54 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA 



put in force ; and a consideration of the whole case shows that 

 the roll De Superioritate Maris deals with the maritime laws, 

 the interpretation of the documents having been strained by the 

 later advocates for the English claim to the sovereignty of the 

 seas. It is interesting no doubt to learn that the King of 

 England and his admiral exercised jurisdiction of the kind in 

 the neighbouring sea at the early time referred to, but there is 

 nothing in the case of Grimbald or in the other documents 

 associated with it to indicate. any claim to a sovereignty such 

 as was enjoyed by Venice and Denmark. There was no 

 attempt made to interfere with the innocent use of the so- 

 called sea of England, or to exact dues for navigation or 

 fishery. The jurisdiction extended only to the keeping of 

 the peace and the security of the sea duties exercised by other 

 princes and states in like manner, and indeed now exercised 

 by all countries within the waters under their control. This 

 view is supported by the interpretation of Callis, who stated 

 that the king ruled on the sea "by the laws imperial, as by 

 the roll of Oleron and others," in all matters relating to 

 shipping and merchants and mariners. 1 It would no doubt be 

 of great interest if there were distinct evidence as to how 

 far from the coast "the sea of England" extended. The 

 records cited show that the vessels were seized close to the 

 English coast, within the waters covered by the proclamations 

 concerning the King's Chambers in the seventeenth century, 

 and even within the narrow limits of the territorial waters 

 as now usually defined. It is to be noted with reference to 

 the vessel taken "on the high seas" that in the Court of 

 Admiralty in the seventeenth century this phrase covered 

 seizures made a few miles from the coast. 



There is, however, one case which occurred in the fourteenth 

 century which has been referred to as showing that the sea 

 of England and the jurisdiction of the king extended far from 

 , the English coast, over indeed to the coast of Brittany. In the 

 mutual aggressions of Flemish and English sailors, the robberies 

 by the men of Rye of Flemish ships off " Craudon " and Orwell 

 became so flagrant that commissioners on both sides were 

 appointed in 1311, further proceedings were instituted in 1314, 



1 The Reading of the Famous and Learned Robert Callis. Esqr., upon the Statute 

 of Sewers, 23 Hen. VIII., c. 5, &c., 1622 ; ed. 1824, p. 48. 



