diligent search for them during twenty years and more. And so it is with many more most useful books connected with the sciences of morals.

(C) The second root of the difficulty is that we ought to have excellent mathematicians, who should not only know what exists, original or translated, in connection with the sciences, but be able to make additions to them, which is easy for good mathematicians to do. For there are only two perfect mathematicians, Master John of London, and Master Peter de Maharn-Curia, a Picard. There are two other good ones, Master Campanus de Novaria, and Master Nicholas, the teacher of Aumary de Montfort. For without mathematics nothing worth knowing in philosophy can be attained. And therefore it is indispensable that good mathematicians be had, who are very scarce. Nor can any one obtain their services, especially the best of them, except it be the pope or some great prince. For he would hardly condescend to live with any one who wished to be the lord of his own studies, and prosecute philosophical investigations at his pleasure.

And besides these expenses, other great expenses would have to be incurred. Without mathematical instruments no science can be mastered; and these instruments are not to be found among the Latins, and could not be made for £200 or £300. And besides, better tables are indispensably requisite, for although the certifying of the tables is done by instruments, yet this cannot be accomplished unless there be an immense number of instruments; and these are hard to use and hard to keep, because of rusting, and they cannot be moved from place to place without danger of breaking; and a man cannot have everywhere and on all occasions new instruments, which yet he ought to have, unless he have certified tables. These tables are called Almanack or Tallignum, in which, once for all, the motions of the heavens are certified from the beginning to the end of the world without daily labour; so that a man can find everything in the heavens every day, as we find in the calendar the feastdays of the saints; and then every day we could consider in the heavens the causes of all things which are renovated in the earth, and seek similar positions [of the heavens] in times past, and discover similar effects. These tables would be worth a king's ransom, and therefore could not be made without vast expense. And I have often attempted the composition of such tables, but could not finish them through failure of the expenses, and the folly of those whom I had to employ. For, first of all, it would be necessary that ten or twelve boys should be

instructed in the ordinary canons and astronomical tables; and when they knew how to work at them, then for a year to discover the motions of each planet singly for every day and every hour, according to all the variations of their motions and other changes in the heavens.

33. THE MANUMISSION OF A VILLEIN (1278).

Englishmen were not always freeborn. Slavery existed before the Norman Conquest, and a mild form of serfdom can be detected at the Reformation. Intermediate between these two conditions is villenage, a state in which the unfree person lived on a separate piece of land, while being bound to render his master personal service. He often paid rent in addition to daily labour. Under the Norman kings the nativi or villeins went with the estate when it was transferred, and the improvement of their lot was a tedious process. A sense of Christian brotherhood doubtless mitigated their hardships, and sometimes secured their freedom. Serfdom was widespread in all European countries, and to England's early escape from it may be traced much of her comparative prosperity.1

SOURCE. Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i., p. 394. Trans. E. P. Cheyney, Philadelphia, 1897. (Univ. of Pennsylvania, Translations and Reprints, vol. iii., No. 5.)

To all the faithful of Christ to whom the present writing shall come, Richard by the divine permission abbot of Peterborough and the Convent of the same place, eternal greeting

1 Down to 1799 Scotland presented a singular and painful survival of servitude in the case of colliers and salters (i.e., labourers in salt mines). John Erskine-the date of whose death is 1768-writes thus of their condition :-"These [colliers and salters] are, by the law itself without any paction, bound merely by their entering upon work, in a colliery or salt manufactory, to the perpetual service thereof; and if the owner sell or alienate the ground upon which the work stand, the right of the service of these colliers, salters, etc., passes over to the purchaser, as fundo annexum, without any express grant; yet, to cut off all cavilling, it is usual to insert in the disposition a special clause, making over that right to the grantee. If the proprietor have a separate colliery at a moderate distance from the first, he may compel the colliers to work at either of the two; and the same is the case with salters." -Erskine's Institute of the Law of Scotland, I., vii. 61.

Acts of 15 and 39 Geo. III. removed the last vestiges of slavery in England,

in the Lord. Let all know that we have manumitted and liberated from all yoke of servitude William, the son of Richard of Wythington whom previously we have held as our born bondman, with his whole progeny and all his chattels, so that neither we nor our successors shall be able to require or exact any right or claim in the said William, his progeny or his chattels. But the same William with his whole progeny and all his chattels will remain free and quit and without disturbance, exaction, or any claim on the part of us or our successors by reason of any servitude, forever. We will moreover and concede that he and his heirs shall hold the messuages,1 land, rent and meadows in Wythington which his ancestors held from us and our predecessors, by giving and performing the fine which is called merchet for giving his daughter in marriage, and tallage 2 from year to year according to our will,-that he shall have and hold these for the future from us and our successors freely, quietly, peacefully and hereditarily, by paying thence to us and our successors yearly 40s. sterling, at the four terms of the year, namely: at St. John the Baptist's day, 10s., at Michaelmas, 10s., at Christmas, 10s., and at Easter, 10s., for all service, exaction, custom and secular demand; saving to us nevertheless attendance at our court of Castre every three weeks, wardship and relief, and outside service of our lord the king, when they shall happen. And if it shall happen that the said William or his heirs shall die at any time without an heir, the said messuage, land, rents and meadows with their appurtenances shall return fully and completely to us and our successors. Nor will it be allowed to the said William or his heirs, the said messuage, land, rents, meadows or any part of them to give, sell, alienate, mortgage, or in any way encumber by which the said messuage, land, rents and meadows should not return to us and our successors in the form declared above. But if this should occur later their deed shall be declared null, and what is thus alienated shall come to us and our successors. In testimony of which duplicate seals are appended to this writing, formed as a chirograph for the sake

1 Houses.

2" An aid demandable of demesne lands at the will of the lord."-Stubbs.

3" Anciently when they made a chirograph or deed. . . they engrossed twice upon one piece of parchment contrariwise, leaving a space between, in which they wrote in great letters the word chirograph; and then cut the parchment in two . . through the midst of

the word."-Vide Oxford Dictionary sub voce.

Given at

of greater security. These being witnesses, etc. [Peter] Borough for the love of Lord Robert of good memory, once abbot, our predecessor and maternal uncle of the said William, and at the instance of the good man brother Hugh of Mutton, relative of the said abbot Robert; A.D. 1278, on the eve of Pentecost.

34. A SUMMONS TO PARLIAMENT IN 1295 (1295).

1295 is a landmark in the growth of Parliament. Thirty years earlier Simon of Montfort had by summoning the knights and burgesses brought a new feature into the representation of the English people, and Edward I. had on different occasions asked the shires and towns, severally, for aid. But not till 1295 was the principle established" what touches all shall be approved by all". A crisis in the relations of England and France forced Edward to convene the Commons (along with the other estates) for the purpose of raising a subsidy, and the assembly of that year stands forth as the "model Parliament". In summons of the knights and burgesses writs were sent out to all the sheriffs as follows.

SOURCE.-Stubbs' Select Charters. Oxford, 1888. P. 486. Trans. C. W. Colby.

The king to the sheriff of Northamptonshire. Desiring to hold counsel and treat with the earls, barons and other nobles of our realm, as to provision against the perils which now threaten it, we have ordered them to meet us at Westminster, on the Sunday next following the Feast of St. Martin's1 in the coming winter, to discuss, ordain and do whatever may be necessary to guard against this danger. We therefore firmly enjoin you to have chosen without delay and sent to us at the said day and place two knights from the said county, and two citizens from each city of the said county, and two burgesses from each borough, of those more discreet and powerful to achieve in such wise that the said knights, citizens and burgesses may severally have full and sufficient power, on behalf of themselves and the community of the county, cities and boroughs to do what may then be ordained by the common

111th November.

counsel in the premises; so that the present business may not in any way rest undone through lack of this power. And bring with you the names of the knights, citizens and burgesses, and this writ. Witness the King at Canterbury, Octo

ber third.

35. AN ENGLISH VIEW OF WALLACE AND BRUCE

(circ. 1307).

The Flores Historiarum, once ascribed to Matthew of Westminster, is a patchwork of compilation and original composition which begins at the creation and closes at 1327. Dr. Luard, its latest editor, believes that it was begun by John de Cella, twenty-first abbot of St. Alban's. He died in 1214 and the work was continued at St. Alban's till about 1265. Afterwards various monks of Westminster brought it to the accession of Edward III. One distinct section of the chronicle lies between the battle of Evesham and the death of Edward I., and from the end of this part diatribes against Wallace and Bruce are quoted. Since the union of the two countries both leaders have become national heroes, in whom England can take her share of pride as well as Scotland. It is interesting to see how differently they were regarded in the time of the Edwards.

SOURCE.-Flores Historiarum. Formerly ascribed to Matthew of Westminster. Trans. C. D. Yonge. London, 1853. Vol. ii., A, p. 578; B, p. 583.

(4) About the time of the festival of the Assumption of the blessed Virgin Mary, a certain Scot, by name William Wallace, an outcast from pity, a robber, a sacrilegious man, an incendiary and a homicide, a man more cruel than the cruelty of Herod, and more insane than the fury of Nero . . . a man who burnt alive boys in schools and churches, in great numbers; who, when he had collected an army of Scots in the battle of Falkirk against the King of England, and had seen that he could not resist the powerful army of the king, said to the Scots, "Behold I have brought you into a ring, now carol and dance as well as you can," and so fled himself from the battle, leaving his people to be slain by the sword; he, I say, this man of Belial, after his innumerable wickednesses, was at last taken prisoner by the king's servants and brought to London, as the king ordained