De laudibus legum Angliæ writen by Sir Iohn Fortescue L. Ch. Iustice, and after L. Chancellor to K. Henry VI. Hereto are ioind the two Summes of Sir Ralph de Hengham L. Ch. Iustice to K. Edward I. commonly calld Hengham magna, and Hengham parua. Neuer before publisht. Notes both on Fortescue and Hengham are added

Ad CAP. VIII.

2 APprenticios.] From Apprendre. i. to learne, comes Apprentice de la ley; which will denote as much as Disci∣pulus applied by Iustinian to somewhat a like degree in his law. For after hee had reckon'd his Dupondij or Iustiniani novi (that is, students of two yeeres standing) his Papinianists (students of three yeeres) his Lytae (those of foure yeers) and his prolytae (for them of fiue) to whom the reading of the whole course of that law and an able vnderstanding was imputed, he then, comprehending the prolytae and the rest labouring to that degree, addes; Discipuliigitur omnibus eis legitimis arcanis reseratis, nihil habeant absconditum, but that they might afterward be Iustitiae sa∣tellites & iudiciorum optimi tam athletae quam gubernatores, in omni loco aeue{que} faeli∣ces. So hee writes C. tit. de veteri iure enucl. l. 1. Deo auctore. §. 6. The antien∣test mention of an Apprentice in this sens which our publisht bookes haue is in 1. Ed. 3. fol. 17. a pl. 3. But in the monu∣ments of Parlament of 20. Ed. 1. extant

in the Tower, this testimonie is of them: De Atturnatis & Apprenticijs, D. Rex iniunxit Iohanni de Mettingham & sociis suis, quod ipsi per eorum discretiones provi∣deant & ordinent certum numerum de quo∣libet cōitatu de melioribus & legalioribus & libentiùs addiscentibus secūdū quod intellex∣erint quod Curiae suae & populo de regno meli∣us valere poterit & maius cōmodū fuerit, & quod ipsi quos ad hoc elegerint Curiā sequan∣tur, & alij non. Et videtur Regi & eius con∣silio quod septies-viginti sufficere poterint &c. Apponant tamen praefati Iustitiarij plures si viderint esse faciendum vel numerum an∣ticipent, & de alijs remanentibus fiat secundū discretionem Iustitiariorum. Mencion is of them also in Fleta lib. 2. cap. 37. Part of that of 20. Ed. 1. is transcrib'd in the Epi∣stle of the 9. reports, where more is out of antiquity touching these Apprentices. The name was vs'd for Practisers, and Ap∣prenticij ad Barros are Barristers in the ri∣diculous verses of Andrew Horn before his Mirrour aux Iustices. These are they,

Hanc legum summā, si quis vult mira tueri, Perlegat, & sapiens si vult orator haberi; Hoc Apprenticijs ad Barros ebore munus,

Gratum iuridicis vtile mittit opus

Horn mihi cognomē, Andreas est mihi nomē.

This Horn liu'd about Ed. 2. His cer∣tain age I yet know not. The verses I tran∣scrib'd out of an ancient copie of him, extant in Bennet College Librarie in Cambridge, and writen, as it seems by the hand, about Edw. 3. or Rich. the seconds time.

3 Proprio ore nullus Regam Angliae.] Yet certainly the Kings themselues often sate in court (in the Kings Bench:) and in the rolls of Charters vnder King Iohn and the time neere him, often occurre grants that such or such English should not bee impleded or put to answere nisi corā nobis vel capitali iustitia nostra, and to Normans nisi coram nobis vel capitali senescallo nostro. For example, in Rot. Chart. 1. Reg. Ioh. Chart. 171. memb. 28. the king giues to one Iacob a Iew of London and a priest of the Iews, presbyteratum omnium Iudaeorum totius Angliae for life, and the patent hath in it, prohibemus etiā ne de aliquo ad se per∣tinente ponatur in placitum nisi corā nobis aut coram capitali Iustitia nostra sicut Charta Regis Richardi fratris mei testatur. Here co∣ram capitali Iustitia is deuided from coram

Rege; the last signifying before the Kings person; although now pleas held in the Kings Bench before the successor of the Capitalis iustitia, are enter'd coram Rege, and some rolls (as of 44. Hen. 3.) haue placita corā Domino Rege de Tempore Hu∣gonis Bigod Iustitiarij Angliae, and also in the same bundle Placita coram Hugone le Bigod Iustitiario Angliae. And Bracton lib. 3. tract. de Actionibus cap. 5. si actiones criminales sint, in curia Domini Regis de∣bent terminari, & hoc coram ipso Rege si tangant personam suam. and in 2. Ed. 4. the king sate in person.