Mr. J. Stuart on St. Ebha and Coldingham. 217 



such a visit, so he fled from the Priory, and took all the 

 brethren with him. In 1456, Alexander Home, son of Sir 

 Alexander, was constituted hereditary Baillie. The new 

 BailUe soon compelled the Prior and Brethren of Coldingham 

 to flee, and intruded into the Priory two of his own kinsmen 

 without lawful authority. This led to legal proceedings in 

 the Papal Court at Rome, in the course of which, some 

 curious incidents occurred. In 1465, an edict from the 

 Roman Court was to be executed against Patrick and John 

 Hume, the intruders at Coldingham ; but the officer did not 

 venture nearer than the Parish Church of Norham, because 

 ** I dar noght take uppon me for fere of deth to seke thair 

 persons, ne yitt to accede unto thair habitacions and duelling 

 places." Two years afterwards, the Homes were excommu- 

 nicated, and the sentence denounced at the Parish Church 

 of Norham, on the Feast of the Translation of St. Cuthbert, 

 in the audience of the Homes and others of both nations, to 

 a great number gathered together, according to ancient cus- 

 tom, for holding a public market at this time. 



The difficulties attending a suit conducted at such a dis- 

 tance are well illustrated by what happened in this cause. 

 Agents had to be sent from this country, with powers to fee 

 counsel. Sometimes the agents were not very satisfactory in 

 their accounts of the money furnished to them, and a fresh 

 one had to be appointed. In this way, a procuratory was at 

 times granted to certain agents, and at the same time a pro- 

 curatory revoking the first, *' si necesse fuerit."* Nothing 

 could go on without money, and that, sometimes, was not 

 easily got. Then there are references to bad banks at Rome,t 

 in all which respects, the times seem to have been wonder- 

 fully like our own. Towards the end of this long plea with 

 the Homes, the Prior of Durham wrote to his correspondent 

 at Rome in regard to the application of certain monies, in a 

 way which looks as if a part of the sum was to find its 

 way into the hands of the Holy Father himself. The 

 words are " pro finali processu contra Patricium Home et 

 Johannem Home in dicta curia habenda, volo el opto xxxvi 

 ducatos pro satisfactione domino nostro Papse, et ceteris sui 

 sacri palatii ministris, inde ut dixistis, fienda, de debitis nos- 

 tris per vestram industriam levandis, si et quatenus recuperari 

 poterunt primo capiatis."J 



The grasp which the Homes laid on Coldingham was 



• P. 192. t P- 228. X P- 219. 



