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[001] sending four knights to an enfeebled man to hear his statement, will be this.>

Writ of the same kind: whether he is compos mentis.


[003] ‘The king to the sheriff, greeting. Send four lawful knights of your county to A. at
[004] N. who is ill, as it is said, to see in what condition he is and whether he is competent
[005] or not and to inquire of him whether he has given lands during his illness,
[006] and to whom, and make that inquest known to us or our justices on such a day
[007] under your seal etc.’ When it is established by the inquest that he of whom
[008] complaint is made has committed a fraud, let him be summoned to answer by this
[009] writ.

Writ to summon the tenant.


[011] ‘The king to the sheriff, greeting. [Though] we well recall that at the instance of
[012] A. the heir of B. we sent you and four knights to the aforesaid B. to see his condition
[013] and whether he was competent or not, and also to hear whether he had
[014] granted lands during his sickness and incompetence, and to whom, and you
[015] together with the aforesaid knights wrote to us that you had found him ill and
[016] incompetent and that before you and the aforesaid knights and many others
[017] then and there present he stated that he had never given any lands to such a
[018] one of N. nor made him any charter of gift, since the aforesaid A., heir of the same B.
[019] still complains to us that the aforesaid person, such a one, who for a long time had
[020] the seal of B. his father (or ‘had stolen it during the infirmity and incompetence
[021] of the same B. as it is said’) has put himself into the land of the said B. at such
[022] a place, by himself and on his own authority, without the same B. or his bailiff,
[023] and made himself charters of the aforesaid lands [with] the aforesaid seal, which
[024] he has in his possession, to the disherison of the same A., and because no one ought
[025] to benefit from his own fraud nor do we wish1 to maintain, as we ought not, that
[026] anyone be wrongfully disinherited, we order you, if the aforesaid A. makes you secure
[027] etc., to summon by good summoners such a one that he be etc. to show by what
[028] warrant he put himself into the aforesaid lands. Also summon by good summoners
[029] etc. twelve, knights as well as others etc., to recognize etc. whether the aforesaid B.
[030] gave2 that land to him and made him his charter thereof or not, and if he gave
[031] him those lands and made him his charter in what condition he then was, that is,
[032] whether compos mentis and of good memory when he made that gift or not, and
[033] also by whom the aforesaid person was put into seisin. And have there etc.’



Notes

1. ‘volumus’

2. ‘dedit’


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