The People of 1381
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Source
| Type | Petition |
| Unique Identifying Text | TNA SC 8/20/983 |
| Archive name | The National Archives (London) |
| County | London |
| Published source (may be more than one) | English summary taken from the TNA catalogue entry, compiled as part of the AHRC project 'Medieval Petitions: A Catalogue of Exchequer, Chancery and Gascon petitions in the National Archives', led by W. Mark Ormrod (2006-7) |
| Text (English translation) | Walter de Totyngton states that amongst other liberties it has been granted to the abbey of Bury St Edmunds by the king's progenitors that no tallage shall be demanded from their tenants, the townspeople of Bury St Edmunds, except in case of necessity, and with the express consent of the monks, certain rebels, on pretext of good reasons, but really to maintain the quarrel of the provisor in the Court of Rome, and their other crimes, have levied very large tallages from these tenants. He requests that a writ of the privy seal be sent to the alderman and four or five of the other most prominent rebels in the town to show by their oath before the Barons of the Exchequer the whole sum which they have wrongly levied, as has been said, and also how they have spent it - and it is also to be noted that five leaders and captains of the town, Thomas Halesworth, James Marham, Harvey Lacford, Robert Westbrom and John de Beketon, chaplain, owe a large sum of money to the king as surety of their good behaviour towards the monks, as can be seen from the record in King's Bench and also in Chancery in the rolls for last Easter, and have fully forfeited this during the last riot. He asks that the king inquire into the aforesaid people in order that they might pay the money as soon as they are convicted, as the king has granted that the monks will have half of it. |
| General Information | [1381-1385] Dated on the guard to ' 1381-5,?1381-2, cf. seq and Close R. pp.588, 631, and Pat. R. p.14'.This must be from after the peasants' revolt: the petition speaks of the rebels continuing their rebellion up to the present, but it is hard to know whether this is exaggeration to gain the king's sympathy or not. See SC 8/20/984 for another petition from the same petitioner. |
People
| ID | First name | Last name | Gender | Occupation | Domicile | Role in source | Incidents | Go to participant page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18395 | John | de Beketon | Male | Chaplain | Bury St Edmunds,Suffolk | 3766 | Go to participant page | |
| 18391 | Thomas | Halesworth | Male | Bury St Edmunds,Suffolk | 3766 | Go to participant page | ||
| 18393 | Harvey | Lacford | Male | Bury St Edmunds,Suffolk | 3766 | Go to participant page | ||
| 18392 | James | Marham | Male | Bury St Edmunds,Suffolk | 3766 | Go to participant page | ||
| 18390 | Walter | de Totyngton | Male | Monk | Bury St Edmunds,Suffolk | 3766 | Go to participant page | |
| 18394 | Robert | Westbrom | Male | Bury St Edmunds,Suffolk | 3766 | Go to participant page |
Incidents
| ID | Summary | Description | Type | Go to incidents page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3766 | Petition from Walter de Totyngton, monk, concerning tallages levied by the townspeople | Walter de Totyngton states that amongst other liberties it has been granted to the abbey of Bury St Edmunds by the king's progenitors that no tallage shall be demanded from their tenants, the townspeople of Bury St Edmunds, except in case of necessity, and with the express consent of the monks, certain rebels, on pretext of good reasons, but really to maintain the quarrel of the provisor in the Court of Rome, and their other crimes, have levied very large tallages from these tenants. He requests that a writ of the privy seal be sent to the alderman and four or five of the other most prominent rebels in the town to show by their oath before the Barons of the Exchequer the whole sum which they have wrongly levied, as has been said, and also how they have spent it - and it is also to be noted that five leaders and captains of the town, Thomas Halesworth, James Marham, Harvey Lacford, Robert Westbrom and John de Beketon, chaplain, owe a large sum of money to the king as surety of their good behaviour towards the monks, as can be seen from the record in King's Bench and also in Chancery in the rolls for last Easter, and have fully forfeited this during the last riot. He asks that the king inquire into the aforesaid people in order that they might pay the money as soon as they are convicted, as the king has granted that the monks will have half of it. | Go to incidents page |
Incidents and People
| Person | Incident | Role | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| John de Beketon ( 18395 ) | Petition from Walter de Totyngton, monk, concerning tallages levied by the townspeople (3766) | Accused | |
| Thomas Halesworth ( 18391 ) | Petition from Walter de Totyngton, monk, concerning tallages levied by the townspeople (3766) | Accused | |
| Harvey Lacford ( 18393 ) | Petition from Walter de Totyngton, monk, concerning tallages levied by the townspeople (3766) | Accused | |
| James Marham ( 18392 ) | Petition from Walter de Totyngton, monk, concerning tallages levied by the townspeople (3766) | Accused | |
| Walter de Totyngton ( 18390 ) | Petition from Walter de Totyngton, monk, concerning tallages levied by the townspeople (3766) | Petitioner | |
| Robert Westbrom ( 18394 ) | Petition from Walter de Totyngton, monk, concerning tallages levied by the townspeople (3766) | Accused |
