Vindication of Ecclesiastical Volume 3, Volume 2 · Book · Chapter 1 · Document 126 – Document 131
FActa igitur inquiſitione de violentia memorata, tam a Rege quam ab Epiſcopis & executoribus predictis, & ſacramento mediante cum examinationibus & …teſtibus productis, inventi ſunt multi tranſgreſſores, quidam de facto, quidam de conſenſu: quorum nonnulli Epiſcopi erant & Clerici Regis, cum quibuſdam Archidiaconis, ac Decanis, militibus etiam & laicis multis. Quidam vero Vicecomites, & eorum praepoſiti & Miniſtri, pro eodem exceſſu Rege jubente, capti ſunt, et incarcerati, et alii praetimore ſibi per fugam conſulentes a quaerentibus non ſunt inventi. Principalis autem Domini Regis fuſtitiarius Hubertus de Burgo, ex hoc arguitur fuiſſe tranſgreſſor, quod praedonibus illis tam literas Regis patentes, quam proprias exhibuerat, ne quis eos de praefata violentia praepediret. Venit praeterea ad Regem inter caeteros, Robertus de Thinge, juvenis elegans, & miles ſtrenuus, ex partibus Angliae Aquilonaribus originem praeclaram ducens: Qui aliis conſentientibus, fruges Romanorum vendiderat, & Willielmum Wither ſe nominari fecerat, quinque ſervientes armatos, & hujus violentiae auctores circumduxerat: proteſtans manifeſte, quod in odium Romanorum, & cauſa juſtae ultionis tranſgreſſus fuerat, qui per ſententiam Romani Pontificis, et fraude manifeſte nitebantur eum ab unica, quam habuit Eccleſia, ſpoliare. Addidit etiam, quod maluit ad tempus injuſte excommunicari, quam ſuo beneficio ſine Iudicio ſpoliari. Tunc Rex & executores praefati, militi dederunt conſilium, ut quia in canonem latae ſententiae inciderat, Romam abſolvendus properaret: & jus ſuum coram domino Papa proteſtaretur, & quod Eccleſiam juſte pariter & canonice poſſidebat. Dedit etiam ei Rex literas ad Papam teſtimoniales, de jure ſuo deprecans obnixe, ut militem illius intuitu exaudiret.
EOdem anno, Rogerus Londinenſis Epiſcopus, accuſatus inter alios de conſenſu ſuper diſtrictioneMat. Weſtm. p. 134. Mat. Paris, Hiſt. Angl. p. 370. frugum Romanorum, ſaltem de conſenſu, profectus eſt ad ſedem Apoſtolicam, ut ſuam ibi purgaret innocentiam. Qui poſt multos labores, & ſpoliationem obiter, & emunctionem loculorum in curia, demum vexatus inaniter remeavit. Nec multo poſt aegre ſuſtinens uſurarios Chriſtianos, quos Caurſinos appellamus, in civitate ſua habitare, & foenora ſua variato nomine palliantes exercere, conabatur eos a Diocaeſi ſua propulſare; ſed ipſi recalcitrantes Romanae curiae fulti patrocinio, ipſi, poſt multos quibus exagitaverant, labores, ſilentium impoſuerunt. Such was the Tyranny, Uſury of the Pope and his Inſtruments, and ſo ineffectual the power either of the King or Biſhops to withſtand or redreſſe their intollerable uſurpations and exactions.
You heard before out of Matthew Paris, that the King upon the Popes peremptory mandate to him, iſſued forth Writs to inquire after and puniſh thoſe who ſeiſed on the goods, and threſhed out the corn of the Romans; I ſhall preſent you with two of them out of our Records.
MAndatum eſt Vicecomiti Hereford, quod ſicut ſeipſum diligit, & in fide quaClauſ. 16 H. 3. m. 11. dorſ. Regi tenetur, diligenter inquirat per ſacramentum Proborum & legalium hominum de Comitatu ſuo, qui homines ſe fecerunt de familia Wither. vel cujuſlibet alterius, & itinerantes fuerunt per eundem Com. ad triturandum & vendendum blada, & alia bona clericorum Romanorum, & aliorum diſtrahenda & aſportanda; & qui homines de Com. tuo dicta blada manibus ſuis trituraverunt, & eadem blada & alia bona vendiderunt & diſtraxerunt. Omnes autem eos de Balliva ſua quos inquirere poterit, ibidem ſic itineratos fuiſſe, capiat, & in priſona Regis ſalvo cuſtodiat, donec a Rege aliud habuerit mandatum; & eos qui dicta blada trituraverunt, & eadem bona & alia bona vendiderunt & diſtraxerunt, ponat per vadium, & ſalvos plegios, quod ſint coram Rege quando praeceperit, inde reſponſuri, & Inquiſitionem inde factam ſub ſigillo ſuo, & ſigillis eorum per quos facta fuerit, Regi mittat; & hoc breve. Teſte Rege apud Weſtmonaſterium octavo die Maii. Eodem modo ſcribitur omnibus Vicecomitibus Angliae.
What execution was done upon theſe Writs eſpecially againſt Hubert de Burgo, his Lands in ſeveral Counties, this Record will evidence.
MAndatum eſt Vicecomiti Eſſex, quod de Manerio de Hadfeld Peverel, quodAnno 1233. Clauſ. 17 H. 3. m. 13. intus. eſt in mann H. de Burg. ſine dilatione plenam ſeiſinam habere faciat Roberto Paſſelewe, ad reſpondendum de exitibus ejuſdem manerii Clericis Romanis, Italicis & aliis, de dampnis eis per ipſum H. illatis, donec ſuper praedictis dampnis eis fuerit ſatisfactum.
Teſte Rege apud Weſtmonaſterium ſeptimo die Februarii. Per ipſum Regem.
Eodem modo ſcribitur Vicecomitibus Norff. & Suff. de Maneriis, de Burg, Sutherton, Beſton, Leminton, Rugham, Warnegay, Stowe, Rouberton, & Fineberg. Bedf. & Buck. de maneriis, de Aspel. & Henlawe, cum pertinentiis Northa pton. de terris in Ringſted, Chelveston, Caldecot, & Stanwic. Glouc. de terris in Elmore. & in Menſtreworth. Eborum, de terris in Herthull, Dorſet, de terra in Winfrod. Suſſex, de terris in Fleſtyng, & Porteſlad. Surr. de terra de Stienes, Warw. de terra in Wuleward. Kanc. de terris in Tunſhal, Newton, Acholt, Ruſeland, & Kingeſdon. Noting. de terra in Wetel.
Matthew Paris informs us, that this Hubert de Burgo, Anno 1232. being cheif Juſtice of England, the Kings principal faithfull Counſeller, the greateſt oppoſor of the Popes uſurpations and extortions, was by the power of the Pope and of Peter Biſhop of Wincheſter, ſodenly removed from all his Offices, and impeached of ſeveral crimes; ſome of them amounting to High-Treaſon, amongſt other particulars, moſt inſiſted on.
REX inſtanter exegit ab eo ratiocinium de Epiſcopatibus, & cuſtodiis ſine Warranto;Anno 1232. Mat. Paris Hiſt. Angl p. 376, 377, 378, 379. Mat. Weſtm. quae pertinent ad Dominum Regem. Item, de injuriis et damnis illatis, et clericis Romanis et Italicis, et nunciis domini Papae; contra voluntatem domini Regis, per auctoritatem ipſius Huberu tunc Juſticiarij, qui nullum conſilium voluit apponere, ut illa corrigerentur; quod facere tenebatur ratione officij ſui, ad Juſtitiarium pertinentis. Hereupon Hubert, to prevent the rage and danger of his enemies upon thoſe accuſations fled to the Church of Merton, and there took ſanctuary, whence the King commanded the Major of London by his Letters (the Londoners being his mortal enmies) to pull him forcibly, and bring him to him alive or dead; which the Major and Citizens readily undertaking and marching thither with a great force; the King, by the advice of the Earl of Cheſter (fearing the ill conſequence of ſuch a tumult) ſodenly countermanded them thence, to their great diſcontent. After which Hubert to avoyd apprehenſion taking ſanctuary in a Chappel in Eſſex, Godfry of Cranecumbe, (whom the King ſent to apprehend him with 300. armed men, under pain of death) finding the Chapel dores ſhut, violently brake them open, apprehended Hubert and carried him thence bound with cords, a priſoner to the Tower of London. Whereupon the Biſhop of London, under a pretext of violation of ſanctuary, made this bold Encroachment upon the King and his Crown.