After Boroughbridge, the Coterels were said to have robbed unknown deserters at Matlock and Darley in Derbyshire. My account suggested their plunder was pitiful, since the king’s knight, John Shirefield, supposedly seized most of the spoil and carried it back into the king’s hands as forfeiture. That version appears in the county court rolls.
But is that really what happened — or was something else going on?
My latest research has uncovered a record in King’s Bench where Laurence Coterel and John of Darley are indicted for those same robberies, which they flatly deny. Incidentally, the record identifies their victims:
At Darley, Laurence and his associates robbed Sir Simon Bereford — who would become Roger Mortimer’s right hand man and, ironically, later an ally of the Coterels.
At Matlock, they robbed Sir Adam Swillington, who would shortly find himself imprisoned in Tickhill Castle.
Meanwhile, the king had issued open letters to his local officers warning that “treasure of no small value, which ought to belong to us as forfeited, is hidden and concealed in various places in the county of Derby,” and ordered them to investigate.
This would lead to the indictments of Laurence and John. Across the two robberies, the itinerary of stolen goods is staggering.
• Laurence’s liability: £273 (c. £182k today)
• John’s liability: £78 (c. £52k today)
The jury attested that the pair HAD taken and concealed the goods. Unable to provide sureties, they were held in custody.
So much for “pitiful” plundering!
But what happened next?
In classic Coterel fashion, Laurence astutely argued that they were immune from prosecution. The king had ordered that those who hindered the rebels between October 1321 and April 1322 were not to be molested or aggrieved by royal process, since they were acting in the king’s service.
That, Laurence claimed, was precisely what they had been doing!
But why the discrepancy between the county court roll and the KB? It is likely that the county court roll is based upon the goods that were recovered by John Shirefield, the rest having been concealed. The KB record is based upon the goods actually stolen.
So the Coterels pulled the wool over my eyes (they were wool traders after all). I should have known better 
, they were far more shrewd than the original account gives them credit for.
Whether the final outcome of this mini saga will reveal itself remains to be seen…