The Gatehouse website record of a petition for a grant of murage for Hastingues dated {1321}

Hastingues petitioned for a grant of murage in {1321}.

Wording

Petitioners: Jurats and inhabitants of the bastide of Hastingues.
Addressees: King.
Places mentioned: Hastingues, {Gascony, France}; Guyenne, {France}; Navarre; Bearn; Agarruys {unidentified}; Arthous, {Gascony, France}.
Other people mentioned: John de Hastinges (Hastings), Seneschal of the Duchy of Guyenne (Seneschal of Gascony); {Edward I}, King of England; the Basques; Lord of Albret; Lord of Gramont; Raymond (Ramon) Duraund (Durant), Seneschal of the Landes; Abbot of Arthous.
Nature of request: The jurats and inhabitants of the bastide of Hastingues make six requests:
1) They state that their bastide was founded by John de Hastinges (Hastings), Seneschal of the Duchy of Guyenne in the march of the Duchy, surrounded by the king's enemies, the people of Navarre and of Bearn, the Basques, and the people of the Lord of Albret and Lord of Gramont, and that because of this he promised to enclose the town with stone walls and to build a bridge there, and the late king granted a toll (peage) for ten years to accomplish this. Because of the war and other disturbances, these walls and bridge are now in need of repair, but they are too poor to do this. They request a new toll, half to go to the repair of the walls and bridge, and half to the king's profit.
2) They ask that the Seneschal of Gascony and Seneschal of the Landes might be ordered to fortify the place called Agarruys, which is also on the frontier, which will be to the king's honour and profit.
3) They request the right to bear arms at all times in the Duchy.
4) They ask that the Seneschal of Gascony and Seneschal of the Landes might be ordered to have their fair and market held as in the privileges granted by the king's father.
5) They ask that the Seneschal of Gascony and Seneschal of the Landes might ensure that appeals that arise in their area of jurisdiction might be heard in their town, as is accustomed.
6) They state that at the founding of their bastide, the Abbot of Arthous promised to give them various lands which he has withheld, so that many of the people who have settled the bastide are without lands. They ask the king to order the abbot to hand over these lands.
Endorsement: To the first: the Seneschal of Gascony is to be ordered by the king's writ to examine the strength of and the faults in the enclosure of the town, and to ordain for the security of the town and of its goods people by granted toll or in some other manner as seems best to him. To the second: the Seneschal is to be ordered to examine the place and if he finds that this is not to the harm of the king or of anyone else, he is to fortify it. To the third: this cannot be done. To the fourth: the Seneschal is to be ordered to examine their privileges, and, if they have not misused them, he is to allow them to use them according to the form of the said grant. To the fifth: the Seneschal is to be ordered to inform himself as to how they have used this, and as to the custom the y have there and elsewhere; and if this can be done without doing wrong to the parties, the appeals are to be held as is requested. To the sixth: the Seneschal is to be ordered to inform himself concerning the agreements and to distrain the party in a reasonable fashion to keep the agreement, if there is no other reason why this should not be done.

Endorsement

To the first: the Seneschal of Gascony is to be ordered by the king's writ to examine the strength of and the faults in the enclosure of the town, and to ordain for the security of the town and of its goods people by granted toll or in some other manner as seems best to him.

Primary Sources

National Archive SC 8/290/14482

Comments

This petition is discussed in Malcolm Vale, The Angevin Legacy and the Hundred Years War, 1250-1340 (Oxford 1990) p.118 and p. 157, where it is tentatively dated to 1321. The response to the petition is found on m.19 of C 61/35, dated 12 November 1321. A partial edition is printed, and the petition is discussed, in Trabut-Cussac, 'Bastides ou forteresses', Le Moyen Age (1954), pp. 109-110. Peage is granted again, to enclose the town, on 20 May 2 Edward III (1328) (m.6 of C 61/40). (National Archive note)

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