Compare 1577 edition: 1 Stigand. Alexander bishop of Lin|colne.About this time the archbishop Stigand, and A|lexander bishop of Lincolne fled to Scotland, where they kept themselues close for a season. But the king still continued in his hard procéeding against the Englishmen, insomuch that now protesting how he came to the gouernance of the realme only by plaine conquest, Polydor. The hard de|ling of K. Wil|liam against the English|men. he seized into his hands most part of eue|rie mans possessions, causing them to redeeme the same at his hands againe, and yet reteined a proper|tie in the most part of them; so that those that should afterwards enioy them, should acknowledge them|selues to hold them of him, in yéelding a yéerlie rent to him and his successors for euer, with certeine o|ther prouisions, whereby in cases of forfeiture the same lands should returne to him, and his said suc|cessors againe. The like order he appointed to be v|sed by other possessors of lands, in letting them forth to their tenants. He ordeined also, that the Termes should be kept foure times in the yéere,The instituti|on of the foure Termes. in such pla|ces as he should nominate, and that the iudges shuld sit in their seuerall places to iudge and decide causes and matters in controuersie betwixt partie and par|tie, in manner as is vsed vnto this day. He decréed moreouer, that there should be shiriffes in euerie shire, and iustices of the peace to keepe the countries in quiet, and to sée offendors punished. Further|more, he instituted the court of the Excheker, and the officers belonging to the same,

The Exche|ker.

The Chan|cerie.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 After he had in this sort ordeined his magistrates and ministers of the lawes, he lastlie tooke order what ordinances he would haue obserued: wherevpon a|brogating in maner all the ancient lawes vsed in times past, and instituted by the former kings for the good order and quietnes of the people, he made new, nothing so equall or easie to be kept;New lawes. which neuerthe|lesse those that came after (not without their great harme) were constreined to obserue: as though it had béene an high offense against GOD to abolish those euill lawes, which king William (a prince no|thing friendlie to the English nation) had first ordei|ned, and to bring in other more easie and tollerable. ¶ Here by the waie I giue you to note a great absur|ditie; namelie, that those lawes which touched all, and ought to be knowne of all, were notwithstan|ding written in the Norman toong,The lawes were written in the Nor|man toong. which the En|glishmen vnderstood not; so that euen at the begin|ning you should haue great numbers, partlie by the iniquitie of the lawes, and partlie by ignorance in misconstruing the same, to be wrongfullie condem|ned: some to death, and some in the forfeitures of their goods; others were so intangled in sutes and causes, that by no means they knew how to get out, but continuallie were tossed from post to piller; in such wise that in their minds they curssed the time that euer these vnequall lawes were made.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 The maner for the triall of causes in controuer|sie, was deuised in such sort as is yet vsed.Matters to be tried by a iurie of 12. men. Twelue ancient men (but most commonlie vnlearned in the lawes) being of the same countie where the sute laie, were appointed by the iudges to go togither into some close chamber, where they should be shut vp, till vpon diligent examination of the matter they should [...]grée vpon the condemnation or acquiting of the prisoner, if it were in criminall causes; or vpon de|ciding in whom the right remained, if it were vpon triall of things in controuersie. Now when they were all agréed, they came in before the iudges, de|claring to what agréement they were growne: which doone, the iudges opened it to the offendors or sutors, and withall gaue sentence as the qualitie of the case did inforce and require. There may happilie be (as Polydor Virgil saith) that will mainteine this maner of procéeding in the administration of iustice by the voices of a iurie, to haue béene in vse before the con|querors daies, but they are not able to prooue it by any ancient records of writers, as he thinketh: al|beit by some of our histories they should séeme to be first ordeined by Ethelred or Egelred. Howbeit this is most true, that the Norman kings themselues would confesse, that the lawes deuised and made by the Conqueror were not verie equall; insomuch that William Rufus and Henrie the sonnes of the Con|queror would at all times, when they sought to pur|chase the peoples fauor, promise to abolish the lawes ordeined by their father, establish other more equall, and restore those which were vsed in S. Edwards daies. The like kind of purchasing fauor was vsed by king Stéephen, and other kings that followed him. But now to the matter, king William hauing made these ordinances to keepe the people in order, set his mind to inrich his cofers, and thervpon cau|sed first a tribute to be leuied of the commons, then the abbeies to be searched, Matth. Paris. Matth. West. Wil. Mal. Wil. Thorne. Abb [...]is sear|ched. Polydor. Simon Dun. and all such monie as any of the Englishmen had laid vp in the same, to be kept. Besides all this, he seized into his hands their charters of priuileges made to them by the Saxon kings of the land, and spared not so much as the iew|els and plate dedicated to sacred vses. All this did he (as some write) by the counsell of the earle of Hertford.