Letter by King John Baliol, in favour of the Abbot of Melrose, as to a right-of-way through Douglas, 13th April 1294

Letter by King John Baliol, in favour of the Abbot of Melrose, as to a right-of-way through Douglas, 13th April 1294

077

Letter

13/04/1294

Latin

King John Baliol

The Abbot of Melrose

Johannes Dei gracia rex Scocie, Galfrido de Moubray, justiciario Laudonie, dilecto et fideli suo, salutem : Ex graui querela religiosorum virorum, abbatis et conuentus de Melros, nuper accepimus quod cum iidem religiosi seysinam cuiusdam communis vie infra vallem de Duglas, coram venerabilibus patribus W. et R. Sancti Andree et Glasguensis episcopis, Johanne Comyn, Jacobo senescallo Scocie, et Briano filio Alani, tunc custodibus regni nostri, apud Edinburgh iudicialiter recuperauerunt uersus Willelmum de Duglas, militem, qui eosdem religiosos et suos in dicta via sepius impediuit ac perturbauit, qua quidem communi via, tempore a quo non extat memoria, vti consueuerunt, que etiam via tendit per mediam vallem de Duglas, a rectis diuisis et marchiis terre dictorum religiosorum de Tordones vsque ecclesiam de Duglas, et sic deinceps ante parcam castri de Duglas per medium predicte vallis vsque Huddigystoun, et sic sursum vsque le Rayerd, et exinde vsque marchiam baronie de Wystoun, idem Willelmus de Duglas seysinam predicte vie predictis abbati et conuentui et suis iam de nouo impediuit, ipsos exinde, ut asserunt, disseysiendo, in ipsorum religiosorum dampnum non modicum et grauamen, nostrique contemptum manifestum : Quare vobis mandamus et precipimus quatenus ad dictum locum personaliter adiatis, et si predictos religiosos inueneritis de dicta via esse perturbatos seu disseysitos, eisdem seysinam dicte vie iuste rehabere faciatis et sine dilacione, eosdem religiosos in dicta seysina manutenentes : Et si quos ipsos abbatem et conuentum aut suos in dicta seysina perturbantes inueneritis, ipsos attachiari faciatis, quod sint coram nobis et consilio nostro, ad certos diem et locum quos eis duxeritis assignandos nobis super tali contemptu responsuri, et facturi quod iusticia suadebit ; presentibus pro voluntate nostra duraturis : testibus, Johanne Cumyn, Alexandro de Balliol camerario Scocie, Thoma Ranulphi, militibus, apud Rokysburg, xiii die Aprilis, anno regni nostri secundo.

John, by the grace of God, king of Scotland, to his beloved and faithful [man], Geoffrey de Mowbray, justiciar of Lothian, greetings: Out of a grievous complaint by the religious men, the abbot and convent of Melrose, we recently learned that when the same religious, in front of the venerable fathers W[illiam] and R[obert], bishops of St Andrews and Glasgow, John Comyn, James, steward of Scotland, and Brian son of Alan, at that time guardians of our kingdom, at Edinburgh, judicially recovered sasine of the common road in the valley of Douglas against William of Douglas, knight, who frequently impeded and disturbed the same religious [men] and their [men] on the said road, which [is] indeed a common road, which they were accustomed to use from the time at which no memory exists, and which road extends by way of the valley of Douglas, from the right bounds and marches of the land of the said religious [men] of ‘Tordones’ as far as the church of Douglas, and thus straight onwards in front of the park of the castle of Douglas by way of the aforesaid valley until Uddington, and so upwards as far as ‘le Rayerd’, and from there as far as the march of the barony of Wiston, the same William of Douglas just now has newly impeded sasine of the aforesaid road from the aforesaid abbot and convent and their [men], thus, as they assert, disseising them, in immodest damage and injury to the same religious [men], and manifest contempt to us. Whereas we command and instruct you to go to the said place personally, and if you find the aforesaid religious [men] to be disturbed or disseised of the said road, you should cause to recover justly the same sasine of the said road and without delay, maintaining the same religious [men] in the said sasine: and if you should find anyone disturbing the same abbot and convent, or their men, in the said sasine, you should cause them to be attached, so that they may be before us and our council, at a certain day and place you shall bring to us those assigned who are to respond for such contempt, and who are to do what justice requires, to endure by these presents by our will. Witnessed by John Comyn, Alexander of Balliol chamberlain of Scotland, Thomas Randolph, knights, at Roxburgh, [on] the thirteenth day of April, [in] the second year of our reign.

199mm x 153mm

75

Manuscript references: Douglas-Home family, Earls of Home (?) [check NRAS]

Calendar: Simpson, Handlist, no. 370

Lord Cooper, Select Scottish Cases of the Thirteenth Century, no. 74

Printed editions:

Sir William Fraser, The Douglas Book, vol. iii (Edinburgh, 1885), no. 10 (with facsimile)

Amanda Beam, The Balliol Dynasty (Edinburgh, 2008), App. C, no. 23

Comment: Note the places in Douglas parish, Lanarkshire, called Monkshead, Monkswater, High Monkshead and Monksfoot. These may represent the now lost name of ‘Tordones’.

19/06/2015