I am translating a work of John Selden from 1650, in which he quotes a letter of Henry III to the Viscount of Warwick which discusses an incident at Coventry, where what he calls a "vis laica" apparently tried to take control of the church in the time of Ralph de Leicester. Since I don't have the details of this incident it is very difficult to interpret his allusions to it, so if anyone is familiar with it, or can refer me to a translation or commentary on the letter (which appears in the Close Rolls of 1246) I would very much appreciate a response.
Thank you,
Peter Wyetzner