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
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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