Richard FitzNeal

“ But in these matters I have constituted for the munificence of the kings no bounds of which they may not overstep; they are all inclined, moreover, on account of the grace entrusted to them to promote the glory of their prerogative, especially those who are truly wise. But he most of mundane princes, the very great and illustrious king of the English, Henry the Second, strives always to increase the dignities of those serving under him ”

“ But after the illustrious king whose renown shines the brighter in great matters, did, in his reign, institute one weight and one money for the whole kingdom, each county began to be bound by one necessity of law and to be constrained by the manner of payment of a general commerce. ”

“ It is also free to the usher, with impunity, to preclude ingress when he wishes, to any men—even if great in authority—who are not necessary to the matter in hand. To those alone, who sit at the exchequer by reason of their office or by mandate of the king, is voluntary ingress to either chamber permitted. But if they are persons vouched for, who can not suitably go in when alone, one or two may be shown into the outer building of the exchequer; but into the chamber of secrets only the officials enter, others being excluded ”

“ We call it, therefore, public and common usury when, after the manner of the Jews, one is about to receive in kind, by convention, more than one has lent,—as a pound for a mark, or, for a pound of silver two pence a week of gain, besides the principal:—not public, indeed, but none the less to be condemned, when one receives any estate or church in return for a loan, and, the principal remaining; intact, takes for himself the fruits of it until that principal have been paid. ”

“ On the other hand, offerings are said to be made for a prospect when any one, for the sake of having justice done him concerning a certain estate or revenue, offers a certain sum to the king; not, however, in order that justice be done—do not burst out upon us and say that justice is venal with us—but that it be done without delay. Know, however, that not every thing thus offered is accepted by the king, not even though it seem to be immeasurably great. For to some, solely out of regard for a service rendered, or out of charity, he exhibits gratis the plenitude of justice ”

“ For if a knight or other freeman, or a bondsman, or any such person of whatever condition or sex, is bound to the king for any debt—which, indeed, must be a punishment for a misdemeanour, not a spontaneous offering,—the treasurer shall be content with that preferred oath of the sheriff which is to be taken at the end; and the man or woman, the action against whom, by reason of their poverty, has become void, shall again be written as debtor in this yearly roll as in the last. ”

“ But when one begins to make a many-sided investigation of those things which come into the fisc in varying ways, and are required under different conditions, and are not collected by the sheriffs in the same way,—to be able to tell if the latter have acted otherwise than they should, is in many ways a grave task. Therefore the greater science of the exchequer is said to consist in these matters. But the judgments on doubtful or doubted points which frequently come up can not be comprehended under one form of treatment; for all kinds of doubts have not yet come to light. ”

“ Such an excess, moreover, even if committed in one's own groves, is considered so grave that a man may never be acquitted of it by reason of his seat at the exchequer; but he ought rather to be pecuniarily punished according to the power of solvency of his rank. Thus far I have expounded, to some extent figuratively, what succint brevity has permitted, and what has at short notice offered itself to my mind, concerning the dignities of those sitting at the exchequer. ”

“ Therefore the truth is far removed from those who, fearing the pleasant labour of a pursuit, fall into error. They become blind of heart, therefore, and, not seeing the dangers of the way, fall headlong down a precipice. But thee, oh brother, let no day find idle; lest, perchance that condition of human infirmity which is most prone to evil subject thee, off thy guard, to certain of the worst things. But if, by chance, thou hast no affairs, nevertheless invent some honest ones, that thy mind, always exercised, may be more open to learning. ”

“ D. Thou said'st, if I remember rightly, that sometimes money is brought to be paid into the exchequer which is judged unfit to be received, if, indeed, being weighed against a pound weight of the exchequer, a deficiency is found of more than six pence. Inasmuch, then, as all money of this kingdom ought to have the stamped image of the king, and all moneyers are bound to work acccording to the same weight, how can it happen that all their work is not of one weight? ”

“ As to the Clerk who presides over the scriptorium.
To him it pertains to find suitable scribes for the roll of the chancery, and for the writs of the king which are made in the exchequer, also for writing summonses; and to see to it that they are well done: which offices, although they are expressed in a few words, can scarcely be fulfilled even with infinite pains; as those know who have learnt by experience in such matters. ”

“ Although, then, the great king had an abundant number of precedents, and might have exercised against them even the most shameful revenge,—he preferred, nevertheless, to spare rather than to punish those whom he had beaten; in order that, even against their will, they should see his kingdom grow great. ”

“ But if the chattels of their servants who were condemned by law came to the lords,—perchance because the fervid thirst of human cupidity had a place in their midst,—some would revel, on account of a small gain, in the slaughter of their servants even when innocent: therefore the king himself, to whom, even by God, the general care of his subjects is entrusted, decreed this to be so, in order that thus the guilty, satisfying the law, may be punished in the body, and that, their movable goods being retained by himself, they may not be exposed to their domestic enemies—that is, to their lords. ”

“ But to those who deal with wares, and who, sparing expense, press on with all their strength and in every way to multiply their possessions, money is the goal that they strive for. For, by means of this, commerce is more easily carried on, and this can readily be placed in safe and secret places: whence it happens that often he who is rich, when that which is hidden does not appear, will be deputed poor. ”

“ But if, by chance, any knight or other freeman, degenerating — which God forbid—from the dignity of his standing, proceed to multiply his money by public trade or by the most disgraceful kind of gain—that is, by usury, and do not voluntarily pay what is demanded of him: the sheriff shall not be absolved by an oath alone as to having found nothing, but when he shall have imparted this to the president, he shall obtain a strict mandate from him that, for the sum which is required from him, that man shall find sponsors within a fixed time ”

“ For the cause of those whose hearts and the motions of whose hearts are in the hand of God, and to whom by God Himself the sole care of their subjects has been committed, stands and falls before a Divine tribunal alone, not before a human one. Let no one, therefore, no matter how rich, flatter himself that he will go unpunished if he act otherwise, for of such it is written, " the powerful shall powerfully suffer torments." ”

“ We say, then, that a farm is paid by tale, when satisfaction is given for it by counting alone, and not by testing. When, therefore, the king has conferred on any one any estate, together with the hundred court and the pleas which come from this, they say that that estate was conferred on that man blank: and when, retaining for himself the hundred court through which the farm is said to have been blanched, the king has simply given the estate, not decreeing that it shall be with the hundred court, or blank, it is said to have been given by tale. ”

“ We say that one offers for a present benefit, when the offering is accepted by the king, and he who offers it receives from the king in proportion to what he has offered: as when any one, for some liberty, for an estate or for a farm, or for the wardship, to be enjoyed until he is of age, of some one who is a minor, or for any thing else which seems to add to his convenience or honour, offers of his own accord to the king £100 or 100 marks, and, the king consenting, immediately after the offer receives what he wished for. ”

“ I answered: "lo, brother, thou hast now for a long time sat at the exchequer, and nothing is hidden from thee, for thou art painstaking. And the same is probably the case with the others who have seats there." But he, " just as those who walk in darkness and grope with their hands frequently stumble,—so many sit there who seeing do not perceive, and hearing do not understand." Then I, " thou speakest irreverently, for neither is the knowledge so great nor does it concern such great things ”

“ But if, the coin being proved and re-proved by testing, the moneyer shall have been condemned and punished, the coins shall be reduced to a mass by the melter of the exchequer—others skilled in this art being present—and its weight shall be computed to the sheriff. But all this is almost abolished now and much relaxed; since, with regard to money, all sin in common; when, however, the money shall come to be of the right measure, and the one fixed by law, it will become necessary to keep the law as originally established. ”

“ Cash money, indeed, or the other things mentioned, having once been put in a safe place, are not taken away except when, by mandate of the king, they are sent to him to be distributed for his necessary uses. But there are many things in the repository vaults of the treasury which are carried around, and they are shut up and guarded by the treasurer and the chamberlains, as has been more fully shown above: such are the seal of the king concerning which thou dost ask, the doomsday book, the so-called exactory roll, which some name the writ of farms. ”

“ But if an heir is left who is a minor, what comes from his heritage shall, by reason of the wardship, fall to the fisc for the time that he is under age, as has been said; if he have been left by his father an adult already, he shall pay for each knight's fee 100 shillings, or even proportionately less; that is, 50 shillings if he possess a half of a knight's fee, and so on. Nor may it be hidden from thee that, from him whom, together with the fruit of his possession, thou dost have in custody for several years, thou wilt not be able to ask a relief when he comes to his majority. ”

“ Likewise, when any one having a lay estate, or also a citizen, practises public usury, if he die intestate;—or also if, not giving satisfaction to those whom he has defrauded, he is seen to have made a will concerning his unrighteous acquisitions, but has not distributed these, nay rather has kept them by him;—since, thus intent on gain, the desire of possessing is not believed to have left him: his money and all his movables are straightway confiscated, and, without a summons, are carried by officials to the exchequer. ”