Table of Contents
Preface to the Second Edition, xix Preface to the First Edition, xxi List of Abbreviations, xxiii
List of Texts Used, xxv Additions and Corrections, xxxi Introduction, xxxiii
Boo k I
Sketch of Early English Legal History
C h a p t e r I . The Dark Age in Legal History, pp. 3–28
The difficulty of beginning, 3 Proposed retrospect, 3 The classical age of Roman law, 4 The beginnings of ecclesiastical law, 4 Third century. Decline of Roman law, 5 Fourth century. Church and State, 5 Fifth century. The Theodosian Code, 7 Laws of Euric, 8 Sixth century.
The century of Justinian, 8 The Lex Salica, 9 The Lex Ribuaria, and Lex Burgundionum, 10 The Lex Romana Burgundionum, 10 The Lex Romana Visigothorum, 10 Importance of The Breviary, 11 The Edict of Theod- eric, 11 The Dionysian collection of canons, 11 Justinian’s books, 12
Justinian and Italy, 13 Laws of Æthelbert, 14 Seventh and eighth
vi C O N T E N T S
centuries. Germanic laws, 15 System of personal laws, 16 The vulgar Roman law, 17 The latent Digest, 18 The capitularies, 18 Growth of canon law, 19 Ninth and tenth centuries. The false Isidore, 20
The forged capitularies, 20 Church and State, 21 The darkest age, 22
Legislation in England, 23 England and the Continent, 24 Eleventh century. The Pavian law-school, 24 The new birth of Roman law, 25
The recovered Digest, 27 The influence of Bolognese jurisprudence, 27
C h a p t e r I I . Anglo-Saxon Law, pp. 29–69
Imperfection of written records of early Germanic law, 29 Anglo-Saxon dooms and custumals, 31 Anglo-Saxon land-books, 32 Survey of Anglo-Saxon institutions, 33 Personal conditions: lordship, 34 The family, 35 Ranks: ceorl, eorl, gesíð, 37 Thegn, 37 Other distinctions,
39 Privileges of the clergy, 39 Slavery and slave trade, 39 Manumis- sion, 40 Courts and justice, 42 Procedure, 43 Temporal and spiritual jurisdiction, 45 The king’s jurisdiction, 45 The Witan, 46 County
and hundred courts, 47 Private jurisdiction, 48 Subject-matter of
Anglo-Saxon justice, 48 The king’s peace, 49 Feud and atonement, 51
Wer, wíte and bót, 53 Difficulties in compelling submission to the courts, 55 Maintenance of offenders by great men, 55 Why no trial by battle, 56 Treason, 56 Homicide, 58 Personal injuries: misadventure, 59 Archaic responsibility, 60 Theft, 61 Property,
62 Sale and other contracts, 63 Claims for stolen goods: warranty,
65 Land tenure, 66 Book-land, 66 Læ´ n-land, 67 Folk-land, 67
Transition to feudalism, 69
Ch apte r I I I . Norman Law, pp. 70–85
Obscurity of early Norman legal history, 70 Norman law was
French, 72 Norman law was feudal, 72 Feudalism in Normandy, 73
Dependent land tenure, 75 Seignorial justice, 78 Limits of ducal power,
79 Legal procedure, 80 Criminal law, 80 Ecclesiastical law, 81
The truce of God, 82 Condition of the peasantry, 82 Jurisprudence,
83 Lanfranc of Pavia, 84
CO N T E N T S vii
C h a p t e r I V. England under the Norman Kings, pp. 86–118
Effects of the Norman Conquest, 86 No mere mixture of national laws,
86 History of our legal language, 87 Struggle between Latin, French and English, 89 The place of Latin, 90 Struggle between French and English, 90 Victory of French, 91 French documents, 93 French
law-books, 94 Language and law, 94
Preservation of Old English law, 95 The Conqueror’s legislation, 95
Character of William’s laws, 96 Personal or territorial laws, 98 Mainte- nance of English land law, 99 The English in court, 100 Norman ideas and institutions, 101 Legislation: Rufus and Henry I., 102 Stephen,
104 The law-books or Leges, 105 Genuine laws of William I., 106
The Quadripartitus, 106 Leges Henrici, 107 Consiliatio Cnuti, 109
Instituta Cnuti, 109 French Leis of William I., 110 Leges Edwardi
Confessoris, 111 Character of the law disclosed by the Leges, 113
Practical problems in the Leges, 114 Practice of the king’s court,
116 Royal justice, 117
C h a p t e r V. Roman and Canon Law, pp. 119–144
Contact of English with Roman and Canon law, 119 Cosmopolitan claims of Roman law, 120 Growth of Canon law, 120 Gratian, 120
Decretales Gregorii, 121 The Canonical system, 122 Relation of Canon to Roman law, 124 Roman and Canon law in England, 125 Vacarius,
126 English legists and canonists, 128 Scientific work in England,
129 The civilian in England, 130
Province of ecclesiastical law, 133 Matters of ecclesiastical economy,
134 Church property, 135 Ecclesiastical dues, 135 Matrimonial causes, 136 Testamentary causes, 136 Fidei laesio, 137 Correction of sinners, 138 Jurisdiction over clerks, 139 Miserabiles personae, 139
The sphere of Canon law, 140 Influence of Canon upon English law,
140 English law administered by ecclesiastics, 142 Nature of canonical influence, 143.
viii C O N T E N T S
C h a p t e r V I . The Age of Glanvill, pp. 145–184
The work of Henry II., 145 Constitutions of Clarendon, 146 Assize of Clarendon, 146 Inquest of Sheriffs, 147 Assize of Northampton,
147 Henry’s innovations. The jury and the original writ, 147 Essence of the jury, 147 The jury a royal institution, 149 Origin of the jury:
The Frankish inquest, 149 The jury in England, 151 The jury and fama publica, 151 The inquest in the Norman age, 152 Henry’s use of the
inquest, 153 The assize utrum, 154 The assize of novel disseisin,
155 Import of the novel disseisin, 155 The grand assize, 156
The assize of mort d’ancestor, 157 The assize of darrein presentment,
157 Assize and jury, 158 The system of original writs, 159
The accusing jury, 161
Structure of the king’s courts, 162 The central court, 164 Itinerant justices, 165 Cases in the king’s court, 166 Law and letters, 170
Richard Fitz Neal, 171 Dialogue on the Exchequer, 172 Ranulf Glanvill: his life, 172 Tractatus de Legibus, 173 Roman and Canon law in Glanvill, 175 English and continental law-books, 177
The limit of legal memory, 179 Reigns of Richard and John, 179
The central court, 179 Itinerant justices, 181 Legislation, 181
The Great Charter, 181 Character of the Charter, 183
C h a p t e r V I I . The Age of Bracton, pp. 185–239
Law under Henry III., 185 General idea of law, 185 Common law,
187 Statute law. The Charters, 189 Provisions of Merton, Westminster and Marlborough, 190 Ordinance and Statute, 192 The king and the law, 193 Unenacted law and custom, 194 Local customs, 196 Kentish customs, 197 Englishry of English law, 200 Equity, 201
The king’s courts, 202 The exchequer, 202 Work of the exchequer,
203 The chancery, 205 The original writs, 207 The chancery not a tribunal, 209 The two benches and the council, 210 Council and parliament, 211 Itinerant justices, 212 Triumph of royal justice,
215 The judges, 216 Clerical justices, 217
Bracton, 218 His book, 219 Character of his work: Italian form,
219 English substance, 221 Later law books, 222 Legal literature, 223
CO N T E N T S ix
The legal profession, 224 Pleaders, 224 Attorneys, 225 Non- professional attorneys, 226 Professional pleaders, 226 Regulation of pleaders and attorneys, 228 Professional opinion, 230 Decline of Romanism, 230 Notaries and conveyancers, 231 Knowledge of
the law, 233.
English law in Wales, 234 English law in Ireland, 234 English and
Scottish law, 235 Characteristics of English law, 238
Boo k I I
The Doctrines of English Law in the Early Middle Ages
C h a p t e r I . Tenure, pp. 243–429
Arrangement of this book, 243 The medieval scheme of law, 243
The modern scheme, 244 Our own course, 245
§ 1. Tenure in General, pp. 246–254
Derivative and dependent tenure, 246 Universality of dependent tenure, 248 Feudal tenure, 249 Analysis of dependent tenure, 250
Obligations of tenant and tenement, 252 Intrinsec and forinsec service, 252 Classification of tenures, 254
§ 2. Frankalmoin, pp. 254–266
Free alms, 254 Meaning of “alms,” 256 Spiritual service, 257
Gifts to God and the saints, 258 Free alms and forinsec service, 259
Pure alms, 260 Frankalmoin and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, 260
The assize Utrum, 262 Defeat of ecclesiastical claims, 262 Frankalmoin in the thirteenth century, 265
§ 3. Knight’s Service, pp. 266–298
Military tenure, 266 Growth and decay of military tenure, 267 Units of military service, 268 The forty days, 269 Knight’s fees, 271 Size of knight’s fees, 271 Apportionment of service, 272 Apportion-
ment between king and tenant in chief, 273 Honours and baronies,
x C O N T E N T S
274 The barony and the knight’s fee, 275 Relativity of the knight’s fee,
276 Duty of the military tenant in chief, 278 Position of military sub- tenants, 278 Knight’s service due to lords who owe none, 280 Scutage,
282 Scutage between king and tenant in chief, 283 Scutage and fines for default of service, 285 Scutage and the military sub-tenants,
287 Tenure by escuage, 288 The lord’s right to scutage, 290 Reduction in the number of knight’s fees, 291 Meaning of this reduction, 292
Military combined with other services, 293 Castle-guard, 294
Thegnage and drengage, 295 Tenure by barony, 295 The baronage,
296 Escheated honours, 297
§ 4. Serjeanty, pp. 299–307
Definition of serjeanty, 299 Serjeanty and service, 299 Types of serjeanty owed by the king’s tenants in chief, 299 Serjeanties due to mesne lords, 302 Military serjeanties due to mesne lords, 303 Essence of serjeanty, 304 The serjeants in the army, 304 Serjeanty in Domesday Book, 305 Serjeanty and other tenures, 306
§ 5. Socage, pp. 308–313
Socage, 308 Types of socage, 308 Extension of socage, 310< Fee farm,
310 Meaning of “socage,” 311 Socage in contrast to military tenure,
311 Socage as the residuary tenure, 312 Burgage, 312 Burgage and borough customs, 312 One man and many tenures, 313
§ 6. Homage and Fealty, pp. 314–324
Homage and fealty, 314 Legal and extra-legal effects of homage, 314
The ceremony of homage, 314 The oath of fealty, 315 Liegeance, 315
Vassalism in the Norman age, 317 Bracton on homage, 318 Homage and private war, 319 Sanctity of homage, 320 Homage and felony, 321
Feudal felony, 322 Homage, by whom done and received, 323 The lord’s obligation, 323
§ 7. Relief and Primer Seisin, pp. 324–336
The incidents of tenure, 324 Heritable rights in land, 325 Reliefs, 326
Rights of the lord on the tenant’s death, 327 Prerogative rights of the king, 329 Earlier history of reliefs, 330 Relief and heriot, 330
Heritability of fees in the Norman age, 332 Mesne lords and heritable fees, 334 History of the heriot, 334 Relief on the lord’s death, 336
CO N T E N T S xi
§ 8. Wardship and Marriage, pp. 337–348
Bracton’s rules, 337 Wardship of female heirs, 338 Priority among lords, 339 What tenures give wardship, 339 Prerogative wardship, 340
The lord’s rights vendible, 340 Wardship and the serjeanties, 341
The law in Glanvill, 342 Earlier law, 343 Norman law, 344
The Norman apology, 345 Origin of wardship and marriage, 346
§ 9. Restraints on Alienation, pp. 348–369
Historical theories, 348 Modes of alienation, 348 Preliminary distinctions, 350 Glanvill, 351 The Great Charter, 351 Bracton, 351
Legislation as to mortmain, 352 Alienation of serjeanties, 353
Special law for the king’s tenants in chief, 354 Growth of the prerogative right, 355 Quia emptores, 356 Disputed origin of the prerogative right,
357 Summary of law after the Charter, 359 Older law, 359 Anglo- Norman charters, 360 Discussion of the charters, 361 Conclusions as to law of the Norman age, 363 Usual form of alienation, 364
General summary, 365 Gifts by the lord with his court’s consent, 366
Alienation of seignories, 366 Law of attornment, 367 Practice of alienating seignories, 368
§ 10. Aids, pp. 369–371
Duty of aiding the lord, 369
§ 11. Escheat and Forfeiture, pp. 371–377
Escheat, 371 The lord’s remedies against a defaulting tenant, 372
Action in the king’s court, 372 Distress, 373 Proceedings in the lord’s court, 374 Survey of the various free tenures, 375
§ 12. Unfree Tenure, pp. 377–405
Freehold tenure, 377 Technical meaning of “freehold,” 378 Villeinage as tenure and as status, 379 Villein tenure: unprotected by the king’s court, 379 Want of right and want of remedy, 380 Protection by manorial courts, 381 Evidence of the “extents,” 382 Attempt to define villein tenure, 383 The manorial arrangement, 383 The field system,
384 The virgates, 385 Villein services, 386 A typical case of villein services, 387 Week work and boon days, 388 Merchet and tallage, 389
Essence of villein tenure, 390 The will of the lord, 391 Villeinage and labour, 391 Uncertainty of villein services, 392 Tests of villeinage,
xii C O N T E N T S
393 Binding force of manorial custom, 398 Treatment of villein tenure in practice, 398 Heritable rights in villein tenements, 401 Unity of the tenement, 403 Alienation of villein tenements, 404 Villein tenure and villein status, 404
§ 13. The Ancient Demesne, pp. 405–429
The ancient demesne and other royal estates, 405 Immunities of the ancient demesne, 406 Once ancient demesne, always ancient demesne,
407 Peculiar tenures on the ancient demesne, 407 The little writ of right, 407 The Monstraverunt, 410 The classes of tenants, 411
Bracton’s theory, 411 Theory and practice, 414 Difficulties of classification, 415 Sokemanry and socage, 417 Later theory and practice, 419 Why is a special treatment of the ancient demesne necessary? 419 The king and the conquest settlement, 421 Royal protection of royal tenants, 423 Customary freehold, 424 No place for a tenure between freehold and villeinage, 427 The conventioners,
427 Conclusion, 429
C h a p t e r I I . The Sorts and Conditions of Men, pp. 430–554
Law of personal condition, 430 Status and estate, 431
§ 1. The Earls and Barons, pp. 431–434
The baronage, 431 Privileges of the barons, 432
Knighthood, 434
§ 2. The Knights, pp. 434–435
§ 3. The Unfree, pp. 435–456
The unfree, 435 General idea of serfage, 436 Relativity of serfage, 438
The serf in relation to his lord, 439 Rightlessness of the serf, 439
Serfdom de iure and serfdom de facto, 440 Covenant between lord and serf, 441 The serf in relation to third persons, 442 The serf’s property,
443 Difficulties of relative serfdom, 420 The serf in relation to the state, 444 How men become serfs, 446 Servile birth, 446 Mixed mar- riages, 447 Influence of the place of birth, 448 Villeins by confession,
448 Serfdom by prescription, 449 How serfdom ceases, 451
Manumission, 451 The freedman, 452 Modes of enfranchisement,
C O N T E N T S xiii
453 Summary, 453 Retrospect. Fusion of villeins and serfs, 454 The levelling process, 455 The number of serfs, 455 Rise of villeins, 456
§ 4. The Religious, pp. 457–463
Civil death, 457 Growth of the idea of civil death, 457 Difficulties arising from civil death, 459 The monk as agent, 460 The abbatial monarchy, 461 Return to civil life, 462 Civil death as a development of the abbot’s mund, 462
§ 5. The Clergy, pp. 463–483
Legal position of the ordained clerk, 463 The clerk under temporal law, 464 Exceptional rules applied to the clerk, 464 Benefit of clergy,
465 Trial in the courts of the church, 467 Punishment of felonious clerks, 469 What persons entitled to the privilege, 469 What offences within the privilege, 470 The Constitutions of Clarendon, 472
Henry II.’s scheme, 472 Henry’s scheme and past history, 473
Henry’s allegations, 474 Earlier law: the Conqueror’s ordinance,
474 The Leges Henrici, 475 Precedents for the trial of clerks, 475
Summary, 477 Henry’s scheme and the Canon law, 479 The murderers of clerks, 481
§ 6. Aliens, pp. 483–493
The classical common law, 483 Who are aliens? 483 Disabilities of the alien, 484 Naturalization, 485 Law of earlier times, 485 Growth of the law disabling aliens, 486 The king and the alien, 488 The kinds of aliens, 489 The alien merchants, 490 The alien and the common law,
490 Has the merchant a peculiar status? 492 The law merchant, 493
§ 7. The Jews, pp. 493–501
General idea of the Jew’s position, 493 The exchequer of the Jews, 495
Relation of the Jew to the king, 497 Relation of the Jew to the world at large, 498 Law between Jew and Jew, 499 Influence of the Jew upon English law, 500
§ 8. Outlaws and Convicted Felons, pp. 501–503
Outlawry, 501 Condition of the outlaw, 503
§ 9. Excommunicates, pp. 503–506
Excommunication, 504 Spiritual leprosy, 504 Excommunication and civil rights, 506
xiv C O N T E N T S
§ 10. Lepers, Lunatics and Idiots, pp. 506–508
The leper, 506 The idiot, 507 The lunatic, 507
§ 11. Women, pp. 508–512
Legal position of women, 508 Women in private law, 508 Women in public law, 509 Married women, 512
§ 12. Corporations and Churches, pp. 512–538
The corporation, 512 Beginnings of corporateness, 514 Personality
of the corporation, 514 The anthropomorphic picture of a corporation,
515 Is the personality fictitious? 516 The corporation at the end of the middle ages, 516 The corporation and its head, 517 The corporation in earlier times, 519 Gradual appearance of the group-person, 520 The law of Bracton’s time, 521 The universitas and the communitas, 521
Bracton and the universitas, 522 No law as to corporations in general, 523
Church lands, 523 The owned church, 524 The saints as persons,
525 The saint’s administrators, 527 Saints and churches in Domesday Book, 527 The church as person, 528 The church as universitas and persona ficta, 528 The temporal courts and the churches,
530 The parish church, 530 The abbatial church, 531 The episcopal church, 532 Disintegration of the ecclesiastical groups, 533 Communal groups of secular clerks, 534 Internal affairs of clerical groups, 535
The power of majorities, 536 The ecclesiastical and the temporal communities, 537 The boroughs and other land communities, 537
§ 13. The King and the Crown, pp. 538–554
Is there a crown? 538 Theories as to the king’s two bodies, 538
Personification of the kingship not necessary, 539 The king’s rights as intensified private rights, 539 The king and other lords, 540
The kingship as property, 540 The king’s rights can be exercised
by him, 542 The king can do wrong but no action lies against him,
542 King’s land and crown land, 545 Slow growth of a law of “capaci- ties,” 546 No lay corporations sole, 547 Is the kingdom alienable?
548 The king can die, 549 The king can be under age, 550 Germs of a doctrine of “capacities,” 551 Personification of the crown, 552
Retrospect, 553
CO N T E N T S xv
C h a p t e r I I I . Jurisdiction and the Communities of the Land, pp. 555–725
Place of the law of jurisdiction in the medieval scheme, 555 All
temporal jurisdiction proceeds from the king, 556 The scheme of courts,
557 Division of the land, 557 The county court, 558 The hundred court, 558 The sheriff’s turn, 558 Seignorial courts, 559 Feudal courts,
559 Franchise courts, 560 Leets, 560 Borough courts, 560 The king’s courts, 560
§ 1. The County, pp. 561–585
The county, 561 The county officers, 561 The county community, 563
The county court, 564 Identity of county and county court, 564
Constitution of the county court, 565 Suit of court no right, but a burden, 565 Suit of court is laborious, 566 Sessions of the court, 566
Full courts and intermediate courts, 567 The suitors, 569 Suit is a
“real” burden, 569 “Reality” of suit, 570 The vill as a suit-owing unit,
571 Inconsistent theories of suit, 572 The court in its fullest form, 573
The communal courts in earlier times, 574 Struggle between various principles, 575 Suit by attorney, 575 Representative character of the county court, 576 The suitors as doomsmen, 576 A session of the county court, 578 The suitors and the dooms, 579 Powers of a majority, 581 The buzones, 582 Business of the court, 582 Outlawry in the county court, 583 Governmental functions, 583 Place of session, 584
§ 2. The Hundred, pp. 585–589
The hundred as a district, 585 The hundred court, 586 Hundreds in the king’s hands, 586 Hundreds in private hands, 587 Duties of the hundred, 587 The sheriff’s turn, 588
§ 3. The Vill and the Township, pp. 589–597
England mapped out into vills, 589 Vill and parish, 590 Discrete vills, 590 Hamlets, 591 Vill and village, 592 Vill and township, 593
Ancient duties of the township, 593 Statutory duties, 594 Contribution of township to general fines, 595 Exactions from townships, 595
Miscellaneous offences of the township, 596 Organization of the township, 597
xvi C O N T E N T S
§ 4. The Tithing, pp. 597–601
Frankpledge, 597 The system in the thirteenth century, 597 Township and tithing, 598 The view of frankpledge, 599 Attendance at the view,
600 Constitution of tithings, 600
§ 5. Seignorial Jurisdiction, pp. 601–625
Regalities and feudal rights, 601 Acquisition of regalities, 602
Theories of royal lawyers, 602 Various kinds of franchises, 604 Fiscal immunities, 604 Immunities from personal service, 604 Immuni-
ties from forest law, 604 Fiscal powers, 605 Jurisdictional powers,
606 Contrast between powers and immunities, 607 Sake, soke, toll and team, 608 Sake and soke in the thirteenth century, 609 View of frankpledge, 610 The leet, 610 The vill and the view, 611 The assize of bread and beer, 612 High justice, 612 High franchises claimed by prescription, 614 The properly feudal jurisdiction, 615 The feudal court is usually a manorial court, 615 Jurisdiction of the feudal court,
617 Civil litigation: personal actions, 617 Actions for freehold land,
618 Actions for villein land, 619 Litigation between lord and man,
619 Presentments, 620 Governmental powers and by-laws, 620
Appellate jurisdiction, 621 Constitution of the feudal court, 622
The president, 622 The suitors, 623
§ 6. The Manor, pp. 625–636
The manor, 625 “Manor” not a technical term, 626 Indefiniteness of the term, 627 A typical manor, 627 The manor house, 628
Occupation of the manor house, 629 Demesne land, 630 The freehold tenants, 631 The tenants in villeinage, 632 The manorial court, 633 Size of the manor, 634 Administrative unity of the manor,
635 Summary, 636
§ 7. The Manor and the Township, pp. 637–667
Coincidence of manor and vill, 637 Coincidence assumed as normal,
638 Coincidence not always found, 639 Non-manorial vills, 640
Manors and sub-manors, 640 The affairs of the non-manorial vill,
642 Permanent apportionment of the township’s duties, 642
Allotment of financial burdens, 643 The church rate, 644
Apportionment of taxes on movables, 647 Actions against the hundred,
CO N T E N T S xvii
648 Economic affairs of the non-manorial vill, 649 Intercommoning vills, 651 Return to the manorial vill, 652 Rights of common, 652
Rights of common and communal rights, 653 The freeholder’s right of common, 653 The freeholder and the community, 654 Freedom of
the freeholder, 655 Communalism among villeins, 656 The villein community, 657 Communalism and collective liability, 660 The community as farmer, 661 Absence of communal rights, 662
Communal rights disappear upon examination, 662 Co-ownership and corporate property, 662 The township rarely has rights, 664
The township in litigation, 665 Transition to the boroughs, 666
§ 8. The Borough, pp. 667–725
Cities and boroughs, 667 The vill and the borough, 667 The borough and its community, 668 Sketch of early history, 669 Borough and shire,
669 The borough as vill, 670 The borough’s heterogeneity, 670 The borough and the king, 671 The borough and the gilds, 672 Transition to the thirteenth century, 673
Inferior limit of burgality, 673 Representation in parliament,
674 The typical boroughs and their franchises, 676 Jurisdictional privileges, 676 Civil jurisdiction, 677 Criminal jurisdiction, 678
Return of writs, 678 Privileged tenure, 678 Mesne tenure in the boroughs, 679 Seignorial rights in the boroughs, 680 Customary private law, 680 Emancipation of serfs, 682 Freedom from toll, 683
The firma burgi, 684 What was farmed, 684 The farm of the vill and the soil of the vill, 686 Lands of the borough, 687 Waste land, 687
The borough’s revenue, 689 Chattels of the borough, 690 Elective officers, 691 Borough courts and councils, 692 By-laws and self- government, 694 Limits to legislative powers, 695 Enforcement of
by-laws, 696 Rates and taxes, 697 The borough’s income, 698 Tolls,
698 The gild merchant, 699 The formation of a gild, 699 The gild and the government of the borough, 700 Objects of the gild, 701 The gild and the burgesses, 702 The gild courts, 702 The borough as a
franchise-holder, 703
Corporate character of the borough community, 703 Corporateness not bestowed by the king, 704 Gild-like structure of the community,
705 Admission of burgesses, 706 The title to burgherhood, 706
The “subject” in the borough charters, 708 Discussion of the
charters, 708 Charters for the borough, the county and the whole land,
709 Charters and laws, 710 The burgesses as co-proprietors, 711
The community as bearer of rights, 712 Inheritance, succession and organization, 712 Criminal liability of the borough, 713 Civil liability,
715 The communities in litigation, 716 Debts owed to the community,
717 The common seal, 719 The borough’s property, 721 The borough’s property in its tolls, 721 The ideal will of the borough,
722 The borough corporation, 722 The communities and the nation, 724
