Extract from the Close Rolls, 1289-1368

<plain_text><page sequence="1">4 Extracts from the Close Rolls, 1289-1368. It will be remembered that, in volume iv. of the Transactions (pp. 202-219), extracts from the Close Rolls (1279-1288) were printed. This convenient plan is here continued, the extracts which follow having been copied by Dr. Abrahams. They are reprinted by permission of the Controller of His Majesty's Stationery Office. We start within measurable distance of the Expulsion of the Jews, and we soon encounter allusions to that momentous event. Public pro? clamations are recorded, e.g. under date July 18th, 1290; private exiles are alluded to, see Aug. 25th; whilst the so-called Statute of Jewry, passed fifteen years before, is quoted, on Nov. 5th. [Mr. Rigg's reprint of this in his Select Gases (pp. xl-xlii) may be referred to, with his note on the word " curialitas " in his glossary.] Under July 15th, 1293, there is an interesting echo of the punishment deservedly inflicted on certain cruel shipmen at the time of the Expulsion. One of the exiles, to whom a private safe-conduct was accorded, was Aaron son of Vives, who had been assigned by a charter of Henry III (confirmed by Edward I) to Edmund, earl of Lancaster. Several references are made, in the Close Rolls extracts, to this import? ant Jew, many details of whose life are collected in Studies in Anglo Jeiuish History (see Index). Another prominent Jew, to whom a private exeat was granted, and who is also spoken of as " Judseus noster NTorthampt.," was Moses son of Jacob. Although this Israelite is here and on some other occasions con? nected with Northampton, his chief residence was at Oxford, as may be noted in the long extract about that city under date April 20th, 1297, where however, strange to say, he is described as " of London." This</page><page sequence="2">THE CLOSE HOLLS, 1289-1368. vii variation illustrates the wide operations of some of the influential Jews. This same Oxford extract gives a number of interesting names, e.g. Benedict de la Corner, who appears in the Hundred Rolls as Benedict son of Meyr; Bonefey son of Lumbard of Cricklade, to whose imprison? ment "for trespass of the Forest" reference is made in another extract (June 14th, 1290); Sarah wife of Benedict Levesque (or Episcopus); &amp;c. Some of the names as written show the difficulty which the Latin scribes experienced in recording the Hebrew appellations. It may be mentioned that the modern editors need not have inserted the word "Mossei" in two or three instances, as they are simply dealing with the genitive of Mosseus. There are also several extracts referring to the sister university town,; for Canterbury, under June 28th, 1307, is undoubtedly a mistake for Cambridge?the heir of Saulotus there mentioned being a young Jew who was allowed to reside at Chesterton when his co-religionists were banished from her dower town by Queen Eleanor of Provence. It is curious to notice, under date June 14th, 1290, that the family of John le Moyne of Shelford, another suburb of Cambridge, had had financial and other dealings with the Jews throughout the thirteenth century. There is a most interesting request recorded on Dec. 10th, 1309, where the Duke of Brabant (who had married the Princess Margaret) was requested by his brother-in-law, Edward II, to allow " Master Elias, a Jew dwelling in his land, to come to England to speak with the king concerning his affairs." There are many other matters of interest which might be dealt with; but we have only space to draw attention to several extracts referring to converts. Of these we may mention one at the beginning and one at the ending. On Nov. 8th, 1289, Eleanor de Sancto Paulo, a Jewish convert, is permitted to retain her possessions "at the instance of the king's daughter Eleanor." This princess, whose name the convert had doubtless received at her baptism, was one of the nine beautiful daughters of Edward I and Eleanor of Castille; she was about to marry Alphonso of Arragon. The last extract, Nov. 18, 1368, addressed to " Henry de Ingleby, the king's clerk, warden of the House of the Con? verted, London," refers to a grant to an interesting inmate, " John de Sancta Maria in Spain." This date is three years earlier than that given by the Rev. M. Adler in his valuable "History of the Domus" {Trans</page><page sequence="3">viii MISCELLANIES. ctions, vol. iv.), and the order goes on to tell us that " the said John was long since converted." H. P. Stokes. March 1915. May 24, 1289. Westminster. Nov. 8, 1289. Clarendon. Nov. 6, 1289. Clarendon. Nov. 20, 1289. Kingston. To Ralph de Berners, constable of the Tower of London. Whereas the late king granted by his charter to Edmund, the present king's brother, Aaron son of Yyves, a Jew of London, with all his goods and chattels and all things that might pertain to the late king in any way by reason of the said Jew, and the king afterwards confirmed this grant to Edmund by his letters patent; and Edmund has mainperned to have Aaron before the king at his will to stand to right whensoever the king or others wish to speak against him concerning anything; wherefore the king has granted to Edmund that all matters touching Aaron requiring judicial examination shall be heard and determined before the king and Edmund : the king therefore orders Ralph not to intermeddle in any way with the goods and chattels of Aaron or with anything concerning him, contrary to the grant and confirmation aforesaid, except by Edmund's will. Witness : Edmund, earl of Cornwall. The like to John le Breton, keeper of the city of London. To the justices appointed for the custody of the Jews. Order to assign to Eleanor de Sancto Paulo, formerly a Jewess of London, now converted to the Catholic faith, all the goods, debts, and chattels that belonged to her on the day of her conversion, as the king has given them to her at the instance of Eleanor, his daughter. To the justices appointed for the custody of the Jews. Order to inspect the rolls of the exchequer of the Jewry, and to cause full and speedy justice to be done to Aaron son of Vives, a Jew of London, concerning the debts that they shall find by inquisitions to have been enrolled by the chiro? graphers in his own name, and in recovering other debts that are clear, as the late king by his letters patent, which the king has confirmed at the instance of Edmund, the king's brother, granted to Aaron that the debts that he could prove to be due to him should be levied by the king's ministers. To the justices appointed for the custody of the Jews. As Floria, late the wife of Miles son of Jacob, a Jew of London, has satisfied the king for all the debts in which Miles at his death was indebted to the king, for which divers charters by which divers debts were due to Miles were taken from the chest of the chirographers of the Jews of London and were deposited in the treasury, the justices are ordered, if it be so and if the charters and debts aforesaid are detained for this reason and no other, to cause them to be withdrawn from the treasury and delivered to Floria.</page><page sequence="4">THE CLOSE HOLLS, 1289-1368. IX To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer, and to the justices Jan. 26,1290. appointed for the custody of the Jews. Whereas the king lately granted Westminster, to William le Brun, his yeoman, and Isolda, William's wife, certain lands in Forthingbrigg, Randolveston, Perle, and Hoghenor, and he now under? stands that the lands are charged in his Jewry by reason of certain sums of money that William de la Faleyse,, who formerly held the lands, received by way of loan from certain Jews of England in times past; the king, wishing to show favour to William and Isolda for their good and long service to him and Iiis consort, has granted that they shall be quit of all debts that may be exacted from them by any Jews of the realm at any time, and also that may be exacted for the king's use by reason of the said lands and of all other lands that they held on 12 January, in the 17th year of the reign, of the gift of the king and his consort, so charged in the Jewry up to the said day, whether the debts were in the king's hands or in the hands of any Jews, willing that the deeds and stars concerning the said debts that may be found in the chests of the chirographers or elsewhere shall be withdrawn and wholly annulled : the king therefore orders them to cause his letters patent of the gift to be read and enrolled before them, and to cause the deeds and stars aforesaid to be withdrawn and delivered cancelled to William and Isolda, and to cause them to be acquitted of the said debts. To the justices appointed for the custody of the Jews. Order, at the Feb. 18,1290. instance of Edmund, the king's brother, to open the old chest of the chiro- Westminster, graphers and to inspect the charters and deeds of Aaron son of Vyves, Edmund's Jew, to wit as well those found in the chest that he can prove before them to be his as those enrolled in the rolls of the ex? chequer of the Jewry and that are in the treasury of the Jewry, and to distrain the debtors to render the debts contained in the charters and deeds according to the law and custom of the Jewry, and to cause his charters and deeds found in the treasury aforesaid to be withdrawn and placed in the chest aforesaid, so that the Jew may have his recovery (recuperare) for the said debts more conveniently. To the justices appointed for the custody of the Jews. Order to cause the May 15, 1290. charter of the chirographers of the Jewry whereby Brian son of Alan was Westminster, bound to Aaron son of Abraham, a Jew of London, lately deceased, in ?100 to be withdrawn from the chest [of the chirographers] without delay, and to be delivered to Brian, as the king has pardoned him this sum. To the justices for the custody of the Jews. Order to cause John son June 11,1290. and heir of John le Moyne of Sheleford to be acquitted of ?10 that the justices Westminster, exact from him for the debt in which his father was indebted by his charter to Jacob son of Samuel, a Jew, who was hanged for clipping the king's money, and to cause the aforesaid charter to be delivered to John, as the king has pardoned him this debt. To the sheriff of Oxford. Order to deliver in bail Bonefeyus de Cricke- June 14,1290. Westminster.</page><page sequence="5">X MISCELLANIES. June 26,1290. Havering. July 9,1290. Westminster. July 9,1290. Westminster. July 18,1290. Westminster. Aug. 25,1290. Northampton. lade, Simon de Hautwirthe, Ysaae de Cann, and Salekin de Marleberbe sic), Jews of Oxford, imprisoned at Oxford for trespass of the Forest. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to cause Robert de Shireland, king's yeoman, to be acquitted of 30 marks of the 50 marks in which Robert de Shirelaunde, his grandfather, was indebted to Put' son of Benedict, a Jew lately deceased, which debt is in the king's hands by reason of the Jew's death, and to permit him to pay the remainder by 5 marks yearly, and to cause this to be so done and enrolled, as the king has granted to him these terms. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer and the justices appointed for the custody of the Jews. Order not to molest Aaron son of Vyves, a Jew of London, by reason of any tallage to be assessed upon the Jews, and not to intermeddle with his goods and chattels, as the king has granted him to Edmund, the kings brother, with all his goods and chattels, so that the king or his ministers shall not intermeddle with the Jew or his goods and chattels without Edmund's will and licence. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer and to the justices appointed for the custody of the Jews. Order not to intermeddle with the chattels of Cresseus son of Cresseus and Aaron, his son, J ews of London, by reason of any tallage, as the king has granted to them that they shall be quit of all tallages to be assessed upon the Jews for all the time during which Cresseus shall be indebted to the king or Queen Eleanor, his consort, in aught of the 300 marks by which he made fine with the king for the forfeited chattels of Jews. To the sheriff of Gloucester. Whereas the king has prefixed to all the Jews of his realm a certain time to pass out of the realm, and he wills that they shall not be treated by his ministers or others otherwise than has been customary, he orders the sheriff to cause proclamation to be made throughout his bailiwick prohibiting any one from injuring or wronging the Jews within the said time. He is ordered to cause the Jews to have safe-conduct at their cost when they, with their chattels, which the king has granted to them, direct their steps towards London in order to cross the sea, provided that before they leave they restore the pledges of Christians in their possession to those to whom they belong. The like to the sheriffs of Essex, York, Northampton, and Lincoln. Also to the sheriff of Hereford and Southampton. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer and to the justices appointed for the custody of the Jews. Whereas the late king granted to Edmund, the present king's brother, the body of Aaron son of Vyves, a Jew, with his lands, chattels, houses, and all his goods, which grant the king after? wards confirmed, so that he should not intermeddle therewith in any way; and the king has prefixed to Aaron, as he has done to other Jews of his realm, a certain dav to leave the realm, for which reason he wills that</page><page sequence="6">THE CLOSE HOLLS, 1289-1368. xi Edmund shall be certified before Aaron shall leave the realm concerning the houses and rents that Aaron holds in London, Canterbury, and Oxford by Edmund's will: the king therefore orders them to cause enquiry to be made both by Christians and Jews what houses and rents Aaron has in the said towns, and what Jews held and still hold the houses and rents, and how much each Jew renders by himself, and to deliver to Edmund the inquisition so made under the seal of the exchequer together with a counter-roll of all the debts of Aaron found in the treasury of the Jewry and in the chests of the chirographers of the Jews and in the rolls of the exchequer, which debts they shall cause to be levied according to the custom of the Jewry when required to do so by Edmund. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Whereas the king in Nov. 5,1290. his parliament at Westminster at the quinzaine of Michaelmas, in the third King's Clip year of his reign, ordained that no Jew of the realm should thenceforth lend st?ne anything in usury to any Christian upon lands, rents, or other things, but should earn his living by trade and labour, and the Jews afterwards, mali? ciously deliberating amongst themselves, changed the kind of usury into a worse which they called c courtesy' (curialitatem), and depressed the king's people under colour of such by an error double that of the previous one ; wherefore the king by reason of their errors and for the honour of Christ, has caused the Jews to leave his realm as perfidious men; the king, not wishing to be inconsistent with his previous ordinance, but rather to imitate it, has wholly annulled all manner of pains and usury and every sort thereof that may be exacted from any Christians of the realm for any reasons whatever by reason of Jewry for any times whatsoever, willing that nothing shall be exacted from the Christians except the principal debts that they received from the Jews ; of which debts he wills that the amount shall be verified before the treasurer and barons by the oath of three Christians, and that they shall be then paid to the king at suitable terms to be appointed by the treasurer and barons. He therefore orders them to cause his grace thus piously made to be read in the exchequer, and to cause it to be enrolled in the rolls of the exchequer, and to cause it to be firmly observed in accordance with the form above noticed. Enrolment of grant by Thomas Burt to Nicholas de Castello of all the jan. 2,1290. manor of Horningtoft. Among the witnesses is William de Carleton, then Westminster. Justice of the Jews. William, son of Marmaduke Basset, knight, acknowledges that he owes Jan. 16, 1290. to Aaron son of Vives, a Jew of London, 10 sacks of wool, price ??100 ; to be Westminster, levied, in default of payment, of his lands and chattels in co. Northampton. Cancelled on payment. Memorandum, that a writ for extending the houses and tenements of the Sept. 12,1290. Jews of Lincoln was delivered to the clerk of the sheriff of Lincoln by the Nottingham, hands of R. bishop of Bath and Wells, at Nottingham, 12 September. And</page><page sequence="7">Xll MISCELLANIES. Nov. 16,1290. Laxton. Jan. 13, 1291. Ashridge. Jan. 8. 1291. Westminster. Mar. 26, 1292. Westminster. Mar. 28, 1292. Westminster. May 10,1293. Westminster. another writ for extending the houses of the Jews of Hereford was delivered to the mayor of Hereford by the hands of the said bishop. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to check the account (auditis racionibus) of Hugh son of Adam de Raveneskelf concerning a debt of 20s. that he received as a loan from Jacob de Brauntegate, a Jew of Lincoln, and to cause a remedy concerning it to be provided for him accord? ing to the grace granted by the king to Christians indebted to Jews, ac? cording to the form thereof delivered to and enjoined upon the treasurer and barons. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to cause John Tregoz to be acquitted of ?11 that they exact from him, to wit ?4 for the issues of his lands forfeited before them at the exchequer, and ?7 for the issues of his lands forfeited the justices lately assigned for the custody of the Jews. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to cause the converted Jews (Conversi) of London to be acquitted of 10s. exacted from them for tallage of their lands in Oxford, as the king has pardoned them this sum. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to supersede the demand made upon the prior of Neweham near Bedeford for ?16 for a debt due to Sampson son of Sampson, sometime a Jew of Cambridge, from Hugh, prior of Neweham, as the prior has shown the king that whereas neither he nor any of his predecessors are indebted to any Jew of the realm by reason whereof the king can exact any debt from them, nevertheless the sheriff of Bedford exacts ?16 from them for debt aforesaid by summons of the exchequer, and the king learns by inquisition that he caused to be made in the presence of Thomas de Bray by the sheriff aforesaid that there never was any prior of Neweham co. Bedford, of the name of Hugh, and that no prior of Neweham has hitherto made any contract with any Jew by reason of which he ought to be bound in any debt. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to cause Hugh de Staunford to be acquitted of 100s. at which he was amerced before Solomon de Hoff [a] and his fellows, justices appointed to enquire concerning concealed goods of the Jews, for such concealed goods, which sum is exacted from him for the use of Queen Eleanor, the king's late consort, to whom the king committed such goods, as the king has pardoned him out of charity. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Whereas the king granted to divers men divers houses that belonged to the Jews of the realm and that had come to his hands as escheats by reason of their exile, and certain men claiming to receive rents from the houses, which the Jews paid to them, as they assert, make distresses in the houses for the arrears of the rent not paid by the Jews : the king, willing that his grants shall be quit of the payment of the said arrears and of all other things up to the day of the</page><page sequence="8">THE CLOSE ROLLS, 1289-1368. xiii grant aforesaid, orders the treasurer and barons to cause the grantees to have peace concerning such demands. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to cause the June 10,1293. master of the military order of the Temple in England to be acquitted of 20s. Westminster, at which he was amerced in the king's Jewry against Benedict the Jew of Lincoln, and also of 20s. at which he was amerced against Hagin son of Benedict the Jew of Lincoln for many defaults, and also half a mark at which he was amerced in the said Jewry because he did not appear, as the king has pardoned him. To Stephen de Penecestre, warden of the Cinque Ports. Order to July 15, 1293. deliver Sandwich prison of Henry Adrian, who has been detained therein for Canterbury, two years for the death of Jews wherewith he is charged, and for other tres? passes committed upon the Jews in their passage to parts beyond sea by him outside the liberty of the said ports. This delivery shall be made according to the law and custom of the said ports on this occasion by the king's special favour, and it is provided that this delivery shall not prejudice the king or others in times to come so that the king's barons and men of the ports shall not answer before the king or his justices concerning deeds done outside the liberty {de factis suis forincesis [sic]) in the like case, according to the law and custom of the realm. To Hugh de Kendale. As the king does not wish that those who were Aug. 1, 1293. wont to receive certain rents from houses that belonged to the Jews shall Westminster, lose the rents for the time when the houses were in the king's hand by reason of the exile of the Jews, but that they shall be satisfied for the rents for the meantime by Hugh, he orders Hugh to cause all persons claiming such rents to be satisfied for them, so far as he can ascertain, that they received the rents in the time of the Jews and as they can prove before him that the rents are due to them for the time aforesaid. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to acquit brother Dec. 10,1293. Guy de Foresta, master of the military order of the Temple in England, of Westminster, half a mark at which the preceptor of La Bruere, a brother of the said Temple, was amerced in the Jewry for a false claim. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to acquit the June 10,1294. master of the military order of the Temple in England of 20s. at which he Westminster, was amerced in the king's Jewry against Benedict, a Jew of Lincoln, and of 20s. at which he was amerced against Hagin son of Benedict, a Jew of Lincoln, for many defaults, and of half a mark at which he was amerced in the Jewry because he did not appear, as the king pardoned him these amercements. Vacated, because on the Close Roll of the twenty-first year in a schedule appended to the roll. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to cause William Sept. 13, 1294. le Vavasur to be acquitted of 20 marks in arrear to the king of the 70 marks Waltham.</page><page sequence="9">xiv MISCELLANIES. Aug. 10, 1295. Westminster. April 20, 1297. Plympton. April 1,1300. Westminster. in which he is indebted to the king for the houses which belonged to Bonamicus, a late Jew of York, which were sold to him, as the king has pardoned this sum to William, who is setting out with Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln, for Gascony, in the king's service. John Bele, a convert (conversus), of London, acknowledges that he owes to John de Drax, clerk, 15s.; to be levied, in default of payment, of his lands and chattels in London and Middlesex. Cancelled on payment. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Whereas the king by his charter granted to William Burnell, provost of Wells, the houses in Oxford that belonged to Moses son of Jacob de Lond[onia], a Jew, in the parish of St. Aldate, and the house that was the Jews' synagogue (scola Judeorum) in that town, and the houses that belonged to Margalicia, late the wife of Yives de Gloucestria, a Jewess, in the same town, and the houses that belonged to Bonefei son of Lumbard de Crekelad, a Jew, in the parish of St. Martin in the same town, and the houses that belonged to Sarah, late the wife of Benedict Levesque, a Jewess, in the parish of St. Aldate in the same town, and the houses that belonged to Floria la Yedue, a Jewess in the same town, and the houses that belonged to Benedict de la Corner, a Jew, in the same parish, and the houses that belonged to Pya, late the wife of Benedict Caus, a Jewess, in the same parish, and the houses that belonged to Avegaya, daughter of Benedict de Wyntonia, in the same parish, and the houses that belonged to Samuel de Bercamsted, a Jew, in the same parish, which are in the king's hands as his escheats by reason of the exile of the said Jews and Jewesses from the realm, and which are extended at ?10, 8s. 7d. to have and to hold to William and his heirs or to whomsoever he may give or assign them, in accordance with the custom of that town, rendering therefor 6d. a year by the hands of the bailiffs of that town and doing to the other lords the service therefor due, as contained in the king's charter : the king orders them to cause William to be acquitted of all debts and arrears exacted from him for the said houses or for any of them for all the time up to the date of the charter aforesaid, and to permit him to hold the houses in peace, releasing him from any distraint that they may have made for the debts and arrears aforesaid. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Whereas the king granted to Master William Burnel certain lands in Oxford that belonged to certain Jews of that town, which came to the king's hands by their exile from his realm as his escheats, to hold to William and his heirs, or to whomsoever he should give or assign them, according to the custom of that town, rendering therefore 6d. yearly to the king by the hands of the bailiffs of that town, and doing to the other lords of the fee the other services therefor due and accus? tomed, as contained in the king's letters patent; and the treasurer and barons exact from William Z\ marks yearly for a house that belonged to Sarah, late</page><page sequence="10">THE CLOSE ROLLS, 1289-1368. XV the wife of Benedict le Evesk, a late Jew of that town, which Joceus son of Moses (Mossey), a late Jew of that town, held, which is one of the aforesaid houses, which 2J marks were wont to be rendered to the king yearly before that grant, and they exact from William certain arrears of the said 2J marks, contrary to the form of the king's grant aforesaid, as the king learns from his complaint: the king has pardoned William the said 2j marks yearly and the arrears of the same, and therefore orders him to be acquitted thereof, and to permit him to hold all the houses aforesaid in accordance with the tenor of the king's grant. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Order to cause the executors of the will of William de Brewosa to be acquitted of ?52, for which his manor of La Knap was mortgaged (invadiatum) on the Jewry, which sum is exacted from them for the king's use by summons of the exchequer as the king has pardoned them this sum. To the sheriff of Lincoln. Order to deliver to the prior and convent of St. Katherine's without Lincoln a tenement in Lincoln adjoining the messuage that formerly belonged to Hagin son of Benedict, a late Jew of Lincoln, saving the rights of others, as the king learns by an inquisition taken by William de Carleton and Boger de Hegham that Hagin held the said tenement for a long time before the exile of the Jewrs from England of the prior and convent by their charter by the service of 15s. yearly to them, and that the tenement was taken into the king's hands by the sherilf of Lincoln for the time being with other tenements that belonged to Hagin at the time of his exile by reason of his exile, and that the prior and convent have received nothing of the said 15s. since the tenement was taken into the king's hands. Form how the men assigned above [in previous document] ought to induce the men of the cities and towns aforesaid to grant a subsidy to the king . . . al afferaunt du quinzime grauntee a roi a son reborner de Gascoigne quant les Jeux furent exilletz. Whereas the late king granted at the instance of Edmund, his brother, to Aaron son of Vives, a late Jew of London, the wardship of the son and heir of Saulotus son of Samuel, a Jew of Canterbury [Cambridge ?] and of the houses, debts and chattels that belonged to Saulotus, which pertained to the said king by reason of the death of Saulotus, to have until the heir should come of age, in accordance with the law and custom of the said king's Jewry, on condition that Aaron should render to the said king's exchequer 40s. yearly for the third of the said goods etc. pertaining to the said king according to the custom of the Jewry, and he ordered William de Orlaveston and Robert de Fulham, then his justices appointed for the custody of the Jews, to cause Aaron to have the wardship and marriage of the said heir and a counter-roll of the debts, goods and chattels aforesaid, and the administration thereof according to the law and custom of the Jewry, as appears by inspection of the rolls of his chancery; and it is shown to the king on the part of Edmund April 1,1300. Westminster. Feb. ?4, 1301. Lincoln. Aug. 2, 1290. Reeth. June 28. 1307. Caldcoats.</page><page sequence="11">xvi MISCELLANIES. Dec. 10,1309. Westminster. Oct. 12, 1309. Windsor. Feb. 13,1318. "Windsor. Mar. 16, 1324. Westminster. Bacun and John, his brother, tenants of certain lands that belonged to Robert de Fulham, that Master Roger de Seton and his fellows, justices of the said king in eyre in co. Cambridge, ignoring the said grant, by reason of a presentment made before them in eyre, to wit that the chattels that be? longed to Saulotus had come to the hands of the said Robert to the value of 600 marks, charged, Robert with that sum as if he had received and retained the chattels in his possession, and that the chattels are exacted by summons of the exchequer from Edmund and John by reason of the aforesaid tenancy : the king orders the treasurer and barons to cause Edmund and John to be acquitted thereof. To J. duke of Brabant and count of Lorrain and Limburg. Request that Master Elias, a Jew dwelling in his land, may come to England to the king, at the desire of the latter to speak with the king concerning his affairs. Order to Roger de Wellesworth not to intermeddle further with the manor of Bechesworth, co. Surrey, which John de Berewick held by the delivery of Queen Eleanor, the king's mother, for a debt that John de Wauton owed to a Jew of the said queen, to hold until the debt were paid, which debt was fully received before the death of the said John de Berewik. To R. bishop of London. Request that he will ordain for the parish church of St. Dunstan West in the suburbs of London as shall seem good for the church and the souls of the parish, remembering that the right of pat? ronage remains to the king and his heirs, as the king is given to understand that it was found in his visitation of the city and diocese of London that the church and its fruits were assigned, with other things, by Henry III, patron thereof, for the maintenance of the Jewish converts to Christianity, for whom the said king ordained a place of residence within the parish, and caused a chapel to be constructed within the said place in honour of St. Mary, and for the maintenance of chaplains and clerks serving in the same, and willed that a keeper should be appointed by him (per ipsos) and his heirs to deliver to them what was assigned for their maintenance and that of the chaplains and clerks aforesaid, and did not will that the care of the said church should remain with the keeper of the said converts or another according to canonical sanction. To the treasurer and barons of the exchequer. Whereas the late king, on 20 September, in the 5th year of his reign, granted to John son of Reginald de Grey and his heirs that he should render the debts due from him to the exchequer for the debts of Ralph Morin, which were attermined at ?20 yearly, at the rate of 5 marks yearly, and he ordered the treasurer and barons of the exchequer to allow the said terms and to cause them to be enrolled, and afterwards, on 8 November, in the 8th year of his reign, he ordered the treasurer and barons to permit the attorneys of Eleanor, queen of England, his consort, to receive the said sum yearly from John in the exchequer, the late king having assigned him to the queen to pay to her the</page><page sequence="12">THE CLOSE ROLLS, 1289-1368. xvii debts wherein Ralph Morin was bound to Hagin son of Master Moses (Mossei), a Jew of London, which debts were attermined at the exchequer, and after? wards, on 3 February, in the 19th year of his reign, he appointed John Bacoun and Richard de Kancia to levy all the debts due to the said queen at her death, on condition that they answered to the executors of her will therefor, and although the said John son of Reginald paid 5 marks yearly to the late king's exchequer from the 20th September aforesaid until the 8th November aforesaid, and paid that sum yearly to the said queen from the latter date, the treasurer and barons are exacting all the debts aforesaid from the executors and heirs of the aforesaid John as if the grant had not been made to the said queen ; the king therefore orders them to examine the rolls and memoranda of the late king's exchequer, and if they find that John observed the attermination aforesaid until the said 8th November, they are to cause the said demand to be superseded and to cause the said executors and heirs of the said John to be acquitted thereof. References to lands in Northampton, formerly belonging to Jews, which Oct.-Nov. " came into the hands of Edward I as forfeit, by the exile of the Jews " : the 1358. former owners being Moses son of Jacob (Northampton)?whose lands were Westminster, granted to William de Hamelton, sometime archdeacon of York? ; Manser, son of David de Staunford, whose property was granted by charter to Joan la Ropere; Isaac de Berkamstede, whose land had been granted by charter to Ralph de Dyve. All these lands are in Northampton, and the question at issue in each case is whether these grants were capable of being alienated by those who originally received them from Edward I. Similar reference made to Northampton lands which belonged to Isaac Feb. 6, 1359. son of Vives and were granted to Simon Baud; and to a plot of land, granted Westminster, to Ralph de Silveston, which formerly belonged to Sampson, a Jew, and was forfeited by the latter's exile. To Henry de Ingleby the king's clerk, warden of the House of the Con- Nov. 18,1368. verted, London. Order to cause 26s. 8d. yearly of the rents and other profits Westminster, of the said house to be ministered to John de Sancta Maria in Spain over and above 40s. a year which the said warden has appointed to be to him delivered as the king has learned ; as the said John, who was long since con? verted from the superstition of the Jews to the Christian faith, and to whom the king commanded that maintenance should be ministered by the said warden such as one of the converted was wont to take, has repaired to the king praying for more abundant favour, as the said sum of 40s. a year is too small for his maintenance and the maintenance of his wife and children, and the king would add somewhat in aid of his living that he may have the more willing mind to abide in the Catholic faith. b</page></plain_text>