And Bishop Stubbs says in his history, “In 787 tithe was made _imperative_ by the legatine councils held in England, which, being attended and confirmed by the kings and ealdormen, had the authority of Witenagemóts.”[77] On the legal aspect of this question, Bishop Stubbs and Mr. Selden are correct. The tithe Injunction was not made legal or imperative by legatine councils _quâ_ legatine councils, but because these councils were actual Witenagemóts, whose consent gave it the force of law in the respective kingdoms of the two kings. They made _legal_ what was before _customary_, without attaching any punishment to its non-fulfilment. It will be seen as we proceed that the Anglo-Saxon laws had only endorsed the custom which previously existed of paying tithe. And as this custom became general, so the law enforced its payment. But this penal enforcement was not carried out in the laws of 787, because the custom of paying tithe was not then general. It is important to notice here that the Anglo-Saxon ceorls, or churls, or freemen, occupying the social position between the thane and slave, had no voice whatever in the passing of the laws. The Witenagemóts, which sanctioned the payment of tithe, and granted away the national property, called folcland, to bishops, cathedral churches, and monasteries, were composed of archbishops, bishops, aldermen, abbots, priests, deacons, princes, dukes, earls, and thanes. In these assemblies, both secular and ecclesiastical laws were enacted, and charters embodying grants of public lands by kings were confirmed and ratified.