On wednesdaie after the Epiphanie, the knights templers in England were apprehended all in one day by the kings commandement, vpon suspicion of hainous crimes & great enormities by them practised, contrarie to the articles of the christian faith. The order of their apprehension was on this wise. The king directed his writs vnto all and euerie the shiriffes of counties within the realme, that they should giue summons to a certeine number of substantiall persons, knights or other men of good accompt, to be afore them at certeine places within their gouernements, named in the same writs, on the sunday the morrow after the Epiphanie then next insuing, and that the said shiriffes faile not to be there the same day in their owne persons, to execute that which in other writs to them directed, and after to be sent, should be conteined. The date of this writ was the fiftéenth of December.
The second writ was sent by certeine chapleins, in which the shiriffes were commanded vpon the opening of the same, foorthwith to receiue an oth in presence of the said chapleins, to put in execution all that was therein conteined, and not to disclose the contents to any man, till they had executed the same with all expedition, and therewith to take the like oth of those persons, whom by vertue of the first writ they had summoned to appeare afore them. An other writ there was also framed & sent by the same chapleins, by the which the said shiriffes were commanded to attach by their bodies, all the templers within the precinct of their gouernements, and to seize all their lands and goods into the kings hands, togither with their writings, charters, déeds, and miniments, and to make thereof a true inuentarie and indenture, in presence of the warden of the place, whether he were brother of that order, or any other, & in presence of honest men being neighbors; of which indenture, one part to remaine in the custodie of the said warden, and the other with the shiriffe, vnder his seale that should so make seizure of the said goods: and further, that the said goods and chattels should be put in safe custodie, and that the quicke goods and cattell should be kept and found of the premisses as should séeme most expedient, and that their lands and possessions should be manured and tilled to the vttermost commoditie.
Further, that the persons of the said templers being attached, in manner as before is said, should be safelie kept in some competent place out of their owne houses, but not in streight prison, but in such order, as the shiriffes might be sure of them to bring them foorth when he should be commanded, to be found in the meane time according to their estate of their owne goods so seized, and hereof to make a true certificat vnto the treasurer and barons of the excheker, what they had doone concerning the premisses, declaring how manie of the said templers they had attached, with their names, and what lands and goods they had seized by vertue of this precept. The date of these two last writs was from Biflet the 20 of December, and the returne thereof to be made vnto the excheker, was the morrow after the Purification. There were writs also directed into Ireland, as we haue there made mention, and likewise vnto Iohn de Britaine earle of Richmond the lord warden of Scotland, & to Eustace de Cotesbach chamberleine of Scotland, to Walter de Pederton iustice of Westwales, and to Hugh Aldighle aliàs Audlie iustice of Northwales, to Robert Holland iustice of Chester, vnder like forme and maner as in Ireland we haue expressed.
The malice which the lords had conceiued against the earle of Cornewall still increased, the more indéed through the high bearing of him, being now aduanced to honour. For being a goodlie gentleman and a stout, he would not once yéeld an inch to any of them, which worthilie procured him great enuie amongst the chéefest péeres of all the realme, as sir Henrie Lacie earle of Lincolne, sir Guie earle of Warwike, and sir Aimer de Valence earle of Penbroke, the earles of Glocester, Hereford, Arundell, and others, which vpon such wrath and displeasure as they had conceiued against him, thought it not conuenient to suffer the same any longer, in hope that the kings mind might happilie be altered into a better purpose, being not altogither conuerted into a venemous disposition, but so that it might be cured, if the corrupter thereof were once banished from him.
Tho. Walsi.
Cōntinuatiō of N. Triuet.
Herevpon they assembled togither in the parlement time, at the new temple, on saturdaie next before the feast of saint Dunstan, and there ordeined that the said Péers should abiure the realme, and depart the same on the morrow after the Natiuitie of saint Iohn Baptist at the furthest, and not to returne into the same againe at any time then after to come. To this ordinance the king (although against his will) bicause he saw himselfe and the realme in danger, gaue his consent, and made his letters patents to the said earles and lords, to witnesse the same.
[The tenour of the kings letters patents.]
Notum vobis facimus per præsentes, quòd amodò vsque ad diem dominus Petrus de Gaueston regnum nostrum est abiuraturus & exiturus, videlicet in crastino natiuitatis S. Iohannis Baptistæ proximo sequenti: nos in quantum nobis est nihil faciemus, nec aliquid fieri permittemus, per quod exilium dicti domini Petri in aliquo poterit impediri, vel protelari, quin secundum formam à prælatis, comitibus, & baronibus regni nostri, ordinatam, & per nos libero consensu confirmatam, plenariè perficiatur. In cuius rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Datum apud Westm. 18 die Maij. Anno regni nostri primo.