Saul, N. (1997). The Sussex Community and the oath to uphold the acts of the Merciless Parliament. Sussex Archaeological Collections 135. Vol 135, Sussex Archaeological Society. pp. 221-239. https://doi.org/10.5284/1085044. Cite this via datacite
 Title The title of the publication or report |
The Sussex Community and the oath to uphold the acts of the Merciless Parliament | ||
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Issue The name of the volume or issue |
Sussex Archaeological Collections 135 | ||
Series The series the publication or report is included in |
Sussex Archaeological Collections | ||
Volume Volume number and part |
135 | ||
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. |
221 - 239 | ||
Downloads Any files associated with the publication or report that can be downloaded from the ADS |
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Licence Type ADS, CC-BY 4.0 or CC-BY 4.0 NC. |
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DOI The DOI (digital object identifier) for the publication or report. |
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Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book |
Journal | ||
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report |
In June 1388 the Appellants, the coalition of magnates who had taken over Richard II's government, ordered the county sheriffs to make the gentry and greater townsmen of their bailiwicks swear on oath to uphold the legislative enactments of the Merciless Parliament, which had just ended. The sheriffs were ordered to return lists of the oath-takers to the council by the following month. Two of these lists survive, one for Lincolnshire, and the other for Sussex. The Sussex list is published here for the first time. The document is important because it provides a snapshot of contemporary local political society. Heading the list are the leaders of county life - the heads of monastic houses and the richer knights. However, a notable feature of the list is the presence of a large number of lesser esquires. The backgrounds and landholdings of these lesser figures are examined in the context of the debate over the extent of participation in late medieval local political life. Suggestions are also made as to how the process of oath-taking might have been organized. The internal arrangement of the return suggests that an oath-taking session was held in each of the rape courts, with the possible exception of Lewes. A high proportion of the deponents came from the western rapes of the county, and in particular from near Arundel. This points to the role of the Earl of Arundel, one of the leading Appellants, in bringing his powerful lordship to bear on the oath-taking process. | ||
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published |
1997 | ||
Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. |
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Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered |
20 Jan 2002 |
