Words: Alys's Manche

Brunissende did the calligraphy and illumination for this one. I haven't done a legal text in a while, so I made some process notes, omitting the dead ends:

Alys’s persona is 16th-century, from Inverness in Scotland. Since the recipient was receiving the award for work in legal-sourced award texts and heraldry, I searched for early modern English (1500 and after) legal documents, preferably one bestowing a grant (since in many kingdoms this would be a grant-level award, so it's about the closest thing to our Scadian invention). I didn’t see anything that drew my interest until I was reading the Newberry Library of English Manuscripts’ Checklist of Post-1500 Manuscripts:

Cook, Robert
[Armorial bearings of the kings and noble families of Great Britain from the reign of William the Conqueror to that of James I]
England, 1572
Case MS F 0745.1915

This wasn’t a link to a text, but it was a lead. Here was a thing to do: find a legal text from (or for) a King of Arms from a time and place appropriate to the recipient’s persona. This way we can combine legal works and heraldry (the recipient’s accomplishments) on the same document.

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:
Cooke, Robert (d. 1593), herald

From the English College of Arms:
There’s a small image of the document (scroll down a bit) for the “Letters patent of Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms, dated 18 March 1576, confirming arms and crest to Henry Stanley, of Sutton Benington, Nottinghamshire, and granting arms for his wife, Anne, daughter of Richard Bradshaw.”

This is English, not Scottish, but it's a nice-looking piece. I sent the link over to Bruni, who mailed the College of Arms asking for a higher-res image of the art. I searched online for its text, but wasn't able to find it. I asked the College for that, but they didn’t respond. (And still haven’t.)

Time was short, since the award was to be given in two weeks and I was going on vacation for the following week. So I found a related text, Robert Cooke bestows arms on the City of Bristol:

By 1570, the city could muster 160 men with new uniforms, equipment and guns with enough for 20 more stored in the Guildhall. The uniforms cost the city another £65 and consisted of cassocks with laced sleeves, breeches and iron corslets. This was quite a sizable force for a city of 6,000 inhabitants as Bristol then was.

John Evans in his 1824 book "A Chronological Outline of the History of Bristol and the Stranger's Guide" describes the letter of patent:

'By a patent of "Robert Cooke esq, alias Clariencieux, principall and kinge of armes of the southe easte and weste partes of this realme of England from the river of Trente southewardes," the arms of the City of Bristol are declared to be "gules on a mount vert, issuant out of a castle silver upon wave, a ship golde;" and the crest and supporters now granted, "upon the heaulme in a wreathe golde and gules; issuant out of the cloudes two armes in saltour charnew, in the one hand a serpent vert, in the other a pair of balance gold; supported with two unicornes seant gold mained, horned; and clayed sables mantled gules dowbled silver." The motto, "Virtute et industria."'

The full text of this letter of patent is in both "Proceedings of the Clifton Antiquarian Club for 1904 - 1908" and John Latimer's "Sixteenth Century Bristol" (issued in 1569).

The source text is written as being from the principal herald and I have written Alys's award text as being from the Crown. I'd be happy to discuss why I've done this if anyone's interested, but I think I've rambled enough in this space.

AWARD TEXT Alys Mackyntoich OM To ALL AND SINGULAR AS WELL NOBLES AND GENTLES and others to whom these presents shall come Edward Kinge of the Easte realme first of His name and Marguerite juste Quene sendithe humble comendacons and greeting FORASMOCHAS aunciently from the begining the valiaunt and vertuous actes of worthi persons have ben comended to the worlde with sondry monumets and remembrances, emongst the which the chiefest and most usuall hathe ben the bestowing of privileges which are evident demonstracons of prowes diversly distributed accordinge to the qualities and deserts of the persons meretinge the same to the end that suche as have done comendable service to their kinge or quene or country eyther in warre or peace may receave due honor in their lives. AND WHEREAS ALYS MACKYNTOICH hath of long time ben lerned in the artes of auncient lawfull documentes and armes by studie of auncient workes and by vertue of techenge the artes of auncient armes to Our divers subjects she now by the Kinges and Quenes Majestie as is aforesaid and by vertue of which merets incluson in Our most worthi Order of the Manche the first privilege thereof there hathe ben a due and lawfull documente, YET NOT UPSTANDING, UPPON divers consideratons We shall require also a medalion bearenge armes, that is to saye, Per pale Or and purpure, a manche counterchanged, WHEREUPPON, CONSIDERING the worthines of the recipient aforesaid We shall by vertue of Our sovereigne mighte require sondry greeting from the Order aforesaid to their new Companion, and knowenge this request to be reasonable, We shall confirm and bestow it unto Alys Mackyntoich, now Companion of the Manche, TO HAVE and HOLDE THE SAID privileges, and she them to keepe for ever more without impediment let or interuption of any persons or persons, In Witness whereof We have subscribed Our hande on the thirde day of July in the yere of our Society XLV, feaste day of Saint Thomas, in Our sovereigne reigne, by grace Kinge and Quene of the Easte, Defendors of the Realme, emongst Tygers the most valiaunt, at Our Northern Region Warre Camp in the Shire of Glenn Linn.

SOURCE TEXT Patent of Arms to the City of Bristol by Robert Cooke, Clariencieux Principal Herald, 1569 To ALL AND SINGULAR AS WELL NOBLES AND GENTLEMEN and others to whom these presents shall come Robert Cooke esquire alias Clarencieux, Principall Heraulte and kinge of armes of the southe easte and weste partes of this realme of England from the river of trent southwardes sendithe humble comendacons and greeting FORASMOCHAS aunciently from the begining the valiaunt and vertuous actes of worthi persons have ben comended to the worlde with sondry monumets and remembrances of their good deserts, emongst the which the chiefest and most usuall hathe ben the bearing of signes in shildes caled armes which are evident demonstracons of prowes diversly distributed accordinge to the qualities and deserts of the persons meretinge the same to the end that suche as have done comendable service to their prince or country eyther in warre or peace may both receave due honor in their lives and also derive the same successively to their posteretie after them. AND WHEREAS THIS CITIE OF BRISTOLL hath of long time ben incorporate by the name of mayor and comonalty as by the moste noble prince of famouse memory Kinge Edward the third and laitely confirmed by the Quenes Majestie that now is by the name and names as is aforesaid by virtue of which corporation and sithens the first grant thereof there hathe ben auncient armes incident unto the said mayor and comonaltie that is to saye, gules, on a mount vert issuant out of a castle silver, uppon wave a ship golde, YET NOT UPSTANDING, UPPON divers consideratons they have required me the said Clarencieux kinge of armes to grant to their auncient armes a creaste, withe supportars due and lawfull to be borne, WHEREUPPON, CONSIDERING their worthines and knowenge their request to be reasonable, I have by vertue of my office of Clarencieux kinge of armes confirmed given and granted unto John Stone now mayor, John Hipsley recordar, David Harris, Willm Pepwell, Robert Sayer, Roger Jones and Willm Lawe, Aldermen, Thomas Crickland and Richard Yonge sherives, Robert Halton chamberlayn and Richard Willimot towneclarke, and to their successors in lief office, this Creaste and supportars herafter followenge that is to say, uppon the heaulme on a wreathe golde and gules, issuant out of the clowdes, two armes in saltour charnew in the one hand a serpent vert, in the other a pair of balance gold, supported with two unicorns seant gold mayned horned clayed sables mantled gules doubled silver as more playnely aperth depicted in the margent, To HAVE and HOLDE THE SAID armes creaste and supportars to the said mayor and comonalty and to their successors, and they it to use beare and shew for ever more without impediment let or interuption of any persons or persons, In Witness whereof I have subscribed my hande and set hereunto the seale of my office the fower and twentithe day of August in the yere of our Lorde God A thousand five hondrethe thre score and nyne, and in the eleventh yere of the reigne of our sovereigne lady Elizebethe, by the grace of God Quene of England France and Irelande, Defendor of the Faithe, et cet "Robert Cooke Alias Clarencieux" "Roy D'armes."