Bracton: Thorne Edition: English. Volume 4, Page 291

Harvard Law School Library

Bracton Online -- English

Volume 4, Page 291

Next

Go to Volume: Page:

[001] than the king. And so if two claim to hold of the king by a service certain, one by a
[002] smaller service and the other by a larger; his writ falls who holds by the smaller
[003] service, because of the king's advantage. The writ also falls if one impetrates as to a
[004] certain thing and a certain action, then withdraws himself and afterwards wishes
[005] to sue with respect to the same in another proceeding. [Of exceptions against the
[006] writ, some take¹ their substance from time. Some writs are limited to certain definite
[007] times, just as actions are, back of which they do not extend, any more than the action,
[008] because of lack of proof, according as the action has been brought on the possession
[009] or on the property, as the assise of novel disseisin, mortdancestor, the assise utrum,
[010] a writ of entry or² a writ of right, as above.] A writ also falls if one by his narratio made
[011] in court departs from his writ, by going beyond the force and nature of the writ, as
[012] where one is sued in a possessory cause on a writ of cosinage and the demandant in
[013] his count makes mention of the right, or if he claims one thing verbally and another
[014] by the writ, unless it so happens that when he says a different thing he says what
[015] amounts to the same. Almost all the exceptions which lie for someone or against
[016] someone may be included among the exceptions to the writ, for where the action is
[017] determined the writ comes to an end, where the action falls the writ falls, and where
[018] the action is postponed or suspended or changed, so is the writ. When several exceptions
[019] lie against the writ, they may well be put forward, according to some, at different
[020] times, but it will be within the judge's power to compel the tenant to put forward all
[021] the available exceptions against the writ at one and the same time and on the same
[022] day, and thus the way may be closed for putting forward further exceptions against
[023] the writ. But when the tenant has put forward one, that not he but another holds the
[024] entire thing claimed, and that has been determined, he will not return to a similar
[025] exception later on, as will be explained more fully below.³ And note that when a writ
[026] has fallen through defect or error, if a similar but corrected writ is impetrated the
[027] action will be the same as before and the writ the same,⁴ though there is other parchment
[028] and other ink. And therefore neither the narratio

Notes

1. ‘capiunt’

2. ‘aut’

3. Infra 346

4. Infra 353