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39-463: The word "ale", in the sense of an ale-drinking party, was part of many compound terms for types of party or festivity based on the consumption of ale or beer. Thus there was the leet-ale (held on " leet ", the manorial court day); the lamb-ale (held at lamb-shearing); the Whitsun-ale (held at Whitsun ), the clerk-ale , the church-ale etc. The word "bridal" originally derives from bride-ale ,

78-541: A jury , and punish, crimes committed within the jurisdiction; more serious crimes were committed to the king's justices. Despite the presence of a jury, it was not trial by jury as understood today. The court leet had developed while the jury system was still evolving; the jury indicted wrongdoers, stood witness, and helped decide on punishment. It also developed as a means of proactively ensuring that standards in such matters as sales of food and drink, and agriculture, were adhered to. The Alcester Court Leet contained

117-427: A meeting of Morris dancers today is still called a Morris Ale . These parish festivals were of much ecclesiastical and social importance in medieval England. The chief purpose of the church-ale (which was originally instituted to honour the church saint) and the clerk-ale, was to facilitate the collection of parish dues and to make a profit for the church from the sale of ale by the church wardens. These profits kept

156-463: A revel that not infrequently passed the wake in costliness and diversity of amusements. The board, at which everyone received a welcome who could pay for his entertainment, was loaded with good cheer; and after the feasters had eaten and drunk to contentment, if not to excess, they took part in sport on the turf of the churchyard, or on the sward of the village green. The athletes of the parish distinguished themselves in wrestling, boxing, quoit throwing;

195-478: A way of promoting or celebrating their local area. Despite this, their legal jurisdiction over crime was only abolished in 1977, by section 23 of the Administration of Justice Act 1977 . However, one exception was allowed: the court leet for the manor of Laxton, Nottinghamshire , which had continued to operate judicially; Laxton retains the open-field system of farming, which had been replaced everywhere else by

234-421: A week's or even a month's duration. The Manchester Times Court leet The court leet was a historical court baron (a type of manorial court ) of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge " and its attendant police jurisdiction , which was normally restricted to the hundred courts . The word "leet", as used in reference to special court proceedings, dates from

273-687: The Manchester Times in 1870 quoted from Jefferson's Book about the Clergy : Of the Church-ale, often called the Whitsun-ale, from being generally held at Whitsuntide, it is necessary to speak at greater length, for it is a far more important institution than the bid-ale or clerk-ale. The ordinary official givers of the church-ale were two wardens who, after collecting subscriptions in money or kind from every one of their fairly well-to-do parishioners, provided

312-455: The Steward who was appointed by the lord), bringing matters to the attention of the court and deciding on them. The officers of courts leet could include some or all of the following: The introduction of magistrates gradually rebalanced power away from manorial lords. Magistrates were later given authority over view of frankpledge , which effectively negated the remaining significance of

351-423: The shire court . Before feudalism, hundred courts had also dealt with administrative matters within their area, such as bridge repairs, road conditions, and so forth, but the courts baron had largely superseded that in practice, and some manorial lords began claiming authority over criminal matters as well. Eventually, the king formally granted certain trusted lords with the legal authority that had been held by

390-517: The 14th century. The extension of centralised royal administration on the one hand, and the increasing appropriation of view of frankpledge by private landlords of the other, both served to undermine the local system; as too did greater agrarian differentiation and mobility – a process exacerbated by the impact of the Black Death . Nevertheless, the system survived in places into the 15th century, although increasingly superseded by local constables –

429-512: The 18th century (as a result of the process of enclosure ), and required the court in order to administer the field system. Although the Administration of Justice Act had abolished the legal jurisdiction of the other courts leet, it emphasised that "any such court may continue to sit and transact such other business, if any, as was customary for it". Schedule 4 to the Act specified the "business" which

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468-403: The 1977 act): By contrast, the statutory backing for the following courts leet was preserved by the 1977 Act, but it is not clear whether they are still operative: The following courts leet are also listed here for unclear reasons, despite not having been exempted from abolition by the 1977 act, and despite it not being clear whether they are still operative: Frankpledge Frankpledge

507-606: The Anglo-Saxon frith-borh (literally "peace-pledge" ) the clear anticipation of frankpledge; others consider the 12th-century commentators were reading back into earlier times the later concept, and that the borh system was much less rigid and comprehensive than frankpledge. On this view, William the Conqueror , with the revival of murdrum with respect to the French invaders, played an important role in systematically and universally making

546-470: The centuries; for those courts leet that still exist, the fine has effectively become merely nominal – 2p for example in the case of Laxton. Courts leet generally had a jury formed from the freehold tenants, as bondsmen could not give an oath ( jury means persons having taken an oath). The jury's role was similar to that of the doomsmen of the Anglo-Saxons and included electing the officers (other than

585-403: The children cheered the mummers and the morris dancers; and round a maypole decorated with ribbons, the lads and lasses plied their nimble feet to the music of the fifes, bagpipes, drums and fiddles. When they had wearied themselves by exercise, the revellers returned to the replenished board; and not seldom the feast, designed to begin and end in a day, was protracted into a demoralising debauch of

624-525: The court leet, and they gradually ceased to be held, largely dying out. Following the collapse of the feudal system, and subsequent rise of the Reformation , civil parishes had largely taken over the remaining authority of courts baron, and tithings were seen as a parish sub-division. Nevertheless, courts leet technically survived into the late 20th century, though almost all of the small number which still operated had become merely ceremonial, simply forming

663-469: The court leet, exercising the powers formerly held by the hundred court, emphasising that the ability to hold court leet depended upon a royally granted franchise. However, in many areas it became customary for the court baron and court leet to meet together, as a single operation. The court leet was a court of record , and its duty was not only to view the pledges, which were the freemen's oaths of peacekeeping and good practice in trade, but also to try with

702-551: The entire group could be fined . While women, clergy, and the richer freemen were exempt, otherwise all men over 12 years of age were organised in the system for mutual surety. The first mention of frankpledge comes in 1114–1118, with the Leges Henrici Primi ; but 12th-century figures like William of Malmesbury were keen to link it to pre-Norman times, and to the laws of Canute the Great . Some historians have indeed seen in

741-425: The following wording: To enquire regularly and periodically into the proper condition of watercourses, roads, paths, and ditches; to guard against all manner of encroachments upon the public rights, whether by unlawful enclosure or otherwise; to preserve landmarks, to keep watch and ward in the town, and overlook the common lands, adjust the rights over them, and restraining in any case their excessive exercise, as in

780-525: The former chief pledges – operating under the justices of the peace : their oversight represented the remains of view of frankpledge . Ultimately, the principle behind frankpledge still remains in force, in England and Wales, with regard to riots . Until the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 , members of each civil parish were, collectively, directly responsible for repaying any damages due to a riot within their area. Under

819-445: The hundred court over the tithings in the lord's manor, the most important of those being view of frankpledge . The group of tithings that were located within each manor had come to be called a leet , and hence, in the later Middle Ages these judicial powers came to be called court leet . The quo warranto proceedings of Edward I established a sharp distinction between the court baron, exercising strictly manorial rights , and

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858-485: The late 13th century, from Anglo-French lete and Anglo-Latin leta of unknown origin, with a possible connection to the verb " let ". At a very early time in medieval England, the lord of the manor exercised or claimed certain feudal rights over his serfs and feudal tenants . The exercise of those rights was combined with manorial administrative concerns , in his court baron . However this court had no power to deal with criminal acts . Criminal jurisdiction

897-552: The members of the tything before the court is the origin of the phrase "view of frankpledge". Frankpledge did not at first take place in Wales or eight Northern and border counties, but elsewhere was common in the area under the Danelaw , and in the south and southwest of England . By the time of Edward I, however, the sheriff's tourn also began to appear in shires like Northumberland and Cumberland. The bi-annual view of frankpledge which

936-441: The others in their tithing by an arrangement called frankpledge , which created collective responsibility for behaviour within their tithing. The hundred court monitored this system, in a process called view of frankpledge , with the tithing reporting any wrongdoing in their area, and handing over the perpetrators among them. If the wrongdoing was minor, it would be dealt with by the hundred court, but serious crimes were passed up to

975-485: The parish church in repair, or were distributed as alms to the poor. The churches must owe, as we all do know, For when they be drooping and ready to fall, By a Whitsun or Church-ale up again they shall go And owe their repairing to a pot of good ale In the gallery of the tower arch of St Agnes, Cawston in Norfolk is inscribed: God speed the plough And give us good ale enow ... Be merry and glade, With good ale

1014-450: The parish-ales were limited to the Whitsun season, and these still have local survivals. The colleges of the universities used to brew their own ales and hold festivals known as college-ales; some of these ales are still brewed and famous, like "chancellor" at Queen's College , and "archdeacon" at Merton College , Oxford , and "audit ale" at Trinity , Cambridge . A short piece printed in

1053-433: The pasturage of cattle; to guard against the adulteration of food, to inspect weights and measures, to look in general to the morals of the people, and to find a remedy for each social ill and inconvenience. To take cognisance of grosser crimes of assault, arson, burglary, larceny, manslaughter, murder, treason, and every felony at common law. The court generally sat only a few times each year, sometimes just annually. A matter

1092-405: The system which initially prevented its being made universally compulsory was that only landed individuals could be forced to pay any fines which might be put upon the group: the landless man was worthless as a member of a frith-borh, for the law had little hold over a man who had no land to forfeit and no fixed habitation. So the landless man was compelled by law to submit to a manorial lord , who

1131-517: The tithing adopt compulsory frankpledge, so as to increase and consolidate the power of the Normans and to establish a more stringent policy. The borh was a system of surety whereby individuals – a family member, a master for servants, a lord for dependents – became responsible for producing others in court in event of misdemeanors. At the same time, late Anglo-Saxon society increasingly shared responsibility in legal matters in groups of ten. The group

1170-509: The vill, while the eventual merger of borh and tithing underpinned the Norman frankpledge system. In its ultimate form, if an individual did not appear when summoned to court the remaining members of the tithing could swear an oath to the effect that they had no hand in the escape of the summoned man: they would otherwise be held responsible for the deeds of the fugitive and could be forced to pay any fines his actions had incurred. This examination of

1209-403: The wedding feast organised to raise money for the couple. The bid-ale , once very common throughout England, was a benefit feast to which a general invitation was given, and all those attending were expected to make some contribution to help the object of the benefit, usually a poor person or family or some other charitable cause. Morris dancing used to be common entertainment at parish ales, and

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1248-513: Was a system of joint suretyship common in England throughout the Early Middle Ages and High Middle Ages . The essential characteristic was the compulsory sharing of responsibility among persons connected in tithings . This unit, under a leader known as the chief-pledge or tithing -man, was then responsible for producing any man of that tithing suspected of a crime. If the man did not appear,

1287-452: Was carried out by the sheriff involved payment of a tithing penny to the sheriff, as well as other opportunities for profit including fines: for this reason exemption from the tourn, or the private takeover of view of frankpledge by lords or boroughs, were valued privileges; while conversely the 1217 Magna Carta sought explicitly to restrict what the sheriff could legitimately demand of frankpledge. The frankpledge system began to decline in

1326-414: Was held by the hundred courts ; the country was divided into hundreds , and there was a hundred court for each of them. Each hundred comprised 100 hides , with each hide being an area of land of variable size that is enough to support one entire household. A tithing was an area of 10 hides, which therefore originally corresponded to about 10 households. The heads of each household were judicially bound to

1365-410: Was held responsible for the behaviour of all his "men"; his estate became, so to speak, a private frith-borh, consisting of dependents instead of the freemen of the public frith-borhs. These two systems, with many variations, existed side by side; but there was a general tendency for the freemen to get fewer and for the lords to grow more powerful. The tithing eventually became a territorial unit, part of

1404-425: Was introduced into the court by means of a "presentment", from a local man or from the jury itself. Penalties were in the form of fines or imprisonment. Attendance at the court leet was often compulsory for those under its jurisdiction, with fines being meted out for non-attendance. The ability of the court to levy a fine was always subject to limitations, but the limits were never updated to account for inflation over

1443-414: Was referred to as a teothung or tything , i.e. a " thing (assembly) of ten men". The tything was under the leadership of a tythingman chosen from among them, with the responsibility of producing in the court of justice any man of their number who was summoned. The first tythings were entirely voluntary associations, being groups formed through the mutual consent of their free members. The aspect of

1482-401: Was this work made. On the beam of a screen in the church of Thorpe-le-Soken , Essex , is the following inscription in raised blackletter on a scroll held by two angels: "This cost is the bachelers made by ales thesn be ther med." The date is about 1480. The feast was usually held in a barn near the church or in the churchyard. In Tudor times church-ales were held on Sundays; gradually

1521-477: Was to be considered customary, which included the taking of presentments relating to matters of local concern and – in some cases – the management of common land . The following courts leet were exempted from abolition by the Administration of Justice Act 1977, and were known to be still functioning in 2010: In addition, the following courts leet are in operation, having been re-established, or continued, but without statutory authority (not having been preserved by

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