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External affairs
(6/7)
As a leading landholder in the country, the
abbot of Kirkstall was expected to participate in matters relating
to the Church and State. In 1294 he officiated as the archbishop
of York’s commissioner in the enclosure of a hermit at Beeston,
and in 1311 the abbot was amongst those summoned by the archbishop
of York to suppress the Knights Templar. Kirkstall was one of twenty-four
Yorkshire houses to receive a former Templar who had confessed
and
been absolved. The newcomer did not, however, remain long at
Kirkstall, for the following year it was reported that he had been
allowed
to escape; the Vicar General ordered his recovery but the outcome
is unknown.(35) In 1444 the abbot
of Kirkstall was commissioned by the archbishop of York to veil
William de Lacy’s widow, Joan, a ceremony that probably took
place in Esholt nunnery. Two years later the abbot of Kirkstall
was amongst the ecclesiastical dignitaries invited to attend the
enthronement of the new archbishop of York and to celebrate the
occasion at Cawood Castle.
Royal demands upon the abbey were often pressing, but were particularly
so during critical times such as war. From the late thirteenth century
the threat of a Scots’ invasion and war against France meant
that the abbot was expected to counsel the king and provide aid
when needed. In 1307 Abbot John of Kirkstall attended the king’s
parliament at Carlisle; in 1310 Edward II (1307-27) demanded from
Kirkstall victuals for his Scottish campaign. Other royal exactions
included Edward III’s (1327-77) demand for a subsidy in 1332,
to help finance the marriage of his sister, Eleanor, to the count
of Flanders; in 1430 Henry VI (1422-61; 1470-1) demanded £10
from the community to repay a loan to the city of London.(36)
The Crown required Kirkstall’s services in 1304, when, following
the surrender of Stirling Castle, the abbey was asked to provide
two men, four horses and a cart to help transport Edward I’s
(1272-1307) treasure from York to Westminster; in 1349 Kirkstall
was again approached to provide a horse, this time to transport
chancery rolls to Westminster.(37)
On several occasions during the fifteenth century the abbot of Kirkstall
acted as a royal commissioner.(38)
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