Our Legal Heritage: The First Thousand Years: 600 - 1600: King Aethelbert - Queen ElizabethReilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: The First Thousand Years: 600 - 1600: King Aethelbert - Queen Elizabeth
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
This lawsuit between a son and his mother over land was heard at
a shire- meeting: "Here it is declared in this document that a
shire-meeting sat at Aylton in King Cnut's time. There were
present Bishop AEthelstan and Earl Ranig and Edwin, the Earl's
son, and Leofwine, Wulfsige's son, and Thurkil the White; and
Tofi the Proud came there on the King's business, and Bryning
the sheriff was present, and AEthelweard of Frome and Leofwine
of Frome and Godric of Stoke and all the thegns of
Herefordshire. Then Edwin, Enneawnes son, came traveling to the
meeting and sued his own mother for a certain piece of land,
namely Wellington and Cradley. Then the bishop asked whose
business it was to answer for his mother, and Thurkil the White
replied that it was his business to do so, if he knew the claim.
As he did not know the claim, three thegns were chosen from the
meeting [to ride] to the place where she was, namely at Fawley,
and these were Leofwine of Frome and AEthelsige the Red and
Winsige the seaman, and when they came to her they asked her
what claim she had to the lands for which her son was suing her.
Then she said that she had no land that in any way belonged to
him, and was strongly incensed against her son, and summoned to
her kinswoman, Leofflaed, Thurkil's wife, and in front of them
said to her as follows: 'Here sits Leofflaed, my kinswoman, to
whom, after my death, I grant my land and my gold, my clothing
and my raiment and all that I possess.' And then she said to the
thegns: 'Act like thegns, and duly announce my message to the
meeting before all the worthy men, and tell them to whom I have
granted my land and all my property, and not a thing to my own
son, and ask them to be witnesses of this.' And they did so;
they rode to the meeting and informed all the worthy men of the
charge that she had laid upon them. Then Thurkil the White stood
up in the meeting and asked all the thegns to give his wife the
lands unreservedly which her kinswoman had granted her, and they
did so. Then Thurkil rode to St. AEthelbert's minister, with the
consent and cognizance of the whole assembly, and had it
recorded in a gospel book."
Courts controlled by lords had various kinds of jurisdiction
recognized by the King. "Sac and soc" included the right to deal
with land disputes. "Toll and team" included the right to levy
tolls on cattle sales and to hold a hearing for men accused of
stealing cattle. "Infangenetheof" gave power to do justice to a
thief caught red-handed. Sometimes this jurisdiction overlapped
that of the hundred court.
The King decided the complaints and issues of the nobility.
Chapter 4
The Times: 1066-1100
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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