Page:English Historical Review Volume 37.djvu/472

 464 SHORT NOTICES July Professor Andreades of the University of Athens has republished in pamphlet form his article upon 'Le Montant du Budget de I' Empire Byzantin (Paris : Leroux, 1922). His conclusions are that Paparregopoulos went too far in estimating the Byzantine revenues at 640,000,000 francs, and that Stein did not go far enough in estimating them at about one-sixth of that amount. The a_pproximate sum is difficult to ascertain, partly owing to the great diminution of the empire under the Palaiologoij and to their concessions of important sources of revenue to foreigners, partly because of the personality of the ruler, especially if the latter were a woman, liable to monastic influence and therefore willing to exempt religious foundations from fiscal duties. Dr. Andreades, as in his last previous treatise, De la Population de Constantinople sous les Empereurs Byzantins (Rovigo : Industrie Grafiche Italiane, 1920), supports his arguments by abundant quotations, showing great diligence in the study of his special subject, the history of Greek public finance. 1 W. M. Mr. W. C. Bolland has published, in a little book uniform with his study of the Year Books, 2 three lectures upon The General Eyre (Cambridge : University Press, 1922). With characteristic learning and realism he explains the procedure and illustrates the terrors of this great instrument of royal power. R. The remaining cases for Michaelmas, 6 Edw. II (1312-13), are not very significant, and Sir Paul Vinogradoff and Dr. Ludwik Ehrlich have devoted the greater part of their introduction to the Year Books of Edward II, vol. xvi, part i (Selden Society, vol. xxxviii, London : Quaritch, 1921) to the clerks of the Common Bench, particularly to John of Redenhall. The apprentice who put together Add. MS. 35116 (generally referred to as Y) mentions Redenhall more than once, and got from him much of his information on what went on in the private conferences of the judges. The editors of the new volume show that Redenhall was a clerk of the court who received orders, not a person who took part in discussion. He was probably the clerk of the chief justice, whose duties and emolu- ments are described in the ordinance of 1309, not the king's clerk who kept the counter roll in the court of common pleas. The study of Reden- hall's career throws light on the way in which the Year Books were com- piled, for it helps us to trace an important source of information open to the apprentices who watched the proceedings from a railed-ofi ' crib ', and yet were so familiar with the legal gossip and personalities of the court. In their exposition of the crucial passages in Y, a manuscript frequently studied by previous editors of the Year Books, Sir Paul Vino- gradoff and Dr. Ehrlich bring out very clearly the far-reaching results which may follow a faulty punctuation of a medieval text. So far as we can judge, their readings, in which they follow Maitland, are undoubtedly correct. The texts in this volume contain little of historical interest. The editors comment upon the double usage of the formula ' defendit suum ius ' to indicate ' both the positive assertion of right and the negative denial of the adversary's right '. Case 77 (Beauver v. The Abbot of St. Albans) 1 Ante, xxxiv. 273. 2 See ante, xxxvi. 615.