'William de Pontearch owes 12 marks of gold and one ounce for the office of Chamberlain of the Court, and two marks of gold for the office of Chamberlain of the Court for the use of his brother Osbert.'-p. 37.

The judgment-seat was equally an object of purchase, thus:

'Richard Fitz-Alfred, the butler, owes 15 marks of silver that he may sit with Ralf Basset at the King's Pleas.'-p. 101.

⚫ Benjamin accounts for 31. 58. that he may hold the pleas which belong to the Crown.'-p. 91.

And the great offices of state, thus :

The Chancellor owes 30067. 13s. 4d. for the [great] Seal.'-p. 140.

So also offices in corporations,—

Thomas of York, the son of Ulviet, owes one horse for the chase, that he may be an alderman in the guild of the merchants of York.'-p. 34.

And many other offices of various kinds as well of dignity as of trust and profit. Thus,

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A person whose name does not appear accounted for 40 shillings that he might be keeper of the gate of the castle of Appleby.'-p. 143.

Two brothers account for 30 marks of silver for the office" of the gate" of the castle of Exeter.'-p. 156.

Hasculf, the forester, accounted for seven marks of silver for the office" of the forest" of Rutland.'- p. 87.

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Geoffrey de Clinton accounts for 310 marks of silver for the office" of the treasure" at Winton.'-p. 105.

Of the privileges purchased some are territorial, thus :

'Herveius Bishop of Ely accounts for 10007. that the knights of the bishoprick of Ely may keep their ward in the isle of Ely as they did in the castle of Norwich.'-p. 44.

Robert de Montefort accounts for one palfrey and one horse for the chase, that his men of Presteton may do the same services to him as they did to his father.'p. 134.

'The Abbot of Fiscamp owes 60 marks of silver for a moiety of the toll of the ships at Wincelesei.'—p. 71.

'The Abbot of Tornei accounts for one mark of gold for the market of Jacheslei.'p. 49.

Earl Ralph of Chester owes twenty marks of silver that no one may hunt between the New Forest and his [forest].'-p. 110.

Many relate to the administration of justice, thus,

Lucy Countess of Chester owes 100 marks of silver that she may administer justice between her men in her own court.'-p. 110.

Ralph Auenell accounts for 10 marks of silver, that he may have soc and sac throughout his land.'—p. 98.

Uctred Fitz Walleof accounts for twenty marks of silver and three palfreys and three horses for the chase, for the soc and sac which the King has granted to him.'— p. 36.

Many fines were paid for assistance in the prosecution of suits; thus

William Fitz Eudo accounts for 10 marks of silver that the King may help him against the Earl of Brittany concerning his land.'—p. 93.

Robert Greslet accounts for 20 marks of silver that the King may help him against the Earl of Moriton in a certain plea.'-p. 114.

Walter, son of the Bishop of London, owes ten marks of silver that he may have right judgment concerning the church of Illing.'-p. 146.

The Dean of London accounts for 20 marks of silver that the King may assist him against the Bishop in his suits.'-p. 148.

Richard de Rullos owes one mark of silver that he may be treated justly in his Lord's Court.'-p. 143.

Such assistance was especially sought by the Jews, and occasionally by other persons, towards the recovery of debts. Thus :

:-

Vitalis Manceon and Reimbold his brother account for 100s. that they may have their debt which Thomas de St. John owed them.'-p. 38.

Rubi Gotsce, the Jew, and Jacob and Manasser account for six marks of gold that the King would help them against Richard Fitz Gilbert respecting their debts.'- p. 148.

The burgesses of Gloucester owe 30 marks of silver if by the King's Justice they could recover the money which was taken away from them in Ireland.'-p. 77.

Rubi Gotsce and the Jews to whom Earl Ralph was indebted owe 10 marks of gold that the King would assist them against the Earl respecting their debts.'-p. 149.

Herbert cum Testa accounts for two marks of silver that he may have his debt from the Abbey of Tavistock.'—p. 156.

Fines were also paid for exemption from the authority of the ordinary courts, and for the royal interference in pending suits, by way of prohibition or injunction to restrain their proceedings. Thus :

Hasculf Fitz Ridiou accounts for 40s. and one war-horse for the respite of a certain plea until the King should come into England.'-p. 26.

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Adam Tisun accounts for 15 marks of silver that he may not plead for his land

until the son of Nigel de Albini be a knight.'-p. 24.

Nigel de Ramenton accounts for 10 marks of silver that he may not answer the claim of Morcard respecting his father's land.'—p. 11.

Girald Fitz William accounts for 20s. for the respite of Edward his man concerning the man whom he slew.'-p. 155.

Occasionally this interference extended to an alteration of the sentence pronounced by the ordinary tribunals; and at other times even to a general pardon : thus

Ernald Fitz Enisand owes 10 marks of silver that he may have peace respecting the men whom he killed.'-p. 75.

'Osbert of Leicester owes 200 marks of silver that the King would forego his displeasure against him and Osbert his clerk.'-p. 82.

William Fitz Roger, of Pont Aleric, owes two marks of gold that he may have peace respecting the death of William del Rotur. And if any one has appealed him, that he may defend himself by law.'-p. 102.

Robert d'Avranches accounts for 170 marks of silver that the King would pardon him his displeasure concerning the daughter of Geldewin de Dol.'—p. 155.

Another branch of the fines here mentioned is composed of those paid as punishments. These are so numerous that it is scarcely possible to give an idea of them in the very few for which we can afford space.

'Nigel of Dunecaster accounts for 20 marks of silver for the forfeiture of his sons who killed one man.'-p. 32.

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Alfred of Cheaffeword accounts for 40s. for beating a rustic.'-p. 55.

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Roger Fitz Elyon, the shieldmaker, accounts for seven marks of silver for the thief whom he concealed.'-p. 73.

Liulf of Aldredesley accounts for 200 marks of silver and 10 horses for hunting and 10 hawks for the death of Gamel.'-p. 75.

Anschetill, the priest of Bury, accounts for ten marks of silver for his words which he could not prove.'-p. 85.

'Blehien de Mabuder and his brothers owe seven marks of silver on account of the daughter of Bleher, whom they forcibly ravished.'-p. 90.

The men of Catmaur owe 408. on account of the Bishop of Sarum's man, whom they killed.'-p. 90.

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Hugh Fitz Ansger accounts for 20s. for false testimony.'-p. 97.

Alan de Valanis accounts for 70%. on account of the death of a servant of the King.'-p. 100.

Payne de Braios accounts for 100 marks of silver for his men who were accused concerning the King's boars.'-p. 103.

Geoffrey Luuet owes 97. 138. 4d. on account of the fealty which he unjustly took of a certain man.'-p. 105.

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Geoffrey de Bechesiet accounts for 15 marks of silver for two murders for which he was impleaded.'-p. 125.

The Jews of London account for 20001. on account of the sick man whom they killed.'-p. 149.

A curious branch of the fines are those relating to marriage. The following are examples :

'Gilbert de Maisnil accounts for 10 marks of silver that the King would grant him permission to marry.'-p. 8,

'Robert de Lusor accounts for 81. 68. 8d. that he may marry the sister of Ilbert de Lacy.'-p. 8.

Walter de Canceius accounts for 157. that he may marry according to his pleasure.'-p. 26.

Walter Fitz Richard Fitz Hermer accounts for 117. 138. 4d. that his mother may take a husband according to her pleasure.'-p. 92.

'Wiuerona, the wife of Euerwacer of Ipswich, accounts for 41. and one mark of silver, that she shall not take for a husband any person whom she does not like.'-p. 96.

Lucy the Countess of Chester owes 500 marks of silver that she may not be compelled to marry for five years.'-p. 119.

Fines for grants of custodies are equally at variance with our modern notions. The following are instances :

'John d'Oberville accounts for five marks of silver that he may have the land of Peter his uncle in custody until he returns from Jerusalem.'-p. 33.

• William de Pontearch owes 1007. and three marks of gold for the custody of the land of Walter the son of Uluric, the huntsman, until his heir is able to hold land.'— p. 37.

'Turgis of Avranches accounts for 300 marks of silver and one mark of gold and one war horse, for the land and wife of Hugh de Albertiville and to have his son in his custody until he is twenty years of age.'-p. 67.

'Baldwin of Driebi accounts for seven score marks of silver that he may have in his custody Ralph, the son of Symeon of Driebi, with all his lands, until he is of age to become a knight.'-p. 119.

William Croc accounts for two hundred marks of silver and two marks of gold for [the custody of] the daughter of Herbert the Chamberlain, with her marriage.'-p. 125.

But we must hasten onwards, and shall therefore bring this division of our subject to a close with a few of the passages upon these, Rolls, which are illustrative of the historical events of the period.

Brand, the Mint master, accounts for 201. that he might not be dismembered with the other Mintmasters.'-p. 42.

This refers to a transaction of peculiar severity, which is related in the Saxon Chronicle under the year 1125. The King being then in Normandy, transmitted orders into England that all the Mintmen should be mutilated in a peculiar and dreadful manner. The Bishop of Salisbury, who governed the realm in the King's absence, summoned them all to Winchester at Christmas, and when they came thither,' says the chronicler, they were taken one by one' and mutilated in the manner directed And that,' he continues, was all in perfect justice because that they had undone all the land with the great quantity of base coin that they all bought.'-(Ingram's Sax. Chron. p. 351.) There are several other entries which allude to this transaction, and it would appear that in addition to the punishment mentioned by the chronicler, all the coined money in their possession was forfeited. Vide p. 94, 136. Brand was the Mintmaster of Chichester.

In the accounts of the sheriff of the counties of Dorset and Wilts, there occurs an allowance in the following words :

In the livery of Robert de Belisme, 187. 58. numbered money, and in clothes for the same, 40s. numbered money.'—p. 12.

The person to whom this entry alludes was the great Earl of Shrewsbury, whose power enabled him for a long time to set the Crown at defiance. Rather than submit to the Royal Court, he summoned his retainers, fortified his castles of Arundel, Bridgenorth, and Shrewsbury, and held them against the royal authority. At length II. GENT. MAG, VOL. IV. 30

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made peace with him, upon condition that he should quit the kingdom and reside altogether in Normandy, where he is stated to have possessed thirty-four castles. So powerful a subject could not avoid being mixed up with all the troubles of his time, and in the end Henry procured him to be arrested and thrown into prison. This took place in Normandy in the year 1112. In the following year, in the summer he sent Robert de Belesme into this land to the castle of Wareham.' (Sax. Chron. A.D. 1113.) During the long remainder of his life this once powerful but cruel and dangerous man remained in the prison to which he was thus conveyed, and there, after a lapse of sixteen years, this entry proves him to have been still confined,

Another celebrated prisoner, of whom there is frequent notice in these Rolls, is the Earl of Moreton, or Mortaigne, who was captured at the battle of Tenchebrai, in 1106. He was confined in the Tower of London, and in the accounts of the sheriffs of that city are the following entries :

In the livery of the Earl of Moriton, 127. 12s. 6d. by tale. And for clothes for the said earl 658. by tale. And in the livery of the serjeants who have custody of the earl, and the watchmen and gate-keepers of the Tower, 12. 138. 4d. by tale.'—p. 143.

A third, and yet more illustrious prisoner here mentioned, is Robert Duke of Noraandy, the King's brother. This unfortunate prince was another of the prisoners taken at the battle of Tenchebrai, in 1106. He was confined in various parts of England for a period of not much less than thirty years, and ultimately died at Cardiff, at a very advanced age. The following entries have reference to him :

:

In the livery of the Archbishop of Rouen, and in clothes for the Earl of Normandy, 231. 109. by tale.'-p. 144.

In payments by the King's writ to Fulchered Fitz Walter, 127. ' pro estruct.'* for the Earl of Normandy.'-p. 148.

These entries occur in the accounts for London, where, it may be inferred, he was at that time confined.

At p. 64 there is an entry of little moment in itself, but which furnishes a curious corroborative proof of the truth of the date fixed by Mr. Hunter, and a confirmation also of the accuracy of the Saxon monastic chroniclers :

In repairing the bridge of Rochester against the coming of the King, 38. 4d.'

We find in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, under the year 1130, the year, be it remembered, to which this Roll is now assigned, that the King having been at Canterbury,

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on the 4th day after the nones of May,' proceeded thence to Rochester on the fourth day thereafter,' and that whilst he was there the monastery of St. Andrew was consecrated. No doubt this is the coming of the King' alluded to in the passage we have quoted.

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It is worthy of notice, that in the accounts of the sheriffs of London are entries of the following payments :

In erecting two arches of London Bridge, 251. by tale. In buildings at the Tower of London, 177. Os. 6d. by tale.'—p. 144.

There are several entries scattered throughout the volume of allowances for a corody for the King of Scotland, in coming into England to the court of Henry I. and afterwards in returning home. We have not found in the historians of this period any mention of this visit, although a similar previous visit of peculiar political importance which took place in the year 1126 is recorded. This circumstance has misled some

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We are ignorant of the meaning of this word, It occurs, as far as we have noticed, only upon two previous occasions:-at p. 146, 17 marks of silver for one estruct and one palfrey.' And at p. 147, 107. for one estruct which the King had.' Perhaps some of our readers can enlighten us?

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persons in considering the date of this record, but surely without cause. David and Henry were upon excellent terms, and there are occasional traces in the chroniclers, and in this record, of the influence of the Scottish King over his powerful contemporary. There cannot be any good reason for supposing that every visit he made to England has been recorded in the Chronicles, nor ought it to be thought that the certainty with which Mr. Hunter's date is fixed by other circumstances, is at all shaken by the fact that there is no evidence except this Roll to prove that the visit in ques. tion took place in the year 1130. It is unquestionable, from the mode in which the payments are recorded, that the King of Scotland did come into England in the year to which the Roll belongs, and indeed the period of his coming and returning are pretty nearly fixed in the following manner :-The King's demesne Honor of Blida, is accounted for by two persons, each rendering account for half a year. One of them, therefore, accounted from Michaelmas 1129 to Lady Day 1130, and the other from that period to Michaelmas 1130. Now in each of these accounts there is a corody for the King of Scotland. (Vid. p. 9 and p. 36.) He must, therefore, have passed through Blida once between Michaelmas 1129 and Lady Day 1130, and once between that time and Michaelmas in that year. In the instance of the account for Yorkshire, which relates to the whole year, there is a charge for a corody for the King of Scotland, in coming to the court and returning.'-p. 24. And in the account for Northumberland, which is also an account for the whole year, the fact is even more distinctly expressed :-' for a corody for the King of Scotland in coming to the court of the King in England, and returning from England into Scotland.'—p. 35. We think that Mr. Hunter, upon reconsideration of this subject, will see reason for altering the statements respecting this visit of the King of Scotland, at p. xix of his preface.

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We had marked many other passages for extract and remark, but our decreasing space warns us to advance to the concluding portion of our subject.

The condition of the bulk and body of the people is one great token of the general state of society. All the institutions of government silently, perhaps, and gradually, but certainly, take their tone from the condition of those who constitute the mass of every society, and if there be but a little of the‘leaven' of freedom amongst the people, it is soon found to leaven the whole lump.' Hence the importance, in all historical inquiries, of considering the actual condition of the people; hence, again, the value of records in the minute entries of which this subject may be studied far more effectually than in the disquisitions of your philosophers;' hence, finally, the unappreciable value of a continuous series of records like our Pipe Rolls, in which may be traced the progress of our free institutions from their origin up to that fullblown dignity' in which we now behold them. In the Record before us we ascend to the very birth-place of these institutions, and find the people, who are their subjects, in a state, so far as concerns legal rights, nearly approaching to the condition of slaves. With few exceptions, the inferior ranks of the people are to be traced, in this volume, either as the vassals of some lord, who was responsible to the law for their actions, and paid the fines assessed on account of their delinquencies, or amongst the 'minuti homines' of the counties over whom the sheriff exercised probably an almost uncontrolled authority. Thus, to select instances at random, at p. 55, the Bishop of London and Robert Fitz Richard are both found accounting for their vassals. The former for his men of Clachestona,' and the latter for a certain man belonging to him.' Instances of the accounts rendered by the sheriffs for the minuti homines' or lowest class of tenants within their jurisdictions, are to be found in almost every county. See pp. 56, 103, &c. Even here, however, we can find clear indications of the growing wealth, and, as a consequence, the increasing importance of the humbler classes. When freedom was purchaseable, there were soon found men whose industry p them in a situation to become its purchasers. When he who applied to t

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