INDUSTRIES found in the St. Austell tin grounds ; l state- ments are extant that the Saxons carried tin to France in the seventh century, and sold it at fairs established by Dagobert ; 2 while in the -Life of St. John of Alexandria, who died in 616, is the story of an Alexandrian galley which journeyed to Britain and bore away a load of tin. 3 For the most part, however, the mines during the early Middle Ages are as a sealed book. Nowhere are they mentioned in Domesday, which, considering that this contains references to the iron 4 and lead 5 mines of the kingdom, Mr. Hunt has explained by the fact that tin was considered royal property, and so not likely to be noted in a survey projected to ascertain the value of the country for purposes of taxation. 6 This explanation should be taken with caution ; for a century later, as we know, the tin mines were not royal property in the sense of being exempt from taxation, 7 but paid a round tax as the price of their existence. A more probable reason for their not figuring in the Domesday Book would be the possible fact that at that time, as later, the prerogatives over the mines were exercised by some baron, possibly the earl of Mortain, or, what seems most unlikely, that from 1086 to 1156 the stannaries were extinct. 7 Whatever the true hypothesis, it is not until the latter date that the history of Cornish mining may be said to have begun. Here it may be well to offer a few words of premonition, in view of the account which is to follow. The usual conception of a history of mining, that of a history of picks and shovels, drainage engines and smelting furnaces, is at fault when one goes back for an account of it to the Middle Ages. Few subjects are so little known or appreciated as the story of the rise and progress of the mediaeval free miner, the liberties which guaranteed him his position, and the relation in which he stood to the rest of the community. This type of workman (and here what we say applies not only to the English miner but to the German, French, Austrian, 1 'Saxon Ornaments and Coins found at Tre- whiddle,' by J. J. Rogers, Journ. Roy. last. Cornw. ii, 292.
- Macpherson, Annals of Commerce, i, 288 ;
' The Men who made the Cornish Mines,' by J. B. Cornish, 'Journ. Roy. Inst. Cornw. xiii, pt. 4, 434- 3 ' The Tin Trade of Britain and Alexandria in the Seventh Century,' by E. Smirke, Journ. Roy. Inst. Cornto. ii, 283-291. 4 H. Ellis, Dom. Bk. i, 136-138. 5 Ibid, i, 138. 6 ' Notes on the Remains of Early British Tin Works,' by Robt. Hunt, Gentleman's Magazine, xiii, 701. ' < The Men who Made the Cornish Mines,' by J. B. Cornish, Journ. Roy. Inst. Cornw. xiii, pt. 4, 431-432. Scandinavian, and Flemish 8 as well) formed with his fellows of the district a state within a state. He paid taxes, not as an Englishman, but as a miner. His law was not the law of the realm, but that of his mine. He obeyed the king only when his orders were communicated through the warden of the mines, and even then so long only as he respected the mining law. His courts were the mine courts, his parliament the mine parliament. He owned no lord, lived on no manor, paid no dues, was subject to no feudal levy, and might be called out by the king only under important restrictions. The origin of these privileges is obscure. Excluding England, two theories prevailed in the Middle Ages with regard to property in mines. 9 By the first, the sovereign was looked upon as absolute proprietor, and the landowner had no rights, save to indemnity for property damaged. By the second, ownership of the surface carried with it a right to the mines beneath, but a third person was given power to acquire an interest when the owner was unable or unwilling to exploit them. In both cases the enjoyment of mines was subject to regula- tions from the crown, which also commonly established a claim to one-tenth or other propor- tion of the produce, so that in practice the two theories might coincide. In Germany 10 the idea of a royalty in mines is supposed to have made its first appearance, and to have obtained firmest footing ; but even there no claims appear until the close of the eleventh century, 11 when the revival of Roman law co- operated with the assumed succession of the German crown to the rights of the Caesars, to give currency to the claims of sovereignty over mines. According to the Justinian Code, 12 one might work a gold mine upon condition of conforming to certain regulations, and of giving preference in sales to the imperial fisc. By a constitution of Gratian, 13 also, a general permis- sion had been given to take marble from the land of private persons upon payment of a tenth to the owner. The interpretation of these rules 8 The Belgian miners presented certain exceptions to the general rule, which, however, it is not worth while to discuss in this paper. On this subject see Smirke, Vice v. Thomas, App. 86, 1 12 ; Delebecque, Legislation des Mines, , 141 ; Jars, Voyages Metallur- gijues, i, 371-381, 382-402 ; De Louvrex, Recuell des Halts, pp. 228 et seq. ' ' A Sketch of the Origin of Mining Laws in Europe,' by J. Hawkins, Trans. Roy. Geol. Sue. Cornw. vi, 84-90. 10 ' Observations on the Mining Law of Germany,' by C. Lemon, Trans. Roy. Geol. Soc. Cornw. vi, 150- 172. 11 Hullman, Geschichte des RegaRen, 62 ; Eichorn, Deutsche Staats und Rechtsgeschichte (ed. 1834), ii, 424. 18 Lib. xi, tit. -jb. 13 Lib. xi, tit. 7, 1. 3; Theodosian Code, >; b, x, tit. 19, 11. i, 8, 10, n, 14. 523 i
