Amercement - Law Dictionary Search Results
Home Dictionary Name: amercementAmercement or Amerciament
Amercement or Amerciament, a pecuniary punish-ment or penalty assessed by the peers or equals of the party amerced for an offence, by the commission of which he had placed himself at the mercy of the lord. The difference between amercements and fines is as follows: The latter are certain, and are created by some statute; they can only be imposed and assessed by Courts of record; the former are arbitrarily imposed by Courts not of record, as Courts-leet, Termes de la Ley...
amercement
amercement [Anglo-French amerciment, from amercier to fine, from Old French a merci at one's mercy] : a fine or damages imposed at the discretion of the court ...
Magna Carta
Magna Carta, [Latin 'great charter'] The English charter that King John granted to the barons in 1215 and Henry III and Edward I later confirmed. It is generally regarded as one of the great common-law documents and as the foundation of constitution liberties. The other three great charters of English Liberty are the Petition of Right (3 Car. (1628)), the Habeas Corpus Act (31 Car. 2 (1679)), and the Bill of Rights (1 Will. SM. (1689)). Also spelled Magna charta, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 963.This Great Charter is based substantially upon the Saxon Common Law, which flourished in this kingdom until the Normaninvasion consolidated the system of feudality, still the great characteristic of the principles of real property. The barons assembled at St.Edmund's Bury, in Suffolk, in the later part of the year 1214, and there solemnly swore upon the high alter to withdraw their allegiance from the Crown, and openly rebel, unless King John confirmed by a formal charter the ancient li...
Merce
To subject to fine or amercement to mulct to amerce...
Abishering, or Abishersing
Abishering, or Abishersing, quit of amercements. It originally signified a forfeiture or amercement, and is more properly mishering, mishersing, or miskering, according to Spelman. It seems by some authors to signify a freedom or liberty: See Blount's Law Dict...
Bloodwite
A fine or amercement paid as part of a settlement for the shedding of blood also a riot wherein blood was spilled...
Estreat
A true copy duplicate or extract of an original writing or record esp of amercements or penalties set down in the rolls of court to be levied by the bailiff or other officer...
Affeerors
Affeerors [fr. afeurer, or afferer, Fr., to tax, fr. forum, Lat., a market], persons who, in courts-leet, upon oath, settle and moderate the fines and amercements imposed on those who have committed offences arbitrarily punishable, or that have no express penalty appointed by statute. They are also appointed to moderate fines, etc., in courts-baron--Cowel's Law Dict.; 4 Bl. Com. Shakespeare was an affeeror in Stratford-on-Avon....
Bloodwit, or Bloudveit
Bloodwit, or Bloudveit [fr. blod, Sax., blood, and wyte, Old Eng., pity], an amercement for bloodshed; a customary fine, paid as a composition and atonement for shedding or drawing of blood, Paroch. Antiq....
Court-baron
Court-baron, a court which, before 1926 (see COPYHOLDS), although not one of record, was incident to every manor, and could not be severed therefrom. It was ordained for the maintenance of the services and duties stipulated for by lords of manors, and for the purpose of determining actions of a personal nature, where the debt or damage was under forty shillings.This court might be held at any place within the manor, giving fifteen days' notice, including three Sundays. Of the day when the court will be held; but three or four days' notice have been deemed sufficient. It was frequently held together with the court-leet, and generally assembled but once a year.The freehold tenants alone were suitors to the Court-baron; and it was essential to the existence of the court that there should be two suitors at the least; for since freemen can only be tried by their peers or equals, should there be but one freeman, he could then have no peer or judge, and consequently he had to appeal to the co...
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