World History

9.

Writ for Assembling the County Court Before the Itinerant Justices.

1218. (Latin text in Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum, I, 380. Translation by the editor.)

The king to the sheriff of Yorkshire, greeting. Summon by good summoners all the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls and barons, knights and freeholders of your whole bailiwick, and from each rill four lawful men and the reeve and from each borough twelve lawful burgesses throughout your whole bailiwick, and all others of your bailiwick who are accustomed and ought to come before the justices itinerant, that they be at York before our justices fifteen days after St. Martin’s Day1 to hear and obey our command. And you are to cause to come before them at that time all pleas of the crown which have not been tried and which have arisen since the last assize (before the justices itinerant) was in those parts in the time of King John our father, and all attachments pertaining to those pleas, and all assizes and all pleas which have been set for the first assize before the justices, with the writs of the assizes and pleas; so that not any of those assizes and pleas may remain unconcluded because of any fault of yours or your summons. And you are to have proclaimed and made known throughout your whole bailiwick that all assizes and all pleas, which have been placed on the docket and not concluded before our justices at Westminster, are to be then brought before the said justices at York in that state in which they have remained at Westminster by our command. Summon also by good summoners all those who have been sheriffs since the last eyre of the justices in those parts, that they then be there before the said justices with the writs of the assizes and pleas which they received in their time, and to answer for their time as they ought to answer before justices itinerant; and you are to have there the summoners and this writ. Witness Earl William Marshall, guardian of ourself and our kingdom,1 at Westminster, the fourth day of November. Before Stephen archbishop of Canterbury and Peter bishop of Winchester and the bishop of Durham.

In the same way it is written to all the sheriffs of England except those of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Stafford and Shropshire, Leicester and Warwick, and Surrey; but the place varies as is shown on the dorse of the letters patent.

1 November 11.

1 Henry III. was but eleven years old.