III. with respect to persons or things: it is decreed therefore, HENRY that if a Jew refuses to answer for any misdemeanor before K. of Eng. an ecclesiastical judge, in cases which belong to the cognizance of the spiritual court; he shall be compelled to appear, and make his defence, under the penalty of being barred all intercourse, trading, and conversation with any Christian. And those that screen such Jews from making their appearance, or distrain those who send them such citations, shall incur the censures of interdict and excommunication. sanctuary. 11. The eleventh provides against the violation of sanc- Breach of tuaries, and decrees, that those who set a guard upon such places of privilege, and starve the persons into a surrender, shall be excommunicated at the discretion of the ordinary. But that those who drag such persons out of a church or churchyard, or surprise them in the highway, as they are going to embark, after they have abjured the realm, or kill them while they are under the protection of the Church, shall be punished with all the force of discipline due to sacrilegious persons. 12. Again the synod takes notice, that the property and privileges of the Church are sometimes invaded and overborne; and decrees that excommunication shall be denounced against such sacrilegious injustice. And if the injurious persons continue in their obstinacy for the space of a month, the interdict shall be launched against their estates and places where they reside: neither shall either of these censures be taken off till they have made satisfaction. 13. Farther, the synod sets forth, that, because the ser- The clergy injured in vants and soldiers of great men sometimes intrude into the their prohouses of the clergy, waste and destroy their goods, and perty. outrage those, both in language and blows, who offer to contradict or resist them: to this they add, that the carriages and teams of the prelates, monks, and clergy, are seized upon the road, in markets, in sanctuaries, and forcibly taken away to convey the provisions, or other commodities of the great men of the realm; It is therefore ordained that those who are guilty of such arbitrary and sacrilegious violence, shall be solemnly excommunicated till they have made restitution, and given satisfaction, over and above, for the affront, and ill consequence of the injury. 14. The synod remonstrates, that the clergy and religious BONI- were compelled to sell their commodities to the king's purAbp. Cant. Veyors and servants, at the rate and price set by his highness, and forced to deliver the goods without receiving the money. To prevent this oppression, it was decreed that those who made use of such force should be excommunicated, and obliged to allow a fair and reasonable price, or to restore the goods which they had seized. And besides all this, to make competent satisfaction for the invasion of property. Bishops sees 15. The fifteenth article complains, that the lands of and abbeys cathedral and conventual churches, being in the custody of damnified in the vacancy. the crown during the vacancy, the king's bailiffs and officers embezzle the goods, and commit great waste upon the estates; that this latitude was a violation of the rights and liberties of the Church, and a direct infraction upon the securities of Magna Charta; for this reason it is decreed, that the ordinary shall excommunicate such sacrilegicus persons till they have made satisfaction; and that if the king interposes, and stops the courts of justice, the remedies against those who attach or distrain the Church for the exercise of her jurisdiction are to be made use of. Bishops' proxies not allowed, The clergy molested by Quo warranto's. be 16. The next grievance observed by the synod is, that bishops, with respect to their ecclesiastical tenures and estates, were cited by the common summons to appear in person fore the itinerant judges, and not allowed to attend by their proxy or attorney, and that this personal attendance was contrary to the liberties and franchises of the Church. It was therefore resolved, the king should be petitioned to allow the bishops to constitute their attorneys in form of law for this purpose; and that the justices should be admonished to admit such proxies, furnished with letters of attorney; and that, in case the judges refuse to allow them, thus qualified, and fine and distrain the prelate for not personally appearing, upon such occasions recourse must be had to the censures of the Church above mentioned. 17. The seventeenth article sets forth, that the prelates and clergy are forced, under the penalty of being distrained, to appear in the king's courts, to shew by what right or au471. thority they hold those liberties and privileges of which themselves or their predecessors have had a long and peaceable enjoyment; and that, unless they can justify their title III. upon these questions, they are immediately disseized. Now HENRY the remedy against this encroachment, was to enjoin those K. of Eng. who were cited upon these heads not to make their appearance. And in case they were distrained, or otherways molested for such default, the censures of the Church were to be exerted, as in the cases above mentioned. upon un 18. And since it sometimes happens, that princes, and other good Christians, convey estates and privileges to the And put Church by charter and deed, in which settlement, this, or a reasonable defences of resembling clause, is commonly inserted: "By this present their titles. deed and writing, I give, grant, and convey to such a cathedral, church, or monastery, and to their respective bishops, abbots, &c., such a fee or estate, with all the rights, emoluments, and appurtenances, either to me, or my heirs, lawfully belonging or appertaining." Now if a contest arise afterwards concerning any branch of the premises, not expressly mentioned in the conveyance, the king's judges pronounce the charter void, and of none effect, because the matter in dispute is not particularly named. And thus, by this construction of the bench, the word, all, signifies nothing. On the other hand, if the point under debate is particularly expressed in the settlement; the judges will then declare the charter of no force or significancy, if the church or monastery has happened to let her rights sleep, and to have made no actual use of the privilege in question. It is therefore provided, that all secular judges, whether clergy or lay, who shall injure the Church in her property by such unreasonable and perverse constructions of law, shall be admonished by the respective ordinaries to forbear such prevarication for the future: and, in case they refuse to acquiesce, and desist, the censures of excommunication and interdict are to be denounced against them. service de 19. And whereas kings, noblemen, and other pious Suit and Christians, have granted estates to the Church and clergymanded of to be held upon the best terms, and under the tenure the clergy against law. of franck almoine; notwithstanding the advantage of this grant, the king's sheriffs, and the bailiffs and stewards of noblemen, compel such ecclesiastical persons to do suit and service to their lord's court, contrary to the tenor of the conveyance, the intention of the donor, and the privilege of the respective churches. To which is added, that church BONI- men and monks are likewise disturbed and disseized of their FACE, Abp. Cant. estates, of which they have been possessed for several ages, unless they can defend their title by producing the original settlements, which charters, in such a long tract of time, are possibly worn out or destroyed. It is therefore provided, that, in case any distress is levied by the donors, their heirs or successors, for default of such suit and service, &c., the oppression is to be punished by the censures of the Church above mentioned. The ordinary hin intestate persons. 20. And lastly, because it sometimes happens, that dered in the when lay persons die intestate, the lords of the fee seize disposal of their assets, and will not suffer their debts to be paid out of the goods of their personal estate, nor the remainder to go to the use of their children and parents, or to be distributed in charity for the benefit of the deceased, at the discretion of the ordinary; it is therefore provided and decreed, that the said lords of manors and their bailiffs, shall be admonished not to obstruct the legal disposition of the goods of such intestate persons: and, in case they refuse to take notice of the admonition, they are to be excommunicated, at least for detaining that part of the assets which was to be distributed for the benefit of persons deceased. And those were to lie under the same censure, who hindered villains in gross, or regardant to manors, from making their wills, contrary to the ancient usage and custom of the Church of Burton An- England. nal. ibid. Paris Additament. p. 204. A brief re cital of the most material occurrences in the state. From the provisions of this synod, we have reason to believe the Church suffered in her property, and lay sometimes under hardships and encroachments; but then, on the other side, it must be said, the claims of the synod seem immoderate in some cases, the privileges of the clergy are over extended, and the censures of the Church misapplied, and driven too far upon the government. The latter end of this prince's reign being remarkable for several great occurrences and revolutions in the state, it may not be improper to throw in a word or two about them. To begin: The next year, the king sailed into France, and demanded restitution of the provinces seized in the reign of his father king John. The French urged a great many reasons against parting with what they had gotten, and particularly III. of the France. that the English title to Normandy was defective from the HENRY beginning, and that duke Rollo wrested it from the king of K. of Eng. France by force. King Henry, being in no condition to The king raise an army, and maintain his claim in the field, resigned resigns most the duchy of Normandy, the earldom of Anjou, Tours, English Maine, and Poictou, in consideration of a sum of money, provinces in This resignation was passed with all the solemnity of a treaty, and the king, princes Edward and Edmund, were sworn to the articles and from this time, the king omitted the title of duke of Normandy, earl of Anjou, &c., in his publick instruments. Continuat. Before the mention of this treaty, I should have taken 989. Con notice that the parliament met at Oxford upon the same Literæ, &c. day the synod was convened at Merton. In the late parlia- p. 675. 685. ment at London, the king had granted the barons a reformation of the government, as they called it. This regulation was to be managed by twelve of the king's council, and twelve others chosen by the barons: and that whatever orders were passed by these twenty-four, or the greater part of them, should be obeyed. Paris, p. ventiones 472. Par. 42. Paris ad The first thing, therefore, transacted at the Oxford parliament, was the election of these twenty-four. Four of the An. 1258. king's twelve were, the bishop of London, the elect of Winchester, the abbot of Westminster, and Henry de Wengham, dean of St. Martin's, London. In the twelve chosen by the barons, there was no clergyman, excepting the bishop Annal.Burof Worcester. These twenty-four named the king's council, which consisted of fifteen: of this number there were two prelates, viz., the archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishop of Worcester. To proceed. These twenty-four made the following demands, and provisions : 1. First, they required the king's confirmation of the charter granted by his father, king John. 2. They insisted upon a justiciary that should have no bias upon him towards partiality and injustice. ton, p. 412. Id. p. 413, 414. The Oxford provisions. 3. That they should have the liberty of choosing the justiciaries, chancellors, and other officers and ministers of the Matthew crown from year to year; and that the king's castles should p. 391. Westminst. |