This is a document from 1291 about a court case between the people of Grimsby, a town on the River Humber, and the people of Ravenser Odd, a medieval island in the Humber that has since disappeared. It records the argument that they had and how the court case resolves it. Catalogue ref: KB 27/129.
Transcript
Walter, son of Ralph de Seleby, William Brim, Peter de la Mer, Hugh de Paul, Roger Fhys, Derman son of Walter, Priest John de Drax, John de Bradele, William Whyt, John Acard, William de Araz, Henry del Ward, Richard Gril, Richard le Serjeant, Hugh Keling, Walter de Cathone, Peter le Whyte, Hugh Eren, Simon Atte Se, Walter Pyngel, Richard Shail, Robert de Cotes, Richard le Taverner steward of Beverley, Thomas Chusur, John de Crull, Alan de Skardeburgh, Gilbert Trewe, Alexander Cok, Hugh Knote, Stephen de Patrington, Thomas Chaumpeneys, Roger le Bucher, William de Hill, William Rose, John Rose and Walter Atte Chirche were attached to respond to the pleading of the mayor and commonalty of Grymesby, for what reasons they had violently arrested, by various forces, various merchants, foreign as well as native, both in the sea and in the water of the Humber, with their ships and boats laden with wines, fish and various other merchandise, directing their course towards the aforesaid town of Grymesby, and wishing to harbour in that port, in order to deal there with the merchandise aforesaid, and had compelled them to go to the town of Ravenserod and there to harbour, to remain and to sell their aforesaid merchandise, and in this way have forestalled against the usage at this day practised in the king’s dominion, and to the same extent by the mayor and commonalty aforesaid. And other irregular things, etc., to the no little injury of that mayor and that commonalty, and their manifest impoverishment, and against the peace, etc. And it was inquired whence it was that when certain merchants, with their ships and boats laden with the merchandise aforesaid, namely, Lambert Wolf, William son of John de Flyeneye, and John son of Brun, and various other merchants, directing their course towards the aforesaid port of Grymesby, and wishing to harbour there, to deal with the merchandise aforesaid, the aforesaid Walter and others, on the Monday next before the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary [8th September], in the first year of the reign of the present king [1273], arrested the aforesaid Lambert and others and compelled them to go to the town of Ravenesrod, and to harbour and sell their merchandise there, and in this way have forestalled against the usage of the king’s dominion, at this day observed by the same mayor and commonalty, whence they say that they have been deteriorated and have had injury done them to the amount of five thousand pounds, and herein they produce their suit, etc. And the aforesaid Walter and others, by Robert de Cave their attorney come and defend, etc. And they say that they ought not to respond to this writ, because they say that in the aforesaid writ, or in the narration of the aforesaid commonalty, there is not contained any fact which is done to the aforesaid commonalty of Grymesby against the peace of the king, not even by the forestalling of the aforesaid commonalty, and the impoverishment of the aforesaid town of Grymesby; whence they pray judgment on the aforesaid writ, etc. And the aforesaid mayor and commonalty of Grymesby, by William de Hauden their attorney, say that the aforesaid writ, and also their narration, testify sufficiently to the transgression against the peace of the king done to them, whence they pray judgment, etc. And because it is stated in the writ that something in this way had been done against the peace of the king, and in the narration it is not stated that any injury was done to the aforesaid commonalty of Grymesby, except in this that they of Ravensere had forestalled the men of Grymesby by buying merchandise from merchants willing to harbour at the port of Grymesby, and in this way the narration extends only to forestalling and the impoverishment of the town of Grymesby, and not to a trespass done to the aforesaid commonalty of Grymesby against the king’s peace, it is apparent that the aforesaid mayor and commonalty of Grymesby gain nothing by their writ, but are at the king’s mercy for a false claim. And the aforesaid Walter son of Ralph and others therein sine die, etc.
Simplified transcript
Walter, son of Ralph de Seleby, William Brim, Peter de la Mer, Hugh de Paul, Roger Fhys, Derman son of Walter, Priest John de Drax, John de Bradele, William Whyt, John Acard, William de Araz, Henry del Ward, Richard Gril, Richard le Serjeant, Hugh Keling, Walter de Cathone, Peter le Whyte, Hugh Eren, Simon Atte Sea, Walter Pyngel, Richard Shail, Robert de Cotes, Richard le Taverner steward of Beverley, Thomas Chusur, John de Crull, Alan de Skardeburgh, Gilbert Trewe, Alexander Cok, Hugh Knote, Stephen de Patrington, Thomas Chaumpeneys, Roger le Bucher, William de Hill, William Rose, John Rose and Walter Atte Chirche have to respond in court to the complaint of the mayor and the people of Grimsby. They have to explain why they stopped various merchants and their ships full of wine, fish and other things to sell who were trying to get to Grimsby, and instead made them go to their town of Ravenserod. The merchants were made to sell their goods in Ravenserod instead of Grimsby and this made the people of Grimsby lose a lot of money. Certain merchants, called Lambert Wolf, William son of John de Flyeneye, and John son of Brun, were trying to get to Grimsby to sell their goods on the 8th of September 1273 but Walter and all the others who were mentioned before stopped the merchants and made them go to Ravenserod. The people of Grimsby said that this cost them five thousand pounds and was against the king’s peace [this means that it was illegal because it caused a disturbance to the peace of the land].
Walter and the others hired a lawyer called Robert de Cave to defend them. They say that they did not do anything against the peace of the king and so they shouldn’t have had to come to court to respond to the writ [a writ is a legal document with a command from a court. Here the writ calls the people of Ravenserod to court].
William de Hauden, the lawyer for the mayor and people of Grimsby, said that the people of Ravenserod did do something wrong, it broke the king’s peace, and they should be judged for it.
The judges in the court decided that the king’s peace was not broken and the people of Ravenserod did not do anything illegal as the only harm was done to Grimsby. Grimsby had to pay a fine for bringing a false court case.
- Describe the shape of the document.
- Does it look like anything you have seen before? Why do you think it might be this shape?
- Can you find the names of the people in the court case in the document?
- Read the document transcript of the court case. Why did the people of Grimsby take Ravenser Odd to court?
- What did they want to happen?
- What do the people of Grimsby say the people of Ravenser Odd are doing, and how is it affecting Grimsby?
- How do the people of Ravenser Odd respond?
- How is this argument resolved by the court? Do you think Grimsby would be happy with the outcome?