论文部分内容阅读
诉状通常指臣民为了伸张正义或请求恩赐而写在羊皮纸上的一种书面请求。在中世纪晚期的英格兰,诉状是政府运转及社会关系互动中的一个重要环节,在很多情况下得以应用。议会诉状,即议会中专门呈递给国王的诉状,是最权威的一种诉状。产生于13世纪的议会很快成为国王与诸臣面对面解决问题的首要场所,但是直至爱德华一世(1272—1307年)在位期间申诉者才被允许到议会申诉,这也是他们接近国王及其官员最便捷的方式。由此,诉状很快流行开来,议会也逐步设计出一整套复杂的程序来应对这一新生事物。议会诉状有其专门的书写规范和结构,大体分为四个类别。下议院议员在推进议会诉状处理方面发挥了重要作用。另外,自14世纪20年代起,下议院议员开始向国王呈送公众诉状。公众诉状指的是在国家层面具有重要意义的诉状,一旦被国王接受就会产生新的立法。因此,从最初专注于伸张正义或请求恩赐,诉状最终具备了一种重要的、全新的政治功能——国王的臣民可利用诉状影响英格兰的统治。
A petition usually refers to a written request that a subject writes on parchment for the sake of justice or plea. In England in the late Middle Ages, the petition was an important part of the government’s operation and social interaction, and was applied in many cases. The parliamentary petition, the petition presented exclusively to the king in parliament, is the most authoritative petition. The parliament, which emerged in the 13th century, soon became the first place where kings and ministers deal face-to-face, but the petitioners were not allowed to go to parliament until the reign of Edward I (1272-1307), which is why they approached the king and his officials The most convenient way. As a result, petitions quickly became prevalent, and parliament gradually designed a complex set of procedures to deal with this new birth. Parliamentary petitions have their own writing norms and structures, broadly divided into four categories. Members of the House of Commons have played an important role in advancing parliamentary petitions. In addition, members of the House of Commons since the 1420s began to file public petitions with the King. Public pleadings refer to petitions of great significance at the national level, which, once accepted by the king, will lead to new legislation. Thus, from its earliest focus on reaching out to justice or pleasing gifts, the petitions eventually possessed an important and entirely new political function - the king’s subjects could use the petitions to influence England’s dominance.