[A1382/6/1]¹

Non-parliamentary record: letter recording a parliamentary statement regarding the second teinds of Formartine

John [Stewart], firstborn son of the illustrious prince our lord the king of Scotland, earl of Carrick and steward of Scotland, to all to whom our present letters shall come, and especially to the lord of the lands of Formartine who shall be for the time, and his bailies, mairs, receivers of fermes and his other officers, and also the husbandmen and inhabitants of his lands whomsoever now and in the future, whatever their standing or condition may be, greeting. We make it known to you that in the general council of our said lord king our father held at Perth on 6 June last past [1382], in the presence of the lord our father himself and our presence, many of the greater prelates, magnates and barons of the realm being present, and, among others, our beloved kinsman Sir James de Lindsay, knight, to whom we formerly granted his lands of Formartine, it was complained gravely by the revered father in Christ the lord Adam [de Tyninghame], by the grace of God bishop of Aberdeen, that the husbandmen or inhabitants of the same lands of Formartine have not given due satisfaction to him and his church of Aberdeen of the second teinds due to him and his church from the fermes of their lands as they have been accustomed and held to answer and give satisfaction to his predecessors, bishops of Aberdeen, but have put off and deferred paying them, excusing themselves by our letters and by the mandate of the aforesaid Sir James, with hardened hearts despising the sentence categorically promulgated against them by the said lord bishop, being more afraid of offending against human power than against the power of God. And our same lord king declared in the same place, from the deliberation of the said council, that his intention was not, nor ought to be, as it were, that by his grant made to us of the aforesaid lands of Formatine, nor by reason of the same, the right of the church of Aberdeen or the bishops of Aberdeen who shall be for the time shall be injured or diminished in any way in the payment payment of the said second teinds. And we also declared in the same place that, in the grant made by us to the said Sir James of the same lands, we understood that the right of the church of Aberdeen and the bishops of Aberdeen who shall be for the time, as far as the payment of the said second teinds, was and is excepted. And our said lord king and I both declared in the same place that, by reason of any donation made by him or us, the second teinds might not be detained from anyone nor payment of the same be delayed, but that the husbandmen and inhabitants be distrained for payment of the same, as is more fully contained in the letters of our lord king prepared upon this and sealed by his great seal. We therefore instruct and command you and each of you very strictly, as far as we are able and under all penalty which you can lose or which any of you can lose that you and each of yours, as far as pertains to you and each of you, shall give satisfaction to the said lord bishop concerning the said second teinds due concerning the same lands of Formatine for the terms now complete since the arrival of the same [bishop] in the regions of Scotland, and henceforth in each future term you shall answer and give satisfaction to the same without any delay, excuse or objection whatsoever. Notwithstanding any of our letters in whatever form of words obtained or to be obtained to the contrary, or the mandate to the contrary by the same Sir James, or by anyone else whomsoever, or by the finding of a pledge, since such a finding of a pledge ought not to impede or defer the execution of the king's mandate or a decreet by the deliberation of his council. And notwithstanding, if the said lord bishop should proceed against the non-payers by ecclesiastical censure, we will endure this patiently. In testimony of the foregoing we have caused these our letters patent to be made, sealed by our seal, to remain in the possession of the said lord bishop and his church of Aberdeen and to be revealed to you when it is right. Given at Edinburgh on 8 January A.D. 1382 [8 January 1383].