A learned commendation of the politique lawes of Englande vvherin by moste pitthy reasons & euident demonstrations they are plainelye proued farre to excell aswell the ciuile lawes of the Empiere, as also all other lawes of the world, with a large discourse of the difference betwene the. ii. gouernements of kingdomes: whereof the one is onely regall, and the other consisteth of regall and polityque administration conioyned. written in latine aboue an hundred yeares past, by the learned and right honorable maister Fortescue knight ... And newly translated into Englishe by Robert Mulcaster.

Here hee declareth how counties are deuided, and shieri••ffs chosen.

Now that we haue o∣pened after what maner the Ciuile lawes do enfourme a iudge of the truthe of a matter brought into iudgement, it is consequent to declare by what meanes the lawes of Englande doo boult out the trueth of suche a matter. For the

orders of bothe the lawez beynge layde together, the qualities of thē bothe wyll more playnely ap∣pere: forsomuche as the philosopher sayeth that contraries placed one by an other wyll shewe thē selfes more euidently. But herein after the ma¦ner of oratours in steade of a proheme, it shall not bee amysse that we open certen thinges before, the knowlege whereof shall geue light too thinges whiche heareafter shall come in talke wherefore thus we doo proceede. The royalme of En∣glande is deuided into counties, as the royalme of Fraunce is into Bay¦lywyks, so that in En∣glande ther is no place

that is not with in the bo¦die of some countie. Coū∣ties also are deuided into hūdreds which sōe wher are called wapentages. And hundredes are deui∣ded into villages vnder which appellation are cō¦teyned borowes and Ci∣ties. For the boundes of villages are not contey∣ned within the circuit of walles, buyldynges, or streetes, but within the compasse of fildes, greate territories, certein ham∣lettes, and many o∣ther, as of wat{er}s, woodes & waste groūdes, whiche it is not needefull nowe to set furthe by their names: because that in England there is skante any place, which is not conteined within the cō∣passe

of villageis, though certeyn priuileged places within villageis are sup¦posed to be no parcell of y^e same villages, More ouer in euerie coūtie ther is one certeyn officer cal∣led the kynges shierief, which amonge other du∣ties belongynge to his of¦fice, putteth in execucion all the commaunde∣mentes, and iudgements of the kynges courte, that are to be executed within his countie His office en¦dureth but for one yeare, so that after the expiratiō of that yeare, he may not minister in that of∣fice. Neither shall he within ii. yeares next en∣sueynge be admited to y^e

office agayne. This offi∣cer is thus chosen. Euery yeare the morrowe after All soullen daye all the kynges counsellers meet together in the kynges exchequer, aswel y^e lordes spirituall and temporall as all other Iustices, all the barones of the exche∣quer, the maister of the rolles, and certeyn other officers, where all these with one commen assent doo name of euerie coun∣tie iii. knightes or esquy∣ers, whome amonge o∣ther of the same countie they take to bee of good dispositiō and fame, and best disposed to the office of the shiereif of that coū¦tie. Of the whiche iii. the kynge chooseth one,

whome by his letters pa∣tents he appointeth she∣rief of the countie that he is chosen of for the yeare then folowinge. But he before hee receaue his pa∣tent shall swere vpō y^e ho∣lye ghospell amonge o∣ther articles, that he shall well and faithfully and indifferently exercise and doo his office all that yeare, and that he shall receaue or take nothyng of any other man then the Kynge, by colour or meane of his office.

These thynges beynge thus nowe presupposed, lett vs proceede too the searche of those thinges, that we seke for.

Exposita iā for∣ma qua leges Ciuiles de verita∣te facti in iudicio deducti iudicem erudiunt, super∣est vt modū quô leges Angliae hu∣iusmodi facti eli∣ciunt veritatem etiam do ceamus,

Nam ambarum legum formulis contigué positis, qualitates earun∣dem lucidius emi∣nebunt cum di∣cat Philosophus, quod opposita iuxta se posita ma¦gis apparent: Sed in hoc oratorum more (prohemii loco) quedam p̄∣narrare congru∣et, quorum agni∣tione, deinde trac¦tando clarius pa∣tere queant, qua∣re sic procedim{us}. Regnum Angliae per comitatus, vt regnum Fraun∣ciae per balliuatus distinguitur, ita vt non sit locus in Anglia, quae nō

sit īfr’ corp{us} alicu¦i{us} cōitat{us}. Cōitat{us} quo{que} diuiduntur in Hūdreda, que alicubi Wapen tagia nuncupan∣tur. Hundreda ve¦ro diuidūtur per villas, subquarum appellatione con¦tinentur et Burgi atque Ciuitates. Villarum etenim metae, non muris, edificiis, aut stra∣tis terminan tur, sed agrorū ambi∣tubus, territoriis magnis, hamiletis quibusdā, et mul∣tis aliis, sicut aqua¦rū, boscorū, et vas¦torū terminis, quae iam non expedit nominibus desig¦nare, q̄a vix in an∣glia est locus ali∣quis,

qui non in∣fra villarum am∣bitus cōtineatur, licet priuilegiati loci quidam infra¦villas, de eisdem villis pars esse nō censentur. Prete∣rea in quolibet co¦mitatu est officia∣rius quidam vnus regis vicecomes appellatus, qui in¦ter cetera sui offi¦cii ministeria, om∣nia mandata et iu¦dicia curiarum re¦gis ī comitatu suo exequenda, exe∣quitur, Cuius of∣ficiū annale est, quo ei post annū in eodem minis∣trare nō licet, nec duob{us} tūc sequē¦tib{us} ānis ad idē of ficiū reassumetur

Officiarius iste sic eligitur. Quoli∣bet anno in crasti¦no animarum, cō¦ueniunt in scac∣cario regis omnes consiliarii eius, tā dn̄ispūales, ettēpo¦rales quā alii ōnes iusticiarii, omnes barones de scac∣cario, clericus ro∣tulorum, & qui∣dam alii officiarii vbi hii omnes cō∣muni assensu, no∣minant de quoli∣bet comitatu tres milites vel armi∣geros, quos inter ceteros eiusdem comitat{us} ipsi opi¦nātur melioris es¦se dispositionis et famae, et ad offici∣um vice comitis comitat{us} illi{us} me¦lius

dispositos: ex quibus rex vnum tātum eliget, quē per litteras suas patētes constitu∣et vicecomitem comitat{us} de quo eligit’ {pro} āno tunc sequēte: sed ipse ā¦tequā lr’ illas recī¦piat, iurabit su{pro} sā¦ta dei euāgelia, in¦ter articulos alio•• qd bene, fidelit{er} et indifferent{er} exer∣cebit et faciet of∣ficiū suū toto āno illo ne{que} aliq̄d re¦cipiet colore aut causa officii sui ab aliquo alio quā a rege. His iā sic p̄sup¦positis, ad eorū q̄ querim{us} indaginē {pro}cedamus.