f Westminster, and Thomas Alby and
William Askham, constables of the said staple, and on that day the
Mayor and the constables issued a writ of capias against Edmund
and John to answer Mark and be before the Mayor and the constables
at the next court. This writ was delivered to Baddele as sergeant
of the staple, and by virtue of it he took and imprisoned Edmund
in the staple. Maud and the others say they aided Baddele by
virtue of the said writ.

Edmund does not acknowledge Baddele to be sergeant of the staple
or Mark a merchant of the staple or that he was taken in the
staple. He is minister of the King's Court of his Bench and is
crier under Thomas Thorne, the chief crier, his master. Every
servant of the court is under special protection while doing his
duty or on his way to do it. On the day in question, he was at
Westminster carrying his master's staff of office before Hugh
Huls, one of the King's justices, and William took him in the
presence of the said justice and imprisoned him.

The case is adjourned for consideration from Hilary to Easter."

A law of equity began to be developed from decisions by the
Chancellor in his court of conscience from around 1370. One such
case was that of Godwyne v. Profyt sometime after 1393. This
petition was made to the Chancellor: To the most reverend Father
in God, and most gracious Lord, the bishop of Exeter, Chancellor
of England. Thomas Godwyne and Joan his wife, late wife of Peter
at More of Southwerk, most humbly beseech that, whereas at
Michaelmas in the 17th year of our most excellent lord King
Richard who now is, the said Peter at More in his lifetime
enfeoffed Thomas Profyt parson of St. George's church Southwerk,
Richard Saundre, and John Denewey, in a tenement with the
appurtenances situated in Southwerk and 24 acres of land 6 acres
of meadow in the said parish of St. George and in the parish of our
Lady of Newington, on the conditions following, to wit, that the
said three feoffees should, immediately after the death of the
said Peter, enfeoff the said Joan in all the said lands and
tenements with all their appurtenances for the life of the said
Joan, with remainder after her decease to one Nicholas at More,
brother of the said Peter, to hold to him and the heirs of his
body begotten, and for default of issue, then to be sold by four
worthy people of the said parish, and the money to be received for
the same to be given to Holy Church for his soul; whereupon the