Tourn facts for kids

The tourn (also called tour or turn) was a special inspection that happened twice a year in medieval England. The local sheriff would visit the different areas of his shire called "hundreds." During these visits, the sheriff would lead important meetings of the hundred court, which usually met every three weeks. These special tourn meetings happened around Easter and Michaelmas (a Christian feast day in autumn).

How the Tourn Started

The word "tourn" was first used in 1205. However, historians believe that this type of inspection was already happening much earlier, possibly around 1166. Even before that, in the early 11th century, there were similar special court meetings led by sheriffs during the Anglo-Saxon period. These older practices likely led to the tourn as it was known later.

Money and Problems

A big part of the tourn was called "views of frankpledge." This was when the sheriff checked on the frankpledge system. In this system, groups of free men in a hundred were responsible for each other's good behavior. Everyone who was part of the hundred, plus a reeve (a local official) and four representatives from each village, were expected to attend.

Sheriffs could make money from the tourn in several ways:

• Fines for not attending: People who didn't show up had to pay a fine, sometimes called the "frankpledge penny."
• Fines from rule-breakers: Money was collected from people who were found to have broken the rules.

Because of these profits, some sheriffs started to cause problems:

• They held too many tourn sessions, making people attend more often than needed.
• They demanded money unfairly from people who couldn't attend.
• One sheriff even started the tourn in a county where it had never been before, just to collect more fines from people who didn't know the rules.

People were unhappy about these unfair practices. This led to important struggles in the 13th century to limit the sheriff's power. The famous Magna Carta insisted that the tourn should happen no more than twice a year. It also said that fees for the frankpledge view should be kept at the same level as they were during King Henry II's time. Later, the Statute of Marlborough also helped to make rules that stopped these unfair actions and protected people from having to attend the tourn if they were exempt.

Where the Tourn Spread and Why It Declined

In the second half of the 13th century, the tourn system spread to northern counties in England and parts of North Wales. However, it did not reach the southern parts of Wales.

Over time, the importance of the tourn, like the frankpledge system, began to fade. By the time of King Edward IV, its legal powers were officially limited, though it wasn't completely removed.

See also