The Dialogue concerning the Exchequer
Late 12th Century
(translated from Stubbs' "Charters," p. 168.)
[Henderson: Introduction, p.3-4, (with slight alterations)]
[3] The Dialogue Concerning the Exchequer is one of
the few actual treatises of the middle ages. It is a most learned
essay concerning all that went on at the bi-yearly meetings of
the exchequer (the treasury of England) officials, and branches
out into a description of all the sources of revenue of the English
crown, and of the methods of collecting them. The value of this
essay for early English history cannot be over estimated: in every
direction it throws light on the existing state of affairs.
According to Brunner, Gneist, Pauli and F. Liebermann [Einleitung
in de Dialogus de Scaccario, (Göttingen: 1875) the Dialogue was complete in the winter of 1178-9. [4] Stubbs thought that
it was composed after 1181, perhaps as late as 1188. The author
of the work, whose name is not mentioned in the two existing manuscripts,
has been proved by Madox to be Richard son of Bishop Nigel of
Ely. Richard, as well as his father, was for many years a high
official at the exchequer, and was clear-headed and logical, and
was, in addition, gifted with great literary ability. His knowledge
of the classics is shown by his frequent quotations from them.
As a result of so many good qualities in its author the Dialogue is not only learned but readable and interesting. There is much
to make one believe that the work has an official character, and
that it was composed by order of the government. Liebermann regard
it as parallel work to Glanville's Tractatus.
In general Richard's assertions are deserving of the highest
confident. Occasionally, indeed, in the matter of derivations
and of the origins of institutions he is found to be weak.,
Much of his information was gained orally, and in all cases
he seems to have goon directly to the highest authority on the
particular point to be treated of.
PREFACE
[20] It is necessary to subject one's self in all fear to the
powers ordained by God, and likewise to serve them. For every
power is from God the Lord. Nor does it therefore seem absurd
or foreign to ecclesiastics, by serving kings who are, as it were,
pre-eminent, and other powers, to uphold their rights ; especially
in matters which are not contrary to divine Truth or honesty.
But one should serve them not alone in preserving those dignities
through which the glory of the royal majesty shines forth, but
also in preserving the abundance of worldly wealth which pertains
to them by reason of their station: for the former cast a halo
round them, the latter aid them. For indeed abundance of means,
or the lack of them, exalts or humbles the power of princes. For
those who lack them will be a prey to their enemies, to those
who have them their enemies will fall a prey. But although it
may come about that these accrue to kings for the most part, not
by some right that has been thoroughly examined into, but at times
through paternal customs, at times through the secret designs
of their own hearts, or occasionally through the arbitrariness
of their own sole will, nevertheless their acts are not to be
discussed or condemned by their subjects. For the cause of those
[21] whose hearts and the motions of whose hearts are in the hand
of God, and to whom by God Himself the sole care of their subjects
has been committed, stands and falls before a Divine tribunal
alone, not before a human one. Let no one, therefore, no matter
how rich, flatter himself that he will go unpunished if he act
otherwise, for of such it is written, "the powerful shall
powerfully suffer torments." Therefore of whatever nature
the origin or manner of acquiring may be or may seem to be, those
who are officially deputed . to look after the revenues should
be none the more remiss in caring for them. But in the matter
of collecting, guarding, and distributing them, careful diligence
befits those who are about to render an account, as it were, of
the state of the kingdom, which, through the revenues, is preserved
from harm. We know, indeed, that chiefly by prudence, fortitude,
temperance, and justice, and other virtues, kingdoms are ruled
and laws subsist; wherefore the rulers of the. world should strive
after these with all their strength. But it happens at times that
what is conceived with sound counsel and excellent intent is carried
through by, so to say, a routine-like method. But this is not
only necessary in time of war but also in time of peace. For at
the one time it displays itself in fortifying towns, in delivering
to the soldiers their pay, and in very many other ways, according
to the quality of the persons, for the sake of keeping up the
condition of the kingdom; at the other, although the weapons are
at rest, churches are built by devout princes, Christ is fed and
clothed in the person of the poor, and, by persisting in other
acts of benevolence, it exhibits itself in charity. But the glory
of princes consists in the mighty deeds of both seasons, but it
excels in those where, instead of temporal riches, lasting ones,
with their blessed reward, are attained. Wherefore, illustrious
king, greatest of earthly princes, inasmuch as we have often seen
thee glorious in both seasons, not sparing indeed treasures of
money, but providing for the suitable expenses according to the
place, time, and persons, we have dedicated to thy Excellency
this modest work, not written concerning great matters or ill
brilliant discourse, but in rustic style, having to do with the
necessary observances of thy exchequer. We lately [22] saw thee
somewhat concerned as to these, so that, dispatching discreet
men from thy side, thou didst address thyself to the then bishop
of Ely in this matter. Nor was it extraordinary that a man of
such surpassing genius, a prince of such singular power, should,
among other greater matters, also have provided for these. For
the exchequer, indeed, comes to its laws not at haphazard, but
through the thoughtfulness of great men ; and, if its rules be
regarded in all things, the rights of individuals can be preserved,
and what is due to the fisc will come to thee in full; which same
thy hand, which ministers to thy most noble mind, can suitably
distribute.
FIRST BOOK.
In the twenty-third year of the reign of King Henry II., while
I was sitting at the window of a tower next to the River Thames,
a man spoke to me impetuously, saying: "master, hast thou
not read that there is no use in science or in a treasure that
is hidden?" when I replied to him,
"I have read so." straightway he said: "why, therefore,
dost thou not teach others the knowledge concerning the exchequer
which is said to be thine to such an extent, and commit it to
writing lest it die with thee?" I answered: "lo, brother,
thou hast now for a long time sat at the exchequer, and nothing
is hidden from thee, for thou art painstaking. And the same is
probably the case with the others who have seats there."
But he, "just as those who walk in darkness and grope with
their hands frequently stumble,-so many sit there who seeing do
not perceive, and hearing do not understand." Then I, "thou
speakest irreverently, for neither is the knowledge so great nor
does it concern such great things; but perchance those who are
occupied with important matters have hearts like the claws of
an eagle, which do not retain small things, but which great ones
do not escape." And he, "so be it: but although eagles
fly very high, nevertheless they rest and refresh themselves in
humble places; and therefore we beg thee to explain humble things
which will be of profit to the eagles themselves." Then I;
" I have feared to put together a work concerning these things
because they lie [23] open to the bodily senses and grow common
by daily; nor is there, -nor can there be in them a description
of subtile things, or a pleasing invention of the imagination."
And he, "those who rejoice in imaginings, who seek the flight
of subtile things, have Aristotle and the books of Plato; to them
let them listen. Do thou write not subtile but useful things."
Then I; "of those things which thou demandest it is impossible
to speak except in common discourse and in ordinary words."
"But," said he, as if aroused to ire,-for to a mind
filled with desire nothing goes quickly enough,-"writers
on arts, lest they might seem to know too little about many things,
and in order that art might less easily become known, have sought
to appropriate many things, and have concealed them under unknown
words: but thou dost not undertake to write about an art, but
about certain customs and laws of the exchequer; and since these
ought to be common, common words must necessarily be employed,
so that style may have relation to the things of which we are
speaking. Moreover, although it is very often allowable to invent
new words, I beg, nevertheless, if it please thee that thou may'st
not be ashamed to use the customary names of the things themselves
which readily occur to the mind, so that no new difficulty from
using unfamiliar words may arise to disturb us." Then I;
" I see that thou art angry; but be calmer; I will do what
thou dost urge. Rise, therefore, and sit opposite to me; and ask
me concerning those things that occur to thee. But if thou shalt
propound something unheard of, I shall not blush to say 'I do
not know.' But let us both, like discreet beings come to an agreement."
And he; "thou respondest to my wish. Moreover, although an
elementary old man is a disgraceful and ridiculous thing, I will
nevertheless begin with the very elements."
I What the Exchequer is, and what is the
reason of this name.
Disciple. What is the exchequer?
Master. The exchequer is a quadrangular surface about ten
feet in length, -five in breadth, placed before those [24] sit
around it in the 'manner of a table, and all around it it has
an edge about the height of one's four fingers, lest any thing
placed upon it should fall off. There is placed over the top of
the exchequer, moreover, a cloth bought at the Easter term, not
an ordinary one but a black one marked with stripes, the stripes
being distant from each other the space of a foot or the breadth
of a hand. In the spaces moreover are counters placed according
to their values; about these we shall speak below. Although, moreover,
such a surface is called exchequer, nevertheless this name is
so changed about that the court itself which sits when the exchequer
does is called exchequer; so that if at any time through a decree
any thing is established by common counsel, it is said to have
been done at the exchequer of this or that year. As, moreover,
one says to-day at the exchequer," so one formerly said "
at the tallies."
D. What is the reason of this name?.
M. No truer one occurs to me at present than that it has
a shape similar to that of a chess board.
D. Would the prudence of the ancients ever have called it so for
its shape alone, when it might for a similar reason be called
a table (tabularium) ?
M. I was right in calling thee painstaking. There is another,
but a more bidden reason. For just as, in a game of chess, there
are certain grades of combatants and they proceed or stand still
by certain laws or limitations, some presiding and others advancing:
so, in this, some preside, some assist by reason of their office,
and no one is free to exceed the fixed laws; as will be manifest
from what is to follow. Moreover, as in chess the battle is fought
between kings, so in this it is chiefly between two that the conflict
takes place and the war is waged,-the treasurer, namely, and the
sheriff who sits there to render account; the others sitting by
as judges, to see and to judge.
D. Will the accounts be received then by the treasurer, although
there are many there who, by reason of their power, are greater?
M. That the treasurer ought to receive the account from the sheriff
is manifest from this, that the same is required from him whenever
it pleases the king: nor could that be [25] required of him which
be had not received. Some say, nevertheless, that the treasurer
and the chamberlains should be bounden alone for what is written
in the rolls in the treasury, and that for this an account should
be demanded of them. But it is believed with more truth that they
should be responsible for the whole writing of the roll, as will
be readily understood from what is to follow.
II. That there is a lower one and an upper
one; both have the same origin however.
D. Is that exchequer, in which such a conflict goes on,
the only one ?
M. No. For there is a lower exchequer which is also called
the Receipt, where the money is handed over to be counted, and
is put down in writing and on tallies, so that afterwards, at
the upper exchequer, an account may be rendered of them; both
have the same origin however, for whatever is declared payable
at the greater one is here paid; and whatever has been paid here
is accounted for there.
III. As to the nature or arrangement of the
lower one according to the separate offices.
D. What is the nature or arrangement of the lower exchequer?
M. As I see, thou canst not bear to be ignorant of any
of these things. Know then that that lower exchequer has its persons,
distinct from each other by reason of their offices, but with
one intent devoted to the interests of the king, due regard, nevertheless,
being paid to equity; all serving, moreover, not in their own
names but in the names of their masters; with the exception Of
two knights, he, namely, who conducts the assays, and the melter.
Their offices depend on the will of our king; hence they seem
to belong rather to the upper than to the lower exchequer, as
will be explained below. The clerk of the treasurer is there with
his seal. There are also two knights, of the chamberlains. There
is also a certain [26] knight who may be called the silverer,
for, by reason of his office, be presides at the testing of silver.
There is also the melter who tests the silver. There are also
four tellers to count the money. There is also the usher of the
treasury and the watchman. These, moreover, are their offices:
The clerk of the treasurer, when the money has been counted and
put in boxes by the hundred pounds, affixes his seal and puts
down in writing how much he has received, and from whom, and for
what cause; he registers also the tallies which have been made
by the chamberlains concerning that receipt. Not only, moreover,
does he place his seal on the sacks of money, but also, if he
wishes, on the chests and on the separate boxes in which the rolls
and tallies are placed, and he, diligently supervises all the
offices which are under him, and nothing is hidden from him. The
office of the knights, who are also called chamberlains because
they serve in the name of the chamberlains, is this: they carry
the keys of the chests; for each chest has two locks of a different
kind, that is, to neither of which the key of the other can be
fitted; and they carry the keys of them. Each chest, moreover,
is girded with a certain immovable strap, on which, in addition,
when the locks are closed the seal of the treasurer is placed;
so that neither of the chamberlains can have access except by
common consent. Likewise it is their duty to weigh the money which
has been counted and placed by the hundred shillings in wooden
receptacles, so that there be no error in the amount; and then,
at length, to put them in boxes by the hundred pounds as has been
said. But if a receptacle is found to have any deficiency, that
which is thought to be lacking is not made good by calculation,
but straightway the doubtful one is thrown back into the heap
which is to be counted. And take note that certain counties from
the time of king Henry I. and in the time of king Henry II. could
lawfully offer for payment coins of any kind of money provided
they were of silver and did not differ from the lawful weight;
because indeed, by ancient custom, -not themselves having moneyers,
they sought their coins from on all sides; such are Northumberland
and Cumberland. Coins thus received, moreover, although they came
from a farm, [27] were nevertheless set apart from the others
with some marks placed on them. But the remaining counties were
accustomed to bring only the usual and lawful coin of the present
money as well from farms as from pleas. But after the illustrious
king whose renown shines the brighter in great matters, did, in
his reign, institute one weight and one money for the whole kingdom,
each county began to be bound by one necessity of law and to be
constrained by the manner of payment of a general commerce. All,
therefore, in whatever manner they are bounden, pay the same kind
of money; but nevertheless all do not sustain the loss which comes
from the testing by combustion. The chamberlains likewise make
the tallies of receipts, and have in common with the clerk of
the treasurer to disburse the treasure received when required
by writs of the king or an order of the barons; not, however,
without consulting their masters. These three, all together or
by turns, are sent with treasure when it is necessary. These three
have the principal care of all that is done in the lower exchequer.
D. Therefore, as I perceive, these men are allowed to disburse
the treasure received, in consequence of a royal writ or of an
order from those who preside-after consultation with their masters,
however.
M. They are allowed, I say; in so far as they are entrusted with
the payment of the servants of the lower exchequer, and with buying
the small necessaries of the exchequer, such as the wooden receptacles,
and other things which will be mentioned below; but not otherwise.
When any one brings a writ or order of the king for money, by
command of their masters that sum which is expressly named in
the writ may be paid, with the understanding that, before he go
out, he shall count the money received. But if anything be lacking,
he who received it shall return to the exchequer and shall give
an oath to this effect: that be has brought back as much as he
received, adding this, upon his conscience, as is done
in other things; and this being done the rest shall be paid him,
it being first counted in the presence of all by the regular tellers.
But if, the conditions being known to him, he shall have gone
out of the door of the treasury, [28] whoever the person, or however
great the loss, no heed shall be paid to him. The offices of the
knight silverer and of the melter are conjoined and belong rather
to the upper exchequer, and therefore will be explained there
with the other offices. The office of the four tellers is the
following: When the money is sent to the exchequer to be counted,
one of them diligently mixes the whole together, so that the better
pieces may not be by themselves and the worse by themselves, but
mixed, in order that they may correspond in weight ; this being,
done, the chamberlain weighs in a scale as much as is necessary
to make a pound of the exchequer. But if the number shall exceed
20 shillings by more than six pence in a pound, it is considered
unfit to be received; but if it shall restrict itself to six pence
or less, it is received, and is counted diligently by the tellers
by the hundred shillings as has been said. But if the coins are
from a farm and are to be tested, 44 shillings from the heap,
being, mixed together, are placed in a compartment by themselves,
and on this the sheriff puts a mark; so that there may be afterwards
a testing, which is commonly called assaying, of them, as will
be made clear further on. It shall, moreover, be the care of those
who preside over the Receipt by virtue of their masters-that is
of the clerks of the treasurer and of the chamberlains - when
the money is received, to put aside weights of the tested silver
and coins from a farm, placing certain marks on the bags that
contain them, so that, if the king wishes silver vessels to be
made for the uses of the house of God, or for the service of his
own palace, or perchance money for beyond seas, it may be made
from this.
D. There is something in what thou hast said that strikes me.
M. Speak then.
D. Thou said'st, if I remember rightly, that sometimes money is
brought to be paid into the exchequer which is judged unfit to
be received, if, indeed, being, weighed against a pound weight
of the exchequer, a deficiency is found of more than six pence.
Inasmuch, then, as all money of this kingdom ought to have the
stamped image of the king, and all moneyers are bound to work,-
accord-[29]ing to the same weight, bow can it happen that all
their work is not of one weight?
M. That is a great question which thou askest, and one which requires
further investigation; but it can happen through forgers and clippers
or cutters of coin. Thou knowest, moreover, that the money of
England can be found false in three ways: false, namely, in weight,
false in quality, false in the stamping. But these kinds of falsification
are not visited by an equal punishment. But of this elsewhere.
D If it please thee, continue concerning the offices as
thou hast begun.
M. It is the duty of the usher to exclude or admit as is
necessary, and to be diligent in guarding every thing which is
shut in by the door; wherefore, as door-money, he shall have two
pence from each writ of exit. He furnishes the boxes to put the
money in, and the rolls and the tallies, and the other things
which become necessary during the year; and for each box be has
two pence. He furnishes the whole Receipt with wood suitable for
the tallies of receipts and of accounts, and once, that is at
the Michaelmas term, be receives five shillings for the wood of
the tallies. He furnishes the wooden receptacles, the knives,
the compartments, and the straps and the other minute necessaries
of the fisc. At that same term are due two shillings for furnishing
the ink of the whole ear to both exchequers, and this amount,
by ancient right, the sacristan of the greater church of Westminster
claims for himself. The office of the watchman is the same there
as elsewhere; most diligent guarding, namely, at -night, chiefly
of the treasure and of all those things which are placed in the
treasury building. Thus thou hast the various offices of those
who serve in the lower exchequer. And they have fixed payments
while the exchequer is in progress, that is from the day on which
they are called together, to the day on which there is a general
departure. The clerk of the treasurer who is below, has five pence
a day. The scribe of the same treasurer in the upper exchequer
has likewise five. The scribe of the chancellor, five. The two
knights who bear the keys have each eight, by reason of their
knighthood. For they claim that they are bound to [30] be ready
with the necessary horses and weapons, so that when they are sent
with the treasure they may thus more readily execute what pertains
to their office. The knight-silverer has twelve pence a day. The
melter, five. The usher of the greater exchequer, five. The four
tellers, each three pence, if they are at London; if at Winchester
each one has two, since they are generally taken from there. The
watchman has one penny. For the light of each night at the treasury
one halfpenny.
D. For what reason does the usher of the treasury alone
receive no pay?
M. I do not exactly know But, however, perhaps he does
not receive any pay because he is seen to receive something as
door-money, and for furnishing the boxes and tallies ; or perchance
because he seems to serve, not the king, but the treasurer and
the chamberlains in guarding the door of their building. In this
way, then, has the arrangement of the lower exchequer or Receipt
been made.
D. I have been so well satisfied in this regard that nothing
seems to be wanting. Proceed now, if it please thee, concerning
the greater exchequer.
IV. What is the competency of the Upper Exchequer, and whence it takes its origin.
M. Although the offices of those who have seats at the greater
exchequer seem to differ in certain functions, the purpose, nevertheless,
of all the offices is the same, to look out for the king's advantage;
with due regard for equity, however, according to the fixed laws
of the exchequer. The arrangement or ordering of the latter is
confirmed by its antiquity and by the authority of the nobles
who have their seats there. It is said to have begun with the
very conquest of the kingdom made by king William, the arrangement
being taken, however, from the exchequer across the seas; but
they differ in very many and almost the most important points.
Some believe it to have existed under the Anglo-Saxon kings, taking
their argument in this matter from the fact that the peasants
and already decrepit old men of those estates which are called
[31] knew very well, having been taught by their fathers, how
of the crown, whose memory is gray in these matters, much extra
money they are bound to pay on the pound for the blanching of
their farm. But this argument applies to the payment of the farm,
not to the session of the exchequer. The fact also seems to be
against those who say that the blanching of the farm began in
the time of the Anglo-Saxon kings, that in the Domesday book,
in which a diligent description of the whole kingdom is contained,
and in which, the value is expressed of the different estates
as well of the time of king Edward as of the time of king William,
under whom it was made,-there is no mention at all of the blanching
of the farm: from which it seems probable that, after the time
when that survey was made in the reign of the aforementioned king,
the blanching of the farm was fixed upon by his investigators
on account of causes which are noted below. But at whatever time
it came into use, it is certain that the exchequer is confirmed
by the authority of the great, so that it is allowed to no one
to infringe its statutes or to resist them by any kind of rashness.
For it has this in common with the Court itself of the lord king
(Curia Regis), in which he in his own person administers the law,
that no one is allowed to contradict a record or a sentence passed
in it. The authority, moreover, of this court is so great, as
well on account of the preeminence of the royal image, which,
by a special prerogative, is kept on his seal of the treasury,
as on account of those who have their seats there, as has been
said; by whose watchfulness the condition of the whole kingdom
is kept safe. For there sits the Chief Justice of the lord king
by reason of his judicial dignity, as well as the greatest men
of the kingdom, who share familiarly in the royal secrets; so
that whatever has been established or determined in the presence
of such great men subsists by an inviolable right. In the first
place, there sits, nay also presides, by reason of his office,
the first man in the kingdom, namely, the Chief Justice. With
him sit, solely by command of the sovereign, with momentary and
varying authority, indeed, certain of the greatest and most discreet
men in the kingdom, who may belong either to the clergy [32]-
or to the court. They sit there, I say, to interpret the law and
to decide upon the doubtful points which frequently arise from
incidental questions. For not in its reckonings, but in its manifold
judgments, does the superior science of the exchequer consist.
For it is easy when the sum required has been put down, and the
sums which have been handed in are placed under it for comparison,
to tell by subtraction if the demands have been satisfied or if
anything remains. But when one begins to make a many-sided investigation
of those things which come into the fisc in varying ways, and
are required under different conditions, and are not collected
by he sheriffs in the same way,-to be able to tell if the latter
have acted otherwise than they should, is in many ways a grave
task. Therefore the greater science of the exchequer is said to
consist in these matters. But the judgments on doubtful or doubted
points which frequently come up can not be comprehended under
one form of treatment; for all kinds of doubts have not yet come
to light. Certain, however, of the matters which we know to have
been brought up and settled, we shall note below in their proper
place.
V. What is the office of the President, and
of all those who sit there officially; and what the arrangement
of the Seats.
D. What is the office of this so important a member?
M. Nothing can be more truly said of him than that he looks after
all things in the lower and upper exchequer, and all the lower
offices are arranged according to his will; in such wise, however,
that they duly turn out to the advantage of the lord king. In
this, moreover, among other things, his exalted character is seen,-that
he, under his own witness, can cause a writ of the lord king to
be made out so that an ' y sum may be delivered from the treasury,
or that there may be computed to any one, whatever he knows ought,
by command of the king, to be computed to him. Or, if he prefer,
he can make his own writ, witnessed to by others, concerning these
matters.
D. Great is this man to whose fidelity the care of the whole kingdom,
nay, the very heart of the king is entrusted. [33] For indeed,
it is written: "where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also." But now, if it please thee, continue concerning
the others.
M. Dost thou wish me to proceed with them according to the grade
of their dignities, or according to the disposition of the seats?
D. According as each one, by reason of his office, has attained
his seat. For it will be easy, I imagine, to conclude the dignities
from the offices.
M. That thou may'st understand in what order they are arranged,
know that at the four sides of the exchequer four me seats or
benches are placed. But at the head of the exchequer-that is,
where the broad side is,-in the middle, not of the seat, but of
the exchequer, is the place of that chief man of whom we spoke
above. In the first place on big left sits, by reason of his office,
the chancellor, if he should happen to be present; after him the
knight whom e call constable: after him, two chamberlains, he
being first who, judging from his more advanced age, is the more
venerable: after these, the knight who is commonly called the
marshal. In the absence of these, others, however, are sometimes
put in their place; or perchance even when they are present, if,
namely, the authority of those who are delegated by the king shall
be so great that the others ought to give place to them. Such
is the arrangement of the first bench. In the second, moreover,
which is on the long side of the exchequer, sits, in the place
at the head, the clerk or another servant of the chamberlains,
with the "recauta," - that is, with the counter-tallies
from the Receipt. After him, some coming in between who do not
sit there by reason of their office but are delegated by the king,
is a place almost in the middle of the side of the exchequer for
him who puts down the sums by the placing of counter. After him
some, not by reason of their office, but nevertheless necessary.
At the end of that bench sits the clerk who presides over the
scriptorium, and he by reason of his office. Thus thou hast the
arrangement of the second bench. But at the right of the presiding
Justice sits in the first place the now Bishop of Winchester,
the former arch-dean of Poitiers,-not, indeed, by reason of his
office, but by a new decree; in order, namely, that he may [34]
be next to the treasurer and may diligently give his attention
to the writing of the roll. After him, at the head of the third
seat, on the right, sits the treasurer, who has to attend most
carefully to everything which is done there, being bound to give
an account, as it were, of all these things, if there shall be
need of it. After him sits his ,dark, the scribe of the roll of
the treasury - after him, another scribe, of the roll of the chancery:
after him, the clerk of the chancellor, who with his own eyes
always sees to it that his roll corresponds to the other in every
point, so that not one jot is lacking and that the order of writing
does not differ: after him, almost at the end of that bench sits
the clerk of the constable, great, indeed, and busy at the court
of the lord king, and having, indeed, here au office which be
performs in person or, if the king shall seem to have more use
for him elsewhere, through a discreet clerk. This, then, is the
description of the third bench. On the fourth bench, which is
opposite the Justice, Master Thomas, who is called Brunus, sits
at the head with a third roll which has been added as a new institution,
that is, by our lord king; for it is written, " and a threefold
cord is not quickly broken." After him the sheriffs and their
clerks., who sit there to render account with tallies and other
necessaries. This then is the arrangement of the fourth bench.
D. Has then the scribe of Master Thomas his seat in the same range
with the other scribes, and not rather above the others ?
M. He does indeed have his seat not with the others but above
the others.
D. Why is this so?
M. Inasmuch as, from the beginning, the seats were so arranged
that the scribe of the treasurer should sit at his side lest anything
should be written which should escape his eye; and in like manner
the scribe of the chancery at the side of the scribe of the treasurer,
that he might faith. fully take, down what the latter wrote; and
likewise the clerk of the chancery was of necessity next to that
scribe, lest he might err: there was no place left in the order
of the bench where Master Thomas's scribe might sit, but a raised
place was given him that be might be above and [35] overlook the
scribe of the treasurer, who is the first to write, and may take
down from him what is necessary.
D. He would need to have the eyes of a lynx so as not err; for
an error in these things is said to be dangerous.
M. Although, on account of being far off, he sometimes makes a
mistake, yet, when the rolls are corrected, a comparison being
made of all three, it will be easy to correct the mistakes.
D. Enough has thus far been said concerning the order of seating.
Now proceed, if it please thee, concerning their offices, beginning
on the left of the president
As to the Chancellor.
M. In that order the chancellor is first; and as in the
court, even so is he great at the exchequer ; so that without
his consent and advice nothing great is done or may be done. But
this is his office when he sits at the exchequer: to him pertains
the custody of the royal seal which is in the treasury, but he
does not leave there except when, by order of the Justice, it
is borne by the treasurer or chamberlain from the lower to the
upper exchequer, for the sole purpose of carrying on the business
of the exchequer. This having been performed, it is put in its
box and the box is sealed by the chancellor and is given thus
to the treasurer to be guarded. Likewise, when it becomes necessary,
it is proffered sealed to the chancellor before the eyes of all;
it is never to be proffered, by him or by another, in any other
way. Likewise to him, through a substitute, pertains the custody
of the roll of the chancery; and, since it so seemed good to great
men, the chancellor is equally responsible, with the treasurer
for all the writing on the roll, except alone what has been written
down as having been received in the treasury: for although he
may not prescribe how the treasurer writes, nevertheless, if the
latter shall have erred, it is allowed to him or to his clerk
with modesty to chide the treasurer and suggest what he shall
do. But if the treasurer persevere, and be unwilling to change,
being himself confident,-the chancellor can accuse him, but only
before the barons, so that by there shall be declared what ought
to be done [36]
D. It seems probable that the guardian of the third roll,
also, is bound by the same responsibility as to the writing.
M. It is not only probable but true: for those two rolls have
an equal authority in the matter of the writing; for so it pleased
the originator.
As to the Constable.
The office of the constable at the exchequer is, in the case of
royal writs concerning the issue of treasure or concerning any
accountings to be made, to be witness, together with the president,
for those who make the account. For in all such writs it is necessary,
according to ancient custom, that two witnesses shall be inscribed.
It is likewise his office, when the king's soldiers come to the
exchequer for their pay, whether they reside in the castles of
the king or not, taking with him the clerk of the constabulary,-whose
duty it is to know their terms of payment-and the Marshall of
the exchequer,-to compute their payments and to take their oath
concerning arrears, and to cause the rest to be paid. For every
payment of all persons whatever, whether of hawkers, or falconers,
or bear-wardens, pertains to his office if he be present; unless,
perchance, the lord king shall have previously assigned some one
else to this duty: for the constable cannot easily be torn from
the king, on account of greater and more urgent business. It is
to be noted that the Marshall of the exchequer takes from the
payments of native knights what belongs to him by reason of his
office; not however from alien ones. It is likewise common to
him with the other greater barons, that no great measure shall
be taken without consulting him.
As to the Chamberlains.
The office of the chamberlains is akin to the office of the treasurer,
for they are known to serve under one and the same mantle of honour
or loss; and they have one will with regard to the king's honour;
so that what has been done by one may not be declared invalid
by any of them. [37] For the treasurer receives the accounts for
himself and for them; and, according, to the qualities of the
items, furnishes the wording for the writing of the roll; in all
of which things they are bound by an equal bond of union. And
it is the same with regard I to all other things which are done
by him or by them-saving their fealty to the king-whether in the
matter of writing, of receipts, of tallies or of expenses.
As to the Marshal.
It is the duty of the marshal to put aside in his box the tallies
of the debtors which the sheriff hands in, which, all the same,
are put clown on the roll; also the writs of the king concerning
the computing or remitting or giving of those things which are
demanded of the sheriff through the summons. On that box is placed
the name of the County to which these belong, and it is necessary
that, for the separate counties, separate boxes should be furnished
to the marshal by the sheriff who renders his account.
D. There is something here that troubles me.
M. I quite foresaw it. But wait a little. Everything will
be plain from what follows. Likewise if any debtor, not giving
satisfaction for the amount of his summons, shall have deserved
to be siezed, he is handed over to the marshal to be guarded,
and when the exchequer of that day is dissolved, the latter shall,
if he wish, send him to public jail; he shall not, however, be
chained or thrust into the dungeon, but shall be apart by himself
or above the subterraneous jail. For although he be not solvent,
he has not, nevertheless, on this account deserved to be put with
the criminals; that is, provided he is not a knight for concerning
knights held for debt there is an illustrious decree of the king
which will be noticed below in treating of the sheriff. It is
likewise the marshal's concern, when the account of the sheriff,
or administrator, or whatever person sits to render account, is
finished, to take an a oath from him in public to the effect that,
upon his conscience, he has rendered a true account. But if the
sheriff, or he who has accounted, is bound by any debt he shall
add that he will not depart from, the exchequer, that [38] is,
from the banlieu of the town in which it is, without permission
of the barons, unless he is going to return on the same day. Likewise
the -marshal shall receive, numbered, the writs of summons made
out against the term fixed for the next exchequer, sealed with
the royal seal; and shall distribute them with his own hand to
the usher of the upper exchequer to be carried throughout England.
Thus thou hast the different offices of those who sit on the first
bench.
As to the Maker of Tallies.
Now at the head of the second seat the serjeant of the chamberlains
comes first, a clerk or a layman, whose office can briefly be
disposed of ; in word, however, not in deed. He brings forth from
the treasury the tallies against the sheriff or against him who
renders account; and, when it is necessary,, according as the
manner of accounting demands, be changes or diminishes or adds
to the tally, comparing it with the counter tally of the sheriff.
This having been done at the Easter term, he gives back the longer
one to the sheriff to bring again at the Michaelmas term. But
at the Michaelmas term, when the amount of it shall have been
put down in writing in the roll, he hands this same longer one
to the marshal to put in his box.
D. I wonder at thy saying that a tally once offered for
an account, should again be offered for another account.
M. Do -not wonder; for with regard to whatever has been
exacted, or paid by the sheriff at the Easter term, he must again
be summoned; not, indeed, in order that what has been paid should
be paid again, but that the sheriffs shall present themselves
to give account, and that the tally offered for the payment previously
made ma be reduced to writing in the roll, and that thus he may
be absolved from his debt. For so long as be has the tally in
his possession, he will not be acquitted but will always be liable
to be summoned.
D. And all this seems necessary. But proceed, if it Please
thee, concerning the offices.
M. Nay, since we have made mention of tallies, learn in a few
words what the process is in which the matter of [39] tallying
consists. There is, then, one kind of tally which is called simply
tally; another, which we call memoranda tally. The length of an
ordinary tally is from the top of the forefinger to the top of
the extended thumb; there it is perforated with a moderate borer.
But a memoranda which is always accustomed to be made for a blank
farm is a little shorter; for when the assay is made through which
the farm is blanched, that first one is broken, and the tally
of combustion being added to it, it then first merits the length
of a tally. The incision, moreover, is made in this way : At the
top they out £1000 in such as way that its notch has the
thickness of the palm; £100 of the thumb; £20 of the
ear; the notch of one pound, about of a swelling grain of barley;
but that of a shilling, less ; in such wise, nevertheless, that,
a space being cleared out by cutting, a moderate furrow shall
be made there; the penny is marked by the incision being made,
but no wood being cut away. On the side where the 1000 is cut
thou dost not put another number, unless, perhaps, the middle
part of it; in such wise that thou in like manner dost take away
the middle part of its notch and dost place it below. [Note:
The meaning of this passage is obscure. The Latin reads: "
Ex qua vero parte millenarius inciditur, alium non pones numeram;
-nisi forte mediam ejus partem; sic ut mediam similiter incisionis
ejus domas, et infra constituas."] Just so if £100 is to be cut in, and thou hast thousands, thou shalt do the
same; and if £210, the same; and if 20 shillings, which we
call a pound. But if many thousands or hundreds or twenties of
pounds are to be cut in, the same law shall be observed, so that
on the more open side of the tally, that is, that which is placed
directly before thee, a mark being made, the greater number shall
be cut; but on the other, the lesser; but on the obverse side,
is always the greater -number at the top, but on the converse
always the lesser, that is, the pence. For a mark of silver there
is no special notch at the exchequer, but we designate it in shillings.
But a mark of gold thou dost cut in the middle of the tally as
though it were one pound. But one gold piece is not cut altogether
like a silver piece, but by drawing the knife directly through
the middle of the tally; -not obliquely, as in the case of [40]
the silver piece. Thus, therefore, both, the arrangement of the
positions and the difference of cut, determines what is gold and
what is silver. But thou shalt learn all this more conveniently
by looking at it than by hearing of it.
D. What remains of this will be made clear by ocular demonstration.
Now, if it please thee, proceed concerning the offices.
M. After him, as we said above, a few discreet men who
are delegated by the king coming in between, sits he who, by command
of the king makes computations by the placing of coins used as
counters. This office indeed is perplexing and laborious enough;
and, without it, seldom or never could the business of the exchequer
be carried on; but it belongs officially to none of those who
sit there, but to him' to whom the king or the Justice shall give
it to fill. Laborious, I say, for other offices are filled by
the tongue or the hand, this by both; in it "the hand, the
tongue and the eye, and the mind are unwearied in labour."
As to the Calculator.
This is his business: according to the usual course of the exchequer,
not according to arithmetical laws. Thou wilt remember, I presume,
my saying that on the exchequer was placed a cloth divided by
stripes, in the spaces of which heaps of cash are placed. Now
the calculator sits in the middle of the side, that he may be
visible to all, and that his busy hand may have free course. He
has placed already at his right hand, in the lower space, a heap
of pennies from 11 down; in the second, of shillings from- 19
down; but in the third, of pounds. And this heap, indeed, ought
to be opposite and directly facing him, for in the ordinary accounts
of the sheriff it is the medium; in the fourth is the heap of
the twenties;. in the fifth, of the hundreds; in the sixth, of
the thousands; in the seventh, but rarely, of the ten thousands
of pounds; rarely, I say, that is when, through the king or his
mandate, the account for the receipts of the whole-kingdom is
received by the nobles of the kingdom from the treasurer and the
chamberlains. Moreover, it is lawful for the calculator to put
[41] silver piece in place of ten shillings, or a gold obol in
place of ten pounds, so that the account may be more quickly made.
He must take care, however, lest his too hasty hand proceed before
his tongue, or the reverse; but at the same time that he counts
he shall place the counter and designate the number, lest there
be an error in the number. The sum, therefore, which is required
from the sheriff being arranged in heaps, those sums which. have
been paid in, either to the treasury or otherwise, are arranged
below, likewise in heaps. But if it be a farm by tale which is
required of him, or any other debt which can be satisfied by tale
only, there shall simply be made a deduction of the lower from
the upper sum, and he shall be bounden for the rest; it shall
be done otherwise, however, he be about to pay a blank farm; as
will be shown more fully when we treat of the sheriff's business:
D. Spare a moment thy running pen that I may be allowed to say
a few words.
M. It is thy turn to throw the die, nor may speech be denied
thee.
D. It seems to me as if I were given to understand that,
by means of calculation, the same coin being placed for a counter
shall signify now a penny, now a shilling, now a pound, now a
hundred, now a thousand.
M. So it is, but only, however, if it is placed with coins corresponding
to those. values; or, if it is taken away from them, it can, at
the pleasure of the calculator, be brought about that the one
which signifies a thousand by gradually descending, shall signify
one.
D. Thus it happens when one of the people, since he is a man and
can not be any thing else, ascends from the depths to the summit,
temporal benefits being bestowed on him by the will of the President;
and then, according to Fortuna's law, is thrust back into the
depths, remaining what he was although he seemed by reason of
his dignity and standing, to have been changed from himself.
M. Know that thy words do not apply in all respects. But, however
it way seem to others, I am well pleased that from these matters
thou dost infer others; indeed it is praiseworthy to seek the
flowers of mystic meaning in the winnowings of mundane affairs.
And not alone [42] in these things that thou dost mention, but
in the whole description of the exchequer there are hiding places,
as it were, of holy truths. For the diversity of officials, the
authority of the judicial power, the impression of the royal image,
the sending out of summonses, the writing of the rolls, the account
of land rents, the exaction of debts, the condemnation or absolution
of the accused, are a symbol of the strict examination that will
be made when the books of all shall be opened and the gates closed.
But so much for these things. Now let us proceed concerning the
offices; after him who has charge of the counters, first, by reason
of his office, sits the clerk who presides over the scriptorium
of the king.
As to the Clerk who presides over the scriptorium.
To him it pertains to find suitable scribes for the roll of the
chancery, and for the writs of the king which are made in the
exchequer, also for writing summonses; and to see to it that they
are well done: which offices, although they are expressed in a
few words, can scarcely be fulfilled even with infinite pains;
as those know who have learnt by experience in such matters. Thus
thou hast the offices of those who are placed on the second bench.
As to the Archdean of Poitiers, now Bishop of Winchester.'[i.e.
Richard of Ilchester[
D. If I remember well, first at the right of the president sits
the Bishop of Winchester, whose office at the exchequer I should
like straightway to find out. For he is great and ought not to
be busied save with great things.
M. He is great, without doubt; and, intent on great things,
he is drawn in many directions, as is more fully shown in the
Tricolumnis. He, before the time of his promotion, when he was
serving a little lower in the court of the king (Curia Regis),
seemed, by reason of his fidelity and industry, necessary to the
business of the king, and very ready and officious in computations
and in the writing of [43] rolls and writs. Wherefore the place
was given him at the side of the treasurer, so that with the latter,
indeed, he might attend to the writing of the rolls and to all
of these things. The treasurer, indeed, is distracted by so many
and such great cares and solicitudes for all things, that necessarily
at times slumber creeps over such great labours. For in human
affairs hardly anything is entirely perfect.
D. What dost thou say ? For I do not even know what the Tricolumnis
is.
M. It is a book, indeed, composed by us although in the time of
our youth, concerning the three-fold history of the kingdom of
England, under the illustrious king of the English, Henry the
Second. And this, because we have treated it all through in three
columns, we have called the Tricolumnis. In the first, indeed,
we have treated of many matters concerning the English church,
and of some rescripts of the apostolic see. But in the second,
of the distinguished deeds of the aforesaid king, which exceed
human belief. But in the third any public as well as private matters
are treated of, and also sentences of the court. If this by chance
should fall into thy hands, see that it do not escape thee; for
it may be useful in future times and entertaining to those who
shall be interested in the state of the kingdom under the aforesaid
prince. For although this king is descended from ancestral kings,
and has spread his kingdom with triumphant victory throughout
long spaces of land: it is nevertheless a great thing, that, by
his mighty deeds, he has surpassed the title of fame so prodigal
towards him. But enough of this. Now let us continue t be matter
begun.
D. So be it, if it so please thee. It may be that due reverence
for the treasurer is observed : here it seems derogatory to his
dignity that in all things his sole faith is not trusted.
M. God forbid; nay rather, in this way his labours are spared
and: indemnity is assured to him; for it is not that he or another
- so many and so great they are who sit at the exchequer - is
not trusted: but that for such great matters and affairs of the
kingdom, under so great a prince, it is fitting that great men
and many of them be chosen; not [44] however, that they may look
out for their own advantage, but that they may serve the glory
and honour of the king.
D. Proceed, if it please thee, concerning the offices.
As to the Treasurer.
M. The office of the treasurer, or his care and business, could
hardly be expressed in words, even though mine were the pen of
a ready writer. For in all things, and concerning all things which
are carried on either in the lower or the upper exchequer, his
careful diligence is necessary. From what has been said before,
nevertheless, it will be in great part clear in what things his
principal care consists, so that he can not be torn from these
so long as the exchequer lasts: namely, in receiving the accounts
of the sheriff, and in the writing of the roll. For he furnishes
the words, according to the nature of the matters, for the writing
of his roll,-from which afterwards that same wording is taken
by the other rolls as has been said above; and he must take care
that there be no mistake either in the number, or the cause, or
the person,-lest he be cancelled who is not quit, or he be summoned
again who ought to be acquitted. For so great is the authority
of his roll that it is permitted to no one to contradict it or
to change it; unless, perchance, there be so manifest an error
that it is clear to all: nor may it even then be changed unless
by the common counsel of all the barons, and in their presence,
the exchequer of that day being still in session. But a writing
of the roll made in the year gone by, or even one of the current
year, after the exchequer has been dissolved, may lawfully be
changed by no one except the king, to whom, with regard to these
matters, every thing is lawful that pleases him. Likewise it is
the treasurer's duty to be associated in all great matters with
his superiors, and to let nothing be hidden from him.
As to the Scribe of the Treasurer.
The office of the scribe who is next to the treasurer is to prepare
the rolls for writing, from sheep-skins, not without cause. Their
length, moreover, is as much as results from two membranes; not
from random ones, but from large [45] ones, prepared with care
for this purpose: but the breadth is a little more than that of
one and a 'half. The rolls, therefore, being ruled from the top
almost to the bottom, and on both sides, the lines being suitably
distant from each other, the counties and bailiwicks of which
an account is below rendered are marked at the top: but a moderate
interval being left, the space as it were of three or four fingers,
in the middle of the line is written the name of the county which
is treated of in the first place. Then at the head of the following
line is written the name of the sheriff, followed by this form
of words: "that or that sheriff renders account of the farm
of that or that county." Then a little further on in the
same line is written " in the treasury," and nothing
else is added until the account is completed, for an important
reason which is explained in the chapter on the sheriff. Then
at the head of the following line is put down what part of the
farm of the county is expended in alms and in the fixed tithes,
what, also, in liveries. After these, at the head of the lower
line are noted, among the lands given away, those which the generosity
of the kings has conferred on churches or on those who did military
service for them; among the estates called crown lands, which
are blank, which by tale.
D. It surprises me, -what thou sayest, that some estates
are given blank, some by tale.
M. Let us proceed at present concerning the office of the scribe;
and, when we are treating of the sheriff, ask me concerning this
if thou wilt. After the lands given away, a space being left of
one line so that the things by their very nature may seem separate,
those things are noted which were ordered to be expended from
the farm by a writ of the king; for these are not fixed, but casual.
Some also which are without writs are accounted for as by custom
of the exchequer, concerning which we will speak later: and thus
the account for the body of the county is terminated. After this,
a space being left of about six or seven lines, an account is
made of the purprestures and escheats under this form of words:
"the same sheriff renders account of the farm of purprestures
and escheats"; but also of all the farms of manors and of
the rent of woods which are annually due and paid. After [46]
these the accounts are put down in their order, excepting some
cities and towns and bailiwicks of which the accounts are greater
because they have fixed alms or liveries or lands given; and to
the administrators of such lands special summonses are sent concerning
their dues to the king. Their accounts, moreover, are made up
after the account of the county in which they are is altogether
finished. Such are Lincoln, Winchester, Mienes (?), Berchamstead,
Colchester, and very many others.
D.I wonder at thy saying that some fixed revenues are called
farms, but some, rents.
M. Farms are of manors; rents, however, only of woods. For the
things that come from manors are rightly called firm and immutable,
because, through agriculture, they are every year renewed and
return, and besides this constitute in themselves sure revenues
by the perpetual law of custom. But what by a yearly law is due
from woods which are daily cut down and perish-for which there
is not so firm or fixed demand, but which are subject to rises
and falls, though not yearly, yet frequent-is called rent: and
so, by elision, they say that these revenues are rented. Some
nevertheless believe that what is paid by individuals is called
rent; but a farm, what results from these rents; so that farm
is a collective name like crowd: wherefore, as is believed, it
is thus called rent to indicate a yearly, payment and show that
it is not firm. After these fixed payments, a space again being
left, an account is made of the debts concerning which the sheriff
has been summoned; the names, however, being first put down of
those judges who have apportioned these debts. But lastly an account
is made of the chattels of fugitives or of those mutilated for
their offences. And all this being completed, the account of that
county is terminated. The scribe must take care not to write anything
of his own accord in the roll, except what he has learned from
the treasurer's dictation. But if, perhaps, through negligence
or any other chance he should happen to err in writing the roll,
either in the name or the amount or in the matter - in which the
greater force of the writing consists, -he shall not presume to
erase, but shall cancel by drawing, underneath, a thin line, and
shall write directly following what is necessary. For the writing
of [47] the roll has this in common with charters and other letters
patent, that it may not be erased: and for this reason care has
been taken to make them of sheep-skins ; for they do not easily
yield to erasure with out the blemish becoming apparent.
D. Does that scribe furnish the rolls at his own expense or at
that of the fisc ?
M. At the, Michaelmas term he receives five shillings from the
fisc, and the scribe of the chancery likewise another five; from
which they procure the membranes for both rolls and for the summonses
and receipts of the lower exchequer.
As to the Scribe of the Chancery.
The care, the labour, the zeal of the remaining scribe sitting
at his side consists chiefly in this, namely, that he shall take
down from the other roll word for word; as we said before, the
same order being observed. Likewise it pertains to him to write
the writs of the king concerning outlays of the treasury, but
only for those payments which, in the judgment of the barons,
-while the exchequer is in session, ought to be made by the treasurer
and chamberlains: likewise he writes the writs of the king concerning
the computing or remitting of those things which the barons have
decreed should be computed or remitted at the exchequer. It is
his duty also, when the accounts of the sheriff have been gone
through, and the dues of the king for which the summonses are
made, estimated, to write out the latter, with diligent and at
the same time laborious discretion, to be sent throughout the
whole kingdom: for by them, and on account of them, the exchequer
of the following term is called together.
VI. What the tenor is of Writs of the King
made at the Exchequer-, whether concerning outlays of the Treasury,
or computings or remittings.
D. Under what form of words are writs of the king concerning outlays
of the treasury drawn up?
[48]
M. The treasurer and chamberlains do not expend the money received,
unless by express mandate of the king or of the presiding justice:
for when the general account -is demanded from them, they must
have the authority of a rescript of the king concerning the money
distributed; moreover this is the wording under which they are
drawn up: "H. king, etc., to N. the treasurer and to this
man and that man, chamberlains, greeting. Pay from ray treasury
to that or that man, this or this sum. These being witnesses before
N. at the exchequer." Moreover " at the exchequer "
is added that thus there may be a difference from the writs that
are made in the curia regis. It, is also necessary, when a writ
is made concerning an outlay from the treasury, as we have said,
that that same scribe shall make a copy of it, which is commonly
called counter-writ; and this the clerk of the chancery
shall reserve in his own possession, in testimony of the payment
made through the original writ of the king, which the treasurer
and chamberlains have. Also writs of computing or remitting those
things which the barons shall have decreed should be computed
or remitted-the will of our lord king having previously become
known-are drawn up under this tenor of words: " H. by the
grace of God, etc., to the barons of the exchequer, greeting.
Compute to that or that man this or this sum, which he expended
for this or that affair of mine. These being witness there at
the exchequer." Likewise: " The king to the barons of
the exchequer, greeting. I remit to that man, or quit-claim to
this or that one this or that. These being witnesses there at
the exchequer." Copies of all these writs shall remain I
with the aforesaid clerk, as a proof that the writs were made
out. For the original writs of computations or remissions are
enclosed in the boxes of the marshall when the accounts of the
sheriffs are made up; for the rest, unless a dispute arise concerning
them, they are not to be shown. Moreover, what we have said of
the writs of the king is likewise to be understood of the writs
of the presiding justice; but only when the king is absent and,
with the impress of his seal, the laws of the kingdom are established
and the cases are called, so that the who are summoned before
the court are condemned or acquitted. But [49]so long as the king
shall be in the kingdom of England, the writs of the exchequer
shall be made in the royal name, under the witness of this same
president and of some other magnate. What the tenor is, moreover,
of those writs which are called summonses, will be more fully
told below in the chapter on summonses.
As to the Clerk of the Chancellor.
The clerk of the chancellor, who is next to the latter, although
he serves not in his own but in another's name, is nevertheless,
busied about great things, and is called in many directions: so
that from the very beginning of the accounts to the end he can
not be torn thence; unless perchance he is lenient to himself,
a discreet representative meanwhile being substituted for him.
He has the first care after the treasurer in all these things
which are done there; principally, however, in the matter of writing
the rolls and writs; for in these things he is chiefly versed.
And he looks out lest the pen of his scribe, while he follows
the other with equal steps, should commit an error. Likewise he
looks diligently at the roll of the former year placed before
him, until satisfaction shall have been given by the sheriff for
those debts which are there marked, and for which he is summoned.
Likewise when the sheriff sits to render account, the fixed payments
from the county having been computed and put in writing, he takes
from the writ of summons to which the king's seal is appended
presses the sheriff for those debts which are there written down,
speaking in public and saying; "render much; and for that,
so much." The debts, moreover, which are paid entirely, and
for which satisfaction is given, the same clerk cancels by a line
drawn through the middle; so that there may thus be a distinction
between what is paid and what is to be paid. He also guards the
counter-writs of those drawn up at the exchequer: He also corrects
and seals the summonses made, as been said before; and he has
infinite labour and is the greatest after the treasurer.
D. Here Argus would be more useful than Polyphemus.
[50]
As to the Clerk of the Constabulary.
M. The clerk of the constabulary is great, and busied at the curia
regis; at the exchequer also he is called in, together with the
magnates to all the most important affairs, and with his consent
matters concerning the king are carried on. He is, moreover, sent
by the king to the exchequer with the counter-writs against the
terms of the exchequer, but only concerning those things which
are done at the curia. He also, with the constable, sees to the
payments of the knights, or of certain of them as hag been said;
and at times his office is laborious enough, although it is expressed
in few words. Nevertheless he fills it very often through a substitute
as does the chancellor; for the higher officials can not easily
absent themselves from the presence of the king. Thus thou hast,
to some extent, the distribution of offices of those placed on
the third bench at the right of the president.
As to Brunus.
Now at the head of the fourth seat which is placed opposite the
justices sits Master Thomas, called Brunus. His authority at the
exchequer is not to be despised. For it is a great and mighty
proof of his faithfulness and discretion that he was chosen by
a prince of such excellent talents to have, contrary to the ancient
custom, a third roll in which he may write the prerogatives of
the realm and the secrets of the king, and which, keeping it in
his own charge, he may carry wherever he wishes. He also has big
clerk in the lower exchequer, who, sitting next to the clerk of
the treasury, has free opportunity to write what is received and
expended in the treasury.
D. Is, then, his faith and -discretion so well known to
the king that, for this work, no one else is considered equal
to him in merit?
M. He was great at the court of the great king of Sicily,
provident in his counsels, and almost first in the privy council
of the king. Meanwhile a new king arose who ignored him, one who,
having evil men around him, [51] persecuted his father in the
persons of the latter's adherents. That man, therefore, his good
fortune having changed, was compelled to flee for his life, and
although access was open to him with the greatest honour to very
many kingdoms, nevertheless, being frequently invited by Henry
the illustrious king of the English, whose fame is less than the
truth itself, he preferred to go to his native soil and to his
hereditary and incomparable master. Being received therefore by
him as befitted both, because in Sicily he had been concerned
with great matters, here also he is deputed to the great affairs
of the exchequer. Thus, therefore, he gained an abiding place
and an office of dignity. He is called in, also, with the magnates
to all the great matters of the exchequer.
The above, then, are the different prerogatives of all those who,
by reason of their office, sit at the greater exchequer. it is
-next in order, if I mistake not, that we proceed to tell what
their dignities are by of their sitting at the exchequer.
D. Nay, if it please thee, the office is still to be explained
of the knight whom thou dost call the silverer and also the office
of the melter; for they have been put off thus far since they
are akin to each other and pertain to the :greater exchequer.
M. I see that the memory of the things promised does got escape
thee, whence the sure hope is conceived that forgetfulness will
not defraud thee of what I have already said. I thought, indeed,
that I had satisfied thee concerning the offices because I had
omitted no one of those who have seats at the exchequer. But those
of whom thou dost remind me have not fixed seats allotted them;
nay, they fulfil their office according to- the command of the
president or treasurer.
As to the Knight Silverer.
The knight silverer, then, carries from the lower to the upper
exchequer the box of money to be tested, of which 'We spoke above;
when he has brought this in, signed with the seal of the sheriff,
he pours out in the exchequer, under the eyes of all, forty four
shillings, which, when be took them from the heap, he b al previously
marked ; and [52] mixing them together so that they may correspond
in weight, he puts in one scale of the balance a pound weight,
in the other as many of the coins as shall be necessary; this
being done, he counts them, so that it may be evident from the
number if they are of legal weight. But of whatever weight they
are found to be, he puts apart into a cup one that is, twenty
shillings, of which a test shall be made; but the remaining twenty
four shillings he puts into a box. Likewise, besides the X to be tested, two pence are given to the melter, not from
the fisc, but on the part of the sheriff ; as a reward, so to
speak, for his labour. Then there are chosen by the president,
or, if he be absent, by the treasurer, two other sheriffs ; so
that they, together with the knight silverer and also the sheriff
against whom the test is to be made, shall proceed to the fire;
there the melter, warned before and having made the necessary
preparations, awaits their coming. There again, in the presence
of the melter and of those who have been sent by the barons, they
are diligently counted and banded over to the melter.
As to the Melter.
He, receiving them, counts them with his own hand, and thus places
them on a vessel of burning embers which is in the furnace. Then,
therefore, obeying the law of the art of inciting, be reduces
them to a mass, blowing upon, and cleansing, the silver. But he
must take care lest it stand longer than necessary, or lest by
excessive boilings he trouble and consume it ; the former on account
of the risk of loss to the king; the latter, to the sheriff; but
he shall in every way, with all the industry possible, provide
and procure that it be not troubled, but that it be boiled only
so as to be pure. Those, moreover, who are sent there by the greater
officials, should also see to this same thing. When the test,
then, has been made, the others accompanying, the knight silverer
carries the silver to the barons; and then, before the eyes of
all, he weighs it with the aforesaid pound weight. Moreover he
then supplies what the fire has consumed, putting in coin out
of that same box, until that which has been tested is in equilibrium
with the weight; then the result of that test is inscribed [53]
with these words: "Yorkshire. The pound burnt with so and
so many pence loss "; and then that is called an assay; for
it is not inscribed unless it be previously agreed that it ought
to stand that way. But if the sheriff from whom it comes shall
claim that more has been consumed than is just - by the heat of
the fire, perhaps, or by the infusion of lead; or if the melter
himself shall confess that, for some reason or other, the test
was imperfect ; - again twenty shillings - those which remain
in the aforesaid box - shall be counted before the barons, as
has been described; so that, the same process being observed,
a test may be made of them. Hence it must be clear to thee for
what reason, from the great heap of money placed there originally,
forty four shillings are, from the first, put aside in a box,
on which is placed the seal of the sheriff. It is to be noted,
indeed, that the melter receives two pence for the testing, as
has been said. But if, by any chance, he should go through it
again-or even if he test it a third time - he shall not receive
anything, but shall be content the two pence which he has once
received.
D. I wonder that by such great men such diligence should be applied
to the testing of one pound, since neither great gain nor much
loss can come from it.
M. This is gone through with not on account of this pound alone,
but on account of all those which, together with this, are paid
by the same sheriff under the name of same farm. For as much as,
through the purging fire, falls off from this pound, so much the
sheriff knows is to be subtracted from each other pound of his
sum: so that if he pays a hundred pounds by tale, and twelve pence
be fallen off the test pound, only ninety five are computed to
him.
D. Now I seem to see that, from these things, no small gain can
arise; but to whom it ought to go I am ignorant.
M. It has been said, and it is always meant, that advantage the
of the king alone is served in all these matters. Although, moreover,
the combustion is subtracted from the of the sheriff, it is nevertheless
placed apart on another , shorter tally, so that the treasurer
and chamberlains may answer for the total of it. But thou must
known that, through this tally of combustion the farm of [54]
the sheriff is blanched; wherefore, in testimony of this, it always
remains hanging to the greater tally.
D. A question strikes me here which I remember to have
propounded when we were treating of the lower exchequer: why,
namely, one pound should fall off more than another, since the
condition ought to be the same of all those who have to do with
coining money.
M. To this question, as to that former one, it is sufficient to
reply that this can be done through forgers and clippers of coin.
Some, moreover, have believed-and I do not differ from them-that
the money of this kingdom was not lawful if the tested pound decreased
more than six pence from the weight to which it corresponds when
counted; and also that money of this kind, brought to the exchequer,
ought to fall to the fisc, - unless, perhaps, the coins are new
and not customary, and the inscription upon them betrays their
producer; for then that moneyer shall be strictly called to account
for his work, and, according to the established laws, shall be
condemned or absolved without loss to the sheriff. But if, the
coin being proved and re-proved by testing, the moneyer shall
have been condemned and punished, the coins shall be reduced to
a mass by the melter- of the exchequer-others skilled in this
art being present-and its weight shall be computed to the sheriff.
But all this is almost abolished now and much relaxed; since,
with regard to money, all sin in common; when, however, the money
shall come to be of the right measure, and the one fixed by law,
it will become necessary to keep the law as originally established.
On the other hand, if any sheriff should have brought coins, a
pound of which, when burned, kept within five or four or less,
and they seemed to have been newly made, not usual or current,
they were likewise called not lawful: exceeding, as it were, the
common standard; whence, like the others, they also could be confiscated.
There are likewise at the exchequer fixed payments which are made
at stated terms without a writ of the king: such is the salary
of the " nauclerus," i.e., the master, of the king's
ship which we call "esnecca," who receives twelve pence
daily. For this, and for similar payments, tallies are made by
the chamberlains, since they do not [55] have writs for them.
The knight silverer, moreover, has the "recauta " of
these, i.e., the counter-tallies. Likewise he and the melter -
when it becomes necessary, and the great quantity of money brought
in burdens the tellers - may, on being requested by the chamberlains,
aid them in counting; it is, however, optional on their parts,
not compulsory. Thus thou hast the offices of the knight silverer
the melter.
D. What are the signs of a test completed or of one not completed
M. I do not sufficiently know; nor have I troubled myself
about these things. But so long as over the already 1iquid silver
a sort of little black cloud is seen to hover, it is called incomplete.
But when, as it were, certain minute grains ascend from the bottom
to the top and there dissolve, it is a sign that the test is done.
VII. By whom, or for what purpose, the testing
of silver was instituted.
D. By whom, and on what account, was this testing or combustion
instituted ?
M. In order that it may be clear to thee concerning these things,
I must begin a little further back. In the primitive state of
the kingdom after the Conquest, as we have learned from our fathers,
not weights of gold or but solely victuals were paid to the kings
from their lands; from which the necessaries for the daily use
of the royal household were furnished. And those who had been
appointed for this purpose knew how much came from the separate
estates. But from the pleas of the kingdom and from feudal reliefs,
and from the cities or castles by which agriculture was not practised,
cash money for the stipends or gifts of the soldiers, and for
other necessary things came in. This arrangement, however, continued
during the whole time of king William I., and up to the time of
king Henry, his son; so that I myself saw some people who had
seen victuals carried at stated times from the estates of the
crown to the court: and the officials of the royal household knew
from which counties corn and from which different kinds of meat,
or fodder for horses, [56] or any other necessary things, were
due. These being paid according to the measure fixed upon of each
thing, the royal officials put them to the account of the sheriff,
reducing them to a total of money: for a measure, namely, of grain
enough for the bread of a hundred men, one shilling; for the body
of a fattened ox, one shilling; for a ram or a sheep, 4d.
; for the fodder of twenty horses, likewise 4d. But as
time went on, when the same king was occupied across the channel
and in remote places, in calming the tumults of war, it came about
that the sum necessary for meeting these expenses was paid in
ready money. Meanwhile there kept coming to the court of the king
a complaining multitude of peasants; or, what seemed to him worse,
they frequently came in front of him as he passed, proffering
their ploughs as a sign of the defective agriculture; for they
were oppressed by innumerable burdens oil account of the victuals,
which, having to traverse great distances in the realm, they brought
from their lands. Yielding, therefore, to their complaints, the
opinion of the nobles having been ascertained, he sent out throughout
the kingdom the men most prudent and discreet in these matters.
These, going around and examining with their own eyes the different
estates, and estimating the victuals that were paid from them,
reduced them to a sum of money. They decreed, moreover, that for
the sum of the sums which was arrived at from all the estates
in one county, the sheriff of that county should be bounden to
the exchequer; adding that he should pay by scale, - that is,
besides each cash pound, 6d. For they thought that, in course
of time, it might easily come about that money, then good, might
fall from its condition. Nor did their opinion prove false. Therefore
they were compelled to decree that the farm of manors should be
paid, not alone by scale but by weight; which could not be done
without adding a great deal. This rule of payment was observed
for many years in the exchequer: whence, frequently, in the old
yearly rolls of that king, thou wilt find written: "in the
treasury 100 pounds according to scale," or, " in the
treasury 100 pounds according to weight." Meanwhile there
came into prominence a prudent man, provident in [57] plans, discreet
in discourse, and, by the grace of God, most remarkably adapted
especially for great matters; thou would'st say that in him was
fulfilled what is written, "the grace of the Holy Spirit
knows no tardy delays." He being called to court by this
same king, although unknown, yet not ignoble, taught by his example,
How poverty, e'en when extreme, can be most fruitful of
heroes!
[Note: This is a play upon words. The name of the distinguished
man in question was Roger the Poor (le Poer). He was the grand
uncle of the author of this present treatise.]
He therefore increasing in favour with his prince, with and with
the clergy, and with people, being made bishop of Salisbury, enjoyed
the highest honours in the kingdom, and had great knowledge of
the exchequer; so that, as is not doubtful, but is manifest from
the rolls themselves, it flourished greatly under him. And from
his troughs we, also, have received by tradition that little which
we possess. Upon this point, at present, I omit to say much; because,
as was due to the greatness of his position he left a memory to
survive him which gives proof of a most noble, mind. He afterwards,
by order of the prince, came to the exchequer; and after having
sat there for some years, he learned that by the kind of payment
described above the fisc did not fully get its dues: for although
it seemed to get its dues in number and weight, it did not, nevertheless,
in material. For it did not follow, when for one pound be paid
twenty shillings in cash, even if they corresponded to a pound
in weight, that he consequently paid a pound of silver: for he
could have paid one mixed with copper or with any ore, since no
test was made. In order therefore that the royal and the public
advantage might at the same time be provided for, the advice of
the king himself having been beard on this matter, it was decreed
that the burning or testing of the farm should take place in the
aforesaid manner.
D. Why do you say "the public advantage" ?
M. Because the sheriff, feeling himself wronged by the combustion
of the deteriorated money, when he is about to pay his farm, takes
careful heed that the moneyers placed [58] under him do not exceed
the bounds of the established standard; and when he has found
them out, they are so punished that others may be frightened by
their example.
D. Ought then a blank farm to be paid by all the counties, or
should a test be made in the case of all the counties ?
M. No; but those which by ancient right are said to belong
to the royal crown pay thus. Those, however, which pay the fisc
for some incidental causes, render their dues by tale alone; such
are Shropshire, Sussex, Northumberland and Cumberland. It is open
to the sheriff, instead of a blank farm, to pay the weight of
tested silver; and thus he will escape the loss by combustion;
provided, nevertheless, that the melter of the king shall decree
that the same is worthy to be received. Thou knowest now what
thou did'st ask about, namely, by whom and for what cause the
testing was instituted.
D. I see that, by this, is fulfilled to the letter what
is written each man's work shall be tried by fire." But now
may it please thee to go on with what thou hast begun.
M. So be it. It is in order, I believe, in accordance with
the arrangement of the plan laid down, that e proceed to treat
of the prerogatives of those who sit at the exchequer, whether
officially, or by order of the king.
D. I wonder very much for what reason, when thou wert treating
of the offices, thou did'st either refrain on purpose from speaking
of the usher of the upper exchequer and his office, or else did'st
pass it by, the evil of forgetfulness coming in the way.
M. I congratulate thee on thy memory of what has gone before.
; for, indeed, the glory of the teacher is in the proficiency
of his pupil. Thou knewest that the already mentioned usher received
his pay with the other officials, and therefore thou dost rightly
ask what is his office. it is then as follows:
As to the Usher of the Upper Exchequer.
That usher, alone, without an associate, guards the door of the
exchequer building: unless when, from his own [59] home, he takes
servants for the burdensome part of his office. Likewise the same
man guards the door of the chamber of secrets, which is situated
next to the exchequer building,. Thither go the barons when a
doubtful question is propounded to them in the exchequer, concerning
which they prefer to deliberate by themselves rather than in the
hearing of all. But it is chiefly on this account that they go
apart by themselves, - lest namely, the accounts which are being
made up at the exchequer should be impeded; and while they are
delaying in private. council, the usual course of the accounts
goes on. But if any question should arise, it would be referred
to them. It is also free to the usher, with impunity, to preclude
ingress when he wishes to any men - even if great in authority
- who are not necessary to the matter in hand. To those alone,
who sit at the exchequer by reason of their office or by mandate
of the king, is -voluntary ingress to either chamber permitted.
But if they are persons vouched for, who can not suitably go in
when alone, one or two may be shown into the outer building of
the exchequer; but into the chamber of secrets only the officials
enter, others being excluded; unless when they are called by their
masters to perform some matters for the king. Likewise the usher
receives the summonses, made out and signed by the marshall. When
the exchequer of that term has been dissolved, he bears them in
his own person, or by means of a faithful messenger, throughout
England, as has been said above. He also, by command of the president,
calls into the latter's presence, when he needs them, the sheriffs,
who are dispersed in all directions outside the building. Likewise
it pertains to him to see to any of the small matters which are
necessary in the exchequer building-such as placing and preparing
the seats around the exchequer and the like. From the foregoing
it is clear to thee, as we believe, concerning the offices of
those who sit at the exchequer. We Will now show what are their
rights or prerogatives by reason of their sitting at the exchequer.
[60]
VIII. What are the rights and prerogatives
of those sitting at the Exchequer, by reason of their sitting
there.
Still further, indeed, the tongue, of the detractor must continue
to spare us, and the tooth of envy, lest it leap upon us and tear
us to pieces ; for scarcely any of these things would come to
thy knowledge if we saw fit to insist, not on the customary names
of things, but on some exquisite scheme of words or on made-up
appellations.
D. A novelty of words was the one thing I warned thee to
shun from the beginning, and I obtained from thee that thou should'st
use common and customary words with regard to common things, lest
unaccustomed novelty should disturb the rudimentary teachings.
So, therefore, as thou hast begun, may it please thee again, to
continue thy undertaking,. But if, when thou dost thus advance,
the emulous mind or tongue of a detractor should overtake thee,
thou may'st obtain this from him, that he who in his writings
is without sin shall cast the first stone at thee.
M. I willingly obey so long as that rule is observed. The
pre-eminence of those sitting at the exchequer consists in many
things. For whether they who sit there by his mandate are of the
clergy or of the curia regis,-from the day on which they come
together, up to the general departure, they are not called to
any other cases under any judges whatever; and if, by chance,
they shall have been summoned, they are excused by reason of their
public function. But if those who sit there are the accusers and
not the accused, and have suits elsewhere,-it shall be at their
option either to have the case tried by a procurator, or to postpone
the day without any detriment to their rights. But if the judge
under whom their case is being tried, whether he be ecclesiastical
or lay, being ignorant of this law, shall, after the already mentioned
day of convocation to the exchequer, have cited any one of them,
and shall, perhaps, by a judgment have despoiled the absent one
of his possession or of some right,-by authority of the prince
and by reason of the session, his case shall be recalled to that
state in which it was before the citation. But the judge has not,
on this account, merited punishment; for [61] has followed out
what belonged to his duty; although, reason of the public function,
it does not take effect. But if he shall have been so cited that
the decisive day, fixed for him and determined by the law, shall
come before the day of the convocation to the exchequer, he shall
not be able to excuse himself on that account, or to evade the
sentence of the judge, or to make it vain when declared against
him; even though the one day be so near to the other that he be
compelled to start on his journey. He shall, in that case, obtain
for himself a procurator or sponsor, and shall himself, bent on
the king's business, without guile, hasten to the court. The barons,
moreover, who sit at the exchequer shall pay nothing under the
name of customs for the victuals of their household bought in
the cities and boroughs and ports. But if an officer of the revenues
shall have compelled one of them to pay anything f or these, -
if only one of his servants is present - who is willing to prove
by taking an oath that the things have been bought for his master's
use : to the baron indeed, the money exacted shall be restored
entire, and the scoundrel of a collector shall pay a pecuniary
punishment according to the quality of the person. Likewise if
any one, even if great in the kingdom, shall, with inconsiderate
heat of mind, injure any one who sits at the exchequer, through
taunts or insults,-an excess of this kind shall, if the president
him-self is present, at once receive a vindicating pecuniary punishment.
But in the president's absence if the man constantly denies the
injury done and those sitting there call out that he has said
what he is charged with, he shall nevertheless straightway be
judged guilty to the extent of a fine to the king whom he serves,
unless he hastens to anticipate judgment by begging mercy. But
if those who sit at the exchequer shall have mutually molested
each other with any sort of contumelious attack, they shall make
peace again ; the others of their rank who serve with them acting
as mediators., in such wise that satisfaction shall be rendered
by him who, in their estimation, has injured an innocent person.
But if he be unwilling, to acquiesce, but rather persevere in
his rashness, the matter shall be laid before the president ;
and afterwards, from him each one shall receive justice. But if,
[62] through the devil, the instigator of evil, who does not look
with unmoved eyes on the joyous happiness of fraternal peace,
it should happen that occasion for discord should come up among
the greater officials themselves; and thence - which God forbid
- a war of insults should arise; and, Satan adding goads, peace
cannot be restored by the other colleagues in those labours:-
the knowledge of all these things shall be reserved for the prince
himself; who, according as God, in whose hand it is, inspires
his heart shall punish the offence ; lest those who are set over
others should seem to be able to do with impurity what they decree
should be punished in others.
D. From this is manifest what Solomon says: "death and life
are in the power of the tongue," and likewise James; "
the tongue is a little member and boasteth great things."
M. So it is; but let us proceed concerning the prerogatives.
Common assessments are held at times throughout the counties,
by itinerant justices whom we call deambulatory or wandering judges;
the assessments are called common because, when the sum is known
which is required in common from those who have estates in the
county, it is distributed according to the hides of land, so that
when the time comes for payment at the exchequer, nothing of it
is lacking. From all these payments all those who, by mandate
of the king, sit at the exchequer are entirely free, so that not
only are none of them exacted from their domains, but also none
from all their fiefs. If, however, one who sits there has an estate
either in farm or in custody,, or also as a pledge for money,
he shall not be exempt, but rather more subject for these to the
common law. In addition to and besides these exemptions, moreover,
he shall be free at the exchequer from murder-fines, scutages
and Danegeld. Moreover what pertains to him shall be de. ducted
from the fixed total, and shall be placed to the account of the
sheriff in these words : " remitted by writ of the king,
to him or him this or that sum " ; although, in fact, he
has no writ of the king concerning this. Moreover he to whom anything
has been remitted by the prince must to it lest afterwards he
require, from those in turn subject to him, the amount which has
been remitted; he had [63] the rather better be mindful of that
word, " forgive and be forgiven; for if this shall have been
found out, the prince, emulating the teaching of the Gospel, will
neither let him go nor forgive his debt, but perhaps will punish
him a hundred fold; for he is seen to abuse the favour bestowed
on him, when he irreverently exacts from others what has been
freely forgiven to himself.
D. It has been said, if I remember aright, that whoever,
by precept of the king, sits at the exchequer is free, by reason
of his sitting there, from certain things determined by the law.
It was added also, if I recollect well, that the exchequer sits
at the Easter term ; that, however, the things that are done then
are not entirely terminated, but that their consummation is reserved
for the Michaelmas term. Since, now, it is possible, nay, frequently
happens, that some one by mandate of the king is called to it
at the Easter term, who at the Michaelmas term has either paid
his debt to fate, or is transferred by order of the king to other
business of the realm, or, what seems more weighty with some,
having in the meantime become hateful to the king, is judged unworthy
to perform such important duties : I ask does he who is quit at
the Easter term, in which few things are terminated but all things
renewed by repeating the summons, - does such a one deserve to
be absolved at the Michaelmas term, even when he has ceased to
deserve his seat at the exchequer and the favour itself of his
prince?
M. Probably an abundance of reasons can be found for taking either
side of this question; but know that the choice of the royal munificence,
after the favour of absolution has once been indulged, is always,
even with pecuniary loss, more prone to the better part: indeed,
the principle of the gifts and of the remissions of the king is
the same, that just as his gifts cannot be recalled or re-demanded,
so also the acquittals of the king, which are commonly called
pardons, can not be invalidated. He therefore is free and absolved
at the term of consummation who in any way merited to be absolved
at the preceding one.
D. Some things which have been said give me concern. First, that
thou dost say that anything is remitted to any one under this
tenor of words: "in pardons by writ of the [64] king, to
him or him, this or that," when, nevertheless, he has obtained
no writ of remission from the king. For how it can happen that
such writing of the roll is not found to be false, I do not see.
M. It gives thee concern not without cause; for it has
long concerned me; -and, as I believe, the reason of thus writing
is not yet clear to all; wherefore, although it is no great matter
that thou askest about, nevertheless it is unusual and does seem
absurd that that is said to be remitted by writ of the king, which
is always to be remitted without a writ. For which reason I once
attacked on this very matter the bishop of Ely, as the man most
skilled in this branch-blessed be his memory for ever. He, the
illustrious treasurer of that king of the English, Henry I., and
the nephew of him of Salisbury whom we mentioned above, had a
knowledge of the exchequer incomparable in his time: for being
supreme in those things which pertained to the dignity of his
standing, he made the fame of his name wide-spread; so that almost
alone in the kingdom he so lived and died that no envious tongue
dares to blacken his glory. He, moreover, being frequently requested
by the illustrious king, Henry the Second, reformed the knowledge
of the exchequer which, the time of warfare having lasted for
many years, had almost entirely died out; and, like another Esdras,
sedulous restorer of the Bible, renewed the form of its whole
arrangement. The prudent man, indeed, thought it better to mark
down for posterity the laws constituted by the ancients, rather
than, by his silence, to bring it about that new ones should be
made. For modern times, in the matter of gaining money, have scarcely
dictated laws gentler than the former ones. From him, therefore,
in this matter, this is the kind of answer I received; "brother,
he who has ears eager to hear, easily finds the tongue of a detractor;
even he who has them not will not easily escape the same. It was
thus that there came to king Henry I. a certain man having the
tongue of a serpent, saying to him: 'your barons who sit at the
exchequer, why do they not pay the dues that arise from their
lands? For some have; fixed payments at the exchequer for sitting
there; some also, on account of their office, have estates and
their fruits hence, therefore, a [65]heavy loss falls on the fisc."
When, therefore, he, urging the gain that it would be to the prince,
repeatedly returned to the attack, these words at length possessed
the latter's mind to such an extent, that he ordered all the established
dues to be paid by all and to be remitted to no one unless someone
should have obtained from him an express mandate concerning this:
and it was done accordingly. But as time went on, when the prince
remembered the counsel of Achitopel, he repented of having acquiesced.
He decreed therefore, that all the aforesaid payments should be
computed to those who served there, considering the loss of a
small sum of money as nothing in comparison with the great honour
gained. And so he despatched his writ to the exchequer, to the
effect that those sitting there should, by a perpetual law, be
free from these payments. From this writ, therefore, it was said
then and is said now, "remitted by the king's writ";
and so it came about that what was granted to the fathers should
even now continue in the case of their posterity. We remember
ourselves in modern times to have seen a similar payment to this,
which, after all this time was computed to those who deserved
to be absolved under a similar tenor of words. For our lord King
Henry II., at the Michaelmas term of the 24th year of his
reign, ordered that the knights of the Temple, and the brothers
Hospitallers, and the monks of the Cistercian order, to whom,
by the privileges in their charter, he had long since indulged
quittance of all things pertaining to money - jurisdiction over
life and members being excepted, - should really now be quit of
all things pertaining money throughout the different counties;
so that henceforth they should not be compelled to bring their
charters to the exchequer. And the authority of the royal piety
decreed this-that thus once for all, in the consideration of the
barons they should be freed of all these things lest those who
have gone over to the enjoyment of a better life, and are obliged
the more to have freedom for prayer, should be compelled for such
a cause to make a tedious and useless delay with their charters
at the exchequer. By the counsel, therefore, and the deliberation
of the barons who were present, a writ of the lord king was drawn
up under this tenor; " I quit claim the knights of the Temple
[66] of five marks which are exacted from their vassals for default,
and I prohibit that now from them or their vassals or their lands
anything be exacted or received which pertains to money. These
being witnesses, there." And in like manner as to the brothers
Hospitallers and to the aforesaid monks. By the authority of this
mandate, therefore, they will henceforth be quit, throughout the
several counties of all things which pertain to money: so that
that which we mentioned above may rightly be spoken of in the
yearly roll as " remitted by writ of the king."
D. I have understood very well what has been said. Now,
if it please thee, do not delay to make clear what are scutage,
murdrum and Danegeld. They seem, indeed, to be something barbarous;
but they concern me the more for the reason that, as thou sayest,
those who minister at the exchequer are free from them.
IX. What Scutage is, and why it is so called.
It happens sometimes that, when the machinations of enemies threaten
or attack the kingdom, the king decrees that, from the different
knights' fees, a certain sum shall be paid, - a mark, namely,
or a pound; and from this come the payments or gifts to the soldiers.
For the prince prefers to expose mercenaries, rather than natives
to the fortunes of war. And so this sum, which is paid in the
name of the shields, is called scutage. From this, moreover, they
who sit at the exchequer are quit.
X. What Murder is, and why so called.
Murder (murdrum), indeed, is properly, called the secret death
of somebody, whose slayer is not known. For "murdrum "
means the same as " hidden " or " occult. Now in
the primitive state of the kingdom after the Conquest those who
were left of the Anglo-Saxon subjects secretly laid ambushes for
the suspected and hated race of the Normans, and, here and there,
when opportunity offered, killed them secretly in the woods and
in remote places: as vengeance for whom - when the kings and their
ministers had for some years, with exquisite kinds of tortures,
raged against the Anglo-Saxons; and they, [67] nevertheless, had
not, in consequence of these measures, altogether desisted, -
the following plan was hit upon, that the so called "hundred,"
in which a Norman was found killed in this way - when he who had
caused his death was to be found, and it did not appear from his
flight who he was - should be condemned to a large sum of tested
silver for the fisc; some, indeed, to 36, some to £44, according
to the different localities and the frequency of the slaying.
And they say that this is done with the following end in view,
namely, that a general penalty of this kind might make it safe
for the passers by,-and that each person might hasten to punish
so great a crime and to give up to justice him through whom so
enormous a loss fell on the whole neighbourhood. Know that from
such payments, we have said, those who sit at the exchequer are
free.
D. Ought not the occult death of an Anglo-Saxon, like of a Norman,
to be reputed murders?
M. By the original institution it ought not to, as thou hast heard:
but during the time that the English and Normans have now dwelt
together, and mutually married ,and given in marriage, the -nations
have become so intermingled that one can hardly tell to-day -
I speak of freemen - who is of English and who of Norman race;
excepting, however, the bondsmen who are called " villani,"
to whom it is not free, if their lords object, to depart from
'the condition of their station. On this account almost -always
when any one is found thus slain to-day, it is punished as murder;
except in the case of those who show ,certain proofs, as we have
said, of a servile condition.
D. I wonder that this prince of singular excellence, and
this man of most distinguished virtue, should have shown such
mercy towards the race of the English, subjugated and suspected
by him, that not only did he keep the serfs by whom agriculture
could be exercised, from harm, but left even to the nobles of
the kingdom their estates and ample possessions.
M. Although these things do not pertain to the matters undertaken
and concerning which I have bound myself, I will nevertheless
freely expound what I have heard on these matters from the natives
themselves. After the Conquest of the kingdom, after the just
overthrow of the [68] rebels, when the king himself and the king's
nobles went over the new places, a diligent inquiry was made as
to who there were who, contending in war against the king had
saved themselves through flight. To all of these, and even to
the heirs of those who had fallen in battle, all hope of the lands
and estates and revenues which they had before possessed was precluded:
for it was thought much for them even to enjoy the privilege of
being alive under their enemies. But those who, having been called
to the war, ha4i not yet come together, or, occupied with family
or any kind of necessary affairs had not been present,-when, in
course of time, by their devoted service they had gained the favour
of their lords, they began to have possessions for themselves
alone; without hope of hereditary possession, but according to
the pleasure of their lords. But as time went on, when, becoming
hateful to their masters, they were here and there driven from
their possessions, and there was no one to restore what had been
taken away,-a common complaint of the natives came to the king
to the effect that, thus hateful to all and despoiled of their
property, they would be compelled to cross to foreign lands. Counsel
at length having been taken on these matters, it was decided that
what, their merits demanding, a legal pact having been entered
into, the ' y bad been able to obtain from their masters, should
be conceded to them by inviolable right: but that, however, they
should claim nothing for themselves by right of heredity from
the time of the conquest of the race. And it is manifest with
what discreet consideration this provision was made, especially
since they would thus be bound to consult their own advantage
in every way, and to strive henceforth by devoted service to gain
the favour of their lords. So, therefore, whoever, belonging to
the conquered race, possesses estates or any thing of the kind,-be
has acquired them, not because they seemed to be due to him by
reason of heredity, but because his merits alone demanding, or
some pact intervening, he has obtained them.
D. I do not exactly know what. is a " centuriata "
or hundred.
M. Wait a little; thou wilt know later in its proper place; that
is, in the chapter on the Domesday book. Now [69] let us proceed
concerning Danegeld, and pay a little attention, so that the reason
of this name may be clear to
XI. What is Danegeld, and why so called.
Our island content with its own, does not need the
goods of the stranger;
Therefore, with very good right, our predecessors have
called it,
Truly the lap of riches; the home, too, of every delight.
On account of this she has suffered innumerable injuries from
outsiders; for it is written: " marked jewels attract the
thief." For the robbers of the surrounding islands, making
an irruption and depopulating the shores, carried off gold and
silver and all sorts of precious things. But when the king and
the natives, drawn up in warlike array, pressed on in defence
of their race, they betook themselves to flight by sea. Now among
these robbers almost the first, and always the most ready to do
harm, was that warlike and numerous race of the Danes; who, besides
possessing the common avarice of plunderers, pressed on the more
eagerly because they claimed, of ancient right, some part in the
domination of that kingdom, as the history of the Britons more
fully relates. In order, therefore, to ward these off, it was
decreed by the English kings that, from each "hide "
of the kingdom, by a certain perpetual right, two shillings of
silver should be paid for the use of the brave men who, patrolling
and carefully watching the shores, kept off the attack of the
enemy. Therefore, since principally on account of the Danes this
revenue was instituted, it is called " Danegeldum "
or " Danegeldus." This, therefore, under the native
kings, was paid yearly, as a been said, until the time of king
William I. of the race and people of the Normans. For in his day
the Danes as well as the other robbers by land and by sea restrained
their hostile attacks, knowing to be true that which is written,
"when a strong man armed keepeth his palace his possessions
are in peace." For they also knew, indeed, that men of surpassing
valour do not suffer injuries to go unpunished. When, therefore,
the land had long been [70] quiet under the rule of this king,
he became unwilling that that should be paid as a yearly tax which
had been exacted by the urgent necessity of a time of war; nor
yet, however, on account of unforeseen cases, did he wish it to
be entirely omitted. It was occasionally paid, therefore, in his
time and in that of his successor: that is, when, from outside
nations, wars or rumours of wars arose. But whenever it is paid,
those who sit at the exchequer, are free from it, as has been
said. The sheriffs too, although they are not counted under the
barons of the exchequer, are quit of this for their domains on
account of the labour of collecting the tax. Know, moreover, that
the domains of any one are called those which are cultivated at
his own expense or labour, and likewise those which are possessed
by his serfs in his name. For the serfs, according to the law
of the kingdom, not only may be transferred by their lords from
those places which they now possess to others; but they themselves
also are sold or sundered in every possible way; with right they
themselves, as well as the lands which they cultivate in order
to serve their masters, are considered domains. Likewise it is
said by those to whom the ancient dignity of the exchequer was
known from what they had seen with their own eyes, that its barons
are free for their domains, of essarts (clearance-fines) of the
forests. With whom we also agree; adding the reservation, that
they may be called quit of those essarts which had been made before
the day on which the illustrious king Henry I. bade farewell to
human affairs. For if they were quit of all, whenever made or
to be made, the barons would seem to be free with impunity, according
to their own will and judgment, to cut down their woods, in which
the royal forest consists; which they can, in fact, by no means
did with impunity, unless the consent of the king or of the chief
forester has first been gained. Nay, those who have their domicile
in the forest may not take from their own woods what they want
for the necessary uses of their homes, unless by view of those
who are deputed to guard the forest. But there are many who wish
to prove by their arguments that no one, by reason of his seat
at the exchequer, is free from these essarts. If any one at all
of those sitting there should, by any misfortune, [71] commit
a fault against the king for which be would merit to be punished
with a pecuniary fine, he would not be freed that punishment except
by special mandate of the king. Since, therefore, a clearance
is a fault committed against the forest of the king, he who thus
errs and on this account receives a penalty, ought not, as they
say, to be acquitted unless by express mandate of the king. Now
although this reasoning is subtle and seems to some almost sufficient,
it is to be said, in objection to it, that the penalty for clearance
is fixed and common to those who err in this way, so that, namely,
for the clearance of one acre of wheat land one shilling is paid;
but for an acre in which oats are sown, six pence, by a perpetual
law. Moreover from these items a certain total sum arises, for
which the sheriff is compelled -to account to the exchequer; just
as from the established two shillings or one from the different
"hides," one sum arises which is called the common assessment.
Since, therefore, in these respects, the essart has an express
similitude with the common assessment, as has been said, it would
seem as if the barons, -not without justice, should be considered
quit from the essarts, just as from the other common assessments.
Likewise the authority, not to be despised, of custom and long
usage is against them (the cavillers). For those whose memory
is hoary call to mind that it was so in past times. I myself,
who speak with thee, have, in modern times, looked upon Robert,
earl of Leicester, a discreet man, learned in letters and versed
in matters of the law. He, while having an inborn virtue of mind,
became also an emulator of his father's prudence: his industry
examined into many matters under our prince Henry the Second,
whom neither fictitious prudence nor dissimulated folly deceives
; so that, by the king's order, not only at the exchequer did
Robert obtain the dignity of president, but also throughout the
whole kingdom. He once, when the visitation of the forests which
the commonly call the ,view" (reguarda), and which takes
place every third year, was at hand, obtained a writ of the king
to the effect that he should be quit of whatever might be demanded
from his land for essarts, the sum being stated to which these
amounted: and when the writ was brought end publicly read before
the [72] exchequer, all were amazed and wondered, saying: does
not this earl invalidate our privileges ? " And while those
who sat there mutually regarded each other, Nigel of blessed memory,
the whilom bishop of Ely, began, speaking thus with modesty: "
My lord earl, thou dost seem to have invalidated, by this writ,
the prerogative of the exchequer, since thou hast obtained a mandate
of the king for those things from which thou, by reason of thy
seat at the exchequer, art free; and if one may logically draw
an inference by deduction from the major term, whoever does not
obtain a writ of the king concerning his essarts, will soon become
answerable for their payment; but, with all due reverence, this
mode of absolution is pernicious on account of the example it
sets". When, therefore, as happens in doubtful cases, some
were of one opinion, others of another, there was brought in,
as a valid argument in this matter, the yearly (pipe) roll of
the time that great king of whom we spoke above, under whom the
dignity and the knowledge of the exchequer are said to have flourished
in a high degree: and something was found which seemed to justify
the bishop who made the assertion concerning the prerogative of
those sitting there. Having heard these things, the earl, after
deliberating a little with himself, said: I confess that in this
matter I obtained a writ of the king, not that I might invalidate
your right, but that thus, without trouble, I might avoid the
too importunate exaction-unknown, however, to the king-of the
collectors. Abandoning his writ, therefore, he chose to be absolved
on account of the prerogative of his seat. Some time after, when
the aforesaid bishop, detained by infirmity could not be present,
and I myself supplied, as well as I could, his place at the exchequer,
it happened that essarts were paid; when, therefore', what had
been exacted from. his domain had been paid, I complained publicly,
alleging the right of exemption. By the common counsel and verdict
of all, therefore, the sum which had been already paid was restored
to me, Reserving, therefore, what bad been raised from his domain,
I restored to his serfs, in its entirety, what had been exacted
from each one, so that the memory might survive and be witness
in this matter.
[73]
D. With all due reverence, one should not use examples but reasons
in these matters.
M. That is so; but it happens, at times, that the causes of things
and the reasons of sayings are secret, and then it suffices to
bring up examples- relating to them; especially if they are taken
from the cases of prudent men, whose deeds are circumspect and
are not done without reason. But whatever we have said about these
things, taking part for this privilege or against it, thou may'st
be sure that in this matter we have called nothing certain, unless
what the authority of the king decreed should be observed. But
the account of the forests and also the punishment or absolution
of those who transgress with regard to them, whether it be a pecuniary
or a corporal one, is kept separate from the other judgments of
the kingdom, and is subjected to the will of the king alone or
to that of some one of his intimates specially deputed for this
purpose. It subsists by its own laws, which, they say, are not
subject to the common law of the kingdom, but to the voluntary
decree of the princes; so that whatever has been done according
to its law may be said to be not absolutely just, but just according
to the law of the forest. The forests, moreover, are the sanctuaries
of kings and their greatest delight; thither they go for the sake
of hunting, having laid aside their cares for a while, so that
they may be refreshed by a short rest. There, the serious, and
at the same time natural uproars of the court having ceased, they
breathe in for a while the boon of pure liberty; whence it comes
that they who transgress with regard to the forest are subject
to the royal displeasure alone.
D. From my earliest youth I have learned that it is wrong for
a prudent person to prefer to suffer ignorance rather than to
demand the causes of things that have been said; in order, therefore,
that the foregoing may more fully be made clear, do not put off
revealing what a forest is, and what an essart.
[74]
XII What is the Forest of the King, and what
the reason of this name.
M. The forest of the king is the safe dwelling-place of wild beasts;
not of every kind, but of the kinds that live in woods; not in
all places, but in fixed ones, and ones suitable for the purpose
; whence it is called " forestal" the "e"
being changed into " o," as if it were " feresta
-i.e., an abiding place for wild beasts.
D. Is there a forest of the king in each county?
M. No; but only in the wooded ones, where the wild beasts
can have their lairs and ripe nourishment: nor does it matter
to whom the woods belong, whether to the king, or to the nobles
of the kingdom,-the wild beasts can none the less run around everywhere
free and unharmed.
XIII What is an Essart, and why so called.
Essarts are commonly called what are named " occationes "
in the works of Isidor; that is, when any groves or thickets in
the forest, which are fit for pasture and for lairs, are cut down;
after which same cutting down and tearing up by the roots, the
land is dug up and cultivated. But if groves are so cut that anyone
standing still, leaning against the remaining stump of an oak,
or any other tree that has been cut down, shall, on looking round,
perceive five that have been cut down, they consider this a wilderness
(vastum)-that is, a place laid waste (vastatum)
- so called by syncope. Such an excess, moreover, even if committed
in one's own groves, is considered so grave that a man may never
be acquitted of it by reason of his seat at the exchequer; but
he ought rather to be pecuniarily punished according to the power
of solvency of his rank. Thus far I have expounded, to some extent
figuratively, what succinct brevity has permitted, and what has
at short notice offered itself to my mind, concerning the dignities
of those sitting at the exchequer. But in these matters I have
constituted for the munificence of the kings no bounds of which
they may not overstep ; they are all inclined, moreover, on account
of the grace entrusted to them to [76] the glory of their prerogative,
especially those who are truly wise. But he most of mundane princes,
the very great and illustrious king of the English, Henry the
Second, strives always to increase the dignities of those serving
under him; knowing for certain that benefits bestowed on his followers
purchase, with titles of immortal fame, the glory of his name.
Now then, let us turn our flowing, pen to other things.
D. It is in order, if I mistake not, as I seem to have
gathered from the foregoing, that thou should'st proceed concerning
the 'king's seal and the doomsday book, of which the first, if
I remember aright, is kept in the treasury and not allowed to
leave it.
M. Nay, both of them, and also very many other things.
XIV. That "Thesaurus" sometimes means the money itself; sometimes
the, place where it is kept.
Know, moreover, that "thesaurus" sometimes means the
money in cash itself, as well as gold or silver vessels of different
kinds, and changes of vestments. According to this acceptation
it is said, "where thy treasure is, there will thy heart
be also" For "thesaurus " is called the place in
which it reposes, therefore "thesaurus" = "aurithesis,"
namely, the place of gold, So that if one asks about some one
where he is, it may not incongruously be replied: "he is
in the 'thesaurus,'" that is, in the place where the "thesaurus"
is kept. Cash money, indeed, or the other things mentioned, having
once been put in a safe place, are not taken a way except when,
by mandate of the king, they are sent to him to be distributed
for his necessary uses. But there are many things in the repository
vaults of the treasury which are carried around, and they are
shut up and guarded by the treasurer and the chamberlains, as
has been more fully shown above: such are the seal of the king
concerning which thou dost ask, the doomsday book, the so-called
exactory roll, which some writ name the writ of farms. Likewise
the great yearly (pipe) rolls, the rolls of accounts, a numerous
multitude of privileges, counter-tallies of receipts, and rolls
of receipts and write, of the king concerning outlays of the treasury,
[76] and many other things which, when the exchequer is in session,
are necessary to its daily uses.
XV. What use is made of the Royal Seal which
is in the Treasury.
What ought to be the use of the royal seal is clear from the foregoing:
for with it are sealed the summonses that are made out, and the
other mandates which pertain solely to the exchequer of the king;
nor is it carried elsewhere; but, as has been said above, is guarded
by the chancellor through a representative. It has, moreover,
stamped upon it, exactly the same image and inscription as the
deambulatory seal of the court, so that both- may be known to
have the same authority of commanding, and that he who acts counter
may be similarly judged guilty according to the one or the other.
Then that book about which thou dost ask is the inseparable companion
of the royal seal in the treasury. From Henry, formerly bishop
of Winchester, I have heard as follows the cause of this institution.
XVI. What is the Doomsday Book, and for what
purpose composed.
When that distinguished conqueror of England, a relative by blood
of this same prelate, had -subdued the utmost limits of the island
to his rule, and had tamed the minds of the rebels by examples
of terrible things,- he decreed, lest a free opportunity of erring
should again be given, that the people subject to him, should
submit to written custom and laws. The English laws, therefore,
being laid before him according to their triple distinction, that
is, Mercian law, Dane law, and West- Saxon law, some he rejected;
others, moreover, approving, be added to them the transmarine
laws of Neustria which seemed most efficacious for protecting
the peace of the kingdom. At length, lest anything should seem
to be wanting to the sum of all his forethought, having taken
counsel, he despatched from his side the most discreet men in
circuit, throughout the kingdom. By these men, in this way, a
[77] diligent description of the whole land was made with regard
to its woods as well as its pastures and meadows, agriculture;
and this description having been noted down in common words, it
was collected into a book; in order, namely, that each one, content
with his own right, should not with impunity usurp that of another.
Moreover the survey is made by counties, by hundreds and by hides,
- the name of the king being marked at the very head, and then,
in turn, the names of the other lords according to the dignity
of their standing; that is to say those who are tenants in chief
of the king. Moreover against the separate names thus arranged
in order are p aced numbers by means of which, below, in the course
of the book itself, whatever concerns these persons is more easily
found. This book is called by the natives Domesday; that is, by
metaphor, the day of judgment; ,for just as a sentence of that
strict and terrible last trial cannot possibly be eluded by any
art of tergiversation: so when in the kingdom, contention shall
arise concerning things that are there noted,- when the book is
appealed to its sentence can not be scorned or avoided with impunity.
On this account we have named this book the book of dooms; not
that, in it, a sentence is given concerning any doubtful matters
that come up, but that from it, as from a judgment that has been
given, it is not allowed in any way to depart.
D. If it please thee, explain what is a county, what a hundred,
what a hide; otherwise the things that have been said will not
be clear.
XVII. What is a Hide, what a Hundred, what
a County, according to the common opinion.
M. The country people know this better; but, as we have heard
from them, a hide, from its primitive institution, consists of
a hundred acres: but a hundred, of several hundred hides-the number
not being a fixed one, however; for one consists of many, another
of fewer hides. Hence thou wilt frequently find that, in the old
privileges of the Anglo-Saxon kings, a hundred (hundredus)
is frequently called a centuriate (centuriata). The county,
[78] moreover, consists in like manner of hundreds that is, some
of more, some of less, according as the land has been divided
by discreet men. The county, then, is called from the count, or
the count from the county. It is the count, moreover, who receives
the third portion of what comes from the pleas in each county.
For that sum, which, under the name of a farm, is required from
the sheriff, does not all arise from the revenues of estates,
but in great part from pleas; and of these the count (comes)
receives the third part; he is therefore said to be so called
because he shares with the fisc, and is a companion (comes)
in receiving. Then the sheriff (vice-comes) is so called
because he supplies the place of the count in those pleas in which
the count shares by reason of his dignity.
D. Do the counts receive those payments from each and. all the
counties?
M. By no means: those alone receive them whom the munificence
of the kings, in view of service rendered, or of distinguished
probity, has made counts, and on whom this same munificence has
decided, by reason of this dignity, to confer them; on some as
hereditary, on others for their own persons only.
XVIII. What is the Exactory Roll.
The exactory roll is that in which, distinctly and diligently
enough, are marked the farms of the king which arise from the
separate counties, and the sum of which may not, indeed, be diminished,
but is frequently increased by the laborious diligence of the
justice.' The reason of the remaining rolls, such as the yearly
one and the others which we mentioned above, which are in the
treasury and do not leave it, is clear enough from the foregoing.
It remains, therefore, for us to turn to the greater and more
necessary institutions of the exchequer, in which, as has been
said, consists the more excellent, the more useful, and from many
the more occult knowledge of the exchequer.
BOOK SECOND.
[79] Hear me, brother, and, with the ears of one hearing, understand
what I say unto thee. Thou wilt not repent thy willingness to
spend a short portion of time snatched idleness upon matters of
business. For there are me who do not blush to say in their hearts,
"he who a up knowledge lays up also grief " : to these
learning burden, and it is a pleasure to play the fool. Therefore
the truth is far removed from those who, fearing the pleasant
labour of a pursuit, fall into error. They become blind of heart,
therefore, and, not seeing the dangers of the way, fall headlong
down a precipice. But thee, oh brother, let no day find idle ;
lest, perchance that condition of human infirmity which is most
prone to evil subject thee, off thy guard, to certain of the worst
things. But if, by chance, thou hast no affairs, nevertheless
invent some honest ones, that thy mind, always exercised, maybe
more open to learning. Attend, therefore, a little to those matters
in which thou hast involved us; not that from them thou wilt harvest
great fruits of labour, but only lest on be idle.
D. I fear lest the twilight of approaching night may put
a sudden end to the matters in hand, and lest, omiting many necessary
things, thou wilt so hasten that thou will'st free thyself of
the importunity of an interrogator.
M. Nay, I rather feared lest, after thy long silence, a long suppressed
laugh might be shaking thee on account of my rustic style ; or
lest, perchance, thou wert silently cogitating how, without hurting
me, thou mightest pluck thyself from these matters to which thou
hast forced me. Therefore I confess that I had almost put an untimely
end to what I was saving: but, nevertheless, since thou art docile
and the zeal of attention has not yet grown tepid in thee, I will
continue on the path begun. For the purpose, therefore, of complying
with the order of business laid down, we must speak, in the first
place, concerning summonses: for what debts they are made out
namely, and how, and for what purpose. And that these matters
may be more fully clear to thee, let the last of these three [80]
things be shown before the first - that is for what purpose they
are made.
[NOTE: ONLY THE TITLES OF BOOK SECOND ARE
GIVEN HERE]
I: Summonses, indeed are made in order that
the Exchequer may be held.
How Summonses are made out.
II: How summonses differ according to the term.
For what Debts Summonses are made out.
III Manifold concerning the duties of the Sheriff.
IV For what causes the absence of the Sheriff
is considered condoned.
V How is that some estates are given blank,
some by tale.
VI What are the fixed payments that are to
be computed to the Sheriff: alms, namely, and tithes, and liveries
of both kinds, and lands given.
VII What are to be computed through custom
of the Exchequer alone, that is without a writ.
VIII In what order those things are to be computer
to the sheriff which were spent in public works by a writ of the
king not specifying the amount.
IX That no one is absolved from a debt by a
writ of the king which does not express the amount, even though
it give cause.
X Concerning escheats and trespass-lands, or,
as we more generally say, concerning purprestures and escheats.
XI Concerning the Rents of Woods.
XII Concerning Pleas and Covenants: in what
order the accounts for them are made when the required amounts
are paid.
XIII Concerning the different kinds of persons
who are not solvent; with regard to the what persons an oath is
offered by the Sheriff, and under what tenor of words the oath
shall be given.
XIV What chattels of debtors, when they do
not pay of their own free will, are not to be sold, and what order
is to be observed in selling.
XV That the Sheriff may take from the debtors
of that debtor who does not pay the king, the debt due to the
king.
XVI That the Sheriff may take from the estates
of him who does not pay, that which is required, even if, after
the time when he commenced to be bounden to the king, he have
alienated in any way.
XVII That a Sheriff is not allowed to receive
money due to himself from those who do not pay the king: and what
is to be done if he should happen to receive it.
XVIII How a husband is to be called to account
for a wife or a wife for a husband, if he or she be not solvent.
XIX That there is not the same manner of coercion
for the king's barons and for others in the matter of pecuniary
penalties.
XX What is to be done when the steward, who
has pledged himself to render satisfaction, does not appear.
XXI What if he comes and does not give satisfaction,
if he is a knight. What if he is not a knight.
XXII How a lord shall be punished who as voluntarily
exposed a knight so that he himself may in the meantime be free.
XXIII What is to be done concerning those who
make voluntary offerings when they too do not pay.
XXIV As to Reliefs not voluntarily paid.
XXV What is to be done concerning birds offered,
and at what time a summons is to be sent for them.
XXVI Concerning the Queen's Gold.
XXVII That farms are to be answered for in
one way and wardships in another, and that the oath is to be given
in different wordings.
XXVIII That an oath as to the truth of an account,
being once given, suffices once and for all.
The END
From Ernest F. Henderson, Select Historical Documents of the
Middle Ages, (London: George Bell and Sons, 1910), pp. 20-134
[Henderson gives the full text of Book Second]
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halsall@murray.fordham.edu
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