Page:VCH Norfolk 2.djvu/521

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POLITICAL HISTORY The great territorial rivals of the Bigods, the Warennes, however still kept their position and estates. John de Warenne, earl of Surrey, was in 1296 appointed to the high office of Guardian of Scotland, with another Norfolk man, Hugh de Cressingham, in the position of treasurer and justiciary. In the next year de Warenne, however, was defeated by Wallace. The Norfolk knights summoned in 1 294 to attend with horse and arms, &c., at Portsmouth to pass over to Gascony were Roger de Huntingfield, Roger FitzOsbert, Hugh Bardolf, Giles de Playz, WiUiam de Cressy, John and Alexander de Clavering, Edmund de Hemegrave, Robert Tibetot, John de Thorp, William Mortimer of Atleburgh, William de Neyreford, Mathew de Loveyn, Petrus Gocelyn, Adam de Cretyng, John de Ingham, Ralph de Tony and John Butecourt.' Before leaving the reign of Edward I we may say that many Norfolk knights took part in his Welsh wars, and that a list of them and the arms they bore is given in Mason.^ Among the Norfolk knights summoned to attend the king at Gloucester, 1287, to go with horses and arms against the Welsh were William de Kerdeston, John de (H)engham, William de Gyney, Roger son of Osbert, John de Boys, Ralph de Cumberwell, William Berdolf, William de Huntingfield, Matthew de Loveyn and Ralph son of Roger de Tony.^ We have the results of these Welsh wars brought very near home, for we find on the Close Rolls many references to three Welsh prisoners, Rhys brother of Malgon (otherwise Rhys ap Meredick) and Griffin his brother, and Rhys son of Rhys ap Meredick, who were no doubt three of the hostages taken in i 290, on the suppression of the rebellion of Reso son of Meredic, and confined in Norwich Castle. Up to 13 19 all these were still in prison here, and had an order for their robes, linen clothes, shoe leather, and other necessaries, the same as had been allowed to the preceding sheriffi In I 321, and from that date till 1335, only Rhys son of Rhys is mentioned as being still detained. There are many other traces of the exigencies of the wars in the Patent and Close Rolls. The men of Lynn,* for example, were in 1305 pardoned for many financial irregularities, ' in consideration of their great expenses in the king's service.' In 1305 the king^ made an award of pacification between Yarmouth and the Cinque Ports, the disputes between these places having now come to a head. The whole of the Bigod fief was in 13 10 granted by the new king to his brothers Thomas of Brotherton, then a boy of thirteen, and Edmund ; and the former was afterwards made earl-marshal. Of some local interest was the appointment of Walter de Norwich • as one of the barons of the Exchequer in 131 1, for it was only the first step to his being made a baron of Parliament in 13 14 and eventually treasurer of the Exchequer. That the orderly administration of justice instituted by Edward I was beginning to relax is instanced by the significant fact that it was necessary in June, 131 i, to issue an order prohibiting Stephen de Segrave, under pain of forfeiture, from going to Norwich or elsewhere or assembling armed men, as the king understood that he was preparing to go to Norwich with an ' Gascon R. 22 Edw. I, m. j d. ' Mason, Hist. ofNorf. 69-70. ^ Rot. Wall. 15 Edw. I, m. 10 d.

  • Cal. Pat. 1 301-7 p. 325. ' Ibid. p. 320. Blomefield, op. cit. iii, 76.

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