10 - The Abbey and Edward I

Summary

The events and circumstances so far discussed concern acts of government, that is of the king’s power exerted through his ministers and officials. But the king as an individual remained central to all governmental acts and his personal relations with any tenant-in-chief were in turn profoundly influenced by how royal government treated the latter. In the 1290s an important factor was brought to bear on relations between Edward and St Edmunds. Edward’s wars against Scotland and in Gascony affected all his subjects, but some, including St Edmunds, more than others. The monks of St Edmunds shared with the clergy as a body pride in Edward’s victories and belief in his right to overlordship of Scotland and Gascony. In extreme circumstances, if the safety of England was threatened, the clergy even considered taxation to provide support for the king lawful. As the Bury chronicler said with regard to the clerical tenth of 1298, the tax enabled Edward to fight for the safety of the kingdom and the protection of everyone’s property: ‘to guard one’s own possessions is quite different from coveting other peoples’. This was the view of the clergy expressed in the council held in the New Temple, London, in June 1298: the clergy granted Edward the tenth so that he could drive the Scots and other enemies from England, in defence of the church and kingdom; and the abbot and monks of St Edmunds, along with other churchmen, must have responded to royal exhortations in parliament and in letters and writs to pray for victory.

Indeed, loyalty to Edward seems to have been particularly ardent at St Edmunds. This could have been partly the result of the fact that, as we shall see, Edward often stayed at St Edmunds on his way to and from the north. The abbey was a convenient and comfortable stopping place and brought the abbot and perhaps some senior monks into personal contact with the king and members of his entourage. This circumstance no doubt partially explains why the Bury chronicler possessed such detailed knowledge about Scottish affairs. In particular, he is exceptionally well informed about the Great Cause, that is, the trial held by Edward at Norham in Northumberland to adjudicate between the competitors for the throne of Scotland: the trial began in May 1291, and ended after various adjournments with Edward’s award in November 1292.