1260-1
A. D. 1260. Sheriffs.: Richard Pikard,; John de Norhamton,
This year, on the Feast of the Translation of Saint Edward [13 October], John, son of the Earl of Bretagne, who had married the daughter
of his lordship the King, was made a knight, as also many other nobles,
at Westminster, amid the greatest hilarity and rejoicing.
In the same year, on the Monday before the Feast of Simon and Jude
[28 October], Sir Hugh le Despenser was made Justiciar of England;
and in the same year William Fitz-Richard was again made Mayor.
Afterwards, on the morrow of Simon and Jude, the King of Almaine,
returning from the parts beyond sea, came to London; and on the following day, the King of Scotland came, with his Queen; who, upon her lord
returning home, remained with her mother the Queen of England, until
the time of her delivery.
In this year, on the Monday after the Feast of Saint Edmund the
King [20 November], it was provided in full Hustings, that, because
such pleas as were moved by many kinds of Writs of his lordship the
King, could not in one day, between morning and (fn. 1) Vespers, or even
(fn. 2) Complines, be, all of them, brought to a conclusion; from that day
forward, all pleas moved by Writ of Dower (fn. 3) Unde nihil habet, and all
pleas of Customs and Services, should be heard on the same day on
which the Common Pleas are heard.
The same year, after the Purification of the Blessed Mary [2 February] the King came to London, and afterwards, on the Sunday before
the Feast of Saint Valentine [14 February], had the Folkmote sum-
moned at Saint Paul's Cross; whither he himself came, and the King
of Alrnaine, the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Maunsel, and many
others. The King also commanded that all persons of the age of twelve
years and upwards should make oath before their Alderman, in every
Ward, that they would be faithful unto him, so long as he should live,
and, after his death, to his heir; which was accordingly done. Then all
the Gates of the City were shut, night and day, by the King's command,
the Bridge Gate, and the Gates of Ludgate and Alegate, excepted, which
were open by day, and well fortified with armed men.
Be it remembered, that in an affray that took place this year, at the
Fair of (fn. 4) Norhamptone, between the Londoners and the men of Norhamptone, certain persons of Norhamptone were wounded, and one of them
afterwards died: but whether he died from the injury so inflicted or by a natural death, is not known. The Bailiffs however of that town, who are always envious of the Londoners, seized four
men of London, imputing the death to them, and, after imprisoning them,
seized all their goods, as well as those of the other Londoners. Upon
hearing this, the Mayor and citizens, seeing that no Londoner is bound
to plead without the walls of the City, except in pleas as to tenures without, obtained royal letters directing them to deliver up such persons to
the Mayor or to his messenger bearing such letters, that they might take
their trial before the King, as they ought to do, according to the laws of
the City; the said Bailiffs, however, would not let them go, either for
that writ or for another, which the Mayor obtained on a second request.
But, in contravention of the precepts of his lordship the King and of the
liberties of London, they kept them still more closely and more cruelly
confined; and so they remained there until after the Purification of the
Blessed Mary [2 February]; at which time the King came to London
and sojourned at the Tower.
On the morrow of his arrival, the Mayor and citizens went to his lordship the King, and obtained from him a third writ for delivery of the
prisoners aforesaid, as also, another writ, directed to the Sheriff of the
County of Northamptone, to the effect that if the Bailiffs should be unwilling to release them, he should enter their liberties and deliver them up
to the bearer of the letters of his lordship the King, to take them before
his said lordship the King, there to do what, in accordance with the laws
of the City, they ought to do. These letters being obtained, behold !
news came that the aforesaid prisoners were at (fn. 5) Cherringe near
Westminster, whither the Mayor and Bailiffs of Norehamptone had
brought them. Upon hearing this, the Mayor of London sent to them
certain citizens, carrying the writ before-mentioned: which writ being
read and understood, they still would not agree to deliver the prisoners
to the said messengers. Upon this therefore, the Mayor of London,
waiting upon the King with a countless multitude of people, shewed unto
him, making grievous complaint, how that the said Bailiffs, in despite of
his royal majesty, and to the very great disgrace of his City of London,
for all his third writ, would do nothing. The King, moved to
anger, upon this sent Peter de Nevile, a certain marshal of his
household, to Cherringe ; who immediately brought the prisoners before
the King, and they were delivered to the Mayor.
The citizens however forthwith made plaint against the people of Norhamptone, of the trespass that had been committed against them, and their
contempt of the Writs of his lordship the King; to which the others made
answer. As to this plaint and answer, the King named for them the next
day as a day for hearing judgment; the giving and receiving of which
judgment was however, by collusion, respited from day to day for more
than five weeks; at the end of which, on the third day before the
Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady, the Mayor and citizens came to
the Tower, as also the Bailiffs of Norhamptone, and appeared before the
King in his Chamber there ; there being also present, the Chief Justiciar,
Philip Basset, John Maunsel, Robert Walerand, and others of the Council
of his lordship the King. The citizens hereupon demanded their judgment
that had been so respited, as between them and the people of Norhamtone,
in reference to their plaint and the answer made thereto. The people
of Norhamtone however said that they never made any answer to them,
but only to his lordship the King, seeing that they were not bound to
plead without the walls of their own borough; and made profert of a
Charter of his lordship the King to that effect, which had been made in
the one-and-fortieth year of the King now reigning. The citizens how
ever said that that Charter ought not to avail them, seeing that they were
not then in the enjoyment of many of the articles contained therein, and
more especially, because they had made answer in all the Fairs of England.
For that they had made answer at the Fairs of (fn. 6) Saint Ives, (fn. 7) Saint
Botolph's, (fn. 8) Lenne, and (fn. 9) Stanford; and even here they had departed from
their Charter, by making answer to the plaint of the citizens. After
this, the record of the Justiciar's Roll was read, in which was specified the
answer that had been made-by them unto his lordship the King as to contempt of his writs, the same being openly and distinctly enrolled. But as
to the plaint of the citizens and the answer made by the burgesses thereto,
little or nothing was entered therein. The citizens however declared that
they had made plaint against them, to the effect that they had wrongfully
detained their own freemen, in contravention of the franchises of London,
after receiving the writs of his lordship the King, and did still detain the
chattels of the persons before-named; and further, made plaint against
them as to other trespasses, whereby they had been injured and had received damage to the value of ten pounds. To which the others
made answer, that in part they acknowledged and in part denied
the same, and as to the same they placed themselves upon the record of
the Bishops and Barons, who were present on that day, and demanded
judgment thereon. [The citizens] also demanded judgment as to the
new Charter of the burgesses, which ought to be of no validity, [they
said], as against the Charters of the citizens, of which they made profert;
namely, the Charter of King Henry the Second, of King Richard, of
King John, and that of his lordship the King now reigning, and that
they were then in enjoyment of all the liberties in the aforesaid Charters
contained.
At length, after much altercation had taken place between them, conference and counsel was held thereon by his Barons before his lordship
the King; and because the Bishops and others who had been present on
the day of the plea being heard, were not then present, judgment was
respited until five weeks after Easter.
About the same time, during Lent, Philip de Boklaunde, a marshal
of his lordship the King, who had always claimed that the citizens of
London ought to make answer before the King's (fn. 10) Seneschal, whensoever
any one of the King's household might make complaint against them, impleaded a certain merchant, in contravention of his liberties, who had been
born in the parts beyond sea. This plea was brought into the City before
the Sheriffs of London, and there determined.
In this year, the Bishop Elect of Winchester, who was consecrated
at Rome, and of whom mention has been made (fn. 11) above, died about the
Feast of Our Lord's Nativity, while coming to England with letters from
the Pope; and, by assent of the Barons, William de Valence, his brother,
returned to England about Easter.
After this, when the five weeks after Easter had expired, judgment
in the aforesaid matter between the Londoners and the men of Norhamtone, was again respited until the (fn. 12) quinzaine after the Feast of Saint
John [24 June].
Be it remembered, that at the Easter aforesaid, his lordship the King,
while at Winchester, made Philip Basset his Chief Justiciar,
without the assent of the Barons, who refused to admit him to
such office; and so, for this reason and for other causes, there arose a dissension between his lordship the King and the said Barons, and that too
without any manifest reason for the same.