Family and Education

Offices Held

Biography

Little of what is known about Hirnans redounds to his credit. In 1419, two years after his election to Parliament, he became involved in a violent quarrel with a Cornish ‘gentleman’ named John Treveswethan. Then, in the Michaelmas term of the same year, when described as ‘of Killyhellan, yeoman’, he was sued in the King’s bench for a breach of the peace and robbery at the house of Juliana, widow of John Noyll. It was as a result of this that during the winter of 1420-1 he spent some time in the Fleet and Marshalsea prisons. Not long after, in July 1421, a royal commission was directed to Sir William Talbot* and the sheriff of Cornwall to arrest Hirnans and bring him before the King’s Council in Michaelmas term following. Whether this had something to do with the Treveswethan or Noyll cases or concerned some other misdeeds is not clear, but certainly at Michaelmas two Cornish gentlemen and a fuller and brewer from Westminster provided mainprise in the King’s bench for Hirnans’s appearance to answer Juliana Noyll.1

In the meantime, in August 1420, Hirnans had been named by John Baker (probably the man of that name who had represented Helston in the second Parliament of 1414), as executor of his will and joint legatee of chattels on his property at Killiganoon and ‘Trevranow’.2

Ref Volumes: 1386-1421

Author: L. S. Woodger

Notes

• 1. CCR, 1413-19, p. 515; CPR, 1416-22, p. 326; 1422-9, p. 508; KB27/634 m. 23, 639 m. 22, 642 m. 2, 645 rex m. 2d.
• 2. PCC 55 Marche.