Edward II's extant chamber accounts of 1324 to 1326 reveal that he did not carry cash with him, and if he needed to pay someone after purchasing an item or to hand out alms, he borrowed the money from one of his household servants. The money was paid back to the men either on the same day or, usually, a few days later, sometimes with a few pence added on as a thank-you gift from the king for lending him the cash. It was Edward's chamber clerks who gave the money back to his servants, and who recorded the payments in the royal accounts; where the money came from is not stated, but there is evidence that the king's clerks kept cash in locked boxes or coffers or in barrels. (In 1323, Edward II himself lost a key to a locked box full of money, and a locksmith had to come and make a new one.) As for the chamber staff who lent the king money, the valets earned three pence a day, and their wages were paid once or twice a month in arrears. As all their food, drink, clothes and shoes were provided for free, three pence a day was their disposable income, and it seems that the men had little problem handing over five shillings here, another two shillings there.
Where the chamber valets and others kept their wages is also something I wonder about - perhaps in a scrip around their waists. As the only coin in circulation was the silver penny, carrying around a few shillings would have been quite heavy: five shillings was sixty pence, and therefore sixty coins. In July 1326, Edward II gave a cook of his called Will Balsham forty shillings (480 coins!) to buy himself a hackney horse, and the money was give to Will "by the king's own hands between two silver dishes." There are also numerous instances of the king meeting his subjects and handing money over to them with his own hands, either as a gift or in payment for fish or bread or other purchases, or ordering one of his servants to do it, so presumably on these occasions Edward told one of his clerks to unlock a box or coffer containing money and hand it over to the person directly.
Quite by chance, I've just this minute seen an entry on the Patent Roll dated 28 November 1313 (CPR 1313-7, p. 52), where a merchant from Normandy called Nicholas du Vual, who had made large profits of fifty pounds in the market of Boston, Lincolnshire, sewed up the money in a linen shirt to keep it safe. His servant Simon Basil put the shirt on and travelled to Nicholas's native Caen to give it to Nicholas's wife, but sadly was drowned on the way, and the money was discovered and temporarily confiscated, though Nicholas did eventually get it back after he petitioned Edward II about it.
- At Christmas 1324, Edward II borrowed the huge sum of twenty marks - a mark was two-thirds of a pound or 160 pence - from his chamber squire John 'Jankyn' Harsik, for what purpose is not stated. Jankyn got his money back in early February 1325.
- In March 1326, Edward hired a cart to take piles of straw from Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire to Hugh Despenser the Younger's castle of Hanley in Worcestershire. He paid the carter five shillings in advance, and borrowed the money from his chamber valet Henry Lawe. Henry got his money back later the same day, with an extra shilling, i.e. twelve pence, added on as a gift (four days' wages for him).
- Henry's brother Simon 'Syme' Lawe lent Edward II five shillings in London on 14 July 1325 to give to a messenger who had brought the king letters from Walter Reynolds, archbishop of Canterbury. The money was returned to him a month later.
- Jack de la Coppehouse, chamber valet and the man in charge of the brass vessels in the royal household, lent the king four shillings to play dice with his sergeant-at-arms Syme of Reading at Bayham Abbey on 25 or 26 August 1324, and got his money back on 28 August. Edward also received five shillings from one of his chamber clerks to play cross and pile with Syme of Reading.
- On 24 June 1326, Edward played dice in the Tower of London with his household knight Sir Giles Beauchamp, to celebrate the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. He borrowed five shillings from his chamber valet Roger May to do so. Roger's money was returned to him on 7 July.
- A few days before this, when leaving Leeds Castle in Kent, Edward had borrowed four shillings from his usher Peter Bernard to give as alms to a 'poor man' he encountered on the road. Peter got his money back later that day. He also lent the king eight shillings in May 1326 so that Edward could pay cross and pile with Sir Robert Wateville. Edward lost the money to Wateville, but Peter Bernard's loan was returned to him on 22 May.
- Sometime in July 1326, Edward borrowed six pence from his chamber valet Watte Don to give as alms to an unnamed person he encountered, and gave Watte his money back on 28 July.
- Elis 'Eliot' Peck, one of the king's wheelwrights, lent Edward a shilling in November 1324, and got two shillings back four days later. In August 1326, Eliot lent Edward another shilling to give to a ditcher called Gibbe at the palace of Clarendon in Wiltshire, who was working alongside the king in a ditch and who needed new shoes. His money was returned to him on 22 August, probably the same day he lent it to Edward.
- Edward, the parker of Cold Kennington, sent Edward II a gift of young pigeons for his table on 3 July 1326. The king sent his trumpeter Janyn the Scot to the parker's house, and Janyn gave him five shillings and eight pence of his own money. He got it all back fifteen days later.
- Peter Plummer, or 'Peres le Plomer' as his name was spelt, a royal clerk, borrowed six pence from a carter of the royal household called John of Burstwick, and paid John his money back at Edward II's command on 11 September 1325.
Where the chamber valets and others kept their wages is also something I wonder about - perhaps in a scrip around their waists. As the only coin in circulation was the silver penny, carrying around a few shillings would have been quite heavy: five shillings was sixty pence, and therefore sixty coins. In July 1326, Edward II gave a cook of his called Will Balsham forty shillings (480 coins!) to buy himself a hackney horse, and the money was give to Will "by the king's own hands between two silver dishes." There are also numerous instances of the king meeting his subjects and handing money over to them with his own hands, either as a gift or in payment for fish or bread or other purchases, or ordering one of his servants to do it, so presumably on these occasions Edward told one of his clerks to unlock a box or coffer containing money and hand it over to the person directly.
Quite by chance, I've just this minute seen an entry on the Patent Roll dated 28 November 1313 (CPR 1313-7, p. 52), where a merchant from Normandy called Nicholas du Vual, who had made large profits of fifty pounds in the market of Boston, Lincolnshire, sewed up the money in a linen shirt to keep it safe. His servant Simon Basil put the shirt on and travelled to Nicholas's native Caen to give it to Nicholas's wife, but sadly was drowned on the way, and the money was discovered and temporarily confiscated, though Nicholas did eventually get it back after he petitioned Edward II about it.
- At Christmas 1324, Edward II borrowed the huge sum of twenty marks - a mark was two-thirds of a pound or 160 pence - from his chamber squire John 'Jankyn' Harsik, for what purpose is not stated. Jankyn got his money back in early February 1325.
- In March 1326, Edward hired a cart to take piles of straw from Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire to Hugh Despenser the Younger's castle of Hanley in Worcestershire. He paid the carter five shillings in advance, and borrowed the money from his chamber valet Henry Lawe. Henry got his money back later the same day, with an extra shilling, i.e. twelve pence, added on as a gift (four days' wages for him).
- Henry's brother Simon 'Syme' Lawe lent Edward II five shillings in London on 14 July 1325 to give to a messenger who had brought the king letters from Walter Reynolds, archbishop of Canterbury. The money was returned to him a month later.
- Jack de la Coppehouse, chamber valet and the man in charge of the brass vessels in the royal household, lent the king four shillings to play dice with his sergeant-at-arms Syme of Reading at Bayham Abbey on 25 or 26 August 1324, and got his money back on 28 August. Edward also received five shillings from one of his chamber clerks to play cross and pile with Syme of Reading.
- On 24 June 1326, Edward played dice in the Tower of London with his household knight Sir Giles Beauchamp, to celebrate the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. He borrowed five shillings from his chamber valet Roger May to do so. Roger's money was returned to him on 7 July.
- A few days before this, when leaving Leeds Castle in Kent, Edward had borrowed four shillings from his usher Peter Bernard to give as alms to a 'poor man' he encountered on the road. Peter got his money back later that day. He also lent the king eight shillings in May 1326 so that Edward could pay cross and pile with Sir Robert Wateville. Edward lost the money to Wateville, but Peter Bernard's loan was returned to him on 22 May.
- Sometime in July 1326, Edward borrowed six pence from his chamber valet Watte Don to give as alms to an unnamed person he encountered, and gave Watte his money back on 28 July.
- Elis 'Eliot' Peck, one of the king's wheelwrights, lent Edward a shilling in November 1324, and got two shillings back four days later. In August 1326, Eliot lent Edward another shilling to give to a ditcher called Gibbe at the palace of Clarendon in Wiltshire, who was working alongside the king in a ditch and who needed new shoes. His money was returned to him on 22 August, probably the same day he lent it to Edward.
- Edward, the parker of Cold Kennington, sent Edward II a gift of young pigeons for his table on 3 July 1326. The king sent his trumpeter Janyn the Scot to the parker's house, and Janyn gave him five shillings and eight pence of his own money. He got it all back fifteen days later.
- Peter Plummer, or 'Peres le Plomer' as his name was spelt, a royal clerk, borrowed six pence from a carter of the royal household called John of Burstwick, and paid John his money back at Edward II's command on 11 September 1325.
I just love these bits of information and particularly what they tell us about Edward. This one is a gem:
ReplyDeleteThe king is digging ditch when he notices that one of the guys digging the ditch with him has no decent shoes. So the king hands out the money for this poor fellow for new shoes, except the king has no cash so he borrows the money from his subject.
Think about that as a scene in a movie!! Fantastic!
The American President John F Kennedy was famous for never carrying money and having to borrow from those with him when he was out.
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