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.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Shortlie after betwixt Easter and Whitsuntid [...], Wil. Thorne. a great synod was holden at Winchester by the bishops and cleargie, where Ermenfred the bishop of Sion or Sitten, Polydor. Sim. Dunel. with two cardinals Iohn and Peter sent thither from pope Alexander the second, did sit as chéefe commissioners. In this synod was Stigand the archbishop of Canturburie depriued of his bishoprike, for thrée speciall causes.Stigand arch+bishop of Can|turburie de|priued