John of Baggeham
¶ Johannes de Laggeham testis supra iuratus. Respondit requisitus se Added in a different hand and darker ink later. esse liberum L annorum et ultra, et quod moratar sub temporali dominio prenominati dominiMinims have been retraced in darker ink to make them clearer. Willelmi de Brewes in dicta villa de Sweneseye, in ibi habens possessiones de quarum prouentibus vivit, et quod non fuit de parentela vel familia dicti domini Thome, nec scit siWritten above 'quod' which has been crossed out. predictus dominus fueritde parentela dicti domini Thome.
¶ Item requisitus ut narraret Written later in a neater hand. si habebat noticiam dicti Willelmi Cragh et si Written later in a neater hand. sciebat aliquid de miraculo quod in eius personam dicitar contigisse, dixit quod per multas annos nouerat dictum Willelmum, et viderat prius quam fuisset suspensus et ex tunc vidit eum, et est ille qui supra iurauit cum dicto teste superDarker ink has been used here tidy up the abbreviation. isto miraculo qui vocatur W[illiam] Cragh et quod fuit ortus in parochia de Laridiey Menevensis diocesis ex patre vocato res nomenThe 'm' and contraction has been written on an erasure. matris dixit Added in darker ink. se nescire.
¶ Item dixit quod ipso teste existente in seruicio, et familia dicti domini Willelmi de Brewes, sunt iam sexdecim anni elapsi fuit captus predictus Willelmus Cragh quia dicebatur interfuissecum pluribus aliis in vasioni, et combustioni cuiusdam castri dicti Willemi dicti domini uocati Ostremue, et ex hoc fuit incaceratus in castro dicti domini vocatoThis lengthy addition has been made in a neater hand. Sweyneseye, postmodum eodem anno die lune post festum beati Martini cum dictus Willelmus eadem die deberet suspendi, et unus alius vocatus Trahen ap Howel deberet suspendi cum eo, predictas dominus Willelmus de BrewesFinal 's' of 'dominus' is written in much darker ink on an erasure. ne possent auferri dicti suspendendi per eorum parentes etAdded in the same neater hand. amicos, fecit armari x equos et decem equites quorum equitum ipse testis fuit unus, et circa horam none fuerunt ducti per eos ad furcas dicti domini existentesAdded in the same neater hand. in quodam loco excelso, distantes quasi per quartam partem unius miliaris a dicto castro et dicta hora Griffinus Woyl avunculusAdded in the same neater hand. 'et Will' has been crossed out in the main text. David Assa consanguineus germanus et Ythel propinquus dicti Willelmi Cragh coacti a domino uidente ipso teste et existente prope pedem furcarum suspenderunt dictam Willelmum in trabe transversali dictarum furcarum, cum quadam corda non tamen aduertit ubi nodus dicte corde cursilisWas originally ‘cursibilis’, but ‘bi’ dotted underneath in much blacker ink, and therefore deleted. cum qua fuit suspensus applicaretur collo ipsius Willelmi, et in mediate cum fuisset suspensus scala per quam ascenderat ad furcas fuit es subtracta, ut statim moreretur cum autem, pependisset dictus Willelmus sic suspensus in dictis furcis per tantum spacium ut arbitratur; quod homo potuisset iuisse per quartam partern unius miliaris, et amississetAdditional 's' added in much darker ink. per utrosque meatus inferiores superfluitates nature, que emittuntur a suspensis quando post suspendium moriuntur et reputaretur dictas Willelmus ab Added in the same neater hand. ipso teste et aliis ibi existentibus'i' added in much darker ink. mortuus, et ullus ex amicis dicti. Traharn qui erat nobilis ordinasset aliquid de redemptione dicti Trahar, cum domino propter quam redemptionem post suspensionemCentral 's' has been retraced in darker ink. dicti Willelmi distulerant aliquantulum suspendere dictum Traher, et suspenderunt eum carnifices dicte Wille ad talia officia deputati in eadem trabe transuersali, in qua fuerat suspensus prefatus Willelmus, et incontinenti cum scala fuit subtracta a dicto Added in same neater hand. Trahern et extendisseThe last four letters of this word including the addition have been retraced in darker ink to tidy them up. se, dicta trabs fuit fracta, per se ipsam in medio, et ambo suspensi ceciderunt ad terram, et estimat dictam trabem fuisse fractam propter debilitatem suam, et ambos vidit ipse testis cum cecidissent a dictis furcis in terram mortuos, ut visum fuit eidem, sed propter obprobrium cognationis predictorum suspensorum, et quia secundum morem patrie non debent a furcis sine licentia domini amoueri; prius quam recessissent de predicto loco ipse testis et alli armati, fecerunt iterum suspendi dictos Willelmum et Trahar unum in una tibia dictarum furcarum et alium in alia, et post secundamFinal 'm' has been retraced in darker ink. suspensionem ipse testis qui erat senescallus hospicii predicti domini rediit immediate ad castrum, et significauit dicto domino suo predictos fuisse suspensos et mortuos, et quia domina Maria uxor predicti Willelmi pecierat corpus dicti Willelmi nescit ex qua causa, audita quod erant mortui, dictus dominus concessit uxori sue predicte corpus dicti Willelmi et domina rogauit ipsum testem quod festinanter rediens ad furcas predictas faceret deponi dictum Willelmum de furcis et portari ad villam, et rediens fecit percindi cordam, cum qua erat suspensus dictus Willelmus, et corpus eius cecidit ad terram et precepit quod portaretur ad villam, et vidit quod fuit portatus in scala per quam ad scenderat ad furcas, et corpore eius, ibi dimisso fuit reuersus ad ministrandum dicto domino suo tunc existenti in prandio in castro predicto.
¶ Requisitus si quando fuit reuersus ad faciendum ipsum
Added in same neater hand. Willelmum deponi de furcis vidit in ipso aliqua signa vite dixit quod non immo credit quod tantum esset in
Written above 'et' which has been crossed out in much darker ink. ipso vita quantum in lapide.
¶ Item requisitus qui fuerunt presentes in dicta suspensioneCentral 's' has been retraced in much darker ink. ad furcas. Respondit quod Henricus Pelliparius testis supra iuratus. Sed non dum examinatus Henricus de Scorlage, Rogerus de Heue, qui fuerunt de dictis armatis, et plures alii premortui.
¶ Item dixit quod'q' and 'd' have been retraced in much darker ink. eadem die cum dictus dominus comedisset predicta domina antequam permitteret ipsum testem comedere vel bibere in dicto castro, tradidit sibi unum filum acceptum bursa Margarete filie sue, et precepit sibi quod iret incontinenti ad mensurandum prefatum Willelmum, cum dicto filo ad sanctum Thomam de Cantelupo, et vadens ipse testis in venit corpus dicti Willelmi in quadam domo Thome Mathei, propinqua ecclesie super terram suppinum, et oculi eius pendebant extra palpebras et concauitates suas, sicut vidit aliquando dealiquibus aliis suspensis consimile, et habebat linguam grossam, liuidam in parte extra dentes, ipsis dentibus vehementer compressam, et lesam et non sensitOriginally written 'scensit', but with the 'c' dotted underneath. in eo alitum, nec aliquod signum vite, licet palpauerit cum aliis eius corpus, qui omnes eum palpantes et videntes dicebantThe conjugation of this verb has been altered from the alliterative ending 'entes' to the correct form 'bant' in much darker ink. et reputabant eum esse mortuum, de quorum nominibus dixit se non recollere, quia erat tota domus plena nominibus et mulieribus, in quorum presencia extendens brachia dicti Willelmi mensurauit eius longitadinem et latitadinem cum dicto filo ad prefatum sanctumAdded in neater hand. Thomam et ipse et maior pars illorum qui erant in domo predicta flexis genibus rogauerunt deum et dictum sanctum Thomam, quod immitterent vitam in dictum Willelmum ut posset agere penitenciam de commissis, et dixerunt Pater Noster et Ave Maria, et cito post ita quod potuit homo iuisso sicut estimat unum stadium siue octauam partem unius miliaris, dictus Willelmus mouit aliquantulum unum ex pedibus suis non recordatur quem, et attraxit alitum quasi secertendo quo viso cucurrit ipse testis ad nunciandum predicte domine, queOriginally 'quem', but the final 'm' deleted by dots underneath it. eum fecerat mensurai, et estimat quod tunc esset horaOriginally 'horam' but 'm' deleted by dots underneath it. quasi media inter nonam et solis'solis' appears to have been written on an erasure. occasum. Et cum predicis domina gauderet de dictis signis vite, et dictus testis dixisset ei quod gaudebat de malo quia malum erat quod ita malus homo resuscitaretur; predicta domina scilicet cum militibus et domicellis et aliis familiaribus in sui et suis vadens ad videndum dictum Willelmum, commensurauit ipsum iterum ad dictum Sanctum Thomam vidente ipso teste cum alio filo et Margareta eius filia cum alio filo mensurauit eum post eam, ad dictum Sanctum Thomam. Rogantes pro eius vita, et ante quam mater et filia eum mensurarent apprehenderunt quod attrahebatOriginally ending was 'bant' but 'n' deleted by dots beneath it in darker ink. alitum et post mensurationem filie et marrisOriginally 'marris filie et', but word order changed with "" marks. oculi ipsius Willelmi uidentibus ipsis matre, et filia teste, et aliis qui erant in domo, pendentes fuerunt reducti per se ipsos ad concauitates suas circa solis occasum, et clausit dictos oculos. Et tenuit clausos per tantum spacium, quod homo potuisset iuisse per unum miliare, ut estimat, et postmodum mouit et aparuit palpebras. Sed non cognoscebat homines nec loquebatur. Post que dicta domina et ipse testis cum ea rediit ad predictum castrum et in crastinum mane fuerunt reuersi ad eum videndum, et inuenerunt ipsum in meliori statu et uidebatur cognoscere astantes, sed non loquebatur et dicta domina fecit haberi curam de eo et preparari sibi sorbilia de amigdalis, et in die sequenti ipse testis audiuit eum loquentem, et cum iacuisset per aliquos dies nescit per quot et fuisset curatus, post mensem ut estimat, a tempore suspensiones dicti dominus et domina de Brewes, ad duxerunt eum dictum Willelmum peditantem ratione dicti miraculi ad tumulum dicti Sancti Thome in Ecclesia Hereford', a qua distat dictum castrum per tres dietas, et post resuscitationem non audiuit quod dictus Willelmus aliqua sinistra commiserit.
Item requisitus si sciebat uel comiserat audiuerat referri prefatum Willelmum Cragh ante eius suspensionem uel dum pendebat in furcis, habuisse aliquam visionem vel reuelatiotiem ab vel de aliquo facto pro liberation euisdem. Respondit quod non.
¶ Item requisitus super sex ultimis interrogatoriis factis dicto Willelmo testi C.xlviii. Respondit idemAppears to be written on an erasure. in effectum sicut ipse, et deposuit in Gallico quia nesciebat loqui litterauter sicut dixit, adiecit tamen quod Johannes testis supra iuratus non habet possessiones de quarum prouentibus vivat. Sed viuit de laboricio suo.
¶ John of Baggeham the witness sworn in above replied when questioned that he was free, fifty or more years old, and that he was living under the temporal lordship of the pre-named lord William de Briouze in the said town of Swansea, in which he had property from which he successfully lived and that he was not related to or from the household of the said lord Thomas, nor knew if the aforesaid lord was related to the said lord Thomas.
¶ Further they asked for him to tell if he had the acquaintance of the said William Cragh and if he knew anything of the miracle that was said to have happened in his person. He said that over many years he got to know the said William, and he had seen him before he was hanged and he had seen him since this time. And that it was [Cragh] who was sworn in above with the said witness for that miracle, who was called William Cragh and that he was born in the parish of Llanrhidian in the diocese of St Davids. [He was] called Rhys after [his] father; the family name of the mother he said he did not know.
¶ Further he said that the same witness was in the service and family of the said William de Briouze (it is going on for 16 years ago). The aforesaid William Cragh was captured because it was said he took part, with many others, in the invasion and burning of a certain castle of the said lord called Oystermouth,Oystermouth Castle came into the ownership of the de Briouze family in the mid-thirteenth century. The precise date is unknown. There is some debate as to whether Oystermouth became the primary seat of power for the de Briouze family towards the end of the century, which would certainly explain the severity of the punishment here being laid in those who attacked it. However, I agree with Evans that this is unlikely: Evans, Swansea Castle (Swansea, 1983). For a contemporary chronicler’s account of the rebel’s attack, [CLICK HERE]. and on account of this he was incarcerated in the castle of the said lord called Swansea. A little while later the same year, the Monday after the feast of blessed Martin, when the said William was obliged to be hanged and one other called Trahaearn ap Hywel was bound to be hanged with him the same day, the aforesaid lord William de Briouze was not able to be dissuaded from the said hanging by their relations and friends, [and] he brought together ten armed horses and ten horsemen, one of which horsemen was the witness himself. And around the hour of nine they led him to the said gallowsThe implication of this is that the condemned went on foot. It was common for criminals to walk to the gallows outside the town walls, through one of the main city gates. (Merback, 1999: 138).of the said lord [which] was at a certain high place about a quarter of one Roman mile distant from the said castle.Gallows were usually placed in conspicuous places to maximise the impact of the punishment and deter others (McCall, 1979: 75). And at the said hour by Griffith Foyl [his] maternal uncle, and his full kinsman Dafydd Asser and Uthel, relative of the said William Cragh were compelled [to hang Cragh] by the lord seen by the witness himself and [who] was near the foot of the gallows.It was common for people to gather round to witness the spectacle of a public execution; it was intended as a public display and warning. (Merback, 1999: 138). They hanged the said William on the transverse beam of the said gallows with a certain rope, yet he did not turn his attention to where the knot of the said running rope with which he was hanged connected with the neck of William himself. And as soon as he had been strung up the ladder by which he had climbed to the gallows was taken away so that he might die straight away. But when he had been hanged, the said William hung thus on the said gallows for such an interval that he thought that a man could walk for quarter of one mile, and he had released through both lower passages the natural waste that is emitted by hanged men when they die after being hanged,Many of the witnesses corroborate this. It was a natural consequence of being hanged; for medical opinions on the subject, see Sharma (2008: 56)and (Forbes et al., 1833: 176). and the said William was thought dead by the witness himself and others who were there, and none of the friends of the said Trahaearn, who was a noble, had arranged any form of ransom for the said Trahaearn with the lord, on account [of the discussion] of which ransom, they had delayed a little while the hanging of the said Trahaearn after the hanging of the said William.Murderers could be pardoned in return for compensation usually paid by the criminal’s family Gordon et al., 2000: 243; McCall, 1979: 71). Out of 317 criminal cases recorded over a two year period in the Lincolnshire Assize Rolls, 271 bought their way out of punishment by paying fines (Ibid). And the executioners of the said William, according to their deputised duty, [hanged Trahaearn] on the same cross beam on which the aforesaid William was hanged and straight away, when the ladder was taken away from the said Trahaearn, and him being stretched out, the said beam broke by itself in the middle, and both hanged parties fell to the ground. And he estimates the said beam was broken on account of its own weakness, and the witness himself saw the pair when they had fallen from the said gallows to the ground dead, as it had seemed to him. But on account of the shame of the aforesaid kinsmen of the hanged men,The shame of having a family member hanged was part of the punishment process (Merback, 1999: 140 - 1).
and because following the fatherland’s customs they must not remove them from the gallows without authorisation from the lord,
The use of the phrase ‘local custom’ refers to the fact that despite the rise in legal officials across the course of the middle ages, by the end, it was still the local community which was chiefly responsible for the apprehension and punishment of criminals (McCall, 1979: 52). For a comprehensive discussion of the distinctions between English and Welsh law being practised in late thirteenth-century Wales, see Davies (1975). the witness himself and the other armed men hanged the said William and Trahaearn again, before they had withdrawn from the aforesaid place, one on one arm of the said gallows and the other on the other. And after the second hanging, the witness himself (who was seneschal of the household of the aforesaid lord) returned immediately to the castle and showed [significavit] his said lord [that] the aforesaid were hanged and [were] also dead, and because the lady Mary (wife of the aforesaid William) begged for the body of the said William, he did not know for what cause. Hearing that he was dead, the said lord conceded to his wife the aforesaid body of the said William. And the lady asked the witness himself to promptly return to the aforesaid gallows to arrange for the said William to be taken down from the gibbet and carry [him] to the town and returning, he cut the rope, with which the said William was hanged, and his body fell to the ground and he ordered that he be carried to the town, and he saw that he was carried on the ladder by which he had ascended to the gallows. And his body having been sent from there, he returned to attend to his said lord [who] was at lunch in the aforesaid castle at that time.
¶ They asked if when he returned to arrange himself for William to be taken down from the gallows he saw in his person some sign of life; he said that no, on the contrary he believed that there was as much life in his person as in a stone.
¶ Further they asked who was present at the said hanging by the gallows. He replied that Henry Skinner a witness sworn in above, but not yet examined; Henry of Scurlage, Roger of Heue, who were among the said armed men, and many others already deceased.
¶ Further he said that on the same day, when the said lord had eaten, before the aforesaid lady permitted the witness himself to eat or even drink in the said castle, she handed over to him a string taken from the purse of her daughter Margaret, and instructed him to go straight away to measure the aforementioned William with the said thread to St Thomas de Cantilupe. And hurrying, the witness himself went to the corpse of the said William in a certain house of Thomas MathewsThe structure of society in many Welsh towns was such that the majority of burgesses tended to be English, hence the apparently English name of this particular burgess. For a discussion of commonly found names, see Beverley-Smith (2007: 142-3). near the church. [Cragh was] on the ground head-downwards, and his eyes hanging outside of the eyelids and their sockets (just as he had seen at some time or other with regard to some other similar hanged men), and he had a thick tongue, livid and partly outside the teeth, the teeth themselves forcefully pressed together, and wounding it.It is a typical sign of death by hanging for the corpse to have a protruding tongue, with blood exuding from the mouth (Sharma, 2008: 56). The face also swells, with open and protruding eyes, while the tongue is often thrust out and damaged by ‘the convulsive action of the jaws’. The longer it takes to die, the more swollen the face neck, lips eyes and tongue become, because the heart and lungs only slowly shut down, meaning that blood continues to be pumped to the head, but cannot return to the heart due to the effect of the rope on the jugular vein, resulting in a build-up of blood in the face and features (Forbes et al., 1833: 175). And he did not feel any breath in him, nor any sign of life, although he touched his body with others. All who touched and saw him said and reported that he was dead; concerning whose names he said he could not recall because it was a whole house full of named men and women. In [their] presence he measured his length and breadth with the said string to the aforementioned St Thomas, stretching out the arms of the said William.This as a popular English custom in the Middle Ages. The idea was that a thread was used to measure the body, and that in the event of a miraculous cure the thread would be made into a votive candle for the saint responsible for the miracle. It was particularly common as a long-range device intended to attract the attention of the saint. For more on this practice, see Webb (2000: 74); Finucane (1977); Bartlett (2006: 8-9).
And he and the greater part of those who were in the aforesaid house, bent at the knee asking God and the said St Thomas that he might send life into the said William, so that he might undertake penance for [his] crimes;Prayer was believed to be the primary way in which a miracle was sought at this time. For further discussion and examples of saintly intercession as a result of prayer, see Vauchez (1997: 133-4) and Clements-Jewery (2005).Reformation of character was deemed to be an important part of the miracle process, (Koopmans, 2011), and indeed the main reason for the Virgin Mary interceding on behalf of sinners (Warner, 1976: 324-5).In popular belief, the Virgin Mary could intercede with God on behalf of sinners, often in conjunction with another saint (in this case St Thomas Cantilupe)(Clayton, 1990: 91-5). She was a particular favourite with criminals, and has a role as queen over death, so was often called upon by those who were in this way damned (Cunneen, 1996: 180; Warner, 1976: 285-6, 316, 324-7).
and they said the Pater Noster and Ave Maria.These prayers were commonly recited by those seeking a miracle (Webb, 2000: 74;Cunneen, 1996: 54; Warner, 1976: 285 and 306;
Sumption, 1975: 100-2).
And soon after, ([in the time] that a man could walk one furlong or an eighth of a mile in his estimate), the said William moved one of his feet a little, he could not remember which, and drew in breath as if exerted. Seeing this the witness himself ran to announce to the aforesaid lady that he had made the measurement, and estimated that at that time it was about the hour midway between Nones and sunset.For more information on the canonical hours, see ‘Introduction’ - LINK And when the aforesaid lady rejoiced at the said signs of life, and the said witness had said that her rejoicing was bad because it was bad that a bad man was thus resuscitated. The aforesaid lady, with soldiers and handmaidens and other members of her husband’s household and his men, hurried to see the said William. She re-measured him herself again to the said St Thomas, the witness himself watching, with another thread, and Margaret her daughter measured him after her with another string to the said St Thomas. They asked for life on his behalf, and before mother and daughter measured him they learnt that he had drawn breath; and after the daughter’s measuring, the hanging down eyes of William himself were restored by their own means into their sockets, as seen by the same mother and daughter, the witness and others who were in the house around sunset. And he closed the said eyes and kept them closed for such a time that a man could walk for one mile (in his estimate), and after a while he moved and opened the eyelids; but he did not recognise men nor speak. After that the said lady and the witness himself returned with her to the aforesaid castle, and on the morning of the next day they went back to see him, and found his person in better condition and he seemed to recognise those standing by, but not speaking. And the said lady arranged care for him and prepared a broth of almonds,This could be a reference to ‘Blancmange’ a bland stew made from almond milk, shredded chicken or fish, sugar, rosewater and flour, thought to be beneficial to the health (Rumble, 2009: 64;and Adamson, 2004: 45). Noblewomen often concerned themselves with assisting the poor and needy in their community. Women like Joan de Valence, Countess of Pembroke and Katherine of Norwich regularly provided relief (Skinner, 1997: passim; Leyser, 1995: 224;Ward, 1997: 186). and on the following day the witness himself heard him speak. And when he had been lying thus for some days (he did not know how many), and had been taken care of for a month (in his estimate) from the time of the hanging, the said lord and lady de Briouze led him, the said William, on foot on account of the said miracle to the tomb of the said St Thomas in Hereford Cathedral which was three days away from the said castle. And after the resuscitation he did not hear that the said William committed any crimes.It was common practice for a pilgrimage to be made following the working of a miracle (Yarrow, 2006), but the effectiveness of the pilgrimage was deemed greater if it was made on foot or even barefooted, as other witnesses say William did. The parents of the apparently drowned and resuscitated Joanna were said to have walked barefoot to Hereford to give thanks to St Thomas for the miracle. (Webb, 2000: xiv and 75). For further examples and discussion of this, see Sumption (1975: 123-8).
Further they asked if he knew or had heard reports of the aforementioned William Cragh before his hanging, or while he was hanging on the gallows, having any vision or revelation or for any reason; he replied no.
¶ Further they asked the final questions put to the said William (witness 148). He replied in effect just the same as him, and testified in French because he was unable to speak Latin, as he said; yet adding that John the witness sworn in above did not have property from which he successfully lived, [but] lived by his labour.
Ƞǿŧḗş
¶ John of Baggeham the witness sworn in above replied when questioned that he was free, fifty or more years old, and that he was living under the temporal lordship of the pre-named lord William de Briouze in the said town of Swansea, in which he had property from which he successfully lived and that he was not related to or from the household of the said lord Thomas, nor knew if the aforesaid lord was related to the said lord Thomas.
¶ Further they asked for him to tell if he had the acquaintance of the said William Cragh and if he knew anything of the miracle that was said to have happened in his person. He said that over many years he got to know the said William, and he had seen him before he was hanged and he had seen him since this time. And that it was [Cragh] who was sworn in above with the said witness for that miracle, who was called William Cragh and that he was born in the parish of Llanrhidian in the diocese of St Davids. [He was] called Rhys after [his] father; the family name of the mother he said he did not know.
¶ Further he said that the same witness was in the service and family of the said William de Briouze (it is going on for 16 years ago). The aforesaid William Cragh was captured because it was said he took part, with many others, in the invasion and burning of a certain castle of the said lord called Oystermouth,Oystermouth Castle came into the ownership of the de Briouze family in the mid-thirteenth century. The precise date is unknown. There is some debate as to whether Oystermouth became the primary seat of power for the de Briouze family towards the end of the century, which would certainly explain the severity of the punishment here being laid in those who attacked it. However, I agree with Evans that this is unlikely: Evans, Swansea Castle (Swansea, 1983). For a contemporary chronicler’s account of the rebel’s attack, [CLICK HERE]. and on account of this he was incarcerated in the castle of the said lord called Swansea. A little while later the same year, the Monday after the feast of blessed Martin, when the said William was obliged to be hanged and one other called Trahaearn ap Hywel was bound to be hanged with him the same day, the aforesaid lord William de Briouze was not able to be dissuaded from the said hanging by their relations and friends, [and] he brought together ten armed horses and ten horsemen, one of which horsemen was the witness himself. And around the hour of nine they led him to the said gallowsThe implication of this is that the condemned went on foot. It was common for criminals to walk to the gallows outside the town walls, through one of the main city gates. (Merback, 1999: 138).of the said lord [which] was at a certain high place about a quarter of one Roman mile distant from the said castle.Gallows were usually placed in conspicuous places to maximise the impact of the punishment and deter others (McCall, 1979: 75). And at the said hour by Griffith Foyl [his] maternal uncle, and his full kinsman Dafydd Asser and Uthel, relative of the said William Cragh were compelled [to hang Cragh] by the lord seen by the witness himself and [who] was near the foot of the gallows.It was common for people to gather round to witness the spectacle of a public execution; it was intended as a public display and warning. (Merback, 1999: 138). They hanged the said William on the transverse beam of the said gallows with a certain rope, yet he did not turn his attention to where the knot of the said running rope with which he was hanged connected with the neck of William himself. And as soon as he had been strung up the ladder by which he had climbed to the gallows was taken away so that he might die straight away. But when he had been hanged, the said William hung thus on the said gallows for such an interval that he thought that a man could walk for quarter of one mile, and he had released through both lower passages the natural waste that is emitted by hanged men when they die after being hanged,Many of the witnesses corroborate this. It was a natural consequence of being hanged; for medical opinions on the subject, see Sharma (2008: 56)and (Forbes et al., 1833: 176). and the said William was thought dead by the witness himself and others who were there, and none of the friends of the said Trahaearn, who was a noble, had arranged any form of ransom for the said Trahaearn with the lord, on account [of the discussion] of which ransom, they had delayed a little while the hanging of the said Trahaearn after the hanging of the said William.Murderers could be pardoned in return for compensation usually paid by the criminal’s family Gordon et al., 2000: 243; McCall, 1979: 71). Out of 317 criminal cases recorded over a two year period in the Lincolnshire Assize Rolls, 271 bought their way out of punishment by paying fines (Ibid). And the executioners of the said William, according to their deputised duty, [hanged Trahaearn] on the same cross beam on which the aforesaid William was hanged and straight away, when the ladder was taken away from the said Trahaearn, and him being stretched out, the said beam broke by itself in the middle, and both hanged parties fell to the ground. And he estimates the said beam was broken on account of its own weakness, and the witness himself saw the pair when they had fallen from the said gallows to the ground dead, as it had seemed to him. But on account of the shame of the aforesaid kinsmen of the hanged men,The shame of having a family member hanged was part of the punishment process (Merback, 1999: 140 - 1).
and because following the fatherland’s customs they must not remove them from the gallows without authorisation from the lord,
The use of the phrase ‘local custom’ refers to the fact that despite the rise in legal officials across the course of the middle ages, by the end, it was still the local community which was chiefly responsible for the apprehension and punishment of criminals (McCall, 1979: 52). For a comprehensive discussion of the distinctions between English and Welsh law being practised in late thirteenth-century Wales, see Davies (1975). the witness himself and the other armed men hanged the said William and Trahaearn again, before they had withdrawn from the aforesaid place, one on one arm of the said gallows and the other on the other. And after the second hanging, the witness himself (who was seneschal of the household of the aforesaid lord) returned immediately to the castle and showed [significavit] his said lord [that] the aforesaid were hanged and [were] also dead, and because the lady Mary (wife of the aforesaid William) begged for the body of the said William, he did not know for what cause. Hearing that he was dead, the said lord conceded to his wife the aforesaid body of the said William. And the lady asked the witness himself to promptly return to the aforesaid gallows to arrange for the said William to be taken down from the gibbet and carry [him] to the town and returning, he cut the rope, with which the said William was hanged, and his body fell to the ground and he ordered that he be carried to the town, and he saw that he was carried on the ladder by which he had ascended to the gallows. And his body having been sent from there, he returned to attend to his said lord [who] was at lunch in the aforesaid castle at that time.
¶ They asked if when he returned to arrange himself for William to be taken down from the gallows he saw in his person some sign of life; he said that no, on the contrary he believed that there was as much life in his person as in a stone.
¶ Further they asked who was present at the said hanging by the gallows. He replied that Henry Skinner a witness sworn in above, but not yet examined; Henry of Scurlage, Roger of Heue, who were among the said armed men, and many others already deceased.
¶ Further he said that on the same day, when the said lord had eaten, before the aforesaid lady permitted the witness himself to eat or even drink in the said castle, she handed over to him a string taken from the purse of her daughter Margaret, and instructed him to go straight away to measure the aforementioned William with the said thread to St Thomas de Cantilupe. And hurrying, the witness himself went to the corpse of the said William in a certain house of Thomas MathewsThe structure of society in many Welsh towns was such that the majority of burgesses tended to be English, hence the apparently English name of this particular burgess. For a discussion of commonly found names, see Beverley-Smith (2007: 142-3). near the church. [Cragh was] on the ground head-downwards, and his eyes hanging outside of the eyelids and their sockets (just as he had seen at some time or other with regard to some other similar hanged men), and he had a thick tongue, livid and partly outside the teeth, the teeth themselves forcefully pressed together, and wounding it.It is a typical sign of death by hanging for the corpse to have a protruding tongue, with blood exuding from the mouth (Sharma, 2008: 56). The face also swells, with open and protruding eyes, while the tongue is often thrust out and damaged by ‘the convulsive action of the jaws’. The longer it takes to die, the more swollen the face neck, lips eyes and tongue become, because the heart and lungs only slowly shut down, meaning that blood continues to be pumped to the head, but cannot return to the heart due to the effect of the rope on the jugular vein, resulting in a build-up of blood in the face and features (Forbes et al., 1833: 175). And he did not feel any breath in him, nor any sign of life, although he touched his body with others. All who touched and saw him said and reported that he was dead; concerning whose names he said he could not recall because it was a whole house full of named men and women. In [their] presence he measured his length and breadth with the said string to the aforementioned St Thomas, stretching out the arms of the said William.This as a popular English custom in the Middle Ages. The idea was that a thread was used to measure the body, and that in the event of a miraculous cure the thread would be made into a votive candle for the saint responsible for the miracle. It was particularly common as a long-range device intended to attract the attention of the saint. For more on this practice, see Webb (2000: 74); Finucane (1977); Bartlett (2006: 8-9).
And he and the greater part of those who were in the aforesaid house, bent at the knee asking God and the said St Thomas that he might send life into the said William, so that he might undertake penance for [his] crimes;Prayer was believed to be the primary way in which a miracle was sought at this time. For further discussion and examples of saintly intercession as a result of prayer, see Vauchez (1997: 133-4) and Clements-Jewery (2005).Reformation of character was deemed to be an important part of the miracle process, (Koopmans, 2011), and indeed the main reason for the Virgin Mary interceding on behalf of sinners (Warner, 1976: 324-5).In popular belief, the Virgin Mary could intercede with God on behalf of sinners, often in conjunction with another saint (in this case St Thomas Cantilupe)(Clayton, 1990: 91-5). She was a particular favourite with criminals, and has a role as queen over death, so was often called upon by those who were in this way damned (Cunneen, 1996: 180; Warner, 1976: 285-6, 316, 324-7).
and they said the Pater Noster and Ave Maria.These prayers were commonly recited by those seeking a miracle (Webb, 2000: 74;Cunneen, 1996: 54; Warner, 1976: 285 and 306;
Sumption, 1975: 100-2).
And soon after, ([in the time] that a man could walk one furlong or an eighth of a mile in his estimate), the said William moved one of his feet a little, he could not remember which, and drew in breath as if exerted. Seeing this the witness himself ran to announce to the aforesaid lady that he had made the measurement, and estimated that at that time it was about the hour midway between Nones and sunset.For more information on the canonical hours, see ‘Introduction’ - LINK And when the aforesaid lady rejoiced at the said signs of life, and the said witness had said that her rejoicing was bad because it was bad that a bad man was thus resuscitated. The aforesaid lady, with soldiers and handmaidens and other members of her husband’s household and his men, hurried to see the said William. She re-measured him herself again to the said St Thomas, the witness himself watching, with another thread, and Margaret her daughter measured him after her with another string to the said St Thomas. They asked for life on his behalf, and before mother and daughter measured him they learnt that he had drawn breath; and after the daughter’s measuring, the hanging down eyes of William himself were restored by their own means into their sockets, as seen by the same mother and daughter, the witness and others who were in the house around sunset. And he closed the said eyes and kept them closed for such a time that a man could walk for one mile (in his estimate), and after a while he moved and opened the eyelids; but he did not recognise men nor speak. After that the said lady and the witness himself returned with her to the aforesaid castle, and on the morning of the next day they went back to see him, and found his person in better condition and he seemed to recognise those standing by, but not speaking. And the said lady arranged care for him and prepared a broth of almonds,This could be a reference to ‘Blancmange’ a bland stew made from almond milk, shredded chicken or fish, sugar, rosewater and flour, thought to be beneficial to the health (Rumble, 2009: 64;and Adamson, 2004: 45). Noblewomen often concerned themselves with assisting the poor and needy in their community. Women like Joan de Valence, Countess of Pembroke and Katherine of Norwich regularly provided relief (Skinner, 1997: passim; Leyser, 1995: 224;Ward, 1997: 186). and on the following day the witness himself heard him speak. And when he had been lying thus for some days (he did not know how many), and had been taken care of for a month (in his estimate) from the time of the hanging, the said lord and lady de Briouze led him, the said William, on foot on account of the said miracle to the tomb of the said St Thomas in Hereford Cathedral which was three days away from the said castle. And after the resuscitation he did not hear that the said William committed any crimes.It was common practice for a pilgrimage to be made following the working of a miracle (Yarrow, 2006), but the effectiveness of the pilgrimage was deemed greater if it was made on foot or even barefooted, as other witnesses say William did. The parents of the apparently drowned and resuscitated Joanna were said to have walked barefoot to Hereford to give thanks to St Thomas for the miracle. (Webb, 2000: xiv and 75). For further examples and discussion of this, see Sumption (1975: 123-8).
Further they asked if he knew or had heard reports of the aforementioned William Cragh before his hanging, or while he was hanging on the gallows, having any vision or revelation or for any reason; he replied no.
¶ Further they asked the final questions put to the said William (witness 148). He replied in effect just the same as him, and testified in French because he was unable to speak Latin, as he said; yet adding that John the witness sworn in above did not have property from which he successfully lived, [but] lived by his labour.
