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Durham E-Theses The knightly families of Northumberland: a crisis in the early fourteenth century Dixon, M.C. How to cite: Dixon, M.C. (2000) The knightly families of Northumberland: a crisis in the early fourteenth century, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4373/ 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 ABSTRACT The way Northumbrian society was created and how it developed during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, is crucial to the crisis the families faced when war broke out between the kingdoms of England and Scotland. Eighty years of peace and prosperity in the North saw the consolidation of the Norman presence along the border. The Anglo/Norman and Scottish/Norman families formed a single aristocracy, holding estates on both sides of the border and being vassals to both kings. United by language, customs and manners, they formed a homogeneous society. The peace that prevailed for the last eighty years of the thirteenth century brought prosperity to the region and were 'the golden years' in the history of the North. This peace was shattered in 1296 when, following the events of the Scottish succession, Edward I declared war on Scotland. The northern nobility were at once thrown into a crisis of allegiance. Any choice, inevitably, meant a loss of lands on the other side of the Border. A boundary had suddenly become a frontier, and friends and relatives had became 'the enemy'. All the families of the knightly class, the barons, the lesser nobility and the gentry were involved in, and affected by the war, albeit in different ways. The outbreak of war was followed in 1315 by flooding and bad weather causing a series of bad harvests, leading to famine and high food prices. Coupled with this there was a sheep and cattle murrain, which killed many of the plough oxen thus making recovery difficult. The Black Death in 1348 depleted the population, adding to the economic decline The inactivity of Edward II to the suffering in the north during the Scottish raids of Robert the Bruce led to a rebellion of the lesser landowners under the leadership of Gilbert de Middleton in 1317. This rebellion was to have repercussions forty years later in the form of a collection of escheats known as the Nessfield escheats, named after William de Nessfield, escheator north of Trent. For some, a war, could be the making of their fortunes. Such a person was John de Coupland. By capturing David 1, Ring of Scots in 1346 at the Battle of Neville's Cross, he was lavishly rewarded. However, he did not enjoy his good fortune for long, for in 1363 he was murdered by a group of Northumberland knights. The question of whether the knightly families of Northumberland faced a crisis in the early fourteenth century has similarities to the debate over the fate of the knightly class in the thirteenth century. Some historians have suggested that the high cost of knighthood in that period caused a crisis, while an alternative view is that there was no general crisis, but that some families faced difficulties as a result of the mismanagement of their affairs. The question of whether the knightly families of Northumberland faced a crisis in the fourteenth century is explored from the perspectives of the Scottish war, the economy and the political situation. The Knightly Families of Northumberland: A Crisis in the Early Fourteenth Century by Marie C. Dixon The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any form, including Electronic and the Internet, without the author's prior written consent All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. A Thesis submitted in completion of a Masters Degree in Medieval History at the University of Durham Easter, 2000 f 7 JAN 2001 f i To my husband As always, it is pleasure to thank those whose assistance in the preparation of this thesis has been invaluable. To the staff of the Palace Green Library, the Dean and Chapter Library, the Main Library at Durham and, the Reference Library at Darlington, for their help and information, always given willingly and pleasantly. CONTENTS Pages Abbreviations ChaDter 1 - The Families - Before and After 1296 1-28 Chapter 2 - John de Coupland 29-53 Chanter 3 - The Nessfield Escheats 54-80 ChaDter 4 - The Economic Factors 81-122 Chanter 5 - War and Its Impact on the Community 123-151 Chanter 6 - The Families in Crisis 152-172 Biblioeranhv 173-179 ILLUSTRATIONS Pages Map - Showing the lands of Sir John de Coupland 53 Table 1 - Wool Exports from Newcastle 118-119 Table n - Comparison of Wool Exports from Newcastle and England 120 Table III - Wool Exports from Newcastle 121-122 Table IV - Taxes upon Movables in the Reigns of Ed. I, Ed.H. andEd.ni. 151 ABBREVIATIONS The following abbreviations are used in the footnotes. For many works, the full title is given only for the first reference, and thereafter short titles are used. These are fully extended in the bibliography. AA Archaeologia Aeliana. Publications of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne). The number following denotes the series. Anonimalle Chronicle The Anonimalle Chronicle 1307-1334, ed. W.Childs and J. Taylor (Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1991) Bain, CDS Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, vols.i-iv edJ.Bain (Edinburgh, 1881-8), vol.v (Supplementary) ed.G.G. Simpson and J.D. Galbraith (Scottish Record Office, 1988) CCR Calendar of Close Rolls CFR Calendar of Fine Rolls C1M Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous CInq.P.M. Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem C Inq. ad quod Damnum Calendar of Inquisitions ad quod Damnum CPR Calendar of Patent Rolls Durham Account Rolls, ed. J.T. Fowler (Surtees Durham Account Rolls Society, 99,100 and 103,1898 and 1900) English Historical Review. E.H.R Fraser, Northern Petitions Northern Petitions, ed. CM. Fraser (Surtees Society 194,1981) Fraser, Northumberland Petitions Ancient Petitions relating to Northumberland. ed. CM. Fraser (Surtees Society 176,1966). Fraser, Subsidy Roll The Northumberland Lay Subsidy Roll of1296, ed. CM. Fraser, Record Series No. 1 (Newcastle, 1968) Hedley, Families W.P. Hedley, Northumberland Families, 2.vols. (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1968-70) Hodgson, Northumberland J. Hodgson, A History of Northumberland, 7 vols. (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1827-58) Lanercost Chronicon de Lanercost, ed. J. Stevenson (Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh, 1839). NCH A History of Northumberland, (Northumberland County History Committee) 15 vols. (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1893-1940). (These volumes are generally referred to as the Northumberland County History, to distinguish them from J. Hodgson's work of the same title. See above) Raine, North Durham James Raine, The History and Antiquities of North Durham: Norhamshire, Islandshire and Bedlingtonshire (London, 1852) Raine, Northern Registers Historical Papers and Letters from the Northern Registers, ed. James Raine, Rolls Series, 61 (London, 1873) RS Rolls Series. Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages, published under the Direction of the Master of the Rolls (London, 1858-) Sanders, Baronies I. J. Sanders, English Baronies: A Study of Their Origins and Descent 1086-1327 (Oxford, 1960) Sealacroniea The Scalacronica: The Reigns of Edward I, Edward II and Edward III, by Sir Thomas Gray, trans. Sir Herbert Maxwell (Glasgow, 1907) SS Surtees Society. Publications of the Surtees Society (Durham, 1838 -) VCH Victoria History of the Counties of England: Yorkshire, General vols, i - iii (London, 1907- 1913, Index 1925); North Riding of Yorkshire, vols, i -ii (London, 1914-23, Index 1925) Vita Edwardi Vita Edwardi Secundi ed. N. Denholm-Young (Nelson Medieval Texts, Edinburgh, 1957) Chapter 1 The Families - Before and After 1296 'Twelve hundred and ninety-six was a momentous year for the Anglo-Scottish Border. It marked the end of eighty years of tolerance on the Border. Thereafter there were to be nearly three centuries of raids, invasions, bloodfeuds, cattle lifting and near anarchy.'1 Edward Fs decision to use the confusion over the Scottish succession to further his own ambitions to make Scotland a fief of England, was to unleash the anger and determination of the Scots to remain an independent kingdom. The ensuing war was to bring destruction and devastation by sword and torch to the northern counties of Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland. The Border had existed since 1237, when Alexander II of Scotland abandoned his claim to the counties of Cumberland and Northumberland, and in return, had been granted by Henry II the honour of Tynedale (North and South Tyne) with lands and forests in Inglewood in Cumberland. While peace existed between England and Scotland, the Border had no significance in social terms. Its main use was to serve as a dividing line for the political purpose of administration and trading. Landowners owned land on both sides of the Border, and they travelled between them at will. In 1296 this changed and the border became a frontier, to be defended against the people on the other side, who now became the enemy.