35. For the common fine of the township, 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 relationships, 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 passed 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 constitution was fixed.
A wife was expected to obey her husband. A husband was deemed the guardian of his wife. If he starved or mistreated her, he was subject to punishment by the church court, even excommunication if necessary. The king's court punished a husband who killed or maimed his wife. The common law as to husband and wife took a final shape with six basic principles: 1. A husband, but not the wife, could alienate his wife's land during the marriage, but not to take effect after his death, e.g. by will. 2. A widow was entitled for her life a dower of one-third of any land by her husband. 3. The husband can take possession of the wife's chattels and can alienate them during his life without her permission. He can sue for all debts due her without her permission. If he survives her, he is entitled to be administrator of her estate. She can make no will without his permission. 4. The husband can give away all his chattels, except for her necessary clothes and her jewelry and paraphernalia. 5. The husband is liable for debts incurred or wrongs committed by his wife even before their marriage. 6. A wife cannot contract on her own behalf, but may purchase on credit certain necessaries and household goods.
The church elaborated on these principles with a doctrine for women-covert, i.e. women under the protection or coverture of a husband, and not living separately such as when a man went to sea or to war. She had a right to the necessities of life. Her jewelry, but not her apparel, could go to his creditors if his assets didn't cover his debts. The husband also had the right to the rents and profits from his wife's real estate, but not the real estate itself, unless by the birth of a child he became tenant for life by courtesy. Only the father, but not the mother had authority over their children. A father had a right to his child's services, and could sue a third party for abducting, enticing away, or injuring the child, just as he could for his servants. A husband was answerable for a wife's torts and trespasses, except for battery. For this reason, he was allowed to chastise her, restrain her liberty for gross misbehavior, and punish her by beating for some misdemeanors. If she was a merchant when she married, she could still sell her goods in the open market. There could be no divorce, but only separation. If separated, she had a right to alimony from him to maintain herself.
There were many conveyances of land to husband and wife and their heirs. This created a tenancy by the entirety. This land could not be alienated by only one spouse without the other. On the death of one spouse, the surviving spouse became the sole tenant of the whole.
Wardships 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 wardship 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.