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The custom of Virton as it existed at the end of the 16th century is recorded on pages 373 to 376; it confirms the law of Beaumont.
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Local customs (1) sent to the Provincial Council of Luxembourg by the mayor, justice and community of Verton in the year fifteen hundred and eighty-eight, all by order of the said council etc.
(1) These customs were published by Mr Leclercq in his already cited work Les Coutumes du Pays de Luxembourg. These are, with the first, the only pages of the register which, to our knowledge at least, have been printed.
Satisfying the ordinances of my lords, the governors, president and people of the council of the King, our lord, ordered in the country of Luxembourg and county of Chiny dated the 17th of December in the year 15th, 13th and 8th, dedicated and sent to your obedient servants, the mayor and justice of the city and suburb of Verton and by them received on the 2nd of February 89 on the facts and circumstances of the customs observed at the said Verton. Whereupon these of Justee very humbly beg to receive in good part the declarations of their aforesaid customs and usage which by the following articles are clarified.
According to which custom every year on the day of Pantecustus in the said town there is created and by election of the forty and bourgeois of the said place a mayor, seven aldermen and a senior judge of the bourgeois in all actions, both real and personal, civil and criminal, except for corporal execution which belongs to a provost of the said Verton.
Which mayor and justice have also accustomed with the forty men of the town and suburb of Verton to judge all fines and forfeitures made to the bourgeoisie of the said Verton once a year and this around the Pantecost according to and according to the contents of the roll written by the said mayor and justice or clerk appointed by them after which judicature there is no defense for the bourgeoisie of the said Verton or others except by appeal to do the will.
Of which fines and money the said mayor and justice are required to account by oath and in a mass the said of Pathecouste to a provost of the said Verton
Item and the said mayor from all time immemorial half of the keys of the town of the said Verton and the provost of the said Verton the other half.
Item the said mayor and aldermen are accustomed to closing and unlocking the doors of the said Verton alternately, or in the absence of an alderman, the dean of the said justice.
Item the mayor and justice command the bourgeois of the said Verton in the guard of the said town and by all good order and police. Also, to better satisfy the said duty, there must be there each night two bourgeois of the provostship of the said Verton and this ordinarily by charge and command of the said provost.
Before which the mayor and aldermen administering justice in the town and suburb of the said Verton are accustomed to come to the law and seek charges and sentences for all other village justice of the provostship of the said Verton and several others. As also accustomed to come there to seek charges and sentences for the justices of any of the Hautes-Pyrénées lordships of the said Verton and even those of the ban of Messon who charge and sentence both before the officer who, the mayor, justice of Verton.
Item that for all salaries and vacations and on each charge and appearance which is made before those of justice of the said Verton is due to them and belongs five sols and a half only of which belongs by decrees of justice the said five sols and a half to the dean.
Item also belongs to the aforementioned mayor and justice the power to pass and receive all contracts of road matters as governor of the land and of the kingdom of the inheritances of the said place excluding fiefdoms and farms.
Item would please understand that concerning the successions in collateral line the furniture and acquisitions came to succeed and share between the nearest heirs of the deceased in similar degrees cannot return back as in some other places it is practiced as to return to father mother uncle or aunt that by the custom observed in the said Verton one can claim to have or pretend anything.
Item the inheritance sold to some of the relatives of the line from which it comes there is no withdrawal unless it is by a closer or several of the same degree who will be able to have each in his regard for his money as brothers and sisters.
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Item that in a straight line by the said custom representation takes place infinitely
Item that the said custom is such that the next heirs and descendants of the first to die take half of the furniture and acquires the marriage of the two spouses against the survivors both in line and out of line without returning anything back as above. And as for the old inheritances they fall successively in the line and source of which they are proven to the next heirs in the straight line.
Item that if the woman survived her husband and had a prefixed dowry, the said widowed woman may take the customary dowry which is half of all inheritances that her husband could have and which fell to her and succeeded to her at the hour and day of his death or the prefix if she finds it more suitable.
Item if there should happen to be a deceased person of this world burdened with greater debts than his assets could be worth or consist of and that the widow within a certain time after the knowledge of the said debts comes to renounce all the assets abandoned by the said deceased to his husband, what is called getting the keys on the grave, this widow will be released and discharged from all the said debts without the creditors being able to force her to do so in any way whatsoever.
that And moreover, where there would come to the said town and suburb of the said Verton to be moved any action not taken up by the articles hereinbefore written and whose adjudication would belong to the mayor and illegal justice which they would not want to oppose in any way that the said laws and custom of Beaumont will be found to dispose of all the articles of which by prolixity in making an ostentation will be able to greatly attenuate your lordships {1) Of which also the scribe hopes to be amply informed and imbued with it They will beg your said lordships to receive their small work in good part and will pray to the creator for the increase of your authority Of Verton this 15th of July 1589.
Authority of Verton this fifteenth of July 1589 Of your lordships very humble obedient servants the mayor, aldermen, bourgeois and forty of the town and suburb of Verton.
(1) The exposition of all the articles of Beaumont's law could greatly bore your lordships.