A monastic order, with very severe rules, founded by St. Bruno, during the papacy of Urban II in 1086. The order was recognized by Alexander III in 1176. Their most famous convent is that of La Grande Chartreuse, near Grenoble. The Charterhouse, in London, was formerly one of their monasteries.
Carucage.
A tax imposed by the early English Kings on every carucate or hundred acres of land. It was first levied by Richard I in 1198, when the tax amounted to five shillings on the carucate.
Cas Royaux.
All cases in which the sovereign and his interests were concerned were so called in France. By the “Etablissements” of Louis IX, all such cases were withdrawn from the jurisdiction of feudal courts, and could be decided only by the Royal Bailiffs, or by the Parlement.
Casenbrotspel.
See Bread and Cheese War.
Casket Letters.
A series of letters and sonnets, purporting to be written by Mary Queen of Scots to Bothwell, and left behind by him when he fled from Edinburgh in 1567. If genuine, these letters undoubtedly prove Mary to have been privy to the murder of Darnley.