INSPEXIMUS and CONFIRMATION of a charter from Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, to his burgesses of Rosbargon [1289x95]':¹

'Know that we have granted to our burgesses of Rosbargon all manner of liberties and free customs which our ancestors granted to our burgesses of our town of Kilkenny:

[1] First, that no burgess shall be impleaded or answer any plea arising within the bounds of the borough except in the hundred of the town, except pleas which are of the men of our household or our bailiffs; this hundred shall be held in the town.
[2] No homicide committed within the bounds of the town shall be deemed to be murdrum.
[3] No burgess shall be obliged to wage a duel for any appeal that may be made against him, except for the death of a man, or theft, or another plea for which a duel ought reasonably to be waged.
[4] Also, the burgesses are quit of toll, lastage, passage, pontage and all other customs throughout all our land and power.
[5] No burgess shall be put in mercy of money except by the judgement of the hundred, and that amercement also shall not exceed 10s in the greater pleas, of which half shall be pardoned and the other half rendered as an amercement; in the lesser pleas, however, as of bread and ale and night-watch and such matters, the amercement shall not exceed 2s, of which half shall be pardoned and the other half rendered as an amercement. If, however, anyone should incur an amercement for bread or ale or another similar forfeiture, on the first occasion the amercement shall not exceed 2s, of which half shall be pardoned as said before, and the other half rendered as an amercement; if he should incur forfeiture a second time, he shall pay 2s; and if he should incur it a third time, he shall sustain judgement or pay half a mark.
[6] The hundred shall be held only once a week.
[7] No burgess shall be impleaded by miskenning.
[8] Every burgess may plead without a motion.
[9] The burgesses may distrain their debtors by their goods [namia] which are found in the town of Rosbargon, and if by chance a plea should arise concerning pledges or distraints taken for debt, it shall be brought to trial in the hundred; and if by chance it should happen that a toll be taken from any burgess in our land or power, if he who took it be required to restore it and refuse, he shall be distrained to restore it at Rosbargon by the distraints of the place where he is, if any be found.
[10] No outside merchant may bake bread or have a wine tavern in the town of Rosbargon except for 40 days, and should he wish to have any such thing for longer, he shall remain only by the common consent of the burgesses and for the profit of the town.
[11] No burgess shall be distrained in our land or power for a foreign debt unless he be a pledge or principal debtor.
[12] No burgess shall be compelled to pledge anyone, even if he hold of him, unless he should freely will it.
[13] We have granted also to the same burgesses that they and their sons and daughters and widows may contract marriages without licence of their lords, unless by chance they hold outside tenements of us in chief outside the borough. None of the lords of whom the burgesses of Rosbargon hold outside tenements shall have the wardship or gift of them or their sons or daughters or widows, but only the wardship of their tenements until those who were in wardship be of full age, unless they hold of us in chief outside the borough as aforesaid.
[14] Our burgesses may have a guild of merchants and other guilds with those paying scot with every liberty pertaining to them, as is the custom of other good towns.
[15] The burgesses may dispose of their tenements which they hold in burgage as seems best to them, without unjust injury to their neighbours, whether buildings or gardens or orchards or anything else, and those who have their tenements near the water may extend them and build over the water if they wish.
[16] We have granted also to them that they may give, sell or pledge without our assent, except to religious men [i.e. members of religious orders] all their acquisitions, saving the services due from them.
[17] No burgess shall be compelled to lend his chattels unless surety is first given to restore them at a fixed term; and if by chance any burgess should voluntarily lend his chattels to our bailiffs, it shall be paid within 40 days if a fixed term were not agreed for restoration; and if by chance there has been a change of bailiffs, we or our bailiffs shall compel the retiring bailiff to restore to them the debt which they can reasonably show is owed to them.
[18] We have granted also to our same burgesses that they may make free tenants of their tenements by 20 feet of land, such that they might have common liberty with the burgesses.
[19] Also, our same burgesses may prove their debts by suit of law-worthy men.
[20] We have granted also to them that if any of their chattels be taken without cause for a foreign forfeiture outside the borough, they shall be restored as far as they can reasonably show that they are theirs.
[21] We have granted to the same burgesses their grinding in our mills, by reasonable tolls.
[22] Further, we have granted to the same burgesses that they and their heirs may have and hold of us and our heirs, freely and quietly forever, their burgages with their appurtenances for an annual rent of twelve silver pence, payable half at Easter and the other half at Michaelmas.
[23] Also, we wish that no assize of victuals should be held in the borough, except by common assent of the burgesses and the judgement of our bailiffs.

And so that this our grant may duly last forever, we have strengthened this charter with the impression of our seal.

Witnesses: Sir Michael [d'Exeter], then bishop of Ossory; Sir John Hastinggis; Thomas s. of Maurice, John Barry, John Bygod, Gaudinus Clare, Roger Penbrok, then seneschal of Kilkenny, Andrew Avenel, Silvester Archdeacon, Reginald Dene, knights; Walter Sholdham, then sheriff; master Thomas Pyvelesdon', John Bruges, clerks; and others.'²