Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776Reilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
The Tower of London now had outer walls of fortress buildings
surrounded by a wide and deep moat, over which was one stone causeway
and wooden drawbridge. Within this was an inner curtain wall with
twelve towers and an inner moat. The palace within was a principal
residence of English monarchs, whose retinue was extensive, including
the chief officers of state: Lord High Steward, Lord High Chancellor,
Lord High Treasurer, Lord Great Chamberlain, Lord High Constable,
Keeper of the Seals, and the King's Marshall; lesser officials such as
the Chamberlain of the Candles, Keeper of the Tents, Master Steward of
the Larder, Usher of the Spithouse, Marshall of the Trumpets, Keeper of
the Books, Keeper of the Dishes and of the Cups, and Steward of the
Buttery; and numbers of cat hunters, wolf catchers, clerks and limners,
carters, water carriers, washerwomen and laundresses, chaplains,
lawyers, archers, huntsmen, hornblowers, barbers, minstrels, guards and
servitors, and bakers and confectioners. The fortress also contained a
garrison, armory, chapels, stables, forge, wardrobe for a tailor's
workroom and secure storage of valuable clothes, silver plate, and
expensive imports such as sugar, rice, almonds, dried fruits, cinnamon,
saffron, ginger, galingale, zedoary, pepper, nutmeg, and mace. There
was a kitchen with courtyard for cattle, poultry, and pigs; dairy,
pigeon loft, brewery, beehives, fruit stores, gardens for vegetables
and herbs; and sheds for gardeners. There was also a mint, which minted
a gold penny worth 2s. of silver, a jewel house, and a menagerie (with
leopards, lions, a bear, and an elephant). The fortress also served as
a state prison. Most prisoners there had opposed the royal will; they
were usually permitted to live in quarters in the same style they were
used to, including servants and visits by family and friends. But
occasionally prisoners were confined in irons in dark and damp dungeons.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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