The two knights agreed to ride with Baron Walton's daughter on an expensive Spanish horse of descent to Yorktown, of course, in order to fully assist the Baron's daughter, Miss Isabel, in obtaining some means of protecting herself before marriage. Isabel also conceived the same idea, and in order to protect herself from the patriarchal system, she asked two female relatives to witness the signing of her prenuptial agreement with Sir William Ingleby.

Described as a prosperous city in the late Middle Ages, York City is home to one of the largest Gothic medieval cathedral in England and all of Europe. There are also medieval walls, gates, and periodic religious events or theatrical performances that fill the streets of Yorktown, which was a lively public place for the socialites of northern England until the 16th century.

From the end of the 15th century onwards, Yorktown's economy showed signs of decline; In religious matters, the religious status of York City was also declining due to the Reformation of Henry VIII. However, this did not affect the mood of many upper-class people who came to York City to visit. In particular, the ladies and ladies of the upper class were particularly fond of the environment and the characteristic medieval streets, including two aristocratic female relatives of Isabel Walton.

While three aristocratic women stood reservedly on the side of their horses, admiring and whispering about York Minster, about 30 paces east of the small square, two saber guards in the coats of arms painted with the coat of arms of Baron Walton hurried back from the street to the small square on horseback. One of the guards jumped off his horse and came to the trio to salute and report something.

Isabel frowned, looked at the two people beside her, and said, "Caroline, Euphemia, the barrister who acted as a lawyer and business planner for the Archbishop of York is not in the firm, and now there is only one representative. ”

Caroline nodded thoughtfully, "Well, did the agent say anything?" ”

The agent said that the trial lawyer, Mr. Thomas Holm, should be in the bishop's cathedral at the moment, but he did not know when he would return to the office. The attendants also reported that if we were to file a lawsuit, draft a complaint or defence, and other tasks, we would have to consult with a representative only by a representative. ”

As early as the 12th and 13th centuries, the profession of professional lawyer appeared in England. Since the beginning of this profession, there have been two distinct legal professions: legal advocates and legal representatives.

A legal defender refers to a legal professional who assists a client in making statements and arguments in court. The parties may admit to representing themselves for what the defender says and does in court, and may also correct or supplement them, or even deny them. The legal agent is the legal "representative" with full authority to complete the entire litigation process on behalf of the parties, and everything the agent says and does in court represents the will of the parties and has full legal effect.

Because the agent (legal agent) often loses the case once he makes a mistake in the litigation, and the party still has the opportunity to remedy the mistake of the defender, the defender is generally welcomed by the parties, which promotes the earlier and faster development of the defender profession, and at the same time, the distance between them and the agent profession is also gradually widening.

By the 14th century, as the right to defend the court became more and more concentrated in the hands of defenders, a whole system of legal education for the training of court advocates began to take shape, and four major law houses were established in London. Fellows are called "law apprentices" and are managed and taught by senior practising lawyers known as the Supervisory Committee. After 7 years of study, only with the approval of the competent committee can they obtain the qualification to appear in court and become a trial lawyer (legal defender).

The development of surrogates has been slower. As the right to appear and defend in court at all levels and types of courts is gradually monopolized by trial lawyers, agents can only engage in some transactional work outside the trial, such as applying for judicial writts, collecting evidence, preparing legal documents, and so on. The nature of their work has led to frequent liaison with the staff of the Tribunal and a closer relationship with the Tribunal. Agents are also not subject to the jurisdiction of the Law Society, and the court is directly responsible for their supervision.

In the Middle Ages, both trial lawyers and legal representatives had direct contact with their clients. By the 16th century, only agents had direct access to the parties. Because at this time, written litigation was already widely used in England, and the agent was responsible for talking directly with the parties, understanding the facts of the case, collecting evidence, drafting the complaint or defence, and all other preparations before the trial. The trial lawyer is only present at the hearing to argue in court on the basis of the written pleadings, and therefore does not need to have direct contact with the client.

It is common practice for the attorney to accept a lawsuit and prepare the necessary documents before hiring a trial lawyer to defend the client in court. Moreover, their remuneration is also expressed in two different words. The remuneration of the trial lawyer is called "honorarium", and the remuneration of the agent is called "litigation fee", and the trial lawyer cannot collect it directly from the client, but the agent collects and pays it on behalf of the client. This new "triangulation" of lawyers, agents and clients was fixed during the Elizabeth I period.

In the 18th century, how did the agent and the solicitor become completely integrated, and how did it constitute the second branch of modern lawyers in England, that is, the solicitor, commonly known as the "sand lawyer". It will not be described here.

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Mrs. Carolyn Walton considered Isabel's words, and then turned her gaze to Euphemia on the other side, "What do you think, Mrs. Frederick?" ”

Euphemia looked haughtily and conceited at the commoners, yomans, or conspicuous gentlemen who came and went in the streets, and snorted, "Who is the agent?" Such a person and a trial lawyer are inferior, and what qualifications does he have to allow three noble women from Yorkshire and Richmondshire to wait here for the return of the trial lawyer. ”

In fact, Euphemia sees these two types of legal profession in the second class of society, along with merchants, doctors, university professors, scholars, university students, and low-ranking clergy, from the perspective of aristocratic women. As everyone knows, the agent is always called inferior in the mind of the trial lawyer.

Isabel just shook her head and said, "Yuphimia, this is their professional system. Besides, they didn't anger us either, so you don't want the squires to whip him with a whip. ”

Caroline seemed to remember something, and said to the two of them, "Let's go to the market." ”