On the following day, however, the said earl, having called to his aid a considerable number of the knights of the household of the king of England, came before the castle of Pasci, having first disposed the knights and great numbers of men-atarms in different places, to lie in ambush for the people of the castle. Accordingly, when the knights of the castle, who had driven him from the field the day before, espied him, they sallied forth with great vigour, and he fled before them, until they fell in with those lying in ambush, on which eighteen knights of their number were captured, and a great number of the common soldiers.

In the meantime, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, crossed over from England to Normandy, and immediately, at the request of the king of France, and with the permission of the king of England, proceeded into France, to treat of making peace between those two kings. On this, the king of France made offer that he would, for the sake of peace, surrender to the king of England all his lands and castles that he had seized, with the exception of the castle of Gisors, as to which, he would abide by the decision of six Norman barons, whom he himself should name, and of six barons of France, whom the king of England should name, which of the two had the greatest right to retain possession of the castle; but the king of England declined, unless the earl of Flanders, and all the others who had abandoned the king of France and become his adherents, were included in the treaty.

In the same year, Hugh Bardolph, Master Roger Arundel, and Geoffrey Hacket, to whom, as judges itinerant, had been entrusted Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Lancaster, held pleas of the king's crown.

Heads of the Pleas of the King's Crown.8

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Of pleas of the crown, new and old, which were not disposed of in the presence of the justices of our lord the king. Of mort d'ancestor. Of novel disseisin. Of grand assize, as far as ten pounds' value in land, and below. Of advow

sons of churches. Elections 7 also under the jurisdiction of the grand assize are to be taken before them, in obedience to the mandate of our lord the king, or of his chief justice. Of churches vacant or not vacant, which were in the presenta86 The text of Wilkins has been adopted. 87 Probably of ecclesiastical persons.

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tion of our lord the king, as to who has presented them, or who has them, and through whom, and what is their value. Of escheats of our lord the king, and their values, and who has them, and through whom. Of daughters and sons of nobles, and unmarried women who are or ought to be at the disposal of our lord the king, and the value of their lands, and which of the said males or females has married, and enquiry is to be made to whom, and by whom, and since what time. Enquiry is also to be made as to what widows have not compounded for marrying of themselves,88 and the fine is to be exacted on behalf of our lord the king. Of serjeanties of our lord the king, and who has the same, and through whom, and what is the value thereof; and as to who have not made composition for aid to our lord the king, and who have made it, and the fine is to be exacted. Of usury by Christians, and the chattels of those who are dead. Of those who lie at the mercy of the king, and have not been amerced. Of pourprèstures 59 of our lord the king. Of ways of our lord the king that have been stopped up. Of treasure troves. Of offenders and their harbourers. Of persons accused who have fled and returned since the last assize. Of the renewal of all weights and measures, and ells; and if the four men who have been deputed to keep the same, have in each town done what is enacted by statute relative thereto, and if they have attached all transgressors of the said assize; and if they have not attached them as they ought, then let them be punished as though themselves the transgressors. All wine belonging to such persons as shall have sold the same contrary to the assize shall be seized on behalf of our lord the king, and the owner of the wine, as well as the sellers, shall be amerced to the king. Enquiry is to be made throughout all the counties. as to the hides and carucates therein; and whether the justices who have been appointed for the purpose have duly behaved themselves, and whether they have received from all persons, and whether they have concealed anything. Of the keepers of the seaports; if they have received anything which they have not paid, and if they have received any bribe for withholding the king's rights, and if any person has received anything who has not been duly appointed for the said purpose. Enquiry is to be made, if all appear, who such person is, and what is his name; 88 Without the king's permission.

39 Encroachments by enclosure of the king's lands.

VOL. II.

F F

for it is by these and other vexations, whether justly or unjustly, that all England has been reduced to poverty from

sea to sea.

But before these troubles were at an end, another kind of trouble arose, to the confusion of the subjects of the realm, by means of the justices of the forests, namely, Hugh Neville, chief-justice of all the king's forests in England, whose surname was Envellu, Hugh Wac, and Ernest de Neville. For it was commanded the said justices itinerant of the forests, on the king's behalf, throughout each county through which they should proceed, to convene before them, to the pleas of the forests, the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, and all freeholders, and the reeve of each town, and four other men, to hear the king's commands.

In the first place, our lord the king gives notice, that if any shall commit an offence against him, relative to his venison, or his forests, in any way, he does not wish such to place their confidence in the fact that he has hitherto amerced them solely in their chattels, who have offended against him relative to his venison, or his forests. For if any persons henceforth shall commit any offence against him relative thereto, and shall be convicted of the same, it is his intention that the full punishment shall be inflicted on them, as in the days of Henry, the grandfather 91 of our lord the king, that is to say, they are to lose their eyes and their virility. Also, our lord the king forbids that any person shall have bows or arrows, or dogs, or harriers, in his forests, unless he has the king as his surety, or some one else to act as his surety in so doing. The king also forbids that any one shall give or sell anything to the destruction of his woods, or the waste that lies in the king's forests; but he gives full permission for them to take anything that is necessary for them from their own woods, but without waste and this in view of his forester and verderers. He also orders all those who have woods within the boundaries of a forest of our lord the king, to place fit and proper foresters in their woods; for which foresters those to whom such woods belong are to be sureties, or are to find fitting sureties, who may make reparation, if the foresters should offend in anything that relates to our lord the king. He also orders that his own foresters shall have supervision over the foresters of the knights and others, who have woods within the boundaries of a forest belonging to our lord the king, in order that the woods 91 Properly greatgrandfather.

92

may not be destroyed. For if, after this, these woods shall happen to be destroyed, they towhom such woods shall belong are distinctly to understand, that by themselves or from their lands reparation shall be made, and not by any one else. The king also orders that his foresters shall make oath that, to the utmost of their ability, they will observe his assize which he has made relative to his forests, and that they will not be guilty of vexatious conduct towards knights or respectable men, by reason of this supervision which the king has given them over their woods. The king also orders that in every county in which he keeps venison, twelve knights shall be appointed to keep watch over vert and venison in his forests, and that four knights shall be appointed for agisting his woods, and for receiving his pannage, 93 and for the purpose of guarding and protecting the same. He also orders, that no one shall agist his own woods within the limits of his forests, before their woods shall have been agisted; and notice is given, that the agistments of our lord the king begin fifteen days before the feast of Saint Michael, and continue for fifteen days after the said feast. The king also orders that, if his forester has in his charge demesne woods of the king, and those woods are destroyed, and he cannot, and knows not how to, show a just cause why such woods are destroyed, nothing is to be exacted of the said forester beyond his own body." 94 He also orders that no clerk shall commit any offence against him relative to his venison or his forests, and he gives strict orders to his foresters, if they shall find them so offending, not to hesitate to seize them, in order to prevent them so doing, and to make them prisoners; as he will exact sureties of them in consequence of so doing. The king also orders that all his assarts 95 shall be viewed every third year, after regard, both old and new, and the same as to all pourprestures, and all wastes in his woods; and that each of the same shall be registered by itself. The king also orders that the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, knights, and freeholders, and all men in his lands, shall come at the summons of his

96

92"To agist," is to find the cattle of strangers in the king's forest, and to receive the money due for the same.

93 66 Pannage," is the money so taken by the agistors.

94 He is to be punished by imprisonment, and not by fine.

95 Forest lands from which the trees have been rooted up, and are thus rendered fit for cultivation. 96 View by the regarders of the forest.

chief forester, to hold pleas as to his forests. It is also to be forbidden, at the pleas held at the forests, that any carriage shall go out of the high road into the king's forests, or that there shall be any swine in the king's forests in the fence times, that is to say, between fifteen days before the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, and fifteen days after that feast. It is also to be known, that whoever shall commit an offence in the king's forest, with relation to his venison, and shall be attainted of the same, he shall be at the mercy of the king for loss of his eyes and of his virility.

But he who shall be guilty of an offence in the king's forests, as to vert, whether by cutting down wood, or by cutting down branches, or by digging turf, or by rooting up heather, or by cutting brushwood, or by making assart, or new pourpresture by hedge or ditch, or by removal of a mill, or of a water-course, or of a sheep-cote, or of other houses, or by reaping or making hay beyond his hedges or ditches, shall be amerced by the king out of his own money, unless he shall have the king's verderers or foresters as his warranty for so doing. In like manner, they who carry bows or arrows, or who lead dogs without a couple through the king's forests, and shall be attainted of the same, shall be amerced by the king.

It is also enacted, that view of forest shall always be made every third year; and in regard of forest, the several matters above-mentioned are to be seen to. Also, in regard, new assarts are to be viewed, and what old ones have been sown since the last regard, and with what corn or pulse they have been sown. Fresh assarts shall be seized to the king's use; if old assarts shall have been sown with wheat or with winter wheat, then each acre shall pay to the king twelvepence from the said crop; and if they shall have been sown with oats, barley, beans, peas, or any other pulse, then each acre shall pay to the king six-pence from the said crop.

It is also deserving to be known, that in the time of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, it had been allowed for ditches to be made within the boundaries of the forests instead of hedges.; and the said Henry enacted at Woodstock, that whoever should commit an offence against him as to his forests, relative to the venison therein, on the first occasion, safe sureties should be exacted of him; if he should offend a second time, safe sureties were to be similarly exacted of him ; 97 Fawning season.