Clonmel
messuages in dispute
Niall
C.E.J. O’Brien
In about 1373 Elia, the
widow of William Stokes, claimed a third part of eight messuages and one acre
of land and a meadow outside the west all of Clonmel against John Foliot and
Emmelina his wife. Elia Stokes asserted that the properties concerned came to
her from the free tenement of William Stokes, her former husband. In pursuit of
such claim Elia Stokes took John and Emmelina Foliot to court in the liberty
court of the Earl of Ormond.[1]
The one page document
relating to the court case has no inscribed date. Instead the date is suggested
by circumstance. The court case is part of a number of manuscripts sewn
together. The dating evidence in these other manuscripts places the date range
of the collection as falling between 47th year of Edward III and 18th
year of Henry VI.[2]
Pre
court offer
Before the court case
began, John Foliot offered to give Elia Stokes one messuage and the one acre of
land outside the west wall of Clonmel as the sheriff had previously commanded him to do. This would suggest that
there was a previous court case or some legal action, the record of which has
not survived. The offer was rejected by Elia Stokes.[3] A
messuage was the usual medieval word to mean a house and garden.
The Westgate of medieval Clonmel
some where on this side was the one acre of land
Two
messuages formerly of John Palmer
After the court case
began, John Foliot gave evidence on how he saw the ownership and possession of
the various properties. The vast majority of the evidence was by his word. If
others gave evidence, their testimony was not recorded. John Foliot said that
two messuages claimed by Elia Stokes were not in the possession of William
Stokes in fee on the day he married Elia. Nor did William Stokes later acquire
possession of the same. John Foliot asked that a jury make inquisition into the
two messuages.
A jury was summoned at
the end of the evidence given by John Foliot to examine the case. The verdict
of the jury appears at the end of the manuscript after all the evidence given
by John Foliot on the various properties was recorded. The description of the
various messuages differs between that given by John Foliot and that returned
by the jury. The impression given is that there were nine messuages in disputes
rather than the eight claimed by Elia Stokes. To help avoid error on my part, I
have given the jury verdict on each particular property claimed by Elia Stokes.
The jury found that
William Stokes was not seized of these two messuages which formerly belonged to
John Palmer at the time that William married Elia Stokes. It is not recorded
how William Stokes came to the two messuages from John Palmer but as he had no
claim of ownership it possibly was the case that William Stokes was renting the
messuages from the heirs of John Palmer.
Three
messuages formerly of Sybilla Northwich
Another three messuages
were, according to John Foliot, formerly held by William Stokes by inheritance
of William’s first wife, Sybilla Northwich. After the death of Sybilla
Northwich, William Stokes held the three messuages for his life as allowed by
the law of England.[4]
When King John came to
Ireland in 1210 he ordained that English laws should be in force in Ireland.
One of these laws was that if a man marries a woman with an inheritance and has
issue by her, that man; if he survives his wife should have custody of the
inheritance for his life even if the issue are of full age. In 1226 it was
again ordained that English law should be in force in Ireland.[5]
This ordinance was renewed by successive Irish Parliaments and Councils like in
1351 and 1366.[6]
Thus by English law Elia
Stokes only held the three messuages for as long as William Stokes, her
husband, was alive. After William’s death the three messuages returned to the
heirs of Sybilla Northwich. John Foliot challenged that if Elia Stokes denied
this evidence the case of the three messuages should go to a jury.
The same jury as above then
found that William Stokes had no estate in the property which formerly belonged
to Sybilla Northwich. In their verdict the jury described Sybilla’s three
messuages as one messuage and two shops. The use of the term of a messuage by
John Foliot instead of describing Sybilla’s property as holding two shops would
seem to be an effort by John Foliot to reduce the value of the disputed
properties and reduce any compensation damages.
The different description
between John Foliot and the jury on Sybilla’s property and the other messuages
in dispute makes it difficult to determine if the total number of messuages in
dispute was seven, eight or nine.
One
messuage of Bristow and Astell
On the question of
another messuage, formerly held jointly by John Bristow and John Astell, John Foliot
claimed that Eva, wife of the late John Bristow, was endowed with her share of
the messuage and William Stokes only had it from Eva Bristow by lease. As Eva
Bristow was still alive, John Foliot asserted that she had ownership.
The share of the same
messuage held by John Astell, passed to the heirs of John Astell on his death.
His wife, Fides le Botiller, was only endowed with a third part of the share
held by John Astell in her widowhood. Later Fides le Botiller rented her third
share to William Stokes. At the time of the court case Fides le Botiller was
still alive and so held ownership of the third part. As for the other two parts
of the messuage formerly held by John Astell, John Foliot claimed that William
Stokes did not have possession of same on the day he married Elia Stokes and so
Elia had no claim to the Astell share of the messuage.[7]
The background of John
Astell is difficult to determine. A person called John Astell witnessed a
County Waterford land deed in about 1322 while in August 1337 another John
Astell witnessed a land deed at Kilmainham, County Dublin.[8] It
cannot be said with any certainty if any of these people were the John Astell
who held the half messuage in Clonmel.
The jury found that
William Stokes did hold the two parts of this one messuage in demesne and was
thus seized of same when he married Elia Stokes and thus should be part of the
dower lands of Elia.[9]
Two
messuages near William’s manse and the land outside Clonmel
As for the other two
messuages and the farm land outside the west wall of Clonmel, John Foliot
claimed that Elia Stokes was endowed with other property in allowance after the
death of William Stokes and so she had no valid claim.
In the jury’s verdict
these two messuages and the land outside Clonmel were described differently.
The jury described the land outside the western wall of Clonmel as a messuage
while at the same time saying there were two messuages near the manse of William
Stokes within the town.[10] If
the jury’s description was correct then there were nine messuages in disputes
allowing three messuages formerly owned by Sybilla Northwich. Whatever the
correct description the jury said that the messuages and land were held by
William at the time he married Elia Stokes and thus part of her dower property.
The
judge’s verdict
Based on these
findings, the court found John and Emmelina Foliot guilty of unlawful detention
and awarded damages of 10s to Elia Stokes. She was also given right to recover
seisin of a third part of the messuages and shops along with two parts of the
messuage associated with Bristow and Astell. As the wives of both men were
still alive they would hold the one third part of the messuage as their dower
property.[11]
The judge’s decision
seems to conflict with the findings of the jury. It was only when referring to
the property of Sybilla Northwich that the term of shops was used to describe
some of the messuages in dispute. Yet the jury found that William Stokes had no
claim to the property of Sybilla Northwich including the two shops. It is
difficult, without collaborating evidence, to determine if indeed there was any
conflict between the findings of the jury and verdict of the judge.[12]
William
Stoke without clear record
In this case the judge
and jury found John Foliot to be in unlawful detention of some of the eight
messuages and one acre of land outside Clonmel in dispute but the late husband
of Elia Stokes was himself not clear of wrong doing. In 1359 a jury in Clonmel
found William Stokes to be in unlawful detention of one messuage with its
appurtenances against John son of John Lawless. But it subsequently emerged
that John son of John Lawless was also in unlawful detention of the said
property and the true owner was David de le Hay.[13]
About the same time as
1359 there was in Clonmel a chaplain called William Stokes.[14] Attempts
over many centuries to enforce cleric celibacy were largely ineffective.[15] Thus
it could be possible that William Stokes the chaplain was the William Stokes of
Clonmel who was twice married and who’s second wife, Ela Stokes tried to claim
her dower lands in about 1373.
Later
references
It is presumed that
Elia Stokes successful got her dower property but we have no evidence to say
yes or no. after this court case Elia Stokes disappears from the surviving
records which is not unusual as the surviving records are selective on who gets
into the records.
There is a later record
for John Foliot as in August 1411 John Foliot of Clonmel was back in the
liberty court of the Earl of Ormond on a plea of debt. The result of this case
has not survived and no further references have survived relating to John
Foliot.[16]
The case relating to
Elia Stokes shows why some people are remembered in the documents that survive
and why the vast majority of the people are not remembered. Court cases often
survive as the judgements are of concern to later people in the medieval times
and those relating to property were especially kept as a record of title. The
case above was heard in the Earl of Ormond’s liberty court and so survives
within the Ormond papers but its survival could also be because the Earl of
Ormond may have later acquired some of the messuages concerned.
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End of post
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[1]
Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond
Deeds (6 vols. Stationery Office, Dublin, 1935), Vol. III, p. 384
[2]
Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond
Deeds, Vol. III, p. 383
[3]
Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond
Deeds, Vol. III, p. 384
[4] Edmund
Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds,
Vol. III, p. 384
[5]
H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of
Documents relating to Ireland (5 vols. Kraus reprint, 1974), Vol. 1 (1171-1251),
nos. 1458, 1679
[6] K.W.
Nicholls, Gaelic and Gaelicized Ireland
in the Middle Ages (Lilliput Press, Dublin, 2003), pp. 53, 54
[7] Edmund
Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds,
Vol. III, p. 384
[8] Edmund
Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds
(6 vols. Stationery Office, Dublin, 1932), Vol. 1, no. 699; Edmund Curtis
(ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds (6
vols. Stationery Office, Dublin, 1934), Vol. II, p. 61
[9]
Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond
Deeds, Vol. III, p. 385
[10] Edmund
Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds,
Vol. III, pp. 384, 385
[11]
Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond
Deeds, Vol. III, p. 385
[12] Edmund
Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds,
Vol. III, p. 385
[13] Edmund
Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds,
Vol. II, pp. 44, 45
[14] Edmund
Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds,
Vol. II, pp. 35, 45
[15]
K.W. Nicholls, Gaelic and Gaelicized
Ireland in the Middle Ages, p. 106
[16]
Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond
Deeds, Vol. II, p. 292
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