Medieval agreements and arguments — student printable (age 14)
Imagine unrolling a parchment as if it were a beautiful sheet of filo pastry: thin, fragile, fragrant with history. We will savour five delicious primary sources — a court plea, a charter roll, a merchants’ petition, a treasury receipt and a colourful map — and taste what they tell us about how people argued and agreed in the Middle Ages.
Task 1 — Ravenser Odd (court case, 1291)
Student task (gentle, clear):
Look closely at the document. Describe its shape and script. Can you find names? Read the transcript: why did Grimsby take Ravenser Odd to court? What did they accuse them of? How did Ravenser Odd respond? How did the court decide — would Grimsby be pleased? Write your answer in 4 short paragraphs: 1) appearance, 2) complainants & complaint, 3) defendant’s reply, 4) verdict and your judgement.
(A whisper of tone: be observant, be curious, and keep your sentences neat like a carved biscuit.)
Model answer — Exemplary
The parchment is long and narrow, written in neat Anglicana script with rulings and marginal notations — it looks like a legal plea roll entry. The layout, with abbreviated names and a summary style, matches other royal court records. The people of Grimsby (named in the transcript) accused the inhabitants of Ravenser Odd of intercepting merchants, arresting ships and forcing traders to land at the new island instead of Grimsby, hurting trade and tax revenue. Ravenser Odd replied that merchants preferred their market because of better prices and that Grimsby cheated traders; they denied wrongdoing. The king’s court judged that Ravenser Odd had not broken the king’s peace and fined Grimsby for making a false claim. Given the court’s decision, Grimsby would likely be unhappy: they lost both the suit and credibility, and the verdict suggests the court prioritised royal peace over local trade grievances.
Model answer — Proficient
The document is a long legal roll with Latin and a cramped hand like other court records. Grimsby accused Ravenser Odd of seizing merchants and forcing trade to the island, which harmed Grimsby’s commerce. Ravenser Odd said merchants chose them because prices were better and Grimsby cheated. The court found no breach of the king’s peace and punished Grimsby for a false claim. Grimsby would not be happy with this outcome.
Rubric (extended)
- Exemplary: precise description of form and script; names located and transcribed; clear summary of complaint and defence; evaluation of court motive and likely local reaction; uses transcript evidence and regnal/legal context.
- Proficient: identifies document type and purpose; explains main complaint and reply; states court verdict and basic judgement; uses some textual evidence.
Teacher comment (ACARA v9 mapped — 100 words)
ACARA v9 mapping: History — Historical Knowledge and Understanding and Historical Skills (source analysis, evidence evaluation). This comment supports students analysing court records like KB 27/129. Provide focused feedback: celebrate specific identification of document shape, script and names, clarity in explaining Grimsby’s complaint (trade diversion, arrests) and the court’s ruling. Suggest next steps: cross-reference with secondary sources about Ravenser Odd, compare regnal dating, and examine bias in plea rolls. Encourage using transcript and glosses to interpret Latin terms. For improvement, advise precise citations, attention to medieval legal context, and evaluating who benefits from the verdict. Use footnotes and tentative conclusions.
Task 2 — Matilda Passelewe (charter roll, 9 Feb 1267)
Student task (warm invitation):
Sift through the roll as you would a stack of treasured recipe cards. Can you spot Matilda’s name (hint: the margin)? What rights are granted — markets, fairs or hunting? Find the Latin phrase 'liberam warrenam' and think: what would free warren allow her to do? Why did the king keep an office copy in a roll? Answer in 3 short paragraphs: 1) locating Matilda and form, 2) what is granted and meaning, 3) the reason for central records.
Model answer — Exemplary
Matilda Passelewe’s name appears in the margin as an indexing note. The charter grants her the right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair at Barewe and the right of 'liberam warrenam' — free warren — allowing her to take small game (rabbits, hares, pheasants) on her demesne. The charter roll is an office copy kept by the chancery so there is an official record if disputes or forgeries arise; the original with the royal seal would go to Matilda. Keeping a roll ensured continuity of royal grants, helped settle inheritance or local disputes, and allowed the crown to manage rights and revenues centrally.
Model answer — Proficient
Matilda’s name is written in the margin. The charter gives her a market and fair and the 'liberam warrenam', meaning the right to hunt small game on her land. The chancery kept copies of charters so the king had an official record to prove grants if questions or disputes came up.
Rubric (extended)
- Exemplary: margin reading and precise identification; explains market/fair and Latin phrase; analyses purpose of charter rolls with legal and administrative reasons; connects to inheritance and royal authority.
- Proficient: finds name in margin; identifies main grants; gives a clear reason why chancery kept roll copies.
Teacher comment (ACARA v9 mapped — 100 words)
ACARA v9 mapping: History — Historical Knowledge and Understanding and Historical Skills (source provenance, audience and purpose). Praise students who locate Matilda Passelewe’s name in the margin, identify the grant of market, fair and 'liberam warrenam', and explain why the chancery held charter rolls as office copies. Recommend deeper analysis: probe why monarchs recorded charters, consider inheritance implications and gendered rights, and place Matilda within local economy. For improvement, ask for precise transcription of Latin phrases, discussion of seals and authentication, and linking to timelines of Henry III’s reign. Encourage primary-secondary triangulation and annotated citation practice.
Task 3 — Middelburg petition (merchants’ petition, 1426)
Student task (inviting curiosity):
Think of this petition as a spicy letter of complaint. What language is it written in? How does it look different from the Latin plea or the king’s charter? Try to read any words you can; ask what the merchants wanted from the king. Explain what happened to them and predict what documents you could search for next to see the king’s response. Write 4-5 sentences: language, main grievance, requested remedy, sources to follow up.
Model answer — Exemplary
The petition is in Middle English or possibly Anglo-Norman (the translated summary is in later English), unlike the Latin of the court and charter. It is more personal and narrative in tone, listing the merchants’ grievances: despite letters of safe conduct they were arrested in Middelburg, imprisoned, and forced to surrender keys and goods. They ask the King to send letters ordering city officials to return seized goods and protect merchants. The likely next documents to consult are the Patent Rolls or Close Rolls for royal letters, the city records of Middelburg, or correspondence in the king’s chancery that might show if the king intervened or referred the matter to local courts.
Model answer — Proficient
The petition is in a vernacular language (Middle English/Anglo-Norman), not Latin. The merchants complain that Middelburg officials arrested them and took their goods despite promises of safe conduct. They ask the king to order the city to return the goods. To find out what happened next, search Patent or Close Rolls for royal letters or replies.
Rubric (extended)
- Exemplary: identifies language and differences with Latin documents; summarises events clearly; specifies the remedy requested; proposes realistic archival follow-up (Patent/Close Rolls, municipal records) and explains why.
- Proficient: recognises petition language as non-Latin; reports main grievances and requested royal action; suggests at least one appropriate next source.
Teacher comment (ACARA v9 mapped — 100 words)
ACARA v9 mapping: History — Historical Skills and Inquiry (petition analysis, context and evidence). Commend students who identify Source 3 as a 1426 petition in Middle English or Anglo-Norman and who explain differences with Latin and charter forms. Highlight analysis of merchants’ requests for letters of safe conduct, arrests and seizures, and proposed royal remedies. For growth, ask for exploration of diplomatic immunity, trade networks and legal recourse in the Low Countries, and to suggest where to search for royal responses in Patent or Close Rolls. Recommend annotating original wording and comparing translated excerpts to detect bias. Cross-check merchant letters.
Task 4 — Ermengarda (receipt with seal, Exchequer)
Student task (sensory nudge):
Hold the receipt like a small, comforting biscuit: what is it for? What does 'ego' tell you? How much is paid? Find Ermengarda’s name and describe her red oval seal: who is pictured and why might she choose a widow’s image? Consider: is it like a receipt we use today? Answer in three short paragraphs: purpose, amount and names, seal meaning and comparison to modern receipts.
Model answer — Exemplary
The receipt is an Exchequer acknowledgement of payment — like a modern payment slip. 'Ego' marks the first-person statement, indicating Ermengarda herself received one mark sterling from the treasury; other officials named are shown as witnesses. Her red oval seal is a portrait of a woman in widow’s clothing, suggesting she acted independently after her husband’s death and used the seal to authenticate transactions. The receipt functions similarly to modern receipts in proving payment, but here wax seals served as personal authentication and there was stronger emphasis on formal, ritual signatories recorded in central accounts.
Model answer — Proficient
The document is a receipt recording one mark received by Ermengarda. 'Ego' shows she signs in the first person, and her red oval seal — a widow’s portrait — authenticates it. Like modern receipts, it proves payment, but medieval seals replaced signatures and were important for authentication.
Rubric (extended)
- Exemplary: explains function of receipt and amount; identifies 'ego' and names; interprets seal imagery and gender implications; compares medieval authentication to modern practice with evidence from Exchequer procedure.
- Proficient: locates amount and name; recognises seal use for authentication; draws a basic comparison with modern receipts.
Teacher comment (ACARA v9 mapped — 100 words)
ACARA v9 mapping: History — Historical Skills and Knowledge (material culture, palaeography and economic records). Praise identification of Ermengarda’s receipt, recognition of 'ego' and locating the red oval seal. Expect explanation of purpose of receipts and the value of one mark, with reflections on women's agency shown by the widow’s portrait seal. For next steps, invite calculation of relative sums using medieval prices, study of seal imagery in context, and archival search for related Exchequer entries. For improvement, insist on clear transcription of Latin numerals, source citation, and a short paragraph on how receipts functioned in royal fiscal administration. system.
Task 5 — Abbot of St Mary’s, York (Inclesmore map, 1407)
Student task (colourful invitation):
The map is like a plate of jewel-coloured preserves — bright inks marking fields and stones. Find rivers, paths, crosses and place-names. Why is it so colourful? Why is it shaped oddly and why are cardinal points written in different directions? Which languages appear? Which English words can you read? Explain how this map recorded shared peat-cutting rights and grazing; compare it briefly to a modern map of the area and list one change and one continuity.
Model answer — Exemplary
The map is a colourful, rectangular table map drawn to be laid flat; the compass labels in different directions help viewers seated around a table orient themselves. It shows rivers, streams, bridges, paths, churches and labelled houses; the use of both Latin and Middle English reflects legal and local naming. Colour highlights boundaries and key stones — the large stone cross marks the abbey’s sheep boundary; two smaller crosses denote shared peat rights, with one-third to the Duchy and two-thirds to the abbey. The map records negotiated rights visually so disputants could see limits. Comparing to a modern map of Goole and Thorne Moor, many place-names survive though land use changed: peat cutting and grazing reduced, drainage and industrial reclamation changed the landscape, but the river courses and some town names remain — a continuity in geography, change in use.
Model answer — Proficient
The map was meant to lie on a table and is colourful to show boundaries, rivers, crosses and place-names. It uses Latin and English labels. It marks where the abbey could keep sheep and where peat-cutting was shared (one-third Duchy, two-thirds abbey). Modern maps still show town names but land use has changed — there is more drainage and less peatland now.
Rubric (extended)
- Exemplary: identifies features and languages; explains map shape and table use; interprets boundary markers and shares of rights; compares with modern map citing continuity and change and evaluates the map’s makers and purpose.
- Proficient: locates main features; describes purpose (recording rights); notes one change and one continuity with modern map.
Teacher comment (ACARA v9 mapped — 100 words)
ACARA v9 mapping: History — Historical Knowledge and Historical Skills (cartography, land disputes and visual sources). Applaud students who identify features on the 1407 Inclesmore map, read bilingual labels, and explain why the map’s shape and colourful ink was designed to sit on a table for negotiation. Encourage linking map evidence to peat-cutting rights, shared boundaries and how stone crosses mark legal limits. To improve, ask for comparative analysis with a modern map of Goole and Thorne Moor, precise transcription of place-names, and a paragraph on continuity and change. Suggest evaluating who drew the map and whose interests are served.