STATUTUM DE RELIGIOSIS

(7 EDW. I, 1279)

Where of late it was provided, that religious men should not enter into the fees of any without licence and will of the chief lords, of whom such fees be holden immediately; and whereas religious men have notwithstanding entered as well into their own fees, as into the fees of other men, appropriating and buying them, and sometime receiving them of the gift of others, whereby the services that are due of such fees, and which at the beginning were provided for defence of the realm, are wrongfully withdrawn, and the chief lords do lose their escheats of the same: We, therefore, to the profit of our realm, intending to provide convenient remedy, by the advice of our prelates, earls, barons, and other our lieges, being of our council, have provided, established, and ordained, that no person, religious or other, whatsoever he be, do presume to buy or sell any lands or tenements, or under the colour of gift or lease, or by reason of any other title, whatsoever it be, to receive from any man, or by any other craft or device to appropriate to himself, lands or tenements, under pain of forfeiture of the same, whereby such lands or tenements may anywise come into Mortmain.

We have provided also, that if any person, religious or other, do presume either by craft or device to offend against this statute, it shall be lawful to us, and other immediate chief lords of the fee so aliened, to enter therein within a year from the time of such alienation, and to hold it in fee and inheritance. And if the immediate chief lord be negligent, and will not enter into such fee within the year, then it shall be lawful to the next immediate chief lord of the same fee to enter into the same within half a year next following, and to hold it as before is said; and so every immediate chief lord may enter into such fee, if the next immediate lord be negligent in entering into the same fee, as is aforesaid. And if all such chief lords of such fees, being of full age, within the four seas, and out of prison, be negligent or slack in this behalf, we immediately after the year accomplished, from the time that such purchases, gifts, or other appropriations happen to be made, shall take such lands and tenements into our hand, and shall infeoff others therein, by certain services to be done for the same to us for the defence of our realm; saving to the chief lords of the same fees their wards and escheats, and other services to them due and accustomed.

And therefore we command you, that ye cause the foresaid statute to be read before you, and from henceforth to be kept firmly and observed. Witness my self at Westminster the fifteenth day of November, the seventh year of our reign.

(Ed. from Statutes of the Realm, I, 51.)

86. Freedom of Parliament

(7 EDW. I., 1279)

Book of Rights

This provision is in line with the many designed to protect the commonalty when exercising their political rightss. From the days of the Saxon Kings this protection was constant in theory and usually in practice.

To all Parliaments and Treatises men shall come without Force and Arms.

Edward by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine; to the justices of his bench sendeth greeting. Whereas of late before certain persons deputed to treat upon sundry debates had between us and certain great men of our realm, amongst other things it was accorded, in our next parliament after, provision should be made by us and the common assent of the prelates, earls, and barons, that in all parliaments, treatises, and other assemblies which should be made in the realm of England for ever, every man shall come without all force and armour, well and peaceably to the honour of us and the peace of our realm. And now in our next parliament at Westminster after the said treatise, the prelates, earls, barons, and the commonalty of our realm, there assembled to take advice of this business, have said to us that it belongeth and our part is, through our royal seigniory, straightly to prohibit force of armour and all other force against our peace, at all times when it shall please us, and to punish them which shall do contrary, according to our laws and usages of our realm; and hereunto they are bound to aid us as their sovereign lord at all seasons when need shall be. We command you, that ye cause these things to be read afore you in the said bench, and there to be enrolled.

(Book of Rights, ed. cit., p. 59.

87. Taxation of Religious Houses

(35 EDW. I., 1306–7)

Statutes of the Realm

The statute De Asportatis Religiosorum, also known as the statutum Carlisli, was the first of a series of anti-papal statutes which extended even beyond the close of the Stuart period. The

texts of the most important of these have been translated and are printed in full (Nos. 85, 90, 02. 93, 107, 108, 111), that the student may himself trace the claim of ecclesiastical independence put forward by English kings. The object of the following statute was to prevent the taxation of religious houses by non-resident superiors.

STATUTUM DE ASPORTATIS RELIGIOSORUM

In the Parliament held at Carlisle, on the Octave of St. Hilary (A.D. 1306-7)

Of late it came to the knowledge of our lord the king, by the grievous complaint of the honourable persons, lords, and other noblemen of his realm, that whereas monasteries, priories, and other religious houses had been founded to the honour and glory of God, and the advancement of the Holy Church, by the king and his progenitors, and by the said noblemen and their ancestors; and a very great portion of lands and tenements had been given by them to the said monasteries, priories, and houses, and the religious men serving God in them, to the intent that as well clerks as laymen might be admitted in such monasteries and religious houses, according to their sufficient ability, and that sick and feeble men might be maintained, hospitality, almsgiving, and other charitable deeds might be exercised and done, and in them prayers might be said for the souls of the said founders and their heirs; the abbots, priors, and governors of the said houses, and certain aliens their superiors, as the abbots and priors of the orders of Cluniacenses, Cistercienses, and Premonstratenses, and of St. Augustine, and St. Benedict, and many more of other religion and order, have, of late, appointed to be made and at their own pleasure ordained divers unwonted, heavy and importable tallages, payments, and impositions upon every of the said monasteries and houses in subjection unto them in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, without the privity of our lord the king and his nobility, contrary to the laws and customs of the said realm; whereby it happens that numbers of religious persons, and other servants in the said houses and religious places being oppressed by such tallages, payments, and impositions, the service of God is diminished, and alms are withdrawn from the poor, the sick, and feeble, and the healths of the living and the souls of the dead be miserably defrauded, hospitality, almsgiving, and other deeds of charity, do cease; and so that which in times past was given to pious uses, and to the increase of the service

of God, or to charity, is now converted to an evil payment: From whence, beside what is before mentioned, there groweth great scandal to the people, and infinite losses are well known to have ensued, to the disheritance of the said founders and their heirs, and are yet likely to ensue, unless speedy and sufficient remedy be provided to redress so many and grievous detriments:

Our said lord the king, therefore, considering that it would be very prejudicial to him and his people if he should any longer suffer such great losses and injuries to be winked at, and thereupon being willing to maintain and defend the monasteries, priories, and other religious houses erected in his kingdom, and in the lands subject to his dominion, according to the will and pious wishes of the founders, and from henceforth to provide sufficient remedy to reform such oppressions, as he is bound, by the counsel of his earls, barons, great men, and other the nobles and the commonalty of his realm, in his parliament holden at Westminster, on the Sunday next after the feast of St. Matthias the Apostle, in the three-and-thirtieth year of his reign, ordained and enacted as follows:

"That no abbot, prior, master, warden, nor any other religious person, of whatsoever condition, state, or religion he be, appointed under his power or jurisdiction, shall by himself, or by merchants or others, secretly or openly, by any art or device, carry or send, or by any means cause to be carried, any tax imposed by their superiors, abbots, priors, masters or wardens of religious houses or places, or in any way assessed among themselves, out of his kingdom and dominion, under the name of a rent, tallage, tribute, or any kind of imposition, or otherwise in the name of exchange, sale, loan, or other contract howsoever it may be termed; neither shall himself depart into any other country for visitation or, upon any other colour, by that means to carry the goods of their monasteries and houses out of the kingdom and dominion aforesaid. And if any presume to offend this present statute, he shall be grievously punished according to the quality of his offence, and according to his contempt of the king's prohibition.

"Moreover, our said lord the king doth inhibit all and singular abbots, priors, masters and governors of religious houses and places, being aliens, to whose authority, subjection, and obedience, the houses of the same orders being in his kingdom and dominion be subject, that they do not at any

time hereafter impose, or by any means cause to be assessed, any tallages, payments, impositions, tributes, or other burdens whatsoever, upon any of the monasteries, priories, or other religious houses as aforesaid in subjection unto them; and this upon forfeiture of all that they have in their power, and can forfeit in future.

"And further, our lord the king hath ordained and established, that the abbots of the orders of Cistercienses and Premonstratenses, and other religious orders, whose seal hath heretofore been used to remain only in the custody of the abbot, and not of the convent, shall hereafter have a common seal, and shall deposit the same in the custody of the prior of the monastery or house, and four of the most worthy and discreet men of the convent of the same house, to be kept under the private seal of the abbot of the same house; so that the abbot or prior of the house which he doth govern, shall not be able of himself to confirm any contract or obligation, as heretofore he hath been used to do. And if it happen hereafter that any writings obligatory of donations, purchases, sales, alienations, or of any other contracts, be found sealed with any other seal than such a common seal, kept as is aforesaid, they shall be adjudged void and of no force in law.

"But it is not the meaning of our lord the king to exclude the abbots, priors, and other religious aliens, by the ordinance. and statutes aforesaid, from executing their office of visitation in his kingdom and dominion; but that they may visit at their pleasure, by themselves or others, the monasteries and other places in his kingdom and dominion aforesaid in subjection unto them, according to the duty of their office, in those things only that belong to the regular observance and the discipline of their order. Provided, that they which shall execute this office of visitation, shall carry, or cause to be carried out of the kingdom and dominion aforesaid, none of the goods or things of such monasteries, priories, and houses, saving only their reasonable and competent charges.

And though the proclamation and publication of the ordinance and statutes aforesaid was stayed in suspense, from the parliament last passed, until this present parliament holden at Carlisle in the octaves of Saint Hilary, in the five-and-thirtieth year of the reign of our said lord King Edward, for certain causes, and to the intent they might proceed with greater deliberation and advice; our lord the king, after full deliberation and conference had with the