 27 Edw. I ; 34 Edw. I. ;
35 Edw. I. ; 3 Edw. II. ; 9 Edw. II. ; 12 Edw. II. As to exemplifications for
particular purposes, at the present day, see that relating to the Act for the
Union of Great Britain and Ireland, in Appendix E. to the Introduction to
Authentic Collection of the Statutes,
(14) See 3 Inst. 173 ; and Stats. 3 & 4 Edw, VI. c. 4; 13 Eliz. c. 6.

174 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
Certificate to that effect, addressed to the Lord Chan
cellor, on a paper called the Docket, wbich is left with him
before the Exemplification is allowed to pass the Great
Seal. Transcripts by Writ were copies sent into Chan
cery in answer to tbe King's writ or mandate, caUing for a
copy of tbe Statute from the officer in whose custody it
was preserved. A Transcript of the Statutes of Wales,
12 Edw. I. is preserved in the Tower of London, with the
Writ annexed, by which that Transcript was required from
the Exchequer at Westminster;(15) where itwas entered
of Record, according to the usage which formerly prevailed,
of sometimes inroUing Statutes in Courts of Justice.(16)
Transcripts and Exemplifications of Statutes have also
been occasionally found in various other repositories. (17)
4. Original Acts, — These, from the 1 2th year of Henry
VII. to tbe present time, with some interruption, particu
larly in 14 & 15 Hen. VIII. and 21 Hen. VIII. are pre
served in the Parliament Office. Some Petitions and
Bills previous to 12 Hen. VII. are in the Tower of London,
but in no regular series. The Original Acts in the Par
liament Office consist of the BiUs as ingrossed after being
brought into Parliament, and in the state in which, after
such Ingrossment, they passed both Houses, and received
the Royal Assent. Each Act is on a separate Roll,
numbered ; and reference is made to them from a Calendar
kept of the Acts of each session in the Parliament Office.
These are the materials from which the Clerk of the
Parhaments makes up the Inrolments of Pubhc Acts sent

(15) See Note and Writ at the end of Stat. Wcdlie, 12 Edw. I. ; see also Rot.
Claus. 9 Edw. II. m. 11; the Correction of Chapter 12 ofthe Statute of Glou
cester, 6 Edw. I., sent to the Justices of the Bench ; and again. Rot. Claus.
17 Edw. III. part 1, m. 7.
(16) 4 Inst. 43; Rot. Ckus. 12 Edw. II. m. 22 d.
(17) See Appendix C, subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic CoUection
cfthe Statutes,

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 175
by him into Chancery, and preserved there ; or certifies
Acts into Chancery, when required so to do. (18) As
to tbe comparative authority of the Original Acts and
the Inrolments in Chancery, it is to be observed, that
all tbe Original Acts are separate from each other ; and
that they are frequently interlined, defaced, erased, and in
many instances witb great difficulty intelligible :(19) the
Inrolment in Chancery is always fair and distinct : and
the Acts are entered in a regular series, on one Roll or
subsequent Rolls, as part of the proceedings of a Parlia
ment, the time of the holding of which is stated at the
beginning of tbe RoU. In modern practice, if any doubt
arises as to the correctness of the Inrolment in Chan-
cery,(20) application is made to the Clerk of the Parlia
ments ; and the Original Act is thereupon produced, and
compared witb the Inrolment, and an amendment, if re
quisite, is made in the Inrolment accordingly.
5. Rolls of Parliament, — These contain Entries ofthe
several transactions in Parliament ; when complete, they
include the adjournments, and all other common and daily
occurrences and proceedings from tbe opening to the
close of each Parliament, with the several Petitions or
Bills, and the Answers given thereto, not only on public
(18) It was one of the functions of the Clerk of the Parliaments to receive, in
the Upper House, the Petitions of the knights, citizens and burgesses. See
Rot. Pari, 20 Edw. III. nu. 11. And with respect to the appointment of the
Clerk of the Parliaments, see Rot, Pari. 14 Edw. III. nu. 3; 15 Edw. III.
nu. I; 17 Edw. IIL nu. I; 18 Edw. IIL nu. 4; 2 Hen. IV. nu. 21;
4 Hen. IV. nu. 10; 5 Hen. IV. nu. 40.
(19) See particularly the Act of Uniformity, 14 Car. IL, printed as cap. 4
of that Session, and being nu. 3 of the Bundle of Acts of that year in the Par
liament Oflnce ; and nu. 4, on part 1, of the Rolls, containing the Inrolment of
those Acts in Chancery. Aud for other instances, see Appendix F, subjoined
to the Introduction to Authentic Collection cfthe Statutes,
(20) See Rot. Pari, 6 Hen. IV. nu. 56, for amendment of errors in a Sub-
sidy Act, as entered " en les rolles de la Chauncellarie si^ lengrossure del dit
p'lement," contrary to the actual grant by the Commons.

176

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.

matters, on which the Statute was afterwards framed, but
also on private concerns. In some few instances the
Statute, as drawn up in form, is entered on the Parliament
Roll: but in general the Petition and Answer only are
found entered ; and in such case the entry, of itself, fur
nishes no certain evidence, that the Petition and Answer
were at any time put into the form of a Statute. (21)
Copies of Petitions in ParUament and Answers thereto,
as early as 6 Edw. I. and in various years of Edw. II. and
Edw. III. are among Lord Hale's Manuscripts in the
Library of Lincoln's Inn. Rolls containing Pleas, Peti
tions and Answers, and other proceedings in Pariiament,
from 18 to 35 Edw. I. and one of Petitions in ParUa
ment 7 Hen. V. are in the Chapter House at Westminster.
A book of Inrolment, caUed Vetus Codex, in which are
entered Proceedings in ParUament, from 18 Edw. I. to
35 Edw. I. and in 14 Edw. II. is in the Tower of Lon-
don.(22) In that Repository also are preserved RoUs
containing Pleas and other Proceedings in Parliament,
between 5 Edw. IL and 13 Edw. III. ; Rolls of Parha-

(21) See Hale, H. C. L. chap. I, and 3 Keb. Rep. 588. That the royal
assent given to a Petition did not of itself constitute a Statute, see Rot. Pari.
14 Edw. IIL nu. 7 ; 15 Edw. III. nu. 42 ; 17 Edw. HI. nu. 48 ; 18 Edw. III.
nu. 33. 39 ; 25 Edw. III. nu. 12, 13 ; 37 Edw. III. nu. 39 ; I Ric. II. nu. 15 ;
2 Hen. IV. nu. 114; 7 & 8 Hen. IV. nu. 60. 66; 13 Hen. IV. nu. 49;
23 Hen. VI. nu. 1 8, 19. See also, ante, p. 158, note (4) ; p. 160, note (9) ;
and p. 170, note (12).
(22) The Contents of this volume were printed in 1661, by W. Ryley, a
Clerk in the Record Ofiice in the Tower, with an Appendix of additional mat
ter, under the title of Placita Parliamentaria, The original manusciipt volume
is referred to in Roi. Pat. 6 Ric. II. part 2, m. 26, as an authentic book of In
roUment., as foUows : — " D' Exemplific" Tykford. R' Om'ibus ad quos, &c.
salt~m. Inspexim' tenorem cujusdam p'cepti dni E. quondam Regis Angl' fil'
Regis Henf p'genitoris n"ri, in quodam libro de P'liamentis ejusdem dni E.
anno regni sui vicesimo irrotulati in hee verba." Then follows verbatim the
Article De Abbati de Mermonster, entered in fo. 36 of the Vetus Codex, and
printed in page 102 of Ryley's Placita Parliamentaria,

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 177
ment of 9 Edw. II.; 4, 5, and 6 Edw. III.;(23) and
13 Edw. III.; and from thence to the end of the reign
of Edw. IV. in a regular, and nearly uninterrupted,
series. After that time the RoUs of ParUament are, for
a certain period, supplied by the Inrolments of Acts
preserved in the Chapel of the Rolls,(24) and finaUy by the
Journals of the two Houses of ParUament.(25)
6. The Close, Patent, Fine, and Charter Rolls, among
a variety of Grants, Recognizances, and other misceUaneous
(23) At tbe head of these two RoUs are the foUowing Titles or Introductions,
viz. At the head of the Roll 9 Edw. II. .
" Memoranda de P'liamento diii Edwardi Regis Angl' filii Edwardi quon
dam Regis Angl', siimonito & tento apud Lincolri in quindena Sc"i Hillaf ,
Anno regni dc~i Reg nono; facta p' WiU'ra de Ayremynne cl'cum de Cancel-
laf p'fati Reg, p' eundem Regem ad hoc noTatum & specialit' deputatum."
At the head of the RoU of 4, 5 and 6 Edw. III. : — " Recorda & Memorand'
de hiis qui fiebant in P'liamento sum' apud Westm' die Lune p'x" post festum
sc~e Catherine anno Regni Regis Edwardi t'cii a conquestu quarto, lib'ata in
Cancellar" p' Henf de Edenestowe cl'icum P'liamenti."
(24) See ante, p. 169; and see also Appendix E, subjoined to Authentic
Collection of the Statutes, for some instances illustrative of the contents of the
Parliament Rolls, including the earliest instances of the opening of Parliament
by authority of the King's Commission. As a specimen of the contents of the
several Rolls and Manuscripts, from 6 Edw. 1. to 19 Hen. VII., the six volumes
of Rotuli Parliamentorum, ut et Petitiones et Placita in Parliamento, printed by
an order of the House of Lords of 9th March, 1767, may be consulted : but
this coUection does not contain all the RoUs, Petitions and ParUamentary Pro
ceedings during that period, and it is by no means to be relied upon for correct
ness. (25) The Joumals of the House of Lords commence in I Hen. VIII. ; but of
the years 4, 5, 14 and 15, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 and 27 Hen. VIIL, and of the
first two sessions iu I Mary, the Journals have uot been preserved. . In the
printed editions, therefore, the Journals for those years are supplied by copies
of, and extracts from, what are there termed the Parliament EoUs, being the
Inrolments in Chancery mentioned above, and particularly described ante,
p. 169. The Joumals ofthe House of Commons commence in I Edw. VL, but
until the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth they contain merely short notes of
the several readings of the respective Bills before the House, with a few occa
sional entries only of other proceedings. See further Appendix F, subjoined to
the Introduction to Autlientic Collection cfthe Statutes,
N

178 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
matters, concerning the state of the Realm and the rights
ofthe Crown, recorded in them, include Entries of Statutes,
and some instruments having direct reference to Statutes,
wherein such Statutes are recited at length. These Rolls
are kept at tbe Tower, from the beginning of the reign
of King John to 22 Edw. IV., and from the reign of Edw.
V. to the present time at the Chapel of the Rolls.
7. Books of Record, containing Entries of Stattdes
and Parliamentary Proceedings, — Of this sort is the
Red Book of the Exchequer at Westminster, some of the
early part of which was compUed by Alexander de
Swereford, first a Clerk, and afterwards a Baron of the
Exchequer,(26) in the reign of Henry III. It seems after
wards to have been considered and used as an authorized
repository by the Court itself; and contains Entries and
Inrolments of many Charters and ancient Acts of Parlia
ment, as well as other instruments relating to the King
and the rights of the Crown, from the time of WiUiam
the Conqueror to the end of Edw. III. : the originals of
several of these Acts and Instruments are preserved in
the Tower of London, and in the Chapter House at West
minster, with references to Inrolments in this Book,(27)
or to the circumstance of the Act being sent into the Ex-
chequer.(28) The Red Book of the Exchequer at Dublin
(26) Madox's History and Antiquities of the Exchequer, i. 179. 624 ; and see
also the Dissertatio Epistolaris prefixed to the Dialogus de Scaccario, ii. 334, 5,
6, &c.
(27) See the Statute of Sheriffs, 9 Edw. II. Rot. Stat. m. 32, printed in the
Authentic Collection of the Statutes, vol. i. p. 174, 175, at the end of which is the
following Memorandum :— " Et fait a remembrer q" meisme lestatut fu seal
souz le g»nt seal & maunde as Tresorer & Barons del Eschekier  de ferme
ment garder en tuz ses pointz." In the Red Book, fo. 276 b, the writ is
entered with the tenor of the Statute, sub pede sigilli, as transmitted to the
Exchequer, according to the Memorandum on the Tower BoU.
(28) See the Red Book, fo. 318, 319, where two Grants from WiUiam de la
Pole to Edw. III. are entered. The originals of these Grants are in the Chap
ter House, and are there indorsed as inrolled in this book, with reference to
the above pages therein.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 179
is considered as of the same authority ', it contains entries
oi Magna Carta, 1 Hen. III. especially granted to the
people of Ireland ; ofthe Statute of Westminster the First,
3 Edw. I. (wbich is not to be found on the Great RoU of
Statutes in the Tower of London, being prior in date to
the present commencement of that RoU), and also of the
statutes of Gloucester, 6 Edw. I. de Viris Religiosis, 7
Edw. I. and Westminster tbe Second, 13 Edw. I. agree
ing in general witb the text of those statutes on the
Statute Roll in the Tower. There is reason to conclude
that these statutes were entered in the Red Book at
Dublin, from an Exemplification sent over from England
in the 13th year of Edw. I. as is noticed in a memoran
dum on the Close Roll of that year.(29) A Register Book
marked A., preserved at the Chapter House at Westmin
ster, as in the custody of the Treasurer and Chamberlains of
the Exchequer,(30) contains Entries or Inrolments made
in the time of Edward I. Among these are the Statute of
Gloucester, 6 Edw. I. and the Statute of Westminster the
Second, 13 Edw. I. The originals of the several Statutes
and Instruments, it is stated in the Register, were depo-
'De Statutis 1 " Memo'' q'd die Ven'is in festo Exaltac"ois Sc"e Crucis
liberatis. ^ anno &c. xiij° apud Wynton lib'ata fu'nt Rog'o Bretun
Cl'ico ven'ab' pris W. Wat'ford Ep'i tiie justic Hibn
quedam Statuta p' Regem & consiliii suii edita & p'visa,
(29) -^ videl't Statuta Westm' statim post coronac'oem R' edita, &
Statuta Glouc", & Statuta p' m'catorib' fc"a ac Statuta
Westmoii in P'leamento Reg Pasch' anno p'dc'o p'visa &
fca, in Hibn deferenda & ibide p'clamanda & obs'vanda." —
Rot. Claus, 13 Edw. I. m. 5 d.
See also Sir Richard Bolton's edition of the Statutes of Ireland, edit. 1621,
note to Stat. 10 Hen. VII. c. 22, where he mentions that he had seen certain
ancient Statutes, particularly the Statutes Westm. 1, Gloucester, and Westm. 2,
exemplified under the Great Seal, and remaining in the Treasury of the City of
Waterford. On a diligent search made for that purpose at Waterford in 1806,
by two Sub-Commissioners on the Records, no such exemplification could be
found there.
(30) See Rymer's FcBdera, ii. 172. 210. 336. 380, &c.
n2

180 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
sited in certain chests in the Chapter House ; but these
originals have not been discovered.
8. Books and Manuscripts not of Record, containing
Entries or Copies of Statutes, are very numerous. In the
Court of Exchequer at Westminster are three Books,
marked IX. X. XI. Book X. contains many of the
earlier Statutes previous to Edw. III. : Books IX. XI.
contain the Statutes from 1 Edw. III. to 7 Hen. VIII.
In the Town Clerk's Office, at the GuUdhall of the City
of London, are several Manuscript volumes, in which,
among other matters chiefly relating to the Laws and
Customs of the City of London, are entries of many of
the ancient Statutes previous to Edward III. The
greatest number, and the earliest copies are in two volumes
distinguished by the appellation. Liber Horn and Liber
Custumarum, It appears, fi'om internal evidence, that
Liber Horn was compUed about the year 1311, and Liber
Custumarum not long after the year 1320: Liber Horn
is rendered valuable by having been in many instances
corrected, in a later handwriting, from Exemphfications
of Statutes sent under seal to the Sheriffs of London.
In two other manuscripts, one called Liber de Antiquis
Legibus, and the other Transcriptum Libri Albi, copied
from a volume originally compiled in the mayoralty of
Richard Whityngton, A.D. 1419, 7Hen.V., are occasional
Entries of a few ancient Statutes. In other volumes
marked G. H. and I. are Entries of some of the Statutes
of Edw. HI. Richard II. Henry IV. and Henry V.; many
of them appearing to have been made from Exemplifica
tions sent to the sheriffs of London for Proclamation.
Of Manuscript CoUections of Statutes, preserved in
public repositories, the greatest number collected together
in any one place is to be found in the British Museum.
They are distinguished as being of the Cottonian or Har
leian Collection; from the Royal Library; Donation

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 181
Manuscripts; and Lansdowne Manuscripts. The Cot
tonian Manuscripts, Claudius D. II. and Vespasian B. VII.
were resorted to by Hawkins and Cay, for copies of Sta
tutes previous to Edw. III. ; and Nero, C. I. for Statutes
of Henry VI. and Edward IV. not found at the Tower.
In the Bodleian Library at Oxford, are Rawlinson's,
Hatton's, and Laud's Manuscripts. Among the latter is
a Roll of Statutes, No. 1036, consisting of eleven small
membranes of parchment united together, not much more
than four inches wide, but each being two feet or more
in length. This roll appears to have been written in the
time of Edw. I. : it contains no statute later than the
Articuli super Cartas, 28 Edw. I. At Cambridge several
Manuscript Collections of Statutes are preserved in the
Library of the University, and in Trinity College Library.
In Corpus Christi or Bene't College Library are the
Manuscripts bequeathed to the college by Archbishop
Parker. Chartularies or Registers, preserved in several
Cathedrals, contain copies of some of the old Statutes.
Such are the Black Book of the Cathedral of Christ
Church, Dublin, written between the years 1280 and
1299, and Register A. in Gloucester Cathedral, compUed
in 1397. In Lincoln's Inn Library, are Lord Hale's
Manuscript Copies of Rolls and Petitions in ParUa
ment. In the Inner Temple Library is Mr. Petyt's Col
lection of Manuscripts ; among which are several volumes
of the Statutes. In many other public libraries also.
Manuscript Collections of Statutes are preserved. (31)
Of the several Manuscripts not of Record, an 'extensive
and careful examination has been made in preparing for
the present edition; and it has been ascertained that,
although they differ from each other considerably in their
(31) See Appendix C, subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection
of the Statutes, in which the several Records and Manuscripts in the respective
repositories are particularized.

182 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
degrees of antiquity and correctness, yet the credit of no
single one is entirely to be relied on; for scarcely any
Manuscript has yet been discovered, in any repository, in
which there are not some material errors, perverting or
altogether destroying the sense of the text. In some
instances, however, such as Cott. Claud. D. II. in the
British Museum, and Mm. v. 19, in the Library of the
University of Cambridge, several of the Instruments con
tained in the Manuscripts purport to be examined by the
RoU. In Liber Horn, fn the Town Clerk's Office, London,
several are marked as examined ' per Ceram ;' 'per Ceram
Guildaule;' 'per Statutum Gildaule London, in Cera;
' cum brevi cum eisdem in Gildaula adjunct ;' all which sigT
nify that the Entry in the Book has been examined with an
ExempUfication ofthe Statute or Instrument under the
Great Seal, sent to the Mayor and Sheriffs of London with
or without a writ for pubUcation thereof. The RawUnson
Manuscript, No. 337. in the Bodleian Library at Oxford
and the Harleian Manuscript, No. 5022, in the British
Museum, refer to the Inrolment on the Stutute Roll, of
several articles inserted in those volumes, but do not pro^
fess that the articles themselves were examined by that
Roll.
III. On a mature consideration of all the circumstances
before stated, the following Rules of Preference have been
adhered to, in the use of the several sources for the text,
and for various readings, of the Statutes in the present col
lection. During the periods in which Statute Rolls exist, such
Statute RoUs have been considered and used as the highest
authority for tbe Statutes contained in them ; namely, the
Statutes 6 Edw. I. to 8 Edw. IV. ; with the omission of
the Statutes 9 to 23 Hen. VI. both inclusive. But for
such Statutes as, during the period of the Existence of
the iStatute Rolls, do not appear on those RoUs, ai^d

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 183
for Statutes made in any period of which the Statute
Roll is not now in existence, namely, previous to 6 Edw.
I. ; after 8 and before 25 Hen. VI. ; and after 8 Edw. IV. :
and also for tbe correction of manifest errors or omissions
in the text, whether taken from Statute Rolls or elsewhere,
the following sources have been recurred to in regular
gradation ; preference being given to them, according to
the following order, but all being used and collated, where
necessary; viz. 1. Inrolments of Acts — 2. Exemphfications
and Transcripts. — 3. Original Acts. — 4. RoUs of Parlia
ment. — 5. Close, Patent, Fine, and Charter Rolls. —
6. Entries and books of Record. — 7. Books and Manu
scripts not of Record. — And finally, 8. The Printed Copies ;
the earliest of which was not published until more than two
hundred years subsequent to the present commencement
of the Statute Rolls.
The following Reasons for Preference among Manu
scripts not of Record have been adopted: 1. Their pro
fessing to be authentic copies from any Records, Exem
plifications, or Transcripts : 2. Their age ; the oldest
being on the whole the most worthy of credit : 3. The
uniformity and regularity of the series of Statutes and
Instruments in each coUection: 4. Their having been
already printed, and received in use as evidence of the
text of Statutes ; or, if not so printed, their according with
the printed copies, and with each other, so that when the
Manuscriptsdiffer, the majority should prevail: 5. Certain
Manuscripts have been holden to be of superior authority
upon some particular subjects, having special connection
with the places in which they are preserved : such as the
books preserved in the Exchequer, for Statutes relating
to that Court, or to Accounts, or to Money ; books at the
Town Clerk's Office, London, relating to the Assises of
Bread and Ale, Weights, and Measures, &c. : 6. In all

184 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
Manuscripts some articles are found much more correct
than others; a judgment has therefore frequently been
formed from internal evidence in favour of a particular
Statute or reading, although the Manuscript, in which
such Statute or reading were found, might not in other
instances be entitled to preference ; 7. Where it has hap
pened that several Manuscripts agreed in the text or
reading of any instrument, and were so equal in their
claims for preference, that it was entirely matter of indif
ference which should be chosen for a source of extract or
quotation, that manuscript has been used which has been
quoted or extracted from for other purposes, in preference
to one not before quoted; and one which has already
been printed from, in preference to one which has not.

VI. Of the Mode used in searching foe, tran
scribing, COLLATING, NOTING, AND PRINTING,
THE Text of the Statutes.
Immediately after the Commissioners bad given their
directions for proceeding upon the work, according to the
plans submitted to and approved of by them, searches
were made in the Tower of London, and other principal
Repositories in the Metropolis, which, by the Returns
made to the Committee of the House of Commons upon
PubUc Records, appeared to contain authentic Records
or ancient Copies of Statutes ; and in 1806, as hath been
before mentioned, every other place of the same descrip
tion in England and Ireland was visited by two Sub-Com
missioners. Upon these occasions, the Statute, Parlia
ment, Close, Patent, Fine, and Charter Rolls, and other
Records and Manuscripts preserved in the several Repo
sitories, were examined : Reports of the contents of these

the statutes of the realm. 185
Records or Manuscript were from time to time laid before
tbe Commissioners : numerous and repeated Transcripts
and Collations were made, not only of the Statutes here
tofore printed, but also of very many instruments consi
dered as fit to be introduced at length, or as affording
materials for Notes and various Readings. And the
printed Editions, from the earliest period to the present
time, were collected together, examined, and compared
with each other. From the whole of these materials lists
were prepared of the matters to be admitted, referring to
the several Records, Manuscripts, and Books, in which
they were respectively preserved or published. All the
Transcripts and Collations made of these matters were
compared with each other, and with the printed copies.
The Transcript which, on full examination, appeared to
be made from tbe most authentic source, was used as the
copy of the text to be printed : all the other transcripts
and collations of the same instrument, as also the printed
editions, were then compared and collated with this copy ;
and the requisite various readings noted accordingly.
The Various Readings are suggested in tbe following
manner: First, by substituting one reading for another:
in this case the word or sentence in the text of which an
alteration is suggested, is included between two crotchets,
witb a figure of reference to the note ; and in the note is
inserted tbe word or sentence proposed to be substituted,
with a quotation of the Record or Manuscript or printed
copies in which it is found. Secondly, By inserting some
word or sentence omitted : in this case a reference is in
cluded within a parenthesis, and the word or sentence to
be inserted is suppUed in the note. Thirdly, By noting
the omission, in other copies, of a word or sentence inserted
in the text : in this case the word or sentence in the text
is included between crotchets, with a reference, and in the

186 the statutes of the realm.
note the copies which omit such word or sentence are
particularized. The entries on the Statute Rolls and Records of Chan
cery are very seldom broken into separate paragraphs :
though other Manuscripts are more frequently so divided.
In all cases where there is any division of paragraphs in
the Record or Manuscript, the like division has been made
in the Transcript. The Transcript has been also occa
sionally divided into separate chapters or paragraphs, in
conformity with the printed editions of the Statutes, and
for the convenience of reference, in places where such
division did not occur in the Record or Manuscript : but
this has been done only when a full stop or other mark in
the Manuscript appeared to justify the complete separation
ofthe sentences. The points or stops are conformable to
those in the Record : and in printing the text of the
ancient Statutes, the same mode has been adopted as with
respect to the Charters, of exhibiting the contractions as
near as may be to the Ukeness ofthe original characters.
Where the Chapters or Clauses are numbered in the
Record or Manuscript, such number has been inserted in
the transcript. And the numbers of the Chapters and
Clauses in Cay's edition, or the other printed editions,
from which the translation is taken, are inserted at the
head of the side-note, or abridgment affixed to the trans
lation. In this state the copy was sent to the Printer. The
proof-sheets supplied by him were in the first instance
compared with the Manuscript Transcripts. These proofs
being corrected, they were next compared with the ori
ginal Record, or Manuscript authority from which such
transcripts were made. In cases of Various Readings, the
whole article, as printed, was also read and compared with
the Record or Manuscripts from whence the various

the statutes of the realm. 187
readings were suggested; and further suggestions as to
notes of various Readings and Amendments were adopted
as they continued to occur. The sheets thus corrected
were again compared with the Record or Manuscript
Authority, and the necessary corrections marked thereon ;
which being made by the printer, the sheets were revised
and occasionally submitted to the Commissioners, under
whose directions many amendments were made ; and the
sheets were then finally printed off for the work, as they
now appear.

VII. Of the original Language of the Charters
AND Statutes.
The language of the Charters and Statutes, from the
period of the earliest Charter now given, 1 Henry I. to the
beginning ofthe reign of Henry VII. is Latin or French.
From that time it has been uniformly English. The Peti
tions or BUls, on which the Statutes were founded, began
to be generally in English early in the reign of Hen. VI.
All the Charters of Liberties and of the Forest, from
1 Hen. I. to 29 Edw. I. (witb the exception after men
tioned,) are in Latin; but translations of some of them into
French are found in various collections. In D'Achery's
Spicilegium {I) there is a French translation, as it is
called by Blackstone, ofthe Charter of King John ; for it
is doubtful whether that Charter was ever promulgated in
French in this kingdom. Some early Manuscripts(2) con
tain French translations of the two Charters of 9 Hen. III.
and of the Charters of Inspeximus and Confirmation in
25 and 28 Edward I. though these latter appear on the
Statute and Charter Rolls in Latin. The Charter dated
(I) XII. 593, of the first edition ; III. 579, of the Paris edition, 1723.
(2) MS. Harl. No. 5326, and others.

188 THE statutes of the realm.
5 Nov. 25 Edw. 1.(3) is in French ; as is also the dupUcate
of that Charter dated 10 Oct. and entered on the Statute
RoU 25 Edw. 1.(4) Tbe Statutes of Henry III. are almost
entirely in Latin. Some Legislative Matters, not in the
Printed Collections, are entered on the Patent RoUs in
French. (5) The Statutes of Edward I. are indiscriminately
in Latin or French; though the former language is most
prevalent. But the Statute of Gloucester, 6 Edward I.
which on the Statute Roll is in French, appears in many
contemporary Manuscripts in Latin. In several Manu
scripts, particularly Register A. in the Chapter House at
Westminster, this Statute is given at length both in Latin
and French. On the other hand, the Statute of West
minster the Second 13 Edw. I. which is in Latin on the
RoU, appears in many manuscripts in French ; and Chap
ter 34 of this latter Statute, as to Violence against Women,
which on the Roll appears in French, is given, like the
rest of the Statute, in Latin in several manuscripts. (6)
The French Chapter 49, as to Champerty by Justices, is
omitted in the Tower Roll, and in many other copies
wbich give the Statutes in Latin, but is found in the
copies which give the Statute in French.(7) The Statutes
of Edward II. are, like those of Edward I. mdiscriminately
in Latin or French ; but the latter language prevaUs more
than in the Statutes of Edward I. The Statutes of Ed
ward III. are more generally in French than those of
(3) See p. 37 of the Charters preceding the Statutes in Authentic Collection,
vol. i.
(4) See p. 123 o{ Authentic Collection ofthe Statutes, vol. i.
(5) See Rot, Pat, 43 Hen. III. m, 10; 48 Hen. III. m. 2 d; 53 Hen. III.
m. 25 d.
(6) Lib. Custum. London; MSS. Harl. No. 79, 3824; MS. Reg. 20 A.
VIII. in Mus. Brit.
(7) See Note at the end of Stat. Westm. 2, p. 95, of Authentic ColUction of
the Statutes, vol. i.

the statutes of the realm. 189
any preceding King ; yet some few are in Latin. The
Statutes of Richard II. are almost universally in French ;
those of the sixth and eighth years are in Latin. The
Statutes of Henry IV. with the exception of Chapter 15
of the Statute 2 Hen. IV. which is in Latin, are entirely
in French ; as are those of Henry V. with the exception
of the short Statutes 5 and 7 Henry V. which appear in
Latin. The earliest instance recorded of the use ofthe English
language in any parliamentary proceeding, is in 36 Edw.
III. The style of the Roll of that year is in French as
usual, but it is expressly stated that the causes of summon
ing the Parliament were declared en Englois ;{^) and
the like circumstance is noted in 37 and 38 Edw. 111.(9) In
the fifth year of Richard 11.(10) the Chancellor is stated to
have made un bone collacion en Engleys, (introductory,
as was then sometimes the usage, to the commencement of
business,) though he made use of the common French form
for opening the Parliament. A petition from the " Folk
ofthe Mercery e of London," in the 10th year ofthe same
reign, (11) is in English; and it appears also, that in the
17th year(12)the Earl of Arundel asked pardon ofthe Duke
of Lancaster by the award of the King and Lords, in their
presence in parliament, in a form of English words. The
cession and renunciation of the crown by Richard II. is
stated to have been read before the estates of the realm
and the people in Westminster Hall, first in Latin and
afterwards in English, but it is entered on the Parliament
Roll only in Latin.(13) And the challenge ofthe crown by
(8) Rot, Pari, 36 Edw. III. m. 1 . In this year was made the Statute
(36 Edw. III. c. 15) that all pleadings in the Courts shall be iu English.
(9) Rot, Pari, 37 Edw. III. nu. I ; 38 Edw. III. nu. I.
(10) Rot. Pari. 5 Ric. II. nu. I, 2.
(II) Petiticmes in Pari, 10 Ric. II. iu Turr. Lond.
(12) Rot, Pari, 17 Bic. II. nu. 11. (13) Rot, Pari. 1 Hen. IV. nu. 14.

190 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
Henry IV. with his thanks after the allowance of his title,
in the same assembly, are recorded in English ; which is
termed his maternal tongue.(14) So also is the speech of Sir
WiUiam Thirnyng, the Chief Justice ofthe Common Pleas,
to the late King Richard, announcing to him the sentence
of his deposition, and the yielding up, on the part of the
people, of their fealty and allegiance. In the sixth year
of the reign of Henry I V.( 1 5) an English answer is given to
a petition of the Common^, touching a proposed Resump
tion of certain Grants ofthe Crown, to the intent the Kinsf
might the better live of his own. The EngUsh language
afterwards appears occasionally, through the reigns of
Henry IV. and Henry V.(16) In the first and second,
and subsequent years of Hen. VI. the Petitions or BUls,
and in many cases the Answers also, on which the Statutes
were afterwards framed, are found frequently in EngUsh;
but the Statutes are entered on the Roll in French or
Latin. From the 23d year of Hen. VI. these Petitions or
Bills are almost universally in EngUsh, as is also some
times the form of the Royal Assent : but the Statute con
tinued to be inrolled in French or Latin.(17) Sometimes
Latin and French are used in the same Statute, as in 8
Hen. VL; 27 Hen. VL; and 39 Hen. VI. The last Sta
tute wholly in Latm on Record is 33 Hen. VI. ; the last
Portion of any Statute in Latin on Record is 39 Hen. VI.>
Chapter 2. The Statutes of Edward IV. are entu-ely m
French. The Statutes of Richard III. are in many Manu-
(14) Rot. Pari. 1 Hen. IV. nu. 53. 56.
(15) Rot. Pari. 6 Hen. IV. nu. 20.
(16) See particularly Rot. Part. 2 Hen. V. nu. 22.
(17) See Stat. 18 Hen. VI. c. 18, 19, as to Soldiers, and compare those
chapters with the Petitions in the Parliament Roll of that year, nu. 62, 63, and
with the Writ of Proclamation upon the Close Roll, 18 Hen. VI. m. 3 d. The
Statute is in French, but the Petition is in English, and is accordingly so recited
in the Proclamation Writ.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 191
scripts in French in a complete Statute form ; and they
were so printed in his reign and that of his successor. In
the earlier English editions a translation was inserted, in
the same form : but in several editions, since 1618, they
have been printed in English, in a different form, agree
ing, so far as relates to the Acts pruited, with the In
rolment in Chancery at the Chapel of the Rolls. The
petitions and bills in parliament, during these two reigns,
are all in English. The Statutes of Hen. VII. have always,
it is believed, been published in English ; but there are
Manuscripts containing the Statutes of the first two par
liaments, in his first and third year, in French.(18) From
the fourth year to the end of his reign, and from thence to
the present time, they are universally in English.
Attempts have been made by many learned persons to
explain this variety of languages in the earlier periods of
our legislation ; and some have referred the preference of
the one language or of the other to the operation of parti
cular causes.(19) Nothing, however, is known with cer
tainty on this subject ; and at the present day it is utterly
impossible to account, in each instance, for the appearance
(18) Petyt Manuscript, nu. 8, in the Inner Temple Library; and MS.
Hatton 10, No. 4135, in the Bodleian Library. The first of these ends with
the Statutes of 3 Hen. VII. in French, appaiently as from some Statute Roll,
or copy thereof. In the latter, which ends with II Hen. VII. the Statutes of
the third year are in French ; but those of the fourth and all the following years
are in English. The old printed editions of the Statutes I & 3 Hen. VIL, in
English, appear to be taken entirely from a Statute Roll ; while in the modern
editions some parts of the Statutes are manifestly talcen from the original Acts,
or from a Parliament Roll or Inrolment in Chancery.
(19) See 2 Inst, 485, as to the two chapters of Stat. Westm. 2, which are in
French, although the body of the Statute is in Latin. Barrington, in his com
ments on the Statutum de Scaccario, remarks, that when the interests of the
clergy are particularly concerned, the Statute is in Latin ; but, on examination,
the correctness of this remark may be doubted. See also IV. Bacon's Treatise on
Government, parti, cap. 56, (p. 101, 4to. edit. 1760).

192 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
of the Statute in French or in Latin. It seems on the
whole to be highly probable, that for a long period of time.
Charters, Statutes, and other Public Instruments, were
drawn up indiscriminately in French or Latin, and gene
rally translated from one of those languages into the
other,(20) before tbe promulgation of them, which in many
instances appears to have been made at the same time in
both languages.(21) It is matter of curiosity to observe
that the use of the French language in Statutes was pre
served rather longer in Ireland than in England. The
Statute Roll of the Irish parliament 8 Henry VII. pre
served at the Rolls Office in Dublin, is in French; on
the Statute Roll of the two next Parliaments of Ireland,
16 and 23 Hen. VII. the introductory paragraphs, stating
the holding of the parUament, &c. are in Latin; after
which follows an Act or Chapter in French, confirming
the liberties of the Church and the Land: and all the
other Acts of the Session are in English.

VIII. Of THE Translation in the Authentic Col
lection OF THE Statutes.
The printed translation ofthe Statutes previous to Hen.
VII. used for the present work, is that of Cay's edition,
1751 ; but as many Statutes and parts of Statutes are
omitted from the EngUsh of that edition, the deficiencies
have been supplied from the edition by Hawkins, 1735;
the foho edition, 1618, usually called RastaU's ; Pulton's
edition of the same year ; RastaU's collection in English,
(20) See haders's Essay on the Use of the French Language in our Ancient
Laws and Acts of State, Tract VL, I8I0, where it is suggested that many of the
Latin Statutes were first made in French, and from thence translated into Latin.
(21) See the Entries of Stat. Glouc. 6 Edw. I. in Register A. preserved in
the Chapter House, Westminster, before mentioned in p. 188.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 193
1603 ; and in some few instances from earlier English
collections, and other authorities. (1) Of Statutes and In
struments, or parts thereof, not heretofore translated, and
of such only, translation has been now made, which is
always distinguished by being printed in a smaller type.
In making this new translation, the following rules have
been generally adhered to : to render the original as
literally as possible, consistently with the purpose of con
veying the sense in EngUsh: and to translate the same
word the same way, if the sense be the same. Former
translators of the Statutes having very much conformed
to the genius of the English language in their versions,
and not servilely fallen into Latin or French expressions
or forms of speech, an endeavour has been made to adopt
language of a cast corresponding with those versions.
In the Bodleian Library, Rawlinson Manuscript, No.
230, is a very ancient translation of some of the Statutes
of the time of Hen. III. and Edw. I. There is reason to
think, that this translation is of a time certainly not later
than Edward III. and probably of an earlier period ; it
does not contain any Statute later than 25 Edward I. In
the British Museum, Harleian Manuscript, No. 4099, is a
translation of the Statutes 1 Edward III. to 18 Hen. VI.
made apparently in the time of Hen. VI. or Edward IV.
For the purpose of correcting errors in the translation,
the several editions as well of the text as of the trans
lation, have been compared with each other; and much
use has also been made of the two Manuscript translations
just noticed, which are cited thus, the Rawlinson Manu
script as MS. Tr. 1. and the Harleian Manuscript as MS.
Tr. 2. After the commencement of the reign of Henry
VI. the Petitions or Bills entered in English on the Par-
(1) The Translation of the Customs of Kent, Statutes of uncertain date,
p. 223 of the Authentic Collection ofthe Statutes, is taken from Lambard's Peram
bulation of Kent.

194 THE STATUTES OF THE REALJjI.
liament Roll, from whence the Statute was drawn up in
French or Latin, have been consulted. Corrections of
errors in the translation, which arise from Misinterpreta
tion or Omission, are suggested either from other transla
tions, or, where no other translation supplies a probable
correction, by new expressions. Errors or inconsisten
cies, which arise from the insertion of words or sentences
not authorized by the text as given in the present work,
are noticed, either by a reference to Records or manu
script authorities, or to ancient printed copies of the Latm
or French text, as authorizing such insertion, or by a
proposed omission of the words so inserted, in conse
quence of their not being justified by any authority. Tri
fling variances between the text and the translation,
manifestly not affecting the sense, have not been consi
dered worthy of notice, particularly where all former
translations agree in the same reading. But as it was
difficult, not to say impossible, to lay down any certain
standard on this latter head, a consistency entirely perfect
may not have been uniformly observed, and is not to be
expected. The notes and marks suggesting the corrections in the
translation, are to be thus understood : First, Words which
are included between crotchets, without any note of refer
ence, are sucb as are contained in all translations, and are
authorized by printed copies of the Latin or French text;
though not authorized by the text, or by any various
reading here given from manuscript Records or autho
rities. Secondly, Words in the translation included between
crotchets, with a figure, refer to a correction thereof, sug
gested in the note ; such correction, if authorized by any
printed or manuscript translation, is printed in the note in
Roman letter ; but if not so authorized, then such correc
tion is printed in ItaUc letter ; if the correction be justified
by the RoUs of Parliament or old manuscript translation?

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 195
tbey are quoted. Thirdly, A Reference within a paren
thesis between two words, suggests an omission, which is
supplied in the notes, in Roman or Italic character, ac
cording as it is or is not authorized, as before specified.
Fourthly, Where any words in the translation are inclosed
between crotchets, with reference to the note " Not in
Original," it is to be understood, that neither the text, as
now given from the Record or Manuscript, nor any printed
copy, appears to authorize the insertion of the words.
The term " Old Translations" is applied to all published
previous to the year 1618 ; in which year the editions
distinguished as RastaU's and Pulton's Statutes were both
published r the edition called RastaU's, however, having
followed the current of several former editions of the Sta
tutes, is included in the term " old" translations y and
Pulton's translation being in many parts new, and having
been generaUy adopted by Cay and subsequent editors, is
therefore included in the term " modern."
Short Abstracts or side-notes have been prepared, as
well to the matters heretofore translated, as to those of
which a translation is now for the first time given in this
publication ; of those relating to matters heretofore trans
lated, some have been taken from Cay's or former English
editions of the Statutes ; and like abstracts are added to
tbe acts subsequent to the reign of Hen, VII.

IX. Of THE Collections of the Statutes of Scot
land AND Ireland, heretofore published by Royal
or Parliamentary Authority.
Although no general Collection of the Statutes of Eng
land, or of Great Britain, has been hitherto published by
authority of the Crown or of the Parliament, it appears
o2

196 the statutes of the realm.
that measures were carefully taken in former times for
coUecting and authenticating the Legislative Acts, both of
the Scottish and Irish Parhaments.
In Scotland, by royal commission from Queen Mary,
dated 1 May, 1566, directed to the chancellor, principal
officers of state, and other persons therein named, it was
ordained that all the laws of that realm should be inspected
and corrected, so tbat no other but those should be printed
by royal privilege, or have place, faith, or authority in
Courts of Justice : and by the same commission it was
provided, that the proceedings under it should be ratified
in the next Parliament. From the difficulties of the Un
dertaking, the compilation of the Laws prior to James I.
was postponed ; and the only part of the work executed
was a Collection of Acts from the return of James I. in
1424, to the last pariiament of Queen Mary in 1 564. This
Collection was first published in the year 1566. It com
prehended a publication of certain Statutes of James V.
printed in 1541, and of Queen Mary printed in 1565, to
each of which the lord clerk register, at the time, had
-subjoined his certificate, vouching for the truth of the
copies extracted from the books of Parliament. These
certificates were retained in this edition of 1566, and to
the other parts of it similar certificates were subjoined.(l)
Other publications were afterwards made by authority ;
such were those of James VI. 1568 and 1579, and several
others prior in date to 1597; but they related only to
particular Parliaments or particular sorts of Acts ; and
with these concludes that series of printed Scottish Acts,
which, from their typographical charactei-, have in late
times been usually denominated the Black Acts. In 1592
a parliamentary commission was issued " For visiting
(1) For the Title of this Work, the Privilege, Royal Commission, Preface,
and Certificates of Authenticity, see Appendix G ; I. I, subjoined to the Intro
duction to Authentic Collection of the Statutes,

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 197
and caussing of the Lawes and Actis of parUament to be
prented,"(2) which appears to have led in the first in
stance to the repubhcation of the Scottish Statutes from
the asra of James I. to 1597, in the volumes which usually
bear the name of Skene's edition, Sir John Skene being
at that time lord clerk register. But under the same
commission. Sir John Skene appears also to have pro
ceeded to the more arduous task of coUecting the ancient
Laws of Scotland prior to James I. : and in 1607 he had
advanced so far in this undertaking as to exhibit to the
legislature a copy of the Manuscripts which he had pre
pared for publication, and for his encouragement therein
a special Act was passed.(3) The work, usually known
by the title of Regiam Majestatem, was at length pub
Ushed, in the original Latin, in 1609; and was foUowed
soon after by a version in the Scottish language. Other
commissions for " Surveying the Lawes" were issued at
subsequent periods. The commission of 1628, after seve
ral renewals, was ratified by Parliament in 1633 ; and in
1681 another was issued, which was again renewed in
1695. But the purpose intended was never accomplished.
Upon all these editions, from the earliest downwards, it
is to be observed that they contain only a selection, from
the Records of Parliament, of such Acts as were supposed
by the editors to be of greater and more permanent
utility ; omitting such as were either temporary, or merely
of a private and personal nature. (4)
(2) See a Copy of this Commission in Appendix G ; I. 2, subj(4ned to the
Introduction to Authentic Collection of the Statutes.
(3) See the Act in Appendix G ; I. 3, subjoined to the Introduction to Au
thentic Collection qf tlie Statutes,
(4) From the period of Skene's publication, in 1597, down to the Union, the
Acts of each Parliament and Session were regularly printed and published
under the authority of the Clerk Register ; and under that authority, but without
any special sanction by Parliament, Sir Thomas Murray published his edition

198 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
The Statutes of Ireland from 10 Hen. VI, to 14 Eliz.
were collected under the authority of Sir Henry Sidney,
Lord Deputy of that kingdom in the reign of Queen Eliza
beth ;(5) and being examined by the Justices of both the
benches, with the Chief Baron of the Exchequer and
Master of the Rolls, and delivered by them to the Lord
Deputy witb their hands subscribed thereto, they were
afterwards, by the advice of Lord Burleigh, then Lord
High Treasurer of England, printed in the year 1572.(6)
At a subsequent period, namely, in 1621, another col
lection of the Statutes of Ireland from 3 Edw. II. to 13
Jac. I. was abstracted from the Parliament Rolls of that
kingdom by Sir Richard Bolton, Recorder of Dublin,
afterwards Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and in 1639
Lord ChanceUor of Ireland; and by direction of Sir
Oliver St. John, then Lord Deputy, that collection was
perused by the chief Judges and the Master of the Rolls,
and by them aUowed and thought fit to be printed, to
gether with so many of the Statutes formerly printed, as
were not by express words repealed. And it is deserving
of observation that they thought those Statutes formerly
printed and not expressly repealed should be printed again
for two reasons, as therein is stated ; " the one, lest per
adventure any should unadvisedly tax the editor of par
tiality, that matters of great moment were omitted, and
matters of less consequence published ; and the other
was, that although those Statutes might be out of use or
ofthe Statutes in 1681, annexing toit his Official Certificate of Authority; but
his Text appears to be taken only from the edition by Skene, and the subsequent
Sessional Publications.
(5) See Sir James Ware's Account ofthe Writers of Ireland, as translated and
enlarged by Harris, book ii. chap. 5. See also Zouch's Life of Sir Philip Sidney,
chap. 1.
(6) For the Title and Extract from the Preface to this Edition, see Appen
dix G; II. 1, subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection of the Statutes.

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 199
determined at that day, yet the same might well serve for
an historical use, whereby might be discerned both the
state of the church and commonwealth in those times."(7)
In 1678 the edition of 1621 was reprinted by the King's
printer, with the addition of the subsequent Acts to the
end of the session 17 and 18 Car. II. ; and this volume
was reprinted in 1723 without any additions. In 1762
an address was presented by the House of Lords in Ire
land to the Lord Lieutenant, requesting that the Statutes
at large of that kingdom should be printed and published,
under the inspection of the Lord Chancellor and the
Judges. (8) They were accordingly published in the year
1765, in seven volumes folio, comprehending the Statutes
from 3 Edw. II. to 1 Geo. III. : with an eighth volume
containing tables of the titles of the Statutes in the several
volumes and of the Private Acts from 1 Henry VIII. to
1 Geo. III. and an alphabetical index to the Statutes.
In these volumes, which in the title-page are stated to
be " Published by authority," the Statutes to the 17 and
18 Car. II. were reprinted from the editions of 1621, 1678,
and 1723; the edition of 1572 not being noticed or re
ferred to. For the period subsequent to 17 and 18 Car.
II. recourse was had to the sessional publications printed
by the king's printers. The whole work was compiled from
these sources without variation; except that in some
instances errors of the press were occasionally corrected
by the Record ; and that some Pubhc Acts, of which the
titles only were specified in the former printed editions,
were inserted at large from the Records.(9) •Some Acts
inserted in the edition of 1572 are omitted from this col-
(7) See Appendix G ; II. 2, subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Col
lection ofthe Statutes,
(8) See the Extract from the Lords' Joumals in Appendix G ; II. 3, sub
joined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection cf the Statutes,
(9) See Preface to this Edition in Appendix G ; II. 4, subjoined to the In
troduction to Authentic CoUection ofthe Statutes,

200 THE STATUTES OF THE REALM.
lection. Additional volumes, containing the Acts of sub
sequent Parliaments, were from time to time published,
in consequence of occasional addresses of the House of
Lords for that purpose : and in 1786 a re-publication of
all the former volumes took place, with additional volumes
to 26 Geo. III. These were continued by subsequent
volumes to the end of 40 Geo. III. A. D. 1800, when the
union took place between Great Britain and Ireland. (10)
In 1799 a volume was published containing the titles of
the Statutes and of the Private Acts and Indexes to the
end ofthe session 38 Geo. III. 1798.

X. Of THE Methods successively adopted for pro
mulgating THE Statutes, before and since the
Union of Great Britain and Ireland.
The promulgation of the Statutes, which formerly took
place within the Realm of England, as well as in Scotland
and Ireland, has been wholly superseded by the practice
of modern times. Before the introduction of printing,
the pubUcation of the Statutes of England was made by
means of exemplifications thereof, sent to the sheriffs,
under the great seal, out of Chancery, with Writs an
nexed, requiring the proclamation and publication of the
same by them,(l) and sometimes also directing Copies to be
(10) See /ournoiso/'tAe House of Lords »7i Ireland, 20 February, 1768, vol.iv.
p. 450 ; 15 February, 1780, v. 156; 14May, 1784, v. 531 ; I February, 1786,
V. 668 ; 25 May, 1789, vi. 313 ; 26 March, 1792, vii. 67 ; 25 March, 1794,
vii. 253; 15 AprU, 1796, vii. 465; 17 Sept. 1798, viii. 181; 22 July, 1800,
viii. 535. See also as to printing, in Ireland, the English and British Statutes
in force there, the same Journals, 10 AprU, 1786, v. 748.
(1) See 4 Inst, 26, 28; the Case of Heresy, 12 Rep. 58; 2 Inst, 526;
3 Ziist. 41 ; Hale on Pari. 36 ; Arg. I Ch. Rep. 51. 53. Copies of Parliamentary
Proceedings, or Acts of State, though not Statutes, were occasionally proclaimed
and published. See the RoU of the Ordinances of the Staple'' 27 Edw. III.

the statutes of the realm. 201
made and distributed, and the sheriffs to return what was
done by them thereupon. The earliest Statutes were
published in this manner, as appears not only by copies
of the Writs subjoined to the Records and Manuscripts
of the respective Statutes, of the thirteenth century, but
also by Original Writs still preserved in the Tower of
London.(2) In England, printed promulgations ofthe Statutes, in the
form of sessional publications,(3) began in the first year
of Ric. III. A. D. 1484, very recently after the introduc
tion of printing ; and in consequence thereof such ex
emplifications and writs as are above mentioned were soon
altogether discontinued ;(4) yet tbe Statutes themselves con
tinued nevertheless to be inrolled in Chancery ; and some
of the earliest sessional publications appear by their form
to have been printed from a Statute Roll. All the ori
ginal Bills and Acts now extant in the Parliament Office,
are some years subsequent in date to the commencement
of the printed sessional publications of the Statutes ; and
it is evident, from some of those printed sessional pub-
and the Note in p. 332 of Authentic Collection qf the Statutes, vol. i. Sometimes
the knights, citizens and burgesses were simply charged upon their return into
the country to show and publish to the people the matters agreed on in Parlia
ment  Rot. Pari. 37 Edw. III. nu. 38. Sometimes copies were delivered to
them of such matters pur ent notifier en soun pays. — Rot, Pari, 9 Hen. IV.
nu. 27.
(2) See Stat. Merton, 20 Hen. III. A.D. 1235-6, and the notes thereto,
p. I — 4 of Authentic Collection qf the Statutes, vol. i. ; Stat. Marlbr. 52 Hen. III.
A.D. 1267, and the note in p. 25 ; Stat. Westm. 1, 3 Edw. I. A.D. 1275, aud
the notes in p. 39 ; Statutum de Finibus levutis, 27 Edw. I. A.D. 1299, p. 126
— 130 ; and numerous subsequent instances. See also Appendix C. and Ap
pendix H ; I. subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection of the Statutes,
(3) See Catalogue of the Sessional Publications, in Appendix B, subjoined
to the Introduction to Authentic Collection ofthe Statutes,
(4) The last Proclamation Writ entered on the Statute Rolls, is at the end
of Stat. 7 Hen. V. A.D. 1419: Lord Coke, 2 Inst, 526, says the Writ con
tinued to issue till the reign of Henry VII. In the printed editions of the Sta
tutes, a Proclamation Writ is prefixed to the Statutes of 19 Hen. VII.

202

the statutes of the realm.

lications, in the time of Hen. VII. whereof the contem
porary Bills and Acts are still preserved, that such Bills
and Acts, though concurrent in time, were not then uni
formly used as the original text for such publications. The
sessional publications are at present, and have for a long
series of years, been printed entirely from original Acts in
the Parliament Office.(5)
In Scotland, it was the exclusive privilege and official
duty of tbe Lord Clerk Register to enter the Acts of
Parliament in the proper Record, and to give authentic
copies of them to the Sheriffs, Magistrates of Boroughs,
and such as might demand them. A precept is extant
for proclaiming and publishing the Statutes of Robert I. in
the year 1318 : and there exists also a Parliamentary
Ordinance, made in the reign of David II. 1366, by which
the Acts of that Parliament are directed to be sent, under
royal seal, to each Sheriff, to be by him publicly pro
claimed. (6) The earliest printed publication of the Sta
tutes in Scotland took place in the year 1540-1.
In Ireland, the promulgation of such Statutes as were
passed in England, and transmitted to Ireland, was regu
larly made by means of a transcript sent under seal from
England, with a Writ directed to the Chancellor of Ire
land, requiring the same to be kept in the Chancery of
that kingdom, to be inrolled in the RoUs of the said Chan
cery, then to be exemplified under the Great Seal of
Ireland, and sent unto and proclaimed in the several courts

(5) See Commons' Journals, vol. viii. llth January, 1661-2, when it Was
resolved that a Message should be sent to the Lords, requesting " that the
original RoUs of Acts of Pariiament be kept in the office, and not delivered to
the printer, but that true copies be delivered to him from the Roll, fairly writ
ten, and carefully examined and attested."
(6) For Acts relating to the Promulgation of the Statutes in Scotland, see
Appendix H; II. subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection of the
Statutes,

the statutes of the realm. 203
and counties throughout the kingdom,(7) Sometimes the
Writ was to the Justices in Ireland, simply requiring
proclamation. (8) With respect to the Statutes made in
Ireland, provisions are contained in several Acts for the
special proclamation of such Acts, so that the penalties
inflicted by them should not be incurred untU after such
proclamation.(9) It appears also that it was usual to pro
claim the Statutes in general by the King's Writ, made out
by the Clerk ofthe Parliament.(lO) Sessional publications
of the Acts did not take place in Ireland before the reign
of Charles I. ; and such publications were not continued
regularly and uniformly until after the Revolution. (11)
In Great Britain, tbe pubhc inconvenience experienced
from the defective promulgation of the Statutes, led to the
adoption of new measures in the year 1796, by which
the Acts printed by tbe [King's printer, whose authority
has long been deemed sufficient to entitle his printed
copies to be received in evidence in all Courts of Law,(12)
(7) See the Memoranda and Writs annexed to the English Statutes 12
Edw. IL, Rot. Stat. m. 32, p. 179 of Authentic Collection of the Statutes, vol. i.
(8) See the Memoranda at the end of several Statutes; 1, 2, 4, 5 Edw. III.
p. 257. 261. 265 and 269 of Authentic Collection of the Statutes, vol.i.;
25 Edw. III. p. 324; 36 Edw. III. p. 378. As to the more antient Statutes
sent to Ireland, see Rot. Claus, 13 Edw. I. m. 5 d, quoted ante, p. 179, note (29).
(9) See Irish Acts 12 Edw. IV. c. 2 ; 14 Hen. VII. c. I ; 28 Hen. VIII.
c. 2, § 4, (for the succession of the King and Queen Anne, the clause for pro
clamation of which is copied from the English Act 25 Hen. VIII. c. 22) ;
33 Hen. VIIL c. 1, §2, (enacting that the King and his successors. Kings of
England, should be always Kings of Ireland) ; 14 & 15 Car. II. u. 18, § 12.
(10) See Irish Acts 12 Edw. IV. c. 2; II Eliz. stat. 4, u. I, § 10.
(II) See the Preface to the edition of the Irish Acts publi|(ied by Authority,
in Appendix G ; II. 4, subjoined to the Introduction to Authentic Collection of
the Statutes,
(12) By Stat. 41 Geo. III. (U. K.), c. 90, § 9, it is expressly provided, that
the copy of the Statutes of England and Great Britain printed by the King's
printer, shall be evidence in Ireland, and that the copy of the Statutes in Ire
land, printed by the King's printer, shall be evidence in Great Britain of the
Statutes respectively passed previous to the Union between Great Britain and
Ireland.

204

the statutes of the realm,

were distributed throughout the kingdom as speedUy as
possible after they had received the royal assent :( 13) and
the experience of the good effects of those measures led
soon afterwards to their execution in a much .greater ex
tent. After the union of Great Britain and Ireland, a select
Committee of the House of Commons was appointed in
the first session of the United Parliament, to consider of
the most effectual means of promulgating the Statutes of
the United Kingdom; upon whose Report resolutions for
that purpose were adopted by the Commons, and having
been agreed to by the Lords, they were presented to his
Majesty by a joint address of both Houses; and his Majesty
was thereupon pleased to give directions accordingly.(14)
By the tenor of these resolutions, his Majesty's printer
was authorized and directed to print not less than five
thousand five hundred copies of every Public General
Act, and three hundred copies of such Local and Personal
Acts as were printed ;( 15) the Public General Acts to be
transmitted, as soon as possible after each BiU should
receive the royal assent, to the members of both Houses
of ParUament, the great Officers and Departments of
State, Public Libraries, Courts of Justice, Sheriffs, Muni
cipal Magistrates, and Resident acting Justices of the
Peace, throughout Great Britain and Ireland, according
to a prescribed mode of distribution ; with a direction
that every Chief Magistrate and Head Officer of every
City, Borough, or Town Corporate, in England and
Ireland, and of every Royal Burgh in Scotland, and every
Sheriff, Clerk of the Peace, and Town Clerk in the United
(13) See Commons' Journals, vol. Ui. 2 Nov. 5 Dec. 1796; 10, 17, 20, 27
March ; 3, 27 AprU ; 2 June, 1797.
(14) See Commons' Journals, vol. Ivi. 26 February ; 28 April; 6, 7, 8 May;
3, 5, 8, 9 June, 1801.
(15) See the end of note (12), ante, p. 170—173.

the statutes of the realm. 205
Kingdom, receiving sucb Copies, should preserve them
for the public use, and transmit them to his successor in
office : and this mode of authenticating and promulgating
the Statutes is now carried into execution throughout
every part of the United Kingdom.
[The Contents of the Appendix to the Introduction to
the Authentic CoUection ofthe Statutes are as foUows:]
A. Catalogue of Printed Collections, Translations and Abridge
ments of the Statutes of England and Great Britain.
B. List of Printed Sessional Publications of tbe Statutes of
England.
C. List of Originals, Records, and Manuscript Copies of tbe
Great Charters and of the Statutes ; specifying the
several Repositories wherein they are preserved.
D. Explanation of the Contractions used in printing the
Records and Manuscripts copied in the Collection of the
Statutes.
ri. Instances illustrative of the Nature of the Parliament
J Rolls ; and of the Method of Certifying Statutes into
J Chancery, in England and Ireland.
\JLl, Instancesof Exemplifications of Statutes from Chancery.
F. Observations on the Original Instruments in the Parlia
ment Office at Westminster, as compared with the
Journals of the House of Lords and the Inrolments in
Chancery, temp. Hen. VII. to I Car. I.
r Matters relating to CoUections of Statutes, published by
G. < Royal or Parliamentary Authority : I. In Scotland.
C II. In Ireland.
TT f Instances illustrative of the Method of » Promulgating
C Statutes : I. In England. II. In Scotland.
[There are short Prefaces to the succeeding volumes of the
Authentic Collection of the Statutes, The last two volumes con
tain the Indexes. ](1 6)
(16) [It may be imagined that Commissions, of which Lord Colchester was
during so many years an active member, did not faU to perceive the expediency

206 the. statutes of the realm.
of revising and consolidating our Statute Law. In 1806 it was resolved, that
Francis Hargrave, Esquire, one of his Majesty's Counsel learned in the Law,
should be requested to consider and report to the Board his opinion upon several
points, amongst which were the two foUowing :
" The best method of reducing the Statute Law into a smaller compass and
more systematic form, and of revising and amending the same, in the whole, oi
in part ; repealing what is obsolete and consolidating what consists of needless
repetition ; specifying the General Heads of the Statute Law most necessaary
to be dealt with in either way."
" The best method of rendering the style of our future Statutes more correct,
concise, and uniform iu their forms of expression, and at the same time more
perspicuous in the arrangement oftheir enactments and provisions ; with a State
ment of such practical rules as appear to be most effectual for this purpose."
Mr. Hargrave does not appear to have made any Report. See ante, pp. 139
—144.]

CHAP. VII.
THE EXON DOMESDAY— THE INQUISITIO ELI
ENSIS— THE WINTON DOMESDAY— AND THE
BOLDON BOOK.

[From tlie Introduction to the Supplementary Records of
Domesday,]
The Records supplementary to Domesday (1) compose
one volume: they are, I. The Exon Domesday; II. In-
(1) [In 1767, in consequence of an Address of the House of Lords, his
Majesty George III. gave directions for the publication, among other Re
cords, of the Domesday Survey. In the following year specimens, one executed
with types, the other by engraving, were submitted, by command ofthe Lords
of the Treasury, to the President and Council of the Society of Antiquaries, for
their opinion ; and an engraved copy ot the work appears to have been at first
considered as the most proper and advisable. At the close, however, of 1768,
the fairest and most perfect letter having been selected from different parts of
the Survey, a resolution was taken to print it with metal types. A fac-simile
type, uniform and regular, with tolerable exactness, though not with all the
conesponding nicety of the original, was at last obtained, and the publication
was entrusted to Mr. Abraham Farley, a gentleman of learning as well as of
great experience in Records, aud who had had almost daily recourse to the
book for more than forty years. It was not however till after 1770 that the
work was actually commenced. It was completed early in 1783, having been
ten years in passing through the press. The type with which it was executed
was destroyed in the fire which consumed Mr. Nichols's printing-office; in the
month of February, 1808.] *
[The late Right Honourable George Rose has given the following account
of the publication of Domesday : — " It was at first proposed, by the late
Dr. Morton, that the impression should be by fac-simile types, under his
care ; but it was made evident that an endeavour to effect a resemblance to
the original by types was not practicable, on account of the letters varying
perpetually in their size and shape; consequently, that an attempt of that
sort would tend only to mislead. Dr. Morton's plan was therefore abandoned.

208

THE EXON DOMESDAY.

QuisiTio Eliensis; III. The Winton Domesday; and
IV. The Boldon Book.
I. The Exon Domesday, the original of which is pre
served among the Muniments and Charters belonging to
the Dean and Chapter of Exeter Cathedral, is the first in
point of time. Its main body presents a description of
the western parts of the kingdom, comprising the counties
of Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and CornwaU; audit
is supposed, so far as it extends, to contain an exact tran
script of the original RoUs or Returns made by the Con
queror's Commissioners at the time of forming the general
survey, from which the Great Domesday itself was com
pUed. It is written on vellum, in the form of a book of
the smaU foUo size, containing five hundred and thirty-two
double pages. The skins, or sheets of vellum, of which it
is composed, vary in the number of leaves from one to
twenty; the lands of each ofthe more considerable tenants
beginning a new sheet, and those of almost every tenant
a new page. The lands in the counties of Devon, So
merset and Cornwall belonging to one tenant are classed
together; the counties following each other, though not
and the publication was entrusted to Mr. Farley, a gentleman of learning, as
well as of great experience iu Records,. and who had almost daily recourse to
the book for more than forty years. The uncommon correctness with which
it is printed proves how justly confidence was placed in the ability and accu
racy of the editor. His skill, however, in reading and explaining Records,
did not induce him to depart in a single instance from the original, even
where he found an apparent error. He made the copy for the press with the
same fidelity he would have copied any extract from the book to be produced
iu a court of justice, preserving every interlineation and contraction, that he
might put it out of his hands as a faithful transcript of the Survey." — See
Appendix to First Report of tlie Select Committee ofthe House qf Commons on the
Public Records, p. 40.]
[A volume containing Indices and several very learned Dissertations on
Domesday, the latter occupying nearly 90 folio pages, has also been printed by
the direction of the Commissioners on the Public Records.]

THE EXON DOMESDAY. 209
always in the same order ; and in like manner, the sum
maries of property in Wilts and Dorset are classed together.
In the transcription of this Record, difierent scribes ap
pear to have been employed in different parts. A vari
ation in the mode of writing the marks and abbreviations,
and more particularly in the contraction oiet, distinguishes
two if not three hands in a remarkable manner ; and we
have the evidence of the Record itself, in more than one
passage, that different persons were employed upon it. (2)
Three leaves relating to the Hundreds of WUtshire are
written upon vellum of a size much smaller than the rest
of the work, and in a hand more than proportionately mi
nute. About the end ofthe fourteenth or beginning ofthe
fifteenth century, the sheets of which this Manuscript is
composed were bound up in two volumes and paged, but
apparently without any particular view of arrangement,
and in so careless a manner, that the leaves containing the
lands of the same tenants were frequently placed in dif
ferent parts of the book. Preparatory to the publication
of this work the sheets were again separated; and have
been arranged as they are now printed, in the most ob
vious order, following, as near as the Record would per
mit, the plan of the Exchequer Domesday, and the whole
is now bound in one volume.
The Manuscript itself begins with the Inquisitio Geldi,
or taxation of the Hundreds of WUtshire, of which it con-

(2) At the bottom of fol. 316, in the original, though not appearing as a part
of the Manuscript, are these words, h. sc'psit Ricardus: and in* fol. 414, in
terposed between the words mans q. vocatur and Hanechefarda, we read, usq;
hue scripsit R. In the margin of fol. 317, lengthwise on the page, is the word
Probatio : the only notice of any examination. The hand -writing and colour of
the ink of pages 153 b, and 436 b, are distinct from the rest of the Manuscript.
The words ccmsummalu e several times occur in different parts, and once,
fol. 490, Consltmatii e usq; hue, P

210

THE EXON DOMESDAY.

tains no less than three copies, (3) the two last varying
here and there in substance, as well as in the mode of
expression, and in the names and order ofthe Hundreds;
the second copy contains nearly all the matter of the first,
with some additions in the margin; these additions the
third incorporates with the text, and appears something
Uke a corrected edition ofthe other two. In folio 11 and
lib, at the end of the second copy of the Inquisitio
Geldi for Wilts, is the Account of Shaftsbury, Dor
chester, Bridport, and Wareham in Dorsetshire, exactly
as in the Exchequer Domesday, (4) Shaftsbury not be
ing caUed by its proper name, as in the Great Domesday,
but as the Town of St. Edward. The Inquisitio Geldi
of Dorsetshire begins at fol. 17; after which the few
manors of that county contained in the Manuscript are in
serted between the Inquisitiones Geldi already mentioned,
and those of Devonshire, CornwaU, and Somersetshire: (5)
and at fol. 526 b, the Inquisitio Geldi for two Hundreds
of Somersetshire, which had not heen before noticed, is
preserved, together with the statement of the geld paid
by the manors of Torna and Torleherga, and by Malgerus
de Cartraio.(6)
The Inquisition for each Hundred states, 1. The total
number of hides. 2. The number held by the King and
his Barons in demesne, together with an enumeration of
(3) See fol. 1,7, 13.
(4) Domesd, tom. i. fol. 75.
(5) See fol. 65, 72, 75.
(6) The names of the Hundreds in Devonshire, Cornwall, and Somerset, oc
cur also in the Exon Domesday in distinct lists, fol. 63, 63 b, 64, and 64 b, but
occasionally differing both in number and spelling from those of the Inquisitiones
Geldi, It will be remembered that the only names of Hundreds in Wiltshire
mentioned in the Exchequer Domesday, and even those incidentally, are Cicem-
tone, Sutelesberg, (Domesd, tom. i. fol. 64 b,) and Wrderusteselle (Ibid, fol.
69 b ;) and, which is singular, the two last are not to be found in the Exeter
Domesday lists.

THE EXON DOMESDAY. 211
those for which the tax was not paid. 3. The number of
bides for which the tax was paid, and its amount. 4. The
tax in arrear, and the reasons for its so remaining. In
some instances the number of hides for which the tax was
paid, and its amount, follow the enumeration of the hides.
Throughout, the geld or tax, as has been noticed in the In
troduction to the Exchequer Domesday, is computed at
the rate of six shillings for every hide, differing in a few
places only by small fractions, and probably even then owing
to the mistakes of the copier. In the Hundred of Mere,
in Wiltshire, fifty-one hides paid £15. 6*. Od. 51x6=306
shilUngs. In the Hundred of Ramesberie, sixty hides paid
£18. 60X6=360 shillings. In the Hundred of Dunes-
lawe, twenty-four hides paid £7. 4s. Od. 24x6 = 144 shill
ings. In the Hundred of Scipa, sixty-three hides paid
£18. 18*. Od, 63X6=378 shillings. In Dorsetshire, in
Haltone Hundred, forty-five hides paid £12. 10*. Od.
45x6=270 shillings. In Pinpre Hundred there was paid
for thirteen hides, £3. 18*. Od. 13x6=78 shillings. In
Devonshire, in the Hundred of Hertilande, seven hides
paid £2. 2s, Od. 7x6=42 shiUings. In the Hundred of
Toritone, twenty-four hides paid £7. 4*. Od. 24x6=144
shiUings. In the Hundred of CarsewUla, thirty-two hides
paid £9. 12*. Od. 32x6=192 shilUngs. In CornwaU, in
the Hundred of Conarditone, ten hides paid £3. 0*. Od,
10x6 = 60 shillings. In the Hundred of Winnentone,
six hides paid £1. 16*. Od. 6X6=36. In Somersetshire,
in the Hundreds of Tantotone and Pipeministre a hun
dred hides paid £30. 100x6=600 shillings: In the
Hundred of Cainesham, fifty hides paid £15. 0*. Od,
50X6=300 shiUings. In the Hundred of Harechve,
sixty-one hides paid £18. 16*. Oc?. 61x6=366 shillings.
In each of the Hundreds of Betministre and Brunetone,
four hides paid £1. 4*. Od, 4X6=24 shillings. For forty
hides in the Hundred of Etheministre in Dorsetshire all
p2

212 THE EXON DOMESDAY.
but a virgate, the king had £12. 1*. 6c?. all but a half
penny. For fifty-six hides and a virgate and the third
part of a virgate in Hunesberge Hundred, £16. 18*. Od,
The money retained by the Collectores in Wiltshire, or
as they are in one instance caUed Congregatores Geldi, (7)
for their own use, is frequently mentioned. As, fol. 9,
" pro Ixxv. hid. et dim. §t reddit§ regi xxv. lib. 7 iii.
sol. Collectores retinuerunt x. sol." Ibid. " pro xxxil
hid. it redditf regi ix. 7 xii. sol. 11. d min®. 7 Col
lectores geldi retinuer. iiii. den." Fol. 14 b. " pro
Ixxxxiii. bid. diin. uirga minus, it redd§ regi xxvii.
lib. 7 III. sol. 7 VI. den." From the Inquisitio Geldi of
this county, however, the principle upon which their re
muneration was apportioned does not appear. In Dor
setshire, the Congregatores pecunice are mentioned three
times ; twice in cases of surcharge, as in the Hundreds of
Oglescome, fol. 17 b, and Go-chresdone, fol. 18; and
once as unduly retaining the produce of the tax, fol. 22 Jb,
in the Hundred of Gelingeham, " qz. iiii. Congregatores
huj^ pecuni§ ii reddideft. deR q°s recegunt. dedert vadi-
monium in misericordia ad reddendos denarios et ad
emendandum forisfacturam." The whole amount of the
Geld in Dorsetshire was £415. 8*. 9Jd of which forty
pounds were represented as still unpaid. In Devonshire,
the money paid to the Collectors is more regularly noticed.
Out of thirty-one hundreds in that county, the Fegadri,
who were the same persons (and who in one or two in
stances (8) are caUed Hundremanni) appear in twenty-
four to have retained by custom the tax of one hide for
their own use : " pro i. hida q" clamant Fegadri se debere
habere per consuetudinem non habuit Rex gUdum." In
three instances, in the Hundred of Mertona, fol. 65 b, in
Badentona, fol. 69, and in Dippeforda, fol. 69 b, they re-
(7) Fol. 9 b.
(8) See fol. 65, 65 b, 69.

THE EXON DOMESDAY. 213
ceived something less. In four other Hundreds their
claim of remuneration is unnoticed. At the end of Devon
shire we have the names of the persons who transmitted
the produce of the tax to the King's Treasury at Win
chester: " De III. hidis et una virga et uno fertino, de
quibus Fegadri dicunt se recipisse denarios [interlin, xx.
solidos] et deliberasse Willelmo Hostio et Radulfo de
Pomario qui debebant geldum portare ad Thesaurum
Regis Wintoniae, non habet Rex gildum," fol. 71. In
Cornwall, all mention of the collectors of the tax is
omitted. In Somersetshire, in the Hundred of Mele-
borne, it is said, " Fegadri retenuerunt sibi iii. sol." In
the Hundred of Abbedicche, it is said, " de i fertino 7
diirt. ii habuit Rex gildum suii de quib3 Fegadri ii potant
reddere nob ratione." fol. 81 b.
The entry which states the geld for Somersetshire to
have amounted to £509, is particularly deserving of at
tention, as it at least shows the expenses attending the
coUection of the tax in one county. " De Sumerseta
habet Rex de gildo suo d. libras et ix. libras in The-
sauro suo Wintoniffi: et illi qui portaverunt has Wintoniam
habuerunt xl. solidos de conregio suo : et inter saginarios
conducendos, et scriptorem, et forellos emendos, et ceram
dederunt ix. solidos et vm. denarios; et de 1. et unum
solidum et iii. denarios quos receperunt portatores Geldi
non habuit Rex denarium, et non potuerunt compotum
reddere. Hos vadiaverunt sese reddituros legatis regis."
At the end of this account is an abstract or summary of
the property of Glastonbury Abbey, in the Counties of
Wilts, Dorset, Devon, and Somerset; a summary of what
belonged to the Abbey of St. Petroc (9) in the county of
(9) At the end it is said, " Comes aut' de Moretunio, IX. man' aufert p'dicte
ecclie," (fol. 528 b.) The Earl of Moretaine's usurpations in other counties
have been already noticed in the Introduction to the Great Domesday,

214

THE EXON DOMESDAY.

CornwaU; and a similar enumeration ofthe lands of Ralph
de Mortuo Mari and Milo Crispin in Wilts, of Robertus
filius Giroldi in Wilts, Dorset, and Somerset, and ofthe
Earl of Moretaine in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Devonshire,
and Cornwall. The possessions of Robertus filius Gi
roldi being twice repeated.
The testimony of our historians respecting the raising
of the tax of six shillings upon every hide is quoted
in the General Introduction to the Great Domesday.
The Saxon Chronicle, Simeon of Durham, Florence
of Worcester, the Chronicle of Mailros, Hoveden, and
Henry of Huntingdon, representing it to have been levied
at the end of the year 1083, or the beginning of 1084,
immediately after the Queen's death, without any refer
ence whatever to its connection with the general survey :
while Matthew Paris and Matthew of Westminster make
the tax an immediate consequence of the Survey : " Anno
gratiae M.LXXXIH. idibus ApriUs obiit MatUdis regina,
senior uxor Gulihelmi regis, filia Baldewini Comitis Flan-
driae, et sepulta est cadomi in Monasterio Sanctae Mariae,
quod ipsa a fundamentis construxerat, et nobiliter dota-
verat. Eodem anno rex Gulihelmus misit justiciarium
per totam Angliam, per Comitatus, et inquirere fecit, et
diligenter perscrutari, quot jugata et virgata terrae, quid-
que uni miUti sufficere possit. Fecitque inquii-ere de
urbibus, et viUis, et viculis, ad quid in soUdum ascen-
derent. Inquisivit etiam quot animalia possent sufiicere
ad unius hydse culturam, et de fluminibus, paludibus,
sylvis, quem censum redderent per annum, et quot mihtes
essent in unoquoque Comitatu, ut sciret, quo numero
virorum posset, si tanta necessitas emergeret, confidere.
Quae omnia, in scripta redacta, et ad Westmonasterium
relata, in Thesaurum regium deferebantur reservanda.
Deinde senior, factus avarior et de rege tyrannior^ de

THE EXON DOMESDAY.

215

unoquoque aratro, id est hyda terrce totius Regni, sex
soUdos extorsit truculenter." (10) Kelham states it to
have been raised " to defray the expenses the King
had been at in compiling the survey." (1 1 ) An idea which
is sufficiently refuted by the amount of the tax : the pro
duce of it in any one county being more than adequate to
meet the expenses of the Commissioners in all. Certain
it is that the Record itself bears evidence that the tax
was raised at the time of the survey ; that it was con
nected with it ; and that, at least in the western counties,
it was collected by the same Commissioners.
Upon collating the returns of Lands wbich form the
great body of the Exeter survey with the Exchequer
Domesday, they have been found, with a few trifling
variations, to coincide. One entry of property alone being
discoverable in the Exeter which is omitted in the Ex
chequer Domesday ; relating to Sotrebroc in Devonshire :
" Floherus ht I. mansione qu§ uocaf Sotrebroc. qua tenuit
aluiet ea die qua rex E. f. u. 7 m. Et reddidit gildii p
dim. uirga. q" posst arare IIII. boues. 7 ualet ^ annii II.
soUd." The Exeter Manuscript, however, is not complete in its
contents. From the Index of Tenants in capite it will be
seen, that the only land in Wiltshire accounted for among
its entries, is a single manor belonging to William de
Moione, although in the summary in the folios 527 b,
528, and 530 b, the general number of manors belonging
in that county to Glastonbury Abbey, Ralph de Mortuo
Mari, MUo Crispin, and the Earl of Moretaine, are in
cluded. The possessions in Dorsetshire, contained in the
Exeter Domesday, are, all but two manors under the title
of Terra Regis, the lands belonging to the monasteries of
(10) Mat. Westm. edit. 1570, p. 8. See also Mat. Par. edit. 1640, p. 11.
sub an. 1083. '
(11) Domesd. Book Illustr, p. 6.

216

THE EXON DOMESDAY.

Cerne, Middleton, Abbotsbury, Athehngey, and Tavis
tock; those of WilUam de Moione, Walter de Clavile,
Roger Arundel, and Surlo de Burci ; all but one of the
manors belonging to the wife of Hugh Fitz Grip ; with
the whole property of the Earl of Boulogne. The rest,
amounting to no less than forty titles of tenants in capite,
are entirely omitted. In Somersetshire there is but one
omission only. The entry of Middeltone among the lands
of Walter de Dowai, in fol. 95, col. I., of the Great
Domesday, appears to have no corresponding entry in the
Exeter survey. In Devonshire, six manors among the
lands of Walter de Dowai, mentioned in the Great Domes
day, (12) are omitted : but these have evidently been cut
out and lost. The same was undoubtedly the case with
five manors, and the mention of a house in Exeter be
longing to Rualdus Adobed. The description of this
baron's property ends abruptly, in the middle of the manor
of Docheorde : and should have contained, according to
the Exchequer Survey, the account of Avetone, Alfelmes-
tone, Hainemardvn, Wicerce, MachesweUe, and the notice
of the house in Exeter already spoken of The other
omissions in Devonshire, according to the titles in the
Exchequer Survey, consist of the manor of Witelei, and
two houses in Barnstaple belonging to Robert de Albe-
marla ; the lands of Robert Bastard, Richard Fitz Turold,
Alured Brito, Hervey de HeUon, Godeboldus, Nicholas
Bahstarius, Fulcherus, and Haimericus ; together with
eleven manors under the title of Terres Servientium
Regis, (13) In CornwaU, every manor mentioned in the
Exchequer occurs in the Exeter Domesday.
In the spelling of the names of places and persons there
is a remarkable difference between the two Records. In
(12) These were Dvnesford, Lilelracheneford, Esprewei, Svtreworde, Go-
drintone, and Hetfelle. See Domesd,\om. i. fol. 111b. 112.
(13) Domesd. tom. i. fol. 113, 113b, 115b, 117, 117b.

THE EXON DOMESDAY. 217
the Exeter Survey, the names of places have almost in
variably a Latin termination, which is not usuaUy the case
in the Exchequer Domesday. The caprice, however,
with which they have been written as to spelling, either in
one or in the other Record, is unaccountable : some
manors being only traceable in collating with the Exche
quer Survey, by the names of the owners, or the particu
lars of the estate. Rilehetona, in the Exon Domesday,
fol. 101, is Chilchetone in the Great Domesday, tom. i.
fol. 120. Modiforda, Exon. fob 116, is Mundiforda in
Domesd. tom. i. fol. 87. Pillanda, Exon. fol. 127 b. is
Wetland, Domesd. tom. i. fol. 102 b. Pediccheswella,
Exon. ibid, is Wedicheswelle, Domesd. tom. i. fol. 102 b.
Ailevescota, Exon. fol. 127, is Ailesuescota in Domesday,
ibid. Pi . . . na, Exon. fol. 127 b. is Wiltone, Domesd.
tom. i. fol. 102 b. Illebera, Exon. fol. 139 b. is Lilebere,
Domesd. tom. i. fol. 88. Padenab'ia, Exon. fol. 172, is
Wadeneberie, Domesd. tom. i. fol. 90. Gluinauit, Exon.
fol. 231 b. is Clunewic, Domesd. tom. i. fol. 123 a. Poc-
cahetilla, Exon. fol. 233 b. is Pochehelle, Domesd. tom. i.
fol. 124. Trenidered, Exon. fol. 245 b. is Trewderet,
Domesd. tom. i. fol. 124 b. Dueltona, Exon. fol. 295, is
Oveltone, Domesd. tom. i. fol. 106 b. Lidefort, Exon.
fol. 355, is Tideford, Domesd. tom. i. fol. 114. Cvrem'-
tone, Exon. fol. 484, is Citremetona, Domesd. tom. i. fol.
118. WirlbesUga, Exon. fol. 488, is Wasberlege, Domesd.
tom. i. fol. 118 b. Peret, Exon. fol. 88 b. is corrected in
the Exchequer Domesday to Nort Peret, tom. i. fol. 86-
Among the more observable differences ir» the names
of persons, it may be noticed, that Ulwardus Wite, men
tioned in the Exon Domesday, fol. 1 16, is called Vlmardus
Albus in the Exchequer Domesday, tom. i. fol. 87. The
Abbat of Battle in Sussex is caUed Abbas de Plio in the
Exon Domesday, fol. 195; but in the Exchequer Domes
day, fol. 104, Abbas de Labatailgc, Abbas de Aliennia

218 THE EXON DOMESDAY.
Exon. fol. 280, is Abbatia de Adelingi in Domesday.
Adret, Exon. fol. 488, is both Eldred and Edred, Domesd.
tom. i. fol. 118. Bristecus, Exon. fol. 489, is Brictric,
Domesd. tom. i. fol. 118. Willielmus Capra of Exon.
fol. 398, is Willielmus Chievre in Domesday.
The names of tenants in King Edward's time are far
more numerously preserved in the Exon than in the Ex
chequer Domesday.
In tbe systematic arrangement of the subject matter,
tbe Exchequer Domesday bears unquestionably a decided
preference over tbe Exon Domesday. Occasional inser
tions in the margin of the Exon Survey, are entered in
the text of that in the Exchequer. (14) One instance
occurs of the repetition of a manor in different pages of
the Exon. (15) The manors divided between the foUos
117 b, and 120, in the Exon Domesday, belonging to the
canons of Exeter Cathedral, for their maintenance, de
victu Canonicorum, are brought together in the Great
Domesday, and marked C. The lands of the Bishop of
Coutance, Exon. fol. 121, as weU as those of other barons,
are intermixed without any reference to arrangement. (16)
Those belonging to the Bishop of Coutance, which Drogo
held, are put together in tbe Domesday Survey, to the
number of seventy-three. In fol. 161 of Exon, although
the title of the lands described is Terra Abbatis Glas-
tingheberiensis in Devenescira, yet in fact there is only
one of the manors in that county; the rest are aU in
Somersetshire, and are entered as such in the Great
Domesday. On the contrary, in fol. 194 of Exon, the
Terr^ Ecclesiarum quce dates sunt S'cis in Elemosina,
from aU that appears on the face of the work, are in
Somersetshire ; whereas they are really in Devonshire,
(14) See fol. 39 b, 85, 94 b, 349 b.
(15) Touretone, fol. 98, 110 b.
( 16) See also the Earl of Moretaine's lands, fol. 272 b, &c.

THE EXON DOMESDAY. 219
and are SO accounted in the Exchequer Domesday. (17)
In fol. 225 b, 226, 226 b, and 227 ofthe Exon Domesday,
are entries of property held by the Earl of Moretaine
which had been previously entered among the Terrce
Regis dominicce in CornwaU, fol. 99, 99 b, 100. In the
Great Domesday they are entered once only, as members
of the King's manor of Winetone. (18) In like manner,
the custom of the lands in Cruca held of the King's manor
of Sudperet in Somersetshire, though only once entered
in the Great Domesday, (19) occurs intentionally twice in
the Exeter ; once under the King's lands, and once under
the Earl of Moretaine's, (20) as the under tenant. The
entry of the Exon Domesday of the manor of Mundiforda,
as tbe Earl of Moretaine's, is worth notice. In the Great
Domesday, (21) this entry is put at the end of the lands
of Baldwin de Execestre ; but, certainly by mistake : the
words " ten. de Co." showing it to belong to the Earl of
Moretaine. At the folios 495, 507, 508, are certain lands under the
title of Terres occupatce, in the counties of Devonshire,
Cornwall, and Somerset ; consisting of larger or smaller
quantities of territory, from half a virgate to one, or even
more manors. These appear generally to have been held
in the time of King Edward the Confessor, independently,
by persons of the rank of thanes ; but, at the time of
taking the survey, either by Norman barons or their
tenants, annexed to some other manor, and their valuation
included in the tax of that manor. These lands are
mentioned in the Exchequer Domesday, as well as in the
former part of the Exeter Domesday, at the end of the
respective manors to which they were attached : the re
petition of them in the Great Domesday, it is probable,
(17) Domesd. tom. i. fol. 104. (18) Domesd. tom. i. fol. 120.
(19) Domesd. tom. i. fol. 86. (20) Exon Domesd. fol. 89, 265.
(21) Domesd, tom. i. fol. 93.

220 THE EXON DOMESDAY.
under the title of Terrce occupatce, was thought unne
cessary. The most striking feature, however, of the Exeter
Domesday, in which it uniformly supplies us with addi
tional knowledge to that in the Exchequer Survey, is the
enumeration of live stock upon every estate ; an account
of tbe number of oxen, sheep, goats, horses, and pigs;
exactly in the same manner as it is given in the second
volume of the Great Domesday. The reason for omitting
this enumeration in the breviated entries of the first volume
of the Great Survey, is self-evident. The live stock was
altering every day and year ; the enumeration of it, there
fore, could be of -no further use than for the time when
tbe survey was made. A comparison of this part of the
Exeter with the second volume of the Great Survey, tends
greatly to corroborate the notion, that the returns of the
counties of Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, were transcribed
in full from the Original Rotuli, in the same manner as the
Exeter Domesday. It is singular, that in Essex, as has
been noticed in the Introduction to the Great Domesday,
soldarii is once used for miUtes. (22) The counties of
Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, it wiU be remembered, have
almost as marked a variation in their language from the
first volume of Domesday, as the Exeter Survey.
The difference between the two surveys as to diction,
where they agree in sense, is incidentally noticed in the
introduction to the great Domesday. It wiU not be ir
relevant here to exemplify the observation.
Exchequer Domesday. Exon Survey.
Aera  Agra.
ad arsuram  ad combustionem.

(22) Ad uictu' soldariorum, in the account of Colchester, Domesd, tom. n,
fol. 107.

THE EXON DOMESDAY.

221

Exchequer Domesday. Exon Survey,
Censores  Gablatores.
Clerici  Sacerdotes.
Geldabat  reddidit GUdum.
Leuca  Leuga.
Manerium  Mansio
ad opus MUitum .... ad Solidarios.
Molendinum  Molinus.
Nummi  Denarii.
in Paragio  Pariter.
Portarii  Portitores.
Pastura  Pascua
Poterat ire quo uoleb (tom. poterat sibi eUgere dnm scdm
i.) fol. 97 b. voluntate sua c tra sua
(fol. 383).
Quarentena  Quadragenaria.
Sylva  Nemusculum.
T. R. E  Die q' rex E. f. v. & m.
Tainus  Tagnus.
Terra e VIII. car. . . . posi arare VIII. carr.
Terra Regis  Dominicatus Regis, and, in
one instance, Dominicatus
Regis ad Regnum per-
tinens.
IIIL lib. 7 XXXV et denar. IIII. lib. & III. sol. I. den.
minus.
Totu ualet XXI lib. . . Haec mans, reddit ad opus
abb X 7 VIII. lib. 7 ad
opus tagnorum* III lib.
(fol. 37 b.).
Vidua  Vidua fcemina.
In the last folio of the Exeter Domesday are certain
Titles of lands similar to those which are placed at the
head of most of the Counties in the Exchequer Domesday.

THE INQUISITIO ELIENSIS.
II. The Inquisitio Eliensis is a document of the
same kind with the Exeter Domesday ; relating to the
property of the Monastery of Ely, recorded afterwards in
the two volumes of tbe Domesday Survey. It is pre
served in a register of the Monastery remaining among
the Cotton Manuscripts in the British Museum, marked
Tiberius, A. VI. and is at least as old as the twelfth cen
tury (23). Another Copy of this Inquisition is contained in
the chartulary of Ely Monastery, preserved in Trinity
College, Cambridge, called by Gale Liber Eliensis.
In point of form, arrangement, contents, peculiarities,
redundancies of entry, and diction, it very much resembles
the Exeter Survey. It contains the same enumeration of
live stock ; and beside the lands actually held by the
Monastery, it formally details the state of those which
were granted out as thainlands as well as of those of which
the abbat had the soke only (24). It opens with the In
quisition already mentioned in the Introduction to the
Exchequer Survey, followed by the names of the jurors in
the different hundreds of Cambridge and Hertfordshire
only. The Abbey property in Cambridgeshire begins in
folio 2. That in Hertfordshire at folio 12 b. Essex, in
folio 13. Norfolk, with the entry of Teodforda, in folio
14 b. Suffolk at folio 19 b. and Huntingdonshire in the
middle of folio 29. The statement of the lands held by
the Abbey in demesne in the counties of Essex, Norfolk,
and Suffolk, generally speaking, corresponds minutely
with the letter of the Returns in the second volume of
Domesday. (23) [The portion only of this Manuscript relating to the possessions of the
Church of Ely, has been published by the Record Commissioners. The second,
portion, entitled Inquisitio de terris quas laid tenuerunt in Grantelyriggescyra, is
yet inedited. Quarterly Review, vol. 39, p. 55.]
(24) These are summarily mentioned in the Exchequer Survey, under the
lands of the different Barons who then actually held them.

THE inquisitio ELIENSIS. 223
Where the Ely Inquisition differs in sums or num
bers from the Exchequer Survey, the variation is proba
bly to be laid to the fault ofthe transcriber; who has here
and there made likewise trifling omissions. Throughout,
where the Exchequer Survey reads averam the transcriber
of the Ely Inquisition has put auram. From the words
" de toto quod habemus," which precede the valuation
of the Abbey receipts in three counties (25), it may
be presumed that the Ely Inquisition was the Abbot's
return to the inquiries of the King's justiciaries. It is
remarkable that commendatio, which has generally been
considered as confined to the counties in the second vo
lume of Domesday, occurs twice in the Ely Inquisition in
Cambridgeshire. The difference in the names of places is full as remark
able in the Inquisitio Eliensis as in the Exeter Domesday.
In Cambridgeshire, £Mre*(]?owe, in Domesd. tom. i. fol. 199,
is Neuueretona in the Inq. Elien. fol. 6. Witeseie,
Domesd. tom. i. fol. 191 b, is Wittleseia in the Inq. fol.
8 b. In Essex, Dommauu, Domesd. tom. ii. fol. 18 b, is
Dunham in the Inq. fol. 13. Broccheseuot, Domesd. ibid.
is Brocchessene in the Inquisition. Phenbrugge, Domesd.
tom. ii. fol. 97 b, is Fambrugge, Inq. fol. 13 b. In Nor
folk, Hidlingeia, Domesd. tom. ii. fol. 212 b, is Halingai,
Inq. fol. 15. Esingatuna, Domesd. tom. ii. fol. 213 a, is
Singatone, Inq. fol. 15. Breham, Domesd. tom. ii. ibid.
is Brethenham, Inq. fol. 15 b. Cauelea, Domesd. tom.
u. fol. 214 b, is Celuelia, Inq. fol. 16 b. Dodenham,
Domesd. tom. ii. fol. 214 b, is Tudeneham, In(}. fol. 16 b.
Jachesham, Domesd. tom. ii. fol. 17, is Lachesham, Inq.
fol. 17. Plestuna, Domesd. tom. ii. fol. 214 b, is Priles-
(25) These are Cambridgeshire, (fol. II.) £318. 3s. Od. ; Hertfordshire,
(fol. 13.) £50. Os. Od. ; Norfolk, (fol. 17 b.) £100. 8s. Od. ; making a total
of £468. Ils. Od. The total of the valuations for Essex, Suffolk, and Hunt
ingdonshire, is omitted.

224

THE WINTON DOMESDAY.

tona, Inq. fol, 17. In Suffolk, Laringahetlia, Domesd.
tom. ii. fol. 382, is Lacking ehetha, Inq. fol. 24. Landale,
Domesd. ibid, is Vndelai, Inq. fol. 24. Clamesford,
Domesd. tom. ii. fol. 382, is Glammesforda, Inq. fol. 24 b.
In the names of Persons, the variations are fewer:
though in two or three instances deserving notice. Wil
lelmus de Warene of Domesday, is uniformly caUed Wil
lelmus de Warra. Tochi, Domesd. tom. i. fol. 196 b, is
Thorkillus in the Inq. fol. 5. Turbernus, Domesd. tom. i.
fol. 198 b, is Turbertus in the Inq. fol. 5 b. yEdricus pur,
Domesd. tom. i. fol. 200, is ^dricus pur, Inq. fol. 6.
R. de Bellafagou, Domesd. torn. ii. fol. 14 b, is R, de
Belfou, Inq. fol. 16 b.
III. The Winton Domesday, formerly the property of
James West, Esquire, and now preserved in the archives
ofthe Society of Antiquaries of London, consists of two
distinct Parts or Records, both written upon vellum.
The first is entitled, " Liber de Terris Regis reddentib3
Langbatm. 7 Brug in Wint. sicut solebant reddere tem
pore Regis Edwardi," and occupies twelve leaves of the
Manuscript in double columns. The second Record
begins at folio 13 b, " H§c est Inq'sitio de terris Win toil.
quisq's ten. 7 qu^tu teii. 7 de quociiqj teS, 7 qu^tri quiscj,
inde cap. pcepto Epi. Henf. anno ab incarnat. dni
M. C. xlviij." and occupies twenty leaves. Immediately
following the title of the first portion is a rubrick, stating
that King Henry the First, desirous of ascertaining
what King Edward the Confessor held in Winchester,
as of his own demense, ordered this Survey to be made
upon the oaths of the burgesses. An inquest was ac
cordingly taken by four score and six of the sjiperior
burgesses, in the presence of WiUiam the bishop, Her
bert the chamberlain, Ralph Basset, Geffrey Ridel and
WilUam de Pontearcbar. WilUam Giffard, Bishop of
Winchester, was consecrated in 1107; and, as he died

the WINTON DOMESDAY. 225
according to Wharton (Anglia Sacra, part i. pp. 278, 299)
in 1128, the Survey must have been taken some time
between the two years.
Mr. Gough, in bis British Topography, vol. i. p. 388,
has printed the substance of a Letter addressed by
Bishop Lyttelton to the Society of Antiquaries on the
two Records here transcribed. In the first Bishop Lyt
telton observes, a few words are used which are not found
in the Exchequer Domesday, such as Chenicte, Eschamel
Renta, Hantachenesle, Escheopes, Managium, Wata, &c.
though some of them are in Du Cange. Wata, he ob
serves, seems to have been a tax like Danegelt, from
which few houses in Winchester were exempt. The
great number of sur-names in this Record, among the
tenants of King Edward the confessor, is very remarkable,
as Alwinus Idessone, Edwinus Godeswale, Brumanus de
la Forda, Leuret de Essewem, in the first page only ; these
Bishop Lyttelton considered must have been Normans
settled here by the King. Among the particulars in this
Record more peculiarly interesting to the topographer
may be mentioned the notice of a royal house in the
City (26), distinct from that of the King. Five mints,
which had before existed, are represented to have been
put down by King Henry (27), and several almshouses are
mentioned distinct from the charities bestowed on reli
gious houses (28). Throughout the Record, house-rent
appears to be rated extremely high, considering the
scarcity of money. In fol. 2, the Monks of St. Swithin
are represepted to have held a house of Godwin Soccho
master moneyer to the Confessor, at the rent of thirty-
(26) " Domus Emme Regine," fol. 5 b.
(27) " In mercato fuerunt v. monete. que ft diffacte p'cepto reg'." 4 b.
(28) " ipse Osb't' [fili' Thiardi] posuit ibi v. bordell' parte, in uico Regis,
7 fecit eos p' amore d'i ad hospitandu paup'es," fol. 6 b.
Q

226 THE WINTON DOMESDAY.
seven shilUngs. In fol. 4, a house held by Herbert de
St. Quintin occurs at the rent of seventy-four shillings and
sixpence. Sapaland, a monastery unknown either to
Dugdale or Tanner, occurs in more than one entry in fol. 9 ;
and in one article we have the mention of a priests
wife. The following are the names of the streets of Win
chester' mentioned in this first Record : Swithelinga Street,
Bredenestret, Scowertenestret, Alwarenesfret, Flesmang-
erestret, Wenegenestret, Tanerestret, Bucchestret, Cal-
pestret, Goldestret, and Gerestret. The Inquisition of
1148 has fewer observable peculiarities than the Survey of
the time of Henry the First ; the opulence of the inha
bitants may possibly be gathered from the frequent recur
rence of the trade of Goldsmith in it ; and the populous-
ness of the town from the enumeration of the following
streets, in addition to those already noticed from the
former Record ; Magnus Vicus (or High Street), Silde-
wortenestret, Wunegerestret, and Menstrestret ; Fish-
mongerstret, mentioned both by Bishop Lyttelton and
Mr. Gough, certainly does not occur in either of the Re
cords. In the petition from the city of Winchester to
King Henry the Sixth, in 1450, no less than nine of these
streets are mentioned as having been ruined. It may be
curious to notice that at fol. 22 and 31 in the second
Record here transcribed, a bezant (1 bisant) twice occurs
as the denomination of a payment ; and it will be found
to be mentioned several times in the Bolden Book.
IV. — The Boldon Book, or Survey of the Palatinate
of Durham. In the year 1183, Hugh Pudsey, called
also,,de Puteaco, de Pusar, and de Pusaz, nephew to
Stephen King of England, caused this survey to be made,
since known by the name of the Boldon Book.
It probably had its name from Boldon, a village and
parish near Sunderland in the same diocese, where either
it was compUed, or according to the census of whose in-

THE BOLDON BOOK.

227

habitants, the other manors, &c. in that bishopric were
regulated. This latter is the most probable origin of the
name ; for, in the account of rents and services required
of other places, reference is frequently made to those
rendered by the people of Boldon. Its title in the Laud
MS. 542, shows at once the nature and design of the
work : "Inquisitio de Consuetudinibus et Redditibus totius
Episcopatus Dunelmensis; facta per Hugonem Episco
pum, Anno 1183." Of the motives or reasons which led
to this compilation, we have no record : but Bishop Pud
sey affected the state of a sovereign in his own palatinate;
in which there were many royal rights, which had been
enjoyed by its prelates long before the Conquest, and were
continued long after ; several of which remain even to the
present day. And perhaps it was in consequence of these
exclusive rights, that when the general census, known by
the name of Domesday Book, was made, the bishopric of
Durham was passed by, as it was found to contain no
rights which could be claimed by the monarch, without
trenching on those which had been possessed by its bishops
through a long series of years.
The autograph of the Boldon Book has probably long
since perished ; or, if it exists, the place of its deposit is
unknown. Three different copies of it, possessing dif
ferent degrees of perfection, remain : 1 . One in the
Bishop's Auditor's Ofiice, Durham. 2. One in the library
of the Dean and Chapter in the same city. 3. One among
the Manuscripts of Archbishop Laud, at Oxford.
1 . A fair and accurate transcript of the Manuscript in
the Bishop's Auditor's Office, Durham, collated in select
places with that in the library of the Dean and Chapter of
the same city, was made in 1812. The MS. in the Audi
tor's Ofiice appears to have been written about A.D.
1400; and is appended to Bishop Hatfield's Survey, a
q2

228

THE BOLDON BOOK.

work of a similar nature. On the back of the fasciculus
which contains both these surveys, is written, Supervisus
tempore Thome Hatfield Epi. Supervisus tempore Hu
gonis Epi. 1183. To this latter superscription, a more
modern hand has added these words : Boldon Book.
2. The Manuscript in the library ofthe Dean and Chapter
at Durham is supposed to be of the time of Henry the
Fourth, and is contained in a volume which is called the
First Register. It begins thus, Incipit Boldon Buke.
3. The third copy of this Record is in the Bodleian
Library, among the Laud Manuscripts, and is marked
Laud, 542. It is a broad thin quarto, consisting of
twenty-five pages, closely and neatly written, apparently
by a Northern or Scottish scribe. Sixteen pages and a
half are occupied with the text of the Boldon Book: the
others contain copies of Charters, Inquisitions, &c. relating
to the rights and privileges of the see of Durham. This
Manuscript was formerly bound in blue velvet, little more
than the ground of which is now remaining. Its title has
been noticed above. At the top of the first page is the
following entry : Incipit Liber qui vocatur Boldon Book ;
and at the bottom. Liber Guilielmi Laud, Archieip Can
tuar ei Cancellarii Universitatis Oxon, 1633. On the
same page is the autograph of Cuthbert Tunstal, Cuth-
bertus Dunelme, who was Bishop of Durham in 1530. It
appears that this Manuscript has been most faithfully
copied, either from the original Survey, or from some
very authentic transcript. The scribe has followed his
original in the most scrupulous and exact manner; and
has evidently copied all its contractions, as well as its
words. This appears from the following circumstance :
the writer seems to have kept his eye constantly on his
exemplar ; and to have corrected his work, word by word,
as he proceeded. Hence it often happens that in writing

THE BOLDON BOOK.

229

a contracted word, if, on immediate examination, he found
he had put in one letter too much or too little, be instantly
ran his pen through the word, and wrote the proper con
traction after it, in the same line ; not above it, as he must
have done had he waited to collate his transcript with the
original when his work was finished. While such a tran
script remains, it is a subject of comparatively little
regret tbat the autograph is lost ; as many reasons might
be adduced to render it very probable that this is a
faithful copy of the original Boldon Book. From this
Manuscript tbe published copy was taken. The various
readings in the margin were taken from the transcript of
the copy in the Bishop's Auditor's Office at Durham,
collated as above mentioned with that in the library of the
Dean and Chapter.
This Record is, on several accounts, of great import
ance. 1. It is a valuable supplement to Domesday Book,
supplying a material defect in that Record. 2. It is of
great importance to the see and palatinate of Durham, as
it is frequently appealed to, and has been admitted as
evidence in trials at law, on the part of succeeding bishops,
to ascertain their property and seignorial rights. 3. It
serves to cast light on ancient tenures, customs, manners,
and services. 4. It contains many words which are not
found in Du Cange, nor any of his continuators ; the
meaning of which, from their connection with others well
understood in the Boldon Book, may in general be easily
ascertained. 5. It contains several curious references to
the mode of living among our ancestors in the twelfth
century, their amusements, diet, coin, the price of labour,
&c. &c. which may furnish the antiquary and historian
with valuable materials, either for a more improved topogra
phical history of the palatinate in particular, or for a more
accurate account of EngUsh customs and manners in the

230

THE BOLDON BOOK.

twelfth century in general. As a supplement to Domes
day Book it is peculiarly valuable. (1) (2) (3)
(1) [The Survey which may be considered as the Domesday qf North Wales
is perhaps equally important with most of the works noticed in the present com
pilation. " About the 26th Edwaid IIL, John Delves, acting as lieutenant of the
Earl of Arundel, made his cifcuit throughout the country, for the purpose of
ascertaining not only the value of the royal demesnes, but also the local tenures,
customs, and powers. Adopting the ancient course, he summoned the land
holders, as well free as bond, and their declaration upon oath was examined or
verified by the juries empannelled in each ' commot,' being substantially the
same process as was employed by the Conqueror. These reports were com
pleted with so much accuracy, that every parcel of land can still be identified ;
yet so complete has been the introduction of English law, in the Principality,
that the best informed of the Cymric antiquaries are unable to give a satisfactory
interpretation of the tenures specified iu the extent, and of which the knowledge
is lost in the mist of antiquity.
" The Qriginal extents, which were deposited in the exchequer at Caernarvon,
have been long since dispersed and destroyed. Copies of those relating to
Anglesey, Caernarvon, and Denbigh, made about the reign of Henry VIL,
are extant in two volumes, in the Harleian collection, which appear to have
belonged to the Court of Wards. A translation of the Extent of Anglesey, by
the late Mr. Parry, has been published, with transactions of the Cymmrodorion.
It is highly desirable, however, that the original should be printed." — Quarterly
Review, vol. xxxix. p. 58.]
(2) [" It is not unusual to describe Domesday as a badge of Norman tyranny.
That the survey was prompted by the stern and rigid principles of government
adopted by the Conqueror, cannot be denied ; but instead of being calculated
to enlarge his authority, it was in truth an admission of the restriction of his
power. Had he considered himself as an absolute monarch, governing by right
of conquest, there would have been little necessity to inquire into the preroga
tives of Edward the Confessor. New lords had become seised of the halls of
the Saxon Thanes ; and few indeed of the English aristocracy enjoyed any
share of wealth or honour. StiU the law was unshaken and unchanged. The
record which testified the extent of the rights of the sovereign was an equal
protection to the humble socman — who, if his franchises were invaded, was
thereby enabled to claim his ploughland with as much certainty as the king
could assert his wide-spreading prerogative. The precedent, so given, was
soon universally adopted : every prelate and every baron imitated the pro
ceedings of the royal courts, as closely as could be effected by the constitution
of the seignorial tribunal ; the value of the rents of the manor, and the services

THE BOLDON BOOK. 231
of the bondmen, were investigated by proceedings modelled after the prototype
of Winchester ; and every extent of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, that is
to say, an inquiry into their nature and value, effected by means of a jury em
pannelled before the escheator, the sheriff, or any other person delegated by the
crown, derives its origin from the proceedings of the Exchequer of the Con
queror. " One of the principal objects of tbe Domesday Survey, was to ascertain the
number of hydes which were to be charged with the Danegeld. This land-tax
was assessed at the rate of six shillings per hyde, amounting, on the average,
to one hundred acres ; and until the land was brought under the plough it does
not appear to have been liable to the payment. The increase of cultivation
may, therefore, have been one of the causes which induced the ambitious Flam
bard to advise another survey, which was considered as one of the greatest
grievances of the tyranny of the Red King. Other general surveys, in the
nature of Domesday, were made from time to time. Henry 1. made similar
inquiries, and a most curious description of Winchester is extant, resulting from
the inquest of the eight score and six burgesses impannelled before the Com
missioners, in which we have the particulars of every house in the city which
paid ' Landgable' or ground-rent to the King in the days of Edward the Con
fessor, and at the period when the Survey was made. It is uncertain to what
period we are to refer the fragments of another general Survey hitherto un
noticed, and affording some important particulars relating to tenure which are
omitted in Domesday. For instance, from the description of the boroughs of
Winchcombe and Gloucester, we ascertain that the burgesses had a certain
estate by inheritance in their burgages, and which was not divested by the Con
quest."* — Quarterly Reviev}, vol. xxxix. p. 57.]
(3) [Short notices of the Exon Domesday, the Inquisitio Eliensis, the Win
ton Domesday, and the Boldon Book, may be found in Nicolas, Notitia
Histoi'ica, p. 108, and Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, pp. 2, 3.]
* " ' In Wincelcumbe, in dominio Regis Edwardi erant Ix Burgenses reddentes
xli sol. de gablo per annum. De hiis sunt Iii in hereditate su^ manentes.'
" ' Gbucestr', Tempore Regis Edwardi erant in civitate ecc Burgenses in
dominio, reddentes xviii. li. et x sol. de gablo per annum. De hiis sunt c tres
minus residentes in propria hereditate, et c tres minus manentes in emptis man-
sionibus, Francigens et Anglici.' "

CHAPTER VIII.
ANCIENT PLACITA— ROLLS OF THE CURIA
REGIS.

Account of the Publication intituled Abbreviatio Pla
citorum, in Domo Capitulari Westmonast. asservatorum.
Temp. Regum Ric. I., Job., Hen. III. et Edw. I. II.
[From the Preface to the Work,]
The Work was printed under the immediate direction,
superintendence, and revision of the Right Honourable
George Rose, Keeper of the Records in the Treasury of
the Court of the Receipt of the Exchequer, preserved in
the Chapter House of the Abbey of Westminster, from
several volumes of Abstracts of Pleadings during the
reigns of Kings Richard the First, John, Henry the
Third, Edward the First, and Edward tbe Second, made
by Mr. Arthur Agarde, and other Keepers of such Records
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. '
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 framed for the most part from RoUs
ofthe 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 was
therefore printed under the title of Placitorum Abbre
viatio, During the reigns of Edward the First and Se
cond, far the greater part of the Abstract is coUected from

ANCIENT PLACITA.
RoUs of Pleadings in the King's Bench; there are, however,
numerous Pleadings under the foUowing mixed titles,
viz. :—
" Placita coram Domino Rege in Parliamento suo
apud Westminster," p. 321.
¦' Placita coram Domino Rege & ConcUio suo," pp.
186, 262, 277.
" Placita coram Concilio Domini Regis," pp. 118, 119,
129, 137, 185, 186, 264, and 277.
" Placita coram Domino Rege et locum suum tenen-
tibus," pp. 271, 274, 275.
" Placita coram Domino Rege vel locum ejus tenenti-
bus," p. 274.
" Placita coram locum tenentibus Domini Regis," pp.
242, 262, 274, 275, 279, 280, 281.
" Placita coram Domina Regina & Concilio Domini
Regis," p. 128.
" Placita coram Archiepiscopo Ebor' & Concilio Domini
Regis, pp. 118, 119.
" Placita coram H. le Bygod, Justiciar' Anglie," pp.
146, 149.
" Placita Exercitfts Regis," pp. 300, 301.
Besides the above, the Abstract contains Pleadings
during the reigns of Henry the Third and Edward the
First, before the Justices Itinerant, pp. 36, 39, 41, 43,
63, 70, 71, 115, 120, 122, 125, 126, 143, 144, 152, 153,
and 154; and also before the Justices of Assize, pp. 34,
64, 68, 103, 127, 128, 145, 153, 159.
Thoughout the whole much important matter will be
found, relating to Petitions of Right, and to the Parlia
ment and the Concilium Regis; and firequent references
from each of them to the King's Bench, and again from
that Court to the Pariiament, viz.
Petitions and Proceedings in Parliament occur in pp.
235, 241, 247, 248, 251, 254, 324, 335.

234 ROLLS OF THE CURIA REGIS.
Petitions sent to the Justices of the Kuig's Bench, to be
there enroUed, pp. 241, 324, 328, 335.
Pleadings before the King, and before the King and
his CouncU, adjourned into Parliament, pp. 211, 253, 255,
264, 289, and 290.
Pleadings also from the King's Bench remitted to Par
liament, and by the Parliament again sent to that Court
to be determined, pp. 253, 255, 256, and 258.
Proceedings in Error, from the King's Bench to the
ParUament, wUl be met with in pp. 211, 249, 344, et
passim. The Expenses of Knights attending the Parliament,
are noticed in pp. 332 and 334.
Petitions of Right addressed to the King, are ih pp.
208, 228, 256, et passim.
And many instances of their being sent to the Justices
of the King's Bench to be determined, at pp. 258, 260,
261, 313.
Petitions to the King and his CouncU, delivered to the
Judges of the King's Bench, that justice might be there
done to the parties, pp. 302, 346.
In addition to points of general learning to be found
herein, respecting the Parliament and the Concilium
Regis, as they severally stood in relation to the Court of
King's Bench ; this Abstract furnishes much other inte
resting matter in the Law, the History, and the Customs
of the Country : among the most material heads, briefly
noticed in the Index Rerum, the foUowing may afford
some idea of the nature and utiUty of the Work, viz.
Appeals of Murder and other Felonies — Assise — At
taint. — Under these heads much obsolete Law and many
curious Customs are observable.
Bridges and Sewers. — It will be seen, under this title,
who are, in many instances, Uable to the repairs of Bridges
and Sea Walls.

ANCIENT PLACITA.

235

Charters and Grants to Corporations ; Concords and
Fines in Real Actions, and Deeds between Party and
Party, are enrolled throughout the RoUs from whence
the Abstract is taken.
Damages and Costs, — Under this title, it is observable,
that the Judges formerly exercised considerable discre
tion, in assessing the amount of damages without a jury.
Dictum de Kenilworth, — The numerous Pleadings
hereon, during the latter part of the reign of Henry the
Third, and in the beginning of the reign of Edward the
First, throw considerable light on the history of the tur
bulent reign of the former monarch.
Error, — Much curious learning, relating to cases of
Error, from the Common Pleas, and from Ireland, to the
King's Bench; and from the King's Bench to the Parlia
ment, occur in many parts of this Work.
Fines. — Numerous Decisions also occur as to the Doc
trine on Fines.
Gavelkind. — Under this head considerable information
is to be met with respecting this ancient Tenure, and the
mode of converting it into Freehold.
Heirs, and the Proofs of their Age, and Pedigrees. —
These several titles will be found serviceable to the Ge
nealogist and Historian.
Historical Facts, relating as well to the Rebellion and
Insurrections under Simon de Mountford, the Despencers,
Andrew de Harcla, Thomas Earl of Lancaster, and others ;
as also to the Battles of Lewes and Evesham, and the In
cursions of the Scots into Durham and Yorkshire ; with
the submission of John, King of Scotland, to Edward the
First, are to be found under their various heads in the
Index. Honours and Baronies. — These titles have been classed
alphabeticaUy, for the purpose of more ready reference.
Judgments, — The Reasons and Causes of Judgments,

236 ROLLS OF THE CURIA REGIS.
pronounced by the Courts, will be found, in cases of diffi
culty, to have been entered on record.
Jurisdiction, — The Jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical
and other Inferior Courts is decided upon and ascer
tained. Juries, — It will be seen that Jurors were often required
by the Court to state the reason for their verdict. Special
Verdicts were not unfrequent : and under the titles of
Attaint and Certificate of Assise, it will be also observed,
that Verdicts were many times called in question, reviewed,
corrected, and set aside.
Liberties and Privileges oi Corporations, Towns, and
Villages, are allowed and established.
London. — The Customs of this City, and many Histo
rical Facts relating to it, appear under that head.
Measures of Land. — The ancient Measures of Land,
and their various Contents, are to be found under the
titles of — Carucata — Hide — Feodum Militis — and Per-
tica. Obsolete Words. — Many obsolete Words and Law
Terms are to be met with throughout the Work, with
their several interpretations.
Practice, — The Rules observed in the Practice of the
Courts, as well in Actions Real and Personal, as in other
instances, are arranged under that head.
Prerogative. — The Rights and Prerogatives of the
Crown are in many instances taken notice of.
Privilege of Courts — and Punishments for Contempts. —
Of the strict attention paid to the maintenance of the
dignity and the respect due to the King's Courts and his
Judges, numerous instances are to be found, in the severe
and exemplary Punishment of Persons in Cases of Con
tempt ; even the Prince of Wales, Son of Edward the
First, did not escape punishment and censure for an act
of this sort: he was banished by his father from his

ANCIENT PLACITA.

237

palace, upwards of half a year; and was not allowed ac
cess to his presence tiU he had made a suitable atonement
to one ofthe Judges for his violent language towards him,
p. 256. The Official of the Archdeacon of Norfolk was
committed to the Tower of London, for executing Eccle
siastical Process in the Royal Palace at Westminster,
8 Edw. I. p. 321. And Henry Lord Beaumont was com
mitted to the custody of the Marshal, for refusing to give
his advice, and for contemptuous demeanor in a Grand
CouncU holden at York, p. 342.
Quo Vfarranto. — Pleadings upon Writs of Quo War
ranto were in common use so early as the tenth year of
Richard the First.
Records of the Kingdom, — During the turbulent part
of the reign of Edward the Second, when Roger Mor
timer and others were committed to the Tower, the pre
servation and arrangement of the Public Records (1) were
esteemed a Work of such national importance, that all
impediment to the Persons employed under the then
Special Commission, to arrange and calendar the Records,
was expressly provided against. Rot, Clans' 16 Ed. 2 m.
19 d — and the Instrument constituting Stephen de Se
grave Constable of the Tower, enjoins him not to hinder
or disturb the King's Officers from entering the Tower,
for the purpose of surveying and arranging the Treasure
RoUs, and other Remembrances therein, as had thereto
fore been used and done. " Et le dit Mons"' Estephene
ne destourbra ne empeschement ne mettra que les Mi
nisters nostre dit Seignur le Roy ne p'ont entrer en le dite
(I) [See ante, p. 17. A statement of measures taken in ancient and
modern times, for the preservation and arrangement of the Records, will be
found in Mr. Bayley's History and Anticiuities ofthe Tower of London, p. 225,
et seq. The three volumes of Savage's Librarian, to which reference is occa
sionally made for information upon this subject, contain only copious extracts
from the Report ofthe Commons' Committee of 1800.]

238

ROLLS OF THE CURIA REGIS.

Tour pur le Tresor Roulles et autres Remembrances en
icele surveer & adrescer auxi come il ad este cea en
arriere usez & fait." Mic. 17 Ed. 2, Rot. 37, p. 343.
Statutes and Ordinances. — Many of these are recorded
on the Rolls of the Court of King's Bench, together with
the Writs directed to the Sheriffs of Counties to proclaim
and enforce the observance of them.
Trial by Domesday. — In cases respecting ancient De
mesne, frequent references will be found to have been
made to that venerable Record, wherein the mode of
Pleading it is set out in the Abstract.
Trial by Domesday qf Chester. — In the Archives of
the Earl of Chester there formerly existed a Roll, denomi
nated The Domesday of Chester; the Entries in this
Roll were esteemed of high authority, and perhaps con
clusive evidence : for in an Assize of Darrein Present
ment in the county of Chester, A° 38 Hen. III. between
Roger de Sanbach and the Abbot of Deulacrese, as to
the Church of Sanbach, removed by certiorari into the
King's Bench, the Court, amongst other grounds for pro
nouncing their judgment, give the following reason : " Et
quia convictum est per Domesday Cestr' quod perpetuam
habet firmitatem & omnia que in eo continentur inperpe-
tuum sunt stabilia in quo continentur quod, &c. conside
ratum est," &c. Hill. 38 Hen. III. Cestr' Rot. 10, p. 142.
Trial by the Roll of Winton. — Which existed so late
as the reign of King John ; for in the first year of that
King's reign, the Abbot of Saint Edmund in Suffolk, in a
Plaint against John de Wechesham, for erecting a Gal
lows within the Abbot's Liberty, in setting out his title to
such Liberty from the time of Edward the Confessor,
concludes it with these words; "Et preterea ponit se
super Rotulum Wintonie," &c.
Trial by Duel, — Many interesting particulars touching
this Mode of Trial, in Criminal and in Civil Suits, are to
be found herein.

ANCIENT PLACITA.

239

Trial by Ordeal— TMs. species of Trial, by Fire and
by Water, appears to have been in frequent use so late
as the fifteenth year of King John. Midd. & Kane' Rot.
20, p. 90.
Writs of Right and other Real Actions.— There are
many interesting Pleadings under these heads, worthy the
attention ofthe Lawyer and the Antiquary.
A copious Index Rerum, prepared by Mr. lUingworth,
under the like superintendence and revision of the Right
Honourable George Rose, has been added to the Work. (2)

[From Manuscript Collection,]
Abbreviatio Placitorum. — The Work bearing this title
is an Abstract or Calendar of the Proceedings in Curia
Regis, in tbe reigns of Richard the First and King John,
and of the Pleadings in the King's Bench and Common
Pleas, after the separate establishment of those Courts
down to the reign of Edward the Second inclusive, pre
served in the Chapter House, Westminster.
Although this volume was not completed for publication
before the year 1811, it was one ofthe first Works which
the Commissioners on the Public Records ordered to be
printed, and the great value of the Documents to which
(2) [" This volume (the Abbreviatio Placitorum') affords insight into many
very curious points of ancient law and parliamentary history." — Retrospective
Review, vol. ix. p. 216, note.
The same hote contains a succinct account of several other public Records,
forming " the principal storehouse of local antiquities, and«made accessible to
public use by the labours of the Record Commissioners."]
[Abbreviatio Placitorum. — " Besides throwing light on the early Consti
tution of Parliament and the Concilium Regis, these Records abound in
curious matter iUustrative of the general History of the countiy, of the descent
of landed property, and of the manners and state of society in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries." " Singular as it may appear, this very useful volume
has, comparatively speaking, been but rarely consulted." — iVico/as on the
Public Records, p. 45.]

240

ROLLS OF THE CURIA REGIS.

this volume forms a copious and useful reference, justly
entitled it to that attention ; for it contains a vast variety
of important information iUustrative of the early history of
our Courts of Judicature, as well as the Laws and Cus
toms, and the Constitution of the Country. These Records
are frequently referred to, and of great consequence in
questions respecting Rights of Civil and Religious Cor
porations, and of Individuals connected with Real Pro
perty; and to the Antiquary, the Historian, and the
Lawyer, they form a source of general and valuable infor
mation.

[From Manuscript Collection,]
Abbreviatio Placitorum. — In this work are contained
the most material Pleadings and Judgments in the King's
Court, and before the Justices itinerant, &c. It commences
with 6 Ric. I. and is carried down to the end of Edw. I.
It is apprehended that this volume wiU be not only a
valuable acquisition to the Antiquary but to the Lawyer
also, and that it will much facilitate a better understand
ing ofthe Year Books. (3) (4)
(3) [" The pleadings in our several courts, and the judgments thereon, have
been preserved for many centuries, and are entered on RoUs, the greater part
of which are called Placita Rolls ; they give the most important information
upon every subject, respecting which men wage legal war with each other, and
among these subjects are most especially to be enumerated, the claims to lands,
honours, and baronies. Hid in the dust of ages, not known to exist, or known
at most to few besides their keepers, a great part of the Placita was useless,
until of late years, when the Commissioners of Public Records brought them to
light, and by the noble publications which they have given to the world of part
of them, and the admirable Indexes of Persons and Places, have fully justified
the assertion in their preface, of their having heen made, amongst other advan
tages, ' serviceable to the genealogist and historian, for the proofs they contain
of heirs, their ages, and pedigrees.' " — Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p.
90, 91.]
(4) [The ancient Placita of Ireland begin with the 36th year of Henry III. See

ROLLS OF THE CURIA REGIS.

241

[From Manuscript Collection.]
Rolls of the Curia Regis.— The foUowing is the sub
stance of the Report of a Committee of the Commissioners
on the Pubhc Records, appointed to consider the utiUty
and expediency of collecting and publishing the Consti
tutional Records from the Conquest to the reign of Ed
ward the First, so far as such Report relates to the Rolls
ofthe Curia Regis,
The Committee, after observing that some of such
Rolls pointed out to their inspection were obviously in the
last state of decay, and most in a condition which required
instant attention, reported, that it had been stated to
them that these Rolls have never been printed, and that
the Abbreviatio Placitorum, printed under the authority
of the Record Commission, contains only the Abstracts
and Selections made by Agarde in the reign of Elizabeth,
which are extremely defective, and in proof thereof the
RoU of the 10 Ric. I. was produced to them, which is
wholly unnoticed in that volume. Another Roll, that of
the 7 and 8 of John, was casually selected for inspection
by the Committee, and on examination the first membrane
the classified schedule, — Reports from the Commissioners on the Public Records
of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 79.
" The Plea Rolls, besides comprising a History of the Law in this Kingdom
(Ireland) down to Charles I., afford valuable Information relating to the country
in general ; — they consist of Pleas of the Crown, Assize of Novel Disseisin, Mort
d'Auncestor, Inquisitions, Pleadings in Real Actions respecting Manors, Lands,
and Hereditaments, many of them anciently the property ot* the Crown and
Church ; Prosecutions for Trespasses in Royal Forests, -Actions of Dower,
Waste, Writs of Right of Advowsons, Darrien Presentment, Quare impedit,
and Certioraries from inferior Courts. They also contain enrolments of the
Appointments of the Justices and Officers of the Courts, Charters, Patents, and
Deeds, with many articles of a miscellaneous nature, which may be attributed
to the practice that prevailed at an early period, of making such Records, in a
great measure. Journals of all proceedings in the Courts."— Ibid. p. 77. See
also ibid, vol. i, p. 413.] R

242 ROLLS OF THE CURIA REGIS.
of that Roll appeared to contain twenty-nine Entries on
the face and eleven on the back. Of the first twenty-
nine one only is noticed in the Abbreviatio, and that in an
abridged form. Of the other eleven one is given ver
batim, and tbe others wholly omitted.
It is stated in the Appendix to the Report of the Com
mittee on Public Records in 1800, that these Proceedings
are not sufficiently perfect for publication, and that many
complete specimens of them are contained in the notes to
Madox's History of (he Exchequer, But the Committee
of the Commissioners found that although tbe outer mem
branes of these Rolls are undoubtedly in several instances
much damaged and decayed ; yet far the greater part of
them are in a state which will admit of repair and tran
scription (4). The specimens above alluded to as pubUshed
by Madox, they remark, are only two Entries, and would
not together amount to a single page.
The Committee considering the value of these Records,
and of others under the same class, whether in a constitu
tional, historical, or political view, their high antiquity,
and their present decay, and the danger of their sustain
ing further and irreparable injury, considering also that of
the documents of this description known to exist, a small
proportion only has in any form been made public, or
even authentically transcribed, recommended that all such
documents should be forthwith transcribed, coUated, and
prepared for the press, (5) and that such as may have been
(4) [The Commissioners on the Public Records have lately directed that these
Rolls should be repaired and bound.]
(5) [A century ago Mr. Lawton, the Keeper of the Records in the Chapter
House, advised that all the special judgments in the RoUs of the Curia Regis,
King's Bench, and Common Pleas, should, with the pleadings, be literally
transcribed and pubUshed. He observed that as this copy would be made from
the Records themselves, so it would be more authentic, more useful, and less
troublesome, than the volumes of Year Books and Reports, often uncertain in
the state of facts, and often mistaking the Record : and that this work, which

ROLLS OF THE CURIA REGIS.

243

heretofore published either in part, in abstract, or entirely,
should be specified. They observe in conclusion, that it
will be then for the Commissioners to determine, accord
ing to the pecuniary means which may be placed at their
disposal, the extent to which it may be expedient to print
such transcripts and the time which should be taken up
for that purpose ; and that if these authentic Transcripts
are in the meantime lodged in the British Museum, they
will there be open to the use of all persons who may
have occasion to consult them, and their contents will be
placed beyond the probability of destruction either by de
cay or accident (6).
would be very valuable when finished, in regard both to the law and the history
of the nation, might be brought to perfection in a reasonable time, by adding
two clerks to the three then employed, and a person to remove and clean the
Records. ^Ueportyrom the Committee appointed to View the Cottonian Library,
S^c, ; Reportsfrom Committees of the House of Commons, vol. i. p. 509.]
(6) [Respecting the Rolls of the Curia, Regis, see also Appendix to First Report
qf Select Committee cf the House of Commons on the Public Records, p. 37. ; Gri
maldi, Origines Genealogicce, pp. 92. 96 ; Jones, Index to Records, Preface,
p. xxii. ; and Ayloffe, Calendars of Ancient Charters, Introduction, p. xii.]

SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE.
Description of the early Pleas of the Crown— Suggestions for
Printing the same in English — List — Extracts,
[From Manuscript Collection.]
The Pleas of the Crown comprehend all crimes and misde
meanors wherein the King (on behalf of the pflblic) is the
plaintiff, and are defined by Sir Matthew Hale to be of two
kinds, first. Pleas of the Crown in matters criminal, and,
secondly, Pleas of the Crown in matters civil, namely, of
" Franchises and Liberties." Of the former kind Sir Matthew
Hale has treated most elaborately in his learned work, Historia
Plac, Coronee, from which it also appears he intended to write
r2

244 PLEAS OF THE CROWN.
a third book, comprising the second class, but he never carried
his intention into effect. We must, therefore, refer to the more
ancient law writers on this subject, such as Bracton and Fleta,
for a description of tbe nature and import of the proceedings
contained on the early Rolls of Placita Coronee,
Madox, in his History of the Exchequer, states, that Pleas
ofthe Crown were holden as early as the 16th year of King
Henry tbe Second; but none of these proceedings of the justices
'n Eyre, as regards these Pleas, can, it is believed, be traced,
except those that are briefly entered on the Pipe Rolls and
referred to by Madox. The earliest Roll of- Pleas of the
Crown is probably that of the 4th year of King Henry the
Third. Previously to the Statute of Magna Charta the Pleas of the
Crown appear to have been frequently holden before tbe Coro
ner, whose duty it was to make presentments to the justices in
their iters of all franchises and liberties claimed wrongfully, or
usurped upon the Crown; but this Statute forbids that any
coroner, sheriff, or bailiff, &c. shall hold such pleas, and the
duty of the coroner is subsequently regulated by statute,
4 Edw. I., De Officio Coronatorum,
The presentments made to the judges in tlieir iters during the
time of Henry the Third were but of a very limited nature, as
appears from the Rolls themselves, and from the old Articles of
Inquiry, called in Bracton Capitula Itineris, which were delivered
in charge to the hundredors by the judges, with little variation,
until the reign of King Edward the First, when the Nova Ca
pitula Corona et Itineris were issued by the Crown under various
commissions, which are also collected by Fleta under the title
De Capitulis Coronee et Itineris, These were subsequently regu
lated by the statute " for new Articles of the said Pleas :" and
as the nature and contents of the Placita Coronee and Assize
RoUs will be best illustrated and understood by a reference to
that statute, it may be advisable to add an analysis of the same,
directing the various inquiries and presentments to be made,
which are as follow, viz.: —

PLEAS OF THE CROWN.

245

" Here begin the new Articles of the said Pleas, made in the
time of King Edward."
Of— the King's Demesne Manors, — King's Fees, — Lands in an
cient Demesne, alienated by freemen or bondmen, — Terms upon
which Hundreds, Sfc, let, — Suits and Services, 8fC, withholden, ^c, —
Claim of Return of Writs and other Liberties, — Exercise of Liber
ties, — Grants of detrimental Liberties, — Usurpations of Chases
and Warrens, — Contemners of the King's Command, — Purpres
tures, — Knights' Fees, <^c. alienated to Ecclesiastics, S^c, — Sheriffs,
Bailiffs, S/-C, bribed or negligent, — Improper Amercements made, —
The Sheriff's Tourn, — Fines for Redisseisin, <^c. — Oppresmns of
Office, — Extortionate Bailiffs, — Distresses to take up Arms, —
Undue execution of Writs, — Gaolers suborning Provers, permitting
escape of Felons, or extorting for Bail, — Corruption, ^c, in
Office, — Insufficient Extents, — The undue sale or concealment of
Wardships and Marriages, — False Inquests, ^c — Seizure and
restoration xf Lands, ^c, ^c, ^c.
The Articles contained in the Capitula Escaetrie to be found
in the Statutes at large, vol. i. p. 238, also contain instructions
for many of the returns appearing on these Rolls.

With respect to the mode of publishing the Placita Coronee, it
is recommended that the same should be published in English,
as the means of rendering them more available for public use ;
for although the Qua Warranto, and Hundred Rolls, as pub
lished, are of undoubted utility to the antiquary, yet from the
circumstance of their being printed in the very abbreviated and
antiquated law Latin of the time, they are almost a dead
letter for general public utility, being understood, comparatively
speaking, but by very few persons ; and as far as'regards their
legal applicability to the rules of evidence for supporting pre
scriptive and other legal rights, they are accessible only to those
few persons, who have devoted their time and attention to this
particular branch of the legal profession. But if the Placita
Coronee and Assize RoUs should, as above suggested, be pub
hshed in English, it is apprehended there would scarcely be a
person of family, or possessing real property, who would not be

246 PLEAS OF THE CROWN.
able to trace therein some evidence of his pedigree, or of the
ancient rights, privileges, and franchises formerly attached to
the property he now enjoys.
It is admitted, however, that many of the presentments and
proceedings on the Placita Coronee are also to be found upon
the Quo Warranto and Hundred Rolls already published ; but a
vast fund of information illustrative of the laws, customs, and
history of the country is to be found upon these Rolls, which is
not mentioned on those already printed, as witness the instance
adduced below of Newport in the Isle of Wight, the name of
which town is not even mentioned, either on the printed Quo
Warranto, or Hundred, Rolls; nor are the privileges of Yar
mouth, set out below, to be found upon the Quo Warranto Rolls,
and many hundred instances of the same kind might be pro
duced. It is therefore further recommended, that a selection
from the Placita Coronee and Assize RoUs should be made, and
printed in English, of all matters not of a criminal nature, with a
marginal reference to be made to the Quo Warranto Rolls, where
some of the same liberties are to be found. This would tend to a
mutual explanation of both species of Records, and render the
whole available for public use. It is also further recommended
that the same be printed in the form now in use for the modern
editions of the Statutes, as the costly and ponderous mode of
printing many of the Record Works has deterred many per
sons as well in the profession as others, from purchasing the
same; and the same even when obtained, from their weight
and size, are rendered very inconvenient for the purposes of
reference.

The only reference made to the Placita Coronee in the Re
ports of the Select Committee of 1800 on the State of Public
Records is at page 38, where it is stated, that the Placita
Coronee, from the 10th year of Henry the Third to the end of
Edward the Third, are kept in the Chapter House ; and the
reason why they have not been more particularly referred to
is, it is apprehended, that the Quo Warranto and other Rolls,
which were formerly fully abstracted by Peter Le Neve, Ar-

PLEAS OF THE CROWN.

247

thur Agarde, and J. Lowe, clerks in the Chapter House, have
been lately printed, and the same, through a mistaken idea, are
supposed to contain most of the information to be found in the
Placita Coronee,
The following is a list of part of the Placita Coronee pre
served in the Chapter House, Westminster : —
Bedford : Placita Coronee, temp. 4 Hen. III. ; 4 usq. 37
Edw. III.
Berk : Placita Coronee, temp, 12 Edw. I. ; 22 tisq, 27 Edw. III.
Bucks: Placita Coronee, temp, 14, 27 usq, 32 Edw. I.:
6 Edw. II. ; 6 Edw. III.
Cambri'g: Placita Coronee, temp, 12, 14, 42 Edw. IIL;
8 Hen. VI.
CoRNUB : Placita Coronee et presentationes de Feloniis, temp,
28 et incert' Edw. III.
Comb :
Derby : Placita Coronee, temp, 4, 15, 17, 22 usq, 35, 41, 45,
Edw. III.; 3 usq, 13 Rich. II.
Devon: Placita Coronee, temp, 9 Edw. I. ; 12, 25, 32 Edw. III.
Dorset: Placita Coronee, temp, 16, 33, 34 Edw. I.
Ebor: Placita Coronee, temp, 5, 15, 16, 18 usq, 22, 23 usq.
27, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, usq. 51 Edw. III.; 5, 6 usq. 11 Rich. II.
Essex. Qtouc : Placita Coronee, temp, 15 usq, 34 Edw. I.; 12, 35,
36 Edw. III.; 7, 10 Rich. II.
Hereford: Placita Coronee et deliberationes Gaole, temp,
30 usq, 35 Edw. I. ; 20 Edw. II.; incert' Edw. III.
Hertford: Placita Coronee et deliberationes Gaole, temp.
20 Edw. I. ; 6 usq, 19 Edw. II. ; 6 usq, 10 Edw. III. ; 6, 9, 14,
Hen. IV.
Hunting : Placita Coronee, temp, 8, 9, 27, 32 Edw. I.
Kanc : Placita Coronee et deliberationes Gaole, temp. 28 usq.
30 Edw. I.; 32 uSq, 35 Edw. L; 9, 11, 17 Edw. II. ; 10, 18,
20 Edw. III.; 7 usq. 14 Rich. II.
Lanc :
Leic: Placita Coronee, 8^c. temp. 19 Edw. II.; \Q usq. 17
Rich. II.

248 PLEAS OF THE CROWN.
Lincoln: Placita Coronee, Sfc, temp, 9 Edw. I.; 33 Edw. I.;
4 Edw. II.
London and Middlesex: Placita Coronee, temp, 19 Hen. III.;
2 & 3 Edw. I.; 22 Edw. I.; 33 Edw. I.; 14 Edw. II.;
3 Edw. III.
Norf : Placita Coronee, temp, 34 Hen. III. ; 52 & 53 Hen. III. ;
14 Edw. I.
North : Placita Coronee, temp, 13 Edw. I.; 3 Edw. III.
NoRTHUMB : Placita Coronee, temp. 40 Hen. III. ; 7 Edw. I. ;
21 Edw. I.
NoTiNGH : Placita Coronee, temp, 33 Edw. I. ; 3 Edw. III.
Oxon : Placita Coronee, temp, 25 Hen. III. ; 31 Hen. III.
45 Hen. III. ; 52 Hen. III. ; 13 Edw. I. ; 6 Edw. IIL
Rutland: Placita Coronee, temp, 14 Edw. I.
Salop : Placita Coronee, temp, 6 Hen. III. ; 20 Edw. I. ;
35 Edw. I.
Somerset: Placita Coronee, temp, 27 Hen. III.; 8 Edw. I.
South: Placita Coronee, temp, 20 Hen. III.; 56 Hen. III.;
8 Edw. I.
Stafford: Placita Corona, temp. 12 Hen, III, ; 56 Hen. III.;
21 Edw. I..; 19 Edw. II. ; 37, 38 Edw. III.
Suffolk: Placita Coronee, temp. 33, 35 Edw. I. ; 18 Edw. II.
Surrey: Placita Coronee, temp, 19 Hen. III.; 39 Hen. III.

Pleas ofthe Crown 14 Edrv, I,
Norwich, — Pleas of the Crown before Saloman de Rochester,
Walter de Hopton, Richard de Boylond, Robert Fulk, Master
Thomas de Sudyngton, and Walter de Stircheslegh, Justices in
Eyre of the Lord the King, at Norwich, in the county of Nor
folk, on the morrow of Saint Hilary, in the 14th year of the
reign of King Edward, son of King Henry.
These have been sheriffs since the last iter (to wit), Robert
de Norton, who died; William Gifford; Robert, the son of.
John Walter de Schelfhangre, who died ; Walter de Graunt-
Cort ; John le Bruton ; WiUiam de Redham ; and William de
Rothyng, who is now sheriff.

PLEAS OF THE CROWN.

249

These have been coroners since the last iter : John de Bal-
byngle, John de Estrue (and six others), and Henry de Wale-
pole, who now are and make answer, &c.
Yarmouth, — Pleas ofthe Crown ofthe Liberty ofthe Town of
Great Yarmouth, at Yarmouth, before Saloman de Rochester
and his Companions, Justices Itinerant, there in the octave of
Saint John the Baptist, in the 14th year of the reign of King
Edward, son of King Henry.
These have been baihfFs of this town since the last iter here
(to wit), Thomas Horsey, Oliver Wiz, Thomas Thurchkeld, and
William de la Mawe, in the 53d year of the reign of King
Henry tbe Third.
[Then follow the names of the bailifFs of the town from the
54 Hen. III. to 14 Edw. I.]
These have been the coroners in this borough since the last
iter (to wit), Richard de Nelesherde, who died, and John de
Burgh, who now is, and answers for himself and the aforesaid
Richard. The jurors present that this town is the town of the Lord
the King, and that the burgesses of the same town hold it of
the Lord the King at fee farm for £55,, which they pay at the
Feast of Saint Michael to the Exchequer of the Lord the King ;
and in the same borough they claim to have return oftheir writs,
estreats, &c., and thereof to answer at the Exchequer by their
own hands ; and to have gallows, thol, theim, infangenethief,
and outfangenthef, view of frank pledge, pillory, tumbrell, a
market every week, and a fair every year, to continue from the
Feast of Saint Michael to the Feast of Saint Mark. Also they
claim that the justices of the Lord the King when they shall
happen to go their iter in the county of Norfolk do plead the
pleas of the Crown, and all other pleas touching the aforesaid
borough, within the aforesaid borough, and this by charters of
the Kings of England, to wit, of John, of Henry father of the
present Lord the King, confirmed by charter of the present
Lord the King; and they make profer ofthe charter ofthe said
now Lord the King, in which it is contained, that the said Lord
the King that now is hath granted and confirmed to them aU the.

250 PLEAS OF THE CROWN.
liberties aforesaid, granted by his predecessors Kings of Eng
land, &c.
Lynn, — The jury present that the bishop of Norwich, Robert
de Tateshal, and Roger de Mohaut claim to take toll in this
borough, viz.
For every 40 skins, ^Zd, For every 1 00 of wax, 4rf.
Toll for divers fish.
Toll for cattle — for wine — wool.
Toll for ships, boats, &c.
Toll for very many kinds of merchandize therein specified.
And the aforesaid bishop, Robert, and Roger come, and the
bishop says that he found his church seized of the aforesaid toll,
to be taken as aforesaid, and Robert and Roger say tbat their
ancestors died seized thereof, and the jury upon this testify the
same ; and as well the aforesaid bishop, as the aforesaid Robert,
and Roger, as concerns the toll of cheese, butter, tallow, fat, and
things of this sort, from henceforth shall claim no toll to be
taken therefore, unless such things be sold in gross. [Further
directions are then given for taking certain tolls, &c.J
[Note. — These Rolls are replete with evidence of ancient tolls
that were taken in divers towns, boroughs, and cities, not to be
found in detail, as here set out, on any other species of Record,
though often returned in the aggregate on the Pipe Rolls, as
comprising part of the fee-farm rents paid to the Crown, for
such towns, boroughs, &c., and would, it is apprehended, in ^
many cases furnish evidence to support a prescriptive right to
many of the tolls taken at the present time.]
The Hundred of Humilred, Norf— come by 12 Jurors.—
[Presentments by the jury of various felonies, trespasses, and
misdemeanors committed in the vills, towns, hamlets, parishes,
manors, &c. in the said hundred, furnishing evidence of the
situation, locality, extent, and jurisdiction of these places within
the hundred.]
Of purprestures, they say that the river at the bridge of
Hertford was accustomed to run by a different course, and to
pass through the middle of the bridge without any obstruction,
but now the course is diverted by the King's baihffs of the

PLEAS OF THE CROWN.

251

county of Norfolk. [The sheriff is directed to abate the nuisance,
and to turn the water into its proper course.]
[Note. — Every kind of purpresture, nuisance, or incroach-
ment is presented on these Rolls, with directions to alter the
same. The boundaries of premises are often set out in these
presentments.] Of liberties, they say that the prior of Norwich claims
to have pillory in his manor of Etone, and view of frank pledge,
and amendment of the assize of bread and beer, and also in
his manor of Lakeham ; and the Abbot of St. Benedict claims
in his manor of Hegham, view of frank pledge, and amendment
ofthe assize of bread and beer, and this in the presence of the
bailiff of the Lord tbe King ; so that the Lord the King there
fore do receive two shillings annually.
[Many other presentments are made of various liberties claimed
in divers manors in this hundred, upon which the jury adjudge
that some have been enjoyed from the time whereof memory is
not to the contrary, but others they know not by what au
thority.] [Hugh de Peverell claims to have free warren in his demesne
lands in Great Meanton and Braken, for which he shews the
King's charter.]
Of serjeancies, they say that Eustace de Corsun and others
hold thirty acres of land in the town of Karleton, worth per an
num 30s., by serjeancy of bringing to the Lord the King,
wheresoever he be, &c., twenty-four parcels of fresh herrings,
&c. And also they say that Ralph de Herlam holds the manor
of Herlam, worth 40^., by serjeancy of finding in the castle of
Norwich one cross-bow man, in the time of war, for forty days
at his own proper costs, and the same is rated at the Exchequer,
per annum, at 40*., &c.
[Note. — Many tenures by serjeancy and other tenures appear
upon these Rolls.] (7)
The jury present that Langeham and Etone are of ancient
demesne of the Crown of the Lord the King, and are worth per
(7^ [See note, page 257.]

252 PLEAS OF THE CROWN.
annum, &c., and that the prior and convent of Norwich as such
hold the same, they know not by what warrant; and the prior
by his attorney saith, that he found his church seized of the
manors aforesaid, and the jury testifieth the same.
As yet of liberties, they say the prior of Wymundham claims
to have view of frank pledge in his tenements, in the town of
Nelonde, Brakene, and Wenmyngham.
[Fairs and other liberties are claimed in towns in this hundred,
which are either allowed or disallowed by the j ury, upon the
Charters, &c. for the same being produced.]
Of wines, they say that Richard Ryngebelle hath sold two
casks against the assize, &c.
Of measure's, they say that the burgesses of Thefford have
received all kinds of corn coming to the market of Thefford
by the heaped up measure, whereas they ought to buy and sell
by the rase measure, &c. ; and they are forbidden from hence
forth to buy any kind of corn except by the rase measure, ac
cording to the custom ofthe realm; audit is commanded to the
sheriff, that from henceforth he do not permit them to buy or
sell by any measure except according to the custom of other
markets of this county.
The jury present that a certain person unknown was taken
at Hokham, in tbe manor of Dionisius de Monte Caviso, and
being brought there in full court, and without suit of any
one, was there suspended (or hung) ; therefore it is commanded
the sheriff that he cause the said suitors of the court aforesaid,
and the said Dionisius to come, &c. And afterwards they came
by their attorney, &c., and say, that the aforesaid unknown per
son was taken for breaking into the house of a certain Matilda
Andrews, in Hocham, and that he stole her goods ; and that at
the suit of the said MatUda he was taken and there hung, &c.
And this they pray may be inquired of, and the jury testify the
same, &c.
The Hundred of Shropham, Norf. — [The abbot of Becko and
the prior of Theford claim many privileges and franchises in the
manors of East Wrotham and Kymardeston, &c. ;] and they say
that they found their churches seized of the same liberties.

PLEAS OF THE CROWN. ~0c»
And Dionisius de Monte Caviso claims to have a market
every week on Wednesday, in his manor of Hokham ; and a fair
every year, to continue for five days (to wit), from the vigil of
the day and morrow of the nativity of the Blessed Mary, and
for two days following ; and he saith that the Lord King Henry,
father of the now Lord the King, granted to him and his heirs
the aforesaid market and fair by his charter, of which he makes
profer, and which testifieth the same ; and he saith that the
same have been fully used since the making of the charter
aforesaid without interruption, and the jury testifieth the same ;
therefore as to this he shall go without day, saving the rights of
the Lord the King. And also the same Dionisius claims in the
same manor of Hocham, view of frank pledge, amendment of
the assize of bread and beer, and tumbrell, as well of the tenants
of others, in the same vill, as of his own tenants ; they know
not by what warrant.
The jury present that Ranulfus, formerly Earl of Chester,
held a certain tenement in Shropham, and gave the same to
a certain Ulketel le Prestre, his servant, to hold of the same
Earl by service of paying two marks yearly to him and his
heirs, which same service the said Ulketel rendered to the
aforesaid Earl during his whole life ; and after him Ulketel, a
certain Richard his brother did the same service to the aforesaid
Earl during the whole life of the said Earl : and afterwards the
Earldom of Chester came to the hands of the Lord King Henry,
father of the present Lord the King, from which time a certain
Henry, brother of the aforesaid Richard, hath witholden the
aforesaid rent of two marks from the Lord King Henry (to
wit), for forty-eight years last past, and Andrew de Hengham
now holds the same tenement, and the aforesaid two marks sub
tracted. Afterwards came tbe aforesaid Andrew and said, that
his ancestors died seized of the same rent ; and the jury testify
the same.
The jury present that Robert de Tateshal holds this hun
dred at fee-farm of the Lord the King, and renders therefore
to the Lord the King half a mark annually for blanch farm,
and it is worth per annum \5l. : they know not by what war-

254 PLEAS OF THE CROWN.
rant. And Robert de Tateshal comes and says, that Robert de
Tateshal, his grandfather, and Robert de Tateshal, his father,
died seized ofthe aforesaid hundred with the liberties aforesaid;
and the jury testify the same; therefore the Lord the King may
have a writ if he willeth. And it is commanded to WiUiam de
Giselham, &c.
[The same roll. — Many claims of free warren in divers
manors, which are allowed on production of the charters before
the justices itinerant.]
The Hundred of Gyldecros, Norf. — The jury present that
Roger de Monte Alto holds the manor of KenynghaU (which is
worth per annum lOOi.) in capite of the Lord the King. And
also the same Robert holds this hundred, which is worth per
annum 14Z., and renders for the same to the Lord' the King an
nually 40rf. And in the same hundred he claims to have view
of frank pledge, amendment of the assize of bread and beer,
gallows, and waif, they know not by what warrant. And
Roger comes and says, that he holds the aforesaid hundred,
with the liberties aforesaid, by descent as of inheritance, and
that his ancestors died seized thereof, with all the liberties
aforesaid ; and the jury testify the same. Therefore the afore
said Roger as to this shall go without day, saving the right of
the Lord the King, &c.
The jury present that John de Baa, parson of the church
of All Saints, of Gerbandeston, impleaded WiUiam of Nor
wich, in Gatesthorp, and Hugh le Panniu, of Gerbandeston,
at Horneye, out of this county, and often summoned them
before the prior of Kersey, and when they came there on the
day appointed in the summons, there was no judgment, nor ad
verse party appeared against them, and so they as above, &c.
were vexed, and troubled, when in the Court of the Lord the
King justice might have been had of them, if in any thing they
were delinquent; and this was done for extorting of money from
them : therefore it is commanded the sheriff, &c. And the
sheriff testifieth tbat he hath not a lay fee in his bailiwick:
therefore it is commanded to the Bishop of Norwich that he
hath his clerk here on, &c. Afterwards because it appeared to

PLEAS OF THE CROWN. 2.55
the justices that the presentment aforesaid did not belong to
any chapter, therefore nothing at present.
Of dower, they say that Hawesia, who was the wife of John
le MareschaU holds the manor of Banham, which is worth per
annum 40/., in dower, of the inheritance of John le MareschaU,
who is within age, and in custody of the Lord the King, and is
marriageable. And the twelve jurors find concealment against
the aforesaid Hawesia, therefore she is in mercy.

Pleas ofthe Crown, 8 (&9) Edw, I,
Pleas of the Crown before Saloman de Rochester, and his
companions, justices itinerant, at Winchester, in the county of
Southampton, in eight days of St. Martin, in the Sth year ofthe
reign of King Edward, beginning the 9th. * * *
Pleas at Southampton before tbe aforesaid S. de Rochester,
and his companions, in fifteen days from the purification of the
blessed Mary, in tbe 9th year of the reign of King Edward. * * *
The Hundred of East Medine, Isle of Wight. — The hundred
of East Medine — come by twelve jurors. The jury present
that William de la Mare, Henry le Clerk, Robert Nynysus,
William le Payntor, and William le Fraunceys, bailiffs of the
borough of Neweport, have taken toll for all things sold in
the Isle of Wight, as well out of their borough as within,
whereas they ought not to take toll but within the borough
aforesaid. And the aforesaid William and the others say, that
this toll belongs to their farm of Newport, which they hold
of Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Albemarle, without which
they would not answer therefore ; and hereupon comes the
aforesaid countess and saith, that she and her ancestors, from
the time whereof memory doth not exist, have been accus
tomed to take toll within certain metes out of the borouo-h,
and in certain metes within — that is to say, from the north part
of the town of Newport unto the sea for three miles in circuit,
and on the east part for six miles unto the sea, without the
liberty of the Abbess of Wherewell, — on the south part for four
miles in circuit unto the sea, and on the west part for four miles
unto the bridge which is called Crockbridge, without the liberty

256 PLEAS OF THE CROWN.
of the Bishop of Winchester, at Sweyneston. And the twelve
jurors say upon their oath, that a certain Baldwyn de Insula,
grandfather of the aforesaid countess, gave to a certain William
de Besun, and William de Cheverdon, his bailiffs, the aforesaid
toll, by them thereof approved, and from that time always taken
within the metes aforesaid ; but before that time it was accus
tomed to be paid only for things sold within the borough afore
said. Therefore for judgment.
The Hundred of Freshwater, Isle of Wight. — The hundred of
'Freshwater — come by twelve jurors. — Of serjeancies they say
that Robert Agulon, and Margaret his wife, hold the manor of
Freshwater, by name of dower of tbe same Margaret, as of the
inheritance of Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Albemarle, by
serjeancy of finding one knight, with horse and arms, for the
army of the Lord the King when he shall happen to go with
his army into Gascony, and one servant when he shall happen
to go into Wales with his array, for forty days, at their own
proper costs. And the jury inquiring if there be any thing in
arrear to the Lord the King for the service aforesaid, and if the
same Robert hath done his service in the last going of the
army into Wales, say there is nothing in arrear for the ser
vices aforesaid, and that he hath done, &c. ; and that the manor
with the hundred is worth per annum j£40.
Of the lands of the Normans. — They say that the abbot of
Lyra holds certain land in Freshwater which belonged to a cer
tain WiUiam, tbe son of Osbert, a Norman, as an escheat to the
Lord the King of the lands of the Normans, which is worth
per annum 40*. And the abbot comes and says, that he found
the abbey seised of the tenement aforesaid, and the jury testify
the same, &c. Pleas ofthe Crown, 3 Hen. Ill,
The Hundred of Mannesheved, Bedf. — Of treasure trove hap
pening after the departure of the justices from Bedford (to wit),
on the day of Saint Stephen, when Roger Crundel and Stephen,
the son of Gilbert, in the night-time dug a certain pit to bury
a certain body, in the burial ground of Husseborn, they found

PLEAS OF TIIE CROWN.

257

a certain brass dish or plate, and under the plate an earthen
pot, and in tbe pot six plates of gold and one chain of gold, and
one cross partly of gold and partly of silver, &c.

[Note. — The Commissioners are in possession of a small collec
tion of curious tenures, by serjeantcy and otherwise, extracted
from the original Pleas of the Crown and the Placita de Juratis et
Assisis, and never yet published. It seems that the researches of
Blount and his editor, Mr. Beckwith, in the original RoUs were
extremely partial and imperfect.]

CHAPTER IX.
THE TESTA DE NEVILL.

Account of the Exchequer Books called Testa de Ne
vill, sive Liber Feodorum, Temp. Hen. IIL and
Edw. I.
[From the Preface to the Worlc.]
In the King's Remembrancer's Office of the Court of
Exchequer are preserved two ancient books called The
Testa de Nevill, or Liber Feodorum{\), which are de
scribed in the Return of Abel Moysey, Esq. Deputy
King's Remembrancer, printed in the Reports from the
Select Committee of the House of Commons, appointed to
inquire into the state of the Public Records of the King
dom, &c. page 138, as containing " Nomina Villarum,
Serjeanties, and Knights Fees, in several Counties, taken
by Inquisition temp. Hen. III. and Edward I." and it is
there also observed, " that these two books contain com-
pUations known by the name of Testa de Nevill;" and
that in the cover of each book there is a memorandum in
an ancient hand, of which the following is a copy; " Con-
tenta pro Evidencijs habeantur his in Scc'io et non pro
Recordo," These books contain principally an account,
1. Of Fees holden either immediately of the King, or of
others who held ofthe King in capite, and if alienated,
whether the Owners were enfeoffed ab antiquo, or de
(1) [Some antiquaries think that this work is with greater propriety denomi
nated Liber Feodorum.1

THE TESTA DE NEVILL.

259

novo, as also Fees holden in Frankalmoigne, with the
values thereof respectively.
2. Of Serjeanties holden of the King, distinguishing such
as were rented or alienated, with the values of the same.
3. Of Widows and Heiresses of Tenants in capite, whose
marriages were in the gift of the King, with the values
of their lands.
4. Of Churches in the gift of the King, and in whose
hands they were.
5. Of Escheats, as well of the Lands of Normans as
others, in whose hands the same were, and by what
services holden.
6, Of the amount of the Sums paid for Scutage and Aid,
&c. by each Tenant.
The books appear to have been compiled near the close
of the reign of Edward the Second, or the commencement
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 however
two persons, to either of whom they may be assignable ;
viz. Ralph de NevUl, an Accountant in the Exchequer
and Collector of Aids in the reign of Henry the Third,
whose name occurs in the book, page 39; and JoUan de
NeviU, a Justice itinerant of the same reign, who, as Dug
dale in his Baronage, vol. i. p. 228, supposes, may have
been the author.
The entries which are specificaUy entitled " Testa de
NeviU," are evidently quotations, and form comparatively
a very small part of the whole; they have in all probabUity
been copied from a roll bearing that name, a part of which
s2

260 THE TESTA DE NEVILL.
is still extant in the Chapter House at Westminster, con
sisting of five small membranes, containing ten counties;
the roll appears to be of the age of Edward the Firstj
and agrees verbatim witb the entries in these books. An
Index Locorum, divided into Counties, and also a gene
ral Alphabetical Index, are subjoined to the printed
volume (2). [Fro7n Manuscript Collection.]
The Testa de Neville. — There are in the Exchequer
three books of Knights' Fees. The first denominated the
Red Book of Fees, and the second the Black Book of Fees.
In these are recorded the Certificates of the Barons and
Tenants in capite oftheir respective Fees sent in by them
upon the levying of Scutages. The third, bound in two
volumes, and commonly though erroneously called Testa
de Neville, has invariably been recognised by the Treasurer
and Barons of the Exchequer under the official title of
Liber Feodorum, with the addition sometimes of " qui ha
betur in Scaccario pro evidently," and on other occasions
" Liber Feodorum penes Scaccarium qui pro evidently et
non pro Recordo reputatur." (3) This Book of Fees was
(2) [" The Testa de Neville, sometimes known by the name of the Liber
Feodorum, contains an abstract, made, as it is conjectured, either by Ralph
Neville, an Accountant of the Exchequer in the reign of Henry III. or by
Johannes de Neville, a Justice itinerant ot the same period, from Records
relating to scutages and aids, to which additions were made by other diligent
compilers ; and it is extremely valuable, as giving a condensed and accurate
view of the feudality of the thirteenth century, though, as itwas intended merely
as a book of general evidence, for the use of the contemporaries of the com
pilers, many notices, which would have been most instructive to after-times,
were necessarily omitted." — Quarterly Review, vol. xxxix. p. 57.]
(3) [" It seems that the 2'esta de Nevill was not deemed a Record, in the
legal sense of the word, in the fourteenth century ; for in the 7th Edward III.
1333, the Abbot and Convent of Croyland stated in their petition, relative to a
demand made on the Abbey by the Exchequer to contribute towards the aid for
marrying the King's eldest daughter, that the book called Testa de Nevill was

THE TESTA DE NEVILL. 261
compiled about the latter end ofthe reign of Edward the
Second, or the beginning of Edward the Third, partly
from Inquests taken upon the presentment of Knights and
other Jurors of Hundreds before the Justices itinerant,
and partly from Inquisitions upon Writs awarded to the
Sheriffs of Counties for the collecting of Escuage and
Aids. Its principal contents are an account,
1. De Feodis, ^c. — Of Fees holden of the King, or of
others who hold of the King in capite, and if alienated,
whether tbe Owners were enfeoffed ab antiquo, or de
novo, and Fees given or holden in Frankalmoigne, with
the value thereof respectively.
2. De Serjantijs, ^c. — Of Serjeanties holden of the King,
distinguishing such as were rented or alienated, and by
whom, and to whom, with the value of the same.
3. De Dominabtis et Puellis, 8fC, — Of Widows (Dames)
and Heiresses of Tenants in capite, whose Marriages
were in gift of the King, which of them were married
and which not; and if married, to and by whom, with
the value of their lands.
4. De Ecclesijs, ^c, — Of Churches in the gift of the
King, in whose hands they were and of whom holden.
5. De Escaetis, Sgc, — Of Escheats as weU of Lands of
the Normans as others, in whose hands the same were,
a collection of Inquests of Office, which ' is not of record.'* To a transcript of
a portion of the Testa de Nevill, on vellum, made about the time of James I.,
and forming the Lansdowne MS. 257, the following note, tranlcribed from the
original Record, is prefixed : — ' Memorandum quod iste liber compositus fuit
et compilatus de diversis Inquisitionibus ex officio captis tempore Regis E. filii
R. H., et sic contenta in eodem libro pro evideuciis habeantur hic in Scaccario
et non pro recordo.' — -Nicolas on the Public Records, p. 51 .]
* " Rolls of Pstrliament, vol . ii. pp. 70, 71 , • Une livere qe home appeleTestede
Nevill assemble des Enquestes de Office qe n'est pas de record.' — ' Dont ils
prient a nostre Seigneur le Roy, desicome les monementz avantdit sourdont de
desordines accomptes des torcenouses ministres ne sont pas de record ne tiele
force q'ils puissent leur tenance en franche almoigne,' &c."

262 THE TESTA DE NEVILL.
and by what service holden, and whether holden with
out license.
6. The amount of the sums paid for Aids and Escuage
by each Tenant (4).
This Liber Feodorum therefore formed a collection
from the pre-existing Presentments in Eyre and Inquests
of Office of all the feudal tenures throughout the King
dom, and when Aids or Escuage were required it readUy
furnished to the Treasurer and Barons an account, not
only of the Tenants in capite from whom the same were
demandable, but of the other profits arising from such
feudal tenures. Nor was it unusual in such cases for the
Court of Exchequer to deliver to the Collectors of Aids
and Escuage, transcripts of this book, as instructions for
their levying these respective duties. Thus for the ease
and convenience of the Exchequer, and in order to save
the trouble of resorting on every occasion to the original
Rolls and Inquests, this Book of Fees was admitted by
the Treasurer and Barons as evidence in that Court,
though not esteemed by them as a Record.
It is not discoverable why this book acquired the title
of Testa de Neville, though so early as the reign of
Edward the Third it was commonly, yet not officially,
known by that name (5). There was a RoU under that
title in the Exchequer in the time of Edward the First (6),
part, or rather a copy of part whereof, in the handwriting
of that reign, is now extant in the Chapter House, West
minster (7). It is a RoU of five smaU membranes, com
prising ten counties, and is stated to have been transcribed
from another very imperfect RoU. It is observable that
(4) For the first five Articles, see the Articles in Eyre, also the printed Testa
de Neville, p. 53 and 170.
(5) Ryley's Plac, Pari, p. 648. Rot, Part. vol. ii. p. 70.
(6) Madox's Exch, vol. i. p. 321, note (r), col. 2.
(7) In Rageman's Bag.

THE TESTA DE NEVILL. 263
wherever the extracts in the Book of Fees appear under
the title De Testa de Neville such extracts agree ver-
batim with the entries on this RoU, and the whole con
tents of such RoU are incorporated therein. All the
extracts, however, under the title of Testa de Neville
are comparatively few to the other entries in the book,
forming not more than one-twentieth part of the two
volumes. There was one Ralph de Neville, an Accountant in the
Court of Exchequer and a Collector of the Aids in the
reign of Henry tbe Third (8). It is not improbable he
might have been the compiler of the Roll called Testa i
de Neville; or it Was perhaps compiled by JoUan de
Neville, a Justice itinerant of that reign, as supposed by
Dugdale (9).
NOTES.

Placita in Cane' in Com' Kane' in Turri Lond No. 48,
de Manerio de Seintlynge A" 47 Ed. III.
A Writ was sent to the Treasurer and Barons of the
Exchequer to search the great Book of Fees, and the
other RoUs and Memoranda of the Exchequer, as to the
Manor of Seintlynge. To this Writ they returned the
following Certificate into Chancery: " Scrutatis RotuUs
et Memorandis de quibus fit mentio in hoc brevi comper
tum est in quodam Libro de feodis que reddunt Wardum
ad Castrum Dovorr' sub titulo. Hee sunt feoda que
tenentur de I^ in capite et vocantur Pefel et reddunt
Ward ad castrum Dover' p viginti septimanas sic Kent,
Wynchelyne, Sandlyne Akemere iij feoda Tenentes Wilis
Payforer her' Gregorij de Rokesle Johes de Mares.
Scrutato etiam libro feodorum penes Scaccarium residente
qui quidem Liber pro Evidently et non pro Recordo re
putatur sub titulo. Ad hue de feoS Dni Regis tam do
(8) Vide printed Testa de Neville, p. 39.
(9) Dugdale's Baron, vol, i. p. 288, col. 2,

264

THE TESTA DE NEVILL.

honore Peverelli qih de honore Hagenet sic. (10) Johes
de Mares unii feodum in Acmere et in Sentlinges."
Comptum est eciam alibi in code libro ubi inserif in mar-
gine"— " lastii de Sutton" sic. (ll^Johe Mares unii
feodum in Acmere et Sentling de Dno Rege de honore
BoloH." ^ ^
B.
To a Writ of Certiorari issued out of Chancery, dated
the 9th Nov. A" 8 Edw. III. (enrolled Mic' Term A" 9°
Rot. 35° in the Exchequer, and directed to the Treasurer
and Barons, to search the Books of Fees, and to certify
whether the moiety or entirety of the Manor of Patrikes-
burn, in Kent, was holden by the service of paying to the
King's Castle of Rochester 12*. yearly in lieu of all ser
vice. The Treasurer and Barons returned, " Scrutato
libro (12) feodorg Sc8ij p'textu istius bris non est comptii
p quod Sviciii medietas maniij de Patrikesbourne tenet"".
Comptum est tamen in quodam Ubro extracto de difsis
Inquisicoibj cap? ex officio tempe H. ^avi Regis nunc in
Kane' qui het"^ in Sc8io ^ Evidently sic. (13) In hundro
de Brugg medietas Ville de Badrichesburn' que fuit Radi
Toisun est Eschaeta Dni Regis et Gaufr' de Say tenet
eam p Dnm Rege J.^et valet p annfi xti sine Stauro."
Comptum est eciam in eodem libro sub titulo Feoda WiUi
de Say sic. (14) " Prior de BeUo loco, Johes de Say unu
feodii in Patrichisburn." C.
To a Writ of Certiorari, dated the 3d Nov. A" 5 Ed. II.
(in Turri Lond) to searcb the RoUs, &c. of the Exche
quer, the Treasurer and Barons returned (inter alia) —
" Comgim® eciam in libro (15) feodorum in Essex in Testa
(10) This passage is in page 208 of the printed Testa de Neville, and agrees
therewith verbatim,
(II) So this, page 214, col. 2.
(12) This meant the Red Book,
(13) This passage is in page 215, col. 2, of the printed Testa de Neville, and
agrees therewith verbatim et literatim.
(14) So this passage, page 207, col. 1.
(15) This passage is decisive to show that the Testa de Neville was incorpo
rated into this Book of Fees, of which it forms so small a part as before stated.

THE TESTA DE NEVILL.

265

de Neville, in Hundro de Rekyntre qd Ecciia (16) de
Haveringg est de donacoe Dni Regis et Rex avus dedit
eam pil3 de Monte jov'." D.
On a large Roll of twenty-seven membranes, containing
a transcript of this Book of Fees, so far as relates to the
County of Lincoln, preserved in the Chapter House at
Westminster, is tbe following title at the bead of the
Roll; viz. Com' Line'
Lindeseye. — " Extract de libro feodorg et at memorand
Sc8ij de feod MiUtii in Com' Lincoln' liberand collect
scutag' de exercitu scocie anno primo Regis E. tercij a
Conquestu in eod com' pro informacoe hend de eisdem
scutag' levand."
In the same Roll there are several extracts from the
Red Book in the Exchequer, to which the following title
is prefixed " Ex?cte de rubeo libro feodor|."

E.
The small Roll entitled Testa de Neyvill, preserved
at the Chapter House, contains the following counties.
The entries thereon are to be found verbatim in this Book
of Fees in the pages marked underneath, viz.

Original.

Print.

Hereford .

. . vol. 1, p. 324 to 327 . pages 69. 70.

Cumberland

Devon .

. . . vol. 1, p. 836 . . 840 . . 194, 195.

Stafford

. . vol. 1, p. 248 . . 281 .

. 54,55.

Salop .

. . . vol. 1, p. 252 . . 257 .

. 55,56.

Surry .

. . vol.2, p. 72.. 80 .

224, 226.

Sutht .

. . vol. 2, p. 107 . . 122 .

235, 236.

Glouc' .

. . vol 1, p. 376.. 360 .

77.

Oxon' . .

. . vol. 1, p. 583 . . 586 .

133, 134.

Sussex .

. . vol. 2, p. 81 . . 85 .

226. 227.

On the (

iorse of the first membrane, at the end of the

County of ]

Oevon, is this entry, viz.

" Non p

otest plus sc'bi de Com' Devon' jpp? defectii

magnu

q' est in R° exemplar' g quem iste

scribit'."

(16) Agrees with page 267, col, 2, of the printed Testa de Ncxille.

266 THE TESTA DE NEVILL.
And on the fourth membrane, at the end of the County
of Southampton, is the following,
" Non potuit plus scribi de isto com' pp def cm in Rotlo
exemplar'."
And at the end ofthe RoU is written " explicit."

[From Manuscript Collection.]
Tfie Testa de Nevill. — This is an account of the
Scutages and Knights' Fees in the reigns of Henry the
Third and Edward the First, the chief use to be derived
from it is to ascertain the principal landowners throughout
the kingdom at these early periods, and the tenures by
which they held their estates, some of which are indeed
very curious, and throw great light on the customs then
in use (17).
(17) [See further Bislap Nicolson's English Historical Library, p. 173 ; Ni
colas, Notitia Historica, p. IIO; and Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 54.]

CHAPTER X.
ACCOUNT OF THE HUNDRED ROLLS, AND ROLLS
OF QUO WARRANTO.

[From the Preface to the First Volume of the
Hundred Rolls,]
The Rolls, officially denominated The Hundred Rolls,
contain Inquisitions taken in pursuance of a Special Com
mission, issued under the Great Seal, dated the llth day
of October, in the second year of tbe reign of King
Edward the First.
A Transcript of the commission itself, with the Articles
of Enquiry from the Patent Roll of that year preserved in
the Tower, is prefixed to the Collection. The Original
Inquisitions for the County of Lincoln are preserved
amongst the Records in the Tower of London; and those
for several other counties are reposited amongst the Re
cords ofthe Court of the Receipt of the Exchequer, in the
Chapter House at Westminster.
For a few counties no Hundred Rolls have been yet
discovered; and to supply this deficiency, it has been
deemed advisable to print tbe Extracts of the Inquisitions
for all the counties, which are entered on Three Rolls in
a handrwriting coeval with tbe Inquisitions, and also pre
served in tbe Chapter House: in one instance, viz. for the
County of Bucks, the Answers to the Articles in the Eyre
A" 39 Hen. III., hitherto officially kept as part of the
Hundred RoUs of that county, have been also added.
In order to form an accurate idea of the nature of the
Hundred RoUs, it will be necessary briefly to Consider the

268

hundred rolls, AND ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO.

Articles usuaUy given in charge to the Hundredors hy
the Justices in Eyre, the particular objects the King had
in contemplation in issuing this Special Commission, the
Legislative Provisions which originated from the Returns
thereto, and the subsequent Pleadings in Quo Warranto
in Eyre, which took place in consequence of some of these
provisions. It was a function of the Justices in Eyre, as weU to en
quire of Knights' Fees, Escheats, Wardships, Marriages,
Presentations to Churches, and Usurpations of the Rights
of the Crown, (in order to preserve the profitable Tenures
of the King, and that he might be duly answered of the
Fruits of such Escheats, Wardships, &c. which formed a
material part of his revenue,) as to enquire of Oppressions
and Frauds of the King's Ministers and Officers. The
Justices, therefore, (as is well known,) delivered in charge
to the Hundredors certain Articles called Capitula Iti
neris, (Bract, 1. 2, fo. 116, 117.) These were not always
the same, but varied as times and places required. The
Articles in Bracton were given in charge, with little varia
tion, during the reign of Henry the Third. In his 39th
year, the Annals of Burton, 342, and the Inquisitions for
Bucks, (page 20,) furnish an example of the changes occa
sionally made in them. They are fewer, though in sub
stance many of them are similar to the Articles of the
Special Commission, A° 2 Edw. I. Two Articles of the
39th Henry III. are particularly levelled against the in
creasing power of the Italian Clergy, and the encroach
ment of the Ecclesiastical on the Civil Courts. •
During the turbulent reign of King Henry the Third;
the revenues of the Crown had been considerably dimi
nished by tenants in eap«7e alienating without license; and
by ecclesiastics, as weU as laymen, withholding from the
Crown, under various pretexts, its just rights, and usurp
ing the right of holding Courts and other Jura Regalia-

hundred rolls, and rolls of quo warranto. 269
Numerous exactions and oppressions of the people had
also been committed in this reign by the nobility and gen
try claiming the rights of Free Chace, Free Warren, and
Fishery, and demanding unreasonable ToUs in Fairs and
Markets ; and again, by Sheriffs, Escheators, and other
Officers and Ministers of the Crown, under colour of law.
King Edward tbe First, who was on his return from the
Holy Land on the death of his father, did not reach Eng
land tUl towards the latter end of tbe second year of his
reign, {Rot. Claus. 2 Ed. I. m. 5, and Rot, Pat. 2 Ed. I.
m. 15,) and these abuses remained uncorrected till his
return. One of the first acts of his administration, after
his arrival, was to inquire into the State of the Demesnes,
and of the Rights and Revenues of the Crown, and con
cerning the conduct of the Sheriffs, and other Officers
and Ministers, who had defrauded the King and grievously
oppressed the People. {Annals of Waverley, 235.)
The Capitula Itineris would have nearly embraced the
consideration of all these abuses ; yet as the circuit of the
justices itinerant, who went it generally but once in seven
years, would not return till the sixth year of this King's
reign, it was necessary in the interim to afford a speedy
remedy to the Crown and to the subject. Before, how
ever, any specific remedy could be provided for the cor
rection of the abuses above described, evidence was requi
site of their peculiar nature and extent. The King, there
fore, on the llth October, A" 2° of his reign, appointed
Special Commissioners for the whole kingdonu as appears
from the Patent Rolls of that year, whereon are enrolled
Thirty-five Articles of Inquiry. Twelve other Articles,
not discoverable on the Patent Rolls, are to be found
among the Returns, making in aU Forty-seven Articles.
The latter were adapted to the circumstances of the place,
and some of these are appUcable to maritime counties only.
After the Commissioners had, in the third year, re-

270 HUNDRED ROLLS, AND ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO.
turned their Rolls of Inquisitions in obedience to the
Commission of 2d of Edw. I., it was necessary for the
Court of Exchequer to have in one view such parts of the
Return as affected the Rights of the Crown and the
Abuses of its Officers; to this end certain Rolls were
drawn up containing a Selection, under the denomination
of Extracts.
The Rolls of Inquisitions and Extracts being in the
bands of the Treasurer and Barons of the Exchequer, the
Crown was at once furnished (amongst other things) with
evidence, upon the oath of a jury of each hundred and
town in every county, of all
The Demesne Lands of the Crown, whether ancient,
or newly acquired by escheat or purchase ;
Manors, &c. formerly in the hands of the Crown, the
persons holding the same, the authority, and how alienated ;
Tenants in capite and tenants in ancient demesne ;
The Losses sustained by the Crown in Military Ser
vices, and otherwise, by the subinfeudations made by such
tenants in capite, &c. ;
Alienations to the Church under pretext of gifts in
frankalmoigne ;
Wardships, Marriages, Escheats, Suits, and Services
withholden and subtracted ;
Fee Farms ofthe Crown, Hundreds, Wapentakes, and
Tythings ;
Courts, Wreck of the Sea, Free Chace, Free Warren,
and Fishery, and other Jura Regalia;
Oppressions of the NobiUty, Clergy, and other great
men, claiming to have and exercise sucb rights ;
Exactions by excessive and illegal Tolls in Fairs, and
for Murage, Pontage, &c. ;
Exactions and Oppressions of Sheriffs, Escheators, and
other ministerial officers, under colour of law ;
Unlawful Exportation of Wools, &c. &c.

HUNDRED ROLLS, AND ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO. 271
The Statute of Gloucester was enacted in the sixth year
of this King's reign; and the first chapter, relating to
liberties, franchises, and Quo Pf«rmMfo, was founded upon
the previous inquiries under this commission. A compa
rison of the Hundred RoUs, and the RoUs of Pleadings in
Quo Warranto of Edw. I., wherein the usurpations pre
sented by the Hundredors are inquired into, fuUy justifies
this conclusion.
Immediately after the passing of the Statutes of Glou
cester, 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 agaftist such per
sons as claimed manors, liberties, &c. where the jurors had
previously said upon oath before the inquisitors, A° 3 Edw.
I., Nesciunt quo Waranto the parties held or claimed ;
and again, where they said the party held or claimed sine
Waranto, in such case a writ sometimes issued, but the
party usuaUy, 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 respondend' Dno Regi quo waranto,"
&c. and in tbe other " Presentatum fuit alias coram Inqui-
sitoribus Dni Regis quod A. B. clamat, &c. sine waranto."
The Hundred Rolls for the counties of Gloucester and
Lincoln, A° 3 Edw. I., afford a stronger instance of the
connection between these Rolls and the Quo Warranto
Rolls in Eyre ; since the verdict in Eyre, whenever there
was one, and in like manner the judgment of ^the justices,
or at least the effect thereof, have been generaUy entered
in another hand on the Hundred Rolls of those counties.
These entries are very numerous in the two counties al
luded to.
It is also worthy of observation, that many of the same
jurors who were upon the inquest under the Special Com-

272 HUNDRED ROLLS, AND ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO,
mission, A° 2 Edw. I., formed a part of the inquest on the
Inquiry upon the Proceedings in Quo Warranto.
But the best evidence that the result of the inquiries
under this Commission was the immediate cause of the
first chapter of the Statute of Gloucester, consists in this
circumstance, tbat previously to the departure of the Jus
tices in Eyre on their circuit immediately foUowing the
enactment of that Statute, these identical Hundred Rolls,
or Inquisitions, were delivered to them for the purpose of
holding pleas upon the claims stated therein :
" De Inquisitionib3 lib Memo"*"™ qd Walts de Wym-
burn die Mart' gx' an festii S8i Georgii Martiris anno
regni Ijfc septimo liberavit apud Westm' Willo de Sah^m
Inquisicoes factas in comitatib3 Ebor' Notingham Derft de
libtatib3 Diii Ijk manliis feodis Diio Regi subtractis ad
pdcas inquisicoes in pdcis Com' placitand." Rot. Claus.
7 Ed. I. m. 8 d.
Hence it may be reasonably concluded fhat the first
chapter of the Statute of Gloucester was enacted as a
necessary consequence of the previous inquiry made by
virtue of the Commission A" 2; nor is it unreasonable to
suppose, that the chapters 6, 8, 10, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26,
27, 30, 31, and 35, of the Statute of Westminster the
First, were intended to provide specifically against offences,
which appear, by the inquisitions on these Hundred RoUs,
to have been frequently committed, and which, probably,
the common law was inadequate to correct.
After the 6th of Edw. I. the Articles of Inquiry of the
2d Edw. I. given in charge by the inquisitors, formed a
part of the Capitula Corone et Itineris, and were always
given in charge by the justices on their circuits on the
Crown side to the Hundredors, They were entitled
Nova Capitula, as distinguished from the old Articles ;
and are to be seen in the subsequent RoUs in Eyre, parti
cularly of the 21st Edw. I. in the county of Surrey. The

HUNDRED ROLLS, AND ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO. 273
old Articles in Eyre, as in Bracton, lib, i, fo, 116, 117, and
those of the 39 Hen, III,, as also the Nova Capitula,
were aU incorporated in Fleta, Ub, i. c. 20, tit. de Capi
tulis Corone 8f Itineris,{\)
[The Contents ofthe first volume ofthe Hundred RoUs
are as follows: —
Bedford'— (Extract) Cornub'— (Extract)
Berk'— (Extract) Derb'
Buck' Devon'
Bilk' Devon'— (Extract)
Buck' — (Extract) Dorset'
Cantebr'— (Extract) Dorset'— (Extract)
(1 ) [The Hundred Rolls, — " The Inquisitions entered on these Rolls were taken
by Commissioners appointed for eacli county by King Edward I. by his Letters
Patent under the Great Seal, dated at the Tower of London, October llth, in
the second year of his reign, A.D. 1274. The Commissioners were instructed
to summon Juries, to inquire into the King's Rights, Royalties, and Preroga
tives, and into Frauds and Abuses, very full and ample Instructions being given
them by the said Commission for their conduct. These Rolls contain only
Surveys in the Counties of Cambridge, Huntingdon, Lincoln, and Oxford ; but
they are not complete for any one of those Counties, which is much to be
lamented, they being the most ample and conect Surveys extant. These valu
able Records have until lately been very little known." — Appendix to First Re-
pcrrt of Select Committee of the House of Commons on Public Records, p. 54. See
also p. 57.]
[" The Rotuli Hundredorum were formed by the inquests taken pursuant to
the general commissions, (2 Edw. I.) by which certain justices were appointed
to inquire not only into the value and state of the demesne lands of the Crown,
and the knights' fees held in capite, but also into the illegal exercise of territo
rial franchises. The Rolls which were compiled for the use of the Exchequer,
are extant for most of the counties of England ; and from the vleiy minute view
which they afford of the state of the landed population, they constitute a species
of restlng-point between Anglo-Norman feudaUty ai)d that order which was
established when Littleton expounded the English law. They exhibit the
Churl, the Socmen, and the Baron, in that memorable era when the causes were
beginning to operate which converted their grand-children into the labourer, the
farmer, and the gentleman, and destroyed the ancient government and policy of
the realm." — Quarterly Review, vol. xxxix. pp. 57, 58.]
[See Nicolas, Notitia Historica, p. 131.] T

274 HUNDRED ROLLS, AND ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO.
Ebor' Leycestr'
Essex' Lincoln'
Essex'— (Extract) Lincoln'— (Extract)
Glouc' Civit' Lond
Heref" Com' North
Hertf Comitatus Nortffblch—
Huntedon'— (Extract) (Extract)]
Kane'

[From the Preface to the Second Volume of the Hundred
Rolls.]
The Hundred Rolls, — The nature of these Rolls has
been fully detailed in the Preface to the former volume.
Other RoUs, bearing the same name, are also preserved
ill the Tower of London, which it has been thought
proper to subjoin, although of a date somewhat later in
the same reign, and differing from the pi'eceding Rolls
in their origin and contents.
The RoUs of Inquisitions of the seventh and eighth
years of Edward the First, called Hundred Rolls, and
which are printed in this volume, are in the nature of a
General Survey, taken by virtue of a special commission,
dated the 12th March, A° 7° of his reign, extending to
the whole kingdom, but none are known to be now extant,
except those for the counties of Bedford, Buckingham,
Cambridge, Huntingdon, and Oxford.
The principal object of the King, in requiring this
latter Survey, seems to have been the obtaining a correct
knowledge of what lands were holden of the crown by
knights' service, and other tenures, and whether imme
diately of the crown or of mesne lords ; in order that the
crown might be informed how to coUect, and the subject
bow to pay escuage for the one species of tenure, and
hidage or tallage for the other, out of the several fees.

HUNDRED ROLLS, AND ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO. 275
The commission for taking these Hundred RoUs
recites, that inasmuch as by tbe frequent usurpations, as
well upon the crown as others, in their demesne lands,
honours, and liberties, both the King and others had
been ousted thereof, for that reason it was necessary
to ascertain in future what of right belonged to the
crown, and what to others. It commands the commis
sioners to survey, by the bath of knights and other lawful
men, all cities, boroughs, and market towns, within liber
ties and without, and to enquire of all demesnes, fees,
honours, escheats, and liberties, and all things touching
fees and tenements, belonging as well to the King as
to all others, and who held the same; that is, to distin
guish tenants holding in demesne, or as villeins, bondmen,
cottagers, and freeholders, and such as held or enjoyed
woods, parks, chases, warrens, waters, rivers, liberties,
fairs, markets, and other tenures; bow and of whom,
whether of mesne lords, or otherwise, and out of what
fees escuage was wont and ought to be paid, with the
amount of tbe fees of aU honours, who held them, and
by what means ; so that every town, hamlet, and othet
tenure, by whatsoever name distinguished, might be dis
tinctly assessed, and clearly entered on rolls, and no man
be favoured ; and so that the King and others might bfe
fuUy ascertained of the premises. And the commissioners
were bound, by a prescribed oath, dihgently and lawfully
to execute the office, and lawfully to hear and determine,
as well for the King as for others, and to omit not the
same out of regard to rich or poor, nor through hatred,
malice, favour, fear, or condition of any person, nor for
reward, gift, or promise Of any one ; also to omit not,
through art or contrivance, lawfully to inquire of the
King's rights, and lawfully to cause the same to be written
and delivered to the King, as had been enjoined them ;
and not to receive any benefice of holy church, nor
t2

276 HUNDRED ROLLS, AND ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO.
pension or other reward, without the King's licence.
(Pat. 7° Edw. Lm. 21. d.)
The form of the articles is not on the patent roll, but it
is to be collected from the various returns under the
commission ; many of them vary from the Nova Capi
tula, A° 3 Edw. I.
The title to the returns or inquisitions pursues the very
words of the commission, and the commissioners are
therein denominated inquisitors.
"Inquisitio fca apud Huntingdon anno regni Regis
Edwardo septimo coram diio Witlo Muschet Galfrido de
Sandiacre et Nicho Bassingburn inquisitoribus dni Reg',
&c. p duodecim, &c. super articulis sibi commissis qui
dicunt, &c." Hund. de Leytonstoii, Hunt.
" Inquisitio facta, &c. per, &c. de dniicis dni Regis
feodis feodalib3 escaetis libtatib3 ac rebus oinimod feod
et ten' contingentib3 quam alior' quorumciiqj, &c." Hund
Ewelme, Oxon.'
In the inquisition for the hundred of Northstowe, Cam
bridgeshire, the whole of the mandatory part of the
commission is set forth.
The answers, as before observed, being more in detail,
may be comprised, and were arranged by the inquisitors,
under the foUowing heads, viz. : —
Demesne lands of the crown, ancient, and newly ac
quired ; manors, lands, &c. formerly in ancient demesne,
and herein of sokemen, bondmen, or servi, with their
services and rents ; all other honours, fees, &c. as well
in counties as in cities, boroughs, and market towns,
and herein of freeholders, customary tenants, villeins,
bondmen, or servi, with the services and rents of each,
fees, &c. out of which escuage was payable ; that is, of
tenants in capite by knight service, and tenants of such
mesne lords paying escuage; baronies and serjeancies.

ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO. 277
liberties, as courts, chase, free warren, wreck, fisheries,
common or free, and several other jura regalia ; pur
prestures on the crown, suits and services subtracted,
advowsons of churches, alienations without license, ward
ships, marriages, escheats; rivers and watercourses di
verted, castle ward, fee farms, assarts, repairs of bridges
and roads, &c. Sec. &c.

[The Contents of the second volume of the Hundred
Rolls are as follows : —
Norht' —(Extract) Suffble'— (Extract)
Northt' Sussex— (Extract)
Northumbr' — (Extract) Suth'mtes'
Notingh'm— (Extract) Warrwyk'— (Extract)
Oxon'— (Extract) Wyltes'— (Hen. III.)
Oxon' Wylt"- (Edw. I.)
Rotelond' Wygorn— (Extract)
Roteland'— (Extract) Derb'
Salop'— (Hen. III.) Noting'
Salop'— (Edw. I.) Bedeford"
Stafford' Buk'
Stafford'— (Extract) Cantabr'
Sum'set' Hunt'
Sumerset'— (Extract) Oxon']
Suffble'

[From the Preface to the Placita de Quo Warranto.]
The Placita de Quo Warranto. — In stating the nature
of these Records, it is proper to refer to what has been
said concerning them in the Preface to the Hundred
Rolls. King Edward the First, on his return from the
Holy Land, in the second year of his reign, discovered
that, during the reign of his father. King Henry the
Third, the revenues of the crown had been considerably

278

ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO.

diminished by tenants in capite alienating without li
cense ; and by ecclesiastics, as well as laymen, withhold
ing from the crown, under various pretexts, its just rights,
and usurping the right of holding courts and other Jura
Regalia; and that numerous exactions and oppressions
of the people had been committed by the nobihty and
gentry claiming rights of free chase, free warren, and ¦
fishery, and demanding unreasonable tolls in fairs and
markets. One of tbe first acts of his administration, after his
arrival, was not (as untruly asserted by Lord Coke,
2 Inst. 280 and 495), to fill his coffers with money, by
unjustly dispossessing his subjects of their rights, but
to correct the abuses abovenamed ; before, however, any
specific remedy could be provided for the correction of
them, evidence was requisite of their peculiar nature and
extent. The King, therefore, on the llth October, A°2°
of his reign, appointed special commissioners for the
whole kingdom, to whom were delivered certain articles of
inquiry, applicable to the several abuses above described.
The inquisitions taken in pursuance of these commis
sions were entered on rolls, denominated Hundred Rolls,
which were returned for the most part into the Exche
quer. From them the crown was furnished (amongst other
things) with evidence, upon oath of a jury of each hundred
and town in every county, of
All the demesne lands of the crown, whether ancient, or
newly acquired by escheat or purchase ;
Manorg, &p. formerly in the hands of the crown, the
persons holding the same, the authority, and how
alienated ;
Tenants in capite, and tenants in ancient demesne ;
The losses sustained by tbe crown in miUtary services,
and otherwise, by subinfeud.ations made by such tenants
in capite, &c.

ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO.

279

Alienations to the church under pretext of gifts in
frankalmoigne ;
Wardships, marriages, escheats, suits, and services
withholden and substracted ;
Fee farms of the crown, hundreds, wapentakes, and
tythings ;
Courts, wreck of the sea, free chase, free warren, and
fishery, and other Jura Regalia ;
Oppressions of the nobiUty, clergy, and other great
men claiming to have and exercise such rights ;
Exactions by excessive and iUegal tolls in fairs, and for
murage, pontage, &c.
Exactions and oppressions of sheriffs, escheators, and
other ministerial officers, under colour of law, &c. &c. &c.
The statute of Gloucester was enacted in the sixth
year of this King's reign ; and the first chapter relating
to liberties, franchises, and Quo Warranto, was founded
upon, tbe previous inquiries under this commission. A
comparison of the Hundred Rolls and the rolls of Plead
ings in Quo Warranto fully justifies this conclusion.
Immediately after the passing of the statute of Gloucester,
the stated period of the circuit in Eyre returned ; and
on the justices going their iter, writs of right and Quo
Warranto issued very generally against such persons as
claimed manors, liberties, &c. where the jurors had pre
viously 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 usuaUy 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 Regi quo Warranto," &c. and in the other, " Pre-

280 ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO.
sentatum fuit alias coram Inquisitoribus Domini Regis
quod A. B. clamat, &c. sine Warranto."
Previously to the departure of the justices in Eyre on
their circuit, immediately foUowing the enactment of the
statute of Gloucester, these identical Inquisitions or
Hundred RoUs were delivered to them, for the purpose
of holding pleas upon the claims stated therein. Vide
Rot. Claus. 7 Edw. L m. 8. d.
The roUs from which the pleadings in Quo Warranto
oi the reigns of Edward the First, Second, and Third
have been printed, are in a state of good preservation ;
they are reposited in the Court of the Receipt of the Ex
chequer, in the Chapter House at Westminster.
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 frequently
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 forinseca or
pleadings in other counties ; and amongst these are not
unfrequently cases, wherein judgments have been ad
journed from tbe 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 councU in
pursuance of the statute called Rageman said to have
been made A° 4, Edw. I. to hear and determine aU com
plaints of injuries done throughout the realm, within the
twenty-five years next before tbe feast of St. Michael, in
the fourth year of his reign. Tbe proceedings in these
cases were by indictment in what was termed the Rage-
man, and were chiefly against sheriffs, escheators, bailiffs,
and other officers, for extortions and oppressions under

ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO. 281
colour of law. Vide pp. 378, 382, 387 b, [Placita de
Quo Warranto,] These, however, form but a very smaU
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 utihty ; 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 cor
porations, 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 obsolete
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 (2).

[The Contents of the

Volume of Placito

ranto are as follows: —

Bedford'

Herteford'

Berk'

Huntingdon'

Buk'

Kane'

Cantebregg'

Lane'

Cornub'

Line'

Cumbreland'

London'

Derb'

Middlesex'

Devon'

Norff'

Dor's'

Norht'

Ebor'

Northumb'

Essex'

Notingham

Glouc'

Oxonie

Hereford'

Rotel'

(2) [See Grimaldi, Origines Genealogiccc, pp. 100, 101.]

ROLLS OF QUO WARRANTO.

Salop'
Som's'
Staffbrdie
Suff'Surr'
Sussex'
Suthampton'
Warwic'

Westmorland'Wiltes'

WaUi:

Cardigan'

Insulae de Gerneseye &
Jereseye.J

CHAPTER XI.
ACCOUNT OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL TAXATION
OF POPE NICHOLAS IV. Temp. Regis Edward I.
[From the Preface to the Work,]
Pope Innocent the Fourth, to whose predecessors in the
see of Rome, the First Fruits and Tenths of all Ecclesi
astical Benefices had for a long time been paid, gave the
same, A. D. 1253, to King Henry the Third, for three
years, which occasioned a taxation in the following year,
sometimes called The Norwich Taxation, and sometimes
Pope Innocent's Valor,
In the year 1288, Pope Nicholas the Fourth granted
the Tenths to King Edward the First for six years,
towards defraying the expense of an expedition to the
Holy Land; and that they might be collected to their full
value, a taxation by the King's precept was begun in that
year (1288) and finished as to the province of Canterbury
in 1291, and as to that of York, in the following year;
the whole being under the direction of John, Bishop of
Winton, and Oliver, Bishop of Lincoln.
A Third Taxation, entitled. Nova Taxatio, as to some
part of the province of York, was made A. D. 1318,
(1 1 Edward II.) by virtue of a Royal Mandate directed
to tbe Bishop of CarUsle ; chiefly on account of the inva
sion of the Scots, by which the clergy of those border
countries were rendered unable to pay the former tax.
The taxation of Pope Nicholas is a most important

284 ECCLESIASTICAL TAXATION OF POPE NICHOLAS,
Record, because all the taxes, as well to our Kings as the
Popes, were regulated by it, until the Survey made in the
Twenty-sixth year of Henry the Eighth; and because the
statutes of Colleges which were founded before the Refor
mation are also interpreted by this criterion, according to
which their benefices, under a certain value, are exempted
from the restriction in the statute 21 Henry VIII, con
cerning pluralities.
Various detached parts of this Record have been
published in different county histories : but the whole
was, for the first time, edited under the direction of the
Record Commissioners, from two manuscripts in the
King's Remembrancer's Office, Exchequer, collated with
a Cottonian manuscript, of much greater antiquity, in the
British Museum, Tiberius, C. X, which has unfortunately
suffered some damage from the fire which happened to the
Cottonian Library whilst lodged in the Dormitory at West
minster. The original Rolls for several dioceses are still
extant in the Exchequer, and have been consulted in this
edition; the various readings which occur in them have
been preserved; they are however but few, and are of no
great consideration; which circumstances evince the ac
curacy of the ancient transcripts.
Specimens of the band-writing of the two Exchequer
Manuscripts, which appear to have been written in the
reign of Henry the Sixth, are prefixed to the wor^, and
a General Index is subjoined,(l)
(I) [Whilst searches were making for Monastic Records in the rooms of the
Court of Exchequer at Westminster relating to England and Ireland, there was
found iu a bag fourteen long Rolls containing an Ecclesiastical Valor and taxa
tion of the whole of Ireland, made by the authority of Pope Nicholas the Fourth.
This Valor extends to the possessions of archbishops, bishops, and the religious,
and also to rectories, vicarages, and to every kind of ecclesiastical benefice.]
[Upon these Rolls there is this entry, " Hos Rotulos simul cum aliis Rotulis
de Taxatione bonorum Beneficiorum totius Hibernie recepit hic ad Scaccarium

ECCLESIASTICAL TAXATION OF POPE NICHOLAS. 285
Walterus Exon' Episcopus tunc Thesaurarius primo die Octohris anno regni
Regis Edwardi filii Regis Edwardi xyj"" in quadam baga sigillo Scaccarii
Dublin consignata per manus WiUielmi de Lughteburgh nuncii domini Regis
eandem bagam sub sigillo predicto deferentis et eam dicto Thesaurario ex parte
Thesaurarii et Baronum dicti Scaccarii Dublin' liberantis."]
[This Bull of Pope Nicholas is dated in the third year of his Pontificate, 1290,
and is entitled ** Bulla Nicholai Papce Quarti per quam ordinavit qualiter
Decima concessa Regi colligi debeat, et a quibus, et per quas personas." See
further. Reports from Commissioners respecting the Pitblic Records of Ireland,
vol. i. p. 414, and vol. ii. p. 61, where there is an extract from the Rolls of
Pope Nichelas' Taxation of Ireland,']

CHAPTER XII.
ACCOUNT OF THE NON^ ROLLS. Temp. Edward IIL
[From the Preface to the Work,]
The Origin of these Records, the Authority by which
they were taken, and the manner of taking them, appear
in tbe Statutes of tbe 14 and 15 Edw. III. and in the
Commissions, and other Records in the Exchequer ; from
thence the following statement has been collected.
At the Parliament holden at Westminster the Wed
nesday next after Mid-Lent, in the Fourteenth year of
the reign of King Edward the Third of England, and
the first year of his reign in France, Stat. 1. c. 20.
the following grant was maide of a subsidy of the ninth
and fifteenth : " And for the Grants, Releases and Par
dons of the said chattels of Felons and Fugitives, and
many other things underwritten, which the King hath
granted to the Prelates, Earls, Barons, and all the Com
mons of his realm, for the ease of them perpetuaUy to
endure, the said Prelates, Earls, Barons, and all the
Commons of the realm, willingly of one assent and good
wiU, having regard to the will that the King their liege
Lord hath towards them, and to the great travailes that
he hath made and sustained, as weU in his wars of Scot
land, as against the parts of France and other places, and
to the good will which he hath to travail to keep his
realme, and maintain his wars, and to purchase his rights :
they have granted to him the ninth lamb, the ninth fleece,
and the ninth sheaf, to be taken by two years then next
to come : and of Cities and Boroughs the very ninth

THE NON/E ROLLS.

28';

part of all 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 weU by land as
by sea, and of his wars, as well against the parts of Scot
land, 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 deputed
taxers, shall be set lawfully at the value to the fifteen
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
travaile, shall be comprized 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, the King wiUed and
granted " to the said Prelates, Earls, Barons, and Commons,
Citizens, Burgesses, and Merchants, that the aforesaid
Grant should not another time be had in example, nor
fall to their prejudice in time to come, nor that they he
from henceforth charged or grieved to make any Aid, or
to sustain Charge, if it be not by the common assent of
the Prelates, Earis, Barons, and other great men, and
Commons of our said realm of England, and that in the
Parliament : and that all the profits arising of the said
Aid, shall be put and spent upon the mainftnance and
safeguard of Our said realm of England, and of Our wars
of Scotland, France, and Gascoigne, and in no places
elsewhere during the said wars."
By a third Statute in the fifteenth year of Edward the
Third, certain conditions were expressed whereupon the
subsidy granted in the fourteenth was given.

288 THE nonjE rolls.
Assessors and Venditors were thereupon 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 confinea
to a few parishes only within a county, and within the as
sessment and sale the ninth of the religious was included.
A Second Commission was afterwards issued by the
same authority, and directed (with a few exceptions) to
the same persons, and this was also imperfectly executed ;
but it was done in a way different from the first, by as
sessing and selling the ninth of the articles to be levied
according to the tax or valuation of churches completed
in 1292, 20 Edw. I. caUed Pope Nicholas's Taxation;
by which proceeding it seems, that the assessors and ven
ditors were to consider the ninth of corn, wool, and lambs,
in 1340, worth as much in a parish, as the tenth of corn,
wool, and lambs, and all other titheable commodities and
the glebe lands were, when the valuation was made of
them in 1292; and within the assessment and sale by
virtue of the Second Commission the ninth of the rehgi
ous was included.
In the fourteenth year ofthe reign of Edward III. the
clergy, both of the provinces of Canterbury and York,
granted to the King a tenth for two years (besides the
former triennial and annual grants) of all their property ;
and within this grant was intended and included the spi
ritualties and temporalties of abbies, priories, and other
reUgious houses and bodies. AU the property within the
valuation and tax of 1292, in the 20th Edw. I, was sub
jected to the tenth, in this year granted for two years, and
was afterwards collected agreeable to the Tax Book, or
Valor Beneficiorum, now in the custody of the King's
Remembrancer,

THE NONiE ROLLS.

289

Notwithstanding this grant of a tenth by the clergy
and religious, they were assessed and taxed to the ninth,
and both were collected; this exaction produced from
Stratford, tbe Archbishop of Canterbury, a remonstrance
addressed to King Edward, who afterwards (whenever
the grievance was stated) issued a writ directed to his
treasurer and barons of the Exchequer, and therein com
manded redress to be given.
From a review of the Rolls of Parliament, Statutes,
Register Books of Monasteries and Priories, Writs of
King Edward III. directed and sent to his treasurer and
barons of the Exchequer, and other proceedings of Re
cord in the Court of Exchequer, in the fifteenth, six
teenth, and subsequent years of the reign of Edward III.
it is evident, that from the laity only the grant of the
ninth and fifteenth was considered to proceed, and that
from the reUgious the ninth was not to be collected,
except from those who held by barony, and were sum
moned to Parliament when the grant ofthe ninth was made,
and except also upon possessions acquired by the religi
ous after the 20th Edw. I. which otherwise would wholly
escape taxation, not being included within the valuation
then made, and called, as already mentioned. Pope Ni
cholas's Valor, which then, and till the reign of Henry
VIII. was used as the guide for taxing the clergy, and
other religious bodies and men, and was constantly re
sorted to by the treasurer and barons to correct the ac
counts of coUectors of a tenth, and to determine-the liabi
lity of persons and property, and to what amount.
A Third Commission was afterwards issued and di
rected to the assessors and venditors on the 26th of
January, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Edward III.
whereby they were instructed to levy the ninth of corn,
wool, and lambs, in every parish, according to the value
u

290

THE NONiE ROLLS,

upon which churches were taxed, (this means Pope Ni
cholas's Valor and Taxation,) if the value of the ninth
amounted to as much as the tax, and to levy more where
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
information of these facts, they were directed to take in
quisitions (the Records now published) upon the oath of
the parishioners in every parish.
In these Records it appears that the parishioners of
every parish found upon their oath the true value (some
times separately) of the ninth of corn, wool, and lambs ;
then the amount of the ancient tax of the church was
stated, and afterwards the causes of the ninth not amount
ing to the tax or value of the church were assigned ; and
when the ninth did not exceed the tax, it was assigned
for cause thereof, that within the valuation or tax of the
church there were other articles included besides corn,
wool, and lambs, such as the dos or glebe of the church,
tithe of hay, and other tithes. And if any abbey, priory,
or other reUgious corporation, had property within any
parish, the ninth arising from such property was found
and returned.
There were in some counties and parishes local causes
which reduced the ninth very much in the 14th Edw. III.
Many parishes in the northern counties were at the time
exposed to an invading enemy, and totally or nearly laid
waste; this kingdom being then at war with Scotland.
The sea also had been destructive to other parishes
between the 20th Edw, I, and the 14th Edw. III. and in
consequence, land which produced corn when the value
and tax of Pope Nicholas was taken, was either lost or
uncultivated in the 14th Edw. III. In the counties much

THE NONiE ROLLS,

291

exposed to the severity of a cold winter (particularly Bed
fordshire) parishes were said to have suffered in the 14th
Edw, III, by the death of sheep and lambs. In Buck
inghamshire, the mildew in many parishes deteriorated
and diminished the produce and price of corn ; the po
verty ofthe parishioners and inhabitants in many parishes
was mentioned as a cause for much land being unculti
vated and unproductive; there were other causes as
signed, and all for the purpose of showing the great
difference between the ninth in 1340, and the value and
tax in 1292.
By the Nonce RoUs it appears, that the ninth was first
attempted to be sold for more than the tax of the
churches, then for as much as the tax, and afterwards for
the real and true value, whether more or less than the
ancient tax.
The Survey caUed Domesday, taken in the reign of the
Conqueror, and the Valor of Pope Nicholas, were copied
into books ; the former probably, and the latter certainly,
was compUed from particular Returns; some of those
from which Pope Nicholas's Valor was compUed being
now in the custody of the King's Remembrancer in the
Exchequer, In like manner, some of the original Inqui
sitions from whence the Nones Rolls were formed, andthe
Inrolments themselves, are now in the Exchequer, though
they do not appear to have been transcribed into books ;
and it is to be observed, that neither the Book of Pope
Nicholas's Valor, nor the Nonce Rolls, are so jmple in
many instances, as the particular Returns from whence
they were respectively formed.
In the reign of Charles the First, during the Usurpa
tion of Oliver Cromwell, and in the reign of Charles the
Second, several of these Inquisitions, and Extracts (con
taining the whole of one or more parishes) from the Nonee
RoUs, were at the instance of persons (as well laity as
u2

292

THE NON^ ROLLS,

clergy) exemplified under the seal of the Exchequer, and
are inroUed amongst the Memoranda ;
Chauwelton .

Conyngesby .
Cosham . ,
HetheringtonTotenho . .
Worle . .
Mapledurham EdwardestonChilcomb Sondon . .

Nott' -
Line' -
Wilts'Northt' Buk' .
. Som's
. Oxon'
, Suff'
Dors'
, Staff'

. Termi'o Pasche .
. Termi'o Pasche .
. Termi'o s'ti Hillar'
. Termi'o Pasche .
. Termi'o s'te Trin'
- Termi'o Pasche .
. Termi'o s'ti Hillar'
. Termi'o s'te Trin'
. Termi'o s'ti Hillar'
. Termi'o s'te Trin'

; ex gr
12 Car. I.
13 Car. I.
13 Car. I.
13 Car. I.
13 Car. I.
15 Car. I. .
1659. . ,
22 Car. II. ,

. R°22.
, R°90.
R°71.
R^se.
R°38.
R°1I.
R°16. R°20.

26 & 27 Car. II. R°92.
34 Car. II. . . R°3.

[From Manuscript Collection.]
The Nonce Rolls. — The object of this Record was to
ascertain the value of the Nona or ninth part of the corn,
fleeces and lambs in each parish, that portion having
been granted to the King (Edw. III.) as a temporary aid
to him in his wars with France ; but the chief utiUty now
to be derived from this Record is, that by its description
of the ^several tithes and their respective values, the defi
ciency of original endowments of vicarages, most of which
have in process of time been either lost or destroyed, is
in a great measure supplied.
For simUar reasons it is almost as useful to Impropria
tors as to the Clergy.

[A portion of this Record has been lost. The names of
the counties, the Rolls for which have been preserved, and
are comprised in the printed volume, are as follows : —
Berk' Sutht'
Bed' StaflTord'
Northampton' Oxon'
Lancastr' Hereford'
Dors' Wiltes'
Suff' Salop'

THE NONiE ROLLS. 293
Midd' Cornub"
Cantebr' Sussex'
Ebor' Glouc'
Lincoln' Hunt'
Nottingham' Hert'
Wygorn' Warw'
Essex' Rotelond'
Buck' The Rolls for some of these counties, formerly supposed
to be lost, were discovered during the progress of the
work.(3)] (3) [See also Appendix to the First Report of Select Committee cf the House of
Commons, 1800, p. 151 ; Nicolas, Notitia Historica, p. 122; and Grimaldi,
Origines Genealogicce, p. 56.]

CHAPTER XIII.
ACCOUNT OF THE CALENDARS OF THE CHARTER
ROLLS AND OF THE INQUISITIONS AD QUOD
DAMNUM.

[From the Preface to the Work.]
The Charter Rolls,— The Charter Rolls in the Tower
of London begin in the first year of the reign of King
John, 1 199, and end with the reign of Edward the Fourth,
1483. Their Contents are thus described in the Return
made by Thomas Astle, Esquire, Keeper ofthe Records
in the Tower, to the order of the Select Committee of the
House of Commons, and printed in the Reports thereon,
page 53 ; " They contain Royal Grants of Privileges to
Cities, Towns, Bodies Corporate, and private Trading
Companies belonging to those Cities and Towns ; Grants
of Markets, Fairs, and Free Warrens ; Grants of Creation
of Nobility, from the eleventh year of the reign of Ed
ward the Second to tbe end of the reign of Edward
the Fourth ; Grants of Privileges to Religious Houses,
&c." The Calendar to the Charter Rolls is printed from
three volumes preserved in the Record Office, apparently
written in the time of James the First. An Index Lo
corum et Nominum is subjoined.

[From Manuscript Collection,]
The Charter Rolls. — These Records, like the Patent
Rolls, are of great national importance. They contain
Grants of Liberties, PrivUeges, and Possessions, as well
to Religious Bodies as to Civil Corporations and to Indi-

CHARTER BOLLS — INQUISITIONS AD QUOD DAMNUM. 295
viduals; — as Charters of Foundation and Incorporation,
Grants and Confirmations of Dignities, Lands, Markets,
and Fairs, Free Warren, &c. The Calendar of these
Rolls was printed from an old MS. in the Record Office ;
and though it has some inaccuracies as to names of per
sons and places, yet it may upon the whole be considered
a fair and valuable book of reference to the contents of
these Records.(l) [From the Preface to the Work.]
The Inquisitionesr ad quod Damnum. — These commence
with the first year of the reign of Edward the Second,
1307, and end with the thirty-eighth year of Henry tbe
Sixth, 1460. These Recoils are in the above Return (of
Mr. Astle) described thus; " They were taken by virtue
of Writs directed to the Escheator of each County ; when
any Grant of a Market, Fair, or other Privilege or Li
cense of Alienation of Lands, was solicited, to inquire by
a Jury whether such Grant or Alienation was prejudicial
to the King or to others, in case the same should be
made." The Calendar to the Inquisitions ad quod Damnum, is
printed from one made by Mr. Robert Leinon, Chief
Clerk in the Office, under the direction bf Thomas Astle,
Esquire. An Index Locorum et Nominum is subjoined.

[From Manuscript Collection.]
The Inquisitiones ad quod Damnum. — These Docu-
*
(I) [" 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
intended as a reference to the Records themselves, the purport of the instru
ments may sometimes be learned from the Calendar, subject of course to the
chance of rnistakes 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 naihe, were then granted by the
King to the respective parties." — Nicolas on the Public Records, p. 41.]

296 INQUISITIONS AD QUOD DAMNUM.
ments, as a distinct series, begin with the reign of King
Edward the Second, and end with tbat of Henry the
Sixth, and the Calendar of them, which is comprised in
the same volume with that of tbe Charter Rolls, is suffi
ciently copious, and compiled with considerable accuracy
and care. These Inquisitions were made by virtue of
Writs directed to the Escheators, on petitions being pre
sented for licenses to alienate lands to Religious Houses,
to found Chantries, or for Grants of Markets, Fairs,
or other privileges, in order to ascertain whether such
Grant, if made, would be prejudicial to the King or
to any of bis subjects. Many of them contain a great
deal of valuable information relating to Tenures, and pri
vileges attached to Manors, Lands, &c., and are fre
quently found of importance in questions relating to those
points, and in cases concerning tithes. (2)
(2) [" Inquisitio ad quod Damnum, — " A judicial inquiry which still occa
sionally takes place, arising from the necessity of protecting the rights, property,
or revenue of the Crown and of the subject from injury or encroachment. 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 favour 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 lo 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 inter
fere 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 ¦
solicited were to be granted ; thence called Inquisitions ' ad quod Damnum.'
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 generally proves that the parties mentioned were seised of the lands
alluded to, and occasionally presents genealogical facts and curious antiquarian
and historical information."— IVicoias on the Public Records, pp. 43, 44. See
also Grimaldi, Origines Geriealogicce, p. 219.]

CHAPTER XIV-
ACCOUNT OF THE CALENDAR OF THE PATENT
ROLLS.

[From the Preface to the Work.]
The Patent Rolls in the Tower of London commence in
the third year of the reign of King John, and end in the
twenty-third year of that of Edward the Fourth. They
are described by Thomas Astle, Esquire, Keeper of the '
Records there, in his Return, printed in the Reports from
the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the State
of the PubUc Records of the Kingdom, page 53, thus ;
" They contain Grants of Offices and Lands — Restitu
tions of Temporalties to Bishops, Abbots, and other Ec
clesiastical Persons — Confirmations of Grants made to
Bodies Corporate as well Ecclesiastical as Civil — Grants
in Fee Farm — Special Liveries — Grants of Offices special
and general — Patents of Creations of Peers, and Licenses
of all kinds which pass the Great Seal ; and on the backs
of these Rolls are Commissions to Justices of the Peace,
of Sewers, and all Commissions (indeed) which pass the
Great Seal" (1)
The Calendar to these Rolls was printed from four
Manuscript volumes, procured in the year 1775, by Mr.
Astle, for Public Use, from the Executors of Henry
Rooke, Esquire, coUated with two Manuscripts in the
Cottonian Library in the British Museum, marked Titus
C. II. & IIL
Many omissions and deficiencies in the Tower Copy
(I) [See also Report from the Committee on the Cottonian Library, May
1732 ; Reportsfrom Committees of the House of Commons, vol, i. p. 519,]

298 CALENDAR OF THE PATENT ROLLS.
have been supplied by that in the Museum, which seems
to have been compiled in the reign of James the First,
from tbe Records themselves, by some experienced Clerk,
who has selected from them what appeared to bim most
useful and interesting.
It may be proper to observe, that as this Calendar,
though entitled to great merit, is only a Selection, Various
Entries appear on the Patent Rolls which are not here
described ; and therefore, though this work will be found
to yield much important information, no one is to be de
terred from an examination of any Record referred to
elsewhere, as being on the Patent Roll, because it is not
to be discovered here. An Index Rerum, an Index Lo
corum, and an Index Nominum, are subjoined. (2)

[From Manuscript Collection,]
The Calendar ofthe Patent Rolls. — The series of these
Rolls begins with the third year ofthe reign of King John,
and is continued at the Tower to the death of King Ed
ward the Fourth. Their general contents are Grants of
Liberties, Privileges, Lands, Wardships, and Offices,
Creations of Nobility, Restitutions of Temporalties, Li
censes of Alienation, Confirmations of Charters and Grants,
Special Liveries, and all Licenses, &c. which pass the
Great Seal ; but those of the earlier reigns abound also
with Entries of Documents ofthe most diversified and in
teresting nature, relating to the Prerogatives ofthe Crown,
the Revenue, and the different branches ofthe Judicature;
Letters to and Negotiations with Foreign Princes and
States; Appointments and Powers of Ambassadors ; Ra-
(2) [It appears that it was once in the contemplation of the Record Com
missioners to print the Patent and Close Rolls entire to the end of the reign of
Edward II,, instead of printing an abstract or calendar.]
[An able critic has expressed a hope that "Abstracts of, rather than Calen
dars to, the Patent RoUs should be published."— Hffrospecriue Review, Second
Series, Vol. I. p. 69.]

CALENDAR OF THE PATENT ROLLS.

299

tifications of Treaties and Truces ; Letters of Protection
and Safe Conduct, &c. (3)
The printed Calendar is a collection of notes made by
some industrious individual to answer his own particular
views and purposes, and though certainly of very consi
derable use, is of but small value compared with the
general and perfect Calendar of their contents which has
for some years past been in progress at the Tower, and
has proceeded through the reign of King John, and a
considerable portion of that of King Henry the Third.
On averyminute examination of thewhole series of these
Rolls, and upon ascertaining the number of Documents
enrolled on each, it bas been found tbat on an average, in
the reigns of John and Henry the Third, not more than
one in fourteen is referred to in the printed Calendar, as
wiU be seen by tbe following examples.

Year.
5 John
10 John .
15 John
16 John
1 Hen. III.
5 Hen. III.
10 Hen. IIL
15 Hen. IIL
20 Hen. III.
25 Hen. III.
30 Hen. III.

Total Number
in the Calendar.

235285 17
14 17
16
40
32
25

Total Number
on the Rolls.
. 448

187
374 891
590 253
494338 446
570
369

In the times of Edward the First and Second it has also
been ascertained tbat the average is not more than one in

(3) [" There is scarcely a subject connected with the history or govemment
of this country, or with the most distinguished personages of the thirteenth,
fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, which is not illustrated by the Patent Rolls."
— Nicolas on the Public Records, p. 37.]

300 CALENDAR OF THE PATENT ROLLS.
twelve, and in the subsequent reigns the Calendar notices
about one in ten of the Instruments contained in the
RoUs. (4)

FIRST SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE.
[The Charter Rolls — Patent Rolls — Close Rolls — Rolls of France,
Rome, and Almain — Liberate Rolls — Norman Rolls and Gascon
Rolls — Welch Rolls — Fine Rolls — Redisseisin Rolls — Confir
mation Rolls.]
" According to the scheme for the registration ofthe documents
that passed the Great Seal attributed to Hubert, Archbishop
of Canterbury and Chancellor in the time of King John, each
set of rolls received a distinctive name, and was appropriated to
a peculiar class of enrolments. Grants of lands or immunities,
foundations of religious houses, privileges conferred upon indi
viduals or communities, or by which, in' after times, a corporate
right was created, are principally recorded upon the Charter
Rolls.{5) The Patent Rolls, upon which some Charters are also
noticed, contain the licenses granted by the Crown, grants of
offices, restitutions of temporalities, and other instruments of
the same description. All commissions, whether judicial or
administrative, are found upon this set of Rolls, constituting one
of the most important branches of information which they
afford. (6) The Close Rolls offer documents of a more varied
(4) [See also Bayley, History and Antiquities ofthe Tower of London, p. 223 ;
Westminster Review, vol. x. p. 410 ; Nicolas, Observations on the State of His
torical Literature, p. 73 ; and Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 133.]
(5) [See The Repcrrt ofthe Lords' Committees, April, 1719, p. 98 — The Report
from the Committee on the Cottonian Library — Reports from Committees of the
House of Commons, vol. i. p. 519 — and Appendix to the First Report of the Select
Committee ofthe House of Commons, 1800, p. 53. See also p. 84, and Grimaldi,
Ongines Genealogicce, p. 116.]
(6) [" 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 testi
mony to its execution was necessary for its validity, and that the latter was exe
cuted by the King himself. There is also a slight variation in the address.

MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS. 301
description. A writ close, was folded or plied and sealed up
with wax, vipon which the Great Seal was impressed ; and
the mandates which regulated every department of the govern
ment being of this description, their contents are singularly
instructive. Here we find the writs of summons of the Peers,
and the writs of election for the Commons, together with many
parliamentary proceedings, such as writs issued by the authority
of the legislature, which are not found upon the Parliament
RoUs." (7)
" In the early reigns, the most minute items of the court ex
penditure were warranted by special writ, — the purchase of a
bucket-rope for a well — a silk gown for the queen — a cloak
lined with rabbit skins for a maid of honour — a hundred yards
of dowlas for the napkins of the royal table — the curing of
bacon intended for the royal larder — the purveyance of the
ginger, galingal, cumin, and other choice spices which seasoned
the royal dishes — are all recorded with the greatest form and
solemnity. Other mandates, relating to the erection, the repairs,
and the adornments of the royal palaces, particularly in the
reign of Henry IIL, are of extreme importance in the history
A Charter usually commences in these words : ' The King to all his Arch
bishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, 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 sometimes confirmed by Letters Patent." — Nicolas on the Public Records,
p. 40.]
(7) [" 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 subjects ; 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 authority 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." — Nicolas on the Public Records,
p. 37.]

302 MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS.
of art. We can peruse the minute instructions given by the
monarch for raising those sumptuous piles of which the last
mutilated fragments have been demolished, as at Westminster,
to make room for the lathe and plaster of modern architecture.
The diplomatic correspondence between the King and foreign
princes also appears on these rolls. The proceedings relating
to the incidents of tenure are often entered upon the Close
Roll, together with Records of judicial proceedings before the
Council, whether in or out of Parliament. From the reign of
Henry VI. the decrees of the Court of Chancery are frequendy
recorded in the same manner, together with such deeds as were
acknowledged in Chancery ; a practice which began at a very
early period."
"TheRolls of France, Rome, and Almain{8) maybe considered
as branches of the Close Rolls, being chiefly composed of diplo
matic instruments relating to transactions with the potentates
whose names are indicated by their titles ; and which, on ac
count oftheir extent and number, were more conveniently divided
from the general series. The Liberate Rolls derive their
names from the writs directing payments to be made out of
the Treasury of the Exchequer, and, like the Close Rolls, they
furnish many minute and amusing details of the royal expendi
ture." "It is said in Normandy, that their ancient archives were
destroyed by the policy of Richelieu, and we cannot ascertain
whether any counterparts of the Norman Rolls existed at
Caen or Rouen. Those which are now in the Tower contain
not only the instruments relating to Normandy, which passed
the Great Seal, but also the " chirographs" of " concords,''
which were effected before the Exchequer at Rouen. This cir
cumstance seems to show that, although the Duke of Normandy
had conquered England, still England, as the more powerful
Realm, had acquired a tacit supremacy over the Duchy ; and
it has been doubted whether some of the forms of the Norman
jurisprudence did not originate on this side ofthe Channel. The
(8) lAlmain RolU. See Bayley, History and Antiquities of the Tower of
Londnri, p. 220.]

MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS. 303
Gascon Rolls, hke the Norman Rolls, equally evince the
superiority assumed by^ the English government. All Grants
or Charters relating to the Duchy of Aquitaine, and its appur
tenances, appear upon these Records. When Cardinal Fleury,
by issuing an arret in the nature of a general quo warranto in
formation, attacked the franchises of the religious and civil cor
porations of the fairest provinces of France, the evidence which
supported their rights was adduced from the archives of a hos
tile realm : and the first Calendar of any portion of tbe Tower
Records was published, not for the use of our owji country, but
for the information of the inhabitants of the ancient, but now
foreign, dominions of the English Crown."(9) — Quarterly Review,
vol. xxxix. pp. 52, 53.

[From an unpublished Tract,]
The Close Rolls, — These Rolls contain numerous important
instruments ; those of the more early times down to the end of
Edward I. may be said to comprehend a Diary of State Affairs ;
and from the testes of the several mandates, the residence and
progress of the King's Court may be easily traced. They con
tain, among other numerous documents, matters relating to the
prerogative of the Crown ; the privileges of the Peers and
Commons ; the various branches of Judicature, civil, ecclesiasti
cal, naval, and military ; Proclamations and Mandates for man
ning and fitting out Fleets and Armies, for raising subsidies and
imposts, suppressing Riots and Tumults, and for the Preserva
tion of the Peace ; Regulations for every branch of the King's
Household and for the Coin of the Realm ; Summonses to Par
liament ; Expenses of Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses to Par
liament ; Liveries and Writs of Seisin of Lands holden in capite ;
Partitions of Lands between Coheirs ; Assignments of Dower ;
Enrolments of Deeds between party and party ; and innumerable
other curious and important matters.
The Fine Rolls, — These contain the appointments of Eschea-
(9) The Calendars ofthe RoUs Gasconnes, &c., in two folio volumes, by Carte,
were published on this occasion in the year 1743. ISee a subsequent page.^

304 MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS.
tors. Customers, Comptrollers, and Searchers, and of the Patent
Offices in the gift of the Lord Treasurer ; also general Liveries
of Lands holden in capite ofthe Crown; Writs de diem clausit
extremum ; Leases from the Crown and Grants of a temporary
nature ; also Partitions of Lands ; Fines paid for alienation, pro
licentid concordandi, pro exoneratione militum ; Appointments of
Constables and Keepers of the King's Castles, Towns, Manors,
and Farms ; Fines paid for Relief; Writs of Livery, &c. &c. &c.

[From the Appendix to the First Report of the Select Committee
ofthe House of Commons on Public Records, ]{\Qi)
The Close Rolls, — On the Close or Claus Rolls are entered a
great variety of important documents, which relate to the Pre
rogatives of the Crown, the Privileges of the Peers and Com
mons, the different branches of Judicature, CivU, Ecclesiastical,
Naval, and Military ; the Measures used for manning and fitting
out our Fleets and Armies ; for the raising of Subsidies and
Imposts ; for suppressing of Riots and Tumults, and for the
Preservation of the Peace of the Kingdom ; with a great variety
of Writs and Mandates for regulating every branch of the
Affairs of the Royal Household ; for the Coin of the Kingdom,
&c. On the backs of these Rolls are Writs of Summons to
Parliament, and for the Expenses , of Knights, Citizens, and
Burgesses — Proclamations — Inrolments of Deeds between Party
and Party — Liveries and Seisins of Lands, with a great variety
of other Instruments too numerous to be inserted. These Rolls,
preserved at the Tower, begin in the sixth year of the reign
of King John, A.D. 1294, and end with that of Edward IV.
A.D. 1483. The value of these important Records has not
until lately been generaUy known, for the want of Repertories
to them. (11)
(10) [See also Report from the Lords' Committees, April, 1719, p. 99, and Re
port from the Committee on tlie Cottonian Library, May, 1732 ; Reportsfrom
Committees ofthe House cf Commons, vol. i. p. 519.]
(II) [" They (the Close Rolls) coptain a fund of information, the diversity and
importance of which render them some ofthe raost interesting of our national Re
cords. Those of the reign of King Henry III, are particularly valuable and curious.

MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS, 305
The Gascon Rolls, — The Gascon Rolls begin in the twenty-
sixth year of the reign of Henry III. A.D. 1242, and end with
the thirty-ninth year ofthe reign of Henry VI. A. D. 1460.(12)
The Norman Rolls, — These Rolls begin in the second year of
the reign of King John, A.D. 1200, and end with that of
Henry V. 1422.(13)
The French Rolls, — These Rolls begin with the sixteenth year
of the reign of Henry III. 1232, and end with that of Ed
ward IV. A.D. 1483.(14)
The Gascon, Norman, and French Rolls, are Records of the
English Chancery relating to the affairs of certain parts of
France whilst under the dominion of the Kings of England ;
Calendars to which were printed by Mr. Carte, with Indexes of
the Names of Persons and Places, in 1743: London, two vo
lumes, folio. (15)
That monarch was a great lover and patron of the arts, and the Close Rolls of
his time abound with entries illustrative of their coeval state and progress : they
contain a variety of instructions relative to paintings, sculptures, and other
works of art, and the repairing and ornamenting of palaces, royal chapels, and
other buildings ; there are also many curious orders respecting presents to be
provided for foreign princes and ambassadors, and offerings against high occa
sions. Henry was also a Prince whose observances of the chief religious festi
vals were remarkably grand, and the mandates which appear on these Rolls,
concerning dresses, and various preparations and provisions to be made against
their celebration, throw considerable light on the habits, customs, and supersti
tions of that aera. The want of printed calendars to these Rolls has hitherto
kept their value and importance from being generally known : it is, however,
to be hoped that the Commissioners on the Public Records, who have done so
much service to the country by publishing copies of some, and repertories to
others of our most valuable muniments, will not consider the objects of their
appointment accomplished till they have also laid open this inexhaustible source of
general information." — Bayley, History and Antiquities of the Tower of London,
p. 221. See also Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 139, and a remark in
Nicolas, Observcxtions on the State of Historical Literature, p. 74.]
[The present Commissioners on the Public Records are in possession of a
manuscript volume containing very short abstracts of Rotul' Claus' from the 6th
to the 9th year of the reign of John. There are abstracts also of some few Rolls
cf the I2th and I4th years of the same King. A few pages have been printed.]
(12) [See Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 163.]
(13) [Ibid, p. 127.] (14) [Ibid. p. I55.J
(15) [The work is entitled Catalogue des Holies Gascons, Normans et Francois,
conserves dans les Archives de la Tour de Londres ]
X

306 MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS.
The Scotch Rolls.— The Scotch RoUs begin in the nineteenth
year of the reign of Edward I. A.D. 1291, and end in the
twenty-second year of Edward IV. A.D. 1482. They relate to
transactions between England and Scotland during the above
period, as appears by the Calendar to them printed in 1772,
London, 4to.(16)
(16) [The work containing this Calendar comprises several other matters. It
is entitled as follows :• — Calendars of the Ancient Charters, l^c, and ofthe Welch
and Scottish Rolls, now remaining in the Tower of London: as also Calendars of
all the Treaties of Peace, Sfc. entered into by the Kings of England with those of
Scotland ; and of sundry Letters and public Instruments relating to that King
dom, now in the Chapter-House at Westminster. — Togethei- with Catalogues of
the Records brought to Berwick from the Royal Treasury at Edinburgh; of suck
as were transmitted to the Exchequer at Westminster, and of those which were
removed to different parts of Scotland by order of King Edward I. — The Pro
ceedings relating to the carrying back the Records of Scotland into that King
dom; and the Transactions of Parliament therefrom the 15(A of May, 1639, to
the 6th of March, 1650.^-20 which are added. Memoranda concerning the
Affairs of Ireland, extracted from the Tower Records. — To the whole is prefixed
an Introduction, giving some Accou7it ofthe State of the Public Records from the
Conquest to the present Time. The Scotch Treaties, Letters, &c. in the
Chapter-House extend from the reign of Richard the First to that of Elizabeth,
and are said to be important to historians. The Memoranda concerning the
affairs of Ireland appear to consist of brief but useful notices of Records con
nected with the history of that country from the 2d of Henry the Second to
the 7th of Edward the Fourth. It is stated that the only parts of this volume
that have been superseded by subsequent publications are the Calendar of the
Scotch Rolls, which have been printed at length by the Record Commission,
and the Catalogue of Scotch Records, removed by Edward the First from
Edinburgh, which has been reprinted, with notes, in Robertson's Index. — (See
a subsequent page.) See also Nicolas on the Public Records, pp. 41, 42.]
[It is said in Worrall, Bibliotheca Legum, and in Watt, Bibliotheca Bri
tannica, that the work published by Ayloffe was begun by the Rev. Philip
Morant; and it is stated in Bayley, History and Antiquities ofthe Tower of
London, p. 232, that the same hand which drew up the Catalogue of the
Gascon, Norman, and French Rolls, published by Mr. Carte from the
Manuscript Calendars in the Record Office, also compiled the Calendars
of the Cartce Antiquce, the Papal Bulls, and the Welch and Scotch Rolls, pub
lished by Ayloffe. The History does not mention the name of the person who
drew up the Manuscript Calendars published by Carte, but Mr. Bayley has
informed the compiler that that labour was performed by Mr. George Holmes.
It should seem, on the other hand, from the Introduction to the Calendars of
Ancient Charters, (p. xlvii.), that Mr. James Stewart was the author of the

MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS. 307
The Welch Rolls, — These begin in the fourdi year of the reign
of Edward I. and end in the twenty-third year of that King.
Calendars of these Rolls are also printed, ut supra, (17)
Gascon Calendars,* as well as of the Calendars of the Ancient Charters, Papal
Bulls, and Letters, and of the Welch and Scotch Rolls ;— (Mr. Stuart (Stewart)
is also said to have transcribed the Memoranda de Hibernia. — Calendars of
Ancient Charters, Introd. p. Ix.)— and that Arthur Agarde compiled the Ca
lendar of the Scotch Treaties and of the Records carried from Edinburgh to
Berwick, &c. A history of Ayloffe's book, differing in some respects from the
above, is to be found in the fly-leaf of the copy formerly belonging to Mr. Astle,
which is now in the Library of the Royal Institution. [See Harris, Catalogue
cf the Library of the Royal Institution, p. 401.] The account is not in Mr.
Astle's handwriting, but appears to have been dictated by him. It is as
follows : —
" The following Calendars were published from Manuscripts collected by
Mr. Astle. The Calendars to the Cartce Antiquce and the Papal Bulls and
Letters were made by Mr. George Holmes, who was for many years chief clerk
in the Record Office in the Tower : those to the Welch and Scottish Rolls were
made by Mr. Stuart, formerly a clerk in the same office.
" The Catalogue of the Records brought to Berwick from the Royal Trea
sury at Edinburgh, of such as were transmitted to the Exchequer at Westminster,
aud of those which were removed to different parts of Scotland, by order of
King Edward the First— the proceedings relating to the carrying back the
Records of Scotland into that kingdom, and the Transactions of the Parliament
there, from the 15th May, 1639, to the Sth of March, 1650, as also the Memo
randa concerning the Affairs of Ireland, were collected by Mr. Astle from
several MSS. in his library ; who being of opinion that the publication of them
would be useful to historians, lawyers, and antiquaries, they were printed and
published by and for Messrs. William and John Richardson, who soon after left
off business, and sold the copy to the late Mr. Benjamin White, of Fleet Street,
who applied to Mr. Astle for permission to prefix his name to the volume as
Calendars made by him, which request Mr. Astle refused to grant."
" It may be proper to observe, that nearly half the volume was printed before
the month of December, 1770, when Mr. Astle engaged in preparing the
copies of the Rolls of Parliament for the press ; and about March, 1771, the late
Sir Joseph Ayloffe, Bart, undertook to superintend the printing of the remainder
of the volume. Sir Joseph was furnished by Mr. Astle wilh such materials as
he had collected for the preface, which forms a part of this publication. After
Mr. White had purchased the copy, he obtained permission from Sir Joseph to
* [It must be observed, that neither the account of the compilation of the
Gascon, Norman, and French Rolls, which is contained in The History of the
Tower, nor that which is to be found in Ayloffe's Publication, corresponds with
the statement of Carte. — Catalogue des liuUes Gascons, Normans, et Francois,
Preface, pp. ii. & iii.]
x2

308 MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS.
The Roman Rolls, — These begin in the thirty-fourth year of
the reign of Edward I. 1305, and end with that of Edward IV.
1483. They contain the transactions with that See. — Calen
dars have not been made to these Rolls.
The Liberate Rolls. — These are RoUs of Precepts directing
the Payment of Sums of Money, or to a Sheriff to deliver Pos
session of Lands or Goods which had been extended. They
begin in the second year ofthe reign of King John, A.D. 1200,
and end with that of Edward IV. 1483. These Rolls are chro
nologically arranged, and are referred to in the General Calendar
of the Records in the Tower. (18)
The Fine Rolls, — These Rolls begin in the sixth year of the
reign of King John, 1204, and end with that of Edward IV.
1483. On them are entered the Accounts of Fines paid to the
King for Licenses to alienate Lands. Fines pro exoneratione
Militum, pro licentia concordandi, and occasionaUy Liveries of
Lands, &c. They are arranged in chronological order, and are
pointed out in the General Calendar. (19)
The Redisseisin Rolls, — The RoUs of Redisseisin contain Writs
to, and Proceedings of Sheriffs for restoring those to the Posses
sion of Lands or Tenements, of which they had been unlawfully
dispossessed. These Rolls are digested in chronological order,
and are also pointed out in the General Calendar. (20)
prefix his name, as the compiler of the Calendars. Mr. White then cancelled
the first title-page, and printed another, wherein he says that the Calendars
were compiled by Sir Joseph Ayloffe, Bart., and from that time they have been
called Ayloffe's Calendars."]
(^17) [See Grimaldi, Ongines Genealogiccc, p. 194.]
(18) [" They (the Liberate Rolls) contain precepts to the treasurer and other
great officers of the Exchequer for the payment of pensions, salaries, and sti
pends, and of various expenses of the state, and of the royal household ; and
occasionally writs to sheriffs for the delivery of lands, &c. which had been ex
tended. The earliest of them, particularly those of king Henry the Third's
reign, like the Close Rolls of the same period, form a most interesting species of
record ; but after the reign of king Edward the First they become less and less
interesting." — Bayley, History and Antiquities ofthe Tower of London, p. 222.
See also Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 120.]
(19) [See Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 136.]
(20) [The description of the different Rolls mentioned in this division is
meant lo apply to those in the Tower.]

MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS. 309

[From the Appendix to the First Report ofthe Select Committee of
the House of Commons on the Public Records.]
The Charter Rolls. — The Charter Rolls (preserved at the
Rolls' Chapel) contain Charters, Creations of Honour, and other
Grants of the Crown, wbich conclude with the words Hiis
Testibus, &c. They begin the first year of Richard III. and
end the eighth year of Henry VIIL, the subsequent Charters
having been inrolled upon tbe Patent Rolls.
The Patent Rolls, — Upon the Patent Rolls (preserved at the
Rolls Chapel) are inrolled all Grants in Fee or Perpetuity, ofthe
Demesne Lands of the Crown, the Abbey Lands, and Escheat
Lands, all Patents of Creations of Honour, Grants of Charters
of Incorporation and Liberties, Grants of Offices, Denizations,
Patents for Inventions, Licenses, and Pardons of Alienation,
Presentations, Special Liveries, and Grants of Wardships, such
Leases of Crown Lands as pass the Great Seal (which should be
all those whereon a greater annual rent than forty shillings is
reserved). Special and General Pardons, Licenses of all sorts
that pass the Great Seal ; and on these Rolls are indorsed all
Proclamations, and most of the Commissions that pass the Great
Seal.(21) [They begin with a smaU Roll of Edward the Fifth, and
are continued down to a recent period.]
The Close Rolls. — The Close RoUs (preserved at the Rolls
Chapel) begin with Edward the Fifth, and are continued down
(21) [" In the Patent Rolls (Rolls Chapel) are contayned all Grants made
from the King to the subject, which passe vnder the Great Seale of England :
that is to say, — Perpertuitiea, Fee Termes, Fee Simples, &c. ; Leases for Life,
Yeares, or at Will ; Grants of Liberties ; Licences, and Pardons of Alienation ;
Presentations; Annuities; Speciall Liveries ; Speciall, and Generall Pardons ;
Pardons of Vtlarie; Licences of all sorts, which passe the Great Seale. — And
on the backside of the said Rolls (called Patent Rolls) are inrolled and in
dorsed these things following: that is to say, Commissions for the Peace;
Commissions for Gaole Deliverie; Commissions for Oyer and Terminer; Com
missions to enquire post Mortem; and all the speciall Commissions which passe
the Great Seale." — Powell, Direction for Search of Records, pp. 1 & 2. See
also The Repertorie of Records (Powell), pp. 1 & 2.]

310 MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS.
regularly to a recent period, being brought there from the In
roUment Office in Chancery.
These Rolls take their name from the ancient custom of in-
rolling Brevia Clausa upon them, and other Memoranda, as
Summons to Parliament, Mint and Coinage Indentures, &c.
But since the reign of King Henry the Eighth, they contain
mostly the Inrolments of Deeds of Bargain and Sale, Settlements
and Wills of Roman Catholics, Conveyances of Bankrupts' Es
tates, Recognizances, Specifications of new Inventions, and other
Instruments, either acknowledged by the Parties thereto, or
sworn to by a subscribing witness for the purpose of inrolment,
or inrolled for safe custody only, by Warrant from the Lord
Chancellor, or Master of the Rolls, and also Memorials of Deeds
and other Securities for Annuities. (22)
The Fine Rolls. — The Fine Rolls, otherwise called the Lord
Treasurer's Rolls, preserved at the Rolls Chapel, begin with King
Edward the Fifth, and end with the seventeenth year of King
Charles the First, and contain the Inrolments of Patents to
Escheators, Customers, Comptrollers, Searchers, and of other
Patent Offices in the gift of the Lord Treasurer, as also of
General Liveries of Lands holden in capite, and Entries of
Writs de Diem clausit Extremum, &c. which issued before the
taking away of the Court of Wards and Liveries, and the aboli
tion of Tenures in cnpite. (23)
The Confirmation Rolls. — The Confirmation Rolls, preserved
at the Rolls Chapel, begin with King Richard the Third, and
end with the 1 2th year of King James the First, no Confirm
ation Roll having been made up since that time. These Rolls
(22) [" The next sort of Records of Chancerie (Rolls Chapel) are called
Close Rolls, in which are contayned these things following : that is to say,
1. All Indentures, which are acknowledged in Chancerie betwixt partie
and partie, subjects. — 2. All Recognizances, which are acknowledged in
Chancerie betwixt partie and partie, subjects.— 3. All Deeds whatsoever, ac
knowledged in Chancerie betwixt parties, subjects. — (The said Indentures,
Recognizances and Deeds being on the back of the Roll indonsed: and diverse
speciall Writs on the inside thereof." — Powell, Direction for Search of Records,
pp. 2 & 3. See also The Repertorie of Records (Powell), p. 2.]
(23) [See Powell, Direction for Search of Records, pp. 3 & 4.]

MISCELLANEOUS ROLLS. 311
contain Confirmations of Charters to Cities, Boroughs, or other
Corporate or Politic Bodies, and also to private persons ; and
all Confirmations since that time have been inrolled promiscu
ously with other Patents on the Patent RoUs. (24)
(24) [Respecting some species of Rolls mentioned in this division, and pre
served at the Rolls Chapel, see also Report from the Committee on the Cot
tonian Library, May, 1732 ; Reports from Committees of the House of Com
mons, vol. i. p. 520.]
[The Patent and Close Rolls of Ireland may be said to begin with the close
of the reign of Edward the First — See the Inventory ; Reportsfrom the Com
missioners on the Public Records of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 383. See also ibid.
p. 144 ; Inventory of Miscellaneous Rolls, beginning 23 Edw. I. And see
vol. i. pp. 51. 66. 72. 132. One hundred pages of text of the Irish Chartce,
Privilegia, and Immunitates appear to have been printed. — Sessional Papers,
House of Ccrmmons ; Public Records, Ireland, 7th July, 1830. See also Report
from Select Committee on Irish Miscellaneous Estimates, I9th July, 1829.]
['* Upon these Rolls (the Irish Patent Rolls') are contained the enrolments
of Grants in fee or perpetuity, for lives and years, of Crown Lands, Abbey
Lands, and Escheated Lands, Patents of Creations of Honour, Grants of Char
ters of Incorporation and Liberties, Grants of Ofiices, Denizations, Ferries and
Fisheries, Patents for Inventions, and specifications thereof. Licenses and Par
dons of Alienation, Presentations, Special Liveries, Grants of Wardships, Com
missions, a few Inquisitions post mortem. Special and General Pardons, Deeds
and Conveyances, Letters of Attorney, King's Letters, Wills, Orders of Council,
Grants of Lands under the Acts of Settlement, and Explanation, and under the
Commissions of Grace of Charles the Second and James the Second, Grants
from the Commissioners of forfeited Estates, Decrees of Commissioners of Wide
Streets, &c." — -Report from the Commissioners on ihe Public Records of Ireland ,
vol. i. p. 66.]
[" The oldest Roll of this description (the Irish Close Rolls) is oue of the
20th year of Edward II. It contains Liberates, Writs of various kinds. Pardons
of Alienation, Recognizances, a few Deeds, and an article entitled Statutum de
Hibernia. This class of Rolls does not appear to have been continued in regular
succession, none other occurring until the time of Richa*d II. of whose reign
there are two Close Rolls, one of the first, and the other of the fourth year«
They contain, amongst other mixed matters. Deeds, and Writs oiAmoveas Manus.
The next we find, is one of Henry IV., and in the time of Henry VI. there are
five, (each of which is entitled Rotulus Clausus ;) viz. in the 5th, 6th, I4th,
19th, and 20th years of his reign. The next are, one of the 19th of Edward IV.
another of the 9th of Henry VII., one of the 5th of Edward VI., two of the
12th and 15th of Elizabeth, and the Roll of the 12th and ISth of Charles I.,
mentioned in the former Return. We have not, as yet, been able to ascertain

312 THE PIPE ROLLS — CART.E ANTIQUCE.
SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE.
[Rotuti Annales — Great Rolls, or Pipe Rolls — Cartce Antiquce.]
The Pipe Rolls. — " It is possible that the Rotuli Annales,
sometimes called the Great Rolls, or Pipe Rolls, in which the
accounts of the revenue of the Crown are entered, may have
begun with the reign of the Conqueror. Yet, if such existed,
we are informed by Alexander de Swereford, that they had
perished before the thirteenth century, and the first fragment of
these invaluable Records has been referred to the fifth year of
the reign of Henry the First. (25) The troubled reign of Stephen
offers a chasm, but they are resumed with Henry Plantagenet,
from whence the succession continues with few interruptions to
the present time. None of the French Records begin earlier
than the reign of Philip le Bel. Those of the Germans date
whether there are any Close Rolls of a later period than that last mentioned.
But it is observable, that any difference which might originally have existed
between the Close and Patent Rolls was discontinued in course of time,
although the name of the former was still preserved ; for both species of Rolls
contain matters of a similar kind ; and in no one instance, except the Roll
above-mentioned may be considered as an exception, is there a Close and
Patent Roll for the same year or period ; which, if they were meant to be dis
tinct in their nature, could not but in some instance have been the case ; and,
as far back as the Books of Reference to the Rolls extend, the Close Rolls are
referred to without any distinction from the Patent Roll." — Reports from the
Commissioners on the Public Records of Ireland, vol. i. p. 73.]
[Portions of a Calendar of the Irish Patent and Close Rolls have been pub
lished under the title of Rotulorum Patentium et Clausorum Cancellarice Hi
bernice Calendarium. At the commencement of this Calendar are the Anti-
quissime Littere-Patentes mentioned in various passages of the Reports ofthe
Irish Commissioners. They consist of a Roll continens quedam de regnis
Regum Hen. II. , Hen. III., Johann., et Edw. I. Other portions of this Calendar
appear to have been printed. — See Report from Select Committee on Irish Mis
cellaneous Estimates, I9th July, 1829 ; and Sessional Papers, House of Com
mons, Public Records, Ireland, 1th July, 1830.]
(25) This Roll has been considered as belonging to 5 Stephen ; but Maddox
has satisfactorily shown that it can only be referred to the year and reign men
tioned in the text. [Consult Madox — Disceptatio Epistolaris de Magno Rotulo
Scaccarij.']

THE PIPE ROLLS. 313
from a period still more recent, and our English series is pro
bably more complete and ancient than any other now existing
in the world.
" In the earher periods, the Great RoUs afford the raost minute
particulars of the territorial possessions of the Crown. Therein
the sources and particulars of the revenue are fully detailed ;
and they elucidate every branch of our laws and policy during
the most obscure and difficult era of English history, when the
Anglo-Saxon policy was breaking up, and that system was form
ing upon which our present constitution is founded ; but with
the exception of the scanty excerpts published by Madox, no
portion of the information with which they abound has ever seen
the light.
" The Great Roll was not originally intended to bear record of
any other matters except those which related to the finance of
the kingdom : it contained the charge and discharge of the She
riff, through whose hands the money passed, and who was the
chief, if not the only, collector of the revenues of the Crown.
Private individuals, however, occasionally paid fines, for per
mission to enter the substance of their Deeds and Charters upon
the Great Roll, in order to preserve a legal memorial ofthe con
tents, in case of the loss of the originals. But, until the reign of
King John, the Charters, Patents, and Writs issued under the
Great Seal, by and in the name of the Sovereign, were not in
anywise registered or recorded. It is true that there are in the
Tower certain Rolls or Membranes, called the Carter Antiquce,
containing transcripts of ancient Deeds, from the Saxon periods
down to the time of Henry the Third ; but these Rolls are pro
bably composed of the copies of Charters which were brought
into Chancery, in order that they might be exemplified. The
Charters are principally arranged according to their subject-
matter : those relating, for example, to each religious house, be
ing generally contained on the same membrane, though of many
different dates and periods ; and they have no similarity what
ever to the RoUs of the Chancery, which are contemporaneous
Records of the Documents issued under the Great Seal, being
made up or completed year by year." — Quarterly Review, vol.
xxxiv. pp. 49, 50.

314 THE PIPE ROLLS.
[From an unpublished Pamphlet,]
The Pipe Rolls, — The great Rolls ofthe Pipe commence in the
time of King Stephen, and continue to a recent period.
Upon these Rolls are many important Entries, showing what
Property belonged to the Crown, whether ancient Demesne or
otherwise ; if at Farm, or granted in Fee Farm to Cities, Bo
roughs, or Towns corporate ; Reliefs paid by Barons and Per- '
sons holding in capite ; Escuages, Aids, and Tallages ; repairs
of and provisioning of Castles and Towns, &c. &c. &c.

[From the Appendix to the First Report of the Select Committee of
the House of Commons on the Public Records,]{26)
The Pipe Rolls, — The Great Roll contains an account of the
ancient Revenue of the Crown, written out in process every
year, to the several Sheriffs of England, who were the general
receivers and collectors thereof, and by them levied and an
swered to the Crown upon their annual accounts, before the
Clerk of the Pipe ; which method is continued for so much
of the said revenue as yet remains, and hath not been alienated
from the Crown ; for all which the respective Sheriffs still con
tinue to account, and take out their quietus yearly.
The Great Rolls are made up from the time of King Stephen
to a recent period, and, until the removal thereof to Somerset
Place, (under the direction of a Committee of the Honourable
the House of Commons,) they for the most part lay in good method
and order, in wainscot presses in the Court of Exchequer at West
minster, and whatever they contained was then easily found, the
several counties being placed in an alphabetical order, and the
year of each King's reign being written on the cover of each
Roll, in large text characters. (27)
(26) [See also The Repm-t from the Committee on tlie Cottonian Library, May,
1732 ; Reportsfrom Committees ofthe House of Commons, vol. i. p. 512.]
(27) [The Pipe Rolls. — " These Rolls are continued down to the pre.sent
reign, and, are of great interest and utility, mote particularly in regard to the
transactions of early times, as the names of most men, or families of property,
appear upon them, and nearly every ancient Pedigree is indebted to them for

THE PIPE ROLLS. 315
[From the Preface to the Fragment of the Great Roll for Nor
mandy, unpublished,] (28)
The Pipe Rolls, — The ancient Great or Pipe Rolls of the
Exchequer contain annual Accounts of every kind of rent or
assistance, since the sources from which the Crown revenues were formerly ob
tained, independently of the Crown lands, were so numerous, that it would per
haps be impossible to produce from history a name of note, which is not re
corded on the Pipe Roll. It is of course evident, that the most perfect list of
Sheriffs of Counties is to be obtained from it. The following are some of the
fountains of the King's income, enumerated therein: Reliefs, Escheats, Fines
for granting the Wardship of Infants, Fines not to grant such Wardships,
Fines from Knights to have Wards in marriage, Fines from Wards not to be
given in marriage. Fines from the Jews on every imaginable occasion. Fines
from Knights for license to defraud them, from the Jews for protection from
being defrauded. Fines for Aids, Scutages, Tallages, and Customs, Fines to
have Justice and Right, for Writs, Pleas, Tryals, and Judgments, for expedi
tion of Pleas, Tryals, aud Judgments, for delay of Pleas, Tryals, and Judg
ments, Fines payable out of debts to be recovered. Fines for having offices, by
Tenants in capite for leave to marry, for leave to trade, for the King's favour,
for his protection and aid, for his mediation, for Seisin, for Replevin or Bail, for
Acquittal, for Murder, Manslaughter, Trespass and Misdemeanor, Fines for
leave to settle Duels (even between brothers), and for so many other causes,
that they are at once too numerous and too disgraceful to mention, excepting,
indeed, for the purpose of considering how superior are the freedom and happi
ness of the humblest menial in these days, to the liberty and power of the
greatest Baron six centuries back." — Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, pp.
36, 37.]
[Respecting the Great Roll of the Pipe, see further Powell, Direction for
' Search of Records, pp. 40—43. Madox, History of the Exchequer, vol. ii.
p. 112; Ayloffe, Calendars of Ancient Charters, Introduction, p. xii. Treatise
on the Court of Exchequer, (by Lord Chief Baron Gilbert,) p. 114. Price,
Treatise on the Law cf Exchequer, Appendix, 725. See'ialso a. remark in
Nicolas, Observations on the State of Historical Literature, p. 74.
[The Pipe Rolls in Ireland commence with the reign of Henry the Third.
See the Inventory, Reports from the Commissioners on the PubUc Records of
Ireland, vol. ii. p. 125. See also ibid. p. 78. " The Rolls of the Pipe
(Ireland) are principally composed of the Returns of the Receipt and
Expenditure of the Royal Revenue, contained in Escheators' and She
riffs' Accounts ; among which are found References to Grants of Lands and
Money, &c. made by the different Monarchs ; the Value of Ecclesiastical

316 THE PIPE ROLLS.
profit due to the Crown from its Ministers or other debtors,
ranged under the head of their respective Counties.
The earliest Roll of this kind now remaining has been at
tributed to the 18th year of Hen. I., the 5th of Stephen, and the
1st of Hen. II. ; but there is good internal evidence for assigning
it either to the 26th or 30th of Hen. I. The next which occurs
is of the 2d of Hen. II. ; and from that time downwards the
series is nearly complete.
Each Great Roll or Bundle is composed of a number of
smaller Rolls, stitched together along the head, and generaUy
each of these consist of two long sheets of parchment joined
endwise, the accounts being written more or less on both sides
of the skin.
There remain at the Tower fragments of a similar Great Roll
for Normandy, of the year 1184, or 30th of Hen. II. They
consist of portions of two of the smaller kind just described.
The first is the lower or second half of one of them ; the other
is" composed of a fragment of the upper and the whole of the
lower membrane of the concluding Roll : the former is written
on one side only, and contains part of the annual account of
William Earl of Arundel, the other part having perished ; the
concluding Roll exhibits, on both sides, the accounts of various
other persons.
Of the contents of these fragments a small number of copies,
as closely in conformity with the Original as the difference of
Livings seised into the King's hands, by vacancy of Sees or otherwise ; fre
quent Exemplifications of the Statute of Westminster against Absentees, temp.
Henry VI. ; Accounts of Laymen's Lands seised into the King's hands ; and
very frequently contain curious Topographical Information, Prisage of Wines,
King's Customs and' Revenues, Quit Rents, Wardships, Escheats, &c. ; and,
in addition to this general information, both the Plea* and Pipe Rolls throw
great light on the history of private property, and the Genealogy of the princi
pal persons in the Kingdom." — Ibid. p. 77. These Rolls appear to have been
consulted as curious historical documents by many Irish writers. — Ibid. vol. i.
p. 413.]
(28) [Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normannice de anno ab incarnatione Domini 1 184,
Willielmo Filio Radulfi, Senescallo, quce extant, 4to. 1830.]
* [See ante, p. 241.]

THE PIPE ROLLS. 317
type and size would permit, have been printed for private dis
tribution, with the double object of thus providing as far as
possible against the chance of further injury to this curious docu
ment, and at the same time of affording briefly, by analogy, a
connected view ofthe nature and importance of our own invalu
able series of Pipe Rolls, of which it is believed comparatively
little is known, except by the few persons who have had suffi
cient perseverance to examine the numberless extracts from these
records which the indefatigable Madox has dispersed throughout
his elaborate History of the Exchequer,(29)
(29) [The Pipe Rolls, formerly kept in wainscot presses in the old Exchequer,
at Westminster, were, about the year 1800, removed to the vaults under the
eastern wing of Somerset House. Of this repository, the author of an unpub
lished tract has given the following description — a description which, deplorable
as it is, the compiler regrets to state is in no respect exaggerated.
" The situation in which the Records of this Repository and of the Pipe are
preserved is one, of all others, the least suited for their preservation, and the
best calculated for their decay and destruction ; bemg kept in damp vaults
under the eastern wing of Somerset House. Thfese vaults were originally
deemed by Government too damp, dark, and improper for their reception ; in
consequence whereof, air and fire-flues were introduced under the floor and round
the walls, for the purpose of keeping the Records dry, and preventing the damp
from the ground. Instead of remedying the evil, I can say, from long expe
rience, that the situation has become still more objectionable, the Records being
alternately damp and dry ; damp when the flues are unlighted, and dry again
when air is admitted and the fires lighted. Further than this, the rooms are so
dark, (especially since the erection of the King's College,) it is impossible to
read a Record, or even its label; the cold is also so great, that in winter or
summer no person could remain therein half an hour, without the risk of losing
his life."]
[His Majesty's Government, by the desire of the present Commissioners on
the Public Records, has lately given orders for the removal of these invaluable
Records to a place better adapted to their preservation, and.wliere they may be
consulted without inconvenience. When this measure shall be accomplished,
steps will be taken for the examination of these Rolls by competent persons, and
it is probable the most important portion will be transcribed, and printed, and
our national history protected from the irreparable injury it would sustain, in
case of their destruction by time or by accident. See a subsequent page,]

318 THE CART.*; ANTIQUE.
[From an unpublished Pamphlet,]
Tke Cartce Antiquce, — The Calendar, to what are so termed,
was printed by Sir Joseph Ayloffe from an old Office Calendar.
It is important here to remark, that these are neither ori
ginal Charters, or Enrolments of Charters, although they have
been received in evidence. This has arisen in error, and from
Judges having been imposed upon as to the fact of their being
original Enrolments ; they are entries only, made from time
to time when parties came before tbe Justices in Eyre of the
Forest and claimed Liberties, and had allowance thereof, as is
evident from entries on the Rolls — thus, De Foresta, and Nil de
Foresta, Besides which, these Charters are not chronologically
enroUed, but various reigns intermixed.

[From the Preface to the Index to the Originalia and Memo-
randa,]{BO)
The Cartce Antiquce.— The earliest Records of Chancery we
meet with are those transcripts called the Cartce Antiquce, {SI)
which contain miscellaneous exemplifications of Charters of our
ancient Kings long prior to the time of King John, but mixed
with others made in his reign, and apparently at that time pat
(30) [Mr. Jones published this Index in 1793. The title of the work is as
follows ; Index to Records, called the Oi-iginalia and Memoranda 07i the Lord
Treasurer's Remembrancer's Side of the Exchequer-: extracted from the Records,
and from the Manuscripts of Mr, Tayleure, Mr. Madox, aiid Mr. Chapman, fm--
merly Officers in that Office. Containing all the Grants of Abbey Lands, and
other Property, granted by the Crown, from the Beginning cf the Reign qf Henry
VIII. to the End cf Queen Ann, Also, Inrolments of Charters, Grants, and
Patents to several Religious Houses, and to Cities, Boroughs, Towns, Companies,
Colleges, and other Public Institutions from the earliest Pei-iod. Together with
Pleadings and Proceedings relative to the Tenures and Estates of the Nobility and
Gentry; Commissions to survey Manms, Lands, and Tenements; and innumerable
Other Matters.]
(31) [See Appendix to First Report of Select Committee of the House of Com
mons, 1800, p. 53 ; Ayloffe, Calendars to Ancient Charters, Introduction,
p. xlviii. ; Bayley, History and Antiquities of the Tower of London, p. 219 ;
and Grimaldi, OHgines Genealogiccc, p. 20.]

THE CARTjE ANTIQU.E. 319
together ; next, the Charter Rolls of the first year of his reign,
the Norman Rolls of tbe second year of the same King, the
Patent Rolls of the third year, and the Close Rolls and Fine
RoUs of the sixth year. There are no RoUs at the Tower,
called Charter Rolls, later than the twelfth year of James the
First, (anno 1614;) because, since that time. Charters are pro
miscuously inrolled with other Patents on the Patent Rolls.

[From the Appendix to the First Report of the Select Committee
of the House of Commons on the Public Records,]
The Cartce Antiquce — Augmentation 0^ce.(32) — Under this de
signation is contained a great variety of important and valuable
Deeds, some nearly as ancient as the Norman Conquest. They
are of a very miscellaneous kind, consisting of Appropriations
of Churches, Endowments of Vicarages, Feoffments, and Grants
of various kinds. Compositions Real, Letters of Attorney and
Proxy, Releases and Quit Claims, Grants and Manumissions of
Villains, &c. &c. &c. ; and they are of all ages, from the date
above noticed until the time of Henry the Eighth.(33)

THIRD SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE.
[Short Statement of the matter to be collected from the Parliament
Rolls.]
[From Manuscript Collection.]
It is necessary to premise, that the documents published in the
Appendixes to the printed Rolls of Parliament are not, by any
means, selected in such a manner as to give an adequate idea of
the value of the matter relating to the functionsj of Parliament
contained on the Rolls. The appendix to Ryley's Placita Par
liamentaria is much more satisfactory, though it is very hmited
in extent.
The Writs of Summons and Election, (of which a very com-
(32) [See also Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 20.]
(33) [See also respecting the value of the Cartce Antiquce, Ayloffe's Calendars,
Introduction, p. xlviii.]

320 PARLIAMENT ROLLS.
plete and valuable collection to the reign of Edward the Third
is now in course of publication, (as an Appendix to the Report of
the Lords' Committees on the Dignity of the Peerage,) and the
Writs of Wages, need not be described, as their nature is well
known. The other Writs, Commissions, and Documents relat
ing to Parliament and the Council, are of a miscellaneous
description, and may be briefly noticed under the following
heads: —
Commissions issued upon Petitions presented to Parliament,
or the Council, or otherwise issued by the special direc
tion of Parliament, or the Council, for the Conservation of
the' Peace, or for the punishment of Breaches ofthe Peace
committed against individuals.
These are numerous and important, and they are of great
curiosity, inasmuch as they illustrate the manner in which the
original jurisdiction ofthe King's CouncU in, or out of, Parliament,
in relation to tbe conservancy of the Peace, became gradually
delegated to other authorities. It may here be observed, that
justices of the peace were usually named in Parliament, and com
missions directed to them accordingly.
Commissions of Inquiry, issued upon Petition to the Council
in, or out of, Parliament.
Many of them relate to usurpations, wrongs, and oppressions,
not of a criminal nature, and not cognizable by the ordinary
courts, or according to the ordinary course of law. Others re
late to the grant of franchises, and others to the redress or re
medy of public nuisances or inconveniences. Upon these Com
missions inquests were taken and returned before the Council,
sometimes in Parliament, and sometimes out of Parliament,
Most of the inquiries, now referred to the Committees of either
House of Parliament, were anciently conducted by means of
such Commissions.
Grants of Pavage, Murage, Wharfage, and other Tolls and
Dues made to bodies politic and corporate, and sometimes
to individuals.
These, in and after the reign of Edward the Second, were
frequently made upon petitions presented to the Council, and

PARLIAMENT ROLLS. 321
answered in or out of Parhament. Hence originated the modern
private BiUs for similar purposes. In the first stage are found
the Grants, or Patents, issuing upon petitions presented as before
is mentioned. About the reign of Henry the Fifth a practice
was introduced of issuing not a Grant under a Great Seal, but
an Exemplification under the Great Seal of the Petition and of
the Answer given in Parhament; and lastly, the Petition and
Answer were drawn up into an Act, in the same form as the
pubhc Statutes. The right now claimed by the Privy Council,
of issuing Grants for the coUection of light-house dues, upon
petitions addressed to them by merchants and others on the part
of the public, (as noticed in the last Report of the Committee of
the House of Commons,) appears to be derived from the ancient
practice before noticed.
Grants of lands and dignities made by tbe King with the
assent of Parliament, or by parUamentary authority.
These are numerous and of considerable importance.
Remedial and other Commissions and Writs, issuing spe
cially by virtue of particular Statutes, or Ordinances, such
as those relating to the perambulations of Forests, Pur
veyances, &c.
Remedial and original Writs granted to individuals upon
petitions addressed to the Council, in, or out of. Parlia
ment.
Writs in the nature of Writs of Error.
These relate to judgments given in inferior Courts, not only
in the kingdom of England, but in Wales, Scodand, and Ireland.
Writs in the nature of Writs of Subpoena ad testificandum,
commanding individuals to appear before the Council in,
or out of. Parliament.
Writs relating to the equitable jurisdiction of the Council,
exercised when the CouncU sitting in Chancery had an
ancient established jurisdiction, as in cases of visitation of
ecclesiastical foundations, the incidents of tenures, &c.
These, in very many instances, originated out of Petitions
presented in Parliament. Y

322 PARLIAMENT ROLLS.
Writs of subpoena and quibusdam certis de causis, command
ing the appearance of individuals, or of bodies politic
or corporate, before Parliament, the CouncU, or the
Chancery, and issued either upon Bills, or Petitions, pre
sented to Parliament, or to the Council,
Writs of Proclamation and other process issued upon Peti
tions in Parliament, commanding the appearance of de
fendants before other Courts.
Exemplifications under the Great Seal of Proceedings in
Parhament.
These, in some instances, will supply the chasms in the Rolls
of Parliament. Writs for the assessment and collection of tenths, fifteenths,
and other taxes, and aids granted by consent of Parlia
ment.
Memoranda on the Close Rolls relating to the proceedings
of the Council and of Parliament.
Documents not strictly arising out of Parhament, but eluci
dating its proceedings or history.
These do not admit of any exact definition. As a particular
instance, it may be sufficient to quote the Exemplifications from
Domesday, granted at the close of the reign of Edward III. and
in the 1st Richard II., and which the Commons, in their Petition,
1 Richard II. {Rot. Par. vol. iii. p. 21,) allege to have encouraged
the villains to refuse the services due to their lords.

[Rolls of Parliament, — Writs of Election, — Statute Rolls. — Par
liamentary Petitions, Writs, and other Proceedings consequen
tial thereon.] [From Manuscript Collection.]
Rolls of Parliament. — There are no Rolls of Parliament now
extant anterior to the reign of Edward I., the earliest existing
Record of this description being the Roll of the 18th Edward I.
preserved amongst the Records in the Treasury of the Ex
chequer (Chapter House.) Rolls of Pleadings coram, Rege et

ELECTION WRITS. 323
Consilio of an earlier period are found, but there are no consecu
tive Records of the legislature until the above-mentioned era.
The Parliament Rolls during the reigns of Edward I. & II. are
made up as judicial Records, i, e, the membranes are tacked
together at the top of each skin. From the reign of Edward III.
they are made up as Chancery Rolls, i, e, the membranes are
attached end to end. And this alteration in form probably in
dicates the period when the custody of the Parliamentary Records
was permanently entrusted to the officers of the ChanceUor.
Writs of Election, — The earliest set of original Writs of Elec
tion and Returns of the Commons, is that of the 18th Edward I.
{Pari, Writs, vol. i. p. 21 to 24), but the Writs of 23d Edward I.
{Pari, Writs, vol. i. 34 to 45) were in the Exchequer ; (34) and
(34) They are printed from the transcripts preserved amongst the Petyt
MSS. in the Inner Temple Library.
The following Memorandum, which is in the hand-writing of the celebrated
antiquary George Holmes, explains the circumstances under which the Petyt
transcripts were made : —
" In my searches in the King's Remembrancer's Office in the Exchequer,
near twenty years ago, I met with, in a great chest, several bundles of Writs
and other Records, in the reigns of different Kings, huddled up together ; and
amongst them I found an imperfect bundle of Writs of Summons, with their
Returns, to a Parliament to be held at Westm' anno 23d Edward I., the veiy
first precedent of that nature hitherto found out by any man that I have heard
of. This discovery being thus made by me, I ordered my clerk to take a copy
of those Writs and Returns, which I have, and after acquainted Mr. Halsted
(then Deputy to Sir Algernon May, Keeper of the Records at the Tower, and
after to Dr. Brady) with my discovery, which, I believe, upon very good rea
sons, Mr. Halsted afterwards told the Doctor of."
" From this account two observations may arise. The first is, that Mr.
Prynne had not in all his searches in the Exchequer met with the bundle de
anno 23d Edward I. ; for if he had he would undoubtedly have taken notice
thereof in his printed book called Brevia Parliamentaria rediviva, as he did of
several of the nature afterwards."
" The second is, that that bundle was found amongst the Records in the
Exchequer, and not amongst the Records of the Tower, where the generality
of Pariiamentary Records are kept; from whence it may be fairiy presumed,
that the bundle of the 23d Edward I. vvas not tiie first and only bundle of that
kmd whicli was lodaed in the Exchequer, but that there raay be several others
y2

324} STATUTE ROLLS.
it is possible that other sets of Parliamentary Writs may be ulti
mately found amongst the miscellaneous Records of that Court,
so as to supply the deficiencies of the Records in tbe Tower.
Statute Rolls, — The laws ofthe Conqueror, and those ascribed
to Henry 1., are entered in the Red-Book ofthe Exchequer, and
it is possible that the " assizes" of Henry II. , of Richard, and of
John, may have been preserved in some such volume for the
more convenient use of the King's Court. But there are no
existing traces of any regular Record of the enactments of the
legislature before the reign of Edward I. The Great Statute
Roll, as itis called, begins with the Statute of Gloucester, 1278,
and ends with the Sth Edward IV. A chasm then ensues, and
from 1st Richard III. to the present time an enrolment in Chan
cery, differing in some technical particulars from the ancient
Statute-RoU, authenticates the acts ofthe legislature.
The original acts are deposited in a strong tower, now con
verted into the Parliament Office, and which marks the boundary
of the ancient Palace of Westminster.
In the earlier periods of our history the Statutes were framed,
with great deliberation, by the sages of the law. Before the
Bill, which contained the proposed Statute, was brought into
" Parliament," the King and his Council discussed its provisions,
or, as appears from a memorable anecdote, the Council entrusted
some one member with the task. Robert Walraund thus penned
and prepared that chapter of the Statute of Marlebridge,
52d Henry IIL, which restrained the collusive infeoffments made
by the father to his heir, for the purpose of defrauding the chief
lord of his wardship ; and which, according to the tradition of
Westminter Hall, first took effect in Robert Walraund's own
grandson. These ancient Statutes, as appears from some fragments yet
extant in the Tower, seem to have been presented to Parliament
as substantive documents — that is to say, in a draft, though en-
of more ancient times which remain there undiscovered." — Petyt Collections,
vol. XV. p. 112.
The transcripts, as well as the memorandum, are in the hand-writing of
Holmes, and were probably made by him from the copy taken by his clerk.

PARLIAMENTARY PETITIONS, &C. 325
grossed upon parchment, and having the entire form of a Statute ;
but which draft was, of course, subject to any verbal alterations,
which might be suggested in the assembly, and such amendments
appear upon the before-mentioned fragments. But the Statutes
which originated upon the petidons of the " Commonalty of the
Realm," were not brought into Parhament in a perfect shape.
They resulted from the requests, or petitions, of the Baronage, or
the Commons ; and, by combining the substance of the petition
and of the answer, the law was framed by the King's CouncU,
sometimes after the dissolution of the Parliament in wbich the
request had been propounded. The few, yet solemn, acts of
legislation anterior to 6th Edward I. are not extant upon any
Record properly so called. They are collected only from ancient
Manuscripts ; some of which, however, have an authoritative
character, such as the Lieger-Books of monasteries, in which
they were entered for the information of the community, and in
the Episcopal Registers, which, it may be remarked, preserve
many curious parliamentary proceedings, of later date, not upon
the Rolls. The ancient manuscript Collections of the Statutes in
public and private collections, and in which the unrecorded
Statutes are preserved, are innumerable, and many belong to
that happy period when all the written legislation of the realm
was comprised in a gaily illuminated duodecimo. To these col
lections a Calendar is usually prefixed ; and sometimes the
lawyer prefaced his manuals by a few quaint verses, the
apophthegms of Aristotle, or a treatise on onomancy, in which —
is it a satire upon the wisdom of the Courts ? — the rules were
given for predicting the result of a law-suit by valuing the letters
of the plaintiffs and defendants' names.
Parliamentary Petitions, — Writs, and other Proceedings con
sequent thereupon. — These are of two classes. Public Peti
tions, or those presented to the King, generally by the Com
mons, and sometimes, though less frequently, by the other
branches of the legislature. (35) Upon these Petitions, as before
(35) For an example of a Bill, or Petition, presented by the Prelates or
Peers on behalf of the Communitas, see Pari, Writs, vol. i. pp. 104, 105,
No. 45.

326 PARLIAMENTARY PETITIONS, 8CC.
mentioned, the Statutes were grounded. Private Petitions, or
those presented by individuals, or communities, in relation to their
own affairs.
Parliament was anciently called together, not so much for the
purposes of legislation, or taxation, as to the intent that the com
plaints, either of the commonwealth, or of individuals, might be
discussed and heard. It was the King's high and extraordinary
Court of Justice ; the tribunal in which redress was to be ob
tained when the Courts of Common Law were unable or un
willing to grant relief. Annual Parliaments were required,
because justice could not be administered without these assem
blies. Here alone could the doubts of the learned in the law be
solved, and the obstacles be removed, which impeded the due
course of the law.
Where the Common Law became inefficient, the supreme
remedial jurisdiction was vested in the High Court of Parlia
ment. Here the people were invited to resort for the redress of
all injuries and oppressions not cognizable by the ordinary tribu
nals ; and the inability of the petitioner to sue at Common Law,
or to obtain a fair trial by jury, according to the ordinary pro
cess, is the most common allegation in the Petitions.
The loss of our early Parliamentary Records throws great
obscurity upon the proceedings of Parliament anterior to the
18th Edward I. ; but it appears that until about the fifth year of
bis reign, all Petitions were brought before the King and his
CouncU, in the first instance, by the petitioners. In that year
he ordered that they should be discussed, in the first instance,
by the judicial officers to whose department they belonged, and
not brought before the King and Council, unless their weight
and importance required it. Another regulation was established
21st Edward I. Receivers were appointed by the King, and
the Petitions were to be well examined, and divided into five
bundles. " Le Roi voete ordeine qe totes les peticions qe desi en avant
serront liverees as parlemens a ceaus qe il assignera a recevoir
les, e qe totes les peticions seient tol a primer apres ce qe des
serrunt receves bien examinees. Et qe a les qe touchent la

PARLIAMENTARY PETITIONS, &C. 327
Chauncellerie seient mis en un lyaz severaument. E les autres
que touchent le Escheker en autre liaz. E ausi seit fete de celes
qe touchent les justices. E puis celles qe serront devaunt le
Roy e son Consed severaument en autre lyaz. Et ausi celles qe
averont este respondues devant en several liaz. E ensi seyent
les choses reportees devaunt le Roy devaunt ceo qe il les comence
a deliverer."— i?oi. Claus. 21 Ed. I.
This practice, after some variations, settled, in the following
reign, into the regular appointment of receivers of petitions for
England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, for Gascony, the Islands
and other parts beyond the seas — a form which is still observed
by the House of Lords at the opening of every new Parliament.
Generally the petitions are answered by the CouncU, which may
be defined by considering it as a standing Committee of Parlia
ment, chiefly composed ofthe law officers of the Crown ; in what
manner, and when, and how, the Prelates and Peers of Parlia
ment were called to assist, does not appear; but it is certain that
the Commons did not bring up tbe petitions of individuals, and
that the latter, anterior to the reign of Richard II., had no par
ticipation in the remedial jurisdiction. This was exercised in
various manners. A considerable proportion of the petitions
related to the payment of the King's debts ; these were often
brought before him for his opinion. Matters of grace and
favour were solicited before the Council in Parham.ent. If a
remainder was in the King, or if land was held by royal grant or
charter, actions brought against the tenant were often stayed by
the judges until the Council granted a writ de procedendo. Par
dons for offences and rewards for services were asked and ob
tained by petition to Council. Many petitions relate to those
cases, in which the rights of the subject were withheld by the
officers or ministers of the Crown. This grievance arose in very
many instances where lands charged with the payment of rents
or annuities, or liable to other claims, were vested in the Crown,
or its grantees, during the minority of an heir, or by way of
escheat, or forfeiture. And it also happened not unfrequently,
that the tenants holding by estates less than freehold, or even by
disseisin, died in possession of lands held in chief, in which case

328 PARLIAMENTARY PETITIONS, &C.
the land was in like manner seized by the Crown, and withheld
from the lawful owner. Such petitioners obtained proper wrhs
in the Exchequer or Chancery. In other words, that jurisdic
tion, which afterwards became attributed to the Common Law
side ofthe Court of Chancery, originally belonged to the Council
in Parliament. Oppressions alleged to have been committed by
the ministers and bailiffs of the Crown, nuisances, which could
not be abated by the common law, and wrongs and trespasses,
which could not be so redressed, constituted another fertile
source of complaint to the Council. Sometimes these inquests
were ordered to be determined in the Courts below. From this
course is derived the present practice of the Court of Chancery,
where, if issue is joined on the common law side, the record is
delivered by the ChanceUor to the Court of King's Bench,
before which a jury is empannelled and judgment given therein.
And sometimes inquests were ordered to be taken in the Courts
below and returned before the Council for judgment. In most
cases, which, allowing for the alterations in our laws and consti
tution, were equivalent to those in which evidence would now be
investigated by examination of witnesses before committees of
either House of Parliament, the evidence was then obtained by
inquests taken under commissions ordered by the Council in, or
out of. Parliament, and returned before the Council. To the
King and Council were addressed petitions for grants of pont
age, murage, and other tolls and duties of a similar nature.
These, until the reign of Henry VI., were granted by charter,
sometimes issued upon petition of Council, and sometimes upon
petition of Parliament. In the last-mentioned reign another
practice was introduced ; the bill, having passed through both
houses, was merely exemplified under the great seal, as a local
act, deriving its validity from the legislature, without any words
of grant from the Crown, and exemplified merely for evidence.
A reminiscence, of the ancient power of the Council is to be
traced in the practice, which still obtains, of obtaining grants of
light-bouse dues upon petition presented by individuals, or cor
porations, to the Privy Council, though the validity of such
grants is doubted. On the other hand, from the petitions pre-

PARLIAMENTARY PETITIONS, &C. 329
sented to the CouncU in Parliament are derived our local sta
tutes. Whatever shape the grant assumed, it was preceded by a
commission ad quod damnum, and the verdict of a jury, testifying
that the privUege so required would not injure the King, or his
lieges, preceded its creation.
These various proceedings, branching out of Parliament, are
of the most multifarious description, but yet the scheme of pro
cedure and jurisdiction is certain and consistent— a petition to
parliament — a writ issued upon the petition — an inquest, if the
allegations were such as could be proved by tbe country — and a
grant, or adjudication either by the King, or by those, who acted
in his name ; and a careful exclusion of all parliamentary inter
ference when the matter was within the scope of the ordinary tri
bunals. There is great reason to suppose that the loss of our
earlier constitutional Records is not entirely the effect of acci
dent, and that intentional spoliation has aided the ravages of
time. When the Lords in opposition debated the resolutions,
which were to limit the royal authority of Richard II., they
moved for the production of the Statute by which Edward II.
had been deposed, and upon consideration of this revolutionary
document, the ordinances and commissions, which transferred the
chief prerogatives of the Crown to a Council, were established
and founded. All Records relating to the deposition of " Ed
ward of Caernarvon" have entirely disappeared; and when it is
recollected that the cancellation and destruction of Rolls and
Records touching the " state and government" formed a promi
nent charge in the impeachment of Richard II., it seems proba
ble, that during his short and transient interval of prosperity, he
destroyed these dangerous precedents. The Rolls of Parliament
were not accessible to the subject and open to inspection like
other Records : they were concealed from the public eye. This
fact is proved by the foUowing transaction : — There is now exist
ing in the Tower an ancient book, not a Record, but a private
compilation, (36) which was deposited amongst the muniments
(36) From the hand-writing of this volume it may be conjectured that it
was transcribed early in the reign of Edward III. Before it came into the
Tower it passed through several hands. In 1586 it belonged to Fleetwood, the
Recorder of London.

330 VETUS CODEX.
some time about the beginning of the seventeenth century, called
or quoted by the names ofthe Blade Book, or the Vetus Codex, (37)
and containing transcripts of various parliamentary proceedings,
some of which are extant, whilst others are lost. Amongst the
former is the Roll of the 20th Edward I. ; and in the 6th Rich
ard II. an exemplification being required of certain privileges
granted to the abbot of Marmoustier, the chapter or section is
stated in the patent to have been extracted from a " certain
volume," being the book in question, and not, as is always the
practice with Records, from the original and authentic source.
The language of the exemplification is such as to show, that the
volume was not then preserved in any public repository ; and
there is no doubt, but that if the Parliament Roll could have
been searched, the suitor would have resorted to it according to
the usual course, which was as regularly established then as at
the present day. The concealment of the parliamentary Re
cords will account for the very slight notices, which our ancient
legal writers afford, either of the judicial proceedings of Parha
ment, or ofits institutions. No one in reading Fleta would sup
pose that the Council in Parliament was the prime mover of the
administration of the law ; and these circumstances will also ex
plain the very inaccurate accounts, which have been preserved by
contemporary writers concerning the Great Council of the
Realm. Of the Statutes the ancient transcripts are innumerable ; but
the Vetus Codex is the only ancient copy hitherto known of a
Roll of Parliament.
Many ParUamentary documents have been lost to posterity by
negligence and neglect. Until, the reign of Edward II. the
entries on the " Close Roll" of the Writs of Summons and of
Elections were extremely irregular. It appears to have been
the practice (yet continued) for the clerk of the Chancery to
make out the Writ from what is termed the Parliament pawn,
that is to say, a pannel, or schedule, of parchment containing the
form of the mandate, and whicli it was his duty afterwards to
enter upon the Close Roll. Now it is apparent, from the exami-
(37) [See ante, p. 176, and Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 101.]

PARLIAMENTARY PETITIONS, &C. , 331
nation of the Records, that such business was considered of
secondary importance when compared with the documents con
cerning property. Sometimes the clerks allowed the pannel to
remain upon the file without transcribing it, or they would con
tent themselves with tacking it as a rider to the Close Roll ;
whilst every Writ relating to land was carefully recorded and
enrolled, long before the clerks of the Chancery felt it a duty to
make the Parliamentary enrolments with more regularity. In a
constitutional point of view this fact is of great importance ;
since every argument, arising from the non-appearance of Parlia
mentary Writs upon the Close Roll, must fall entirely to the
ground, and, though the Records do not furnish any Writs of
Summons of the temporal Peers anterior to the Parliament con
vened by Simon de Montfort, still as there is full evidence upon
the Pipe Rolls, that they were issued as early as the reign of
Richard Coeur de Lion, we can only attribute their absence on
the Roll to the carelessness of the official transcriber. This
slovenliness is shown in many instances ; it is not uncommon to
find a Baron summoned to Parliament many years after he had
been consigned to the grave, to tbe great perplexity of the toiling
genealogist, who vainly endeavours to reconcile the contradictions
of the most authentic materials of the pedigree.

CHAPTER XV.
THE INQUISITIONS POST MORTEM.

Account of the Calendar of the Inquisitions Post
Mortem.
[From the Preface to the Work.]
The Records preserved in the Tower of London, entitled
Inquisitiones post Mortem, or, as they are sometimes
called, Escheats, commence with the early part of the
reign of Henry the Third, and end with the third year
of Richard the Third.
Of the nature of these Records the following account
was given by the late Thomas Astle, Esquire, Keeper of
the Records in the Tower, in his Return to the Order
of the Select Committee of the House of Commons ap
pointed to inquire into the State of the Public Records
of the Kingdom, printed in the Reports thereupon made,
p. 54, viz.
" These Records are preserved in bundles, chronolo
gically arranged ; they were taken by virtue of W^rits,
directed to the Escheators of each County or District, to
summon a Jury on oath, who were to inquire what lands
any person died seised of, and by what Rents or Services
the same were held, and who was the next Heir, and of
what age the Heir was, that the King might be informed
of his right of Escheat or Wardship: They also show
whether the Tenant was attainted of Treason, or was an
Alien, in either of which cases they were seized into

the inquisitions post mortem. 333
the King's hands; they likewise show the Quantity,
Quality, and Value of the Lands of which each Tenant
died seized, &c. and they are the best Evidences of the
Descents of Families and of Property." (1)
The printed Calendar to these Records is a Transcript
of the OfScial Calendars, revised and corrected with
the Originals by Mr. Robert Lemon, Chief Clerk in the
Tower. [The first volume commences with the second year of
King Henry the Third ; and the second concludes with
the end of the reign of Edward the Third. The third
volume comprehends the reigns of Richard the Second
and Henry the Fourth. Indexes of Persons and Places
are subjoined to each volume.]

[From the Preface to the Fourth Volume.]
Previous to the completion of the Calendars of the
Inquisitions post mortem, which are preserved in the
Tower, it was deemed necessary that the immense mass
of Miscellaneous Records in that repository should be
carefully looked over, in order that any deficient docu
ments of the same nature should be collected and added
to the general series. This was done, and the result
was the recovery of a large portion of the Inquisitions
which are noted in the preceding volumes as lost, and
the discovery of upwards of three thousand other im
portant documents of the same kind, in the several
reigns from King Henry the Third to James the First,
inclusive.(2) These have been chronologically arranged,
(1) [Whenever the Return to the Writ comprehends an Extent, which is often
the case, a minute and accurate description ofthe property is given.]
(2) [This circumstance has occasioned some severe but not undeserved re
marks. — See Westminster Review, vol. x. p. 408 ; and Nicolas, Observations on
the State of Historical Literature, pp. 84-86.]

334< THE INQUISITIONS POST MORTEM.
and a Calendar of them is printed as an Appendix to
the fourth volume (3).

[From the Appendix to the First Report qf the Select
Committee of the House qf Commons on the Public
Records.] The Inquisitions post Mortem, — The Inquisitions in
the Tower begin with the first year of the reign of Henry
(3) ["The Inquisitiones Post Mortem bear the same relation to each distinct
barony and estate, which Domesday does to the kingdom in general. Upon the
death of a tenant in capite his land was seized by the crown ; a jury was then
empannelled before the escheator, and the jurymen were charged upon their
oaths to declare the particulars and value of the property, and the name and age
of the next heir. This proceeding was returned to the Chancery, and a dupli
cate was also transmitted to the Exchequer : the heir, if an adult, then appeared
in court, and upon performance of homage to the King, and payment of his
reasonable relief, the estate was restored to him. If, on the contrary, the heir
was a minor, he and his land remained in wardship until he could sue out his
writ De jEtate Probanda, under which process witnesses were examined ; and
their depositions being returned into Chancery, he was released from wardship :
but during which bondage, however, a yoke of another description had been
usually imposed upon him, which was not to be thrown off with equal facility.
The sale of the marriage of an heir, whether male or female, was a most valuable
perquisite, and the price brought by the " gentile Bachelor," or the blooming
Damsel, was regulated by the bargains of the contracting parties, that is to say,
the King, or his grantee, who sold the bride or bridegroom, and by the parent,
who bought the match for the benefit of his offspring. The Records relating to
these parts of the Crown Property (and even as late as the reign of James I.
the law and the abuse continued in full vigour) afford a singular view of the
state of society, and form a whimsical contrast to our modern ideas. Instead of
finding a Serjeant-at-arms despatched to punish a clandestine marriage, we dis
cover the same worthy officer employed for the purpose of apprehending a ward,
who had been guilty of a contempt of court by refusing to accept the hand of
the lady, who had been duly tendered to him by the Attorney-General before the
Master of the Rolls. In the reign of Henry II. the crown wards were regularly
catalogued and inventoried, like the slaves of a plantation. According to the
Assizes of Jerusalem, the sage and venerable matron who was so fortunate as to
attain the unmolested age of threescore, might refuse a husband without incur-

THE INQUISITIONS POST MORTEM. 335
the Third, 1216, and end with the third year of Richard
the Third, 1485.
ring the penalties consequent upon a contempt of the King's authority. But
even at that venerable age, when she was allowed to retain her widow's weeds,
she was still put down in the English record with all particulars, so that the
opportunity, whether more or less remote, of disposing of her, might not be lost
to the Treasury. Magna Charta mitigated this domestic tyranny, but still the
evil remained ; and the knight might perhaps envy the tenure, which enabled the
free Socman to chuse his mate, without fear of being exchequered for his dis
obedience in following the impulse of his own heart." — Qua, Rev. vol. xxxix.
pp. 58, 59.]
[" 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, however, 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 hands aJl lands held in capite of the Crown,
ou receiving a writ, entitled a writ De diem clausit extremum, commanding hira
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,''

* " A history of the office of ' Escheator' is a desideratum in antiquarian
literature. Many notices for the purpose will be found on the Rolls ol Parlia
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's writ of Diem clausit extremum. Ic is evident from these enactments,
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 orEce 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 Bed 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 ofthe Statutes of tlie Realm, vol. i. p. 249."

336 THE INQUISITIONS POST MORTEM.
The Inquisitions post Mortem, — The Escheat Bundles
at the RoUs Chapel contain original Inquisitions post
" 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
Ijiquisitiones 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 topographical writers, and for
genealogical evidence."
" The earliest Inquisitiones post Mortem on record are ofthe 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 Inquisi
tions being preserved in the Rolls Chapel." * * * *
" It is not generally known, that transcripts of the Inquisitions 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 iu good preserva
tion ; 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 co
pious Indices Locorum et Nominum are appended ; but, in using the Calendar,
some caution is necessaiy, and the following hints may prevent mistakes.''
" In many instances, and most commonly with respect to the ' second num
bers,' notices occur of Inquisitions which were not Inquisitions post Mortem,
but proceedings connected 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." — Nicolas on the Public Records, pp. 77-79.]
[Respecting the Inquisitiones post Mortem, see also Nicolas, Notitia HistoHca,
p. 125 ; and Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 144.]
* [The " second numbers" are often Inquisitions ad quod Damnum. It must
not therefore be supposed that the finding of an Inquisition in this Calendar in
a particular year is proof that the person to whom it relates died at that period.
The Inquisition, on the contrary, frequently affords the best evidence that such
person was then living. See further, Westminster Review, vol. x. p. 407, and
Nicolas on the State of Historical Literature, p. 84.]

THE INQUISITIONS POST MORTEM. 337
Mortem, taken principally under writs of Diem clausit ex
tremum, of Lordships, Manors, and Lands holden in
capite, whereof any person was seized at the time of his
death; and in some cases by the Escheator, Virtute
Officij, or by the Escheator or Commissioners, by Writ,
or Commission, finding title in the Crown. These In
quisitions commence the first year of King Henry the
Seventh, and are regularly continued to the twentieth
year of King Charles the First, when there was an inter
mission ofthe business ofthe Court of Wards and Liveries,
which was abolished soon after the Restoration of King
Charles the Second; but there are a few Inquisitions
taken upon writs De Lunatico Inquirendo, and other In
quisitions or Offices, finding titles in the Crown, after
that period (3).
The Inquisitions post Mortem. — The Inquisitions post
Mortem in the King's Remembrancer's Office in the Ex
chequer are Transcripts of the Inquisitions post Mortem
in the Tower, and in the RoUs Chapel there is a series
of them from the reign of Edward the First to the reign
of Charles the First. They contain not only the Pos
sessions of persons tenants in capite, but also the Ex
tent, Survey, and Valuation of the Manors, Lands, and
Possessions of vacant Bishoprics, and vacant Abbies and
Priories of Royal Foundation. The Records are in good
preservation, and are capable of supplying defects which
the Originals, from dust, damp, loss, and other accidents,
may have sustained. [From Manuscript Collection.]
The Inquisitions post Mortem, — The series of these
important and valuable documents commences in the reign
(3) [A few sheets ot a Calendar of the Inquisitions preserved at the Rolls
Chapel have been printed ty the direction of the Commissioners on the Public
Records, but the further prosecution of the work has been suspended for reasons,
which it is not necessaiy to state.]

338 THE INQUISITIONS POST MORTEM.
of King Henry the Third, and is continued at the Tower
to the end of that of Richard the Third. For general
information concerning Real Property, its descent, and
the Pedigrees of families, these documents are perhaps
the most valuable of any of our national Records. On
the death of any person seised of lands, writs were di
rected to the Escheator of each county or district in
which such lands were situated, commanding him to take
them into the King's hands, and to inquire by jury
what those lands were, their annual value, the rents or
services by which they were holden, and who was the
next heir of the deceased, and his age ; and the Inquisi
tion so made the Escheator was directed to send into the
King's Chancery under his seal and the seals of the
Jurors. These Records, particularly in the earlier reigns,
frequently contain the most minute and valuable informa
tion, not only as regards the extent, the value, and de
scriptions of the property, but also as regards the state
and manners of society in those times. The numbers
and condition of the several tenants of manors are set
forth, the lands they held, the courts that were holden
and their value, as well as markets, fairs, fisheries, ferries,
parks, warrens, mills, &c. where there were any. In
short, the information contained in very many of these
documents is of so extensive and curious a kind, that it
would be difficult to fully describe them or to appreciate
their value. (4)
(4) ["There are two entire classes of public Records, both highly import
ant, which I am conscious have been but imperfectly used, and which I pre
sume to think are but imperfectly Used, by any person who has yet approached
the subject of English topography. I mean the Inquisitiones post Mm-tem, and
the early Wills."* — The Rev. Joseph Hunter, History of South Yorkshire,
vol. ii. p. 1831.]
[Mr. Hunter observes, that the Commissioners of Public Records committed
* [See the Prefaces to a Collection of all the (Royal) Wills now known to be
¦extant (by John Nichols, Esq.), and Nicolas, Testamenta Vetusta.
The importance of Trnxiern. Wills (br legal purposes is obvious. They also"

THE INQUISITIONS POST MORTEM. 339
The subject of these Inquisitions must not be left with
out mentioning that it has been the pernicious practice of
former times to wash over the face of these documents
with an infusion of spirits and gaUs whenever it was ne
cessary for them to be transcribed; and it is clear that
this injurious system was in very many instances adhered
to when there was not the slightest occasion for its use.
This mixture has the immediate effect of bringing up the
writmg and rendering a document legible, although be
fore its application, to a common eye, a single letter was
scarcely to be discerned ; but it has at the same time an
equally powerfiil effect on the vellum or parchment, and
in the course of time it renders that as black as the ink
itself. In this lamentable condition are some hundreds
of the most important of these documents in the Tower,
a fatal error by ordering that Calendars should be printed, and not that concise
Abstracts of the Inquisitions themselves should be prepared for the press. The
raost curious and important information in every Inquisition, he alleges, is thus
entirely withheld from the public, namely, the names and ages of the heirs. —
See on the same subject Nicolas, Observations on the State of Historical Litera
ture, f. 84; Retrospective Review, vol. i. p. 68, Second Series; and Westminster
Eeview, vol. x. p. 407.]
[It is incontestable that the printed Calendars would have been much
more useful to the public had they contained the names and ages of the heirs.
The gentleman who was employed on the two last volumes has stated, that had
he been permitted to alter the plan of the work, he should have deemed it
advisable to have added to each Inquisition the name of the heir of the deceased.
Mr. Nicolas has published proposals for a work which will supply this defect.
It is to be entitled Hceredum Calendarium, containing the Escheator's Returns
ofthe names and ages ofthe heirs, which in the printed Calendars are omitted.*

afford valuable materials for biography. The suggestion of printing the
Indexes to the Wills in Doctors' Commons deserves more attention than it has
hitherto received. — Retrospective Review, vol. i. p. 345, vol. ii. p. 531, Second
Series; Westminster Review, vol. a. p. 410; Nicolas, Observations on the State
of Historical Literature, p. 69.]
' [Should Mr. Nicolas be prevented from executing his intention, it is pro
bable the present Record Commissioners will direct the completion and publi
cation of a fifth or supplemental volume, which will afford the information
desired, and will correct some other errors apparent in the four volumes described
at the beginning of this chapter.]
z 2

340 THE INQUISITIONS POST MORTEM.
some of which are already illegible, others are every day
approaching to the same state, and before the lapse of
another age most of them may be totally useless.
To prevent the entire loss of these valuable muniments
to posterity, it is suggested, that every one of the docu
ments to which this liquid has been applied should be
transcribed, and the copies of them examined and authen
ticated by Commissioners, and some further measure
should then be adopted by the Legislature to render
these authenticated copies legal evidence; without which
forms and authority, transcripts would be of but little
use;(5) and it is suggested, that it is a work that might be
accompUshed at an expense trifling compared with the
great national importance of it. (6) (7) (8)
The Commissioners on the Public Records of Ireland have much increased the
value of the Calendars of Inquisitions printed under their direction, by including
the names and ages of the heirs.]
(5) [The attention of the Commissioners on the Public Records was drawn
to this Subject several years since, as appears by a letter addressed by the late
Sir Thomas Plomer, Master of the Rolls, to the Speaker of the House of Com
mons. Both the Master of the Rolls and the Speaker are Commissioners
virtute officii. The following is an extract from the letter, which is dated the
I4th of July, 1820 :
" I had intended to have called the attention of the Commissioners to a sub
ject of great importance respecting the Records at the Tower, wbich appears to
me to demand the early relief of the Legislative. I mean the want of an Act
to authenticate copies of such Records as are in danger of becoming illegible,
without which, when the originals are defaced or obliterated, there may be
considerable difficulty of publishing for permanent use, and particularly to be
in all futuie times unexceptionable evidence in Courts of justice, any copies
that may be made, however correct and faithful. I beg to submit to the better
judgment of the Commissioners, whether it may not be proper to apply for, in
future Sessions, an Act to guard against this public inconvenience, by directing
that Copies of the Records, duly authenticated in such manner as the Act may
prescribe, shall be received in evidence in all Courts of Law and Equity, in like
manner as the Originals might have been had they continued to exist. The
Original and Duplicate Copy may both be preserved ; and a power given to
some Judge, or perhaps, if thought proper, the Master of the Rolls, to administer
an oath to the Officer who has made the Copy, as to its perfect accuracy, and

THE INQUISITIONS POST MORTEM. 341
a form prescribed to be indorsed on the Copy, testifying its authentification, and
duly signed by the Officer and the Judge."]
(6) [There is in the British Museum a copy of some Rolls belonging to a
period thirty-three years prior to the earliest Inquisition post Mortem, and
affording similar information. These Rolls relate to twelve counties, and con
tain " abstracts of the Inquisitions taken in the year 1185 (31 Henry II.), for
the purpose of ascertaining the wardships, reliefs, and other profits due to the
King from widows and orphans of his tenants in capite ; minutely describing
their ages and heirship, their lands, the value of them, the beasts upon them.
and the additional quantity necessary to complete the stock." This Record,
which has been lately published by Mr. Stacey Grimaldi, is entitled, Rotuli de
Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de Donatione Regis in XII Comitatibus:
Lincolnscir, Norhamtonsire, Bedefordsire, Bukinghamsire, Roteland, Hunie-
donsire, Norffolk, Sudfolk, Hertf ordesire, Essex, Cantebrigesire, Midelsex, de
Itinere Hugonis de Morewich, Radulfi Murdac, Willelmi Vavassur et Magistri
Thome de Hesseburn.]
(7) [The h-ish Inquisitions post mortem do not commence before the reign of
Elizabeth. See the Catalogue, Reports from the Commissioners on the Public
Records of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 432. But see the Catalogue, ibid, p. 562. See
also vol. i. pp. 414, 449, 459. Two volumes of a Calendar of the Irish Inqui
sitions in the Rolls Office have been published under the title of Inquisitionum
in Officio Rotulorum Cancellarice Hibernice asservatarum Repertorium. The
volumes published relate to Leinster and Ulster. A portion of a third volume,
intended to comprise the Munster Inquisitions is also said to have been printed.
The Inquisitions in the Chief Remembrancer's Office relate chiefly to the pos
sessions of dissolved monasteries. See Report from Select Committee on Irish
Miscellaneous Estimates, Wth June, 1829 ; and Sessional Papers, House of
Commons, Public Records, Ireland, 1th July, 1830.]
(8) [See also Bayley, History and Antiquities of the Tower of London,
p. 234.]

CHAPTER XVI.
THE ORIGINALIA.
Account of the Publication of the Abstract of the
Exchequer Rolls called Originalia.
[From the Preface to the Work,]
The general nature of the Records of the Court of Ex
chequer, called Originalia, in the Lord Treasurer's
Remembrancer's Office, was thus stated by the Right
Honourable Sir Richard Heron, Baronet, in his Return,
printed in the Reports from the Select Committee ap
pointed to inquire into the state of the Public Records of
the Kingdom, &c. p. 155: "The Originalia are the
Estreats transmitted from the Court of Chancery into this
Office, of all Grants of the Crown inrolled on the Patent
and other Rolls, whereon any rent is reserved, any salary
payable, or any service to be performed; which Estreats
commence about the beginning of the reign of Henry the
Third, and are continued to a late period."
The printed Abstract commences with the Roll of the
twentieth year of King Henry the Third, no earlier Record
of this nature being discoverable, and concludes with the
end of the reign of Edward the Third. It has been com
pUed from a careful examination of the Office Repertories
with the Records themselves ; the former, though of con
siderable use, having been found not deserving of implicit
reliance. An Index Rerum, an Index Locorum, and an
Index Nominum are subjoined to each volume.

[From Manuscript Collection.]
The Originalia. — These Records commence in the
reign of Henry the Third and are continued with some
chasms to the present time.

the originalia. 343
The contents of the early part of this species of Record
have hitherto been totally unknown to the public, except
hy the slight extracts which are to be found in the Works
of the Exchequer historian, Mr. Madox, and other learned
antiquaries. There is a material advantage to be derived from the
publication of this Work, namely, that an Index to the
more modern part of the Originalia (from Henry the
Eighth to Queen Anne) having already been published
by Mr. Edward Jones, in a folio volume of a size nearly
simUar to the Works published under the direction of his
Majesty's Commissioners, Mr. Jones's Index will form a
very proper Supplement to the present Work, and render
it complete. [From Manuscript Collection,]
The Originalia. — About the time of the Dissolution of
Monasteries, when numberless grants of lands, &c. were
made by the Crown, upon which fee-farm rents were re
served, it became necessary that the Court of Exchequer
should be certified of the nature and extent of these
grants and: of the rents reserved thereupon, in order that
it might be enabled to issue process in case of default of
payment, and neglect of services, &c. For this purpose a
duplicate or transcript was sent from the Chancery, and
these transcripts were inroUed in the Originalia.
An Index to most of these grants forms the first volume
of Mr. Jones's publication: this Index, however, is ex
ceedingly imperfect, inasmuch as, with very few excep
tions, the places granted are not mentioned.

[From Manuscript Collection.]
The Originalia,— These RoUs are the Estreats trans
mitted from the Court of Chancery to the Court of Ex
chequer, of aU grants inroUed on the Patent and other
Rolls, whereon rents are reserved and salaries payable,

344 V THE originalia.
&c. ; they contain also much matter peculiarly appUcable
to the Exchequer ; their contents until the publication of
the abstract under the authority of the Record Board
were quite unknown to the public.
Amongst other important matters to be found in them
are fines made to the King for Licenses of Entry and
Alienation, by means of which the precise dates when
monastic establishments, corporate bodies, and individuals
obtained their estates may be discovered ; facts of much
importance and value.
[From Manuscript Collection.]
The Originalia. — The Exchequer, being the great con
servatory of the King's revenue, hath in charge the land
and annual revenue of the Crown ; and all charters, pa
tents, grants, deeds, and other instruments, in any manner
affecting those revenues, must, therefore, be enrolled in
the Exchequer, in order to answer the Record of Charge.
Thus aU lands, being the property of the Crown whilst in
the Crown, must have been accounted for at the Exche
quer : and when granted out it was necessary that such
grant should be of Record in this Court, to warrant the
discharge of the original issues, and to charge the grantee,
by the process of the Court, with the rent or services
reserved. So, when a charter is granted to any city,
borough, or town, it generally gives some immunities
arising from the casual revenue within the place, or grants
to it fairs or markets, the profits of which had until then
been accounted for; and they generally reserved some
dues, rents, or services to the Crown.
These and various other instruments under the Great
Seal, by reason of their connection with the Exchequer,
have been transmitted there from time to time from the
Petty Bag or Common Law side of the Court of Chan
cery, and bear the name of the Originalia, or more pro
perly, Estreats or Transcripts ofthe Original Enrolments

THE ORIGINALIA. 345
in Chancery. It was anciently the practice for the Master
of the RoUs, as the Chief Clerk of the Petty Bag and
Custos Rotulorum of the Court, to deliver the RoUs of
the Originalia in person to the four Barons in fuU Court ;
simUar to the Rolls of Fines, imposed in the King's Bench
and Common Pleas, being to this day delivered to the
Barons in open Court by the Puisne Judge of those two
Courts. These Rolls commence in the reign of Henry III. and
are continued tiU a late period.
Indexes to the Originalia have been printed under the
direction of the Record Commissioners.
Some other Indexes have been printed, by the late Mr.
Edward Jones, from Manuscripts bequeathed to him by
Mr. Chapman, a former Clerk in Court, comprising two
volumes in foho ; but they are a very partial collection,
and are deficient in many reigns as to the names of places
and subject-matter. The Preface to this Work does Mr.
Jones great credit, and is deserving of the reader's
attention. 
[From Manuscript Collection.]
The Originalia. — The general contents of these Re
cords are mere Estreats transmitted from the Chancery to
the Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, of all grants, &c.
from the Crown, whereon any rents were reserved, sums
of money payable, or services of any kind to be performed,
&c. which grants are inrolled at full on the Patent, Close
and Fine RoUs in the Tower. The Calendars of the
Originalia, in the absence of perfect Calendars of the
Patent, Close and Fine Rolls, are of considerable utility,
as affording a means of reference to them. (1) (2)
(1) [The Originalia. — " The contents of the Originali are these : vie,
" 1. The names of all Sherifes, Escheators, Customers, Controllers, Searchers,
rermors of Vlnage, Eermors generally ; that they may be called vnto ac
compts." " 2. All Liueries sued out of the King's hands ; that processe may be made

346 THE ORIGINALIA.
against the King's tenants, for doing of their homage, and answering of their
veliefes." " 3. All manner of Patents, granted by the King to any person, wherein is
reserued or contained any homage, or fealtie, or else any yearly rent to his
Maiestie, or whereby a fee is granted."
" 4. All manner of Commissions to any Justices of Peace, Justices of
Sewars, Justices of all kinds ; that process may be made against them for de-
liuering of Recognizances, Issues, Fines, Amerciaments, taken before them."
" 5. All manner of Commissions, directed to any person or persons, to en
quire of any lands or tenements of such as have beene offenders to the King.
In which Commissions the Commissioners have authority to seize the said lands,
or tenements, to the King's vse ; that processe may be made against the said
Commissioners for the profits thereof."
" 6. All names of all Collectors of Subsidies, Fifteens, Dismes, Taxes gene
rally, to call them to accompt."
" 7. There is likewise in the said Originali (or at least should be) all Par
dons of course, granted of grace, for manslaughter ; by which, though the life
be pardoned, yet the goods of the party so pardoned be forfeith ; so thereby
processe may goe forth, to enquire what goods or chattels hee had at the time
of the doing of the offence,"
" 8. Also vnder the title of Diem clausit extremum are all the names of such
persons as after whose deaths the Escheator hath found any office, or title, for
the King, by knight's seruice, &c. : and in how many shires the said office was
found, and before what Escheator : that in case one office made no mention of
any tenure for the King, whereby he should haue a right, yet then they may
examine all the other shires whether there bee any tenure for the King in them."
" Also there are, or should be, all Recognizances forfeited to the King in
Chancerie, and Charters of Denisation. — And these bee the contents of the Ori
ginall for the most part, which, though it were dis-vsed in the Lord Chancellor
Cromwel's dayes, yet it was restored to his former vse afterwards." — PoweU,
Direction for Search of Records, pp. 29 to 32.
This work was published in 1622. (Worrall, Bibliotheca Legum, mentions
an edition of I64I.) It is extremely scarce. The title is as follows : Direction
for Search of Records remaining in the Chancerie, Tower, Excheqver, with the
Limnes (hereof: viz. King's Remembrancer, Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer,
Clarkeofthe Extreats, Pipe, Auditors, First Fruits, Augmentation ofthe Reuenue,
King's Bench, Common Pleas, Records of Courts Chi-istian; for the clearing
of all such Titles, and Questions, as the same may conceme. — With the accus
tomed Fees of Search: and diuerse necessarie Obseruations. Cui Author
Thomas Powell, Londino-Cambrensis.]
[Respecting the Originalia consult also an anonymous work of the same
writer published in I63I, entitled The Repertorie of Records remaining in the
Four Treasuries on the Receipt Side at Westminster, — the two Remembrancers of
the Exchequer, — With a briefe introductiue Index oj' the Reeords of the Chan-

THE ORIGINALIA. 347
eery and Tower : whereby to giue the better Direction to the Records abouesaid.
As also a most exact Calender of all those Records of the Tower: in which are
contayned and comprised whatsoever may giue satisfaction to the Searcher for
Tenure or Tytle of any thing, pp. 122 — 127.]
[The Originalia, — " The Exchequer, being the gi'and conservatory of the
King's revenues, hath of charge the land and casual revenues of the Crown ;
and all matters, deeds, charters, or instruments, in any manner afTecting those
revenues, must, therefore, be of record to answer the record of charge ; thus, all
lands, being the property of the Crown whilst in the Crown, must have been
accounted for in the Exchequer ; and when granted out, it was necessary that
that grant should be of record, to warrant the discharge of the original issues ;
and to charge the grantee by the process of the Court with the rent aud services
reserved." " And with respect to the casual revenues arising from fines, issues, and for
feitures, when any charter is granted to any city, borough, or town, forming it
into a body politic and corporate, it generally gives some immunities arising
from the casual revenue within that city, borough, or town, or grants it fairs or
markets, the profits of which had until then been accounted for ; and they gene
rally contain some dues, rents, or services reserved to the Crown, or from courts
of justice being created therein, the casual revenues arising in which ought to
be retumed to the Exchequer, to be there dealt with according to the course of
the Court. And also the commissions of the peace, the patents of creations,
the licenses of deafforestation, to alienate, to impark, to dispark, patents of in
ventions, constitutions or patents of the officers of the Crown, and various other
matters under the great seal, by reason of their connection with the Exchequer,
are transmitted there from the Petty Bag Office in Chancery, and bear the name
of Originals, or Onginalia,"
" Also fines and forfeitures set or imposed, as well in the, said Court of
Chancery, as in the Court of King's Bench, Common Pleas, Courts of Sessions
of the Peace for counties, cities, boroughs, towns, &c., and before Commis
sioners of Sewers, are likewise returned into this Court."— Jones, Index to
the Originalia and Memoranda, Preface, pp. xxviii. xxix.]
(2) [" Numerous notices of an historical and antiquarian nature occur in
the Originulia, which throw much light on the genealogies of families, on the
descent of lands, and occasionally on manners and customs,, as well as on the
general state of society in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries." — Nicolas on
the Public Records, p. 56.]
[See further respecting the Originalia, Madox, History cf the Exchequer,
vol. ii. p. 254 ; Gilbert, Treatise on the Court of Exchequer, pp. 103-105 ;
Price, Treatise on the Law of the Exchequer, p. 269 ; Grimaldi, Origines Ge
nealogicce, p. 158 ; The Report ofthe Lords' Committees, April, 1719, p. 78; aud
the Report frcm the Commitiee on the Cottonian Library, May, VJSa ; Reports
from Committees ofthe House of Commons, vol. i. p. 515.]

CHAPTER XVII.
ACCOUNT OF THE VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS.
Temp. Hen. VIII.

[From a Tract (by Mr. Nicolas) on the Public Records.]
In the twenty-sixth year of the reign of King Henry the
Eighth, anno 1534, Parliament ratified and confirmed that
Monarch's title of " Supreme Head on Earth of the Church
of England." A Statute was immediately afterwards passed,
the preamble to which recites that the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal and Commons desired and most humbly prayed
" that for the more surety of continuance and augmentation
of his Highness' Royal estate, being not only now recog
nized (as he always indeed hath heretofore been,) the only
supreme head in earth, next and immediately under God,
of the Church of England, but also their most assured
and undoubted natural sovereign liege Lord and King,
having the whole governance, tuition, defence, and main
tenance of this his realm, and most loving and obedient
subjects of the same," it might be enacted " that the
King's Highness, his heirs and successors. Kings of this
realm, shall have and enjoy, from time to time, to endure
for ever, of every such person and persons which shall at
any time after the first day of January next coming be
nominated, elected, perfected, presented, collated, or by
any other means appointed to have any Archbishoprick,
Bishoprick, Abbacy, Monastery, Priory, College, Hospital,
Archdeaconry, Deanry, Provostship, Prebend, Parsonage,
Vicarage, Chantry, Free Chapel, or other Dignity, Bene-

THE VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS, 349
fice. Office, or promotion Spiritual, within this realm, or
elsewhere within any of the King's dominions, of what
name, nature, or quality soever they be, or to whose
foundation, patronage, or gifts soever they belong, the
First Fruits, Revenues, and profits for one year, of every
such Archbishoprick, Bishoprick, &c. afore-named, where
unto any such person or persons shall after the said first
day of January be nominated, &c. ; and that every such
person and persons, before any actual or real possession,
or meddling with the profits of any such Archbishoprick,
Bishoprick, &c., shall satisfy, content, and pay, or com
pound, or agree to pay to the King's use, at reasonable
days, upon good sureties, the said first fruits and profits
for one year." It was further provided, for the better
maintenance ofthe Crown as Supreme Head ofthe Church,
that the King should yearly receive " united and knit to
his Imperial Crown for ever, one yearly rent, or pension,
amounting to the value of the tenth part of all the reve
nues, rents, farms, tythes, offerings, emoluments, and of all
other profits, as well called Spiritual as Temporal, apper
taining or belonging, &c. to any Archbishoprick, &c. as
afore-named, within any diocese of this realm, or in Wales;
the said pension, or annual rent, to be yearly paid for ever
to the King, his heirs and successors, at the Feast ofthe
Nativity, and the first payment thereof to begin at the
Feast of the Nativity, a. d. 1535." It was further enacted,
that the Chancellor for the time being should have power
to direct into every diocese Commissions in the King's
name to the Archbishop, or Bishop, of Such diocese, and
to such other persons as the King should name, author-
izuig them to inquire " of and for the true and just whole
and yearly values of all the manors, lands, tenements,
hereditaments, rents, tythes, offerings, emoluments, and
other profits, as well spiritual as temporal, appertaining
to any Archbishoprick, Bishoprick, &c., as afore-named,

350 THE VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS.
within the limits of thefr Commissions," and empowering
them, in rating the said yearly values, to deduct " the
rents resolute to the chief Lords, and aU other annual and
perpetual rents and charges, which any spiritual person
or persons been bounden yearly to pay to any person,
or persons, &c., or to give yearly in alms by reason of
any foundation, or ordinance, and all fees for stewards,
receivers, bailiffs, and auditors, and synods and proxies,"
and to make certificate of the entire value of such re
ductions. Pursuant to these clauses. Commissioners were ap
pointed, and the Valor Ecclesiasticus is the Returns
made by them on the matters mentioned in that sta
tute. The utility of these Records in Ecclesiastical
affairs is extremely great, as they form the Register by
which First Fruits and Tenths are calculated. (1) Among
other miscellaneous information, the Valor Ecclesias
ticus shows what sums were paid out of Spiritualities to
laypersons, or corporations, or in fees to Bailiffs, Receivers,
Auditors, Sheriffs, Justices, and other Civil Officers, whose
names at the time of the Survey are mentioned ; (2) the
sums annually expended by Monasteries in charity ; the
amount distributed on anniversaries, with the names of the
parties who were thus commemorated; the names of Priors,
Abbots, and all other Incumbents, and sometimes of their
immediate predecessors; together with the value of lands,
provisions, and other commodities; and the record presents
a complete view of the value and description of all Eccle-
(l) [See Bacon, Liber Regis vel Thesaurus Rerum Ecclesiasticarum, Pre
face.] (2) These notices sometimes afford biographical information. For example,
it appears that Sir Thomas Wyatt, the Poet, was Chief Steward of the liberties
and lands of the monastery of the Blessed Mary of Mailing, in Kent, about the
year 1536, with an annual fee of S3s. 4d,, being then an Esquire; a fact
which, however trifling, escaped the extensive researches of his biographer.
Dr. Nott.

THE VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS. 351
siastical property in the reign of Henry the Eighth. In a
few cases Commissions for a simUar purpose issued by
Edward the Sixth and Queen Elizabeth occur.
A " General Introduction" and " General Map" wUl,
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. (3) 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 Ecclesi
asticus for legal purposes, and the claims, which it pos
sesses to the notice of Antiquaries and Historians, in a
more satisfactory manner than can be done from casual
inspection. (4)
(3) [An Appendix to the five volumes of the Valor has been printed. It
fills sixty pages, and relates to some ecclesiastical possessions in the dioceses of
Norwich, Winchester, London, Chichester, Bangor, and St. Asaph. The Re
cords from which it is taken have been lately discovered in the Augmentation
Office and Chapter House.]
(4) [A General Index to the five volumes was framed under the direction of
the late Lord Colchester upon a plan devised by him, and, together with the
Appendix mentioned in the preceding note, was to form the sixth and last
volume of the work. The General Introduction and General Map were to ac
company it. Of the General Index 124 pages have been actually printed ;
but representations having been lately made to the Record Commissioners that
the present Indexes are sufficient for all useful purposes, and that the General
Introduction and General Map are no further necessary than because they have
been announced, it has been deemed advisable that the press should be stopped
ntil such ti me as the expediency of completing the volume can be satisfactorily
ascertained. See Nicolas, Observations on the State of Historical Literature,
p. 88. It is understood that the passage there cited is taken from manu
script notes made by an eminent antiquary upon the different works of the Re
cord Commission. No fear of giving offence in any quarter ought to prevent
the publication of these notes.]
[The Instructions of Henry VIII. for taking the Survey are prefixed to the
first volume of the Valor. The same Instructions, together with the King's
Writ, and the General Preface to the Returns of the Commissioners into the

352 THE VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS.
Vol. i. contains the Dioceses of Canterbury, Rochester,
Bath and Wells, Bristol, Chichester, and London.
Vol. ii., Winchester, Salisbury, Oxford, Exeter, and
Gloucester. Vol. iu., Hereford, Coventry and Lichfield, Worcester,
Norwich, and Ely.
Vol. iv., Lincoln, Peterborough, Llandaff, St. David's,
Bangor, and St. Asaph's.
Vol. v., York, Chester, Carlisle, and Durham.
In the Appendix to each volume a list of the Peculiars
in the respective Dioceses is given. The Valor Eccle
siasticus 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.

[From Manuscript Collection,]
The importance of this Record, which is the Return of
the Commissioners into the Exchequer, to a Writ of King
Henry the Eighth, dated 30th January, 26th of his reign,
and to instructions pursuant to that Writ, signed by the
King himself, is generally known and acknowledged.
Exchequer, under their hands and seals, have been printed by Bacon, Liber
Regis, vel Thesaurus Rerum Ecclesiasticarum.]
[The Irish ecclesiastical documents, exclusive of Pope Nicholas' Taxation
(ante, p. 284), are of considerable importance. Surveys commencing with the
281;h of Henry VIII. are to be found in the Chief Remembrancer's and First
Fruits' Offices. The most useful of these documents are the Valor Benefir
dorum, and the Inquisitions upon which such valuation was founded. Thi^
Valor furnishes " not only the rule for ascertaining the tax of first fruits paid
by incumbents of livings in their respective promotions spiritual, but also the
criterion whereby the Statutes of Trinity College are interpreted in cases where
the possession of benefices is deemed by law incompatible with the enjoyn^ent
of fellowships." — Reports from the Commissioners on tlie Public Records <f
Ireland, vol. i. p. 415.]

THE VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS. 353
By this Record, sometimes called The King's Books,
the true annual value of Rectories and Vicarages, at the
time of taking this survey, is fixed ; and the First Fruits
and Tenths due to the Crown are charged accordingly. It
is the criterion, also, by which is determined what Livuigs
were then under Episcopal jurisdiction ; other Livings not
there recorded being considered merely as donative: but
its greatest utility is that, which is in some respect equally
appUcable to the Nona Roll, viz. that by ascertaining
what are Rectorial and what Vicarial Tithes, the chasm
of evidence occasioned by the loss of Endowments is sup
plied. To this may also be added, that a very perfect account
is given in this Record of the several possessions, as well
Spiritual as Temporal, of all the monastic establishments
in England. (6)
(6) [" The Valor Ecclesiasticus is a kind of Domesday of church property,
taken pursuant to commissions issued 28 Heniy VIIL, for the purpose of ascer
taining the whole and true value of all possessions, as well spiritual as temporal,
belonging to any manor of dignity, monastery, priory, &c. in England, Wales,
Calais, and the Marches." — Quarterly Review, vol. xxxix. p. 58.]

2a

CHAPTER XVIII.
ACCOUNT OF THE CALENDARS OF THE PRO
CEEDINGS IN CHANCERY, IN THE REIGN OF
QUEEN ELIZABETH. (1)

[From the Preface to the Work,]
In carrying into effect the order of His Majesty's Com
missioners on the Public Records for printing Calendars
of the early Proceedings in Chancery, it has been deemed
advisable to preface this work with some examples of the
Bills, or Petitions, addressed to the Chancellors in each
reign, from the earliest period that any of them are known
to be extant ; as they throw considerable Ught 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 pro
ceeding in that court, and show under whose authority, or
administration, those alterations have been introduced, they
afford also considerable insight to' the manners and cus
toms of the times, and the orthography and phraseology
of the English language, when it first came into frequent
use in chancery and diplomatic proceedings.
Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, in his Observations con
cerning the Office of Lord Chancellor, states that there
were no petitions ofthe Chancery remaining in the Office
of Record of elder time than the making of the Statute of
(1) [There are prefixed to the work examples of earlier proceedings in the
Court of Chancery, namely, from the reign of Richard II. to that of Elizabeth
inclusive.]

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 355
the 15th of King Henry the Sixth, which enacted, that no
writ of subpoena be granted till security should be found
to satisfy the defendant for his damages and expenses, if
the matter contained in the bill could not be made good ;
and he adds, that the most ancient to be found were of the
20th year of that King. It has appeared, however, from
discoveries, which have been made among the records in
the Tower since the year 1811, that many hundreds of
suits, for nearly fifty years antecedent to the period men
tioned by Lord Ellesmere, are still extant.(2) (3) They
(2) [The following particulars respecting the Chancery Records preserved at
the Tower are taken from a return made by the late Mr. Lysons in May, 1819,
in pursuance of an order of the Record Commissioners.
" A great portion of the Records and the proceedings of the Court of Chan
cery, which form the principal part of the contents of this office, were originally
preserved on files. In this manner the bills and answers, writs and returns,
placita, &c. were arranged according to the constant usage of that Court,
which may be traced to a very early period. Great quantities of these files ap
pear to have been separated above 150 years ago, and their contents to have
been thrown into confused heaps iu the Chapel of the White Tower, where they
remained till a great part of them was again collected, and chronologically
arranged, in the latter end of seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth
century, under the direction of Prynne and Petyt, when keepers of the Records
in the Tower. The great mass of instruments so collected and arranged were
not restored to their files, neither were they made smooth, but tied up in bundles
with very little care, whereby they have been much creased and injured."
Although The Obseroations concerning the Office of Lord Chancellor, impro
perly ascribed fo Lord Ellesmere, were published as long since as 1651, yet it
is not improbable that the Chanceiy proceedings were even then in the state de
scribed by Mr. Lysons, and that in consequence of such disorder the earliest
Petitions escaped the research of the author of that tract.]
[Notwithstanding the exertions of Prynne and Petyt, a large portion of the
above-mentioned Records still remained unsorted in the middle of the last cen
tury. (" There are many cart-loads of Records lying in this place, &c."
Chamberlayne, Magnce Britannice Notitia, p. 223;) and it would not be dif
ficult to show that they formed only a confused and unknown heap at a much
more recent period.]
[On a receut occasion there was discovered at the Tower upwards of eighty
additional bills addressed to Sir Thomas More, the existence of which was
previously unknown to the officers of that establishment.]
(3) [It lately became desirable to ascertain the number of suits instituted during

356 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
commence in the I7th of King Richard the Second ; in
which year a statute was made, enacting, 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 ; and it is
probable that the bills or petitions of this year are the first,
which were regularly filed. (4)
the periods that Sir Thomas More, Lord Bacon, and Lord Nottingham, were
in possession of the seals ; and in order to learn the quantity still preserved in
the Tower, some researches were made, the result of which it may be useful to
state. Sir Thomas More was Chancellor about three years and seven months, and
there remain nearly 500 of the suits commenced during this period. Of the
suits brought in the reign of James I. there exist about 32,220, making an
average of about 1,464 suits in each year of the reign. Reckoning according
to this average, about 5,886 bills were filed during the four years that Lord
Bacon presided in the Court. The suits, instituted during the nine years that
Lord Nottingham held the great seal, have been estimated at not less than
15,000, which calculation yields a yearly average of about 1,650.]
[The only other particulars known respecting the number of suits in our
great equity tribunal during the sixteenth century are contained in the Appendix
to the Reports of Commissioners on the Public Records, vol. i. p. 186. In 1809
there were found proceedings " in 840 suits whilst Cardinal Wolsey was Chan
cellor — in 1,560 suits in the time of Sir Thomas Audley — and in 1,250 suits
in the time of Sir Nicholas Bacon."]
[It has been calculated that the whole of the unpublished Chancery proceed
ings prior to the reign of Elizabeth (omitting the petitions, or bills, filed for
similar objects, and prepared nearly in the same form and terms) may be com
prised in two moderate-sized quarto, or folio, volumes. It has long been matter of
regret that no measures have been taken for transcribing and printing these im
portant Records. See Retrospective Review, vol. i. pp. 70. 76. Second Series ;
Nicolas, Observations on the State of Historical Literature, p. 86.]
[The reader desirous of further information respecting the quantity of business
at different times brought into the Court of Chancery, may consult the Com
piler's work — Proceedings in Parliament relative to the Court of Chancery, the
House of Lords, and the Court of Commissioners of Bankrupt, Chapters VII.
and VIII.]
(4) [There are probably no materials for the history of equitable jurisdiction
in Chancery of a date prior to the reign of Richard II. The compiler has
erroneously cited one of the articles drawn up and tendered by the Bishops to
Henry III. in 1257 — " articuH pro quibus Episcopi Angliae fuerant pugnaturi" —

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 357
From these proceedings it appears that the chief busi
ness 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 writers on the subject ; very few in
stances of appUcations to the Chancellor 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 maintenance, or protection, afforded
to his adversary by some powerful baron, or by the
sheriff, or some other officer, of the county in which they
occurred. The petitions in the reign of King Richard, the Second
(Matthcci Paris: Additamenta,^ 199)— as an article directed against the usur
pation of this extraordinary power. The nooa brevia there mentioned, "juri
ecclesiastico, legi terrae, et consuetudini contraria," issued from the ordinary, or
legal, court. See Lettres sur la Cour de la Chancellerie d'Angleterre, et sur
quelques points de la Jurisprudence Angloise, p. 166. London Edition.]
[It seems that the earliest Chancery Proceedings discovered in Ireland are
not more remote than the reign" of Henry the Eighth.-^ Reports from the Com
missioners respecting the Public Records of Ireland, vol. i. pp. 67, 68, 74, 449,
450.459; vol. ii. pp. 49, 517. Copies of two of the earliest decrees, temp.
Henry VIII , may be seen in the first volume of these Reports (pp. 79, 80.)
The first is in Latin and without date, and is signed " JoKes Barnewall, Can-
celarius," " Johannes Alen, Vice-Cancellarius." The second is in English,
and is dated 18th April, 33d year Henry VIII. It is signed-" John Alen,
Chancelo''." It is not immaterial to notice, that the office of Chief Examiner
of the Irish Court of Chancery was created so long ago as the year 1540. See
ibid. vol. i. p. 101.]
[The most ancient depositions in suits in the English Court of Chancery,
now preserved at the Tower of London, were taken in the reign of Henry VIII.
The Master's Reports kept in the Report Office, Chancery Lane, do not com
mence before the reign of Elizabeth. It seems that the eariiest ciffidavits iu
Chancery suits discoverable in the Affidavit Office, Symond's Inn, do not date
from a period more remote than the reign of Charles I.]

358 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
are very numerous; they are all in the French language ;
and, from some of the few examples which are here intro
duced, 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 biU.
During the active reign of King Henry the Fourth, no
biUs or petitions addressed to the Chancellor have yet
been found, and comparatively few appear to have been
filed during that of his son and successor King Henry
the Fifth.
From the commencement of the reign of King Henry
the Sixth, the bills, or petitions, and other proceedings in
the Court of Chancery, appear to have been preserved with
greater regularity ; and, in his time, the use of the English
language, which had been partially introduced in the time
of his predecessor, became generally adopted.
For many years the usage of the Court appears to have
been for the defendant to be brought before the Chan
cellor, and examined vivd voce ; (5) but from the time of
King Henry the Sixth a course, more assimilating to the
present practice, seems to have been pursued ; and in most
cases, which were not of a mere personal nature, the
answers and other proceedings are preserved in writing,
as of record.
But few decrees in these early periods have been dis
covered, and these are generally found endorsed on the
bill, a practice which continued from the time of Henry
the Sixth down to that of King Henry the Eighth, if not
to a later period. (6)
(5) [^See the preceding note.]
(6) [" These volumes (the Calendars of Chancery Proceedings) 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

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 359
[The foUowing is a Ust of the examples of early pro
ceedings prefixed to Vol. I.]
Reign of King Richard II.
Thomas Duke of Gloucester v. Thomas Othale, — Complaining
that Defendant has ousted Plaintiff of certain lands, &c. in the
county of Salop, the custody of which had been granted to him
by the King.
Geffry Downham v. Heylyn ap Blethyn, — The Plaintiff, having
been ousted of his Vicarage of Abergele by the Defendant, who
had by false suggestions purchased Letters of Presentation of
the King, the Plaintiff procured a scire facias to repeal them,
and prays the Chancellor to hear his Counsel thereon, and to
do him justice.
John Tregoys v. The Earl of Warwick, — Plaintiff, having been
imprisoned by Defendant as his nief appurtenant to his manor
of Carnanton in the county of Cornwall, and discharged on
mainprize to try the question of his free estate, prays the Chan
cellor to ordain a remedy in discharge of his mainprize, and for
the preservation of his estate.
John Hauley v. John Tresilian, — Plaintiff, having purchased
certain Manors and Lands in Cornwall, forfeited to the Crown,
is disturbed in the enjoyment thereof by Defendant, who sets
Chancery during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 1558 to 1603, alphabetically
arranged under the names of the plaintiffs. This Calendar is useful to topo
graphical writers : it affords much genealogical information ; and is of consider
able value for legal purposes. * * *
" 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 froin the specimens there given of various Bills and An
swers from the reign of Richard the Second to that of Elizabeth, these Records
are not exceeded by any, that have been given to the public, in valuable illus
trations 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 pro
perty, and in materials for family history." — Nicolas on the Public Records,
pp. 91, 92.]
[" This is in every respect one of the most valuable books, that have yet been
printed under the authority of the Commissioners of Public Records. — Jurist,
No. 3, p. 327.]

360 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
up a claim to an annuity of ^100 charged on them, in which
he is maintained by the Sheriff of the county.
Robert Briddicole v. Jo^n i^o»-«ter.— Plaintiff prays a remedy
against Defendant, by whom he had been grievously assaulted,
and conveyed to the Compter upon a false plea of a debt of
£1000. Joan Scaldewell v. Richard Stormesworth, — The Plaintiff com
plains of a violent outrage and robbery committed on the per
son of her Husband by the Defendant and others, for which
they are indicted, and prays that the indictments may be re
moved into the King's Bench, and the Defendant come before
the Chancellor to give security of the peace.
Sir Thomas de Erdington, Knt, v. Sir Hugh de Shirleye, Knt, —
Plaintiff, having prosecuted a writ of assize of Novel disseisin
against Defendant, and also delivered him a writ of Estrepe-
ment, he (Defendant) nevertheless assaulted Plaintiff's servants,
and committed waste on the lands in dispute. [The first Bill,
or Petition, in the Selection, which is endorsed with the names
of the pledges to prosecute, &c.J
* * * Letter from Henry of Lancaster Earl of Derby, to the
Archbishop of York, the Lord Chancellor, enclosing a BiU from
one of his tenants addressed to the Chancellor, praying relief
for divers outrages committed by the Defendant.
The Bill enclosed in the foregoing Letter.
The Burgesses and Tenants of East Retford v. Thomas de
Hercy, Knt, — Bill against Defendant, one of the Lords of the
town of West Retford, for taking more than his due for the
depasturing of Plaintiff's beasts, and for stopping a water
course, and obstructing their fishery, &c.
John Bief v. John Dyer, — Plaintiff being bound to Robert
Goldsmith in an obligation for the sum of Sixty Shillings, De
fendant obtained payment from him by means of a forged Power
of Attorney and acquittance, whereby the Plaintiff was obliged
to pay the same sum over again to the obligee, and put to great
costs, and when he called on Defendant at his house, he locked
him in and attempted to murder him.
John de Sessay v. Peter Bevernek, — Defendant, having taken a

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 361
ship with its cargo at sea belonging to Plaintiff, the said ship,
with the one by which it was taken, having been driven into
the port of Kingston-upon-HuU, Plaintiff prays that Defendant
may be arrested and brought before the King's Council, and his
ship detained.(7)
Reign of King Henry V.
William Dodd v. John Browing and anofAer.— Defendants,
feoffees in trust, had let Plaintiff's lands and withheld his goods
without any authority.
John Thomas v. John Wyse and John Clerk, — The Defendants,
having wrongfully ousted Plaintiff of a tin work in the county
of CornwaU, and he being unable to sue for remedy at Common
Law, prays a writ of subpoena for them to appear and answer
in Chancery.
John Belle and Catherine his Wife v. Piers Savage, — Bill to
compel the Defendant to surrender a messuage in Rochester,
the inheritance of the Plaintiff Catherine.
John Weston v. John Fox. — Bill complaining that his ward,
who was affianced to his daughter, has been drawn away by the
Defendant, with a view to make advantage of his marriage, &c.
* * * A Bill, or Petition, addressed to the King by the Par
son of Street, in Somersetshire, praying relief, through the
Chancellor, against the Abbot and Convent of Glastonbury,
who had oppressed him because he had sued them in the Spi
ritual Court for tithes.
The King's Letter missive to the Chancellor, enclosing the
foregoing Petition.
* * * Petition to the King from the tenant of his manor of
Ramsden HaU in Essex, who having for sixteen years been pos
sessed of a tenement as heir at law to his father, was ousted by
one John Wethy and others, by maintenance of John Tyrell;
whereupon he sought the protection of the Countess of Here-
(7) [Memorandum. — There have not yet been found in the Tower any Bills
addressed to the Chancellor during the reign of King Henry the Fourth ; aud
those which have been discovered in the time of Henry the Fifth are not
numerous.]

362 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
ford, who put him again in possession of his tenement; after
her death Tyrell again ousted him, and threatened his life,
whereupon he prays redress from the King.
The King's Letter missive to the Chancellor, referred to in
the foregoing Petition. Reign of King Henry VI.
Edward Lord Hastings v. Thomas Dacy, Esq. — To recover
possession of Lands wrongfully withheld.
John Staverne v. John Bonynton, — Petition to the Chancellor
for a writ of subpoena to be directed to a witness to appear and
give evidence.
John Kymburley v. John Goldsmith, — Bill for refusing to deli
ver to Plaintiff a ton. of woad, which Defendant had sold him,
and which he had been paid for in wool.
William Midylton v. John of Cotyngham, — Defendant assaulted
and attempted to murder the Plaintiff in Waughen church in
Holderness, and still lies in wait for him, so that he durst not
abide in the country.
Nicholas Parker v. Simpkyn Ive, — Bill filed against Defendant,
who had deprived John Haryngton of five marks of annual rent,
by means of a forged charter.
William Huberd v. John Brasyer and others,— Bill for reco
very of the Plaintiff's right under the WUl of Robert Huberd,
Esquire. John Westowe v. Richard Rede, — Bill praying a Corpus cum
causd for relief of Plaintiff, unjustly sued in the Sheriff's Court
of London by Defendant, who had endeavoured to inveigle
Plaintiff into an intrigue with his wife, for the purpose of ex
torting money from him.
Joan, Queen of England v. Robert Bishop and others, — Bill
against Defendants for invading the franchises of Plaintiff's
manor of GUlingham in Dorsetshire, by seizing a nief of the
Abbess of Wilton, who was protected by the custom of the said
manor whilst dweUing within it.
Katherine, Queen of England v. John Glover, — BUl filed against
Defendant, who was in possession of certain goods delivered to

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 363
him by a felon, to which Plaintiff was entitled as forfeit ; and
she having applied to the Court of Chancery, Defendant treated
the writ of subpoena with contempt.
Henry Hoigges v. John Harry.— Bill praying the ChanceUor
to restrain the Defendant by oath from using the arts of witch
craft, &c. whereby he has injured Plaintiff, on account of his
having been attorney in a suit against the Prior of Bodmin, in
whose service the Defendant is employed.
The Prior of Wangford v. John Wynde,— Bill filed against
Defendant, for breaking the walls of the cloister of Wangford
Priory in Suffolk.
Robert Burton, Clerk, v. Walter Yerburgh and William Hert, —
Bill filed against the Defendants, (who were followers of Wy-
clyff,) on account of various outrages committed against the
Plaintiff, in consequence of his opposition to the doctrines of
Wyclyff. [There are two schedules to the Bill— the first, of
divers grievous and horrible heresies — the second, of great
grievances and offences.]
Lewis John V, The Earl of Oxford. — Entry of Bill, Writ of
Subpoena, and Examinations, setting forth the outrages com
mitted by the Defendant, in order to set aside a feoffment of the
manors of DuUinhham in Cambridgeshire, and Langdon and
Amees in Essex, made by Sir John de Veer.
John Stcmehouse v. Robert Stanshawe and others, — Bill to set
aside a bond and a conveyance of certain lands in Gloucester
shire, &c. sold by Plaintiff to the Defendant Stanshawe, who
had made hira intoxicated, and, at another time, taken advantage
of the weakness of his intellects, in the absence of his wife and
friends. Katherine Dany ell -v, Richard Belyngburgh, — Bill complaining
that the Defendant is in possession of certain lands of which
Plaintiff's husband died seised in fee ; whereby she was entitled
to dower, but had been unable to obtain it for twenty-two
years. With the Examination of the Defendant indorsed. [The
decree is also indorsed on the Bill.]
Thomas Appleton v. William Aleyn and others, — Bill com
plaining that Defendants had forcibly taken away the daughter

364 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
of Plaintiff and married her ; whereby Plaintiff lost the profit
of her marriage ; and also compelled Plaintiff to make a feoff
ment of his lands to certain persons in trust for Defendant
Aleyn, who was to pay him an annuity, which he has neglected
to do, and cut down timber and suffered the buUdings to be out
of repair.
Geffrey Qwyncy v. Robert Landasdale and William Hempstede,
— Bill complaining that Defendants, late Sheriffs of the city of
Norwich, had imprisoned and greatly oppressed the Plaintiff, in
consequence of his making tallow candles with wicks of flax
instead of cotton, by the desire of the poor people, and buying
and selling by the standard weight of the Exchequer, instead of
the Norwich weights.
Simon Saxby v. Piers Lawrence, — Bill complaining that the
Defendant had thrown down a House which the Plaintiff had
built adjoining a House of the Defendant, who was under-she
riff of the city of Norwich, for which he could obtain no remedy
at the common law.
The Abbot and Convent of Burton-upon- Trent v. Isabel Stanley,
Prioress of St. Mary in Derby, — Bill complaining that Defendant
has refused for twenty-one years to pay a rent for certain pre
mises held by her of Plaintiffs, and assaulted and threatened
those, who came to demand it, so that, on account of her power
ful connections, the Plaintiffs have no remedy at common law.
William Lord Haryngton v. Thomas Haryngton and others, —
Bill complaining that Plaintiff having retained by deed one Sir
William Haryngton, deceased, in his service, paying him an
annuity of twenty marks, the said Sir William five or six years
before his death quitted his service, and took party with one
John Broughton against Plaintiff; yet the Defendants, his exe
cutors, have sued Plaintiff for the arrears of the said annuity.
The Warden and Brethren of the Convent of Friars-Minors in
London v. Andrew West, — Bill complaining that one ofthe Friars
dying out of the convent, whilst it was occupied by the Queen,
the Defendant, pretending to be his executor, withholds the
goods of the deceased.
William of Arundell, Esq, v. Sir Maurice Berkeley, Knt, and

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 365
others, — Bill complaining that Plaintiff's father, John Lord of
Arundell, enfeoffed certain persons in various manors, &c. in
Somersetshire, to the intent they should perform his will, and
he subsequently settled them by deed on the Plaintiff and the
heirs of his body. After whose death his eldest son possessed
himself of those manors, and enfeoffed Defendants in the same,
to the intent they should perform his will, which by a Letter
addressed to the Lady Arundell, his mother, he declared to be,
that an estate should be made to Plaintiff accordmg to his
father's will, which Defendants refuse to do.
Thomas Arkenden, Vicar of Wolforcheston, v. Edmond Starkey
and others, — Bill filed against the Defendants for withholding
tithes due to Plaintiff; and for taking his sheep. Answer —
That the Plaintiff and his predecessors have found a priest to
perform Divine Service in the chapel of Stratton, who has
always coUected the tithes within the township of Stratton.
Katherine Bell v. Harry Rawe, — Record of various Proceed
ings in Chancery, before the Council, and in the Common Pleas,
for the recovery of two houses in the city of Rochester.
John Bonodyn and another v. Sir R, Arundell and Sir John
Trerys. — Plaintiffs, as attornies for G. de Garac and others,
merchants of Brittany, complain that a ship belonging to them,
having the safe-conduct of the Earl of Huntingdon, Lieutenant
of Guyen, was taken, with the goods and money therein, by
three baUingers belonging to Defendants, which they pray may
be restored to the said merchants.
Sir Walter Hungerford and Sir John Stourton, Knts, v. The
Mayor of Wilton and others,— Vlaintiffs, as guardians of the
priory of Ivechurch in Wiltshire, complain of Defendants for
compeUing the prior of that convent to serve the office of baUiff
and portreve of the borough of Wilton.
Roger Polgrenn v. John Feara,—B'Al complaining that De
fendant, executor of Plaintiff's father, refuses to deliver up to
him as his heir the principal goods of the deceased, according
to the custom of the county of CornwaU.
John Earl of Shrewsbury v. Thomas Coland the Elder,— Bill
complaining that Defendant had purchased part of a cargo of
sah taken at sea, after notice that it belonged to Plaintiff.

366 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
William Sampson and Thomas Gaye v. Richard Crewe and
Nicholas Vicarye, — A Bill complaining that Defendants, being
officers of the Sheriff of London, forcibly took the Plaintiffs
out of the sanctuary of St. Katherine's, and confined them in
the Poultry Counter.
Margaret Appilgarth, Widow, v. Thomas Sergeantson, — BiU
complaining that the Defendant, having obtained a sum of money
of Plaintiff under a promise of marriage, has married another
woman, and refuses to return it.
Peter Mane v. John Aklum and John Collum, — Bill complaining
of irregularity in the proceedings on a pleint of covenant before
the Defendants as bailiffs of the town of Scarborough, with the
Examination of Defendants.
Margery Freeman, Widow, v. Geffrey Poutrell, Gent, — Plaintiff
having recovered lands, which she had been dispossessed of by
the Defendant, he stUl endeavours to oust her out of the same
by various unjust means.
The Abbot of West Dereham and Richard Wygenhale v. William
Hertlyngton, and others, — Bill complaining that the Defendants,
by duress of imprisonment, compelled the Plaintiff Wygenhale
to deliver to them copies of certain evidences of the Abbot.
* * * Examination by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Chancellor
of England, of two persons to whom one Robert Crody had made
a feoffment by parol on his death-bed, in trust for his wife for
life, with remainder to his daughter in tail.
William Pickering v. Roger Tonge. — Plaintiff complains,
that, by duress of imprisonment, he was compelled by the Mayor
of London to deliver a certain obligation to Defendant, being
Common Clerk of the said city. Answer. That there is such
an obligation remaining in the chamber of the Guildhall, among
the Records of the city, delivered by the Plaintiff to the Mayor
for certain purposes, but which Defendant cannot remove from
thence without an order of the Mayor and Aldermen.
Guy Atte Halle and Hammond Pope v. Robert Goodbern, —
Plaintiff Hammond, having been sued and arrested by Defend-
on account of a bond fraudulently obtained by him, prays to be
relieved by a Writ of Corpus cum causd, &c. Schedule annexed

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 367
to the foregoing Bill, containing the grounds on which the
Plaintiffs are entided to relief.
Edmond Duke of Somerset v. John Newport, — BiU complaining
that the Defendant had taken away his goods from Corff Castle.
John Broun v. The Widow of James Lord Say, — Bill to set
aside a release of lands made by duress of imprisonment to the
Lord Say, who, just before he was put to death by Jack Cade,
confessed the wrong he had done to Plaintiff, and desired his
confessor to urge his wife to make restitution.
Lawrence Trewonwall v. Harry Bodrugan, — Bill complaining
of a violent outrage committed by the Defendant in the house
of the Plaintiff, turning out his family, and taking away his
goods. Roland Groos v. Thomas Depeham, — Bill setting forth that
Plaintiff's father, having enfeoffed Defendant and another in
trust to refeoff him, or his heir, and Plaintiff, after his father's
death, having continued them his feoffees, and having commenced
an action against one William Styward for trespasses on the
lands, Defendant released to said William Styward all actions,
&c. whereby Plaintiff's suit is abated.
Thomas Fitzharry and Joan his Wife v. John Lyngen, — Bill
complaining that Plaintiff Joan and her son, the Defendant,
having been left joint executors of her deceased husband, it
was agreed between them that she should have a certain portion
of the goods of the testator, and pay his debts ; whereupon she
took pos ssion of them, and had paid part of the debts, when
Defendant forcibly seized and carried away the remainder of
the goods, and has forcibly taken possession of two manors in
which she has an estate for life. Answer. — That it was agreed
between Plaintiff Jane and Defendant, that she should have the
goods mentioned in the Bill on condition that before a certain
day she should find surety to indemnify Defendant, and should
deliver up to him all evidences concerning his inheritance, which
she has neglected to do, that he, therefore, took the goods for
the purpose of administration, which were retaken by Plaintiffs,
and converted to their own use, and that the remainder of the
Bill contains matter triable at the common law.

368 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
Godfrey Hylton, Knight, v. Nich, Pollard and John Mat
thews, — Plaintiff, at the time of Jack Cade's rebellion delivered
certain plate for safe custody to his late servant, John Hech,
who on his death-bed charged the Defendants, his executors, to
restore the same to Plaintiff, on payment of twenty marks due
to him, which they refuse to do.
John Cobbethorn and others, Executors of Edmund Bishop of
Exeter, v. Hugh William,, — Defendant, having been bound to
Edmund Bishop of Exeter in an obligation for the sum of 4:01,
afterwards became servant to Burnebury, one of the Plaintiffs,
who, when he quitted his service, gave him a general release,
which he pleaded in bar of an action brought against him on the
bond by the executors. Return to the Writ of Dedimus potes-
tatem setting forth the examination of the parties. [There is
also the Writ of Dedimus potestatem, to which the Bill, Answer,
and Replication are annexed.]
Alice, Widow of William Lord Lovell, v. Robert Echard, Clerk,
— Bill stating that Plaintiff is entitled to certain lands in Not
tinghamshire as the last in remainder under an entail created by
a fine levied of those lands, and that Defendant claims the same
lands by virtue of a certain feoffment, which Plaintiff says must
have been made in trust for the uses of the said fine. Answer.
That, by the persuasion of Ralph Lord Cromwell, who had
married the sister of Plaintiff, the Defendant made a feoffment
to certain persons to- perform the will of Robert Deincourt, who
had died possessed of the estates under the entail mentioned in
the BiU.
William Babington v. William Gull, Clerk, — Bill complaining
that Plaintiff's mother, the widow of Sir WUliam Babington,
Knight, had placed six hundred marks in the hands of Defend
ant, for the purpose of founding a Chantry in the Church of
St. Peter of Flawforth, in Nottinghamshire, which he had neg
lected to do. The answer of William Gull, admitting that he
had received the sum of money mentioned in the Bill for the pur
pose mentioned therein, but adding, that if the endowment of the
Chantry were not completed within four years, which are not
expired, the money was to be applied to the finding three priests

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 369
to sing daily in the said church, and that he is wUhng to pay
the said money according to the direction of the Court.
John Wakeryng v. Nicholas Bayle, — To compel the Defend
ant, who is a feoffee in trust, to make an estate in certain lands
in Tottenham and Hornsey, to the hospital of St. Bartholomew,
in West Smithfield.
John Gody v. Thomas Harry, — Bill complaining of various
wrongs done to Plaintiff, as parson of the church of Lanyvet, in
CornwaU, for which be has no remedy at common law.
Piers Godard v. William Ridmynton, — Bill addressed to the
Master of the Rolls, complaining that Defendant had ravished
his servant maid.
John Mathew v. John Oxenbrigge. — Examination of Defendant
before the Master of the Rolls respecting a feoffment of certain
lands in Sussex.
Reign of King Edward IV.
William Champernown, Esq, v. Hugh Rowe, alias Camburtie,
and William his Brother, — BUl charging the Defendants with
obstructing Plaintiff and his servant in their opposition to the
King's enemies.
Thomas Bettenham v. Sir Richard Frogenhale, Knt, — Defendant,
having been taken prisoner in France, was released, leaving
¦Plaintiff's brother and another person pledges for his ransom,
and neglecting to provide for them, Plaintiff became bound to
the Earl of Kent in 100/., advanced by him for the discharge of
Plaintiff's brother, and which Defendant refuses to pay.
John Wakeryng, Master of the Hospital of St. Bartholomew in
West Smithfield v. Nicholas Bailie,— To compel Defendant, who
is a feoffee in trust, to ma,ke an estate to the hospital of St.
Bartholomew, and to stay waste.
Thomas Sharpe, Prior of the Hospital of Eising Spital, in
London, v. Thomas Temper, Parson of the Parish Church of St,
Mphage,—Vla.mt\W, on behalf of the said hospital, claims to be
free and discharged from all tenths, oblations, and all other
charges and contributions to the said parish church. [The
Answer— Rephcation, and Rejoinder, are also given.]

370 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
John Broddesworth v. Thomas Coke, — To recover certain
lands, which the bill alleges to have been only mortgaged to the
Defendant. [Decree indorsed.]
Richard Fowler v. John /warrffty.-^Respecting a feoffment of
the manor of Great Missenden, in the county of Buckingham.
[There are the Answer, Replication, Rejoinder, Depositions of
Witnesses, and also the Accord indorsed.]
Walter Ardern, Esquire, v. John Ardern the Younger, — Plain
tiff having enfeoffed Defendant in the manor of Pedmore, for
term of life, to take after the death of Complainant, the said
Defendant hath entered, contrary to agreement, and takes the
profits, &c. [Answer — Replication — Commission for examina
tion of Witnesses — Depositions of Witnesses — and Accord be
tween the parties.]
William Lord Berkeley v. Margaret Countess of Shrewsbury, —
Bill praying relief for various outrages committed by the De
fendant. [Answer — Replication.]
John Morton, Clerk, Archdeacon cf Norwich, and Keeper of the
Rolls of Chancery, v. The Abbot of Langley, — The Plaintiff, as
Archdeacon of Norwich, complains of the Defendant's withhold
ing certain dues, which he ought to receive from the churches
of Bodham, Lympenhowe, and Thirkeby, within his archdea
conry. [Answer — Replication.]
John George v. Joyce Reyneford, — An Action of trespass
being taken against the Plaintiff before the Sheriffs of London,
he prays a certiorari to be directed to them, for the cause to be
removed into Chancery.
Margaret Toty v. Thomas Norton, — To recover a messuage
and land, in which the Plaintiffs had enfeoffed Defendant in
trust. [Bilh—amencled BUl — Answer — Commission for Exami
nation of Witnesses, &c.]
Henry Sotehill v. James Harrington and John Hoddleston, Knts,
— The Defendants having possession of two infants, who, by
virtue of his prerogative, are the King's wards, the Plaintiff,
suing for the King, prays that they may be commanded to bring
the said wards into court. The Defendants are committed to
prison.

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 371
John Michell v. John Marmyun,—V\am\.\ff, being unjustly im
prisoned, prays that a corpus cum causd may be directed to the
Defendant, who is Mayor of Marlborough. [Decree indorsed.]
Omen Pole v. John ap Richard and others,— Vxsiy'mg a writ of
certiorari, in order to be relieved from a plaint of debt on a
forced obligation.
Walter Howard v. The Sheriffs of London,— The Plaintiff,
being unjustly detained in prison, prays a corpus cum causd to
be directed to the Sheriffs of London.
John Foster v. Sheriff of Kent, — Praying a corpus cum causd
to be directed to the Sheriff of Kent.
John Glyn v. Robert Knollis, — To be relieved from a forced
obligation. Richard Duke of Gloucester, Constable and Admiral of Eng
land, and Elizabeth Countess of Oxford, v. The Bishop of Ely,
Tliomas Montgomery, William Paston, and others, — To compel
Defendants, who are feoffees in trust, to make an estate in law
in certain lordships, manors, and lands, to the said duke. [De
cree indorsed.]
John Kirkeman v. The Sheriffs of London, — The Plaintiff,
being unjustly put in prison in the Counter, prays a corpus cum
causd to be directed to the Mayor and Sheriffs of London.
Oliver Manyngham, Knight, and Eleanor Lady Hungerford
and Molyns, his Wife, v. John Mervyn and John Touke, [Order
indorsed for time to answer — Answer, &c.]
William Vavasour and Lawrence Kyghley v. William Chad-
worth, — The Plaintiffs, having lent a sum of money to the late
Bishop of Lincoln, file their bill against the Defendant, as his
executor, for repayment. [Answer.]
George Archbishop of York and Edmund Gower v. Richard
Osborn, — To compel Defendant, who is feoffee in trust of the
manor of Henton Pipard,, in the counties of Wilts and Berks, to
release the same to Plaintiffs. [Time indorsed ad producendos
testes et ad probandam materiam, &c. — Decree indorsed.]
Ralph John v. The Wardens of the Shoemakers Company, —
The Plaintiff, having for the maintenance of his family made a
pair of shoes, is unjustly imprisoned by means of Defendants,
B E 2

372 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
wherefore he prays a corpus cum causd to be directed to the
Mayor and Sheriffs of London.
William Stokker, Knight, and Robert Billesden, late Sheriffs of
London, and Margaret Vause, Widow, v. Christopher Colyns and
WiUiam Flyngaunt, [Time indorsed ad producendos testes et
ad probandam materiam — Answers — Replications — -Decree in
dorsed.] William Slefeld, Esq. v. Thomas Grafton. [Answer — Repli
cation — Decree.]
John Mayhewe v. Thomas Gardener, — The Plaintiff, being
instituted to the church of Saxlingham, in Norfolk, claims com
pensation for dilapidations in the said church and in the par
sonage house, during the incumbency of his predecessor, whose
property the Defendant has by deed of gift. [Further time ad
producendos testes — Answer — Replication — Rejoinder — Decree
indorsed.] Thomas Dandy v. Robert Portland, — Plaintiff, being unjustly
imprisoned by Defendant, prays a corpus cum causd to be directed
to the Mayor, Alderman and Sheriffs of Norwich.
William Bowman v. Richard Fote, — Praying a writ of certio
rari to be directed to the Sheriffs of London.
Degro de Castro, a Merchant of Spain, v. Francis Marbone, a
Gascoign, — Praying a corpus cum causd to be directed to the
Sheriffs of London.
John Albon v. John Smerk, — Praying a writ of certiorari to
be directed to the Sheriffs of London.
Geoffrey Damico, an Italian, v. John Bardican and others, —
Plaintiff, because he exercises the art of weaving " cloths of
damasks, velvets, cloth of gold, and other cloths of silk, by the
King's commandment,'' in a house assigned to him at Westmin
ster, and instructs others in the same mystery, is arrested on
several feigned actions of debt and trespass taken against him
by certain merchant-strangers; whereupon he prays a corpus
cum causd to be directed to the Sheriffs of London.
James Le Leche, a Dutchman, v. Sir Edward Courtney, Knight,
¦ — Tbe Plaintiff, being imprisoned in the Counter on various
false plaints of trespass, prays a. corpus cum causd to remove the'
same into Chancery.

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 373
William Gyseberdson v. The Lieutenant ofthe Tower.— Plain
tiff, being arrested and imprisoned in the Tower, prays that a
corpus cum causd may be directed by the Lieutenant to bring
him into Chancery.
John Meverell, Priest, v. Robert Saunsum,—Vla.mt\S, as offi
cial of the. Bishop of Chester, having proceeded against the
Defendant for adultery till he had obtained a writ de excommu
nicato capiendo, Defendant left the country and is come to Lon
don, where he has obtained the office of coroner and escheator,
and seeing the Plaintiff there, feigns an action of trespass
against him, which he prays may be removed into Chancery by
certiorari. John Clyfford, Esq. v. William Apulderfeld, Esq,— To compel
Defendant to make an estate in fee in the manor of Kemsle, &c.
to Plaintiff, according to the intent of his late father. [Dedi
mus— Ans-wer,]
The Provost and Scholars of King's College, Cambridge, v.
Nicholas Ovy and William Crosse, — Respecting the advowson of
the church of Cowteshall, in the county of Norfolk, purchased
by the Plaintiffs of John Selott, clerk, to whom the Defendants
are executors. [Injunction — Answer.]
Henry Astel v. John Causton,— For an injunction to stay
proceedings, &c. [Time given— Answer^ — Replication — Decree
indorsed.] Prior of the Monastery of St, John the Evangelist, of Horton
Kent, V. John Clyffe, — To recover from Defendant the sum
of four pounds, being an annuity payable to the said monastery
by the parson of the church of Purley, in Essex, and received
by him on the Plaintiff's account. [Time given, &c. — Answer
— Replication.] Reign of King Richard III.
Richard Lord Beauchamp v. Sir William Morrice, Sir Edward
Widevill, Sir Richard Croft, Sir John Savage, and others, — To
compel Defendants to release all their right, title, and claim,
vphich, as feoffees, they have in the manor of Halle, and other
premises.

m

374 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
Henry Edyall, Chaplain, William Tymperley, and Ralph
Green, v. Thomas Hunston. — Praying an injunction to stay pro
ceedings at law. [Injunction until further order.]
John Coke and Elizabeth his Wife v. Richard Garnon the
Younger, John Garnon, Clerk, and John Clyff, Clerk, — Respect
ing a feoffment of the manors of Bradlegh and Meth in the
county of Devon.
Thomas Reed and Emma his Wife v. The Prior of Launceston,
— To recover deeds and evidences stated to be in the possession
of Defendant. [Bill dismissed with costs for default of appear
ance.] John Flykke and Catherine his Wife v. Thomas Banyard, —
To compel Defendant to make an estate to Plaintiffs, in certain
messuages and lands of which he is a feoffee in trust. [Answer
— Decree.] Olyffe Tryppe, Widow, v. John Chevyn and John Tryppe, —
To compel the Defendants, who are co-feoffees, to make an
estate to the Plaintiff in certain premises in Brentwood, in
Essex, according to the will of her late husband Robert Tryppe.
[Answers — Decree.] Reign of King Henry VII.
Ellen Lee v. Lord Matravers, — Plaintiff, being unjustly impri
soned, prays a corpus cum causd to be brought into Chancery.
Robert Jevyn v. Alexander Starkey and others, — Plaintiff, having
been maltreated and unjustly imprisoned, prays a corpus cum
causd, to be issued in his behalf.
John Vele v. John Parsons and John Bird, — Plaintiff having
lent a sura of money to Lionel, late Bishop of Salisbury, and
taken certain plate in pledge for the same, the Defendants, as
his Executors, have brought an action of detinue against the
Plaintiff, wherefore he prays a certiorari to be directed to the
BaUiffs of Bristol.
Richard Anlaby v. Robert Croke, — The plaintiff, being unjustly
imprisoned, prays a corpus cum causd to be directed to the Sheriff
of London.
John, Earl of Oxford v. Sir James Tyrrell and Sir John

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 375
Rysley, Knights, William Tunstall and William Paston, Esquires,
and Henry Robson. — Bill to perpetuate testimony.
Sebastian Giglis v. Robert Welby, Priest, — To compel De
fendant to pay the sum of twenty pounds, being the amount of
a bill given by him, &c. [Time given — Answer — Replication —
Rejoinder — Decree.]
Humfrey Peverell v. Sir William Huse and others, — For an
injunction to stay proceedings at law. [Decree.]
Peter Blank, Surgeon, v. Simon Lynde, — Plaintiff having un
dertaken to cure a disease in the eye of the Defendant's child
and faded, an action of trespass is brought against him, where
upon he prays a writ of certiorari.
Richard Bailly and Joan his Wife v. Richard West, Clerk, —
To compel Defendant, as feoffee in trust, to make an estate to
Plaintiff Joan and her heirs in certain lands and tenements in
Hawkesbury, in the county of Gloucester. [Writ to Abbot of
Kyngeswode — Return — Answer.]
Richard Grey, Earl of Kent, v. Walter ap Rice, — To be re-
¦ lieved from an unjust demand made by the Defendant, who is
keeper of a tavern to which tbe Plaintiff had resorted, and
therefore praying a writ of certiorari, &c.
Reign of King Henry VIII.
John Fellow v. Thomas Meke,— For discovery of title-deeds
alleged to be in the possession of the defendant. [Publicatio
facta est ex assensu partium — Decree indorsed.]
Thomas Gray v.  Shakerley,— ComTplsimmg of attempts
made by the Defendant, who is brother to two of the arch
bishop's servants, to defoU his cousin and servant, and of violent
assaults made on himself, &c.
Robert Ellowe, William Wastlyn, and others, Parishioners of
St, Clement Danes v. Thomas Taylor,— To recover possession of
the revenues belonging to the guUd or fraternity of St. Clement
Danes, let on lease to the Defendant, and which he had unlaw
fully underlet for terms beyond his interest in the premises.
Tkmias Royall and William Marlar v. William Garter,—
Plaintiffs had commenced actions against Defendant for " occu-

376 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
pying the feate of surgery within the city of London, being no
freeman, nor admytted according to the King our Soverain
lordes act upon surgery made;" he obtained an injunction to
stay proceedings, whereupon the Plaintiffs now pray a Writ De
Procedendo.
Reign of King Edward VI.
Cutbert Savell, Gent, v. William Romsden, — To set aside a
deed obtained by fraud, and for an injunction to stay pro
ceedings. Lady Elizabeth Morreys v. Sir William Denham, Knight, Wil
liam Abbot, and Margery his Wife, — To establish a title to certain
lands in Buntingford, in the county of Hertford, by descent
from her father.
Richard Vaughan and William Saye v. Henry Croke, John
Croke, Robert Wase, Robert Hill, and Robert Forster, — Praying
that Writs subpoena may be directed to the Defendants to compel
them to appear before the sheriff and inquest, to give evidence.
John Cockson and Jane his Wife v. Agnes Warner, Roger
Denyson, and Maude his Wife, — To recover certain " specialties
and writings obligatory" entrusted to the said Agnes Warner.
[Commission to take Answers — Return, &c.]
William Gyse v. Leonard Rede, Esq, — To recover from the
Defendant a messuage in the parish of St. Clement Danes, which
he was to have in consideration of the Plaintiff's conveying to
the Duke of Somerset, an Inn caUed " the Goat," at Strand-
bridge. [Answer.]
Richard Cullyer and John Cullyer v. Thomas Knyvett, Esq, —
To quiet Plaintiff in possession of certain lands holden of the
manor of Cromwells in Wymondham, by copy of court-roll,
according to the custom of the said manor. [Answer — Repli
cation.] Reign of King Philip & Queen Mary.
Hugh Griffithe, Clerk, v. Hugh Weston, Doctor of Divinity, —
Plaintiff, being one of the Prebendaries of Westminster, claims
a portion of the velvet, &c. used about the adorning of St.
Edward's Chair, &c. at Queen Mary's coronation, and about the
burial of King Edward the Sixth. [Answer — Replication.]

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 377
John Atkinson v. Gerrard Harman.— To stay proceedings at
law, and praying a Writ of corpus cum causd. [Answer— Re
plication.] Reign of Queen Elizabeth.
Samuel Aylmer v. Richard, Bishop of London,— To recover
certain books of account touching the repair of the cathedral
church of St. Paul in London. [Answer.]
John Shakespere, of Stratford-upon-Avon, and Mary his Wife,
V. John Lambert, — To recover possession of a messuage and
land in Wylnecote, in the county of Warwick, mortgaged to the
Defendant's father. [Answer — Replication.]
John Hunt v. John White,— Bill to set out metes and bounds,
and to perpetuate testimony.

[The foUowing is the List of the Examples of early
Proceedings prefixed to Vol. II.]
Reign of King Richard II.
John Brounyng v. Richard Warde, — Complaining of an assault
made upon him while in the execution of his office as one of
the Chief Constables of the county of Gloucester, before the
Justices of the Peace at their Sessions.
Thomas Wheler, Clerk, v. John Huchynden, — Complaining of
a breach of covenant, and praying for relief. [Pledges to pro
secute.]
Reign of King Henry V.
Elizabeth, who was wife of John Rothenhale, v. Nicholas Wy-
chingham, — To compel the Defendant to make an estate to the
Plaintiff, according to the wills of William Clere and John his
son, and also to protect the Plaintiff in the occupation and
management of certain manors and lands in the bill mentioned
and set forth.
William Alyngton, Sheriff of Cambridge and Huntingdon, v.
William Sibell, Esq,, John Webbe, and Robert Repham, — Praying
that the Defendants, who had rescued certain persons from the
custody of the Plaintiff's officers and ill-treated them, be com-

578 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
manded to appear before the ChanceUor, and be duly pun
ished, &c.
Reginald de Grey, Lord of Ruthyn, — The Lieutenant of Ire
land having caused the Lordship of Weysford to be seised into
the hands of the Lord the King, the Complainant prays that the
Chancellor of Ireland may be commanded to send into the
Chancery of England the tenor of aU Records and Evidences
concerning the same, and that no livery thereof be made to any
one, until the King shall otherwise command, &c.
The Abbot of Tynterne v. Thomas Zonge, — To recover a sUver-
gUt cross belonging to a cell of the Abbey of Tynterne, which
cross is wrongfully detained by the Mayor of Bristol.
The Provost and Commonalty of Plympton v. Walter Selman
and others, — Complaining that they have been interrupted by
the Defendants in holding their market in the town of Plympton;
and as they cannot bring an action at common law, they pray
for writs Subpoena to be sent to the Defendants to appear before
the Chancellor.
John Weie v. Hugh Courtenay and John Boyville, — Praying
for a Supersedeas to set aside a Commission.
William Bishop of Lincoln v. John Mackworth, Clerk, Dean of
Lincoln, — The Complainant, being translated from the See of
London to the Bishoprick of Lincoln, has done fealty and had
livery of his temporalities, but is disturbed by the Defendant,
to whom he prays that a writ may be directed, to appear in
Chancery and give security.
Reign of King Henry VI.
Roger Benyngton and Alice his Wife v. John Elyngham, —
Complaining that the Defendant had taken away his daughter,
who had bound herself as a servant to the Plaintiffs, and that
they were thus deprived of her services, &c.
Margaret Beck v. John Hesill, otherwise called John Barker,' —
To recover a messuage and fifty acres of land in the township
of Carleton, near Ancaster. [Decree.]
Thomas Yatte v. John Lynford. — To be relieved from an
obligation unjustly obtained.

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 379
John Cok and John Sharp, Bailiffs of the Guild of the craft of
Weavers, v. William Cokenage, Robert Hawkyn, Richard Herberd,
Walter Rikill, and others, — To compel the Defendants and others,
Weavers within the city of London and borough of Southwark,
to contribute to the farm to be paid by the said Corporation of
Weavers. Robert Armeburgh and Alice his Wife v. Thomas Bernard,
James Bellard, and others, — To stay proceedings at law, and
praying relief.
Piers Hoton, Chaplain to the Duke of Gloucester, v. Thomas
Hardewyn, — After the decease of the Plaintiff's predecessor in
the church of Belgrave, in Leicestershire, the Defendant entered
and carried away corn and other property, and did various
injuries and damages, for which the Plaintiff prays redress.
Lvey Hulkere, Widow, v. Henry Alcote and Elizabeth Alcote, —
To be relieved against a false release, and to recover evidences
and goods.
Alice Willebye v. Thomas Veyle, — Praying for a Writ to be
directed to the Bishop of Norwich to examine the parties on
matters in question, and a Supersedeas to the Sheriffs of Nor
wich to stay proceedings. [Writ — Examination returned into
Chancery.] John Bredhill, Parson of Kynges Swynford, v. John Sheldon,
John Clerk, Thomas Yonge, and Thomas Bradley, — The Defend
ants having wrongfuUy entered into the parsonage of King's
Swynford, and taken away the Complainant's tithes, goods, &c.,
he prays relief. ,
Richard Sackeville and Margery his Wife v. Henry Fortescue,
late Justice of Ireland, — To recover possession of land and
housing in Nethercombe, in Devonshire, of which the Defendant
has wrongfully dispossessed him.
John Roper and Edmund Roper v. John Rollyng, — To compel
the Defendant, as joint feoffee ofthe manor of Chestvyle, in the
county of Kent, to make an estate to the Plaintiffs, as heirs of
John Roper, the feoffor, being land held in gavelkind. [Answer.]
John Buron, Sheriff of Lancaster, v. Sir John Pilkyngton,
Knight, — Complaining that the Defendant, in consequence of

80 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
distress levied for the non-payment of green wax, had seized
certain cattle belonging to the Plaintiff, and maltreated his
servants. [Decree indorsed — Dismissal with costs.]
Robert Myrfyn v. William Fallan, Roger Byrkys, and George
Myrfyn, — To compel the Defendants, as feoffees of Robert
Myrfyn, the Plaintiff's father, to make an estate to him in the
manor of Wynvale, in the county of Kent, according to his said
father's will. [Answer — Decree indorsed.]
Lady Katherine Felbrigge v. John Damme, — To compel the
Defendant, who was one of the executors of the will of Sir
Simon Felbrigge, Knight, to make an estate in the reversion of
the manors of Felbrigg, Culmerton, Routon, Ravyngham, Colby,
Totyngton-hall, Crakeford-hall, and Ingeworth, in the county of
Norfolk, according to the will of the testator. [Answer. See
also Supplemental Bill,^
Thomas Lord Scales v. Dame Katherine Felbrigge and John
Dame, — To compel the Defendants to make an estate to the
Plaintiff in the reversion of the manors of Felbrigg, Ailmerton,
Routon, &c., according to a deed of purchase. [Answers — Re
plication — Award indorsed on the bill.]
William Saundre and Joan his Wife v. John Gainsford, — To
recover certain lands and tenements situated in the parish of
Wantage, in Berkshire, which the Plaintiffs claim to be entitled
to under a deed of settlement. [Special indorsement on bill.]
Edmund Duke of Somerset and Alianor his Wife, John Earl of
Shrewsbury and Margaret his Wife, and George Neville Lord
Latymer and Elizabeth his Wife, v. William Payne, — For the
recovery of evidences respecting the manor of Wotton-under-
Edge, in the county of Gloucester.
Walter Abbot, of St, Austyn, of Bristol v. Thomas Pauncefote,
Esquire, — Complaining that the Defendant has interrupted
tbe Chamberlain and Bailiff of the Abbey of St. Augustine, in
Bristol, in holding their courts, receiving rents, &c. in the manor
of Asscbelworth, in the county of Gloucester, belonging to the
said abbey, and praying that a writ may be directed to him to
appear in Chancery, and give security of the peace.
Richard Walker v. John William and Elyne his Wife. — To

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 381
recover lands and tenements in New Salisbury, alleged to have
been obtained by means of forged deed. [Answer — Replication.]
William Edlyngton, Esq. v. John Everard, — To compel the
Defendant, as a feoffee, to make an estate to the Plaintiff,
according to a deed of purchase. [Examinations of Defendant
and of Others.]
John Chambre, Esq, v. Ralph Grevill. — Complaining that the
Defendant had riotously entered into his manor of Hanwell, in
the county of Oxford, and unlawfully driven away his cattle, &c.,
and praying a writ to be directed to him to appear and give
security of the peace.
William Wilflete, William Chedworth, Richard Roo, and Richard
Jones, V. Au.ityn Cassyn. — To compel the Defendant to deliver
to the Complainants certain goods and chattels according to the
last will of Hugh Spencer, Esq. [See the schedule.]
John Bird v. John Gruffith. —Complaining that the Defendant,
who is a common hunter and destroyer of the King's game,
threatens the life of the Plaintiff, and praying that he may be
compelled to find security of the peace.
Nicholas Tarleton v. Sir John Gruffith. — Complaining of out
rages committed by the Defendant, and praying tbat he may be
compelled to give security of the peace.
John Jonesse v. John Pcneley and William Peneley, — To com
pel the Defendants to make an estate to tbe Plaintiff according
to the conditions of a purchase.
Richard, John, and William Breggeland v. Thomas Calche, —
To compel the Defendant, as the feoffee in trust of the Complain
ants' ancestor Thomas Breggeland, to make an estate to the
Plaintiffs in certain lands in Merden, in the county of Kent.
John Frebarn v. John Davy, Esq, Marshal of the Admiralty, —
The Plaintiff's servants having been arrested by the Marshal of
the Admiralty on an action of trespass, and imprisoned in the
Tower, he denies the authority of the Admiralty and of any
officer of the Tower to do so, and cites [in schedule] statutes
of Kings Richard the Second and Henry the Fourth in support
of his plea.
Margaret, late Wife of John Withe, v. William Mullesworth,—

382 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
Complaining that the Defendant, being entrusted by her late
husband to make his will, fraudulently inserted his own name as
executor, and has deprived the plaintiff of her goods, &c.
John Goold V. William Petit, — Praying that the Defendant
may be compeUed to make an estate to the Plaintiff, according
to the will of his late wife. [Answer — Rejoinder.]
John Purby v. Richard Martyn and John Bamme, — To compel
the performance of an agreement for the sale of the manor of
Worth, in the parish of Little Horstede, in the county of Sus
sex, purchased by the Plaintiff. [Answer — Replication — Re
joinder.] Richard Penpons v. John Trenouth and Richard Joos, — The
Complainant, being steward of the hundred of Penwith, in the
county of Cornwall, is impeded and assaulted by the Defendants
and others in the execution of his office, and having no remedy
at common law, prays that writs of Subpoena may be directed
to the said Defendants to appear before the Chancellor.
[Answer — Rejoinder.] Reign of King Edward IV.
John Lyon and Elen his Wife v. John Hewe and David Kemp, —
Complaining that the Defendants had disposed of property left
for religious and charitable purposes, in the parish of St. Martin
in the Fields, contrary to the will of the Plaintiff Elen's late
husband. [Answer — Replication.]
Christopher Worsley and Jane his Wife v. John Bettiscombe. —
To compel the Defendant, as surviving feoffee, to make an
estate to the Complainant Jane, according to the will of her late
husband, Edward Brooke, Lord Cobham. [Answer — Replica
tion — Rejoinder — Joinder.]
William Senyng v. John Grangeman, — The Plaintiff, having
purchased of the heirs of John Colet certain lands in the parish
of Eldyng, in Kent, prays that the Defendant, who is feoffee in
trust, may be compelled to make an estate to him in the same.
[Answer — Replication — Commission — Return.]
Thomas Baker v. William Parson, William Penpoll, and
Sybell Penpoll, — For discovery of evidences and title deeds.
[Answers —Replication.]

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 383
Gefferey Blower v. Richard Luke,— To obtain an acquittance
made and sealed on an award between the Plaintiff and Richard
Scardeburgh. [Answer.]
Anne Boleyn, Roger Copley and Anne his Wife, Alianor Echyng-
ham, and Elizabeth Hoo v. Thomas Hoo, John Heydon, Bartholo
mew Rauff, and John Woodye. — Praying that the Defendants, as
cofeoffees, may be compelled to make an estate in the manors of
Wortlyng, Bukstepe, and Brokesmele, in tbe county of Sussex,
according to the will of Sir Thomas Hoo, Knight. [Answers.]
Thomas, Cardinal, Archbishop of Canterbury, v. John Derby, —
Praying for a writ of certiorari to be directed to the Mayor,
Aldermen, and Sheriffs of London.
Richard Tyngelden v. Thomas Warham, — To compel the per
formance of a contract. [A copy of the contract is annexed to
the bill — Answer — Replication — Rejoinder.]
John Saunder v. John Saunder, John Jurdan, and Thomas Hyde,
To quiet possession, and to compel the Defendants to make a
release of a messuage and lands in Cherlwood, in the county of
Surry. [Cross Bill — Answer — Title and Answer — Replication
— Rejoinder.] George of Clay v. William Aldeburgh, William Thorneton, and
William Kirkehame, — Complaining that the Defendants, who are
his feoffees in trust, have deprived him of the presentation to
the church of Fenyngley, in the county of Nottingham, which
is appurtenant to his manor of Fenyngley. [Attachment —
Answer.] William, Abbot of St, Albans, v. John Ferrers, — To recover
certain arrears of rent due from the steward of tbe monastery,
and which it is alleged the Defendant promised to pay. [Time
given ad producendos testes et ad probandam materiam — Answer —
Replication — Rejoinder.]
Thomas Uncle v. Richard Fyldyng, — To compel the Defendant
to render an account. [Time given ad producendos testes et ad
probandam materiam — Answer — Replication — Rejoinder.]
Thomas Cotys and Margaret his Wife v. Simon Joly, — To
recover title deeds, and to compel the Defendant to make an
estate according to the will of the complainant Margaret's father.

384 CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
[Dedimus potestatem, ^c. — Further BiU — Answer — Replication
— Rejoinder.] William Penteney v. Alianore Lady Lovell, Widow, — Com
plaining of outrages committed by the Defendant and her ser
vants, and praying redress, &c.
George Box, Piers Burton and Margery his Wife v. Piers Bank,
Richard Bank and Robert Scrop. — Praying relief against a lease
fraudulently obtained, and to stay proceedings at law. [Dedi
mus potestatem, &c. — Answers — Replication.]
Reign of King Richard III.
Ralph Fry and Elizabeth his Wife v. Thomas Onsty, — To
compel the Defendant, as one of the feoffees of tbe Plaintiff
Elizabeth's father, to make an estate to the'Plaintiffs of a moiety
of certain premises in the parish of Cokefield, in the county of
Sussex, according to the said father's will. [Answer.]
Thomas Mors and Elizabeth his Wife v. Thomas Coke, —
Praying that the Defendant, as feoffee in trust of Thomas Mors,
the Plaintiff Elizabeth's father, may be compelled to make an
estate to the Plaintiffs in a messuage and lands in Rodley, in
the county of Gloucester, according to the will of the said
Thomas. [Dedimus potestatem — Answer^ — Replication — Com
mission to examine witnesses.] (6) (7) (8)
(6) [A work similar to the Calendar of Chancery Proceedings now published
was projected by the late Mr. Lysons, and he actually began to print it,
" being fully persuaded that it will be of great use to the public." — See Reports
from Commissioners on the Public Records, vol. i. p. 367. See also Bayley,
History and Antiquities cf the Tower of London, p. 260. Few persons however
are aware that Mr. Lysons' work was in a modest octavo form. The compiler is
in possession of the unpublished sheets. They comprise 136 pages (in 8vo.) of
the early specimens (reprinted verbatim in the folio edition), and an Index
Locorum to Chancery Proceedings, temp. Elizabeth (182 pages), ^nd the com
mencement of an Index Locorum, temp. Jac. I. (pages 185 to 208). The ex
pense of the work was repaid to Mr. Lysons by the King's Printer, the ancient
banker of the Record Commissioners. The manuscript Calendars are said to
have been compiled by Messrs. Hoole and Cossart, formerly clerks in the
Tower : they do not extend beyond the latter part of the reign of James I.]
(7) [Many antiquarian and legal writers have borne testimony to the value
of the matter that may be extracted from the Pleadings in Equity Suits. It will
be sufficient, however, to cite in this place the description given of them by
Mr. Stacey Grimaldi. —

CALENDARS OP CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 385
" A great part of the proceedings in the Equity Courts, relate to affairs solely
of a private family nature, as a dispute on a Will, or the want of a Will; pro
tection for Infants, Lunatics, INIarriage Settlements of Wards of the Court, and
the like. In all these cases (and of them our report books are full) we have the
lineal succession of families, the particulars of the estates, with dates, names,
localities and identities, clearly set out, corroborated by affidavits, interroga
tories, depositions, answers filed of record, and sworn to by all the parties an
swering, and accompanied with ulterior proceedings in the Master's Office, and
not unfrequently attended with deposits of documents and title deeds."
" Often a suit in Equity is for the purpose of the several heirs, or next of kin,
proving themselves to be such, and then the family genealogy is investigated
(possibly for two or three centuries) with great legal accuracy and genealo
gical nicety. In the claims to the estates of the late Duchess of Norfolk, the
Scudamore pedigree was traced from the reign of the Tudors : every known
collateral branch was inserted ; and the births, marriages, and deaths of nearly
every individual, descending from every collateral branch for nine generations,
were proved by registers, wills, inquisitions post mortem, and other documents.
By nothing, but by a comparison of it with the printed histories of this family,
can an idea be formed of its superiority over evei-y Scudamore pedigree in the
possession of the public."
" Many thousand title deeds were brought into court in the suit and indexed;
as was also a multitude of documents relating to the Scudamores and their con
nexions ; and thus are the archives of Equity Courts often found to contain
records and particulars of families, which are not now to be discovered in any
other depository in the kingdom." — Grimaldi, Origines Genealogiccc, pp. 9 1 , 92.]
[A practical illustration of the utility of the Calendars is afforded by the fact,
that the number of searches since the publication of the first volume (in 1827)
was, in the month of August last, more than threefold the number of those
made during the whole time that Mr. Astle was keeper of the Records of the
Tower, a space of nearly thirty years.* This appears from the office accounts
kept at the Tower, and furnishes an argument in favour of a proposal not long
since made, that Record Keepers, so long as they are remunerated by fees,
should contribute to the expense of compiUng and printing indexes to certain
classes of documents in their custody.]
(8) [When the labours of the Record Commission of March, 1831, com
menced, 240 pages of the third volume of the Chancery Calendars had been
printed. The work has been recently resumed, and it is intended to bring it
down to the end of the reign of Elizabeth. This will complete the volume.
Directions have been given for printing the remaining sheets in a more econo
mical manner ; and also for inserting the dates of the different bills, wherevei:
the same can be ascertained. See Retrospective Review, vol.i. p. 72,' Second
Series.] » [Terminating in 1803, when Mr. Astle died.]
C P.

CHAPTER XIX.
ACCOUNT OF THE PUBLICATION, ENTITLED, DU
CATUS LANCASTRI^, CALENDARIUM INQUISI
TIONUM POST MORTEM, &c. temporibus Regum
¦ Edw. I. Edw. III. Ric. II. Hen. V. Hen. VI. Edw. IV.
Hen. VII. Hen. VIII. Edw. VI. Regin. Mar. Phil, et
Mar. Eliz. Jac. I. Car. I. A CALENDAR TO THE
PLEADINGS, SURVEYS, DEPOSITIONS, &c. in the
reigns of Hen. VII. Hen. VIII. Edw. VI. Queen Mary,
and Phil, and Mary. Pars Prima — Pars Secunda — Pars
Tertia.
[From the Preface to the First Volume of the Work.l
According to the Return made to the Select Committee
ofthe House of Commons, in the year 1800, the Inquisi
tions /)o«^ Mortem in the ofBce ofthe Duchy of Lancaster,
then found, amounted to 2400, beginning with the 1st
year of King Henry V. 1413, and ending with the 18th
year of King Charles L 1642. A more recent investiga
tion has shown their number to amount to 3569. These it
has been found necessary to put in a better state of
arrangement, and to clean, repair, and bind into volumes.
A new Calendar of the same has also been composed
and forms the First Part of the first Volume of the Work.
The Pleadings, consisting of BiUs, Answers, and De
positions and Surveys, in Suits exhibited in the Duchy
Court, commence in the 1st year of King Henry VII.
and are continued to the present time. The Calendar
now published extends from the earliest date of these

DUCATUS LANCASTRI^E. 387
Pleadings to the reign of PhUip and Mary, including .5682
Records, and forms the Second Part of the same volume.
The Calendars to the remaining part of these Pleadings
will be given in the second volume.

[From the Preface to the Second Volume of the Worlc,'\
This volume contains a Supplemental Calendar to the
Pleadings, Depositions, &c., temp. Hen. VII. in conti
nuation ofthe volume previously published, and includes
several Records which had been heretofore considered as
lost, but have been recently discovered in the Duchy
Office; a Calendar to the Pleadings, Depositions, &c. in
the reigns of King Henry VIII. King Edward VI. and
Philip and Mary; and a Calendar to the Pleadings, &c.
in the reign of Queen EUzabeth, as far as the 13th year
of her reign inclusive ; with copious Indexes (1) of places
and persons in their respective Calendars.
The Calendar to the remaining part ofthe Pleadings, &c.
temp.'EWz, will be continued in a succeeding volume. (2) (3)
(I) [It is said that the compiler of the Index has done much to render it
more satisfactory, by introducing " the distinctive appellations of persons, as
occupiers or officers, &c.," which " will faciUtate searches, by immediate re
ferences as well to persons as places." — See vol. ii. p. 509, and Retrospective
Review, Second Series, vol. i. p. 68.]
(2) [" The Calendars (Ducatus Lancastrice) present the names of the plain
tiffs and defendants, a slight notice of the subjects, and of the situation of the
lands, or other property, in dispute. It is material to observe, that the lands
litigated were as frequently in other counties as in Lancashire ; hence the
utility of the Calendar is not confined to that county, but extends to all lands,
which formed part of the Duchy of Lancaster." — Nicolas on the Public Records,
p. 96.]
[A considerable portion of the Calendar to the remaining part of the Plead
ings, &c., temp, Eliz. has been actually printed. It comprises 300 pages, and
completes the series to the 36th year of that Queen's reign. The further
prosecution of the work is, however, at present suspended. It is said that the
Duchy Calendar of Inquisitions has many of the defects, which occur in the

388 DUCATUS LANCASTRI^.
Calendar of Inquisitiones post Mortem in the Tower. — Nicolas, Observations on
the State of Historical Literature, p. 86.]
(3) [The following remarks upon the Work which is the subject of this chapter;
are not undeserving of attention : —
" It is obvious that this and the former volumes, relating to the proceedings
in the Court and Duchy of Lancaster, contain much information of considerable
value to those interested in that county, and occasionally also of a more general
nature ; but it is questionable whether the publication of these Calendars should
not have been postponed until Records of a more important description had
been printed. Few people, comparatively speaking, have occasion to consult
the Muniments of that duchy, whilst scarcely an historical research can be
made without requiring a reference to the Patent Rolls, and Fine Rolls, &c.
and still more frequently to the Rolls of Parliament." — Retrospective Review,
Second Series, vol. i. pp. 68, 69.]

ADDENDA.

Catalogues of the Cottonian, Harleian, and Lansdowne
MSS. Pages 28—123.
" That these Catalogues are often erroneous and generally
unsatisfactory is well known to all, who have consulted
them. The first two volumes of the Harleian Catalogue
are much better than the third volume, than which nothing
could be more disgracefully executed. A volume, of which
the contents are very miscellaneous, is often dismissed in
two lines ; and as an example of the little care displayed
in its compilation, it is sufficient to state that the descrip
tion of all the manuscripts from No. 5030 to No. 5510,
that is, four hundred and eighty volumes, only occupies
six pages. In many other instances no information is
afforded as to the contents ofthe manuscripts ; for example.
No. 5192 is stated to consist of ' some Charters relating
to the church of St. Peter, York ;' not a word being said
oftheir nature, purport, or date. No. 6983 is described as
' an octavo, consisting of various heraldic collections ;' by
whom and of what kind being left to the imagination of the
reader. No. 6982 is merely called ' an octavo taken firom
registers in the Cotton Library.' Nos. 6979 and 6980 are
said to be ' two volumes from the collection of H. Warton ;*
who Warton was, and what was the subject upon which he
collected, being unexplained. The defects of the Cata
logue of the Cottonian Manuscripts are of a simUar kind,
the manuscripts being very imperfectly described. In most
instances where the miscellaneous collections of individuals
are bound up, the volume, or the part of the volume, con
taining them is simply mentioned in the Catalogue as con
sisting of the collections of A, B, or C ; sometimes without

390 ADDENDA.
being accompanied by any account of the subjects to which
those collections relate, and affording no clue whatever to
any particular article. The same remark applies in many
instances to Letters ; for though the names of the writers
and of the persons to whom they are addressed, with the
dates, are generally noticed, it is seldom that any allusion
occurs to the more important part, namely, the points treated
of in them. To this it must be added that the descrip
tions of the manuscripts are not unfrequently erroneous,
and what is equally material, the general index at the end
of the volume is extremely incomplete. For example, the
Cottonian Collection contains the highly valuable chronicle
of the Abbey of Lanercost, but no special reference is to
be found to it in the general index ; and other omissions
of equal consequence might easily be cited. It must be
observed, that notwithstanding the large sums expended
upon that admirable and truly national establishment, {the
British Museum^ the Catalogue of Additional Manuscripts
in the collection is not yet printed, and that upwards of two
thousand manuscripts are not indexed, even in the Manu
script Catalogue in the reading room. The great desidera
tum, however, with respect to the manuscripts in the
Museum is, that there should be a general and most ac
curate classed Catalogue referring to all the collections;
of the names even of which collections a person may fre
quent the reading room for years and be ignorant." —
Nicolas, Observations on the State of Historical Literature,
pp. 75—77.
" To those who are interested in historical, antiquarian,
or biographical literature, it (the Catalogue of the Harleian
MSS, J is indispensable; and, as well as the Cottonian
and Lansdowne Catalogues, will well repay an attentive
perusal ; for so infinite is the variety of the subjects which
occur, that the general Indexes furnish but an imperfect
ideaof the contents of these matchless collections." — Ni
colas on the Public Records, ¦pi^. 104, 105.
¦" The Harleian Library contained 7639 volumes, exclu
sive of 40,000 original rolls, charters, deeds, and other

TIIE statutes of THE REALM. 391
legal instruments." (See ante, p. 56.) " Of this inva
luable collection of charters, rolls, &c, a good manuscript
Catalogue is placed in the reading room {of the British
Museum,) It is very much to be wished that it were
printed." — Ibid. p. 101.
The Statutes ofthe Realm. Page 141.
[The Report from the Committee of the House of Com
mons upon Temporary Laws, Expired, or Expiring, (May,
1796,) which was prepared by the late Lord Colchester,
enumerates the different public attempts to effect a general
revision ofthe Statute Law. It is there stated that " King
James the First, upon his accession to the throne of Eng
land, and in subsequent periods of his reign, recommended
also to Parliament a reform of all the Statute Law, and of
the Penal Laws in particular; and a Committee of the
House of Commons was appointed in 1597 to consider of
a bill for abridging and reforming the excessive number
of superfluous and burthensome Penal Laws." See Re
portsfrom Committees of the House of Commons, vol. xiv.
p. S6. The reader, who chances to forget that James did
not succeed to the throne of England until the year 1603,
will hardly assign the labours of this Committee of 1597 to
the reign of Elizabeth. It is an error into which the
Compiler confesses that he fell in abridging and translating
this passage of Lord Colchester's Report, although perhaps
the translation is not less equivocal than the original. —
Lettres sur la Cour de Chancellerie et quelques Points de la
.Jurisprudence Angloise, p. 151, London Edition. The
Committee in question was appointed the 7th November,
1597, and the following account of it is given by Sir Simon
D'Ewes. " Sir Francis Hastings moved for the abridging and re
forming the excessive number of superfluous and burthen
some Penal Laws ; which motion being seconded by Mr.
Francis Bacon and others, the consideration ofthe managing
thereof was committed unto all the Privy Council being
members of this House — all the serjeants at law being

392 addenda.
likewise members of this House — all the lawyers of this
House, Mr. Miles Sandes, Mr. Tasbrough, Mr. George
Moore, Mr. Lewkenor, Mr. Nathanial Bacon, Mr. George
Rotherham, Mr. Stephenson, Mr. Conisbie, Mr. Dykes,
Mr. Crompton, and others — and all the knights for the
counties and for the city of London returned into this
House, Sir William Moore, Sir Edward Hobbie, Mr.
Heyle, Sir Thomas Hobbie, and Mr. Hubbard, who were
appointed to meet in this House upon Thursday next, at
two of the clock in the afternoon." — D'Ewes, Journals of
all the Parliaments during the Reign of Elizabeth, p. 553.
See also Parliamentary, or Constitutional, History of Eng
land from the earliest Times to the Restoration of Charles IL
vol. iv. p. 416.]
The Statutes of the Realm. Page 206.
" The sole object of printing a new edition of the Sta
tutes was, that there might be a complete collection, as well
of repealed as of the existing Acts of Parliament, and that
the text might be relied upon for its accuracy. It is grati
fying, where there is so much to lament with respect to the
other works, to say that of the accuracy of the text, trans
lations, and collations, no complaints have been made ; but
still this edition is by no means a perfect collection of the
Statutes of the Realm. The collection ends with the ac
cession of George I., so that not one of the greater part
of the operative Statutes is to be found, and not a single
Private Act is inserted. Though it might not have been
wise to print all the modern Private Statutes, on account
of their extent, one volume at least should have been de
voted to the earlier ones, because the Private Statutes in
the reigns of the Plantagenets and Tudors, abound in
historical, biographical, and antiquarian, if not legal infor
mation, as well as with notices of the descent of lands ;
and one volume would have comprised nearly, if not the
whole, of the Private Acts down to the accession of the
House of Stuart. This defect may, however, be easily
supplied, without affecting the value of the new edition, to

THE STATUTES OF THE REALM. 393
which it would form a valuable supplement, but that edi
tion requires at least half the Statutes to render it com
plete. It is by no means certain that the Indexes to the
Statutes are as good as they ought to have been, both in
relation to their importance and to the heavy sum, which
they have cost ; and the omission of an index to the names
of all the persons and lands mentioned in the Public Acts
is very much to be regretted." — -Nicolas, Observations on
the State of Historical Literature, pp. 97 — 99. See also
Westminster Review, vol. x. p. 409, April, 1829.
The Statutes of the Realm — Sessional Publications. — [A
Collection of these Sessional Publications, extending from
the 1st year of the reign of James I. to the 56th year of
the reign of George III., was several years since pur
chased by the Record Board, and placed in the Speaker's
gallery. This collection fills 154 volumes. It was subse
quently removed to the British Museum.]
The Statutes of Ireland. Pages 198—200.
[The Commissioners on the Public Records of Ireland
stated in their First Report, (March, 1811,) that they had
given directions that a complete and authentic edition of
the Statutes and Ordinances of that country should be pre
pared and printed. Previously to the date of this Report,
Sub-Commissioners had been appointed for the execution
of this work, and there is ground for believing that these
gentlemen did not altogether abandon the task, which they
undertook, untU the recent extinction of the Irish Record
Board. All the ancient Statutes, that could be found in
Ireland, (consisting of some hundreds, of a date prior to
the tenth year ofthe reign of Henry VII.) were transcribed
for the first volume of this Collection, but the other fruits
ofthe learned toil of twenty years were scanty and valueless.
Early in 1824 all idea of printing a complete edition of
the Statutes of Ireland was abandoned, and the Board came
to the resolution not even to print the materials collected
for the first volume. It was, however, determined that a

o94 addenda.
supplemental volume to the edition of 17 — , containing the
Corrigenda and various Readings of the Statutes, should be
published, and specimens of such volume were submitted
to the Commissioners. See Reports from the Commissioners
on the Public Records of Ireland, vol. i. pp. 11, 12. 15.
481. 548. 552 ; vol. ii. pp. 3, 4, 5, 6. 9, 10. 12. 53. 55—
58. 639. 643. 645-647; vol. iii. pp. 4, 5. 8. 12. 14.20,
21. 24. See also the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Reports
from the same Commissioners. In the Appendix to the
18th Report, (March, 1828,) is a list (such list being made
in pursuance of an order of the Board, dated 1st October,
1820,) of such Public General Acts as the Sub-Commis
sioners conceived to be still in force, which are not in the
printed edition ofthe Irish Statutes.
In the return made in April, 1829, to the Select Com
mittee on the Irish Miscellaneous Estimates, of the Works
then in progress under the authority of the Irish Record
Board, mention is made of " the printing of the Addenda
and Corrigenda found in the edition of the Statutes, collated
with the Statute and Parliament Rolls and Transmisses, to
which it is proposed to add nearly 1,500 Statutes discovered
by the Sub-Commissioners on the Patent, Plea and Memo
randa Rolls, and which are not in any printed edition of
the Statutes; the whole to be comprised in one volume."
It is added that, " in order to save the expense of re-printing
an entire edition of the Statutes as collated with the Re
cords, and which would comprise nearly ten volumes similar
to those of the Statutes of the Realm, or of the Parliament
of Scotland, ^t has been considered expedient to compile
materials for one volume, containing the Errata, Addenda,
and Corrigenda, found by the Sub-Commissioners in the
present edition, which, with the inedited Statutes dis
covered by them among the Records, it is conceived, may
answer all the purposes of an entire new edition, and at a
very moderate expense." — Report from Select Committee on
Irish Miscellaneous Estimates, 19th. J une, 1829. Respecting
the Irish Statutes consult also Nicolson, Irish Historical
Library, pp. 50 — 52.]

THE DOMESDAY OF NORTH WALES. 395
The Dontesdaif of North Wales, Page 230.
[The late Mr. Parry prefixed to his translation of the
Extent of the County of Anglesea, taken by John Delves,
26 Edward III. A. D. 1352, the following short introduc
tory remarks. " The copy of the Extent, from which the
foUowing translation is made, forms part of the collection
of manuscripts, recently purchased, by the Cymmrodorion,
from the representatives of the late Mr. Owen Jones, and
of which a catalogue has been given in a preceding part of
this volume. About the time when this Extent was made,
as well as on many other occasions, similar surveys were
taken of the other counties in North Wales, for the pur
pose of making the English government acquainted with
the revenues of the country, as well as with the peculiar
tenures and other usages, that prevailed there. For this
purpose, Commissions of Inquiry were established in every
Commote in North Wales, with a view to the attainment
of the necessary information. The inquisitions thus made
were afterwards deposited, as national records, in the
Royal Exchequer at Carnarvon, where they remained,
for a considerable period, a prey to the ravages of time.
And it is probable, that few, or none, of these curious do
cuments would have descended to our times, if Sir William
Gruffydd, of Penrhyn, who was Chamberlain of North Wales
in the reign of Elizabeth, had not, with a truly patriotic
zeal, collected all such as he could rescue from the fate to
which they had been abandoned, and caused them to be
fairly transcribed. Two copies of this collection have been
ever since preserved among the public records in London,
and several transcripts of the whole, or part, that have been
made at different times, are in the possession of private in
dividuals. To this brief account it is only necessary to
add, that we are enabled to glean, from these Extents,
many interesting particulars respecting the ancient laws
and policy of Wales, relating to real property, which might
otherwise have been for ever lost. This Extent is written
in the law-latin of the age to which it refers." — Transac
tions of the Cymmrodorion, or Metropolitan Cambrian In-
siitiitiou, vol. i. pp. 336, 337.] ¦

396

ADDENDA.

Ancient Placita. Pages 232—243.
\^From Manuscript Collection.']
ANALYSIS OF THE ancient Rolls of Placita from which the
Abbreviatio Placitorum was printed.

Date.

Mich. 6 Ric. I.

10 Ric. I.

10 Ric. I.

9 Ric. I.

Mich. I John.

^V^-^-

Mich. 2 John.
Mich. 2 John.
2 John.
Mich. 3 John.
¦ 3 John.
Mich, 4 John.

Title of the Roll,
(with Remarks).

JSicljarIt I.
Placita apud Westmonast' a die

Sci Michaelis in 15 dies
The Extracts taken by Arthur
Agarde from this Roll are arranged
under Counties. The Roll is much
faded and decayed, and very diffi
cult to decypher.
Placita anno regni Regis Ricardi
10

Placita et Assise. Wilts 
Nearly the whole of this Roll
appears to be abbreviated and
printed.
Rotulus de Assisis apud Hiirtford
Not printed.
Placita de t'mino Pasch' anno r.
Regis Ricardi 9 

Placita de termino Sci Mich' anno
r' R' Johannis 1 

Placita de termlo Pasche & de
termio See Trinitatis anno r'
R' Johannis I 

Anno 2 Regis Johannis de t'mi'o
Sci Michaelis 

Placita de termio Sci Michael'
anno r' R' Johannis 2 

Anno 2 de diversis terminis . .
Anno 3 Regis Johannis de termi'o
Michaelis 
Assisas. » • *
Assise anno 3 Regis Johan'. As.
sise capte apud Lanceneton Ro
tulus Cornubie 

Placita capta apud Bedford a die
ScT Michis in tres septiman'
coram Simone de Patishall, &c.
anno regni Regis Johannis 4

No. of
Mem
branes
in each
Roll.

No. of
Lines
in each
Roll.

18

29 <^

I

20 28 14
28 17 10

No. of Folios
printed.

80 front.
80 dors.
288080 front.
80 dors.
4640 70
70
980 50

24003360 1680
33602720 1400 840

131 96
126 50
30 40
2530 704530 10

N.B.— A folio contains 72 words only.

ANCIENT PLACITA.

397

Date.

Title of the Roll,
(with Remarks).

No. of
Mem
branes
in each
Roll.

No. of
Lines
in each
Roll.

No. of Folios
printed.

Mich. 4 John.
Hii. 4 John.
Pasc. 4 John.
Trin. 4 John.
4 John.
Trin. 5 John.
Trin. 5 John.
5 John.
5 John.
Mich. 5 John.
Mich.,5John. Hii. 6 John.
Pasc. 7 John.
Trin. 7 John.
Mich. 7 John.

Rotulus de termio Sci Michis anno
4 regni Regis Johannis ....

Rotulus de termio Sci Hillarii anno
4 r' R' Johannis apud West
mon 

In 15 dies post Pasch' anno r'
R' Johis 4 

Placita & Assise capte apud Lin
coin in crastino Oct' See Trinit'
coram Simon de Pateshall, &c.
anno r' Regis Johannis 4 .
Assise (& Placita Corone) anno 4
Regis Johannis
Placita (Corone) capt' apud North
ton 

Termio Trinitat' anno 5 Regis
Johannis 

Trinit. 5 John 
Not printed — much damaged and torn
Anno 5 Regis Johannis Assise et
Placita 
Good state.
A similar Roll.
A small portion of this Roll only
is printed.
Placita de termio Sci Michis anno
r' R' Johannis 5 

1012

10

Placita Assise capt' apud Salop
Not printed.
Hillarii anno 6 Regis Johannis . .
Placita capta coram drio PiCge ad
terminii Pasche anno r' R' Jo
hannis 7 

Placita apud Portesmouth coram
drio Rege in crastino See Trini
tat' anno 7 Regis Johannis ....
Placita & Assise de termino Sc'
Mich' anno r' R' Johannis 7 . .
Chiefly an Essoin Roll.

15

¦i

24

15 6

840
14001920 1600 1800 100 9
900
2880 720

2400 600
1280 840
1120 120

10
20 30 2520 25

35

30 30 2

168224 24

398

ADDENDA.

Date.

Title of the Roll,
(with Remarks).

Hii. 7 John.
Pasc. 7& 8 Johis,
Mich. 8 John.
Hii. 8 John.
Pasc. 9 John.
Mich. 9 John.
Mich. 9 John.
Pasc. 9 John.
10 John.
Hii. 10 John.
10 John.
10 John.
10 John.
Mich. 10 John.
Pasc. II John.
11 John.

Placita in Octab' Sci Mich' anno
regni Regis Johannis 9 . . . .

Another Roll of the same term and
jear, not printed 

Mich
Hii

:h. ?

13 .Tohn.

Placita in Octab' Sci Hillarii
anno r' Johis 7 

Placita in 15 dies post Pasch'
annis 7 & 8 Regis Johannis . .
Placita apud Westm' in Octab'
Sci Michis anno r' R' Johis 8
Placita in Octab' Sci Hillarii anno
r' R' Johannis 8 

Placita termino Pasche anno 9
Regis Johannis 

No. of
Mem
branes
in each
RoU.

No. of
Lines
in each
Roll.

Placita de teimio Pasch' anno 9
Regis Johannis. Not printed..
Rotulus de Placitis & Assisis apud
Norwich anno 10 Regis Johan
nis 

Placita apud Westmonaster' in
Octab' Sci Hillar' 

Placita apud Westm' in Octab'
Sci Hillar'. Not printed 
Placita apud Westm' anno 10 Jo
hannis. Not printed 

Placita Corone. Placita apud
Hurteford. Placita Assise ....
Essoins & Amercements.
Not printed — in a bad state.
Essoin Roll.
De termino Pasche tempore Regis
Johannis 

Assise anno II Johannis 
Perhaps printed among Plac' in
cert' temp'
Placita a die Sci Mich'is capta
apud Westminster 

3
2423 10
14
13 6
15
II14

!•

IS

22

480
3840
3220 1200
16801560 720
2120 1320 1680 960320
900

2400 500

3080

No. bf Folios
printed.

13
60
55 15
17
25

15
30

44

46
30

ANCIENT PLACITA.

399

Date.

Title of the Roll,
(wilh Remarks).

No. of
Mem
branes
in each
Roll.

No. of
Lines
in each
Roll.

No. of Folios
printed.

No. of
Folios
in each
Roll.

Trin. 14 John. Trin. anno 14 Regis Johannis. . . .

23

2300

77

460

Trin. 15 John.

Trin. anno 15 Johannis Placita
in Crastino, &c 

2?

2280

55

456

Mich. 15 John.

Placita de termino Sci Mich' anno
15 Johis 

21

2520

54

504

l«Jjohn.

Essoin Rolls only.

Incerti te.mporis Regis

JOHA^JNIS.
Incerti temporis
Regis Johannis.
Placita Corone in Com' Line' . . .
A Roll indorsed, not known what
time, supposed John. Not printed
8 4
1120 320
22
224 64
Incerti temporis
Regis Johannis.
Placita in Crastino Claus' Pasc'
* anno regni R. Johannis ....
11
1320
88
264
Incerti temporis
Johannis.
Roll indorsed " nescitur tempus
incerti temporis Regis Johannis
notatur cum signo Crucis" ....
6
480
96
Incerti temporis
Regis Johannis.
Roll indorsed " incerti temporis
Regis Johannis & Assise capte
apud Lincoln" 
9
900
44
180
Incerti temporis
Regis Johannis.
Placita de Banco de termino Sci
Mich'is de tempore Regis Jo
hannis . 
13
1700
340
.1I.1.1LI.O ....................
A few Extracts only printed.
Incerti temporis
Regis Johannis.
Placita de Assisis. Not printed.
12
1440
288
Incerti temporis
Regis Johannis
Placita coram Rege apud Glouc'
de lerrai'o Sci Mich' terapoc'
Re^is lohannis . 
6
600
120
A few Extracts printed.
Incerti temporis
Regis Johannis
Placita de Banco de diversis Co
mitatibus N 
14
1680
66
33^
Incerti temporis
Johannis.
Placita Corone capt' apud Lichf
Essoins, &ic 
12 8
1440 960
15
288
Incerti temporis
Johannis.
A Roll maiked B. (no heading)
192
A small part printed.
Incerti temporis.
De Banco marked G 
10
1220
244
A small part printed.
De Banco temp' incert' capt' apuc
Scam Bridgam London 
12
400

ADDENDA.

Date.

r

Title of the Roll,
(with Remarks).

Fragmenta in
certi temporis ,
Regis Johan- "^

L

Mich.3beginning 4 Hen. III.

Mich. 4 Hen. III.
Trin. 4 Hen. III.
No date.
Trin. 4 Hen. III.
4 Hen. III.
Mich. 4 Hen. m.

A Bundle containing six small
Rolls indorsed " Fragmenta
Recordorum incerti temporis
Regis Johannis." A few Ex
tracts only are printed from
these Rolls. (1)
1 Roll (Essoin)  A
Fragmenta Rot' Regis Johannis B,
Fragmenta Rot'  C.
Fragmenta Rot'  D.
Fragmenta Rot'  E.
Fragmenta Rot'  F
f^enrs ffi.
Placita apud Westmonaster' coram
M. de Patishall et Soc' suis
containing pleading on the Great
Assize, Dower, Quare Impedit,
Charters, &c. many of the most
important pleadings on this Roll
are marked on the left with
line, and several actions appear
to have been removed from the
Iters by way of appeal ....

Note. — Neither this nor the thir
teen following Rolls are printed
in the Abbreviatio Placitorum ; the
first Roll from which any extracts
are taken is the 8th Henry III.

Placita apud Westm'
above 

Same as

Placita in Octab' Sci Trin. De
Banco 

Assise de Com' Ebor' temp'e Hen.
Ill 

Placita in Octab' Sci Trin.

Placita apud Westm' De Banco
Placita in Octab' Sci Mich' . .

>-26

19

31

No. of
Lines
in each
Roll.

No. of Folios
printed.

No. of
Folios
in each
HoU.

900

5

500

6

600

4

480

7

980

400

4160

3040

4960

4

640

17

2720

24

2240

22

3080

180
IOO120 96
196 80

832

608
992 128
544 448
616

(1) The above bundle of " Fragmenta Recordorum incerti temporis Regis Johannis,"
contains much valuable information, but from their having no heading it is impossible to
ascertain their precise dale, except it can be obtained from the context. It has been sug
gested that these Rolls should be printed at the beginning of King John's reign, as they
most likely will be found to connect the two reigns of King Richard and King John.

ANCIENT PLACITA.

401

Date.

Title of the Roll,
(with Remarks).

No. of
Mem
branes
in each
Roll.

No. of
Lines
in each
Roll.

No. of Folios
printed.

No. of
Folios
in each
Roll.

Hii. 5 Hen. III.

Placita apud Westm' De Banco

47

6500

1300

Pasc. 5 Hen. in.

Placita capt' apud Westm' De
Banco 

15
22

5 Hen. III.
Placita apud London' De Banco
SHen.IH.
Placita Assise. Placita Corone
Com' Glouc' 
19 11
29 18 18
2520
5
Trin. 6 Hen. III.
Placita De Banco 
7 Hen. III.
Placita De Banco 
Hii. 7 Hen. III.
Placita De Banco 
S'-^P'JHenin
Placita in Octab' Sci Mich' 
A small portion printed.
504
Mich.9Hen.IU
Placita apud Westm' in Octab'
Sci Mich' 
33
4620
024
Not printed.
Hii. 9 Hen. III.
Placita apud Westm' 
14
Not printed.
Trin. 9 Hen. III.
Placita in Octab' See Trin 
Not printed.
15
9 & 10 Hen. IIL
Placita apud Westmonastr' in Oc
tab' Sci M 
24
Not printed.
Hii. 10 Hen. in.
Placita in Octab' Sci Hillar' ....
Not printed.
19
PasclOHen.IlL
Placita apud Westmonasterium in
quinden Pasche 
19
Not printed.
PasclOHen.III.
Placita de Assisis mortis ancessoris
& nove disseisine apud Salop
coram dno Rege de Comitatib'
Stafford & Salop. Printed. . .
5
600
30
IOO
11,12,13,14, )
Hen. III. 5
In Octab' Sci Hillarii 
Not printed.
Note.— 'Not any of the Rolls
from 10 to 21 Hen. III. are printed,
although there is a regular series
consisting of fourteen Rolls.
26
4240
843
21 Hen. UI.
Placita coram Rege apud Wynton
8
960
36
192
25 Hen. III.
Placita coram diio Rege apud
Westm' 
35
4900
211
980
D D
402

ADDENDA.

Then follows a regular series of Rolls from the 25th
to the 57th year of Henry III., consisting of 105 Rolls,
small portions of some of which are abbreviated and
printed in the Abbreviatio Placitorum, and some estimate^
of the very small portion so printed may be formed from
the subjoined Analysis of Roll 27 Henry III.
Analysis of Ron or Placita anno 27 Henry III. printed
Abbreviatio Placitorum, page 118.

Placita coram Consilio Do&iini
Regis,
as printed in the
Abbreviatio Placitorum, p. 118.

Placita coram Consilio Domini
Regis,
as contained in the Original MS. Roll.

John de Akeny summoned to "J
show by what warrant he held f
the Manor of Bradewell. 1 /
line  '
William Bishop of Exeter was "^
summoned by Quo Waranto f
he holds the Manor of Chi- (
denham &c  )
Precept to the Sheriff to inquire "j
what demesnes the King had f
in the Manor of Brampton t
&c  )
The remainder of the Roll is 5
abbreviated into 43 printed >
Folios  3
Number of Folios printed in the
Abbreviatio Placitorum ....

43

46

The Judgment appears on the ?
original Roll. Six lines . . . . ^

On the original Roll are contained

The original Roll contains long >
pleadings  J

The original Roll contains 24"
Membranes, each Membrane
24 Folios, which would make
a total of 576, from which
should be deducted 4 Mem
branes for Essoins and the
above 21 Folios, which wil!
leave a total of 459 

Number of Folios not printed in
the Abbreviatio Placitorum . .

12

459

480 46

434

[It clearly appears from the foregoing analysis of the
Ancient Placita during the reigris of Richard I. John, and
Henry III. which has been recently made by the desire of
the Record Board, that a small portion only of these Rolls
was abstracted by Agarde; from whose work the Abbre-

ANCIENT PLACITA. AOo
viatio Placitorum was printed. It appears too " that in
many instances Agarde has only made a note, or memo
randum, of the subject pleaded, that he has seldom given
the pleadings at length, and has altogether omitted many
interesting and important subjects." It is observed, how
ever, " that by far the greater portion of these Rolls may
with propriety be omitted, many thousand folios consisting
only of Essoins, Entries of Appearances by Attorneys,
Summonses, Actions of Novel Disseisin (the ancient Action
of Ejectment), and Pleadings in Criminal and other Matters
totally uninteresting, except indeed to show the jurisdiction
of the Ancient Court of Aula Regis, and from which the
much litigated question amongst Antiquaries might pos
sibly be ascertained, as to when this Court became divided,
and when the Courts of Chancery, Exchequer, King's
Bench, and Common Pleas, obtained a separate and distinct
jurisdiction." It has been suggested that " if it be the intention of the
Record Board to print these early and valuable Rolls, the
selection already made by Agarde should be printed at length
from the Rolls themselves, in the same form as the original
Roll, and in addition thereto any matter that may be con
sidered by the transcriber as either important, or interesting,
to the antiquary, lawyer, historian, or topographer, should
be extracted."]
Ancient Placita — The Reasons and Causes of Judgments
pages 235 — 236. See First Report from Select Committee
on the Public Records, pp. 46. 383, and Grimaldi, Origines
Genealogicce, p. 91.
Ancient Placita Corona, Pages 2iS—23'7.
[The following analysis of the quantity of matter con
tained in the early Placita Coronee has lately been made
by order of the Record Commissioners, with the view of
ascertaining the expense of transcribing and printing the
valuable portions of these Rolls.]
D d2

404

ADDENDA.

[From Manuscript Collection,]
ANALYSIS OF THE No. of Folios contained on the Placita Coronje.

DiTB.

County,
with Title of tlie Roll.

No. of
Mem
branes
in each
Eoll.

No. of
Lines
in each
Koll.

No. of
Folios that
should be
printed.

No. of
Folios
in each
Roll.

Bedford.

25 Hen. III.
Placita Corone coram Justic' Itinantib*
28
3160
112
632
31 Hen. III.
4 Edw. I.
8
1120
112
224
Placita Corone coram Justiciariis Itin
13
1820
224
364
15 Edw. I.
Placita Corone coram Justic', &c. . . .
II
1540
224
308
4 Edw. III.
Placita Corone coram Justic', &c. . . .
Bucks.
40
5600
448
800
12 Hen.' in.
Placita Corone coram Justic' Itiiiantib'
19
1280
112
256
46 Hen. III.
Placita de Juratis et Assisis et Corone ?
coram Justiciariis Ititiantib'  {
18
2520
112
504
56 Hen. IIL
Placita de Juratis et Assis' & Corone
30
4800
112
960
14 Edw. I.
Placita Corone coram Justic' 
12
1680
224
336
There are also Rolls of Placita Corone, of the following dates, for the Counties
hereafter mentioned, which are nearly of the same size as the above-mentioned
RoUs for Bedford and Bucks, (10) and the Presentments contained on each are
similar in their nature, varying only as they refer to the rights and privileges be
longing to each Himdred, Town, or Place, in respect of wliich such present
ments are made, viz.
Date of Roll.
County.
Datb of Roll.
County.
12 Edw I
Berks. Cambridge. Cornwall.
40 Hen. Ill  ">
45 Hen. Ill  ")
56 Hen. Ill  J-
27 Edw. 1  3
5 Edw. I  ~j
12 Edw. I  f
7 & 8 Edw. I.
20 Edw. I. . .
53 Hen. III. .
<
Westmorland.
8 Edw. I. . . .
39 Edw. III. .
4 Edw. III. . .
]
Derby.
30 Edw. I  (
22 Hen. III. .
. . ^
28 Edw. Ill  }
28 Hen. III. .
/
6 Edw, I  \
20 Edw. I  j"
34 Hen. III. .
.. i
Devon.
Cumberland.
9 Edw. I. ...
...)
(10) [Taking the average, the Rolls of corresponding dates for the other counties are
nearly of the same size as those for the counties of Bedford and Buckingham. A
Yorkshire Roll is larger : a Rutlandshire Roll is smaller.]
ANCIENT PLACITA CORONiE.

405

Date of Roll.

28 Hen. Ill  ")
8 Edw. I  >
16 Edw. 1  3
Henry III  ^
21 Edw. I  S
John 
15 Hen. III.
Hen. III. . . .
7 Edw. I. . .
21 Edw. I. .
34 Edw. I. .
Edw. I 
2 Edw. II. .
9 Hen.' III. .
19 Hen. III.
38 & 39 Hen. III.
56 Hen. III.
13 Edw. I. .
35 Edw. I. .
5 Hen. III. .
32 Hen. III.
15 Edw. I. .
17 Edw. II.
40 Hen. III.
20 Edw. I. .
6 Edw. I. . .
15 Edw. I. .
8 Edw. II. . .
12 Hen. III.
45 Hen. III.
56 Hen. III.
14 Edw. I...
Edw. II. . . .

:::j

;;^

County.

Dorset.

Durham.

Ebor.

¦:.S

Essex.

Gloucester.

Hereford.

Hertford.

Huntingdon.

Date of Roll.

II Hen. III.
25 Hen. III.
39 Hen. III.
7 Edw. I. . .
21 Edw. I...
6 Edw. II...

31 Hen. III.
20 Edw. I...
7 Edw. II. . .
17 Edw. III.
28 Edw. III.

31 Hen. III.
44 Hen. III.
12 Edw. I...
34 Edw. I. . .

9 Edw. I.
33 Edw. I.
Edw. II. .
Edw. III.

19 Hen. III. .
2 & 3 Edw. I.
22 Edw. I. . . .
33 Edw. I. . . .
14 Edw. II. .
3 Edw. III. .
34 Hen. III. .
52 Hen. III. .
14 Edw. I. . . .
34 Edw. I. . . .

County.

Kent.

Lancaster,

Leicester.

3::;!

Lincoln,

London and
Middlesex.

Norfolk.

And in the like proportion for the
remaining Counties. (II)
The Placita Corona: ior each county vary in number, but upon an
average amount to about six (12) for each, and the parts, which it may be
considered ought to be printed, are the Presentments made by the jury
under the heads hereinafter mentioned. From a calculation, formed upon
an examination of the Rolls, these presentments famish, one with another,
about 1340 folios for each county.

(11) [That is to say, if the Rolls for the other counties were enumerated, the
average number would be the same as when calculated upon the foregoing Rolls
and counties.]
(12) [It is observable, however, that the Analysis does not yield so large an
average.]

406 ADDENDA.
Nature of the Presentments, made by the Jury tq the Justices
Itinerant, which appear upon the Rolls of Placita Coronee.
What Lands were ancient demesne of the Crown, by whom holden, and
how alienated.
What Fees were holden of the Lord the King in chief, or capite.
By what Farms, or Rents, Hundreds, Wapentakes, Tithings, Cities,
Boroughs, Towns, Manors, &c. are holden, and what and how many are
in the King's, or other Persons' hands, with their value and extent, &c.
What Suits and Services for the same are due, and what have been
subtracted from the chief Lord, or Hundred.
Claims to have Returns of Writs, and to hold Pleas and Courts, to have
Wreck of the Sea and other Royal Liberties, as Gallows, Assize of Bread
and Beer, Soc, Sac, ToU, &c. &c. &c.
Who have usurped Liberties and Franchises, and used them contrary
to their Grants.
Who have appropriated to themselves the taking of ToU, or usurped
Free Warren, Chaces, Parks, &c. without having a warrant for the same.
Also Presentments of all Purprestures, Nuisances, and Encroachments
whatsoever. Presentments : — of Bridges and Highways being out of Repair, and
who are bound to Repair the same ratione tenures, &c. — of Appeals, In
dictments, and Extortions — of Lands fallen into mortmain — of those who
have sold Wine, Victuals, or Cloth, against the Assize, Statutes, &c.^ — of
Tenancies in Cppite aud Knights' Fees — of Serjeanties — of Wardship,
Marriage, Escheat, Heriots, Heirship, &c. — of taking excessive Toll,
Usury, of using wrong Measures, and other offences against the Statutes
— of taking sanctuary in Churches — of Presentations to Churches, and
Rights of Advowson, &c. — of Charters pleaded, and aUowed, or rejected —
of PrivUeges belonging to Castles, Manors, Towns, &c. — of Waste com
mitted in Parks, Woods, Warrens, &c. — of the Right of Fishery in
Waters, Rivers, &c. — of Imprisonment, and suffering Escape for Bribes,
with very many other Presentments respecting the Person, and concern
ing Property in general.

The Hundi-ed Rolls, and Rolls of Quo Warranto,
Pages 267—282.
[From Manuscript Collection,]
The Hundred Rolls, — The documents transcribed and
printed in this work furnish a vast body of valuable in
formation connected with the property and rights of the
Crown, of corporations, and of individuals. They are

THE HUNDRED ROLLS, &C. 407
inquisitions made by juries in the several hundreds and
towns of each county, impanneled by special commissioners,
appointed to inquire into these subjects, in order to supply
the King with evidence on the nature and extent of the
royal demesnes, and of the "various rights and properties of
the Crown in the times of his predecessors, and whether
any of these had been alienated, or usurped, and by whom.
In affording evidence in questions connected with the
rights and privileges of corporations, and of individuals,
respecting franchises and liberties attached to real pro
perty, as holding courts, markets, and fairs, free warren,
chase and fishery, taking tolls and other manorial rights,
these documents are very frequently of great importance:
indeed they form a general survey next in value to that of
Doomsday, and in showing the state and possession of
property, as well as the situation of families, and in sup
plying general local information, they are of great practical
utility, not only in matters of litigation, but to the anti
quary, the topographer, and genealogist.
The Quo IVarranto Rolls, — The preceding observations
on the Hundred Rolls, as to contents, importance, and
practical utility, apply also generally to these valuable
Records ; for the proceedings in Quo Warranto, in most
cases, originated in the information derived from the pro
ceedings under those commissions and the returns of the
juries ; and were instituted in order to ascertain and reco
ver the property and rights of the Crown, by compelling
the parties to show by what title, or authority, they held,
or exercised, them.
Pope Nicholas's Taxation, Pages 283 — 285.
" This Ecclesiastical Survey of the Benefices is a most
important Record, because all the taxes, as well to our
Kings as to the Popes, were regulated by it until the
survey made in the 26th year of the reign of Henry VIII. ;
and because all the statutes of colleges in our universities,
which were founded before the Reformation, are also regu
lated by thi& criterion, which exempts their benefices to

408 ADDENDA.
a certain value, from the restrictions in the statute concern
ing pluralities. The Nonee Rolls refer to this survey. It
may be proper to observe, that the taxation made in the
reign of Henry III. in the pontificate of Pope Innocent
the Fourth, which was denominated the Norwich Taxation
(called the Vetus Valot) appeared to have been very partial
and much below the real value, which occasioned this tax
ation (called the Verus Valor) to be made. Commissioners
were appointed for that purpose, who returned the real
value of all benefices, which raised the amount of the taxes,
both to the State and to the Popes, very considerably. The
Commissioners returned their valuation, or taxation, into
the Exchequer, where it now remains, in the King's Re
membrancer's Office, and is in two large volumes in folio,
the one for the province of Canterbury, the other for that of
York ; frorn which a transcript was made and returned into
Chancery, by virtue ofthe King's Writ under the Great Seali
directed to the Treasurer and Barons of the Exchequer,
as appears by the title of the Record still remaining in the
Tower : " Transcriptum Rotulorum de Scaccario, in quibus
Ecclesiastica Beneficia infra Angliam et Walliam, contine-
tur, per Breve Regis de Magno Sigillo directum de The
saurario et Baronibus de eisdem, in Cancellario mittendum,
estque inter Compota de anno vicesimo primo Edwardi
Primi." A transcript of this taxation is in the library of
Mr. Astle, made from the MS. in the Bodleian Library,
No. 3595, 129, which was written in 1291, and formerly be
longed to Sir Henry Spelman. Mr. Astle's copy was also
collated with the original manuscript in September, 1722,
and is certified by Mr. Ecton to agree therewith. This
transcript has also been compared with another ancient
copy in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Oxford ;
and with another in the Bodleian Library, No. 5,027,
Vol. 86,4. It has also been collated with the Roll in the
Tower, and contains several districts, more than are to be
found in the Tower Records. Ex' Gr, In the Deanery of
Briseley, in the Archdeaconry of Norwich, it has the Valor
of twenty-nine places more than the Tower Record, which

POPE Nicholas's taxation. 409
begins with Langham; whereas Mr. Astle's copy begins
with Swanton. In the Tower Record, the Deaneries of
Dunwich, South Lingham, and Orford, in the Archdea
conry of Suffolk, are wanting; but they are supplied in
Mr. Astle's copy. viz. — In the Archdeaconry of Lincoln,
the following deaneries are wanting in the Tower Record,
which are in Mr. Astle's copy, viz. — Jerdeburgh, Grymes-
by, Luthesk, Lutheburgh, Candleshaw, Calsewath, Bolin-
broke, Horncastle, Hill, Grafthow, Langton Abby. In
Yorkshire (p. 1. of Mr. Astle's copy,) the names of places
are not exactly in the same order as in the Tower Record,
but the valuations of the benefices are the same. In the
MS. above referred to in the Bodleian Library (No.
5,027. 86,4.) are the taxations of several districts, wherein
is contained the true value according to Pope Nicholas's
Taxation, and the former value according to the Norwich
Valor, a transcript of which is in Mr. Astle's copy (after
page 398), which shows the difference between the former
and the latter. It must be observed, that Mr. Astle's copy
dpes not agree with the Record in the Exchequer, espe
cially in the arrangement. There are also copies of Pope
Nicholas's Taxation in the libraries of Lichfield and Lin
coln Cathedrals, but it is not known how far they may be
perfect; and there is another copy in the Cottonian Li
brary, which was greatly damaged by the fire in the year
1731, which is worthy of attention, it being in many parti
culars more full than the Record in the Exchequer."— .FzVs^
Report from Select Committee of the House of Commons on
the Public Records, pp. 505, 506.
The Close Rolls. Pages 300—31?.
[The following Proposal has recently been made for the
Publication of the Close Rolls preserved at the Tower.]
[From Manuscript Collection,]
In offering a few suggestions on the important benefits,
which the country would derive from a Publication of the
Close Rolls, which afford such ample materials for the con-

410

ADDENDA.

sideration of the Lawyer, the Historian, and the Antiquary,
it will be of course expected that some account be given of
the nature of these Rolls, and the valuable and interesting
information, which they contain. In doing this, it may not
perhaps be deemed irrevelant briefly to advert to some
of the speculations, which have been started with regard to
the first introduction of the usage of making Entries, or
Inrolments, of the general Transactions of the Curia Regis,
on membranes of parchment, sewed together, end to end,
and rolled up in the form of a pipe, or small column, in
order to be preserved in proper Offices of Record. The
King's Court, or Curia Regis, was the supreme Court of
Judicature of this Kingdom ; it was the centre and resort
for all the Barons and great men of the Realm, who, being
Peers of the King's Court, gave, as occasion required, their
attendance there. Of this Court it has been said that the
Court of Chancery formed a branch ; it seems rather to
have been the fountain from whence all the other Courts
derived their authority : for out of the Court of Chancery
went forth all original writs, and writs remedial, and all
commissions, which passed under the Great Seal. With
regard to the precise time when the usage of entering the
Proceedings of this Court upon Rolls first obtained, con
siderable difference of opinion hath always existed among
our antiquaries, and indeed at this distance of time it is diffi
cult, if not impossible, accurately to ascertain the period ofits
commencement. Madox, in endeavouring to account for
the origin of Chancery Inrolments, seems to think, that the
Acts of Chancery at the latter end of the twelfth century
being so interwoven with the Exchequer, and the business
of both being principally pointed towards ascertaining
and preserving the rights of the King, both these Courts
were held together in the same place, the King's Court,
and that the Chancellor affixed the Great Seal to all instru
ments promiscuously, whether of a Chancery, or Exchequer,
nature ; but as soon as the Chancery was separated from
the Exchequer, and held in a different place, by reason of
the great increase and variety of business, which' flowed

the CLOSE ROLLS. 411
to the Chancery, it became obvious that a more particular
mode of recording the several Acts of that Court, which ,
passed under the Great Seal, was necessary, and that this
induced its oflBcers then to begin to make distinct Rolls of
the Chancery in a series of years, to wit, the Fine, Charter,
Patent and Close Rolls. The advantages resulting from
a method of preserving the memory of public accounts
soon became so apparent, as in all probability to point out
and introduce the usage of Inrolment in every branch of
the Curia Regis.
Of all the Records of the Court of Chancery preserved
in the Tower, there are none so important, and in the
nature of their contents so various, as the early Close Rolls,
commencing with the fifth year of the reign of King John :
they may with justice be styled the Diaries, or Journals, of
our Kings, whereon are daily recorded all the Royal Acts
and Commands proceeding either verbally from the King
to his Chancellor, who was his constant attendant and com
panion, or delivered to him by messengers especially de
puted, under warrant of the Signet, or Privy Seal. From
the circumstance of the Chancellor being continually with
the King, and present on almost all occasions, of course by
far the greater portion of the royal mandates came from
the King direct, per ipsum Regem. And the Chancellor,
immediately upon receipt thereof, caused Letters to that
effect to issue out of his Court, either Close, or Patent, as
the nature of the mandate might require. The entries
upon these Rolls must consequently present the most cor
rect manifestations of the character, disposition, and pur
suits of the Monarch, his foreign and domestic policy, his
ainusements and his expenses of every kind; the various and
sudden movements of the Court frem town to town, and
from one end of the kingdom to the other, are all here
particularly recorded, all original writs and commissions
are here inrolled, by which is shown the authority upon
which the several Courts which composed the Curia Regis
(now in this reign first separated and made distinct) pro
ceeded. In fact, by means of these Records, we are en-

412 ADDENDA.
abled to obtain a clearer and more general knowledge of
the laws and constitution of this country at these early
periods, and a more correct and intimate acquaintance with
the costumes, modes of living, manners and customs of our
ancestors, the state of society and the feelings of the age,
than can be derived from any other source whatsoever.
The following list of subjects, which are of continual
and constant occurrence upon the Close Rolls, selected
promiscuously from the Records themselves, will serve to
convey some idea of the miscellaneous nature of their con
tents, and of the vast importance and value of the informa
tion, which they are calculated to afford in illustration of
our history, laws and institutions.
Arts and Sciences. — Introduction and Progress of Trades
and Manufactures; Pictures, Paintings, Costume, Robes
and Dresses, Jewels, Coin, Aurum Regime, or Queen's
Gold, Statutes, Books, Records in the Tower, Repairs of
Bridges, Royal Parks and Forests, Crown Revenue, Royal
Prerogatives, Deodands, Treasure Trove, Donationes Regis,
Fines for Transgressions, Fishings, Charter of the Forest,
Perambulations, Gold and Silver Mines, Homage, Fealty,
Knights' Service, Aids and Marriages, Duels, Bail and
Pardons, Laws, Politics, Chancellor of England, Deliveries
of the Great Seal; Jurisdiction ofthe Courts of Chancery,
King's Bench and Exchequer; Wardship of Minors, Cus
tody of Idiots and Lunatics ; Appointments of Justices of
the Peace, Escheators and Coroners ; Summons to Parlia
ment, Parliamentary Writs, Expenses of Knights and Bur
gesses in Parliament, Privy Council, Liberties and Privi
leges, Fairs and Markets, Economy of the Royal House
hold, Royal Marriages, Kings' Messengers, Tournaments,
Raising of Troops, Naval and Military Afifairs, Protections,
Truces, Royal Letters, Scutage, Talliage, Livery of Lands,
Assignments of Dower, Ecclesiastical Affairs, Divorce,
Prayers, Masses, Papal Bulls, Knights Hospitalers and
Templars, Royal Presents to distinguished Individuals, &c.
&c. &c.
The number of JClose Rolls in the reigns of King John

tiie CLOSE ROLLS. 413
and King Henry III. is 86, whereof about 20 are dupli
cates, which 20 will only need verification with their cor
responding Rolls, thus leaving only 66 to be transcribed.
The Documents on these Rolls are very closely written on
both sides of membranes about three quarters of a yard
long, sewed together at top and bottom, making one con
tinued Roll; the length of each Roll varies according to
the number of entries upon it, some consisting of as many
as 39 membranes, and others of as few as 15; and in like
manner the entries differ in number on each membrane,
varing according to the length of the Documents on them,
from 50 to 70 on the intus of the membrane, and from
about 30 to 40 on the dorsum.
The Appendix A. contains copies of the Documents as
entered on the Roll ofthe 36th of Henry III., (one entire
membrane of which has been transcribed,) in the same
order as they occur. But it must be observed that all of
those are not exact copies of the original mandates as
issued from the Chancellor, but most are abbreviations,
containing all that was then considered material, or impor
tant. The Chancellor's clerks at this period, either from
the multiplicity of business had not time to enrol them at
full, or from the scarcity and value of parchment were not
allowed to waste it in copying unnecessary words and tech
nical phrases. These are, however, abbreviations, similar
to those, which it is proposed to make, of the Documents
entered on the Rolls subsequent to the reign of Henry III.,
after which period the business of the Chancellor became
less promiscuous and more settled and defined. It is
therefore submitted, that the Close Rolls in the reigns of
John and Henry be printed verbatim; after that period,
they should only be digested or calendared after the man
ner of the Abbreviatio Placitorum, and similar to these
entries now submitted, where the whole substance and
import of the Documents are given in as few words as
possible. All those Documents which are printed in the Fadera,
Parliamentary Writs and the Appendix to the Report on the

414 ADDENDA.
Dignity of a Peer of the Realm, should only be slightly no-,
ticed in their proper places, thus —
" De provisionib3 faciend's contra festum Coronationis
Regis."— Mem. 13. Vide Foedera, vol. i. part i. p. 509.
" Summonitio Consilij." — Mem. 22, dors. " Summoni-
tio Parliamenti." — Meip, 3, dors. Vide App. Report on
the Dignity of a Peer, p. 378.
" Quod nullus incedat ad arma in regno per quod pax
possit perturbari, &c." — Mem. 6, dors. Vide Parliamentary
Writs, vol. i. part i. p. 18.
In the two first volumes of the new edition ofthe Fcedera,
there has been excluded from its pages an immense number
of important Documents, which ought, unquestionably, to
have been found there ; all of which would of course be
inserted in the proposed work, and this would in a great
measure compensate for the existing defects of those
volumes. (1) A.
De damis capiendis.{2) — Rex mittit usque Wiidstock
Hug Fraunceys & Ernauld Gilli ad capiend ibidem in
forest' Regis extra parcum v. vel sex damas ad opus Regis
Et Mand est Witto de Langel quod eos ad hoc admittat &
eis ad eas capiendas consulans sit & auxilians. T. 1^. apud
Reding, xxviij die Octobr. anno &c. xxxvj".
De expensis Regis. — Mand est Thes & Camerar' suis qd
venire fac de Thesauro Regis usque Heyles die Dominica
prox* post festum Omnium Sco| in Garderobam Regis
CCC & Ixxv. marc ad expens Regis.
De ornamentis Capelle Margef filie dni Regis. — Mand
est E. Westm' quod cum festinatione querat omnia orna
menta capelle Marger fit Regis videit unum par pelvium
duas fiolas lib°s calice vestimenta tunicam dalmaticam du-
plicem casulam vidtt festivale & feriale & omnia alia orna
menta ad capttam pertinencia provisurus quod omnia p'dca
(1) [On this spbjept see Part IJ. Chap. XXH., S.ecoftd and Thii4 Supple
mental Notes.] (2) Mem. 32.

the close rolls. 415
pmpta sint & gata cum celeritate. Et R. cum scifit cust'
oTum p>dc6| bre de libate ei fieri faciet. T. ut sup''. Ita
quod libentur P. Chacepork Thric Ijk deferenda cum alio
hemes I^ usq, Eboj. Et I^ cum scifit cus? ut sup".
Pro Priore de Merton. — Quia constat I^ p inquisicom
carte Prioris de Merton qin ^tulit coram Ijt qd idem Prior
& hoies sui porcos suos lire debRt ad pessona in fores? IJ;
de Wauberge quietos de pannag Mand est Ballivis I^ de
Wauberge qd si porcos suos sic quietos Ure consuev'nt
tunc porcos illos quos hilt in fores? Ijfc de Wauberge eis
Kre fac quietos de pannag* et non distringant eos cont"
tenorem p'dce carte.
Pro Ricardo de Rupellis. — Quia Riciis de Rupellis
exigit a Rege Ix. libr. de arrerag annul feodi sui xx. libr.
quod 1^ ei concessit pcipiendum ad sc"cm suum Mand est
J. fit Galfri Justic Hybn' quod scrutatis rotulis sc"cii
Ij!; Dublin vel alio modo inquirat si inveiJit dcas Ix. libr
eidem debi de eisdem pfato Rico satisfieri fac. T. Ijk apud
Hading xxix. die Oct"^.
De vino dato. — Mand est Ernald Gerodun qd de vinis Ijk
de prisa que sunt in custodia sua fac hre Egid de Erdinton
unum bonum dolium vini de dono Regis.
Pro Rob'to de Muscegros. — Mand est Baroii de Sc'cio
sicut alias qd scrutatis rotiis Sc"cij Ijt scire Ijt faciat que
debita Robtus de Muscegros deb3 ad Sc'cm 5: & ob q°m
(cam)
causam Et de oib3 debitis que ^ deb3 que non sunt
atfminata ad Sc'cm Ijt pacem ei hre fac usque ad quinde-
nam Pascfi pximo futuram. T. Ijt apud Walingf xxx. dei
Oct'. Pro A. Winton electa.— Qma. datum est Ijt intelligi qd
A. Wintoii elcus emi fecit ad opus suum vina Arnaldi
Frere que sunt in duab3 navib3 quas Galfi:-^ Morin Sviens
suus venire fee London-^ Mand est Camef Ijt London qd
gmittant p'dcm Galfr' ducere vina p'dca quo voluerit sine
impedimento ad opus ipTus elci salva Ijt debita prisa videit
uno doleo vini ante malum & alio retro. T. Ijk apud
Oxon. xxxj. die Oct'.
Willius de G/owc'.— Wiftus de Glouc capt® & detent^ in

416 ADDENDA.
prisona Reg Oxoii p morte Hug le Schipman unde apftat^
est ht lit?as Vic Oxoii qd ponat^ p baffiu. T. Ijt apud
Oxon. xxxj. die Oct'.
De vino dato. — Mand est Custod Vinor Reg de Rading
qd de vinis Ijt que" snt in custod sua ibidem hre fac Johi
de Frethorn unum dolium vini de dono I^. T. Ijt apud
Wudestok^ ij. die Nof.
De parco de Freijmauntel. — Mand est Jolii de Cormail-
los & Robto de Edmundestorp qd parcum 1^ de Freitman-
tel ampliari & includi fac sicut melius comodo Ijt vidint
covenire. T. ut sup".
De maeremio capiendo ad saltatorium de Wodestok^. — -
Mand est Wiftmo de Langel Baftio for' I^ de Wicchewud
qd in forinseco bosco '^ de Wudestok^ ex" peu fac tire
J obi de Haneberge & Petr de Legh maeremiii q°ntu
necesse fiJit ad unum saltatoriii faciend in pco suo de
Wodestokf p tallia in? ipos & ipm fcam de numero quer-
cuum. T. ut sup".
De guercub-^ datis, — Mand est constabular Sci Briavel
qd in fores? Ijt de Dene fac here Abbati de Hayles xx.
quercus ad maeremium ad dormitorium suQ. T. I^ apud
Bruer. iiij. die Novembr.
Pecus de Homersh'. — Captus & detentus in prisona IJ;
de Bru^* p transgressione fores? ht lit?as Vic Staflr quod
ponaf p balliii. T. ut s " .
De roborib"^ datis. — Mand est Wifto de Langel quod in
fores? Reg de Whichewode fac hre Abbati de Bruera tria
bona roboria ad focum suum de dono Ijt. T. ut s".
Pro Hominib'^ de Sumerton. — Mand est custodi foreste
de Selewud quia hoies de maniio Regis de Sumerton dis-
tringi non consuefunt p expeditacione canum suog ut dnt
qd ipos pp? hoc no distringat donee A. IJ: aliud habflit
pceptum. T. ut sup".
De compoto Guidon fil Robi. — Mand est Baroii! de
Sc"cio qd q^mcito po?unt recipiant compotum Gwidoii fii
Robi de temge quo fuit Vic Ijt Oxon & Berkf & audito
compoto illo Ijt scire faciant si idem Gwido in aliquib3
debitis Ijt teneat' & eum p aliquo debit' non arestent set

THE CLOSE rolls. 417
eum 8to die ad Ijt mittat p fine sup hoc cum Ijt faciendo
T. J^ apud Winchecumb vi die November.
Pro Mercatorihy Florenc S; Sener?.— Mani est Vicb3
London qd corpa Oium Mercatog Florenc & Senen! in
Civitate Londoii arestato| p usura cum eog bonis & catallis
pp? hoc captis in manu Ijt delibari fac usq, ad quindenam
Pascfipximo futuram. T. ut sup".
Pro busca 8f carbone ad opus Reg. — Mand est custodi
fores? de Galtris qd in eadem foresta faciat hre. Ric de
Bocs buscam & carbonem Ijt & ad opus familie Ijt contra
Natal Dili scdm qd Stephus Bauzan ei scire faciet. T. ^
apud Winchecumb. vi. die Novembr.
De roborib-^ ad focum Ijt. — Mand est Johi de Hennebg
& Petf de Legh Ballivis Ijt de Wudstokf qd de bosco de
CumB venire fac usq, Wudestokf xvi. robora ad focum Ijt.
T. ut sup".
De damis datis. — Mand est custod fores? de Bernewood
quod in eadin fores? hre Abbati WestiQ x. damas cont" fes?
Bl Edwardi de dono Ijt. T. ut s".
De vinis datis. — Mand est Eduuard de WestiS qd de
vinis Ijfc apd Westm fac hre Abbati Westifi iij'' dolia vini
de dono ^ con^ fes? p'dcm. T. ut s".
De damis datis. — Mand est Custodi foreste de Braden!
qdin p'dca foresta fac fire F. London! Epo sex damas de
dono R:. T. uts".
De qfcub-^ ad opacones Ijt. — Mand est Johi de Venoi3
seiJ fores? qd in gte Ijt de Gillingham fac fire c^todib3
opaconum Ijt de Gillingham x. quere® & x. quere® ex" gcu
ubi vid it qd sit ad min® nocumentum foreste Ijt de Gilling
ham ad opacones Ijt ibidem. T. ut s".
De opaconib^ R, de Gillingham Corf S; SMreburn, —
Mand est Elye de Rabyn qd bonam & diligente curam
capiat de ogaconib3 ^ gficiendis tam apud Gillingham
q'm in Castro Ijt de Corf & de Shireburn sicut Henr
de Erleg nup Vic fa8e consuevit capientes ab ipo Vic
arreragia q! remanSunt in manib3 suis ad opacones p dcas
pficiendas & qd vidat in q° statu p'dcs Vic dimisit castrum
pdcm & opacones Ijt p'dcas & qd mitta? in crastino Sci
E E

418 ADDENDA.
Martini usque Noting p c. marc q"s recip'' ibidem g man®
Vic Ijt Notingham ad opacones illas complendas cui IJ:
mandavit qd illas ei libari fac. T. ut sup".
Et mand est p deo Henr qd p dca arreragia ei Iibet cui
IJ: mandavit qd curam cap de opaconib3 sup*dcis. T.
ut s".
Wills Juel, — Captus & deten? in psona IJ; Oxoii p
morte Fulconis le Teynturer Galfr'' de la Hull & Wiftm
fil ejus uii rectatus est ht lit?as Vic Oxoii quod ponatur p
balliiim. T. ut s".
De boscis assartandis in Wall , — Cum ad comodum IJ:
seit sicut Igt intellexit quod homines IJ: de tribus Cantredis
assartare possunt boscos suos de licencia IJ; & commodii
suum inde fa8e Mand est Alano la Zuche Justic Cester-'
qd eos hoc fa8e pmittens ipos in eisdem libtatib3 & con-
suetudinib3 Wallensib3 manuteneant quib3 usi fffnt temge
quo se reddiderut IJ: & eosdem hoies cont' formam pacis
in? IJ: & eos inte in nfto vexet. T. IJ: apud Glouc viij. die
Novembr*^. Pro Priore de Sandelford. — IJ; gdonavit Priori de San-
delford vindictam & aificiamentum que ad IJ; gtinet p
quadam redisseisina qui fee Joe de BrichuU de tenemento
in Frollebir-^ & sug quo idem Prior convictus fuit ut dici?
Et Mand est Vic qd p dem Priorem occone p'dca cap? &
in p'sona nra Winton-' detentum a p'sona ilia sine dilone
delibet. T. ut sup".
Pro Galffo Gacelin. — Mand est Magro S. de Wautton
& G. de Segrave qd ex quo cegit ass: no: diss: qm Prior
de Bradenstokf arr cora eo v'sus Galfr-' Gacelin de ten!
in Burtun no pcedat ad judiciCi inde reddend set recordum
illius assise mittat IJ: gtib3 8tum die p''figens qd tQc sint
coram IJ: reccord illud auditur & judiciu suum inde recep-
ture. T. ut sup".
Pro Priore Hospital' Sc'i Joh'is Jer'lm in ylngV. — Ijt
dedit respectum Priori Hospital Sci Johis Jerlem in Angl
de oTb3 debit & demand tam de essartis & expeditacione
canii qiii aliis ipm & holes 9tingentib3 usq, ad quindenam
Pascfi anno &c. xxxvj. Et Mand est G. de Langel justi8
fores? qd p'dcm respec? ei fire pmittat. T. ut sup".

THE CLOSE ROLLS. 419
De respectu Milicie.—Rex dedit respcm Jotii filio Alani
de se Milite faciendo usq, Pentecostem. Et mand est Vic
Warr & Ley8 qd ipm in?im pp? hoc non distringat. T.
I^ apud Glouc' x. die Novembre Eodem modo Mand est
Vic Norf Bukf & Sutht.
De capa furrata data.— Mande est J. de SoiScote &
Rogo Scissori qd fire faciant Fortunato de Luca unam
capam furratam de dono IJ;. T. ut sup*.
De licencia transfretandi.— Mani est Ballivis Portus de
Portesmuta qd pegrinos & nuncios iflcatores & alios pmit
tat tnsfretare in portu suo priso tame qd W. de Valen8
fr IJ; non tRsfretet. T. ut s".
Eodem modo Mand est ballivis de Shorham.
De vino dato.— Ma.n& est custodib3 vinog IJ; de Wode-
stokf qd de novis vinis IJ; que fuit in custodia sua ibidem
fa8 fire Henr de Wingham unu bonu doliQ vini de dono
IJ;. T. ut sup".
De qrcub^ ad opacones de Wudestok. — Mand est Johi
le Mazun qd in bosco de Gunnildegrove fa8 fire Johi de
Hennebge & Petr-' de Legh custodib3 ogaconum IJ; de
Wudestokf xx. quere® ad easdem opacones inde faciendas.
T.uts". De damis datis. — Mand Custodi fores? de Panbreg qd
in eadem fores? fa8 fire Isabelle de Mortuo Mari vj. damas
de dono IJ;. T. ut s".
De damis datis. — Mand est W. Luvel venatori IJ; qd de
feris qs ad opus IJ; in foresta Sci Briavelli cepit sn-^ ditOne
Kre fac Petro Chaceporc tres damas de dono IJ;. T. ut s".
Depl'ib'^ emendis ad opus Margar^ filie R. — Mand est
P. Chaceporkf & Edward qd comgari faciat cont" instantes
nupcias ad op® M. p'mogeniti fil Ijt quedam in cedula
psentib3 in?clusa & alia que IJ: eidem P. Chaceporkf
oretenus injuxit. T. ut s".
Pro Rog 0 de Sifrewast. — Ijt concessit Rogo de SyfFre-
wast qd quamdiu fiJit in Svicio 1^ custodiendo Cora-' IJ;
Sum§ & Dors sub Elya de Rabayne no ponaf in assisis
jura? vl recog aliquib3 Et Mand est Vic Suth? qd ipm
Rogm g idem tem^ libtatem illam hre gmittat. T. ut s".
E E 2

420 ADDENDA.
Eodem mo''° Mand est Vi8 Bukf &c.
De damis datis, — Mand est G. de Langel justic-' fores?
qdin foresta IJ: de Gillingham fa8 fire Elye de Rabayn
xiiij. damas 8s vj. damos minos & in foresta IJ; de Blakedun
vij. damas & iij. damos minos de dono IJ:.. T.' ut s" p ipm
I^. Et sciend est qd mutatum fuit istud bre ita s. qd fiebit
oms bestias p''dcas in fores? de Gilling & non alibi.
De op'aconib'^ in Castro R, BristoF, — Mand est ballivis
Ijt Bristoft quod tabelamentum magne Aule IJ; in Castr*'
Bristoft qd p ventum de?iorat-' sine dilone regari fa,c rega-
cbne qua indiget una cum aliis ogacoib3 IJ: ejusdem Cast'
de quib3 bre IJ: de compoto recegiit. T. ut s".
Pro Magro Hosp Sc'i Joh'is ex-^ Portam orientalem
Oxon. — IJ; Majori & ballivis suis Oxon Saltm Quia Magr
Hospital nri Siji Johis ext" portam orientalem Oxon &
homines ejusdem hospital quieti snt de theloniis & mura-
giis g libtates quas idem Magr fit g cartas p decessog nfog
Regurii Angl & nras vob mandam® qd no distringatis
p dem Magrm vl holes suos ad dandum theoloneii in villa
nra vl aliquid contribuend ad murag ejusd vift. T. ut
sup". De assensu Maritagii. — IJ: Fulcoi de Coudray Saim Bii
placet nob qd maritagiii in? filiQ vrm p'mogenitum & filiam
Eniici de Sacy pvisum pcedat & celebret' sii impedimento
nri vl nrof . Et hoc tenore p senciii vob significam®. T.
ut sup".
De damis datis. — Mand est Custodi foreste de Wulmer''
qd in eadem foresta fa8 fire Magro W. Archid Surr-' duas
damas de dono IJ;. T. IJ; apud Glou8 xij. die Nof .
De quercub^ datis, — Mand est Custodi foreste de Dene
qd in eadem foresta fac fire Abbi Glou8 x. quere® ad maere-
mia de dono IJ:. T. ut s".
De laiis datis.— Man& est Constabular'' Iji Sci Briaveft
in fores? de Dene fa8 fire Sibille de Clifford duas Layas
de dono ^. T. ut s".
De quercub^ ad op'ucones Glouc .— Mani est Custodi
Foreste de Dene qd in eadm foresta fa8 fire custodib3
ogacbnum cast' Glouc xxx. quere® ad maeremium ad oga-

THE CLOSE ROLLS. 421
cbnes illas faciendas. T. Ijt apud Teukesbur-' xiij. die
Novemb-'. De suppeliciis faciendis, — Mand est P. Chacepork qd
f i fa8 XX. sugpelicia ad capellam IJ; & ea venire fac usq,
Ebo? cont" instans fes? Nativitatis Dnice. T. ut sup".
De laiis datis, — Mand est Constabular Sci Briaveft qd
in foresta IJ: de Sco Briaveft fa8 fire Mathio Bezille duas
bonas layas de dono IJ; salvo tamen nuriJo de CC tam
porcis qm layis quos in eadem fores? ad opus IJ;. Ijt capi
p cepit. T. ut s".
De lampredis cariandis, — Mand est ballivis Glou8 qd
lampredas quas Maths Bezil constabular Cast' Glou8 eis
liBari fa8 ad IJ; gticlatim cariari fa8 Et carriag illius cum
IJ; scifit eis faciet allocari. T. ut sup".
De apro <5f laya datis. — Mand est Constab de Sco Bria
veft qd in fores? de Dene fa8 fire Fulconi fit Warini
seniori unii aprum. & unam layam de dono Ijt salvo tamen
nu]flo de CC tam porcis q"m laiis q°s in eadem fores? IJ:
capi picepit. T. ut sup".
Thomas le Teler. — Capt® & detent® in p'sona IJ: Oxoii p
morte Matild Atteneline un-' recta? est fit Iras Vic Oxon!
qd ponaf p balliii. T. ut sup ° .
De damis datis, — Mand est Custod fores? IJ; de Bichuft
qd in eadiii fores? fa8 fire Berfmo de Cryoft v damas ex
dono IJ;. T. IJ: apud Persor xiij. die Novembr-'-
Mand est Custod for-' de Selewod qd in eadem for-^ fa8
fire Wifto de Clare iiij. damas de dono IJ:. T. ut s".
Pro Wrennoc le Champeneys. — Mand est Ballivis IJ; de
Bristoft qd si Wrennoc® le Champeneys qui inp'sonat®
erat apud Bristol ^ xxv. s. ve?is monete quos cep a
quodam debitore suo una cum blanchir' ejusdem pecunie
eis securitatem invenlit respondendi de tnsgressione ilia
q°ndo Ijt p'cepit tunc cataft sua hac occone arestata ei sine
dilone delifiari fa8. T. ut sup".
De coronatore eligendo. — Mand est Vic Wygorn qd in
pleno Com-' & g assens ejusd Com-' loco Mauric de
Thorndon qui gyi ut dice? laborat infirmitate eligi fac
unii aliii coronatorem q" p'stito &c. T. ut sup".

422 ADDENDA.
Pro Emma que fuit uxr^ Galfri Dispensator^.{3) — Mand
est Godefr-' de Lyston Baftio vij. Hundr-' IJ; qd non dis
tringat Emmam que fuit ux Galfr-' Dispensatoris vl holes
suos tenentes de dote ei assignata de ?ris que fuernt Jofeis
de Sco Jofie quondam viri sui in Swalwefeld & Seningfeld
ad faciend sectam ad p die? hundr-' nra vl vis francipleg
contra lib & acquietancias quas ei inde ad vitam ipius
Emme p lit?as nras Patentes 9cessiom® & quib3 acten® usi
snt. T. IJ; apud Reding xxviij. die Oct'.
Pro Joh'e de Sancto Amatido, — Johes de Sco Amando
habet licenciam pegere pficiscendi ad ptes tiismarinas Sc
moram ibidem faciendi usq, ad festum Sci Micfiis anno
&c. xxxvi".
De op'acionib^ Westm-^. — Quia IJ: vellet qd opacones
eccli^ Westm' mltum expedirentur Mand est Henr'' Magro
p'dca? ogaconum qd totum opus marmorefi qd fi po?it
sine giclo in hac hyeme levari fac. T. IJ: apud Walling
ford xxx. die Oct'.
De respectu Militie. — Mand est Vi8 Salop qd non dis
tringat Rogm de Corbet ad arma militaria capienda quia
IJ; sug hoc dedit ei respectum usq, ad fes? Sci Micfiis anno
&c. xxxvj. T. IJ: apud Wudestokf primo die Novembr-^.
Mand est Vicb3 Line & Bukf qd non distringat Wal
terum de Burgo ad se militem faciend don*" a Ijt aliud
hfiint mandatis.
De respectu cujusdam loqle q est inter Rogm le Gras 4
Will'm de PoyV. — Mand est Justic de Banco qd loquelam
que est coram eis g p''cep? IJ: inter Rogm le Gras petentem
& Wiftm de Poyl deforS de arr-' annul reddit® xx. s. ponet
in respec? in eod statu q" nunc est usq, ad q'ndeffl Sci
Martin-'. T. IJ: apud Wudestok ij. die Oct'.
Pro Abb'e Majoris MoriasFij.— Qnia constat IJ: qd abbas
Majoris Monas?ij capt® est & incarcerat® Mand est Vi8
Devon qd loquela que est in Com-' suo p bre IJ: inter ipm
Abbem & Amic Comitissam Devon de q"da secta q"m ipa
Com-' exiget ab eod Abbe de raaflio suo Tolverton ponat
in respe8 usq, pxin Com-' suu p®t Pasch. Et ipm Abfeem
(3) In dorso M. 33.

THE CLOSE ROLLS. 423
non occonet n'= g'vet pp? defaltas si q's fe8 in p'dca
loquela Quia defaltas suas occone capcois Ijt ei waranti3
ab hac vice. T. ut sup".
P' Rob'to le Lu 8f aliis subwditor bosci R. in CorM
North't. — IJ; concessit Robto le Leu Robto le Plumtun
Wifto de Musche & Stepfio de Stokes venditorib3 subbosc
IJ: in Coifl North? qd sint quieti de juratis rec & ass: usq,
ad Pm-' be Mar anno &c. xxxv. Et mand est Vic North?
qd ipos inde usq, ad p>dcem ?minu q'etos esse gmittat.
T. ut s\
Pro Winton elco (Sf hoib'^ suis. — Mand est Vi8 Berkf
qd non vexet vl vexari pmittat A. Winton elcm vl priorem
Sci Swithini Winton vl hoies eo? in baftia sua cont" lib
tates suas iidem elcus & prior hiit g cartas p'decesso?
ni-o? Reg Angl & confirmacom nfam licet quib3dam lib-
tatib3 in p'dcis cartis contentis usi non fffint T. IJ: apud
Wudestokf iij die Novembr-'. Eodem m° mand est Ad de
Graevuft custodi Fores? de Selewud.
Heref — IJ; Waleraund cons? est Justic ad ass: no: diss:
cap qm Wittus de Hutemaigne arr fsus Wiftm de Everens
Gregor le DespenS & Petr le Clerc de teii in Frumhe-
mund. Et Mand est Vi8 Heref.
Pro Rad' de la Heie. — -IJ: Abbati & Conventui de Muchel-
neye Saltm de eo qd Radm de la Heie quondam §vientem
nrm p ptes annos ad instanciam nfam exhibuistis gtes vob
refiifi copiosas Scientes qd voluifi qd ult° Pascfi pxio
ventur' ipm exhibeatis set ex tunc pvideat put vidi? expe-
dire. T. ut sup".
Pro Joke de Waremi.—^ S. Karleof & R. de Turkelby
& soc suis justi8 itinian? in Coifi Ebo? Saltm Mandam® vofi
g oms loquel motas coram vob p picepf nrm;Cont" Jofiem
de Warenn! de die in diem progetis usq, in xv. Sci Martini
pximo vent am Ita tii qd oms loquele que ipm 9tingiit in
itinle vfo in conJ p'dce t'minent' ante recessii vrm a ptib3
Ebo?. T.uts".
Pro Priore de Davintre de Advocacoe Medietatis Ecclie.
— T^ Justic suis de Banco Saltm Mandam® qd loquelam
que est coram vob p bre nrm in? Rogm Gulafr-' petente &

424 ADDENDA.
Priorem de Davintr' defor8 de advocacione medietatis
ecclie de Nortun-' cum recordo ejusdem loquele & omrb3
brib3 & adminiclis loquela illam tangentib3 venire fac cora
nob a die Sci Hillar-' in xv. dies ubicumq, tunc fflim® in
Angl in eodem statu in q" nunc est jpfigentes eundem die
gtib3 qd tunc sint ibi pcessure in loquela ilia scdm qd de
jlire fffit pcedend q, nolum® qd loquel' ilia coram vob
?minet' & mittatis ibi hoc bre. T. IJ: apud Winchecumb
¦vij.. die Novembr.
Pro Abbate de Evesham, — IJ: Baron! de Sc'cio Saltm
Quia concessim® p cartam nfam Abbi de Evesham qd ipe
& successores sui respondeant ad Sc'cm nrm apd Westm-^
p manu sua de oib3 que Vi8 & hundredar' nfi pcipe con-
suef'nt in manliis ipius Abfeis vob mandam® qd p'dcm
Abbem de omnib3 p'dcis ad p''dcm Sc"cm nrm respondere
faciatis allocantes abbi Winchecumb cui comiSam® villam
nfam Winchecumb cum hundi-' de Kitesgate Holeford &
Gretestan ad firmam a temge confeccois pdce carte nfe
qindiu p'dca Hundr-' ad firmam de nob tenebat ea de quib3
p'dcm Abbem de Evesham oiJabitis p maiJiis que idem
Abbas fit infra p'dc a hundr-' que quida de firma ipius Abbis
substrahi fecim® p p dcam cocessione allocetis & eide Abbi
ea que Abbas Fiscamp pcepit sicut hundredar-' in manliis
ejusdem de Schireburnl & Bladintufl que sita siit infra
hundr-' de Salmonebir a temge quo concessim® eidem
Abbati hundr-' nfm p'dcm Quia concessim® Abbati Winche
cumb qd eodem maniio q'eta debent ee de Sectis Com-' &
Hund-^ q"mdiu p dcam firma de nob teflet. T. ut s".
De visoribj assignatis op ucones de Gillingh' Shirebunf <Sf
Corf. — Rad de Godmanneston Robtus de Wykf Robtus
de Burtun & Ri8 Cresseben assignati siit visores ad oga-
ciones IJ: de Gillingham.
Robtus de Lond Wiftus Bevin Alan® de la Wudebrug'
& Wifts de Kandel assignati siit visores ad ogacoes Ijt de
Shireburn. Reginald de LuUeward, Willifl de Cumbe, Wifts de
Wul? & Ri8 de Barnevift assignati sRt visor' ad ogacoes de
Corf Et Mand est eisd qd ad mand Elye de Rabayn ad
hoc intendant.

THE CLOSE ROLLS. 425
De respectu Milit^. — IJ: dedit respectin Robto de Sco
Claro de se milite faciendo usq, in unfl annii a festo Na?
DSi anno &c. xxxvj. Et mand est Vi8 Suifis qd ipm
Robtm pp? hoc no distringat. T. ut sup".
P' Willo de Vesci/ &; Agu-^ ux ejus. — Mand est Wale-
ramo Teutonico qd Wiftm de Vesey & Angn ux ejus
manuteneant in seisina molendini sui de Carleun qd de
venit in ppartem ipius Angn de hereditate que fuit Wal?i
Marescalli quonda Com-' Penbrokf Et sic eisdem Wifto &
Angn-' in auxil ad distringendii illos qui secta debiit ad
molend-' p'dcm ad sectam illam facienda sicut eam fa8e
cosuef'nt tempe p'dci Com-' que p Mereduc fil Griffini sub-
tracta est ut dici? Ne ampi &c. T. ut s".
De respectu milit — Ricus de Tangland Constab Heref
fit respectum de se milite fac usq, ad festum Oium Sco?
anno & cxxxvij" & dirigun? Vi8 Salop &c.
Pro Joh'e de Gerard. — IJ: Justic suis de Banco Saltiii
Quia in transitu nfo g gtes de Perso? invenim® Jofiem
Gerard mentis sue incompotem & Roes fit Robti uxor
Rob Gerard filij p°genti pfati Jofiis petat coram nob f'sus
dem Jofiem ?ciam ptem tocius tenementi sui in Inteberg
ut dote sua uii pfat® Robs Gerard vir dee Roes eam dotavit
ut die de assensu pfati Jofiis patris sui & p q°sdam coram
nob fuit testificatum eundem Jofiem p xij. annos & amplius
in demencia continua extitisse non potuit p se v° p attorna
tum cora nob compere ad respond eid Roes de dote p'dca
vos pp? absencia sua ?ra ad eo petita capi feclstis i manu
nfam & defalta pponitis ut die adjudicare ac si sane intis
esset & 9scie : vob igit' mandam® qd sup hoc ad defaltam
no pcedatis 33 inq'sicom inde fieri fac Et si sic ut p'dcm
est esse inveflitis a cognicone pfate loqle penit® desistatis
don'= ej®de Jofiis stat® in melius mute? T. IJ; ap Perso?
xiiij die Nof.
Hybn.—^ J. fil Galfri Justic Hybn Salt Cum sicut
intellexim® Magn® fil Olavi Duf pponat s' gq'rere q''sdam
hoies de ?ra nra Hybn ad invadendii tram diici nob diii
Reg Norwag in Insula de Mann! nos 9modo &. honori
ipius IJ; pspi8e cupientes vob mandam® firmi? injungendo

426 ADDENDA.
qd no pmittatis aliq°s de p'dca ?ra Hybn eande ?ra. egredi
ad invadend-' ?ra pfati Reg vl aliq" molestiam ei vl suis
inf rend-'. T. ut s " .
Quod non fiunt alienacones de t ris furiosi. — Mand est
Vic Ebo? qd non pmittat aliquas comutacones seu alien
acones fieri de ?ris vl catallis Robti Geg in baffia sua si
furiosus est ut dici? sj ux & libos suos in possessionem
ea?dem ?ra? & catallo? tuea? & ipos eadm pacifice possi-
dem fac. T. ut sup^.
De manerio de Corbrugg — Mand est Baronib3 de Sc'cio
qd scrutatis rotulis Sccii IJ: scire fac IJ; utrum Rogus fil
Jofiis tenuit manerium de Corebrig p Sviciii militare vl
in socagiii. T. &c.
P' Waltero de Barton. — IJ; concessit Waltero de Barton
qd pp? senectutem-& debelitatem suam non fiat miles aliquo
temge vite sue Et Mand est Vic Lan8 qd ipm Wal?m ad
arma capienda de ce?o non distringat. T. ut s " .
Pro Guidone de Lezinan. — IJ; commisit Guidon de Le.i
zingn! custodiam ?re 8t heredis Radi de Vernun usq, ad
legitimam etate heredum ipius Radi una cum maritagio
eo?de hered-' Et Mand est Alano la Zuche JustiiS Cester
qd eidem Guidon de p'dca custodia plenam seisinam fire
fac sict p'dcm est. T. IJ; apud Shireburn vij. die Jan!.
Pro Samuel Bund-^ Jud'o. — IJ; Justic ad custodiam Judo?
assignatis Saltm Sciatis qd Samuel Blundus Judus optulit
nob dimid-' marcam auri ut de tallag trium milium & D.
marcar-' talliaretur scdm catalla sua sicut ce?i judi de
comunitate London! talliant' Et io vob mandam® qd si
viditis hoc ee ad comodii nfm sic fieri faciatis. T. ut s".
Ballis Port^ Dovor-'. — Mand est Battis Portus Dover-'
qd oms qui volflint tiisfretare p portum suum Iibe tiisire
pmittant tam ificatores q"m alios p'?qm Wiftm de Valenc
frem IJ;. T. IJ; apud Evesham xiiij die Nof^.
Wilts. — Mand est Vic Wiltes qd sii dilone scire fac IJ;
causam qre fire fecit Aaron fit Abrafi jude seisina de maniio
Jofiis de Munem-' de Langeford & q" waranto hoc fecit.
T. ut s".
De Mereduc fil Griffini, — IJ: W. Landaveii! Epo Saltin

THE CLOSE ROLLS. 427
Quod Justic nfi de Banco noie nfo pa?nitati vfe deman-
daf nt inq'sicoem fac de legitimacone Mereduc fii Griffin!
ex nra conscia non emanavit cum alias nob ad mandatum
nfm significastis ipm legitimii esse & de legittimo mfio natu
un non est ncce qd sup hoc i?ata fac inquisicom. T.
ut s".
Ijt Justic de Banco Salt Cum in cuf nfa cora vob Resus
fii Griffin! Amab & Nestam fii Jereword Alfoeii pe?e? f sus
Mereduc fil Griffini una carue ?re cii ptiii i Eddelegon &
dim" car ?re cum ptin! in Lebben-' ut jus &. fieditatem sua
s restitui & gs adfsa obi8et ei nota bastardie & hj® cog-
nicoes ad fcm sp'^tent eccsticu nos mandavim® ven: pii W.
Land' epo ut nos 8tificaret de p'missis q' dilignti fca sup
hoc inquisicoe nob resc'psit ipm M'Jeduc no esse bastardii
set legitimii un! si p'dca excepto bastard ei i?ato cora vob
obiciat' nolum® qd ei obstet aliq" modo Quia sup hoc p
pfatum Epm 8tificati restituim® ipm tamq" legitimu ad fie-
ditate. T. ut s°.
P Witio Sever de BristolL—^ Baftis Bristoft Saltm
Quia Willms Sever de Bristoft visor opaconu cast' nfi
ejusdem vift freqn? agit ptib3 Hibii ad negosciand-' Ita
qd visui opaconum illar' nequit intende sic intellexim®
vob mandam® qd de vob quendam aliu idoneu eligatis qui
loco p'dci Wifti opacoib3 p'dcis faciendis una cum aliis
visorib3 ea?dem opaconii fideli? & diligen? intendat &
nome ejus scire fac. T. ut s".
De necessariis inveniendis ad panem R.faciend .(4) — Mand
est Baftis Ebo? qd pistori Ijt que IJ; mittit usq, Ebo? ad
pvidenciam fadendam de pane contra instans festum Na
tal Dili inveniant frufiitum & alia que necessaria sunt ad
p'dcm panem faciendii Et cum IJ: scifit 8tum custum IJ; tc
illud ei fac allocari. T. IJ: apud Wigorn xvi. die Nov'.
De robis datis.— Man& est P. Chacepork qd iiij'"' mili:-
tibj Gwydon de Lyzman fac fire q"tuor robas Integra^
cum penul de minuto vario sicuti senescalli IJ:. T. IJ: apud
Wigorn xvij. die Nof.
De ponte de Tinggewith. — Mand est Vic Glouc qd auxi-
(4) Mem. 31.

428 ADDENDA.
lium dudum a ^ concessum ad regacoem pontis de Twigge-
worth ex" Glouc p pbos & legal hoies de ptib3 illis a sin
glis tiiseuntib3 cum ifieimoniis p eundem pontem capi fac
sic fieri consuevit donee p'dcus pons reg?. T. ut sup".
De paup'ib'^ pascendis. — Mand est W. de Hafhuft & E.
de Weston qd in festo bi Edwardi pximo futuro pasci fac
in magna aula IJ; Westm-' tot paupum quot in aula ilia
pasci po?unt. Et IJ: cum scifit custum bre de libate eis
inde fieri fa8. T. ut sup".
De Gladio emendo, — Mand est Edwardo de Westm-' qd
cum festinacoe pquirat quendam pulcrum gladiii & scau-
berg ej®dem de serico & pomellum de argento bene &,
ornate coogiri Sc q^ndam pulcram zonam eidem append!
fac. Ita qd gladium ilium s" fcm hat apud Ebo? de quo IJ:
A Regem Scot Illustrem cinglo militari decorare possit in
instanti festo Nativit Dnise. T. ut sup".
De lecto ad opus Scot . — Mand est J. de Sumerco? & IJ;
scissori qd sn-' dilone fi fac unum tectum preciosum Ita
qd illud decen? & ornate fcm IJ; fiat ap Ebo? ad dandum
illud A Regi Sco? illustri in instanti festo Nativitatis Diiiae.
T. ut sup".
De calcarib'^ faciendis. — Mand est Edward de Westifi
qd sii dilone fieri fac unii par calcariu de argento & ea de-
aurari cum ligamtis de serico decen? & ornate fcis Ita
qd calcaria ilia sic fca IJ: hat apd Ebo? ad opus A. Reg
Sco? in instanti festo Natal.
Pro A. Rege Scot , — Mand est custodi fores? de Gautri3
qd cum A. Rex Sco? p fores? p'dcam transiret ipm in
eadem venari & deduccoes suas hre gmittat. T. IJ; &c.
Pro A. Rege ScoP, — Mand est Vic Northumbr qd'cum
A. Rex Sco? veiJit ad gtes Novi Castri sug Tinam in rede-
undo a IJ: versus Sco? ipm in Castro IJ: ibidem hospitari &
exennia de duob3 doliis vini & de carnib3 vel piscib3 &
aliis ex gte IJ: put honori suo vidit convenire ei fac. Et Ijt
cum scifit c®tum illud ei faciet allocari. T. IJ: apud Ebo?
xxx die Dec''.
De robis ad. opus Regis S; Regine. — Mand est, J. de
Sumercote & Rogo Scissori qd de meliorib3 samittis quos

THE CLOSE ROLLS. 429
invenire po?unt sine diione fieri fac quatuor robas duas
videit ad opus IJ; & duas ad opus Regine cum aurifraxis
gemelatis & varii coloris & qd tunice sint de molliorib3
samitis quam pallia & sugtunice & qd pallia furrent-' de
eremino & sugtunice de minuto vario Ita qd Rex fieat
p'dcas robas ornate feas apud Ebo? ad hoc instans fes?
Nativi? diiiag. T. IJ: apud Burtun xxij die Nof.
De robis ad opus R. — Mand est J. de Sumercote & IJ:
Scissori qd j?? illas duas qua"s IJ; fieri p'cepit ad opus suum
fieri fac ad opus IJ: tres robas de Queyntisis videit unam
robam de meliori samito violaco quem invenire po?unt
cum trib3 gvis leopardis in gte an?iori & aliis trib3 in gte
posteriori Et duas de aliis melioribj pannis qui inveniri
po?unt Ita quod robas illas decen? & ornate feas 1^ pmptas
fiat apud Ebof in festo Natat Diii. T. ut sup^.
De coronatore eligendo. — Mand est Vic Devon' qd in
pleno Com-' suo & p assensum ejusdem Com-' loco Rogi
Giffard quondam Coronatoris IJ; qui mortuus est ut dici?
eligi fac alium coronatorem qui p'stito sacramen?.
De salmonib^ contra festum Natalis. — Mand est Ballivis
de Novo Castro sup Tynam quod non obstante mandato IJ:
alias eis derecto de xxx salmonib5 Calewaf IJ: mittendis
apud Ebo? contra instans festum Natat Diii venire fa8 usq,
Ebo? CC. salmones Ita qd eos fiat ibidem in festo p'dce
& hoc nullatenus omitta? et IJ: cum scifit custum illud eis
fac allocari. T. IJ: apud Notingham vij. die Decembr-'.
P' A. Rege ScoF.— Mani est Thom'^ de Stanford qd de
omib^ ?ris & tenementis que Alex quondam Rex Sco?
tenuit de IJ: in capite in Com-' Cumberl & que capta fSnt i
manum Ijt occone mortis ejusdem Reg A. Regi Sco? qui
nunc est plenam seisinam fire fa8. T. ut sup".
De Escaetore substituto. — IJ: constituit Brianum de
Brompton escaetorem suum in Comitatu Salop loco Wiftmi
de Ercalewe quondam escaetoris in Com-' p'dce quem pp?
sui ipius inpotenciam ab hujusmodi officio IJ: reddidit
absolutum. Et mand est eidem Briane quod officio illo
dece?o diligen? intendat p'stito p'us sac "mento fidelitatis

430 ADDENDA.
cora Abbe de Psore escaetor Tjc & Vi8 IJ: Salop put moris
est. T. IJ: &c.
De ntcato Sf feria in maiiio de Meleburn. — Quia IJ: vult
quondam feriam singlis annis p tres dies duraturam videit
in Vig in die & in c'stino Sci Micfi 8c quoddam ificatum
singlis septim-' p die Sabbati teiJi apud maiiiiii IJ: de Mele
burn. Mand est Vi8 Noting 8c Derb qd ificatum illud 8c
feriam illam p tota bailiam suam publice clamari 8c tenii
fac sic p'dcin est. T. IJ: 8cc.
Eodem modo mand est Vic Ley8.
De constructone Pontis de Hethbech, — Mand est Justi8
pximo itiii!antib3 in Comitatu Noting qd de deodandis
dividendis pvenientib3 de eodem itinle fac fire custodib3
ogaconum pontis de Hethebeeh x marc ad censtruccoem
ejusdem pontis de dono IJ:. T. IJ: 8cc.
De homine cariando, — Mand est Vi8 Northamp? qd unii
Tunellum cere 8c quendam hoiem nup vulneratum in fores?
de Selveston cariari fac usq, Wudestokf 8c IJ: cum scifit
custum illud ei fa8 alocari. T. 8cc.
De colorib'x, ad depingend' Garderob' Regine, — Mand est
Rade de Dungun custodi libo? IJ: qd Magfo Wifto Pictori
IJ; hre fa8 colores ad depingendem gvam Garderobam
Regine 8c emendandum picturam Magne Camere IJ: 8c
caifie Regine. T. IJ; 8cc.
De empcoibT, fac in Nundinis Staunford. — IJ: mittit
Johem de Sumercote 8c Rogerum Scisserem ad empcoes IJ:
faciend in Nundinis Stanford sicut IJ: eis injuxit. Et Mand
est Baftis suis Stanford qd in omib3 que ad empcoes hj®
ptinet eis intendentes sint 8c respondentes cum eis fSint
requisiti. T. ut s".
De inquisicoe fac de morte ho'is, — Mand est Vic Rotel
qd p sacramentum pbo? 8cc. de Com-' suo p ques rei f itas
Sec. diligen? inquir qui in?fe8int quendam hoiem ignotum
qui inventus fuit in aqua de Empingham. Et omes illos
g inquis illam culpabiles invenlit g corpa sua attachiari 8c
imprisona IJ; salve custodiri fac donee 8cc. T. IJ; 8cc.
De providencia contra, — Mand est Vic Glouc qd ems

THE CLOSE ROLLS. 431
apros 8c layas IJ: salitas qui sunt in custodia sua ad Regem
venire fac usq, Westm-' cent' instans festum Pasch Et
IJ; cum scifit cust' 8cc. T. IJ; apud Westifi xvi. die Marc.
Eodem mode Mand est Vic Cantebr' qd pvideat IJ: in
baftia sua cont" instans festum Pascfi de vj gruib3 8c xij
cingnis 8c illos regi fire fac in Vigil Pascfi 8cc.
Eodem modo Mand est Vic Middelsex de CCC gallinis
Ix pullis vj cap'"ol Sc iij baconib3.
Eodem modo Mand est Vic Essex de CCC gallinis Ix
pullis vj capriol xii bob3 xx multenib3 ^ q"tuor mit eve?
& iij braonib3.
Eodem modo Mand est Vic Surr 8c Sussex de DC.galli-
XX
nis vj puft xij capriol 8c vi braonib3.
Eodem modo Mand est Vic Kane de CCC gallinis Ix
putt vj capriol xx multonib3 8c iij braon-'.
Mand est Ballivis Suth? 8c captorib3 vino? Ijt ibidem qd
xvi doi vini que W. Sa? Eps venire fecit usq, Suth? a ptib3
t"nsmarinis ad epus suum eidem Epo sine dilone fire
gmittat ducenda quo volffit.
Mand est Battis de Winchelsea qd venire fac apd
Westm-' contra instans festum Pasch MM placiar' MMMM
ifilingor-' xxiiij dor-' C soles xl Cungr frisces si inveniri
poPunt & alium bonum piscera ad opus IJ:. Et p'dcm pis-
cem venire fac sic p'dcm est Ita qd sit ibidem in Vig
festi p'dci summo mane & hoc sicut se 8c sua diligunt nul
latenus omittant Et custum quod ad hoc posffint IJ; in con-
tinenti illud reddi fac. T. IJ; 8cc.
P' Will'o de FortibT, Com-^ Albemarl', — Quia IJ; Talliari
fecit dominica sua g Angl Mand est Vic Ebo? qd Witto
de Fortib3 Com-' Albemarl fac fire ronabile tallagiu de
hominib3 ^'^^^ ^^ ^'^ tenentib3 in manlie de Poklinton quod
aliqii fuit diiicum IJ;. T. IJ; 8cc.
P' Will'o de Valeric' .—Mani est Vic Oxoii qd Battis
Witti de Valenc de Bampton fire fac returna brium IJ;
salvis IJ; placitis omib3 eo?dem brium 8c emib3 aliis ad IJ;
ptinentib3 de eosdem brib3. T. IJ; 8cc.

432' ADDENDA.
D' ponend-^ p' Ballium.— Ro^tns le Mazun captus &
deiitus in prisona IJ: Wyorn' p morte Aluredi Pertricfi un
rectat® est fit lit?as Vic Wygorn' qd ponat' g ballium.
T. Ijt apud Reding xvi. die Juri. Mem. 13.
P' Jacobo fii' Flur'ju'do. — Monstravit Ijt Jacob3 fii Flur'
qd Samuel fil laac de Norwic Abraham & Isaac nepotes
ejus injuste & cont" gsuetudine Judaismi disseisifunt eum
de quadam plac in Londoii q"m idem Samuel ei p cartam
suam dimiSat. Et Mand' est Eduuardo de Westm' Witto
le Bretun' & Thome Esgun qd g xpianos & judos diligente
fac inquis & si eundem Jacobum injuste de placea ilia in
venlit erectum tunc ipm cum justic sine dilone reseisi fac.
T. Ijt apud Winton xxi. die Juni. Mem. 13.
De virgis ad gurgitem R. — Mand est Constab Sci Bria
veft qd in foresta I^ de Dene fac fiere Vi8 Glou8 virgas
q"ntum necesse fSit ad Gurgitem IJ; & dimid' in aq" Sa-
brine regandos q°s constab ^ Glouc fit in custodia sua.
T. IJ: apd Clarendon v. die Jul. Mem. II.
P' Paulino Peyvre emptor R 8f Joha uxore ejus. — Quia
?ra q"m diis J. IJ: pf nf dedit Thome le Esquier pfi Jofie
uxoris Magfi PauliiJ emptoris IJ; cuj® heres ipa est in Tyd-
well & Weston' q"m ?ram dcis Paulino & Jofie IJ: confir
mavit g cartam suam fiiit escaeta dei ?ris IJ: de Honore
Pef eft de Noting & no de dnico corone IJ;. Mand' est
Thome de Stanford & See suis ad assidend' tallagiu in
Comb3 de Noting & Derb qd sug ipm PauliiJ vl sup
tenentes ipius Paulin-' de ?ris p'dcis nullum tallagiu assid i
fac & si quod assidif it illud eisdem Paulino & hoib3 suis
penit® remittat. T. IJ: apud Clarendon viij. die Julij.
Mem. II.
P' W. de Ferr Con? Derb''.— Iji Vic Lane Saltm Quia
concessim® g cartam Rram diico & fideli iiro Wifto de Ferr''
qd ipe & hedes sui fieant Svientes suos ad pacem Rram
custodienda in? Ribbel & Mers sic Ranul quendam Coin
Cestf cui p'dcam ?ram dedim® & cuj® unus heredu ipe est
ees fire consuevit tibi p'cipim® qd p'dcm Coifi in libtate ilia
manutenens dist'ngas hoies illius patrie ad faciend' eisdem
§vientib3 in vicutualibj & aliis ea que eis fa8e consueverut

THE CLOSE ROLLS. 433
temge Comitis Cester p'dci Ita in hiis exegiidis te gerens
qd p defcu cui ad nes inde querela non gveniat iterata ,
T. IJ: apud Clarendon ix. die Julij. Mem. 10.
P' £ Rege Sco/'.— Mand est Thome de Muleton cus
todi Feres? de Englewode qd gmittat hoies A. Reg Sco?
de Perentfi, Scetteby, Langwatheby, Soureby, Salechild &
Carlatun fire husbote & heybote & comuna pasture & alias
libtates in bosco de Soureby & alibi in p'dca Fores? siii
aliquo impediiiito sic temge Alex pfis p'dci A. cuj® heres
ipe est fire cosuef unt. T. IJ; apud Clarendon xij. die Julij.
Mem. 10. _
Pro Rado capello canoico de Pencrez. — Quia IJ: accepit p
Inquis inde fcam quod diiice haye sue de Teddesleg Chyst-
lyng Gagfiley que sunt in fores? de Kanokf sunt in pechia
Iibe capelle ^ de Pencrich Et quia IJ: no vult aliquas de-
cimas do debi? de p dictis hails detinere Mand est G. de
Langel Justic foreste qd decimam pannag & feni de eisdem
haiis Rado cappfto canoico de Pencricfi qui gcipit oins
decimas de aliis dnicis ^ de Pencricfi gtinentes ad p ben-
dam suam ejusdem capelle sine difficultate fire fac. T. IJ:
apud Merleberg xxij. die Julij. Mem 9.
De tunica Sf dalmatica fac". — Mand est Eduuard de
WestnJ qd de panne que IJ: ei tiismittit & de alio panne
albo listato que penes se fit fieri fac tunicam & dalmaticam
latas & amplas cum aurifgie lato sug spatulas & circa ma-
nucas. T. Ijt apud Merlebge xxiiij. die Julij. Mem. 9.
De tunica ^ dalmatica linienda. — Mand est Eduuardo
de WestiQ qd sine diione liniri fac de sindone viridi tuni
cam & dalmaticam quas ei nug IJ: injunxit faciend-'. T. IJ:
apud Merlebge. Mem. 9.
De Fris alienatis in Windes <Sf VeFi Windes cap in manu
Regis.— Mani est Constabular'' de Windes qd cap in manii
IJ: oins ?ras & tenemta alienata a dnicis & villenag IJ: in
Windes & Ve?i Windes scdm qd continetur in inquis quam
nug inde fee g p''ceptum I^ & ea salvo custodiat don"" aliud
inde IJ: p'cepit. T. Ijt apud Merlebge xxvi. die Jul.
Mem. 9.
P' Willo deteto in prisona de Windes" .—Cum juri sit dis-
F F

434 ADDENDA.
sonum & inusitatum qd quis in regno IJ: Angl puniat' p
aliquo delicto quod in ?ris alienis fe8it Mand est Consta-
bulaf Cast' de Windes qd Wiftm que p quedam forisfco
quod fee in Norifi ut dicif aristari fee & captum tenet sine
diione delibari fac gmittes ipm licite abire que volffit.
T. Iji apd Merlebge xxvij. die Jul. Mem. 8.
P' Alie fil' Regit? le Soyre. — Ijt dedit Alie fii Regin! le
Soyere unam vaccam & unum vitulum unum porcum &
unum purcellum & omia alia catalla que fSunt Henr le
Roter viri, ipius Alie qui suspens fuit p lafcinie. Et
Mand est Vic Wilts qd omia pdca catalla capta in man-'
1^ occone pdca in quo?cumq, manib3 existant eidem Alie
sine diione fire fac. T. Ijt apud Merlebge xxvij. die Julij.
P' Jacobo fil' Flurye. — Monstravit IJ: Jacob3 fit Flurie
qd cum Samuel de Norwic & Abraham nepos ejus vendi-
disset ei quoddam debitum p ee? starr-' scdm legem & con
suetudinem judaismi IJ; inque quidem debito Petrus de
Knevet eisdem Samueli & Abrafi tenebaf iidem Samuel &
Abrafi convencoem in? ees fcam de debito pdco non
obsvafunt Et Mand est Pfie Luvel & Justic suis c®tediam
judo? assigna? qd notatis coram eis p dcis Samuel & Abra
ham eidem Jacobo in p missis scdm legem & consuetudine
judaismi plenam & celere justic fac exibi. T. IJ: apud ut
s". Mem. 8.
De guib-^dam disfngetid' ad repacoem poncium. — Rex
Vic Berkf Saltm Quia accepimus p inquisicoem qua fieri
fecim® qd Witts Prinke Witts de Gareford Elias de la
Wese Jofis Fulke & Wittius Nort una cum quib3dam aliis
pticipib3 suis debiit regare quosdam Pentes in Baffia tua
pp? quo? repaconis defcm Abbas de Abbendeii nup fuit
aificiatus tibi p cipimus qd distringas p'dcos Wittm Wittin
Eliam Jofiem & Wiftm ad gticipiand-' una cu p'dcis Abbe
& pticipib3 suis de.aiflciamento illo scdm porcom ipos inde
contingente. T. IJ; Wedestok ij. die Aug. Mem. 8.
D' Joh'e Frome custodiend' . — Mand est Vic Oxon qd
Jofiem Frome captum p morte Prioris de Campania a
Gilbte de Segrave recipiat & in p'sona IJ; salvO c®ted-^ donee

THE CLOSE ROLLS. 4^5
IJ: aliud inde p''cegit. T. IJ: apud Wedestok ij. die Augsti.
Mem.. 8.
D' Galfr' de Wygeton capiendo, — Mand est Vic Here
ford qd statim visis lit?is istis cap' Galfrid de Wygetheii
clicum arcfid Hereford-' & ilium sub salva custod-' cariari
fac usq, Windes libandum ibidem Constab Cast' Ijt cui Ijt
p'cepit qd ilium recipiat & salvo ousted-' donee aliud inde
IJ: p cepit et hoc caute fac Et custum 8c cariagiu quod ad hoc
& circa cariagiu Jofiis de Frome usq, Wodstok pesffit cum
illud scifit ei fac allocari. T. Ijt apud Wedestok iij. die
Julij. Mem. 8. The Close Rolls. Page 305.
[In a recent publication there are some miscellaneous
Extracts firom the Close Rolls of King John; to which the
ensuing remarks are prefixed. " The following extracts
from the Close Rolls ef the reign of King John, chiefly of
the 7th and 9th years, have been selected from a valuable
collection, which has been obligingly communicated for
the use of this work. Many of the articles contain infor
mation of some importance : others, it is presumed, will be
found to comprise curious and amusing memorials of a
very interesting period. An immense fund ef materials
exists among the Tower Records for the elucidation of the
whole of that reign, which, notwithstanding the extensive
and important collections of Prynne on the subject, are
but imperfectly known to the public." — Excerpta Historica :
or Illustrations of English History. Part IV. p. 393.
December, 1830.]
Carte — Catalogue des Rolles Gascons, Normans et Fran f ois,
conserves dans les Archives de la Tour de Londres.
Page 306.
" I have been informed, that Cardinal Fleury, at the
latter end of his administration, either issued, or intended
to issue, an arret very similar to this oppressive statute of
Quo warranto. Upen the general alarm occasioned by this
F f2

436 ADDENDA.
design, the French inhabitants of those provinces, which
formerly belonged to the crown ef England, were furnished
in several instances with evidence of their titles to fran
chises from our records."
" This alarm probably occasioned the publication of the
Rolles Gascoynes by Carte, in the year 1743. This va
luable collection of the titles of all the records in England,
which relate to the French provinces, formerly under the
English dominion, and chiefly Gascony, being calculated
for the use ef the French, is preceded by a Preface in that
language. The titles only of these records make two folio
volumes ; it would certainly, however, be a work deserving
the encouragement of both nations, and of all learned men
throughout Europe, to print these instruments at length :
the same may be said with regard to the records in the
Bermingham Tower at Dublin, some of which go as far
back as the reign of Edward the First." — Barrington, Ob
servations on the more Aticietit Statutes, pp. 109, 110. See
also, ante, p. 303.
" Dr. Ducarel (the learned Keeper of the Lambeth
Library) informs me," says Nichols, " That the authority
of the records in the Tower, so far as relates to Normandy
and other provinces in France formerly belonging te the
English, have always, and to his knowledge within these
last forty years, been admitted as evidence in the courts of
judicature, where exemptions from the quartering ef soldiers
on their estates, or any ether privileges formerly granted,
have been received as evidence; the instruments being
duly authenticated by the keeper ofthe records." — Nichols,
Anecdotes of .Bowyer, p. 202, 4te. edit.
[The King's Library contains an interleaved copy of
Carte's Catalogue, with some manuscript notes.]
Aticietit Records of Ireland, Page 312.
[The reader will find some notices of the ancient Irish
Records in Nicolson, The Irish Historical Library, chap
ter vii.; and Sir W. Betham, Digtiities, Feudal and Par
liamentary, chapters x. — xiii.]

THE PIPE ROLLS.

437

Pipe Rolls, Pages 312—317.
[A general Catalogue of the Great Rolls ef the Pipe
now preserved at Somerset House, has lately been formed
by the desire of the Record Beard. Of this Catalogue the
following is a copy.] [From Manuscript Collection.]
A General Catalogue of the Great Rolls op the Pipe.

Began

1

Kings' Names.
to
reign.
Reigned.
Observations.
A. D.
r.
M.
D.
Stephen . .
1135
18
10
4
f The Roll of the Sth year only
\ in existence.
Henry II. .
1154
34
8
11
1 The 1st, 8th, and 19th Rolls are
I missing.
Richard I. .
1189
9
9
0
The Series is complete.
John . . .
1199
17
6
13
Ditto ditto.
Henry III. .
1216
56
0
28
The 1st Roll is missing.
Edward I. .
1272
34
7
21
The Sth Roll is missing.
Edward II. .
1307
19
6
18
The Series is complete.
Edward IIL.
1327
50
4
27
The 21st Roll is missing.
Richard II. .
1377
22
3
8 The 20th Eoll is missing.
Henry IV. .
1399
13
5
20 The 2d and 7th Rolls are missing.
Henry V. .
1413
9
5
11
The Series is complete.
Henry VI. .
1422
38
6
4
Ditto ditto.
Edward IV..
1461
22
1
5
The Sth Roll is missing.
Edward V. .
1483
0
2
13
There is no Roll for this reign.
Richard III..
1483
2
2
0
The Series is complete.
[It is generally known that there are in the Tower two
Pipe Rolls, duplicates of these in the Exchequer. The
one, the 6th Richard I.; the other, the 7th Jehn.(l) A
solitary Record of this description is also preserved amongst
the treasures of the Chapter House. It is a duplicate Rell
for the 3d year ef John. Besides the returns ef the Rents,
Issues, and Profits arising in each county, and forming the
revenue of the Crown, it contains those that follow, viz.
(1) [Eeports from Select Committee on the Public Records, p. 65 ; and
Grimaldi, Origines Genealogicce, p. 37.]
438 addenda.
Returns of debts owing frem the Jews — of Pleas of the
Bishops' Courts — of Escheats — of Oblata, or voluntary
Fines — of Nova Oblata, or known debts due te the Crown
— of Pleas and Perquisites — of Amercements — of Fines
and Scutages ef Knights' Fees — of Acquittances and Dis
charges by Writ, &c. — ef the first Scutage for King John
— of the second Scutage — of the third Scutage — of the
third Scutage for King Richard I. — of the first Scutage
assessed at 2 marks — of Pleas ef the Forest — of Fines
paid by Barons fer going out of the country, with a long
list of their names, and fines paid for being absent — of
Fee Farms, Knights' Fees, Wards, Marriages, Heirships,
&c. &c. &c.]
The Inquisitions Post Mortem {Rolls Chapel), Page 337.
[The late Mr. Kipling, in his Return to the Order of the
Select Committee of 1800, stated, that there are complete
and correct Calendars, or Indexes, fer each year, ef the
Names of persons, alphabetically arranged, upon whose
death Inquisitions were found, with references to the
bundles and numbers of the Inquisitions ; which Calendars,
or Indexes, were from time to time made as the bundles of
Inquisitions were brought into the Chapel ; but there are
no Office Indexes, er Calendars, ef Places. He also stated
that he had, among Mr. Rooke's Collection ef Manuscripts,
Calendars, or Indexes, of Manors and Lands, alphabetically
arranged, referring to the names of persons to whom live
ries were granted of the estates ef their ancestors, and
containing the names of the ancestors, and the times at, or
about, which they died, by which means many of the
Inquisitions post mortem may be readily referred to by
searching the Ofiice Calendar under the names of those
ancestors. In his further Return, Mr. Kipling recom
mended that all the Ofiice Indexes to these Inquisitions
should be printed for public use. — First Report from the
Select Committee of the House of Commons, upon the Public
Records, pp. 86. 95.]

PUBLICATION OF THE EARLY WILLS. 439
The Publication ofthe Early Wills. Pages 338, 339.
[The ensuing extracts from two letters upon this subject,
not long since addressed by an eminent antiquarian writer
to a member of the House of Commons, give the most
ample and correct account, that the Compiler is acquainted
with, of the valuable miscellaneous information to be ob
tained from this species of document. The suggestions
respecting the plan of the proposed publication will not be
lost whenever the completion ef more urgent duties shall
enable the Record Board to continue the operation ef
printing on a mere extensive scale than at present.]
I.
" Few pei-sons estimate more highly than I do the value of the service
you have rendered to the pubhc, and especially to the historical part of
the public, by collecting sound information respecting the depositories of
testamentary evidence, and the periods through 'which the series of the
wills contained in them is extended. This is a valuable point gained.
But, I believe, I shall only speak what are the feeUngs and wishes of all
persons, who have ever had occasion to use this species of evidence for
historical, or Uterary purposes, if I say that the benefits conferred on the
historical hterature of the country would be much enhanced, if these de
positories could by any means be opened more freely for literary pur
poses ; or what would be far better, and is more practicable, if the public
could be made acquainted more particularly with what they contain
through the press ; that is, whose wills are to be found in them, and what
is most curious, or important, in relation to matters of pubhc, or general,
interest in the wills themselves."
" There is a very fair and obvious objection to allowing offices, which
contain documents, that may become of importance as evidence touching
valuable rights, to be thrown more open than they are to even literary
inquiry. But what strikes me as being quite practicable, and what would
nearly answer the purpose as well, is that some one, or more, persons
should be authorised to inspect these offices on behalf of the pubhc, or, if
you will, of the historical and literary part of the pubhc ; who should have
free power to make transcripts, extracts, or abstracts, and whose duty it
should be to remark every thing which, on a very wide construction ofthe
expression, seemed to hear on the history, or on the hterature (to use
the most comprehensive term) of the nation. I do not mean that he
should ask for the will of this, or that, particular person, but that he should
read the whole series of wills consecutively, keeping constantly in view
that it was his duty to remark every thing, which could illustrate the his
tory ofthe English nation in any of its departments, and that the results

440 ADDENDA.
of such an examination should be given to the public upon the plan of the
pubhcations under the Record Commission."
" Of course, I do not contemplate what may be called the recent wills.
There is an objection which instantly presents itself in respect to the
printing notices of these, did not the greatness ofthe mass of recent wills
render it almost hopeless to attempt to make them available for historical
and literary purposes. I look only to the wills of the Plantagenet, Tudor
and Stuart reigns. These, I think, judging by the Returns, (6) can hardly
exceed from 800 to 1 000 fohos in all the depositories in the kingdom,
which is very far from being a number that would not easily be found
manageable in the hands of one, or two, skilful and zealous persons ; nor
do I see that any private feeling could be violated by any disclosures from
the documents left by parties, who have not been in existence for the last
hundred and fifty years. The work would be historical, literary, anti
quarian: nor do I think that the person, who undertook it, ought to
think himself discharged from the duty of accompanying the Record
(for Record it would be) by such prefaces, notes, and other editorial
matter, as would tend to make the work more useful to those, who should
consult it."
" I have before expressed to you how strong is my persuasion of the
importance of this particular species of evidence to the historical inquirer.
There is scarcely any department of what is called the Antiquarian
Literature of the country, that is, its exact and curious historical htera
ture, which would not be greatly benefited by it :— Pohtics, Manners,
Opinions, Language, Biography, the Arts, Topography, would all have
a new and valuable light shed upon them; while it would be the creation
of a new system of gentiUtial antiquities, a department of our national
history, which is at present in a state of utter confusion, a confusion which
is for ever affording opportunities for the advancing of unfounded claims
to national honotirs. It will far exceed, I will venture to say, in use and
value, any single work yet pubhshed by the Record Commission, with
the exception of the Fadera, if that were a work entirely new, and it
would have this advantage over them, that its value would be perceived
at once by that part of the public, who cannot so well estimate the value
of many ofthe works already pubhshed under the Commission; for there
are few persons in the reading, or the better, classes of society, who would
not have occasion to resort to such a work for information wanted by
them, and it might even be read by many as a work of interest and
general curiosity."
" At present very httle is known of what these depositories contain.
From time to time a single will is published of some eminent person, and
this is never done without showing in a particular instance the value of
(6) [Returns respecting the Jurisdiction, Records, Emoluments, and Fees of
Ecclesiastical Courts — Sessional Papers — House of Commons, 26th March, 1830.]

PUBLICATION OF THE EARLY WILLS. 441
this species of document. Some of our topographical and genealogical
works contain notices of testamentary documents, and the value and
importance of this particular species of document are always at once dis
cerned. There is at Oxford a large collection of abstracts made by
Dodsworth, in the time of Charles I., at the offices in London and at
York, which are amongst the most valued parts of his labours; but with
that single exception, I know not that there is to be found in the collec
tions of any former antiquary, any large number of copies, or abstracts, of
wills, so that the contents of these depositories may be said to be almost
unknown. They are a mine known to be rich, but the particular course
of the veins not understood. * » * Indeed 1 can scarcely imagine a
question, involving a point of genealogy, to which such a work as that,
which I now contemplate, would not apply, and in which it would not
very materially assist in guiding those, who had to pronounce upon it, to
a sound decision."
" In reference to claims to dignities, there is one thing specially to be
observed as showing the importance of this species of evidence. WiUs
are ahnost the only documents, which show the younger issue of our early
peers. The Inquisitions seldom recognise the existence of more than
the eldest son. But the claims generaUy advanced, are founded upon a
real, or supposed, descent from some younger issue of a person known to
be entitled to the dignity."
" In the lower department of our gentUitial antiquities, there is no
moving a step without having recourse to wUls : and when such an inquiry
is instituted, it is a great point to know even what wiUs of the persons,
who compose the Une, or who are supposed to do so, may be found, and
in what offices. Of this you have had yourself abundant illustration in
your own inquiries. You have seen how useful this species of evidence
is in estabUshing the statements of the Heralds made on their visitations,
in extending the information they have preserved, and even in correcting
it; while, in respect of families, who though fairly claiming to rank as
gentry, did not record pedigrees at the visitations through obstinacy,
dread of expense, absence from their county, or whatever cause, the wflls
are ahnost the sole depositories of sound information; without them,
nothing that is really valuable in this department can ever he accom
plished." " No history of any distinguished person can be said to he complete,
which does not contain his wfll. See, for instance, the wiU of Shakespear.
It is by inferences from that document, that we get our soundest and best
information respecting his personal history. Mflton's wiU was only
nuncupatory, and is very short; but if it had been a formal document,
with how much interest it would have been read. Malone's Life of
Dryden owes much of its curiosity and exactness to his having availed
himself, more than any other writer, of this species of evidence, and every
one, who reads the Biographia Britannica, feels the value of the few notes

442 ADDENDA.
scattered over its pages fi-om wills consulted by Oldys. I lately saw a
wiU (an unproved one) of Thomas Earl of Arundel, which abounded in
curious notices of the arts and artists of his time. The wflls of the actors of
the time of Elizabeth and James, pubUshed from office copies by Malone
and Chalmers, supply nearly one half of what we know of dramatic his
tory at that interesting period. This, which may be truly regarded as
compared mth other departments, but an insignificant portion of our
nation's history, is the only one, which has yet received its fuU iUustration
from this species of document, or rather, I should say, where an approach
has been made to a fuU iUustration ; the success of an appUcation to this
source of information is most evident; and what is here done might,
I am persuaded, be done ivith equal effect for any other department, the
history of hterature, art, navigation, commerce, manufactures, and the
personal history of every one, who has estabhshed for himself a name, or
who is entwined with the affections of the people to whom he belongs."
" I wiU mention, in relation to this point, a circumstance which occurred
not long ago to * * *. In the inquiries respecting the descendants of
Sir Thomas More, with a view to obtaining something like the truth
respecting them, there was found, at Doctor's Commons, the wiU of his
grandson, Thomas More, made about the beginning of the reign of
James I. It is a document of great importance in that inquiry, and it is
in other points of view rich in cmious matter. * * * read it two or
three times over, and brought away as much as he could in his memory,
but had not the expense of the transcript been a consideration, he would
certainly have gladly printed the whole, and his little volume on this
subject would have been more complete."
" A pedigree of CasweU, which I found in a misceUaneous volume at
the Museum, contained a marriage with a ' John Mflton, of London,
gent.' I hoped that this would have determined the unsettied question
to what mother we owe one, who is so great an honour to the English
name and nation. The natural resort was to the wflls of the CasweUs,
two of which were consulted by one equaUy curious with myself in
Uteraty history, when we found sufficient evidence that it could not be
the John Mflton father to the poet."
" But the advantage of such a perusal of these documents as I now
contemplate, as it would increase our store of materials for the history of
every department of our national aifairs, is not to be estimated by what
would he gained from direct inquiry. It is possible, as things stand at
present, to inquire for the wiU of any eminent person, and for the wiU of
his fiiends, and copies may be obtained of them, if they are found. This
tan hardly be done by the curious inquirer, who cannot be expected to
sacrifice his means, as weU as his labour and his time, in a profitless
pursuit; but even this would not lead him to the notices of the person
about whom he was inqmring, or of the department of national history,
which he was intent upon iUustrating, in unsuspected sources. There is

PUBLICATION OF THE EARLY WILLS. 443
no hfe on which this species of evidence has been made more fuUy to bear
than by Mr. Malone in the Lives of Shakespear and Dryden. He in
quired for the wfll of almost every person, whom he knew to be connected
with them ; but we cannot doubt that there would remain notices of these
persons in the wiUs of parties of whom Mr. Malone did not suspect that
they were connected in any way with the great names before him.''
" The wflls of our early sovereigns, and of the members of their famihes,
are already coUected and pubUshed. The work which contains them is
acknowledged by all to be one of gi-eat historical importance, and quite
indispensable to the student in our early historj'. But the wiUs of persons
next to the royal house have never been coUected, and in point of fact
but few of them have ever been printed :• — those ofthe great statesmen, the
bishops, the nobles, persons whose whole Uves were spent in pubUc affairs,
and from whose wiUs may reasonably be expected either facts of importance
in our pubhc history, or illustrations of the mind, temper and feeUng, of
the parties themselves ; and no doubt, descending to persons of less im
portance, but who have been brought into connection in any way with
the pubUc affairs of the countiy, there would not unfi-equently be pre
sented by these unexplored documents, some fact, which would combine
in a serviceable manner with the information, which we already possess."
" In the history of the Uttle feudal sovereignties, or of the ecclesiastical
subdivisions of the kingdom, the benefit of this species of document ia
very great. I may refer, for the proof of this, to any topographical work
in which this species of document has been used. Its value is quite as
apparent as it is in our genealogical and biographical works. But I must
not inflict upon you an interminable letter : nor need I, to one who is so
weU acquainted with these subjects, do more than say further, that most
usefiil and agreeable information might be expected on the private man
ners of our nation, on the mode of thinking, especiaUy on matters of
reUgion, and on the changes which our language has undergone, bj' such
a consecutive perusal of these documents as I have here ventured to
recommend." " If Govemment, or the members of any commission acting under it,
should think this worthy a moment's consideration, the first difficulty,
which would present itself, would probably be, that it would be an under
taking of too great magnitude. I suspect, however, that the magnitude
would not be so overwhelming as at the first sight it njight appear. It
appears by the Returns, that there are very few ofiices which contain any
wills of the Plantagenet reigns, and the whole number of wflls of those
reigns is, I fear, but smaU. I should think that two volumes, of the size
and form of the New Fadera, (that is, of the Parts of the New Fcedera,}
would contain aU that it would be expedient to publish for the Plantage
net and Tudor reigns, and that two volumes more would comprise aU in
the Stuart reigns. On this it is not possible to speak with any degree of
precisign, and perhaps three, rather than two volumes, ought to be
assigned for the Stuart reigns."

444 ADDENDA.
" The contents would be —
" 1. Entire copies of the wflls of the more distinguished persons, or
which contained matter of great pubhc interest."
" 2. Abstracts of wflls of secondary interest, made upon the plan of
those furnished from the wiU offices, but much more complete, containing,
for instance, not merely the names, but in many instances the things
bequeathed, such, indeed, as an antiquary makes for his own use of wflls,
which accidentaUy come before him."
" 3. The fuU description of every other testator as given in the wiU,
with the date, so as to form a complete chronological Index to every
depository of wflls in the kingdom; with extracts, where some single
point was presented of pubhc interest, and (perhaps) of lands bequeathed."
" Such appears to me what ought to be the plan : and I wfll say that
it seems practicable. The work could not be done by deputies, or clerks,
(except to transcribe,) but I make no doubt that there might be found,
who would bring to the undertaking a mind ftimished with the requisite
acquaintance with what has already been done for the historical literature
of England, and in general with a knowledge of what could be made of
pubhc UtiUty in the document before him. My conviction of the impor
tance and great utility of such a work, is the result of some Uttle expe
rience in the use of these documents, and I cannot express it more strongly
than I feel it." II.
" There is one point on which I think more might be said than in my
former letter, to show the pubhc utflity of such a general perusal of the
testamentary evidence in the different offices, as I have ventured to
recommend. Besides the vast utiUty of such a work to every person who
was engaged in any genealogical investigation, it would form a most pow
erfid check upon aU unfounded pretensions to ancestorial honours. This
is not merely a question of the purity of the assembly of Peers, but it is
reaUy one of finance; for claims on ancestorial dignities when successful,
are usuaUy foUowed by grants of pensions. It is therefore of importance
to the country, even in that view, that there should be better means than
are at present provided for meeting claims of this kind, and there are,
perhaps, no means, which could be devised so important and so generally
appUcable, as the affording ready access to all the testamentary evidence
bearing on the case."
" Whether to assist a legitimate claimant, or to meet with a prospect
of success the claims of one, who has no right to the honours to which he
aspires, such a work as I have suggested, in its copies and its abstracts,
or even in its mere calendar of Names of Testators, would be of the
greatest possible use : — ^both directly and indirectly : — directiy, as showing
what wflls exist of the line, which must be proved; and indirectiy, as
showing Testators, who, though not of the line, may be presumed from
any casual connection with the family, to have made any mention of

RECORDS — LAW OF EVIDENCE. 445
them. And, indeed, it is perhaps this indirect assistance, this suggestion
of possible sources of unportant information, tliis opening of a new trea
sury of information, (for I beUeve I may truly say, that there is not an
antiquary in the kingdom, who has any distinct idea of the information
laid up in these ofiices, except that he knows how valuable to him are
often found separate and single pieces of evidence coUected fi-om them,
whence he infers the value ofthe rest,) which gives the pecuUar character
and value to researches in these offices, not only as respects the genealo
gical use, which may be made of these documents, but their use in aU the
various departments of historical inquiry noticed in my former letter."
" If the scheme of copies and abstracts ofthe more important, or curious,
be thought too extensive, it is to be hoped that we shaU at least have the
names and descriptions of the Testators. But I am so impressed with the
importance of doing more than this, — it seems to me that if any thing is to
be done for the advancement of historical knowledge, that this is so much
in advance of every other pubUcation, wliich could be devised for attaining
the end, — that I feel persuaded something of this kind will be done, either
by the existing Ecclesiastical Commission, or by the Record Commission.''
* • * Records — Law tf Evidence. Pages 340, 341.
[This matter net long since engaged the attention of
some members of the Board ef Records ; and the draught
of a bill was prepared to give te certain authentic copies,
written and printed, the validity and force of original
Records. It may be useful to extract the material clause
in this Bill, as the subject is one, the consideration of
which must, fer many reasons, be resumed at no very dis
tant period.] [From Manuscript Collection.]
" And be it further enacted, that it shall and may be
lawful te and for the said Commissioners, er any three, er
more, of them as aforesaid, to order and direct that authentic
copies ef such Public Records, er Muniments, as they shall
think expedient, shall be made and deposited in the British
Museum, or in such ether public repository as they shall
think fit; such copies to be certified as true and authentic
by a Sub-commissioner appointed by the said Commis
sioners as aforesaid, who in his certificate shall state that
such copies have been thrice compared, examined and col
lated by him with the original Record, which certificate

446 ADDENDA.
shall be countersigned by the said Commissioners, or ainy
three, or more, of them. And that all such copies so depo
sited and certified, and countersigned as aforesaid, shall be
of the same validity, force and effect as the original Record,
and be adjudged, deemed and taken as an original Record,
to all intents and purposes whatsoever; and that all ex
emplifications, constats, er copies, of such copies se cer
tified and deposited, shall be received in evidence in the
same manner as exemplifications, constats, er copies, of the
original Record.
And be it further enacted, that all copies of Public
Records certified to be true copies by the keeper, or other
officer having the custody, of such Public Records, or his
known deputy, or by any Sub-commissioner appointed in
manner aforesaid, shall be received as sufficient evidence
without further proof in all Courts of Law, or Equity, and
in all proceedings before either House ef Parliament, or any
Committee ef either House, er before his Majesty's most
honourable Privy Council.
And be it further enacted, that all and every the several
copies of Records and Muniments included in the books
named in the Schedule (A.) hereto annexed, and heretofore
printed by his Majesty's printer, under the direction of the
Commissioners, or which shall be included in any books
to be printed hereafter by his Majesty's printer, by the
direction of the said Commissioners, er any three, or more,
of them, shall also be received as evidence, without farther
proof, in all Courts of Law, or Equity, and in all pro
ceedings before either House of Parliament, or any Com
mittee of either House, or before his Majesty's most Ho
nourable Privy Council. (A.)
The Statutes ofthe Realm, Vols. I. II. III. IV. V. VI.
VII. VIII. IX.
The Parliamentary Writs and Writs of Military Sum
mons, Vols I. II.
The Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, Vols. II. III.
IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI.

INDEXES TO RECORDS. 447
Registrum Magni Sigilli.
Placita de quo Warranto temporibus Edw. I. II. III.
Rotuli Hundredorum temp. Hen. III. & Edw. I. Vols.
I. II.
Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum.
Taxatio Ecclesiastica Angliae & Walliae Auctoritate Ni
cholai IV.
Rotuli Scotiae, Vols. I. II.
Valor Ecclesiasticus temp. Hen. VIII. Vols. I. II. III.
IV. V.
Nonarum Inquisitiones.
Libri Censualis vocati Domesday Book Additamenta.
(The above list does net contain all the works published
by the Commissioners, but those, which are excluded ought
not to be received as evidence, for various reasons which
need not be here detailed. The Domesday published by
the House of Lords ought perhaps to be added to the list.)
Indexes to Records, page 346. (See also pages 15. 305.
306, 318, and the notice of Martin's Index to the Memo
randa in a subsequent page of this compilation).
[It is believed that all the printed Indexes to our English
Records are mentioned in the course of the present work,
with the exception of two works mentioned in the Intro
duction to Ayloffe s Calendars of Ancient Charters (p. xlvi.),
under the titles of Fabian Philipps's List of the Publick
Records ofthe Kingdom, and Sir Julius Casar's Account of
the Records of the Court of Eequests. Of the first there is
no copy in any library to which the compiler has access.
The correct title of the last is. The Ancient State, Authori
ties, atid Proceedings ofthe Court of Requests, {Octob. 1596,)
[Anno 1597, pp. 162.] There is a copy in the Hargrave
Collection in the Museum, which wants the title-page and
the table of contents. The latter fills five leaves. In the
margin of the first page there is the following note in the
handwriting of Mr. Hargrave : — " Bought at late sale of
" Mr. Serjeant Hill's library. I paid 5 shillings for it, though
" it is without a title-page. It possibly was printed with no

448 ADDENDA.
" Other title than what is in this first page at the top. In
" page 148 it stops with 27 Eliz. The remaining 24 pages
" are chiefly occupied with copies of instruments. — F. H.
" 20 July, 1808." The title at the top of the page to
which Mr. Hargrave alludes is, " Actes, Orders, and Decrees
" made by the King and his Counsell, remaining amongst the
" Records of the Court, now commonly called the Court of
" Requests." These Actes, Orders, and Decrees begin the
9th Henry VIL, and end the 27th Elizabeth. It is remark
able that Mr. Lodge, in his Life of Sir Julius Ceesaf^'
should not notice this little work.
That many valuable Records enumerated in the printed
Indexes cannot now be discovered in the depositories in
which they formerly existed, is well known to persons but
slightly acquainted with Record Offices : and it has been
ascertained that many of these have disappeared within
living memory: indeed, there are not wanting recent in
stances of seme having been openly sold as the private
effects ef functionaries sworn, in vain, to preserve them for
the public use. This loss of documents, occasioned partly
by neglect and partly by depredation, would appear immea
surably greater, were the present contents of the offices
compared with the numerous manuscript Calendars, which
we owe te the laudable, but rarely imitated, zeal and in
dustry of ancient keepers, their deputies and clerks.
There is seme reason to believe that in very early times
it was usual to deliver te the Keeper, or Master, ef the
Rolls, upon his appointment te office, an inventory of the
Records confided to his care; a practice admirably adapted
to prevent their loss, or embezzlement; and amongst the
Records at the Tower there is still to be found a deed
made between two Masters of the Rolls in the time ef
King Richard II. (William de BurstaU and the famous
John de Waltham,) that contains an inventory of this kind.
Of this instrument the Compiler possesses a literal trans
lation; a copy of which is subjoined for the use of the
antiquarian reader.]

INDEXES TO RECORDS. 449
[From Manuscript Collection.]
Indenture between William de Burstall and Jolm de Waltham, of the
Custody of the Rolls of Chancer;/ of the Lord the King, made on the
ninth Day of September, in theffth Year of the Reign of King 'Richard
the Second, presetted in the Tower of London,
This Indenture, made between WiUiam de Burstall, Clerk, late Keeper
of the RoUs of the Chancery of the Lord the King, and John de Waltham,
now Keeper of the aforesaid RoUs, witnesseth, that the aforesaid WiUiam,
by virtue of a certain Writ of the same Lord the King to the same WiUiam
directed, did deUver to the aforesaid John the office aforesaid, and the Rolls,
Memoranda, and other evidences under-written, touching the said oflice,
that is to say, seventy-five RoUs in two bags of the time of King Jolm.
Item, forty-eight RoUs of Charters of the time of King Henry the Third,
with a certain RoU of lands given, viz. from the eleventh unto the fifty-
sixth year, and of the same, except the twenty-seventh and thirty-eighth
years, of every year one Roll ; and of the thirteenth, thirty-ninth, forty-
sixth, and fiftieth years, of every year two Rolls. Item, seventy-five RoUs
of Patents of the same King Henry, with a certain RoU of Quinzeme,
viz. of the first year one Roll, of the second year and thenceforwards to
the eleventh year, and of the same, for every year two RoUs; of the
twelfth and thirteenth years, of every (year) one RoU; of the fourteenth
year two Rolls; ofthe fifteenth year and thenceforwards unto the twenty-
second year, and of the same, of every one one RoU ; of the twenty-fifth,
one RoU; ofthe twenty-sixth, two RoUs ; ofthe twenty-seventh and thence
forwards to the thirty-seventh, and of the same, of everyone one Roll;
of the tWrty-eighth, four RoUs; of the thirty-ninth and thenceforwards
unto the forty-third, and of the same, of every one one Roll; of the forty-
fourth, three RoUs; of the forty-fifth and forty-sixth, of each one RoU;
of the forty-seventh and forty-eighth, of each two RoUs ; and one RoU
which contains the forty-sixth, forty-seventh, and forty-eighth; of the
year forty-nine and thenceforwards to the fifty-seventh year, and of the
same, of every year one Roll. Item, sixty-four RoUs of Fines of the
same King Henry, to wit, of the first year one RoU, of the second year
two RoUs, of the third year one Roll, of the fomi;h, fifth, sixth and seventh,
of every one, two RoUs; of the eighth year, three RoUs; of the ninth,
tenth, and eleventh years, of every one two RoUs; of -the twelfth and
thenceforwards unto the twentieth year, and of the same, of every one
one RoU; of the twenty-third year, one RoU; of the twenty-fifth year,
one RoU; of the twenty-sixth year, two RoUs; of the twenty-seventh
year, and thenceforwards unto the fifty-sixth year, and of the same, of
every one, one RoU. Item, seventy-one Close RoUs of the same King
Henry, viz. from the first year unto the sixth year, and of the same, of
every one, two RoUs ; of the seventh year, three RoUs; ofthe eighth and
ninth years, of each two Rolls ; of the tenth year and thenceforwards unto
G G

450 ADDENDA.
the eighteenth year, and ofthe same, of every one, one Roll; ofthe nine
teenth year, two Rolls; of the twentieth, twenty-first and twenty-second
years, of every one, one Roll; of the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth years,
of every one, one Roll; of the twenty-sixth year, two RoUs; of the
twenty-seventh year, one Roll; of the twenty-eighth year, two RoUs; of
the twenty-ninth year, and thenceforwards unto the thirty-eighth year,
and of the same, of every year one Roll; of the thirty-ninth year, three
RoUs; of the fortieth, forty-first, forty-second, and forty-third years, of
every year one Roll ; of the forty-fourth year, two RoUs ; of the forty-fifth
year, and thenceforwards unto the fifty-sixth year, and of the same, of
every one, one RoU ; and two Rolls which contain more Rolls of the fifty-
seventh year. Item, forty-five Rolls of Liberate of the same King Henry.
Item, sixteen bundles of Escheats of the same King Henry, and five bags
with divers Memoranda of the same King Henry. Item, thirty-four
Rolls of Charters of the time of King Edward, son of King Henry, with
a certain Roll of Judaism, viz. from the second to the thirty-fifth year,
and of the same, except the sixteenth year, of every year, one Roll, and
of the fourteenth year, two Rolls. Item, thirty-seven RoUs of Patents
of the same King Edward, viz. from the first year unto the thirty-fifth
year, and of the same, of every year one RoU; and of the twenty-fifth
and thirty-third, of every year two Rolls. Item, thu-ty-five Rolls of Fines
of the same King Edward, viz. from the first year unto the thirty-fifth
year, and of the same, of every year one Roll. Item, thirty-five Close
Rolls ofthe same King Edward, viz. from the first year to the thirty-fifth
year, and of the same, of every year one Roll. Item, thirty-five Rolls of
Liberate, eighteen Vascon RoUs, and fifty-six RoUs of Wales, Reddiseisins,
Protections, Pardons, and other things ofthe same King Edward. Item,
seventy-five bundles of Escheats of the same King Edward, viz. of the
first year, one bundle ; of the second year, two bundles ; of the third,
fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years, of every one, one bundle; of the
eighth year, two bundles ; of the tenth year, one bundle ; of the eleventh
year, two bundles ; of the twelfth, and thenceforwards unto the nineteenth
year, and of the same, of every year one bundle ; of the twentieth year,
two bundles ; of the twenty-first year, two bundles ; of the twenty-second
year, three bundles; of the twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and
twenty-sixth years, of every one, two bundles ; of the twenty-seventh
year, five bundles ; of the twenty-eighth year, two bundles ; of the twenty-
ninth year, six bundles; of the thirtieth, thirty-first, and thirty-second
years, of every one, four bundles ; of the thirty-third year, six bundles ;
of the thirty-fourth year, four bundles; of the thirty-fifth year, four
bundles. Item, six bags with divers Memoranda of the same King Ed
ward. Item, twenty RoUs of Charters of the time of King Edward, son
of King Edward, viz. from the first year unto the twentieth year, and of
the same, of every year one Roll. Item, thirty-seven Patent Rolls of the
same King Edward, son of King Edward, viz. from the first year to the

INDEXES TO RECORDS. 451
twentieth year, and of the same, of every year two Rolls; except that of
the thkd, thirteenth, and twentieth years there is of every year one RoU
only. Item, twenty Fine RoUs of the same King Edward, viz. from the
first year unto the twentieth year, and of the same, of every year one RoU.
Item, twenty Close RoUs ofthe same King Edward, son of King Edward,
fi-om the first to the twentieth year, and of the same, of every year one
RoU. Item, fifty RoUs of Vascony, Scotiand, Reddiseisins, Liberate, and
other things. Item, twenty-nine bundles of Escheats of the same King
Edward, son of King Edward, viz. of the first year, two bundles; of the
second year, two bundles; ofthe third year, three bundles; of the fom-th
year, one bundle; of the fifth year, two bundles; of the sixth year, two
bundles ; of the seventh year, two bundles ; of the eighth year, two
bundles; of the ninth year, one bundle ; of the tenth year, two bundles ;
of the eleventh year, and thenceforwards unto the twentieth year, and of
the same, of every year one bundle. Item, thirty-nine bundles of Inqui
sitions of the same King Edward, son of King Edward. Item, thirty-
seven bundles of the Writs of the same King Edward, son of King Ed
ward. Item, five bags and one black bag with divers Memoranda of the
same King Edward, son of King Edward. Item, forty-one RoUs of
Charters of the time of King Edward the Third, viz. fi-om the first year to
the twenty-fourth year, and of the same, of every year one RoU; of the
twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh years, one RoU only; of
the twenty-eighth year, and thenceforwards unto the thirty-third year,
and of the same, of every year one Roll ; of the thirty-fourth and thirty-
fifth years, one RoU only; of the thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh, and thirty-
eighth years, of every year, one Roll; of the thirty-ninth and fortieth
years, one Roll only ; of the forty-first year, one RoU ; of the forty-second,
one RoU ; of the forty-third, forty-fourth, and forty-fifth, one RoU only ;
ofthe forty-sixth, one Roll; of the forty-seventh, forty-eighth, forty-ninth,
fiftieth, and fifty-first, one RoU oifly. Item, one hundred and twenty-
eight Rolls of Patents of the same King Edward III. viz. of the first
year, three Rolls ; of the second, third, and fourth, of every year two
Rolls; ofthe fifth year, three RoUs; ofthe sixth year, three Rolls; ofthe
seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth years, of every year, two RoUs ; of the
eleventh year, three RoUs ; of the twelfth year, three roUs ; of the thir
teenth year, two RoUs ; of the fourteenth year, three RoUs ; of the fifteenth
year, three RoUs; of the sixteenth year, three RoUs; ofthe seventeenth
year, two Rolls; of the eighteenth year, two RoUs; of the nineteenth
year, and thenceforwards unto the thirty-first year, and of the same, of
every year three RoUs ; of the thirty-second year, two Rolls ; of the thirty-
third, thirty-fourth, and thirty-fifth years, of every year three RoUs; of
the thirty-sixth year, and thenceforwai-ds unto the fifty-first year, and of
the same, for every year two Rolls; and of the forty-fourth, three RoUs.
Item, fifty-three RoUs of Fines of the same King Edward III. viz. from
the first year unto the fifty-first year, and of the same, of every year one
G g2

452 ADDENDA.
RoU; and of the twentieth and twenty-third years, of every year, two
RoUs, Item, seventy-two Close Rolls of the same King Edward III.
viz. ofthe first year, two RoUs; of the second, third, and fourth, of every
year one RoU; of the fifth year, two RoUs; of the sixth year, one RoU;
ofthe seventh year, two RoUs; ofthe eighth, ninth, and tenth years, one
RoU; of the eleventh year, two Bxdls; of the twelfth year, three RoUs;
ofthe thirteenth year, three RoUs; of the fourteenth year, two RoUs; of
the fifteenth year, three RoUs; of the sixteenth year, and thenceforwards
unto the twenty-fourth year, and of the same, of every year two RoUs; of
the twenty-fifth year, and thenceforwards unto the fifty-first year, and of
the same, of every year one RoU; and of the fiftieth year, two RoUs;
Item, fifty-two RoUs of Vascony of the same King Edward III. viz. from
the first to the fifty-first year, and of the same, of every year one RoU;
and ofthe thirty-second year, two RoUs. Item, forty-two RoUs of France
of the same King Edward IIL viz. from the sixteenth unto the fifty-first
year, and of the same, of every year one Roll; and of the nineteenth,
twentieth, twenty-first, and thirty-third, of evety year, two RoUs. Item,
forty-seven RoUs of Scotland of the same King Edward III. viz. fi-om the
first year to the fifty-first year, and of the same, except the third, fourth,
fifth, and sixth years, of which there are no RoUs, of every year one RoU.
Item, thirty-three RoUs of Parliament and Ordinance of ParUament.
Item, twenty-one RoUs of Rome, six Rolls of Germany, twenty RoUs of
Reddiseisins, and forty-two RoUs of Liberate, of the same King Edward
III. Item, sixty-four bundles of Escheats of the same King Edward III.
viz. from the first year unto the twenty-second year, and of the same, of
every year one bundle ; of the twenty-third year, three bundles ; of the
twenty-fourth year, two bundles ; of the twenty-fifth year, one bundle ; of
the twenty-sixth year, one bundle ; of the twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth,
and twenty-ninth years, of every one, two bundles ; of the thirtieth year,
and thenceforwards to the thirty-fourth year, and of the same, of every
one, one bundle ; of the thirty-fifth year, tluree bundles ; of the thirty -sixth
year, three bundles ; of the thirty-seventh year, two bundles ; of the tliirty-
eighth year, and thenceforwards unto the fifty-first year, and of the same,
of every year one bundle; and of the forty-third and forty-ninth, of each
two bundles. Item, fifty-six bundles of Inquisitions of the same King
Edward III. viz. of the first year, two bundles; of the second year, one
bundle ; of the third year, two bundles ; of the fourth year, one bundle ;
of the fifth year, two bundles ; of the sixth year, and thenceforwards to
the twenty-fifth year, and of the same, of every year one bundle; ofthe
•twenty-sixth year, two bundles ; of the twenty-seventh year, two bundles ;
of the twenty-eighth year, and thenceforwards to the fifty-first year, and
of the same, of every year one bundle. Item, fifty bundles of Records of
the same King Edward III. viz. ft-om the third year to the fifty-first year,
and of the same, viz. of every year, one bundle ; and of the forty-first year,
two bundles. Item, forty-eight bundles of Statutes Merchants of the

INDEXES TO RECORDS. 453
same King Edward III. viz. from the first year to the fifty-first year, and
of the same, of every year one bundle; except the second, fourth, and
fifth, of which there are no bundles. Item, eighty-two bundles of Letters
of Privy Seal of the same King Edward III. viz. of the first year, two
bundles; of the second, third, fourth, and fifth years, of every one, one
bundle; of the sixth year, two bundles; of the seventh year, two bundles;
of the eighth year, one bundle ; of the ninth year, two bundles ; of the
tenth, eleventh, and twelfth years, of every one, one bundle; of the
thirteenth, two bundles; ofthe fourteenth, three bundles ; ofthe fifteenth,
two bundles; of the sixteenth, one bundle ; of the seventeenth, eighteenth,
i^neteenth, and twentieth years, of every one, two bundles ; of the twenty-
first, three bundles; ofthe twenty-second, three bundles; of the twenty-
third, three bundles; of the twenty-fourth, and thenceforwards unto
the thirty-fourth, and of the same, of every year two bundles ; of the
thirty-fifth, and thenceforwards unto the fifty-first year, and of the same,
of every year one bundle ; and of the fortieth and forty-fourth years, of
every one, two bundles. Item, eighty-five bundles of Writs of the same
King Edward III. viz. ofthe first year, two bundles; ofthe second, third,
and fourth, of every one, one bundle; of the fifth, sixth, and seventh
years, of every one, two bundles; ofthe eighth, ninth, and tenth, of every
one, one bundle; of the eleventh year, two bundles; of the twelfth year
three bundles; of the thirteenth year, three bundles ; of the fourteenth,
fifteenth, and sixteenth years, of every one, two bundles; of the seven
teenth year, three bundles; of the eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth,
twenty-first and twenty-second years, of every year, two bundles; of the
twenty-third year, one bundle; of the twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and
twenty-sixth years, of every one, two bundles ; of the twenty-seventh year,
one bundle; of the twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth years, of
every one, two bundles ; of the thirty-first year, one bundle ; of the thirty-
second and thirty-third years, of every year, two bundles ; of the thirty-
fourth year, one bundle; of the thirty-fifth year, two bundles; of the
thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh, thirty-eighth, and thirty-ninth, of every year,
one bundle; ofthe fortieth year, two bundles; ofthe forty-first and forty-
second years, of each one bundle ; of the forty-third year, two bundles ;
of the forty-fourth, forty-fifth, and forty-sixth years, of every one, one
bundle; of the forty-seventh, forty-eighth, forty-ninth and fiftieth years,
of every one, two bundles; and of the fifty-first, one bundle; and one
bundle of Certificates of Nessefeld. Item, four RoUs of Charters of the
time of the King that now is, viz. of every year, one RoU. Item, fourteen
RqUs of Patents of the same King that now is, viz. of the first year, six
RoUs; ofthe second year, two RoUs; of the third year, three RoUs; and
ofthe fourth year, three RoUs. Item, four Close RoUs of the same King
that now is, viz. of every year one RoU. Item, five Rolls of Fines of the
same King that now is, viz. of the first year, two Rolls ; and of the
second, third, and fourth years, of every one, one Roll. Item, five RoUs

454 ADDENDA.
of France of tiie same King that now is, viz. of the first year, two RoUs ;
and of the second, thu-d and fourth, of every one, one RoU. Item, four
RoUs of Vascony of the same King that now is, viz. of every year, one
RoU. Item, four RoUs of Scotland of the same King that now is, viz. of
every year, one Roll. Item, one RoU of Liberates and one RoU of Red
diseisins of the same King that now is. Item, four bundles of Escheats
of the same King that now is, viz. of every year, one bundle. Item, four
bundles of Inquisitions of the same King that now is, viz. of every year,
one bundle. Item, eight bundles of Writs of the same King that now is,
viz. of every year two bundles. Item, four bundles of Writs of Privy
Seal of the same Lord the King that now is, viz. of every year, one bundle.
Item, (1) bundles of Records of the same King, that now is, viz. of every
year, one bundle. Item, four bundles of Statutes Merchant of the same
King that now is, viz. of every year, one bundle. Item, five Rolls of Par
liament of the same Lord the King that now is, viz. of every year, one
Roll ; and of the second year, two Rolls. Item, very many other RoUs,
Evidences, and Memoranda of the times of aU the aforesaid Kings, which
cannot here be lightly specified. In witness whereof to the parts of this
indenture, the aforesaid William and John have alternately put their seals.
Dated at London, the ninth day of September, in the fifth year of the
reign of King Richard the Second after the Conquest.
The Valor Ecclesiasticus, — Page 353.
[The Compiler possesses a small octavo volume com
prising twenty-one pages, entitled Ecclesiastical Survey of
the Possessions, Spiritual und Temporal, of the Bishop of
Saifii David's, taken in Pursuatice of an Act of Parliametit,
in the twenty-sixth year of the Reign of King Hetiry the
Eighth, Extracted from the Liber Regis in the First Fruits
Office, This survey was transcribed and translated from
the original record by Mr. Caley in the year 1812, at the
request of the present learned and venerable Bishop of
Salisbury, who at that time occupied the see ef St. David's.
Three, er four, copies only of this document were printed.]
Earliest Chancery Petitions, or Bills, — Page 356, note 4.
[Since this note was written the Compiler has made some
inquiries, which induce him to think that there still exist,
amongst the Records at the Tower, many Petitions, er Bills,
addressed to the Chancellor during the reigns ef Edward I.
(1) Sic,

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 455
Edward II. and Edward III. similar to those addressed to
that Judge during the reign of Richard II. selections from
which have been printed. Upon a very slight research
several documents of this description are stated to have
been discovered, but only ene of them has been seen by the
Compiler. It is dated the thirty-eighth year of Edward III.
In the course of these inquiries the instructions given by
Edward IV. to Robert Kirkeham, when he was appointed
Master of the Rolls, were found on one of the Close Rolls ;
and an extract therefrom has been furnished to the Com
piler, who, net recollecting ever to have seen it in print,
considers it too interesting te the Equity antiquary not to
be inserted in this place. He regrets only that he is net
at the present moment in possession of the entire instruc
tions. " And, over this, the King willed and commanded
there and thanne that all manere maters, to be examyned
and discussed in the Court of Chauncery, shuld be directed
and determined accordyng to equite and conscience, and to
the old cours & laudable custume of the same Court, so
that if in any such maters any difficultie, er question of lawe,
happen te ryse, that he herein take th'advis & counsel of
sume of the Kynges justices ; so that right & justice may be
duely ministred to every man." — Close Roll, 7 Edw. IV.
m. 12. dors.]
Calendars of Chancery Proceedings, — -Page 384.
[It is well known that this werk owes the estimation in
which it is held to the Preface, which introduced it to the
acquaintance of the juridical world, and the curious speci
mens of ancient Petitions, or Bills, which are prefixed to
the two published volumes. Both the Preface and the
specimens have been hitherto attributed to Mr. Bailey,
whose name is affixed to the former, in the manner usual
amongst authors. It seems, however, that the public here
labours under some error, partly occasioned by the use
which that gentleman has obligingly permitted the Record
Board to make of his name, and partly, no doubt, by the
circumstance that he appears, from the returns made to

456 ADDENDA.
Parliament, to have received a remuneration for his trouble
in abstracting the Calendars in question, and preparing
them fer the press. (I) It has been already seen that a
considerable portion at least of the ancient petitions and of
the translation had been previously printed by Mr. Lysons.
The following letter addressed by the same eminent writer
te a distinguished member of the Antiquarian Society, and
read at a meeting ef that learned body on the Sth ef De
cember, 1816, aflfords some presumption that if he had not
(1} [The same returns to Parliament, which give the detafls of monies paid
to Mr. Bayley, for " abstracting and preparing for printing Calendars to the
Proceedings in Chancery : and collating and correcting with the originals, and
abridging the same for the press :" contain some items touching the early Bills
and the Preface, which are very satisfactory, inasmuch as they show that the
Commissioners, with the liberality characteristic of a public Board, were re
solved that the complaisance of the Editor, in allowing his name to be sub
stituted for that of Mr. Lysons, should not go altogether unrewarded. For the
gratification of the conscientious reader copies of some of these items are sub
joined. Monies paid to Mr, Bailey, Editor of the Calendars to the Proceedings in
Chancery, Vol. I.
" Collecting and arranging Bills and Petitions in Chancery, preparatory to
making collections, &c. of examples for the first volume of this work, £45."
" Looking over the early Proceedings in Chancery, and making selections for
the introductory part, and arranging the same for the press, £47 : 5s."
" Transcribing from original Records 393 folios, and examining the same for
the press, £19 : 13s."
" Translating examples of ancient Bills and Petitions; 83 folios and exa
mining the same for printing, £5 : 3s. 9d."
" Transcribing examples of early Proceedings in Chancery, 158 folios,
£7: ISs.
Collating with the originals the printed sheets of the introductory matter,
£3 :3s."
" Transcribing further examples of early proceedings in Chancery, for the in
troductory matter, 97 folios; and examining, £4 : 175.''
" Collecting, looking over and arranging the ancient Petitions, Bills, Answers,
and other Proceedings in Chanceiy, from the reign of King Richard II. to that
of Queen Elizabeth, inclusive; making selections therefrom to complete the
introductory matter, and arranging and preparing the whole for the press, with
notes and titles, and compiling preface, list of contents, &c. £210."
" Transcribing from the originals further examples of Proceedings in Chan
cery, to complete the introductory matter, 347 folios, and examining the same,
£17 : 7s." — Sessional Papers, House of Commons, Record Commission, 29 April,
1830.]

CALENDARS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS. 457
the honour of printing, he must at least hereafter enjoy the
merit of having composed all that is valuable in the Pre
face te the Calendars of Chancery Proceedings in the
reign of Queen Elizabeth. King's Bench Walk, 3rd December, 1816.
Dear Sir,
I send you, inclosed, copies of several of the eai-Uest Bills, or
Petitions, addressed to the Lord Chancellor, which have been discovered
within the last few years in the White Tower, among the great mass of
unsorted Records deposited there. These, I fiatter myself, wiU not be
uninteresting to the Society of Antiquaries, as they not only serve to
throw considerable hght on the origin and early proceedings of the Court
of Chancery as a Court of Equity, but also show a good deal of the state
of society during the troublesome reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV.
Lord Chancellor EUesmere, in his Observations concerning the office
af the Lord Chancellor, states that there were no Petitions ofthe Chan
cery remaining in the Office of Records of elder tittle than the making of
the statute of the I5th of Henry VI., which enacted that no writ of
subpoena be granted tiU security should be found to satisfy the defendant
for his damages and expenses, if the matter contained in the biU could
not be made good ; and he adds, that the most ancient to be found were
ofthe 20th year of that king. It appears however, by the recent disco
veries, that the proceedings in many hundreds of causes, for nearly fifty
years antecedent to that year, are still extant, beginning with the 17th
year of Richard II.; in which year a statute was made, by which it was
enacted, that where the suggestions ofthe plaintiff in his biU were proved
to be untrue, the ChanceUor should be enabled to award costs and
damages to the defendant, according to his discretion : and it is probable
that the BUls of this 1 7th year of Richard II. are the first, which were
regularly filed. Sir Edward Coke observes that on the Parhament Roll
of this year is the first Decree in Chancery, which he had observed.
From these ancient proceedings, it appears that the chief business of
the Court of Chancery, in those early times, did not arise from the intro
duction of uses of land, according to the opinion of most writers on the
subject; very few instances of application to the Chancellor, on such
grounds, occurring among the recorded proceedings of the Chancery,
during the first five reigns after the equitable jurisdiction of the Com-t
appears to have been fully established.
Most of the Petitions appear to have been presented in consequence of
violent 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 maintenance, or protection,
afforded to his adversary by some powerful Baron, or hy the Sheriff, or
H H

458 ADDENDA.
other officer. A few cases occmr of fi-auds, which would at present be
considered as proper subjects for a hiU in equity.
For many years the practice of the Court appears to have heen for the
defendant to have heen brought by subpoena before the Chancellor, who
examined him viva voce : a memorandum in -writing was made of the
examination ; after which the ChanceUor pronounced his decree, which
sometimes appears indorsed on the BiU.
In the reign of Richard II. aU the BiUs are in French ; in that of
Hem-y VI., except a few in the early part of it, they are in Enghsh. It
is probable that they began to be written in that language in the reign of
King Henry V., when the use of English in letters and other diplomatic
papers appears to have commenced. I remain, dear Sir,
Your very obedient faithfiil servant,
Sam. Lysons.]
To * * *
Manuscript Calendars of Chaticery Proceedings, by Messrs.
Hoole and Cossart. Page 384.
[The preceding note renders it necessary te state that the
Editor of the Calendars of Chancery Proceedings has as
sured the Compiler that that work has net been printed
from a transcript of the office Calendars formed by Messrs.
Hoole and Cossart. Mr. Bailey asserts that the pub
lished Calendars were framed by himself, with great labour,
from the original Records: and that they are much mere
ample than the official Calendars.]

THE END OF VOL. I.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY C. ROWORTII AND SONS, IIEI.I. YARD,
TEMPLE BAR.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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