ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. 347

secular courts firmly, and at length successfully, resisted. The general reader will find as much probably as he will be curious to learn on this subject in the second volume of Mr. llallam's View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, pp. 310 et seqq. The practice was based on the doctrine of the spiritual courts, that they act pro salute animcB ; and the prevention of injustice and perjury, particularly the latter, was alleged as a justifial)le ground for their interposition. This contest was continued, with more or less energy, till after the date of the above document, though the ecclesiastical tribunals had sometime before been driven from many of their positions. A great effort was made on their behalf by Archbishop Boniface, who issued his canons and constitutions in 1258, and afterwards there was an appeal to parliament, but without success ; and the statute or ordinance intitled ' Circumspecte agatis,' commonly referred to the thirteenth year of Edward the First, sliews within what limits their authority was then reduced. However, contracts concerning lay-fees, i. e. in popular language, the lands of lay persons, were never suffered to be brought under their cognizance ; and therefore this case was clearly out of their general jurisdiction, and hence the endeavour to give the Dean a special jmisdiction and coercive power by means of an express stipulation for the purpose, and an oath taken for the observance of it; a con- trivance wdiich after all, I have no doubt, would have been found unavailing if the lady had sought the protection of the com- mon law court; and an apprehension of this, I conceive, induced the framer of the instrument to provide so carefully that she should submit to excommunication on the bare allegation of Richard de Calna that he had been disturbed, without oath or other proof being required, and without any judicial fuss (sine aliquo strepitu judiciale).^ "w. s. w. f This is not a solitary instance of such should choose, that the observance of the a phrase in a document of that period. A agreement might be enforced by eccle- similar one occurs in an agreement between siastical censures "absque articuli seu the abbot and convent of St. Mary Oseney libelli petitione et quocunque strcpitu judi- and the prior and convent of Burncester ciali." A stipulation of this kind was pro- ( Bicester) respecting some tithes, which is bably not uncommon when parties engaged recited in an agreement between the same to submit to the decision of a person who parties dated 1300; see Paroch. Antiq. 3IK had no other authority to adjudicate be- lt has some other points of resemblance to tween them in the matter; as appears to the document above mentioned ; for the have been the case in the agreement re- prior and his convent agreed to submit to ferred to, though the subject of it and the the " coercion and discretion" of tlie official parties were, for most purposes, witliin the or chancellor of the bishop of Lincoln, or jurisdiction of the bishop of Lincoln, any other judge the abbot and his convent