heir, after his father's days; and I will not suffer any person to do you wrong. God keep you.

(Historical Charters and Constitutional Documents of the City of London, p. 1. Lond. 1884.)

54. Exactions of William Rufas

Ordericus Vitalis

The striking contrast between the administration of William the Conqueror and that of his son, William Rufas, is clearly shown in the following quotation from the contemporary chronicler ORDERICUS VITALIS.

While these events were occurring in Normandy, beyond sea, and enormous sums were prodigally spent in useless armaments, Ranulph Flambard, now made bishop of Durham, and the other minions and officers of the king, were robbing England, and, worse than thieves, pillaged without mercy the granaries of the farmers and the stores of the merchants, not even restraining their bloody hands from plundering the church. On the death of the prelates, they immediately intruded themselves into their places by a violent exercise of the royal authority, and seized without decency whatever they found in their treasuries. They took into the king's hands the domains of the monasteries and the revenues of the bishoprics, and exacted from the abbots or bishops who still survived enormous sums of money. Thus amassing, by fair means or foul, an immense amount of contributions, they remitted it to the king beyond sea, to be employed on his own occasions whether good or bad. Vast sums, accumulated by these taxes, were presented to the king who used them ostentatiously to enrich foreigners. But the native inhabitants, unjustly spoiled of their goods, were in great distress and cried lamentably to God, who delivered Israel from the hand of Moab, when Eglon the corpulent king was slain by Aoth, the left-handed.

(Ordericus Vitalis, book X, c. 8, ed. cited.)

55. The Charter of Liberties of Henry I.

Ancient Laws and Institutes of England William Rufas was succeeded by Henry, the third son of William the Conqueror. Henry's first public act was to issue a charter of liberties. This important charter was not only of great value to Henry's subjects, but a century later it was to form the basis of the demands which led King John to grant the Magna Charta (No. 80). The two documents should be studied together.

In the year of the incarnation of the Lord, 1101, Henry, son of King William, after the death of his brother William, by the grace of God, king of the English, to all faithful, greeting:

1. Know that by the mercy of God, and by the common counsel of the barons of the whole kingdom of England, I have been crowned king of the same kingdom; and because the kingdom has been oppressed by unjust exactions, I, from regard to God, and from the love which I have toward you, in the first place make the holy church of God free, so that I will neither sell nor place at rent, nor, when archbishop, or bishop, or abbot is dead, will I take anything from the domain of the church, or from its men, until a successor is installed into it. And all the evil customs by which the realm of England was unjustly oppressed will I take away, which evil customs I partly set down here.

2. If any one of my barons, or earls, or others who hold from me shall have died, his heir shall not redeem his land as he did in the time of my brother, but shall relieve it by a just and legitimate relief. Similarly also the men of my barons shall relieve their lands from their lords by a just and legitimate relief.

3. And if any one of the barons or other men of mine wishes to give his daughter in marriage, or his sister or niece or relation, he must speak with me about it, but I will neither take anything from him for this permission, nor forbid him to give her in marriage, unless he should wish to join her to my enemy. And if when a baron or other man of mine is dead, a daughter remains as his heir, I will give her in marriage according to the judgment of my barons, along with her land. And if when a man is dead his wife remains, and is without children, she shall have her dowry and right of marriage, and I will not give her to a husband except to her will.

4. And if a wife has survived with children, she shall have her dowry and right of marriage, so long as she shall have kept her body legitimately, and I will not give her in marriage, except according to her will. And the guardian of the land and children shall be either the wife or another one of the relatives as shall seem to be most just. And I require that my barons should deal similarly with the sons and daughters or wives of their men.

5. The common tax on money which used to be taken through the cities and counties, which was not taken in the

time of King Edward, I now forbid altogether henceforth to be taken. If any one shall have been seized, whether a moneyer or any other, with false money, strict justice shall be done for it.

6. All fines and all debts which were owed to my brother, I remit, except my rightful rents, and except those payments which had been agreed upon for the inheritances of others or for those things which more justly affected others. And if any one for his own inheritance has stipulated anything, this I remit, and all reliefs which had been agreed upon for rightful inheritances.

7. And if any one of my barons or men shall become feeble, however he himself shall give or arrange to give his money, I grant that it shall be so given. Moreover, if he himself, prevented by arms, or by weakness, shall not have bestowed his money, or arranged to bestow it, his wife or his children or his parents, and his legitimate men shall divide it for his soul, as to them shall seem best.

8. If any of my barons or men shall have commited an offence he shall not give security to the extent of forfeiture of his money, as he did in the time of my father, or of my brother, but according to the measure of the offence so shall he pay, as he would have paid from the time of my father backward, in the time of my other predecessors; so that if he shall have been convicted of treachery or of crime, he shall pay as is just.

9. All murders moreover before that day in which I was crowned king, I pardon; and those which shall be done henceforth shall be punished justly according to the law of King Edward.

10. The forests, by the common agreement of my barons, I have retained in my own hand, as my father held them.

II. To those knights who hold their land by the cuirass, I yield of my own gift the lands of their demesne ploughs free from all payments and from all labor, so that as they have thus been favoured by such a great alleviation, so they may readily provide themselves with horses and arms for my service and for the defence of my kingdom.

12. A firm peace in my whole kingdom I establish and require to be kept from henceforth.

13. The law of King Edward I give to you again with those changes with which my father changed it by the counsel of his barons.

14. If any one has taken anything from my possessions

since the death of King William, my brother, or from the possessions of any one, let the whole be immediately returned without alteration, and if any one shall have retained anything thence, he upon whom it is found will pay it heavily to me. Witnesses Maurice, bishop of London, and Gundulf, bishop, and William, bishop-elect, and Henry, earl, and Simon, earl, and Walter Giffard, and Robert de Montfort, and Roger Bigod, and Henry de Port, at London, when I was crowned.

(Translations and Reprints. Published by the Department of History, University of Pennsylvania. Reprinted by permission.)

56. Charter of the City of London

(From HENRY I.)

Historical Charters

The City of London was the recipient of many charters, the first being that granted by William I. (No. 53). That granted by Henry I. is, however, the first in which is given an account of the municipal government. A comparative study of these charters is of great value to those interested in municipal development.

Henry, by the grace of God, king of England, to the archbishop of Canterbury, and to the bishops and abbots, earls and barons, justices and sheriffs, and to all his faithful subjects of England, French and English, greeting.

Know ye that I have granted to my citizens of London, to hold Middlesex to farm for three hundred pounds, upon accompt to them and their heirs; so that the said citizens shall place as sheriff whom they will of themselves; and shall place whomsoever, or such a one as they will of themselves, for keeping of the pleas of the crown, and of the pleadings of the same, and none other shall be justice over the same men of London; and the citizens of London shall not plead without the walls of London for any plea. And be they free from scot and lot and danegeld, and of all murder; and none of them shall wage battle. And if any one of the citizens shall be impleaded concerning the pleas of the crown, the man of London shall discharge himself by his oath, which shall be adjudged within the city; and none shall lodge within the walls, neither of my household, nor any other, nor lodging delivered by force.

And all the men of London shall be quit and free, and all their goods, throughout England, and the ports of the sea, of and from all toll and passage and lestage, and all other customs; and the churches and barons and citizens

shall and may peaceably and quietly have and hold their sokes with all their customs; so that the strangers that shall be lodged in the sokes shall give custom to none but to him to whom the soke appertains, or to his officer, whom he shall there put: And a man of London shall not be adjudged in amerciaments of money but of one hundred shillings (I speak of the pleas which appertain to money); and further there shall be no more miskenning in the hustings, nor in the folkmote, nor in other pleas within the city; and the hustings may sit once in a week, that is to say, on Monday: And I will cause my citizens to have their lands, promises, bonds, and debts, within the city and without; and I will do them right by the law of the city, of the lands of which they shall complain to me:

And if any shall take toll or custom of any citizen of London, the citizens of London in the city shall take of the borough or town, where toll or custom was so taken, as much as the man of London gave for toll, and as he received damage thereby: And all debtors, which do owe debts to the citizens of London, shall pay them in London, or else discharge themselves in London, that they owe none; but if they will not pay the same, neither come to clear themselves that they owe none, the citizens of London, to whom the debts shall be due, may take their goods in the city of London, of the borough or town, or of the county wherein he remains who shall owe the debt: And all citizens of London may have their chaces to hunt, as well and fully as their ancestors have had, that is to say, in Chiltre, and in Middlesex and Surrey.

Witness the bishop of Winchester, and Robert son of Richier, and Hugh Bygot, and Alured of Toteneys, and William of Alba-spina and Hubert the king's Chamberlain, and William de Montfichet, and Hangulf de Taney, and John Bellet, and Robert son of Siward. At Westminster.

(The Historical Charters and Constitutional Documents of the City of London, p. 3. Lond. 1834.)

57. The Investiture Controversy

Eadmer

The policy of the Church forbade its ecclesiastics to receive investiture from a layman, even though he were a king. It also forbade churchmen to render homage to laymen. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, contested these points with Henry I.; the result was the compromise set forth in the selection which fcllows.