Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) EditionReilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) Edition
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
Courts controlled by lords of large private estates had various kinds
of jurisdiction recognized by the King: sac and soke [possession of
legal powers of execution and profits of justice held by a noble or
institution over inhabitants and tenants of the estate, exercised
through a private court], toll [right to collect a payment on the sale
of cattle and property] and team [right to hold a court to determine the
honesty of a man accused of illegal possession of cattle],
infangenetheof [the authority to judge and to hang and take the chattels
of a thief caught on the property], and utfangenetheof [the authority to
judge and to hand and take the chattels of a thief dwelling out of his
liberty, and committing theft without the same, if he were caught within
the lord's property]. Some lords were even given jurisdiction over
breach of the royal peace, ambush and treacherous manslaughter,
harboring of outlaws, forced entry into a residence, and failure to
answer a military summons. Often this court's jurisdiction overlapped
that of the hundred court and sometimes a whole hundred had passed under
the jurisdiction of an abbot, bishop, or earl.
A lord and his noble lady, or his steward, presided at this court. The
law was administered here on the same principles as at the hundred
court. Judges of the leet of the court of a large private estate were
chosen from the constables and four representatives selected from each
community, village, or town.
The vill [similar to village] was the smallest community for judicial
purposes. There were several vills in a hundred.
Before a dispute went to the hundred court, it might be taken care of
by the head tithing man, e.g. cases between vills, between neighbors,
and some compensations and settlements, namely concerning pastures,
meadows, harvests, and contests between neighbors.
In London, the Hustings Court met weekly and decided such issues as
wills and bequests and commerce matters. The folkmote of all citizens
met three times a year. Each ward had a leet court [for minor criminal
matters].
The king and his witan decided the complaints and issues of the
nobility and those cases which had not received justice in the hundred
or shire court. The witan had a criminal jurisdiction and could imprison
or outlaw a person. The witan could even compel the king to return any
land he might have unjustly taken. Specially punishable by the king was
"oferhyrnesse": contempt of the king's law. It covered refusal of
justice, neglect of summons to gemot or pursuit of thieves, disobedience
to the king's officers, sounding the king's coin, accepting another
man's dependent without his leave, buying outside markets, and refusing
to pay Peter's pence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account