" The judges traveled to all the
counties
to bring justice to the people.
A-Companion-to-the-Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound-II
An inver?
sion of "Nisi per sacramentum proborum et legalium hominum de vicineto" ("But by the oath of honest and lawful men of the vici?
nage").
The article concerns fines or amer- ciaments and prescribes that "the punish- ment should fit the crime" and that no fine can be assessed except by the oath as in?
dicated [Chap. XIV].
28. laicum tenementum: L, "lay-tenement. " From a section which extends protection to church members: "No man of the church shall be amerced after the quantity of his spiritual benefice, but after his lay? tenament, and after the quantity of his offence"
[Chap. XIV].
29. de par Ie monde: F, "somewhere. " 30. J'ai connu: F, "I knew. "
31. books of a scholler: Coke distinguishes the legal sense of the words "contenement" and "countenance" and ends: "countenance is used for contenement: the armor of a souldior is his countenance, the books of a scholler his countenance and the like" [Chap XIV, (2)].
32. H. 2 E. I: Kings Henry II and Edward I, whom Coke praises for their dedication to justice.
33. en temps . . . : F, "in the time of King Henry Second. "
34. Jim First: King James 1. "When he drank, His thick tongue slobbered 'very un- comely, as if eating his drink, which came out into the cup on each side of his mouth . . . '" [Bowen, Lion, 228]. Because of his fondling of, and attachment to', a long series of handsome young men, James was known as a sodomist.
12. quod custod'
shall not be sold. " This and the preceding line about "the land stored with ploughs" are taken from a section of the Magna Carta that concerns a "keeper" who is holding land in trust which is expected to return to
: L,
"such
custody
. "
an.
19. king dies not: Coke said: "These words being spoken in the politique capacity doe extend to the successors, for in judgement of law the king in his politique capacity dieth
? ? ? ? ? 696
107/757-758
107/758-759
697
35. bitched our heritage: James I's long fight for the divine right of Kings and the royal prerogative as superior to the common law. Coke, who fought tirelessly against the concepts, ended up in the Tower. Thus the king is seen as one who undermined the legal heritage of the people.
36. Obit: L, "died. "
37. Jacques Pere: Shakespeare.
38. Noll: Nickname of Oliver Cromwell, who had King Charles I beheaded in 1649.
39. Puer Apulius: L, "the boy from Apu- lia," i. e. , Frederick II. The words "Ver" and "L'estate" are from Ciullo d'Alcano's "Fres- ca rosa Aulentissima" [DD, Pai, 6-1, 101-
107;SR, 62,101].
40. Voltaire could not: Prob. "could not"
conceive of a government that provided such protection to the people as Magna Carta provided.
41. Queen of Akragas: Prob. Athena, as goddess of wisdom and justice. Akragas [cf. 2 above] had a temple of Athena; even to- day a certain prominence is called "the Rock of Athena" [EB].
42. resistent: Prob. F, resistant, ~'strong. "
43. templum aedificavit: L, "built a tem- ple" [8:43]. Thus the lines construe: "built a temple to the strong goddess Athena. "
44. Segesta: Ancient city of Sicily and bit- ter rival of Selinus [cf. 1 above]. Its ruins, with a temple to Artemis, are near modern Alcamo, and it is thus associated with the Sicilian poet Ciulio d'Alcamo, which Pound hopes will "evoke the enlightened legal Codes of Frederick II" of Sicily [DG, Pai, 4-2 & 3, 257].
45. II. Inst. XXI: This chapter of Magna Carta says: "No sheriff nor bailiff . . . shall take the horses or carts of any man to make carriage, except he pay the old price" In his commentary Coke says the statute applies to all nobility but "extendeth not to any per- son ecclisiasticall," and, "all t h i s . . . was ( . . . for the advancement and maintenance
of that great peacemaker, and love-holder, hospitality) one of the auncient ornaments, and commendations of the kingdome of En- gland" [Chap. XXI] .
46. Nee alii boseum: L, "nor any other [take another man's] wood. " Conflation of "nee nos, nee baHvi nostri, nee alii, capiemus
boscum alienum ad castra" ("not we, nor our bailiffs, nor any other, shall take any man's wood for our castles") [Chap. XXI].
47. high-wood is called saltus: In his com- mentary Coke writes: "High-wood is proper- ly calledSaltus" [ibid. ].
48. Fleta: "It [boscum] is called in Fleta, maeremium" [ibid. ]. The Fleta is a treatise on the English common law written by an unknown person in the 13th century. Tradi- tion says it was written in the old Fleet Prison, hence the name "Fleta" or "Fleda. "
49. qui utIagatus est: L, prob. ut + legatus, "who has a legal commission. " The phrase occurs in a quote Coke makes from Glan- ville, as notes to an article in Magna Carta which reads: "We will not hold the lands of them that be convict of felony but one year and one day, and then those lands shall be delivered to the lords of the fee. " At the end of his commentary Coke says: "hereby it also appeareth, how necessary the reading of auncient authors is for understanding of aun" cient statutes" [Chap. XXII].
50. kidells and skarkells: Names for "open weares [weirs] whereby fish are caught. " Men were accustomed to spread weirs across rivers, which disrupted river traffic: "All wears from henceforth shall be utterly put down by Thames and Medway, and through all England, but only by the sea-coasts. " Coke comments: " I t waS specially given in charge by the justices in eire, that all juries should enquire, De hits qui piscantur cum kidellis et skarkellis [concerning those who were fishing with kidells and skarkells]"
[Chap. XXIII].
note ends: "And this is the worthiest and richest commoditie of this kingdome, for divide our native commodities exported into tenne parts, and that which comes from the sheepes back, is nine parts in value of the tenne, and setteth great numbers of people on worke" [Chap. XXV].
into England, to tarry in and go through England, as well by land as by water . . . etc. " [Chap. XXX].
57. wooll woolfels & leather: In this regulation-"And where some have supposed that there was a custom due to the king by the common law, as well of the stranger . . . viz for wools, wooll-fells, and leather . . . " - Coke shows that the custom was owing not to the common law but to a special act of a parliament of Edward III, granted for a lim- ited time only [ibid. ].
58. hearth silver: A tax Edward III imposed on the French after he took Aquitaine; it involved such an odious process of search, "an opening of kitchen doors to the king's officers," that it caused a revolt" [ibid. ].
. . .
60. Scacarrio Rot. 319: Queen Elizabeth set a custom in all the pope's dominions "upon every hundred weight of allome. " The cus- tom was challenged by some, but "judge- ment in the exchequer was given against them" [ibid. ]. Custom: 3 shillings, 4 pence.
61. on currants: In the same chapter we read: "A judgement was given in the exche- quer, for an imposition set upon currants, but the common opinion was, that that judgement was against law, and divers ex" presse acts of parliament. . . . " And: "To conclude this point, with two of the max- imes of the common law. 1. Le common ley ad tielment admeasure les prerogatives Ie roy, que ilz ne tolleront, ne prejudiceront Ie inheritance dascun" ("The common law hath so admeasured the prerogatives of the king, that they should not take away, nor prejudice the inheritance of any") [Chap. XXX, (2), 3].
62. ad mesure: L, "measured out. "
63. Laws of Edgar: Coke said: "And amongst the laws of King Edgar it is thus
. . .
the uniform standards of weights and mea-
: From a
sures. Concerning "broade cloathes," Coke's.
51. sheepes back
chapter on
52. tonsured . . . untonsured:
express the attitude of Coke during his strug- gles against the ecclesiastical courts, when they were taking jurisdiction in cases Coke believed should be tried under the common law. In King James's time both church peo- ple (tonsured) and nonchurch lawyers (un- tonsured) tried to play safe by pleasing the king, who promoted the ecclesiastical courts.
53. vitex . . . market: These 5 lines are a pastiche of memories cut into the canto. Pound translated the Chinese characters for a tree (ch 'ang-ts"o) as "vitex negundo. " DG associates this with Pound's earliest poem about turning into a tree and the process of metamorphosis, "Excideuil" returns us to his Walking tour in Provence in the summer of 1919 [80:315; HK, Era 333-40]. At one point they were on a plateau so high, they were level with the tops of the poplar trees and the spire of a church. "From Val Ca- brere, were two miles of roofs to San Ber" trand" [48/243]. "Mme Pierre," prob. the old woman at Excideuil: "In the castle an old woman lived in a couple of rooms, and drew no water from the ill-kept well in the courtyard. Ezra bought a beam to lay across the well-curb (high on the castle bluff; level with the spire of St. Thomas)" [HK, Era, 336].
. . .
"and for the
54. Atque
good, the laws of war are to be observed"
[Chap. XXX, (1),2].
55. butlerage: In ancient times import du- ties were paid to the king's butler-hence, butlerage.
56. strangers: Foreigners. From a regulation concerning the protection of foreign mer- chants, who "shall have their safe and sure conduct to depart out of England, to come
belli: L,
public
These
lines
59. naught new imposed
Coke's comment on the attempt of Queen Mary Tudor to impose an illegal duty on Malmsey wine: the duty was found to be illegal under the common law [ibid. ].
: Concerns
? ? 698
107/759
107/759-760
699
concerning the sheriffes toum provided. " The "Sheriffs toum" was the name of a circuit court [Chap. XXXV, (1)].
6 4 . e x o m n i s a t r a p i a : L , " i n a l l satrap~ counties. " The sense is, "all provinces which come under the jurisdiction of the courts.
" The judges traveled to all the counties to bring justice to the people.
65. a circuit: The law provided that "the bishop with the sheriffe did goe in circuit twice every yeare, by every hundred within the county. . . [such circuit] was called tour, or tourn, which signifieth a circuit or perambulation" [ibid. ].
66. sil ne fuit dizein: OF, "ifhe were not of a group of ten. " Coke citation from ancient law. The whole sentence in the source trans- lates: "It was anciently ordered that no one could live in the realms if he did not pledge himself part of a group of ten" [ibid. , (4)].
67. quod trithinga teneatur integra: L, "that the trithing be entirely kept. " The trithing was a division between a shire and a hun- dred, and refers to the "group of ten" [ibid. , (5)].
68, decemvirale collegium: L, "group of ten. " The phrase was adapted from Roman law, in which it referred to the council of assistants to the praetor [ibid. ] .
et . . .
[Chap. XXXVI].
70. vide Bracton: L, "See B. " Henry Brac-
ton, d. 1268, was the author of De Legibus et cansuetudinibus Angliae [On the laws and customs of England]. It was Coke's primary source of materials in his struggle against the king.
71. sub colore donationis: L, "under color of donation. " A continuation of the gloss above which says the sale of land could not be made as if it were a gift [ibid. ].
72. his testibus: The source reads: "hiis tes- tibus": L, "these being witnesses. " The last chapter of Magna Carta makes a general statement about the "customs and liberties" outlined and described earlier and con- cludes: "And we have granted into them [all subjects] . . . that neither we, nor our heirs, shall procure or do any thing whereby the liberties in this charter contained shall be infringed or broken; and if any thing be procured by any person contrary to the pre- misses, it shall be had of no force nor effect. These being witnesses; lord B. Archbishop of Canterbury, E. bishop of London, and others" [Chap. XXXVIII].
73. chartae: In his comment Coke said: "Those that had hiis testibus, were called chartae, as this charter is called Magna Charta, and so is charta de foresta, Etc. and those others. " The others, from the time of Henry I in 1100, include the Coronation Charter, the Articles of the Barons, the Char- ter of Runnymede, the Charters of the Forest, etc. [CFT, Pai, 5-1, 69-76].
74. PIVOT: The center, base of process, un- wobbling pivot, or "heart of the matter" from which our roots derive. The great En- glish charters are our pivot.
75. Statute de Merton . . . : Coke's note to
Statutum de Merton, Editurn anna 20 H.
111, so-called "because the Parliament was holden at the monastery of the canons regu- lar of Merton, seven miles distant from the city of London" [DG, Pai, 4-2 & 3, 265].
76. Bingham: "And this is that monastery of Merton, the prior where of had a great casein law, which long depended between him and the Prior of Bingham" [ibid. ].
77. 18 H. 3: Eighteenth year of the reign of Henry III. Bracton misdates the feast of St. Vincent and the statute, which was actually in 1236 (not 1234). The statute concerned widows' dowers, wardships, enclosure of
commons, and usury, and is thus connected with the problem of Helianor.
78. Helianor . . . Cantaur: Eleanor of Pro- vence, who married Henry III in 1236. A linkage with ail the earlier Eleanors and Helen of Troy [2:7, 9; 7:1]. This Eleanor was the daughter of Raymond Beranger IV, count of Provence; her mother was the daughter of Thomas I, count of Savoy. She was thus the grand-daughter of the first trou- badour, Duke William IX of Aquitaine
[6:2]. Eleanor of Aquitaine's son, King John, is linked to the development of Magna Carta, and Henry III, under the infiuence of his wife, assisted in supporting it. Eleanor had no brothers; but her uncle, Boniface of Savoy (d. 1270), was elected archbishop of Canterbury (1241) through the influence of Henry III and Eleanor.
79. Raymond Berengar: The fourth of the counts of Provence. The House of Berenger were rulers in Barcelona and later had exten- sive holdings in Provence and Toulouse. The family was powerful enough to make mar- riages and concords or exercise influence over the royal houses of both France and England for over a century [cf. 10 above].
80. de la plus beale: OF, "of the fairest. " Part of the name of a kind of dower: "fairest of the husband's tenements" [ibid. ].
81. the symbol: Prob. the Christian cross.
82. invasion of Bede's time: The Venerable Bede, ? 673-735; the invasions of the Norse- men in the 8th century.
83. his version: The King James Bible, 1611.
84. lingua latina: L, "Latin language. " Pound uses 1850 to date the start of the process of ruining t~e schools.
85. Alex: Prob. Alexander the Great [89:230].
86. Antoninus: [78:56].
87. Randolph: [87:10].
88. not to distreine: The law says that the
owner of the land in a widow's dower may get his due for rent and services by taking "corn after it is reaped," but he "may not take the corn in sheaves" as a distraint for taxes [DG, Pai, 4? 2 & 3,266].
89. Edward: E. J, "Mirror of Princes," pro- hibited usury; but Coke notes in "Statute of Merton," Chap. Y, that, nevertheless, En- gland had great profit because of usury at a time when "the ounce of silver was five
groats" [ibid. ].
90. forrein laws: In a note on the legal prob- lems of bastardy, Coke says that "fonein precedents are not to be objected against us because we are not subject to fonein laws"
69. exceptis
cept to religious institutions and. " The Source has "Judaeis" after "et," or "the Jews. " Coke is citing Bracton, who said: "It is legal for a donor to make a gift of or sell land to anyone," except those named. DG believes Pound omitted the Jews because the point of the chapter is not aimed at any race but is "a definite separation of state affairs from all other institutions whatsoever"
92. Utas of St Martin: The 8th day follow- ing the feast of St. Martin. On this day in 1267 was adopted the Statutern de Marle- bridge, a general restatement of Magna Car- ta. After this, peace was once again restored to the people, "as well high as low" [ibid. , 267].
93. sapiens incipit a fine: L, "A wise man begins at the end," or "anticipates the end. " The Coke phrase seems to paraphrase the aphorism of Kung: "things have scopes and beginnings" [ibid. ].
94. Ideogram: Chung [M1500], "the end. "
95. Ideogram: Shih [M5772], "the begin? ning. "
96. Box hedge . . . basilicum: Details of the house and gardens in Norwich where Coke went to Free Grammar School [Bowen, Lion, 48? 54; DG, Pai, 4? 2 & 3, 268] .
97. Allegre: Rhyme with the lark song of Bernart de Ventadorn [117/802].
98. 1560: One of the happiest acts of Eliza- beth two years after she became queen was to call in all the debased coinage which was causing economic distress and issue a com- pletely new and sound currency [DG, Pai, 4-2 & 3, 268].
viris religiosis
: L, "ex-
[ibid. ].
91. One thousand . . . : In year of Henry III as king.
1267, the 52d
? ? ? 700
99. '65, dutch weavers: As a boy of 13 years in Norwich, Coke saw the way the authorities dealt with a depression in ihe worsted industry. In 1565 they allowed weavers fleeing from religious persecution in Holland to settle in Norwich and produce fabrics, which allowed the "city to recapture its markets and regain its prestige" [ibid. ].
100. at terms: The 4 terms of court each year related to 4 church festivals: Michael- mas from 9 Oct; Hilary from Jan 23; Trinity from May 22; and Easter. During terms the "women of uncertain profession" lingered around Westminster Hall," where their atten? dance was so regular ihat in those days they had the special name of 'termers. ' " At Saint Paul's "every wench takes a pillar, as well as distinguished serjeant-at-law" [ibid. , 269].
101. grain: After bad harvests, proclama- tions were issued to prohibit use of grain "for starching clothing or for any purpose except that of food" [Bowen, Lion, 319].
102. no more houses: The increasing crowd- ing and growth of population led in both Elizabeth's" and lames's time to proclama- tions forbidding the? construction of new buildings [ibid. ].
103. de heretico comburendo: L, "of burn- ing heretics. " The name of a writ issued by a bishops court in 1612 sentencing Bartholo- mew Legate and Edward Wrightman to be burned as heretics. They were. Coke op- posed the "monstrous writ," saying the bish- ops court did not have jurisdiction. Francis Bacon and others said conviction in bishops court would suffice [ibid. , 296].
107/761 and stand before the church for all to see"
[Bowen, Lion, 531].
105. Invasion of rights: The duke of Buck- ingham, attempting to tax ihe people with- out sanction of Parliament, created a crisis in which Magna Carta was on the line. The king threatened to imprison anyone who did not pay the illegal tax. When Parliament met March 17, 1628, Coke and his supporter; went at once to the problem of the king's invasion of the rights of his subjects. Said Coke: "What doth this tend to but the utter
subversion of the choice liberty and right belonging to every freeborn subject of this kingdom? " [Bowen, Lion, 485].
106. habeas: Parliament stood against the king for nearly 3 months, until Charles capit- ulated and granted habeas corpus against false imprisonment [ibid. , 497-503].
107. B. 18: During WWII, the 18B regula- tions suspended habeas corpus to allow for the imprisonment of those who opposed the war [WC, Guide].
108. Chaise Dieu: F, "Throne of God" [23:24]. Mountains in the area had the shape of a throne. Pound may have been reminded of an earlier struggle of declared heretics against the absolute power of Inno- cent III in Charles I's repeated assertions of
ihe divine right of Kings.
109. 1lT; liv: H, "not being. " Phrase of Aris- totle used by Christopher Marlow's Faustus [I, V. 11]. Avon's man smd, "To be or not
to be. "
110. Gaudier: Gaudier-Brzeska [16:26].
111.
dicated [Chap. XIV].
28. laicum tenementum: L, "lay-tenement. " From a section which extends protection to church members: "No man of the church shall be amerced after the quantity of his spiritual benefice, but after his lay? tenament, and after the quantity of his offence"
[Chap. XIV].
29. de par Ie monde: F, "somewhere. " 30. J'ai connu: F, "I knew. "
31. books of a scholler: Coke distinguishes the legal sense of the words "contenement" and "countenance" and ends: "countenance is used for contenement: the armor of a souldior is his countenance, the books of a scholler his countenance and the like" [Chap XIV, (2)].
32. H. 2 E. I: Kings Henry II and Edward I, whom Coke praises for their dedication to justice.
33. en temps . . . : F, "in the time of King Henry Second. "
34. Jim First: King James 1. "When he drank, His thick tongue slobbered 'very un- comely, as if eating his drink, which came out into the cup on each side of his mouth . . . '" [Bowen, Lion, 228]. Because of his fondling of, and attachment to', a long series of handsome young men, James was known as a sodomist.
12. quod custod'
shall not be sold. " This and the preceding line about "the land stored with ploughs" are taken from a section of the Magna Carta that concerns a "keeper" who is holding land in trust which is expected to return to
: L,
"such
custody
. "
an.
19. king dies not: Coke said: "These words being spoken in the politique capacity doe extend to the successors, for in judgement of law the king in his politique capacity dieth
? ? ? ? ? 696
107/757-758
107/758-759
697
35. bitched our heritage: James I's long fight for the divine right of Kings and the royal prerogative as superior to the common law. Coke, who fought tirelessly against the concepts, ended up in the Tower. Thus the king is seen as one who undermined the legal heritage of the people.
36. Obit: L, "died. "
37. Jacques Pere: Shakespeare.
38. Noll: Nickname of Oliver Cromwell, who had King Charles I beheaded in 1649.
39. Puer Apulius: L, "the boy from Apu- lia," i. e. , Frederick II. The words "Ver" and "L'estate" are from Ciullo d'Alcano's "Fres- ca rosa Aulentissima" [DD, Pai, 6-1, 101-
107;SR, 62,101].
40. Voltaire could not: Prob. "could not"
conceive of a government that provided such protection to the people as Magna Carta provided.
41. Queen of Akragas: Prob. Athena, as goddess of wisdom and justice. Akragas [cf. 2 above] had a temple of Athena; even to- day a certain prominence is called "the Rock of Athena" [EB].
42. resistent: Prob. F, resistant, ~'strong. "
43. templum aedificavit: L, "built a tem- ple" [8:43]. Thus the lines construe: "built a temple to the strong goddess Athena. "
44. Segesta: Ancient city of Sicily and bit- ter rival of Selinus [cf. 1 above]. Its ruins, with a temple to Artemis, are near modern Alcamo, and it is thus associated with the Sicilian poet Ciulio d'Alcamo, which Pound hopes will "evoke the enlightened legal Codes of Frederick II" of Sicily [DG, Pai, 4-2 & 3, 257].
45. II. Inst. XXI: This chapter of Magna Carta says: "No sheriff nor bailiff . . . shall take the horses or carts of any man to make carriage, except he pay the old price" In his commentary Coke says the statute applies to all nobility but "extendeth not to any per- son ecclisiasticall," and, "all t h i s . . . was ( . . . for the advancement and maintenance
of that great peacemaker, and love-holder, hospitality) one of the auncient ornaments, and commendations of the kingdome of En- gland" [Chap. XXI] .
46. Nee alii boseum: L, "nor any other [take another man's] wood. " Conflation of "nee nos, nee baHvi nostri, nee alii, capiemus
boscum alienum ad castra" ("not we, nor our bailiffs, nor any other, shall take any man's wood for our castles") [Chap. XXI].
47. high-wood is called saltus: In his com- mentary Coke writes: "High-wood is proper- ly calledSaltus" [ibid. ].
48. Fleta: "It [boscum] is called in Fleta, maeremium" [ibid. ]. The Fleta is a treatise on the English common law written by an unknown person in the 13th century. Tradi- tion says it was written in the old Fleet Prison, hence the name "Fleta" or "Fleda. "
49. qui utIagatus est: L, prob. ut + legatus, "who has a legal commission. " The phrase occurs in a quote Coke makes from Glan- ville, as notes to an article in Magna Carta which reads: "We will not hold the lands of them that be convict of felony but one year and one day, and then those lands shall be delivered to the lords of the fee. " At the end of his commentary Coke says: "hereby it also appeareth, how necessary the reading of auncient authors is for understanding of aun" cient statutes" [Chap. XXII].
50. kidells and skarkells: Names for "open weares [weirs] whereby fish are caught. " Men were accustomed to spread weirs across rivers, which disrupted river traffic: "All wears from henceforth shall be utterly put down by Thames and Medway, and through all England, but only by the sea-coasts. " Coke comments: " I t waS specially given in charge by the justices in eire, that all juries should enquire, De hits qui piscantur cum kidellis et skarkellis [concerning those who were fishing with kidells and skarkells]"
[Chap. XXIII].
note ends: "And this is the worthiest and richest commoditie of this kingdome, for divide our native commodities exported into tenne parts, and that which comes from the sheepes back, is nine parts in value of the tenne, and setteth great numbers of people on worke" [Chap. XXV].
into England, to tarry in and go through England, as well by land as by water . . . etc. " [Chap. XXX].
57. wooll woolfels & leather: In this regulation-"And where some have supposed that there was a custom due to the king by the common law, as well of the stranger . . . viz for wools, wooll-fells, and leather . . . " - Coke shows that the custom was owing not to the common law but to a special act of a parliament of Edward III, granted for a lim- ited time only [ibid. ].
58. hearth silver: A tax Edward III imposed on the French after he took Aquitaine; it involved such an odious process of search, "an opening of kitchen doors to the king's officers," that it caused a revolt" [ibid. ].
. . .
60. Scacarrio Rot. 319: Queen Elizabeth set a custom in all the pope's dominions "upon every hundred weight of allome. " The cus- tom was challenged by some, but "judge- ment in the exchequer was given against them" [ibid. ]. Custom: 3 shillings, 4 pence.
61. on currants: In the same chapter we read: "A judgement was given in the exche- quer, for an imposition set upon currants, but the common opinion was, that that judgement was against law, and divers ex" presse acts of parliament. . . . " And: "To conclude this point, with two of the max- imes of the common law. 1. Le common ley ad tielment admeasure les prerogatives Ie roy, que ilz ne tolleront, ne prejudiceront Ie inheritance dascun" ("The common law hath so admeasured the prerogatives of the king, that they should not take away, nor prejudice the inheritance of any") [Chap. XXX, (2), 3].
62. ad mesure: L, "measured out. "
63. Laws of Edgar: Coke said: "And amongst the laws of King Edgar it is thus
. . .
the uniform standards of weights and mea-
: From a
sures. Concerning "broade cloathes," Coke's.
51. sheepes back
chapter on
52. tonsured . . . untonsured:
express the attitude of Coke during his strug- gles against the ecclesiastical courts, when they were taking jurisdiction in cases Coke believed should be tried under the common law. In King James's time both church peo- ple (tonsured) and nonchurch lawyers (un- tonsured) tried to play safe by pleasing the king, who promoted the ecclesiastical courts.
53. vitex . . . market: These 5 lines are a pastiche of memories cut into the canto. Pound translated the Chinese characters for a tree (ch 'ang-ts"o) as "vitex negundo. " DG associates this with Pound's earliest poem about turning into a tree and the process of metamorphosis, "Excideuil" returns us to his Walking tour in Provence in the summer of 1919 [80:315; HK, Era 333-40]. At one point they were on a plateau so high, they were level with the tops of the poplar trees and the spire of a church. "From Val Ca- brere, were two miles of roofs to San Ber" trand" [48/243]. "Mme Pierre," prob. the old woman at Excideuil: "In the castle an old woman lived in a couple of rooms, and drew no water from the ill-kept well in the courtyard. Ezra bought a beam to lay across the well-curb (high on the castle bluff; level with the spire of St. Thomas)" [HK, Era, 336].
. . .
"and for the
54. Atque
good, the laws of war are to be observed"
[Chap. XXX, (1),2].
55. butlerage: In ancient times import du- ties were paid to the king's butler-hence, butlerage.
56. strangers: Foreigners. From a regulation concerning the protection of foreign mer- chants, who "shall have their safe and sure conduct to depart out of England, to come
belli: L,
public
These
lines
59. naught new imposed
Coke's comment on the attempt of Queen Mary Tudor to impose an illegal duty on Malmsey wine: the duty was found to be illegal under the common law [ibid. ].
: Concerns
? ? 698
107/759
107/759-760
699
concerning the sheriffes toum provided. " The "Sheriffs toum" was the name of a circuit court [Chap. XXXV, (1)].
6 4 . e x o m n i s a t r a p i a : L , " i n a l l satrap~ counties. " The sense is, "all provinces which come under the jurisdiction of the courts.
" The judges traveled to all the counties to bring justice to the people.
65. a circuit: The law provided that "the bishop with the sheriffe did goe in circuit twice every yeare, by every hundred within the county. . . [such circuit] was called tour, or tourn, which signifieth a circuit or perambulation" [ibid. ].
66. sil ne fuit dizein: OF, "ifhe were not of a group of ten. " Coke citation from ancient law. The whole sentence in the source trans- lates: "It was anciently ordered that no one could live in the realms if he did not pledge himself part of a group of ten" [ibid. , (4)].
67. quod trithinga teneatur integra: L, "that the trithing be entirely kept. " The trithing was a division between a shire and a hun- dred, and refers to the "group of ten" [ibid. , (5)].
68, decemvirale collegium: L, "group of ten. " The phrase was adapted from Roman law, in which it referred to the council of assistants to the praetor [ibid. ] .
et . . .
[Chap. XXXVI].
70. vide Bracton: L, "See B. " Henry Brac-
ton, d. 1268, was the author of De Legibus et cansuetudinibus Angliae [On the laws and customs of England]. It was Coke's primary source of materials in his struggle against the king.
71. sub colore donationis: L, "under color of donation. " A continuation of the gloss above which says the sale of land could not be made as if it were a gift [ibid. ].
72. his testibus: The source reads: "hiis tes- tibus": L, "these being witnesses. " The last chapter of Magna Carta makes a general statement about the "customs and liberties" outlined and described earlier and con- cludes: "And we have granted into them [all subjects] . . . that neither we, nor our heirs, shall procure or do any thing whereby the liberties in this charter contained shall be infringed or broken; and if any thing be procured by any person contrary to the pre- misses, it shall be had of no force nor effect. These being witnesses; lord B. Archbishop of Canterbury, E. bishop of London, and others" [Chap. XXXVIII].
73. chartae: In his comment Coke said: "Those that had hiis testibus, were called chartae, as this charter is called Magna Charta, and so is charta de foresta, Etc. and those others. " The others, from the time of Henry I in 1100, include the Coronation Charter, the Articles of the Barons, the Char- ter of Runnymede, the Charters of the Forest, etc. [CFT, Pai, 5-1, 69-76].
74. PIVOT: The center, base of process, un- wobbling pivot, or "heart of the matter" from which our roots derive. The great En- glish charters are our pivot.
75. Statute de Merton . . . : Coke's note to
Statutum de Merton, Editurn anna 20 H.
111, so-called "because the Parliament was holden at the monastery of the canons regu- lar of Merton, seven miles distant from the city of London" [DG, Pai, 4-2 & 3, 265].
76. Bingham: "And this is that monastery of Merton, the prior where of had a great casein law, which long depended between him and the Prior of Bingham" [ibid. ].
77. 18 H. 3: Eighteenth year of the reign of Henry III. Bracton misdates the feast of St. Vincent and the statute, which was actually in 1236 (not 1234). The statute concerned widows' dowers, wardships, enclosure of
commons, and usury, and is thus connected with the problem of Helianor.
78. Helianor . . . Cantaur: Eleanor of Pro- vence, who married Henry III in 1236. A linkage with ail the earlier Eleanors and Helen of Troy [2:7, 9; 7:1]. This Eleanor was the daughter of Raymond Beranger IV, count of Provence; her mother was the daughter of Thomas I, count of Savoy. She was thus the grand-daughter of the first trou- badour, Duke William IX of Aquitaine
[6:2]. Eleanor of Aquitaine's son, King John, is linked to the development of Magna Carta, and Henry III, under the infiuence of his wife, assisted in supporting it. Eleanor had no brothers; but her uncle, Boniface of Savoy (d. 1270), was elected archbishop of Canterbury (1241) through the influence of Henry III and Eleanor.
79. Raymond Berengar: The fourth of the counts of Provence. The House of Berenger were rulers in Barcelona and later had exten- sive holdings in Provence and Toulouse. The family was powerful enough to make mar- riages and concords or exercise influence over the royal houses of both France and England for over a century [cf. 10 above].
80. de la plus beale: OF, "of the fairest. " Part of the name of a kind of dower: "fairest of the husband's tenements" [ibid. ].
81. the symbol: Prob. the Christian cross.
82. invasion of Bede's time: The Venerable Bede, ? 673-735; the invasions of the Norse- men in the 8th century.
83. his version: The King James Bible, 1611.
84. lingua latina: L, "Latin language. " Pound uses 1850 to date the start of the process of ruining t~e schools.
85. Alex: Prob. Alexander the Great [89:230].
86. Antoninus: [78:56].
87. Randolph: [87:10].
88. not to distreine: The law says that the
owner of the land in a widow's dower may get his due for rent and services by taking "corn after it is reaped," but he "may not take the corn in sheaves" as a distraint for taxes [DG, Pai, 4? 2 & 3,266].
89. Edward: E. J, "Mirror of Princes," pro- hibited usury; but Coke notes in "Statute of Merton," Chap. Y, that, nevertheless, En- gland had great profit because of usury at a time when "the ounce of silver was five
groats" [ibid. ].
90. forrein laws: In a note on the legal prob- lems of bastardy, Coke says that "fonein precedents are not to be objected against us because we are not subject to fonein laws"
69. exceptis
cept to religious institutions and. " The Source has "Judaeis" after "et," or "the Jews. " Coke is citing Bracton, who said: "It is legal for a donor to make a gift of or sell land to anyone," except those named. DG believes Pound omitted the Jews because the point of the chapter is not aimed at any race but is "a definite separation of state affairs from all other institutions whatsoever"
92. Utas of St Martin: The 8th day follow- ing the feast of St. Martin. On this day in 1267 was adopted the Statutern de Marle- bridge, a general restatement of Magna Car- ta. After this, peace was once again restored to the people, "as well high as low" [ibid. , 267].
93. sapiens incipit a fine: L, "A wise man begins at the end," or "anticipates the end. " The Coke phrase seems to paraphrase the aphorism of Kung: "things have scopes and beginnings" [ibid. ].
94. Ideogram: Chung [M1500], "the end. "
95. Ideogram: Shih [M5772], "the begin? ning. "
96. Box hedge . . . basilicum: Details of the house and gardens in Norwich where Coke went to Free Grammar School [Bowen, Lion, 48? 54; DG, Pai, 4? 2 & 3, 268] .
97. Allegre: Rhyme with the lark song of Bernart de Ventadorn [117/802].
98. 1560: One of the happiest acts of Eliza- beth two years after she became queen was to call in all the debased coinage which was causing economic distress and issue a com- pletely new and sound currency [DG, Pai, 4-2 & 3, 268].
viris religiosis
: L, "ex-
[ibid. ].
91. One thousand . . . : In year of Henry III as king.
1267, the 52d
? ? ? 700
99. '65, dutch weavers: As a boy of 13 years in Norwich, Coke saw the way the authorities dealt with a depression in ihe worsted industry. In 1565 they allowed weavers fleeing from religious persecution in Holland to settle in Norwich and produce fabrics, which allowed the "city to recapture its markets and regain its prestige" [ibid. ].
100. at terms: The 4 terms of court each year related to 4 church festivals: Michael- mas from 9 Oct; Hilary from Jan 23; Trinity from May 22; and Easter. During terms the "women of uncertain profession" lingered around Westminster Hall," where their atten? dance was so regular ihat in those days they had the special name of 'termers. ' " At Saint Paul's "every wench takes a pillar, as well as distinguished serjeant-at-law" [ibid. , 269].
101. grain: After bad harvests, proclama- tions were issued to prohibit use of grain "for starching clothing or for any purpose except that of food" [Bowen, Lion, 319].
102. no more houses: The increasing crowd- ing and growth of population led in both Elizabeth's" and lames's time to proclama- tions forbidding the? construction of new buildings [ibid. ].
103. de heretico comburendo: L, "of burn- ing heretics. " The name of a writ issued by a bishops court in 1612 sentencing Bartholo- mew Legate and Edward Wrightman to be burned as heretics. They were. Coke op- posed the "monstrous writ," saying the bish- ops court did not have jurisdiction. Francis Bacon and others said conviction in bishops court would suffice [ibid. , 296].
107/761 and stand before the church for all to see"
[Bowen, Lion, 531].
105. Invasion of rights: The duke of Buck- ingham, attempting to tax ihe people with- out sanction of Parliament, created a crisis in which Magna Carta was on the line. The king threatened to imprison anyone who did not pay the illegal tax. When Parliament met March 17, 1628, Coke and his supporter; went at once to the problem of the king's invasion of the rights of his subjects. Said Coke: "What doth this tend to but the utter
subversion of the choice liberty and right belonging to every freeborn subject of this kingdom? " [Bowen, Lion, 485].
106. habeas: Parliament stood against the king for nearly 3 months, until Charles capit- ulated and granted habeas corpus against false imprisonment [ibid. , 497-503].
107. B. 18: During WWII, the 18B regula- tions suspended habeas corpus to allow for the imprisonment of those who opposed the war [WC, Guide].
108. Chaise Dieu: F, "Throne of God" [23:24]. Mountains in the area had the shape of a throne. Pound may have been reminded of an earlier struggle of declared heretics against the absolute power of Inno- cent III in Charles I's repeated assertions of
ihe divine right of Kings.
109. 1lT; liv: H, "not being. " Phrase of Aris- totle used by Christopher Marlow's Faustus [I, V. 11]. Avon's man smd, "To be or not
to be. "
110. Gaudier: Gaudier-Brzeska [16:26].
111.
