Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/271

 1 England in the Middle Ages 235 a hundred pounds ; the heir or heirs of a baron, for a whole barony, a hundred pounds ; the heir or heirs of a knight, for a whole knight's fee, a hundred shillings at most ; and who owes less, let him give less, according to the ancient custom of fiefs. . . . 5. The custodian [of the lands of a minor] moreover, so long as he shall have the custody of the land, must keep up the houses, parks, warrens, fish ponds, mills, and other things pertaining to the land, from the proceeds of the land itself; and he must return to the heir, when he has come to full age, all his land, furnished with plows and implements of husbandry, according as the time of wainage requires and as the proceeds of the land are able reasonably to sustain. . . . 7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall have her marriage portion and her inheritance immediately and without obstruction. . . . 8. No widow shall be compelled to marry so long as she prefers to live without a husband, provided she gives secu- rity that she will not marry without our consent, if she holds from us, or without the consent of her lord from whom she holds, if she holds from another. . . . 12. No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom save by the common council of our kingdom, except for the ransoming of our body, for the making of our oldest son a knight, and for once marrying our oldest daughter; and for these purposes it shall be only a reasonable aid ; in the same way it shall be done concerning the aids of the city of London. 13. And the city of London shall have all its ancient liberties and free customs, as well by land as by water. Moreover we will and grant that all other cities and boroughs and villages and ports shall have all their liberties and free customs. 14. And for holding a common council of the kingdom concerning the assessment of an aid otherwise than in the three cases mentioned above, or concerning the assessment of a scutage, we shall cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons by our letters Except in specified cases, no tax to be imposed without the con sent of the common council.