Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	brother_n	king_n	lord_n	5,571	5	3.8878	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96689	An appeal to the House of Commons, desiring their ansvver: vvhether the common-people shall have the quiet enjoyment of the commons and waste land; or whether they shall be under the will of lords of mannors still. Occasioned by an arrest, made by Thomas Lord Wenman, Ralph Verny Knight, and Richard Winwood Esq; upon the author hereof, for a trespass, in digging upon the common-land at Georges Hill in Surrey. / By Gerrard Winstanly, Iohn Barker, and Thomas Star, in the name of all the poor oppressed in the land of England.	Winstanley, Gerrard, b. 1609.; Barker, John, 17th cent.; Star, Thomas.; England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons.	1649 (1649)	Wing W3040; Thomason E564_5; ESTC R204110	8,920	16

AN APPEAL To the House of COMMONS Desiring their ANSVVER VVhether the Common-people shall have the quiet enjoyment of the Commons and Waste Land Or whether they shall be under the will of Lords of Mannors still Occasioned by an Arrest made by Thomas Lord Wenman Ralph Verny Knight and Richard Winwood Esq upon the Author hereof for a Trespass in Digging upon the Common-Land at Georges Hill in Surrey By Gerrard Winstanly Iohn Barker and Thomas Star In the Name of all the poor oppressed in the Land of ENGLAND Vnrighteous Oppression kindles a flame but Love Righteousness and Tenderness of heart quenches it again Printed in the Year 1649. AN Appeal to the House of Commons Desiring their ANSVVER Whether the Common-People shall have the quiet enjoyment of the Commons and Waste Lands Or whether they shall be under the will of Lords of Mannors still SIRS THe cause of this our Presentment before you is An Appeal to you desiring you to demonstrate to us and the whole Land the equity or not equity of our cause And that you would either cast us by just reason under the feet of those we call Task-Masters or Lords of Mannors or else to deliver us out of their Tyrannical hands In whose hands by way of Arrest we are for the present for a Trespass to them as they say In digging upon the Common-Land The setling whereof according to Equity and Reason wil quiet the mindes of the oppressed people it will be a keeping of our Nationall Covenant it will be peace to your selves and make England the most flourishing and strongest Land in the 〈◊〉 and the first of Nations that shall begin to give up their Crown and Scepter their Dominion and Government into the hands of Jesus Christ The cause is this we amongst others of the common peopl●● that have been ever friends to the Parliament as we are 〈◊〉 red our enemies wil witness to it have plowed and dig'd upon Georges Hill in Surrey to sow corn for the succour of man offering no offence to any but do carry our selves in love and peace towards all having no intent to meddle with any mans inclosures or propriety til it be freely given to us by themselves but only to improve the Commons and waste Lands to our best advantage for the relief of our selves and others being moved thereunto by the Reason hereafter following not expecting any to be much offended in regard the cause is so just and upright Yet notwithstanding there be three men called by the people Lords of Manors viz. Thomas Lord Wenman Ralph Ve●ny Knight and Richard Winwood Esquire have arrested 〈◊〉 for a trespass in digging upon the Commons and upon the Arrest we made our appearance in Kingstone Court where we understood we were arrested for medling with other mens Rights and secondly they were incouraged to arrest us upon your Act of Parliament as they tell us to maintain the old Laws we desired to plead our own cause the Court denied us and to fee a Lawyer we cannot for divers reasons as we may shew hereafter Now Sirs our case is this for we appeal to you for you are the only men that we are to deal withall in this business Whether the common people after all their taxes free-quarter and loss of blood to recover England from under the Norman yoak shal have the freedom to improve the Comon● and waste Lands free to themselves as freely their own as the Inclosures are the propriety of the elder brothers Or whether the Lords of Manors shall have them according to their old Custom from the Kings Will and Grant and so remain Task-Masters still over us which 〈◊〉 the peoples slavery 〈◊〉 Conquest We have made our appeal 〈◊〉 to settle this matter in the Equity and Reason of it and to pass the sentence of freedom to us you being the men with whom we have to do in this business in whose hands there is power to settle it for no Court can end this controversie but your Court of Parliament as the case of this Nation now stands Therefore we 〈◊〉 you to read over this following Declaration wherein we have declared our Reason that the Commons and waste lands is the common peoples and that in equity you ought to let them quietly enjoy them as the elder brothers quietly enjoy their inclosures The profit of this business to the Nation the quitting of the hearts of the poor oppressed that are groaning under burthens and streights and the peace of your own hearts to see the peare of the Nation setled in his plat-form will much countervail the spending of so much time Sirs you know that the Land of England in the land of our Nativity both yours and ours and all of us by the righteous Law of our Creation ought to have food and rayment freely by our righteous labouring of the earth without working for hire or paying rent one to another But since the fall of man from that righteous Law The Nations of the world have rise up in variance one against another and sought against murdered and stoln the land of their Nativity one from another and by their power of their conquests have 〈◊〉 set up some to rule in tyranny over others and thereby have enslaved the conquered which is a burden the whole Creation hath and yet does groane under The teeth of all Nations hath been set on edge by this four grape the covetous murdering sword England you know hath been conquered and enslaved divers times and the best Laws that England hath viz. Magna Charta were got by our Forefathers importunate petitioning unto the Kings that stil were their Task-masters and yet these best laws are yoaks and manicles tying one sort of people to be slaves to another Clergy and Gentry have 〈◊〉 their freedom but the common people stil are and have been left servants to work for 〈◊〉 like the Israilites under the Egyptian Task masters The last enslaving yoak that England groaned under and yet is not freed from was the Norman as you know and since William the Conqueror came in about six hundred years ago all the Kings that stil succeeded did confirm the old laws or else make new ones to uphold that Norman conquest over us and the most favouring laws that we have doth stil binde the hands of the enslaved English from enjoying the freedom of their creation You of the Gentry as wel as we of the Comonalty all groaned under the burden of the bad Government and burdening laws under the late King Charls who was the last successor of William the Conqueror you and we cried for a Parliament and a Parliament was called and wars you know presently begun between the King that represented William the Conqueror and the body of the English people that were enslaved We looked upon you to be our chief Councel to agitate business for us though you were summoned by the Kings Writ and chosen by the Free-holders that are the successors of William

well as to thee And this is the case of the Nations of the world and thus propriety came in and hath been left as an Inheritance to Children which is the burden the Creation groans under Here we see who are thieves and murderers even the buyers and sellers of land with her fruits these are they that take away another mans right from him and that overthrowes righteous propriety to uphold particular propriety which covetousnes the God of this world hath set up But thirdly if Lords of Manors say as it is truth that they hold title to the Commons by custome from the Kings will as they do this is as bad as the other for we know the King came in by conquest and gave the land to these forefathers to be task-masters over the conquered English But if you say that these later Kings were chosen by the people it is possible it might be so but surely it was when his greatness over-awed them or else they would never have chosen him to enslave them and to set task-masters over them But seeing the Common People have joyned person and purse with you to recover your selves from under the tyranny of Kings and have prevailed the Common people now have more truer title to the common lands then the Lords of Manors for they held title by Conquest and sword of the King we now the common people have recovered the land again by conquest and sword in casting out the King so that the title of Lords of Manors is broke Therefore now the Common people have more true title to the Common land then Lords of Manors have in regard they have recovered themselves out of slavery by taxes free quarter and conquest yet we shut them not out but let them take part with us as fellow creatures and we with them and so honour our Creator in the work of his own hands Thus we have declared our Cause without flattery to you if you leave us in the hands of oppression and under the power of the old tyrannicall laws know this that we suffer in pursute of o●● Nationall Covenant endeavouring a Reformation in our place and calling according to the word of God and you shall be left without excuse Set the Land free from Oppression And righteousnesse will be the Laws Government and strength of that People These are some of the NORMAN Laws which William the Conqueror brought into ENGLAND FIrst he turned the English out of their Lands and placed his Norman Souldiers therein and made those that had the greatest portion Lords and Barons and gave them a Royalty to the Commons to hold from his Will as a custome whereby the common people should not plant themselves anywhere in the Land upon any Common-land but some Lord of Manor or other should know of it and hinder them as these three that have arrested us viz. Wonman Verny and Winwood Lord Knight and Esquire the three Estates of the Norman Gentry will not suffer us to dig quietly upon Georges Hill but seek to drive us off having no more claim thereunto but an ancient Custom which they hold from the Kings Will where by they have and stil would tyrannize over the people And this is the rise and standing of Lords of Manors Secondly another Norman Law is this William the Conqueror caused the Laws to be written in the Norman and French tongue and then appointed his own Norman people to expound and interpret those Laws and appointed the English people to pay them 〈◊〉 Fee for their paines and from hence came in the trade of Lawyers he commanded likewise that noman should plead his owncause but those Lawyers should do it for them Thirdly William the Conqueror broke that good and quiet course of ending contro● versies in a neighbourhood and commanded the people to come up to Westminster ster to the four Terms every year to have their Causes tried Fourthly William the Conquer or brought in the paying of Tithes to the Clergy in thankfulness to the Pope and Clergies good services in preaching for him and so to perswade the people to embrace him These are some of the Norman Laws and Burthens which if removed it would be much ease and quiet to this Nation FINIS