Bjarne is to help England capture Guy de Montfort
DN 19/300 · 13 jan. 1280 · [Bergen.]
What the letter says
In Bergen in the octave of Epiphany 1280, Abbot Richard of Lyse and Thomas de Ippegrave, on behalf of King Edward I of England, make an agreement with the Norwegian king's barons Bjarne Erlingsson and Audun Hugleiksson. The barons are to do all they can to capture Guy de Montfort, the king's enemy, who had secretly escaped from Norway before he could be seized. For their costs the barons receive 200 marks sterling, whether Guy is taken or not, and Thomas stays with them as a hostage until the money is paid. If Guy is taken, the abbot and Thomas are to work for the king to reward the barons well.
The letter in modern English
Letter that ... In the year of the Lord 1280, in the octave of Epiphany [13 January], it was agreed between Brother Richard, abbot of Lyse in Norway, and Thomas de Ippegrave, the lord king's [of England] man, on the one side, and the noble men Sir Bernard [Bjarne], son of Erling, and Audun, son of Hugleik, barons of the lord King of Norway, on the other side, as follows: The said barons shall faithfully, diligently and without any deceit or fraud apply all the diligence and care they can to the capture of Guy de Montfort, enemy of the said lord King of England. He escaped secretly from Norway before he could be seized, when he saw that the said lord abbot was laying snares for him. But the said abbot and Thomas shall then pay the said barons two hundred marks sterling for the expenses they incur in seizing the said Guy. For this money, to be paid to the barons, the abbot and Thomas have bound themselves, whether the said Guy is captured or not. The said Thomas shall remain with the said barons as a hostage for the two hundred marks until the money has been paid to them in full.
Original text
Littera quo. Anno domini moccolxxxo in octabis Epiphanie, inter fratrem Richardum abbatem de Lysa in Norwegia et Thomam de Ippegrave domini Regis clientem ex parte una et nobiles viros dominos Bernardum filium Erlyngi, Audoneum filium Hugleyci, domini Regis Norvegie barones ex altera, ita convenit, videlicet; Quod prefati barones fideliter, diligenter, absque omni dolo et fraude, omnem diligenciam et curam, quam poterunt, adhibebunt circa captionem Guidonis de Monteforti prefati domini Regis
Background
Bjarne Erlingsson (c. 1248 to 1313) of Bjarkøy was a baron and councillor of the realm, and he sat in the regency council for the young King Eirik Magnusson, who became king in 1280. Audun Hugleiksson was the other great man in this council. Guy de Montfort was the son of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and he had been outlawed because in 1271 he had killed the king's cousin Henry of Almain in a church in Viterbo. That he had sought refuge in Norway, and that England would pay Norwegian great men to capture him, shows how close the two courts were. The abbot of Lyse was English-born, and the monastery near Bergen was a natural go-between. The mark sterling was an English money of account in silver, and 200 marks was a large sum. P. A. Munch thought the letter belongs to January 1281.
People: Bjarne Erlingsson