A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



the armies lay opposite each other, and then the Scots, who were in want 

 of supplies, quietly withdrew in the night. Pursuit of so mobile a force 

 being hopeless, Edward III retired to Durham, and disbanded his forces. ^^^ 



The pontificate of the celebrated Richard Bury (1333-45), Beaumont's 

 successor, was not marked by any striking event. Owing to the activity of 

 Edward III Durham enjoyed comparative peace for some years, though in 

 1343 an armistice was purchased from the Scots."* The main interest of 

 this period is, however, in the various steps by which the Palatinate rights, 

 somewhat overshadowed by the repeated seizures during Bek's pontificate, 

 were reasserted. Bury, shortly after his enthronement — a ceremony graced 

 by the king and queen of England, the king of Scotland, two archbishops, 

 and many other nobles — was made successively Treasurer and Chancellor 

 of England. He was therefore in a position to act with vigour where he 

 considered his jura regalia infringed, and on one occasion outlawed the 

 commissioners appointed by the king to inquire into the obstructions which 

 hindered the navigation of the River Tyne.'^^ 



Another instance in which Bury resisted the central authority was when 

 the king tried to enforce the assumption of knighthood on some of the 

 bishop's subjects. Bury protested, and the matter was referred to the Barons 

 of the Exchequer for inquiry."' A further illustration of the bishop's jura 

 regalia in the matter of taxation is afforded by the case of the wool tax in 

 1338. In theory the Palatinate was free from ordinary royal taxation, and 

 Edward III, when Parliament had granted him half the wool in the kingdom, 

 addressed a mandate and request to the bishop to convoke a representative 

 assembly of his liberty, explaining the necessities of the king in regard to 

 the defence of the realm, and to obtain a grant of half the wool which was 

 to be carried to Newcastle on Tyne."^ 



To Bury succeeded Thomas Hatfield (1345-81), whose long episcopate 

 save for the battle of Neville's Cross is singularly devoid of incident. Despite 

 the Black Death, which ravaged the Palatinate"' in 1349 and 1350, the 



"' For this invasion the most vivid account will be found in Froissart, Chron. i, cc. 17, 18 ; see 

 also ¥orA\i-a, Annals (Scotch Historians), i, 140 ; Ridpath, op. cit. 283 ; Northumb. County Hist, vi, 317 ; 

 Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, p. xli. 



'" Durham Cursitor Rolls, printed Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), iv, 273. The entry is of interest as the 

 truce is stated to have been made ' de communi consilio et unanimi censensu totius communitatls dcminii et 

 libertatis nostre regie.' The price paid was £160, which was raised by commissioners appointed for the 

 purpose from various wards into which the bishopric was thus divided, viz. west ward, Sadberge, £l€> ; 

 east ward, Sadberge, j^i6 ; Darlington ward, £\z ly. \d. ; Stockton ward, ^^21 6s. 8d. ; Chester ward, 

 j^33 12/. ; and Easington ward, j^30 8/. 



'" Lapsley, op. cit. 320. The rights of the bishops of Durham over the southern half of the River 

 Tyne were a subject of frequent dispute. It is unfortunately not known what ultimately happened in the 

 above case. The king protested against the outlawry and ordered the bishop to allow the commissioners to 

 proceed with their inquiry ; the bishop in reply issued a commission of his own to inquire as to the persons 

 who had unlawfully interfered with the right of navigation and fishing in the southern half of the waters of 

 the Tyne. Reg. Pa/at. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), iv, 258, 334. 



"^ The result of the inquiry is unknown, but as no more is heard of the subject after 1346 it may be 

 concluded that the bishop's claim was allowed. Reg. Palat. Dun. iv, 21 1, 265. 



'" Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), iv, 225 ; Lapsley, op. cit. 116, 298. It may be mentioned here that 

 the large revenue the bishops of Durham received as landlords of the vast episcopal estates rendered it seldom 

 necessary for them to resort to direct taxation of their subjects, the purchase of truces from the Scots being 

 the principal cause of such action on their part. Dr. Lapsley, op. cit. 273, states that in the thirteenth and 

 fourteenth centuries direct taxation was a regular, if infrequent, source of revenue, being reserved to meet 

 extraordin.iry expenses, and that owing to the disturbed condition of the borders in the fourteenth century 

 it was then more frequently resorted to. 



"' For details see ' Soc. and Econ. Hist.' 



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