D96 !>2;@B6C 32B@?6C! ;? D96 C64@?5 92=7 @7 D96 B6;8? @7 65F2B5 ;$ ")*/(%)+(.# 56B6< 2& 32BB;6 2 DNKWOW CYHROXXKJ LTV XNK 5KMVKK TL AN5 GX XNK ESOZKVWOX] TL CX 2SJVK[W )//) 7YQQ RKXGJGXG LTV XNOW OXKR OW GZGOQGHQK OS BKWKGVIN1CX2SJVK[W07YQQDK\X GX0 NXXU0''VKWKGVIN%VKUTWOXTV]&WX%GSJVK[W&GI&YP' AQKGWK YWK XNOW OJKSXOLOKV XT IOXK TV QOSP XT XNOW OXKR0 NXXU0''NJQ&NGSJQK&SKX')((*+',-/, DNOW OXKR OW UVTXKIXKJ H] TVOMOSGQ ITU]VOMNX DNOW OXKR OW QOIKSWKJ YSJKV G 4VKGXOZK 4TRRTSW =OIKSWK THE ~IORBS BAROBBS IN THE SECOND HALF OF rHE REIGN OF EDWARD I (1290-1307) Derek A. Barrie Submitted for the degree of Ph.D., University of St.Andrews 30 September 1991 ABSTRACT The second half of the reign of Edward I saw the emergence;of a parliamentary peerage in embryo. The maiores barones comprising it owed their position to regular individual summonses to parliament and to major military campaigns of the period, particularly in Scotland. This was ~I coupled with either substantial wealth based on landholdings, though not a particular type of tenure, or a lengthy record of loyal service to the Crown either in one particular area of local or national government or over a range of activities. Service to the Crown, outwith provision of advice and counsel in parliament and cavalry service in major campaigns, was not as widespread as many historians have argued. Such service was primarily, though not exclusively, local, performed in counties where maiores barones had their principal estates. It covered military activity outwith major campaigns; keeperships of castles; preparations for war; the administration of justice; dependency government; diplomatic service overseas and the royal household. The majority of barons who provided such service to the Crown were adequately rewarded by Edward I whose system of patronage can be described as prudent, rather than niggardly, the commonly accepted view. Rewards were mainly in the form of grants of land, particularly in conquered terri tories; grants of wardships and marriages; financial benefits in the form of respites and cancellation of debts, wages and fees; preferential treatment in juijicial matters; royal appointments constituting rewards in themselves, and elevation in social slatus and prominence. ~I Declarations (1) I, Derek Andrew Barrie, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 100,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. date. 1~!q/.t.1,~~.signature of candidate. (2) I was admitted as a research student under Ordinance No.I2 in October 1988 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D. in October 1988; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St.Andrews between 1988 and 1991. date. r~!1!.(?" signature of candidate (3) I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Ph.D. in the University of St.Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. f 1Nl . t f . d ate ...•/26 ~v_.•••••• slgna ure 0 supervlsor. (4) In submitting this thesis to the University of St.Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any h2nA ~ library or research worker. date ..~~~111.. signature of candidate CONTENTS Preface .List of Abbreviations Introduction page 1. Chapter One ;- Who were the maiores barones, 1290-1301? ,. 9. Chapter Two ;- Service to the Crown by the maiores barones . 102. .Chapter Three ;- Rewards obtained by the maiores barones. 266. Conclusion 408. Appendices 425. Select Bibliography 435. Prefa.ce This thesis had its origins in research originally undertaken between 1964 and 1967, funded -by a grant. of a II Scott is-h St.ude n t s h i p " from the Scottish -Educati.on Department. L -am- greatly indebted to the advice given during that period by my original supervisor at the University of St.Andrews, Professor Donald Watt, and the encouragement of the late Professor Lionel Butler, then holder of the Chair of Mediaeval History. I am also grateful to the staff of the Public Record Office at that time for their assistance together with the staff of the Insti tute of Historical Research, Uni versi ty of L'ondon. All record sources quoted in this thesis are from the P.R.O. The work embarked upon at that time was never completed and I departed to Dundee College of Education .and took up a car-eer- in teaching which ended in 1988. Because of changed personal circumstances, I sought to resurrect my research on a part- time basis. I am greatly indebted to those in authority at the University of St.Andrews who went out of their way to make it possible for me to resume my studies for a Ph. D. The then Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Ann Kettle, was particularly supportive in providing advice and assistance. After discussions with Professor Watt, who had by then retired, and Dr. Chris Given-Wilson, who was willing to take over the role of supervisor, it was decided that there was scope for a thesis on the baronage of Ed~ard I, drawing upon much of the work done between 1964 and 1967. Since some of the topic previously researched had been covered in the interim, particularly by Professor Michael Prestwich, University of Durham, a new approach was agreed, concentrating upon the "ma Lo r-es barones" and their role in the period 1290-1307. A new title was agreed. I am greatly indebted to Chris Given-Wilson who took on the role of supervising this work so enthusiastically. His encouragement and advice has been crucial in the thesis being completed and submitted wi thin the three years laid down by the University authorities. Without the time and effort he has devoted to assisting me this would not have been possible. My thanks are also due to Professor Donald Bullough for his support and the staff of the University Library for their assistance. Finally my thanks are due to my wife Lesley, without whose tolerance and, on some occasions, proddding and prompting the time-scale set would not have been adhered to. D.A.B. St.Andrews, September 1991. FOOTNOTES Abbreyiatj ons The following abbrevIations have been used :- B.I.H.R. Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research. C.C.R. Calendar of Close Rolls. C. Ch.R. V. Calendar of Various Chancery Rolls. C.Ch.W. Calendar of Chancery Warrants. C.Cha.R. Calendar of Charter Rolls. C.D.I. Calendar of Documents Relating to Ireland, Ed. H.S. Sweetman. C.D.S. Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland, Vols. I-IV, Ed. J. Bain; Vol. V, Ed. J.D. Galbraith and G.G. Simpson. C.F.R. Calendar of Fine Rolls. C.I.P.M. Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem. C.P.R. Calendar of Patent Rolls. E.H.R. English Historical Review. Foedera Rymer, T.: Foedera, Conventiones, Litterae etc. Ed. A.G. Clarke and F. Holbrooke. G. E. C. G.E. Cockayne, Complete Peerage - Rev. and Ed. V. Gibbs. P. W. I Parliamentary Writs and Writs of Summons, Edward I and Edward II, Vol. I. , Ed. Sir Francis Palgrave. Rot. Parl. Rotuli Parliamentorum. Rot. Scot. Rotuli Scotiae, Ed. D. Macpherson. S.H.R. Scottish Historical Review. Stevenson Documents Illustrative of the History of Scotland, Ed. J. Stevenson. T.R.H.S. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 1 INTRODUCTION 'Baron is one of many status words which changed their mean-ing drastically'. I The Sho~ter Oxford Eng-iish Dictionary definition concurs in providing an accurate, succinct account of the change in meaning of the word 'baron' in the Middle Ages. 'Baron - originally one who held by military or other honorary service, from the King or other superior; subsequently restricted to the King's barons, and later to the great barons'who were summoned to parliament by writ; hence, a Lord of Parliament, a peer.' The problem with the word 'baron' or 'baronage', defined as the barons collectively, is in ascertaining when the developments explicit in the dictionary defini tion took place. At the time of Magna Carta a baron's posi tion derived from tenure, through holding lands from the Crown per baroniam. By the mid fifteenth century a baron would be a 'parliamentary peer', summoned to parliament because of his importance, not because of his method of landholding. Few historians would quarrel with any of the above. But differing views abound as to the pace of this development, particularly as to when a genuine parliamentary peerage came into being. McFarlane argued strongly that 'in the reign of Edward I a dozen earls, the dwindling survivors of a seemingly obsolescent baronage, shared their nobility with an undifferentiated mass of some 3,000 landowners, each of whose holdings were said to be worth £20 a year or over'. 2 In contrast Harriss takes the view that the late thirteenth and 1. A.L. Brown The Governance of Late Mediaeval England p.179. 2. K.B. McFarlane The Nobility of Later Mediaeval England p.269. 2 early fourteenth centuries saw the nobil i ty I change into a structured class of earls and barons, constituting the peerage, which excluded the "kn.ight s and lesser Landhol de ns , I'hi s was reflected in the emergence of an upper house of parliament based on summons by writ.,3 Michael Prestwich states that 'it is not possible to draw an identikit picture of a thirteenth century baron'4 and, refering to the later years of Edward I, 'the idea of a parliamentary peerage had not been formulated'.5 He does acknowledge that the - t.erm , baronage' , disguises the extent of social gradation within the ranks of the aristocracy I ,6 and implies the existence of the maiores barones - ,in 1299, 11 earls and 79 barons were individually summoned to parliament, a figure which gives an impression of the size of the political elite'.7 Through examining the evidence, it is intended to demonstrate that a group of greater barons, below the earls, but differentiated from the knights, did exist at the beginning of the fourteenth century.