293 COURTS 
Admiralty ; which fee under their refpedtive titles. 
The inferior courts are the .following : 
COIJR.T-B A RON. 
This is a court which every lord of a manor hath with¬ 
in his own precindt; it is. an infeparable incident to the 
manor; and muff be held by prefcription, for it cannot 
be created at tills day. i Injl. 58. A court-baron mud 
be kept on fome part of the manor, and is of two natures: 
1. By common law, which is the barons’ or freeholders’ 
court, of which the freeholders being fuitors are the 
judges; and this cannot be a court-baron without two 
fuitors at lead. The deward of this court is rather the 
regider than the judge. 2. By cudom, which is called 
the cudomary court; and concerns the cudomary tenants 
and copyholders, whereof the lord, or his deward, is 
judge. See the article Copyhold. 
The court-baron may be of this double nature, or one 
may be without the other ; but as there can be no court- 
baron at common law without freeholders, fo there can¬ 
not be a cudomary court without copyholders or cudom- 
.ary tenants. 4 Rep. 26. 2.Injl. 119. The freeholders’court, 
whofe mod important butinefs is to determine, by writ of 
right, all controverdes relating to lands within the ma¬ 
nor ; and which hath alfo jurifdidtion for trying actions 
of debt, trefpali'es, &c. under forty Ihillings, may be held 
every three weeks, and is fomething like a county court, 
and the proceedings much the fame ; though on reco¬ 
very of debt, they have not power to make execution, 
but are to di-drain the defendant’s goods, and retain them 
till fatisfadtion is made. The proceedings on a writ 
of right may be removed into the county courts by a 
precept from the flierid' called a tolt (quia tollit cavfam). 
And the proceedings in all other adtions, may be re¬ 
moved into the fuperior courts by the king’s writs of 
pone, or accedas ad curiam, according to the nature of the 
fuit. Finch L. 444, 5. After judgment given alfo, a writ 
of falfe judgment lies to the courts at Wedminder to re¬ 
hear and re-view the caufe, and not a writ of error ; for 
this is not a court of record : and therefore in fome of 
thefe writs of removal, the fird direction given is to 
caufe the plaint to be recorded ; recordarifacias loquclam. 
F.N.B. 18. 
The other court-baron, for taking and palling of edates, 
furrenders, admittances, &c. is held but once or twice in 
a year, (ufually with a court-leet,) unlefs it be on pur- 
pole to grant an edate; and then it is holden as often as 
requidte. In this court the homage jury are to enquire 
that their lords do not lofe their fervices, duties, or cuf- 
toms, but that the tenants make their fuits of court; 
pay their rents and heriots, and keep their lands and te¬ 
nements in repair; they are to prefent all common and 
private nuifanc.es, which may prejudice the lord’s manor ; 
and every public trefpafs mud be punifhed in this court, 
by amercement, on prefenting the fame. By datute 
Extent. Man. 4Edw. I. it lhall be enquired of cudomary 
tenants, what they hold, by what works, rents, heriots, 
fervices, &c. And of the lord’s woods, and other pro- 
flts, fifhing, See. 
COURT of CHIVALRY. 
This is fometimes called the marlhal court, or court 
of heralds, lituate on St. Bennet’s-hill, Dodtor’s-com- 
1110ns, London. The judges of it are the lord high con- 
dable of England, and the earl marlhal: this court is 
laid to be the fountain of the martial law, and the earl 
marlhal hath both a judicial and miniderial power ; for 
he is not only one of the judges, but to fee execution 
done. 4 Injl. 123. The court of chivalry is the only 
court military known to, and edablilhed by, the perma¬ 
nent laws of the land : it was formerly held before the 
lord high conftable and earl marlhal of England, jointly, 
but lince the extinguilhment of the former office, it hath 
ufually, with refpedt to civil matters, been before the 
«arl marlhal only. See Constable. From the fentence 
OF LA W. 
of this court an appeal lies immediately to the king in 
perfon. 4 Injl. 125. This court was in great reputation 
in times of pure chivalry, and afterwards, during our 
connexions with the continent, by the territories which 
our princes held in France; but is now grown, almoit 
entirely out of ufe, on account of the feeblenefs of its 
jurifdiction, and want of power to enforce , its judg¬ 
ments. 3 Comm. 6%. 
The jurisdiction of this court is declared by 13 Rich. II. 
c. 2. to be this: “ that it hath cognizance of contracts 
touching deeds of arms, or of war, out of tire realm; and 
alfo of things which touch war within the realm, which 
cannot be determined or difeuffed by the common law ; 
together with other ufages and cudoms to the fame mat¬ 
ters appertaining.” So that wherever the common law 
can give redrefs, this court hath no jurifdiction; which 
has thrown it entirely out of ufe as to matters of con- 
trad!, all fuch being ufually cognizable in the courts of 
Wedminder-hall, if not directly, at lead by fidtion of 
law : as if a contradt be made at Gibraltar, the plaintiff 
may fuppofe it made at Wedminder, &c. for the locality, 
or place of making it, is of no confequence with regard 
to the validity of the contradt. 
The words, “ other ufages and cudoms,” fupport the 
claim of this court, 1. To give relief to fuch of the no¬ 
bility and gentry as think themfelves aggrieved in mat¬ 
ters of honour ; and, 2. To keep up the didindtion of 
degrees and quality. Whence it follows, that the civil 
jurifdiction of this court of chivalry is principally in two 
points ; the redrefling injuries of honour, and correcting 
encroachments in matters of coat-armour, precedency, 
and other didindtions of families. As a court of honour, 
it is to give fatisfadtion to all fuch as are aggrieved in 
that point; a point of a nature fo nice and l'o delicate, 
that its wrongs and injuries efcape the notice of the com¬ 
mon law, and yet are fit to be -redrelfed fomewhere ; 
fuch, for indance, as calling a man coward, or giving 
him the lie ; for which, as they are productive of no im¬ 
mediate damage to his perfon or property, no adtion will 
lie in the courts of Wedminder ; and yet they are fuch 
injuries as will prompt every man of l'pirit to demand 
fome honourable amends, which by the ancient law of 
the land was appointed to be given in the court of chi¬ 
valry. 37 Hen. VI. 21. Selden, c. 10. But modern refo- 
lutions have determined, that how much foever fuch a 
jurifdiction may be expedient, yet no adtion for mere 
words wall at prefent lie therein. 2 Hazuk. P. C. c. 4. And 
it hath always been mod clearly holden, that as this 
court cannot meddle wirh any tiling determinable by the 
common law, it therefore can give no pecuniary fatis¬ 
fadtion or damages, inafmuch as the quantity and deter¬ 
mination thereof is eyer of common law cognizance. 
And therefore this court of chivalry can at mod only 
order reparation in point of honour ; to compel the de¬ 
fendant mendacium fibi ipfi imponere, to take the lie he has 
given upon himfelf, or to make fuch other fubmiffion as 
the laws of honour may require. 1 Ro. Ah. 128. Neither 
.can this court, as to the point of reparation in honour, 
hold a plea of any fuch word, or thing wherein the party 
is relievable by the courts of common law. As if a man 
gives another a blow, or calls him thief or murderer; for 
in both thefe cafes the common law has pointed out his 
proper remedy by adtion. As to the other point of its 
jurifdidtion, the redrelling of encroachments and ufurpa- 
tions in matters of heraldry and coat-armour ; it is the 
bulinefs of this court, according to fir Matthew Hale, to 
adjud the right of armorial enfigns, bearings, creds, fup- 
porters, pennons, &c. and alfo rights of place or pre¬ 
cedence, where the king’s patent or act of parliament, 
(which cannot be over-ruled by this court,) have not 
already determined it. 
The proceedings in the court of chivalry are by peti¬ 
tion, in a luminary way ; and the trial not by a jury of 
twelve men, but by witneffes, or by combat. Co. Lit. 261. 
See the article Battel. But as it cannot imprifon, not 
being 
