7. And in the several counties where there are no jails, let such be made in a borough or in some castle of the king, from the money of the king and from his forest, if one shall be near, or from some other neighboring forest, on the view of the servants of the king; in order that in them the sheriffs may be able to detain those who have been seised by the officials who are accustomed to do this or by their servants.

8. And the lord king moreover wills that all should come to the county courts to make this oath, so that no one shall remain behind because of any franchise which he has or court or jurisdiction which he had, but that they should come to the making of this oath.

9. And there is to be no one within a castle or without a castle, or even in the honor of Wallingford, who may forbid the sheriffs to enter into his court or his land for seeing to the frankpledges and that all are under pledges; and let them be sent before the sheriffs under a free pledge.

10. And in cities and boroughs, let no one have men or (receive them in his house or in his land or his soc, whom he does not take in hand that he will produce before the justice if they shall be required, or else let them be under a frankpledge.

II. And let there be none in a city or borough or in a castle or without or even in the honor of Wallingford who shall forbid the sheriffs to enter into his land or his jurisdiction to arrest those who have been charged or publicly suspected of being robbers or murderers or thieves or receivers of them, or outlaws, or persons charged concerning the forest; but he requires that they should aid them to capture these.

12. And if any one is captured who has in his possession the fruits of robbery or theft, if he is of bad reputation and has an evil testimony from the public, and has not a warrant, let him not have law. And if he shall not have been publicly suspected, on account of the possession which he has let him go to the water.

13. And if any one shall have acknowledged robbery or murder or theft or the reception of them in the presence of legal men or of the hundreds, and afterwards shall wish to deny it, he shall not have law.

14. The lord king wills moreover that those who make their law and shall be absolved by the law, if they are of very bad testimony, and publicly and disgracefully spoken ill of by the testimony of many and legal men, shall abjure the lands of the king, so that within eight days they shall go over the sea, unless the wind shall have detained them; and with the first wind which they shall have

afterward they shall go over the sea, and they shall not afterward return into England, except on the permission of the lord king; and then let them be outlawed if they return, and if they return they shall be seised as outlaws.

15. And the lord king forbids any vagabond, that is a wandering or an unknown man, to be sheltered anywhere except in a borough, and even there he shall be sheltered only one night, unless he shall be sick there, or his horse, so that he is able to show an evident excuse.

16. And if he shall have been there more than one night, let him be arrested and held until his lord shall come to give securities for him, or until he himself shall have secured pledges; and let him likewise be arrested who has sheltered him.

17. And if any sheriff shall have sent word to any other sheriff that men have fled from his county into another county, on account of robbery or murder or theft, or the reception of them, or for outlawry or for a charge concerning the forest of the king, let him arrest them. And even if he knows of himself or through others that such men have fled into his county, let him arrest them and hold them until he shall have secured pledges from them.

18. And let all sheriffs cause a list to be made of all fugitives who have fled from their counties; and let them do this in the presence of their county courts, and they will carry the written names of these before the justices when they come first before these, so that they may be sought through all England, and their chattels may be seised for the use of the king.

19. And the lord king wills that, from the time when the sheriffs have received the summons of the justices in eyre to appear before them with their county courts, they shall gather together their county courts and make inquiry for all who have recently come into their counties since this assize; and that they should send them away with pledges that they will be before the justices, or else keep them in custody until the justices come to them, and then they shall have them before the justices.

20. The lord king moreover prohibits monks and canons and all religious houses from receiving any one of the lesser people as a monk or canon or brother, until it is known of what reputation he is, unless he shall be sick unto death.

21. The lord king moreover forbids any one in all England to receive in his land or his jurisdiction or in a house under him any one of the sect of those renegades who have been excommunicated and branded at Oxford. And if any one shall have received them, he will be at the mercy of the lord king, and the

с

house in which they have been shall be carried outside the village and burned. And each sheriff will take this oath that he will hold this, and will make all his servants swear this, and the stewards of the barons, and all knights and free tenants of the counties.

22. And the lord king wills that this assize shall be held in his kingdom so long as it shall please him.

15. Inquest of the Sheriffs

(1170. Latin text, Stubbs, S. C. 148. Translation by Editors. I Stubbs, 510.)

IN

N the first place, the barons shall require bond and surety from all the sheriffs who have been sheriffs since the lord king last went over to Normandy, and from all who since that time have been bailiffs or ministers of theirs who have held a bailiwick from them and from all those who since that time have held the hundreds of the barons which they have in the county whether they hold them at a ferm or in custody; that on a day which they shall set for them they will appear before the lord king to do justice and to redress to him and to his men what they ought to redress. And if because of sickness the sheriffs shall be unable to appear before them, let them send in their place persons to answer for them, and let these give bond and surety sufficient for the sheriffs and for themselves, that they will perform in the presence of the lord king that which the sheriffs ought to perform on the fixed day.

Afterwards they shall take an oath from all the barons and knights and freemen of the county, that they will speak the truth concerning that which shall be inquired of them on behalf of the lord king, and that they will not conceal the truth for love of any one, or for hatred, or for bribe or reward, or for fear or promise or for any reason.

This shall be the manner of the inquest :

I. In the first place let inquisition be made concerning the sheriffs and their bailiffs what and how much they have received from each hundred, and from each vill and from each man, since the lord king went abroad, whence the land and the people have been burdened; and what they have received by a judgment of the county or hundred, and what without a judgment, and what hey learn was taken by a judgment, let it be written down by

itself, and what without a judgment let it be written by itself; and concerning all exactions inquisition shall be made of the cause and the evidence.

II. Likewise let inquisition be made concerning the archbishops, bishops, earls and barons, and their stewards and officers, what and how much they have received from their lands, since the said term, from each of their hundreds, and from each of their vills, and from each of their men, by a judgment or without a judgment, and let them write down separately all these exactions and their causes and occasions.

III. And likewise let inquisition be made concerning those men who since that term have held in custody other bailiwicks from the lord king, whether of a bishopric, or of an abbey, or of a barony, or of any honor or escheat.

IV. And likewise let inquisition be made concerning the king's bailiffs who have travelled through his land to do the king's business, which has been assigned to them; and what they learn from this, let them write down.

V. Also concerning the chattels of those who fled because of the Assize of Clarendon and concerning the chattels of those who have been undone through that assize, let inquisition be made of what has been done and of what was obtained thence in each hundred and each vill, and let it be diligently and carefully written down. And likewise let inquisition be made whether any one has been unjustly accused under that assize for reward or promise or hatred or other unjust cause; and whether any accusation has been withdrawn or any accused person released for reward or promise or love and who received the reward for it, and likewise let this be written down.

VI. And let inquisition be made concerning the aids for marrying the king's daughter, what was obtained thence in each hundred and each vill, whether in payments or in remissions, and to whom this has been handed over and paid.

VII. And let inquisition be made of what and how much the foresters and their bailiffs and officers have received, since the said term, in their offices in whatever way they received it or under whatever circumstance, and whether they have remitted any of the rights of the king for reward or promise or for any friendship. And concerning forest offences; concerning those who have injured his forests and stags and hinds and other wild beasts; and what they learn, let them write down diligently; and whether the foresters or their bailiffs have arrested any one or attached any one by bond and surety or have accused any, and

afterwards have released them without trial on their own responsibility, and let inquisition be made concerning those who have done these things and let it be written down.

VIII. And let all who have been accused of anything be placed under bond and surety to appear before the lord king at a time which shall be appointed for them, and to do right and to redress to the king and to his men what they ought to redress, and let those without sureties be held in custody.

IX. And inquisition shall be made whether the sheriffs or any bailiffs have returned any of the things which they have taken or whether they have made any peace with men since they heard of the arrival of the lord king, to prevent any complaint from thence reaching the lord king.

X. And let inquisition be made concerning amercements whether any one has been released, for reward or love, from what he had at first been amerced, and by whom this has been done.

XI. And let inquisition be made concerning those who owe homage to the lord king and have done it neither to him nor to his son, and let them be written can.

XII. Concerning the demesnes of the lord king, let inquisition be made whether the houses are enclosed with ditch and hedge, and whether there are granaries there, and cow-sheds, and sheepfolds and other buildings and stock, as the lord king ordered before he went abroad.

XIII. And after they have been examined, my sheriffs and officers shall employ themselves about my other affairs, and they shall swear to attend lawfully to making the inquest throughout the lands of the barons.

16. Assize of Northampton

(1176. Latin text, Stubbs, S. C. 150. Translation by Editors.

THE

1 Stubbs, 522.)

HESE are the assizes made at Clarendon and afterwards revised at Northampton.

1. If any one shall have been accused before the justices of the lord king of murder or theft or robbery or of harboring men who do such things or of forgery or arson, by the oath of twelve knights of the hundred, or if knights are not present, by the oath of twelve freemen, lawful men, and by the oath of four