The Dialogus de Scaccario, or Dialogue concerning the Exchequer, is a mediaeval treatise on the practice of the English Exchequer written in the late 12th century by Richard FitzNeal. The treatise, written in Latin,[1] and known from three manuscripts from the 13th century is set up as a series of questions and answers, covering the jurisdiction, constitution and practice of the Exchequer. One academic said that "The value of this essay for early English history cannot be over-estimated; in every direction it throws light upon the existing state of affairs."[2] It has been repeatedly republished and translated, most recently in 2007.
Contents |
The treatise was most likely written by Richard FitzNeal, Lord High Treasurer of the Exchequer under Henry II. The date of the book is disputed; it describes 6 circuits of itinerant justices; academics argue, therefore, that it must have been written before 1179, when the number of circuits was reduced to 4; this requires, however, that the changes to the circuits came into immediate effect, and Richardson argues that there is nothing in the Pipe Rolls to support this assumption.[3] Other academics suggest either 1181 or 1188 as possible years.[2] Divided into two books and written as a series of questions and answers between a learned lawyer and his pupil,[4] the treatise first looks at the constitution of the Exchequer, analysing the Upper and Lower Exchequers individually and giving descriptions of their officers and jurisdiction.[5] The second book describes the Exchequer "in practice", giving a layout of the proper way to plead cases and the timetable by which a case ran.[6]
As well as its initial publication and additional versions during the 18th and 19th centuries, the book was again published in 1902 by the Clarendon Press; this soon went out of print, and a second edition with a commentary was published in 1950, edited by Charles Johnson.[7] This again went out of print, necessitating a new edition published by Oxford University Press in 1983.[8] The 1952 edition was favourably reviewed, with K.R. Potter writing that it was "a most helpful guide to those unfamiliar with medieval finance".[4] Ernest Henderson wrote that it was "one of the few actual treatises of the middle ages. It is a most learned essay concerning all that went on at the bi-yearly meetings of the exchequer officials, and branches out into a description of all the sources of revenue of the English crown, and of the methods of collecting them. The value of this essay for early English history cannot be over-estimated; in every direction it throws light upon the existing state of affairs".[2]
The most recent edition was published in 2007, also by Oxford University Press, and is edited and translated by Emilie Amt and S. D. Church—and described as being a "...valuable new edition and translation which merits considerable use..."[9]