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 Normans used the Anglo-Saxon concepts of jurisdictional
powers. Thus when the Conquerer confirmed "customs" to the abbot of
Ely, these were understood to include the following: 1) sac and soke -
the right to hold a court of private jurisdiction and enjoy its
profits, 2) toll - a payment in towns, markets, and fairs for goods and
chattel bought and sold, 3) team - persons might be vouched to warranty
in the court, the grant of which made a court capable of hearing suits
arising from the transfer of land, 4) infangenthef - right of trying
and executing thieves on one's land, 4) hamsocne [jurisdiction over
breach of the right of security and privacy in a man's house, e.g. by
forcible entry], 5) grithbrice - violation of the grantees' special
peace, for instance that of the sheriff, 6) fightwite - fine for a
general breach of the peace, 7) fyrdwite - fine for failure to appear
in the fyrd.
Every shire, now called "county", had at least one burh, or
defensible town. Kings had appointed a royal moneyer in each burh to
mint silver coins such as pennies for local use. On one side was the
King's head in profile and on the other side was the name of the
moneyer. When a new coinage was issued, all moneyers had to go to
London to get the new dies. The Conquerer's head faced frontally on his
dies, instead of the usual profile used by former Kings.
The Conquerer held and presided over his council three times a
year, as was the custom, at Easter, Christmas, and Whitsuntide, which
coincided with the great Christian festivals. This was an advisory
council and consisted of the Conquerer's wife and sons, earls, barons,
knights, officers of the King's household, archbishops, and bishops. It
replaced the witan of wise men. It dealt with fundamental matters of
law, state, war, and church. Earldoms and knighthoods were conferred
and homages to the king were witnessed. Bishops were nominated.
Attendance at the council, like attendance at courts, was regarded as a
burden rather than a privilege. The Conquerer's will was the motive
force which under lay all the council's action. When it was
administering royal justice, it was called the Royal Court.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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