magistris navium inventarum in baillia tua quod erunt, quamcito poterunt, in occursum nostrum ad predictum portum, quod pro defectu tuo non retardetur transfretatio nostra, propter quod ad te nos graviter capere debeamus. Teste Rege, apud Nonetas, xvj die Septembris.

[Close Roll, 14 Henry III, Pt. 2, M. 4d (Cal. p. 447).]

Decustodia terré et

heredis Elyé de Bello

Campo.

74. Letters Close (Precept) for delivery of Seisin of certain lands to a royal grantee (10 May, 12 Henry III).

Rex vicecomiti Buk[ingehamsiré], Salutem. Scias quod concessimus Johanni de Offintone, servienti dilecti et fidelis nostri Huberti de Burgo, comitis Kancié, justiciarii Anglié, custodiam terré et heredis Elyé de Bello Campo cum maritagio ejusdem heredis. Et ideo tibi precipimus quod de tota terra qué fuit ipsius Elyé in balliva tua, eidem Johanni sine dilatione plenam saisinam habere facias. Teste [me ipso apud Lamhethe, x die Maij, anno regni nostri xij].

[Close Roll, 12 Henry III, M. 8 (Cal. p. 47).]

De

accedendo

Scocié.

75. Letters Close (Mandate) to an Earl to repair to the parts of Scotland with all his forces (18 October, 1 Edward II).

Rex dilecto et fideli suo Humfrido de Bohun, Comiti Herefordié et Essexé, Salutem. Quia quidam inimici rebelles et proditores ad partes nostri de terra nostra Scocié, sué fidelitatis immemores, contra nos hostiliter insurrexerunt, dictam terram nostram vastando incendiis, homicidia et alia facinora innumera perpetrando, nos eorum maliciis obviare volentes, vobis mandamus, in fide et dilectione quibus nobis tenemini firmiter injungentes, quod, ad dictorum proditorum rebellionem viriliter reprimendam, ad partes dicté terré Scocié, cum equis et armis ac toto posse vestro, statim postquam corpus claré memorié Domini patris nostri traditum fuerit sepulturé, pro defensione et tuicione terrarum vestrarum ac eciam assecuracione partium earundem, proficisci nullatenus omittatis. Teste Rege apud Northamptonam, xviij die Octobris. [1 Edward II.]

[Close Roll, Edw. II, M. 17d (Parl. Writs, Vol. II. p. 370, No. 14; Cal. p. 43).]

De pro

76. Letters Close (Mandate) for the attendance of the Clergy at an adjourned meeting of Parliament (4 January, 11 Edward II).

Rex venerabili in Christo patri W[altero] Archiepiscopo Cantuarogacione riensi, tocius Anglié Primati, Salutem. Licet nuper super diversis et parlia menti. arduis negociis, nos et statum regni nostri specialiter tangentibus, parliamentum nostrum apud Lincolniam in quindena Sancti Hillarii proximo futura tenere, et vobiscum ac cum ceteris prelatis, magnatibus et proceribus dicti regni habere proposuerimus colloquium et tractatum, et vobis mandaverimus quod dictis die et loco, omnibus aliis pretermissis, personaliter interessetis, ibidem nobiscum et cum ceteris prelatis, magnatibus et proceribus supradictis, super dictis negociis tractaturi vestrumque consilium impensuri; Parliamentum tamen predictum apud locum predictum tenendum, usque ad primam Dominicam Quadragesimé proximo futuram, ad requisicionem prelatorum dicti regni, duximus prorogandum. Et ideo vobis mandamus, in fide et dileccione quibus nobis tenemini firmiter injungentes, quod ad dictum locum, in dicta Dominica, omnibus aliis pretermissis, personaliter intersitis, nobiscum et cum ceteris prelatis, magnatibus et proceribus supradictis super dictis negociis tractaturi vestrumque consilium impensuri. Premunientes Priorem et Capitulum ecclesié vestré Cantuariensis, Archidiaconos, totumque clerum vestré diocesis quod iidem Prior et Archidiaconi in propriis personis suis et dictum Capitulum per unum, idemque clerus per duos procuratores idoneos, plenam et sufficientem potestatem ab ipsis Capitulo et clero habentes, una vobiscum intersint modis omnibus tunc ibidem, ad faciendum et consentiendum hiis qué tunc ibidem de communi consilio, favente Domino, ordinari contigerit super negociis antedictis. Et hoc nullatenus omittatis. Teste Rege apud Westmonasterium, quarto die Januarii. Per ipsum Regem.

[Close Roll, 11 Edw. II, M. 12d (Parl. Writs, Vol. II. p. 175, No. 11;

Cal. p. 590).]

D. SERIAL WRITS

This designation has been adopted to include a class of Writs under the Great Seal which are distinguished either by separate enrolment or else are linked together in a sequence of constitutional forms. Under the former head specimens are printed here of the series of Liberate, Exchange, Passage, Scutage, Redisseisin and Statute Rolls (Nos. 77-86).

Other series, which belong to this class, are the Staple, Parliament, Coronation and Surrender Rolls. No specimens of occasional or short-lived series, such as the Protection Rolls and Pardon Rolls, have been included here, since these forms occur normally on the Patent or Close Rolls. The great series of Treaty or Foreign Rolls have not been included here as being distinctive only in a geographical sense. Again there are a few series, like the Extract and Fine Rolls, which are of departmental interest only and useless for the purpose of diplomatic study.

(a) 77-81. Writs of Liberate, Allocate, Computate, Perdonavimus, and the Contrabreve.-These form probably the most ancient class of ministerial writs and they were composed in the same style from the reign of Henry II to that of William IV. The earliest enrolment of these writs dates from the second year of King John. At first these enrolments seem to anticipate the series of Close Rolls. Then the writs are merged in the entries on the Close Rolls from the 6th year of this reign to the 10th year of Henry III, when a distinct series of Liberate Rolls again appears and is continued till the reign of Henry VI. Parallel with this series, from 10 Henry III to 34 Edward I, is another series of Exchequer enrolments, but writs 'de exitu Thesauri' are also found on reputed Gascon and Norman Rolls, -Many of these writs are entered in the Exchequer Memoranda Rolls, whilst the substance of them is also found in the Issue Rolls. A small residuum of the original Writs filed in the Exchequer are fortunately still preserved amongst the subsidiary 'Proceedings' of that Court, and from these files several of the specimens printed here have been derived, the enrolments being considerably abbreviated.

It will be noticed that the form of the writ 'Perdonavimus' differs from that given in the Dialogus (1. vi.). After a certain date the writ of 'Liberate' is replaced by that of 'Solvatis,' but this is

generally regarded as an identical instrument (cf. Hardy, Rot. de Liberate, etc., Preface, Pipe Roll Soc. Publ. III. 57 and x. 96; Rôles Gascons, T. I. and Supplément).

The 'Contrabrevia' were the writs addressed in the first place to royal officers or accountants authorising a certain expenditure with an assurance of repayment ('et computabitur tibi') which was the equivalent of a writ of 'Computate.'

82, 83. Licenses for Letters of Exchange.-Letters of Exchange were permitted to be sent abroad by foreign merchants under a royal license (Letters Close) under the Great Seal, dispensing with the rigorous provisions of the Statute 5 Ric. II (i) c. 2. These are entered on a series of Exchange Rolls down to the reign of Henry VI. Earlier still, Passes, or licenses to cross the sea, were issued and enrolled on Passage Rolls of which two only have survived. They were subsequently entered on the Exchange Rolls (No. 83). The issue of these Licenses was further regulated by the Statute 3 Hen. VII, c. 6, and specimens of such Licenses still exist (Exch. K. R. Misc. 393). At this date Letters of Exchange were issued by the King's Exchanger by virtue of his office.

84. Writs of Scutage.-Writs of Scutage were instruments (Letters Close) of a departmental nature enrolled on the Scutage Rolls. As to their nature, see the exhaustive account given of these and the Marshalsea Rolls by Mr S. R. Scargill-Bird in the Genealogist (N. S.), Vol. I. p. 65 sq.

85. Writs of Redisseisin. — Writs of Redisseisin are really Original Writs of a purely legal nature (cf. Pollock and Maitland, II. 44) the object of which was to enforce the provisions of the Statutes of Merton, Marlborough and Westminster (2) against Disseisors.

The importance of these Writs as a Chancery series is due to their separate enrolment. Like the Liberate' writs these were also entered in an Exchequer series which is better known as the 'Originalia' Rolls. The formula of writs of Redisseisin differs materially from that of the diplomatic documents previously noticed.

86. Statute of Parliament.-Just as a Charter of Liberties having the force of an edict or law is found in the form of a true diploma at an early date, so some ordinances and statutes of a somewhat later date were issued in the form of Letters under the Great Seal. This fact is clearly indicated in the heading and conclusion of the Statute

of Wales (1284) printed below. The Statute Rolls, however, like the still larger series of Parliamentary Rolls contain for the most part a miscellaneous collection of instruments which are not in diplomatic form.

(b) A good example of a sequence of writs under the Great Seal relating to a particular subject, but not enrolled in a special series, is seen in the case of the several instruments connected with the approbation of ecclesiastical elections by the Crown. The procedure is, of course, well known, but as the notarial instruments representing the action of the ecclesiastical bodies are less easily accessible, specimens for the whole sequence have been given here (Nos. 88—93) together with a specimen of the frequent petitions for the arrest of Vagabond Monks (No. 87), for which cf. also No. 1391.

The historical 'Congé d'élire' had been issued since the reign of John as a royal writ, and this, like the Protections and Licenses above described, was naturally continued in the 14th century as a royal missive (No. 89) in response to an ecclesiastical Petition (No. 88). The well-known ecclesiastical instruments found on the Patent Rolls are the Royal Assent' (No. 91) to the formal notification of the Election (No. 90) and the 'Restitution of Temporalities' (No. 93) on the signification of the canonical confirmation thereof (No. 92). In later times these royal authorizations were issued under the Sign Manual and were entered in the Secretary of State's department (cf. p. 117).

(c) In the case of Parliamentary proceedings a sequence of essential instruments will also be found normally recurring. As, however, the various forms in use during the 13th and 14th centuries have been exhaustively printed in Sir F. Palgrave's great work (Parl. Writs, I. and II.) it has not been thought desirable to reproduce them here. Instead of this, it seemed most useful to indicate the sequence. above referred to and for this purpose the eventful Parliament that met at York in 1321 has been selected. Two of these forms (Nos. 11 and 15), however, are taken from another source since this Parliament was not prorogued, and a better example of a Statute in diplomatic form was already available (No. 86).

1 The references to this series were kindly supplied by Mr R. C. Fowler of the Public Record Office.

H. F.

6