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• II: Coke’s Speech and Charge At the Norwich Assizes
• (preface, Written By Robert Prickett)
• The Lord Coke, the Preface to His Charge Given At the Assises Houlden In Norwich, the Fourth of August, 1606.
• ¶ Here Followeth the Words of His Charge In Order.
• III: Excerpts From the Small Treatises
• A. Book of Entries
• The Preface of Sr. Edward Coke, Knight Lord Chiefe Justice of England of Pleas Before the King Himselfe to Be Holden Assigned, and One of the Lords of His Majesties Most Honorable Privie Councell.
• B. the Compleat Copyholder
• Sec. XXXIII.
• C. Little Treatise On Baile and Mainprize
• The Conclusion With Advertisment.
• IV: Excerpts From the Institutes
• A. the First Part of the Institutes
• The Preface.
• Section 1 Fee Simple
• Section 2 Fee Simple
• Section 3 Fee Simple
• Section 4 Fee Simple
• Section 5 Fee Simple
• Section 7 Fee Simple
• Section 8 Fee Simple
• Section 9 Fee Simple
• Section 10 Fee Simple
• Section 11 Fee Simple
• Section 12 Fee Simple
• Section 21 Fee Tail, Part 2
• Section 69 Tenant At Will, Part 2
• Section 80 Tenant By the Verge, Part 3
• Section 96 Escuage, Part 2
• Section 108 Knight’s Service, Part 6
• Section 138 Frankalmoin, Part 5
• Section 170 Tenure In Burgage, Part 9
• Section 199 Villenage, Part 18
• Section 342 Conditional Estates, Part 17
• Section 366 Conditional Estates, Part 41
• Section 372 Conditional Estates, Part 47
• Section 412 Descents, Part 27
• Section 464 Releases, Part 20
• Section 481 Releases, Part 37
• Section 723 Warranty, Part 30
• Section 728 Fee Warranty, Part 35
• Epilogue
• B. the Second Part of the Institutes
• Deo, Patriae, Tibi.
• Magna Charta,
• C. The Third Part of the Institutes
• Deo, Patriae, Tibi.
• Cap. I. of High Treason.
• Cap. II. of Petit Treason.
• Cap. III. of Misprision of Treason.
• | Cap. IV. Felony By Compassing Or Conspiring to Kill the King, Or Any Lord Or Other, of the Kings Counsell.
• Cap. V. of Heresie.
• | Cap. VI. of Felony By Conjuration, Witchcraft, Sorcery, Or Inchantment.
• | Cap. Lxii. of Indictments.
• D. The Fourth Part of the Institutes
• Deo, Patriae, Tibi.
• Cap. I. of What Persons This Court Consisteth.
• Cap. VII. the Court of Kings Bench, Coram Rege. 1

Deo, Patriae, Tibi.

Proaemium.1

In the two former parts of the Institutes we have principally treated De communibus placitis,2 and of those two great Pronouns [Meum & Tuum.]3 In the Third we have handled Placita Coronae4 and Criminall causes. But because Rerum ordo confunditur,Regula.5si unicuique jurisdictio non servetur,6 We in this Fourth and last part of the Institutes are to speak of the Jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice within this Realm.

Jurisdictio est authoritas judicandi sive jus dicendi int’ partes de actionibus personarum et rerum secundum quod deductae fuerunt in judicium per authoritatem ordinariam seu delegatam:7 ,8 And again, ^b9Jurisdictio est potestas de publico introducta cum necessitate juris dicendi.10 It is derived of Jus, and ditio, i. potestas juris.11

Curia quid?12Curia hath two severall significations, and accordingly it is severally derived. It signifieth the Kings Court, where his royall person, and his honourable houshold doe reside, and is all one with Palatium Regium13 and is derived ἀπὸ τον̂ κυρίου,14 of the Lord, because the Sovereign Lord resideth there. It also signifieth a Tribunall, or Court of Justice, as here it doth, and then it is derived à cura, quia est locus, ubi publicas curas gerebant.15Festus.

Of Jurisdictions some be Ecclesiasticall, and some Civill, or Temporall: of both these some be primitive, or ordinary without commission; some derivative, or delegate by Commission. Of all these, some be of record, and some not of record; some to enquire, hear, and determine, some to enquire only; some guided by one law, some by another; the bounds of all and every severall Courts being most necessary to be known. For as the body of man is best ordered, when every particular member exerciseth his proper duty: so the body of the Common wealth is best governed, when every severall Court of Justice executeth his proper jurisdiction. But if the eie, whose duty is to see, the hand, to work, the feet, to goe, shall usurp, and incroach one upon anothers work: As for example, the hands or feet, the office of the eie to see, and the like; these should assuredly produce disorder, and darknesse, and bring the whole body out of order, and in the end to distruction: So in the Common wealth (Justice being the main preserver thereof) if one Court should usurp, or incroach upon another, it would introduce incertainty, subvert Justice, andbring all things in the end to confusion.

Now when I considered how much it would tend to the honour of the Kings Majesty, and of his Laws, to the advancement of justice, the quiet of the subject, and generally to the good of the whole Common wealth (no King in the Christian world having such Tribunals, and Seats of justice, as his Majesty hath, which, God willing, in this Treatise we shall make to appear) that all the high, honourable, venerable, and necessary Tribunals, and Courts of Justice within his Majesties Realms and Dominions, as well Civill as Ecclesiasticall, might be drawn together, as it were, in one map, or table, (which hitherto was never yet done) that the admirable benefit, beauty, & delectable variety thereof might be, as it were, uno intuitu16 beholden, and that the manifold jurisdictions of the same might be distinctly understood and observed. We having (as else where we have said)17 collected some materials towards the raising of this great and honourable building, and fearing that they should be of little use after my decease, being very short, and not easily of others to be understood, if I should have left them as they were;

Out of the duty that I owe to his most excellent Majesty, and my zeal, and affection to the whole Common wealth, I have adventured to break the ice herein, and to publish more at large those things which in our reading we had observed concerning Jurisdiction of Courts. I confesse it is a labour of as great pains, as difficulty: for as in an high and large building, he that beholds the same after it is finished, and furnished, seeth not the carriages, scaffolding, and other invisible works of labour, industry and skill in Architecture: so he that looketh on a book full of variety of important matter, especially concerning sacred Laws, after it is printed and fairly bound and polished, cannot see there in the carriage of the materials, the searching, finding out, perusing, and digesting of authorities in law, Rols of Parliament, judiciall Records, Warrants in law, and other invisible works, tam laboris, quam *18ingenii:19 yet I was the rather incouraged thereunto, both because I have published nothing herein, but that which is grounded upon the authorities and reason of our books, Rols of Parliament, and other judiciall Records, and especially upon the resolution of the Judges of latter times upon mature deliberation in many cases never published before; wherewith I was well acquainted, and which I observed and set down in writing, while it was fresh in memory.

There be amongst the Kings Records divers and many Rols, where of you shall find little or no mention (that we remember) in our books, viz. Rot. Parliament. Rot. Placitorum Coronae, Rot. Placitorum Parliament. Rot. Claus. Rot. Brevium, Finium, Inquisitionum, Liberationum, Rot. Cartarum, Eschaetriae, Pat. Rot. Ordinationum, Rot. Franciae, Scotiae, Vasconiae, & Almaniae, Rot. Romana, Rot. Judaeorum, Rot. Ragman, Brangwin, Rot. Contrariensium20 (And the reason of the naming of this Roll thus, was for that Thomas Earl of Lancaster (a man singularly beloved) taking part with the Barons against King Edward the second in hatred of the Spencers, it was not thought safe for the King, in respect of their power and greatnesse, to name them Rebelsor Traitors, but Contrarients) and some others. In this and other parts of our Institutes we cite divers Records out of many of these Rols: Herein, as in the rest of our works, you shall observe, that in the course of our reading we took all in our way, and omitted little or nothing, forthere is no knowledge (seemeth it at the first of never so little moment) but it will stand the diligent observer in stead at one time or other.

And thus for all our pains, wishing the benevolent reader all the profit, we (favente Deo, & auspice Christo)21 begin with the High, and most Honourable Court of Parliament.

[1. ][Ed.: To God, To the Country, To you. Preface.]

[2. ][Ed.: Of common pleas.]

[3. ][Ed.: Mine and Thine.]

[4. ][Ed.: Pleas of the crown. All trials for crimes and misdemeanors wherein the king is plaintiff on behalf of the people.]

[6. ][Ed.: The order of things is confounded if every one preserves not his jurisdiction.]

[7. ]Jurisdictio quid? Bract. 1. 2. fo. 400, 401. Brit. fo. 1. & 32. Fleta Hen. 6. ca. 36. unde, &c.

[8. ][Ed.: Jurisdiction is the authority of adjudicating or stating the law between parties concerningactions of persons and matters, according as they are brought to judgment, by ordinary or delegated authority.]

[9. ]Lib. 10. f. 73. 2. En le case del Marshalsea.

[10. ][Ed.: Jurisdiction is a power introduced for the public good, on account of the necessity of dispensing justice.]

[11. ][Ed.: [Jurisdictio is derived from] jus (law) and dicio (authority), that is, authority of law.]

[13. ][Ed.: royal palace.]

[14. ][Ed.: from the Lord.]

[15. ][Ed.: from cura (care, charge) because it is a place where public affairs are transacted.]

[16. ][Ed.: with one glance.]

[17. ]In the preface to the First part of the Institutes.

[18. ]Minerva quasi nervos minuens.

[19. ][Ed.: both of labour and of skill.]

[20. ][Ed.: rolls of parliament, rolls of pleas of the crown, rolls of the pleas of parliament, close rolls, rolls of writs, rolls of fines, of inquisitions, of liveries, charter rolls, [rolls] of escheatery, patent rolls of ordinances, rolls of France, Scotland, Gascony and Germany, Roman rolls, rolls of the Jews, ragman rolls, Brangwin rolls, contrariant rolls.]

[21. ][Ed.: with God’s favour, and with the assistance of Christ.]

[5. ]Rule.

[12. ][Ed.: What is a court?]