Each of the short notes might be dwelt on and expanded indefinitely. As they stand, they only show us what struck the scribe as the note of the year.
“Athenæum,” 8th October 1910.
PS. A captious correspondent writing the following week was very scornful about my calling this a “delightful little roll” when there were other manuscripts, (which I had mentioned), about my publishing extracts from it, indeed, as it had already been printed. Some form of it had appeared in Dr. Thomas’s edition of Dugdale, p. 147. But the printing referred to had been sandwiched irrelevantly into an appendix to a little-known book, “Fordun’s Scotochronicon,” by Hearne, and he certainly had not taken this little roll as his copy. His recension is indeed different in some details from Harl. MS. 6388, and also from Add. MS. 11364. Neither of these seem to have been known to my critic, who thought he made a point, that a third MS., called the City Annals, containing similar entries, is to be found among the muniments of Coventry from 1350 to 1566, the continuation from that year having been torn away and replaced in a later hand. This, however, Miss Dormer Harris had mentioned in a note in her “Life in an Old English Town.” But the objections were made only to lead up to the discussion of the arrest of the prince. He did not consider the story at Coventry trustworthy, and blamed me for suggesting even that it might have given the idea to Shakespeare. He considered Shakespeare’s story incorrect, and only invented by Sir Thomas Elyot. Such a fact must have attracted attention, and must have been mentioned in some of the records of the time. But a most exhaustive search had been made, without avail, therefore it must be supposed to have been taken from the story of Edward II, who when a prince was expelled from Court for half a year for insulting one of his father’s ministers, though he was not imprisoned for the offence, as the Rev. A. J. Church noted in his “Henry V.”
The critic was desirous of supporting the character of Prince Hal, and added that the day after he succeeded his father he caused to be summoned to his first Parliament “Sir William Gascoigne Knight, Chief Justice of our Lord the King, assigned to hold pleas before our Lord the King, before the King himself.” He had also a grant of four bucks and does annually for life, which shows that the King did reappoint him, and his intention was to keep him in office. It must have been, therefore, at his own request that his patent was not renewed. To this I replied, pointing out that Henry V summoned his first Parliament on 23rd March, and appointed a new Lord Chief Justice on the 29th, the only one of the Judges replaced.
Miss Dormer Harris joined in the discussion as to the truth of the record, and added that there were two Ardens, John and Geoffrey, mentioned in the Leet Book in 1461; that it noted in 1545 “Shakespere’s house in the new rent vacant the yeir 2/6” that a “Richard Shackspeare of Hinkly and Jane Erdsone of the cittie of Coventry widow were marryed before Mr. Matthew Smith Justis of peace the 20th of August 1656” (Holy Trinity Register).
Lastly, the citizens in Hornby’s year, Candlemas 1412 to Candlemas 1413, lent £100 to the Prince (Leet Book 61).
Sir James H. Ramsay wrote to say historical students were much indebted to me for having published the extracts, especially the one about the Prince, which shows that a Prince could be arrested. The original disputant wrote again against my “little roll,” as compared to the “other rolls” (which are paper quartos), and then turned his attention to demolishing Sir James Ramsay’s remarks,
The small quarto, Harl. 6388, was bought in 1690 by Mr. Humfrey Wanley, with accounts of Coventry and its Mayors from 1348 till the Revolution. The Collector’s name seems to have been Miles Flint, who gives the following account of his authorities: “This book was taken out of Manuscripts. The one written by Mr. Christopher Owen Mayor of this Citty, which contains the charter of Walter de Coventre, concerning ye Comons &c. to Godfrey Leg, Mayor 1637. The other beginning at the 36 Mayor of this citty and continued by several hands, and lately by Edmund Palmer, late of this Citty Counsellor, till Mr. Yardly late Mayor 1689 1690; and another written by Mr. Bedford, and collected out of divers others and continued to Mr. Septimus Bott: and two others collected by Tho. Potter, and continued to Mr. Robert Beake, and another written by Mr. Francis Basnett, to the first year of Mr. Jelliff’s mayoralty and another written by Mr. Abraham Ashley and continued to Mr. Sep’ Bott; and another written by Mr. Abraham Boune and Humphrey Wightwick, 1607.” On the title-page is recorded:
“Humphrey Wanley (that is Oneley) bought this of Mr. Tipper, December 17th 1690, price 6d.” The book notes that—
“Richard Stoke 1356, brought in the good strikes.” John Smith is called “Smither,” and the Parliament is called a “layman’s parliament.” When it reaches the special date, it reads, “William Hornebye 1411-12. He arrested the Prince in the Priory of Coventry. A quarter of wheat sold for twenty shillings,”