|
hood at Christ Church, and the brotherhood at
St, Augustine's, and Sired, and AElfsige the Child,1
and many a good man beside, both within town and without."
The "godmen" are especially the "boni
et legales homines," the jury, whose presence implies that
this instrument is the record of a solemn transaction before the
boroughmoot, or even the shiremoot. Leofwine most likely lived at
Boctun, i.e. Boughton, and the result of the instrument
would have been, to attach Surrenden pastures to that estate for
the future, which could only be done by a formal act.
The other document, of which I have given a
facsimile, is an autograph letter of William of Wykeham, addressed
to Sir John de Cobeham, the King's Ambassador to the Court of Rome
(41 Ed. III).2 The date of the letter is evidently
1367. It is of exceeding interest, as tending to illustrate the
assertion made by Froissart, that Edward III. obtained the Pope's
grant of the Bishopric of Winchester to Wykeham, by remitting to
the Duke of Bourbon a large portion of his ransom, as one of the
prisoners of Poictiers, on condition of the Duke's using his
influence with Urban for the appointment.
"En ce temps, regnoit en Angleterre un pretre
qui s'appeloit messire Guillaume Wikans. Icelui messire Gruillaume
etoit si tres bien en la grace et amour du roi d'Angleterre, que
par lui etoit tout fait, ni sans lui l'on ne faisoit rien.
Quand icelui
1 "Gild," or
" Child," was a young nobles title.
2 Sir John de Cobham, Lord
Cobham, in June, 1367, was Ambassador from the King, on a special
mission to the Court of Rome, as we find by an entry of letters of
safe-conduct on the Patent Roll, 41 Ed. III., 1st pt. m.14:—
"De salva gardia pro ambassatore Regis.—Rex
universis, etc. etc. Sciatis, quod cum mittamus dilectum
consanguineum et fidelem nostrum Johannem de Cobham ad Curiam
Romanam in ambassiam nostram cum literis et aliis negociis nostris
in dicta Curia prosequendis et fideliter, Deo annuente,
expediendis, etc. etc.
" Tested at Westminster, 3rd June."
This enables us to fix the date of our letter as haying been
written in June, 1367.
|