Our Legal Heritage Part 42

19. All the ploughmen of great Ogbourne are convicted by the oath of twelve men....because by reason of their default [the land] of the lord was ill ploughed whereby the lord is damaged to the amount of 9s.... And Walter Reaper is in mercy for concealing [i.e. not giving information as to] the said bad ploughing. Afterwards he made fine with the lord with 1 mark.

20. From Ralph Joce 6s.8d. for his son, because he [the son] unlawfully carried off grain from the lord's court. Pledge,Geoffrey Joce.

21. From Henry Pink 12d. for a trespa.s.s by waylaying.

22. From Eve Corner 6d. for a trespa.s.s of her pigs.

23. From Ralph Scales 6d. for timber carried off.

24. From William Cooper 12d. for ploughing his own land with the lord's plough without licence.

25. From Hugh Newman 12d. for trespa.s.s in the wood.

26. From Richard Penant 12d. for the same.

27. From Helen widow of Little Ogbourne 6d. for the same.

28. From Nicholas Siward 6d. for a false complaint against William Pafey.

29. From William Pafey 12d. for fighting with the said Nicholas.

30. From the widow of Ralph Shepherd 6d. for a trespa.s.s in Pencombe.

31. Richard Blund gives a half-mark and if he recovers will give two marks and a half to have a jury of the whole court, to inquire whether he has the greater right in a virgate of land which Hugh Frith holds in wards.h.i.+p with Cristiana daughter of Simon White, or the said Cristiana.

Pledges for the fine, Richard Dene, William Hulle, John of Senholt, Hugh Smith, and William Ketelburn. And the whole court say upon their oath that the said Richard has greater right in the said land than anyone else. Therefore let him recover his seisin.

32 ....Miller gives 2d. [the Latin translates as 4s.] for a trespa.s.s against the a.s.size of beer and because the lord's grain has been ill kept at the mill. Pledges, John Orped and Joce Serjeant.

33. Noah gives 2s. in the same way for an inquest as to one acre.

Afterwards they submit themselves to arbitrators, who adjudge that the said Robert shall pay 3s. to the said Roger and 6s. to the said Gilbert and 7s. to the said Noah, and that he will do so [Robert] finds pledges.

34. Ralph Bar in mercy for having beaten one of the lord's men. Pledges, Herbert Rede and Ralph Brunild.

35. For the common fine of the towns.h.i.+p, a half-mark.

36. John Boneffiant found pledges, to wit, William Smith and William of Bledlow, that he will not eloign himself from the lord's land and that he will be prompt to obey the lord's summons.

- - - Chapter 8 - - -

- The Times: 1272-1348 -

King Edward I was respected by the people for his good government, practical wisdom, and genuine concern for justice for everyone. He loved his people and wanted them to love him. He came to the throne with twenty years experience governing lesser lands on the continent which were given to him by his father Henry III. He spoke Latin, English, and French. He gained a reputation as a lawgiver and as a peacemaker in disputes on the continent. His reputation was so high and agreement on him as the next king so strong that England was peaceful in the almost two years that it took him to arrive there from continental business. He was truthful, law-abiding, and kept his word. He had close and solid family relations.h.i.+ps, especially with his father and with his wife Eleanor, to whom he was faithful. He was loyal to his close circle of good friends. He valued honor and adhered reasonably well to the terms of the treaties he made. He was generous in carrying out the royal custom of subsidizing the feeding of paupers. He visited the sick. He was frugal and dressed in plain, ordinary clothes rather than extravagant or ostentatious ones. He disliked ceremony and display.

At his accession, there was a firm foundation of a national law administered by a centralized judicial system, a centralized executive, and an organized system of local government in close touch with both the judicial and the executive system. To gain knowledge of his nation, he sent royal commissioners into every county to ask about any encroachments on the King's rights and about misdeeds by any of the King's officials: sheriffs, bailiffs, or coroners. The results were compiled as the "Hundred Rolls". They were the basis of reforms which improved justice at the local as well as the national level. They also rationalized the array of jurisdictions that had grown up with feudal government. Statutes were pa.s.sed by a parliament of two houses, that of peers (lords) and that of an elected [rather than appointed] commons, and the final form of the const.i.tution was fixed.

Wards.h.i.+ps of children and widows were sought because they were very profitable. A guardian could get one tenth of the income of the property during the wards.h.i.+p and a substantial marriage amount when the ward married. Parents often made contracts to marry for their young children.

This avoided a forced marriage by a ward should the parents die.