Now when they were
all agr?ed, they came in before the iudges, declaring to what
agr?ement they were growne: which doone, the iudges opened it to the
offendors or sutors, and withall gaue sentence as the qualitie of the
case did inforce and require. There may happilie be (as Polydor Virgil
saith) that will mainteine this maner of proc?eding in the
administration of iustice by the voices of a iurie, to haue b?ene in
vse before the conquerors daies, but they are not able to prooue it by
any ancient records of writers, as he thinketh: albeit by some of our
histories they should s?eme to be first ordeined by Ethelred or
Egelred. Howbeit this is most true, that the Norman kings themselues
would confesse, that the lawes deuised and made by the Conqueror were
not verie equall; insomuch that William Rufus and Henrie the sonnes of
the Conqueror would at all times, when they sought to purchase the
peoples fauor, promise to abolish the lawes ordeined by their father,
establish other more equall, and restore those which were vsed in S.
Edwards daies. The like kind of purchasing fauour was vsed by king
St?ephen, and other kings that followed him. [Sidenote: _Matth.
Paris._ _Matth. West._ _Wil. Mal._ _Wil. Thorne._ Abbeis searched.]
But now to the matter, king William hauing made these ordinances to
keepe the people in order, set his mind to inrich his cofers, and
therevpon caused first a tribvte to be leuied of the commons; then the
abbeies to be searched, and all such monie as any of the Englishmen
had laid vp in the same, to be kept.
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