bb ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.

tried in vain to find any account of such an assembly at Nottingham as the deed implies. In Burke's Extinct Peeraye it is stated that the sixth Earl Ferrars, on the return of Ricliard I. to England, assisted at the siege of Nottingham, and sat with the rest of the peers in the great Council held at the C;tstle of Nottingham in the following March. This shows that rai'liaments were hold there, and we should infer that the deed was executed at a rarliainent, and, as the king is not mentioned as witnessing the deed, the iid'crence is that ho was not present. We believe Richard was not in England at any time during the last year of his reign. The second deed, which i>robably was executed not long after the first, as the parties to it are the same, atlords a good illustration of the ancient tenure of lands by kniglit service. To make a tenure by that service a certain (juantity of land was necessary, and this was called a knight's fee, and the fii-st deed is an instance of tlie grant of such a fee ; for Kedleston was to be held " per servitium nnius niilitis." The tenure of knight service drew after it (amongst other things) Aids. Now aids were originally merely benevolences voluntarily given by the tenant to his lord in times of difiiculty and distress ; but in course of time they grew into a matter of right. They were of three kinds — 1st, to ransom the lord, if taken prisoner; 2nd, to make the lord's eldest son a knight ; and 3rd, to marry the lord's eldest daughter by providing her a suitable portion. Now this deed shows that Earl Ferrars was entitled to an aid from llichard dc Curzon to make his son a kniglit and to marry his ehlest daughter, and that, in like manner, Richard de Curzon was entitled to a precisely similar aid from Tliomas. These are clearly treated as matters of right arising from the tenure. But the deed farther shows that Thomas had prcvi(iu.sly furnislied an aid to Richard when Richard was called xipim to furnish an aid to the EiU'l. Now this was clearly a voluntary act on the i)art of Thomas ; for his tenure oidy bound him to fiwnish an aiil to Richard to make his son a kniglit, and to marry his daughter, and in no way bound him so to do to the Earl. This deed, tlierefore, is an instance of aids rendered botli as a matter of right and voluntarily. The third deed, which is dated in 1313, also is well worthy of notice. A lord of a manor may lawfully enclose so much of the waste in the manor :ls he pleases for tillage or wood ground, provided he leave Hutlicient common for those who are entitled to it. This is called approvement, which is an oM word, signifying iiiiprovcnient.' And instead of enclosing the waste himself, the lnnl may grant so many acres of the waste jw he thinks lit to anotlier, ami then the latter may enclose them." 'i'his deed recites a grant of forty acres of waste liy Henry de Irtou, Lord of Irton, to Wdliam de Irton, with the intent ion that William Khould cncl«)so them. Ihit if the lord, or his grantee, enclose h<j nnich its to leave iiiHuOicient common in the residue, any commoner may break down the whole incloHuro ; '^ and hence it is that thin rlecd provides that, if any one having right of common jiroveiits William de Irton from encJoKiiig or keejiing enclosed the land granted to him, Henry de Irton will be bound in a l»oiid for fifty marks to William de Irton, in order to indemnify him against any such interruption. ' 2 151. Corn. 81. » 2 Coko IrwU 88. = 2 C.kn In»t, b7.