An Endorsed Subdelegation: 1284

Abstract

The commission of subdelegation here transcribed is one of a large number surviving, in the original or in transcript, from a jurisdictional dispute between the archbishop of York and the prior and convent of Durham. The case was tried before various benches of papal judges delegate between the years 1281 and 1286. This commission is a good, clear example of its type. It reflects the structure and phraseology of the papal mandate. Its particular distinction lies in its bearing on its dorse a certification, a dated note of receipt, in the hand, presumably, of one of the subdelegates, Master Robert Merley, a canon of Dunblane in Scotland. Beyond its obvious interest for antiquarians involved with Dunblane, the certification, particularly in conjunction with another endorsement on the commission, helps date, place, and make real, if not simple, activities within a peculiarly elusive and involved legal mechanism where fiction is everywhere a possibility.