Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/119

 ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. 77 be the bailiffs. Four city Serjeants are sworn verge-bearers to execute the coinmanils of the mayor and bailiffs. None of the twenty-four are to maintain any party in the city courts, or to act as advocates to the prejudice of the franchise. Two coroners are sworn in the King's name to execute their office as well in the soke as the city. The bailiffs annually return their rolls of pleas and terrage into the public custod}' of the city. So far the instrument sets forth the fundamental constitution of the corporate government. The regulations affecting the trade and manufacture of the city follow : — No citizen shall cause burells or chalons to be made without the walls, on pain of forfeiture of the article made, or its value. Every great loom for making burells pays 5s. per an. towards the farm of the city, unless' it makes only one cloth. No one ought to be free who keeps in his house, or elsewhere, more than one to the use of the mayor, one to the use of the hospital (i. e. St. John's) and a third to the use of the city clerk. The telers of burells ought to take 18d. for the working of cloth from All Saints to the Annunciation of our Lady, and thence again to All Saints, 2s. None but freemen can make burells, except that each fuller may make one every year, and every teler one towards the King's farm. Of the small looms for making chalons, each turs loom pays to the city farm 12c?. a year, and each single loom 6d., unless' only one cloth be made in the year. And no one can be a freeman who does not at least render this amount. Cloth must be of the length and breadth required by the old assise of the mystery on pain of forfeiture ; chalons 4 ells long must be 2 yards wide " before the tapener ; " chalons 3^ yards long must be If yard wide. If 3i yards long they must be an ell and a half, and half a quarter wide. If 3 ells long, they must be an ell and a half wide. An apprentice put to work at the loom of a tapener to oil must pay 10s. to the king, if he be not the son, or sister's son, of the master. None of the mystery may engage the servant of another until after St. Andrew's day, on pain of a half mark to the king. None of the mystery of a tapener may work at night except from the feast of St. Thomas to Christmas, on pain of Qd. for every offence. None of the mystery of buriller may work at night except from St. Nicholas to Christmas. Two prudeshomes are to be chosen from the mystery of tapeners and Bworn to maintain the ancient usages of it, and to take pledges from defaulters, and present them at the next court of the bailiffs. They are also to have the care or oversight of the send, or shop, where the yarn {Jil) is sold, so as to prevent regrating before the hour of tierce. Articles so sold are forfeited to the city farm. No regrater is to have there a box- or locker by which such regratings may be concealed ; and if they find an article wetted, or any other fraud practised, it shall be delivered to the bailiffs for adjudication and punish- ment. ' The expression mcs he nc seems to Ducange, Gloss. Franc, be here and elsewhere used for cxc€p(6, - Wic/ie in the orig. See llalliwell, or a moinn qiic, Sic. See Orelli, p. 33.9. Arch. Diet, verbo ?';Aic/ie.