leader, but his business was only to put in force the doom or judgment pronounced by the thanes. 105 These courts acted in both civil and criminal cases, that is in cases of murder, theft, and such like crimes, as well as in matters of agreement between man and man. The Eorl was, however, always assisted by one of the clergy, a class of men, as I have before said, who were well acquainted with the law. This assistant was obliged to bring with him the Dom-boc, or Doom-book, or Book of Laws, in order that, when he might explain from it the law applicable to any particular case. "King Edward commands. all the reeves (or officers): that ye judge such just doom as ye know to be most righteous, and it in the dom-boc stands." 68

necessary,

"And let the hundred-gemot be attended as it was before fixed; and thrice in the year let a burh-gemot be held; and twice a shire-gemot; and let there be present, the bishop of the shire and the ealdorman, and there both expound as well the Law of God as the secular Law." 2

assisted by

one of the

clergy.

nesses were

No witnesses were examined before these courts, No witfor, as the thanes who formed the court came examined. from the neighbourhood, it was supposed that they themselves knew all the facts of each case. The knowledge of writing at that time was uncommon; agreements were consequently made before other persons, and thus the knowledge of many private businesses was more widely spread and impressed on the memory. If there was a difference of opinion, that doom in which eight agreed was held to stand. "And let doom stand where thanes are of one voice: if they disagree, let that stand which eight of them And let those who are there out-voted pay,

say.

The minority were fined

The sheriff

present.

each of them, six half marks." 73a It is very curious that the minority, that is those who were of a different opinion, were fined. It is difficult to understand the justice of this rule; but it must have been supposed, as these thanes gave judgment according to their own knowledge, that those who were in the minority gave a judgment contrary to their own knowledge, and therefore a false judgment. The necessity for juries all agreeing, in the present day, probably sprang from this practice.

There was always present at these courts a King's was always officer, called a shire-gerefa, or shire-reeve, or sheriff, whose duty it was to collect the fines fees and forfeitures due to the King. This shire-gerefa often acted as the deputy of the Eorl, and after the Conquest, he nearly always acted in his stead.14

The King

in impor

If any especial case of importance needed to be issued writs looked into 14, the King issued an order to that effect to the thanes, which was called a writ or precept, and, in the present day, such writs are, as you most likely know, issued by the judges in the Queen's name.

tant cases.

The King's

Court, the

origin of all

our Courts.

The King's Court.

These three courts, viz. the county court, the burgmote or town court, and the hundred court, took cognisance of both civil and criminal cases. That is, they rendered justice in cases where one man had deceived or cheated another, and in cases where one man had robbed or beaten another, and so forth.

But there was also a court called the King's Court, which had exclusive jurisdiction in cases of treason, murder, and some other crimes punished by death.27 This court existed in very early times, and was the

State held

on the

birthday,

origin of all our superior courts of common law. It Court of probably always formed a part of the court of state which every Anglo-Saxon sovereign held on his birth- King's day, and at other fixed times. At this court all his vassals, including the eorls, King's thanes, principal officers of state, and even ceorls who held office under the King, were bound to attend.12 The King had at one of many palaces within his kingdom, at his various vills his palaces. or manors, and used to hold his court, and celebrate the high festivals of the year, at one or other of them as he thought fit.91 At these courts, besides administering justice, the King consulted with the great men

who attended, " on weighty matters, and did many solemn acts in their presence, and with their concurThis assemblage of great men was concerned in managing the affairs of the revenue, and

rence." 92

The Chief or Grand Justiciary.

in distributing public justice; and in process of time
it came to be called the King's Council.92 This is
the council which I described to you in my account
of the early government of the country, but I have
given you a further account of it here, because it was
concerned, not only with the making of laws, but with
enforcing them. This portion of the business of the
King's Council was, after a time, managed by the
separate court, which I am now explaining to you,
called the King's Court. The law was administered
in this, and other provincial courts, by officers called
Justices; and in the reign of William the Conqueror
an officer was appointed to preside over them, who
was called the Chief or Grand Justiciary, or chief
of the Justices. He was a person of very great im-
portance. He was viceroy in the absence of the
King, and writs were issued in his name.
He was
usually a dignitary of the church.2

24

The King's Court divided into other courts.

In William the Conqueror's reign, all business relating to the royal revenue was taken away from the King's Court, and transacted in a court called the The Court Court of Exchequer, which was formed after the

of Exche

quer.

model of a similar court in Normandy. The Grand Justiciary, and the Chancellor, (about whom I shall tell you presently,) who had the charge of the King's great seal, and such of the King's barons and dignitaries of the Church as the King chose for the purpose, attended. The Grand Justiciary presided. The Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, who at the present day in some respects represents the Grand Justiciary of ancient times, is still, from his office,

Chancellor of the Exchequer when a vacancy occurs.26 This court was called the Exchequer, from the chequered cloth, resembling a chess board, which covered the table there, and on which, when certain of the King's accounts were made up, the sums were marked and scored by counters.90

Commen

In King John's reign, another branch of business Court of was removed from the King's Court. By one of the Pleas articles of Magna Charta it was declared that those injuries called common pleas, that is, pleas or complaints relative to land, or to injuries merely civil, such as a debt owed by one man to another, should no longer follow the King.28 That is, they should not be tried in the King's Court, which at that time. followed the King from place to place in his progresses through the kingdom. From thence

forward such causes were tried at Westminster in a court called the Court of Common Pleas, and from that time the King's Court was called the Court of King's Bench, because the King used to sit there in The Court person. It continued to be, and still is, the superior court of law of importance in all matters of Common and Criminal Law, and in many other matters.

The three courts I have described, viz., The Court of Exchequer, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of King's Bench, were, and are, the principal Courts of Justice in the realm for the administration of the common law.

Formerly, each of these courts had a separate jurisdiction. The King's Bench heard principally criminal causes, and certain others, such as trespass accompanied by violence, and also such as related to the controlling of inferior courts; the Common Pleas was for trials of disputes between subject and

of King's