BARON. 



297 



Baron, fulfilling the condition alluded to, the fief reverted to 

 the original possessor, and remained with him till the 

 period of minority expired, or the cause of inability 

 was removed. During 4 the period of nonage, the mi- 

 nor was educated at the expense of the baron, and 

 usually attended him both in the field and in the 

 great hall of his castle. Hence arose the incident of 

 wardship, designed in its first institution for the reci- 

 procal benefit of the vassal and his liege lord ; but in 

 the end, proving to be one of the most distressful of 

 all the feudal grievances. Nearly connected with 

 this incident, and indeed arising from it, is that of re- 

 lief. This was a certain sum of money, or a certain 

 quantity of arms and habiliments of war, paid to the 

 baron by the vassal when the term of wardship ex- 

 pired, and he entered on the possession of his fief. 

 It may be regarded as an acknowledgment on the 

 part of the ward, for the protection of his property, 

 and the charge of his education. The feudal subject 

 was commonly not backward to attend his lord in 

 the field ; his attendance, however, was sometimes 

 dispensed with ; and in lieu of actual service, the ba- 

 ron was content to accept of what was called a scu- 

 tage. This constitutes the third of the casualties in- 

 cident to the feudal tenure. But the property ori- 

 ginally derived from the territorial superior, was not 

 to be disposed of to another, or put into the hands 

 of his enemies, without his consent. It might be 

 transferred either by sale, in which case, the vassal 

 purchased the consent of the baron by paying a fine 

 of alienation, or by the marriage of female heirs, in 

 which case the feudatory was subjected to the inci- 

 dent of marriage. With regard to this last incident, 

 however, it must be observed, that though what we 

 have now stated may justly be considered as its ori- 

 ginal character or condition, yet the territorial supe- 

 rior gradually acquired the maritagium, or right of 

 giving his female wards in marriage to any person 

 whatever, and in all circumstances ; or of exacting a 

 large sum if they refused to accept of his choice. In 

 the exercise of this right, male heirs were at length 

 included. When the bond between the vassal and 

 his lord was dissolved, either by natural or civil 

 means, the property reverted to the original posses- 

 sor by escheat. The last of the feudal casualties was 

 the aid. This was at first a benevolence or gratui- 

 tous contribution on the part of the vassal, when the 

 treasury of the baron was exhausted, when he was 

 anxious to increase the splendour of his court or of 

 his entertainments, to form alliances, or to recover 

 his freedom when taken prisoner by his enemies. 

 Aids, however, came soon to be demanded ; and the 

 feudal subj-ct held himself bound to grant them at 

 least on three remarkable occasions. 1. When the 

 eldest son of the baron was to be knighted. 2. When 

 his eldest daughter was about to be given in mar- 

 riage : And, 3. When his ransom was to be paid. 

 Occasionally, however, the tyranny of the baron ex- 

 acted aids on other occasions ; as to pay the debts 

 which he had contracted, or reliefs, or scutages to 

 his superior lord. 



Having considered the barons as masters, let us next 

 view them in the character of servants. They formed 

 the great council of the monarch. They were summon- 

 ed by him whenever the affairs of the kingdom demand. 



VOL. III. TAUT II. 



ed particular attention, or whenever he wished to ac- 

 complish any object by means of their assistance. 

 As vassals of the crown, they were bound to obey 

 the royal mandate. On the same account, they were 

 liable to all the feudal incidents : and to these severe 

 regulations, they submitted for many centuries, though 

 often with great reluctance, and not without some at- 

 tempts to limit the power by which they were en- 

 forced. But the connection between the king and 

 his barons was by no means so intimate as that which 

 subsisted between the feudal lords and their imme- 

 diate dependants. For a great part of the year, and 

 occasionally for many successive years, they lived at 

 a distance from the seat of royal authority, while the 

 number and attachment of their followers, as well as 

 their military character, enabled them, either to dis- 

 obey with impunity, or, if the sceptre happened to 

 fall into weak hands, boldly to assert their indepen- 

 dence. This immoderate power of the nobles, was 

 not acquired at once. It was the result of favourable 

 circumstances in different reigns, and of various con- 

 secutive attempts to resist the encroachments of the 

 prerogative. Fiefs being rendered hereditary, the 

 property in land came, by additional grants, mar- 

 riages, and otherwise, into the possession of a few 

 great families. The consequence of this was, that 

 the chiefs of these families lived with a splendour, 

 and appeared with a number of retainers, scarcely 

 inferior to those of the king. In the reign of Wil- 

 liam of Normandy, the powerful Earl of Warenne 

 held lands in twelve different counties of England ; 

 and in Scotland, the retinue of the sixth Earl of 

 Douglas usually consisted of two thousand horse. 

 The next step towards the independence of the barons 

 was that of obtaining for themselves and their fami- 

 lies, the chief offices of trust and authority under the 

 crown. Besides the great council, which met occa- 

 sionally, and in which every territorial superior pos- 

 sessing land to a certain amount had the right of be- 

 ing present, the higher nobility formed what was 

 called the " Aula IVgis," or cour du roy, a regular 

 assembly to which the direction of affairs, both civil 

 and military, was exclusively committed, and before 

 which all questions of importance were tried and de- 

 cided. According to Madox, ( Hint, of the Exche- 

 quer,) the Aula Regis was composed of seven offi- 

 cers. 1. The chief justiciar, or lord justice general. 

 2. The constable, or principal groom. 3. The mare- 

 schall, or principal smith or farrier. 4. The sene- 

 schall, or lord high steward of the kingdom, originally 

 also dapifer, or steward of the household. 5. The 

 chrmberlain. 6. The chancellor. 7- The treasurer; 

 originally the deputy of the high steward, and in 

 later times that of the chambeikin. There is no 

 doubt that these officers were at first appointed by 

 the king, and were removeable at pleasure. In a 

 short time, however, the places which they held, and 

 the honours connected with them, were attached, not 

 to the individual, but to the fief. They descended, 

 in conjunction with the property in land, to the heirs 

 of the existing possessors, and like that property, 

 which was at length fixed by entail, were considered 

 as unalienable. The effect of the whole was, that 

 " a person whose undutiful behaviour rendered him 

 odious to his prince, or whose incapacity exposed 

 2.P. 



Earon. 



