Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/38

 26 ly coniting of the kings of Mercia and Northumberland, the bihops, dukes, enators, and people. Which was a few years later than the time that Charlemagne etablihed the payment of them in France, and made that famous diviion of them into four parts; one to maintain the edifice of the church, the econd to upport the poor, the third the bihop, and the fourth the parochial clergy.

next authentic mention of them is in the foedus Edwardi et Guthruni; or the laws agreed upon between king Guthrun the Dane, and Alfred and his on Edward the elder, ucceive kings of England, about the year 900. This was a kind of treaty between thoe monarchs, which may be found at large in the Anglo-Saxon laws ; wherein it was neceary, as Guthrun was a pagan, to provide for the ubitence of the chritian clergy under his dominion; and, accordingly, we find the payment of tithes not only enjoined, but a penalty added upon non-obervance: which law is econded by thoe of Atheltan, about the year 930. And this is as much as can certainly be traced out, with regard to their legal original.

2. are next to conider the perons to whom they are due. And upon their firt introduction (as hath formerly been oberved ) though every man was obliged to pay tithes in general, yet he might give them to what priets he pleaed ; which were called arbitrary conecrations of tithes: or he might pay them into the hands of the bihop, who ditributed among his diocean clergy the revenues of the church, which were then in common. But, when diocees were divided into parihes, the tithes of each parih were allotted to it's own particular miniter; firt by common conent, or the appointments of lords of manors, and afterwards by the written law of the land. Rh