Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/81

 Ch. 5. by which it was holden, and who, and of what age, his heir was; thereby to acertain the relief and value of the primer eiin, or the wardhip and livery accruing to the king thereupon. A manner of proceeding that came in proces of time to be greatly abued, and at length an intolerable grievance; it being one of the principal accuations againt Empon and Dudley, the wicked engines of Henry VII, that by colour of fale inquiitions they compelled many perons to ue out livery from the crown, who by no means were tenants thereunto. And, afterwards, a court of wards and liveries was erected, for conducting the ame enquiries in a more olemn and legal manner.

the heir thus came of full age, provided he held a knight's fee, he was to receive the order of knighthood, and was compellable to take it upon him, or ele pay a fine to the king. For, in thoe heroical times, no peron was qualified for deeds of arms and chivalry who had not received this order, which was conferred with much preparation and olemnity. We may plainly dicover the footteps of a imilar cutom in what Tacitus relates of the Germans, who in order to qualify their young men to bear arms, preented them in a full aembly with a hield and lance; which ceremony, as was formerly hinted, is uppoed to have been the original of the feodal knighthood. This prerogative, of compelling the vaals to be knighted, or to pay a fine, was exprely recognized in parliament, by the tatute de militibus, 1 Edw. II; was exerted as an expedient of raiing money by many of our bet princes, particularly by Edward VI and queen Elizabeth; but yet was the occaion of heavy murmurs when exerted by Charles I: among whoe many misfortunes it was, that neither himelf nor his people eemed able to ditinguih between the arbitrary tretch, and the legal exertion, of prerogative. Rh