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
The guardian of the land of any heir thus under age shall take
therefrom only reasonable issues, customs, and services, without
destruction or waste of men or goods. And if we commit the
custody of any such land to the sheriff or any other person
answerable to us for the issues of the same land, and he commits
destruction or waste, we will take an amends from him and
recompense therefore. And the land shall be committed to two
lawful and discreet men of that fee, who shall be answerable for
the issues of the same land to us or to whomsoever we shall have
assigned them. And if we give or sell the custody of any such
land to any man, and he commits destruction or waste, he shall
lose the custody, which shall be committed to two lawful and
discreet men of that fee, who shall, in like manner, be
answerable to us as has been aforesaid.
[V. GUARDIANS SHALL MAINTAIN THE INHERITANCE OF THEIR WARDS AND
OF BISHOPRICKS, ETC.]
The guardian, so long as he shall have the custody of the land,
shall keep up and maintain the houses, parks, fishponds, pools,
mills, and other things pertaining thereto, out of the issues of
the same, and shall restore to the heir when he comes of age,
all his land stocked with {ploughs and tillage, according as the
season may require and the issues of the land can reasonable
bear} PLOUGHS AND ALL OTHER THINGS, AT THE LEAST AS HE RECEIVED
IT. ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE OBSERVED IN THE CUSTODIES OF
VACANT ARCHBISHOPRICKS, BISHOPRICKS, ABBEYS, PRIORIES, CHURCHES,
AND DIGNITIES, WHICH APPERTAIN TO US; EXCEPT THIS, THAT SUCH
CUSTODY SHALL NOT BE SOLD.
[VI. HEIRS SHALL BE MARRIED WITHOUT DISPARAGEMENT]
Heirs shall be married without loss of station. {And the marriage
shall be made known to the heir's nearest of kin before it is
contracted.}
[VII. A WIDOW SHALL HAVE HER MARRIAGE, INHERITANCE, AND
QUERENTINE. THE KING'S WIDOW, ETC.]
A widow, after the death of her husband, shall immediately and
without difficulty have her marriage portion [property given to
her by her father] and inheritance. She shall not give anything
for her marriage portion, dower, or inheritance which she and
her husband held on the day of his death, and she may remain in
her husband's house for forty days after his death, within which
time her dower shall be assigned to her. IF THAT HOUSE IS A
CASTLE AND SHE LEAVES THE CASTLE, THEN A COMPETENT HOUSE SHALL
FORTHWITH BE PROVIDED FOR HER, IN WHICH SHE MAY HONESTLY DWELL
UNTIL HER DOWER IS ASSIGNED TO HER AS AFORESAID; AND IN THE
MEANTIME HER REASONABLE ESTOVERS [NECESSARIES OR SUPPLIES] OF THE
COMMON, ETC.
No widow shall be compelled [by penalty of fine] to marry so long
as she has a mind to live without a husband, provided, however,
that she gives security that she will not marry without our
assent, if she holds of us, or that of the lord of whom she
holds, if she holds of another.
[VIII. HOW SURETIES SHALL BE CHARGED TO THE KING]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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