70. Statute of Laborers (February, 1351. French text and translation, I S. R. 311. 2 Stubbs, 428, 476.) Prices high; wages low, HEREAS late against the malice of servants, which were wonde Widle, and not willing to serve after the pestilence, with hi out taking excessive wages, it was ordained by our lord the king, and by assent of the prelates, nobles, and other of his council, that such manner of servants, as well men as women, should be bound to serve, receiving salary and wages, accustomed in places Try fere they ought to serve in the twentieth year of the reign of u the king that now is, or five or six years before; and that the same servants refusing to serve in such manner, should be punshed by imprisonment of their bodies, as in the said statute is more plainly contained: whereupon commissions were made to divers people in every county to inquire and punish all them which offend against the same: and now forasmuch as it is given the king to understand in this present parliament, by the petition of the commonalty, that the said servants having no regard to the said ordinance, but to their ease and singular covetise, do withdraw themselves to serve great men and others, unless they have livery and wages to the double or treble of that they were wont to take the said twentieth year, and before, to the great damage of the great men, and impoverishing of all the said commonalty, whereof the said commonalty prayeth remedy: wherefore in the said parliament, by the assent of the said prelates, earls, barons, and other great men, and of the same commonalty there assembled, to refrain the malice of the said servants, be ordained and established the things underwritten, that is to wit: 5. Item, that the said stewards, bailiffs, and constables of the said towns, be sworn before the same justices, to inquire diligently by all the good ways they may, of all them that come against this ordinance, and to certify the same justices of their names at all times, when they shall come into the country to make their sessions; so that the same justices on certificate of the same stewards, bailiffs, and constables, of the names of the rebels, shall cause them to be attached by their body, to be before the said justices, to answer of such contempts, so that they make fine and ransom to the king, in case they be attainted; and moreover to be commanded to prison, there to remain till they have found surety, to serve, and take, and do their work, and to sell 7. Item, that the said justices make their sessions in all the counties of England at the least four times a year, that is to say, at the feast of the Annunciation of our Lady, Saint Margaret, Saint Michael, and Saint Nicholas; and also at all times that shall need, according to the discretion of the said justices; *** Election of beshohet. one who 11. Statute of Provisors of Benefices is provided (February, 1351. French text and translation, I S. R. 316. 2 Stubbs, 430, 3 Stubbs, 324.) Pope forbidden to nominate 24 Benefices, Pope trase pricer forkelstate WHEREAS late in the parliament of good memofy of Edward an ay offi away king of England, grandfather to our lord the king that now will i is, the five and thirtieth year of his reign, holden at Carlisle, the consent? petition being heard, which was offered unto the said grandfather and his council in his said parliament, by the commonalty of the said realm, containing, that whereas the holy Church of England was founded in the estate of prelacy, within the realm of England, by the said grandfather and his progenitors, and the earls, barons, and other nobles of his said realm, and their ancestors, to inform them and the people of the law of God, and to make hospitalities, alms, and other works of charity, in the places where the churches were founded, for the souls of the founders, their heirs, and all Christians; and certain possessions, as well in fees, lands, rents, as in advowsons, which do extend to a great value, were assigned by the said founders to the prelates and other people of the holy Church of the said realm, to sustain the same charge, and especially of the possessions which were assigned to archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, religious, and all other people of holy Church, by the kings of the said realm, earls, barons, and other great men of his realm; the same kings, earls, barons, and other nobles, as lords and advowees, have had and ought to have the custody of such voidances [vacancies], and the presentments and 4, seeld vrey these & new come, was landlordiam bey the church, 118 English Constitutional Documents actual ceremony of ordaining person. the collations of the benefices being of such prelacies: and the said kings in times past were wont to have the greatest part of their council, for the safeguard of the realm when they had need, of such prelates and clerks so advanced; the pope of Rome, accroaching to him the seignories of such possessions and benefices doth. give and grant the same benefices to aliens which did never dwell England, and to cardinals, which might not dwell here, and to others as well aliens as denizens, as if he had been patron or advowee of the said dignities and benefices, as he was not of right by the law of England; whereby if they should be suffered, there should scarcely be any benefice within a short time in the said . realm, but that it should be in the hands of aliens and by virtue of such provisions, against the good will and disposition of the founders of the same benefices; and so the elections of archbishops, bishops, and other religious should fail, and the alms, hospitalities, and other works of charity, which should be done in the said places, should be withdrawn, the said grandfather, and other lay-patrons, in the time of such voidances, should lose their presentments, the said council should perish, and goods without number should be carried out of the realm, in annulling of the estate of the holy Church of England, and disherison of the said grandfather, and the earls, barons, and other nobles, and in offence and destruction of the laws and rights of his realm, and to the great damage of his people, and in subversion of all the estate of his said realm, and against the good disposition and will of the first founders: by the assent of the earls, barons, and other nobles and of all the said commonalty, at their instances and requests, the damage and grievances afore considered, in the said full parliament it was provided, ordained, and established, that the said oppressions, grievances, and damages in the same realm from henceforth should not be suffered in any manner. And now it is showed to our lord the king in this present parliament holden at Westminster, at the utas of the Purification of our Lady, the five and twentieth year of his reign of England, and of France the twelfth, by the grievous complaints of all the commons of his realm, that the grievances and mischiefs aforesaid do daily abound, to the greater damage and destruction of all this realm more than ever were before, namely, that now of late our Holy Father the pope by procurement of clerks and other wise, hath reserved, and doth daily reserve to his collation generally and especially, as well archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbeys, and priories, as all other dignities and other benefices of England, which be of the advowry of people of holy Church, and doth give the same as well to aliens as to denizens, and taketh of all such benefices the first fruits, and many other profits, and a great part of the treasure of the said realm is carried away and dispended out of the realm, by the purchasers of such graces; and also by such privy reservations many clerks advanced in this realm by their true patrons, which have peaceably holden their advancements by long time be suddenly put out: whereupon the said commons have prayed, our said lord the king, that since the right of the crown of England, and the law of the said realm is such, that upon the mischiefs and damages which happen to his realm, he ought, and is bound by his oath, with the accord of his people in his parliament, thereof to make remedy and law, for the voiding of the mischiefs and damages which thereof ensue, that it may please him therefor to ordain remedy: Our lord the king seeing the mischiefs and damage before mentioned, and having regard to the said statute made in the time of his said grandfather, and to the causes contained in the same; which statute holdeth always his force, and was never defeated nor annulled in any point, and by so much as he is bounden by his oath to cause the same to be kept as the law of his realm, though that by sufferance and negligence it hath been since attempted to the contrary; also having regard to the grievous complaints made to him by his people in divers his parliaments holden heretofore, willing to ordain remedy for the great damages and mischiefs which have happened and daily do happen to the Church of England by the said cause, by the assent of all the great men and the commonalty of the said realm to the honor of God, and the profit of the said Church of England, and of all his realm, hath ordained and established, that the free elections of archbishops, bishops, and all other dignities and benefices elective in England, shall hold from henceforth in the manner as they were granted by the king's progenitors, and founded by the ancestors of other lords. And that all prelates and other people of holy Church, which have advowsons of any benefices of the king's gift, or of any of his progenitors, or of other lords and donors, to do divine services, and other charges thereof ordained, shall have their collations and presentments freely to the same, in the manner as they were enfeoffed by their donors. And in case that reservation, collation, or provision be made by the court of Rome, of any archbishopric, bishopric, dignity, or other bene⚫fice, in disturbance of the elections, collations, or presentations aforenamed that at the same time of the voidance, when such reservations, collations, and provisions shall take effect, our lord. the king and his heirs shall have and enjoy for the same time the collations to the archbishoprics, bishoprics, and other dignities elective, which be of his advowry, such as his progenitors had, before that free election was granted, seeing that the elections were first granted by the king's progenitors upon a certain form and condition, as to demand licence of the king to choose, and after the election to have his royal assent, and not in other manner; which conditions not kept, the thing ought by reason to resort to its first nature. And if any such reservation, provision, or collation be made of any house of religion of the king's advowry, in disturbance of free election, our sovereign lord the king and its heirs, shall have for that time the collation to give this dignity to a convenient person. And in case that collation, reservation, or provision be made by the court of Rome of any church, prebend, or other benefices, which be of the advowry of people of holy Church, whereof the king is advowee paramount immediate, that at the same time of the voidance, at which time the collation, reservation or provision should take effect as afore is said, the king and his heirs shall thereof have the presentment or collation for that time; and so from time to time, whensoever such people of holy Church shall be disturbed of their presentments or collations by such reservations, collations, or provisions, as afore is said; saving to them the right of their advowsons and their presentments, when no collation or provision of the court of Rome is thereof made, or where that the said people of holy Church shall or will to the same benefices present or make collation; and that their presentees may enjoy the effect of their collations or presentments: and in the same manner every other lord, of what condition that he be, shall have the collations or presentments to the houses of religion which be of his advowry and other benefices of holy Church which be pertaining to the same houses. And if such advowees do not present to such benefices within the half year after such voidances, nor the bishop of the place do not give the same by lapse of time within a month after half a year, that then the king shall have thereof the presentments and collations as he hath of other of his own advowry. And in case that the presentees of the king, or the presentees of other patrons of holy Church or of their advowees, or they to whom the king, or such patrons or advowees aforesaid, have given benefices pertaining to their presentments or collations, be disturbed by such provisors, so that they may not have possession of such benefices by virtue of the presentments or collations to them made, or that they which be in pos |