The ostracism of the Shire

These are the facts surrounding Middenshire's disappearance from history.

Middenshire's archers were once considered the finest in the land. Being mindful of this, King Henry the Fifth ordered the county to supply 'xxx bowe menne at ther owne coste' for the French Wars in early 1415. It appears that the messenger charged with delivering this order became lost somewhere near Croydon and (so Thuck tells us) was murdered by Surrey outlaws. As a result, no Middenshire bowmen were forthcoming, and the king, angered by what he believed to be the Shire's defiance of his direct command, issued the following decree. Henry was, incidentally, the first monarch to use English as his 'official' language since the ill-fated Harold Godwinson:

I wolle that henceforwarde ye nayme of thys covntie of Miden Shere shal be stryken from mappe and boke, nor shal yt be uttered abroade by anie manne, on peyno of forfyt of hys gignytors, whych shal be ysnippen off wyth ye blounte sheares and then somtyme brent yn ye fyre.

Thus, Middenshire ceased to exist, becoming terra non grata by Royal order. It is, perhaps, predictable thatwhen the decree was issued, the only part of the realm that was not informed was the shire itself. The Middenites only realised that something was wrong following a visit to the mainland by Roger Bigot, abbot of Middenbury. Passing through Chipping Blandford (now Blandford Forum), he and his riding companions received inexplicable treatment from its inhabitants. There were dark mutterings and whisperings. At the inn, they were jostled, cursed, and one of the group was violently assaulted with an ale-mug. The angry Bigot confronted the High Sheriff of Dorset concerning his treatment, and received with dismay the news of the King's decree. Bigot decided to make the difficult and dangerous journey to London to petition the King. He arrived only a few days before Henry was due to set sail for Normandy, and was given audience at once.

Roger Bigot, Abbot of Middenbury

King Henry, the Fifth of that Name, by the Grace of God King of England, was a great and dignified ruler, by Abbot Bigot had chosen a bad time for his appeal. Henry was still white with anger from the discovery of the plot against his life and, in his anger, accused the shire of being implicated in the intrigue. Bigot tried to explain that the Royal Messenger had never arrived, but his explanations fell on deaf ears. Even when, two days after this meeting, the body of the messenger was found in a Carshalton thicket and was brought, bloodied and still clutching the conscription order, to Court, the King would have none of it. He insisted that the men of Middenshire had arranged the murder and were in league with Scrope, one of the plotter's against the King's life. Even if this evidence had preceded Bigot's visit, it would have been useless for the abbot to plead any further. Even if the King had been swayed by the arguments and the evidence brought before him, it would have been impossible for him to rescind the decree without a massive loss of face. Such a situation would have been playing straight into the hands of the French Court. If Henry's courtiers had any doubts about the guilt of Middenshire, they kept these doubts to themselves.

In the next post, I'll explain how the King wiped Middenshire off the map, and how the shire dealt with its change in circumstances.