When Edward I came to the throne, over half of the approximately
600 hundred courts had gone under the jurisdiction of a private
lord owing to royal charter, prescriptive right, and usurpation.
The sheriff's powers in these hundreds varied. In some, the
sheriff had no right of entry.
In the manor courts, actions of debt, detinue, and covenant were
frequent. Sometimes there are questions of a breach of warranty of
title in agreements of sale of land. Accusations of defamation
were frequent; this offense could not be taken to the King's
court, but it had been recognized as an offense in the Anglo-Saxon
laws. In some cases, the damages caused are specifically stated.
For instance, defamation of a lord's grain would cause other
purchasers to forbear buying it. There are frequent cases of
ordinary thefts, trespasses, and assaults. The courts did rough
but substantial justice without distinction between concepts such
as tort and contract. In fact, the action of covenant was the only
form of agreement enforceable at common law. It required a writing
under seal and awarded damages. Their law was not technical, but
elastic, and remedies could include injunctions, salary
attachment, and performance of acts. The steward holding the manor
court was often a lawyer.
Some pleas in the manors of the abbey of Bec were:
1. Hugh le Pee in mercy (fine, 12d.) for concealing a sheep
for half a year.
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