POLITICAL HISTORY 



The great territorial rivals of the Bigods, the Warennes, however still kept 

 their position and estates. John de Warenne, earl of Surrey, was in 1296 

 appointed to the high office of Guardian of Scotland, with another Norfolk 

 man, Hugh de Cressingham, in the position of treasurer and justiciary. In 

 the next year de Warenne, however, was defeated by Wallace. 



The Norfolk knights summoned in 1 294 to attend with horse and arms, 

 &c., at Portsmouth to pass over to Gascony were Roger de Huntingfield, 

 Roger FitzOsbert, Hugh Bardolf, Giles de Playz, WiUiam de Cressy, John 

 and Alexander de Clavering, Edmund de Hemegrave, Robert Tibetot, John 

 de Thorp, William Mortimer of Atleburgh, William de Neyreford, Mathew 

 de Loveyn, Petrus Gocelyn, Adam de Cretyng, John de Ingham, Ralph de 

 Tony and John Butecourt.' 



Before leaving the reign of Edward I we may say that many Norfolk 

 knights took part in his Welsh wars, and that a list of them and the arms 

 they bore is given in Mason.^ Among the Norfolk knights summoned to 

 attend the king at Gloucester, 1287, to go with horses and arms against the 

 Welsh were William de Kerdeston, John de (H)engham, William de Gyney, 

 Roger son of Osbert, John de Boys, Ralph de Cumberwell, William Berdolf, 

 William de Huntingfield, Matthew de Loveyn and Ralph son of Roger de 

 Tony.^ We have the results of these Welsh wars brought very near home, 

 for we find on the Close Rolls many references to three Welsh prisoners, 

 Rhys brother of Malgon (otherwise Rhys ap Meredick) and Griffin his 

 brother, and Rhys son of Rhys ap Meredick, who were no doubt three of 

 the hostages taken in i 290, on the suppression of the rebellion of Reso son 

 of Meredic, and confined in Norwich Castle. Up to 13 19 all these were 

 still in prison here, and had an order for their robes, linen clothes, shoe leather, 

 and other necessaries, the same as had been allowed to the preceding sheriffi 

 In I 321, and from that date till 1335, only Rhys son of Rhys is mentioned as 

 being still detained. 



There are many other traces of the exigencies of the wars in the Patent 

 and Close Rolls. The men of Lynn,* for example, were in 1305 pardoned 

 for many financial irregularities, ' in consideration of their great expenses in 

 the king's service.' In 1305 the king^ made an award of pacification 

 between Yarmouth and the Cinque Ports, the disputes between these places 

 having now come to a head. 



The whole of the Bigod fief was in 13 10 granted by the new king to 

 his brothers Thomas of Brotherton, then a boy of thirteen, and Edmund ; 

 and the former was afterwards made earl-marshal. 



Of some local interest was the appointment of Walter de Norwich • as 

 one of the barons of the Exchequer in 131 1, for it was only the first step 

 to his being made a baron of Parliament in 13 14 and eventually treasurer 

 of the Exchequer. 



That the orderly administration of justice instituted by Edward I was 

 beginning to relax is instanced by the significant fact that it was necessary 

 in June, 131 i, to issue an order prohibiting Stephen de Segrave, under pain 

 of forfeiture, from going to Norwich or elsewhere or assembling armed men, 

 as the king understood that he was preparing to go to Norwich with an 



' Gascon R. 22 Edw. I, m. j d. ' Mason, Hist. ofNorf. 69-70. ^ Rot. Wall. 15 Edw. I, m. 10 d. 



* Cal. Pat. 1 301-7 p. 325. ' Ibid. p. 320. '' Blomefield, op. cit. iii, 76. 



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