was ordinarily administered near the homes of the suitors, in the rcve motes (or shire motes), the tourns, and the hundred courts derived out of it, and the county courts. But over all these there was the xvittenagemote, which had a concurrent jurisdiction with them. The king himself sat in it. It was held in his palace and removed with his person. Its principal officer below the king wls the Justiciarins Anglice. The judges were the great officers of state, together with such lords as were about the court. Its ordinary business consisted in the deter mination of causes concerning the revenues, criminal accusations against any of the lords, and civil disputes between them, besides which it heard originally offenses of a very heinous and public nature committed by persons of inferior rank, and all causes in the inferior courts might be adjourned thither on account of their difficulty or im portance. This same supreme tribunal, or a similar one in all substantial respects, was preserved by William the Conqueror under the name of the aula regis or curia regis, so called because it was held in the royal palace be fore himself or his justice, of whom the Justiciarins Anglice' still continued to be the chief. There was also the exchequer, called curia regis ad scaecarium, which was likewise held in the palace, and though in effect a member of the curia regis, was expressly distinguished from it. The curia rcgis consisted of the following persons : the king himself, who was the head; next to him the Justiciarius Anglice, who was the principal minister of state, and decided all causes in the king's absence as his vice-regent or deputy; and the great officers of the palace, such as the chancellor, treasurer, chamberlain, steward, marshal, constable and the barons of the realm. With these were associated certain persons called 1 An officer not unlike the ancient grand seneschal of France, called major doimis.
justicice orjustitiarii, to the number of five or six, on whom, with the Justiciarins Anglice the burden ofjudicature principally devolved, the barons seldom appearing to participate in the proceedings, the duties incumbent upon the office being at variance with their martial education and occupations. The king chose such of his nobles as he pre ferred, to associate with himself in the curia regis, who were usually residents of the palace and attendant upon his person. All matters of judicial concern were cog nizable by this supreme court. Many pleas, from their great importance, were deemed within its exclusive jurisdiction, while others were brought there by special permission. For the issuing of the necessary writs, and for other offices pertaining to the court, the king had near him some great man, usually an ecclesiastic, who was called his chancel lor, and had the keeping of the great seal. It was probably this office of the chancellor that rendered him a necessary member of the court. However this may be, the chan cellor was always one of the principal mem bers of the curia regis and of the Star Chamber. The Exchequer sat in another place, namely ad scaecarium, as we have seen, and the justices of the curia regis were there called barons. While we may find indefinite mention of affairs of a criminal nature being considered in the exchequer, no considerable criminal jurisdiction was ever assumed by it, and it may be safely asserted that all great crimi nal prosecutions (or misdemeanors were conducted originally in the curia regis proper. When by reason of the great and con stantly increasing mass of business brought before the curia regis from all parts of the realm, the justiciarius and his associates found themselves unable to directly deal with all its affairs, it became necessary to erect some other tribunal of a simitar nature,
