holden the said five and twentieth year, to the honor of God and of holy Church, and of all his realm, did ordain and establish, that the free elections of archbishoprics, bishoprics, and all other dignities and benefices elective in England, should hold from thenceforth in the manner as they were granted by his progenitors, and by the ancestors of other lords founders; and that all prelates and other people of holy Church, which had advowsons of any benefices of the gift of the king, or of his progenitors, or of other lords and donors, should freely have their collations and presentments; and thereupon a certain punishment was ordained in the same statute for them which accept any benefice or dignity contrary to the said statute made at Westminster the said twentyfifth year, as afore is said; which statute our lord the king hath caused to be recited in this present parliament at the request of his commons in the same parliament, the tenor whereof is such as hereafter followeth: **

And further more our lord the king that now is, of the assent of the great men of his realm being in this present parliament, hath ordained and established, that for all archbishoprics, bishoprics, and other dignities and benefices elective, and all other benefices of holy Church, which began to be void in deed the twenty-ninth day of January, the thirteenth year of the reign of our lord king Richard that now is, or after, or which shall be void in time to come within the realm of England, the said statute made the said twenty-fifth year shall be firmly holden forever, and put in due execution from time to time in all manner of points; and if any do accept of a benefice of holy Church contrary to this statute, and that duly proved, and be beyond the sea, he shall abide exiled and banished out of the realm forever and his lands and tenements, goods and chattels shall be forfeit to the king; and if he be within the realm, he shall be also exiled and banished as afore is said, and shall incur the same forfeiture, and take his way, so that he be out of the realm in six weeks next after such acceptation; and if any receive any such person banished coming from beyond the sea, or being within the realm after the said six weeks, knowing thereof, he shall be also exiled and banished, and incur such forfeiture as afore is said; and that their procurators, notaries, executors, and summoners have the pain and forfeiture aforesaid. Provided nevertheless, that all they to whom our holy father the pope, or his predecessors, have provided any archbishopric, bishopric, or other dignity, or

benefices elective, or other benefices of holy Church, of the patronage of people of holy Church, in respect of any voidance before the said twenty-ninth day of January, and thereof were in actual possession before the same twenty-ninth day, shall have and enjoy the said archbishoprics, bishoprics, dignities, and other benefices peaceably for their lives, notwithstanding the statutes and ordinance aforesaid. And if the king send by letter or in other manner to the court of Rome, at the entreaty of any person, or if any other send or sue to the same court, whereby anything is done contrary to this statute, touching any archbishopric, bishopric, dignity, or other benefice of holy Church within the said realm, if he that maketh such motion or suit be a prelate of holy Church, he shall pay to the king the value of his temporalties of one year; and if he be a temporal lord, he shall pay to the king the value of his lands and possessions not moveable of one year; and if he be another person of a more mean estate, he shall pay to the king the value of the benefice for which suit is made, and shall be imprisoned one year. And it is the intent of this statute, that of all dignities and benefices of holy Church, which were void indeed the said twenty-ninth day of January, which be given, or to which it is provided by the pope before the same twenty-ninth day, that they to whom such gifts or provisions be made, may freely of such gifts and provisions sue execution without offence of this statute: provided always, that of no dignity or benefice which was full the said twenty-ninth day of January, no man because of any collation, gift, reservation, and provision, or other grace papal, not executed before. the said twenty-ninth day, shall not sue thereof execution, upon the pains and forfeitures contained in this present statute.

3. Item, it is ordained and established, that if any man bring or send within the realm, or the king's power, any summons, sentences, or excommunications against any person, of what condition that he be, for the cause of the moving, making assent, or execution of the said statute of provisors, he shall be taken, arrested, and put in prison, and forfeit all his lands and tenements, goods and chattels forever, and incur the pain of life and of member. And if any prelate make execution of such summons, sentences, or excommunications, that his temporalties be taken and abide in the king's hands, till due redress and correction be thereof made. And if any person of less estate than a prelate, of what condition that he be, make such execution, he shall be taken, arrested, and put in prison, and have imprisonment, and make fine and ransom by the discretion of the king's council.

after the black death

96. Statute of Maintenance and Liveries pl. was the trouble

(May, 1390. French text and translation, 2 S. R. 74.

640, 3 Stubbs, 549.)

HE king to the sheriff of Kent, Greeting.

2 Stubbs, 509,

realm, which we

are bound, by the oath made at our coronation, to preserve, all our lieges within the same realm, as well poor as rich, ought freely to sue, defend, receive and have justice and right, and the accomplishment and execution thereof, in any our courts whatsoever and elsewhere, without being disturbed or oppressed by maintenance, menace, or in any other manner; and now so it is, that in many of our parliaments heretofore holden, and namely, in the parliaments last holden at Cambridge and Westminster, grievous complaint and great clamor hath been made unto us, as well by the lords spiritual and temporal as by the commons of our said realm, of great and outrageous oppressions and maintenances made to the damage of us and of our people, in divers parts of the same realm, by divers maintainors, instigators, barrators, procurors, and embraceors of quarrels and inquests in the country, whereof many are the more encouraged and bold in their maintenance and evil deeds aforesaid, because that they be of the retinue of lords and others of our said realm, with fees, robes, and other liveries, called liveries of company; We have ordained and straitly forbidden, by the advice of our great council, that no prelate, nor other man of holy Church, nor bachelor, nor esquire, nor other of less estate, give any manner of such livery called livery of company; and that no duke, earl, baron, or banneret give such livery of company to knight or esquire, if he be not retained with him for the term of his life for peace and for war, by indenture, without fraud or evil device, or unless he be a domestic and familiar abiding in his household; nor to any valet called yeoman archer, nor to other of less estate than esquire, if he be not, in like manner, a familiar abiding in his household. And that all lords spiritual and temporal, and all others of what condition or estate they be, shall utterly oust all such maintainors, instigators, barrators, procurors, and embraceors of quarrels and inquests from their fees, robes, and all manner of liveries, and from their service, company, and retainer, without receiving any such on their retainer, in any manner, in time to come; and that no lord spiritual nor temporal, nor any other, that hath or

shall have people of his retinue, shall suffer any that belong to him, to be a maintainor, instigator, barrator, procuror, or embraceor of quarrels and inquests in the country, in any manner, but shall put them away from his service and retinue, as afore is said, as soon as it can be discovered; and that if any lord do oust any such maintainor, instigator, barrator, procuror, or embraceor from his company for this cause, that then no other lord do retain or receive him of his retinue nor of his company in any manner; and that none of our lieges, great nor small, of what condition or estate he be, whether he be of the retinue of any lord, or other person whatever who belongeth not to any retinue, shall not undertake any quarrel other than his own, nor shall maintain it, by himself nor by other, privily nor openly; and that all those who use and wear such livery called livery of company, contrary to this our ordinance, shall leave them off altogether within ten days after the proclamation of this same ordinance, without using or wearing them any more afterwards; and that this our ordinance be held and firmly kept, and duly executed, in all points, as well by those who have or shall have people of their retinue, as by all other persons, in that which to them belongeth touching the same ordinance, upon pain of imprisonment, fine, and ransom, or of being punished in other manner, according as shall be advised by us and our council: wherefore we command and charge you that incontinently, upon sight hereof, you cause to be published and proclaimed this our ordinance in cities, boroughs, market towns, and other public places within your bailiwick, as well within franchise as without, and do cause the same to be holden and duly executed in all points.

Given under our great seal at Westminster, the twelfth day of May.

By the king himself and the council.

Like writs are directed to the several sheriffs throughout England.

97. Conveyances to the Uses of Religious Houses and other Corporations forbidden, etc.

(February, 1392. French text and translation, 2 S. R. 78. 2 Stubbs, 509, 638.)

3. ITEM, It is declared, ordained and established that of all manner of contracts, pleas, and quarrels, and all other

things rising within the bodies of counties, as well by land, as by water, and also wreck of the sea, shall be tried determined, discussed, and remedied by the laws of the land, and not before nor by the admiral, nor his lieutenant in any wise. Nevertheless, of the death of a man, and of a mayhem done in great ships, being and hovering in the main stream of great rivers, only beneath the bridges of the same rivers most next to the sea, and in none other places of the same rivers, the admiral shall have cognizance, and also to arrest ships in the great fleets for the great voyages of the king and of the realm; saving always to the king all manner of forfeitures and profits thereof coming; and he shall have also jurisdiction upon the said fleets, during the said voyages only saving always to the lords, cities, and boroughs their liberties and franchises.

5. Item, whereas it is contained in the statute de religiosis, *** and now of late by subtile imagination, and by art, and device, some religious persons, parsons, vicars, and other spiritual persons, have entered in divers lands and tenements, which be adjoining to the churches, and of the same, by sufferance and assent of the tenants, have made churchyards, and by bulls of the bishop of Rome have caused the same to be dedicated and hallowed, and in them do make continually parochial burying without licence of the king and of the chief lords; therefore it is declared in this parliament, that this is manifestly within the compass of the said statute. And moreover it is agreed and assented, that all they that be possessed by feoffment, or by any other manner, to the use of religious people, or other spiritual persons, of lands and tenements, fees, advowsons, or any manner other possessions whatsoever, to amortise them, and whereof the said religious and spiritual persons take the profits, that betwixt this and the feast of Saint Michael next coming, they shall cause them to be amortised by the licence of the king and of the lords, or else that they shall sell and aliene them to some other use between this and the said feast, upon pain to be forfeited to the king, and to the lords, according to the form of the said statute of religious, as lands purchased by religious people: and that from henceforth no such purchase be made, so that such religious or other spiritual person take thereof the profits, as afore is said, upon pain aforesaid; and that this same statute extend and be observed of all lands, tenements, fees, advowsons, and other possessions, purchased or to be purchased to the use of guilds or fraternities. And moreover it is assented, because mayors, bailiffs, and commons of cities, boroughs, and other towns which