Bracton: Thorne Edition: English. Volume 4, Page 77

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Volume 4, Page 77

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[001] until the essoinee returns and until, because of the privilege of crusaders, certain
[002] knowledge is had of his death or return,¹ provided that his departure is not anticipated
[003] by the summons, in which case let him appoint an attorney or he will remain
[004] undefended. And let the enrolment of these essoins be made as follows: ‘A. who² has
[005] set out beyond the sea in a general passage to the Holy Land [essoined himself]
[006] against B. with respect to such a plea by such a one.’ If it is a simple passage and a
[007] pilgrimage, then thus: ‘A. who³ set out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land before
[008] summons (or without any mention made of the summons) [essoined himself] with
[009] respect to such a plea by such a one.’ If the pilgrimage is simple and he delays
[010] beyond the year and day, ⁴<The essoinees will have at least that much time, and a
[011] longer time, if there is reason for it, according to the discretion of the justices. Here
[012] the delays are arbitrary.> his absence is excused, [according to some,] by a simple
[013] essoin of beyond the sea, and thus he will have the term of forty days and one
[014] flood-tide and one ebb,⁵ and if he still protracts his sojourn longer, he will have the
[015] simple essoin of difficulty in coming of this side the sea, by which he will have at
[016] least fifteen days, which is true.⁶ And what if he then does not come? Let proceedings
[017] be taken against him to default, unless he be essoined ‘of death’ as a precaution.
[018] If a man is essoined by an essoin of beyond the sea this side the sea of the
[019] Greeks, that he has set out in the service of the Eternal King on a pilgrimage other
[020] than to the Holy Land, as to St. James or elsewhere, he will have, as is said above,
[021] the aforesaid time which lies in an essoin of beyond the sea, and similarly the simple
[022] essoin of difficulty in coming of this side the sea. He who is essoined of beyond the
[023] sea of the service of the Eternal King will have all these, but if he is caught by the
[024] summons before he has begun his journey to the Holy Land or beyond the sea, he
[025] will be given nothing but the simple essoin of difficulty in coming. [These statements
[026] are true if the proper order of essoins is observed, because suppose that when a man
[027] has set out before the summons, and all the foregoing essoins are available to him,
[028] he first causes himself to be essoined by the simple essoin of difficulty in coming; he
[029] will have no further recourse to the other essoins of beyond the sea. The reason is
[030] because he who essoins himself simply of difficulty in coming acknowledges by that
[031] essoin that he was upon the journey from his home in England, and was indisposed
[032] by the way while coming to court so that he could not come to court. Hence if he
[033] afterwards wishes to essoin himself by one of the above kinds of beyond the sea, the
[034] essoin will not be allowed him, because after such essoin of difficulty in coming no

Notes

1. Supra 75

2. ‘qui’

3. ‘qui’

4. Supra i, 412

5. Cf. supra 75

6. Supra 75