The People of 1381
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Source
| Type | Approvers appeal |
| Unique Identifying Text | TNA KB 27/483 m. 27 |
| Archive name | The National Archives (London) |
| County | Oxfordshire |
| Published source (may be more than one) | Partly printed by Petit-Dutaillis in introduction to Réville, p. LVIII. Dobson, pp. 321-2. |
| Text (English translation) | Robert Benet of Barford St John in the county of Oxford was taken and brought before William Walworth, mayor of the city of London, in the London Guildhall on Wednesday 19 June [1381] on the grounds that he, together with other malefactors, recently rose as enemies against the lord king, his lieges, various magnates and other loyal and faithful men of the kingdom. Benet was present when the king's prison at Newgate, London, was broken into and the prisoners detained there were carried off. On the following Thursday [20 June] the said Robert Benet appeared in the Guildhall again to answer these charges before William Knyghtcote and Walter Doget, sheriffs of London, as well as John Charneye, coroner of the city. And he confessed that he, together with Richard Kemmes, who lived either in the town of Barton or that of Bodycote, Oxfordshire, and John Hardy of the same county, criminally and treasonably took 100 pounds of gold on Friday I4 June from lord John Vyane of France at the hands of one of the latter's esquires at Portsmouth in the county of Southampton. This was as the result of an agreement made between Richard Kemmes, John Hardy and John Vyane at Portsmouth. Kemmes, Hardy and the said Robert Benet, approver, ought to have received another 100 pounds of gold from John Vyane at Rye, Sussex, within the following two weeks: on condition that they withdrew themselves and as many others from England as they could, permitting the enemies of France to lay terror to parts of England with their 'balingers' and there to burn, kill and destroy. Richard Kemmes and John Hardy retained the 100 pounds received from this source but Robert Benet kept nothing himself. Wherefore Benet appeals his two fellows. [This appeal was later adjudged to be untrustworthy evidence and both Richard Kemmes and John Hardy were released.] |
People
| ID | First name | Last name | Gender | Occupation | Domicile | Role in source | Incidents | Go to participant page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22856 | Robert | Benet | Male | Approver | 4084 | Go to participant page | ||
| 22858 | John | Hardy | Male | Oxfordshire | Accused | 4084 | Go to participant page | |
| 22857 | Richard | Kemmes | Male | Accused | 4084 | Go to participant page | ||
| 22859 | John | Vienne | Male | La Rochelle, France | Accused | 4084 | Go to participant page |
Incidents
| ID | Summary | Description | Type | Go to incidents page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4084 | Approvers' Appeal given by Robert Benet of Barford St John (Oxon) | Robert Benet of Barford St John in the county of Oxford was taken and brought before William Walworth, mayor of the city of London, in the London Guildhall on Wednesday 19 June [1381] on the grounds that he, together with other malefactors, recently rose as enemies against the lord king, his lieges, various magnates and other loyal and faithful men of the kingdom. Benet was present when the king's prison at Newgate, London, was broken into and the prisoners detained there were carried off. On the following Thursday [20 June] the said Robert Benet appeared in the Guildhall again to answer these charges before William Knyghtcote and Walter Doget, sheriffs of London, as well as John Charneye, coroner of the city. And he confessed that he, together with Richard Kemmes, who lived either in the town of Barton or that of Bodycote, Oxfordshire, and John Hardy of the same county, criminally and treasonably took 100 pounds of gold on Friday I4 June from lord John Vyane of France at the hands of one of the latter's esquires at Portsmouth in the county of Southampton. This was as the result of an agreement made between Richard Kemmes, John Hardy and John Vyane at Portsmouth. Kemmes, Hardy and the said Robert Benet, approver, ought to have received another 100 pounds of gold from John Vyane at Rye, Sussex, within the following two weeks: on condition that they withdrew themselves and as many others from England as they could, permitting the enemies of France to lay terror to parts of England with their 'balingers' and there to burn, kill and destroy. Richard Kemmes and John Hardy retained the 100 pounds received from this source but Robert Benet kept nothing himself. Wherefore Benet appeals his two fellows. [This appeal was later adjudged to be untrustworthy evidence and both Richard Kemmes and John Hardy were released.] | Treason: plotting against the King and his subjects,Breach of prison | Go to incidents page |
