Iamys shuld calle the partyes & here the cause by-twene hem, appele put a-syde, wronge & vnryhtful withholdynge cesynge; & that he shuld make a dewe ende by-twene hem. Also, that that he decreyd & ordeynyd be-twene hem, he shold charge ferme & stabiliche, to be kepyd by the censur of the churche. The wytnes that be callyd, yf they wythdrawe hem to sey the trowth, for fauor, haterede, or drede, that he shuld constreyne hem vndur peyne of curse, appele ceassynge & set a-syde. I-gyf at sent Iohn lateranense, the Modur churche of rome, the syxt kalendes of aprile the xv. yere of hys popehede.
By the autorite of thys maundement, the seyd prior before callyd the Abbas of Godstowe & her couent a-fore hym aftur the ordyr of lawe. A-geynst whom the seyd Robert, person of wyhtham, purposyd hys entent in thys maner. Robert, person of wyhtham, seyth a-geynyst the Abbas & couent of Godstowe that they a-geynst sey [i. e. refuse: 'contradicunt.'] , a-yeynst ryht, to pay to hym, & to hys churche, tethys comynge forth of a croft callyd wydehey with in the boundes termys or markys of hys churche of Wyhtham, & longynge to hym aftur the comyn lawe: for thys cause, he askyth the seyd Abbas & couent of Godstowe to be constreynyde, by censur of the churche, to a graunt to be made of the seyd tethys to hym & to hys churche. Also he askyth in the name of arreragis of tethys take of the seyd crofte for vj. yerys passyd xviij. shillings aftur estymacion, the whych he desyrythe the seyd Abbas & Couent to be condempnyd in by the arbitriment of the forseyd prior: furthyrmore makynge a protestacion that, yf hyt be shewyd in ony wyse the seyd Abbas & couent to be free & excusyd by ony special priuilege for [Read 'from.'] the [folio III(16)] grauntynge of the seyd tethys, that, as the lawe iuggyth, he to leue of hys askynge & peticion. To whose intent was it answeryd in thys maner:—The Abbas & couent of Godstow seyn that the place markyd or shewyd, aftur, & in entent of, the seyd person, actor & doer, is not with-in the bondes of hys parisshe of wyhtham, & so he may not aske tethys ther-of by the commune lawe; &, yf the same place be with-in the boundes of the seyd parisshe, they be not bound to pay the tethys of hyt, for hyt is 'nouale,' that is to sey, a feld yerly tyllyd, or ellys euyry othyr yere. Also they byn excusyd & priuilegid by the pope fro the graunt of
