have faithfully promised us that they will be in London in three weeks from next Easter, furnished with horses and arms and well equipped to go without any delay to Portsmouth, to come over to Gascony to us, to aid us against the king of Castile who intends to invade our territory of Gascony with a strong force, next summer, we have ordered you to constrain to this all those in your bailiwick who hold lands worth twenty pounds a year from us in chief, or from others who are under age and in our wardship; we straitly command you, that besides all those aforesaid, you cause to come before our council at Westminster on the fifteenth day after Easter next, four lawful and discreet knights from the said counties whom the said counties shall have chosen for this purpose, in place of all and singular of the said counties, that is, two from one county and two from the other, who together with the knights from the other counties whom we have had summoned for the same day, shall arrange what aid they are willing to pay us in our need. And you yourself carefully set forth to the knights and others of the said counties, our need and how urgent is our business, and effectually persuade them to pay us an aid sufficient for the time being; so that the aforesaid four knights at the aforesaid time shall be able to give definite answer concerning the said aid to the aforesaid council, for each of the said counties. We also give you an absolute command that all dues to us in your bailiwick which are in arrears, and ought to be paid to our exchequer before Easter next, or which ought to be paid to the exchequer at the aforesaid Easter, you shall have at the aforesaid exchequer on the fifteenth day after the aforesaid Easter, and you are to know that unless you have the aforesaid debts then and there, we shall not only cause you to be placed under arrest but we shall also cause those dues to be collected from your lands and tenements to your exceeding loss.

Witness Eleanor the queen and Richard earl of Cornwall, at Windsor, the eleventh day of February.

(Summer of 1258. Text, Latin and French, Stubbs, S. C. 387. Translation of Latin by Editors, of French as in Stubbs, S. C. 393. 2 Stubbs, 76.)

Provision made at Oxford

IT is provided that from each county there shall be chosen four discreet and lawful knights, who on each day when the county

court is held, shall meet to hear all complaints made by the sheriffs or bailiffs or any one else against all persons whatsoever, concerning all trespasses whatsoever, and to make the attachments which belong to the said complaints before the next coming of the chief justice into those parts. Also they shall take sufficient sureties from the plaintiff to prosecute and from the defendant to appear for trial before the aforesaid justice at his next coming. And that the aforesaid four knights shall cause enrollment to be made of all the aforesaid complaints, with their attachments in proper order and sequence, that is, each hundred separately and by itself. So that the aforesaid justice at his next coming shall be able to hear and bring to an end the aforesaid complaints, one by one from each hundred. And they shall make known to the sheriff that all the hundred men and their bailiffs shall be made to appear before the said justice, at his next coming, at a time and place which he shall have announced to them; so that each hundredman shall cause all plaintiffs and defendants from his bailiwick to appear in succession according as the said justice shall have called to trial from the said hundred; and also so many and such knights as well as free and lawful men from his bailiwick by whom the truth of the matter can best be established, in such manner that all shall not be troubled together and at the same time, but as many shall appear as can be tried and brought to an end in one day.

Likewise it is provided that no knight of the aforesaid counties, shall be excused by writ of the lord king that he be not placed upon juries and assizes, nor be quit with respect to this provision thus made for the common advantage of the whole realm.

Those elected from the Party of the Lord King

The lord bishop of London, the lord bishop-elect of Winchester, the lord Henry son of the king of Germany, the lord John earl of Warenne, the lord Guy of Lusignan, the lord William of Valence, the lord John earl of Warwick, the lord John Mansel, friar John of Darlington, the abbot of Westminster, the lord Henry of Wengham.

Those elected from the Party of the Earls and Barons

The lord bishop of Worcester, the lord Simon earl of Leicester, the lord Richard earl of Gloucester, the lord Humphrey earl of Hereford, the lord Roger Marshall, the lord Roger of Mortimer, the lord John Fitz-Geoffrey, the lord Hugh Bigot, the lord Rich

ard de Gray, the lord William Bardulf, the lord Peter de Montfort, the lord Hugh le Despenser.

And if it happens that any one of these cannot be present, through necessity, the rest of these shall choose whom they will, to wit, the other necessary in the place of the one absent, in order to transact this business.

This the Commonalty of England swore at Oxford

We, so and so, make known to all men, that we have sworn upon the holy Gospels, and are held together by such oath, and promise in good faith, that each one of us and we all together will mutually aid each other, both ourselves and those belonging to us, against all people, doing right and taking nothing that we cannot without doing mischief, saving faith to the king and the crown. And we promise under the same oath, none of us will henceforth take land or movables by which this oath can be disturbed or in any ways impaired. And if any one acts against this, we will hold him as a mortal enemy.

This is the Oath to the Twenty-four

Each swore on the holy Gospels, that he to the honor of God, and to his faith to the king, and to the profit of the realm, will ordain and treat with the aforesaid sworn persons upon the reformation and amendment of the state of the realm. And that he will not fail for gift, nor for promise, for love, nor for hate, nor for fear of any one, nor for gain, nor for loss, loyally to do according to the tenor of the letter which the king and his son have together given for this.

This the Chief Justice of England swor

He swears that he will well and loyally according to his power do that which belongs to the justiciar of right to hold, to all persons, to the profit of the king and the kingdom, according to the provision made and to be made by the twenty-four, and by the counsel of the king and the great men of the land, who shall swear in these things to aid and support him.

This the Chancellor of England swore

That he will seal no writ, excepting writs of course, without the commandment of the king and of his council who shall be present.

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Nor shall he seal a gift of a great wardship, or of a great ( nor of escheats, without the assent of the great council or of the major part. And that he will seal nothing which may be contrary to the ordinance which is made and shall be made by the twentyfour, or by the major part. And that he will keep no fee otherwise than what is given to the others. And he shall be given a companion in the form which the council shall provide.

This is the Oath which the Guardians of the King's Castles made

That they will keep the castles of the king loyally and in good faith for the use of the king and of his heirs; and that they will give them up to the king or to his heirs, and to none other, and by his counsel and in no other manner, to wit, by honest men of the land elected as his council, or by the major part. And this form by writ lasts for twelve years. And from that time forward by this settlement and this oath they shall not be hindered so that they cannot freely give them up to the king and his heirs.

These are those who are sworn of the King's Council

The archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of Worcester, the earl of Leicester, the earl of Gloucester, the earl Marshall, Peter of Savoy, the earl of Albemarle, the earl of Warwick, the earl of Hereford, John Mansel, John Fitz-Geoffrey, Peter de Montfort, Richard de Gray, Roger of Mortimer, James of Aldithley.

The twelve on the king's side have elected out of the twelve on that of the commonalty the earl Roger the Marshall, and Hugh Bigot.

And the party of commonalty have elected out of the twelve who are on the king's side the earl of Warwick and John Mansel.

And these four have power to elect the council of the king, and when they have elected them, they shall present them to the twenty-four; and there, where the greater part of these agree, it shall be held.

These are the Twelve who are elected by the Barons to treat at the Three Parliaments by Year with the King's Council for all the Commonalty of the Land of the Common Need

The bishop of London, the earl of Winchester, the earl of Hereford, Philip Basset, John of Balliol, John of Verdun, John de

1 A blank space in the manuscript.

Gray, Roger of Sumery, Roger de Monthaut, Hugh le Despenser, Thomas of Gresley, Giles d'Argentine.

These are the Twenty-four appointed by the Commonalty to treat of Aid to the King

The bishop of Worcester, the bishop of London, the bishop of Salisbury, the earl of Leicester, the earl of Gloucester, the earl Marshall, Peter of Savoy, the earl of Hereford, the earl of Albemarle, the earl of Winchester, the earl of Oxford, John FitzGeoffrey, John de Gray, John of Balliol, Roger of Mortimer, Roger de Monthaut, Roger of Sumery, Peter de Monfort, Thomas of Gresley, Fulk of Kerston, Giles d'Argentine, John Kyriel, Philip Basset, Giles of Erdinton.

And if any one of these cannot or will not serve, those who shall be there have power to elect another in his place.

Of the State of Holy Church

Be it remembered that the state of the holy church be amended by the twenty-four elected to reform the state of the realm of England, when they shall see place and time, according to the power which they have respecting it by the letter of the king of England.

Of the Chief Justice

Moreover, that a justice be appointed, one or two, and what power he shall have, and that he be only for a year. So that at the end of the year, he answer concerning his time before the king and his council and before him who shall follow him.

Of the Treasurer, and of the Exchequer

The like of the treasurer. That he too give account at the end of the year. And other good persons are to be placed at the exchequer according to the direction of the aforesaid twenty-four. And there let all the issues of the land come, and in no part elsewhere. And let that which shall be seen to require amendment, be amended.

Of the Chancellor

The like of the chancellor. That he at the end of the year answer concerning his time. And that he seal nothing out of course by the sole will of the king. But that he do it by the council which shall be around the king.