Abbot and convent of Mont-St-Michel. King. The abbot and convent of Mont-St-Michel...

Petitioners

Abbot and convent of Mont-St-Michel.

Addressees

King.

Nature of request

The abbot and convent of Mont-St-Michel state that the king's father claimed against the previous abbot, in the eyre of Henry de Guldeford and his companions in the isle of Jersey, the manor of St Clement, which the abbot had held as a priory for two hundred years and more; and because the abbot did not appear in his defence, it was taken into his hand. Since then the abbot has sued to recover it, both in the time of the late king and in the time of the present one, and has had many inquisitions that have found in his favour. And lately Henry le Spigurnel and his companions, justices in eyre in the Isles, have held an inquisition into this, and have adjourned him before the king to hear his judgement; but, because the king's recovery was of the manor of St Clement, and the abbot claims the priory of St Clement, the justices refuse to do anything. He asks that the manor might be returned to him and his church of the king's special grace, to hold as a priory as they did before, or that Geoffrey le Scrop and his companions might be ordered to proceed to judgment according to the verdict of the inquisition, notwithstanding the variance in words or the judgment brought against the previous abbot.

Nature of endorsement

Geoffrey le Scrop and his companions are to be ordered that, when they have examined the business pending before them, they are to proceed to determine it as far as they can without prejudice to the king, and if there is a reason why they cannot proceed to a full determination, they are to inform the king and his council.

Places mentioned

Mont-St-Michel, [Normandy, France]

St Clement manor, Jersey, [Channel Islands].

People mentioned

Edward [I], King of England

Henry de Guldeford (Guildford), justice

Henry le Spigurnel, justice

Geoffrey le Scrop (le Scrope), justice.

For a transcript, see p.132 of PRO 31/7/138

• Ancient Petitions of the Chancery and the Exchequer ayant trait aux Iles de la Manche, (Societe Jersiaise, 1902), pp.42-43 (calendar of petition)
• Rotuli Parliamentorum; ut et Petitiones, et Placita in Parliamento, vol. I, Edw I and Edw II, (Record Commission, 1783), pp.421b-422a (no.19) (full edition of later copy of original petition)
• The Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, Ed. Paul Brand, Anne Curry, Chris Given-Wilson, Rosemary Horrox, W.M. Ormrod and J.R.S. Phillips, (Cambridge University Press, 2005), Appendix of Unedited Petitions, 1307-1337, Rotuli Parliamentorum I, pp.416-429, no.19 (summary of references)