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
A lady would take an occasional bath in a half cask in her
home. The church warned of evils of exposing the flesh, even to bathe.
Middlesex County was London's territory for hunting and farming. All
London craft work was suspended for one month at harvest time. London
received this charter for self-government and freedom from the financial
and judicial organization of the county:
"Henry, by the grace of God, King of England, to the Archbishop of
Canterbury and the bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciars, sheriffs
and all his loyal subjects, both French and English, throughout the
whole of England - greeting.
1. Be it known to you that I have granted Middlesex to my citizens of
London to be held on lease by them and their heirs of me and my heirs
for 300 pounds paid by tale [yearly], upon these terms: that the
citizens themselves [may] appoint a sheriff, such as they desire, from
among themselves, and a justiciar, such as they desire, from among
themselves, to safeguard the pleas of my Crown [criminal cases] and to
conduct such pleas. And there shall be no other justiciar over the men
of London.
2. And the citizens shall not take part in any [civil] case whatsoever
outside the City walls.
1) And they shall be exempt from the payment of scot and danegeld
and the murder fine.
2) And none of them shall take part in trial by combat.
3) And if any of the citizens has become involved in a plea of the
Crown, he shall clear himself, as a citizen of London, by an oath which
has been decreed in the city.
4) And no one shall be billeted [lodged in a person's house by order
of the King] within the walls of the city nor shall hospitality be
forcibly exacted for anyone belonging to my household or to any other.
5) And all the citizens of London and all their effect [goods] shall
be exempt and free, both throughout England and in the seaports, from
toll and fees for transit and market fees and all other dues.
6) And the churches and barons and citizens shall have and hold in
peace and security their rights of jurisdiction [in civil and criminal
matters] along with all their dues, in such a way that lessees who
occupy property in districts under private jurisdiction shall pay dues
to no one except the man to whom the jurisdiction belongs, or to the
official whom he has placed there.
7) And a citizen of London shall not be amerced [fined by a court
when the penalty for an offense is not designated by statute] to
forfeiture of a sum greater than his wergeld, [hereby assessed as] 100
shillings, in a case involving money.
8) And further there shall be no miskenning [false plea causing a
person to be summoned to court] in a husting [weekly court] or in a
folkmote [meeting of the community], or in any other court within the
City.
9) And the Hustings [court] shall sit once a week on Monday.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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