The Magna Charta and Other Great Charters of England; With an Historical Treatise and Copious Explanatory Notes (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1899 Excerpt: ... PART n. Cbe (c)reat Cbartera, jForeet Charters ano Some (c)tber Xawe. LAWS OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. THE following collection of laws is given in Ingulph's Chronicle of the Abbey of Croyland beginning at page 176 (Bohn). Just what faith and credence, and what reliance to place upon them, is very hard to decide. There seems to be no doubt at all, in the minds of historians and antiquarians that the whole of the chronicle reputed to have been written by Ingulph was a forgery of the fourteenth century. The argument advanced by those persons who have closely studied into this matter, is so convincing, that to attempt to dispute it would be futile. The fact that the chronicle is spurious, must be accepted, however regretfully. But even with that fact before us, it would not be advisable to totally' cast aside the whole of the chronicle as useless and valueless, for there is much in it that is true and a help to the study of the trying times of which it speaks. It was written near to the time which it purports to describe, and the facts therein contained may in some measure have been in the possession of the writer; at least it might have been so in the case of these laws, for as to them, there could have been little gain in forging. I have thought it proper, under all the circumstances, not to accept these laws as fact, and yet not to discard them altogether, but to place them before the reader, for what they may be worth. To some extent at least they may depict the conditions they attempt to perfect, at the time they were supposed to be written, and in operation. To omit them altogether from this work I think would be as great an error, as to rely implicitly upon them. i. Of the right of asylum, and of ecclesiastical protection. The protection of our Holy