Nicholas Tingewick
Nicholas Tingewick was a priest whose education led him to Oxford, first as a student of theology and canon law, and then as one of the first recorded teachers of medicine and as a benefactor. However, he is mostly remembered as a physician to king Edward I, whose life he laboured to save at Lanercost priory in 1307. He is known locally as a prebendary of Bedwyn, although its is doubtful if he spent any time on the prebendal estate.
In 1291, a Nicholas de Tingewick was presented to the rectory of Broughton in Craven, Yorkshire. However he was not content to stay in this area, and in 1294 he obtained leave to study for three years. In 1296, he accompanied the bishop of Winchester abroad. It is perhaps during this time that Nicholas Tingewick, already trained as a priest, qualified as a medical doctor.
Before returning to Craven, he obtained a second rectory, Coleshill, in Berkshire. Receiving income from two benefices exposed him to charges of pluralism, and he was eventually deprived of his Yorkshire rectory. However after he entered service as a royal physician, he rapidly impressed king Edward I, who gave him another benefice at Reculver in Kent.
Reculver
After the death of the incumbent in 1300, the right to present a successor to Reculver was claimed by pope Clement V and king Edward I. On August 23 1300, the king presented Nicholas Tingewick to the rectory, but following a dispute with the pope, he surrendered his claim to present a rector. However, the king was a determined man, and he petitioned the pope to permit Nicholas Tingewick to hold both benefices of Reculver and Coleshill.
The king supported his petition by stating that he owed his recovery from a long illness first after God to Nicholas Tingewick, his beloved physician. Furthermore, he knew of no one in his kingdom more skilled and fit to look after his health. Clearly Nicholas Tingewick was already a royal doctor of great repute, and the king relied on his medical skills for many years before that last sojourn at Lanercost Priory.
When king Edward I died on July 7th 1307, Nicholas Tingewick still held the benefice of Reculver, but the following year an attempt was made to remove him. Several such attempts foundered as king Edward II continued to protect his father’s doctor. The dispute between crown and church was not resolved until 1310, when Nicholas was finally accepted as incumbent.
In July 1310, Walter Reynolds, the recently appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, reorganised the parish of Reculver, and ordained that there should be three vicars, for Reculver, Thanet, and Herne. All three of these vicars were to serve the rector, who was confirmed as Nicholas Tingewick. In 1314, the Archbishop of Canterbury confirmed that Nicholas Tingewick was permitted to hold the rectories of Coleshill and Reculver in pluralism.
In the later years of his life Nicholas Tingewick may have retired to Reculver. While he was at Oxford, he certainly visited Reculver, for in 1324, Prior Henry Eastry of Christchurch, Canterbury, wrote to him, thanking him for his medical skills in swiftly relieving a fever. The prior was a strong man, for he lived to be 90 years of age. In 1354, Thomas Nye, the rector of nearby Aldington, founded a chantry at Reculver for the soul of Nicholas Tingewick.
Lanercost
In 1306, king Edward I suffered from an illness described as dysentery, but which may actually have been cancer of the bowel. As early as Whitsun, this illness prevented him from performing a ceremony at Westminster Abbey to confer a knighthood on his son, Prince Edward and other young men. In the late summer, the king travelled north, yet again to make war with Scotland. He reached York in July and Newcastle in August. He was already travelling by horse litter due to his infirmity, when on September 6th at Newbrough near Hexham, his health took a turn for the worst. He subsequently continued westwards at a very slow pace. Ahead of the royal party travelled a retinue of selected servants who were responsible for ensuring arrangements for accommodation. At Lanercost, Walter de Bedwyn, cofferer of the Household, ensured that the keys hooks and bars were purchased, presumably to improve the security of the room where the king would sleep:
“Item in clavis et croucis, bendis et aliis necessariis emptis pro camera doraini W. de Bedewynda apud Lanercost, ac pro stipendio cuiusdam operantis . . . xd”
The royal party arrived at Lanercost priory on 29 September. The king intended a short stay at the priory of St. Mary Magdalene, but illness dictated otherwise. There were two physicians in the royal party, Adam de St. Albano and William de Otewith, and medicine was soon purchased to treat the king’s illness. On October 4th, John, the servant of Peter, a third physician, was sent to Carlisle to purchase herbs. On November 1st, Peter made a personal visit to York to purchase medicines. Medicines were also brought from London; on September 8th when the king was at Newborough, a payment of £164 14s. 9d. had been made by the Wardrobe for 2196 lb of medicines. However, the king’s health failed to improve.
In preparation for a longer stay, arrangements were made in October for the erection of temporary buildings to house the royal party, some 200 in number. Over 40 carpenters and labourers were employed to improve accommodation for the royal household. However similar arrangements were also made at Holme Cultram towards the end of October. It was the intention of the king to move there once his health had improved, but it was not to be. In November more skilled workers were brought in to improve accommodation at Lanercost, which included rooms for the Queen, Prince Edward, and Friar Luke, the king’s confessor. The move to Holme Cultram was abandoned, and the king prepared to spend winter at Lanercost.
The king sent for Nicholas Tingewick, who at that time was in London. His travelling expenses were 100 shilling, a considerable expense at the time. Nicholas Tingewick had already ordered medicines for the king in early September to the value of £135. On September 11th at Haltwhistle, the king petitioned the pope to give the benefice of Reculver to his doctor. Hence the award of this particular rectory was not in recognition of service at Lanercost, but of services already rendered.
The health of the 67 year old king was considered to be in a precarious state. The inventory of medicines purchased by Nicholas Tingewick included various spices which were intended to be used for embalming the body after death. In 1774, the tomb of king Edward I was opened, and his body was found to be well preserved, perhaps in part due to the efforts of the royal doctor.
However details of the bulk of the purchases reveal that Nicholas Tingewick was determined to provide a cure, and not to bury his master. The list of ointments and drugs contained terebinth, an electuary made of amber and jacinth, gold and silver; rose-water of Damascus, holy oil, aromatic powders, clysters, syrups, balsam, aloes, and myrrh.
The king’s health improved under the care of Nicholas Tingewick, so much so that on midsummer day in 1307, the horse litter on which he had been so dependant was given to Carlisle cathedral in a celebration of his restored health. On July 3rd, he travelled once again on horseback. However, his newfound health proved a false friend, and within two days, he was bedridden at Burgh-on-Sands, surrounded by his mustering soldiers. He died on July 7th, his eyes perhaps glimpsing for one last time that country across the water that defied his impressive military skills.
The king’s prolonged visit exhausted the treasury of Lanercost priory. He granted the priory the income from Haltwhistle church in compensation. As this church had already been granted to another abbey, it seems to have been a rather clumsy if not half-hearted gesture, especially in comparison with his determination to secure Reculver for Nicholas Tingewick. Haltwhistle church did not pass into the possession of Lanercost priory, and the king responded by granting the income of churches at Mitford in Northumberland and Carlatton in Cumberland. However the expensive hosting of the royal party, and the violent incursions of recent Scottish raids, and subsequent raids in 1311 and 1346 did little for the prosperity of the priory.
After the death of King Edward I, Nicholas Tingewick entered the service of Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln. He was also held in favour with King Edward II, as royal support for his benefice of Reculver demonstrates. However at this time, his interests became more closely associated with the University of Oxford.
Prebend of Bedwyn
Nicholas Tingewick was given leave of absence as rector of Coleshill by Simon Ghent, bishop of Salisbury, in 1302 in order to study theology and canon law at Balliol college, Oxford. He may have been fortunate in his academic ambitions as the bishop was keen to foster an educated clergy. Nicholas Tingewick was one of 300 clergy who were licenced to study theology or canon law for a period of seven years. However his studies may have been often interrupted by his service as a royal doctor.
In 1309, bishop Simon granted Nicholas the prebend of Major Pars Altaris, supported by income from oblations at the high Altar, for three years, followed in 1312 by the gift of the prebend of Bedwyn. The latter prebend was formed from the former estate of St. Mary’s church in Great Bedwyn, which was originally granted by king Henry II to the cathedral, and which was enhanced by substantial donations from local landowners during the reign of king Henry III. This wealthy prebend was assessed at £50 a year, and included a house on Salisbury Close. Thus within a short period of time, Nicholas Tingewick established a relatively secure income with revenues derived from Coleshill, Reculver, and Bedwyn.
Lucrative as revenues from Bedwyn may have been, his appointment did not remain unchallenged, and his tenure was constantly interrupted with the successful appointment of other candidates. In May 1319, the prebend was granted to the influential Rigaud de Asserio, who resigned in October when he was appointed bishop of Winchester. However, the prebend was subsequently granted to his nephew, Bertrand de Asserio. A dispute with Nicholas Tingewick was apparently resolved in 1322, when Nicholas seems to have been in possession of the prebend :
Ratification, in consideration of his services to Edward I, of the possession which Master Nicholas de Tyngewyck, king’s clerk, has in the said prebend of bedewynde by collation of Simon, late bishop of Salisbury, although that prebend belongs to the king’s gift as void by the reason of the late voidance of the bishopric of Salisbury; grant to him that henceforth he may hold the said prebend of the king’s right and authority
Nevertheless, the dispute with Bertrand de Asserio continued to 1331. From 1335 to 1337, another prebendary, Robert de Taunton, seems to have held Bedwyn, before it again returned to Nicholas Tingewick.
The Prebend of Bedwyn was probably of little interest to Nicholas Tingewick, other than as a source of revenue. In 1320, he was fined by the cathedral chapter for absence, and in 1328, he leased his prebendal home in the Close to tenants.
Oxford University
Nicholas Tingewick may have acquired property in Oxford as early as 1302, when Simon Ghent, bishop of Oxford first gave him leave to study. By 1321, he held two messuages in the city, Corbet Hall, and Beef Hall, and in this year he obtained a licence in mortmain to grant the messuages “for the perpetual endowment of two masters in arts to superintend the grammar schools”.
Corbet Hall lay on the east side of Cat street and later was known as Tingewick inn. In the early 15th century it was leased to a tenant by the university. Subsequently the University leased the property to All Souls College, possibly as part of the college’s foundation in 1438. For the next two hundred years or more, the college paid rent to to the University. The site of Corbet Hall now lies under the present college cloisters, which were built between 1490 and 1515.
Beef Hall lay near St. Aldgates church in Beef Lane, an alleyway that probably derived its name from the messuage. The Hall was leased by the university to tenants in the early 17th century, and to Pembroke college, probably after its foundation in 1624. The Hall was finally sold to the college in 1872. Part of Beef lane survives in the western side of Pembroke square, but most of the lane was incorporated into the modern college in 1960. Buildings along the road were demolished to form the north quad, which was opened in 1962.
The revenue from his benefaction was to pay an annual income of 4 marks for two regent masters who would supervise the grammar schools at the University, withe the provision that he could live at Corbet Hall as principal for life. However, a second provision stipulated that if the properties provided insufficient income to provide for the two masters, he would would make up the difference.
His interest as a benefactor of the University lay in the promotion of sound learning at Oxford. In 1325 he was one of the two magistri extranei of Balliol College and held the degrees of Doctor of Medicine and Bachelor of Theology. He was successful in a dispute at Balliol which ensured the wishes of the founding would be met. He is generally thought to be one of Oxford’s earliest teachers of medicine, in a building adjacent to Corbet Hall.
The study of Latin Grammar was essential for any student who wished to study the classics and mediaeval writing. The church had been responsible for Grammar schools but by 1306 the University had taken over this responsibility. A tax was imposed to fund two Grammar masters to supervise the schools, but the system was unpopular and unworkable. The benevolence of Nicholas Tingewick provided a welcome solution to this problem.
Nicholas Tingewick has not been forgotten in Oxford. The Tingewick Trust, or Tingewick Society, was founded in the 20th century as the University’s medical school students' charity. Members perform an annual Christmas pantomime, now held at Tingewick Hall, a concert room in JR Hospital, Headington. This room also hosted a musical tribute to King Edward I’s doctor; the Tingewick Tone poem portrays scenes from the life of Nicholas Tingewick, including Reculver, service as a royal physician, the king's sickness, and the king's recovery.
The memory of Nicholas Tingewick is also recalled in a late 14th century medical encyclopaedia called the Breviarium Bartholomei, which was produced by the London priest John of Mirfield. He records the story of Nicholas Tingewick who rode 40 miles to purchase the details of jaundice cure from a widow: crushed sheep lice with hydromel, or honey water. Mediaeval medical learned practice was often derived from known folk practices, and Nicholas Tingewick was a man with an enquiring mind, keen to seek out cures to everyday medical problems.
Sources
Edward I at Lanercost Priory 1306-7 by J. R. H. Moorman. The English Historical Review, Vol. 67, No. 263 (Apr., 1952), pp. 161-174.
Archaeologica https://archive.org/stream/archaeologicaljo14brit#page/270/mode/2up Page 267.
CPR January 8 1322 Edward II at Worcester. Ratification of prebend Bedwyn to Nicholas Tingewick.
CPR January 8 1311 Edward II at Berwick on Tweed. Appointment of Walter de Bedwyn to York Cathedral.
The registers of John de Sandale and Rigaud de Asserio, bishops of Winchester (A.D. 1316-1323) : with an appendix of contemporaneous and other illustrative documents (1897)People of Mediaeval Scotland POM Document 2/0/0 (CDS, v, no. 212)
Tingewick Tone Poem composed in 2014 to be played in Tingewick Hall, JR Hospital, Oxford.
In 1291, a Nicholas de Tingewick was presented to the rectory of Broughton in Craven, Yorkshire. However he was not content to stay in this area, and in 1294 he obtained leave to study for three years. In 1296, he accompanied the bishop of Winchester abroad. It is perhaps during this time that Nicholas Tingewick, already trained as a priest, qualified as a medical doctor.
Before returning to Craven, he obtained a second rectory, Coleshill, in Berkshire. Receiving income from two benefices exposed him to charges of pluralism, and he was eventually deprived of his Yorkshire rectory. However after he entered service as a royal physician, he rapidly impressed king Edward I, who gave him another benefice at Reculver in Kent.
Reculver
After the death of the incumbent in 1300, the right to present a successor to Reculver was claimed by pope Clement V and king Edward I. On August 23 1300, the king presented Nicholas Tingewick to the rectory, but following a dispute with the pope, he surrendered his claim to present a rector. However, the king was a determined man, and he petitioned the pope to permit Nicholas Tingewick to hold both benefices of Reculver and Coleshill.
The king supported his petition by stating that he owed his recovery from a long illness first after God to Nicholas Tingewick, his beloved physician. Furthermore, he knew of no one in his kingdom more skilled and fit to look after his health. Clearly Nicholas Tingewick was already a royal doctor of great repute, and the king relied on his medical skills for many years before that last sojourn at Lanercost Priory.
When king Edward I died on July 7th 1307, Nicholas Tingewick still held the benefice of Reculver, but the following year an attempt was made to remove him. Several such attempts foundered as king Edward II continued to protect his father’s doctor. The dispute between crown and church was not resolved until 1310, when Nicholas was finally accepted as incumbent.
In July 1310, Walter Reynolds, the recently appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, reorganised the parish of Reculver, and ordained that there should be three vicars, for Reculver, Thanet, and Herne. All three of these vicars were to serve the rector, who was confirmed as Nicholas Tingewick. In 1314, the Archbishop of Canterbury confirmed that Nicholas Tingewick was permitted to hold the rectories of Coleshill and Reculver in pluralism.
In the later years of his life Nicholas Tingewick may have retired to Reculver. While he was at Oxford, he certainly visited Reculver, for in 1324, Prior Henry Eastry of Christchurch, Canterbury, wrote to him, thanking him for his medical skills in swiftly relieving a fever. The prior was a strong man, for he lived to be 90 years of age. In 1354, Thomas Nye, the rector of nearby Aldington, founded a chantry at Reculver for the soul of Nicholas Tingewick.
Lanercost
In 1306, king Edward I suffered from an illness described as dysentery, but which may actually have been cancer of the bowel. As early as Whitsun, this illness prevented him from performing a ceremony at Westminster Abbey to confer a knighthood on his son, Prince Edward and other young men. In the late summer, the king travelled north, yet again to make war with Scotland. He reached York in July and Newcastle in August. He was already travelling by horse litter due to his infirmity, when on September 6th at Newbrough near Hexham, his health took a turn for the worst. He subsequently continued westwards at a very slow pace. Ahead of the royal party travelled a retinue of selected servants who were responsible for ensuring arrangements for accommodation. At Lanercost, Walter de Bedwyn, cofferer of the Household, ensured that the keys hooks and bars were purchased, presumably to improve the security of the room where the king would sleep:
“Item in clavis et croucis, bendis et aliis necessariis emptis pro camera doraini W. de Bedewynda apud Lanercost, ac pro stipendio cuiusdam operantis . . . xd”
The royal party arrived at Lanercost priory on 29 September. The king intended a short stay at the priory of St. Mary Magdalene, but illness dictated otherwise. There were two physicians in the royal party, Adam de St. Albano and William de Otewith, and medicine was soon purchased to treat the king’s illness. On October 4th, John, the servant of Peter, a third physician, was sent to Carlisle to purchase herbs. On November 1st, Peter made a personal visit to York to purchase medicines. Medicines were also brought from London; on September 8th when the king was at Newborough, a payment of £164 14s. 9d. had been made by the Wardrobe for 2196 lb of medicines. However, the king’s health failed to improve.
In preparation for a longer stay, arrangements were made in October for the erection of temporary buildings to house the royal party, some 200 in number. Over 40 carpenters and labourers were employed to improve accommodation for the royal household. However similar arrangements were also made at Holme Cultram towards the end of October. It was the intention of the king to move there once his health had improved, but it was not to be. In November more skilled workers were brought in to improve accommodation at Lanercost, which included rooms for the Queen, Prince Edward, and Friar Luke, the king’s confessor. The move to Holme Cultram was abandoned, and the king prepared to spend winter at Lanercost.
The king sent for Nicholas Tingewick, who at that time was in London. His travelling expenses were 100 shilling, a considerable expense at the time. Nicholas Tingewick had already ordered medicines for the king in early September to the value of £135. On September 11th at Haltwhistle, the king petitioned the pope to give the benefice of Reculver to his doctor. Hence the award of this particular rectory was not in recognition of service at Lanercost, but of services already rendered.
The health of the 67 year old king was considered to be in a precarious state. The inventory of medicines purchased by Nicholas Tingewick included various spices which were intended to be used for embalming the body after death. In 1774, the tomb of king Edward I was opened, and his body was found to be well preserved, perhaps in part due to the efforts of the royal doctor.
However details of the bulk of the purchases reveal that Nicholas Tingewick was determined to provide a cure, and not to bury his master. The list of ointments and drugs contained terebinth, an electuary made of amber and jacinth, gold and silver; rose-water of Damascus, holy oil, aromatic powders, clysters, syrups, balsam, aloes, and myrrh.
The king’s health improved under the care of Nicholas Tingewick, so much so that on midsummer day in 1307, the horse litter on which he had been so dependant was given to Carlisle cathedral in a celebration of his restored health. On July 3rd, he travelled once again on horseback. However, his newfound health proved a false friend, and within two days, he was bedridden at Burgh-on-Sands, surrounded by his mustering soldiers. He died on July 7th, his eyes perhaps glimpsing for one last time that country across the water that defied his impressive military skills.
The king’s prolonged visit exhausted the treasury of Lanercost priory. He granted the priory the income from Haltwhistle church in compensation. As this church had already been granted to another abbey, it seems to have been a rather clumsy if not half-hearted gesture, especially in comparison with his determination to secure Reculver for Nicholas Tingewick. Haltwhistle church did not pass into the possession of Lanercost priory, and the king responded by granting the income of churches at Mitford in Northumberland and Carlatton in Cumberland. However the expensive hosting of the royal party, and the violent incursions of recent Scottish raids, and subsequent raids in 1311 and 1346 did little for the prosperity of the priory.
After the death of King Edward I, Nicholas Tingewick entered the service of Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln. He was also held in favour with King Edward II, as royal support for his benefice of Reculver demonstrates. However at this time, his interests became more closely associated with the University of Oxford.
Prebend of Bedwyn
Nicholas Tingewick was given leave of absence as rector of Coleshill by Simon Ghent, bishop of Salisbury, in 1302 in order to study theology and canon law at Balliol college, Oxford. He may have been fortunate in his academic ambitions as the bishop was keen to foster an educated clergy. Nicholas Tingewick was one of 300 clergy who were licenced to study theology or canon law for a period of seven years. However his studies may have been often interrupted by his service as a royal doctor.
In 1309, bishop Simon granted Nicholas the prebend of Major Pars Altaris, supported by income from oblations at the high Altar, for three years, followed in 1312 by the gift of the prebend of Bedwyn. The latter prebend was formed from the former estate of St. Mary’s church in Great Bedwyn, which was originally granted by king Henry II to the cathedral, and which was enhanced by substantial donations from local landowners during the reign of king Henry III. This wealthy prebend was assessed at £50 a year, and included a house on Salisbury Close. Thus within a short period of time, Nicholas Tingewick established a relatively secure income with revenues derived from Coleshill, Reculver, and Bedwyn.
Lucrative as revenues from Bedwyn may have been, his appointment did not remain unchallenged, and his tenure was constantly interrupted with the successful appointment of other candidates. In May 1319, the prebend was granted to the influential Rigaud de Asserio, who resigned in October when he was appointed bishop of Winchester. However, the prebend was subsequently granted to his nephew, Bertrand de Asserio. A dispute with Nicholas Tingewick was apparently resolved in 1322, when Nicholas seems to have been in possession of the prebend :
Ratification, in consideration of his services to Edward I, of the possession which Master Nicholas de Tyngewyck, king’s clerk, has in the said prebend of bedewynde by collation of Simon, late bishop of Salisbury, although that prebend belongs to the king’s gift as void by the reason of the late voidance of the bishopric of Salisbury; grant to him that henceforth he may hold the said prebend of the king’s right and authority
Nevertheless, the dispute with Bertrand de Asserio continued to 1331. From 1335 to 1337, another prebendary, Robert de Taunton, seems to have held Bedwyn, before it again returned to Nicholas Tingewick.
The Prebend of Bedwyn was probably of little interest to Nicholas Tingewick, other than as a source of revenue. In 1320, he was fined by the cathedral chapter for absence, and in 1328, he leased his prebendal home in the Close to tenants.
Oxford University
Nicholas Tingewick may have acquired property in Oxford as early as 1302, when Simon Ghent, bishop of Oxford first gave him leave to study. By 1321, he held two messuages in the city, Corbet Hall, and Beef Hall, and in this year he obtained a licence in mortmain to grant the messuages “for the perpetual endowment of two masters in arts to superintend the grammar schools”.
Corbet Hall lay on the east side of Cat street and later was known as Tingewick inn. In the early 15th century it was leased to a tenant by the university. Subsequently the University leased the property to All Souls College, possibly as part of the college’s foundation in 1438. For the next two hundred years or more, the college paid rent to to the University. The site of Corbet Hall now lies under the present college cloisters, which were built between 1490 and 1515.
Beef Hall lay near St. Aldgates church in Beef Lane, an alleyway that probably derived its name from the messuage. The Hall was leased by the university to tenants in the early 17th century, and to Pembroke college, probably after its foundation in 1624. The Hall was finally sold to the college in 1872. Part of Beef lane survives in the western side of Pembroke square, but most of the lane was incorporated into the modern college in 1960. Buildings along the road were demolished to form the north quad, which was opened in 1962.
The revenue from his benefaction was to pay an annual income of 4 marks for two regent masters who would supervise the grammar schools at the University, withe the provision that he could live at Corbet Hall as principal for life. However, a second provision stipulated that if the properties provided insufficient income to provide for the two masters, he would would make up the difference.
His interest as a benefactor of the University lay in the promotion of sound learning at Oxford. In 1325 he was one of the two magistri extranei of Balliol College and held the degrees of Doctor of Medicine and Bachelor of Theology. He was successful in a dispute at Balliol which ensured the wishes of the founding would be met. He is generally thought to be one of Oxford’s earliest teachers of medicine, in a building adjacent to Corbet Hall.
The study of Latin Grammar was essential for any student who wished to study the classics and mediaeval writing. The church had been responsible for Grammar schools but by 1306 the University had taken over this responsibility. A tax was imposed to fund two Grammar masters to supervise the schools, but the system was unpopular and unworkable. The benevolence of Nicholas Tingewick provided a welcome solution to this problem.
Nicholas Tingewick has not been forgotten in Oxford. The Tingewick Trust, or Tingewick Society, was founded in the 20th century as the University’s medical school students' charity. Members perform an annual Christmas pantomime, now held at Tingewick Hall, a concert room in JR Hospital, Headington. This room also hosted a musical tribute to King Edward I’s doctor; the Tingewick Tone poem portrays scenes from the life of Nicholas Tingewick, including Reculver, service as a royal physician, the king's sickness, and the king's recovery.
The memory of Nicholas Tingewick is also recalled in a late 14th century medical encyclopaedia called the Breviarium Bartholomei, which was produced by the London priest John of Mirfield. He records the story of Nicholas Tingewick who rode 40 miles to purchase the details of jaundice cure from a widow: crushed sheep lice with hydromel, or honey water. Mediaeval medical learned practice was often derived from known folk practices, and Nicholas Tingewick was a man with an enquiring mind, keen to seek out cures to everyday medical problems.
Sources
Edward I at Lanercost Priory 1306-7 by J. R. H. Moorman. The English Historical Review, Vol. 67, No. 263 (Apr., 1952), pp. 161-174.
Archaeologica https://archive.org/stream/archaeologicaljo14brit#page/270/mode/2up Page 267.
CPR January 8 1322 Edward II at Worcester. Ratification of prebend Bedwyn to Nicholas Tingewick.
CPR January 8 1311 Edward II at Berwick on Tweed. Appointment of Walter de Bedwyn to York Cathedral.
The registers of John de Sandale and Rigaud de Asserio, bishops of Winchester (A.D. 1316-1323) : with an appendix of contemporaneous and other illustrative documents (1897)People of Mediaeval Scotland POM Document 2/0/0 (CDS, v, no. 212)
Tingewick Tone Poem composed in 2014 to be played in Tingewick Hall, JR Hospital, Oxford.