9
Two Wills from Acre, 1267–1272
In Eudes of Nevers’s time, taking the cross meant confronting the possibility of a glorious death in battle or perhaps a more ignominious one resulting from the everyday dangers that arise during far-flung travel. The risks that accompanied crusading inspired many who undertook the journey east to make provisions for what might happen if they did not return home, to arrange for the final resting place of their bodies, to prepare for the commendation of their souls, and to communicate the distribution of their worldly goods once they had died. Although we have no formal written version of Eudes’s last wishes—what we would now call a will—his Account-Inventory details the postmortem actions taken by his most trusted companions as they tended to his bodily, spiritual, and financial affairs. In doing so, his executors carried out the instructions the count had given to them before his death in what the Account-Inventory refers to as his lais.1 The Account-Inventory thus records the execution of Eudes’s final intentions that may have been recorded in some lost document or only have been spoken aloud among the members of his crusading household.
When Eudes died in 1266, expressing one’s postmortem intentions as he may have done—that is, formally, orally, and in the company of witnesses—was already a well-established practice. But as the thirteenth century wore on, crusaders began to memorialize their postmortem intentions in writing rather than in purely oral expressions of intent. Since written wills were often extensions of the documented bequests made to religious institutions, they took on a specific format to ensure that all the necessary details were included for the legal transfer of assets and that witnesses were listed to corroborate the testator’s intentions. Each will began with a statement of the identity of the testator, that is, the person making the will, followed by a declaration of his or her state of mind, a commendation of the soul to God, an acknowledgment of debts and how they might be fulfilled, and instructions for how the decedent’s assets were to be distributed and by whom. The wills were then signed and sealed in a formal process to ensure the document’s authenticity.
These same elements appear in the crusader wills written in Acre that record the intentions of two prominent English lords, Hugh de Neville and Prince Edward of England, both of which provide meaningful points of comparison with the Account-Inventory. The will of Hugh de Neville, a knight from a well-known English family, was compiled in 1267 and features payment to religious houses for the safekeeping of his soul, but also looks to more quotidian matters, including the debts he owed to the person charged with caring for his horse. On the other hand, the will of Prince Edward, the future king of England, written while he was on crusade in 1272, is primarily concerned with matters of state, ensuring that his many territories would be appropriately bequeathed to his children and that his wife would recoup her dowry upon his death. Although neither of these testators died in Acre, the postmortem actions they instructed their agents to take were similar to those that Eudes’s executors undertook on his behalf in 1266 and therefore represent a documented version of what the count may have expressed orally before he died. Even if Edward’s will is oriented toward his holdings in England and Hugh’s is anchored in the East, both state clearly that the wills were produced in Acre and make mention of western Christian institutions in the East. Like the Account-Inventory, both wills were written in Old French, and both are translated into English here.2
The Will of Sir Hugh de Neville (1267)
Edited and translated by Caroline Smith
Introduction
Considering the relatively small number of wills that survive from the thirteenth century, it is remarkable that two of the extant examples were made for crusaders visiting Acre within a few years of each other, and in the period soon after Eudes of Nevers’s death and the creation of the Account-Inventory. The first of these was made in 1267 for Hugh de Neville, a knight from a prominent English family who had inherited lands in Essex. The will survives in the National Archives of England and was first made available in print in 1899 by M. S. Giuseppi, whose work to identify Hugh and explain the circumstances of his crusade remain invaluable.3
Hugh had taken part in the Montfortian rebellion against the English king Henry III, and in the wake of the king’s victory at Evesham in 1265 his lands were confiscated.4 Although Hugh was reconciled to the king the following year and his lands were partially restored to him before he left on crusade, his position appears not to have been secure. A letter sent by his mother, Hawisa, around the same time this will was made expresses her belief that his rights and possessions at home remained precarious.5 Hawisa urged Hugh to return home, and her pleas may have been instrumental in his decision to cut short his stay in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. A surviving document of uncertain date (but probably later than his Acre will) absolved Hugh of his crusade vow on behalf of the patriarch of Jerusalem.6 Another, made in Viterbo in August 1269 and concerning the execution of a will, makes it apparent that he died in Italy (where his mother had encouraged him to seek papal support for his claims in England) during his return journey.7
Giuseppi was confident that the will referred to in this last document was one that had superseded the will made for Hugh in Acre that is transcribed and translated here. This makes sense because Hugh’s Acre will is concerned only with people and things with him in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and with the religious institutions and projects that were relevant to him in that context. Although Hugh’s household was more modest than that of Eudes of Nevers, his will, like the Account-Inventory drawn up by Eudes’s executors, gives us a sense of the range of people he relied on during his time on crusade (three knightly companions are named, a squire, a chaplain, a clerk, and servants who attended to Hugh’s horses, among others), some of the valued possessions he had with him (horses, weapons, a decorative cup, gold and jeweled buckles, rings), and the numerous religious institutions (military orders, hospitals, mendicant communities) and charitable causes (care for lepers, widows, orphans) in Acre he wished to support with gifts of money, knightly equipment, and precious objects. Most of the institutions to which he designated bequests were also favored by Eudes of Nevers.
These religious and charitable bequests reflect a concern for the fate of one’s soul ubiquitous among Hugh’s contemporaries. His will suggests more personal worries too. Money, or the lack of it, was clearly on Hugh’s mind, and he was waiting for funds to be sent from England. He mentioned that he was hoping for “my money” to arrive, as well as referring to a sum the pope had said would be set aside for him from English crusade funds; these appear to have been different potential injections of cash, but it is not clear that any of it ever arrived. His mother’s letter lamented his financial prospects and said he should not hold out much hope of receiving money from the English crusade funds in particular.8 Alongside these money worries, Hugh was also preoccupied by potential dangers facing him as a crusader. It is not known whether Hugh ever saw military action against Muslims while he was in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but he was concerned about the prospect of being taken captive by them. Hugh’s last instruction before naming his executors was to say that they should use his possessions to pay his ransom if the need arose.
The transcription below was made in accordance with the principles laid out by Lester and Morreale for the transcription of the Account-Inventory of Eudes of Nevers in this volume, with the exception that abbreviations/contractions have been expanded in italics.
Edition
Co est le testament sire Huue Nevile chivaler en le non del pere el fiz ∙ et de le seint espirit ∙ Jo cummaund ma alme a deu omnipotent e a nostre dame seinte Marie e a tuz seinz ∙ e mun cors a la seinte sepulture ṣẹịṇ9 de le cimiterie sein Nicholas ∙ Jo divis a labur de la vile de Acre quarante sols de sterling ∙ A la maisun sein Thomas de Cantirbir en Acre mun palefrei feraunt e mes armures ∙ ke apendent a vne persone ∙ Jo divis au temple de Acre vn hanap a pe ∙ des armes le Roi de Engeltere ∙ Jo divis al hospital por sustinir le malades ∙ quarante sou de ∙ sterling ∙ Jo divis al hospital de Bethleem chink ∙ b̸ ∙ Al hospital sein Lazer treis ∙ b̸ ∙ Al hospital seinte Bride vn ∙ b̸ ∙ A la maisun de la trinite ∙ vn ∙ b̸ ∙ A frere du Carme treis ∙ b̸ ∙ A freres del penaunce ihesu crist ∙ treis ∙ b̸ ∙ A frere preschures ∙ chink ∙ b̸ [∙] A frere menures ∙ dis ∙ b̸ ∙ A la frarie sein dionis ∙ un ∙ b̸ ∙ Jo divis a sire Randouf de Munchensi ma petite espeie e vn fermeil oue ameraudes a sire Robert de Bridishale vn fermeil oue ameraudes a sire Rauf de Ekleshale ∙ vn anel de or ∙ A Jakke mun vallet le paumer le chival Bai ke fu a Willaume le fiz Symon ke jo li dunai oue tute les armures10 ke appendent a vn gentil home ∙ e quinze mars de sterling ∙ A Water mun chapelein por chanter por ma alme vn an ∙ oct ∙ mars de sterling ∙ A colin le clerk dis mars pur sun servise ∙ a Lucel le cu ∙ quarante souz ∙ e sun passage utre la mer de Grece ∙ A Pain mun homme si il venge de ca mer amoi ∙ sis mars e sun passage vtre la mer de Grece ∙ A Beuerle sis mars e sun passage utre la mer de Grece ∙ A thomas ke Gard mun chival ∙ quatre ∙ b̸ ∙ por sun servise ∙ e vn ∙ b̸ ∙ por deu ∙ A Willaume le Bretun quarante souz de sterling ∙ e jo li pardoins vint cink sous ke il me doit ∙ A Joan le marescal por sun servise ∙ vint souz de sterling ∙ A mestre Reimund le mareschal por sun servise ∙ vn mark de sterling ∙ A plu11 pouere meseus de Acre ∙ treis ∙ b̸ ∙ Jo diuis a Esteuene le Draper quatrevint ∙ b̸ ∙ e cink ke jo li doi por sire Ingram de Humframuile ∙ e a Leanard le chaniur quatre vint ∙ b̸ ∙ ke jo li doi por le vaundit Ingram ∙ Jo diuis a poueres orfanins ∙ e veues en la Cite de Acre ∙ set marz de sterling ∙ A fere mun servise le jur de obit ∙ quinze mars de sterling ∙ e co ke demort seit done a poueres a sein Nicholas en pain chaut ∙ Jo diuis a sein Nicholas ∙ cink ∙ b̸ ∙ A priur de sein Gile ∙ vn fermeil de or ∙ A cest testament parfere e me dettes a quiter jo voil e deuis ke me chiuaus e mes armueres e tute mes autre choses seint venduz ∙ De autrepart si me deners vengent de Engeltere jo voil e deuis ke chechun article de mun diuis la u greinur mester soit ∙ par le ordeinement de mes essechetures seit en oite de vne partie ∙ e de le remenant voil ke ma meine soit sustenuz ∙ vn an en la tere seinte en cuntre le enemis ihesu crist ∙ e si eus ne volent ∙ jo diuis ke mes exeketures porveint ailures la u il [p]urun meuz fere ∙ de cinkcent mars ke la postoile me garunta de la cruserie de Engeltere si il me vengent jo voil e deuis ke gent de armes soint sustenuz en cuntre les enemis de la Croix ausi longement c[oe] purunt d[u]rer por moi e por eus des queus cel auer leua e coe tuteueirs par la despositment de mes executurs ∙ e si12 il avenge ke jo soi pris en le meins de sarazins jo voel ke coe ke jo ai diuise demorge en le meins de mes executurs le kes eus sacent si jo puse estre reins par coe v nun ∙ ces sunt mes essecutures mun sire Randouf de Munchensi ∙ le priur de sein Gile du Temple sire Robert de Brideshale e Walter mun chapelin ∙ Le cummaundur de sein Thomas ∙ e Jakke le Paumer mun valet ∙ tut le remenaunt utre mun testament jo diuis a poueres veues e a orphanins en la Cite de Acre. Escrites en Acre le lundi devaunt13 feste sein Symon e sein Jude le an de le incarnaciun Jhesu crist millesimo.cc.lx.vii.
Translation
This is the testament of lord Hugh Neville, knight, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I commend my soul to almighty God and to Our Lady Saint Mary and to all the saints, and my body to the holy burial-place of the cemetery of Saint Nicholas.14 I bequeath to the works of the city of Acre15 forty sous sterling; to the house of Saint Thomas of Canterbury in Acre16 my light gray palfrey and my arms, appropriate for one person. I bequeath to the Temple of Acre17 a footed cup with the arms of the king of England. I bequeath to the Hospital,18 for care of the sick, forty sous sterling. I bequeath to the Hospital of Bethlehem19 five bezants; to the Hospital of Saint Lazarus20 three bezants; to the Hospital of Saint Brigid21 one bezant; to the house of the Trinity22 one bezant; to the Carmelite friars23 three bezants; to the friars of the Penance of Jesus Christ24 three bezants; to the Friars Preacher25 five bezants; to the Friars Minor26 ten bezants; to the Friary of Saint Denis27 one bezant. I bequeath to lord Ralph de Munchensy28 my small sword and a buckle with emeralds; to lord Robert of Birdsall29 a buckle with emeralds; to lord Ralph of Ecclesall30 a gold ring; to Jack the Palmer,31 my squire, the bay horse (which belonged to William, son of Simon), which I gave to him with all the arms appropriate to a gentleman, and fifteen marks sterling; to Walter, my chaplain, to chant for my soul for one year, eight marks sterling; to Colin, the clerk, ten marks for his service; to Lucel le Cu32 forty sous and his passage beyond the sea of Greece; to my man Pain, if he should come across the sea to me, six marks and his passage beyond the sea of Greece; to Beverly six marks and his passage beyond the sea of Greece; to Thomas, who keeps my horse, four bezants for his service and one bezant for God; to William the Breton forty sous sterling, and I forgive him the twenty-five sous that he owes me; to John, the farrier, for his service twenty sous sterling; to master Raymond the farrier for his service one mark sterling; to the most impoverished of Acre’s lepers three bezants. I bequeath to Stephen the Draper eighty-five bezants that I owe him for lord Ingram de Umfraville.33 And to Leonard the money changer eighty bezants that I owe him for the aforementioned Ingram. I bequeath to poor orphans and widows in the city of Acre seven marks sterling. For the performance of my service on the day of my death fifteen marks sterling, and any sum left over should provide warm bread to the poor of Saint Nicholas. I bequeath to Saint Nicholas five bezants; to the prior of Saint Giles34 a gold buckle. To fulfill this testament and to settle my debts I will and direct that my horses and my arms and all my other possessions should be sold. Alternatively, if my money arrives from England I will and direct that each article of my testament (according to the greatest need as determined by my executors) be taken from it in the first instance, and with the remainder I will that my company be maintained in the Holy Land against the enemies of Jesus Christ for one year. And if they [the men of Hugh’s company] do not wish to do this, I direct that my executors should make provision where they might have the best effect. Concerning the five hundred marks that the pope promised me from the crusade [funds] of England (if they should reach me), I will and direct that men at arms be maintained against the enemies of the cross for as long they should last, to benefit me and those from whom they were raised; all this, however, is subject to the disposal made by my executors. And if it should happen that I am taken into the hands of Saracens I will that those things I have bequeathed should remain in the hands of my executors, who should discover if I might be ransomed by them, or not. These are my executors: my lord Ralph de Munchensy; the prior of Saint Giles of the Temple; Robert of Birdsall; and Walter, my chaplain; the commander of Saint Thomas; and Jack the Palmer, my squire. All that remains after my testament has been accomplished I leave to the poor widows and orphans in the city of Acre. Written in Acre the Monday before [the] feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude in the year of the incarnation of Jesus Christ 1267.35
The Will of Prince Edward I of England (1272)
Edited and translated by Laura K. Morreale and Anne Latowsky
Introduction
The only extant will and testament of Edward I of England was written on June 18, 1272, when Edward was not yet king and he and his wife Eleanor of Castile were stationed in Acre on crusade. Composed in French just a few months before Edward inherited the throne in November of that same year, the will survives in only one, fifteenth-century copy, now housed at the National Archives of England.36 A print version was published in the early eighteenth century as a part of Thomas Rymer’s monumental documentary collection, the Foedera, and copies have appeared in several publications thereafter, though subsequent versions often replicate the misreadings first disseminated in the earliest print editions.37 The following transcription and translation is based on the manuscript version and reinterprets several of those early renderings.
The circumstances surrounding the writing of Edward’s will were well reported, though the facts have certainly been embellished over time. According to eighteenth-century historian Rapin de Thoyras, the document was drawn up shortly after an attempt was made on Edward’s life in early June 1272, when a would-be assassin, wielding a poisoned knife, entered the prince’s tent, lunged at him, and stabbed him in the arm.38 Although Edward was able to fend off the attacker with a kick to the chest, the wound festered; it is said that Edward’s beloved Eleanor sucked the poison from the wound, thereby saving her husband’s life.39 Whether this story is true or not, Edward’s desire to record his last wishes shortly after the attack occurred attests to the danger he felt while on crusade and his desire to arrange for the possibility that he might not return. In fact, he remained in Acre only a few more months after the will was written and, along with his entourage, began his trip back to England by way of the Sicilian court of Charles of Anjou in late September 1272.
Edward’s will addressed the prince’s duties as lord, landholder, husband, and father, set forth his obligations in these roles, identified the individuals whom he empowered to meet them, and designated how they ought to be met. Naturally, his first debt was to God, to whom he pledged his soul and bodily remains. But unlike Hugh de Neville’s will or Eudes of Nevers’s Account-Inventory, both of which made provisions for distributing alms to religious houses and other beneficiaries in the Holy Land, Edward’s will was decidedly westward-looking and made little mention of his time in the Levant. On the contrary, he staked his claim as the son of the king of England in the testament’s opening lines and referred to his landed estates in England, Ireland, and Gascony as his sources of income. With these resources at hand, Edward set forth what was owed to the members of his household for their service, and after making the arrangements for these payments, he turned to the financial well-being of his children and wife with a series of pragmatic provisions.
Edward named his closest companions and members of his household, Roger de Clifford, Payn de Chaworth, Robert Tibetot, and Anthony Bek, as executors of these provisions.40 He instructed them to tend to his lands and keep an accounting of revenues that were to be remitted to his children once they reached the age of majority. His close attention to the administrative details of land tenure, rent collection, and English inheritance law suggests that he was far more attuned to his affairs at home than he was to those of the Holy Land, even if he included the archbishop of Tyre as well as the grand masters of the Hospitallers and the Templars among his witnesses. Edward would never return to the Holy Land, but in the years after he became king, he continued to receive letters from these same testators who decried the situation in the East, requested his aid, and implored him to return and take the cross once again.41 When Edward finally died in 1307, no other will was present, and certain unsubstantiated reports suggest that his deathbed wish was to have his heart taken back to the Holy Land; other more reliable sources indicate that his last instructions were for his closest confidants, including the same Roger de Clifford named in this will, to look after and care for his son, the future Edward II, as he assumed the throne.42
Edition
En nun du pere du finz e du seynt esprit, amen ∙ Nus Edward eisnsne filz au noble rey dengletere ∙fesoins nostre testament en nostre bon sen e en nostre bone memorie le samedy prorocheyn apres la Pentecouste ∙ en le an de nostre seygnur mil deu cent ∙ setannt secund en ceste manere En primes nus divisoms a deu e a nostre dame seinte marie e a tuz seyns nostre alme & nostre cors ensevelir∙ ou nos esseketurs ∙ ceo est a saver sire Johan de bretayne ∙ sire William de Valence ∙ sire Roger de Clifford Sire payn de Chaurtos ∙ sire Roberd Tibetot ∙ sire Otes de Grauntson ∙ Robert Burnell, & Antoyne Beks ∙ o aukuns de eus aurunt devise le queus nus donoms & grauntoms plener poer ke il pusint ordiner por nostre alme de tuz nos beyns moebles e noun moebles ∙ cum en rendre nos dettes ∙ e redrecher les tort ke nus avoms fet par nus ou par nos baliz e rendre a nostre gent lur servise sillom ceo ke il verrunt ke bon seyt E por ceo ke nus savoms ben ke noz moebles ne purrunt pas suffire a ceo ∙ vuluns e otroms ke noz avaunt diz exseketurs eyent plener poer le quel nus les grauntoms si avaunt ke nus poims de ordiner establir de tutes nos teres dengletere ∙ de Irelaunde, de Gascoine e de tutes nos autres teres ke il en pusent ovrir en memes la manere ke nus feymes quant eles furent en nostre meign saunz vendre ou doner e en lur meyns tenir ensemblement o la garde de nos enfaunz jusque au plener age de eus pur nostre testament acomplir ∙ & nos aumones fere en engletere & aillurs sillum ceo ke nos esseketurs verrunt ke seyt a fere ∙ as queus fere nus ordinoms ceynt milie mars & apres nostre devis fet & nos aumons acomplies volums ke les issues des avaunt dites teres turgent au profit de noz enfaunz e demurgent en les meyns des avauntdiz exseketurs juskes alage de noz enfaunz avaunt nomes ∙ & si aventure avenge ke nostre seygnur rey nostre pere murge dedenz le age de nos enfauns ke deu defende ∙ nos voloms ke le reaume dengletere & tutes les autres teres ke porrunt eschair a noz enfaunz demorgent en les meyns de nos esse keturs avaunt nomes ensemblement ovesque nostre cher piere le Erceuesk de Everwyk e sire Roger ovesk & autres prodeshommes ∙ du reaume ke il akondrunt ∙ fi mestier seyt jekes al plener age de nos enfaunz sus nomez ∙ e keles issues des avaunt dites teres feyent cuilliz e gardez per les meyns de nos exseketures avaunt diz & liverez a nos enfaunz quant il serrunt de plener age a lur profist E sur ceo nus voloms e ordinoms ke deus ou plus de noz esseketurs eyent poer de oiir nos acuntes e de receyvere de tuz nos baliz ou ke il seyent ∙ devaunt nostre departir dengletere e puis se il ne poent muster ke il eyent leal acunte rendue ∙ e si nul de noz balif seyt mort ke ses heirs seyent tenuz a rendre la cunte pur luy Endreyt de dowarie de nostre chere femme Alianor volums ke ele eyt pleynement ceo ke fut nome quant nus les pusams ∙ e si de ceo ne se tent pas a pae nus voloms ke ele eyt ceo ke dreyt e ley la dorra ∙ sulom les usages e le leys dengletere E voloms ausi ke la ou tuz noz ∙ esseketurs ne porrunt estre pur fere le exsecution de nostre testament avaunt dit ke quatre ou plus en num des autrys eyent poer per eus e pur les autrys pur acomplir les choses susdites E pur ceo priums a nostre seynt pere lapostle ke il wyle ceste chose tenir & fere tenir e confirmer ∙ e ke il voyle prier nostre cher pere ke il voyle tenir estable e fere tenir par tut son reaume e tot son poer quel part ke il seyt ∙ les choses avant nomes En testimoniaunce de la queu chose a ceo testament avoms fet mettre nostre sel ∙ & avoms prie sire Johan Erceveske de Sur & vicarie de la seinte eglise de Jerusalem ∙ & les honurables bers frere Hue Revel Mestre de lhospital ∙ & frere Thomas Berard mestre du Temple ke a cest escrit meisent ausi lur seus ∙ les quieus si le vut fet ensemblement o nos esseketurs avaunt nomes en tesmoyaunce des choses sus dites ∙ Donez a Acre, le samedy avaunt nome le disutime Jur de Juen lan du regne le rey nostre pere ∙ cinkaunt e sixieme.
Translation
In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, amen. We Edward, first son of the noble king of England, of sound mind and good memory, make our testament the Saturday following Pentecost in the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred seventy-two. First, therefore, we dedicate our soul and our bodily remains to God and Our Lady Blessed Mary and to all the saints. Whereas our executors, namely Lord John of Brittany, Lord William de Valence, Lord Roger de Clifford, Lord Payn de Chaworth, Lord Robert Tibetot, Lord Otto de Grandson, Robert Burnell, and Anthony Bek, each have the authority that we give and grant fully such that they can arrange for our soul and all our belongings, movable and immovable, in order to settle our debts and redress the wrongs committed by us or by our bailiffs, and render to [members of] our household [compensation for] their service according to what they deem appropriate.
And since we know that our assets will not be enough to [cover] all this, we desire and authorize that our aforementioned executors have that full power, which we grant to them to the extent that we are able, to arrange for it to be established regarding all our lands in England, Ireland, Gascony, and all our other lands, that they be able to work them in the same way that we did when they [the lands] were in our hands without selling or donating, and [be able to] hold [them] in their hands jointly with the custody of our children until they reach the [full] age to carry out our will and to pay our alms in England and elsewhere according to that which our executors view as necessary. To this end, we conscript one hundred thousand marks.
And after our debts are settled and our alms paid, we desire that the proceeds of the said lands be remitted to our children and remain in the hands of the named executors until our above-named children reach the age of majority. And if it so happens that our lord the king, our father, should die within the lifetime of our children—God forbid—we desire that the kingdom of England and all other lands that can escheat to our children remain in the hands of the aforementioned executors, together with our dear father the archbishop of York, and Lord Roger, bishop, and with other prudhommes of the kingdom, that they keep whatever accounting is needed until the age of majority of our aforementioned children, and that the proceeds of the abovementioned lands be collected and retained in the hands of our named executors and submitted to our children, for their benefit, when they reach the age of majority.
And concerning this, we wish and command that two or more of our executors be able to hear our accounts and collect from all our bailiwicks wherever they were [located] before our departure from England, and then, if they are unable to demonstrate that they have rendered a faithful account, and if any one of our bailiffs should die, then may his heirs be responsible for rendering the account on his behalf. By right of dower for our dear wife Eleanor, we desire that she have in full that which was stated when we put this [document] in place, and if this is not sufficient, we desire that she have that which by right and law is granted to her according to the customs and the laws of England.
And we desire, in the event that all our executors cannot be present for the execution of our aforementioned will, that four or more, in the name of the others, have the power, for themselves and for the others, to carry out the aforementioned things. For this reason, we pray to our Holy Father, the pope, that he so desire to hold and bind and confirm all of this and that he request of our dear father that he so desire to hold firm and maintain throughout his entire kingdom and all his domain, wherever he may be, the abovementioned things. In witness to this matter, we have affixed our seal to this will and we have requested of Lord John, archbishop of Tyre and vicar of the Holy Church of Jerusalem, and the honorable, noble brother Hugh Revel, master of the Hospital, and brother Thomas Berard, master of the Temple, that they also affix their seals to this document; they did so, jointly with our aforementioned executors, as witness to the aforementioned matters.
Given in Acre the Saturday before noon, the eighteenth day of June in the fifty-sixth year of reign of the king our father.
1. See the Account-Inventory, note 1.
2. For information on medieval wills, see Henri Auffroy, Evolution du testament en France des origines au XIIIe siècle (Paris: A. Rousseau, 1899), 423–29; Michael M. Sheehan, The Will in Medieval England, from the Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to the End of the Thirteenth Century (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1963); and Sheehan, “A List of Thirteenth-Century English Wills,” in Marriage, Family, and Law in Medieval Europe, ed. James K. Farge (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997), 8–15.
3. Kew, National Archives, MS DL 25/177. M. S. Giuseppi, “On the Testament of Sire Hugh de Nevill, Written at Acre, 1267,” Archaeologia 56 (1899): 351–70. An edition of Hugh’s will is to be published in Timothy S. Haskett and Sarah B. White, eds., The Wills of Medieval England, 1066–1300 (Toronto, forthcoming). I am grateful to Dr. White for providing me with the text of this edition, which has been of great assistance in preparing the edition and translation presented here.
4. Charles R. Young, The Making of the Neville Family in England, 1066–1400 (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 1996), 57; C. H. Knowles, “The Resettlement of England after the Barons’ War, 1264–67,” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 32 (1982): 28–29.
5. Kew, National Archives, MS DL 34/1/2. This letter is edited and translated in Giuseppi, “On the Testament,” 358–61.
6. Kew, National Archives, MS DL 25/1317; Giuseppi, “On the Testament,” 362.
7. Giuseppi, “On the Testament,” 363.
8. Giuseppi, “On the Testament,” 360.
9. The punctus marks below the letters of this word indicate a scribal error that should be deleted.
10. This word inserted below the line above to amend a scribal error.
11. This word inserted below the line above to amend a scribal error.
12. This word inserted below the line above to amend a scribal error.
13. A slit made in the document in order to attach a seal appears to obscure a word here. The seal itself is now lost; the strip of parchment used to attach it remains.
14. The cemetery of St. Nicholas, outside the eastern walls of the city, was the burial site for most Latin Christians who died in Acre during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Denys Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Corpus, vol. 4 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 151–55, no. 138; hereafter all citations are to vol. 4.
15. Giuseppi suggested these “works” might be the construction of a new church for the Order of Saint Thomas, but Pringle interprets this as a bequest to support the construction of walls of Acre. Giuseppi, “On the Testament,” 357; Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 23.
16. The Order of Saint Thomas of Canterbury had its origins in the English contingent present in the city at the time of the Third Crusade. Plagued by underfunding from the outset, in the late 1220s it was reformed as a military order, with its headquarters in the Montmusard suburb of Acre, to the north of the old city. Eudes of Nevers bequeathed to the order a tunic and overcoat. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 161–64; Denys Pringle, “The Order of St Thomas of Canterbury in Acre,” in The Military Orders, vol. 5: Politics and Power, ed. Peter W. Edbury (London: Routledge, 2012), 75–82. For Eudes’s bequests to this and other religious institutions, see Roll C Front in the Account-Inventory.
17. The military order of the Temple (the Templars) had a presence in Acre since at least the mid-twelfth century, centered on a castle and church complex in the southwest of the city’s peninsula. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 166–72, no. 451.
18. The military order of the Hospital of St. John (the Hospitallers) had a presence in Acre from the early twelfth century, with extensive property, primarily in the northern part of the old city, where its church, hospital, and principal buildings were located. Eudes of Nevers bequeathed copper cooking pots to the Hospitallers. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 82–114, nos. 410–11.
19. The Hospital of the Brothers and/or Sisters of Bethlehem provided a hospital for female lepers (possibly located in the suburb of Montmusard, to the north of the old city of Acre), to which Eudes of Nevers also made a bequest of an overcoat and a fur-lined cape. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 44–45, no. 377.
20. The Order of St. Lazarus appears to have established a house in Acre by the mid-twelfth century, which became their head of operations by the end of that century. Eudes of Nevers made a bequest of an overcoat and a cape in favor of the order. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 121–23, no. 418.
21. A church and hospital dedicated to St. Brigid (or St. Bride) of Kildare were attested in the mid-thirteenth century, located near the sea in Montmusard. Pringle suggests that the popularity of this saint in Ireland and western England makes it likely that this house was founded by crusaders from that region, probably after the Third Crusade. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 72, no. 398.
22. The Order of the Holy Trinity, founded in the late twelfth century with the primary aim of ransoming captives held by Muslims, had a presence in Acre from the early thirteenth century. Their house, by the time of Hugh de Neville’s visit at least, was in Montmusard. Eudes of Nevers made a bequest of a fur-trimmed overcoat to the order. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 56–57, no. 387.
23. The church of St. Mary of the Carmelites is attested in the early 1260s, although the order may well have had a presence in Acre before that time. The church was situated in Montmusard, close to the sea. Eudes of Nevers left the Carmelites a tunic and a fur-trimmed corset. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 130–13, no. 423.
24. A mendicant order, the Brothers of the Penitence of Jesus Christ (Friars of the Sack) had established a house located in the old city of Acre no later than 1264. Eudes of Nevers left them an overcoat and a cape. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 50, no. 382.
25. The Dominicans (Friars Preacher) were a presence in Acre by the late 1220s, with their convent in the old city, near the sea on the west side of the peninsula. Eudes of Nevers made a bequest of a silk garnache to the Dominicans. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 46–48, no. 380.
26. The Franciscans (Friars Minor) were a presence in Acre since the visit of Saint Francis himself in 1219–20. Their house appears to have been located in the eastern part of Montmusard. Eudes of Nevers left the Franciscans a fur-lined mantle. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 48–50, no. 381.
27. The church of St. Denis, situated in Montmusard, also benefited from bequests from both Hugh de Neville and Eudes of Nevers. Eudes, who identified this religious house as a hospital, left it a fur-trimmed tunic and overcoat. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 76, no. 403.
28. The first three individuals who would have benefited from this will appear to have been Hugh’s knightly companions in Acre. It is not possible to identify these men with any certainty, but I am very grateful to Dr. Sophie Ambler for sharing her expertise, which has been invaluable in producing the suggestions for identifying Ralph de Munchensy presented here. The English inquisitions postmortem record two men named Ralph de Munchensy who might have been in Hugh’s company in Acre. Of one of them, who died in 1292, all we know is that he held lands at Rettendon in Essex, “Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward I, File 63,” in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, vol. 3: Edward I, ed. J. E. E. S. Sharp and A. E. Stamp (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1912), 30–54; available at British History Online, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol3/pp30-54. The other Ralph de Munchensy is recorded as having died in 1311, “Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward II, File 20,” in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, vol. 5: Edward II, ed. J. E. E. S. Sharp and A. E. Stamp (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1908), 135–45; available at British History Online, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol5/pp135-145. This Ralph appears to have been the vassal of William de Munchensy of Edwardstone in Suffolk; both men are mentioned in an entry in the calendar of inquisitions miscellaneous for October 1265 for having seized lands of adherents of the Montfortian rebellion, Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous (Chancery), vol. 1 (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1916), 269–70.
29. “Bridishale” is probably Birdsall in Yorkshire. No identification can be made with confidence, but a “Robertus de Brydeshale” is named in a charter of the Augustinian priory at Healaugh Park in that county; the charter is itself undated but appears alongside other documents of the mid-thirteenth century in the priory’s cartulary; J. S. Purvis, ed., The Chartulary of the Augustinian Priory of St John the Evangelist of the Park of Healaugh (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1936), 158–59.
30. “Ekleshale” could be Eccleshall, Staffordshire, or Ecclesall, south Yorkshire. Again, no certain identification can be made, but a “Radulfus de Ecleshall” (Ralph of Ecclesall) appears several times in the charters of the abbey of Beauchief (south Yorkshire) for the second half of the thirteenth century; D. Hey, L. Liddy, and D. Luscombe, eds., A Monastic Community in Local Society: The Beauchief Abbey Cartulary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), nos. 111–16, 119–25.
31. This bequest to Jack suggests he was being prepared for knighthood; Christopher Tyerman has described him as doing his “in-service knighthood training” on crusade with Hugh; Christopher Tyerman, How to Plan a Crusade: Reason and Religious War in the High Middle Ages (London: Alan Lane, 2015), 161.
32. “Le Cu” probably means the cook; Tyerman, How to Plan a Crusade, 158.
33. A knight of this name was known for his role in the Scottish Wars of Independence. As the work of Amanda Beam suggests, it seems unlikely (although perhaps not impossible) this was the same man as is named in Hugh’s will, and there may have been more than one man named Ingram de Umfraville active in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. It seems plausible that the Ingram mentioned in Hugh’s will was the man who would later be identified as heir to the lands of a William de Umfraville in Essex in 1296. The inquisition postmortem into William’s estates said his heir, Ingram de Umfraville, was at least sixty years old. A. Beam, “ ‘At the Apex of Chivalry’: Sir Ingram de Umfraville and the Anglo-Scottish Wars,” in England and Scotland at War, c.1296–c.1513, ed. Andy King and David Simpkin (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 55–56. If this Ingram was around sixty in the mid-1290s he would have been in his early thirties in 1267; shared connections in Essex might help explain why Hugh knew Ingram and felt a desire or obligation to assist him. In her letter to him during his absence in Acre Hugh’s mother, Hawisa, bemoaned his potentially costly support for Ingram; Giuseppi, “On the Testament,” 360.
34. St. Giles was a church and hospital in Montmusard. Later in his will Hugh refers to this same person as “the prior of Saint Giles of the Temple”; the Templars had asserted a claim (disputed by the patriarch of Jerusalem) to be able to appoint the prior of St. Giles. Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom, 80–81, no. 408.
35. October 24, 1267.
36. The will is kept in an Exchequer miscellany, catalogued as Kew, National Archives, E 36/274, fols. 341–42v.
37. Thomas Rymer, ed., “Testimentum Domini Edwardi primogeniti Regis conditum apud Acres,” in Foedera, vol. 1 (London: J. Tonson, 1726), 885–86.
38. Rapin de Thoyras, The History of England, trans. N. Tindal, 2nd ed. (London: Printed for James John and Paul Knapton, 1732–47), 345.
39. Other sources suggest it was his friend Otto de Grandson, though this too is suspect. Michael Prestwich, The Three Edwards (London: Routledge, 1980), 7.
40. For members of Edward’s household, see Michael Prestwich, Edward I (London: Guild, 1988), 68–69.
41. Charles-Victor Langlois and Charles Kohler, “Lettres inédites concernant les croisades (1275–1307),” Bibliothèque de l’Ecole des chartes 52, no. 1 (1891): 46–63.
42. Prestwich, Edward I, 557.