Middle English Literature

The Statutes of the Realm (1810), vol. 1. London: Eyre and Strahan, 25 Edward 3, stat. 2,
cc. 1–7, 311–13 (selections).
Language: French
Date: 1351

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Against the malice of servants, who were idle and unwilling to serve after
the pestilence without taking excessive wages, it was recently ordained by
our lord the king, and with the assent of the prelates, nobles, and others of
his council, that such kinds of servants, men as well as women, should be
made to serve and receive the salaries and wages that were customary in
the places where they ought to serve in the twentieth year of the reign of
our present king, or five or six years ago, and that these servants, who
refused in this way, should be punished with bodily imprisonment, as is
more fully stated in the said ordinance. Whereupon commissions were given
to various people in every county to inquire about and punish those who
offended against the said ordinance. However, now our lord the king has
been given to understand in this present parliament, by the petition of the
commons, that these servants have no regard for the said ordinance but
instead for their ease and singular greed they withdraw their service from
great men and others unless they have livery and wages that are double or
treble those they used to take in the said twentieth year and before to the
huge damage of the great men and the impoverishment of all the members
of the said commons; accordingly, the commons request a remedy. There-
fore, in the same parliament with the assent of the prelates, earls, barons,
and other great men as well as that of the assembled commons, the follow-
ing things were ordained and established in order to stop the malice of the
said servants:
[Four items follow that detail agricultural and other laborers who must
only receive wages equal to those received five to six years previously.]
[5.] Item: that the said stewards, bailiffs, and constables of the said com-
munities shall be sworn before the same justices to inquire diligently by all
the good ways they can of all those who infringe against this ordinance and
to certify to the justices all their names when the justices come to the dis-
trict to hold their sessions. These same justices, having received certification
as to the names of the rebels from these stewards, bailiffs, and constables,
shall have them arrested to appear before them in order to answer for such
contempts and to pay fines and ransoms to the king if they are convicted.
Moreover, the rebels shall be ordered to prison, there to remain until they
have found surety to serve, take their wages, do their work, and to sell their
saleable goods in the manner prescribed. And in cases where any of them
breaks his oath and is therefore convicted, he shall be imprisoned for forty
days and, if convicted again, he shall be imprisoned for a quarter of a year,
so that each time he offends and is convicted, his punishment will be doubled.
Ordinance and Statute of Laborers
167

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168
Labor and Capital
Also, each time the justices come they shall inquire of the said stewards,
bailiffs, and constables whether they have made good and lawful certifica-
tion or whether any conceals anything because of a gift, procurement, or
affinity, and the justices shall punish him by fine and ransom if he is found
culpable. Also, the same justices shall have the power to inquire and punish
the said administrators, workers, labourers, and all other servants, and also
hostlers, innkeepers, and those who sell victuals and other things not speci-
fied here either because of the suit of a party or because of a formal state-
ment presented to them. The justices are to hear, determine, and carry out
the items by means of an exigend after the first capias if need be,
4
and to
depute as many others and of the sort they think best under them for the
keeping of the same ordinance. And those who wish to sue such servants,
workers, and labourers for excess taken from them shall have this excess
back if the servants are convicted because of their suit. In the case where no
one will sue to recover such excesses, then it shall be levied on the said
servants, workers, labourers, and artificers, and delivered to the collectors of
the fifteenth
5
to alleviate the communities where the excess is taken.
[6.] Item: that no sheriffs, constables, bailiffs, jailers, clerks of justices or
sheriffs, nor other administrators whatsoever shall receive anything from
the same servants for the sake of their offices, neither fees, suits of prison,
nor in any other manner. If they have taken or take anything in such manner
in the past or in the future, they shall deliver it to the collectors of tenths
and fifteenths to help the commons during the time of levying of the tenths
and fifteenths. Also, the justices shall inquire in their sessions whether these
administrators have received anything from the same servants and, if they
find by means of such inquests that the administrators have received any-
thing, the justices shall impose a levy on each of the said administrators and
deliver to the collectors what they received together with excesses, fines,
and ransom, as well as the amercements of all those who are amerced before
these justices for the alleviation of the communities as stated before. And
in the case where the excess found in a community exceeds the amount of
the fifteenth for the same community, the remainder of that excess shall
be levied and paid by the said collectors to the nearest poor communities
in order to assist their fifteenths upon the advice of the justices. Also, the
servants’ and labourers’ fines, ransoms, excesses, and amercements, during
the time when the said fifteenths are being levied, shall be delivered to
the said collectors in the aforesaid form, via indentures made between the
collectors and the justices so that the collectors will be charged on their
4
An exigend is a summons to appear; a capias is a writ of arrest.
5
Taxation based on a fraction of the value of possessions.

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account by means of the same indentures in cases where the fines, ransoms,
amercements, and excesses are not paid to assist the said fifteenth. And
when the said fifteenth ceases, the income shall be levied for the king’s use
with the sheriffs of the counties answering to him.
[7.] Item: that the said justices shall make their sessions in all the counties
of England at least four times a year, namely at the feasts of the annuncia-
tion of our lady, Saint Margaret, Saint Michael, Saint Nicholas, and also at
all times that the justices decide are necessary.
6
Those who speak in the
presence of the justices or do anything else in their absence or presence to
encourage or maintain the said servants and labourers against this ordinance
shall be severely punished at the discretion of the justices. Also, if any of
the said labourers, artificers, or servants flees from one county to another
because of this ordinance, the sheriffs of the counties where the fugitives are
found shall apprehend them, according to the mandate of the justices of the
counties from which they have fled, and bring them to the principal jail of
this same county. They are to remain there until the next session of the
same justices, and the sheriffs shall return the mandates they received before
these justices at their next sessions. Also, this ordinance shall be held and
kept in the city of London as in the other cities, boroughs, and other places
throughout the land, both within and outside franchises.