To the worshipful father in God, John, Bishop of Bath, Chancellor of England, your poor orator John Breedhill parson of the church of King's Swinford, one of the servants of John Bate, Clerk of the Chancery of our sovereign lord the King, complains [here I stuck in the rest] that John Sutton knight, John Sheldon, John Clerk, Thomas Young & Thomas Bradley, the Tuesday in Whitsun week (June 3) the year of the reign of our sovereign lord the king 16 (1438) wrongfully entered into the parsonage of your said suppliant at King's Swinford in the County of Stafford and there broke up 4 coffers & carried away all his goods, that is to say 1 Bible (historia scholastica) the Master of Stories, 1 Legend[a] Aurea. 1 Pupille. the Evangelists glossed, 2 glosses upon Job,,Alcuin upon Sentence, Alcuin De Veritatibus. 8 Books of Philosophy. 1 Book De Regimine Principorum Nobilum . 3 Books of Bonaventure 4. Books of sermons. the Mastor of Sentence Augustine De Caritate, A Doctor upon Luke. 1 Missal, 2 portos(?). 11 volumes of Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric & other knowledge with a supply of parchment & paper, which goods were worth: 1 pound.
Also they took away 10 pounds in money, 13 silver spoons. 1 "maser", 3 pairs of beads of coral, 1 pair of beads of amber, 1 pair of beads of "gete" (agate?) 6 broaches, 6 rings, 2 beds of "bokerham hangyng". 1 "silor with a testor", 2 coverlets of tapestry, 1 coverlet of worsted, 16 coverlets, 6 blankets, 3 matresses, 3 bolsters, 8 sheets, 8 boardclothes, 20 "sanappes", 3 furred gowns, 2 hoods, 5 "hures". 1 doublet, 3 chests, 4 coffers, 5 basins, 3 lavers, 2 pairs of "trostell", 3 tables, 4 chairs, 1 16-gallon brass pot, 6 pans, 7 pots, 3 "brandardes",.3 iron "broches", 3 frying pans, 2 gridirons, 4 kichen knives, 6 chandeliers. 5 "salors" 24 pieces of pewter vessels, 7 quarters of beef, 5 bacons, 6 "turnell", 8 barrels for ale, 1 brass mortar with an iron pestle. an iron chimney, 2 wine bottles, 2 leather containers, 1 dossal, 3 bench covers, 10 cushions, 1 harnessed girdle, 20 lbs. wax, 5 yards of blanket, 8 ells of linen cloth, 10 lbs. linen yarn, 2 pairs of weights for gold, 1 dial, a bow, 24 arrows, 1 hauberk and 1 sword, which goods were worth 48 pounds. Also they took away 10 bushels of rye, 3 quarts of malt, 1 mow of rye, 1 wagon, 1 pair of wheels, 1 d**g wagon, 200 thraves of straw, 4 shovels, 4 spades, 1 plow, 4 yokes, 5 cattle, 2 calves, 3 boars, 1 mare, 2 colts, 16 hogs, 10 pigs, 10 capons, 10 hens and 6 mallards, which goods were worth 16 pounds 10 shillings.
Also they took up the profits of the church, that is to say 30 tithe lambs, 12 stone of tithe woll. the tithe hay, the offerings, the profits of the glebe, the garden, the churchyard, and also they chopped down & burned his woods & destroyed his houses hedges & ditches in harms & value of : 11 pounds.
And also they put away (forcibly restrained and kidnapped) his servants, that is to say Sir John Mere, priest, Richard Bredhill, Thomas Morley, & John Webbe, by which your said suppliant lost the service of his said servants for 12 weeks to the harm of 10 pounds unto the utterest undoing of your said suppliant. Wherefore the said suppliant beseeches your gracious fatherhood for remedy for the sake of reason & conscience of the high reverence of the holy Trinity.
(Edited in over a couple days)
The rest is a complaint about an alleged robbery, but it's pretty long to translate (it's Early Modern, by the way, not really Middle English - this is Chancery Standard, which is the major dialect that was in the process of becoming Modern English), and it's really not that hard to read anyway. The interesting bit is the contents of a medieval parson's library. Date is the regnal year 16, but the name of the king isn't mentioned. John Stafford, B. of Bath was Chancellor from 1432–1450, the reign of Henry VI, so the year is 16 Henry VI, or 1438, give or take a year. Tuesday in Whitsun week would narrow it down with some further research.
Edit: 3 June 1438, Julian
Answered By: lastuntakenscreenname - 1/22/2009 |