Vatican Regesta 367: 1435-1443 | British History Online

Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 8, 1427-1447. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1909.

'Vatican Regesta 367: 1435-1443', in Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 8, 1427-1447, (London, 1909) pp. 263-271. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-papal-registers/brit-ie/vol8/pp263-271 [accessed 25 April 2024]

Vatican Regesta, Vol. CCCLXVII (fn. 1)

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1438. 4 Kal. Oct. Ferrara. (fn. 2) (f. 41d.)	To the bishops and other counsellors of Henry, king of England. Urging the importance, as a means of defending the honour of the king and the English nation, of the presence in the Roman court of protonotaries, auditors, clerks of the camera and other prelates of the said nation, such as Master Andrew [H]oles, papal subdeacon and royal proctor, the king's faithful servant. The pope bethinks himself of one reason in particular why it is difficult for such persons to live in the Roman court, namely that they do not obtain possession of benefices generally reserved to the pope and collated to them in the said court, whereby others are deterred from repairing thither. The above counsellors can easily remedy this by inducing the king to allow the said persons to obtain possession of such generally reserved benefices, and their doing so will please the pope. Illustris memorie avum.
1438. 4 Kal. Oct. (fn. 3) Ferrara. (f. 42.)	To Henry, king of England. Recapitulation of the part of the preceding letter in regard to the importance of some English prelates etc. dwelling in the Roman court. The pope also knows that his predecessor, Martin V, made Henry, cardinal priest of St. Eusebius's, a cardinal with the intention that he should come to the said court [see below, f. 119, p. 267], and believes that one reason why he has not hitherto done so is that persons present in the said court do not obtain possession of benefices generally reserved to the pope and collated to them in the said court, whereby others are deterred from repairing thither. The king can easily remedy this by enabling the said persons to obtain possession of such generally reserved benefices, and his doing so will please the pope, who will be glad to admit to a share in such benefices those of the king's clerks and servants whom he shall nominate. In this matter the pope is fully informing Master John de Obizis, a papal auditor, and the above Andrew, who will, the one by word of mouth and the other by letter, explain everything more fully to the king, whose reply the pope requests. The pope further reminds the king that the king granted to Peter Barbo, the nephew of the pope and a protonotary, that he might acquire and hold benefices in England to the value of 300 marks; but although the pope has made provision to Peter of the canonry and prebend [of Sutton] in Lincoln which became void by the consecration of William, bishop of Salisbury, Peter has not yet been able to obtain possession. The king will please the pope by causing the said canonry and prebend to be assigned to Peter, for to the king's secretary, Thomas Bekonton, for whom the king seemed anxious to obtain the above canonry and prebend, the pope has ordered provision to be made of another canonry and prebend of the same church of Lincoln, void by the recent death in Italy (his partibus) of Master Robert Sutton, a papal chamberlain. Illustris memorie avum. [See below, f. 118d.]

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1435. 17 Kal. Oct. Florence. (f. 51.)	To Master Peter de Monte, apostolic notary and collector of the camera in England. Grant to him, who has the tonsure and is in minor orders only, and is bound shortly on account of his notaryship to have himself ordained subdeacon, not to be bound to do so before a year from the date of these presents; with indult to be promoted to all holy orders by any catholic bishop, even extra tempora, on any Sundays or feast days. Grata familiaritatis obsequia.

[8 Eugenius IV.]



1438[-9]. [Jan. 19.] (fn. 4) Florence. (f. 67.)	To Eric, king of Denmark (Dacie). Informing him of the transfer, on account of the pestilence, of the General Council, which is to deal with the question of the union of the Eastern church, from Ferrara to Florence, where the pope has arrived this day; and exhorting him to send thither his orators, and to exhort the prelates in his dominions to come. Cum varie nobis multiplicesque. (The letter ends with the incomplete date: Datum Florencie Anno Incarnationis Dominice MCCCCXXXVIII, and under it is written ‘Similiter scriptum est, mutatis mutandis’ to the king of Scotland, Lewis, count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria, the margrave of Brandenburg, the duke of Saxony, and the archbishops of Mainz, Köln and Trier.)

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1440. 8 Id. June. Florence. (f. 85d.)	Suspension, as below. Lately—upon its being set forth to the pope by John Forestarii, knight, of the diocese of St. Andrews, that he had instituted in the cemetery of the parish church of Corstorsyne (sic) in the said diocese a college of five priests, one being called provost, and two boys, and had endowed it with yearly rents of 120 ducats of gold; and upon its being added that if the rectory of the parish church of Rathow in the same diocese, whose cure is exercised by a perpetual vicar, and which is in the gift of the bishop, were united in perpetuity to the said college, other four or five priests could be instituted from the fruits etc. thereof in the said college—the pope ordered the abbot of Holyrood in Edinburg to appropriate in perpetuity to the said college the said rectory, so that on the resignation or death of the rector the said provost and priests might take possession of it, and convert its fruits etc. to their own uses. The pope now, who intends to make to Alexander de Lauedyr, rector of the said church, provision of the void see of Dunkeld, suspends, motu proprio, the taking effect of the said appropriation for the life of the person to whom provision of the said rectory shall be made, on its becoming void by the said intended provision of Dunkeld and consequent consecration. Ad fut. rei mem. Ecclesiarum omnium utilitatibus. (Jo. Synodi. tax. xxx.)

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1437. 9 Kal. Oct. Bologna. (f. 107.)	To the rectors and members of the university (rectoribus et universitati studii) of Paris. Enclosing a notification of the transfer to Paris (rectius Ferrara) for November 1 next, of the council of Basel, for the matter of the union of the Eastern church etc.; with direction and mandate, seeing that the pope hopes that John, emperor of the Greeks and the patriarch of Constantinople will arrive there about Nov. 1, to send thither God-fearing doctors or masters. Cum Basiliense Concilium. [Beneath this letter (which, like the following letters, is under the heading brevia) is added ‘Similiter scribitur universitatibus,’ and amongst the twenty-one named in addition to Paris, are Oxford, Cambridge, and St. Andrews.]

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1438. 27 Sept. Ferrara. (f. 118d.)	To W[illiam Alnewick], bishop of Lincoln. The pope has received his letters of excuse for not assigning, in accordance with the pope's letters, the canonry and prebend of Sutton to Peter Barbo, the pope's nephew, an apostolic notary, alleging a penal statute of the realm. The canonry and prebend being void in curia, they were in the pope's gift, and the bishop was bound by his oath to obey the pope's mandate, and the pope hopes that he has done or will do so at once, the more so that to Thomas [Bekynton], the king's secretary, for whom [the king] seemed anxious to obtain the said canonry and prebend, the pope has ordered provision to be made of another canonry and prebend in Lincoln, void by the death at the Roman court of Master Robert [Sutton], a papal chamberlain. Rescripsisti nobis. [See above, f. 42.]
1 October. Ferrara. (f. 119.)	To the duke of Gloucester. By the successive reports of Master Robert de Cavalcantibus, lately the pope's nuncio to England (dudum istic nuncius noster, below. p. 292), [and] Master John de Obizis, the king's envoy to the pope, and by the letters of Master Peter de Monte, apostolic notary, the pope has been fully informed of the duke's good will towards the pope and the Roman church and the apostolic see. The pope thanks him, and reminds him that Peter Barbo, the pope's nephew, an apostolic notary, was by royal liberality allowed to hold benefices in England to the value of 1,200 florins, and that the pope made provision to him of the canonry and prebend in Lincoln which became void by the consecration of the bishop of Salisbury. Up to the date of the departure [from the Roman court] of the said Master John (usque ad recessum dicti magistri Johannis) (fn. 5) the pope's said nephew had not been able to obtain possession, and the pope therefore requests the duke to help him to do so, whereby he will please the pope greatly. To Thomas [Bekynton], the king's secretary, for whom the king seemed to desire the said canonry and prebend, the pope has ordered provision to be made of another canonry and prebend of Lincoln, void by the death at the apostolic see of Master Robert [Sutton], a papal chamberlain. Per ea que nobis retulerunt. [See above, f. 42.]
Ibid.	To Peter de Monte. The pope has received Master John de Obizis, the king's envoy, a papal chaplain, who will inform him on his return to England of the pope's reply. In the matter of the above Peter Barbo and his canonry and prebend of Lincoln, the pope is writing to the king, to Henry, cardinal priest of St. Eusebius's, and to the bishops of Lincoln and Bath. Venit ad presenciam nostram. (The letter ends ‘… effectum esse sortiturum etc. ut supra.’) [See above, f. 42.]
1438. 1 October. Ferrara. (f. 119.)	To the cardinal of St. Eusebius's. The pope has received by the above Master John his two letters, and urges him to hasten his coming to the apostolic see, in order that the pope may have the benefit of his counsel. The said Master John will, on his return, relate to him more fully the pope's reply, which the pope thinks will be agreeable to the king and to the cardinal. In regard to the provision asked for in behalf of a member of the cardinal's household, the pope will endeavour to bear it in mind. Per dilectum filium magistrum. (The letter ends ‘… placuit circumspectioni tue etc. ut supra.’) [See above, f. 42.]
Ibid. (f. 120.)	To the bishop of Bath. The pope has received his letters by the above Master John, and commends him for what he has done, as related therein and also as related by Master Robert de Cavalcantibus, lately the pope's nuncio to king Henry [below, p. 292], and also by the said Master John himself, from whom, on his return, the bishop will learn what the pope has done. Per dilectum filium nostrum magistrum. (The letter ends: ‘… placuit f[raternitati] tue ut supra etc.’)
[Ibid.] (f. 121d.)	To Henry, king of England. The above Master John, bearer of these presents, has come to the pope with the king's letters of credence. Master John will, on his return, give the pope's reply, which the pope hopes will be agreeable to the king. Veniens ad nos dilectus. (The letter ends with the incomplete date: ‘Dat[a] c[ur]r[ens]’; cf. above, f. 41d, note.)

[8 Eugenius IV.]



[1438, July 18— 1439, Jan. 19. (fn. 6) Ferrara.] (f. 121d.)	To the same. Lately the bearer of these presents, John Hayn, then bishop of Clonfert, (fn. 7) brought to the pope lengthy (difusas) letters of the king lamenting the calamities of the church, inveighing against the excesses and temerities at Basel, and exhorting the pope to apply remedies. The said bishop is returning to the king and asks the pope for an answer, but the pope, having already by his orators and by others fully replied to the king, has thought it unnecessary to write again. The pope has, out of regard for the king, made provision to the said J[ohn] of the church of Clonfert in Ireland, of which he is a native. Dudum accedens ad nos. (The letter ends with the incomplete date: Dat[a] curr[ens].)

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1438. Nov. 26. Ferrara (f. 130.)	To Osberus de Clara. Mandate, at the recent petition of Thomas Motte, layman, of the diocese of Norwich—containing that he contracted marriage per verba legitime de presenti, clandestinely and without subsequent cohabitation, and that he afterwards contracted marriage per similia verba, publicly before the church, with another woman, by whom he had offspring; and adding that the woman with whom he contracted the said first marriage took another husband, with whom she has lived as his wife for about thirty years, and by whom she has had offspring; and asserting that the said first marriage has not yet become publicly known—to absolve Thomas and the said second wife from excommunication incurred, enjoining them to give a goodly alms to the poor, and, after separating them, to dispense them to contract marriage anew and remain therein, decreeing past and future offspring legitimate. Exhibita nobis.

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1442. Aug. 23. Florence. (f. 149.)	To the Benedictine abbot and convent of St. Augustine's in the diocese of Canterbury. Mandate as below. The pope has, by other letters, incorporated the Benedictine monastery of Sant’ Angelo, Ninfa (de Nimphis) in the diocese of Ostia and Velletri, destitute of monks, to the Benedictine monasteries and convents of Subiaco and Sacra Specus. Seeing that the said monastery of Ninfa is wont and ought to receive from St. Augustine's a certain yearly pension on account of the parish church of Litheborne (sic) [in the diocese of Canterbury], which is appropriated to St. Augustine's, and that the said abbot and convent have neglected for a number of years to pay it, the pope hereby orders them to pay the same in future, as well as the said arrears, to the said convents of Subiaco and Sacra Specus, or their proctors; notwithstanding a certain brief addressed to them, granted by the pope, insufficiently informed, to the bishop of Tivoli, who claimed the said pension but has been unable to prove his claim. Alias ex certis justis. [See Monasticon, I, pp. 129 and 137, and Cal. Lett., I, pp. 164-167, 177, 236. (fn. 8) ]
Aug. 31. Florence. (f. 149d.)	To Philip, duke of Burgundy. Requesting him to procure the release of Master Thomas Cathman (rectius Chapman), (fn. 9) an abbreviator of apostolic letters and an old member of the papal court, whom less than a year ago the pope sent on business of the pope and the Roman church to England, and who on his return journey, when passing through the province of Hainaut (Hannonie), in the duke's dominions, has been captured and taken to the castle of Halle, where he is still held captive. Nondum anno uno elapso. [Underneath the letter is added ‘Simili modo, mutatis mutandis, scriptum fuit’ to Isabel, duchess of Burgundy, the bishop of Tournai, and the lord of Antoing (Anthunia).]
1442. Sept. 26. Florence. (f. 149d.)	To the archbishop of Rouen, cardinal of [Sancti] Quatuor Coronati. Exhortation as below. The pope lately, at the instance of Simon Nicolai, a priest, of the diocese of Evreux, chaplain and continual member of the household of Bartholomew, archbishop of Florence, committed to a papal notary (named), the cause which Simon had brought against one Nicholas de Bosco, who was in wrongful possession of the parish church of St. Vivien, Rouen, and who procured the arrest and imprisonment of Matthew Nicolai, clerk, the said Simon's brother, and of John Champion and Geoffrey du Val, the executors of the said notary's citation of Nicholas, the first of whom remained in prison for a week, being then liberated on bail, and condemned in 10l. as costs and 40 marks of silver as fine. Seeing that Simon is prosecuting his said cause not in possessorio but in petitorio, and therefore can in no wise be said to trespass on the royal authority, the pope exhorts the above archbishop to obtain Matthew's release from the said bail, fine and costs, and to inhibit the said Nicholas from again molesting Matthew or Simon by recourse to secular judges, to their prejudice and to the contempt of the ecclesiastical order. Dudum ad instantiam. (Beneath the letter is added ‘Simili modo scriptum fuit, mutatis mutandis,’ to Richard, duke of York, the bailli of Rouen, and the advocate and proctors of the king of England.)

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1443. Nov. 19. Rome. (f. 160d.)	To Richard, duke of York. Exhorting him to favour Martin, bishop of Avranches, Peter Francisci, canon of Evreux, and Ralph Herbert, clerk, of the diocese of Bayeux, whom the pope has appointed to be vicars-general of Peter, bishop of Evreux, in those places of the diocese of Evreux which are and which shall be subject to the temporal dominion of Henry, king of England. Cum nuper ex multorum.
Dec. 13. St. Peter's, Rome. (f. 161d.)	To the king of Scots. Exhorting him to admonish William de Bonaro, a canon of St. Andrews, to whom at the king's recommendation and petition the pope lately made provision of the said priory, to act up to the attestations made by the king on his behalf; the pope having subsequently received by letters of the chapter, who presented to him another name, a very different account of the said William, in spite of which the pope has been unwilling to revoke the appointment. If the said William does not strive to show that the charges made against him are based on calumny and not on truth, the pope will be unable to shut his ears to those who demand justice. Dudum vacante prioratu. (Beneath this letter is ‘Simili modo episcopo Sancti Andree.’)
Ibid. (f. 162.)	To the chapter of St. Andrews. The pope lately received letters of king James and of James, bishop of St. Andrews, recommending the above William de Bonaro for the priorship, and petitioning the pope to make him provision, which the pope did. He has since received the letters of the chapter, by which they presented another whom they had elected, but having already made the said provision, the pope could not revoke it. He is, however, writing to the said king and bishop, in order that they may admonish William to show himself worthy of their said recommendation, and so of the pope's. Dudum recepimus litteras.

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1439. 9 Kal. Oct. Florence (f. 208d.)	To James, bishop of Dunkeld. Motu proprio grant in commendam for life to him, a nephew of the late James, king of Scots, of the Augustinian monastery of Scone in the diocese of St. Andrews, void by the resignation made to bishop Henry and admitted by the pope, of abbot Adam, during whose abbotship it was specially reserved by the pope, John de Inverkethyng, to whom, an Augustinian canon, the pope made provision of the said abbey, thus void and previously reserved, having died before obtaining possession, so that it still remains reserved; notwithstanding that William Stury, an Augustinian canon, whom the pope hereby removes, under pretext of election by the convent, on voidance by the said resignation, and confirmation by the ordinary after and against the said reservation, unlawfully detains possession; with mandate to the convent and vassals etc. to obey the bishop. Personam tuam. (Jacobus de Viterbio.)
Ibid. (f. 209d.)	To Henry, bishop of St. Andrews. Recapitulating the preceding, and ordering him to assist bishop James in obtaining possession of the administration of the above monastery. Personam venerabilis fratris. (Ja[cobus] de Viterbio.)
Ibid. (f. 210.)	To James, king of Scots. Exhorting him to do likewise. Gracie divine premium. (Subscribed as in the preceding.)

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1443. 6 Kal. Nov. St. Peter's, Rome. (f. 279.)	To James, bishop of St. Andrews. Absolution etc. as below. His recent petition contained that after his translation by the pope from Dunkeld to St. Andrews, he for certain reasons took possession of the administration of the goods of the see before the letters of translation and appointment were fully drawn up; and added that he has satisfied the papal camera in respect of the annate due thereto on account of the said see, that the said letters are now in his hands, and that many hold that both he himself, on account of his having taken possession of the said administration, and the priests, religious, clerks and laymen and all others, subject to him as bishop of St. Andrews, on account of their having obeyed him as bishop, have incurred the pains and censures contained in a certain constitution of Boniface VIII. The pope therefore absolves the said bishop and the said priests etc. from the said pains etc., and rehabilitates him and them, and ratifies all the said bishop's lawful acts in regard to the said administration. Personam tuam. (A. de Spoleto, pro Jo. de Mancrochis. xxxxv. Jo. de Steccatis.)