Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall

The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.

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John Cheyne -1414

In or before 1365 Robert Tiptoft 3rd Baron Tibetot [aged 23] and [his future wife] Margaret Deincourt Baroness Tibetot [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Baroness Tibetot. They were third cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

In 1372 John Cheyne and Margaret Deincourt Baroness Tibetot [aged 28] were married.

On 2nd April 1380 [his wife] Margaret Deincourt Baroness Tibetot [aged 36] died at Nettlestead, Suffolk.

In 1390 John Cheyne was elected MP Gloucestershire. He was re-elected in 1393,1394 and 1399.

In September 1399 John Cheyne was appointed Speaker of the House of Commons.

Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV. In this Convocation of the clergy, the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury informed those gathered there concerning certain knights of Parliament, saying that they were not well disposed towards the clergy, but were, for the most part, crafty plotters and exceedingly hostile. In particular, he said that he feared the thoughts and opinions of Lord John Cheyne, who had previously been hostile to the Church, and had now been made Speaker of Parliament. If he knew of anything blameworthy in the clergy, he would not keep silent, but would reveal it as far as he could, to the disgrace of the clerics. And therefore he taught that it was expedient for ecclesiastics to compose and order themselves in such a way that laymen could not in any manner inveigh against them. He therefore first ordained that clerics should not hold pluralities, unless perhaps they were professors of Sacred Scripture, doctors of law, or bachelors formed in law, and that bishops or beneficed clerics should not remain in the courts of lords, but should reside at their benefices. It was further advised that, on behalf of the clergy, a petition should be drawn up and presented to the King, asking that the course of law in the ecclesiastical court should not henceforth be impeded by prohibitions or by the writ "quare impedit", and that the writ "significavit" should not be deprived of its due execution by [....]. There was also discussion there, as there was of many trivial matters, concerning exempt persons, because they had not borne the burden of the Church with others in collecting the tenths granted to the King in earlier Parliaments, nor had they so far cared to bear it. It was advised that they should be compelled, like the others, to undertake the said burden. It was also discussed, quite necessarily, that ecclesiastical privileges which up to now had been interrupted, impeded, or neglected by powerful secular men should be noted with careful deliberation and put into writing, and presented to the King to be renewed or confirmed, since they thought that he would most willingly and voluntarily confirm them.

In hac cleri Convocatione, Dominus Cantuariensis significavit ibidem congregatis, de quibusdam militibus Parliamentalibus, quod non erant clero benevoli, sed pro magna [parte] insidiatores captiosi, et nimis infesti. Et præcipue dixit se vereri Domini Johannis Cheyne sensus et opiniones, qui perante fuit infestus Ecclesiæ, et jam factus Parliamenti Prolocutor; quod si quid cognosceret in clero reprehensibile, non taceret, sed pro posse propalaret, in dedecus clericorum; et ideo docuit expedire, ut ecclesiastici sic se componerent, et ordinarent, ne laici quovismodo possent invehi contra eos. Statuit igitur inprimis ne clerici pluralitates obtinerent, nisi forte forent Sacræ Paginæ Professores, aut in Jure Doctores, vel Bacalarii in Jure formati; et ne Episcopi vel clerici beneficiati morarentur in curiis Dominorum, sed apud sua beneficia residerent. Consultum fuit insuper, ut ex parte cleri formaretur supplicatio, porrigenda Regi, ut cursus [juris] in foro ecclesiastico non "impediretur de cætero per prohibitiones vel breve "Quare impedit," et quod illud breve "Significavit" ab [....] executione debita non privaretur. Tractatum fuit ibidem præterea, sicut et de multis frivolis, de exemptis; quod non portaverunt onus Ecclesiæ, cum aliis, in colligendis decimis Regi concessis in Parliamentis prioribus, nec portare hactenus curaverunt; et consultum fuit ut compellerentur ad subeundum, sicut cæteri, onus dictum. Tractatum fuit etiam, satis necessarie, ut privilegia ecclesiastica, quæ usque [modo] potentium sæcularium fuerunt intermissa, impedita, vel omissa, cum bona deliberatione notarentur, et in scriptis redigerentur, Regique, renovanda vel confirmanda, porrigerentur; quem putabant libentissime eadem, et voluntarie, confirmaturum.

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Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV. On the Wednesday after the coronation [15th October 1399], the knights of Parliament entered the place of Parliament and awaited the king’s arrival. When he had come and had taken his seat in the royal chair, John Cheyne, knight, who had been elected Speaker, asked to be released from the office of Speaker because of the weakness and infirmity which he had contracted while he had been detained in prison through the procurement of his adversaries. He also asked quite urgently that the cause of such imprisonment might be publicly made known, and that he might be able to declare his innocence. The king granted him what he asked, and soon afterwards, with the king’s assent that a new Speaker should be elected, the Commons chose William Dorward, knight, by common vote, as Speaker in place of the said John, who asserted that his voice could not be heard because of his weakness.

Die Mercurii post Coronationem, milites Parliamentales, intrantes Parliamenti locum, adventum Regis præstolabantur. Qui cum venisset, et resedisset in regali cathedra, Johannes Cheyne, miles, electus Prolocutor, petiit absolvi ab officio Prolocutoris, ratione debilitatis et infirmitatis, quas contraxerat dum in carcere detentus fuerat, suorum adversariorum procuratione. Petlitque satis instanter, ut posset agnosci causa publice talis incarcerationis, et ipse posset suam innocentiam declarare. Cui quod petiit Rex concessit, et mox, annuente Rege ut novus eligeretur Prolocutor, communes elegerunt Willelimum Dureward, militem, voto communi, Prolocutorem, vice dicti Johannis, qui asseruit vocem suam audiri non posse, causa debilitatis.

In 1414 John Cheyne died.