Add MS 48097

LAWYER'S COMMONPLACE BOOK, containing notes, treatises and records relating to Chancery; early 17th cent. Some Latin and French. The items in part relate to material commonly found in Chancery collections (see Ward, pp. 270-298), but were copied out of the usual sequence, with omissions and differences in content. For a comparison, see Stowe MS. 415, cited by Ward.

1. ff. 2-12b. Notes on Chancery with related cases. On f. 2 is an added reference to R. Crompton, L'Authorietie et Jurisdiction des Courts de la Maiestie de la Roygne, 1594. As follows: (a) Notes on the two-fold power of Chancery. ff. 2-3; (b) 'The forme of proceedings in processes on the Chauncery'. f. 3; (c) 'Pleadings in Chauncery'. f. 3b; (d) 'The Parts of a Bill'. f. 4; (e) 'The Priviledge of the Clarkes of the Chauncery . . . '.

f. 4; (f) 'Pleadings'. ff. 4-5; (g) 'Axiomes at the Common Lawe not to be crossed in Chauncery'. f. 5; (h) 'Wher the Common Lawe hath taken his full course, their Chauncery cometh to Late'. f. 5b; (i) 'Chauncery will never Compell the performance of the interests . . . '. f. 6; (j) 'A matter of Record shall not be defeated by a naked averment'. f. 6b;

(k) 'Axiomes in Chauncery'. ff. 7-9; (l) 'Cases in Chauncerie'. ff. 9-

10b; (m) 'Injunctions'. ff. 10b-11b; (n) 'Judgments'. ff. 11b-12b.

2. ff. 13-17b. 'The Earl of Oxford his case in Chancerie'; Michaelmas 1615. Part of the record of the controversy between Lord Ellesmere and Sir Edward Coke: see Ward, p. 276 and art. 3 below. See: 1 Chancery Reports 1-9; F. T. White and O. Tudor, Leading Cases in Equity, 9th edn., 1928, i, pp. 615-621; J. H. Baker, 'The Common Lawyers and the Chancery: 1616', The Irish Jurist, iv (n.s.), 1969, pp. 377-378. For other copies see: Hargrave MSS. 227, ff. 279b-286, 249, ff. 148b-152b and 269, ff. 25b-31b; Harley MS. 4265, ff. 67-75b; Lansdowne MS. 613, ff. 31-40; Stowe MSS. 296,

ff. 65-68b, 298, ff. 201b-209b and 415, ff. 55b-59b. CMA lists part of the tract, 'A Judgment upon a statut Lawe' as a separate section. Ends

(f. 17b) ' . . . power of the Chancery in this Case' (as in Stowe MS. 415, f. 59), followed by deleted questions on the relationship between Chancery and the statutes of Praemunire or Provisors (see art. 3 below).

3. ff. 18-28. 'That the Court of Channcerie cannot be intended within the Statut of 27 E.3 c.1'; material collected (see art. 2 above), by Lord Ellesmere, Lord Chancellor; Sept. 1615. See Ward, p. 276. For other copies see: Add. MS. 46410, ff. 137-162; Hargrave MSS. 240, ff. 312-327b and 249, ff. 135-148b; Harley MS. 4265, ff. 50b-67; Lansdowne MS. 613, ff. 16-31b; Stowe MSS. 296, ff. 51-57b, 298, ff. 184-201 and 415,

ff. 47-55b.

4. ff. 35-61. Memoranda on procedure in Chancery, arranged under subject. Beg. 'Proces against Lords'; aft. 1613? Text (ff. 35-41) similar to Stowe MS. 415, ff. 202b-206b. Continues (f. 41b) with additional Chancery cases: the cases on ff. 41b-54b appear in Add. 46410, ff. 166-194b, up to Blanchard contra Clearke, Pas. 40 Eliz. (f. 54b). Further cases (ff. 55-61) chiefly Trin. 40 Eliz.(1598)-June 1600, with two items dated 1610 and 1613 (f. 60b). One case from 9 James I (1611-1612) has been added to the earlier section (margin, f. 38). Marginal glosses found elsewhere frequently omitted ff. 35b-41b, but then present up to f. 54b. Some entries ff. 60b-61 in a different hand from the main text (see below). See Ward, p. 295 and n.92. A similar collection in a different order is published as W. Tothill, The transactions of the High Court of Chancery, 1649 (STC 1952); see also Hargrave MS. 270, Harley MS. 4265, ff. 2-35b.

5. ff. 61b-66. 'Judgm[en]ts at the Com[m]on Lawe examined in the High Court of Chauncerie', various cases 26 Hen. 8 - 8 James I; [aft. Nov. 1610].

6. ff. 66b-67. Summary and extracts from the Parliament Rolls concerning Chancery, 2, 13 Ric. II; [aft. Nov. 1610?]. See: Rot. Parl., iii, pp. 44, 266; Stowe 415, ff. 168b, 173-174, where the original material in French forms part of a collection 'Recorda ex Archivis de Cancellaria'; Ward, pp. 294-295, n.89. Hand as art. 5.

Paper; ff. i + 88. Contemporary foliation: 29-34, 68-88 blank; one folio

(f. 29*) partly torn away between ff. 29 and 30. Quarto. Early XVII cent. Two? main hands: additions in a later hand on ff. 2, 12, 60b, 61. Pen-trials, one biblical, the rest legal and mostly referring to art. 1(a) on f. i. Mathematical calculations,

f. i. Vellum cover. Front cover: 'Chancery', 'J T'. Spine: 'Canc', '106'.

Court of Chancery: Legal commonplace book conc.: 16th-17th cent: Engl., Fr. and Lat.

Elizabeth I of England: Papers of R. Beale, Clerk of the Council: 16th cent.

Robert Beale, Clerk to the Privy Council: Correspondence and papers.

includes:

• ff. 13-17b Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford: Case in Chancery: 1616: Copy.