Search results for ""Author Dr Eric Gallagher""

Edition of the records of a medieval Suffolk eyre reveal rich details of life at the time. The eyre was an organised judicial visitation to the counties of England by the king's justices to hear all types of plea, civil and crown, as well as to investigate any matters for the king that pertain to the county; it was thus a hugely important part of the legal process. This volume, edited by Eric Gallagher with an introduction by Henry Summerson, follows on from Dr Gallagher's edition and translation of the civil pleas of the same eyre, published by the Suffolk Records Society in 2009. But whereas the civil pleas deal primarily with litigation between landowners, the crown pleas are mostly concerned with the actions of townsmen and peasants, recorded both as killers and thieves, and as the victims of crime. Like the civil pleas, the crown pleas illuminate the workings of the common law, but in addition they illustrate the functions and purposes of local and central government, shedding light in sometimes vivid detail upon the lives of the humbler members of society, upon their occupations, relationships, misfortunes and quarrels - and the sometimes bizarre ways in which they met their deaths. The eyre was led by William of York, the King's justiciar and later bishop of Salisbury, and his colleagues who met at Ipswich, Cattishall (outside Bury St Edmunds) and Dunwich. The eyre roll, now in the National Archives, is the first from Suffolk surviving in full to have been edited and published; it has the particular interest of coming from a county that was then one of the most populous and prosperous of English shires.

Read more less

The pipe roll for Michaelmas 1226 is particularly informative as it preserves the accounts for no fewer than twenty-nine English shrievalties, allowing us to analyse the collection of royal revenues in fascinating detail. This volume is the first edition of the Latin pipe roll for 10 Henry III (Michaelmas 1226). It will be invaluable for historians of the reign of King Henry III and for historians interested in medieval royal finance and administration. It is a particularly detailed roll, which preserves the accounts for no fewer than twenty-nine English shrievalties, with only Rutland and Westmorland missing. In addition to these, this pipe roll includes a number of other accounts, including those of Thomas of Cirencester for the earl of Devon's lands and the king's manors in Devon, which will be useful to local historians. Although no new scutages were levied in this accounting year, this pipe roll shows that arrears were still coming in from those of Montgomery (1223) and Bedford (1224), with some particularly detailed entries relating to the honours of Boulogne and Wallingford. The contents of this roll also allow historians interested in taxation and royal revenues to trace the collection of the fifteenth on moveable property, which had been proposed in return for the re-issue of Magna Carta in 1225. There is, similarly, interesting information relating to the business of Hugh de Neville's forest eyre of 1224-5 for Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire, Worcestershire and Dorset, offering insights into the implementation of the Forest Charter. The contents of this pipe roll also assist in studying the royal exchequer's continued attempts to recover large, outstanding debts from barons, such as Warin de Munchensy, via a policy of consolidation and attermination. Other business of potential interest to a range of scholars is covered in the pipe roll for 10 Henry III. The staffing and maintenance of royal castles are mentioned regularly, and the roll's contents provide important information about the keepers of royal castles in different counties, payments for crossbowmen in particular locations, details relating to knight service and payments for repairs to castles, such as Bedford which figured in Fawkes de Bréauté's revolt of 1224, and for building works at the Tower of London. Included among other business outlined in this pipe roll are details of the money and equipment transported to Portsmouth and Portchester for despatch to Gascony for the use of Richard, Henry III's brother, who had recently been created count of Poitou, and for the defence of Gascony against Louis VIII.

Read more less