Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/442

 406 Readings in European History land, rents, and meadows with their appurtenances shall return fully and completely to us and our successors. Nor will it be allowed to the said William or his heirs to give, sell, alienate, mortgage, or encumber in any way, the said mes- suage, land, rents, meadows, or any part of them, by which the said messuage, land, rents, and meadows should not return to us and our successors in the form declared above. And if this should occur later, their deed shall be declared null, and what is thus alienated shall come to us and our successors. . . . Given at Borough, for the love of Lord Robert of good memory, once abbot, our predecessor and maternal uncle of the said William, and at the instance of the good man, Brother Hugh of Mutton, relative of the said abbot Robert, A.D. 1278, on the eve of Pentecost. 161. Cus- toms of the town of Chester. (From Domesday Book.) II. THE MEDIAEVAL TOWN As the towns grew up, certain local customs came into existence. These were nothing more than the rules which the townspeople recognized as necessary to maintain order and prevent misunderstandings. They were not necessarily written down, as every one was supposed to be familiar with them. The commissioners of William the Conqueror judged it wise, however, to include in Domesday Book some forty of the town cus- toms which involved the king's financial interests. The following provisions occur among those of Chester. If any free man of the king broke the peace which had been granted, and killed a man in his house, all his land and money came to the king, and he himself became an outlaw. He who shed blood between Monday morning and the ninth hour of Saturday compounded for it with ten shillings. From the ninth hour of Saturday to Monday morning bloodshed was compounded for with twenty shillings. Similarly any