The Commune of London, and other studiesRound, John Horace
History
The Commune of London, and other studies
Round, John Horace
Great Britain -- History -- Norman period, 1066-1154; London (England) -- History -- To 1500
This writ, which, it would seem, has never yet been printed, is
subsequent, not only to the one which is given above (p. 110), but to
the death of the bishop of Salisbury in December, 1139.[278] From it we
learn that the deanery of St. Martins, which had been held by Roger,
was given by Stephen, at Roger’s death, to his own brother, the bishop
of Winchester. It is probable that this deanery was a very lucrative
appointment, and that its estates were separate from those of the
canons of the church. Count Eustace, in his charter addressed to Hugh
d’Orival bishop of London, speaks of retaining for himself the lands
“quæ propriæ fuerunt Ingelrici et ad decanatum pertinere debeant,” and
a charter of the Empress similarly speaks of the houses and lands in
London “quæ pertinent ad decanatum.”
The subject of these deaneries of houses of secular canons seems to
deserve working out. As the great bishops of Salisbury and Winchester
held successively the deanery of St. Martin’s, so the _protégé_ of
the latter prelate, Hilary bishop of Chichester, seems to have held
that of Twynham both before and after his elevation to the South-Saxon
see, while the bishops of Exeter, from Osbern the Norman, seem to have
combined the deanery of Bosham with their episcopal office. Maurice
bishop of London (1085) held the deanery of Wimborne. In Normandy,
similarly, Philip of Harcourt, who had been Stephen’s chancellor, was,
as a bishop, dean of the house of Holy Trinity of Beaumont before its
annexation to Bec.
We next come to a writ of the Empress, which must belong to the year
1141, and which similarly recognises Osbert Huitdeniers as the leading
man in London at the time, and, as I maintain, its Justiciar.[279]
Imperatrix Henrici regis filia et Angliæ domina Osberto
Octodenar[ii] et vic[ecomiti] et civibus London[ie] salutem.
Precipio quod saisiatis Henricum episcopum Winton[iensem] et
apostolicæ sedis legatum de domibus illis London[ie] et terris
ubi Petrus ... mansit (quæ pertinent ad decanatum Sancti Martini
London[ie] et ecclesiam suam, et ipsi disseisati sunt), sicut
Rogerus episcopus Saresberiensis decanus ejusdem ecclesiæ et
Fulcherus saisiti fuerunt vivi et mortui, et domos suas, et
omnia quæ inde post mortem Rogeri ablata sunt, facite illi
reddi, et terram ipsam et cetera omnia pertinentia ecclesiæ
Sancti Martini in pace illi tenere facite.
The connection of this great prince-bishop with St. Martin’s leads
me to speak of his striking mandate on the subject of the schools of
London:
H. Dei gratia Wintoniensis ecclesie minister capitulo Sancti
Pauli et Willelmo archidiacono et ministris suis salutem.
Precipio vobis pro obedientia ut trina vocatione sententiam
anatematis in eos proferatis qui sine licentia Henrici Magistri
Scolarum in tota civitate Lundon legere presumpserint preter eos
qui scolas Sancte Marie de Archa et Sancti Martini Magni regunt.
Teste Magistro Ilario apud Wintoniam.[280]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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