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.
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
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?
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