Mediæval London, Volume 2: Ecclesiastical

by Walter Besant

After the Justiciars of his lordship the King shall have handed and shown unto the Mayor and Barons of the City the articles pertaining unto the Crown, they shall immediately demand a fitting day, for the purpose of making due preparation and taking counsel thereon, to the end that they may be able safely to make answer to the said articles upon the day so granted unto them by the Justiciars; and that in the meantime they may be enabled discreetly to enrol and brief the same articles and their answers thereto.

From the four-and-twenty men or more before mentioned, four persons or more should be selected, of the Common Council of the City, to be associated with the Mayor for the purpose more especially of making answer to the charges and articles aforesaid. Also the Mayor’s Clerk, together with the Common Clerk of the City and the Sheriffs’ Clerks, shall be seated before them for the purpose of noting by way of memorial all such charges that are made; lest the same, through default of being so noted, should be lost in oblivion. And one of such persons must act as prothonotary; from whose notes all the others are to take copy, in setting down as well the King’s charges as the answers made by the community.

Also, as concerning the Sheriffs and Aldermen, provision must be made as follows:—The Sheriffs are to have their serjeants there present, and all the Aldermen the bedels of their Wards, becomingly and fairly arrayed and shod, prompt and ready to perform and fulfil the commands of the Mayor and Barons of the City, according to such injunctions as may be given to each; their capes, too, and cloaks laid aside, they are to be fairly arrayed in coats and surcoats, bearing straight white wands in their hands. Of these, too, four or more, as may be necessary, must be assigned to the office of keeping the gates and doors; as also two criers, and certain others who are to act as marshals, in fulfilling such duties as may be enjoined them. And if perchance any one of these should be an aged man, weak or infirm, or have sore eyes, then, at the common expense, another person must be substituted in his place, and of the same ward, efficiently to perform such duties. And as to such men, due precautions should be taken that they be seemly and proper persons, newly shaven and shorn.”

The following are “Articles touching his lordship the King”:—

“Of default made in appearing before the Justiciars. Of those who are at the King’s mercy, and have not been amerced. Of old Pleas of the Crown which have been formerly holden before the Justiciars, and have not been determined. Of new Pleas which have since arisen. Of youths of high parentage and of damsels, who are, and who ought to be, in the wardship of his lordship the King: in whose wardship they are, and through whom, and what is the value of their lands. Of escheats of his lordship the King; what such lands are, and who hold them, and through whom, and what is the value thereof. Of demesnes which are in the gift of the King, what they are, and who hold them, and through whom, and how much the lands thereof are worth. Of churches which are in the gift of the King, whether the same are vacant or not; which are such churches, and who holds them, and through whom. Of purprestures made upon the King, by land or by water, or elsewhere; what they are, and who has made them, and through whom. Of measures made throughout the realm; whether the same are observed in such manner as was commanded, and if any one has given reward to the wardens of such measures, that by measures they may sell or buy; and this is to be understood of all measures, as well of wine as of corn, and all measures (of length). Of wines sold contrary to the assize, and who has sold the same. Of treasures-trove, what they are, and who found the same. Of Christian usurers who have died, who they were, and what chattels they had. Of chattels of French or of Flemings, or of enemies of the King, that have been seized; what the chattels are that have been so seized, and who holds the same. Of chattels of Jews who have been slain, and of their debts, and deeds, and securities; who such Jews were, and who holds their securities or deeds. Of those who hold of the Honour of Pevrel in London and of Pevrel in Dover; who they are, and what land they hold, and by what service. Of outlaws, and burglars, and fugitives, and other malefactors, and of those who have harboured them. Of the seaports; if the same have been well-guarded, and if any one has carried corn or other things to the territories of the King’s enemies for sale. Of those who have taken lack of the thirteenths; who they are, and how much they have taken, and from whom. Of serjeants of hundreds or others who have taken reward from men on account of the thirteenths; who they are, and how much, and from whom. Of those who are wont to do injury in parks and piscaries; who they are, and where they have done so, and in what parks and piscaries. Of fugitives, if any one has returned since his flight. Of prises taken by Sheriffs or Constable, or by any Bailiff, against the will of those whose chattels were to be taken. Of forgers and clippers of the coin.”

But in the Iter of 4 Henry the Third there were only eighteen questions put to the citizens. Both questions and answers turn on points of law. It will readily be understood that such an inquisition was at all times irksome, and might be made tyrannical and intolerable. The Iter of 1321 was such an occasion. It was made to last for six months. One cannot suppose that shops were shut and nothing bought and sold for the whole of that time. The articles and questions submitted to the citizens were more than a hundred in number, and many of them required an investigation of more than twenty years back. In a word, the Justices had come to the Tower with instructions to make themselves as disagreeable as possible, to prolong the inquiries, raise objections, and make difficulties. They carried out these instructions, the citizens becoming more and more indignant. It was intended to prove that the City had been guilty of irregularities, such as to warrant the King’s taking it into his own hands.

Six months after the commencement of these proceedings, however, an insurrection was threatened in Wales. This made it desirable not to exasperate the Londoners any more, and the Iter was brought to a sudden close.

Let us, at this point, consider briefly the relations of London with the King. London, as we know already, except for a very brief period, had no over-lord except the King himself. This, one of her greatest privileges, caused the personal character of the Sovereign to be even more strongly felt by the citizens of London than by the rest of the Kingdom. In London, far more than in the rest of the country, the cause of order and authority rested upon the personal character of the King. If he were strong, the City was well-ordered; if he were weak, the City fell into disorder and confusion. Edward the First, when the City was manifestly beyond the control of the officers, deposed the Mayor for a time and governed the City by his own Warden till order was re-established. This power of the King over the City was not considered usurpation; it was part of the recognised order of things; every citizen knew that he was a servant of the King. On this point let me quote certain wholesome words of Cunningham (Hist. of Trade, p. 131):—

“Of all the cant which is current in the present day about history, none is more pernicious than that which despises the story of real personages and real events and busies itself about abstractions, which tells us that it is not concerned with kings and battles, but with the life of the people. It is true indeed that in modern times the life of the people can be treated apart from the consideration of the personal character of George IV. or William IV. But in the Norman reigns this was not the case; security for person and property, intercourse with other nations and commercial advance were directly connected with the personal character of the King; the life of the people was most deeply affected in every way by the strength or weakness of his disposition.”

The King’s revenue was made up of many distinct branches: (1) there were the Royal domain, manor, and estates scattered about the country and let to tenants; (2) there were the fines paid on great occasions; (3) pre-emption, that is, the right of buying what he pleased at his own price; when his purveyors bought goods exposed for sale this was called “prise”; (4) military tenures, by which for each five tithes of land the King might demand a knight’s services for forty days; (5) aids and fines, as on great occasions, such as the marrying of the King’s daughter; (6) the wealth of the Jews who were the King’s property; he was heir to their estates, and could without question seize on all they had; (7) Danegeld, which William continued; its name was changed but the tax remained; (8) tallages, which were aids in time of special need.