Northern Pride goes Before a Fall: The ‘Horrorable’ History of Adelston Attysle

Summary

It were well in England if we were all called Englishmen of this country or that … and not these northern men, these southern, these western. The very name maketh fools out of them that they never saw. For the northern cannot but bear half a grudge to the southern, yea, for no other cause than that they be thus called. In Italy, France, Spain, Germany, there is both north and south, east and west, yet they judge nothing by these but the wind.

The court of the mayor and aldermen of Norwich heard many fascinating cases during the early sixteenth century, but none is as compelling – or unusual – as that of the Lancashire priest Adelston Attysle. A full transcription of the proceedings appears at the end of this essay, but it will be useful to begin with a brief summary of the charges laid against him and of his attempt to justify conduct that can best be described as recklessly self-destructive. Long after moving south and entering the household of the Norfolk knight Sir Philip Calthorpe as his domestic chaplain, Adelston remained fiercely proud of his northern roots and Lancastrian heritage, which must have been clearly apparent to all who met him. His unfamiliar name certainly posed a challenge to the mayor's scribe, and he appears from the orthography of his deposition to have spoken with a regional accent. It was thus hardly surprising that he should face some unpleasant gibes in the aftermath of the battle of Flodden, which took place on 9 September 1513, about three miles from the Scottish border at Branxton in Northumberland. The crushing defeat of the Scots and death of their king was hailed in East Anglia as a triumph by the ‘home team’ under the leadership of the Howards, whose supporters did their utmost to downplay the role of other commanders through the circulation of highly effective printed propaganda.

Incensed by allegations that ‘the captayns of the north … and in especiall of Lankeshyere’ had not only fled the field without striking a blow but had stolen ‘other mennys horses, wherfor they wer worthy to be hanged’, Adelston decided to set the record straight.