Close Roll 1 Henry VI

24 Mar. 1422
Dublin
To the escheator.

It has been found by an inquisition taken in the time of Henry V that Peter son and heir of Edmund Hussey did not hold any lands or tenements of Richard II in demesne, in fee nor in service on on the day he died, but that one Richard Roem [sic] was previously seised in his demesne as of fee of the manors of Galtrim and Moylussy, and of 1 messuage and 80 acres of land in Cavestoun; 1 messuage and 120 acres of land in Rosmyde; 10 acres of land in Michellestoun; and 1 messuage and 40 acres of land in Clonarnyn. And he gave the same manor, lands and tenements to Hugh Hussey kt for the lifetime of Hugh, to have of the chief lords of those fees by accustomed service, such that after Hugh's death the said manors, lands [etc.] shall remain entirely to William Hussey and Beatrice his wife, and the heirs of their bodies; and if they should die without heirs of their bodies then they shall remain entirely to the right heirs of the said Hugh forever. The said William and Beatrice were seised of the same, and they had lawful issue Jo[hn Hus]sey kt.2 After the death of the said William and Beatrice, John, as their son and heir, was seised of the same; and he had issue John, Edmund, Margaret and Joan. And after the death of John Hussey kt, the said John s. of John was seised of the same, and he had issue Paula, his daughter and heir. After the death of John, son of John [Hussey] kt, Paula was seised of the same, and she died as a minor and without issue. After her death the said Edmund [Hussey] was seised; and he had issue Peter and Margaret. After the Edmund’s death, Peter was seised of the same and died without issue. After his death, the said Margaret, his sister, was seised of the same while she was sole [dum sola fuit]; and afterwards, having married Robert Orell, she died seised of the same without issue. And the said Peter held, on the day he died, the said manors of Roger, son and heir of Edmund Mortimer, late earl of March, as of his manor of Trim, by knight service, Roger then being a minor. And Peter held, on the day he died, those lands [etc.] in Cavestoun, Rosmyde and Michellestoun of William Nugent kt, late baron of Delvin, and Katherine his wife, by right of the said Katherine as of her manor of Delvin, by knight service; and the lands in Clonarnyn’ of John Tuite, as of his manor of Sonnagh, by fealty and suit of court for all service.

The said manor was worth 40m true value, and the said lands [etc.] in Cavestoun, Rosmyde and Michellestoun 6m; and the said lands [etc.] in Clonarnyn 13s 4d.

Peter died in 14 Ric. II [1390x1], and the said Margaret and Richard Bathe are cousins and next heirs of the said Peter; and Margeret, previously wife of Robert Orell, occupied the said manor of Galtrim with various lands [etc.] in Cave[stoun, Rosmyde, Mi]chellestoun and Clonarnyn; and Matthew Hussey kt occupied that manor with those lands [etc.], by what title the jurors know not; and Margaret Petit, previously wife of the said Matthew, occupied one third of the said manor [etc.], by what title the jurors know not; and Thomas Talbot kt occupied two thirds of the said manor [etc.], by what the title the jurors know not; and Edmund Mortimer, earl of March and Ulster, occupied the manor of Galtrim because of letters patent of Henry V granting custody to him; and Barnaby Travers occupied two thirds of the lands in Cavestoun, Rosmynde and Clonarnyn because of letters patent of Henry V granting custody to him; and the said lands [etc.] in Michellestoun used to lie waste and were worth nothing p.a., and no one occupied them. And Margaret Hussey, late wife of Robert Orell, occupied the manor of Moylussy; and Matthew Husseey kt occupied the same manor; and Nicholas Hussey occupied the same manor.

And now it has been adjudged in chancery that the manors of Galtrim and Moylussy, which are held of the said heir in chief, should be delivered to Margaret, daughter of John Hussey kt, and to Richard Bathe, because they are of her inheritance and they [Margaret and Richard] are of full age, and that K.’s hand should be removed from other lands [etc.] which are held of other lords, and restored to the same Margaret and Richard, saving the right of anyone.

ORDER to cause Margaret and Richard to have full seisin of those manors, and to remove [the K.’s hand] from the lands [etc.] which are held of others, as was said before.

C: 

RCH; NAI, Lodge MS 19, p. 207.

Footnotes: 

{1} NLI, D 17008 is a writ of diem clausit extremum addressed to John Pilkington, escheator, dated 9 Hen. V [1421x2], instructing the escheator to inquire concerning the lands held by Margaret, who was the wife of Robert Orell, on the day she died. The writ is stitched to the inquisition, which is badly in need of conservation.
2 RCH supplies some letters enclosed within square brackets at this point.

The following abbreviations are used within in the text of CIRCLE

  • abp = archbishop [of]
  • BMV = beate Marie Virginis [of the Blessed Virgin Mary]
  • C. = chancellor [plural: chancellors]
  • co. = county (i.e. medieval shire: lower case ‘c’) [plural. cos.]
  • dcd = deceased
  • e. = earl of
  • Edw. = Edward (used when giving dates by regnal year)
  • Eng. = England
  • esq. = esquire [plural: esquires]
  • Ex. = exchequer
  • g.s. = great seal
  • Hen. = Henry
  • Ire. = Ireland
  • Jcr = justiciar [plural: justiciars]
  • JP = justice of the peace
  • K. = king
  • kt = knight
  • Lt = lieutenant
  • O.Carm. = Order of Carmelites
  • O.F.M. =  Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans)
  • O.P. = Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
  • Ric. = Richard (used when giving dates by regnal year)
  • s. = son
  • sen. = seneschal of
  • T. = treasurer [plural: treasurers]
  • w. = wife

This glossary is by no means comprehensive. Readers may also wish to consult standard references books such as Joseph Byrne, Byrne’s dictionary of local Irish History from the earliest times to c.1900 (Cork, 2004); P. G. Osborn, Osborn’s concise law dictionary, ed. Sheila Bone (London, 2001).

Abbreviations

  • AN = Anglo-Norman
  • Ir. = Irish
  • Lat. = Latin
  • ME = Middle English
  • OED = Oxford English Dictionary

 

Term

 Explanation

advowson

The right of patronage or presentation to a church benefice.

allocate, writ of

A writ authorizing allowance to be made by the officers of the Ex. of a specified amount: often this amount is to be off-set against the debts owed to the K. by the beneficiary.

alterage

A form of affinity proscribed in late medieval Ireland between the Irish and the English, whereby a man stood sponsor for a child at baptism; (also) gossipred.

assize

Technical term for legal proceedings or various kinds. See mort d’ancestor, novel disseisin.

avener [Lat. avarius]

provider of oats, esp. for the household of the K. or his chief governor

avoirdupois

Miscellaneous merchandise sold by weight.

bonnaght [Ir. buannacht]

The billeting of mercenaries or servants.

cask

See tun.

certiorari, writ of

Letters close issued by the K. to his officers commanding them to supply information to him concerning a specified matter, normally by searching the records.

chattels

Property, goods, money: as opposed to real property (land).

dicker [Lat. dacra]

A measure of 10 hides.

dower

Portion (one third) of a deceased husband’s estate which the law allows to his widow for her life.

escheat

The reversion of land to the lord of the fee to the crown on failure of heirs of the owner or on his outlawry.

extent

A survey and valuation of property, esp. one made by royal inquisition.

falding [Ir. fallaing]

A kind of coarse woollen cloth produced in Ireland; the mantle or cloak made from the same.

fee-farm
 

A fixed annual rent payable to the K. by chartered boroughs.

fotmel [Lat. fotmellum]

A measure of lead.

engrossment

Technical term: the action of writing out, for instance patent letters and charters; (also) the documents thus written out.

enrolment

Technical term: the action of recording in the records of the K., esp. the registering of a deed, memorandum, recognizance; (also) the specific item or record thus enrolled.

hanaper

A repository for the keeping of money. The ‘clerk of the hanaper in chancery’ was the chancery official responsible for the receipt of fines for the issue, engrossment and ensealing of writs, patents and charters issued by the chancery.

herberger [Lat. herbergerius, hospitator]

One sent on before to purvey lodgings for an army, a royal train (OED).

galangal [AN galyngale]

The aromatic rhizome of certain Asian plants of the genera Alpinia and Kaempferia, of the ginger family, used in cookery and herbal medicine; (also) any of these plants (OED).

generosus [Lat.]

Term designating social status: translated as ‘gentleman’.

king's widow [Lat. vidua regis]

The widow of a tenant in chief: so called because whe was not allowed to marry a second time without royal licence.

knights’ fees

Units of assessment of estates in land. Originally a single knight’s fee was the amount of land for which the military service of one knight (=knight service) was required by the crown. ‘Fee’ derives from the Latin feudum, which in other contexts translated as ‘fief’. In practice the descent of landed estates meant that many knights’ fees came to be subdivided and, in the later Middle Ages, personal service was frequently commuted to money payments (=scutage).

liberate, writ of

A chancery writ issued to the treasurer and chamberlains of the Ex. authorizing them to make payment of a specified amount, often the annual fees, wages and rewards of the K.’s officers.

linch [Lat. lincia]

A measure of tin.

livery

The delivery of seisin, or possession, of an estate hitherto held in the K.’s hand, for instance when a minor reaches the age of majority.

mainprize

Legal term: the action of undertaking to stand surety (=‘mainpernor’) for another person; the action of making oneself legally responsible for the fulfilment of a contract or undertaking by another person (OED).

mass [Lat. messa]

A standard measure of metal.

messuage

 A portion of land occupied, or intended to be occupied, as the site for a dwelling house; (also) a dwelling house together with outbuildings and the adjacent land assigned to its use (OED).

mort d’ancestor, assize of [Lat. assisa mortis antecessoris]

A legal process to recover land of which the plaintiff’s ancestor (father, mother, uncle, aunt, brother sister, nephew or niece) died seised (=in possession), possession of which was since taken by another person.

nolumus, clause of [Lat. cum clausula nolumus]

A standard clause inserted especially in letters of protection by which pleas and suits are delayed for a specified period of time.

novel disseisin, assize of [Lat. assisa nove disseisine]

A legal process to recover land from which the plaintiff claims to have been dispossessed (=disseised).
pensa See wey.
piece [L. pecia] A standard quantity of merchandise.
pendent seal Seal hanging from engrossed letters patent attached to a tongue or tag of parchment.
perpresture An illegal encroachment upon royal property.
plica A fold along the foot of engrossed letters patent and charters to create a double thickness of parchment, used for attaching the ‘great seal pendent’ to the letters. An incision was made in the plica and through which a tag of parchment was attached. A wax impression of a seal was then affixed to the tag.
protection An act of grace by the K., granted by chancery letters, by which the recipient is to be free from suits at law for a specified term; granted especially to persons crossing overseas or otherwise out of reach of the courts in the K.’s service.
quare impedit, writ of An action brought to recover the advowson of a benefice, brought by the patron against the bishop or other person hindering the presentation.
scutage The commutation of personal military service to the crown for a money payment. Normally called ‘royal service’ in Ireland.
seisin Formal legal possession of land.
sendal [Lat. cendallum; ME cendal] A thin rich silken material (OED).
stallage [Lat. stallagium, estallagium] Payment for a market stall.
tun [Lat. dolium] A large cask or barrel, esp. of wine.
valettus A term designating social status: translated ‘yeoman’.
Vidua Regis [Lat.] See King's widow.
volumus, clause of [Lat. cum clausula volumus] A standard clause inserted esp. in letters of protection by which pleas and suits are delayed for a specified period of time. In full the clause runs: volumus quod interim sit quietus de omnibus placitis et querelis (=we wish that meanwhile he be quit of all pleas and plaints).
waif A piece of property which is found ownerless and which, if unclaimed within a fixed period after due notice given, falls to the lord.
waivery [AN weiverie] The technical term for proceedings of outlawry in the case of women.
wey [Lat. pensa, peisa, pisa] A standard of dry-goods weight.
worsted [ME wyrstede] A woollen fabric or stuff made from well-twisted yarn spun of long-staple wool combed to lay the fibres parallel (OED).
writ [Lat. brevis] Letters close containing commands by the K. to certain specified persons, esp. royal officers. Returnable writs, which were not normally enrolled in the chancery rolls, were to be returned by the officer to chancery with details of the actions taken by the officer in response to the contents. See also allocate, certiorari, liberate.