patent Roll 2 Richard III

1
12 Oct. 1484
Nottingham

‘Richard by the grace of God King of England and of ffraunce and Lord of Ireland. To all oure subietts and liegemen within oure lande of Irland hering or seing thise our l[et]res greting. fforasmuche as we be enfourmed that there is grete doubte and ambiguyte amoing you for the certaine day of the com[m]ensing of oure Reigne we signifie unto you for trouthe that by the grace and sufferaunce of oure blessed Criatour we entred into oure just title taking upon us oure dignitie royall and supprene governaunce of this oure Royme of Eingland the xxvij day of Juyn the yere of oure Lord M CCCC lxxxiij [27 June 1483] and after that we woll that ye doo make all writing, and recordes amongs yow.

Yeven under oure signet at oure Castell of Notingham the xijth day of Octobre The second yere of oure Reigne [12 Oct. 1484].’1

F: 

Rep. RCI 1811–15, plate 9 (with accompanying transcript).

Footnotes: 

1 This is an enrolment of a letter given under the signet of Richard III. The facsimile produced by the RCI was taken from the Irish memoranda rolls. It is likely that the document was also transmitted to the chancery of Ire.

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 [Latdolium] 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.
2
15 Dec. 1484

So that the town of Galway might better resist the K.'s enemies and rebels, CONFIRMATION to that town of all and singular letters patent granted by Richard II, Henry VI and Edward IV. And PARDON and RELEASE to the sovereign, provost, bailiffs, burgesses and community of Galway of all manner of actions and demands against them on the part of the K. And CONFIRMATION to them of the tolls granted by letters patent dated 18 Nov. [1395] 19 Ric. II.1

And for the greater security and safe guard of the town of Galway, GIFT and GRANT by these present letters patent to the sovereign, provost, bailiffs and community of the same town of Galway of the following, viz.:2

[4] That they may annually, forever, elect by their common assent a mayor and two bailiffs within the town, just as is the custom to be done in the town of Bristol, to rule and govern the town of Galway well and laudably and to maintain and administer its laws and good customs which are accustomed and approved of old, as is right.
[5] And also, for the greater security and safe guard of the town of Galway, the K. wishes and ordains that no one of whatever grade or condition he may be is henceforth to enter the town of Galway except by licence, assent and supervision of the mayor, bailiffs and community of that town.
[6] Furthermore, of his more abundant grace, and for the greater security and safe guard of the town of Galway, the K. wishes and ordains and grants, so far as pertains to him and his heirs, that henceforth neither Lord MacWilliam, lord of Clanricard [dominus McWillelmus dominus de Clanricard] nor his heirs shall have any governance or other power within the town of Galway to do, act, receive, exact, ordain or dispose there by land or water, except insofar as that lord and his predecessors were accustomed to receive and exact of old, without special licence and by assent and supervision of the mayor, bailiffs and community of the town of Galway, to whom the K. gives, grants and attributes full power and authority to rule and govern that town well and laudably in all things, as is right.

T: 

James Hardiman, History of the town and county of Galway from the earliest period to the present time (Dublin, 1820), appendix, p. ix (translation p. xx); Mac Niocaill, Na Buirgéisí, i, 228–9.

N: 

CPR Ire., Hen. VIII–Eliz., p. 197.

Footnotes: 

1 The transcript of this document given in Hardiman, History of the town and county of Galway appears in a charter of Elizabeth I, dated 14 July 1579, in which these letters patent of 2 Ric. III were are stated to have been made at Westminster. There is, however, no record of them in the English patent rolls. The date and attestation clauses, which would give definitive evidence, are missing. H. G. Richardson has proposed that they were in fact given under the g.s. of Ire.: H. G. Richardson, 'Review of M. D. O'Sullivan, Old Galway', IHS, 4:16 (1945), 364 note 3.
2 The foregoing paragraph and the next three clauses appear in Mac Niocaill, Na Buirgéisí, i, 228–9, printed from the confirmation dated 1544 that appears in Letters and papers, foreign and domestic […] of Henry VIII, xix, pt 1 (London, 1903), pp 619–20. The numbers given here follows the numeration of the clauses provided by Mac Niocaill.

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
3
20 Apr. 1485

LICENCE of absence for Thomas Cusak of Dublin for one year.

C: 

COA, PH 15175, p. 284.

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
4
[No date.]

EXEMPLIFICATION of a statute of 22 Edw. IV [1482x3] at Dublin confirming the office of chief baron of the Ex. to Oliver Eustace, s. of Roland fitz Eustace, Lord Portlester.

C: 

COA, PH 15175, p. 283.

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
5
20 Jul. 1484

CONFIRMATION to provost and community of Cashel of charter granted under the g.s. of Ire. dated 4 June [1476] 16 Edw. IV;1 with further GRANT that the provost and his successors be exempted from attending assizes, juries, attainders and inquisitions.

C: 

Thomas Laffan, 'Abstracts from the ancient records of the corporation of Cashel', JRSAI, 34:1 (1904), 35–6; Lib. mun. pub. Hib., p. 36; CPR Ire., Hen. VIII–Eliz., p. 82.

N: 

Weinbaum, British borough charters, p. 200.

Footnotes: 

1 CIRCLE, PR 16 Edw. IV, §6.

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