The English Historical Review/Volume 37/The Text of the Ordinance of 1184 concerning an Aid for the Holy Land

by William Edward Lunt

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The Text of the Ordinance of 1184 concerning an Aid for the Holy Land

The ordinance dealing with a subsidy for the Holy Land, which purports to have been issued by Henry II and Philip Augustus in 1184, has been edited several times; but our knowledge of the text is still unsatisfactory.^[1] The different editions present a variety of readings, and, since several editors do not state their sources, it is difficult to fix the relations of the various editions to one another and to the originals. The earliest printed edition is that in the second volume of Spelman's Concilia.^[2] This volume, although it passes under Spelman's name, was edited by Dugdale.^[3] Spelman died in 1641, two years after the publication of the first volume,^[4] when he had collected only a small quantity of material for the second.^[5] Dugdale, who took up the work only after some delay, did not prepare the second volume for publication until 1664.^[6] He contributed the greater portion of the contents through his own researches,^[7] but the ordinance of 1184 was among the documents left by Spelman,^[8] and so presumably we owe the text to him and not to Dugdale. The source of the edition in Spelman's Concilia is not named; and no subsequent editor of the ordinance specified a manuscript as his source until Riley, in 1860, edited the Liber Custumarum, which contains a copy.^[9] This compilation was written during the reign of Edward II,^[10] probably about 1310,^[11] and in 1328 it came into the possession of the city of London. Later it became divided into two parts, and one of these found its way into the Cottonian collection, where it now forms part of the volume numbered Claudius D. ii.^[12] Since this is the only manuscript mentioned by an editor and seems to be the earliest copy of the ordinance known to be extant, Riley's edition ought to have settled some of the difficulties of textual criticism. Unfortunately his text contains manifest corruptions, which are in part editorial.^[13] Just how far they are editorial, however, the reader cannot decide without reference to the original. An attempt to establish the relations of the several editions by collation with Riley's would, therefore, be fruitless.^[14] Since it is desirable that these relations should be determined, I have edited again the copy found in the Liber Custumarum and collated it with other manuscripts and with various printed editions of the document.^[15]

The only known medieval texts of the ordinance of 1184 are found in copies of a collection of laws made in the interest of the city of London during the reign of John.^[16] The autograph of this compilation is not known to exist. The only contemporary manuscript is now divided into two parts. The first is Codex 174 in the John Rylands Library at Manchester and the second is Additional Manuscript 14252 in the British Museum. This copy of the compilation, however, does not contain the ordinance of 1184. The document which precedes the ordinance in the other copies is the last in Codex 174, and the document which follows the ordinance is the first in Additional Manuscript 14252. Professor Tout, who kindly examined for me the codex in the John Rylands Library, discovered that one folio^[17] (or possibly two) had been cut out at the end.^[18] The ordinance of 1184 was unquestionably on the missing folio. Of the later copies of the whole or of parts of this compilation only three have the ordinance of 1184. The Cottonian manuscript, Claudius D. ii, which is the one edited by Riley, was written about 1310; the manuscript numbered 70 in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, was written about 1320; and the manuscript numbered 46 in the library of Oriel College, Oxford, was written about 1330. The Cottonian manuscript is generally the best of the three.

The text of the ordinance given below is taken from the copy on folio 71 of the Cottonian manuscript with slight emendations from the copies found on folio 109 of the Corpus manuscript and on folio 63 of the Oriel manuscript. The first is designated as A, the second as B, and the third as C. No conjectural emendations have been attempted, since one object of the present edition is to remove the difficulties caused by the guesses of previous editors. Extensions of words abbreviated in all three manuscripts are indicated by italics. The capitalization and punctuation of the manuscripts have not been followed, and the division into paragraphs does not appear in the originals. The variants are noted, not only from B and C, but also from the later editions of the document. D is an edition in manuscript found among the collections made by Sir Simonds D'Ewes between 1623 and 1650.^[19] It now occupies folios 95 and 96 of the manuscript in the Harleian collection numbered 311. R is Biley's edition of A,^[20] S is Spelman's edition of the ordinance,^[21] L is Labbe's,^[22] and W is Wilkins's.^[23] The editions of Hardouin,^[24] Bessin,^[25] Dumont,^[26] Bouquet,^[27] and Mansi^[28] have been disregarded in the construction of the text, since they were all derived from Labbe's.^[29]

The collation, together with the other evidence adduced, establishes as probable the following relationships among the originals and the several later editions. B and C are more closely related to each other than to A.^[30] They are probably derived from a common original. A may be derived from the same original, but its variations from B and C make probable the assumption of another original.^[31] D is undoubtedly a copy of A. D'Ewes borrowed the Oriel manuscript (C), when it was in the possession of Tate, and made some transcriptions from it,^[32] but he also copied documents from a manuscript belonging to Sir Robert Cotton, which was probably Claudius D. ii (A).^[33] D has poterit^[34] in common with B and C, but it is presumably D'Ewes' independent emendation of the obviously erroneous porterit of A, since D'Ewes follows none of the other significant variants of B and C. The only other variations of D from A, which are not mere changes of spelling, such as quae for que, are two scribal errors and three slight emendations.^[35] They indicate no connexion between D and any manuscript other than A. D does not appear to have been used by any subsequent editor of the ordinance. Spelman copied A. In his time the part of the Liber Custumarum containing the ordinance was already in the library of Sir Robert Cotton,^[36] to which he had access.^[37]

Such departures as he makes from A are his corrections of slight errors in the forms of single words or his slight errors in the transcription of single words,^[38] with the exception of his alteration of the title.^[39] Two of his variants from A agree with those in B and C. Poterit for porterit,^[40] however, is an obvious emendation, and Iohanne for Philippo is probably due to a misreading of A.^[41] Otherwise his variants are independent of all three manuscripts,^[42] and they are of such a nature as to indicate no relation with any other manuscript. The copy in Labbe's Concilia was taken from S, though it may have been collated with A.^[43] This work, which is usually cited under Labbe's name, was edited by him in conjunction with Cossart. Labbe died in 1667, when only a part of the eighteen volumes had been printed, and the work was continued by the other editor.^[44] Volume x, which contains the ordinance, was published in 1671, but the first part had gone to press before Labbe's death.^[45] Thus it is not certain whether the document was edited by Labbe or by Cossart. Their edition of the councils is based upon an earlier collection published at the Louvre in 1644,^[46] but the ordinance is not found there.^[47] It was added, therefore, by Labbe or by Cossart. They divide the document into the same paragraphs as Spelman, and, with alterations of small importance, they have the title found in S but not in A, B, or C. They also preserve Spelman's emendations. Their correction of Spelman's erroneous Andagavensis^[48] may have been conjectural, and their acceptance of Iohanne for Philippo^[49] may have been due either to their failure to consult A or to their independent misreading of A; but their substitution of ubi for nisi probably was not made independently of A.^[50] They make one emendation^[51] and two errors^[52] which are not based upon A, B, C, or S. Of the variations of B and C from A they have only the two found in S. Wilkins professes to have taken his edition from Spelman's.^[53] He emends three of Spelman's variations from A to make them correspond with A;^[54] but he follows the remainder of Spelman's variants, and he makes emendations of S which result in radical departures from A and from all other copies.^[55] These emendations indicate that he did not use A; and they appear to have been made arbitrarily without reference to any other copy. He has none of the variants found only in B and C. On the other hand, he has one of the few variants found only in D^[56] and two of the three emendations of S made in L.^[57] W, therefore, may be connected with D and L, though it seems improbable. All the printed copies, therefore, are derived directly or indirectly from A.

W. E. Lunt.

Quedam^[58] ordinatio de contributione facienda in subsidium Terre^[59] Sancte.^[60]

Auctoritate^[61] litterarum^[62] domini pape^[63] subnixi,^[64] presente^[65] et approbante illustri Anglorum rege Henrico, cum baronibus suis, et A. de Summa,^[66] legato summi pontificis, episcopi Normannie^[67] in suis episcopatibus^[68] hoc instituerunt: ut quicunque^[69] elemosinam,^[70] que^[71] ordinata est ad subventionem^[72] terre^[73] Ierosolomitane,^[74] transmiserunt, talem de iniuncta^[75] penitentia^[76] veniam consequatur:^[77] si in penitentia^[76] fuerit,^[78] que^[71] septem^[79] annos excedat, trium annorum venia gaudebunt; si in penitentia^[80] vel minori fuerint pro criminali, duorum annorum veniam habebunt. Peccata vero, de quibus homo recordari non poterit, omnia relaxant^[81] dummodo de contemptu penituerit.^[82] Venalia quoque omnia sub tali penitentia^[76] condonent, ut^[83] unusquisque, qui elemosinam^[70] istam solverit, ter in die, vel in nocte, 'Pater noster' dicat pro salute vivorum semel, pro pace semel, et semel pro requie^[84] defunctorum. Tres quoque elemosinas^[70] unusquisque^[85] tenetur, ut hanc indulgentiam consequatur, si facere poterit.^[86] Si vero ea paupertate laborat, ut elemosinas^[70] illas facere non possit, ter iterum 'Pater noster' pro consequenda^[87] remissione dicere tenentur.^[88]

Talis est dispositio ad subveniendum terre^[73] Ierosolomitane^[89] a domino Philippo,^[90] rege Francie,^[91] et Henrico, rege Anglie,^[92] communi consilio^[93] episcoporum et comitum et baronum terrarum suarum approbata, scilicet, quod, unusquisque, tam clericorum quam laicorum,^[94] qui plusquam centum solidos non habuit,^[95] de unaquaque domo quam habuit,^[96] ubi^[97] singulis diebus ignis consuetudinarie accendetur,^[98] II^[99] denarios^[100] singulis annis usque ad tres annos persolvet. Si vero in mobilibus plusquam centum solidos habuerit, de unaquaque libra in tota terra regis Francie^[91] II^[101] denarios^[102] Proveniensis^[103] monete,^[104] vel equipollens,^[105] et in terra regis Anglie^[92] cismarino^[106] II^[101] denarios^[102] Andegavensis^[107] monete,^[104] et in Anglia unus sterlingus persolvetur usque ad predictum^[108] terminum. Qui vero centum libras^[109] in terris^[110] vel in redditibus^[111] habuerit, vel eo amplius, de centum^[112] libris^[113] XX^[114] solidos^[115] annuatim dabit.^[116] Qui vero in redditibus^[117] minus quam centum^[118] libras habuerit, de XX^[119] libris^[120] dabit quatuor^[121] solidos,^[122] et de XL^[123] libris^[124] VIII^[125] solidos,^[126] et ita deinceps vel^[127] rationem predictam.^[128] Habentes vero mobilia ultra centum^[118] solidos iurabunt^[129] quod de singulis XX^[114] solidis^[130] fideliter duos^[131] denarios dabunt. De parte mortui que^[71] spectat ad eum secundum consuetudinem terre,^[73] et unum post, et debet elemosinam^[70] pro anima sua facere.

1. Luchaire, in Rev. Hist. lxii. 336; Cartellieri, ibid. lxxvi. 329, 330; idem, Philipp II, ii. 16, n. 2.
2. pp. 115, 116.
3. Spelman, Concilia, ii, dedicatory epistle; Dugdale, History of St. Paul's, pp. xx, xxi.
4. Dict. of Nat. Biog. liii. 330, 331.
5. Life of Spelman prefixed to his English Works, edited by Gibson.
6. This is the date on the title-page, and Dugdale, in the autobiography prefixed to his History of St. Paul's (p. xxi), says that it and another work were published 'about' 1666. The assertion of Dugdale's biographer in the Dict. of Nat. Biog. (xvi. 139), that the volume was published in 1666 and not in 1664, is erroneous.
7. Dugdale, History of St. Paul's, p. xxi.
8. Spelman, Concilia, ii, dedicatory epistle and table of contents.
9. p. 653.
10. Riley, Liber Custumarum, introd., p. xii; Cartellieri, in Rev. Hist. lxxvi. 330.
11. Liebermann, Über die Leges Anglorum Saeculo XIII. ineunte Londoniis collectae, p. 102.
12. Riley, Liber Custumarum, pp. xi–xiii, xvii–xxiv.
13. Cartellieri says of his edition (Rev. Hist. lxxvi. 329, 330): 'Un autre texte encore, défiguré par des fautes de lecture assez apparentes.' He adds, with some exaggeration: 'Aucun de ces textes ne répond aux exigences de la critique moderne. On devra même dire que le plus récent [i. e. Riley's] est le plus mauvais.'
14. I say this after making the attempt. Cartellieri experienced the same difficulty (Rev. Hist. lxxvi. 329, 330).
15. Cartellieri has been insistent on the need of a new edition of this copy (ibid, and Philipp II, ii. 16, n. 2).
16. This paragraph, with the exception noted, is based upon Liebermann's thorough studies of the relations of the manuscript copies of this collection in his Über die Leges Anglorum Saeculo XIII. ineunte Londoniis collectae, and ante, xxviii. 732–45.
17. This would be fo. 127.
18. Through the courtesy of Mr. Guppy, the librarian, Mr. Tout was able to have the binding opened.
19. Dict. of Nat. Biog. xiv. 451–3.
20. Liber Custumarum, p. 653.
21. Concilia, ii. 115.
22. Concilia, x. 1740.
23. Concilia, i. 490.
24. Concilia, vi. 1881.
25. Concilia Normanniae, p. 90.
26. Corps Diplomatique, i. 109.
27. Hist. de la France, xix. 329.
28. Concilia, xxii. 485.
29. Delisle, Catalogue des Actes de Philippe-Auguste, no. 112; Luchaire, in Rev. Hist. lxxii. 336.
30. Below, nn. 81, 83, 86, 90, 97, 98, 110, 116, 132, 136, 139, 142.
31. See Liebermann, Über die Leges, p. 105.
32. D'Ewes, Autobiography, i. 258; Liebermann, Über die Leges, p. 101.
33. D'Ewes, i. 272, 289.
34. Below, n. 86.
35. Below, nn. 60, 66, 68, 85, 106.
36. Cotton had it at least as early as 1607 (Riley, Liber Custumarum, p. xviii), and Spelman began his work several years later (Life prefixed to his English Works).
37. Dict. of Nat. Biog. xii. 313; liii. 329.
38. Below, nn. 61, 77, 78, 81, 86, 88, 90, 106, 107, 144.
39. Below, n. 60.
40. Below, n. 86.
41. Below, n. 90.
42. Below, nn. 61, 77, 78, 81, 88, 106, 107, 144.
43. Cartellieri, from the comparison of the printed texts alone, concluded that L copied S (Rev. Hist. lxxvi. 329).
44. Biographie universelle, xxii. 257.
45. Le Long, Bibliothèque historique, p. 971; Backer, Bibliothèque des Ecrivains, ii. 561.
46. The title as given in Brunei's Manuel (ii. 211) is Conciliorum omnium generalium et provincialium Collectio regia. I have not seen the work.
47. Labbe, Concilia, table of contents.
48. Below, n. 107.
49. Below, n. 90.
50. Below, n. 97.
51. Below, n. 148.
52. Below, nn. 61, 130.
53. Concilia, i. 490.
54. Below, nn, 61, 90, 107.
55. Below, nn. 60, 80, 93, 97, 103, 127, 141, 143.
56. Below, n. 85. That facere is needed to complete the sentence is so obvious that it may have occurred to D'Ewes and Wilkins independently.
57. Below, nn. 107, 148.
58. Quaedam, D, R.
59. Terrae, D, B.
60. Sanctae, D, R. D adds tempore Regis Henrici Secundi. The heading in S and L, which is given in a note in W, is Ordinatio DD. (om. W) Johannis (Ioannis III, L; Philippi, W), Regis Franciae, et Henrici 2 di (II, L) Regis Angliae, consilio (concilio, W) Episcoporum, Comitum et Baronum terrarum suarum, de contributione facienda (om. L) in subsidium Terrae Sanctae, a nativitate S. Johannis (Ioannis, L) Baptistae An. Incarnationis Domini 1184, id est, 31. Regis Henrici secundi (id … secundi om. W; anno MCLXXXIV, L) in decem annos. The heading in W is Ordinatio Henrici II. regis Angliae, et Philippi, regis Franciae, de subsidio terrae sanctae.
61. Authoritate, S; Autoritate, L.
62. literarum, W.
63. papae, D, R, S, L, W.
64. To this point B reads:

    Quedam ordinatio de contributione facienda in subsidium terre sancte.

    Auctoritate litterarum domini pape subnixi.

65. praesente, D, R, S, L, W.
66. Summo, D.
67. Normanniae, S, L, W; norman, R.
68. episcopatubus, D.
69. quicumque, L.
70. elemosynam, D; eleemosynam, L, W, R; similarly later in the plural.
71. quae, D, R, S, L, W.
72. subvencionem, D.
73. terrae, D, R, S, L, W.
74. Ierosolomitanae, D, R; Hierosolymitanae, S, L, W.
75. injuncta, R, S, L, W.
76. poenitentia, D, R, S, L, W.
77. consequantur, S, L, W; consequetur, R.
78. fuerint, S, L, W.
79. vii, B, C.
80. poenitentia, D, S, L, W; pecunia, R. W inserts quae 5 annos excedit between poenitentia and vel.
81. relaxavit, B, C; relaxantur, S, L, W.
82. poenituerit, D, R, S, L, W.
83. et, B, C.
84. regimine, R.
85. D and W insert facere here.
86. porterit, A.
87. conservanda, B, C.
88. tenetur, S, L, W.
89. Ierusalem, D, L, R; Jerusalem, S, W.
90. Johanne, B, C, S; Ioanne, L. Pħo in A looks like Ioħo.
91. Franciae, E, R, S, L, W.
92. Angliae, D, R, S, L, W.
93. concilio, W.
94. laycorum, C.
95. habuerit, R.
96. habuerit, D, R, S, L, W.
97. uⁱ, nⁱ, u’, or n’, A; iⁱ or i’, B; in, C; nisi, D, S; si, W.
98. accende, B, C.
99. duos, D, L; 2, W.
100. d., S, W.
101. duo, D; duos, L; 2, W.
102. denarii, D; d., S, W.
103. Provenciensis, W; Proven[c]iensis, R.
104. monetae, D, R, S, L, W.
105. aequipollens, R, S, L, W.
106. cismarina, D, S, L, W.
107. Andagavensis, S.
108. praedictum, D, R, S, L, W.
109. lib., W.
110. terra, B, C.
111. redditu, C; reditibus, W.
112. 100, S, W.
113. l., D; lib., W.
114. viginti, D, L; 20, S, W.
115. s., S, W.
116. dabit annuatim, B, C.
117. reditibus, W.
118. C, B, C.
119. 20, S, W.
120. l., D; lib., S, W.
121. IIII, B, C, D; 4, W.
122. s., D; solid., S, W.
123. 40, S, W.
124. lib., S, W.
125. octo, D; 8, W.
126. solid., S, W.
127. ad, W.
128. praedictam, D, R, S, L, W.
129. jurabunt, D, R, S, L, W.
130. solidos, L; sol., S, W.
131. II, B, C, S; 2, W.