Page:Select historical documents of the Middle Ages.djvu/172

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SELECT HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS.

and archdeaneries themselves, cause to be elected two skilled and suitable representatives for their own arch- deanery, who should come to and be present at the parlia- ment in order to submit to, to assert and to do, the same thing as every one and all the persons of those deaneries and archdeaneries would have done, had they there been personally present.

And such representatives should come with their war- rants duplicated, signed with the seals of their superiors, to the efl'ect that they, as members of the clergy, are sent to be such representatives ; of which letters one shall be given over to the clerks of parliament to be enrolled, and the other shall remain with the representatives themselves. And thus, under these two forms, the whole clergy ought to be summoned to parliament.

Concerning Lay Members.

Likewise each and all the earls and barons and their peers ought to be summoned and to come ; that is, those who have lands and revenues of the value of a county — twenty knights' fees, namely, each fee being computed at yearly twenty pounds' worth, which makes four hundred pounds worth in all : or of the value of one whole barony — thirteen fees, namely, and the third part of one knight's fee ; each fee being computed at twenty pounds' worth, which makes in all four hundred marks. And no lesser laymen ought to be summoned, or to come to parliament by reason of their tenure, unless their presence be useful or necessary to the parliament from other causes ; and then it should be done concerning them as has been said is done concerning the lesser clergy, who are not at all bound by reason of their tenure to come to parliament.

Concerning the Barons of the Ports.

Likewise the king is bound to send his writs to the warden of the Cinque Ports, to the effect that he shall cause to be elected from each port, through the port itself, two suitable and skilled barons to come and be present at