Robert Lonysdale and Christopher Lyndesey of Dent (then Yorkshire, now Cumbria), arrived at Durham Cathedral in mid-July 1486, rang the bells, and sought sanctuary for a decade-old homicide.
They told the cathedral’s registrar that in November 1476 or 1477 they had quarrelled with Laurence Falshed at the manor of Howgill in Dent. One or both of them – they were vague – struck Falshed in the chest with an “egelome” (a tool with a sharp edge), and he died.
This looks like a quarrel that arose spontaneously during an everyday task. The usual mystery is why it took them a decade to seek sanctuary: were they just going about their lives in Dent and then suddenly someone said: “hey, they killed Laurence Falshed 10 years ago!” ??
SDSB 13. Top image Durham cathedral bells.
Sanctuary Seekers in England, 1394-1557 