was made to Ralph atte Wyk, escheator of the lord the King, that he should make due execution thereof forthwith for the lord the King, etc., because it was found before the aforesaid justices that he has goods and chattels to the value of 20l., which the same Ralph seized forthwith and made further execution, etc.
[m. 10d.] Ely.—Adam Clymme was taken as an insurgent traitorously against his allegiance, and because on Saturday next after the feast of Corpus Christi in the 4th year of the reign of King Richard the second after the Conquest, he traitorously with others made insurrection at Ely, feloniously broke and entered the close of Thomas Somenour and there took and carried away divers rolls, estreats of the green wax of the lord the King and the Bishop of Ely, and other muniments touching the Court of the lord the King, and forthwith caused them to be burned there to the prejudice of the crown of the lord the King.
Further that the same Adam on Sunday and Monday next following caused to be proclaimed there that no man of law or other officer in the execution of duty should escape without beheading.
Further that the same Adam the day and year aforesaid at the time of the insurrection was always wandering armed with arms displayed, bearing a standard, to assemble insurgents, commanding that no man of whatsoever condition he were, free or bond, should obey his lord to do any services or customs, under pain of beheading, otherwise than he should declare to them on behalf of the Great Fellowship. And so he traitorously took upon him royal power. And he came, brought by the sheriff, and was charged before the aforesaid justices touching the premises, in what manner he would acquit himself thereof. And he says that he is not guilty of the premises imputed to him or of any of the premises, and hereof puts himself on the country, etc. And forthwith a jury is made thereon for the lord the King by twelve [good and lawful men] etc., who being chosen hereto, tried and sworn, say on their oath that the aforesaid Adam is guilty of all the articles. By the discretion of the justices the same Adam is drawn and hanged, etc. And it was found there that the same Adam has in the town aforesaid chattels to the value of 32s., which Ralph atte Wyk, escheator of the lord the King, seized forthwith and made further execution for the lord the King, etc.
Cambridge.—John Shirle of the county of Nottingham was taken because it was found that he was a vagabond in divers counties the whole time of the disturbance, insurrection and tumult, carrying lies and worthless talk from district to district whereby the peace of the lord the King could be speedily broken and the people disquieted and disturbed; and among other dangerous words, to wit, after the proclamation of the peace of the lord the King made the day and year aforesaid, the assigns[151] of the lord the King being in the town and sitting, he said in a tavern in Bridge Street, Cambridge, where many were assembled to listen to his news and worthless talk, that the stewards of the lord the King, the justices and many other officers and ministers of the King were more worthy to be drawn and hanged and to suffer other lawful pains and torments, than John Balle, chaplain, a traitor and felon lawfully convicted; for he said that he was condemned to death falsely, unjustly and for envy by the said ministers with the King's assent, because he was a true and good man, prophesying things useful to the commons of the realm and telling of wrongs and oppressions done to the people by the King and the ministers aforesaid; and his death shall not go unpunished but within a short space he would well reward both the King and his officers and ministers aforesaid; which sayings and threats redound to the prejudice of the crown of the lord the King and the contempt and manifest disquiet of the people. And hereupon the aforesaid John Shirle was brought forthwith by the sheriff before the aforesaid assigns in Cambridge castle, and was charged touching the premises and diligently examined as well touching his conversation as touching his tarrying and his estate, and the same being acknowledged by him before the aforesaid assigns, his evil behaviour and condition is plainly manifest and clear. And hereupon trustworthy witnesses at that time in his presence, when the aforesaid lies, evil words, threats and worthless talk were spoken by him, were asked for, and they being sworn to speak the truth in this behalf, testify that all the aforesaid words imputed to him were truly spoken by him; and he, again examined, did not deny the premises imputed to him. Therefore by the discretion of the said assigns he was hanged; and order was made to the escheator to enquire diligently of his lands and tenements, goods and chattels, and to make due execution thereof for the lord the King.
[149] July 20.
[150] And eleven others.
[151] i.e. The justices assigned.
SECTION V
TOWNS AND GILDS
1. Payments made to the crown by gilds in the twelfth century, 1179–80—2. Charter of liberties to the borough of Tewkesbury, 1314—3. Charter of liberties to the borough of Gloucester, 1227—4. Dispute between towns touching the payment of toll, 1222—5. Dispute with a lord touching a gild merchant, 1223–4—6. The affiliation of boroughs, 1227—7. Bondman received in a borough, 1237–8—8. An intermunicipal agreement in respect of toll, 1239—9. Enforcement of charter granting freedom from toll, 1416—10. Licence for an alien to be of the gild merchant of London, 1252—11. Dispute between a gild merchant and an abbot, 1304—12. Complaints of the men of Leicester against the lord, 1322—13. Grant of pavage to the lord of a town, 1328—14. Misappropriation of the tolls levied for pavage, 1336—15. Ordinances of the White Tawyers of London, 1346—16. Dispute between Masters and Journeymen, 1396—17. Ordinances of the Dyers of Bristol, 1407—18. Incorporation of the Haberdashers of London, 1448—19. Indenture of Apprenticeship, 1459—20. A runaway apprentice, c. 1425—21. Incorporation of a gild for religious and charitable uses, 1447.
The origin and early development of towns, the emergence of gild merchant and craft gild, the mutual relationship of the two types of gild, and the part played by each in the evolution of municipal self-government, present problems to which there is no simple solution. The undoubtedly military object of many of the Saxon boroughs fails to explain their economic development; while the possession of a market did not lead of necessity to self-government. Often, indeed, there is little economic difference between a large manor and a small town; the towns pursued agriculture, and the manors engaged in industry. None the less the early borough, with its court co-ordinate with the hundred court, its special peace, and its market, stands out at the time of the Conquest as a distinct variety of communitas, and easily became a centre of specialised industry and privileged association. Constitutional and economic growth proceed side by side; a measure of liberty encourages commercial progress, and the profits of trade purchase a larger measure of liberty.
In this section an attempt has been made to illustrate the gradual expansion of the economic life of the town from the twelfth century onwards. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries witnessed a great and growing activity; craft gilds and gilds merchant were arising everywhere, and whether licensed or unlicensed, were paying considerable sums to the crown for privileges bought or usurped, (No. 1). The more important boroughs were securing charters from their lords (Nos. 2 and 3), while smaller towns were struggling to win economic freedom, that is to say, local monopoly, against serious obstacles (No. 5). The fate of a town depended much on the lord; the king's boroughs were more favoured than those of an earl or lesser baron, while the latter fared better than towns in the hands of a prelate (Nos. 11 and 12). The exaction of tolls and the claim to exemption from tolls, which prove the existence of considerable intermunicipal trade, were a common cause of litigation. The grant of incompatible privileges to rival communities was a source of profit to the mediæval monarchy; the crown secured payment in hand for the charters, and reaped the benefit of the inevitable dispute that followed (Nos. 4 and 8). The growth of intercourse is further
