Possessions of the Losers of 1326

I finally got back from holiday last night after a truly nightmare journey of endlessly delayed trains and delayed planes. Hideous. Made me feel like I never ever want to get on a plane again, which is unfortunate, as I'm off to London on a research trip a week on Thursday. Several days of looking at Edward II's chamber accounts in the original French - woot, so exciting! (I mean that seriously, not sarcastically.)

I've had emails from a few people saying they haven't been able to comment on the blog as it keeps crashing - I've had the same problem myself on other blogs, and apparently it's something to do with the 'followers' widget. Hope Blogger fixes it soon. Until I get my act together and write a proper post, here's a quick one on some possessions of Edward II and Edmund Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, in 1326.

When Edward fled from London in early October 1326 after the arrival of Isabella and Mortimer's invasion force, he left some items behind with the merchant Simon Swanland. Swanland was a draper who occasionally provided cloth for the king's household, became mayor of London in the autumn of 1329, and was the recipient of his kinsman the archbishop of York's incredible letter in January 1329 or 1330 stating that Edward was "alive and in good health of body." The items Edward left with him included:

- a cloth-of-gold mantle edged with "diverse white pearls" and silver.

- three velvet garments with green stripes, and matching hat.

- four ells of ‘Tarse’ cloth with golden stripes.

- a green coverlet with three matching tapestries.

- a cushion cover of vermilion sendal.

- a silver cup with foot and cover.

- three "gilded acorn branches."

- a "piece of beautiful napery, which contains fifty-three ells."

- two "good and beautiful" Bibles (ij bibles bons et bels), one covered with red leather and the other with tanned leather, and a missal covered with black leather.

- this entry is partly damaged: "the sixth book of ...vel, well-glossed, covered with green leather."

- two coffers (or cases, or boxes), well-decorated.

- a "good and beautiful" chalice of silver which weighed four marks, and two matching pitchers.

- an encensq (incense-holder?) of silver which weighed sixteen shillings.

- an orfiller - not sure what that is - of silk, with golden birds.

- four mazers [entry damaged] with sorrels and silver-gilt.

- a piece of coarse black woollen cloth (i. neyr falding)

Edward's ally the earl of Arundel was executed in Hereford on 17 November 1326, and a week later, the possessions he had stored in the cathedral church of Chichester "pertaining to the king by the forfeiture of the earl" were delivered into the wardrobe of "Queen Isabel and of Edward the king's firstborn son," i.e. the soon to be Edward III. They were:

- £524, 2 shillings and 1p in 6 canvas sacks, labelled £533, 6 shillings and 8p.

- a silver-gilt cup, enamelled in parts, with a cover but without a foot, which weighed 7 marks.

- a silver-gilt cup, enamelled all over, with foot and cover and a basin to match, which weighed £11, 6 shillings and 8p.

- a silver-gilt cup, enamelled all over with foot and cover and a pint pot to match, which weighed 6 marks.

- a silver cup, gilt and partly enamelled, with a trivet, which weighed 103 shillings and 4p.

- a silver salt-cellar, enamelled all over, with a cover, which weighed 35 shillings.

- three silver-gilt cups, partly broken, with feet and covers, which weighed six pounds and 1 shilling.

- three silver-gilt cups, with feet and covers, which weighed 108 shillings and 4p.

- three cups of plain silver, with feet and covers, which weighed 101 shillings and 8p.

Evidently Arundel really liked silver things.

Sources
J. Harvey Bloom, ‘Simon de Swanland and King Edward II’, Notes and Queries, 11th series, 4 (1911), p. 2.
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1324-1327, p. 339.