THE JURY 209
respectuatum".1 The court was not well enough attended, the
case was adjourned, and all the court was to be summoned pro
afforciamento, that is to afforce, or strengthen it at its next
meeting, and finally the scribe notes, "Judgment deferred".
Now that we have seen the important part played by the
totality of the suitors, we may turn to consider how far the
manorial court had developed the jury system. Let us start with
Maitland's view:
So far as we can see, when the lord's interests were not being
actively asserted, the serf who sued or was sued in the manorial court
got the same justice as that which the free man got; he got in theory
the judgment, not of his lord, but of a body of doomsmen who were
at least his peers. We say that such a judgment he got in theory: in
practice the question became of less and less moment, for trial by jury
gradually forced its way into the manorial courts. In strictness of law
the lord could not compel his free men to serve as jurors in civil
causes; but the lord could force his bondmen to swear, and many a
small freeholder would serve rather than quarrel with his lord. At
any rate trial by jury made its way into these courts, and it hardly
leaves a place for the doomsman; indeed in course of time the cry for
zjudiciurnparium is (to the great distortion of history) supposed to find
its satisfaction in trial by jury.2
It is, of course, perfectly true that during the thirteenth cen-
tury the manorial courts borrowed something from the higher
courts, and gradually began to make more and more use of a jury
system. This was but natural, since many courts were exercising
royal franchises, and especially the view of frank-pledge. Now
this involved the empanelling of a jury—not necessarily, or even
probably on most manors, a jury of twelve free men—but at
least a jury of twelve to enquire into offences against the King's
peace. Naturally it did not stop at this. It was likely to make
further enquiries on the lord's behalf, and did so, as we may see,
by looking at a document of about 1270 from the Gloucester
Cartulary. It is headed "Articles of the view of Frank-pledge"
and enumerates first some twenty-nine articles which are to be
enquired into touching the Kong's peace and his regalities and
franchises. Then it goes on to enumerate eleven items of strictly
manorial concern: whether the hallmote is fully summoned;
1 Hales Rolls, 241; and see 73, 151, 157; cf. Selden Soc. n, 60, 67, 83.
* Pollock and Maitland, op. tit. I, 593; and cf. Selden Soc. n, Ixv-lxviiL
BL 14