Durham E-Theses War, politics and landed society in Northumberland, c.1296-c.1408. King, Andy How to cite: King, Andy (2001) War, politics and landed society in Northumberland, c.1296-c.1408., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1729/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk War, Politics and Landed Society in Northumberland, c. 1296-c.1408 Andy King PhD Thesis, Department of History, University of Durham, 2001 Abstract Until 1296, Northumberland was a society with strong links across the border to Scotland, a border which had very little social significance; but with the outbreak of war, these links were destroyed, as many cross-border landholders forfeited their lands for supporting John Balliol. The resulting vacuum of power was filled largely by the crown, and the Scottish wars thus had the effect of bringing the Northumbrian gentry into closer contact with royal government. The local government of Northumberland became inextricably bound up with the war effort, and was increasingly placed into the hands of the local gentry, whom the crown relied upon for the defence of the Marches. As a result, the crown administration came to be dominated by the county's military elite. Predictably, these men did take the opportunity to further their own interests; in particular, the extent of war damage was deliberately and systematically exaggerated so as to evade taxes. Nevertheless, this did not lead to a collapse of royal authority. Nor was the maintenance of law and order permanently undermined by Scottish incursions; Northumbrians continued to look to the crown for redress for crime. The Scottish wars have usually been depicted by modern historians as enabling the Percy family to establish a dominant position in Northumberland, through the office of Warden of the March, but in fact, no magnate was able to effectively dominate Northumbrian political society during the fourteenth century. It was the state of armed half-peace which pervaded the borders in the fifteenth century which led to a collapse of royal authority in the county, as the Lancastrian dynasty lost interest in Scotland, and Northumberland once again became peripheral to the interests of the kings of England, as it had been until 1296. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. War, Politics and Landed Society in Northumberland, c.1296-c.1408 Andy King 1 7 SEP 2002 PhD Thesis, Department of History, University of Durham, 2001 1 Contents Tables and Figures II Acknowledgements 111 Abbreviations iv 1 The Destruction of a Cross-Border Society 1 2 War, Government and Political Society 33 The Impact of Invasion 33 A County Administration at War 45 War and Parliamentary Representation 64 3 Military Service 76 Service and Obligation 76 The Rewards and Risks of Military Service 99 4 War and Disorder 131 The Schavaldours 131 The Attack on the Cardinals 146 The Murder of John de Coupland 154 The Heton Family Feud 173 War and Disorder in Northumberland 188 5 Structures of Power 196 Magnate Affmities and Northumbrian Political Society 196 Northumberland: a 'County Community'? 234 Conclusion: 'Land of War' or 'Land of Law'? 256 II Appendices 1 Documents 260 2 Forfeitures by landholders in Northumberland for adherence to the Scots, 1296-1307 265 3 Northumbrian Casualties and Prisoners of War, 1296-1402 269 Bibliography 272 Tables 1 Military Service of Northumbrian Knights, Autunm 1319 85 2 The Distribution of Knights and Men-at-Arms in England, 1324 90 3 Scots captured by Northumbrian Men-at-Arms at Neville's Cross 126 4 Office-Holding in Northumberland, 1397-1408 229 Figures 1 The de Ros Family 17 2 The Heirs of Adam de Swinburne 158 3 The Heton Family 176 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent, and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 111 Acknowledgements Many people and institutions have helped to make the three years I have spent researching and writing this thesis very fulfilling and enjoyable - and have helped me to carry on when it has proved rather less so. I would like to thank the British Academy for awarding me a studentship (without which ...), and the Royal Historical Society for giving me two grants to attend conferences, where some of the material in this thesis was thrust upon an unsuspecting public. Many have kindly offered advice and constructive criticism. Professor Michael Prestwich has provided supervision which was sure but unobtrusive - except when it needed to be otherwise. The Medieval Postgraduate Discussion Group at Durham has provided a congenial forum at which to present my findings, and my colleagues in the garret of 45 North Bailey have helped to keep me sane. Professors Chris Given-Wilson and Robin Frame, Drs Len Scales, Gwil Dodd and Andrew Ayton, and Chris Jones have all read and commented on various sections of this work, and Gwil Dodd and Andrew Ayton both gave me opportunities to air my views in public - and helped to refine them in discussion afterwards. The librarians and archivists at the various libraries and archives I have frequented have all been very kind and helpful. Most of all, though, I have to thank my family. My parents, Beth King and Ted Hutchinson, have provided financial and moral support well beyond the call of duty, and have kept the wolves from the door. My wife, Eleanor, and our children, Lewis and Freya, have cheerfully endured the penury of postgraduate life, have put up with being dragged around every site of historical interest in the North, and have tolerated a husband and father who has too often had more time for fourteenth-century Northumberland than for them. Without them, I would never have finished this thesis - and indeed, I might never have started it. lv Abbreviations AA: Archaeologia Aeliana. Barbour: References are by book and line, according to the divisions of the original text. Unless otherwise noted, the edition used is Barbour's Bruce, ed. M.P. McDiarmid & J.A.C. Stevenson, 3 vols, Scottish Text Society, 4th ser., xii, xiii, xv (1980-5). Bower: Bower's Scotichronicon, ed. D.E.R. Watt, eta!. (9 vols, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, 1987-98). BL: British Library. Bridlington: 'Gesta Edwardi de Carnarvon Auctore Canonico Bridlingtoniensi', and 'Gesta Edwardi Tertii Auctore Canonico Bridlingtoniensi', Chronicles of the Reigns of Edward land Edward II, ed. W. Stubbs, RS 76 (London, 1883), vol. ii. CCR: Calendar of Close Rolls. CCW: Calendar of Chancery Warrants. CDS: Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland, ed. J. Bain (4 vols, Edinburgh, 1881-8), corrected with reference to Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland, vol. v (Supplementary), ed. G.G. Simpson & J.B. Galbraith (Edinburgh, 1988). CFR: Calendar of Fine Rolls. CIM: Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous. CIPM: Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem. Commons: J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, & C. Rawcliffe (eds), The History of Parliament. The House of Commons, 1386-1421 (4 vols, Stroud, 1992). CPR: Calendar of Patent Rolls. CS: Camden Society. DCD: Muniments of the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral. EHR: English Historical Review. Ftedera: Fadera, conventiones, liltene, et cujuscunque generis public ada, etc., ed. T. Rymer (4 vols in 7 parts, Record Commission edn, I8l6-69) Families: W. Percy Hedley, Northumberland Families (2 vols, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1968-70). GEC: G.E. Cockayne (ed.), The Complete Peerage, rev. & ed. V. Gibbs (12 vols, London, 1910-59). Hodgson, Northumb.: John Flodgson & J. Hodgson Hinde, A History of Northumberland (7 vols in 3 parts, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1820-58). Ins, pub.: Instrumenta publica sive processus super fidelilatibus et homagiis Scotorum domino regi Angluefactis, ed. William Adam & Samuel Shepherd, Bannatyne Club (Edinburgh, 1834). Lanercosi: Chronicon de Lanercost, ed. J. Stevenson, Bannatyne Club lxv (Edinburgh, 1839). Lay Sub.: The Northumberland Lay Subsidy Roll of 1296, ed. C.M. Fraser (Newcastle. 1968). Melsa: Chronica Monasterii de Melsa, ed. E.A. Bond, RS 43 (3 vols, 1866-8). Middleton: A.E. Middleton, Sfr Gilbert de Middleton (2 vols, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1918). NCH: Northumberland County History (15 vols, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1893-1940). NDD: Northumberland and Durham Deeds from the Dodswrth MSS. in Bodle'f' 's Libran; Oxford, Newcastle upon Tyne Record Series vii (1929). NH: Northern History. Northumb. Pets: Northumberland Petitions. Ancient Petitions RelatIng to Northumberland, ed. C.M. Fraser, SS clxxvi (1966). V NRO: Northumberland Record Office. Pan. Writs: Parliamentary Writs, ed. F. Palgrave (2 vols in 4 parts, London, 1827-34). Percy Chart.: The Percy Chartulary, ed. M.T. Martin, SS cxvii (1909). PPC: Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council of England, ed. N.H. Nicolas (7 vols, Record Commission, 1834-7). Rot. Parl.: Rotuli Parliamentorum (6 vols, London, 1767-77). Rot. Scot.: Rotuli Scotice, ed. D. Macpherson (2 vols, Record Commission, 1814-19).