The People of 1381
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Source

TypeIndictment by jury
Unique Identifying TextTNA JUST 1/103 m. 12
Archive nameThe National Archives (London)
CountyCambridgeshire
Published source (may be more than one)Extracts printed in W. Palmer, 'Records of the Villein Insurrection in Cambridgeshire', East Anglian, n.s., vi (1896), pp. 235-237. Discussed in Powell, Rising in East Anglia, pp. 41-56.
Text in Original LanguageCantebrigia. Placita tenta ibidem coram Hugoni la Zouch et sociis suis Iustic' domini Regis ad insurrectores et co. die lune proxima post festum Translationis Sancti Thome Martiris anno regni regis Ricardi secundi quarto. Prior de Bernewell per Galfridum Baston concanonacum suum et Robertum Passolowe ['servient' crossed out] attornatos ipsius Prioris protulit billam coram prefat' Iustic' super Edmundum Redmedwes maiorem ville Cantebrigia in hec verba: 'As iustic' nostre pour le Roi soi pleignent le Priour et convent de Bernewell que ils sont del patronage nostre pour le Roi que le disseptisime iour de Juyn lan quarte nostre seigneur le Roy Richard secunde puis le conquest vyndrount a Bernewell de Esmond Redmedwe maire de Cantebrigg [superscript] et ses communes ove force et armes et encountre la pees et illoeqes le clos les ditz Prior et convent ceste assavoir mures palys et bairs debruserunt et les arbres illoeques cressantz abaterunt et esporterunt a la value de cccc li. et la palys de le Watergate ove les portez debruserunt et esporterunt et altres bienz ceste assavoir pessonn segge Turf et altres choses au tort et as grantz damage des ditz Priour et convent de mille mille liveres. De les quels grevances et damages les ditz Priour et Convent priount remedie en oevere de charite.' Et ulterius dicunt per ipse Priorem quod Iohannes Tyteshal Hugo Candelisby Robertus Barbour Nicholus Wynpol et Ricardus Martyn fuerunt principales ductores dicte communit' Cantebr' ad dictam transgrescionam faciend'. Et quod idem maior in present' eorum fecit proclamationem inter communes ad predictos transgression' in forma predictam faciend' et co. Et petit pro domino Rege ut idem maior et omnes alii superius nominat' per eorum corpora arestentur quousque modo legitit' inde deliberentur. Et predictus maior presens in cur' arestatus est per Iustic' occasione predicta. Qui petit auditum bille predicte. Et quia Iustic' modo non avisantur quid in premissis de iure fuerit faciend'. Ideo idem maior commititur in custodiam vicecomitis usque in crastinum. Et preceptum est vicecomiti quod capiat omnes alios superius nominatos. Et vicecomes fecit execucionem versus omnes predictos praeter versus Ricardum Martyn qui non fuit inventus et co. Ad quem crastinum scilicet die martis proximo sequente predicti Iustic' venerunt in castr' Cantebr'. Et predictus Prior per attornat' suos predictos venit [superscript]. Et similiter predictus maior venit per vicecomitem ductus et alii remanent in prisona sub custodiam vicecomitis et co. Et predictus maior habuit auditum bill' predicte et de omnibus alii super ipsum propositus quibus audit' et intellect' et co. Quesitum est ab eo pro domino Rege et parte predicta per dictos Iustic' quid ad omnia premissis velit respondere. Qui petit inde consilium et diem ad interloquendum de articulis predictis. Et super hoc remittitur custod' vicecomitis absque consil' eo quod materia predicta non est disputend' in exemplum aliorum et co. Et postea scilicet die mercurii proximo sequente apud Chesterton coram prefatis Iustic' venit predictus maior et allocutus est qualiter ad premissa vult respondere qui dicit quod quo ad venire vi et armis seu aliquid contra pacem fac' in nullo est culpabile. Et de hoc ponit se et co. Et quo ad fractionem clausi et succisionem arborum et ad asportacionem bonorum et catallorum ut superius et co. dicit quod non est culpabile. Et de hoc ponit se et co. Et quo ad proclamaciones factas un'(?) superius et co. dicit quod quia non incognitum fuit communitatibus ville Cant' quod communes Kantie Essex Hertford et London fuerunt levati intendentes levacionem predictam esse ex consensu et preceptu domini Regis super quo quamplures de villa predicta simul cum aliis tam de patria ista quam de aliis comitatibus secum congregatis subito ad predictum maiorem venerunt et dixerunt: Tu es maior istius ville Regis et gubernator nostre communitatis si non consenciens voluntat' et mandat' nostris ad omnia facienda que ex parte domini Regis Ricardi et fidelis communitatis ipsius Regis tibi dicenda statim decapitatus eris. Et quibus auditis petit' a predictis communibus videre et audire warrantum domini Regis ad talia facienda quibus promptus in omnibus erit perficiend'. Et non allocata predicta [superscript] responsione ipsius maioris unanimiter ad eum accesserunt et per pectus eum seiserunt securibus gisarmis et gladiis ad capud et collum sua multipliciter per communes proferat' invitis dentibus suis sibi dixerunt quod voluntatem communitatis proficeret in eo quod notum fuit eis per auditum antecessorum suorum de communitat' ville Cant' quod ante tempus memorie et post tempus memorie quod omnes burgenses ac communes residentes in vill' Cant' ut tenentes Regis ville predicte habere deberent communam magnam ad pascendum averia sua cuiuscumque generis ac chaceam et rechaseam suam usque in pasturam suam vocatur Estenhal ad eorum libitum in loco illo nuper vocat' le Drove ut de iure ville Regis predicti [superscript] ubi predicti arbores palicia et haie existabant. Et quod locus predictus iniuste ab eis tenentibus Regis [superscript] per Priorem de Bernewell per claustratas et arbores predictas deforciat' et impeditus existat [superscript] unde post tempus memorie fuerunt seis' voluerunt ut et re [...] pastura et chaceam predictas in forma que supra. Et inde precipuerunt eidem maiori ut proclamaciones faceret ad predictam secundum eorum dicta perfic[...] sub periculo decollationis predicte et hoc una voce clamaverunt. Et sic proclamaciones fuerunt facti vi coactus et metui mortis ductus absque hoc quod ipse maior auctoritate seu voluntate propria aliter seu aliquam iniuriam fecit in premissis. Et hoc pretendit verificare secundum discretionem Iustic' et co. et unde non intendit de premissis in forma predicta faciend' occasionam seu inquietari et co. Qua responsionem per Iustic' dictum est ei quod respons' predicta minus sufficiens eis apparet absque hoc quod nomineret eis et det in scripta omnia nomina eorum qui ipsum ad premissa prout allegavit compulserunt. Et ideo iniunctus est ei ex parte domini Regis et sub periculo quod incub'(?) quod plene eis certificet in scriptis de nominibus personarum predictarum. Qui dicit quod tempore predicto tam pro magna multitudine populi circa se in le Tollboth [superscript] congregat' quam per affraiacione et metu mortis perdidit cognicionem personarum eo quod numerum hom' congregat' excessit numerum mill'. Et ideo petit evidencia de Ricardo Fouke Roberto Brigham Iohanne Bokkynge clerico suo Bartholomo Chaundel' et Walter Criour fidel' Reg' qui premisse fieri viderunt et melius [...] hab' de malefactoribus predictis preter Simonem Hosiere Thomam Forbour Iohannem Russell Thomam Lester Iohannem filius ipsius Thomam Iohannem Barbour de quibus plenam habuit noticiam(?) eo quod semper parati ad eum interficiend' et presens in conspecto suo fuerunt. Et super hoc vocatis predictis Ricardo Ffoukke et aliis pro informacione predicta quibus iurat' ad premissis simul cum predicte maiore presentand' et co. Postea dicunt quod omnia nomina in duabus sedulis scripta et prefatis Iustic' per eos liberates simul cum magna multitudine populi ignotis culpabiles fuerunt incumbere(?) prout predict' maior' allegavit superius et precipue illi quos ipse maior nominavit. Et super hoc quia dubit' est Iustic' quod in hoc casu sic agend' predict' Edmundus remittitur prison' et co. quousque Iustic' inde avisantur et co. Et dictum est dictis attornat' Prioris quod expect' avisament' Iustic' ut super et co. Et interim consolendum est de premissis cum consilio Regis. Et quia relatum est postea prefatis Iustic' per fidedignes comitatis predicti de bona fama predicti maioris ac quod villa predictam Cant' iste tempore proclam' ... su'(?) gubernacionem dum idem maior in prisona existat dictum est vice' quod dimitat eum in balliv' capt' sufficient' securitat' per qua domino Rege respondere voluerit ad habendum corpus eius semper paratum quousque modo legitimam deliberetur et co.
Text (English translation)Cambridge. Pleas held before Hugh la Zouche and his associates, king's justices on the insurrection, on Monday 8th July 1381. The Prior of Barnwell by Geoffrey Baston his fellow canon and Robert Passelew his attorneys put forward a bill before the aforesaid justices against Edmund Redmedwe, mayor of the town of Cambridge, in these words: [French] 'To the justices of our lord the king pleads the Prior and Convent of Barnwell, who are of the patronage of our lord the king, that on the 17th of June in the fourth year of King Richard, the second since the conquest [1381], Edmund Redmedwe, mayor of Cambridge, and his commons came to Barnwell with force and arms and against the peace, and broke the close of the said Prior and convent, that is to say, they broke walls, fences and enclosures, and felled and carried away the trees growing there, to the value of £400, and broke the fences and doors of 'le Watergate', and carried away other goods, namely salted and dried(?) fish and other things, to the wrong and great damage of the said Prior and Convent of £2000. For which grievances and damage the said Prior and Convent pray for remedy, as an act of charity.' [Latin] And furthermore they say on behalf of the Prior that John Tyteshal, Hugh Candelisby, Robert Barbour, Nicholas Wynpol and Richard Martyn were the principal leaders of the said community of Cambridge in carrying out the said trespasses. And that the same mayor in their presence made proclamation amongst the commons on the aforesaid trespasses in the form aforesaid. And he [the prior] requests on behalf of the king that the same mayor and all others named above should be arrested and kept in custody until they can be tried in a lawful manner. The aforesaid mayor being present in court is at once ordered to be arrested. And he requests that the aforesaid bill be heard. And since the justices are not advised what to do in this case, therefore the mayor is committed into custody until the next day. And the sheriff is ordered to arrest all those named above, and he should make execution against them, except Richard Martyn who cannot be found. On the next day, namely Tuesday 9th July 1381, the justices came to Cambridge Castle, and the aforesaid Prior appeared by his aforesaid attorneys. And similarly, the aforesaid mayor appeared led by the sheriff, and he was remanded to prison under custody of the sheriff. And the aforesaid mayor, having heard the aforesaid bill and everything else put forward against him, was asked by the aforesaid justices on behalf of the king how he wished to respond to the charges, and he asked for counsel and a day to discuss the aforesaid articles, and on this he was remanded to the custody of the sheriff without counsel, because the aforesaid matter is not disputed in another instance. And afterwards, on Wednesday 10th July 1381 at Chesterton the aforesaid mayor appeared before the justices and was asked how he wished to respond to the charges, and he said that concerning the accusation that he came with force and arms against the peace, he is not guilty, and placed himself upon his country. And concerning the breaking of the close and cutting down of the trees, and the carrying away of goods and chattels as above, he says that he is not guilty, and placed himself upon his country. And concerning the proclamations made as above, he said that, because it was not known to the commons of the town of Cambridge, that the commons of Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire and London were rising up intending the aforesaid rising with the consent and on order of the king upon which very many of the aforesaid town along with many others of that county and of further counties congregated suddenly with them and came to the aforesaid mayor and said: 'You are mayor of this royal town and governor of our community, and if you do not consent to our will and mandate in all that is done on behalf of King Richard and the true commons of the same king, we say to you that you will be decapitated at once.' And hearing this he requested from the aforesaid commons to see and hear the lord king's warrant and then he would comply promptly with all they wished for. And they did not accept the mayor's response, but approached him as one and seized him by the chest with axes, halberds and swords to the head and throat in many different ways pushed forward by the commons against his will, they said to him that he would achieve the will of the community, and that it was known to him by having heard his predecessors of the community of the town of Cambridge, before the time of memory and after, that all the burgesses and commons residing in the town of Cambridge as tenants of the king in the aforesaid town were owed a great common land for the grazing of their animals of any kind, with right of way for driving back and forth [their animals] up to the pasture called 'Estenhal' at their will, in that place lately called 'le Drove', as of the right of the aforesaid king's town, where the aforesaid trees, fences and hedge stand. And that the aforesaid place was unjustly withheld from them, king's tenants, by the Prior of Barnwell, by the aforesaid enclosures and trees, and hindrance has arisen, from whence after the time of memory they were seized; they wish to have the said rights of pasture and right of way in the form described above. And therefore, they ordered the same mayor to make proclamations as aforesaid in accordance with their said aims, under threat of beheading, and they called for this with one voice. And thus, these proclamations were made under duress and in fear of death, without which coercion the same mayor under his own authority or will would not have committed any injury in the matter aforesaid. And this was put forward to verify according to the discretion of the justices, because it is not intended of the aforesaid matter to make a hindrance nor to be disturbed (?). This answer is not deemed to be sufficient by the justices, since he did not give the names of those who compelled him to do these things. And therefore, it was commanded of him on behalf of the king and under pain of ...(?) that he should plainly certify in writing the names of the persons aforesaid. He replies that at the aforesaid time there were such a great number of people around him in 'le Tollboth' that in the melee and in fear of death he could not recognise the people, because the number of men there assembled was over a thousand. Therefore, he seeks the evidence of Richard Fouke, Robert Brigham, John Bokkynge his clerk, Bartholomew Chaundeler and Walter Criour, faithful men of the king, who had better sight and knowledge of the aforesaid wrongdoers, besides Simon Hosiere, Thomas Forbour, John Russell, Thomas Lester, John his son and John Barbour of whom he has full knowledge [i.e. he recognises them], because they were continuously in his sight and ready to kill him. And on this matter are called the aforesaid Richard Foukke and the others for the aforesaid testimony, who are sworn accordingly, along with the aforesaid mayor to be presented. Afterwards they say that all those named in the two written notes and delivered to the aforesaid justices, along with the great multitude of unknown people were guilty, just as the aforesaid mayor alleged above, and especially those who the mayor named. And on this matter, because the justices are uncertain in this case, the aforesaid Edmund is returned to prison until the justices are advised further thereupon. And the said Prior was told to await the judgement of the justices as above, and in the meantime to seek the king's counsel accordingly. And because it was afterwards reported to the aforesaid justices by faithful men of the county of good reputation that the aforesaid mayor and town of Cambridge at that time of the proclamation [... ?] under the governance of the same mayor now in prison, the sheriff was told that he should be released to the custody of the bailiff, with sufficient security to answer to the king and be ever ready to appear when an appropriate course has been decided upon.
General InformationThe membrane is faded and very difficult to read.
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People

IDFirst nameLast nameGenderOccupationDomicileRole in sourceIncidentsGo to participant page
22514JohnBarbourMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22501RobertBarbourMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22496GeoffreyBastonMaleCanonBarnwell,CambridgeshireAttorneyGo to participant page
22506JohnBokkyngeMaleClerkCambridge,CambridgeshireWitness4059Go to participant page
22505RobertBrighamMaleCambridgeshireWitness4059Go to participant page
22500HughCandelisbyMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22507BartholomewChaundelerMaleCambridgeshireWitness4059Go to participant page
22508WalterCriourMaleCambridgeshireWitness4059Go to participant page
22510ThomasForbourMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22504RichardFoukeMaleCambridgeshireWitness4059Go to participant page
22509SimonHosiereMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22513JohnLesterMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22512ThomasLesterMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22503RichardMartynMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22495Ralphde NortonMalePriorBarnwell,Cambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22497RobertPasselewMaleAttorneyGo to participant page
22498EdmundRedmedweMaleMayorCambridge,Cambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22511JohnRusselMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22499JohnTyteshalMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22502NicholasWynpolMaleCambridgeshire4059Go to participant page
22494Hugola ZoucheMaleJusticeGo to participant page

Incidents

IDSummaryDescriptionTypeGo to incidents page
4059Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close.Prior of Barnwell accuses Edmund Redmedwe, mayor of Cambridge, in a private bill of leading an attack on his property..Trespass to person: assault,Larceny: theft of goods,Raising the commons: forcing others to join company,Trespass to land: forcible entry of close and houses,Trespass to land: cutting down crops or trees,Raising the commons: proclamationsGo to incidents page

Incidents and People

PersonIncidentRoleComments
John Barbour ( 22514 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
Robert Barbour ( 22501 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
John Bokkynge ( 22506 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Witness
Robert Brigham ( 22505 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Witness
Hugh Candelisby ( 22500 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
Bartholomew Chaundeler ( 22507 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Witness
Walter Criour ( 22508 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Witness
Thomas Forbour ( 22510 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
Richard Fouke ( 22504 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Witness
Simon Hosiere ( 22509 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
John Lester ( 22513 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
Thomas Lester ( 22512 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
Richard Martyn ( 22503 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
Ralph de Norton ( 22495 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Victim
Edmund Redmedwe ( 22498 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
John Russel ( 22511 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
John Tyteshal ( 22499 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused
Nicholas Wynpol ( 22502 )Prior of Barnwell accuses the mayor of Cambridge and others of an attack on his close. (4059)Accused

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