A second privilege of the feudal lords was, that of trying causes and distributing justice among their vassals. This privilege seems to have belonged to many of them in its fullest extent. There is a dis tinction recognised by those who have given us any account of the feudal times, between what was deno. .rninated the high and the low justice; justice &tut et Las, ate et Lassa; and to this distinction it is ne cessary that we attend, in order to form an accurate idea of the judicial and executive powers which were vested in the feudal lords. The highjustice comprehended offences of every description, whether criminal or civil ; and especially those which were punishable et furea," (Du Cange, roe. .fossa : Tacit. De lion German. c. 12.), while the low justice was confined entirely to civil offences, and even in regard to these, was limited to petty trans gressions. While all the barons claimed the right of administering the low justice, some of more exten sive territory and of greater power, both claimed and exercised, the right of administering the high. They determined causes in which the life or death of the offending party was concerned. As they command ed their vassals in the field, •so they settled disputes and ordained punishments in the great ball of their castles. It was here that the baron's court was held : And as the king was often unable to interfere with his nobles in the exercise of their authority, and had even in some instances, as in those of rega lities and counties palatine, engaged himself never to do so, the decision of that court was final. Appeals were altogether unknown at the time when the power of the feudal aristocracy was at its height. But it would have been in vain to determine a cause against any individual without the means of carrying the sentence into effect. It was therefore necessary, or at least expedient, that, the baron should call to his assistance a number of his other vassals, both in ascer taining the extent and nature of the evil, and in award ing the punishment. This was the more requisite when fiefs had become perpetual, and the territorial superior found himself obliged to a more circum spect and equitable distribution of justice among his retainers. Hence arose the pares curia:, the assessors or jurymen, whom all modern history acknowledges to have been present in the baronial courts, not as compurgators or witnesses, but as actual judges of right and wrong. Hence too the existence of juries at present ; and hence that glorious maxim of British law, and proudest privilege of freedom, " that no man can be condemned unless after a trial by his peers." Before we conclude this part of the article we may observe, that in feudal times, the right of pardon uniformly accompanied those of judging and punishment.
A third privilege of the great barons, now at tached exclusively to royalty, was that of coining money. There can be no question that they enjoyed this privilege, though it has been less attended to by writers on the feudal system, than those which we have mentioned. Du Cange, in his article Moneta, intro duces several documents which establish its existence, and to these lie adds an enumeration and description of the baronial coins. The privilege alluded to was, no doubt, in some degree, the result of necessity. A mark, or stamp, was wanting to indicate the purity and value of the metals in use ; the king was often at a distance, little heard of, and not much regarded; but the territorial superior was always at hand, and his authority within the limits of his jurisdiction was, in many respects, exclusive and final. His mark, or stamp, therefore, became the index to his vassals, that the money which circulated among them was Of the proper fineness and weight. The right of coinage, thus assumed and exercised, was afterwards recog nised by many of the sovereigns and parliaments of Europe. It belonged to the ecclesiastical as well as to the lay barons. In an agreement between Philip the Fair and one of his bishops, (A. D. 13070 the words of which are quoted by Du Cange in the ar ticle already referred to, it is established that the money of the .bishop shall •ave a free circulation through the whole of his diocese, and that beyond the pale of his ecclesiastical authority it shall have the same currency, " Qum Moneta al iorinn haronion nostri regni Itabebant extra terras suns." " Quod
monetas ergo," infers the writer " ilsdcuF pririlegiis quibus laic; barones, gaudcbant espiseopi." Besides these privileges, now universally considered as a part of the king's prerogative, the barons en joyed in most of the European countries, certain be nefits resulting from their territorial superiority. These were what are denominated the feudal casual ties or incidents, of which we shall here give a short, though, we trust, a distinct account. They may all, without much difilculty, be traced to the nature of the feudal tenure, or the condition of military ser vice .on which the vassals received and held the por tions of land which the baron assigned them. When the vassal was incapable by nonage, or otherwise, of fulfilling the condition alluded to, the fief reverted to ' the original possessor, and remained with him till the period of minority expired, or the cause of inability was removed. During the period of nonage, the mi nor was educatedeat the expense of the baron, and usually attended him both in the field and in the great hall of his castle. Hence arose the incident of wardship, designed in its first institution for the reci procal benefit of the vassal and his liege lord ; but in the end, proving to be one of the most distressful of all the feudal grievances. Nearly connected with this incident, and indeed arising from it, is that of re lief. This was a certain sum of money, or a certain quantity of arms and habiliments of war, paid to the baron by the vassal when the term of wardship ex pired, and he entered on the possession of his fief. It may be regarded as an acknowledgment on the part of the ward, for the protection of his property, and the charge of his education. The feudal subject was commonly not backward to attend his lord in the field ; his attendance, however, was sometimes dispensed with ; and in lieu of actual service, the ba ron was content to accept of what was called a scu tage. This constitutes the third of the casualties in cident to the feudal tenure. But the property ori ginally derived from the territorial superior, was not to be disposed of to another, or put into the hands of his enemies, without his consent. It might be transferred either by sale, in which case, the vassal purchased the consent of the baron by paying a fine of alienation, or by the marriage of female heirs, in which case the feudatory was subjected to the inci dent of marriage. With regard to this last incident, however, it must be observed, that though what we have now stated may justly be considered as its ori ginal character or condition, yet the territorial supe rior gradually acquired the maritagium, or right of giving his female wards in marriage to any person whatever, and in all circumstances ; or of exacting a large sum if they refused to accept of his choice. In the exercise of this right, male heirs were at length included. When the bond between the vassal and his lord was dissolved, either by natural or civil means, the property reverted to the original posses sor by escheat. The last of the feudal casualties was the aid. This was at first a benevolence or gratui tous contribution on the part of the vassal, when the treasury of the baron was exhausted, when he was anxious to increase the splendour or his court or of his entertainments, to form alliances, or to recover his freedom when taken prisoner by his enemies. Aids, however, came soon to be demanded ; and the feudal subject held himself bound to grant them at least on three remarkable occasions. I. When the eldest son of the baron was to be knighted. 2. Vihen his eldest daughter was about to be given in mar riage : And, 3. When his ransom was to be paid. Occasionally, however, the tyranny of the baron ex acted aids on other occasions; as to pay the debts which he had contracted, or reliefs, or scutages to his superior lord. • Having considered the barons as masters, let us next view them in the character of servants. They formed the great council of the monarch. They were summon ed by him whenever the affairs of the kingdom demand.