Vol 1: The Bluets - Lackham Countryside Centre

The Bluets 97
respond to the appeal made to the Pope by the Scots. They presented
Pope Boniface with a well prepared case to show that
Edward had no superiority in Scotland but that, in fact, the
kingdom was in the special protection of the Holy See 416
John wasn‘t in Rome long, he may have returned when the embassy failed;
the Pope issued the Bull Scimus Fili instructing Edward I to leave the
Scots alone. This wasn‘t actually presented to Edward until later in 1300,
see below.
John Bluet was back in England by October when he acknowledged that
he owed 8 marks to John de Tyting to be secured on his property in
Southampton,. This doesn‘t necessarily mean in the town of
Southampton as at this date Southampton was often used as a
geographical area and appears to have been looked on almost as a county
in its own right. It is known from the Close Rolls that de Tyting was a
citizen of Winchester 417 but this doesn‘t show his true importance. He
could afford to lend John Bluet money as he
was Mayor of Winchester on three occasions as well as being
Member of Parliament…….. He made his fortune from wool and
in modern terms was a multimillionaire who had many
connections with France and other parts of Europe 418
Wool and money were major factors of England at this period – “
throughout the thirteenth century the amount of money in circulation
had been increasing 419 ; the increase in the [money] supply was certainly
stupendous and was supported by the influx of silver to pay for English
and Scottish wool. So it is not surprising to find a wool merchant lending
money.
Edward invaded Scotland again in 1300 and it is clear that John Bluet
416
Keen, M (2003) England in the later Middle Ages 2nd ed. Routledge p27
417
Calendar Close Rolls Edw I vol 3 1296 – 1303 p508 dated October 28th 1302
when John acknowledged the debt was now £24 6s 4d
418
Scobie, G Views of Medieval Winchester at
http://www.communigate.co.uk/hants/somsoc/page12.phtml
419
See, for instance, Carpenter, D (2003) The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066-
1284 OUP, chapter 2 generally, and p40 specifically