Close Rolls, Henry VII: Part II. Introduction

Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry VII: Volume 2, 1500-1509. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1963.

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'Close Rolls, Henry VII: Part II. Introduction', in Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry VII: Volume 2, 1500-1509, (London, 1963) pp. vii-ix. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-close-rolls/hen7/vol2/vii-ix [accessed 27 March 2024]

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In this section

PART II.

INTRODUCTION

This volume completes the series of Calendars of Close Rolls to the end of the reign of Henry VII.

Though the practice of entering administrative writs on the face of the Close Rolls did not finally cease until 24 Henry VIII, it had become so rare in the period covered by this volume as to account for only 47 entries out of 995, and 36 of these are routine orders to escheators.

The documents enrolled on the dorse comprise deeds (in a wide sense), recognizances and memoranda.

The deeds enrolled include numerous indentures to which the king is a party, besides other documents in which the Crown had an interest. Many others concern royal officials. The great majority deal with conveyances of land in perpetuity and fall into three main classes:

(i) Deed of feoffment in the form of a charter confirming gift (dedi, concessi et hac presenti carta confirmavi), usually with a clause of warranty and a note of the attorneys appointed to convey seisin.

(ii) Release and quitclaim (sciatis me AB remisisse, relaxasse et omnino pro me et heredibus meis imperpetuum quietum clamasse . . . totum jus meum, statum, clameum, titulum, interesse et demandam).

(iii) Indenture (normally in English) effecting sale ('this indenture witnesseth that AB hath clearly bargained and sold and by these presents bargaineth and selleth') or merely witnessing it (i. e. omitting the clause in the present tense). This usually includes:—

(a) a statement of the price, normally payable (at least in part) at the sealing of the indenture or the making of estate;

(b) a provision that the vendor shall make a lawful estate to the purchaser before a specified date or on request by such means (deed of feoffment, fine and recovery, etc.) as the latter or his counsel may advise, sometimes coupled with an undertaking to give all possible help in ensuring prompt and effective performance of the transaction;

(c) a provision for delivery to the purchaser of all evidences of title to the premises ('evydences, munymentes, deedes, endentures, charters, confirmacyons, escriptes and courte rollys' or the like);

(d) an undertaking to clear the premises of all charges ('former bargaynes, statutes merchauntes, statutes of the staple, joyntours, dowries, execucyons, fynes, amercyaments, recognisaunces, rent charge, annuities, rentes beyng behynde and of all former titles and of all other incumbraunces' or the like) except rents and services to the chief lords of the fee, sometimes coupled with a guarantee of the clear yearly value.

The property dealt with is usually described by the formula 'lands, tenements, rents, reversions and services,' but may embrace a longer list, including messuages (or 'meases'), pastures, 'feedings' (pascua), 'lesues,' waters, woods, etc., and sometimes such manorial incidents as reliefs, escheats, courts and the like. These are not enumerated in full in this Calendar; but unusual items have been picked out, and notes of specific quantities of (arable) land, meadow, etc., have always been calendared, even though they are usually recorded in such round figures that they can represent only a very rough estimate of the areas actually involved. Quantities are most often specified in the deed of feoffment; but in other respects this is usually much less informative than the indenture (e.g. No. 781 (iii) names only the feoffees to uses, with no indication of the actual purchaser).

Other common types of deed include leases, grants of annuities, receipts, bonds and releases of all actions, etc. (omnes et omnimodas acciones reales et personales, sectas, querelas, calumpnias, debita, compotos, execuciones, transgressiones et demandas) from the beginning of the world to the date of these presents. Some of the indentures embody highly complex covenants, including involved marriage settlements and the performance of arbiters' awards. Most elaborate of all are the indentures concerning royal grants to Westminster abbey, which occupy the whole of Rolls 365 and 368, and to other religious houses (Roll 370A; cf. Nos. 197 and 770).

The enrolment of a deed or series of related deeds is almost invariably followed by a note of its acknowledgment in Chancery or elsewhere. This normally takes the form: Memorandum quod predictus AB (the grantor) venit (or predicti AB et CD, the parties to an indenture, venerunt) coram domino rege in Cancellaria sua apud Westmonasterium . . . die . . . anno presenti et recognovit (recognoverunt) scripta predicta et omnia in eisdem contenta in forma predicta. Acknowledgment elsewhere was normally made before commissioners appointed by writ of dedimus potestatem.

Most of the recognizances enrolled were made either to the king or to royal officials to his use. Chief among them are undertakings to pay debts by instalments (always involving smaller totals than the sum covered by the recognizance), to be true in allegiance, to appear before the Council when summoned, to perform the duties of an office or to ensure the safe-keeping of a castle. Some are marked by convenient vagueness (e. g. No. 543); others by inconvenient precision (No. 797). The relatively few recognizances to private persons include a high proportion to men who held office under the crown. It is clear from the original recognizances surviving in unsorted Chancery Files that the great majority were not enrolled.

Many of the enrolments of recognizances bear the signature of a Chancery clerk. Those relating to debt were vacated on payment, and the enrolments were then cancelled, usually with a marginal note: Vacat ista recognicio pretextu cujusdam waranti domini regis signo suo manuali signati ac dilecto regi . . ., custodi rotulorum, directi et in Cancellaria de anno domini regis . . . residentis. Ideo ista recognicio cancellatur et dampnatur.

The memoranda include notes of recognizances (especially those not made in Chancery), of documents deposited or withdrawn, and of the delivery of writs to persons appointed by sheriffs (cf. Nos. 800, 879) to act as their deputies.

Further information about the types of document enrolled will be found in the Index, particularly under the headings Documents and Recognizances.

Four entries, Nos. 328, 506, 526 and 607 (v), have been considered sufficiently unusual to warrant transcription in extenso.