January 2012 – How many people are in the Ragman Roll?

How many people are in the Ragman Roll?

Matthew Hammond

In the previous two features of the month, John Reuben Davies explained the process by which the Ragman Rolls were produced and discussed the nature of the oaths taken by the men and women who submitted to King Edward I’s rule. In this feature and the features to follow, we will examine the people themselves whose names are recorded in this unique document. We will start by asking the question of just how many people are ‘in’ the Ragman Rolls. In this feature, we will focus on trying to ascertain exactly how many men and women swore fealty, and in some cases also performed homage, to King Edward in the Ragman Roll. Of course, it is worth keeping in mind that those swearing fealty were not the only people mentioned in the rolls – there were also the men acting as witnesses to their fealties. These witnesses could include ‘Scottish’ nobles like the earls of Angus and Dunbar or March, but most of them were Englishmen in the retinue of King Edward.

The structure of the Ragman Roll fealties

As John Reuben Davies’s features made clear, the Ragman Roll is actually a collation and copy, made a few years after the acts themselves, of a number of contemporary instruments of fealty, and the structure of the Ragman Roll reveals the composite nature of the document. The roll records fealties taking place between 13 May and 28 Aug. 1296 at nineteen separate locations. The vast majority, some 93%, of the fealties took place at Berwick-upon-Tweed on the 28th of August, at a parliament called by King Edward. The earlier series of fealties, occurring between 13 May and 6 August, reflect the itinerary of Edward’s invasion of Scotland and the tour up the east coast as far as Moray which seemed to constitute little more than a ‘victory lap’, especially after the resignation of the kingdom by King John on 10 July at Brechin Castle. This tour saw acts of submission and fealty recorded in Roxburgh, where the Steward surrendered, Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, Clunie in Stormont, Forfar, Arbroath, Farnell (Angus), Montrose, Aberdeen, Lumphanan (Aberdeenshire), Banff, Elgin, ‘Rathenach’ (lost, near Orton, Moray), Kildrummy in Mar, Kincardine O’Neil, Kincardine in the Mearns, and back to Arbroath. During this three-month tour, some 129 acts of fealty were recorded. King John, who gave up his property, admitted his rebellion, gave up his alliance with the French, and surrendered his royal dignity, but did not recite the same oath of fealty as his subjects.

There are a total of 1870 names of people submitting to King Edward through fealty and/or homage recorded in the Ragman Roll, not including King John. As we have seen, 129 of these are from acts of fealty during King Edward’s tour of the east of Scotland. The remaining 1741 names were recorded at Edward’s parliament at Berwick-upon-Tweed on the 28th of August 1296. These names can be divided into two sections – first, a shorter, more organised section with names structured by status, and second, a longer, more chaotic assemblage of names gathered together by county. There are 188 names recorded in the earlier section which is organised by status or type, whereas the later ‘county’ section includes 1553 names. The geographical distribution of individuals by county will be discussed in a later feature.

The more neatly structured section organised by county includes bishops, heads of religious houses, knights (including earls and magnates) and burghs. Of the 188 names classified by status or type, 125 are representatives of the burghs, with a strong emphasis on royal burghs from the east and south of the kingdom. Perth is clearly viewed as the most important burgh in the kingdom (perhaps after Berwick, which Edward had already subdued). Seventeen representatives of the burgh of Perth swore fealty at Berwick, while the burghs (perhaps listed by order of importance?) of Stirling, Roxburgh, Edinburgh, Jedburgh, Haddington, Peebles, Linlithgow, Montrose and Inverkeithing were all represented by delegations of twelve individuals.

The main body of names taken at Berwick are divided into 43 separate items representing contemporary deeds of fealty, some of which also survive. Individuals are defined as belonging to counties. Each item includes anywhere between a single act of fealty and 117 names. In addition, 91 individuals are specifically described as ‘tenants of the king’; a further 25 names are classified as ‘tenants of the bishop of St Andrews’.

The problem of duplicates

The problem of duplicate names , that is, people appearing more than once in the roll, makes it difficult to arrive at an exact number of how many people swore fealty in 1296. While it is clear that the same individuals appear twice or even three times, what further confuses the issue is that there are also clearly instances of two quite distinct individuals having the same name or a similar name. It seems likely that the individuals themselves were aware of this and probably gave versions of their name designed to avoid confusion; the clerks also seem to have been quite eager to avoid the conflation of two individuals who happened to have the same name. These individuals were marked out by some extra piece of information designed to tell father from son, the holder of one estate from another, the practitioner of one trade from another. For example, the clerks were careful to distinguish William Murray of Tullibardine, William Murray of Bothwell, and William Murray of Drumsargard. They made distinctions between Robert Cameron of Baledgarno and Robert Cameron of Balnillo, and between John Stirling of Moray and John Stirling of Carse. Similarly, the clerks were careful to avoid potential confusions rising from patronymics, noting James son of Godfrey de Ros senior as opposed to James son of Godfrey de Ros junior. John of Ramsey and John son of Ness of Ramsey appear to be two different people, as do Alexander of Caverton and Alexander son of Henry of Caverton. The fact that the clerks were so careful in these cases can at least give us some hope of being able to organise the material moving forward and arrive at a reasonable total number. We can do this by accepting that in most cases, when the same name appears twice without any further distinguishing details, we are most likely dealing with the same person appearing more than one time in the rolls.

Swearing fealty on two occasions

Of the 129 individuals who swore fealty at various places in eastern Scotland between 13 May and 6 August 1296, the great majority also undertook the journey to Berwick-upon-Tweed in order to swear fealty there on 28 August. As Appendix One shows, 96 of the individuals listed in the ‘pre-Berwick’ section are duplicated at least once at Berwick. The names marked with asterisks reveal that 13 of these 99 appear to be listed twice in the Berwick section. A further eight individuals may possibly be duplicated in the Berwick section (see Appendix 1A). While some of this group are people who very likely are duplicated in the Berwick section, it is not always clear which person they are to be matched up with. For example, James de Ros of the county of Ayr is very likely to be either James son of Godfrey senior or junior, but obviously cannot be both. By contrast, 22 people listed in the ‘pre-Berwick’ section definitely do not appear in the Berwick fealties (see Appendix 1B). This includes the burgh communities of Aberdeen and Elgin, the locations for many of the pre-Berwick fealties. Presumably, they were not expected to swear fealty again at Berwick due to their northern location and the distances involved. Representatives of the burgh of Montrose just to the south of the Mounth, by contrast, did not swear fealty in the ‘pre-Berwick’ section despite the 23 oaths of fealty sworn by others at Montrose; instead, the burgesses went to Berwick and swore fealty there on 28 August. Furthermore, Alexander Kennedy, a canon of Glasgow cathedral, did not come to Berwick; presumably this is because the bishop himself swore fealty there. Similarly, Walter Blackwater, dean of the cathedral of Aberdeen, did not go to Berwick, while Bishop Henry did. William Comyn, the long-serving provost of the collegiate (former céli Dé or Culdee) church of St Mary’s on the Rock of St Andrews (simply called ‘provost of St Andrews’ in the Ragman Roll), did not feel it necessary to travel to Berwick for whatever reason. The majority of other people north of Forth who did not come to Berwick to swear fealty a second time are of the rank of gentry knights and thanes. Of the 22 people who definitely do not appear in the Berwick section, 17 swore their oaths of fealty at locations north of the Mounth, which probably goes a long way to explaining their absence on the 28th of August. In summary, then, of the 129 pre-Berwick individuals, somewhere between 99 and 107 also were in attendance at Berwick.

Calculating the total number of fealties

We have been able to calculate a likely number of total individuals in the following way. Checking all 1870 names carefully, it is likely that 1425 names do not have duplicates, and thus represent 1425 individuals who swore fealty. This group does include some individuals with the same name, including those whom the clerks described with extra information, as explained above.

Not including individuals who appear three times and possible duplicates, we can add to this number of 1425 some 84 names of people who appear in the pre-Berwick section as well as at Berwick itself. 16 more duplicates have been identified between the more organised ‘status’ section and the longer ‘counties’ section (see Appendix Two). Some 66 further duplicates have been identified within the ‘counties’ section itself (see Appendix Three). 19 individuals seem to appear on three occasions (see Appendix Four). Adding together the 1425 names without duplicates, the 166 duplicates, and the 19 ‘triplicates’ gives us a total of 1610 individuals. However, we still have a few difficult names to figures out which have been assigned a status as ‘possible duplicates’. There are 56 of these names, which are listed in Appendix Five below. Many of these ‘possible’ duplicates are indeed individuals with the same name, but where some reservations have been drawn due to social status. In other words, the clerks at Berwick were much less likely to seek to draw a clear distinction between two burgesses from separate towns with the same occupational surname, such as John the napier or William the tailor, so we should retain some doubt about citing these as duplicates or ‘triplicates’. The following table shows the categories discussed in this paragraph. Our calculations suggest a total of between 1638 and 1666 individuals swearing fealty in the Ragman Rolls. Of course, it is impossible to produce a precisely accurate total number, but this range is probably very close to as accurate as one can get. It is possible that further prosopographical research on various individuals in the Ragman Roll will allow us to narrow this down even further in the future.

 

Names which have no duplicate 1425
Duplicates: pre-Berwick fealties who also came to Berwick (not including ‘triplicates’) 84
Duplicates: status section & county section 16
Duplicates: within the county section 66
Individuals who appear three times 19
Possible duplicates, if all genuine 28
Possible duplicates, if none genuine (56)
Range for total number of fealties 1638 – 1666

 

APPENDIX 1: Duplicates from the pre-Berwick fealties

An asterisk denotes people who appear more than once in the Berwick section.

1. Lord James, Steward of Scotland, knight    13 May, Roxburgh      IP, 61 (dupl. IP, 119)

2. Lord John Steward, brother of James, knight  13 May, Roxb.        IP, 62 (dupl. IP, 143)

3. Lord Thomas de Somerville, knight            4 June, Roxburgh        IP, 63 (dupl. IP, 125)

4. Lord William of Douglas, knight                 10 June, Edinburgh     IP, 64 (dupl. IP, 125)

5. Walter Logan                                              10 June, Edinburgh     IP, 65 (dupl. IP, 125)

6. Robert de Muschamps                                12 June, Edinburgh     IP, 66 (dupl. IP, 133)

7. Lord John of Callander, knight                    17 June, Stirling          IP, 66 (dupl. IP, 119)

8. John of Lamberton*                                    17 June, Stirling          IP, 68 (dupl. IP, 137, 157)

9. Lord William of Ruthven, knight                 17 June, Stirling          IP, 68 (dupl. IP, 162)

10. William of Gardyne                                  17 June, Stirling          IP, 69 (dupl. IP, 154)

11. Nobleman Lord Malise, earl of Strathearn 19 June, Stirling       IP, 69 (dupl. IP, 119)

12. Lord Walter of Corrie, knight                   19 June, Stirling          IP, 70 (dupl. IP, 156)

13. Lord Michael of Wemyss, knight*                        19 June, Stirling          IP, 70 (dupl. IP, 141, 162)

14. Lord Robert Cameron, lord of Baledgarno, knight  22/6, Perth  IP, 71 (dupl. IP, 125)

15. Lord John de la Haye, knight*                  22 June, Perth             IP, 72 (dupl. IP, 146, 157)

16. Hugh of Urr*                                             22 June, Perth             IP, 72 (dupl. IP, 142, 160)

17. Lord John of Moncreiffe, knight               25 June, Perth             IP, 73 (dupl. IP, 125)

18. Lord Robert Cameron, lord of Balnillo, knight*   25/6, Perth      IP, 73 (dupl. IP, 137, 157)

19. Lord Alexander of Abernethy, knight       25 June, Perth             IP, 74 (dupl. IP, 157)

20. Lord Gilbert of Glencarnie, knight*          27 June, Clunie            IP, 75 (dupl. IP, 129, 158)

21. Lord Archibald of Livingston, knight         28 June, Clunie            IP, 75 (dupl. IP, 162)

22. Eustace of Bickerton, rector of Auchtermuchty   28/6, Clunie    IP, 76 (dupl. IP, 167)

23. Lord John of Stirling, knight[1] 2 July, Clunie               IP, 76 (dupl. IP, 125)

24. Peter de Champagne, rector of Kinkell[2] 4 July, Forfar               IP, 77 (dupl. IP, 145)

25. Lord William Francis, knight*                   4 July, Forfar               IP, 77 (dupl. IP, 139, 157)

26. Hugh of Moray                                          6 July, Forfar               IP, 79 (dupl. IP, 125)

27. Hugh Urry (Hurrie)                                   6 July, Forfar               IP, 79 (dupl. IP, 161)

28. Lord Andrew de Bethune, knight              6 July, Forfar               IP, 79 (dupl. IP, 128)

29. Brother Henry, abbot of Arbroath, and convent 6 July, Arbroath    IP, 80 (dupl. IP, 117)

30. Lord William Bisset, knight                       7 July, Montrose         IP, 82 (dupl. IP, 125)

31. Lord John Comyn, earl of Buchan             10 July, Montrose       IP, 85 (dupl. IP, 119)

32. Lord Donald, earl of Mar                          10 July, Montrose       IP, 85 (dupl. IP, 119)

33. Lord Alexander de Balliol, knight             10 July, Montrose       IP, 86 (dupl. IP, 126)

34. Lord John Comyn of Badenoch senior, knight   10/7, Montrose IP, 86 (dupl. IP, 119)

35. Lord Herbert of Maxwell, knight              10 July, Montrose       IP, 87 (dupl. IP, 162)

36. Lord John of Toskerton, marshal, knight  10 July, Montrose       IP, 88 (dupl. IP, 124)

37. Lord John of Moray (Murray), knight       10 July, Montrose       IP, 88 (dupl. IP, 157)

38. Lord Nicholas de la Haye, knight              10 July, Montrose       IP, 90 (dupl. IP, 125)

39. Lord John Sinclair of Herdmanston          10 July, Montrose       IP, 90 (dupl. IP, 125)

40. Andrew de Chartres                                  10 July, Montrose       IP, 90 (dupl. IP, 124)

41. Lord Hugh Ridel, knight*                          10 July, Montrose       IP, 90 (dupl. IP, 125, 136)

42. John Comyn of Scraesburgh                     10 July, Montrose       IP, 90 (dupl. IP, 128)

43. Lord John Butler, knight                            11 July, Montrose       IP, 91 (dupl. IP, 125)

44. Ralph of Eglinton                                      11 July, Montrose       IP, 91 (dupl. IP, 148)

45. Thomas of Winchester*                            11 July, Montrose       IP, 91 (dupl. IP, 137, 149)

46. John of Elphinstone                                   11 July, Montrose       IP, 91 (dupl. IP, 139)

47. Fergus Marshal                                         11 July, Montrose       IP, 91 (dupl. IP, 160)

48. Godfrey of Ardrossan                                11 July, Montrose       IP, 91 (dupl. IP, 126)

49. Walter of ‘Scherwinglawe’, knight           14 July, Aberdeen       IP, 92 (dupl. IP, 162)

50. Nobleman Lord Norman of Leslie, knight            15 July, Aberdeen       IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 142)

51. Nobleman Lord Alexander of Lamberton, knight*                       IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 126, 157)

52. Nobleman Lord John of Glenesk, knight   15 July, Aberdeen       IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 126)

53. Nobleman Lord John of Stirling of Moray, knight                                    IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 119)

54. Nobleman Lord Patrick of Ogilvie, knight            15 July, Aberdeen       IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 126)

55. Nobleman Lord John of Garioch, knight   15 July, Aberdeen       IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 154)

56. Nobleman Lord William of Clunie, knight            15 July, Aberdeen       IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 162)

57. Nobleman Lord Thomas Durward, knight15 July, Aberdeen       IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 138)

58. Alexander of Straiton                                15 July, Aberdeen       IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 125)

59. Gilbert of Mar                                           15 July, Aberdeen       IP, 93 (dupl. IP, 129)

60. Lord Gilbert de la Haye, knight                16 July, Aberdeen       IP, 94 (dupl. IP, 137)

61. Lord John of Cambo, knight                      16 July, Aberdeen       IP, 94 (dupl. IP, 145)

62. James de Melville                                     16 July, Aberdeen       IP, 94 (dupl. IP, 158)

63. Robert of Elmslie                                      16 July, Aberdeen       IP, 94 (dupl. IP, 150)

64. Duncan of Frendraught, knight                 17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96 (dupl. IP, 142)

65. Patrick of Berkeley, knight                       17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96 (dupl. IP, 152)

66. Hugh de la Haye, knight                           17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96 (dupl. IP, 145)

67. Reginald le Chen (Cheyne), knight           17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96 (dupl. IP, 119)

68. John of Maxwell, knight, son of Sir Herbert of Maxwell, knight  IP, 96 (dupl. IP, 128 and/or 149)

69. William de Muhaut (Mowat), knight        17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96 (dupl. IP, 162)

70. Lord Harvey of Crambeth, dean of Dunkeld 17 July, Aberdeen   IP, 96 (dupl. IP, 164)

71. Robert of Wauchope                                 17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96 (dupl. IP, 145)

72. Robert the Falconer                                  17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96 (dupl. IP, 157)

73. Father Lord Henry, bishop of Aberdeen   19 July, Aberdeen       IP, 98 (dupl. IP, 115)

74. Lord William of Moray (Murray), knight 19 July, Aberdeen       IP, 98 (dupl. IP, 119, 125, or 128)

75. Lord Thomas of Torthorwald, knight        22 July, Banff              IP, 101 (dupl. IP, 124)

76. Father Robert, bishop of Glasgow            26 July, Elgin               IP, 101 (dupl. IP, 115)

77. Nobleman Lord Alexander, earl of Menteith 27 July, Elgin         IP, 103 (dupl. IP, 119)

78. Lord Thomas de Soules, knight                 27 July, Elgin               IP, 103 (dupl. IP, 157)

79. Lord Gervase of Rait, knight                     27 July, Elgin               IP, 103 (dupl. IP, 158)

80. Lord Alexander of Argyll, knight               27 July, Elgin               IP, 103 (dupl. IP, 137)

81. Lord Alexander Comyn, knight                 27 July, Elgin               IP, 103 (dupl. IP, 119)

82. Lord Nicholas de Soules, knight                27 July, Elgin               IP, 103 (dupl. IP, 157)

83. Alan of Moray                                           27 July, Elgin               IP, 105 (dupl. IP, 162)

84. Lord John de St Michael, knight*             28 July, Elgin               IP, 107 (dupl. IP, 146,162)

85. Lord Robert de Normanville, knight*       28 July, Elgin               IP, 107 (dupl. IP, 125,137)

86. Lord Donald son of Can, knight                28 July, Elgin               IP, 107 (dupl. IP, 124)

87. William Wiseman                                     28 July, Elgin               IP, 107 (dupl. IP, 158)

88. John de Montfort*                                    28 July, Elgin               IP, 107 (dupl. IP, 125,162)

89. Robert de Tremblay                                  28 July, Elgin               IP, 107 (dupl. IP, 157)

90. William de Lascelles                                 28 July, Elgin               IP, 107 (dupl. IP, 157)

91. Gilbert of Southwick                                 28 July, Elgin               IP, 107 (dupl. IP, 160)

92. John Wischard of the Mearns[3] 29 July, Elgin               IP, 108 (dupl. IP, 157)

93. Andrew son of Godfrey de Ros                 29 July, Elgin               IP, 108 (dupl. IP, 146)

94. William of ‘Rathenach’                             30 July, Rathenach      IP, 109 (dupl. IP, 158)

95. John Tresour, burgess of Perth                 1 August, Kildrummy  IP, 110-1 (dupl. IP, 121)

96. Ranulf/ Randolph of Keillour                    2 August, Kildrummy  IP, 111 (dupl. IP, 126)

97. Richard of Newtibber                               3 Aug., Kincardine O’Neil        IP, 112 (dupl., 146)

98. Ralph of Kinnaird                                      4 Aug., Kincardine in Mearns IP, 112 (dupl.,137)

99. Mark of Clapham                                      6 Aug., Arbroath         IP, 113 (dupl., IP, 147)

 

APPENDIX 1B: POSSIBLE DUPLICATES from the pre-Berwick fealties

1. Master William of Kinghorn, rector of Kirkliston   4 July, Forfar               IP, 78

Possibly the same as William of Kinghorn, persona of the church of Kiltearn, county of Inverness, IP, 159. See Watt, Graduates, 317

2. William Fraser, son of the late Alexander Fraser  7 July, Farnell              IP, 81

Possibly the same as William Fraser of the county of Peebles (IP, 125) and/or William Fraser of the county of Edinburgh (IP, 134)

3. Lord William de Balliol, rector of Kirkpatrick        12 July, Montrose       IP, 92

Possibly the same as William de Balliol of the county of Edinburgh (IP, 125)

4. Lord John, son of Lord John of Kinross, knight        16 July , Aberdeen      IP, 94

Possibly the same as John of Kinross of the county of Forfar (IP, 126)

5. Lord John Fleming, knight                                       19 July, Aberdeen       IP, 98

Possibly the same as John Fleming of the county of Peebles (IP, 152)

6. James son of Godfrey de Ros, senior                      28 July, Elgin               IP, 107

Possibly the same as James de Ros of the county of Ayr (IP, 149)

7. James son of Godfrey de Ros, junior                      28 July, Elgin               IP, 107

Possibly the same as James de Ros of the county of Ayr (IP, 149)

8. Audomer Comyn                                                     28 July, Elgin               IP, 107

Possibly the same as Aimer Comyn of the county of Banff (IP, 158)

 

APPENDIX 1C: Individuals from the pre-Berwick fealties who do not appear in Berwick (i.e., non-duplicates from pre-Berwick section)

1. William of ‘Colnehach’                                           17 June, Stirling          IP, 67

2. Lord Alexander Kennedy, canon of Glasgow          10 July, Montrose       IP, 89

3. William of Silksworth                                              10 July, Montrose       IP, 90

4. Alexander of Airth                                                  10 July, Montrose       IP, 90

5. Lord Nicholas of Rutherford, knight                       11 July, Montrose       IP, 91

6. Lord William Comyn provost of St Andrews           15 July, Aberdeen       IP, 93

7. Geoffrey of the Vennel                                           16 July, Aberdeen       IP, 94

8. John son of Ralph of Pitscottie                                17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96

9. William of Innes                                                      17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96

10. Burgesses and community of Aberdeen               17 July, Aberdeen       IP, 96

11. Lord Walter Blackwater, dean of Aberdeen        19 July, Aberdeen       IP, 98

12. Lord John de Maleville (Melville), knight             21 July, Lumphanan    IP, 100

13. Lord John Wischard (Wishart), knight                  27 July, Elgin               IP, 103

14. Burgesses and community of Elgin in Moray       27 July, Elgin               IP, 105

15. Lord Adam Gordon, knight                                   28 July, Elgin               IP, 107

16. Alexander of Hattley                                             28 July, Elgin               IP, 107

17. Reginald de St Michael, clerk                               28 July, Elgin               IP, 107

18. Henry Cor                                                              29 July, Elgin               IP, 108

19. Alexander of Ogston                                             29 July, Elgin               IP, 108

20. William of Tattenhall                                            29 July, Elgin               IP, 108

21. Roger Paternoster                                                31 July, Kildrummy     IP, 110

22. Thomas of Cowie                                                  2 August, Kildrummy  IP, 111

 

APPENDIX 2: Duplicates in the ‘status’ organised section of the Berwick fealties

1. Eve, prioress of Haddington (and the convent)

2. Malcolm, earl of Lennox

3. Alexander of Lindsey, knight

4. William Servatour, burgess of Stirling

5. John of Drylaw, burgess of Stirling

6. Richard le Furblur, burgess of Roxburgh

7. John Knout of Roxburgh, burgess of Roxburgh

8. Adam of Ord (i.e., Kirkurd), burgess of Peebles

9. William on the Hull, burgess of Linlithgow

10. John the porter, burgess of Linlithgow

11. Henry of Wrae, burgess of Linlithgow

12. Philip of Abernethy, burgess of Linlithgow

13. Gilbert of ‘Hildeclive’, burgess of Linlithgow

14. William son of Arnold, burgess of Linlithgow

15. John of Thornton, burgess of Inverkeithing

16. Alexander the Saucer, burgess of Inverkeithing

 

APPENDIX 3: Names duplicated within the ‘counties’ section of the Berwick fealties

1. William de Gourlay

2. William de la Chambre (Chambers/ Chalmers)

3. William de Maleville (Melville)

4. Adam of Riccalton

5. William of Prenderleith

6. Adam of Linton

7. Aimer of Hadden

8. Alexander of Stirling

9. John of Halkerston

10. Ralph of Echline of Haddington

11. Henry of Halliburton

12. William Bretun

13. Gilbert of Kilbride

14. Walter Sproull

15. Gilbert Hannay

16. John of Craigie

17. John of Crawford

18. John of Seton

19. Alan of Winton

20. Master Niall Campbell

13. Roger of Crawford

14. Mary of Glengavel

15. Adam Belle

16. Robert de Bethune (Beaton)

17. John Lipp

18. John of Skene

19. Thomas the Ewer

20. Alan, parson of the church of Abbotrule

21. John of Lilliesleaf

22. John of Lindsey (Lindsay)

23. Nicholas ‘del Despense’

24. Andrew Fraser

25. David of Brechin

26. John ‘de Kuere’

27. Thomas of Harcarse

28. Walter Comyn

29. William of Lamberton

30. Thomas de Coleville

31. Gilbert the Messenger

32. John [of] Manuel

33. Malcolm of Argyll, brother of Sir Alexander of Argyll

34. Michael the Messenger

35. Peter of Graham

36. Dubgall (Dougal) son of Godric

37. John of Badby

38. John of Conveth, parson of the church of Ancrum

39. Ralph of ‘Hauden’, parson of the church of Whitsome

40. Thomas Lillie

41. Adam of Dowan

42. Adam of Gibliston

43. Patrick of ‘Comenaghe’ (Carmunnock?)

44. Patrick son of John Niven

45. Lord Richard Fraser, knight

46. Richard of Horsley

47. Malcolm of Kilspindie

48. Robert of Broomhouse

49. Alice of Ormiston (widow of Alan)

50. Alan of Liberton

51. Hugh of Penicuik

52. William of Drylaw

53. William of Kinninmonth

54. Malcolm of Glendochart

55. Robert of Auchtergaven

56. William ‘Schelle’ (of Shiels)

57. William de Maleville (lord of Tartraven)

58. John of Maxwell

 

APPENDIX 4: Names which appear three times (‘triplicates’)

1. Lord Alexander of Lamberton, knight

2. Lord Gilbert of Glencarnie, knight

3. Hugh of Urr

4. Lord Hugh Ridel, knight

5. Lord John de la Haye, knight

6. John de Montfort

7. Lord John de St Michael, knight

8. John of Lamberton

9. John the marshall

10. Michael the lardner, burgess of Linlithgow

11. Lord Michael of Wemyss, knight

12. Nicholas the sergeand, burgess of Linlithgow

13. Reginald of Crawford

14. Lord Robert Cameron of Balnillo, knight

15. Lord Robert de Normanville, knight

16. Lord William of Ramsey

17. Thomas of Winchester

18. Walter Bisset

19. Lord William Francis, knight

 

APPENDIX 5. Possible duplicates (see also Appendix 1B)

1. Is William de Boseville, burgess of Roxburgh, same as William de Boseville of the county of Roxburgh?

2. Is either of the previous the same as William de Boseville of the county of Berwick?

3. John de L’Isle (Lyle), burgess of Inverkeithing, same as John de L’Isle of the county of Berwick?

4. John of ‘Haytone’ of the county of Dumfries, same as John of  Heiton of the county of Roxburgh?

5. Are either of the previous the same as John of Heiton, warden of the Hospital of St Leonard of Torrance, of the county of Lanark?

6. Is John the marshall, of the county of Lanark, possibly the same as John the marshall of the county of Roxburgh (who already appears as a duplicate)?

7. John the napier, tenant of the king of the county of Peebles, the same as John the napier, of the county of Dumbarton?

8. Is Lord Walter of Lindsey, of the county of Edinburgh, the same as Walter of Lindsey, of the county of Berwick (the Lindsey family was very widely ramified, with estates in both counties, and very fond of the personal name Walter)?

9. Is Walter the Scot of the county of Lanark the same as Walter the Scot, tenant of the bishop of St Andrews, of the county of Edinburgh?

10. Is William the Fleming, of the county of Dumbarton, the same as William the Fleming, knight, of the county of Lanark?

11. Is Lord William of Moray, knight, the same as William of Moray of Tullibardine, William of Moray of Bothwell, or William of Moray of Drumsargard?

12. Is William Purves, tenant of the king of the county of Peebles, the same as William of Purves, of the county of Berwick?

13. Is William the tailor, burgess of Edinburgh, the same as either William the tailor, of the county of Lanark, or William the tailor, of the county of Dumfries?

14. Is Serlo of Dundas, tenant of the king of the county of Linlithgow, the same as Saer of Dundas, who appears twice already, of the county of Linlithgow?

15. Is William on the Hill, of the county of Berwick, the same as William on the Hull, of the county of Linlithgow (who already appears twice)?

16. Is Adam ‘Bernak’ of Hilton, of the county of Berwick, the same as Adam Bernard of Hilton, of the county of Perth?

17. Is Adam of Kirkton, of the county of Berwick, the same as Adam of Kirkton, of the county of Edinburgh?

18. Is Duncan Campbell of the county of Perth, the same as Duncan Campbell of ‘Illes’ of the county of Fife?

19. Is Gilbert of Carlisle of the county of Dumfries the same as Gilbert son of Beatrice (possibly Beatrice of Carlisle) of the county of Roxburgh?

20. Is John Brown of the county of Linlithgow the same as John Brown of the county of Berwick?


[1] Presuming this to be Lord John Stirling of Carse. Lord John Stirling of Moray swore fealty at Aberdeen on 14 July.

[2] See Watt, Graduates, 78-9

[3] Cf. Lord John Wischard, knight, who swore fealty at Elgin two days earlier on 27 July.


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3 Responses to January 2012 – How many people are in the Ragman Roll?

  1. Bruce McAndrew says:

    Dear Dr Hammond
    Enjoyed reading your article on the number of people in the Ragman Roll. Can I point you in the direction of my article on the sigillography (Proc Soc Antiq Scot 129, (1999), 663 which can on occasion distinguish between people of the same name. For instance your Appendix 1,#25 has 3 seals associated with the name 75701, 3560, 4044. Worse is #30 with 4 seals 3015, 3033, 3354, 3401.
    Can probably supply you with more data if you are interested.
    Kind regards
    Bruce McAndrew

  2. James Taylor says:

    Isn’t Rathenach most likely to be the village of Rothes, where Edward I spent the night of 29/30 July in the Leslie castle there?

  3. G. Ian Crawford says:

    Admittedly my focus has been rather narrow, but from what I have learned about the surviving seals associated with the Ragman Roll, there may not be as many duplicate sightings of Crawfords as you suggest. It appears there were three distinct Crawford homagers named Reginald. The symbols on the three relevant seals were: (1) a fess Ermine; (2) a fess (probably Ermine) between three birds in the top portion and three fleurs-de-lis in the base; and (3) a lion rampant. McAndrew, Bruce A., “The sigillography of the Ragman Roll”, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol. 129 (1999) [hereafter “McAndrew”] at nos. 3042, 3087 & 3310. The Reginald using the unadulterated fess Ermine for his arms arguably was the most senior. The other Reginald using a fess with additional symbols was undeniably a different man, although probably closely related to the first. The use by the third Reginald of the lion rampant) is intriguing, but still suggests yet another man.

    Likewise, the other Crawford homagers from the Ragman Roll also used a variety of symbols on their seals, including a few more who did not use the basic design of a fess Ermine in any fashion. There were at least two different Crawford nobles named John, one who used a single fleurs-de-lis and another, listed as a baron, whose personal seal depicted a hawk picking out the eyes of a hare. McAndrew nos. 1411 & 1322. There was also a William (McAndrew no. 3528 (a fess, probably Ermine, between three stars or mullets)) and possibly two Rogers – apparently those seals that correspond to the written entries for Roger de Crauford and Rogier de Crauford (IP at 142 & 148) did not survive for modern analysis.
    Respectfully,
    Ian Crawford

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