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
[4.] If a widow survives with children under age, she shall have her
dower and her marriage portion, so long as she keeps her body chaste;
and I will not give her in marriage except with her consent. And the
guardian of the land, and of the children, shall be either the widow or
another of their relations, as may seem more proper. And I order that
my barons shall act likewise towards the sons and daughters and widows
of their men.
[5.] I utterly forbid that the common mintage [a forced levy to prevent
loss to the King from depreciation of the coinage], which has been
taken from the towns and counties, shall henceforth be levied, since it
was not so levied in the time of King Edward [the Confessor]. If any
moneyer or other person be taken with false money in his possession, let
true justice be visited upon him.
[6.] I forgive all pleas and all debts which were owing to my brother,
except my own proper dues, and except those things which were agreed to
belong to the inheritance of others, or to concern the property which
justly belonged to others. And if anyone had promised anything for his
heritage, I remit it, and I also remit all 'reliefs' which were promised
for direct inheritance.
[7.] If any of my barons or of my men, being ill, shall give away or
bequeath his movable property, I will allow that it shall be bestowed
according to his desires. But if, prevented either by violence or
through sickness, he shall die intestate as far as concerns his movable
property, his widow or his children, or his relatives or one his true
men shall make such division for the sake of his soul, as may seem best
to them.
[8.] If any of my barons or of my men shall incur a forfeit, he shall
not be compelled to pledge his movable property to an unlimited amount,
as was done in the time of my father [William I] and my brother; but he
shall only make payment according to the extent of his legal
forfeiture, as was done before the time of my father and in the time of
my earlier predecessors. Nevertheless, if he be convicted of breach of
faith or of crime, he shall suffer such penalty as is just.
[9.] I remit all murder fines which were incurred before the day on
which I was crowned King; and such murder fines as shall now be incurred
shall be paid justly according to the law of King Edward [by
sureties].
[10.] By the common counsel of my barons I have retained the forests in
my own hands as my father did before me.
[11.] The knights, who in return for their estates perform military
service equipped with a hauberk [long coat] of mail, shall hold their
demesne lands quit of all gelds [money payments] and all work; I make
this concession as my own free gift in order that, being thus relieved
of so great a burden, they may furnish themselves so well with horses
and arms that they may be properly equipped to discharge my service and
to defend my kingdom.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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