Inquisitio

psukhê

New Member

Location:
Canada
Hello,

I found out about a document on my family but it is in latin. I'm still a beginner - I started learning verbs, for example - but can't understand abbreviations or ligatures.
I think I figured out the first sentence :
" Inquisitio indentata capta apud Weare in Som paedicto viresime nono die Augusti Anno regni domine nostra Elizabeth dei gracia Angliae, Ffrancia et Hibernie Regina fidei Defensoris etc. viresime nono coram..."
Otherwise, I could read some little word here and there - the largest words, too - but without being able to build sentences.
Does anyone can read it and give me advices ?

Thank you so much,
Psukhê.
 

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psukhê

New Member

Location:
Canada
Is anyone able to transcript this in latin ? I can't read the words, especially ligatures. I'll be able to see the priest of my neighborhood soon and probably help me to translate it.
thanks again.
 

Imber Ranae

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It's too small for me to inspect minutely without straining my eyes, and I'm bad at reading this kind of handwriting anyway. Sorry.
 

psukhê

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Location:
Canada
No problem, Imber Ranae. I totally understand. I don't even know how people can read it actually... It makes no sense to me.
 
 

cinefactus

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Location:
litore aureo
vicesimo nono rather than viresime nono
predicto rather than paedicto
coram ?Alexandro ? Armigero Escatore dictae dominae Reginae in Comitatu predicto virtute brevis dictae dominae Reginae de diem clausit extremum post mortem Georgii Fry eidem Escatori directi et huic Inquisitioni
 
 

cinefactus

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Location:
litore aureo
List of names then

Qui super eorum sacramentum dicunt quod Georgius Fry in breve praedicto ? diu ?ante obitum suum fuit seisitus in ?dominico suo ut de feodo de
Et in Som ? ? ? cum pertinaciis ? ? ? acris terre virginti acris prati ? acris pasturis
 

psukhê

New Member

Location:
Canada
Thank you Cinefactus. I trust you more than I trust myself in latin. It looks really hard to read this document.
Is it a post-mortem document ? I wasn't sure...
Thank you so much !
 
 

cinefactus

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Location:
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I was hoping that Westcott would see the thread. He is a true expert.
It is something to do with the disposition of his goods after his death. I am sure there is a technical name for the document of which I am unaware...

Inquisitions Post Mortem... :brickwall:
 

psukhê

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Location:
Canada
I hope he will see this thread !
Although, thank you for correcting my mistake I have made. :)
 

Imber Ranae

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Location:
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Westcott

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Imber, good thinking; I had indeed missed this. Glad to see this Inquisition Post Mortem is short. I'll see if I can do it in the next day or two.
 

Westcott

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Here is the Latin. I have had to expand all contractions and abbreviations otherwise the website won't display the text properly:

Somerset

Inquisicio indentata capta apud Weare in Comitatu predicto vicesimo nono die Augusti Anno Regni domine nostre Elizabethe dei gracia Anglie Francie & Hibernie Regine fidei Defensoris etc vicesimo nono

Coram Alexandro Ewens Armigero Escaetore dicte domine Regine in Comitatu predicto virtute brevis dicte domine Regine de diem clausit extremum post mortem Georgii Fry eidem Escaetori directi & huic Inquisiconi annexi per sacramentum Edwardi Roo Armigeri Thome Hodges generosi Willielmi Huntley generosi Thome Virgin generosi Nicholai Andrewes Richardi Councell Willielmi Ryve Johannis Bulle Willielmi Bocher Roberti Hawkyns Richardi Hardwich Thome Bees[?] Johannis Hardwich Willielmi Addams Willielmi Butler Johannis Crooker Willielmi Crooker & Thome Shalmer

Qui super eorum sacramentum dicunt quod dictus Georgius Fry in brevi predicto nominatus diu ante obitum suum fuit seisitus in Dominico suo ut de feodo de & in uno mesuagio sive tenemento cum pertinentiis

Ac de & in quadraginta acris terre viginti acris prati Centum acris pasture duabus acris more tribus acris bosci & Quadraginta acris iampnorum & bruere cum pertinentiis in Barton infra parochiam de Winscombe in Comitatu predicto dicto mesuagio sive Tenemento spectantibus sive pertinentibus

Ipsoque Georgio Fry de omnibus & singulis premissis predictis (sic ut prefertur) seisito existente de tali statu suo obiit inde seisitus

Et dicunt ulterius Juratores predicti super eorum sacramentum quod Dictum Mesuagium sive tenementum ceteraque omnia et singula premissa predicta cum pertinentiis in Barton & Wynscombe predictis tenentur & tempore Mortis dicti Georgii tenebantur de Decano & Capitulo ecclesie Cathedralis Wellensis ut de Manerio suo de Symbarbes in Comitatu predicto per annualem redditum sex solidorum & undecim Denariorum ad Festum sancti Michaelis Archangeli tantum solvendum

Et valent clare per Annum in omnibus exitibus suis ultra reprizas octo Libris

Et dicunt ulterius Juratores predicti super eorum sacramentum quod dictus Georgius Fry in dicto brevi nominatus obiit Primo die Februarii Anno Regni dicte domine Regine Elizabethe etc vicesimo septimo

Et quod Nicholaus Fry est eius filius & heres propinquior et est etatis tempore capcionis huius Inquisicionis octodecim Annorum & amplius

Dicunt insuper Juratores predicti super eorum sacramentum quod dictus Georgius Fry die obitus sui nulla alia sive plura habuit sive tenuit Mesuagia terras tenementa redditus reverciones servicia neque hereditamenta de dicta domina Regina nunc in Capita nec aliter nec de aliquo alio sive de aliquibus aliis personis in Dominico possessione Revercione remanere servicio nec in usu in Comitatu predicto ad noticiam Juratorum predictorum

In cuius rei testimonium uni parti huius Inquisicionis penes Juratores predictos remanenti predictus Escaetor Sigillum suum apposuit

Alteri vero parti huius Inquisicionis penes predictum Escaetorem remanenti Juratores predicti Sigilla sua apposuerunt

Data die Anno & loco supradictis
 

Westcott

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And here is the translation:
Somerset

Indented inquisition taken at Weare in the county aforesaid on the twenty ninth day of August in the twenty ninth year of the reign of our Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, Queen, defender of the faith etc,

Before Alexander Ewens esquire, Escheator of our said Lady the Queen in the county aforesaid, by virtue of a writ of our said Lady the Queen of de diem clausit extremum, after the death of George Fry directed to the same Escheator and annexed to this inquisition, by the corporal oath of Edward Roo esquire, Thomas Hodges gentleman, William Huntley gentleman, Thomas Virgin gentleman, Nicholas Andrewes, Richard Councell, William Ryve, John Bulle, William Bocher, Robert Hawkyns, Richard Hardwich, Thomas Bees[?], John Hardwich, William Addams, William Butler, John Crooker, William Crooker and Thomas Shalmer,

Who say upon their corporal oath that the said George Fry named in the aforesaid writ, long before his death, was seised in his demesne, as of fee, of and in one messuage or tenement, with the appurtenances,

And of and in forty acres of land, twenty acres of meadow, one hundred acres of pasture, two acres of moor, three acres of wood and forty acres of heath and furze, with the appurtenances, in Barton within the parish of Winscombe in the county aforesaid, belonging or appertaining to the said messuage or tenement,

And he*, George* Fry, being seised of all and singular the aforesaid premises (just as is aforesaid) died seised thereof, of such his estate.

And the jurors aforesaid further say upon their corporal oath that the said messuage or tenement and all and singular the rest of the aforesaid premises, with the appurtenances, in Barton and Winscombe aforesaid, are held, and at the time of the death of the said George were held, of the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Wells, as of their manor of Symbarbes in the county aforesaid, by the annual rent of six shillings and eleven pence, so much being payable at the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel,

And they are worth, clear, annually, in all their issues over and above reprises, eight pounds,

And the aforesaid jurors further say upon their corporal oath that the said George Fry named in the said writ died on the first day of February in the twenty seventh year of the reign of our said Lady Elizabeth etc,

And that Nicholas Fry is his son and next heir and is of the age, at the time of the taking of this inquisition, of eighteen years and more.

Moreover the aforesaid jurors say upon their corporal oath that the said George Fry, on the day of his death, had or held no other or further messuages, lands, tenements, rents, reversions, services or hereditaments of our said Lady the now Queen, in chief or otherwise, nor of any other person or person, in demesne, possession, reversion, remainder, service or in use, in the county aforesaid, to the notice of the aforesaid jurors.

In witness whereof to one part of this inquisition, remaining with the aforesaid jurors, the aforesaid Escheator has affixed his seal.

To the other part, indeed, of this inquisition, remaining with the aforesaid Escheator, the aforesaid jurors have affixed their seals.

Given on the day and year, and at the place, abovesaid.



*I don’t know why these are not in the nominative case in the original.

 

psukhê

New Member

Location:
Canada
Omd Westcott !!! Cinefactus was right about you. You're truly good at it.
Can I ask you how did you learn to read these ? This is great. I'd love to be able to decipher old latin documents but it was so hard. I couldn't even read an entire sentence ! :(

Gratias plurimas ago! :D
 

Westcott

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Psukhe, thank you for your appreciative comments. How did I get to this stage? First, I am of a generation which learned Latin at school for five years. It's incredible to think this was probably 20-25% of the UK population in the 1960's! I failed O-level Latin at 16 but started taking an interest in my family history in my 20's. Like you, I found an old IPM which looked as if it might be relevant. I couldn't read the handwriting but I had a friend who had studied English and Medieval History at Durham University. So we used to sit in the pub one day a week, putting the world to rights and working on the document from time to time. It's incredible to think you could drink 4 pints of strong ale at lunchtime and go back to work in the afternoon in the 1970's! To add to my household income I started tracing other people's family trees, and found my grounding in Latin gave me an advantage. Gradually I stopped dashing round the country doing research and started doing more translation for other people. I bought books which helped with palaeography, dictionaries which helped with vocabulary, and even found one or two with formularies (templates showing the standard form of this sort of thing, with translations). You would probably use the internet nowadays. This is now my full time job (although I must admit I do have a pension as well). So it's just a matter of immersing yourself in it for 40 years!
 

psukhê

New Member

Location:
Canada
That's amazing!
I wish I had Latin course at school, to be honest. When I see how my native language (french) is going bad in my country, I wish more people knew about how to use it properly and understand where words come from. Perhaps people would be more proud, too. I don't know. Although, I'd love to meet someone able to teach me how to read these documents.
Do you have any tips or books to recommend ? Templates ?
I wish I could do better. I'm doing good with old French and old English palaeography but Latin... ugh... I have another IPM and I really want to do it myself. What you did just let me want to improve myself and succeed !

Thank you again!
 

Westcott

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Psukhe - since you ask, I could recommend my own little book; Making Sense of Latin Documents for Family and Local Historians, ISBN 978 1 906280 45 1
 
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