Historic%20Yorkshire

LEEDS UNDER THE NORMANS.
against a burgess before the Prætor, the full denialof the
accused party should be considered a sufficient defence;
but it is to be supposed that this full denial included
proof, for it is further specified thatif the denial be made
andnot fully substantiated, the defendant should lose his
case,equally with him who could offer no denial of the
offence. In either case, after the forfeiture fixed by the
Prætor had been paid, the defendant was accounted a
competent witness. These rules were for the simpler
offences, and the jurisdiction may be termed an ancient
county court. For the graver charges of outrage,or the
shedding of blood, the accused must clear himself by
the oath of seven who would swear to his innocence.
If blood had not been shed three were sufficient ; butif a
burgess was impleaded of the offence bya burgess, twelve
of these compurgators wererequired.
Other libertieswere,thatno burgesscould be compelled
to go out of the borough to answer a plaint, excepting
those of the Crown; and if a stranger owed money to a
burgess,it was lawful to distrain upon his goods any day
of the week, except Fair days, without leave of the
Prætor. Should any of the burgesses fail to payin their
rents or other due moneys, there was appointed a severe
fine,in the proportion of five shillings to a farthing, in
addition to the original amount demanded. One of the
most curious privileges of the burgesses of Leeds was
the (in this day) humorous one of being permitted to
"
bake in the lord's oven according to custom."
" This
communefurnum," or publicoven,according to Parsons,
remained at the end of Kirkgate centuries after Maurice
and his Leeds charter had been forgotten. In the reign
of Queen Elizabeth it was farmed of the Crown at a
rental of £12 per annum, though it was said to yield a
clear profit of £120
per annum.
A convincing proof that the age of whichwe speak was
yet extremelybarbarous is given by another provision of
the charter, which speaks in the true spirit of its time,in
forbidding to females the place due to them as the
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