Un'iv. OT ' Withdrawn
•
TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS
FROM THE
ORIGINAL SOURCES OF EUROPEAN HISTORY
VOLUME II
PUBLISHED FOR
THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
BY THE
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS 3438 WALNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
1. English Towns and Gilds.
Edited by EDWARD P. CHEYNEY, A. M.
2. Napoleon and Europe.
Edited by JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON, Ph. D.
3. The Mediaeval Student.
Edited by BANA CARLETON MUNRO, A. M.
4. Mediaeval Sermon Stories.
Edited by DANA CARLETON MUNRO, A. M.
5. England in the Time of Wycliffe.
Edited by EDWARD P. CHEYNEY, A. M.
6. Period of the Early Reformation in Germany.
Edited by JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON, Ph. D., and MERRICK WHITCOMB, Ph. D.
7. Life of St. Columban, by the Monk Jonas.
Edited by DANA CARLETON MUNRO, A. M.
FROM THE
ORIGINAL SOURCES OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. Voi,. II. ENGLISH TOWNS AND GII.DS. No. i.
! 7
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. EARI.Y BODIES OF CUSTOMS OF CITIES AND BOROUGHS:
Chester, ....... 2
Newcastle-on-Tyne, . . „ , . . •., ,«5
II. CHARTERS OF CITIES AND BOROUGHS.
i ' f^ j 2 i ••••>'• i'» i-> i i ,, Lincoln, . . •*•>,' >*'., L , >! ' '> , > 4 '', I ' '. 3>
WaUingford, ...... 8
Southampton, ...... 9
Chester, . . . . . 9
Beverly, ...... 10
III. ORDINANCES AND OTHER RECORDS OF GII.DS MERCHANT.
Southampton, . . . • . . 12
Lynn Regis, ..... 17
IV. ORDINANCES AND OTHER RECORDS OF CRAFT GII,DS.
Weavers' Gilds of Oxford, Lincoln, and London, . 21
Spurriers' Gild of London, ... 21
White-tawyers' Gild of London, ... 23
Tailors' Gild of Exeter, .... 26
Order of Pageants in the Mistery Plays of York, . 29
V. ORDINANCES OF SOCIAL AND REUGIODS GiU)S.
Anglo-Saxon Gild of Exeter, . . 33
St. Katherine's Gild of Norwich, . 34
VI. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY, ..... 36
2 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
I. TOWN CUSTOMS.
An English city or borough,1 in the early Middle Ages, is to be looked upon, in the greater number of cases, simply as a manor or group of adjacent manors, where facilities for trade or handicraft have led to a larger and more concentrated population than could have subsisted merely on the agriculture of the rural commun- ity. In each of these towns local customs grew up, just as the "custom of the manor" existed in each village in the open country ; but more highly developed, as a consequence of the closer population, mercantile occupation, and more active life of the townspeople.
Since these local customs existed only as rules traditionally observed and re- membered, they were but seldom made a matter of written record. The few still existing have been preserved by peculiar cicumstances. In some forty-one cases the pecuniary relations to the king involved in the customs of the towns attracted the attention of the commissioners who made the reports for Domesday Book. Those of Chester are given in the greatest detail. The customs of Newcastle were formulated in the time of Henry II, but refer to a period at least as early as the close of the eleventh century. The "Usages of Winchester," "Ordinances of \^pifc'e%ter " and j'^Jfliae «f the Mayor of Bristol " are collections of city customs simifar to th'ose printed, and Jranslated here, and are printed in Smith's English '. Gills; fatty* £ rlgllsh Te& Society, 1870. The last of the three is also in Ricart's
••••••^ •• •• •
KaTendar, Oamd'en "Society,* 1872.
CUSTOMS OF CHESTER. Latin : Domesday Book, I, 262, b. ; and Stubbs' Select Charters, 83-95.
The city of Chester, in the time of King Edward, paid tax as being of fifty hides ? three and a half hides of which were outside of the city. That is, one and a half hides were beyond the bridge, and two hides in Newton and Redcliff, and in the bishop's borough ; these paid tax with the city.
In the time of King Edward, there were in the city 431 houses pay- ing tax. And besides these the bishop had 56 tax-paying houses. Then the city paid ten and a half marks s of silver ; two parts belonged to the king and the third to the earl. And the following laws existed there :
When peace had been granted by the hand of the king, or by his letter or through his bailiff, if any one broke it, the king had 100 shillings for it. But if the same peace of the king, at his order had been granted by the earl, if it was broken, of the 100 shillings which were given therefor, the earl had the third penny. If, however, the
1 There seems to be no consistent distinction between cities and boroughs in Domesday and earlier use : later it was customary to call the seat of a bishop a city and all other considerable towns boroughs. * A hide was a unit of taxation or of measurement, equalling in the latter case approximately 1 20 acres. It is here evi- dently the former. • The mark of silver was equal to 133. 4d. ; of gold, £6.
CUSTOMS OP CHESTER. 3
same peace was infringed when granted by the reeve of the king or the officer of the earl, it was compounded for by forty shillings, and the third penny belonged to the earl.
If any free man of the king broke the peace which had been granted and killed a man in his house, all his land and money came to the king, and he himself became an outlaw. The earl had the same concerning his man making this forfeiture. No one, however, except the king, was able to grant peace again to an outlaw.
He who shed blood between Monday morning and the ninth hour of Saturday compounded for it with ten shillings. From the ninth hour of Saturday to Monday morning bloodshed was compounded for with twenty shillings. Similarly any one paid twenty shillings who did this in the twelve days after Christmas, on the day of the Purification of the Blessed Mary, on the first day of Easter, the first day of Pente- cost, Ascension Day, on the Assumption or Nativity of the Blessed Mary and on the day of All Saints.
He who killed a man on these holy days compounded for it with £4 ; but on other days with forty shillings. Similarly he who com- mitted burglary or assault, on those feast days or on Sunday £4. On other days forty shillings.
Any one setting prisoners free1 in the city gave ten shillings. But if the reeve of the king or of the earl committed this offence he compounded for it with twenty shillings.
He who committed theft or robbery or exercised violence upon a woman in a house compounded for each of these with forty shillings.
If a widow had illegitimate intercourse with any one she com- pounded for it with twenty shillings ; a girl, however, with ten shillings for a similar cause.
He who in the city seized upon the land of another and was not able to prove it to be his, was fined forty shillings. Similarly also he who made a claim upon it, if he was not able to prove it to be his.
He who wished to make relief of his own land or that of his relative gave ten shillings.
If he was not able or did not wish to do this the reeve took hifl land into the hand of the king.
He who did not pay the tax at the period at which he owed it compounded for it with with ten shillings.
'The word hangewitham thus translated, has also been considered to mean the offence of hanging a person without warrant of law. Ducange.
4 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
If fire burned the city, he from whose house it started compounded for it with three oras l of pennies, and gave to his next neighbor two shillings. Of all these forfeitures two parts belonged to the king and the third to the earl.
If without the license of the king ships came to the port of the city or departed from the port, from each man who was on the ships the king and the earl had forty shillings. If against the peace of the king and after his prohibition the ship approached, as well it as the men, with all things which were upon it, did the king and the earl have.
If, however, with the peace and license of the king it had come, those who were in it sold what they had in peace ; but when it went away, four pence from each lading did the king and the earl have. If to those having martens' skins the reeve of the king gave orders that to no one should they sell until they had first brought them and shown them to him, he who did not observe this compounded for it by paying forty shillings.
A man or a woman making false measure in the city, and being arrested, compounded for it with four shillings. Similarly a person making bad ale, was either placed in the ducking stool or gave four shillings to the reeve. This forfeiture the officer of the king and of the earl received in the city, in whosesoever land it had been, either of the bishop or of another man. Similarly also, if any one held the toll back beyond three nights, he compounded for it with forty shillings.
In the time of King Edward there were in this city seven moneyers, 2 who gave seven pounds to the king and the earl, besides the ferm, s when the money was turned over.
There were at that time twelve judges of the city, and these were from the men of the king, and of the bishop, and of the earl ; if any one of these remained away from the hundred court on the day in, which it sat, without a clear excuse, he compounded for it with ten shillings, between the king and the earl.
For repairing the city wall and the bridge the reeve summoned one man to come from each hide of the county. If the man of any one did not come his lord compounded for it to the king and the earl with forty shillings. This forfeiture was in addition to the ferm.
1 An ora is a number of pennies, varying in different times and places, here pos- sibly sixteen or twenty.
1 The moneyers were men who had the contract for coining money, paying a fee for the privilege of reserving to themselves the seigniorage.
3 A ferm was a fixed amount paid as a lump sum in place of a number of smaller or more irregular payments.
CUSTOMS OF CHESTER 5
This city paid at that time of ferm £45 and three bundles of mar- ten's skins. The third part belonged to the earl, and two to the king.
When Earl Hugh received it, it was worth only £30, for it was much wasted. There were 205 fewer houses than there had been in the time of King Edward. Now there are just as many there as he found.
Murdret held this city from the earl for £70 and one mark of gold. He had at ferm for £50 and one mark of gold all the pleas of the earl in the county and in the hundreds, with the exception of Inglefeld.
The land on which the temple of St. Peter stands, which Robert of Rodelend claimed for demesne land, as the county has proved, never pertained to the manor, outside the city, but pertains to the borough ; and it has always been in the custom of the king and the earl, like that of other burgesses.
THE CUSTOMS OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
Latin : Acts of Parliament of Scotland, I, 33-34 ; and Stubbs' Select Charters, 107-108.
These are the laws and customs which the burgesses of Newcastle- upon-Tyne had in the time of Henry, king of England, and ought to have :
Burgesses may make seizure for debt from those dwelling outside, within their market place and without, and within their house and without, and within their borough and without, without the license of the reeve, unless courts are held in the borough, and unless they are in the army or on guard at a castle.
From a burgess a burgess is not allowed to make seizure for debt without the license of the reeve.
If a burgess has agreed upon anything in the borough with those dwelling outside, the debtor, if he acknowledges it, must pay the debt himself, or he must grant right in the borough.
Suits which arise in the borough are to be held and finished there, except those which belong to the king's crown.
If any burgess is summoned on any prosecution, he shall not plead outside of the borough except for want of a court. Nor must he re- spond without day and term, unless he shall have first fallen into an absurd defense ; except with regard to things which pertain to the crown.
If a ship has put in at Tyueinouth and wishes to depart, it is al- lowed to the burgesses to buy whatever they wish.
6 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
If a suit arises between a burgess and a merchant, it shall be settled before the third tide.
Whatever merchandise a vessel has brought by sea ought to be carried to land, except salt and brine, which ought to be sold on the ship.
If anyone has held land in burgage for a year and a day justly and without prosecution, he need not make defense against a claimant, unless the claimant has been outside the realm of England, or in the case where he is a boy having no power to speak.
If a burgess has a son in his house, at his table, the son shall have the same liberty as his father.
If a villain comes to stay in a borough, and there for a year and a day stays as a burgess in the borough, let him remain altogether, unless it has been said beforehand by himself or by his lord that he is to re- main for a certain time.
If any burgess makes an accusation concerning any matter, he cannot wage battle against a burgess, but let the burgess defend him- self by law, unless it is concerning treason, when he ought to defend himself by battle. Nor can a burgess wage battle against a villain, un- less he has first departed from his burgage.
No merchant, unless he is a burgess, may buy any wool, hides, or other merchandise, outside of the town, nor inside of the borough except from burgesses.
If forfeiture happens to a burgess, he shall give six oras to the reeve.
In the borough there is no merchet, nor heriot, nor blood fine, nor stengesdint.
Each burgess may have his oven and hand-mill if he wishes, sav- ing the king's right to the oven.
If a woman is in transgression concerning bread or concerning ale, no one ought to intermeddle except the reeve. If she shall have trans- gressed a second time, let her be whipped for her transgression. If for a third time she shall have transgressed, let justice be done upon her.
No one except a burgess may buy clothes for dyeing, nor make, nor shear them.
A burgess may give his land, or sell it, and go whither he wishes, freely and quietly, unless he is engaged in a suit.
CHAETEE OF CITY OF LINCOLN.
During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries many of the cities and boroughs obtained their first charters. These were documents issued and sealed by the king, or by the lord on whose demesne the town had grown up, giving legal recognition to a part or the whole of the body of local customs. In no case was the whole body of customs recited in the charter ; and in most cases probably no new rights were granted to the towns by the charters ; but it was of the greatest value to them to have their more important customary rights defined, legalized and put in a form which could be appealed to in case of subsequent dispute. Moreover, the first grant obtained by any town served as a precedent in obtaining, at favorable opportunities thereafter, new charters extending its powers and privileges. The charter of Southampton, printed below, for instance, was the first of thirty-one such grants to that town between the twelfth century and the seventeenth ; varying in character from mere renewals to considerable additions to the city immunities. Types of three classes of municipal charters are given below ; those granted by the king, those granted by a secular lord to a town on his demesne, and those granted by a prelate. A vast number of char- ters granted to towns are printed in Rymer's Feeder a; Madox' Fir ma Burgi^ Gross' Gild Merchant, and in local histories.
CHARTER OF HENRY II. TO THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
Latin : Rymer's Fcedera, i. 40 ; and Stubbs' Select Charters, 158-9. Henry, by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou, to the bishop of Lincoln, justiciars, sheriffs, barons, officers and all his faithful, French and English, of Lincoln, greeting. Know that I have conceded to my citizens of Lin- coln all their liberties and customs and laws, which they had in the time of Edward and William and Henry, kings of England ; and their gild merchant of the men of the city and of other merchants of the county, just as they had it in the time of our aforesaid predecessors, kings of Eng- land, best and most freely. And all men who dwell within the four divisions of the city and attend the market are to be at the gilds and customs and assizes of the city as they have been best in the time of Ed- ward, William and Henry, kings of England. I grant to them more- over, that if anyone shall buy any land within the city, of the burgage of Lincoln, and shall have held it for a year and a day without any claim, and he who has bought it is able to show that the claimant has been in the laud of England within the year and has not claimed it, for the future as before he shall hold it well and in peace, and without any prosecution. I confirm also to them, that if anyone shall have remained in the city of Lincoln for a year and a day without claim on the part of any claimant, and has given the customs, and is able to show by the laws and customs of the city that the claimant has been in existence in
8 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
the land of England and has not made a claim against him, for the future as in the past he shall remain in peace, in my city of Lincoln, as my citizen. Witnesses, E., bishop of Lisieux ; Thomas, chancellor ; H., constable ; Henry of Essex, constable. At Nottingham.
CHARTER OF HENRY II. TO WALLINGFORD.
Latin: Rymer's Fcedera, i, 471 : and Gross' Gild Merchant, II, 244-5.
Henry, by the grace of God, King of England, Duke of Nor- mandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, I
command you that my burgesses of Wallingford shall have my secure peace through my whole land of England and Normandy, wherever they may be. And know that I have given and conceded to them for- ever all their liberties and laws and customs well and honorably, just as they had them best and most honorably in the time of King Edward, and in the time of my great grandfather King William, and of his son, the second King William, and in the time of King Henry, my grand- father ; that is to say, that they should have freely the gild merchant with all its customs and laws, so that neither my bailiff nor any justice of mine should meddle with their gild ; but only their own alderman and officer. And if my officers or any justice shall have brought suit against them in any plea or for any occasion or shall have wished to lead them into a suit, I forbid it, and require that they should not make defense in any manner, except in their own proper portmote. And if the reeve himself shall implead them on any occasion without an accuser, they shall not respond, and if on account of any transgression, or by a right judgment any one of them shall have made forfeiture by a right con- sideration of the burgesses, to the reeve shall he pay it. I forbid, more- over, and require that there shall be no market in Crowmarsh, nor any merchant, unless he is in the gild of the merchants ; and if anyone goes out from the borough of Wallingford and lives from the merchandise of the same Wallingford, I command that he should make the right gild of the merchants with the same burgesses, wherever he may be, within the borough or without. Know moreover, that I have given and con- ceded forever to all the men of Wallingford full quittance from my yearly rent, which they were accustomed to pay from the borough of Wallingford ; that is to say, from that which pertains to me in the borough. All these laws and customs and liberties and quittances I give to them and concede forever, and all others which they are able to show that their ancestors had, freely, quietly, and honorably, j ust as my
CHARTER OF WALLINGFORD. 9
citizens of Winchester ever had them at the best ; and this on account of the great service and labor which they sustained for me in the ac- quisition of my hereditary right in England. I concede to them, more- over, that wherever they shall go in their journeys as merchants, through my whole land of England and Normandy, Aquitaine and Anjou, "by water and by strand, by wood and by land," they shall be free from toll and passage fees, and from all customs and exactions ; nor are they to be troubled in this respect by any one, under a penalty of £10. I forbid, moreover, and require under the same penalty, that the reeve of Wallingford shall not make any fine of scotale or New Year's gift from any one, and that he shall not establish any custom in Walling- ford which shall injure the burgesses of the town. Of this grant and concession, the witnesses are Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury and others. Given at Oxford, the first day before the Ides of January.
CHARTER OF HENRY II. TO SOUTHAMPTON, Latin : Davies' History of Southampton, 152 ; Gross' Gild Merchant, II, 213.
Henry, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to his reeves and ministers of Hampton, greeting : I ordain that my men of Hampton shall have and hold their gild and all their liberties and customs, by land and by sea, in as good, peaceable, just, free, quiet, and honorable a manner as they had the same, best, most freely and quietly in the time of King Henry, my grandfather ; and let no one upon this do them any injury or insult. Witness, Richard de Humet, constable!; Jocelyn de Baliol, at Winchester.
CHARTER OF RALPH, EARL OF CHESTER, TO THAT CITY, BETWEEN A. D., ugo AND 1211.
Latin : Report of Historical Mss. Comm. 1881, 356-7 ; and Gross' Gild Merchant, II, 140.
Ralph, earl of Chester, to his constable and steward, and to all his barons and bailiffs, and to all his men, French and English, as well to come as at present, greeting. Let it be known to all of you that I have given and conceded, and by this my present charter confirmed to all my citizens of Chester their gild merchant with all liberties and free customs which they have had in the aforesaid gild, best, most freely and most peacefully in the times of my predecessors. And I forbid under forfeiture to me of £10 that any one shall disturb them in it With these witnesses, etc.
10 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
CHARTER OF JOHN, EARL OF [CHESTER, BETWEEN
1217 AND 1277.
Latin : Report of Historical Mss. Comm. 1881, 356-7, and Gross' Gild Merchant II, 140.
Know that I have conceded and by this my present charter con. firmed to all my citizens of Chester that no merchant should buy or sell any kind of merchandise which has come to the city of Chester by sea or by land, except these my citizens of Chester themselves and their heirs, or in accordance with their will ; except in the established fairs, that is on St. John the Baptist's day and at the feast of St. Michael.
Likewise, I have conceded and by this my present
charter confirmed to my said citizens of Chester, to have and to hold their gild merchant, as freely, quietly and honorably as they held it in the time of my uncle, lord Ralph, earl of Chester and Lincoln.
CHARTER OF THURSTAN, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, TO
BEVERLY, BETWEEN 1 100 AND 1135. Latin : Rymer's Fcedera, i, 10, and Stubbs' Select Charters, 105-6.
Thurstan, by the grace of God, archbishop of York, to all the faith- ful in Christ, as well present as to come, greeting and God's benediction and his own. Let it be known to you that I have given and conceded, and by the advice of the chapter of York and of Beverly and by the advice of my barons have confirmed by my charter to the men of Bev- erly all their liberties with the same laws which those of York have in their city. Moreover let it not be hid from you that lord Henry our king has conceded to us the power of doing this of his own good will, and by his charter has confirmed our statutes and our laws according to the form of the laws of the burgesses of York, saving the dignity and honor of God and Saint John, and of us and of the canons, in order that he might thus increase the benefactions of his predecessors, and promote them by all these free customs.
I will that my burgesses of Beverly shall have their hanse house, which I give to them and concede in order that they may there determine upon their statutes to the honor of God and of St. John, and of the canons, and to the advantage of the whole body of citizens, being en- franchised by the same law as those of York in their hanse house. I give up to them, moreover, their toll forever for eighteen marks a year ; besides in those feasts in which toll belongs to us and to the canons, that is to say, in the feast of St. John the Confessor, in May, in the feast of the translation of St. John, and on the day of the birth of St.
CHARTER OF BEVERLY. II
«fohn the Baptist ; and on these festivals I have made all the burgesses of Beverly free and quit from all toll. By the testimony of this charter, moreover, I have conceded to the same burgesses as free entrance and de- parture within and without the town, in plain and wood and marsh, in roads and byways, and in other suitable places, except in meadows and grainfields, as any one can ever concede and confirm them most freely and broadly ; and know that they are as free and quit from all toll through the whole of Yorkshire, as those of York are. And I will that whosoever opposes this may be accursed, as the custom of the church of St. John asserts and as it has been decreed in the church of St. John.
These are witnesses : Geoffrey Murdoc, Nigel Fossard, Alan de Percy, Walter Spec, Eustace the son of John, Thomas the reeve, Thurs- tan, archdeacon ; Herbert, chamberlain ; William the son of Toole ; William of Bath ; in the presence of the whole household of the arch- bishop, clerical and lay, in York.
III. GILD MERCHANT DOCUMENTS,
An almost invariable provision in the early town charters was the privilege of possessing a gild merchant, or hanse house, as it was called in the charter of Beverly. This universality of the gild merchant indicates its close connection with the munici- pal community itself, as well as the prevailing commercial character of the latter. The existence of the gild merchant has been definitely proved in 102 towns and there is little reason to doubt that it existed in practically all the others. The gild merchant therefore was substantially the embodiment of the trading monopoly of the chartered city or borough. Its principal characteristics are exemplified in the subjoined docu- ments. The difficult questions of its origin as an institution, its connection with the municipal government, its relation to the craft gilds, and its later decadence or disap- pearance, are fully discussed in the standard work on the subject : Gross, The Gild Merchant. The ordinances of the gilds of Southampton and Lynn Regis are almost the only remaining bodies of statutes. The former document belongs to the fourteenth century, but the provisions are evidently of very different dates. The first eleven seem to be the oldest, and perhaps with others extend back to a far earlier period than 1300. The gild merchant of Lynn Regis is mentioned as early as 1205, in a charter granted by King John, and remained in existence until November 4, 1547. It was clearly distinct from the town government, though connected with it at many points. It had a large membership: its property brought in at one time an income of some ^400 a year ; it possessed a gild hall which still exists, and sus- tained in 1389, thirteen chaplains, "daily and yearly to pray as well for the king, his ancestors, and for the peace and welfare of his kingdom, as for the souls of all the aldermen, brethren, and benefactors of the said gild ; also for the souls of all the faith- ful deceased." Six ofthese chaplains officiated in the church of St. Margaret, four in the chapel of St. Nicholas, and three in the chapel of St. James, all in Lynn. In ad- dition to its religious activity, the gild contributed largely both by money and by ad- ministration to the charities, educational work, and public improvements of the city.
12 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
ORDINANCES OF THE GILD MERCHANT OF SOUTH AMP1 ON.
P'rench : Gross' Gild Merchant, II, 214, etc. ; and English : Davies' History of Southampton, pp. 139, etc.
§ 1. JIn the first place, there shall be elected from the gild mer- chant, and established, an alderman, a steward, a chaplain, four skevins, and an usher. And it is to be known that whosoever shall be alderman shall receive from each one entering into the gild fourpence, the stew- ard, twopence ; the chaplain, twopence ; and the usher, one penny. And the gild shall meet twice a year : that is to say, on the Sunday next after St. John the Baptist's day, and on the Sunday next after St. Mary's day.
§ 2. And when the gild shall be sitting no one of the gild is to bring in any stranger, except when required by the alderman or stew- ard. And the alderman shall have a sergeant to serve before him, the steward another sergeant, and the two skevins a sergeant, and the other two skevins a sergeant, and the chaplain shall have his clerk.
§ 3. And when the gild shall sit, the alderman is to have, eacb night, so long as the gild sits, two gallons of wine and two candles, and the steward the same ; and the four skevins and the chaplain, each of them one gallon of wine and one candle, and the usher one gallon of wine.
§ 4. And when the gild shall sit, the lepers of La Madeleine shall have of the alms of the gild, two sesters2 of ale, and the sick of God's House and of St. Julian shall have two sesters of ale. And the Friars Minors shall have two sesters of ale and one sester of wine. And four sesters of ale shall be given to the poor wherever the gild shall meet.
§ 5. And when the gild is sitting, no one who is of the gild shall go outside of the town for any business, without the permission of the steward. And if any one does so, let him be fined two shillings, and pay them.
§ 6. And when the gild sits, and any gildsman is outside of the city so that he does not know when it will happen, he shall have a gal- lon of wine, if his servants come to get it. And if a gildsman is ill and is in the city, wine shall be sent to him, two loaves of bread and a gal- lon of wine and a dish from the kitchen ; and two approved men of the gild shall go to visit him and look after his condition.
1 In the original a rubric is introduced at the beginning of each paragraph, de- scribing its subject, usually in the same terms as the body of the paragraph. They are omitted here on account of their want of especial significance.
2 Sester, or sextary, apparently equals four gallons : Stubbs ; and see $ 4 on page 17 of this pamphlet.
GILD MERCHANT OF SOUTHAMPTON. 1 3
§ 7. And when a gildsman dies, all those who are of the gild an4 are in the city shall attend the service of the dead, and gildsmen shall bear the body and bring it to the place of burial. And whoever wi?I not do this shall pay according to his oath, two pence, to be given to the poor. And those of the ward where the dead man shall be ought to find a man to watch over the body the night that the dead shall li* in his house. And so long as the service of the dead shall last, that w to say the vigil and the mass, there ought to burn four candles of th*» gild, each candle of two pounds weight or more, until the body ijn buried. And these four candles shall remain in the keeping of thf> steward of the gild.
§ 8. The steward ought to keep the rolls and the treasure of th« gild under the seal of the alderman of the gild.
§ 9. And when a gildsman dies, his eldest son or his next heir shall have the seat of his father, or of his uncle, if his father was not a gild»- man, and of no other one ; and he shall give nothing for his seat. No husband can have a seat in the gild by right of his wife, nor demand a seat by right of his wife's ancestors.
§ 10. And no one has the right or power to sell or give his seat in the gild to any man ; and the son of a gildsman, other than his eldest son, shall enter into the gild on payment of ten shillings, and he shall take the oath of the gild.
§ 11. And if a gildsman shall be imprisoned in England in tinivj of peace, the alderman with the steward and with one of the skevin* shall go at the cost of the gild, to procure the deliverance of the one who is in prison.
§ 12. And if any gildsman strikes another with his fist; and in convicted thereof, he shall lose the gild until he shall have bought it back for ten shillings, and taken the oath of the gild again like a new mem- ber. And if a gildsman strikes another with a stick, or a knife, or any other weapon, whatever it may be, he shall lose the gild and the fran- chise, and shall be held as a stranger until he shall have been recon- ciled to the good men of the gild and has made recompense to the one whom he has injured, and has paid a fine to the gild of twenty shil- lings ; and this shall not be remitted.
^13. If any one does an injury, who is not of the gild, and is of the franchise or strikes a gildsman and is reasonably convicted he shall lose his franchise and go to prison for a day and a night.
$ 14. And if any stranger or any other who is not of the gild
14 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
nor of the franchise, strikes a gildsman, and is reasonably convicted thereof, let him be in prison two days and two nights, unless the injury is such that he should be more severely punished.
§ 15. And if a gildsman reviles or slanders another gildsman, and a complaint of it comes to the alderman, and if he is reasonably con- victed thereof, he shall pay two shillings fine to the gild, and if he is not able to pay he shall lose the gild.
§ 16. And if anyone who is of the franchise, speaks evil of a gilds- man, and is convicted of this before the alderman, he shall pay five shillings for a fine or lose the franchise.
§ 17. And no one shall come to the council of the gild if he is not a gildsman.
§ 18. And if anyone of the gild forfeits the gild by any act or injury, and is excluded by the alderman and the steward and the skevins and the twelve sworn men of the city ; and he wishes to have the gild again, he shall do all things anew just as one who has never been of the gild, and shall make amends for his injury according to the discretion of the alderman and the aforesaid approved men. And if anyone of the gild or of the franchise brings a suit against another outside of the city, by a writ or without a writ, he shall lose the gild and the franchise if he is convicted of it.
§ 19. And no one of the city of Southampton shall buy anything to sell again in the same city, unless he is of the gild merchant or of the franchise. And if anyone shall do so and is convicted of it, all which he has so bought shall be forfeited to the king ; and no one shall be quit of custom unless he proves that he is in the gild or in the fran- chise, and this from year to year.
§ 20. And no one shall buy honey, fat, salt herrings, or any kind of oil, or millstones, or fresh hides, or any kind of fresh skins, unless he is a gildsman : nor keep a tavern for wine, nor sell cloth at retail, except in market or fair days ; nor keep grain in his granary beyond five quarters, to sell at retail, if he is not a gildsman ; and whoever shall do this and be convicted, shall forfeit all to the king.
§ 21. No one of the gild ought to be partner or joint dealer in any of the kinds of merchandise before mentioned with anyone who is not of the gild, by any manner of coverture, or art, or contrivance, or collusion, or in any other manner. And whosoever shall do this and be convicted, the goods in such manner bought shall be forfeited to the king, and the gildsman shall lose the gild.
GILD MERCHANT OF SOUTHAMPTON 15
§ 22. If any gildsman falls into poverty and has not the where- withal to live, and is not able to work or to provide for himself, he shall have one mark from the gild to relieve his condition when the gild shall sit. No one of the gild nor of the franchise shall avow another's goods for his by which the custom of the city shall be injured. And if any one does so and is convicted, he shall lose the gild and the franchise ; and the merchandise so avowed shall be forfeited to the king.
§ 23. And no private man nor stranger shall bargain for or buy any kind of merchandise coming into the city before a burgess of the gild merchant, so long as the gildsman is present and wishes to bargain for and buy this merchandise ; and if anyone does so and is convicted, that which he buys shall be forfeited to the king.
§ 24. And anyone who is of the gild merchant shall share in all merchandise which another gildsman shall buy or any other person whosoever he is, if he comes and demands part and is there where the merchandise is bought, and also if he gives satisfaction to the seller and gives security for his part. But no one who is not a gildsman is able or ought to share with a gildsman, without the will of the gildsman.
§ 25. And if any gildsman or other of the city refuse a part to the gildsman in the manner above said, he shall not buy or sell in that year in the town, except his victuals.
§ 26. And if any merchant of the town buys wine or grain so that all the risk shall be on the buyer, he shall not pay custom for this merchandise. And if any risk is upon the seller, he shall pay.
§ 27. It is provided that the chief alderman of the town, or the bailiffs and the twelve sworn men, shall give attention to the merchants as well strangers as private men, as often as it shall be required, to see that they have sufficient security for their debts, and recognisance from their debtors ; and the day of this shall be enrolled before them, so that if that day is not kept, on proof by the creditor, the debtor should be then distrained according to the recognisance which he has made, in lands and chattels, to give satisfaction according to the usage of the town, without any manner of pleading, so that the men of the town should not have damage by the default of payment of the debtors aforesaid.
§ 28. And if any gildsman for any debt which he may owe, will not suffer himself to be distrained, or when he has been distrained, shall break through, or make removal or break the king's lock, and be con- victed thereof, he shall lose his gildship until he has bought it again for twenty shillings, and this each time that he offends in such manner.
1 6 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS
And he shall be none the less distrained until he has made satisfaction for the debt he owes ; and if he will not submit to justice as aforesaid and be thereof convicted, he shall go to prison for a day and a night like one who is against the peace ; and if he will not submit to justice let the matter be laid before the king and his council in manner aforesaid.
§ 29. And the chief alderman, and the twelve sworn men, or the bailiffs, each month, or at least four times a year shall see that the assize of bread and ale be well kept in all points according to the price of corn.1
§ 32. Every year, on the morrow of St. Michael, shall be elected by the whole community of the town, assembled in a place provided, to consider the estate and treat of the common business of the town — then shall be elected by the whole community, twelve discreet men to exe- cute the king's commands, together with the bailiffs, and to keep the peace and protect the franchise, and to do and keep justice to all per- sons, as well poor as rich, natives or strangers, all that year ; and to this they shall be sworn in the form provided. And these twelve discreet men shall choose the same day two discreet men from among themselves and the other profitable and wise men to be bailiffs for the ensuing year, who shall take care that the customs shall be well paid ; and they shall receive their jurisdiction the day after Michaelmas, as has been custo- mary. And this shall be done from year to year, so that the bailiffs shall be renewed every year, and the twelve aforesaid, if there is occa- sion. The same shall be done as to clerk and sergeants of the city, in making and removing.
§ 35. The common chest shall be in the house of the chief alder- man or of the steward, and the three keys of it shall be lodged with three discreet men of the aforesaid twelve sworn men, or with three of the skevins, who shall loyally take care of the common seal, and the charters and the treasure of the town, and the standards, and other muniments of the town ; and no letter shall be sealed with the common seal, nor any charter taken out of the common-chest but in the presence of six or twelve sworn men, and of the alderman or steward ; and nobody shall sell by any kind of measure or weight that is not sealed, under forfeiture of two shillings.
§ 63. No one shall go out to meet a ship bringing wine or other merchandise coming to the town, in order to buy anything, before the
xThe remaining 48 paragraghs, with the exception of g 32, $ 35 and g 63, are of comparatively little significance as explanatory of the ordinary gild merchant.
GILD MERCHANT OF LYNN. 17
ship be arrived and come to anchor for unlading ; and if any one does so and is convicted, the merchandise which he shall have bought shall be forfeited to the king.
ORDINANCE OF THE GILD MERCHANT OF THE HOLY
TRINITY OF LYNN REGIS. English : Gross' Gild Merchant, II, 160; and Richard's History of Lynn, 452-458.
§ 1. If any stranger is willing to enter into the fraternity, he ought to pledge into the hands of the alderman 100s. and the aforesaid dues of the house. That is to say, to the alderman 4d. to the clerk 2d. to the dean 2d. and afterward out of the 100s. pledged with the alder- man and his brethren S and shall immediately give
one sextary of wine, that is lOd.
§ 2. If any brother has a son, or sons, legitimate, who are willing to enter into the said fraternity, each one ought to pay for his entrance 4s. the aforesaid dues being excepted.
§ 3. Whoever will enter into the said fraternity, ought on the first day of his admission to wait and serve before the alderman and the brethren honorably, in neat clothes and a coronet of gold or silver.
§ 4. The alderman to have on the day of Pentecost one sextary of wine, and the dean half a sextary, the clerk half and each of the skevins, the same day, half a sextary, and every day after, as long as the drinking shall continue, the alderman shall have half a sextary, the dean, clerk and each of the skevins one gallon, and each of the attendants half a gallon, at evening.
§ 5. If any of the brethren shall disclose to any stranger the councils of the said gild, to their detriment without the assent of the alderman and his brethren, he shall forfeit the sum of 32d.
§ 6. If any of the brethren shall fall into poverty or misery, all the brethren are to assist him by common consent out of the chattels of the house or fraternity, or of their proper own.
§ 7. If any brother shall be impleaded, either within Lynn or without, the brethren there present ought to assist him in their council, if they are called, to stand with him and counsel him without any costs ; and if they do not they are to forfeit 32d.
§ 8. None of the brethren is to come into the gild before tLu alderman and his brethren with his cap or hood on, or barefoot, or in any rustic manner ; if he does he is to be amerced 4d.
1 Illegible in the manuscript.
1 8 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
§ 9. If any one should sleep at the gild, either at the general meeting or at their feasts and drinking, he is to forfeit 4d.
§ 10. If any one turns him rudely to his brother, or calls him by any rude name, he is to be amerced 4d.
§ 11. If any is called and cited at a prime1 and does not come before the issue of the first consult, he is to pay Id. by order of the dean ; and if he refuses and sits down he is to be amerced 4d.
§ 12. If any one should be cited to the prime, and shall be found in the town or shall come late to the drinking, and the dean shall say to him to be there at the next prime, and he does not come before they begin to take judgments of defaults, he shall either make some reasonable excuse, or pay 12d., and if he comes before the faults are adjudged, and shall depart without leave he shall pay 12d.
§ 13. If any one of this house shall buy anything and a brother shall come in unexpectedly before the agreement, or at it, he ought to be a partner with him that buys, and if the buyer refuses it, he is to be amerced half a mark.
§ 14. If any servant of the brethren comes at the drinking, or the prime, he is to lay down his cap and cloak, and give it to the janitor to keep, whilst he enters and speaks to his master, and then he is to depart forthwith ; if it is at the drinking, let him drink once or twice, provided he does not sit, and then he is to depart, and if he does not his master is to be amerced.
§ 15. If any one refuse to obey the precept of the alderman or dean, for the honor and profit of the house, he is to be amerced 12s.
§ 16. If any poor brother shall die, the alderman and brethren shall see that his body be honorably buried, of the goods or chattels of the house, or out of alms, if he has not the wherewith to bury himself.
§ 17. If the alderman shall die, none belonging to him, neither son nor any other, can act in anything as alderman, but the brethren may choose a new alderman, whom they please.
§ 18. If any brother shall die, the dean is to summon all the brethren to make their offerings for the soul of the deceased ; and if anyone is absent he is to give Jd. at the next prime following, for the soul of the defunct, and the dean is to have 4d. of the alms collected, for the citing of the brethren.
'Principal or regular meeting.
GILD MERCHANT OP LYNN. !9
§ 19. If any brother, or alderman, shall act contrary to the ordi- nances of this house, he is either to forfeit his brotherhood, or pay half a mark for the good of the house.
§ 20. No one shall intrude himself while the drinking continues.
§ 21. If any brother shall offend another brother, in word or deed, he shall make no complaint but to the alderman first, and the mayor ; if he does not he is to be amerced half a mark.
§ 22. If the skevins shall merchandize with the chattels of the house, no brother shall have any part therein, but the whole profit shall go to the use of the gild.
§ 23. The skevins are to swear, when they receive the chattels of the house, that they will employ the same faithfully to the good of the gild, and will fully account and answer for the profit.
Selections from the USAGES AND CUSTOMS OF THE GILD OF THE HOLY TRINITY OF LYNN.
If any of the aforesaid brethren shall die in the said town or else- where, as soon as knowledge thereof shall come to the alderman, the said alderman shall order solemn mass to be celebrated for him, at which every brother of the said gild that is in town shall make his offering ; and further, the alderman shall cause every chaplain of the said gild, immediately on the death of any brother, to say thirty masses for the deceased.
The alderman and skevins of the said gild are by duty obliged to visit four times a year all the infirm, all that are in want, need or poverty, and to minister to and relieve all such, out of the alms of the said gild.
If any brother shall become poor and needy, he shall be supported in food and clothing, according to his exigency, out of the profits of the lands and tenements, goods and chattels of the said gild.
If anyone has a desire and is willing for the honor of the Holy Trinity, to be received into the said gild, that he may be partaker of the alms and benefactions thereof, he shall give to the said gild a cer- tain sum of money to the maintenance of the said alms and benefac- tions, according to what shall be agreed upon by the alderman and brethren thereof.
No born serf or one of such like condition, nor any apprentice can be received, and if any one of such like condition should be received into the said gild, the alderman and his brethren not knowing it, when
20 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
it is truly and lawfully proved, such a one shall lose the benefit of the gild.
No one until he arrive at the age of twenty-one years, and is of honest fame and condition, can be received into the said gild.
It was ordained on Wednesday, in the week of Pentecost, in the seventh year of Edward III, (1334), that the brethren should keep a general morwespeche three times a year, to wit ; on Friday in Whitsun- week, on Friday after the exaltation of the Holy Cross, and on Friday in the first week 'of Lent.
On Friday in the week of Pentecost, in the 23d year of Edward III. (1349), it was provided by common assent forever that no brother should buy or sell any millstones or marble stones, brought to X«ynn to be sold, as long as the skevins of this house would buy them for the profit of the gild and pay for them to the full ; and if any one brother should act contrary hereto, he should forever be deprived of the society.
On Friday next after the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, in the 31st year of Edward III, (1357), Jeffrey Drew, then being al- derman, it was unanimously agreed by the alderman and his brethren, that as by the grant of the king in his charter, the borough of Bishop's Lynn had this liberty, that the burgesses of the same in all fairs through the kingdom of England were free, and enjoyed that freedom ; when, therefore, anyone of the said burgesses or brethren should go to the fair at Stourbridge, or where any such like fair is held, and has taken his place by the consent of any of the bailiffs of those places, and marked it out by stakes or pins, by wood or stone ; if any other burgess of Lynn, or brother, either by presents or favors, should deprive of or ex- pel the aforesaid burgess or brother from his place so taken as aforesaid, he is to be looked upon and esteemed as a transgressor of the aforesaid liberty, and to be fined 40s., so that the person so deprived and expelled may have 20s. of it ; and if the transgressor shall happen to be a broth- er of the said gild, he shall be obliged by the alderman to pay 20s. for the benefit of the said gild ; and if the transgressor shall be a burgess, and not a brother of the gild, he shall be obliged to pay 20s. by the mayor of the town, for the benefit of the commonalty of the said town.
IV. CRAFT GILD DOCUMENTS.
The earliest mention of an organization made up of the members of some one industry in a town, is to be found in the record of payments from the weavers' gilds, in the exchequer roll of A. D. 1 130, printed below. These craft gilds, later, es- pecially in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, became numerous, and in many cases wealthy and influential. Their growth corresponds to the development of
CRAFT GILD OF SPURRIERS. 21
handicrafts in the towns, as the earlier organizations corresponded to trading. Industries were subdivided to the most minute degree of distinction of occupation for purposes of organization, some cities posessing fifty or more craft gilds. The va- rious branches of trade were similarly subdivided and organized. Ultimately these manufacturing, trading and other industrial organizations quite superseded the gilds merchant. The relations of the craft gilds and other fraternities to the town gov«- ernments varied from entire subordination, as in the earlier gilds in London, to a large measure of independent jurisdiction, based in many cases, as in that of the tailors of Exeter, printed below, on a charter obtained directly from the crown. In addition to the functions of the craft gilds in regulating industry, preserving order,, serving as beneficial societies, and religious and social organizations, their connection with the production of religious dramas became especially close. The appellation of "mistery plays, " given so frequently to these pageants seems to be derived from their production by the misteries or craft gilds. The list of pageants in the Corpus Christi play at York is given as typical of this form of activity.
EXTRACTS FROM PIPE ROLL OF 30 HENRY /., A. D. 1130.
Latin : Record Commission Edition, 1833 ; pp. 109, 2, 144.
The weavers of Oxford return their account of one mark of gold for their gild. In the treasury, £6 for one mark of gold ; and they are quit.
And the same sheriff returns his account of one mark of gold for the gild of the weavers of Lincoln. In the treasury, £6 for one mark of gold ; and he is quit.
Robert the son of Lewistan, returns his account of £6 from the gild of the weavers of London. In the treasury, he has made his set- tlement ; and he is quit.
ARTICLES OF THE SPURRIERS OF LONDON, A. D. 1345. Riley's Memorials of London, pp. 226-228.
Be it remembered, that on Tuesday, the morrow of St. Peter's Chains, in the nineteenth year of the reign of King Edward III, the articles underwritten were read before John Hammond, mayor, Roger de Depham, recorder, and the alderman ; and seeing that the same were deemed befitting, they were accepted and enrolled in these words.
In the first place, — that no one of the trade of spurriers shall work longer than from the beginning of the day until curfew rung out at the Church of St. Sepulchre, without Newgate ; by reason that no man can work so neatly by night as by day. And many persons of the said
22 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS
trade, who compass how to practice deception in their work, desire to work by night rather by day ; and then they introduce false iron, and iron that has been cracked, for tin, and also they put gilt on false cop- per, and cracked. And further, — many of the said trade are wandering about all day, without working at all at their trade ; and then, when they have become drunk and frantic, they take to their work, to the an- noyance of the sick, and all their neighborhood, as well by reason of the broils that arise between them and the strange folks who are dwell- ing among them. And then they blow up their fires so vigorously, that their forges begin all at once to blaze to the great peril of themselves and of all the neighborhood around. And then, too, all the neighbors are much in dread of the sparks, which so vigorously issue forth in all directions from the mouths of the chimneys in their forges. By reason thereof it seems unto them that working by night should be put an end to, in order such false work and such perils to avoid : and therefore the mayor and the aldermen do will, by the assent of the good folks of the said trade, and for the common profit, that from henceforth such time for working, and such false work made in the trade, shall be forbidden. And if any person shall be found in the said trade to do the contrary hereof, let him be amerced, the first time in 40d., one-half thereof to go to the use of the Chamber of the Guildhall of London, and the other half to the use of the said trade ; the second time, in half a mark, and the third time in 10s., to the use of the same Chamber and trade ; and the fourth time, let him forswear the trade forever.
Also that no one of the said trade shall hang his spurs out on Sun- days, or any other days that are double feasts ; but only a sign indica- cating his business : and such spurs as they shall so sell, they are to show and sell within their shops, without exposing them without, or opening the doors or windows of their shops, on the pain aforesaid.
Also, that no one of the said trade shall keep a house or shop to carry on his business, unless he is free of the city ; and that no one shall cause to be sold, or exposed for sale, any manner of old spurs for new ones, or shall garnish them or change them for new ones.
Also, that no one of the said trade shall take an apprentice for a less term than seven years, and such apprentice shall be enrolled accord- ing to the usages of the said city.
Also, that if any one of the said trade, who is not a freeman, shall take an apprentice for a term of years, he shall be amerced as aforesaid.
CRAFT GILD OF SPURRIERS. 23
Also, that no one of the said trade shall receive the apprentice, serving-man or journeyman of another in the same trade, during the term agreed upon between his master and him ; on the pain aforesaid.
Also, that no alien of another country, or foreigner of this country, shall follow or use the said trade, unless he is enfranchised before the mayor, alderman and chamberlain ; and that by witness and surety of the good folks of the said trade, who will undertake for him as to his loyalty and his good behavior.
Also, that no one of the said trade shall work on Saturdays, after None has been rung out in the City ; and not from that hour until the Monday morning following.
ORDINANCES OF THE WHITE-TAWYERS. Riley's Memorials of London, pp. 232-234.
In honor of God, of Our Lady, and of All Saints, and for the nurture of tranquillity and peace among the good folks the megucers, called white-tawyers,1 the folks of the same trade have, by assent of Richard Lacer, mayor, and of the aldermen, ordained the points under-written.
In the first place, they have ordained that they will find a wax candle, to burn before our Lady in the church of Allhallows, near London wall.
Also, that each person of the said trade shall put in the box such sum as he shall think fit, in aid of maintaining the said candle.
Also, if by chance any one of the said trade shall fall into poverty, whether through old age or because he cannot labor or work, and have nothing with which to keep himself, he shall have every week from the said box 7d. for his support, if he be a man of good repute. And after his decease, if he have a wife, a woman of good repute, she shall have weekly for her support 7d. from the said box, so long as she shall behave herself well and keep single.
And that no stranger shall work in the said trade, or keep house for the same in the city, if he be not an apprentice, or a man admitted to the franchise of the said city.
And that no one shall take the serving-man of another to work with him, during his term, unless it be with the permission of his master.
1Those who dressed leather with salt, alum and other substances, giving it a white surface.
24 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
And if any one of the said trade shall have work in his house that he cannot complete, or if for want of assistance such work shall be in danger of being lost, those of the said trade shall aid him, that so the said work be not lost.
And if any one of the said trade shall depart this life, and have not wherewithal to be buried, he shall be buried at the expense of their common box. And when any one of the said trade shall die, all those of the said trade shall go to the vigil, aud make offering on the morrow.
Aud if any serving-man shall conduct himself in any other man- ner than properly towards his master, and act rebelliously toward him, no one of the said trade shall set him to work, until he shall have made amends before the mayor and aldermen ; and before them such mis- prision shall be redressed.
And that no one of the said trade shall behave himself the more thoughtlessly, in the way of speaking or acting amiss, by reason of the points aforesaid ; and if any one shall do to the contrary thereof, he shall not follow the said trade until he shall have reasonably made amends.
And if any one of the said trade shall do to the contrary of any point of the ordinances aforesaid, and be convicted thereof by good men of the said trade, he shall pay to the Chamber of the Gildhall of London, the first time 2s., the second time 40d., the third time half a mark, and the fourth time 10s., and shall forswear the trade.
Also, — l that the good folks of the same trade shall once in the year be assembled in a certain place, convenient thereto, there to choose two men of the most loyal and benefitting of the said trade, to be over- seers of work and all other things touching the trade for that year ; which persons shall be presented to the mayor and aldermen for the time being, and sworn before them diligently to inquire and make search, and loyally to present to the said mayor and aldermen such de- faults as they shall find touching the said trade without sparing anyone for friendship or for hatred, or in any other manner. And if any one of the said trade shall be found rebellious against the said overseers, so as not to let them properly make their search and assay, as they ought to do ; or if he shall absent himself from the meeting aforesaid, without reasonable cause, after due warning by the said overseers, he shall pay to the Chamber, upon the first default, 40d. ; and on the sec-
1 This and the succeeding paragraphs were added to the earlier ordinances thirty years later, that is in 1376.
CRAFT GILD OF WHITFXTAWYERS. 25
ond like default, half a mark ; and on the third one mark ; and on the fourth, 20s., and shall forswear the trade forever.
Also, that if the overseers shall be found lax and negligent about their duty, or partial to any person for gift or for friendship, maintaining him or voluntarily permitting him to continue in his default, and shall not present him to the mayor and aldermen, as before stated, they are to incur the penalty aforesaid.
Also, that each year, at such assemblies of the good folks of the said trade, there shall be chosen overseers, as before stated. And if it be found that through laxity or negligence of the said governors such assemblies are not held, each of the said overseers is to incur the said penalty.
Also, that all skins falsely and deceitfully wrought in their trade which the said overseers shall find on sale in the hands of any person, citizen or foreigner, within the franchise shall be forfeited to the said chamber, and the worker thereof amerced in manner aforesaid.
Also, that no one who has not been an apprentice, and has not finished his term of apprenticeship in the said trade, shall be made free of the same trade ; unless it be attested by the overseers for the time being, or by four persons of the said trade, that such person is able and sufficiently skilled to be made free of the same.
Also, that no one of the said trade shall induce the servant of another to work with him in the said trade, until he has made a proper fine with his first master, at the discretion of the said overseers, or of four reputable men of the said trade. And if any one shall do to the contrary thereof, or receive the serving workman of another to work with him during his term, without leave of the trade, he is to incur the said penalty.
Also, that no one shall take for working in the said trade more than they were wont heretofore, on the pain aforesaid ; that is to say, for the dyker l of Scotch stags, half a mark ; the dyker of Irish stags, half a mark ; the dyker of Spanish stags, 10s. ; for the hundred of goat skins, 20s. ; the hundred of roe leather, 16s. ; for the hundred skins of young deer, 8s. ; and for the hundred of kid skins, 8s.
1 A dyker is a package of ten.
26 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
ORDINANCES OF THE GILD OF THE TAILORS, EXETER,
A. D. 14.66. English : Smith's English Gilds, Early English Text Society, 1870, pp. 312-316.
To the worship of God and of our Lady Saint Mary, and of St. John the Baptist, and of all Saints ; These be the ordinances made and established of the fraternity of the craft of tailors, of the city of Exeter, by assent and consent of the fraternity of the craft aforesaid gath- ered there together, for evermore to endure.
First, it is ordained, by virtue of the charter 1 granted by our sov- ereign lord King Edward the Fourth, in the sixth year of his reign, that the master of the aforesaid craft for the time being, every Thurs- day shall be at the common hall, or else a deputy for him upon pain of two pounds of wax. And every warden that is absent without reason- able cause shall pay a pound of wax to the use and profit of the afore- said fraternity ; and that the aforesaid master and wardens be there every Thursday at nine of the clock, there to ordain and rule what may be for the welfare of the fraternity and craft aforesaid, and none to act without the other.
Also, it is ordained by the master and wardens and the common council aforesaid that every person who is privileged with the craft aforesaid who is of the value of £20 of goods and above, shall be of the masters' fellowship and clothing. And every person that is of the fellowship and the aforesaid craft shall pay, every year, for his feast, at Midsummer, 12d., and his offering ; and for his clothing as it comes to, within a month from Midsummer day, upon pain of being put out of the aforesaid fraternity and craft for evermore. And every person that is so admitted shall pay a spoon of silver, weighing an ounce, and its fashioning.
Also, it is ordained that every out-brother,2 that is not privileged of the aforesaid fraternity and gild, shall pay every year 6d. at Mid- summer. And if he refuse to pay this within a month from Midsum- mer, he is to be dismissed from the aforesaid fraternity and gild for evermore.
1 A charter granted directly by the king, I7th November, 1466 ; the original with a portion of the great seal attached being still in the archives of the city of Exeter.
2 "Youte Brodere," apparently means a member of the gild who is not by occupation a tailor.
CRAFT GILD OF TAILORS. 27
Also, it is ordained that all the fellowship of the bachelors shall hold their feast on St. John's day, in harvest. And every person that is a shop-holder of the aforesaid fellowship and craft shall pay to the aforesaid feast 8d. and his offering. And every servant1 that receiveth wages shall pay 6d. to the aforesaid feast. And every out-brother that is of the aforesaid fellowship shall pay, every year, 4d. And if any of the fellowship and craft aforesaid, refuse to pay this, then their names shall be certified to the master and wardens, that they may do correction therein, as belongeth to them to do, according to charter granted by the sovereign lord, the King Edward the Fourth, the sixth year of his reign, by assent and consent of the mayor, the bailiffs, and commons of the city of Exeter, for ever to endure.
Also, it is ordained by the aforesaid master and wardens and fel- lowship of the fraternity and craft aforesaid that every servant that is of the aforesaid craft that taketh wages to the value of 20s. and above shall pay 20d. to be a free sewer, to the use and profit of the aforesaid fraternity ; that no man of the aforesaid craft set any new sewer to work above the space of fifteen days without bringing him be- fore the master and wardens there to pay his 20d. to be made a free sewer, or else to find a surety.
Also it is ordained by the master and wardens aforesaid that if any person of the aforesaid craft who is bound to pay any debt over to the aforesaid master and wardens, breaks his day by the space of half a year, he shall forfeit his whole bond. Provided, always, that if any person or persons aforesaid have fallen into poverty, and will testify so by his oath, he shall be discharged of his bond and debt and shall have sustenance by the foresaid craft as may be thought, by their discretion, convenient and reasonable.
Also, it is ordained by the foresaid master and wardens that if any brother of the aforesaid fraternity and craft despise another, calling him knave, or whoreson, or stupid, or any other misname, he shall pay at the first fault, 12d. ; at the second fault, 20d. ; and at the third fault, to be put out of the fraternity and craft for evermore.
Also, it is ordained by the foresaid master and wardens and the whole fellowship, that if any brother of the aforesaid craft take any
1 There are evidently, in addition to the out-brethren, three classes of mem- bers of the gild: (l) those of £20 and above, who wear the livery; (2) the shop-holders or independent craftsmen of less substance than the former ; and (3) the servants, journeymen, or free sewers as they are subsequently called.
28 TRANSLATIONS AND EEPRINTS.
clothing of any lord, knight or gentlemen, outside of the city without leave of the master and wardens, at the first fault, 40s., and at the second fault to be put out of the fraternity and craft for evermore.
Also, it is ordained by the foresaid master and wardens that there shall be four quarter-days that every brother of this craft shall assem- ble at our common-hall. And every shop-holder shall spend 2d. for a breakfast, or send his money by a deputy. And at that the oath and the ordinances and constitutions shall be read. The first day shall be the next Thursday after Twelfth day, and the second day shall be the sec- ond Thursday after Easter, and the third day shall be the second Thursday after the feast of St. John the Baptist, and the fourth day shall be the next Thursday after St. Michael's day. And at every of these foresaid days, after dinner there shall come all free sewers and take the remains of the meat and drink that the aforesaid master and shop-holders leave ; and each of them shall spend Id. to the welfare of the aforesaid fraternity and gild.
Also, it is ordained by the master and wardens that at every coste of ale that is given into the aforesaid fraternity and gild, every shop- holder shall spend thereto Id., and every free sewer one farthing, and he that cometh not shall send his money by the beadle, upon pain of one pound of wax.
Also, it is ordained by the master and wardens and all the whole craft, that from henceforth no man of the said craft shall hold more than three servants and one apprentice at the most, without license of the master and wardens for the time being, upon pain of 40s. and he that pleadeth for him that doth against this ordinance shall forfeit 20s.
Also, it is ordained by the master and wardens and all the whole craft, that every person of the said craft that taketh an apprentice shall bring him before the master and wardens, there to have his indenture enrolled, the master to pay 12d. for his enrollment. This is to be done within a twelvemonth and a day or else he is to lose his freedom of the craft for evermore.
Also, it is ordained by the master and wardens and the craft afore- said that every apprentice of the said craft that is enrolled and truly serveth his covenant shall pay a silver spoon weighing an ounce and its fashioning, and shall give a breakfast to the foresaid master and wardens before the day that he is able to be made freeman of the city aforesaid ; and if he pay not a spoon worth 4s., then 4s. in money for the same.
Also, it is ordained by the master and wardens and the whole fel-
CRAFT GILD OF TAILORS. 29
lowship that every person that shall be made free of the craft by redemption shall pay 20s. to his fine without any pardon ; and when he is enabled, shall give a breakfast to the master and wardens, before he is admitted free man of the city. And every person so enabled from henceforth shall have, the first year, but one servant, the second year, two, the third, three, and an apprentice if he be able. And he that doeth against this ordinance shall forfeit, at the first fault, 20s. at the second offense, 40s., at the third offense, he shall be put out of the fraternity and craft for evermore.
ORDER OF THE PAGEANTS OF THE CORPUS CHRIST!
PLAY IN THE CITY OF YORK, A. D. 1415. English: L. T. Smith's "York Plays." Introduction, xix.
Each fraternity or craft-gild had charge of one scene in the whole series and performed it on a platform on wheels, successively, at each appointed station in the city on Corpus Christi day. As one scene was completed, its players moved on to the next station, their place being taken by the company having in charge the next pageant in the series.
Tanners. — God the Father Omnipotent creating and forming the
heavens, the angels and archangels, Lucifer and the angels who
fell with him into the pit. Plasterers. — God the Father in his substance creating the earth and
all things which are therein, in the space of five days. Cardmakers. — God the Father forming Adam from the mud of the
earth, and making Eve from Adam's rib, and inspiring them with
the breath of life.
Fullers. — God forbidding Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of life. Coopers. — Adam and Eve and the tree between them, the serpent
deceiving them with apples ; God speaking to them and cursing
the serpent, and an angel with a sword driving them out of
Paradise. Armorers. — Adam and Eve, an angel with a spade and distafF
appointing them their labor. Glovers. — Able and Cain sacrificing victims. Shipwrights. — God warning Noah to make an ark out of planed
wood. Fishmongers and Mariners. — Noah in the ark with his wife, three
sons of Noah with their wives, with various animals.
3O TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
Parchment-makers and Book-binders. — Abraham sacrificing
his son Isaac on the altar. Hosiers. — Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness, King
Pharaoh, eight Jews looking on and wondering. Spicers. — A doctor declaring the sayings of the prophets concerning
the future birth of Christ. Mary, the angel saluting her ; Mary
saluting Elizabeth. Pewterers and Founders. — Mary, Joseph wishing to send her
away, the angel telling them to go over to Bethlehem. Tilers. — Mary, Joseph, a nurse, the child born and lying in a manger
between an ox and an ass, and an angel speaking to the shepherds,
and to the players in the next pageant. Chandlers. — Shepherds speaking to one another, the star in the East.
an angel announcing to the shepherds their great joy in the child
which has been born. Goldsmiths, Goldbeaters and Moneyers. — Three kings coming
from the East, Herod questioning them about the child Jesus, and
the son of Herod and two counsellors and a herald. Mary with
the child, and the star above, and three kings offering gifts. (Formerly) The House of St. Leonard, (now) Masons. —
Mary, with the boy, Joseph, Anna, the nurse, with the young
doves. Simeon receiving the boy into his arms, and the two sons
of Simeon. Marshalls. — Mary with the boy and Joseph fleeing into Egypt, at the
bidding of the angel. Girdlers, Nailers, and Sawyers. — Herod ordering the male
children to be slain, four soldiers with lances, two counsellors of the
king, and four women weeping for the death of their sons. Spurriers and Lorimers. — Doctors, the boy Jesus sitting in the
temple in the midst of them, asking them questions and replying
to them, four Jews, Mary and Joseph seeking him, and finding
him in the temple. Barbers. — Jesus, John the Baptist baptizing him, and two angels
attending. Vinters. — Jesus, Mary, bridegroom with the bride, ruler of the feast
with his slaves, with six vessels of water in which the water is
turned into wine. Smiths. — Jesus on a pinnacle of the temple, and the devil tempting
him with stones, and two angels attending, etc.
ORDER OF THE PAGEANTS OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI PLAY. 31
Curriers. — Peter, James, and John ; Jesus ascending into a mountain and transfiguring himself before them. Moses and Elias appear- ing, and the voice of one speaking in a cloud.
Ironmongers. — Jesus, and Simon the leper asking Jesus to eat with him ; two disciples, Mary Magdalene bathing Jesus feet with her tears and drying them with her hair.
Plumbers and Patternmakers. — Jesus, two apostles, the woman taken in adultery, four Jews accusing her.
Pouchmakers, Bottlers, and Capmakers. — Lazarus in the sepulchre, Mary Magdalene and Martha, and two Jews wondering.
Spinners and Vestmakers. — Jesus on an ass with its colt, twelve apostles following Jesus, six rich and six poor, eight boys with branches of palm, singing Blessed, etc., and Zaccheus climbing into a sycamore tree.
Cutlers, Bladesmiths, Sheathers, Sealers, Bucklermakers, and Homers. — Pilate, Caiaphas, two soldiers, three Jews, Judas selling Jesus.
Bakers. — The passover lamb, the Supper of the Lord, twelve apostles, Jesus girded with a towel, washing their feet, institution of the sacra- ment of the body of Christ in the new law, communion of the apostles.
Cordwainers. — Pilate, Caiaphas, Annas, fourteen armed soldiers, Malchus, Peter, James, John, Jesus, and Judas kissing and betraying him.
Bowyers and Fletchers. — Jesus, Annas, Caiaphas, and four Jews beating and scourging Jesus. Peter, the woman accusing Peter, and Malchus.
Tapestrymakers and Couchers. — Jesus, Pilate, Annas, Caiaphas, two counsellors and four Jews accusing Jesus.
Littesters. — Herod, two counsellors, four soldiers, Jesus, and three Jews.
Cooks and Watercarriers. — Pilate, Annas, Caiaphas, two Jews, and Judas bringing back to them the thirty pieces of silver.
Tilemakers, Millers, Furriers, Hayresters, Bowlers. — Jesus, Pilate, Caiaphas, Annas, six soldiers holding spears with banners, and four others leading Jesus away from Herod, asking to have Barabbas released and Jesus crucified, and likewise binding and scourging him, and placing the crown of thorns upon his head ; three soldiers casting lots for the clothing of Jesus.
Shearmen. — Jesus, stained with blood, bearing the cross to Calvary. Simon of Cyrene, the Jews compelling him to carry the cross;
32 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
Mary the mother of Jesus ; John the apostle then announcing the con- demnation and passage of her son to Calvary. Veronica wiping the blood and sweat from the face of Jesus with a veil on which is imprinted the face of Jesus, and other women mourning for Jesus.
Pinmakers, Latenmakers, and Painters. — The cross, Jesus stretched upon it on the ground ; four Jews scourging Him and binding Him with ropes, and afterwards lifting the cross, and the body of Jesus nailed to the cross on Mount Calvary.
Butchers and Poultry Dealers. — The cross, two thieves crucified, Jesus hanging on the cross between them, Mary the mother of Jesus, John, Mary, James, and Salome. A soldier with a lance, a servant with a sponge, Pilate, Annas, Caiaphas, the centurion, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, placing Him in the sepulchre.
Saddlers, Glaziers and Joiners. — Jesus conquering hell; twelve spirits, six good, and six evil.
Carpenters. — Jesus rising from the sepulchre, four armed soldiers, and the three Marys mourning. Pilate, Caiaphas, and Annas. A young man seated at the sepulchre clothed in white, speaking to the women.
\Vinedrawers. — Jesus, Mary Magdalene with aromatic spices.
Brokers and Woolpackers. — Jesus, Luke, and Cleophas in the guise of travelers.
Scriveners, Illuminators, Pardoners and Dubbers. — Jesus, Peter, John, James, Philip, and the other apostles with parts of a baked fish, and a honey-comb ; and Thomas the apostle touching the wounds of Jesus.
Tailors. — Mary, John the evangelist, the eleven apostles, two angelfc, Jesus ascending before them, and four angels carrying a cloud.
Potters. — Mary, two angels, eleven apostles, and the Holy Spirk, descending upon them, and four Jews wondering.
Drapers. — Jesus, Mary, Gabriel with two angels, two virgins and three Jews of Mary's acquaintance, eight apostles, and two devils.
Linen-weavers. — Four apostles carrying the bier of Mary, and Fergus hanging above the bier, with two other Jews and an angel.
Woolen-weavers. — Mary ascending with a throng of angels, eight apostles, and the apostle Thomas preaching in the desert.
Innkeepers. — Mary, Jesus crowning her, with a throng of angels singing.
Mercers. — Jesus, Mary, the twelve apostles, four angels with trumpets, and four with a crown, a lance, and two whips, four good spirits, and four evil spirits, and six devils.
GILD OF ST. KATHARINE. 33
V. SOCIAL OB NON-INDUSTRIAL OILD&
From very early times organizations existed in the nature of semi-religious clubs or benefit societies, the membership being voluntary and quite unconnected with trade or manufacturing interests or responsibilities. The characteristic ten- dency of the Middle Ages to organization found much of its satisfaction in these small social or religious gilds, which existed not only in the larger towns but even in villages. They were moreover among the most permanent of mediaeval institu- tions. We have records of their existence alongside of the "frith-gilds" of Anglo- Saxon times ; a great proportion of the five hundred or more gilds which sent in reports of their ordinances in 1389 1 were of this class, and many were found among the "corporations, gilds, fraternities, companies and fellowships" dissolved in 1547.
RULES OF A GILD AT EXETER, BEFORE THE XL CENTURY. Anglo-Saxon; Thorpe, Diplomatarium. Anglicum, 613, and English ; Kemble, Saxons in England, i. 512, 513.
This assembly was collected in Exeter, for the love of God and for our soul's need, both in regard to our life here, and to the after days which we desire for ourselves by God's doom.
Now we have agreed that our meeting shall be thrice in the twelve months ; once at St. Michael's Mass, secondly at St. Mary's Mass, after mid-winter, and thirdly at Allhallow's Mass after Easter ; and let each gild-brother have two sesters of malt, and each young man one sester, and a sceat of honey ; and let the mass-priest at each of our meetings sing two masses, one for our living friends, the other for the dead ; and let each brother of common condition sing two psalters of psalms, one for the living and one for the dead ; and at the death of a brother, each man six masses ; or six psalters of psalms ; and at a death each man five pence ; and at a house-burning each man one penny. And if any one neglect the day, for the first time three masses, for the second five, and at the third time let him have no favor, unless his neglect arose from sickness or his lord's need. And if any one neglect his sub- scription at the proper day, let him pay double. And if any one of this brotherhood misgreet another, let him make boot with thirty pence. Now we pray for the love of God that every man hold this meeting rightly, as we rightly have agreed upon it. God help us thereunto.
1 Many of these are printed, and others epitomized in Toulmin Smith's "En- glish Gilds," published by the Early English Text Society in 1870.
34 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS
REPORT OF WARDENS OF THE GILD OF ST. KATHARINE
AT NORWICH, A. D. 1389. English : Toulmin Smith, English Gilds, pp. 19-21.
To the most excellent prince and lord, our lord Richard, by the grace of God, king of England and France, and to his council in his chancery, his humble lieges, the guardians of a certain fraternity of St. Katharine the virgin and martyr, in the church of St. Simon and St. Jude in Norwich, all subjection and reverence and honor. By vir- tue of a certain proclamation recently made according to royal com- mand by the sheriff of the county of Norfolk at Norwich, we certify to your excellency according to the form of the aforesaid proclamation, that our aforesaid fraternity was founded in the year 1307, by certain parishioners of the said church, and by others devoted to God, to the honor of the Holy Trinity, and of the blessed Virgin Mary, and of St. Katharine the virgin and martyr, and of all saints, and for keeping up an increase of light in the said Church ; under certain ordinances made and issued with common consent of the brothers and sisters of the aforesaid fraternity. The tenor of these ordinances follows in these words.
In the first place with one assent it is ordained that all the breth- ren and sisters of this gild shall come together to the parish church of St. Simon and St. Jude, in Norwich, on the day of St. Katharine, to go in the procession with their candle, which is borne before them, and to hear the mass of St. Katharine in the aforesaid church ; and at that mass every brother and sister shall offer a half-penny.
And also it is ordained that what brother or sister shall be absent at the procession aforesaid, or at mass, or at offering, he shall pay to the chattels of the gild two pounds of wax, but they may be excused reasonably.
And also it is ordained, that where a brother or a sister is dead, and every brother and sister shall come to dirige and to mass ; and at the mass, each shall offer a half-penny, and give a half-penny to alms ; and for a mass to be sung for the soul of the dead, a penny. And at the dirige, every brother and sister that is lettered shall say, for the soul of the dead, placebo and dirige, in the place where they shall come together ; and every brother and sister that is not lettered shall say for the soul of the dead, twenty times, the Paternoster, with ave Maria ; and from the chattels of the gild shall there be two candles of wax, of six- teen pounds weight, about the body of the dead.
And also it is ordained, that if any brother or sister die out of the city of Norwich, within eight miles, six of the brethren that have the
GILD OF ST. KATHARINE.
35
chattels of the gild in keeping, shall go to that brother or sister that . s dead ; and if it be lawful, they shall carry it to Norwich, or else it be buried there ; and if the body be buried out of Norwich, all the breth- ren and sisters shall be warned to come to the foresaid church of St. Simon and St. Jude, and there shall be done for the soul of the dead all service, light and offering as if the body were there present. And what brother or sister be absent at placebo and dirige, or at mass, he shall pay two pounds of wax to the chattels of the gild, unless he be reason- ably excused. And nevertheless he shall do for the dead as it is said before.
And also it is ordained that, on the morrow after the gild day all the brethren and sisters shall come to the aforesaid church, and there sing a mass of requiem for the souls of the brethren and sisters of this gild, and for all Christian souls, and each offer there a farthing. And whoso is absent he shall pay a pound of wax.
And also it is ordained that if any brother or sister fall into pov- erty, through adventure of the world, his estate shall be helped by every brother and sister of the gild, with a farthing in the week.
And also it is ordained by common assent that if there be any discord between brothers and sisters, that discord shall be first showed to other brothers and sisters of the gild, and by them shall accord be made, if it may be skillfully. And if they cannot be so brought to accord, it shall be lawful to them to go to the common law, without any maintenance. And whoso does against this ordinance, he shall pay two pounds of wax to the light.
Also it is ordained, by common assent, that if any brother of this gild be chosen into office and refuse it, he shall pay two pounds of wax to the light of St. Katharine.
Also it is ordained, by common assent, that the brethren and sisters of this gild, in the worship of St. Katharine, shall have a livery of hoods in suit, and eat together in their gild day, at their common cost ; and whoso fails, he shall pay two pounds of wax to the light.
Also it is ordained, by common assent, that no brother or sister shall be received into this gild but by the alderman and twelve brethren of the gild.
And as to the goods and chattels of the said fraternity, we make known to your excellency, likewise, that we the aforesaid guardians, have in our custody, for the use of the said fraternity, twenty shillings of silver.
36 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Gross, Charles : A Bibliography of British Municipal History, including Gilds and Parliamentary Representation, i vol. New York, 1897.
This is a remarkably complete list of all works on the subjects indicated by the title, accompanied with valuable comments and criticism.
Gross, Charles : The Gild Merchant. 2 vols. Oxford, 1890. The standard work on the subject.
Ashley, W. J. : English Economic History. 2 vols. New York, 1892.
The second chapter of the first volume gives an outline account of the mediaeval towns and gilds ; and the first three chapters of the second volume present a much more detailed and quite original study of the changes of the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Cunningham, W. : Growth of English Industry and Commerce. 2 vols. Cambridge, 1890.
Scattered through these two volumes is much valuable discussion of the subject, especially of the craft gilds.
Seligman, E. R. A. : Two Chapters on the Mediaeval Gilds. Publications of
the American Economic Association, Vol. II, No. 5. Baltimore, 1887.
Smith, J. T. : English Gilds. Publications of the Early English Text So- ciety. London, 1870.
An edition of the original ordinances, statutes, and customs of certain towns and craft and religious gilds, especially of the fourteenth century.
Brentano, L. J. : On the History and Development of Gilds.
An introductory essay to the preceding publication, but subsequently p«bl»l»«d separately.
TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS
FROM THE
ORIGINAL SOURCES OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. VOL. II. THE NAPOLEONIC PERIOD. No. 2.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
I. EXTRACTS FROM THE MEMOIRES OF MIOT DE MELITO. i
II. THE TREATIES OF CAMPO FORMIO AND OF LUNEVILLE. 3
The Secret Articles of Campo Fonnio, ... 4 The Peace of Luneville, ..... 8
III. THE DISSOLUTION OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. 13
Napoleon's Note to the German Diet, August I, 1806, 13 The Abdication of Francis II ...... 16
IV. DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM. 17
English Note to the Representatives of Neutral
Powers, May 16, 1806, ...... 18
The Berlin Decree, ...... 19
The English Order in Council of November n, 1807. 22
The Milan Decree, ....... 25
V. THE PRUSSIAN REFORM EDICT OF OCTOBER, 1807. 27
VI. DECREE REUNITING THE PAPAL DOMINIONS TO THE FRENCH
EMPIRE ......... 30
VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY ........... 32
NAPOLEON AND HIS PLANS IN 1796-97.
Extracts from the Memoires de Miot de Melito, Vol. I, Chapters IV and VI.
The 17th. Prairial1 Bonaparte arrived at Brescia. ... I found myself in his presence a few moments after he had alighted. I was strangely surprised at his appearance. Nothing could be farther from the picture which I had formed of him. I saw, in the midst of a numerous staff, a man below the medium height and extremely thin. His powdered hair, which was cut in a peculiar, square fashion below
1 June 5, 1796.
2 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
the ears, fell down to his shoulders. He had on a strait coat, closely buttoned up, decorated with a very narrow gold embroidery, and wore a tri-colored plume in his hat. At first glance theface did not seem to me a fine one, but the striking features, a quick and searching eye, and abrupt, animated gestures, proclaimed an ardent soul, while the broad, serious forehead showed a deep thinker. He had me sit down by him and we talked about Italy. His speech was quick and at this time very incorrect.
On the 13th of Prairial CJune 1st) I found Bonaparte at the mag- nificent residence of Moutebello,1 in the midst of a brilliant court rather than the headquarters of an army. Severe etiquette was already main- tained in his presence. His aides-de-camp and officers were no longer received at his table and he exercised great care in the choice of those whom he did admit, so that to sit down with him was considered a rare honor, to be obtained only with difficulty. He dined so to speak in pub- lic, and during the meal the inhabitants of the country were admitted to the dining room and allowed to feast their eyes upon him. He showed himself, however, in no way embarrassed or confused by this exhibition of esteem, and received them as if he had always been accustomed to such tributes. His salons and a great canopy which he had had raised in front of the palace toward the gardens, were constantly filled with a throng of generals, officials, and purveyors, as well as the highest no- bility and the most distinguished men of Italy who came to solicit the favor of a glance or a moment's conversation. . . . Bonaparte took us for a walk in the extensive gardens of his beautiful residence. The promenade lasted toward two hours, during which the general talked almost continuously. ..." What I have done so for is nothing," he said to us ; " I am but at the opening of the career I am to run. Do you suppose that I have gained my victories in Italy in order to advance the lawyers of the Directory, the Carnots and the Barras ? Do you think, either, that my object is to establish a Re- public ? What a notion ! A republic of thirty million people, with our morals and vices ! How could that ever be ? It is a chimera with which the French are infatuated but which will pass away in time like all the others. What they want is glory and the gratification of their vanity ; as for liberty, of that they have no conception. Look at
1 The interview here described took place a year later (1797) than that men- tioned in the preceding extract. Montebello is a villa just out of Milan.
THE TREATIES OF CAMPO FORMIO AND OF LUNEVILLE. 3
the army t The victories which we have just gained have given the French soldier his true character. I am everything to him. Let the Directory attempt to deprive me of my command and they will see who is master. The nation must have a head, a head rendered illustrious by glory and not by theories of government, fine phrases, or the talk of idealists, of which the French understand not a whit Let them have their toys and they will be satisfied. They will amuse themselves and allow themselves to be led, provided the goal is cleverly disguised."
THE TREATIES OF CAMPO FORMIO AND OF LUNEVILLE.
The Treaties of Campo Formic and of Luneville are closely related, since the results of Bonaparte's victories in 1796-7, which led to the former, were not per- manently undone by the temporary reverses experienced by the French during Bonaparte's absence in Egypt. Hence, after Marengo and Hohenlinden, we have in the treaty of Luneville the ratification of the agreements, both public and secret, of Campo Fonnio. The provisions of the treaties illustrate the unscrupu- lous manner in which Austria and France disposed of the lesser European States. The negotiations at Campo Formio inaugurated the system of rapid territorial re- distribution which characterizes the Napoleonic Period.
References : — Fyffe, Modem Europe, Vol. I ; HSusser Deutsche Geschichte, Bd. II.
The most important open articles of the treaty of Campo Formio are as follows : Art. I provides for a perpetual and inviolable peace between the contracting parties. Art. Ill reads : "His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and Bo- hemia, renounces for himself and his successors, in favor of the French Republic, all rights and titles to the former Belgian Provinces known under the name of the Austrian Netherlands. . . ." Art. V :" His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, consents that the French Republic shall possess in com- plete sovereignty the former Venetian Islands of the Levant, to wit : Corfu, Zante, Cephalonia, Santa Maura, Cerigo and other islands dependent upon them, as well as Butrinto, Arta, Vonizza, and in general all former Venetian stations in Albania, which are situated below the Gulf of Drino." l Art. VI : "The French Republic consents that His Majesty the Emperor and King, shall possess, with all sovereign and proprietary rights, the lands designated below, to wit : Istria, Dalmatia, the Islands of the Adriatic formerly belonging to Venice, the Mouths of the Cattaro, the City of Venice, the Lagunes, and the territories included between the heredi- tary possessions of His Majesty the Emperor and King, and a line, which, starting in Tyrol ' ' and crossing the Lake of Garda to La Cise, was to follow the Adige, the Canale Bianco and the Po to the Adriatic. Art. VIII : " His Majesty the
1 Situated immediately north of Durazzo.
4 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, recognizes the Cisalpine Republic as an independent power. This republic includes the former Austrian possessions in Lombardy, Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, the Town and Fortress of Mantua, with their surrounding territories, Peschiera, that portion of the former possessions of Venice to the west and south of the line designated in Art. VI as the frontier of the Italian possessions of His Majesty the Emperor, Modena, the Principality of Massa and Carrara and the three Legations of Bologna, Ferrara and Romagna. " Art. XVIII : " His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, en- gages to cede to the Duke of Modena, an indemnity for the possessions which this prince and his heirs held in Italy, the Breisgau, which he shall hold upon the same conditions in virtue of which he possessed Modena." Art. XX: "A Congress shall be held at Rastadt, composed exclusively of the plenipotentiaries of the Ger- manic Empire and of the French Republic, with a view to the establishment of peace between these powers. The Congress shall be opened a month after the signing of the present treaty, or sooner if possible." The other articles deal with the raising of sequestration, the responsibility for debts, the cessation of hostilities, etc.
SECRET ARTICLES OF THE TREATY OF CAMPO FORMIO, OCTOBER 17, 1797.
Translated from the French version in Martens, Recueil des principaux Traites, Tome VI, pp. 426, sqq.
ARTICLE I. — His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, consents that the limits of the French Republic shall extend to the Hue designated below and pledges himself to use his good offices in order that, in establishing peace with the German Empire, the French Republic may obtain this same boundary, to wit :
The left bank of the Rhine from the Swiss frontier l>elow Basle to the confluence of the Nette above Andernach, including the tete de pont at Mannheim on the right bank of the Rhine and the town and fortress of Mainz, both banks of the Nette, from its mouth to its source near Bruch, from here a line passing through Senscherode and Borlei to Kerpen and from this town to Udelhofen, Blankeuheim, Marmagen, Jacteuigt, Cale and Gmiind, including the suburbs and surrounding districts of these places, then the two banks of the OlflT to its junction with the Roer, the two banks of the Roer including Heimbach, Nideg- gen, Du'ren, and Julich, with their suburbs and surrounding districts as well as the villages on the river and their surrounding districts as far as Limnich ; from here a line passing RofFenis and Thalens, Dalen, Hilas, Papdermod, Laterforst, Radenberg, Haversloo (if this lies upon
SECRET ARTICLES OF CAMPO FORMIO 5
the line), Anderheide, Kalderkirchen, Wambach, Herringen and Gro- bray with the town of Venloo and its surrounding territory.1 If, in spite of the good offices of His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, the German Empire should not consent to the acqui- sition by the French Republic of the frontier above indicated, His Majesty, the Emperor and King, formally engages not to furnish more than his contingent to the army of the Empire, which may not be em- ployed in the fortresses without thereby interfering with the peace and amity just established between his said Majesty and the French Re- public.
ART. II. — His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, will further use his good offices during the negotiations for peace with the German Empire in order that, First, the navigation of the Rhine shall be free to the French Republic and to the states of the Empire situated on the right bank of this river from Hiiningen to the point where it reaches the Batavian Republic ;
Secondly, to arrange that the one in possession of that part of Germany opposite the mouth of the Moselle shall never upon any pre- text whatsoever hinder the free navigation and exit of boats or other craft from the mouth of this river ;
Thirdly, that the French Republic shall enjoy the free navigation of the Meuee, and that all tolls and other dues which may be estab- lished from Venloo to the point where the river enters- Batavian terri- tory, shall be suppressed.
ART. III. — His Majesty the Emperor and King, renounces, on his own part and for his successors, the sovereignty over, and possession of, the County of Falkenstein2 and its dependencies, in favor of the French Republic.
ART. IV. — The territories which His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, is to possess in virtue of Article VI of the op'en, definitive treaty signed this day, shall serve as an indemnity for those territories which he cedes by Articles III and VII of the open treaty and by the preceding article. This cession shall not, however, have force until the troops of His Majesty the Emperor and King shall occupy the territory acquired by the said article.
1 The places mentioned in this article are, with few exceptions, too insignifi- cant to be found even on good maps.
2 A isolated bit of Austrian territory about twenty miles west of Worms.
6 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
ART. V. — The French Republic will employ its good offices in order that His Majesty the Emperor may acquire in Germany the Archbishopric of Salzburg, and that portion of the Circle of Bavaria situated between the Archbishopric of Salzburg, the rivers Inn aud Salzach and Tyrol, including the city of Wasserburg on the right1 bank of the Inn, with the surrounding territory within a radius of 3000 toises.3
ART. VI. — His Majesty the Emperor and King agrees to cede to the French Republic, when peace shall be concluded with the Empire, the sovereignty and possession of the Frickthal, as well as all the pos- sessions of the House of Austria on the left bank of the Rhine between Zurzach* and Basle, provided that in the above-mentioned peace His Majesty shall obtain a proportionate compensation in Germany which shall be satisfactory.
The French Republic shall unite the said districts to the Helvetian Republic, according to an arrangement to be made between the said countries, without prejudice, however, to His Majesty the Emperor and King, or to the Empire.
ART. VII. — It is understood between the two contracting powers that if, in arranging the pending peace with the German Empire, the French Republic shall make an acquisition in Germany, His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, shall obtain an equivalent there, and conversely if His Royal and Imperial Majesty make an acquisition of this kind, the French Republic shall similarly receive an equivalent.
ART. VIII. — A territorial indemnity shall be given to the Prince of Nassau-Dietz, formerly Stadtholder of Holland, but this territorial indemnity shall not be chosen in the neighborhood of the Austrian possessions nor of the Batavian Republic.
ART. IX. — The French Republic will find no trouble in restoring to the King of Prussia his possessions on the left bank of the Rhine. Hence there will be no question of any new acquisitions on the part of the King of Prussia. To this the contracting parties mutually pledge themselves.
1 Wasserburg lies on the left bank of the Inn. 'Equals about 6.4 English feet.
* Zurzach is on the Rhine above Basle, and the territory in question, to the south of the river, forms geographically a part of Switzerland.
SECRET ARTICLES OF CAMPO FORMIC. 7
ART. X. — If the King of Prussia consents to cede to the French Republic and to the Batavian Republic certain small portions of his possessions upon the left bank of the Meuse1, as well as the enclave of Zevenaar and other possessions toward the Yssel, His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, will employ his good offices to render the said cessions practicable, and to cause them to be recognized by the German Empire. The failure to carry out the pres- ent article shall not affect the preceding one.
ART. XL — His Majesty the Emperor will not oppose the disposi- tion which the French Republic has made in favor of the Ligurian Republic of the Imperial Fiefs.2 His Majesty the Emperor will unite his efforts with those of the French Republic to induce the German Empire to renounce such rights of suzerainty as it may have in Italy, especially over the districts which form a part of the Cisalpine and Ligurian Republics, as well as over the Imperial Fiefs, such as Lusiguana and all those lying between Tuscany and the possessions of Parma, the Ligurian and Luccan Republics, and the former territory of Modena, the which fiefs shall form a part of the Cisalpine Republic.
ART. XII. — His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, and the French Republic, will unite their efforts in order that, in negotiating peace with the German Empire, the different Princes and States of the Empire which shall suffer losses of territory and of rights in consequence of the stipulations of the present treaty of peace, or, later, in consequence of the treaty which shall be concluded with the German Empire, shall obtain appropriate indemnities in Germany ; which indemnities shall be determined in common accord with the French Republic. This applies especially to the Electors of Mainz, Trier and Cologne, the Elector Palatine of Bavaria, the Duke of Wiir- temberg and Teck, the Margrave of Baden, the Duke of Zweibriicken, the Landgraves of Hesse-Cassel and of Hesse- Darmstadt, the Princes of Nassau-Saarbrucken, of Salm-Kyrburg, Lowenstein-Wertheim and of Wiedrunkel and the Count of Leyen.
ART. XIII. — The troops of His Majesty the Emperor shall evacuate within twenty days after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, the city and fortress of Mainz, Ehrenbreitstein, Philippsburg, Mannheim, Konigsstein, Ulm and Ingolstadt, as well as
1 A portion of Ober-Geldern, west and north of Venloo. 1 These had been annexed to the Ligurian Republic.
8 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
all the territory belonging to the Germanic Empire as far as his hered- itary possessions.
ART. XIV. — The present secret articles shall have the same force as if they were inserted word for word in the open treaty of peace signed to-day. These shall be ratified at the same time by the contracting parties and the acts of ratification shall be exchanged in due form at Rastadt.
Done and signed at Campo Formio, October 17, 1797. (The 27th VendSmiaire of the year six of the French Republic, One and Indivisible.)
BONAPARTE.
THE MARQUIS OF GALLO.
Louis, COUNT OF COBENZL.
THE COUNT OF MEIRVELDT, MAJOR-GENERAL.
THE BARON OF DEGELMANN.
THE PEACE OF LUNEVILLE OF 1801.
From the French version given by P. A. G. von Meyer ; Corpus juris Con- fcederationis Germanicse, ad ed., Vol. I, pp. zsqq .
His Majesty the Emperor, the King of Hungary and of Bohemia, and the First Consul of the French Republic, in the name of the French people, induced by a common desire to put an end to the evils of war, have resolved to proceed to the conclusion of a definitive treaty of peace and amity. His said Imperial and Royal Majesty desiring no less sincerely to extend the benefits of peace to the German Empire, and the existing conditions not affording the necessary time for consult- ing the Empire, or permitting its representatives to take part in the negotiations, has resolved, in view of the concessions made by the Deputation of the Empire at the recent Congress of Rastadt, to treat in the name of the German Union, as has happened before under similar circumstances.
Hence the contracting parties have named the following as their plenipotentiaries :
His Imperial and Royal Majesty, the Sieur Louis, Count of Cobenzl, Minister of Conferences and Vice Chancellor of the Court and of State, etc.
The First Consul of the French Republic, in the name of the
THE PEACE OF LUNfiVILLE. 9
French people, Citizen Joseph Bonaparte, Councillor of State. These having exchanged their credentials, have agreed upon the following Articles :
ARTICLE I. — Peace, amity and a good understanding shall here- after exist forever between His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, acting both in his own name and in that of the Ger- man Empire, and the French Republic ; His Majesty agreeing that the said Empire shall ratify the present treaty in due form. The contract- ing parties shall make every effort to maintain a perfect agreement between themselves, and to prevent the commission of any acts of hostility by land or sea upon any ground or pretence whatsoever ; striving in every way to maintain the concord thus happily re-estab- lished. No aid or protection shall be given either directly or indirectly to any one attempting to injure either of the contracting parties.
ART. II. — The cession of the former Belgian Provinces to the French Republic, stipulated in Article III of the Treaty of Campo Formio, is renewed here in the most solemn manner. His Majesty the Emperor and King therefore renounces for himself and his successors, as well on his own part as on that of the German Empire, all right and title to the above specified provinces, which shall be held in perpetuity by the French Republic in full sovereignty and proprietary right, together with all territorial possessions belonging to them. His Im- perial and Royal Majesty cedes likewise to the French Republic, with the due consent of the Empire : 1. The County of Falkenstein with its dependencies ; 2. The Frickthal and all the territory upon the left bank of the Rhine between Zurzach and Basle belonging to the House of Austria ; the French Republic reserving the future cession of this district to the Helvetian Republic.
ART. III. — Moreover, in confirmation of Article VI of the Treaty of Campo Formio, His Majesty the Emperor and King shall possess in full sovereignty and proprietary right the countries enumerated below, to wit : Istria, Dalmatia and the Islands of the Adriatic, formerly be- longing to Venice, dependent upon them ; the Mouths of the Cattaro, the City of Venice, the Lagunes, and the territory included between the hereditary States of His Majesty the Emperor and King, the Adriatic Sea and the Adige from the point where it leaves Tyrol to that where it flows into the Adriatic, the thalweg1 of the Adige forming the bound-
1 A technical term of international law meaning the centre of the deepest chan- nel of a navigable stream.
IO TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
ary line. And since by this line the cities of Verona and Porto-Leg- nago are separated into two parts, draw-bridges indicating the frontier shall be established in the middle of the bridges connecting the two parts of the said towns.
ART. IV. — Article XVIII of the Treaty of Campo Formio is like- wise renewed inasmuch as His Majesty the Emperor and King agrees to cede to the Duke of Modena, as an indemnity for the territory which this prince and his heirs possessed in Italy, the Breisgau, which he shall possess upon the same conditions as those upon which he held Modeua.
ART. V. — It is farther agreed that His Eoyal Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany shall renounce for himself, his successors or possible claimants, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and that part of the Island of Elba belonging to it, as well as all rights and titles resulting from the possession of the said states, which shall hereafter be held in full sover- eignty and proprietary right by His Royal Highness the Infante Duke of Parma. The Grand Duke shall receive a complete and full in- demnity in Germany for the loss of his states in Italy. The Grand Duke shall dispose according to his pleasure of such possessions as he holds, particularly in Tuscany, whether by personal acquisition or by inheriting the personal acquisitions of the late emperor his father, His Majesty the Emperor Leopold II, or his grandfather, the Emperor Francis I. It is farther agreed that debts due the state, public institu- tions or other property of the Grand Duchy, as well as the debts duly secured by mortgage upon this country, shall pass to the new Grand Duke.
ART. VI. — His Majesty the Emperor and King, consents not only on his part but upon the part of the German Empire that the French Republic shall hereafter possess in full sovereignty and proprietary right the territory and domains lying on the left bank of the Rhine and forming a part of the German Empire, so that, in conformity with the concessions granted by the Deputation of the Empire at the Congress of Rastadt and approved by the Emperor, the Thalweg of the Rhine shall hereafter form the boundary between the French Republic and the German Empire from that point where the Rhine leaves Helvetian ter- ritory to the point where it reaches Batavian territory. In view of this the French Republic formally renounces all possessions whatsoever upon the right bank of the Rhine and agrees to restore to their owners the following places: Dusseldorf, Ehrenbreitstein, Philippsburg, the fortress of Cassel and other fortifications across from Mainz on the right
THE PEACE OF LUNEVILLE. II
bank of the stream, and the fortress of Kehl and Alt Breisach, uuder the express provision that these places and forts shall continue to exist in the condition in which they are left at the time of the evacuation.
ART. VII. — Since in consequence of this cession made by the Empire to the French Republic various Princes and States of the Em- pire find themselves individually dispossessed in part or wholly of their territory, while the German Empire should collectively support the losses resulting from the stipulations of the present treaty, it is agreed between His Majesty the Emperor and King (both on his part and upon the part of the German Empire) and the French Republic that, in accordance with the principles laid down at the Congress of Rastadt the Empire shall be bound to furnish the hereditary princes who have lost possessions upon the left bank of the Rhine an indemnity within the Empire, according to such arrangements as shall be determined later in accordance with the stipulations here made.
ART. VIII-IX. — [Relate to financial matters.]
ART. X. — The contracting parties shall also raise all sequestra- tions due to the war, placed upon the goods, dues or revenues of the subjects of His Majesty the Emperor, or of the Empire, within the ter- ritory of the French Republic, or of French citizens in the territories of His said Majesty or of the Empire.
ART. XI. — The present treaty of peace,- especially Articles VIII, IX, X and XV (below), is declared to be common to the Bataviau, Helvetian, Cisalpine and Ligurian Republics. The contracting parties mutually guarantee the independence of the said republics and the freedom of the inhabitants of the said countries to adopt such form of government as they shall see fit.
ART. XII. — His Majesty the Emperor and King renounces for himself and for his successors in favor of the Cisalpine Republic all rights and titles depending upon such rights, which His Majesty might assert over the territories in Italy which he possessed before the war and which, according to the terms of Article VIII of the Treaty of Campo Formio, now form a part of the Cisalpine Republic which shall hold them in full sovereign and proprietary right together with all the ter- ritorial possessions dependent upon them.
ART. XIII. — His Majesty the Emperor and King confirms both in his own name and in the name of the German Empire the sanction already given by the Treaty of Campo Formio to the union of the former Imperial Fiefs to the Ligurian Republic and renounces all
12 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
claims and titles resulting from these claims upon the said fiefs.
ART. XIV. — In accordance with Article XI of the Treaty of Campo Formio the navigation of the Adige, forming the boundary be- tween the territory of his Imperial and Royal Majesty and of the Cisal- pine Republic, shall be free, and neither government may establish there any tolls or maintain any vessel of war.
ART. XV. — All prisoners of war made by either party, as well as hostages given or received during the war who have not yet been re- turned, shall be given back during the forty days following the date of the signature of the present treaty.
ART. XVI. — [Relates to the disposal of the personal possessions of the dispossessed Austrian princes in Italy.]
ART. XVII.— Articles XII, XIII, XV, XVI, XVII and XXIII of the Treaty of Campo Formio are particularly to be mentioned in order that their provisions may be fully executed as if they were in- serted word for word in the present treaty.
ART. XVIII. — No farther exactions of military supplies or of contributions of any kind shall be made after the date upon which the ratifications of the present treaty shall be exchanged between His Majesty the Emperor and the German Empire upon the one hand, and the French Republic upon the other.
ART. XIX. — The present treaty shall be ratified by His Majesty the Emperor and King, the Empire and the French Republic within a period of thirty days, or sooner, if possible, and it is farther understood that the armies of the two powers shall remain in their present positions both in Germany and Italy until the said ratifications of the Emperor and King, of the Empire and of the French Republic shall have been simultaneously exchanged at LuneVille between the respective plenipo- tentiaries. It is also agreed that within ten days after the exchange of the said ratifications, the armies of His Imperial and Royal Majesty shall be withdrawn into his hereditary possessions, which shall be evacuated within the same space of time by the French armies ; and within thirty days after the said exchange the French armies shall have completely evacuated the territory of the said Empire.
Done and signed at LuneVille, February 9, 1801. (The 20th Pluviose of the year Nine of the French Republic.)
Signed, Louis, COUNT OF COBENZL.
JOSEPH BONAPARTE.1
1 The promulgation and ratification, in Latin, of the above Articles by the Em- peror are omitted. The treaty was raliiied by the Imperial Diet at Regensburg, March 7, 1801.
DISSOLUTION OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. 13
DISSOLUTION OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.
In no country were the effects of Napoleon's policy more striking or impor- tant than in Germany. The cession of the Left Bank of the Rhine implied a com- plete territorial reconstruction of the remainder of Germany, since the dispossessed princes were to be indemnified within the Empire. This led to the great Imperial Recess (Reichsdeputationshauptschluss) of 1803. The ecclesiastical states and the free imperial towns were, with few exceptions, incorporated in the neighboring states. The map of Germany was in this way much simplified, especially as the knights were within a few years illegally deprived of their independence by the newly created " sovereigns " within whose dominions their territories lay. The treaty of Pressburg recognized the rulers of Bavaria and Wiirtemberg as kings and (article 14) provided that they, with the elector of Baden, should enjoy " the pleni- tude of sovereignty " and all rights derived therefrom precisely as did the Emperor and the king of Prussia. Nor was the Emperor to hinder in any way any mani- festation of this sovereignty. This, by explicitly abolishing the dependence of its members, rendered the existence of the old Imperial union impossible. The Con- stitution of the Confederation of the Rhine was drawn up at Paris, the future mem- bers being allowed very little influence in its formation. Napoleon had no desire to unify Germany but wished to maintain several independent states or groups of states which could be easily controlled. The characteristic document given below was the method taken of informing the Diet of the creation of the new Confederation of the Rhine. This was almost immediately followed by the abdication of the Emperor, who in this way, formally put an end to the most imposing office, with that of the Pope, ever conceived by political thinkers.
Droysen's Historischer Handatlas, map 45, gives a clear view of the changes in 1803. Many more changes looking toward a farther simplification of Germany are found in the Act of the Confederation of the Rhine. Hausser Deutsche Geschichte II 657 gives an admirable account of the formation of this union. The best special maps of Wiirtemberg, Bavaria and Baden before the unification are to be found in the later editions of PuUger's Historischer Handatlas (costing only two marks).
THE MESSAGE OF NAPOLEON ANNOUNCING TO THE DIET THE FORMATION OF THE CONFEDERA- TION OF THE RHINE.
August /, 1806.
From the French, Meyer Corpus juris Confoederationis Germanicae, 2nd. Ed. I, lot seq., also Martens' Recueil, VIII, 492.
The undersigned, charge d'affaires of His Majesty the Emperor of the French and King of Italy at the general Diet of the Germnn Empire, has received orders from His Majesty to make the following declarations to the diet :
14 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
Their Majesties the Kings of Bavaria and of Wurtemberg, the Sovereign Princes of Regensburg, Baden, Berg, Hesse- Darmstadt aud Nassau, as well as the other leading princes1 of the south and west of Germany have resolved to form a confederation between themselves which shall secure them against future emergencies, and have thus ceased to be states of the Empire.
The position in which the Treaty of Pressburg has explicitly placed the courts allied to France, and indirectly those princes whose territory they border or surround, being incompatible with the existence of aa empire, it becomes a necessity for those rulers to reorganize their rela- tions upon a new system and to remove a contradiction which could not fail to be a permanent source of agitation, disquiet and danger.
France, on the other hand, is directly interested in the mainte- nance of peace in Southern Germany and yet must apprehend that, the moment she shall cause her troops to recross the Rhine, discord, the inevitable consequence of contradictory, uncertain and ill-defined con- ditions, will again disturb the peace of the people and reopen, possibly, the war on the continent. Feeling it incumbent upon her to advance the welfare of her allies and to assure them the enjoyment of all the advantages which the Treaty of Pressburg secures them aud to which she is pledged, France cannot but regard the confederation that they have formed as a natural result and a necessary sequel to that treaty.
For a long period successive changes have, from century to cen- tury, reduced the German constitution to a shadow of its former self. Time has altered all the relations in respect to size and importance which originally existed among the various members of the confedera- tion, both as regards each other and the whole of which they have formed a part.
The Diet has no longer a will of its own. The sentences of the superior courts can no longer be executed. Everything indicates such serious weakness that the federal bond no longer offers any protection whatever and only constitutes a source of dissension and discord between the powers. The results of three coalitions have increased this weak- ness to the last degree. An electorate has been suppressed by the an- nexation of Hanover to Prussia. A king in the north has incorporated with his other lands a province of the Empire2 The Treaty of 1 The confederation was joined from time to time by many more German states. 'This probably refers to the incorporation of Pomerania by the King of Sweden (June 1806).
MESSAGE OF NAPOLEON TO THE DIET. 15
Pressburg assures complete sovereignty to their majesties the Kings of Bavaria and of Wiirtemberg and to His Highness the Elector of Baden. This is a prerogative which the other electors will doubtless demand, and which they are justified in demanding; but this is in harmony neither with the letter nor the spirit of the constitution of the Empire.
His Majesty the Emperor aud King is, therefore, compelled to de- clare that he can no longer acknowledge the existence of the German Constitution, recognizing, however, the entire and absolute sovereignty of each of the princes whose states compose Germany to-day, maintain- ing with them the same relations as with the other independent powers of Europe.
His Majesty the Emperor and King has accepted the title of Pro- tector of the Confederation of the Rhine. He has done this with a view only to peace, and in order that by his constant mediation between the weak and the powerful he may obviate every species of dissension and disorder.
Having thus provided for the dearest interests of his people and of his neighbors, and having assured, so far as in him lay, the future peace of Europe and that of Germany in particular, heretofore constant- ly the theatre of war, by removing a contradiction which placed people and princes alike under the delusive protection of a system contrary both to their political interests and to their treaties, His Majesty the Emperor and King trusts that the nations of Europe will at last close their ears to the insinuations of those who would maintain an eternal war upon the continent. He trusts that the French armies which have crossed the Rhine have done so for the last time, and that the people of Germany will no longer witness, except in the annals of the past, the horrible pictures of disorder, devastation and slaughter which war in- variably brings with it.
His Majesty declared that he would never extend the limits of France beyond the Rhine and he has been faithful to his promise. At present his sole desire is so to employ the means which Providence has confided to him as to free the seas, restore the 151>erty of commerce and thus assure the peace aud happiness of the world.
BACKER. Beyensburg, August 1, 1806.
1 6 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
THE ABDICATION OF FRANCIS II.
From the German : Meyer Corpus juris Confoederationis Germanics, 2 Ed., I. 107
We, Francis the Second, by the Grace of God Roman Emperor Elect, Ever August, Hereditary Emperor of Austria, etc., King of Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Slavonia, Galizia, Lodomeria and Jerusalem ; Archduke of Austria, etc.
Since the peace of Pressburg all our care and attention has been directed towards the scrupulous fulfillment of all engagements contract- ed by the said treaty, as well as the preservation of peace so essential to the happiness of our subjects, and the strengthening in every way of the friendly relations which have been happily re-established. We could but await the outcome of events in order to determine whether the important changes in the German Empire resulting from the terms of the peace would allow us to fulfill the weighty duties which, in view of the conditions of our election, devolve upon us as the head of the Empire. But the results of certain articles of the Treaty of Pressburg, which showed themselves immediately after and since its publication, as well as the events which, as is generally known, have taken place in the German Empire, have convinced us that it would be impossible under these circumstances farther to fulfill the duties which we assumed by the conditions of our election. Even if the prompt re- adjustment of existing political complications might produce an altera- tion in the existing conditions, the convention signed at Paris, July 12th, and approved later by the contracting parties, providing for the complete separation of several important states of the Empire and their union into a separate confederation, would entirely destroy any such hope.
Thus, convinced of the utter impossibility of longer fulfilling the duties of our imperial office, we owe it to our principles and to our h6nor to renounce a crown which could only retain any value in our eyes so long as we were in a position to justify the confidence reposed in us by the electors, princes, estates and other members of the German Empire, and to fulfill the duties devolving upon us.
We proclaim, accordingly, that we consider the ties which have hitherto united us to the body politic of the German Empire as hereby dissolved ; that we regard the office and dignity of the imperial head- ship as extinguished by the formation of a separate union of the Rhen- ish States, and regard ourselves as thereby freed from all our obligations
ABDICATION OF FRANCIS II. 17
toward the German Empire ; herewith laying down the imperial crown which is associated with these obligations, and relinquishing the imperial government which we have hitherto conducted.
We free at the same time the electors, princes and estates and all others belonging to the Empire, particularly the members of the supreme imperial courts and other magistrates of the Empire, from the duties constitutionally due to us as the lawful head of the Empire, Converse- ly, we free all our German provinces and imperial lands from all their obligations of whatever kind, towards the German Empire. In uniting these, as Emperor of Austria, with the whole body of the Austrian state we shall strive, with the restored and existing peaceful relations with all the powers and neighboring states, to raise them to the height of prosperity and happiness, which is our keenest desire, and the aim of our constant and sincerest efforts.
Done at our capital and royal residence, Vienna, August 6, 1806, in the fifteenth year of our reign as Emperor and hereditary ruler of the Austrian lands.
FRANCIS,
t1* S'J JOHN PHILIP COUNT OF STADION.
DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM.
Napoleon's cherished plan of conquering the sea by the land originated with the Directory, which conceived the hope, as early as 1796, of forcing the English people to cry for peace, by ruining their commerce. It was stoutly maintained by the French government at that time that a neutral flag could not protect enemy's goods, and the harshest measures were taken with regard to neutral traders. [See decrees in American State Papers ; Foreign Relations, Vol. Ill, 288, and in the Annual Register ; see also Mallet du Pan, Correspondance avec la Cour de Vienne, II, 118 and 150]
Napoleon felt, in the exuberance of victory after the battle of Jena, that the time had come for putting his plans for excluding England from the Continent into execution. Prussia in occupying Hanover had issued a proclamation excluding British trade, March 28, 1806. England immediately declared the mouths of the Ems, Weser, Elbe and Trave in a state of blockade (April 8). This was followed by the more comprehensive blockade announced in the first document given below, which was sent to all the representatives of neutral powers then at London. The policy of England served Napoleon as an excuse for his Berlin Decree, although he was undoubtedly actuated by other motives in issuing it. January 7, 1807, England answered with an order in Council prohibiting coast trade between the ports of the enemy or of his allies. This was deemed insufficient after the ministry
1 8 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
had learned of the secret articles of the Treaty of Tilsit, and three orders were issued November II, establishing an undisguised "paper" blockade; the most important of the three being reprinted here. The vague, cumbrous phraseology of these decrees became notorious, and it was necessary to issue supplementary and explanatory orders, five of which appeared November 25. One of these es- tablished the rule that licenses had to be procured from the English government by neutral traders. Napoleon replied with the Milan decree, and the President of the United States ordered the first embargo December 22, 1807. Later decrees were issued by Napoleon in enforcing his system ; ior example that of Bayonne (April 17, 1808) ordered the custom officials to confiscate all American vessels in French ports. That of the Trianon (August 5, 1810) was directed against smuggling and that of Fontainbleau (October 18, 1810) ordered all English goods which could be seized to be publicly burnt. Finally the annexation of the coast of the North Sea in December, 1810, was justified upon the ground that England had rendered the measure necessary by her commercial policy.
The tax imposed by England upon the cargoes of neutral ships which is re- ferred to in the Milan Decree consisted, apparently, in the export duties which neutral traders (after being required to enter a British port) were forced to pay be- fore they were allowed to proceed upon their voyage. Professor McMaster gives an account of the practical workings of the system, so far as American ships were concerned, which he takes from the Baltimore Evening Post of September 2 and 27, 1808. The newspaper estimates that on her outward voyage, let us say to Holland with 400 hogsheads of tobacco, an American ship would pay England l)4d per pound on the tobacco and 125 for each ton of the ship. With $100 for the license and sundry other dues, the total amounted to toward $13,000. On the home voyage with a cargo, let us say, of Holland gin the American trader paid perhaps #16,500, making the total charges paid to Great Britain for a single voyage $3 1 , ooo. {History of the People of the Un ited States III 308-0. )
See for this subject Henry Adams' History of the United States, Vol. IV,, Chapter IV. Alison, History of Europe, Book L : Theirs, Consulate and Empire, Book XXVI.
NOTE TO REPRESENTATIVES OF NEUTRAL POWERS.
Reprinted from American State Papers (Foreign Relations), Vol. Ill, p. 267.
DOWNING STREET, May 16, 1806.
The undersigned, His Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has received His Majesty's commands to acquaint Mr. Monroe, that the King, taking into consideration the new and extra- ordinary means resorted to by the enemy for the purpose of distressing the commerce of his subjects, has thought fit to direct that the necessary measures should be taken for the blockade of the coast, rivers and ports, from the river Elbe to the jx>rt of Brest, both inclusive ; and the said
NOTE TO REPRESENTATIVES OF NEUTRAL POWERS. 1 9
coast, rivers aud ports are and must be considered as blockaded ; but that His Majesty is pleased to declare that such blockade shall not extend to prevent neutral ships aud vessels, laden with goods not being the property of His Majesty's enemies, and not being contraband of war, from approaching the said coast, and entering into and sailing from the said rivers and ports (save and except the coast, rivers and ports from Ostend to the river Seine, already in a state of strict and rigorous block- ade, and which are to be considered as so continued), provided the said ships and vessels so approaching and entering (except as aforesaid), shall not have been laden at any port belonging to or in the possession of any of His Majesty's enemies ; and that the said ships and vessels so sailing from said rivers and ports (except as aforesaid) shall not be destined to any port belonging to or in possession of any of His Majes- ty's enemies, nor have previously broken the blockade.
Mr. Monroe is therefore requested to apprise the American consuls and merchants residing in England, that the coast, rivers and ports above mentioned, must be considered as being in a state of blockade, and that from this time all the measures authorized by the law of nations and the respective treaties between His Majesty and the differ- ent neutral powers, will be adopted and executed with respect to vessels attempting to violate the said blockade after this notice.
The undersigned requests Mr. Monroe, etc. C. J. Fox.
THE BERLIN DECREE.
Translated from the French ; Correspondance de Napoleon I er. Vol. 13. FROM OUR IMPERIAL CAMP AT BERLIN, November 21, 1806.
Napoleon, Emperor of the French and King of Italy, in consider- ation of the fact :
1. That England does not recognize the system of international law universally observed by all civilized nations.
2. That she regards as an enemy every individual belonging to the enemy's state, and consequently makes prisoners of war not only of the crews of armed ships of war but of the crews of ships of commerce and merchantmen, and even of commercial agents and of merchants travel- ing on business.
3. That she extends to the vessels and commercial wares and to
2O TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
the property of iudividuals the right of conquest, which is applicable only to the possessions of the belligerant power.
4. That she extends to unfortified towns and commercial ports, to harbors and the mouths of rivers, the right of blockade, which, in ac- cordance with reason, arid the customs of all civilized nations, is appli- cable only to strong places. That she declares places in a state of blockade before which she has not even a single ship of war, although a place may not be blockaded except it be so completely guarded that no attempt to approach it can be made without imminent danger. That she has declared districts in a state of blockade which all her united forces would be unable to blockade, such as entire coasts and the whole of an empire.
5. That this monstrous abuse of the right of blockade has no other aim than to prevent communication among the nations and to raise the commerce and the industry of England upon the ruins of that of the continent.
6. That, since this is the obvious aim of England, whoever deals on the continent in English goods, thereby favors and renders himself an accomplice of her designs.
7. That this policy of England, worthy of the earliest stages of barbarism, has profited that power to the detriment of every other nation.
8. That it is a natural right to oppose such arras against an enemy as he makes use of, and to fight in the same way that he fights. Since England has disregarded all ideas of justice and every high senti- ment, due to the civilization among mankind, we have resolved to apply to her the usages which she has ratified in her maritime legislation.
The provisions of the present decree shall continue to be looked upon as embodying the fundamental principles of the Empire until England shall recognize that the law of war is one and the same on land and sea, and that the rights of war cannot be extended so as to in- clude private property of any kind or the persons of individuals uncon- nected with the profession of arms, and that the right of blockade should be restricted to fortified places actually invested by sufficient forces.
We have consequently decreed and do decree that which follows :
ARTICLE I. — The British Isles are declared to be in a state of blockade.
AKT. II. — All commerce and all correspondence with the British Isles are forbidden. Consequently letters or packages directed to
THE BERLIN DECREE. 21
England or to an Englishman or written in the English language shall not pass through the mails and shall be seized.
ART. III. — Every individual who is an English subject, of what- ever state or condition he may be, who shall be discovered in any country occupied by our troops or by those of our allies, shall be made a prisoner of war.
ART IV. — All warehouses, merchandise or property of whatever kind belonging to a subject of England shall be regarded as a lawful prize.
ART. V. — Trade in English goods is prohibited, and all goods be- longing to England or coming from her factories or her colonies are de- clared a lawful prize.
ART. VI. — Half of the product resulting from the confiscation of the goods and possessions declared a lawful prize by the preceding articles shall be applied to indemnify the merchants for the losses they have experienced by the capture of merchant vessels taken by English cruisers.
ART. VII. — No vessel coming directly from England or from the English colonies or which shall have visited these since the publication of the present decree shall be received in any port.
ART. VIII. — Any vessel contravening the above provision by a false declaration shall be seized, and the vessel and cargo shall be con- fiscated as if it were English property.
ART. IX. — Our Court of Prizes at Paris shall pronounce final judgment in all cases arising in our Empire or in the countries occupied by the French Army relating to the execution of the present decree. Our Court of Prizes at Milan shall pronounce final judgment in the said cases which may arise within our Kingdom of Italy.
ART. X. — The present decree shall be communicated by our minister of foreign affairs to the King of Spain, of Naples, of Holland and of Etruria, and to our other allies whose subjects like ours are the victims of the unjust and barbarous maritime legislation of England.
ART. XI. — Our ministers of foreign affairs, of war, of the navy, of finance and of the police and our Directors General of the port are charged with the execution of the present decree so far as it affects them.
(Signed),
Done by the Emperor, NAPOLEON.
HUGUE MARET,
Ministerial Secretary of State,
22 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
ORDER IN COUNCIL OF NOVEMBER, 11, 1807.
Reprinted from American State Papers (Foreign Relations), Vol. Ill, pp. 269- 70. Also in the Annual Register for 1807, p. 746 ff.
At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the nth of November, 1807 : Present, the King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council.
Whereas certain orders establishing an unprecedented system of warfare against this kingdom, and aimed especially at the destruction of its commerce and resources, were some time since issued by the Gov- ernment of France, by which "the British islands were declared to be in a state of blockade," thereby subjecting to capture and condemna- tion all vessels, with their cargoes, which should continue to trade with His Majesty's dominions :
And, whereas, by the same order, " all trading in English mer- chandise is prohibited, and every article of merchandise belonging to England, or coming from her colonies, or of her manufacture, is de- clared lawful prize :"
And, whereas, the nations in alliance with France, and under her control, were required to give, and have given, and do give, effect to such orders :
And, whereas, His Majesty's order of the 7th. of January last lias not answered the desired purpose, either of compelling the enemy to recall those orders, or of inducing neutral nations to interpose, with effect, to obtain their revocation, but on the contrary, the same have been recently enforced with increased rigor :
And, whereas, His Majesty, under these circumstances, finds him- self compelled to take further measures for asserting and vindicating his just rights, and for supporting that maritime power which the exer- tions and valor of his people have, under the blessings of Providence, enabled him to establish and maintain ; and the maintenance of which is not more essential to the safety and prosperity of His Majesty's dominions, than it is to the protection of such states as still retain their independence, and to the general intercourse and happiness of man- kind :
His Majesty is therefore pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, that all the ports and places of France and her allies, or of any other country at war with His Majesty, and all other ports or places in Europe, from which, although not at war with His Majesty, the British flag is excluded, and all ports
ORDER IN COUNCIL OF NOVEMBER II, 1807. 2$
or places in the colonies belonging to His Majesty's enemies, shall, from heiiceforth, be subject to the same restrictions in point of trade and navi- gation, with the exceptions hereinafter mentioned, as if the same were actually blockaded by His Majesty's naval forces, in the most strict and rigorous manner : And it is hereby further ordered and declared, that all trade in articles which are of the produce or manufacture of the said countries or colonies shall be deemed and considered to be unlawful ; and that every vessel trading from or to the said countries or colonies, together with all goods and merchandise on board, and all articles of the produce or manufacture of the said countries or colonies, shall be captured and condemned as a prize to the captors.
But, although His Majesty would be fully justified by the circum- stances and considerations above recited, in establishing such system of restrictions with respect to all the countries and colonies of his enemies, without exception or qualification, yet His Majesty being, nevertheless, desirous not to subject neutrals to any greater inconvenience than is absolutely inseparable from the carrying into effect His Majesty's just determination to counteract the designs of his enemies, and to retort upon his enemies themselves the consequences of their own violence and injustice ; and being yet willing to hope that it may be possible (con- sistently with that object) still to allow to neutrals the opportunity of furnishing themselves with colonial produce for their own consumption and supply, and even to leave open, for the present, such trade with His Majesty's enemies as shall be carried on directly with the ports of His Majesty's dominions, or of his allies, in the manner hereinafter mentioned.
His Majesty is, therefore, pleased further to order and it is hereby ordered, that nothing herein contained shall extend to subject to capture or condemnation any vessel, or the cargo of any vessel, belonging to any country not declared by this order to be subjected to the restrictions incident to a state of blockade, which shall have cleared out with such cargo from some port or place of the country to which she belongs, either in Europe or America, or from some free port in His Majesty's colonies, under circumstances in which such trade, from such free ports, is permitted, direct to some port or place in the colonies of His Majes- ty's enemies, or from those colonies direct to the country to which such vessel belongs, or to some free port in His Majesty's colonies, in such cases, and with such articles, as it may be lawful to import into such free port ; nor to any vessel, or the cargo of any vessel, belonging to any
24 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
country not at war with His Majesty, which shall have cleared out under such regulations as His Majesty may thiuk fit to prescribe, and shall be proceeding direct from some port or place in this kingdom, or from Gibraltar, or Malta, or from any port belonging to His Majesty's allies, to the port specified in her clearance ; nor to any vessel, or the cargo of any vessel, belonging to any country not at war with His Majesty, which shall be coming from any port or place in Europe which is declared by this order to be subject to the restrictions incident to a state of blockade, destined to some port or place in Europe belong- ing to His Majesty, and which shall be on her voyage direct thereto ; but these exceptions are not to be understood as exempting from cap- ture or confiscation any vessel or goods which shall be liable thereto in respect to having entered or departed from any port or place actually blockaded by His Majesty's squadrons or ships of war, or for being enemy's property, or for any other cause than the contravention of this present order.
And the commanders of His Majesty's ships of war and privateers, and other vessels acting under His Majesty's commission, shall be, and are hereby, instructed to warn every vessel which shall have commenced her voyage prior to any notice of this order, and shall be destined to any port of France or of her allies or of any other country at war with His Majesty or any port or place from which the British flag, as afore- said, is excluded, or to any colony belonging to His Majesty's enemies, and which shall not have cleared out as is hereinbefore allowed, to discontinue her voyage, and to proceed to some port or place in this kingdom, or to Gibraltar or Malta ; and any vessel which, after having been so warned or after a reasonable time shall have been afforded for the arrival of information of this His Majesty's order at any port or place from which she sailed, or which, after having notice of this order, shall be found in the prosecution of any voyage contrary to the restric- tions contained in this order, shall be captured, and, together with her cargo, condemned as lawful prize to the captors.
And, whereas, countries not engaged in the war have acquiesced in these orders of France, prohibiting all trade in any articles the produce or manufacture of His Majesty's dominions ; and the merchants of those countries have given countenance and effect to those prohibitions by accepting from persons, styling themselves commercial agents of the enemy, resident at neutral ports, certain documents, termed "certificates of origin," being certificates obtained at the ports of shipment, declaring
THE MILAN DECREE. 25
that the articles of the cargo are not of the produce or manufacture of His Majesty's dominions, or to that effect.
And, whereas, this expedient has been directed by France, and submitted to by such merchants, as part of the new system of warfare directed against the trade of this kingdom, and as the most effectual instrument of accomplishing the same, and it is therefore essentially necessary to resist it.
His Majesty is therefore pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, that if any vessel, after reasonable time shall have been afforded for receiving notice of this His Majesty's order, at the port or place from which such vessel shall have cleared out, shall be found carrying any such certificate or document as aforesaid, or any document referring to or authenticating the same, such vessel shall be adjudged lawful prize to the captor, together with the goods laden therein, belonging to the person or persons by whom, or on whose behalf, any such document was put on board.
And the right honorable the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, His Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, the Lords Com- missioners of the Admiralty, and the Judges of the High Court of Admiralty, and Courts of Vice-Admiralty, are to take the necessary measures herein as to them shall respectively appertain.
W. FAWKENEB.
THE MILAN DECREE.
Translated from Cor r espondance de Napoleon ter, No. 13,391 (Vol 16). At Our Royal Palace at Milan, December 17, 1807.
Napoleon, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine. In view of the measures adopted by the British government on the llth. of November last by which vessels belonging to powers which are neutral or are friendly and even allied with England are rendered liable to be searched by British cruisers, detained at certain stations in England, and subject to an arbitrary tax of a certain per cent upon their cargo to be regulated by English legis- lation.1
Considering that by these acts the English government has dena- tionalized the vessels of all the nations of Europe, and that no government
Introductory note above, page 18.
26 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
may compromise in any degree its independence or its rights — all the rulers of Europe being jointly responsible for the sovereignty and inde- pendence of their flags, — and that, if through unpardonable weakness which would be regarded by posterity as an indelible stain, such tyranny should be admitted and become consecrated by custom, the English would take steps to give it the force of law, as they have already taken advantage of the toleration of the governments to establish the infamous principle that the flag does not cover the goods and to give the right of blockade an arbitrary extension which threatens the sovereignty of every state : We have decreed and do decree as follows :
ARTICLE I. — Every vessel of whatever nationality which shall submit to be searched by an English vessel or-fihall consent to a voyage to England, or shall pay any tax whatever to the English government is ipao facto declared denationalized, loses the protection afforded by its flag and becomes English property.
ART. II. — Should such vessels which are thus denationalized through the arbitrary measures of the English government enter our ports or those of our allies or fall into the hands of our ships of war or of our privateers they shall be regarded as good and lawful prizes.
ART. III. — The British Isles are proclaimed to be in a state of blockade both by land and by sea. Every vessel of whatever nation or whatever may be its cargo, th. at sails from the ports of England or from those of the English colonies or of countries occupied by English troops, or is bound for England or for any of the English colonies or any country occupied by English troops, becomes, by violating the present decree, a lawful prize, and may be captured by our ships of war and adjudged to the captor.
ART. IV. — These measures, which are only a just retaliation against the barbarous system adopted by the English government, which models its legislation upon that of Algiers, shall cease to have any effect in the case of those nations which shall force the English to respect their flags. They shall continue in force so long as that govern- ment shall refuse to accept the principles of international law which regulate the relations of civilized states in a state of war. The provi- sions of the present decree shall be ipso facto abrogated and void so soon as the English government shall abide again by the principles of the law of nations, which are at the same time those of justice and honor.
ART. V. — All our ministers are charged with the execution of the present decree, which shall be printed in the Bulletin des lou.
THE PRUSSIAN REFORM EDICT. 27
THE PRUSSIAN REFORM EDICT OF OCTOBER 9, 1807.
The first great step towards the radical reform of the Prussian Kingdom was made by the proclamation of the royal ordinance given below. As Professor Seeley has said : " It is not generally the spirit of progress, as is often imagined, which brings about great reforms in a country, but the pressure of need." The disasters of Jena and the humiliation of Tilsit forced the government to undertake an entire reorganization of the state. The document before us represents only certain aspects of the change and includes, for example, no innovations in the administrative sys- tem, which were made later (December 16, 1808). It is as important to note what the decree does not contain as to study its actual provisions. An instructive com- parison may be made with the decree abolishing the Feudal System in France. [Trans, and Reprints, Vol. I, Number V.] Stein does not appear to have been personally responsible for the contents of the decree which is based upon a com- mittee report submitted to the King (August 17, 1807), before Stein was recalled. Great pains were taken, it will be noticed to avoid excessive innovation. No pro- vision was made for dissolving the joint proprietorship in the land enjoyed by lord and tenant. This was not carried out until September 14, l8ll, under the min- istry of Hardenberg, Stein assuming no responsibility in the matter.
Seeley, Life and Times of Stein, gives, Part III, Chapters III and IV, an account of the preparation of the edict. For additional explanation see Hausser Deutsche Gesc hichte, III, i2off,*lso¥yffeffistoryo/Moderu£urope, 1,349.
From the German : Gese tz-Samm lung fur die KoniglichenPreussischenStaa ten 1806-10. Anhang, pp. 170-173.
We, Frederick William, by the Grace of God King of Prussia, etc., etc., Hereby make known and give to understand : Since peace has been established we have been occupied before everything else with the care for the depressed condition of our faithful subjects and the speediest revival and greatest possible improvement in this respect We have considered that in face of the prevailing want the means at our disposal would be insufficient to aid each individual, and even if they were we could not hope to accomplish our object, and that, more- over, in accordance with the imperative demands of justice and the principles of a judicious economic policy it behooves us to remove every obstacle which has hitherto prevented the individual from attaining such a state of prosperity as he was capable of reaching. We have farther considered that the existing restrictions both on the possession and enjoyment of landed property and on the personal condition of the agri- cultural laborer especially interfere with our benevolent purpose and disable a great force which might be applied to the restoration of culti- vation, the former by their prejudicial influence upon the value of landed
28 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
property and the credit of the proprietor, the latter by diminishing the value of labor. We desire therefore to reduce both kinds of restric- tions so far as the common well-being demands and accordingly ordain the following:
§ 1. Every inhabitant of our States is competent, without any limitation on the part of the State, to own or mortgage landed property of every kind. The noble may therefore own not only noble but also non-noble, citizen and peasant lands of every kind and the citizen and peasant may possess not only citizen, peasant and other non-noble, but also noble tracts of land, without in any case needing special permission for any acquisition whatever, although henceforth, as before, every change of ownership must be announced to the authorities. All privi- leges which are possessed by noble over citizen inheritances are entirely abolished, as well as the restrictions and suspension of certain property rights based upon the personal status of the holder.
Special laws shall still continue to regulate the right of those to acquire land who are by reason of their religious beliefs precluded from performing all the duties of citizenship.
§ 2. Every noble is henceforth permitted, without any derogation from his station, to engage in citizen occupation and every citizen or peasant is allowed to pass from the peasant into the citizen class or from the citizen into the peasant class.
§ 3. A legal right of pre-emption and of prior claim shall exist hereafter only in the case of superior proprietors, of the lessors of estates on perpetual leases or to copy holders, and of co-proprietary owners, and where a tract of land is sold which is confused with or surrounded by other holdings.
§ 4. The possessors of alienable landed property of all kinds, whether in town or country, are allowed, after* due notice given to the provincial authority, reserving the rights of those holding mortgages and those enjoying rights of pre-emption (§ 3), to separate the principal estate from its appurtenances, and in general to alienate lands piece- meal. In the same way co-proprietors may divide among them property owned in common.
§ 5. Every landowner, including those holding feudal or entailed estates, is, without any restrictions except the previous announcement to the provincial authorities, permitted to lease in perpetuity not only single peasant holdings, taverns, mills and other appurtenances but outlying
THE PRUSSIAN REFORM KDICT. 2Q
land ( Vorwerks-laiid) as well, either entire or iu parts. Nor shall the superior proprietor, the successors to the feudal or entailed holding or the mortgage holder be entitled to prevent this upon any grounds it' the preliminary payments be applied to the payment of the first mort- gage, or, in the case of feudal and entailed estates where no mortgage exists, it be applied to the entail or fee, and provided, so far as the unsatisfied claims of the mortgage holders are concerned, it be attested by the Provincial Government Law office or by the Provincial authori- ties that the leasing of the land is not disadvantageous to these.1
§6. If a lauded proprietor finds himself unable to restore and maintain the several peasant holdings existing upon an estate which are not held hereditarily either on a perpetual lease or of copyhold, he is required to inform the authorities of the province, with the sanction of which the consolidation of several holdings into a single peasant estate or with outlying land shall be permissible so soon as serfdom shall have ceased to exist on the estate. The provincial authorities will be pro- vided with special instructions to meet these cases.
§ 7. If, on the contrary, the peasants' holdings are hereditary whether in virtue of a perpetual lease or of copy hold, the consolidation or other change in the condition of the land in question is not admissi- ble until the rights of the previous owner are extinguished, whether by the sale of the land to the lord or in some other legal way. In this case the provisions of § 6 shall apply as well to this species of holdings.
§ 8. Every possessor of feudal or entailed property is empowered to raise the sums required to replace the losses caused by the war by mortgaging the estates themselves and not simply the revenue from them, provided that the application of the funds is attested by the Landrath of the Circle or by the Direction of the District Department From the close of the third year after the contracting of the debt the possessor and his successor are bound to pay off at least a fifteenth part of the capital annually.
§ 9. Any feudal connection not subject to a chief proprietor, any family settlement or entail, may be altered at pleasure or entirely alwlished by a resolution of the family, as has already been enacted in regard to the Fiefs of East Prussia (except those of Ermelaudj in the East Prussian Provincial Law, appendix 36.
§ 10. From the date of this ordinance no new relation of serfdom
1 This article is so technical as to render an accurate and clear translation al- most impossible.
3O TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
whether by birth or marriage, or by assuming the position of a serf, or by contract can be created.
§11. With the publication of the present ordinance the existing relations of serfdom of those serfs, with their wives and children, who possess their peasant holdings by inheritance, or in their own right, or by perpetual leases or of copy hold shall cease entirely together with all mutual rights and duties.
§ 12. From Martinmas, one thousand eight hundred and ten (1810) all serfdom shall cense throughout our whole realm. From Martinmas 1810 there shall be only free persons, as is already the case upon the royal domains in all our provinces, free persons, however, still subject, as a matter of course, to all obligations which bind them as free persons by reason of the possession of an estate or by virtue of a special contract.1
To this declaration of our supreme will everyone whom it may concern and in particular our provincial authorities and other officials are exactly and dutifully to conform and the present ordinance is to be universally made known,
Authentically under our own royal signature, given at Meinel, October 9, 1807. FREDERICK WILLIAM,
Schrotter, Stein, Schrotter II.
THE DECREE UNITING THE PAPAL STATES TO THE FRENCH EMPIRE, MAY, 1809.
The French had occupied the Pap"al States as early as April, 1808. The re- lations between Napoleon and the Pope were very strained. The latter hail, for example, forbidden the Bishops in the Legations to take the oath to their new ruler. After the battle of Aspern the Pope excommunicated Napoleon, who in his turn ordered the Pope to be arrested (July, 1809). February 17, 1810, the Slates of the church were, by a Senatus Consulte, formally annexed to France as two new departments.
1 These general provisions abolishing serfdom were so vague as to be misun- derstood. The King therefore issued an official explanation later (Publicandum relating to Silesia and Glatz of April 8, 1809 ; Gesetz-Sammbung 1806-10 pp. 557 ff.) which serves to enlighten us upon the exact nature of the personal de- pendence of the serf. This consisted, for example, in the right of the lord to de- mand three years' service from children of his serfs, and to control them in later life in the matter of occupation and marriage. The former serf is permitted by the new law to engage in any industry he may choose and to leave the manor, if he wishes, without demanding the consent of the lord.
DECREE UNITING PAPAL STATES TO FRENCH EMPIRE. 31
From the Correspondance de Napoleon ler. No. 15,219, Vol. 19.
Napoleon, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, etc., in consideration of the fact that when Charlemagne, Emperor of the French and our august predecessor, granted several counties to the Bishops of Rome he ceded these only as fiefs and for the good of his realm and Rome did not by reason of this cession cease to form a part of his empire ; farther that since this asso- ciation of spiritual and temporal authority has been and still is a source of dissensions and has but too often led the poiitifs to employ the influence of the former to maintain the pretentious of the latter, and thus the spiritual concerns and heavenly interests which are unchanging have been confused with terrestrial affaire which by their nature alter according to circumstances and the policy of the time ; and since all our proposals for reconciling the security of our armies, the tranquillity and the welfare of our people and the dignity and integrity of our Empire, with the temporal pretentious of the Popes have failed, we have decreed and do decree what follows ;
ARTICLE 1. The Papal States are reunited to the French Empire.
ARTICLE 2. The City of Rome, so famous by reason of the great memories which cluster about it and as the first seat of Christianity, is proclaimed a free imperial city. The organization of the government and administration of the said city shall be provided by a special statute.
ARTICLE 3. The remains of the structures erected by the Romans shall be maintained and preserved at the expense of our treasury.
ARTICLE 4. The public debt shall become an imperial debt
ARTICLE 5. The lands and domains of the Pope shall be increased to a point where they shall produce an annual net revenue of two millions.
ARTICLE 6. The lands and domains of the Pope as well as his palaces shall be exempt from all taxes, jurisdiction or visitation, and shall enjoy special immunities.
ARTICLE 7. On the first of June of the present year a special coTifiulttis shall take possession of the Papal States in our name and shall rnnke the necessary provisions in order that a constitutional system shall be organized and may be put in force on January first 1810.
Given at our Imperial Camp at Vienna, May 17th, 1809.
NAPOLEON.
32 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
INTRODUCTORY BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Sloane, William M., Napoleon Bonaparte. 4 vols. Century Co. An elabor- ate and impartial treatment of Napoleon's life ; beyond a doubt the best for the student except perhaps Fournier's shorter treatment mentioned below, giving full lists of authorities at end of fourth volume.
Lanfrey, Pierre : History of Napoleon. 4 vols. Macmillan. (Translated from the French.)
This work was interrupted by the author's death, and reaches only to the close oflSll. The treatment of Napoleon is harsh. While the writer makes constant use of the best historical source, Napoleon's own letters, his attitude is unfair,' and the motives ascribed for Napoleon's policy are always the lowest. The work forms an excellent antidote to that of Thiers.
Thiers, History of the Consulate and Empire. Several editions of the English translation are available.
Thiers shows an unmistakable tendency, especially in the earlier half of his work, unduly to glorify the Napoleonic regime. The sources relied upon are, moreover, very rarely cited. The work is, nevertheless, important and is proba- bly the most interesting history in twenty volumes ever written, the style and ar- rangement being a justifiable source of pride to the author.
Fournier, August, Napoleon der Erst. 3 vols. Leipsig and Prague. Two of the three volumns of this work may be had in a French translation. Excellent in every way, and contains the most complete bibliography of the period. Superior to Mr. Sloane 's biography on account of the attention given to the important changes in Europe resulting from Napoleon's invasions. The German original costs but a dollar, bound, and the work is indispensible to students who can read German or French.
Taine, The Modern Regime. Chapters I and II.
The author gives us in a short space a most fascinating, brilliant and suggest- ive analysis of Napoleon's policy and genius.
Good short accounts of the history of Europe during the Napoleonic period are furnished by Fyffe, History of Modern Europe, Vol. I. Rose, J. H. The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Period.
THE SOURCES.
La Correspondance de Napoleon, icr. 32 vols.
This collection of Napoleon's letters, though far from complete, is of primary importance.
Memoires. Of these there are a great number.
Those of Miot de Melito and of Madame de RZmusat are to be had in English and are both trustworthy and interesting. The latter is especially to be recommended for the general reader. The Memoires of the Baron de Marbot (available in English) give good accounts of many of the most famous military episodes.
The Journal of Saint Helena, by Las Cases, as well as the more elaborate Memoires dictated by Napoleon during his exile, are sometimes suggestive, al- though inaccurate in the extreme, as is shown by a comparison with the Corres- pondance. The literature of Saint Helena deluded the world for a time, as Napoleon intended it should.
For farther iaformation in regard to the vast literature of the subject, the student is referred to Fournier's excellent bibliographical appendices above noted.
TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS
FROM THE
ORIGINAL SOURCES OF EUROPEAN HISTORY.
VOL. II. THE MEDIEVAL STUDENT. No. 3.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
L PRIVILEGES OF THE STUDENTS.
Privilege of Frederick I. for the Students. 1158, . 2 Privilege of Philip Augustus in favor of the Students
at Paris. 1200, . . . . .4
Statutes of Gregory IX. for the University of Paris,
1231, 7
II. THE COURSES OF STUDY.
Statutes of Robert de Courcon for Paris. 1215, . 12
Library of Theological Books given to the University
of Paris. 1271, . . . . .15
The Course in Medicine. 1270-74, . . .16
III. CONDEMNATION OF ERRORS.
Ten Errors Condemned at Paris. 1241, . . 17
IV. LIFE OF THE STUDENTS.
Account of Students given by Jacques de Vitry, . 19
V. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE, . . . . . .21
In order to give greater unity to this short pamphlet, the editor has selected material for the period before 1300 and almost exclusively for the University of Paris. This was the great model for later universities. Bologna was copied by most of the Italian universities, by Montpellier and Grenoble in France, and to some extent by the universities of Spain. Paris was the model followed by other French universities, by the English, Ger- man, and for the most part by the Spanish and Portuguese. Duboulay could say with truth that most of the others were daughters of the mother university in Paris. See Rashdall, passim; Denifle, 132, 760 ft passim under the different universities; and Corupayre", 61 ff.
2 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
I. PRIVILEGES OF THE STUDENTS.
The students of the French universities were considered to be members of the church and were styled clerici. They enjoyed the same privileges as the other members of the church. In addition, both kings and popes granted privileges; the kings were anxious to keep the students in their domains; the popes, by their grants, brought the students more directly under the authority of the church, and thus increased their own power. Many of the popes, too, had studied at the universities.
Frederick's grant is often called the first privilege to a university; and it is generally said it was enacted for Bologna. Although it may have been obtained by the influence of the Bolognese doctors, it was granted to students in general; Bologna is not named. The historical poem on which CJiese- brecht and Winkelmann relied to prove that it was for Bologna is undoubt- edly a forgery. A good discussion of this privilege can be found in Denifle; Universitaten des Mittelalters, I, 48 ff, and 133 ff, and in Rashdall, I, 145 f.
The first royal privilege for Paris, which has been preserved, was granted by Philip Augustus. In it we find him supporting the students against his own officer, the provost. We must always remember that in those days, when there were no university buildings, it was very easy for a whole uni- versity to decamp, and that this sometimes happened. The departure of the students was a real blow to the prosperity of any city.
Gregory's statutes have been called the Magna Charta of the University of Paris. Here we find the pope, too, supporting the students against his own officer, the chancellor. The students had actually dispersed and had taken an oath not to return. By this act the pope established their privileges firmly, in spite of opposition from the queen. Possibly the most curious privilege is the right to suspend all courses. This was so much abused that, in 1256, Alexander IV. tried to modify it (Chart. I, No. 284), but to little purpose. It was the most effective weapon that the university could wield, and was used on the slightest provocation. This privilege was restricted by Pius II, and was lost in 1499.
Compayre" has a well-written chapter on the privileges of the universities in his " Abelard and the Origin and Early History of Universities." The subject is also discussed at length and with great learning by Rashdall, es- pecially in Vol. I.
PR I VI LEG E OF FREDERICK 7. FOR THE STUDENTS. 1158. Mon. Germ. Hist. LL. II. H41. Latin.
After a careful consideration of this subject by the bishops, abbots, dukes, counts, j udges, and other nobles of our sacred palace,
1 According to Denifle I, 50, the text of this document in the Monumenta it very defective. 1 have not had access to any better edition.
PRIVILEGE OP FREDERICK I. FOR THE .STUDENTS. 3
we, from our piety, have granted this privilege to all scholars who travel for the sake of study, and especially, to the professors1 of divine and sacred laws, namely, that they may go in safety to the places in which the studies are carried on, both they themselves and their messengers, and may dwell there in security. For we think it fitting that, during good behavior, those should enjoy our praise and protection, by whose learning the world is en- lightened to the obedience of God and of us, his ministers and the life of the subjects is moulded; and by a certain special love we defend them from all injuries.
For who does not pit}7 those who exile themselves through love for learning, who wear themselves out in poverty in place of riches, who expose their lives to all perils and often suffer bodily injury from the vilest men — this must be endured with vexation. There- fore, we declare by this general and ever to be valid law, that in the future no one shall be so rash as to venture to inflict any in- jury on scholars, or to occasion any loss to them on account of a debt owed by an inhabitant of their province — a thing which we have learned is sometimes done by an evil custom. And let it be known to the violators of this constitution, and also to those who shall at the time be the rulers of the places, that a four-fold resti- tution of property shall be exacted from all and that, the mark of infamy bt-ing affixed to them by the law itself, they shall lose their office forever.
Moreover, if any one shall presume to bring a suit against them on account of any business, the choice in this matter shall be given to the scholars, who may summon the accusers to appear before their professors* or the bishop of the city, to whom we have given jurisdiction in this matter. But if, in sooth, the accuser shall attempt to drag the scholar before another judge, even if his cause is a very just one, he shall lose his suit for such an attempt.
' The use of this word has given rise to much discussion. Savigny thinks the privilege is intended especially for the professors of law at Bologna. But the wording in the other passages shows that the privilege was intended for the scholars. The best brief discussion is in Deuifle I, 56 ff.
'The Latin reads, coram domino aut magistro suo vel ipsius civifalis episcopo. Dominus probably applies to the instructor in law and magister to the instructor in the other branches, so I have rendered the two by "pro- fessor," following Deuifle I, 58.
4. TRANSLATIONS AXD REPRINTS.
We also order this law to be inserted amoug the imperial con- stitutions under the title, nefilius pro patre, etc.
Given at Roncaglia, in the year of our Lord 1158, in the month of November.
PRIVILEGE OF PHILIP AUGUSTUS IN FA VOR OF THE STUDENTS AT PARIS? 1200.
Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis I, No. I, p. 59. Latin.
In the Name of the sacred and indivisible Trinity, amen. Philip, by the grace of God, King of the French. Let all men know, now and in the future, that for the terrible crime owing to which five of the clergy and laity at Paris were killed by certain malefactors, we shall do justice as follows: that Thomas, then provost, concerning whom more than all others the students have complained, because he denies the deed, we shall consign to per- petual imprisonment, in close confinement, with meagre fare, as long as he shall live ; unless, perchance, he shall choose to undergo publicly at Paris the ordeal by water. If he attempts that and fails, he shall be condemned. If he succeeds, never henceforth at Paris nor anywhere else in our own land shall he be our provost or bailiff ; nor elsewhere, if we are able to prevent it ; nor shall he in the future enter Paris.
And if through the full and legal examination, which we have entrusted to two of our faithful servants, Walter, the chamberlain, and Philip de Levis [to be conducted] without making any ex- ception of persons, by the invocation of the Christian faith and by the fidelity which they owe to us, their liege lord, and through the oath which they have sworn to us concerning our honor and advice, we are able to learn what further we can and ought to do in the matter, we will do it without any hesitation, for God's honor and our own. Moreover, concerning the others who are in prison for the same crime, we will act thus : we will detain them in perpetual imprisonment, in our custody, unless they prefer to undergo the ordeal by water and to prove their innocence by God's witness. If they fail in that, we shall consider them con- demned ; unless, perchance, some of them having been fully tried
1 See Rashdall, I, 296, or Roger de Hoveden, in Rolls Series, IV, 120, for the cause of this decree.
PRIVILEGE OF PHILIP AUGUSTUS. 5
shall be found innocent, or being found less guilty, shall be freed from captivity by us, on the intercession of the scholars.1 Those, moreover, who have fled we consider ipso facto condemned, and we shall cause all the counts in our land to swear that they will dili- gently seek them out and if they are able to seize any one of them, they will seize him and send him to us at Paris.
Also, concerning the safety of the students at Paris in the future, by the advice of our subjects we have ordained as follows: we will cause all the citizens of Paris to swear that if any one sees an injury done to any student by any layman, he will testify truthfully to this, nor will any one withdraw in order not to see [the act]. And if it shall happen that any one strikes a student, except in self-defense, especially if he strikes the student with a weapon, a club or a stone, all laymen who see [the act] shall in good faith seize the malefactor or malefactors and deliver them to our judge; nor shall they withdraw in order not to see the act, or seize the malefactor, or testify to the truth. Also, whether the malefactor is seized in open crime or not, we will make a legal and full examination through clerks or laymen or certain lawful persons; and our count and our judges shall do the same. And if by a full examination we or our judges are able to learn that he who is accused, is guilty of the crime, then we or our judges shall immediately inflict a penalty, according to the quality and nature of the crime; notwithstanding the fact that the criminal may deny the deed and say that he is ready to defend himself in single com- bat, or to purge himself by the ordeal by water.
Also, neither our provost nor our judges shall lay hands on a student for any offence whatever; nor shall they place him in our prison, unless such a crime has been committed b)^ the student, that he ought to be arrested. And in that case, our judge shall arrest him on the spot, without striking him at all, unless he re- sists, and shall hand him over to the ecclesiastical judge, who ought to guard him in order to satisfy us and the one suffering the injury. And if a serious crime has been committed, our judge shall go or shall send to see what is done with the student. If, indeed, the student does not resist arrest and yet suffers any in- jury, we will exact satisfaction for it, according to the aforesaid
1 Students asked to be allowed to settle the matter for themselves by flogging them "after the manner of scholars."
6 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
examination and the aforesaid oath. Also our judges shall not lay hands on the chattels l of the students at Paris for any crime whatever. But if it shall seem that these ought to be sequestrated, they shall be sequestrated and guarded after sequestration by the ecclesiastical judge, in order that whatever is judged legal by the church, may be done with the chattels. But if students are ar- rested by our count at such an hour that the ecclesiastical judge can not be found and be present at once, our provost shall cause the culprits to be guarded in some student's house without any ill-treatment, as is said above, until they are delivered to the ecclesiastical judge.
Concerning the lay servants of the students, who do not owe to us burgensiam"1 or residential*?, and do not live by traffic, and through whom the scholars do not do any injury to any one, it shall be as follows : neither we nor our judge shall lay hands on them unless they commit an open crime, for which we or our judge ought to arrest them. In accordance, truly, with the tenor of the privilege which we have granted to the students at Paris, we are not willing that the canons of Paris and their servants should be included in this privilege. But we wish the servants of the canons at Paris and the canons of the same city to have the same liberty which our predecessors ought to have granted to them and which we ought to. Also, on account of the above-mentioned conventions or on account of this charter, we shall not be liable to lawsuit except in our own courts.
In order, moreover, that these [decrees] may be kept more care- fully and may be established forever by a fixed law, we have de- cided that our present provost and the people of Paris shall affirm by an oath, in the presence of the scholars, that they will carry out in good faith all the above-mentioned. And always in the future, whosoever receives from us the office of provost in Paris, among the other initiatory acts of his office, namely, on the first or second Sunday, in one of the churches of Paris, — after he has been summoned for the purpose, — shall affirm by an oath, publicly
1 See Rashdall, I, 297 ff.
1 Burgensia was the fixed annual tax which a burgher paid to the lord of the borough on the dwellings which he owned in the borough. Ducange.
1 Residentia was the right of a feudal lord to compel a vassal or tenant to live within the confines of his fief or to have a dwelling there.
STATUTES OF GREGORY IX. FOR UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. 7
in the presence of the scholars, that he will keep iu good faith all the above-mentioned. And that these decrees may be valid for- ever, we have ordered this document to be confirmed by tht authority of our seal and by the characters of the royal name, signed below.
Done near Betisi in the I2coth year of the Incarnation of oui Lord, in the 2ist year of our reign, those being present in oui palace whose names and signs are placed below.
The office of Seneschal vacant. Seal of Guy, the Cup-bearer. Seal of Matthew, the Chamberlain. Seal of Drogo, the Constable Done during a vacancy (monogram) in the Chancellorship.
STATUTES OF GREGORY IX. FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS.1 1231.
Char. Univ. Paris. I, No. 79, p. 136. Latin.
Gregory, the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his b» loved sons, all the masters and students at Paris — greeting dnf apostolic benediction.
Paris, the mother of sciences, like another Cariath Sepher, r, city of letters, stands forth illustrious, great indeed, but concern- ing herself she causes greater things to be desired, full of favor for the teachers and students. There, as in a special factory ot wisdom, she has silver as the beginnings of her veins, and of gold is the spot in which according to law they flow together; from which the prudent mystics of eloquence fabricate golden necklaces inlaid with silver, and making collars ornamented with precious stones of inestimable value, adorn and decorate the spouse of Christ. There the iron is raised from the earth, because, when the earthly fragility is solidified by strength, the breastplate of faith, the sword of the spirit, and the other weapons of the Chris- tian soldier, powerful against the brazen powers, are formed from it. And the stone melted by heat, is turned into brass, because the hearts of stone, enkindled by the fervor of the Holy Ghost, at times glow, burn and become sonorous, and by preaching herald the praises of Christ.
Accordingly, it is undoubtedly very displeasing to God and men that any one in the aforesaid city should strive in any way to
1 For cause of these Statutes see M. Paris: Chron. major. Ill, 166 ff, in Rolls Series, or Rashdall, I, 335-6.
8 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
disturb so illustrious grace, or should not oppose himself openly and with all his strength to any who do so. Wherefore, since we have diligently investigated the questions referred to us concern- ing a dissension which, through the instigation of the devil, has arisen there and greatly disturbed the university, we have de- cided, by the advice of our brethren, that these should be set at rest rather by precautionary measures, than by a judicial sentence.
Therefore, concerning the condition of the students and schools, we have decided that the following should be observed: each chan- cellor, appointed hereafter at Paris, at the time of his installation, in the presence of the bishop, or at the ccmmand of the latter in the chapter at Paris — two masters of the students having been sum- moned for this purpose and present in behalf of the university — shall swear that, in good faith, according to his conscience, he will not receive as professors of theology and canon law any but suitable men, at a suitable place and time, according to the con- dition of the city and the honor and glory of those branches of learning; and he will reject all who are unworthy without respect to persons or nations. Before licensing any one, during three months, dating from the time when the license is requested, the chancellor shall make diligent inquiries of all the masters of theology present in the city, and of all other honest and learned tnen through whom the truth can be ascertained, concerning the life knowledge, capacity, purpose, prospects and other qualities needful in such persons; and after the inquiries, in good faith and according to his conscience, he shall grant or deny the license to the candidate, as shall seem fitting and expedient. The masters of theology and canon law, when they begin to lecture, shall take a public oath that they will give true testimony on the above points. The chancellor shall also swear, that he will in no way reveal the advice of the masters, to their injury; the liberty and privileges being maintained in their full vigor for the canons at Paris, as they were in the beginning. Moreover, the chancellor shall promise to examine in good faith the masters in medicine and arts and in the other branches, to admit only the worthy and to reject the unworthy.
In other matters, because confusion easily creeps in where there is no order, we grant to you the right of making constitutions and ordinances regulating the manner and time of lectures and disputations, the costume to be worn, the burial of the dead; and
STATUTES OF GREGORY IX. FOR UNIVERSITY OF PATCIS. 9
also concerning the bachelors, who are to lecture and at what hours, and en what they are to lecture; and concerning the prices of the lodgings or the interdiction of the same; and concerning a fit punishment for those who violate your constitutions or ordi- nances, by exclusion from your society. And if, perchance, the assessment of the lodgings is taken from you, or anything else is lacking, or an injury or outrageous damage, such as death or the mutilation of a limb, is inflicted on one of you, unless through a suitable admonition satisfaction is rendered within fifteen days, you may suspend your lectures until you have received full satis- faction. And if it happens that any one of you is unlawfully imprisoned, unless the injury ceases on a remonstrance from you, you may, if you judge it expedient, suspend your lectures imme- diately.
We command, moreover, that the bishop of Paris shall so chas- tise the excesses of the guilty, that the honor of the student shall be preserved and evil deeds shall not remain unpunished. But in no way shall the innocent be seized on account of the guilty; nay rather, if a probable suspicion arises against any one, he shall be detained honorably and on giving suitable bail he shall be freed, without any exactions from the jailors. But if, perchance, such a crime has been committed that imprisonment is necessary, the bishop shall detain the criminal in his prison. The chan- cellor is forbidden to keep him in his prison. We also forbid holding a student for a debt contracted by another, since this is interdicted by canonical and legitimate sanctions. Neither the bishop, nor his officials nor the chancellor shall exact a pecuniary penalty for removing an excommunication or any other censure of any kind. Nor shall the chancellor demand from the masters who are licensed an oath, or obedience, or any pledge; nor shall he receive any emolument or promise for granting a license, but be content with the above-mentioned oath.
Also, the vacation in summer is not to exceed one month, and the bachelors, if they wish, can continue their lectures in vacation time. Moreover, we prohibit more expressly the students from carrying weapons in the city, and the university from protecting those who disturb the peace and study. And those who call themselves students, but do not frequent the schools, or acknowl- edge any master, are in no way to enjoy the liberties of the students.
IO TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
Moreover, we order that the masters in arts shall alway read one lecture on Priscian,1 and one book after the other in the regular courses. Those books on natural philosophy which for a certain reason were prohibited in a provincial council,' are not to be used at Paris until they have been examined and purged of all sus- picion of error. The masters and students in theology shall strive to exercise themselves laudably in the branch which they profess; they shall not show themselves philosophers,8 but they shall strive to become God's learned. And they shall not speak in the language of the people, confounding the sacred language with the profane.* In the schools they shall dispute only on such questions as can be determined by theological books and the writings of the holy fathers.
Also, about the property of the scholars who die intestate or do not commit the arrangement of their affairs to others, we have determined to arrange thus : namely, that the bishop and one of the masters, whom the university shall appoint for this purpose, shall receive all the property of the defunct, and placing it in a suitable and safe spot, shall fix a certain date, before which his death can be announced in his native country, and those who ought to succeed to his property may come to Paris or send a suit- able messenger. And if they come or send, the goods shall be restored to them, with the security which shall have been given. If no one appears, then the bishop and masters shall expend the property for the soul of the departed, as seems expedient ; unless, perchance, the heirs shall have been prevented from coming by some good reason. In that case, the distribution shall be deferred to a fitting time.
1 See page 1 2.
2 See Chart. Univ. Paris. I, No. II, and page 12, below.
3 An oft repeated injunction. The meaning is that they are not to be led astray by vain subtleties. Not infrequently skill in dialectics led to heresy. (Cf. letter of Stephen of Tournai, printed in Denifle, Universitaten I, 746, n.) The character of much of the training at Paris at this period can be well illustrated by Guil. Cambrensis' old story (Gemma Ecclesiastica, Rolls Series, II, 350). The student just returned from Paris, tells his father that he can prove six equal to twelve and illustrates the proof by the six eggs on the table. When he finishes, his father takes all six eggs and says the son can have the other six for his breakfast.
4 The Latin is Azolica, see Ducange.
STATUTES OF GREGORY IX. FOR UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. II
Truly, because the masters and students, who harassed by damages and injuries, have taken a mutual oath to depart froni Paris and have broken up the school, have seemed to be waging a contest not so much for their own benefit as for the common good ; we, consulting the needs and advantages of the whole church, wish and command that after the privileges have been granted to the masters and students by our most dearly beloved son in Christ, the illustrious king of the French, and amends have been paid by the malefactors, they shall study at Paris and shall not be marked by any infamy or irregularity on account of their staying away or return.
It is not lawful for any man whatever to infringe this deed of our provision, constitution, concession, prohibition and inhibition or to act contrary to it, from rash presumption. If any one, how- ever, should dare to attempt this, let him know that he incurs the wrath of almighty God and of the blessed Peter and Paul, his apostles.
Given at the Lateran, on the Ides of April, in the fifth year of our pontificate.
II. THE COURSES OF STUDY.
The basis of all study at a university was the course in arts. Of the other faculties, theology was best represented at Paris, law at Bologna, medicine at Salerno. The study of civil law and medicine was discouraged by the church, but in vain. The latter had long flourished at Salerno and, owing to the new knowledge acquired by contact with the Arabs and Greeks, was making comparatively rapid progress in the thirteenth century. But the medical faculty became much more prominent in the next century. The study of civil law flourished in the twelfth century at Bologna and easily maintained its position later. In Roger Bacon's Compendium studii philos- ophiae, ch. IV. (Opera ined., Vol. I, in Rolls Series), we have a vivid pic- ture of the prominence of the civil law and of the church's dislike of it.
Robert de Courcon's statutes lay down the course in arts and enumerate carefully the books to be studied. (Consult also Chart. I, No. 246.) There was no need for him to specify the books for the course in theology, as will appear below. It is significant that he does not mention the law or medical students. Note also that the students are expected not only to learn, but also to teach.
In spite of the great preponderance of biblical books given by Stephen of Canterbury, the Sentences of Peter Lombard formed the more important part of the course in theology. The latter was expounded in the regular courses, the Bible in the extraordinary courses. (See Roger Bacon in Chart. I, No. 419.) The exposition of these two books formed practically
M2 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
the whole instruction. But it must be remembered that the theological students had already passed through the course in arts.
Anatomy was considered sacrilegious, although required by Frederick II. at Naples. The instruction in medicine was similar to that in all other branches. The students heard the standard books explained, but had no opportunities for practice. Rashdall, I, 428-430 discusses this subject.
There is not space for a satisfactory document on the course in law. It is well summed up in Compayre'.
On all of these subjects, consult Histoire litte"raire de la France, Vol. XVI, and for the studies included in the Trivium and Quadrivium, Ibid.* VoL XXIV, 384, ff.
STA TUTE& OF ROBERT DE COURfON FOR PARIS. 1215.
Chart. Univ. Paris. I, No. 20, p. 78. Latin.
R. , servant of the cross of Christ, by the divine mercy cardinal priest with the title of St. Stephen in Monte Celio and legate of the apostolic seat, to all the masters and scholars at Paris — eternal safety in the Lord.
Let all know, that having been especially commanded by the lord pope to devote our energy effectively to the betterment of the condition of the students at Paris, and wishing by the advice of good men to provide for the tranquility of the students in the future, we have ordered and prescribed the following rules:
No one is to lecture at Paris in arts before he is twenty years old. He is to listen in arts at least six years, before he begins to lecture. He is to promise that he will lecture for at least two years, unless he is prevented by some good reason, which he ought to prove either in public or before the examiners. He must not be smirched by any infamy. When he is ready to lecture, each one is to be examined according to the form con- tained in the letter1 of lord P. bishop of Paris (in which is con- tained the peace established between the chancellor and the students by the judges appointed by the lord pope, approved and confirmed namely by the bishop and deacon of Troyes and by P. the bishop, and J. the chancellor of Paris).
The treatises of Aristotle on logic, both the old and the new,*
1 See No. 16 in the same volume.
*The "old logic" (Vetus logica) is a little indefinite. According to Chartularium I, No. 246 (A. D. 1255), where the term is defined, it included the liber Porphyrii, or Introduction to the Categories of Aristotle; the Pre-
STATUTES OF ROBERT DE COUR£ON FOR PARIS. 13
are to be read in the schools in the regular and not in the extra- ordinary courses.1 The two Priscians,'2 or at least the second, are also to be read in the schools in the regular courses. On the feast-days3 nothing is to be read except philosophy, rhetoric, quadrivialia,* the Barbarisms,5 the Ethics,6 if one so chooses, and the fourth book of the Topics.7 The books of Aristotle on Meta- physics or Natural Philosophy,8 or the abridgements of these works, are not to be read, nor "the doctrine " of master David de Dinant,9 of the heretic Almaric,10 or of Maurice of Spain."
In the inceptions1'2 and meetings of the masters and in the con- futations or arguments of the boys or youths there are to be no
dicamenta (Categories); the Hermeneia (Interpretations); and the Divisions and Topics (except the fourth book) of Boethius. But in Chart. I, No. 201 (A. D. 1252), only the Predicamenta and Hermeneia seem to be included. These two were always constituent parts and generally the liber Porphyrii. At what date — before 1255 — the two books by Boethius were added is very uncertain.
The "new logic" (Nova logica) included the Topica, the Elenchi, the Analytica priora and posteriora.
I For a discussion of the differences between the two kinds of courses, see Compayre", 173, n., or Rashdall, I, 426.
* The first sixteen books of Priscian's Institutiones Grammaticse were called the Priscianus major or magnus; the last two the Priscianus minor.
* There were nearly 100 holidays each year.
4 Books relating to the subjects included in the quadrivium, viz., arith- metic, geometry, music and astronomy. *The third book of the Ars major of Donatus.
* Nichomachean Ethics of Aristotle.
7 The Topics of Boethius, .of which the other three books are included in the " Vetus logica."
8 See Chart. I, No. n.
9 Disciple of Almaric (next note). Probably died before 1209. See His- toire litteraire, Vol. XVI, p. 588; Rashdall, II, 356.
18 Almaric was one of the most renowned teachers at Paris at the begin- ning of the thirteenth century. He adopted the ideas of Aristotle's meta- physics and attempted to reconcile them with the teachings of the Bible. His book, Physion, was condemned in 1204, and he died between 1204 and 1209. His disciples expanded his ideas and called the pope Anti-christ. See Hist. litt. XVI, 586 ff.
II We know nothing of Maurice.
" Priii cipium is the act of obtaining the grade of doctor. Ducange.
14 TRANSITIONS AND REPRINTS.
festivities. But they may call in some friends or associates, but only a few. We also advise that donations of garments and other things be made, as is customary or even to a greater extent, and especially to the poor. No master lecturing in arts is to wear anything except a cope, round and black and reaching to the heels — at least, when it is new. But he may well wear a pallium.1 He is not to wear under the round cope embroidered shoes and never any with long bands.
If any one of the students in arts or theology dies, half of the masters of arts are to go the funeral, and the other half to the next funeral. They are not to withdraw until the burial is com- pleted, unless they have some good reason. If any master of arts or theology dies, all the masters are to be present at the vigils, each one is to read the psalter or have it read. Each one is to re- main in the church, where the vigils are celebrated, until mid- night or later, unless prevented by some good reason. On the day when the master is buried, no one is to lecture or dispute.
We fully confirm to them the meadow of St. Germain in the condition in which it was adjudged to them.a
Each master is to have jurisdiction over his scholars. No one is to receive either schools or a house without the consent of the occupant, if he is able to obtain it. No one is to receive a license from the chancellor or any one else through a gift of money, or furnishing a pledge or making an agreement. Also, the masters and students can make among themselves or with others agree- ments and regulations, confirmed by a pledge, penalty or oath, about the following matters: namely, if a student is killed, muti- lated or receives some outrageous injury and if justice is not done; for taxing the rent of Hospitia; concerning the dress, burial, lec- tures and disputations; in such a manner, however, that the uni- versity is not scattered nor destroyed on this account.
We decide concerning the theologians, that no one shall lecture at Paris before he is thirty-five years old, and not unless he has studied at least eight years,3 and has heard the books faithfully and in the schools. He is to listen in theology for five years, be-
1 Proper garment for a monk. *See Chart. Introd. No. 47.
8 At the beginning of the fourteenth century the course was prolonged to fourteen years.
THEOLOGICAL BOOKS GIVEN TO THE UNIVERSITY AT PARIS. 15
fore he reads his own lectures in public. No one of them is to lecture before the third hour on the days when the masters lec- ture. No one is to be received at Paris for the important lectures or sermons unless he is of approved character and learning. There is to be no student at Paris who does not have a regular master.
In order moreover that these may be inviolably observed, all who presume contumaciously to violate these our statutes, unless they take care, within fifteen days from the date of the transgres- sion, to correct their presumption in the presence of the university of masters and scholars, or in the presence of some appointed by the university, by the authority of the legation with which we are entrusted, we bind with the bond of excommunication.
Done in the year of grace 1215, in the month of August.
LIBRARY OF THEOLOGICAL BOOKS GIVEN TO THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. 1271.
Chart. Univ. Paris. I, No. 437, p. 493. Latin.
To all the officers of the court at Paris who shall read this document, greeting in the Lord. We make known that John of Orleans, constituted master in our presence, canon and chancellor of Paris, acknowledges and admits that he has received and had from the venerable man master Nicholas, arch-deacon of the church at Paris, formerly chancellor of the aforesaid church at Paris, the books named below — to be lent to the poor students studying theology, — according to a certain clause contained in the will of master Stephen of blessed memory, formerly arch-deacon of Canterbury, which is inserted in the present document, as follows:
I will and command that my books on theology shall be deliv- ered to the chancellor of Paris who, for the sake of piet}r, shall lend them to poor students studying theology at Paris wrho are without books ; in such a manner, however, that each chancellor, each year, shall receive back the aforesaid books and after re- ceiving them shall again deliver and lend them, each year, to the poor students, as shall seem expedient.
The names of the books are as follows: the Bible complete, with a glossary. Also, Genesis and Exodus, glossed, in one vol- ume. Also, the books of Solomon, glossed, in one volume. Also, Exodus, glossed by itself. Also, Job, glossed by itself. Also, Ezekiel, glossed by itself. Also, the Gospels, glossed by them-
l6 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
selves, in one volume. Also, the Psalter, with a complete glos sary. Also, the four books of Sentences.1 Also, the books of Numbers. Also, Joshua, Judith, Ruth, Deuteronomy, glossed, in one volume. Also, the four books of Kings, Chronicles, first and second. Also, Esdras, first and second of Maccabees, Amos, glossed, in one volume. Also, the Twelve Prophets, glossed, in one volume. Also, the Psalter, glossed and complete. Also, the Epistles of Paul, glossed. Also, the Psalter, glossed and com- plete. Also, the Scholastic Histories.2 Also the four Gospels, glossed. Also, the Epistles of Paul, glossed, with a smaller glossary. Also, the Psalter, glossed and complete. Also, the first and second books of Maccabees, glossed as far as the tenth chapter. Also, the Gospel of Mark. The Gospels, glossed.
We, the above-mentioned official, have thought indeed that, in testimony and witness of all the above-mentioned, we ought to place on the present writing the seal of the court at Paris, together with the seal of the aforesaid chancellor; hoping and asking that his successors, who shall be chancellors, shall order and do with the aforesaid books, for the sake of the divine piety, according to the contents of the aforesaid clause.
Done in the year of our L,ord, 1271, Wednesday, the feast of the Apostles Simon and Jude.
Also, the Bible, in two volumes, with marginal notes, which bishop Stephen presented. Also, the original of the Sentences of master Peter Lombard, in a certain volume, bound in calf, now somewhat worn, with round copper nails in the covers.
THE COURSE IN MEDICINE. 1270-1274. Chart, Univ. Paris. I, No. 453, p. 517. Latin.
This is the form for licensing bachelors of medicine. First, the master under whom the bachelor is, ought to testify to the chan- cellor, in the presence of the masters called together for this pur- pose, concerning the suitability of licensing the bachelor. He ought to prove his time of study by at least two examinations; and the time which he ought to have studied is five and one-half years, if he has ruled in arts or has been a licentiate; or six, if he has not.
1 Peter Lombard's work.
* Probably the Historia Scolastica of Pierre le Mangeur, which is quoted by Stephen of Bourbou.
CONDEMNATION OF ERRORS. 17
The course of study is as follows : he ought to have heard the Ars Medica1 twice in the regular courses and once in an extra- ordinary course with the exception of Theophilus : 2 On Urines, which it is sufficient to have heard once in either a regular or an extraordinary course ; the Viaticum * twice in regular courses : the other books of Isaac * once in a regular course, twice in extra- ordinary courses, except the Particular Diets, which it is suf- ficient to have heard in an extraordinary or