to the value that the merchandise costs abroad, and that they be believed on their oath or by their letters. And if the said merchants be found false, that they pay the double subsidy on that which has not paid customs duty, without other forfeiture or new payments, as they were treated and demeaned in the time of your father, whom God assoil, and of your noble progenitors kings of England, without oppression or extortion done to the merchants aforementioned. And that the citizens and burgesses shall be treated in pursuing and making their fines to have their liberties and franchises, as they were treated in the time of your father, whom God assoil, and of your noble progenitors kings of England. And besides this your said commons having regard to the East March and West March of Scotland, and the marches of Wales and the land of Ireland and the marches of Calais and the land of Guienne, and the safeguard of the sea, by the entire reliance which your said poor commons have in you, our very sovereign lord, and to the intent that, with the aid of God, by your gracious and good government in time to come the said commons have good hope of being discharged of all such subsidies and tunnage and poundage, and taxes and tallages in time to come, with the consent aforementioned, for the defence of the realm and safeguard of the sea grant to you our very gracious lord an entire fifteenth and an entire tenth to be levied from laymen in the accustomed manner. That is to say, a half at the feast of St. Martin in the winter next coming, and the other half at the feast of Easter next ensuing. Upon the condition that the sea be well and sufficiently guarded for the safety of the navy and the merchandise of the merchants of the realm of England. Protesting, that your said commons be not held nor bound to the wars of the said marches of Scotland, nor of the land of Ireland, nor of the marches of Wales, nor of the marches of Calais, nor the land of Guienne, nor for the safeguard of the sea by any grant in time to come. 115. Residence required of Knights of the Shire and of their Electors (1413. French text and translation, 2 S. R. 170. 3 Stubbs, 80, 438.) I. FIRST, that the statutes made, concerning the election of the knights of the shires to come to the parliament, be holden and kept in all points; adjoining to the same, that the knights. of the shires which from henceforth shall be chosen in every shire, be not chosen unless they be resident within the shires where they shall be chosen, the day of the date of the writ of the summons of the parliament; and that the knights and esquires, and others which shall be choosers of those knights of the shires, be also resident within the same shires, in manner and form as is aforesaid. And moreover it is ordained and established, that the citizens and burgesses of the cities and boroughs be chosen men, citizens and burgesses resident, dwelling and free in the same cities and boroughs, and no other in any wise. 116. Confiscation of the Alien Priories (1414. French original, 4 R. P. 22, No. 21. Translation by Editors. 3 Stubbs, 84.) ITEM, TEM, the commons pray that in case final peace be made between you our sovereign lord and your adversary of France in time to come, and thereupon all the possessions of the alien priories in England should be restored to the chief religious houses abroad to which all those possessions belong, damage and loss would fall upon your said realm and on your people of the same realm by the great ferms and revenues of money which from year to year forever after would be paid in from the possessions to the chief houses aforesaid to the great impoverishment of your same realm in that respect which God forbid: May it please your very noble and very gracious lordship to consider, that at the commencement of the said war between the said realms, your lieges, of all the possessions which they then had of gifts from your noble progenitors in the parts abroad within the jurisdiction of France by judgment rendered in that same realm were forever ousted and disherited. And therefore to graciously decree in this parliament with the assent of your lords both spiritual and temporal that all the possessions of the alien priories in England shall remain in your hands to you and to your heirs forever to the intent that divine services in the places aforementioned shall be more duly held by English people in time to come than they have been before this time in these places by French people. Except the possessions of the alien conventual priors and of the priors who are inducted and instituted. And except all the alien possessions given by the gracious lord. the king your father whom God assoil to the master and college of Fotheringay and to his successors of the foundation of our said lord the king your father and of the foundation of Edward duke of York, any peace to be made notwithstanding, together with all kinds of franchises and liberties granted by our said lord the king your father to the said master and college and its successors and confirmed by you, saving the services owing to the lords of English sees, if any there are, notwithstanding that the same grant made by our said lord the king your father to the said master and college and his successors should be extended only during the war between your very sovereign lord and your adversary of France, and saving also to each of your lieges as well spiritual as temporal the estate and possession which they have at present in any of such alien possessions, purchased or to purchase, in perpetuity or for life or for a term of years, from the chief religious houses abroad by the licence of our lord the king your very noble father, whom God assail, or of king Edward the Third your great grandfather, or of king Richard the Second since the conquest, or by your gracious gift, grant, confirmation or licence had at present in such case. Paying and supporting all the charges, pensions, annuities and provisions granted to any of your lieges by you or by any of your noble progenitors to be taken from the possessions or alien priories aforementioned. REPLY The king wills it, and also that the said master and college of Fotheringay have an exemplification of the king under his great seal of the present petition for their greatest security in this respect and with the assent of the lords spiritual and temporal sitting in this present parliament. 117. King agrees not to alter the Petitions of the Commons (1414. French and English original, R. P. 22, No. 22. Translation by Editors. 3 Stubbs, 84, 269.) ITEM, be it remembered, that the commons delivered to the king our very sovereign lord, in this present parliament a petition, of which the tenor follows word for word. Our sovereign lord, your humble and true lieges that have come for the commons of your land, trusting in your great justice that as it hath been ever their liberty and freedom that there should no statute or law be made unless they gave thereto their assent, considering that the commons of your land, the which is and ever hath been, a member of your parliament, have been as well assenters as petitioners, that from this time forth, by complaint of the commons of any mischief, asking remedy by mouth of their speaker for the commons or else by written petition, that there never be any law made thereupon and engrossed as statute and law, neither by addition or by diminution, by no manner of term or terms, the which should change the sentence and the intent asked by the speaker by mouth, or the petitions aforesaid given in writing by the manner aforesaid, without the assent of the foresaid commons. Considering our sovereign lord that it is not in any wise the intent of your commons if it be so that they ask you by speaking or by writing, two things or three or as many as pleases them; but that ever it stand in the freedom of your Highness to grant which of those that please you and to refuse the rest. REPLY The king by his especial grace granteth that from henceforth nothing be enacted to the petitions of his commons that be contrary to their asking whereby they should be bound without their assent; saving always to our liege lord his prerogative to grant and deny what him list of their petitions and askings aforesaid. 118. Grant of a Subsidy and Tunnage and Poundage for Life (1415. French original, 4 R. P. 63, No. 5. Translation by the Editors. 3 Stubbs, 88.) HE commons of the realm assembled in this present parlia THE ment, considering that the king our sovereign lord, to the honor of God and to avoid the effusion of Christian blood, has made to his adversary of France, divers requests to have his heritage returned to him, according to right and justice, and although there has been much negotiation as well on this side of the sea as on the other, at great cost to our sovereign lord the king; nevertheless, the king our said sovereign lord, has not obtained by means of these requests and negotiations his said heritage nor any notable parts of it. And therefore the king our said sovereign lord though with the revenue of his realm and of the grant of the subsidy, granted to him before, he did not have the means to pursue his claim by way of deed, nevertheless hoping in God that he should see himself sustained and supported in his just quarrel, our said lord the king of his good courage has lately undertaken a voyage abroad, pledging his jewels to obtain money and in his own person has gone and arrived before the town of Harfleur and there besieged it with such force that he has taken and obtained it and holds it at present and to guard the same city he has placed there certain lords and many others, men at arms and archers, to his great cost and expense, and having made such ordinance for the safeguard of the said town, our said lord the king of his excellent courage with few people, regard being had to the might of France, went from the town of Harfleur by land towards the marches of Calais, where on his road many dukes, counts and other lords with the might of the realm of France in very great numbers met and fought him until God by His grace gave the victory to the king our said lord, to the honor and exaltation of the crown, of its good fame, and to the special comfort of his loyal lieges and to the fear of all his enemies and probably to the perpetual profit of all his realm, to the honor and reverence of God, and for the great affection and entire love that the commons of the realm of England have for our said sovereign lord the king, with the assent of the lords spiritual and temporal assembled in the parliament held at Westminster the Monday next after the feast of All Saints the year of the reign of our said sovereign lord the king, third, grant to the same sovereign lord the king, the 12th day of November, in the same parliament for the defence of the realm, the subsidy on wool, leather and woolfells to be raised from the merchants denizens, for the subsidy of each sack of wool 43s. 4d., and of each 240 woolfells 43s. 4d. and on each last of leather 100s. and from the alien merchants, on each sack of wool 60s. and on each 240 woolfells, 60s. and on each last of leather 1o6s. 8d. to take and receive from the feast of St. Michael next to come for all the life of our said lord the king to be disposed and used according to his very gracious wish and discretion, for the defence aforesaid, provided always that no grant be made to any one by our said sovereign lord the king by his letters patent for life or for a term of years of the subsidy aforementioned nor part of it. And if any such grant be made |