The Folvilles of Ashby-Folville, Leicestershire, and their Associates in Crime, 1326–1347 1

E. L. G. Stones

doi:10.2307/3678889

The Folvilles of Ashby-Folville, Leicestershire, and their Associates in Crime, 1326–1347 1

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 February 2009

E. L. G. Stones

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On a date which cannot be exactly discovered in 1340 or early in 1341, a priest called Richard de Folville, who had long been notorious as a habitual criminal, took refuge from justice, with some of his followers, in the church of Teigh, Rutland, of which he had been rector for twenty years. After he had killed one of his pursuers, and wounded others, by arrows shot from within, he was at length dragged out and beheaded by Sir Robert de Colville, a keeper of the peace.2 In itself this sordid occurrence is of no special interest, but if we look into the long career of crime which ended thus, we may find that we have come upon something of wider significance. This Richard proves to have been one of six brothers who were all criminals, and their history has left a considerable mark in the records. Thanks to the work of a number of scholars in recent years, we now know a good deal about the apparatus of criminal jurisdiction in the earlier fourteenth century, but of what might be called the forces of disorder, indispensable though they were to the working of the system of justice, we are still very ignorant. ‘Who were the burglars, robbers, and murderers … the sleepers by day and wanderers by night? What was their political, social, and economic status?’ These questions, given here in the words of Professor Putnam, are the reason for devoting this paper to so narrow a subject as the history of one obscure midland family during the early years of Edward III.

Type: Research Article
Information: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Volume 7 , January 1957 , pp. 117 - 136

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3678889 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © Royal Historical Society 1957

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^{page 117 note 2} Cal. Papal Registers: Letters, iii. 142. Through the kindness of Dr. A. I. Dunlop, Dr. Leslie Macfarlane, and the prefect of the Vatican archives, I have also been able to consult a photostat of the original entry. Cf. below, p. 130, note 4.

^{page 117 note 3} See English Government at Work, ed. Willard, and Morris, , iii. 217Google Scholar.

^{page 118 note 1} Hughes, Dorothy, Early Years of Edward III, p. 212Google Scholar.

^{page 118 note 2} Space does not allow discussion of the details of the pedigree. A not very satisfactory account appears in the Victoria County History, Rutland, ii. 151 ff. Its errors we have usually corrected without comment. Attention must be drawn to the fifteenth-century register, Brit. Mus. Cotton Claudius A xiii, which contains a number of Folville deeds relevant to our period. The V.C.H. article uses it rather uncritically.

^{page 118 note 3} Parl. Writs, ed. Palgrave, , II. iiGoogle Scholar. pt. i. 739; Cal. Pat. Rolls 1327–30, pp. 429–30.

^{page 118 note 4} Below, p. 120.

^{page 118 note 5} Lincoln Episcopal Registers no. 4, f. 162. I am greatly indebted to Mrs. J. Varley and Miss D. Williamson for finding this, and my other references to the Lincoln registers.

^{page 119 note 1} Tout, , Place of Edward II, 2nd ed., p. 180Google Scholar, and his Collected Papers, ii. 301 ff.

^{page 119 note 2} See, for example, the verses written (doubtless during Roger's lifetime) on the fly-leaf of a medical manuscript (now Brit. Mus. MS. Royal 12 C xiv). The opening will show their point clearly enough: ‘Miles Rogerus, by ten mile wons he to neer us Omnibus austerus fuerat, quod scit bene clerus…’

^{page 119 note 3} Chronicon H. de Knighton (Rolls Series), i. 432; cf. below, pp. 130 n. 2, 134.

^{page 119 note 4} Assize Rolls (henceforward referred to as Ass. R.) 470, 477.

^{page 119 note 5} Ass. R. 477, m. 2.

^{page 119 note 6} Ibid.

^{page 119 note 7} Ibid.; cf. Cal. Patent Rolls 1327–30, p. 20.

^{page 120 note 1} Cal. Patent Rolls 1324–27, p. 250.

^{page 120 note 2} Rotuli Parliamentorum, ii. 432.

^{page 120 note 3} Coram Rege Roll (hereafter cited as K.B. 27) 272, m. 108d.

^{page 120 note 4} Ass. R. 477, m. 2.

^{page 120 note 5} Ass. R. 1411 b, mm. 1, 1d, 2d; Ass. R. 516, mm. 6d, 9. Cf. Ass. R. 520, m. 4, where the dating I Edward III seems probably due to a natural confusion between the de facto and the de jure opening of the first year of the new reign.

^{page 120 note 6} Cal. Patent Rolls 1327–30, p. 10.

^{page 120 note 7} Cal. Close Rolls 2327–30, p. 213. This is the only reference to ‘Simon’ that I have seen, and it is possibly a mere error.

^{page 120 note 8} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 4.

^{page 120 note 9} Murders: ibid., mm. id, 2d (this not precisely dated); Ass. R. 516, mm. 7, 9; Ass. R. 520, m. 5d and K.B. 27/285, Rex m. 15d Rape: K.B. 27/285, Rex, m. 14d. Robberies: Ass. R. 1411 b, mm. 2d, 4; Ass. R. 520, m. 4.

^{page 121 note 1} Cal. Patent Rolls 1327–30, pp. 373–4.

^{page 121 note 2} Knighton, i. 450.

^{page 121 note 3} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 4.

^{page 121 noet 4} Cal. Patent Rolls 1330–34, p. 61.

^{page 121 note 5} Rymer, , Foedera, Record ed., II. i. 644Google Scholar.

^{page 121 note 6} Cal. Miscell. Inquisitions, ii. no. 1270. One of the attackers was a Sir Robert Colville; cf. above, p. 117.

^{page 121 note 7} K.B. 27/285, Rex m. 15d; cf. the allusions to ‘hiring’ in the trailbaston commissions (e.g. Foedera, I. ii. 970).

^{page 122 note 1} Liberate Roll (C 62) 109, m. 5.

^{page 122 note 2} Cal. Patent Rolls 1330–34, pp. 138–9.

^{page 122 note 3} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 1, m. 4d. The date 1331 given in Diet. Nat. Biog., s.n. Willoughby, thus needs correction.

^{page 122 note 4} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 1, and elsewhere in roll.

^{page 122 note 5} Ibid., m. 4d.

^{page 122 note 6} Ibid., m. 3. No surprise need be felt at a medieval judge's ability to raise such a sum; cf., for example, Putnam, , Sir William Shareskull, p. 90Google Scholar. But the king very promptly made an annual grant of 100 marks to Willoughby in recognition of his loss Cal. Patent Rolls 1330–34, p. 264).

^{page 122 note 7} Ibid., m. 7. Knighton speaks of a total ransom of 90 marks (i. 461). He may have only heard of another share of this amount.

^{page 122 note 8} K.B. 27/305, Rex m. 14d.

^{page 123 note 1} Ass. R. 1411 b, passim.

^{page 123 note 2} Lincoln Episcopal Registers 2, fo. 129 v. Cf. also Register 4, fo. 164 v, and on Touchet see Ass. R. 1411 b, m. id.

^{page 123 note 3} Ass. R. 477, m. 2; Ass. R. 520, m. 4. His brother John was of equally bad character.

^{page 123 note 4} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 7.

^{page 123 note 5} Above, p. 121, note 4.

^{page 123 note 6} It must be observed that where one indictment names a man as a principal, we have classified him as such, even though parallel indictments call him only an accessory.

^{page 123 note 7} K.B. 29/1, m. 3; Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 4.

^{page 123 note 8} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 7; K.B. 27/291, Rex m. 4.

^{page 123 note 9} Ass. R. 477, m. 2.

^{page 123 note 10} Above, p. 121. For another offence by Alan see K.B. 27/285, Rex m. 14.

^{page 124 note 1} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. id. It should be pointed out that the indictment in which Helewell and Baston are named as accessories covers a number of Folville crimes, of which the Willoughby case is but one. There can be no absolute certainty that all the accessories were involved in all the crimes.

^{page 124 note 2} Cal. Patent Rolls 1330–34, p. 235.

^{page 124 note 3} Eng. Govt. at Work, i. 451.

^{page 124 note 4} Cal. Patent Rolls, loc. cit.

^{page 124 note 5} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 3d; date given by K.B. 27/290, Rex m. 24d.

^{page 124 note 6} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 3d.

^{page 125 noee 7} Ibid.; somewhat condensed in translation here.

^{page 125 note 1} See, e.g., Eng. Govt. at Work, iii. 185 ff.

^{page 125 note 2} Rot. Parl. ii. 64.

^{page 125 note 3} Op. cit., 64–5.

^{page 125 note 4} As first pointed out by MissPutnam, , ante, 4th series, xii. 29–30Google Scholar. Cf. also Cal. Patent Rolls 1330–34, p. 348.

^{page 125 note 5} Cf. also Professor Plucknett's observation on ‘the number of seeming crooks and bandits’ returned as knights of the shire (Eng. Govt. at Work, i. 103).

^{page 126 note 1} Below, p. 127.

^{page 126 note 2} Ass. Rolls 428 and 520; K.B. 27/293 Rex, m. 22; 300, Rex, m. 2; 303, Rex, m. 17, etc. See also following note.

^{page 126 note 3} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 1. I cannot agree with Miss Putnam that this is a commission to the keepers of the counties (Eng. Govt. at Work, iii. 197, 200). It may be noted that it nominally covered many counties outside the Folville area, but there is no evidence that the judges ever sat in these. The roll as we have it is certainly complete, as is shown by the record of its delivery to the king's bench (K.B. 27/291, Rex, m. 30).

^{page 126 note 4} Ass. R. 1411 b, loc. cit.; cf. also below, p. 134.

^{page 126 note 5} Ass. R. 1411 b, loc. cit.

^{page 126 note 6} Handbook of Dates, ed. Cheney, , pp. 65 ffGoogle Scholar.

^{page 126 note 7} Ass. R. 1411 b, passim.

^{page 126 note 8} Cal. Close Rolls 1330–33, p. 602.

^{page 127 note 1} Ass. R. 1411 b, mm. 2d, 3d, 5; K.B. 27/291, Rex, m. 30d. He only claimed his clergy, it appears, on one of these charges (m. 2d).

^{page 127 note 2} Cal. Close Rolls 1330–33, p. 595: cf. above, p. 125.

^{page 127 note 3} K.B. 27/291, Rex, mm. 30d, 31d.

^{page 127 note 4} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 1d, 3d.

^{page 127 note 5} K.B. 27/291, m. 30d.

^{page 127 note 6} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 6d. This William was apparently also a coiner of false money (ibid., m. 6).

^{page 127 note 7} Pollock, and Maitland, , Hist. English Law, 2nd ed., ii. 557Google Scholar.

^{page 127 note 8} The battle of Dupplin Moor was fought on 12 August 1332.

^{page 127 note 9} Cal. Close Rolls 1330–33, p. 610.

^{page 128 note 1} Rot. Parl. ii. 66–7.

^{page 128 note 2} Eng. Hist. Rev., lxix. 9 and 16–17.

^{page 128 note 3} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 1, sched.

^{page 128 note 4} K.B. 27/291, Rex, m. 30d.

^{page 128 note 5} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 7; and see above, p. 123, note 3.

^{page 128 note 6} Cal. Patent Rolls 1330–34, pp. 367–8; Cal. Close Rolls 1330–33, p. 611.

^{page 128 note 7} K.B. 27/295, Rex, m. 12.

^{page 129 note 1} K.B. 27/295, Rex, m. 12.

^{page 129 note 2} Foedera, II. ii. 997.

^{page 129 note 3} Rotuli Scoriae, i. 515; Foedera, II. ii. 1062–3.

^{page 129 note 4} The presence in this list of six known criminals might suggest that all the fifty-four persons named in it were men being sent abroad for their country's good, though none of the others have so far been identified as criminals. Certainly anxiety was being expressed at this time about the state of the peace during the king's absence (Hughes, Early Years of Edw. III, p. 227).

^{page 129 note 5} 10 Edw. III, stat. 2, c. 3.

^{page 129 note 6} Cal. Patent Rolls 1338–40, p. 481.

^{page 129 note 7} Above, p. 117, note 2.

^{page 129 note 8} I have seen no evidence that Richard vacated his benefice before his death; the Lincoln registers seem to record no institutions at Teigh between that of Richard in 1321 and that of Nicholas de Folville in July 1341. This latter date is presumably a terminus ante quern for the death of Richard.

^{page 130 note 1} Cal. Patent Rolls 1345–48, p. 179; referring probably to the king's absence in France in 1345.

^{page 130 note 2} Knighton, ii. 46.

^{page 130 note 3} Brit. Mus. MS. Cotton Claudius A xiii, f. 243 v.

^{page 130 note 4} On this, as on some other points of detail, the Calendar of Papal Registers does not make clear the sense of the original.

^{page 130 note 5} Cf. above, p. 120, note 5.

^{page 131 note 1} See, e.g., MissPutnam's, remarks in Eng. Govt. at Work, iii. 215Google Scholar. Parving's statement at Willoughby's trial is also obviously relevant Year Book 14 & 15 Edw. III, Rolls Series, p. 260).

^{page 131 note 2} The commissions may best be studied, as far as 1326, in the Parliamentary Writs (1827–34).

^{page 131 note 3} Ass. R. 1411 b, m. 3.

^{page 132 note 1} cf. Professor Plucknett's observations mentioned above (p. 125, note 5).

^{page 132 note 2} Middleton, A. E., Sir Gilbert Middleton (1918)Google Scholar, passim. I owe my knowledge of this book to my colleague, Mr. A. B. Webster.

^{page 132 note 3} Putnam, B. H., Kent Keepers of the Peace (1933), pp. xli–xliiGoogle Scholar.

^{page 132 note 4} Tupling, G. H., South Lancashire in Reign of Edward II (1949), p. liGoogle Scholar.

^{page 132 note 5} Hughes, op. cit., pp. 218–19.

^{page 133 note 1} Anc. Petit. 205/10202 (a very striking document); K.B. 27/306, Rex, m. 4d.

^{page 133 note 2} E.g. Ass. R. 730, m. 2; K.B. 27/275, Rex, m. 18d.

^{page 133 note 3} Anglo-Norman Political Songs, ed. Aspin, I. S. T., pp. 69 ffGoogle Scholar.

^{page 133 note 4} Political Songs, ed. Wright, (Camden Series, 1839), pp. 201–2Google Scholar. I have modernized and slightly condensed the passage.

^{page 133 note 5} Rotuli Parl. Inediti, ed. Richardson, and Sayles, , p. 271Google Scholar.

^{page 133 note 6} Year Book 14 and 15 Edward III, Rolls Series, pp. 258–63.

^{page 133 note 7} Cf. Professor Plucknett's, remarks, ante, 4th series, xxiv. 67–8Google Scholar.

^{page 134 note 1} Knighton, i. 460.

^{page 134 note 2} Wilson, R. M., Lost Literature of Medieval England (1952), pp. 127–8Google Scholar.

^{page 134 note 3} Above, p. 126.

^{page 134 note 4} Doubtless this phrase means ‘rout of raveners’ (i.e. robbers).

^{page 134 note 5} Burton Agnes, Yorks.

^{page 134 note 6} St. Mary's abbey, York. For its connexion with Burton Agnes see Farrer, , Early Yorkshire Charters, iiGoogle Scholar. no. 676. I owe this reference to the kindness of Mr.Charles Clay.

^{page 135 note 1} Alluding, of course, to the murder of Bishop Stapledon in 1326.

^{page 135 note 2} Coney Street, York.

^{page 135 note 3} ‘Castle of the North Wind’?

^{page 135 note 4} The letter is enrolled on K.B. 27/306, Rex, m. 27. It was transcribed by Agarde, vide P.R.O. Index vol. 17117, Mich, term 10 Edw. III. I am indebted to Mr. R. E. Ladiam for twice obtaining photostats of parts of this roll, it being ‘unfit for production’.

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The Folvilles of Ashby-Folville, Leicestershire, and their Associates in Crime, 1326–1347 1

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