AN ANCIENT BILL IN CHANCERY. 241 



p'sones of his affinite upon Ester day after evesonge lay in wajrte 

 to have taken and mordered your seid oratour, for fear wherof he 

 avoided his seid chirche and yit dooith, to his importable hurt. 



Also where your seid oratour sued the seid Thomas in your 

 Court of Consystorye at Excestre for certeyn duetees to him due 

 as in the right of his seid chirche, the seid Thomas of his 

 malicious disposicion hath feyned div's accions ayenst your seid 

 oratour in the Court of Steynerye in the seid counte of Corne- 

 wayle surmitting by oon of the seid accions that your seid oratour 

 shuld owe to the seid Thomas fy ve marc for half a thousand tynne : 

 where your seid oratour nev' bought nor solde with the same 

 Thomas, as hit shall be proved. 



Please it your rev'ent faderhode and gracious Lordship these 

 wronges hurtes and oppressions doon to your seid oratour, with- 

 out many other injuries and wronges to him doon by the seid 

 Thomas as hit is wele knowen and openly may be proved, tenderly 

 to consider, and how also your seid oratour is not of power nor 

 dar sue the comon lawe ayenst the seid Thomas and his affinite 

 for the seid hurtes wronges and offences, and therupon of yo' gode 

 grace to graunte a writte sub pena to be direct unto the seid 

 Thomas to appere afore our liege lorde the Kyng in his court of 

 the Chaunc'ye at a certayn day by you to be lymyted, there to be 

 examined of these p'misses w* the circumstances, and upon his ex- 

 amination that he may be ruled as the seid high court shall 

 awarde, for the love of God and in wey of rightwisnesse and 

 charite. 



/ 

 Gody's complaint of threats held out against his person would 

 seem to have been no idle tale ; for the Act, I Rich. II, c. xv, 

 was passed to prevent " people of Holy Church beneficed " from 

 being arrested and drawn out from " churches and their church- 

 " yards, and sometimes whiles they be attending on divine service, 

 " and also in other places, although they be bearing the body of our 

 "Lord Jesus Christ to sick persons, and being so arrested be 

 "bound and carried to prison against the liberty of Holy Church." 

 And by a previous Act of the same reign, ch. xiii, it would appear 

 that the clergy greatly complained that, while pursuing in the 

 spiritual court for their tithes, they were " maliciously and unduly 



