158
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[book I.
In proportion as this idea gains ground, the in-
fluence of the king in every detail of public life
necessarily increases, and the regalia or royal rights
become more varied and numerous: he is looked
upon as the protector of the stranger, who has no
other natural guardian, inasmuch as no stranger
can be a member of any of those associations which
are the guarantee of tho freeman. He has the sole
right of settling the ʌ ιe and form of the medium
of exchange : through his power of calling out the
armed force, he obtains rights which can only con-
sist with martial law,—even the right of life and
death1 : the justice of the whole country flows from
him : the establishment of fiscal officers dependent
traetuɪn rex huius patriae suae ditioni avidus devenire iniuste optavit.”
Cod. Dipl. No. 601. The injustice complained of is in the king’s seizing
lands that were really not the offender's : but so strong was the king’s
right, that the church was obliged to buy back its own land for one
hundred and twenty mancusses of gold. That these forfeitures resulted
from a solemn judicial act admits of no doubt. In 1002, a lady who
owned lands was found guilty of certain acts, her lands were forfeited,
and made over to the king, in the language of the instrument, “ ∖ulgari
traditions.” Cod. Dipl. No. 1296. In 938 ÆtSelstân gave seven hides of
land, to the church at Winchester: “istarum autem vɪi mansarum quan-
titas iusto valde iudicio totius populi, seniorum et primatum, ablata fuit
ab eis qui eorum possessores fuerunt, quia aperto crimine furti usque ad
mortem obnoxii inventi sunt ; ideoque decretum est ab omni populo ut
Iibri illorum, quos ad has terras habebant, aeternaliter dampnarentur,”
etc. Cod. Dipl. No. 374. Ægelsige stole AvSelwines swine : his land at
Dumbleton was accordingly forfeited to the king. “ ∙j man geréhte
AvSelrede cyninge Sæt land ∙j Èhta.” Cod. Dipl. No. 692. The law of
the Ripuarian Franks seems to have been somewhat different : see Tit.
§ lxxix. de homine penduto et eius hereditate ; and Eichhorn, i. 269.
1 I may again refer to the story of the vase at Soissons. Clovis put the
soldier to death on pretext of a breach of discipline ; in reality, because
the man had opposed him with respect to the booty. But, except in the
field, it is not to be imagined that Clovis could have taken his life ; and
certainly not without a legal conviction and condemnation by the people.
CH. VI.]
THE KING.
169
upon himself places the private possessions of the
freeman at his disposal. The peculiar conservancy
of the peace, and command over the means of in-
ternal communication enable him to impose tolls
on land- and water-carriage : he is thus also em-
powered to demand the services of the freemen to
receive and conduct travelling strangers, heralds or
ambassadors from one royal vill to another ; to de-
mand the aid of their carts and horses to carry
forage, provisions or building-materials to his royal
residence. Treasure-trove is his, because where
there is no owner, the state claims the accidental
advantage, and the king is the representative of
the state. It is part of his dignity that he may
command the aid of the freemen in his hunting
and fishing ; and hence that he may compel them
to keep his hawks and hounds, and harbour or
feed his huntsmen. As head of the church he has
an important influence in the election of bishops,
even in the establishment of new sees, or the aboli-
tion of old established ones. His authority it is
that appoints the duke, the geréfa, perhaps even
the members of the Witena-gemot. Above all, he
has the right to divest himself of a portion of these
attributes, and confer them upon those whom he
pleases, in different districts.
The complete description of the rights of Royalty,
in all their detail, will find a place in the Second
Book of this work ; they can only be noticed cur-
sorily here, inasmuch as they appertain, in strict-
ness, to a period in which the monarchical spirit, and
the institutions proper thereto, had become firmly