Page:English Historical Review Volume 35.djvu/570

 562 CHARTERS TO SOME October The first grant of clauses 4-6, for which I have been able to find a definite dat«, is that made to St. Omer on 11 February 39 Henry III, when the three clauses in the same order and phrasing as that found in the Hereford and Shrewsbury charters were granted to the burgesses. The same three clauses, however, are found in the charter of Edward the king's son to the burgesses of Car- marthen ; ^ the castle of Carmarthen was granted to Edward on 14 February 38 Henry III ; ^ the prince's charter were confirmed by the king on 4 February 41 Henry III. The clauses are in the order 5, 6, 4, and clause 4 reads ' nor shall any of the burgesses be troubled within the prince's land for the debt of a neighbour '. It may be mentioned here that this charter became the model for the other South Wales boroughs affiliated to Carmarthen** which reproduce the three clauses in their respective charters ; and that the mother town itself received the customs of Hereford. The recovery of debt was one of the most vexed problems of early trading communities, and many expedients were tried before a solution was reached in the statute of Acton Bumell. It is interesting to note that this statute of merchants was drawn up at the bishop's country seat lying between Shrewsbury, Bridg- north, Hereford, and Worcester, when the parliament was held there by the prince who had granted clause 4 to his burgesses in the March ; thus an example of the passage from the charter to the statute period of history is afforded. In the same year as the grant to St, Omer, clause 4 alone was granted to five other trading centres : to Lincoln on 1 March, to Northampton on 7 April, to Lynn on 14 April, to Norwich on 3 June, to Nottingham on 20 July 39 Henry III. Coming now to the year 1 256 (40 Henry III ), we find from a later confirmation contained in the Calendar of the charter rolls that York received a second charter on 18 May consisting of clause 4 ; the precedent for the one-clause charter in the case of Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth is thus seen. The burgesses of Scarborough received a charter containing clauses 4 and 7 on 25 May. Here the case of Bath must be taken ; on 24 July a charter was granted to that borough at Gloucester, containing clauses 1, 3, 5, 6, 11. This date is near that of the charters to the border boroughs. But between 24 July and 8 August the set of three clauses as given* to St. Omer were granted by the king on 3 August to the borough of Monmouth at Hereford. This charter does not appear to have been con- firmed, but is preserved in the collection of Ancient Deeds in the ' The boroughs with the date of grants were : Cardigan 1284, Hayerfordwest 1291, 1-Aughame 1300, Lampeter 1332. See Gross, Oild Merchant, i. 246-9. for 6 August 1259, but below the entry is written ' Ista carta est de anteriori data quia post duas cart*s precedentes fuit sigillata '.
 * Certain unrelated clauses follow. * Rymer, Foedera, i. 501.
 * The three clauses were also granted to Ghent ; the charter is entered on the roll