JERSEY’S oldest surviving judicial record has been published by the Société Jersiaise, and reveals a “tumultuous” period over 700 years ago.
The Channel Islands Assize Roll of 1299: Jersey was unveiled recently.
An Assize is a historical term for formal court sessions which were held by judges to administer civil and criminal law cases, a term which is still used in Jersey’s courts today to describe certain trials.
The medieval document, which deals with Jersey specifically, was not the first Assize in the Channel Islands, the Société confirmed, but it is the earliest surviving judicial record.
The publication includes cases of assault, theft and claims to property in Jersey during an “era of violence” that dealt with the richest and the poorest in the Island.
The publication details criminal cases brought against Drouet de Barentin, described as the “Warden of the Isles”, and the Seigneur of Rozel, who had several allegations brought against them, including the abduction of three women and theft.
There were also several knife attacks in the marketplace, thefts of sheep and assaults in taverns.
A spokesperson for the Société Jersiaise said the roll shed a light on a “tumultuous century” for the Channel Islands during difficulties following the loss of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204, of which the islands were formerly part, and the subsequent governance of the English Crown.
“The roll’s importance for the history of the Channel Islands is very great in that it provides insights into legal, administrative, social, political and economic life in Jersey at the end of a tumultuous century for the islands,” the spokesperson said.
“The Assize records shed light on the difficulties that the English Crown had in governing the Channel Islands, developing the local administration that was necessary to function without their link to the Duchy of Normandy,” they added.
The Société Jersiaise was able to commission and publish the work thanks to a “generous” bequest from the late medieval historian and former Registrar of Deeds, Peter Bisson.
The record has been made readily available for the public after being translated from Latin by Dr Simon Harris.
It was officially unveiled last month in the presence of the Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae.
Copies can be purchased at the Société Jersiaise bookshop at 7 Pier Road, online (societe.je) or by emailing hello@societe.je.
