عنوان

Customary law in English manorial courts in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Number

TLets294150

Title Proper

Customary law in English manorial courts in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Beckerman, John Stephen.

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London)

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

1972

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London)

Text preceding or following the note

1972

Text of Note

This essay examines various aspects of the legal protectionavailable to English peasants in manorial courts in the thirteenth andfourteenth centurie s. The chronological limits have been determinedby the documentary evidence itself. The earliest manorial courts forwhich records of proceedings are known to exist were held in 1237, andby 1400 diplomatic tendencies towards abbreviation and omission offacts produced court rolls which are stereotyped and jejune.The first main theme is the effect of procedural innovations on thequality of justice dispensed in manor courts. A common need for morerational and more efficient ways of ascertaining what had happened inthe past led to changes in the theory and practice of oath-swearing andthe introduction in many courts of jury trial and documentary prc of,while seignorial desire for a better way of prosecuting breaches ofmanorial custom led to the widespread adoption of presentment procedure.These innovations immediately led to greater efficiency but ultimatelyundermined the traditional position of the suitors of the court. Thisdevelopment, in turn, was clo aely related to the inability of many courtsto provide adequate justice in the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.The second theme is the way in which manor courts enforceddistinctionsof personal status and maintained security of land tenure.By focusing on the anomalous instances which cloud the distinctionbetween freedom and servitude, an effort is made to see what differencethe distinction made in practice.The third theme is the theory and practice of litigation in manorcourts. The effects of pleading by plaint are considered through ananalysis of terms frequently met with in counts, exceptions, anddenials.Documents reproduced in the four appendices illustrate mattersof pleading, procedure, and jurisdiction in manorial courts.

Beckerman, John Stephen.

London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London)

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y