HISTORY AND CHARTULARY OF THE ABBEY OF DARLEY. 89 



their tenants had not so many animals of their own, they 

 were entitled, without hindrance, to bring others. It was also 

 lawful for them to pasture goats. If any of the animals of 

 the convent's tenants entered Ralph's enclosed lands through 

 the frailty or breakage of the fences, they were not to be 

 impounded, but to be peaceably removed. The same Ralph 

 also gave to the abbey eighteen acres of land in Wessington 

 and a further plot of thirty-four acres in the same vill, with 

 rights of housebote, haybote, and firebote in the woods. 



These and other donations must have been a serious drain 

 on the resources of a man of quite limited means, such as 

 Ralph of Wessington ; but the explanation of this dispersal 

 of his property is made clear in an agreement of June 1 7th, 

 1252, which is entered on the Fine Roll of that year.* Ralph 

 had fallen into the hands of the Jewish money-lenders of the 

 day, and in order to effect his deliverance out of their hands, 

 ad adqitieiandum sue de judaismo, and to cheat them of 

 their prey, for they could not seize church property, he 

 eventually made over to the abbey all his possessions, merely 

 making life provision for necessaries for himself and family. 

 The convent undertook to honourably supply Ralph and his 

 wife, Matilda, for their lifetime, with fourteen white loaves of 

 the canons, and fourteen gallons of good beer every week, 

 and other dishes in flesh or fish, as befits the day, such as 

 would suffice for two canons ; twenty-eight service loaves, and 

 seven gallons of second beer weekly for a servant and hand- 

 maid ministering to them ; honourable lodging for them and 

 their servants, with other necessaries, especially wood or 

 charcoal for fuel ; a horse for Ralph as often as he should 

 have need to travel to a distance ; a tunic, super-tunic, and 

 cape, or ten ells (at 2od. an ell) of russet or brown cloth 

 yearly with lamb's wool for the super-tunic for Ralph ; a tunic, 

 super-tunic, and cloak or nine ells of russet or green or brown 

 cloth (at 24d. an ell), with lamb's wool for the super-tunic 



* Fines, 46 Hen. III., Sept. 24 to Oct. 20, and Derb. Arch. Soc. Jour- 

 nal, xvi., p. 40. 



