Item 3, single membrane (25 January) (Replication of Michael Steill)
Mercurij 25 Ianuarij Anno primo Iacobi Regis
(signed) William Miller/
The Replicacion of Mychaell Steill Complainant to the
Annsweares of William Bowes Edmond Mennell Esquier
and ffrancis
Mitchell defendantes/
The said Replicant saveing to himself at all tymes hearafter all benefitt of
excepcion to the incertaintes and insuffyciences of the said
Annsweares saithe as in his bill of Complaint he hath saide and doth and will aver
maintaine and iustify the same ‸⸢bill of Complaint and all and
every other thing therin contayned⸣ to be good iust and true as in such
sorte manner and forme as the same in the said bill of Complaint are most iustly
and truly sett forth and declared and for Replicacion to the said answers he
Replieth and saith that the said Defendantes did by complotting and
practyse had amongst them Contrive make and p publishe the slanderous libell in
the bill of Complaint mencioned against the said Complainant and
against ffrancis Thornton in the bill of Complaint named maliciously and of purpose
vtterly to disgrace and discredit and to bring the
Complainantes good name in question without any cause at all
given vnto them by the Complainant soe to doe and the said Replicant
further saithe that the defendantes are common libellers and they
have since the makeing of the said slanderous libell mencioned in the
bill falsely and wickedly contrived and made or caused to be Contrived and made and have
Publyshed two other seuerall libells against divers other persons of good
credit and Reputacion in the County of yorke to
the great disgrace slander and discreditt of the said persons whose names the
Replicant doth forbear to sett downe in this Replicacion but he saieth by
testimony of witnesses playnely to prove the same in this suite and to make the same appear
vpon the hearing of ⸢‸this cause in⸣ this honorable courte and he
further saithe that the defendantes are and for the space of divers years
past haue beene persons of ill demeanour and haue every one of them
misdemeaned himselfe in divers, seuerall kyndes and he saithe that
heartofore the said Edmond Mennell and william Bowes wear bounde and as yet still
stand ‸⸢bound⸣ for the good behaviour before his
maiestes Councell in the North at the instance and suyte of this
Replicant whome they had formerly divers wayes wronged and advised
abvsed as playnely appeared before his maiestes said Councell and he nether saithe
that synce the makeing and publishing of the said ll libell the said
William Bowes in the shopp of one william Bell in allerton saide that the Complainant should not travell in the Country but he
should be beaten and that sowndly and that in such sorte that he should never cast yt also
the said william Bowes further Reported that he would procure certaine blew capps
meaning borderers or north Country men to kill the Replicant and he should never
know who did the same also he saithe that the said Edmond Mennell vpon serveing a
proces of subpena vpon him awarded against him oute of this courte at the suyte of
the Complainant did miscall and Revyle the Replicant behynde his back and
vttered hard speaches against him and saide that yf the Complainant had beene there
he would haue maide him haue eaten the said proces and willed this
Replicantes servant to tell the Replicant that he woulde make
the Replicant fynde foure paire of legges when he should meete
with him meaning as yt should seeme to make this Replicant Run away for
fear of being killed and at that tyme the said Edmond Mennell did make an assalte and affray
vpon this defendantes
⸢plaintifes⸣ said servant who served him with
proces oute of this honorable courte for answering of the said bill of Complaint as
is said and in that affrey did soe hurte him in soe much that affidavit was ‸⸢therof synce⸣ made accordingly and the said
Edmond Mennell for that
offence standes comitted to the prison of the fleet by order of this honorable
courte but as yet he escapes without imprisonment for the same and he saithe that
the defendantes to be further Revenged against this Replicant did
assemble and gather together certaine persons vnknowne to this Replicant
within the towne of Northallerton vpon a market day a faire day there who wear
prepared with cordes to bynde this Replicant yf they
should ‸⸢haue⸣ happened to meete him in the towne and for that
purpose they did come to the said towne in Company of the said Edmond Mennell who
the same day did Ryde vpp and downe the said towne seekeing to haue mett with the
Replicant of purpose to haue bett the Replicant with a
<..>
<...> bull pisle which the
said Mennell had in his hand but the Replicant that day was not in the towne of
Northallerton and soe he by good chaunce escaped their handes without
eyther byndeing <..> ‸⸢or⸣ beating and he saithe that the said Mennell one of the
defendantes synce they entered bond for the good behaviour
as as is saide did beat one (blank) Todd being this
Replicantes kinsman and one
⸢one⸣ that he knew did affect the said Replicant and he did
beat him in publike assembly at a horse Runing with a switching rodd in disgrace of
this Replicant he knoweing him to be his kinsman and in soe doeing the said Mennell
hath forfeyte his bond or Recognizance Whearin he became bounde as is said and he saythe
that that the said William Bowes hath synce the making
entering of the said bond procured his servantes to assalt this Replicant
and in Cruell and dispitefull manner to shoulder this Replicant and to give vnto
him very hard wordes and the said William Bowes hath also synce that tyme
vttered her hard speaches against the said Replicant and therin hathe
Revyled him and hathe done what he can by slanderous speaches to take away the
Replicantes
gr good name Without that any other matter or thing in the said Aunswers
mencioned contayned and <..> hearin ⸢before⸣ not suffyciently Confessed and
avoyded trauerssed or denyed is true all which matters this
Replicant will aver and prove as this honorable courte shall award and praieth as
in the bill of Complaint hi he hath prayed./
°keen° (signed) Richard Hutton (signed) H Tophan °sub <...> termino Pasche°
Record title: Star Chamber Case: Steill v. Mitchell et al
Repository:
TNA
Shelfmark: STAC 8/276/26
Repository location: Kew
10 October 1603–24 January 1603/4; English; parchment; items 1–3 of 5 items, tied together: item 1: 3 membranes, item 2: single membrane, item 3: single membrane; 370–780mm x 250–520mm; modern pencil numbering, item 1: 1–4 (membrane 2 is the dorse of membrane 1), item 2: 5, item 3: 6.