liament. The reason for all this is, that there used to be a clamour and a murmur in parliament on account of the absence of the king; for it is hurtful and dangerous to the whole community of the parliament, and even of the kingdom, when the king is absent from parliament; nor should he nor may he absent himself, unless only in the aforesaid case.

Concerning the Position and Seatings in Parliament.

First, as has been said, the king shall sit in the middle place of the chief bench; and on his right side shall sit the archbishop of Canterbury, and on his left side the archbishop of York; and directly after them the bishops abbots and priors in a line: always in such manner, with regard to the aforesaid grades and their positions, that no one shall be seated except among his peers. And the seneschal of England shall be bound to see to this, unless the king appoint another. At the foot of the king, on the right, shall sit the chancellor of England and the chief justice of England; and their companions and their clerks who belong to the parliament.

Concerning the Usher of Parliament.

The principal usher of parliament shall stand within the great door of the monastery, hall or other place where the parliament is held, and shall guard the door; so that no one shall enter parliament unless he whose duty it is to be present at and attend the parliament, or he who shall have been summoned on account of some matter which is going on in parliament. And it ought to be so that that usher has knowledge of the persons who ought to enter; so that to no one at all shall ingress be denied, who is bound to be present at the parliament. And that usher may, and ought to, if it be necessary, have several ushers under him.

Concerning the Crier of Parliament.

The crier of parliament shall stand without the door of the parliament, and the usher shall announce to him what

he is to cry. The king usually sent his men-at-arms to stand in the great space before the door of parliament, to guard the door, so that no one should make attacks against the door or disturbances before it, through which the parliament might be impeded, under penalty of bodily capture. For according to law the door of parliament may not be closed, but shall be guarded by the usher and the men-at-arms of the king.

Concerning the Standing of those who speak.

All the peers of parliament shall sit, and no one shall stand except when he speaks; and he shall so speak that every one in parliament may hear him. No one shall enter the parliament, or go out from parliament, unless through the one door; and whenever any one says something that is to be deliberated upon by the parliament, he shall always stand when he speaks; the reason is that he may be heard by his peers, for all his peers are judges and justices.

Concerning Aid to the King.

The king does not usually ask aid from his kingdom unless for imminent war, or for knighting his sons, or for marrying his daughters; and then such aids ought to be sought in full parliament; and to be delivered in writing to each grade of the peers of parliament; and to be replied to in writing. And be it known that if such aids are to be granted, all the peers of parliament ought to consent. And be it known that the two knights who come to parliament for the shire, have a greater voice in parliament, in granting and refusing, than a greater earl of England; and, likewise, the representatives of the clergy of one bishopric have a greater voice in parliament, if they are all of one mind, than the bishop himself. And this is the case in all matters which ought to be granted, refused or done through the parliament. And this is evident, that the king can hold parliament with the commonality of his kingdom, without the bishops earls and barons, provided they have been summoned to parliament, even though no

bishop earl or baron, answer to his summons. For, formerly, kings held their parliaments when no bishop, earl or baron was present. But it is another matter, on the contrary, if the commonality-the clergy and laityhave been summoned to parliament, as they have a right to be, and are not willing to come for certain causes; as if they were to maintain that the lord king did not rule them as he ought to, and were to signify in what especial respect he did not do so; then it would not be a parliament at all, even though the archbishops, bishops, counts and barons and all their peers, were present with the king. And so it is necessary that all things which are to be affirmed or cancelled, granted or denied, or done by the parliament, should be granted by the commonality of the parliament, which consists of the three grades or divisions of parliament: viz. of the representatives of the clergy, the knights of the shires, the citizens and burgesses, who represent the whole commonality of England; and not by the magnates. For each of them is in parliament for his own person alone, and not for any one else.

Concerning the Dismissal of Parliament.

Parliament ought not to be dismissed so long as any petition remains undiscussed; or, at least, any to which the reply has not been determined on. And, if the king permits the contrary, he is perjured. No single one of the peers of parliament can or may retire from parliament, unless permission to that effect has been obtained from the king, and from all his peers; and this in full parliament. And of such permission a memorandum shall be made in the roll of parliament. And if any one of the peers, while parliament is in session, shall become ill, so that he can not come to parliament, then for three days he shall send excusers to the parliament. And if he do not then come, there shall be sent to him two of his peers, to view and testify to such infirmity; and if there be suspicion, those two peers shall swear that in this matter they tell the truth. And if it shall be found that he has been feigning, he shall be fined as if for default. And if he have not been feigning, then he shall, in their presence, empower some

suitable person to be present in parliament for him; nor can a healthy man be excused if he be of sound mind.

The dismissal of parliament is, by custom, managed thus:-First it should be asked and publicly proclaimed in parliament, and within the confines of parliament, if there is any one who has handed in a petition to the parliament, and has not yet received a reply. But, if no one calls out, it is to be supposed that every one has been satisfied, or at least a reply given as far as there lawfully can. And then at length, indeed, when no one who has handed in his petition this term calls out, we shall dismiss our Parliament.

Concerning Copies of Records in Parliament.

The clerks of parliament shall not deny to any one a copy of his process, but shall deliver it to whoever seeks it; and they shall receive always for ten lines one penny; unless, indeed, an oath is made of insolvency; in which case they shall receive nothing. Rolls of parliament shall measure in width ten inches. Parliament shall be held in whatever place of the kingdom it pleases the king. Here ends the Manner of holding Parliament.

XI.

THE STATUTE OF LABORERS.

("Statutes of the Realm," vol. i. p. 307.)

Edward by the grace of God etc. to the reverend father in Christ William, by the same grace archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all England, greeting. Because a great part of the people and especially of the workmen and servants has now died in that pestilence, some, seeing the straights of the masters and the scarcity of servants, are not willing to serve unless they receive excessive wages, and others, rather than through labour to gain their living, prefer to beg in idleness: We, considering the grave inconveniences which might come from the lack especially of ploughmen and such labourers, have held deliberation

and treaty concerning this with the prelates and nobles and other learned men sitting by us; by whose consentient counsel we have seen fit to ordain: that every man and woman of our kingdom of England, of whatever condition, whether bond or free, who is able bodied and below the age of sixty years, not living from trade nor carrying on a fixed craft, nor having of his own the means of living, or land of his own with regard to the cultivation of which he might occupy himself, and not serving another,—if he, considering his station, be sought after to serve in a suitable service, he shall be bound to serve him who has seen fit so to seek after him; and he shall take only the wages, liveries, meed or salary which, in the places where he sought to serve, were accustomed to be paid in the twentieth year of our reign of England, or the five or six common years next preceding. Provided, that in thus retaining their service, the lords are preferred before others of their bondsmen or their land tenants: so, nevertheless that such lords thus retain as many as shall be necessary and not more; and if any man or woman, being thus sought after in service, will not do this, the fact being proven by two faithful men before the sheriffs or the bailiffs of our lord the king, or the constables of the town where this happens to be done,-straightway through them, or some one of them, he shall be taken and sent to the next jail, and there he shall remain in strict custody until he shall find surety for serving in the aforesaid form.

And if a reaper or mower, or other workman or servant, of whatever standing or condition he be, who is retained in the service of any one, do depart from the said service before the end of the term agreed, without permission or reasonable cause, he shall undergo the penalty of imprisonment, and let no one, under the same penalty, presume to receive or retain such a one in his service. Let no one, moreover, pay or permit to be paid to any one more wages, livery, meed or salary than was customary as has been said; nor let any one in any other manner exact or receive them, under penalty of paying to him who feels himself aggrieved from this, double the sum that has thus been paid or promised, exacted or received; and if such person be not willing to prosecute, then it (the sum) is to be given