The Statute of Marlborough (52 Hen 3) is a set of laws passed by the
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Sp ...
during the reign of
Henry III in 1267. The laws comprised 29 chapters, of which four are still in force. Those four chapters constitute the oldest piece of
statute law in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
still in force .
Nomenclature and dating
The Statute is so named as it was passed at
Marlborough in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial Ceremonial counties of England, county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire t ...
, where a Parliament was being held. The preamble dates it as "the two and fiftieth year of the reign of King Henry, son of
King John, in the utas of Saint Martin", which would give a date of 18 November 1267; "utas" is an archaic term to denote the eighth day (in
inclusive counting
Counting is the process of determining the number of elements of a finite set of objects, i.e., determining the size of a set. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a (mental or spoken) counter by a unit for every el ...
) after an event, in this case the feast day of
Saint Martin. The full title was ''Provisiones fact
ap
Marleberg
m p
aeent
D
mio Rege H
nrico& R
cardo
A cardo (plural ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Roman cities and military camps as an integral component of city planning. The cardo maximus, or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented street. ...
Rege Ale
anoru, & D
mio Edwardo fil
oejuade H
nricoR
gePrimogen
t, & D
mio Octobono tunc legato in Angli
' in Latin, yielding an English ''Provisions made at Marlborough in the Presence of our lord King Henry, and
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
King of the Romans
King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward.
The title originally referred to any German k ...
, and the
Lord Edward eldest son of the said King Henry, and the
Lord Ottobon, at that Time
Legate in England''.
Background
The preamble claimed that its purpose was peace, justice and the removal of dissent from the realm; and by taking up and reintroducing many of the previously repudiated
Provisions of Oxford, went far to meet the demands of the baronial opposition.
Extant chapters
The four extant chapters of the statute are now cited as two acts: the ''Distress Act 1267'' and the ''Waste Act 1267''.
1, 4, and 15 (''Distress Act 1267'')
Chapters 1, 4, and 15, which seek to govern the recovery of damages ("
distresses") and make it illegal to obtain such distresses outside the legal system, are collectively referred to as the Distress Act 1267.
Chapter 1 announces the intention of the Act, noting that a recent commotion had led to lords and several other persons refusing to submit to the King's courts and taking distresses at their own pleasure. It makes it illegal to obtain distresses for damages other than through the courts regardless of class or estate. It punishes extralegal attempts to obtain such distresses made after the passage of the Act with a fine.
Chapter 4 makes it illegal to take a distress outside of the debtor's
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, and punishes such behaviour with a fine in the case of a neighbour but with
amercement in the case of a lord doing so with his tenant. It also requires that distresses be reasonable, subjecting takers of excessive distresses to amercement based on the excesses of such distresses.
Chapter 15 requires that distresses be made only before the King or his officers, prohibiting in particular taking distresses on one's own property, the King's highway, or common roads.
Chapter 2 also covered distresses, but was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1948. It prohibited one from taking distress outside of one's jurisdiction or area, and punished offenders based on the transgression. Chapter 3 also dealt with distresses, punishing those who refused to cooperate with the justice system to be punished based on the transgression. It was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 1881.
23 (''Waste Act 1267'')
Chapter 23 is often referred to as the Waste Act 1267, which seeks to prevent tenant farmers from "making waste" to land they are in tenancy of. Whilst the bulk of the chapter remains in force, the first paragraph was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 1881.
Repealed chapters
Among its now repealed chapters are legislation on suits of court, Sheriff's
tourns,
beaupleader fines, real actions,
essoins, juries, guardians in
socage
Socage () was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the English feudal system. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in exchange for cle ...
, amercements for default of summons, pleas of false judgement,
replevin
Replevin () or claim and delivery (sometimes called revendication) is a legal remedy, which enables a person to recover personal property taken wrongfully or unlawfully, and to obtain compensation for resulting losses.
Etymology
The word "replevi ...
, freeholders, resisting the King's officers, the confirmation of charters, wardship,
redisseisin, inquest, murder,
benefit of clergy, and prelates.
By regulating the use of
distress of property to enforce tenurial services, and redefining other feudal obligations, the statute (in the words of
Frederick Maitland) "in many ways marks the end of feudalism". Chapters 7, 8, 16, 22, 24, 26, 27, and 29 were repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1863. Chapter 21 was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 1881.
5 (Confirmation of charters)
Chapter 5 confirmed
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by t ...
and the
Charter of the Forest
The Charter of the Forest of 1217 ( la, Carta Foresta) is a charter that re-established for free men rights of access to the royal forest that had been eroded by King William the Conqueror and his heirs. Many of its provisions were in force for ...
, ordering the King's officers and courts to duly observe and enforce them. It was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 1881. The Charter of the Forest was repealed in 1971.
6–7 (Wardships)
Chapter 6 made it unlawful for tenants to enfeoff their eldest sons in order to deprive their Lords of their
wardship
In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court".
Overview
The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient j ...
s. It also subject lords who maliciously used this provision in court to amercement and paid damages to feoffees wrongly sued. Chapter 7 provided that any guardians who failed to appear before court within half a year lost their wards, but that heirs would not be negatively affected by the negligence of their guardians, ultimately deferring to the common law on such matters. Both chapters were repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1863.
8 (Redisseisin)
Chapter 8 provided that those imprisoned for redisseisin should not be released without the King's consent, and that any redisseisor should be fined appropriately. Any Sheriff violating this section was to be amerced greatly, and the prisoner also punished. It was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1863.
9–14 (Courts and their proceedings)
Chapter 9 provided that those not subject to a given lord were ineligible to sue in that lord's court, with the exception of those whose ancestors had used those courts prior to Henry's voyage to Britain in 1228. It was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 1881.
Chapter 10 exempted various lords and ecclesiastical officers and them who had other bailiwicks from mandatory attendance of the
tourns of the local sheriff. It also provided that such tourns would be continued in the fashion of the reigns of Kings
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
and
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
. It was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 1881.
Chapter 11 abolished fines for
beau pleader, although it did not do so retroactively. It was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1863.
Chapter 12 provided for at least four days a year, and up to five or six if convenient, to be set aside to hear pleas of
dower. It was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1863.
Chapter 13 dealt with
essoins (legal excuses for not attending court), limiting a defendant to only one essoin before the proceeding of the judgment. It was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1863.
Chapter 14 suspended jury duty exemptions when service was required for such significant cases as assizes, perambulations, attainders, and the production of covenants.
16–17 (Wardships)
Chapter 16 provided that an heir whose ancestor died before the heir had come of age has the right to force the Lord's transfer of the land upon his maturity via an assize, and to receive damages incurred in the assize and the withholding of land since coming of age.
Chapter 17 provided that those who held
socage
Socage () was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the English feudal system. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in exchange for cle ...
on behalf of an underage heir not lay waste of such inheritance, nor sell or destroy it. It also forbade such guardians from arranging a marriage of the heir except for the heir's benefit. It was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1948.
20 (Essoins)
Chapter 20 removed the need for an oath to verify an essoin in any court.
Proposed repeal of surviving sections
The Law Commission has suggested that two of the remaining four chapters be repealed, as they are no longer useful since the
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. In June 2015 the
Law Commission
A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chan ...
and
Scottish Law Commission published a draft bill incorporating the repeal of c.4 (regulating the "taking of unreasonable distresses and the removal of distrained goods out of the debtor’s county") and c.15 (concerning the "levying of distress off the tenanted property or on a public highway") of the Statute.
See also
*
Statute of Merton, generally considered the first English statute, passed in 1235 but since repealed
*
Fairs Act 1204, the oldest statute still in force in Ireland
*
Royal Mines Act 1424, the oldest statute still in force in Scotland
*''
Quia Emptores''
*
Henry de Bracton
*
Statutes of Mortmain
Notes
References
*
*''Chronological table of the statutes''; HMSO, London. 1993.
Summary of the Distress Act 1267
External links
*
*
{{Documents of the English Baronial Reform Movement, 1258–1267
English laws
Acts of the Parliament of England still in force
1260s in law
1267 in England
13th century in England
Henry III of England