the
shrine. A few years later the Abbot of Westminster appears to have been
guilty of some negligence in sendÂing this ring to the sovereign when
the latter required it for use, and the repentant abbot craves pardon
of the king and prays that his fault shall not invalidate the church's
rights to the possession of the relic. Nearly eighty years later, a
record dated December 21, 1468 (7 Edward IV) registers the delivery by
the former keeper, Thomas Arundell, of the vestments, cloths, relics
and jewels of the Shrine of St. Edward in WestÂminster to his
successor, Richard Tedyngton.25
The
jewels and precious stones of this shrine were taken away and pawned by
Henry III in 1267, the monarch having entered into a solemn engagement,
under the Great Seal, to return them in a year's time from the ensuing
Michaelmas. Henry also sent to the then Abbot of Westminster a " Letter
Obligatory " promising the restitution of the gems and submitting
himself in the matter to the judgment of the Pope and the Papal Legate.
The precious jewels were really restored to the Abbey shortly
afterwards, as is shown by a document dated February 10, 1269 (53 Henry
III). The ruby ring, being a later gift, could not have been among them.26
A
contemporary entry referring to this shrine in Edward I's time
(1272-1307), is interesting as casting a sidelight on the English
coinage at the end of the thirteenth century. Under date of 1299,
provision is made for returning to the church of Westminster the
25 Fourth Report of the Royal Commission on Manuscripts, London, 1874, p. 191.
26 Idem., loc. cit.
