Merchants and Mariners in Medieval Ireland
Hidden Stories from the Curated Collection

While justiciary rolls often record complaints and pleas related to mundane matters, an entry from 1300 offers insight into some of the more unusual reasons why individuals sought justice in medieval Ireland. During the pleas of plaints, held at Cork before John Wogan, the chief justiciar, the jury found that Adam Sott was eating oysters in a tavern when he threw a shell over his shoulder, which hit and rebounded off a wall striking Maurice, son of Laurence de India, in the left eye causing blindness. It was adjudged that Maurice recover 100s. for damages and Adam in mercy. See VRTI MM/2/3/2.

The Great Roll of the Irish Exchequer records, in abbreviated Latin and partly in Norman French, a number of complaints brought against Robert de Stapelton, onetime sheriff of Waterford. The position of sheriff was one of the most important royal official appointments in the country, serving as a medium between the crown and a local community. In 1290, pleas were brought before Walter de la Haye, escheator, Robert Bagot and others, by David and Reginald Brun, Robert de Carru, John fitz Philip and Walter, bishop of Waterford. John fitz Phelypp [sic] complained that his ship, which was ‘going along the coast of Ireland’, was seized by Robert de Stapelton and robbed of 8 score marks [£104 5s. 4d.] worth of goods, and on complaint he got no redress, out of malice, but was threatened with imprisonment in Dublin. As the medieval saying goes: ‘One man’s pirate is another man’s sheriff’! See VRTI MM/2/9/1

Pipe rolls offer important insights into governance, particularly related to finance. A pipe roll from Edward III’s reign records a fascinating and detailed account of the medieval wine trade in Ireland and, in particular, the process of shipping a consignment of wine. On 23 March 1332, 100 tuns of wine were in the care of the king’s purveyor, John de la Bataille, who was entrusted to arrange shipment to the king in Skinburness, Scotland. The shipment would eventually reach its intended destination … almost ten weeks later. 67 tuns of wine reached the keeper of the king’s stores at Skinburness. But what happened to the missing 33 tuns? 21 tuns, 1 pipe* were sold to cover expenses and realised £38 15s. 5 tuns, 1 pipe were “lost” at sea in a bad storm. The final 6 tuns were allowed for ullage i.e. loss of liquid by leakage, absorption or evaporation. The breakdown of £38 16s. in expenses is fascinating. For example, the hire of cellars under Holy Trinity Church (Christ Church) for 16 days (23 March to 7 April) at 2s. a week, cost 4s. The carriage of 77 tuns, 2 pipes of wine from the church cellars to the city quays cost 3d. a tun or 1.5d. a pipe, totalling 19s. 6d. Next, the hiring of two barges to transport the wine out to the ship, the Margaret of Goseford, cost the same as carriage (19s. 6d.). Due to the shallow depth of the Liffey and silting in Dublin port, larger ships had to anchor in the deeper waters of Dublin Bay, sometimes as far as Dalkey, three miles south of the Liffey mouth. The hoisting of the wine required a windlass on board the barges at a cost of 2d. a tun or 1d. a pipe (total 13s.) and the same amount was needed to get the wine on board the Margaret. Other expenses included 1s. 6d. for 9 pounds of Paris candles (candelar’ de Parys) for the guards watching over the wine at night. The Margaret’s skipper, Laurence Lodeman, was paid 15s. 4d., while the king’s purveyor was paid 2s. 6d. a day for 67 days (£8 7s. 6d.) for the trouble of organising the shipment. With other incidental costs considered, the balance of the £38 16s. in expenses amounted to £4 6s. 3d., which was paid into the treasury. * A pipe is a large cask that held two hogsheads or circa 105 gallons. The tun was the standard cask, equating to two pipes or about 954 litres. See VRTI MM/2/14/40