Will of Nicholas Longespee part 2

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Linda Jack

Will of Nicholas Longespee part 2

Legg inn av Linda Jack » 26 okt 2004 23:34:14

Will of Nicholas Longespee, continued. Part 1 posted earlier.

I leave to my subchamberlain 100s, to each clerk of my chapel 6 marks.
I leave to Robert of Littleton 10 marks. I leave to each of my
serving-boys 4 marks. Similarly I leave to Lambert my foster son the
whole attire of my armour to cover his body and his horse. I leave to
John de Herterigg the armour to cover his body and his horse. I leave
to master William de Braybrok, rector of the church of Wittenham, the
armour to cover his body and his horse. I leave to William of Barneuil
the armour to cover his body and his horse. And I wish that the rest
of my armour should be shared out among the remaining of my squires
according to the disposition of my executors. To all those in my
household I leave these things only if they remain in my service until
my death. Moreover, I wish that all my debts should be paid in full
before any administration of this will of mine takes place. Those
things I want released to my foster son Lambert have been noted above.

I appoint the following executors of my will. Firstly master Richard of
Sotteswell, canon of Salisbury, master Stephen of Remmesbury, succentor
of the aforesaid church, master William of Braybrok, rector of the
church of Wittenham, John de Herterigg and William of Barneuil. To each
of them I leave 100s. For the fulfillment of this will of mine, all my
movable and immovable goods that are not bequeathed should be sold. And
if any remain, they should be given away for my soul, according to what
my executors consider is best. I also wish that this will should be
executed in full as soon as possible and then retained in perpetuity at
the treasury in Salisbury. I have thought fit to have my seal attached
to this present will of mine as evidence of this. And I have arranged
for my executors’ seals to be attached for the memory of future
generations.

I also leave 20 pounds for the fabric of the church at Salisbury and 20
marks to John son of William of Barneuil and to Margaret his sister,
issue of Alicia wife of the said William. Similarly I leave 5 marks to
master Henry, vicar of Inglesham to celebrate the daily services for a
year for my soul and the souls of all the faithful.

This will has been proved and opened according to legal provision in
the presence of master Robert, by God’s grace Archbishop of Canterbury
and primate of all England, and it was read by the Archbishop at
Chartham on the Wednesday before the feast of the Lord’s Ascension,
namely May 29th in the year of our Lord 1297. An oath was taken by
master Richard of Sotteswell, masters Stephen of Rammesbury and William
of Braybrok, canons of Salisbury and John of Herterigg, named as
executors of the said will on the said day and in the said place,
regarding the making of a reliable inventory as quickly as possible of
the possessions of the deceased, or regarding the things which have
been among his possessions and regarding the reliable administration of
these goods according to the last will of the testator when the
administration was granted to these executors according to legal
provision, and also regarding the reliable reckoning in the presence of
the said lord Archbishop or someone else appointed for this by the
Archbishop. Regarding the performance of this administration at a
suitable time, it is granted to the executors by the lord Archbishop by
his special grace for specific reasons and to preserve the possessions
of the testator so that they should immediately sell the possessions
relating to the will as they consider would benefit the deceased and
should collect the money from this and should put it somewhere safely
in the event of handing over the administration in full to these
executors and should arrange for it to be guarded properly. But in such
a way that this does not set a precedent for any other will in the
future and that the said executors from these goods pay nothing beyond
the cost of the funeral, once the inventory has been made and approved,
the full administration of the goods should be handed over to the
executors. It is also proved that the said testator in the expression
of his final will, in the presence of witnesses called together for
this purpose, expressly said and also ordered that if anything was
granted or paid to the legatees of this will after the completion of
the will by this testator or in his name, this would be counted among
the things bequeathed to the legatees and an account made of it, and
the bequest should be paid if there are enough goods remaining at the
end. And it has been decreed by the lord Archbishop

Nathaniel Taylor

Re: Will of Nicholas Longespee part 2

Legg inn av Nathaniel Taylor » 27 okt 2004 03:31:56

In article <B80789D9-2786-11D9-B0BD-000A95EA6CBE@earthlink.net>,
linda_jack@earthlink.net (Linda Jack) wrote:

<...>

Thanks for posting this translation of an interesting document! It
would be nice to see a photograph of the original, as (at least in 1900)
it has six of the seven seals extant, including the bishop's own, though
broken.

The last paragraph of the second post is in fact the (distinct) probate
memorandum, recorded on the back of the original parchment (& included
at the end of the 1900 article). Few 13th-century wills survive in
England (as Sheehan's handlist shows) and I'm not aware how common this
sort of probate clause is in English wills of this era (medieval
testamentary probate procedure is a particular interest of mine). Is
anyone who has made a study of English wills familiar with the frequency
of these probate memoranda (does Sheehan comment on this aspect of
procedure)?

Nat Taylor

a genealogist's sketchbook:
http://home.earthlink.net/~nathanieltaylor/leaves/

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