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Petition from the men of the manor of Darnhall to King Edward I

The dispute between Darnhall and Vale Royal Abbey arose in the early fourteenth century. Tensions in Cheshire between villagers from Darnhall and Over and their feudal lord, Abbot Peter of Vale Royal Abbey, erupted into violence over whether they had villein—servile—status. The villagers' efforts to reject the Abbey's feudal overlordship included appeals to the Abbot, the Justice of Chester and even to the King and Queen. On each occasion the villagers were unsuccessful, frequently suffering imprisonment and fines when their appeals failed. On one occasion the villagers of Darnhall and Over followed Peter to Rutland; an affray broke out, the Abbot's groom was killed and Peter and his entourage were captured. The King intervened and released him; the Abbot then had the villagers imprisoned again. Abbot Peter was killed a few years later. Nothing is known of any resolution to the dispute, but serfdom was in decline nationally and Peter's successor may have had other priorities. (Full article...)

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On this day

May 12

Coppergate Helmet

1846 – The Donner Party, an American pioneer group which became known for resorting to cannibalism when they became trapped in the Sierra Nevada, left Independence, Missouri, for California.
1863 – American Civil War: The Confederates were routed in the Battle of Raymond, a small battle that had an inordinately large impact on the Vicksburg campaign.
1888 – North Borneo was established as a British protectorate.
1975 – The Cambodian navy seized the American container ship SS Mayaguez in what they claimed to be Cambodian territorial waters.
1982 – The Coppergate Helmet (pictured), the best preserved of the six known Anglo-Saxon helmets, was discovered.

Thomas Palaiologos (d. 1465)
Otto Frank (b. 1889)
Rami Malek (b. 1981)

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Today's featured picture

The sequin (zecchino) is a gold coin minted by the Republic of Venice. The design of the coin remained relatively unchanged for more than 500 years, from its introduction in 1284 to the fall of the Venetian Republic at the hands of Napoleon on 12 May 1797. No other coin design has ever been produced over such a long historical period. This coin, with a face value of 50 zecchini, was minted between 1779 and 1789, during the reign of Paolo Renier, the 119th and penultimate doge of Venice. The coin has a diameter of 76 millimetres (3.0 in) and weighs 192.5 grams (6.79 oz), and forms part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Coin design credit: Zecca of Venice; photographed by Andrew Shiva

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