Bracton: Thorne Edition: English. Volume 4, Page 122

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Volume 4, Page 122

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[001] before the view made and attested a public announcement is made, because of the
[002] eyre of the justices, that all pleas before the justices of the Bench and not determined
[003] shall remain without day? Since the plea between the demandant and the
[004] essoinee is yet untouched in the Bench, the essoinee may well rise without licence
[005] because of such announcement.¹ But if the view has been made and attested and a
[006] day given the parties at the Tower, the essoinee can no longer rise, with licence or
[007] without, because the plea was not in the Bench on the day of the announcement.

How licence to rise is to be sought.

[009] We must see how licence to rise ought to be sought. It is clear that to seek licence
[010] to rise the essoinee ought to send a man, whomever he chooses, to say that such a
[011] one, who essoined himself of bed-sickness, has recovered from his illness and seeks
[012] licence to rise. It will be enrolled before the justices who have cognisance of that
[013] plea in this way: ‘Such a one, who essoined himself of bed-sickness against such a
[014] one, with respect to a plea of land in such a county, sent word by such a one that
[015] he has recovered from his illness and is not yet viewed, and seeks licence to rise and
[016] has it.’ And let the messenger be told to inform the essoinee to come to court immediately
[017] and without delay,² where he will be told to observe his day. He will be
[018] told to come immediately lest the demandant, not knowing that he has been
[019] granted licence, find him wandering, arrest him, and detain him in prison.³ If he
[020] does so the essoinee is aided by this writ.

If the tenant after licence sought and granted is arrested by his adversary: the writ.

[022] ‘The king to the sheriff, greeting. If A. has made you secure etc. summon such persons
[023] etc. to be present before the justices etc. at such a term to answer to such a one
[024] as to why against our peace they arrested him and detained him captive in prison,
[025] in the house of such a one at such a place, by reason of the plea which is in our
[026] court before our justices etc. between him, the demandant, and the same tenant,
[027] with respect to so much land with the appurtenances in such a vill, as to which the
[028] same tenant in our same court etc. essoined himself of bed-sickness against the same
[029] demandant, from which our same justices gave him licence to rise because of the
[030] default of the same demandant, because he did not cause a view to be made of him,
[031] as the same A.⁴ says. And meanwhile cause the same A. to be delivered, unless he
[032] was arrested for some other reason, [or there is some other reason] why, according
[033] to the law of the land, he ought not to be delivered. And

Notes

1. Supra 96

2. Supra 116

3. Infra 128-9

4. ‘A’