Chapter XLI: Appendix: No. 8

The following condensed syllabus from Rymer’s “Fœdera,” to which great work repeated reference has been made in the foregoing pages, will serve to indicate the course of commerce between England and various states of the Continent between A.D. 1190 and A.D. 1460, and to exhibit, by the number of safe-conducts demanded and granted, the degrees in which it was interrupted by the disputes between the different monarchs of the period, or by acts of piracy. Ample illustration is also therein given of the custom of the day of pressing into the king’s service any vessel or vessels he might want for any purpose.

The names of all the states with which England was at war or at peace have been preserved, and a few incidental notices with reference to the course of trade, or of manners and customs. It will be observed that, during the reign of Edward the Third, the impressment of ships for the king’s war service descended as low as vessels of twenty tons; and that in one instance, at least, the defence of the sea was specially laid as a duty on the mercantile community. Special forms of safe-conduct, and for the arrest of ships and mariners, are added in illustration from MSS. in the British Museum.

_Extracts relating to Maritime affairs from Sir T. Duffus Hardy’s “Syllabus of the Documents ... contained in Rymer’s ‘Fœdera.’”_

RICH. I. _1190._—Ordinances by the king for the punishment of
crimes committed on shipboard during the voyage to Jerusalem.

_1191, 27 March._—The king confirms to the men of Rye and
Winchelsea their privileges as under Henry II., they finding
two ships to complete the twenty ships of Hastings.

JOHN. _1208, 8 April._—The king requests his mariners and
merchants to aid the barons of the Cinque Ports in arresting all
ships found on the seas, and conveying them to England.

_1213, 3 March._—The king orders the whole shipping from
every port in England to be at Portsmouth by mid-Lent.

_1216, 2 June._—The king requests the jurats of Bayonne to
employ their galleys in annoying his enemies.

HEN. III. _1217, 10 Oct._—The king to the king of Norway; will
gladly promote commercial intercourse with that realm.

_1236, 26 May._—Proclamation respecting the goods of persons
escaping from shipwreck on the coasts of England, Poitou,
Gascony, and Oleron.

_1242, 8 June._—The king to the barons of the Cinque Ports
and the men of Dunwich, to fit out shipping to ravage the
coasts of France.

_1242, 7 July._—The king directs that the galleys of Bristol
and all the galleys of Ireland shall harass the coasts of
France.

_1243, 12 July._—Men of the Cinque Ports to make reprisals
upon John, duke of Brittany.

_1259, July._—The king permits Henry of Castile to engage
ships at Bordeaux and Bayonne for his expedition into Africa.

EDW. I. _1275, 23 Sept._—The king instructs Stephen de Penecastre,
constable of Dover, relative to the contentions between the
merchants of London and Seland (Zealand).

_1280, 17 July._—Writ of protection for the merchants of
Seiland trading with England.

_1285, 15 May._—Regulations by the king and his council as to
the compulsory unloading of ships in the Cinque Ports in time
of danger.

_1298, 14 Feb._—The king orders shipping (100 vessels) to be
provided at Sluys for his return into England from Flanders.

_1301, 14 Feb._—The king orders the bailiffs of Yarmouth and
forty-one other ports in England and Wales and six in Ireland
to supply him with shipping for the expedition against
Scotland.

_1301, 4 Oct._—Proclamation to be made cautioning masters of
ships and other sailors to be on their guard in their voyage
towards Gascony and other ports of France.

_1302, 7 Nov._—The king informs the warden of the Cinque
Ports that instead of fifty-seven ships (which the barons of
those ports are bound to furnish) he will be satisfied with
twenty-five for the Scottish war.

EDW. II. _1307, 26 Sept._—The king to Dionysius, king of Portugal,
respecting the restitution of an English ship recovered by the
Portuguese from some pirates.

_1307, 25 Nov._—The king orders the mayor and sheriffs of
London to provide a ship for the conveyance of his tents
[into France].

_1308, 20 March._—The king orders Robert de Kendale, warden
of the Cinque Ports, to take care that the merchants of
France have liberty to trade in England.

_1309, 12 May._—The king complains to Robert, count of
Flanders, that an English ship had been plundered off
Portsmouth by Flemish pirates.

_1312, 28 July._—The king orders the keepers of the passages
of the port of Dover to permit the abbots of seventeen houses
of the Cistercian order to cross on their way to Citeaux.

_1313, 15 Feb._—The king asks Robert, count of Flanders, to
prevent the export of victuals, arms, &c., from Flanders into
Scotland.

_1313, 22 May._—The king asks the pope to send to him certain
Florentine merchants arrested at his suit in the papal court
for having defrauded the English revenue.

_1314, 1 April._—The king orders the barons of the Cinque
Ports to send to him for the Scottish war the service of
ships which they are bound to provide.

_1314, 26 July._—Robert, count of Flanders, asks the king to
permit his subjects to trade with Flanders, and to consent to
the establishment of a staple at Bruges.

_1315, 13 April._—Robert, count of Flanders, complains to the
king of the pillage of a Flemish ship in the port of Orwelle.

_1315, 18 Sept._—The king orders the captains of his fleet to
do all possible injury to the Flemish shipping.

_1316, 18 June._—The king complains to the city of Genoa that
the Genoese furnish the Scotch with ships and arms.

_1316, 28 July._—Haco, king of Norway, informs the king of
England that he will meet any complaint brought against his
subjects respecting the arrest of a ship in the port of Selay.

_1316, 9 Aug._—Haco, king of Norway, narrates to the king
of England the facts of the complaints of the merchants of
Berwick.

_1318, 28 Jan._—Philip, king of France, complains to the king
of England of the illegal detention in London of the goods of
some French merchants.

_1318, 22 Nov._—General summons of citizens and merchants
to a conference to discuss the establishment of a staple in
Flanders.

_1322, 6 June._—The king orders that the goods and
merchandise of the subjects of John, duke of Brabant, shall
not be arrested.

_1323, 10 April._—Notification of the settlement of all
disputes between the captains of five galleys of Venice and
the town of Southampton.

_1323, 16 April._—The king having pardoned the misconduct of
the five Venetian galleys at Southampton, the Venetians may
therefore trade with England in safety.

_1324, 28 Jan._—The king orders that all ships belonging to
the subjects of the count of Zealand be arrested.

_1324, 10 May._—The king being about to vindicate his rights
in Aquitaine, orders the mayor of Southampton and twelve
other ports to provide him with shipping.

_1324, 10 May._—The king orders that the said ships shall be
ready upon three days’ notice.

_1324, 18 Sept._—The king of England assures Sanctius, king
of Majorca, that he is ready to do justice in the matter of
his ships, which are said to have been plundered by English
pirates.

_1324, 18 Dec._—The king orders that search may be made
at various ports for letters from abroad which may be
prejudicial to the crown.

_1325, 18 Feb._—The king of England to James, king of Aragon,
respecting the seizure of the galleys of the king of Majorca.

_1325, 7 May._—The king of England asks Alphonso, king of
Portugal, and his mother Isabella, to permit provisions to be
conveyed into Gascony.

_1325, 10 May._—The town of Bruges appoints proctors to treat
with the king respecting commercial intercourse between
Flanders and England.

EDW. III. _1326, 18 Feb._—The king orders inquiry to be made
respecting a whale cast ashore upon the manor of Walton, belonging
to the church of St. Paul’s London.

_1326, 3 Dec._—Writ for the payment of £10 to certain sailors
of Bayonne who had aided Queen Isabella in coming into
England from abroad.

_1327, 30 April._—The king to the burgomasters of Bruges,
offering to make reparation for the capture near Boulogne of
a ship of Nieuport by men of Sandwich and Winchelsea.

_1331, 5 Feb._—The king orders the sheriffs of Gloucester and
Somersetshire to allow William de Clyvedon and two others to
export 600 quarters of corn to Ireland, where there is great
scarcity.

_1331, 14 Oct._—William de Clynton, constable of Dover
Castle and warden of the Cinque Ports, is commanded to allow
fishermen to be paid for their goods in English money,
notwithstanding the act against taking money out of the realm.

_1333, 6 Oct._—The king requests Alphonso, king of Aragon, to
withdraw the letters of marque granted to Berenger de la Tone.

_1335, 16 May._—Power to William de la Pole and others to
treat with Louis, count of Flanders, and the commonalties of
Bruges, Ghent, and Ypres, about the piracies, &c., committed
on both sides.

_1335, 26 May._—The king requests John, duke of Brittany,
earl of Richmond, to make redress for four anchors taken
by his subjects from the ship of John Perbroun, of Great
Yarmouth, wrecked on the coast of Garound in Brittany.

_1335, 26 Aug._—The mayor and sheriffs of London are
commanded to send to the king the ships arrested in the port
of London, and to pay 60 marks of the 500 marks granted by
them in lieu of men.

_1335, 20 Sept._—The king orders William de Clynton, warden
of the Cinque Ports, to provide ships for the return home of
certain knights in the company of the count of Juliers.

_1336, 15 March._—The king orders the mayor and bailiffs of
Bristol to take sureties from all masters of ships of the
Cinque Ports which come to Bristol, that they will return
to their proper ports to be equipped for the defence of the
realm.

_1336, 3 May._—The exportation of timber or boards fit for
ship-building forbidden.

_1336, 6 May._—The king orders John de Cobham, John de
Segrave, and John de Wyndesore to pay 100 marks to Alexander
Hurtyn, of Dover, deputy of William de Clynton, warden of
the Cinque Ports, as part payment of £87 10_s._ which he has
spent on the passage of the count of Juliers.

_1336, 28 June._—The king, having heard that the crews of
the ships arrested in North Wales refuse to serve without
being prepaid their wages, orders Richard, earl of Arundel,
justiciary of North Wales, to survey the ships and give the
crews a reward. Similar letter to the justiciary of South
Wales.

_1336, 4 July._—The king releases the commonalty of Genoa
from the payment of customs, to the amount of 8,000 marks,
in recompense for a ship of Yoan Lucian taken by Hugh le
Despenser.

_1336, 5 Aug._—The king orders John de Norwich, admiral of
the fleet, from the Thames northward, who is searching for
hostile galleys, consisting of ships of Great Yarmouth, to
hold no communication with the men of the Cinque Ports, in
consequence of the dissensions between them and the men of
Yarmouth. Similar letter to Geoffrey de Say, admiral of the
fleet south of the Thames.

_1336, 2 Oct._—The king thanks Robert, king of Jerusalem and
Sicily, for having stopped the equipment of ships which,
under colour of assisting the Holy Land, were intended to be
used against England; and desires credence for Nicolin Flisco
of Genoa.

_1336, 2 Oct._—The king thanks the Genoese for having burnt
certain galleys which were being prepared against him; and
desires credence for Nicolin Flisco.

_1336, 2 Oct._—Power to Nicolin de Flasco [sic], called
“Cardinal of Genoa,” to hire galleys for the king’s service.

_1337, 28 Jan._—The sheriffs of London are ordered to deliver
to Thomas de Sapleford, overseer of the works in the Tower,
5000 (?) of iron, 200 Eastland boards, and 100 qrs. of
sea-coal, for making anchors for the _Cristoffre_ and the
_Cogge Edward_, and for other works.

_1337, 1 Aug._—The king orders William Fraunk and Reginald
de Donyngton to deliver a ship to William de la Pole, of
Kingston-on-Hull, and Reginald de Conductu, for the purpose
of exporting 30,000 sacks of wool. Similar letter to the
mayor and sheriffs of London.

_1338, 20 May._—The king has been petitioned by Peter de
Puyane, admiral of the fleet at Bayonne, to grant him the
rent of £6 on every whale caught at Biarritz, and other rents
and dues in Bedured, in the bailiwick of Goes; and desires
the seneschal of Gascony and the constable of Bordeaux to
report as to their value.

_1343, 20 May._—The king orders Richard de Aldeburgh and
four others, to make inquisition concerning the carrying of
two whales and two sturgeons, worth £3000, from the Manor of
Hoveden; the bishop of Durham having wrecks of the sea and
the right to the royal fish.

_1346, 20 Nov._—Thomas de Drayton and two others are
commissioned to provide twenty fishing smacks and ten boats
for the siege of Calais. Similar commission for thirty
vessels to Thomas Spigurnel and Philip de Whitton.

_1348, 1 Oct._—Writs to the sheriffs of London, and the
mayors and bailiff of seventeen seaports, to unload merchant
ships and send them to join the fleet.

_1354, 8 July._—The king informs the captain and council of
Genoa, that he has assigned the duty on 1000 sacks of wool
for the redress of injuries to Genoa ships.

_1355, 27 April._—Richard de Cortenhall and Robert de Baildon
are appointed to arrest ships of twenty tons and upwards from
the Thames to Lynn, and bring them to Southampton by June 11
for the conveyance of Edward, Prince of Wales, to Gascony.

_1360, 24 March._—John Beech, master of the sloop _La Cogg
Johan_, of Sandwich, is ordered to unload his ship and
prepare it for war. Similar orders to six other masters.

_1362, 22 Feb._—Commission to Hugh de Courtenaye, earl of
Devon, and two others, to inquire into the plunder of a ship
called _Tarrit_ (_Tarida?_), and other ships wrecked at
Plymouth.

HEN. IV. _1406, 6 April._—The king orders the mayor and sheriffs
of London, and the mayors and bailiffs of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
and nineteen other towns, to arrange for the fulfilment of the
covenant made in parliament for committing the custody of the sea
to merchants.

_1406, 20 Oct._—The king forbids the collectors of subsidies
and customs in London, and fourteen other towns to pay the
sums assigned to the merchants for the custody of the sea, as
they have failed in their engagement.

_1410, 18 Nov._—The king orders Henry prince of Wales,
constable of Dover Castle, and warden of the Cinque Ports,
to make restitution to John Dirdolf and others of Berflet in
Flanders, whose ships have been taken by Sir John Prendergest.

_1411, 26 June._—Licence to John Ferkyn to send the two small
guns which he made for a ship, in the ship of Spain in which
the king is sending his great guns to Spain.

_1411, 9 Sept._—The king informs the council of North Berve,
in Norway, of his forbidding the Hanse merchants leaving
England in consequence of the injuries done to English
merchants, and of the licence given to nine merchants at St.
Botolph to leave England.

HEN. VI. _1436, 5 July._—Proclamations to be made by the sheriffs
of London, Kent, and three others, forbidding armourers and
victuallers increasing their prices in consequence of the assembly
of the duke of Gloucester’s troops; and ordering merchants to send
goods to Calais.

_1438, 29 Jan._—Licence to John, bishop of Skalholt, in
Iceland, to take a ship to Iceland and send it back with
merchandise for the payment of his creditors.

_1438, 18 Feb._—Similar licence to John, bishop of Holar.

_1440, 26 Feb._—Licence to John Secheford and John Candeler
to export corn and other victuals to Iceland for the use of
the bishop of Scalhelte, confessor of the king of Denmark.

_1449, 22 Dec._—Licence to John Taverner, of Hull, to export
goods to Italy through the straits of Marrot (Marocco), in
his new ship or carrack, called the _Grace Dieu_.

_1458, 8 June._—Licence to George Morsleyn, merchant of
Cracow, to bring a ruby weighing 214 carats, for sale to
England.

_1460, 9 May._—Safe-conduct for a ship laden with Caen stone
for the repairs of Westminster Abbey.