[001] if both are present, demandant and tenant, and the writ has not come, if the tenant [002] offers himself and asks judgment whether he ought to answer without the writ, he [003] will withdraw quit of that writ, if they have well understood their day. If both have [004] erred and have appeared earlier than they ought, the summons and writ will be [005] good nevertheless.
If one of several tenants who hold in common defaults, a second is essoined and a third appears.
[007] Suppose that a demandant has impleaded several tenants, two, three or more, who [008] hold in common, and one of them defaults, the second is essoined and the third [009] appears; no one will answer with the other.1 Another day will therefore be given [010] personally to him who is present, by his essoiner to him who is essoined, and [011] against him who defaults let the matter proceed to default, by the great or the little [012] cape, according as he has or has not appeared in court before his default, not so that [013] on the default of one the entire thing claimed be taken into the king's hand, only [014] the defaulter's portion,2 that is, half of the thing claimed or a third or a quarter, [015] whether he is conducting the matter himself or by an attorney, for by the default [016] of an attorney the lord of the suit loses,3 whether all have appointed the attorney [017] or one, and one of the several may well lose his portion by default without his parceners, [018] though at the outset he is not bound to answer without them.4 If all the [019] tenants appoint one attorney, by his default they may all lose. Suppose that one [020] of several parcener-demandants defaults and all the others appear in person or are [021] essoined; quaere as to the process against the absentee. I answer: all who are [022] present or essoined will have another day, and let the absentee be summoned to [023] appear on that day to sue with his parceners if he so wishes, by this writ.5
If a parcener named in the writ refuses to sue or does not appear, let him be summoned to sue if he wishes.
[025] The king to the sheriff, greeting. Summon A. by good summoners to be before the [026] justices etc. on such a day to sue with B. and C. his parceners in the plea between [027] the aforesaid A. B. and C. demandants and D. of N. tenant with respect to so much [028] land with the appurtenances in such a vill, if he wishes so to do, as to which