Page 445

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wise by putting forward points and subtleties contrary to these words that are in this book. And in this I will not put myself out; because he who will want to, will give credence to me and to my book, and he who does not want to believe it, so it shall be for him.

II. Here begins the second chapter. Concerning homage.

I will begin with the head, that is, with the lord. Here I will speak of homage. To receive homage, the lord should be seated and the man should kneel, and place his joined hands in the hands of the lord. And another who sets forth the homage should say "You become the liege man of the king, and you promise to bear faith, as your liege, to protect him and save him, against all things that live and can die." And then he should say to the lord: "And you, receive him in the faith of God and in your own faith, as your own liege man." And the two should say: "Yes"; and they should kiss each other in faith. And he who does homage to someone other than the king should do it in the same way just as is said above, except that he should say: "I become your man, excepting ligesse to the king." And if there is another lord in this kingdom, or several, he must therefore set them aside, one after the other.

III. The third chapter. How the lord is held to his man.

This concerns how the lord is bound to his man, according to the faith in which he has accepted him. That is: that he should protect and save him, him and his claims. And he must keep himself from doing, or causing to be done, or pursing, or permitting dishonor or harm or judgment, unless it is done by ruling of the court, nor must he resist him nor summon him, based upon his faith. And this concerns how the man is bound to his lord by his faith: that he must protect, save, and defend him, him and his claims. Nor must he do, nor cause to be done, nor allow that one does to him, neither dishonor, nor harm nor judgment. And if he knows that anyone is doing this to him, or wishes to do so, he is obligated to deter and prevent it, to his abilities; and if he cannot deter it, he must warn his lord about it, and so he should not resist nor summon him, based upon his faith.

IV. The fourth chapter, that is what the lord owes to his man.
*If it so happens that the lord fails toward his man in any of the things listed above, and the fault should be recognized by the court, the remedy the man should have is this: that he is released from the homage and of the service to the lord which he owed so long as the two shall live. And should that one **[the lord] die first, the remedy remains and the property returns to the heir [of the lord], in the state in which it was before the misdeed. Setting aside the remedy said above, the lord is in no way relieved of his obligation to the man. And he will hold the man that he has without homage and without service, for all his life.

V. The fifth chapter. Concerning the default of the man, when he must render to his lord the above-said things.

If the man fails his lord in any of the above-designated things, and the failure is recognized in court, without any of his peers accusing him of treason, but if the lord pleads against him or accuses him in his court, the remedy is as follows:

Notes and Questions

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lmorreale3-oldfordham

ne ne le doit rester ne appeler de sa foy: this one is tough, and it appears twice.

BJPReilly-oldfordham

rester as _reter_ (is this rester related to ester en justice?)

lmorreale3-oldfordham

In the case of guegement - we read this as judgement, not gagement, and here assume this is a negative opinion against the lord.

akbeer-oldfordham

"oir" might potentially be read either as "heir" or "hearing/court case" depending on how "chose" is translated.